"Erza, what just happened?" Wendy questioned.
"I don't know…but something is off with the landscape now." Erza looked at their surroundings. Crocus, which was nowhere near them originally, now had its palace right next to them. Mountains that were originally in the distance had shifted their locations and were much closer to them.
"It appears that my locations were a bit off. I casted it too hastily." A woman's voice said from behind them. Both Erza and Wendy turned around to see a woman with braided long red hair.
"It's been such a long time. Hello Erza."
"Who is she?" Wendy questioned. 'This is so weird…why do she and Erza resemble each other so much…and her scent…'
"Tell me who you are." Erza said.
A smirk formed on the woman's face.
"Who am I? One could say I'm you, Erza. And you are me. But if you want a name…I am Irene. Irene Belserion."
Wendy looked towards Erza with a worried look on her face.
"Erza…do you think she's-"
"It doesn't matter. She has the Alvarez emblem on her clothing. She's an enemy. We'll take her out right now!" Erza lunged at Irene, her clothes glowing as she changed into her clear heart clothing.
Erza slashed at Irene with her katana. Irene ducked backwards and jumped away.
"Erza, I'll support you!" Wendy shouted. Magic began to swirl around her arms and she pointed her hands at Erza, causing a brief aura to glow around her.
Erza leaped again at Irene and slashed at her. Irene this time parried the blow with her staff.
"Oh, your power and speed have been amplified." Irene looked over to Wendy then back at Erza.
"Requip!" Erza's demon blade Benizakura began to glow, being replaced with another katana entirely.
"Entenka!" Erza swung her blade. To Irene's surprise, a huge wave of flames shot out of the sword. Irene dispersed the flames with a swing of her staff and launched a volley of red energy beams at Erza.
Erza let loose dozens of slashes, each slash releasing an arc of flames that collided with the energy beams.
"Oh what a fascinating blade. It amplifies the user's magic power and converts it into flames. I have yet to see such craftsmanship in ages." Irene raised her left hand up and turned it into a fist. Erza looked down at the ground that began glowing red for an instant before being engulfed in an explosion of fire.
"Erza!" Wendy exclaimed.
The explosion of flames dispersed and another huge wave of flames was launched at Irene. Irene stepped to the side and saw Erza with light burns on her body.
Wendy looked towards Erza with a confused look. 'Why isn't Erza switching into her other armors?'
"Come on Erza. Even with that girl enhancing your power, this is the best you can do? Shame." Irene commented.
Erza resumed a fighting stance.
"Tell me, who are you really."
"Still haven't figured that out? Deep in your heart you know exactly who I am. But you don't want to believe it." Irene responded.
"I've never seen you before…" Erza said.
"Now, now Erza. That's a rude thing to say to your mother."
Erza's eyes grew wide with surprise for a moment. But her expression quickly changed as she started to clench her teeth.
"You're…not my mother! I grew up an orphan in Rosemary Village before it was burned to the ground! I'm an orphan with no family!"
"You're wrong about that." Irene responded calmly. "Because I am your mother Erza."
"I've only had one parent in my life! His name is Master Makarov!" Erza shouted resolutely.
Irene shrugged her shoulders.
"Fine, if that's what you want. Just because I have a daughter doesn't mean I care about her. In fact, I thought you were dead all these years. I never would have dreamed we would meet on the battlefield. Fate works in mysterious ways."
"It doesn't matter who you are. You attacked Fairy Tail…" Erza clenched her sword tightly, the blade beginning to glow a burning hot white color. "And that makes you my enemy!"
Flames leaked out from the handle of the blade, engulfing it completely as she jumped towards Irene. She slashed at Irene as Irene blocked with her staff.
Irene suddenly jumped back as a huge blast of wind struck the spot where she was standing. She looked over at Wendy whose magical power had skyrocketed and her hair and eyes turned pink.
"Erza! I'll help you out! Let's take her down!" Wendy jumped up into the air, coating one of her legs in wind magic before kicking and sending a whirlwind at Irene.
Erza raised her sword up and swung downward, causing a massive arc of flames to be launched at Irene.
Irene's eyes widened as she witnessed the two attacks combined into one.
"Unison Raid?!"
[Heaven Piercing Scorching Fang]
Irene raised her staff up as she was engulfed by a massive explosion of flames that shot up straight into the sky, rivaling the height of the mountains nearby.
