The official looking people just stared at the group of mages and one esper that had just crashed into the top of Taipei 101..They were in absolute shock as if not believing what they were seeing.
"Who in the hell are you people!!?" said one man who looked American. "What are you doing here!?"
Mikoto sighed. "Listen. I don't know how to explain this, but you people really need to pretend you never saw this and get out of here now."
"Why should we listen to you!?"
Suddenly, Voltress flew by the building, roaring and sparking. The official looking group all yelled and ran to the elevator.
"Thanks Aunt Voltress!" Mikoto said cheerfully waving at the dragon as she flew off into the sky.
"You seem in a better mood." said Lucy with a small smile.
"What can I say? After riding on a dragon's back for the first time...I think I actually enjoyed myself for once in this wrecked up war." said Mikoto with a shrug.
"So where's the gate?" Nicole asked looking around. "Can you sense it anywhere?"
Mikoto nodded. "Hurry, let's go down a floor." Mikoto hurried down into the second floor with the others where they passed through a hall full of projector images that made it look like a forest. They finally made it into a dark room. In the center of the circular room, was a massive sphere held up by extremely tight thick ropes surrounded by a fence.
"That's a Damper." said Mikoto. "It ballances the building to keep winds from toppling it over.."
"I heard if that thing were to fall." said Nicole. "That it would be enough to bring down the entire building with it's sheer weight. We should do this quickly, Taipei 101 isn't a good place to fight..and I'm not sure Argentumias is exactly done yet."
"But I burned him up in the atmosphere!" said Mikoto.
"Trust me." said Nicole. "Something about that Dragon Slayer is really off. And if what he said about Future Rogue is true, I'm starting to think that Argentumias might be a bit like Diablo. Hiding behind a lower rank to mask his true strength."
"Hey.." Natsu muttered. "Anyone else sense that?"
Mikoto stopped and closed her eyes..clearing her senses. Natsu was right, there was a faint magical aura coming out of the damper sphere. Mikoto touched a hand to the sphere...imediately a large aura exploded out of the sphere and Mikoto fell through a that opened up right in the sphere itself.
When Mikoto's vision cleared she was standing right on the top of Taipei 101 on a the disk like structure. A tall spire shot into the sky next to her, the last part of the building that had given it the former reputation as tallest building in the world.
Mikoto gulped, and immediately she let a steady stream of electromagnetic energy leak out, allowing her feet to cling to the roof.
"Careful, don't want to fall do we?" said a familiar cheerful voice.
Mikoto looked to see that Mirajane Strauss was standing next to her, wearing her usual beautiful dress. "It would bad for the world if you were to die of a sudden fall."
"Mira?" Mikoto breathed.
"Oh no.." said Mirajane shaking her head. "I'm a phantom...made to immitate the real thing..I have all the original Mirajane's memories though."
"Makes sense." Mikoto said remembering Phantom Erza. "So, I'm guessing that you are here to test me?"
"Mmhmm." said Phantom Mira with a cheerful smile. "However..while Erza's phantom was there to test your will and resolve..I will be testing something a little different.."
"Really?" Mikoto asked. "What?"
"Why.." Mira's face suddenly had a sinister demonic look to it as her body began to glow with a purplish aura. "Whether you can finally come to terms with the darkness within you of course.."
Mira's body suddenly began to change in an explosion of magic power. She now wore demonic looking red unitard and red boots she had a large demon tail and scaly talons on her arms. Her ears were pointed and her eyes were red. Her wild hair waved in the wind as she grinned with her fanged teeth. "Only those who have come to terms with their darkness can truly defeat a demon!"
"Satan Soul.." Mikoto said. "Well if it's a fight you want...come and get me!!!"
Mikoto's wings burst to life as Mira opened up demonic leathery wings of her own and launched herself at Mikoto.
Mira smashed into Mikoto and the two fell off the tower, pummeling and bashing at each other as they fell. Mikoto's lightning engulfed fists managed to pummel Mira off of her and she lashed a hand out, using electromagnetism to pull herself to the side of the building as Mira flew into the sky with her wings and began to soar back for another powerful charge.
Mikoto dashed along the side of Taipei 101 with Mira in hot pursuit.
Mikoto puffed up her cheeks as she ran, her feet letting out sparks. "ROAR OF THE THUNDER DRAGON!!"
Mira thrust out her claws. "DEMON BLAST!!!"
