Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Rosemary Village.
April, x785.
While Alfonzo fought the group of Crow Tengu who were sent to attack Rosemary Village, Erza was confronting the remaining Tengu and their chief, a red-eyed, black-haired woman with black feathered wings growing from her lower back.
Currently, they were all floating over the mountain near the village. While Erza was surrounded by the Crow Tengu. However, with her [Soul Armament] in hand and [Requipped] into her [Heaven's Wheel Armor], Erza showed no hints of fear.
"Why do you attack my people, human?" The Crow Tengu Chief asked in a sharp tone.
"Because you are harming the people of that village." Erza replied. "I offered you and your people a chance to relocate. However, I was---"
"You order us to abandon our home and expect to not be attacked?" The Crow Tengu Chief asked in a mocking tone.
"Where you live isn't the issue." Erza said while shaking her head. "It's the fact that you are harming the people of the nearby village. If you were to promise not to hurt them anymore, this could end without a fight."
"Hehehe…. Hahaha… Ahahahahahaha!"
Hearing Erza's proposal, at first, the chief chuckled. Before that chuckle turned into laughter that quickly morphed into uproarious laughter that echoed throughout the mountain. Then, her laughter ended abruptly as she glared angrily at Erza with glowing red eyes.
"First those humans settle in the middle of our hunting grounds." The chief said disdainfully. "Then, you come here, kill my people, and ask us to not kill the humans who invaded our territory? Don't make me laugh. Because of your insolence, I will kill you and all the humans on the ground."
With that, Erza's eyes narrowed as she tightened the grip on the two swords in her hands.
"It would seem negotiations have broken down." Erza replied while flaring her magic power.
In the next instant, the Crow Tengu Chief cawed loudly. Then, the rest of the Crow Tengu turned towards the village. However, just as they began to move, Erza summoned more swords around her. Then, with one sword per Crow Tengu, she fired all her swords outward at the Tengu surrounding her.
*Swish!*
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*
To Erza's surprise, none of her swords met their mark. The only thing she could see was the Crow Tengu chief's image become blurry for a moment before the sounds of metal clashing echoed through the air and her swords were knocked away in all directions.
'Fast.' Erza said internally.
["Indeed."] Erza's [Soul Armament] Spirit replied. ["You must be careful with this one."]
'I know.' Erza said. 'Luckily, I'm able to keep track of her with no problem.'
Although she could not follow the Crow Tengu Chief's movements with her eyes, Erza was able to keep track of her with her [Magic Power Detection].
"I will not allow you to take the lives of any more of my people." The Crow Tengu said as she raised her spear and pointed its tip at Erza's throat.
Like before, The Crow Tengu Chief's image blurred. At the same time, Erza raised her [Soul Armament] upwards.
*Clang!*
A moment later, the image of the Crow Tengu chief vanished. At the same time, she appeared in front of Erza with her spear deflected upwards and a shocked expression on her face.
"I'll admit, you are very fast." Erza said as she slashed the sword in her other hand at the Crow Tengu's right shoulder. "But you're not so fast that I can't react."
*Swish!*
Erza's slash cleaved from the Crow Tengu chief's right shoulder to her left waist. However, not a drop of blood splattered from the wound. Instead, Erza was forced to spin in place to parry a thrust aimed at her heart from behind. Meanwhile, the cleaved image of the Crow Tengu Chief faded away.
"I see." The Crow Tengu Chief replied while drawing her spear back to parry a horizontal slash. "The first time was no mere coincidence. I wonder how fast I'll have to go to overcome those reflexes…"
*Clang!*
Once again, the Crow tengu Chief moved faster than the eye could follow, leaving another after-image in her place. Then, before it could fade, she swept her spear at Erza's back. And just like before, Erza was able to turn and parry the sweep upwards with both swords, before swinging them down a split second later.
*Swish!*
Once again, Erza cut through an after-image. And just like that, the same song and dance played out several dozen times. The only difference being that the Crow Tengu Chief increased her speed slightly with every failed attempt, slowly overwhelming Erza's reaction time.
Eventually, Erza was even forced to [Requip] back into her [Black Wing Armor], the armor set that provided her the greatest boost in speed, to compensate. Still, she found herself being overwhelmed once again not long later.
*Caw~~~~~~~~~~!*
Finally, after what felt like hours of exchanging missed strikes to Erza, the sound of crows cawing from the distance echoed over the area, causing the Crow Tengu Chief to flinch. Naturally, Erza did not waste the opportunity this presented.
"[Black Wing: Moon Slash]." Erza chanted.
Pushing her magic power to its limit and causing her hair to rise from the pressure, Erza flapped the wings on the back of her armor and propelled herself forward with both her [soul Armament] and her summoned sword held aloft, ready to strike. Then, after slashing her swords in an X-shape, Erza soared past the Crow Tengu Chief, before coming to a stop a moment later.
"Even with that, I missed." Erza muttered as she turned towards the location where she could feel the Crow Tengu Chief's magic power signature.
When Erza next caught sight of the Crow Tengu Chief, she saw her gently rubbing the sides of her neck with her thumb and index finger of her left hand. At the same time, she was staring towards Rosemary Village with a mixture of anger and sadness in her gaze.
"They're dead..." The Crow Tengu Chief muttered with suppressed rage. "They're all dead..."
Then, she turned towards Erza with pure malice in her gaze.
"What did you do?" The Crow Tengu Chief asked, though it sounded more like she was ordering Erza to tell her.
"I've done nothing." Erza replied, ignoring the Tengu woman's tone. "But your forces must have run across my fiancée on their way to the village. And because of your orders, they more than likely ignored his request for them to turn back. As a result, they were eliminated."
"I see." The Crow Tengu replied, lowering her hand from her neck as she did so. "It was your mate who killed my people."