Erza and Wendy watched as Irene's figure was seen completely fine inside of the fire as a small barrier had been formed around her.
"No way…she didn't take any damage from that?" Wendy gasped.
Irene looked at the two of them and smiled.
"An impressive attack. If it were another Spriggan you were fighting, they would not have come out unscathed. But you'll have to do a lot better than that. Perhaps I should take you two just a little bit seriously."
Irene tapped her staff on the ground. The ground beneath Erza and Wendy began to glow.
"She enchanted the ground! Jump!" Wendy shouted.
Erza and Wendy both jumped into the air as the ground beneath their feet shot upward, forming a massive spike that pointed diagonally upward. As Wendy and Erza landed on the small mountain sized spike, the ground started to shift around violently.
Huge pillars erupted from beneath their feet. Wendy weaved around them as she launched herself at Irene, with Erza cutting through them to clear a path.
"There's no end to these!" Wendy commented as she was grazed by one of the pillars.
"It doesn't matter how many there are! I'll cut them all down!" Erza slashed through another pillar and leaped up into the sky as another pillar appeared beneath her. Using it as a springboard, she hopped from pillar to pillar as she closed the distance between her and Irene.
"I have to catch up to Erza!" Wendy released a huge gust of wind beneath her feet, propelling her forward. Several more pillars blocked her path as she shot up from the ground.
"Sky Dragon Wing Attack!" As Wendy soared through the sky, she swung down with both arms, propelling herself forward while rending the pillars that blocked her path.
"Let's do this Erza!"
"Yeah!" Erza readied her blade as both she and Wendy were now within striking distance of Irene. A small smile appeared on Irene's face.
"Not bad." Irene said as she raised her hand up.
"Sky Dragon-"
"Burning-"
The two of them suddenly felt a huge force push them down. Wendy fell face first right into the ground as Erza landed on her knees.
"W-what is this?!" Erza exclaimed. "It's heavy!"
"Gravity Magic?!" Wendy questioned.
"Not quite. I merely enchanted the gravity to increase it. You could call it gravity magic, but it's really an enchantment." Irene responded.
"You enchanted a concept?!" Wendy continued.
"Yes, young enchantress." Irene said. "Now be crushed by-"
Irene felt a sharp pain hit her chin, causing her to stagger a bit. Wendy could feel the enchantment had vanished and she immediately stood up. Irene leaped back and wiped the blood from her mouth and glared at Erza who had just punched her.
"Impudent child!" Irene shouted angrily at Erza. 'I should have enchanted a higher multiplier from the start. I underestimated her.'
"She's tough. I'm going to have to attack her with something that goes even beyond my limits!" Erza said. She focused on her sword in front of her and the flames disappeared. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. A look of intrigue formed on Irene's face as she noticed a shift in the air.
Erza changed her stance, putting the sword to her side.
"Haaaah!!!" Erza shouted, her sword began to glow brightly and emit an intense amount of heat.
"What is that?!" Wendy questioned. Irene remained silent but watched without making any movement.
"Wendy! Buy me some time!" Erza ordered.
"Okay!" Wendy charged straight at Irene, gales of wind covering her hands and feet.
"Sky Dragon's Claw Attack!"
Wendy appeared above Irene, delivering an axe kick down onto her. Irene blocked it with her arm but kept her attention purely on Erza.
Wendy punched and kicked at Irene, with Irene remaining on the defensive as she parried away all of Wendy's attacks.
"Out of my way. My interest isn't with you." Irene swiped her hand in front of Wendy just as Wendy was about to deliver another kick. A huge explosion blew back Wendy, her body covered with burns as she flew across the field.
Wendy hit the ground and struggled to get up.
'She enchanted the air with an explosion that powerful…' Wendy thought as she watched both Irene and Erza, unable to move her body, her vision blurring as she started to pass out.
Irene returned her attention back to Erza and her eyes widened as she detected a huge spike in Erza's magical power. A look of intrigue formed on Irene's face.
"What are you up to…"
The ground around Erza suddenly sunk in, forming a small crater.
"Just like he taught me…heighten my senses and power to their utmost limit…concentrate…"
Erza leaped forward at Irene. Irene raised her staff out in front of her and several beams of magic shot at Erza. To Irene's surprise. Erza vanished from her sight and reappeared right behind her with her blade out in front of her.
"Divine Thousand Cuts!"