A dark blast of energy collided with the beam of lightning power, creating an explosing that rent the air with unimaginable power. The sky seemed to turn dark purple as Mira's demon aura began grow.
Mira growled and grinned as she began throwing more dark energy blasts at Mikoto who was now dashing vertically up the building and dodging of Mira's moves.
Mikoto bent her legs and propelled herself off the building, engulfing her entire body in lightning at the same time, colliding with Mira's body in a massive tackle.
Mira blocked the tackle with her arms crossed together. "You're strong Mikoto...but you haven't come to terms with your inner darkness...unless you first confront your demons..you'll never defeat this demon!!!"
Mira engulfed her scaly fists in dark energy and began pummeling Mikoto in mid air, She then let out one final massive punch and Mikoto was blasted through one of the floors of Taipei 101, Mira landed inside the building and the two of them went smashing through office walls and areas, causing many surprised workers to run out in panic...
"ROOOOOAAAAARRRR!!!!" Mira let out a demonic monstrous cry and began to punch Mikoto again who closed her wings overself.
Mira was blasted out as the electric shocks exploded outwards with incredible force.
Mikoto dashed at Mira again and her wings turned into two ginormous fists. The electric fists punch and pummeled at Mira with the speed of a minigun as the demonic girl dashed out of the way in a blur of speed.
Mira suddenly appeared in front of Mikoto, she smiled again as she mashed her fist against Mikoto's face and she flew and tumbled across the floor blowing up an office printer. Mikoto recovered quickly and reformed her wings, blocking Mira as she le loose another punch at her face.
"ROAR OF THE THUNDER DRAGON!!" Mikoto spread out her wings and let a beam of lightning fly from her mouth, but again Mira dodged and let out a powerful roundhouse kick at Mikoto's gut.
Mikoto flew through the room exploded against several more computers and office equipment. But like before she got up quickly and launched herself at Mira. "DEMOLITION FIST OF THE THUNDER DRAGON!!"
A massive fist of lightning blasted out at Mira. But Phantom Mira held out a demonic claw and stopped the blast as easily as Touma would have with Imagine Breaker.
"Like I said before." said Mira. "Stop holding back your demons Mikoto...If you wish to truly defeat me...you must hold the darkness not at bay...but within your complete control...or it will consume you eventually!"
"My darkness?" Mikoto murmured. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about." said Mira. "And until you remember you know, you are merely food for this demon right here! DEMON BLAST!!!"
A massive black energy sphere shot out of Mira's hand and Mikoto closed her wings over herself blocking the blast. Mira suddenly jumped to the cieling and kicked off from it, landing behind Mikoto and taking her with another roundhouse kick. Mikoto flew through more walls until she was out the other end of the building.
Using static electricity from her wings. Mikoto pulled herself back to the wall of Taipei 101, dashing up vertically again as Mira flew out from the building and fired energy blast after energy blast at her.
Mikoto leaped from sided to side of the building and dashed quickly as more and more windows shattered from Mira's powerful blasts. Mikoto did a flip and her wings turned into large hands again, grabbing the edges of one of the shattered openings and pulling her straight into the second floor of Taipei 101. Mikoto jumped aside as Mira flew in and launched herself forward, smashing her electrically charged fist straight into Mira's gut. Mira crashed through a bunch of glass cases full of jewlery and jade objects.
"Not bad!" said Mira. "But your demon in you still consumes your true strength!!"
Mira suddenly glowed with even more powerful light...her wings dissapeared in replacement of a long cape. She grew ginormous ram's horns and she now wore a white suit and her claws and feet were black as night..
"Satan Soul: Sitri.." Mikoto said with shock. "The ultimate demon!"
"I am not your Mirijane..." Phantom Mira said with a demonic smile. "Know that I won't hesitate to use my full strength!!!"
And with that Mira attacked with even more ferocity. She came at Mikoto with even more speed then before, and before Mikoto had time to block with her wings, she let out a powerful uppercut, Mikoto flew into the cieling and her wings dragged around the area, creating gashes in the large room until she flew into the hallway leading to the Damper ball.
Mikoto got up panting and jumped out of the way as Mira shot in like a bullet and her black clawed fist smashed into the damper. The damper cracked and Mira's hand went straight through. Mira pulled her hand out and smiled again. "Getting quicker are we...? Well I'm afraid that's not going to be enough!!!"
"My inner demon.." Mikoto said. "I understand now...but what you're talking about cannot be controlled..it's a force of destruction!!"