With her hand now lowered, a shallow pair of lines could be seen on either side of the Crow Tengu's fair neck.
"Then, I shall deliver him the same feeling of agony I am experiencing right now." The Crow Tengu said, her magic power increasing with every word. "And since you are his mate, before killing him, I will present him with your severed head on the tip of my spear."
In the next instant, the Crow Tengu appeared in front of Erza, moving at a speed much faster than she had displayed at any time prior. On top of that, her spear tip was aimed at the center of Erza's throat.
Then, before Erza could react, she found herself in her inner world.
Erza's inner world was a space with swords and weapons of all kinds impaled into a vast, desolate play. While in the sky, all of her armor sets floated on display.
"Why am I here at a time like this?" Erza wondered aloud.
"Because this was the only way I could think to save your life." Erza's [armament Spirit] said, her voice coming from above.
Looking up, Erza saw a slender woman with long, smooth black hair, an olive skin tone, vibrant green eyes, pointed ears like those of an elf or fairy, and two pairs of translucent, green fairy wings growing from her back donning an armored black dress with a green skirt, golden shoulder pauldrons, long black gloves with golden bracers, and thigh-high, black, armored, high heeled boots with golden accents descending from among the floating armor sets.
"How will this save my life?" Erza asked, a hint of confusion in her tone.
"I pulled you in here so that you can hear my name." The [Armament Spirit] replied. Then, in a severe tone, she continued. "Because... If you are unable to hear my voice this time, your life will end."
Hearing that, Erza's tone turned solemn, as well.
"Then, tell me your name." Erza replied solemnly. "I will hear it this time."
Nodding in satisfaction, [The Armament Spirit] landed in front of Erza with a plain, unadorned, longsword sheathed on her left hip.
"Before I tell you my name, remember this." The [Armament Spirit] said as she unsheathed the sword on her hip. [If you are able to hear my name, as soon as you return to your body, speak the words that resonate between your soul and my name."
As she finished, the [Armament Spirit] stabbed the blade of the longsword into the ground in front of her, which just so happened to be the exact center of Erza's mindscape.
"Now!" The [Armament Spirit] shouted sonorously. "Here me, for my name is..."
In the next instant, Erza found herself back in her body. Then, she swung her [Soul Armament] at the incoming spearhead.
"[Deliver Justice as Swift as the Wind, Astraia]." Erza chanted as her magic power exploded while wind gathered around her blade, increasing the speed of her swing exponentially.
*Clang!*
In the next instant, to both Erza and the Crow Tengu's surprise, Erza's blade parried the incoming spear before it could pierce Erza's throat. At the same time, thanks to the force behind Erza's parry, the Crow tengu was blown off to the side, along with her spear.
"That was... incredible." Erza muttered while looking blankly at the Crow Tengu in the distance.
A moment later, Erza looked down at the longsword in her right hand. However, instead of the plain, unadorned longsword she had grown accustomed to over the past half a year, she now held a longsword with a green, double-edged blade with golden edges, a handguard that resembled two pairs of green fairy wings, a black hilt, and a golden pommel.
["Now that my seal has been released, you will have the wind at your disposal when administering justice."] Astraia said in a righteous tone. ["Whether it be to cut down our foes, hasten your steps, or defend the innocent, the wind will bend to your will."]
"I see." Erza muttered as she unsummoned the sword in her left hand, while once again focused on the Crow Tengu in front of her.
In the next moment, Erza vanished from where she floated like a gust of wind. However, due to the fact that she was not used to the speed at which she moved, she soared right past the Crow Tengu without even touching her.
"I guess this will take some getting used to." Erza muttered with a slight blush as she turned around to face the Crow Tengu again.
["Indeed."] Astraia replied to Erza's mutters. ["Still, increasing your speed is not the only thing you can do with the wind."]
"Right." Erza replied as her eyes sharpened and she raised her sword overhead with both hands.
["Just remember, an attack without a name is but an empty attack."] Astraia continued. ["Let your soul resonate with your attack. And the name of the spell will come to you naturally."
Listening to Astraia's advice, Erza flowed her magic power into her sword.
Meanwhile, the Crow Tengu was frozen in disbelief. Until now, she had never met another living being who could match her in speed, let alone surpass her. Yet, she was unable to follow Erza's movements with her eyes.
Slowly, the Crow Tengu turned around to face Erza just as the wind began swirling around her blade. At that moment, her instincts were telling her to do whatever it took to get away from the red-haired swordswoman in front of her. However, before she could follow her instincts, Erza swung her sword from the distance.
"[Gale Cutter]." Erza chanted as her sword blurred into motion.
*Splatter!*
Then, before the Crow Tengu could react, the sound of flesh tearing, and blood spraying could be heard. A moment later, she looked around to try and determine from where the sounds originated. That was when she noticed that she was losing altitude. And from the corner of her eye, she saw that a body missing everything above its left shoulder to its right waist was falling next to her.
'Whose body is that?' The Crow Tengu wondered as her vision faded into darkness.
Meanwhile, Erza exhaled a deep breath. Then, she dispelled her [Soul Armament's] released before sheathing her blade.
["Well done, Erza."] Astraia said with a smile if judging by her tone.
"Thank you, Astraia." Erza replied, her lips curving into a smile.
Meanwhile, while floating even higher than Erza, Alfonzo smiled proudly.
"See, I told you I wouldn't have to interfere." Alfonzo said in a boastful tone. "My girl is strong as fuck. Both in mind and body."
["Tch!"] Riot clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"And now, you have to start doing all those anger management exercises I've read about in both this life and the last one." Alfonzo said in a teasing tone.
["Ahahahahaha!"] Bedlam laughed hysterically at Riot's plight.
[Fuck you both!"] Riot roared angrily.