Numerous cuts formed across Irene's body and blood shot out from the wounds. 'That attack?! It's just like that demon's!'
She momentarily lost her calm composure and quickly turned around only to see Erza had already closed the gap again. Erza swung her sword horizontally, her blade covered in flames. Irene raised her hand up at the blade.
"Not a bad attempt Erza! But now, I'll enchant your blade to make it brittle!" Irene laughed. "Now shatter! Along with any hope you ever had of defeating me my foolish child!"
Cracks formed along Entenka's blade and the flames dissipated. Erza continued with her slash at Irene. Just as the blade was about to make contact with Irene, it shattered into hundreds of tiny shards.
Irene's eyes widened as she saw the shape of a blade still remaining as Erza cut her across her body and her confident smirk turned into a frown.
"Another blade…within a blade?!"
Erza's eyes widened, just as confused as Irene was at what had just happened. Irene took a few steps back, her torso heavily bleeding. Erza looked down at her new blade and she immediately remembered what Meliodas had said when he gave her the sword.
This is called Entenka. Musica said there's some secret about the sword, but I don't know what it is. He said you would eventually figure it out though.|
"I see now…" Irene commented, holding her abdomen as blood dripped between her fingers. "That blade was crafted in the old style, a style I thought was lost after the Dragon King Festival. I don't know who your blacksmith was, but that sword was made purposefully to be able to raise its capabilities based on the will of its user. The flames were a masquerade for that."
"And with this blade, I will cut you down!" Erza leaped at Irene once again.
"No…" Irene's face began to contort with anger. "Your whole existence was nothing more than a mistake! I never should have had you!"
Irene's magical power began to flare up drastically. White scales began to form on her cheeks.
"So now I'll have to kill you! It's the only way!"
Irene let out a shout and a huge shockwave of magic radiated in all directions. Erza was blown back but she landed on her feet. She watched in awe at the transformation Irene was undergoing as red and white scales began to form all across her rapidly growing body.
"She was…a dragon this whole time?!" Erza said with awe.
But it was too late. Irene swiped her massive claw at Erza. Erza raised her sword up in an attempt to block it, only to gasp in pain as she felt all of the bones in her body break. Her limp body went flying, landing far away.
"W-with just one hit…" Erza gasped in pain.
"Let's see you move now." Irene said. "As a Sage Dragon, my power has been amplified well beyond your imagination. I possess the supreme form of enchantment magic, Master Enchant. This power transcends the terrestrial. The land, the sky, the sea, everything of this world. It even affects the heavenly bodies.
"Now, Erza!" Irene looked up at the sky. A small red light flickered in the sky as it grew larger and larger.
"Deus Sema!"
Somewhere out in space, far away from the planet of Earthland, a meteor shifted its trajectory, making its way towards the planet at a high speed. As it rapidly approached, it burned up in the atmosphere, heading straight towards the battlefield.
"N-no…I can't let that hit Fiore…" Erza tried to make her body move, mustering the strength in all of her body.
Suddenly, the black figure of a dragon slammed into the side of the meteor, creating a large explosion that lit up the sky of Fiore. Numerous pieces of rocks left trails in the sky as they fell down to the ground around them. Erza and Irene watched dumbfounded at what had just happened.
"Acnologia?!" Irene roared. "Why would he intercept my attack like that?!"
Out of the corner of Irene's eye, she noticed another small figure flying straight towards the smoke in the sky as Acnologia's figure emerged.
"That demon! Both he and Acnologia already returned?! He must have thrown Acnologia right into the meteor!"
The two of them watched as Meliodas and Acnologia continued their fight in the sky, their figures going far into the distance until neither could be seen again.
"Meliodas is fighting hard to protect Fairy Tail…" Erza grunted. "I need…to do the same as well…"
"Hmph! A minor inconvenience!" Irene's body began to shrink, reverting back to her human form. She picked up Erza's sword from the ground and walked towards Erza. Erza glared at Irene as she struggled to get up as she felt immense pain throughout her body.
As Irene approached Erza, she inspected the blade.
"What a fine sword. This would make for a great personality enchantment."
"Get your hands off that! That was entrusted to me by Meliodas!" Erza shouted.
Suddenly a strange light began to envelop Erza. The pain in her body vanished immediately and her wounds disappeared. Erza immediately jumped up and kicked Irene in the stomach, causing her to drop the sword and skid back. Erza quickly picked up her blade.
"Thank you Wendy!" Erza shouted.