"That's what they said about me..or the real Mira when she first discovered her demon powers." said Mira. "But we can either choose to let the demons consume us eventually, or we can use them and protect our friends and family with all our might!"
Mira's body began to charge up more and more power, purple aura began radiating around her as she raised a hand into the air, a black energy sphere forming there. "So what will you do Mikoto Misaka? Continue to hold it back, letting it consume you from in? Or let out, and control it? Use it to destroy Dravis utterly...use it to protect Natsu, Lucy, Touma, Elli and all your friends!?"
"I choose to.." Mikoto murmured. "I choose..."
Mira threw the black energy sphere at Mikoto. The blast closed in on Mikoto as her right eye suddenly turned pitch black and her iris's turned white and bright as the moon.
A massive burst of black lightning exploded outwards. The demonic blast was swiped away by a bursting black plasma talon as Mikoto stood up. Her wings had solidified into black plasma. A black electric tail was twisting and slamming the ground behind her. Dark black horns grew out of her forehead.
"I CHOOSE TO PROTECT EVERYONE!!!!" Mikoto screamed as her body began to radiate more black Level 6 lightning...
"This is.." Mira's eyes widened. "You are actually controlling it!"
Mikoto screamed and launched herself at Mira, punching her black plasma talon into Mira as she punched her black talons at the same time, causing a massive shockwave to radiate outwards at the same time.
The force from the shockwave ripped apart the ropes holding the Damper ball, and the sphere fell...and further the sphere fell, down through every floor of the building as one by one every floor collapsed with it. From the outside people stared in amazement as Taipei 101 collapsed before their very eyes.1
Natsu, Lucy, Elli, Nicole and Happy who had been evacuated out of the building when the fighting had been heard looked with shock at the building as it continued to crash downwards.
"MIKOTO!!" Elli shouted. "NO SHE HAS TO MAKE IT!!"
"LOOK!!" Lucy shouted.
From the dust of the ruined building two figures shot out of the dust, one was glowing with powerful demonic energy while the other was crackling with an infinite amount of black lightning.
Mikoto and Mira shot at each other in the air, when they connected a massive blast of black lightning and dark energy exploded outwards, causing the wind itself to blow rubble into the air.
Mikoto and Mira rose higher and higher into the air their fists moving like bullets as they continued to attack each other.
Mikoto gritted her teeth. This power...it hurts....its painful...but I will dominate it...for the sake of everyone!!
Mikoto screamed, and her body turned completely black with crackling electrical plasma as her wings began to shoot out black square plasma rings.
Mira flew back, stunned at the sheer power. "You...you are stronger then any S class mage..you truly have come to terms with your darkness."
Mikoto thrust out her arms as around her the wind itself began to twist and turn in powerful twister. Electromagnitsim gathered power around her as cars, busses and many other metal objects began to swirl around her. Mikoto opened her mouth, and within her white fanged plasma mouth a black electric sphere of energy began to grow larger and larger.
Finally when the sphere had grown to the size of the Damper ball itself, all the metal objects dropped out of the air and the wind died down..there was a silence.
"ROAR OF THE ESPER DRAGON!!!!!"
The black sphere turned into a ginormous black energy blast that engulfed Mira with a tremendous force unlike any ever seen on planet Earth...a blast so powerful even Diablo Etwatia would have staggered back in shock. As Phantom Mira was engulfed in the blast, she smiled and a tear came out of her eye. "Continue to soar...Mikoto.."
Mira's body glowed with an extremely powerful light and Mikoto's sight whited out.
When Mikoto opened her eyes, she was no longer level shifting. She was standing in what seemed to be a dark faded area surrounded by dark purplish mist...Mira was standing in front of her, back in her normal form.
"You've come so far.." said Phantom Mirajane. "And you've done so well. Finally you have dealt with your darkness...and I could say that the real Mira could not be prouder then she would she would be now.
Phantom Mira put a finger to Mikoto's forehead. Immediately Mikoto felt a burning sensation on her chest. and right next to the flame mark she had recieved from her first trial, a ghostly demonic purple face appeared, small and unnoticeable like the flame mark.
"Your final trial awaits you in London." said Mira. "And remember...hold your friends closer..and the darkness has that much less of a hold on you.."
Mikoto smiled. "I'll remember that...I always will...
And with that, Phantom Mira dissapated into gold dust and Mikoto's vision whited out once more.