"That wasn't me…" Wendy said, confused.
Erza noticed a confused look on Irene's face as her attention was not on Erza, but behind her. Erza turned her head and noticed a woman with a slender, yet curvaceous physique. She had pale skin and glowing orange eyes with a triskele design where her pupil was. She wore an open backed blue button up shirt with a white neck tie, a short white skirt with slits and a belt, and a long black stocking on her right leg with black heels.
'This woman…why does she look so familiar?!' Erza wondered. 'And what is that godly magic I sense coming from her? Was she the one who healed me?'
"Who are you?!" Irene shouted. 'Who is this woman?! She possesses a magical power unlike any I've sensed before, almost otherworldly. In terms of pure feeling, it's the complete opposite of Meliodas.'
"You're…Elizabeth!" Wendy exclaimed.
Elizabeth looked at Wendy and returned a warm smile to her.
"You know who I am?"
Wendy nodded her head.
"Of course! Meliodas always had one of our guild artists draw pictures of you based on description! You're even prettier in person!"
"Oh…he did that?" Elizabeth began to blush.
"You're really going to have that kind of conversation like I'm not even here?!" Irene waved her hand, creating an explosion in front of Erza. Erza raised her blade to block as she was pushed back towards Elizabeth and Wendy. Suddenly, the air around them burst into flames, engulfing the three of them.
From inside the smoke, Irene could make out a glowing light shape, a crystal-like octahedron.
"There are very few mages who possess light magic of that caliber." Irene commented. "And those who do have had their names etched into history. Yet I have no clue who you are."
Irene's body began to morph once again, reassuming her full draconic form.
'That woman being here just made this harder. And for some reason…' Irene focused her attention on Elizabeth's orange, triskele eyes.
'When I look into those eyes, my will to fight starts to fade…' Irene suddenly remembered the feeling of holding a baby Erza in her arms in the past but she quickly shook the thought.
"So she can transform into a dragon." Elizabeth commented. She raised both arms up above her, infusing a large amount of light magic into her hands.
"Regular magic won't work on her! It has to be dragon slayer magic!" Wendy interjected.
"Then I'll simply hold her in place!" Elizabeth responded. The ground beneath Irene began to glow and the gaping mouth of a light magic created whale opened up from the ground, enveloping half of Irene's dragon body as it attempted to swallow her.
"Passion of Jonah!"
"What is this magic?!" Irene exclaimed. "No matter! You cannot get past my dragon scales!"
"Wendy! Enchant me!" Erza shouted as she charged at Irene. She jumped into the air, holding her blade above her head as she prepared to swing down on Irene.
"I'm enchanting you with dragon slayer magic!" Wendy raised both hands up and pointed towards Erza, causing her blade to begin to glow.
"I'll help out!" Elizabeth pointed one hand at Erza. "Enchant: Ark!"
Erza's blade began to shine bright, with dozens of light particles glimmering brightly around it. Wendy looked in awe at Elizabeth's enchantment.
Irene stood still as the whale held her in place. She could only watch as Erza prepared to slash her body.
"My friends! My family! I won't let you hurt them!" Erza shouted. She cut across Irene's dragon body, bypassing her scales. A large amount of blood gushed out and Irene roared in pain. She began to shrink down, reverting back to her human transformation.
Irene took a knee, holding the wound across the body as blood gushed between her fingers. She looked up, only to see Erza pointing her blade directly at her face.
"Finish me off." Irene said with a smirk. "It would be a fitting end for me if I died to my own blood."
"You're wrong." Erza responded. "I'm not killing you because you're my mother or because you abandoned me. I'm killing you because you are trying to hurt my family!"
Erza put the blade up to Irene's neck. Irene remained still, having accepted her fate. Her eyes were hidden by her bangs, but Erza could not help but notice the smallest of tears going down her face. Erza gripped her sword tight, to the point where her hand began to shake.
"What are you waiting for? Finish me off already." Irene said.
"Wait." Elizabeth put her hand on Erza's wrist and looked at Irene. "You stopped struggling when I held you in place with Jonah's Passion. But with how powerful your magic is, you could have broken free. Why were you holding back?"
"What?!" Erza exclaimed.
A small smile formed on Irene's face. She looked up at both Elizabeth and Erza, tears running down her face.
"I merely had an epiphany. I guess in the end, I didn't have what it takes to kill my daughter after all."