Chapter 41: The Wizard Saints vs Brain!
Dante looked at Brain with anger while he ranted on and on about his plan. Apparently, Brain was going to make Natsu work for him thanks to the power of Nirvana. Looking to his side, Dante noticed that neither Gray nor Lucy appeared to be in any sort of shape to help him out. This shouldn't be a problem Dante thought, he still had plenty of power to deal with Brain and he still had some backup. Smiling as he stepped forward to face Brain, along with Jura. The two of them stood confidently while facing the leader of the Oracion Seis.
"Do you two really think you can compete with me? I was practicing magic long before you knew how to walk" stated Brain with a condescending smile as he tossed Natsu to the side. Dante and Jura did not falter in the least when they felt Brain radiate his magical energy.
"It's you who should be scared Brain" responded Dante with a confidant smile.
"That's right. Today you will face the combined might of two wizard saints" stated Jura as he assumed a combat stance along with Dante.
"The combined power of two wizard saints? Don't make me laugh, I'll so you both how meaningless that title is" responded Brain before he fired a powerful blast of dark magic towards Dante and Jura. Dante was about to use his own magic to dodge when Jura erected a large wall of stone the block the incoming blast.
"Thanks for that" stated Dante as he spread his wings wide, ready to take flight before he heard Jura's response.
"You worry about the offense, leave the defense to me" responded Jura in a determined voice. Dante smiled as he nodded his head, that sounded like a perfect plan to him. He took flight and soared high into the sky in order to gain high ground.
"Heaven's ray" yelled Dante as he aimed his own magical blast at Brain.
Brain was able to jump out of the way and sent a strong magical blast back at Dante. Taking Jura's advice, Dante flew straight towards Brain without trying to dodge the incoming attack. Just before the magical blast hit Dante, another wall of rock was erected and blocked the incoming attack. Reacting quickly, Dante flew over the wall of rock and charged straight towards Brain. He charged his fist with holy energy as Dante closed the distance between Brain.
"Heaven's fist" yelled Dante as he connected a strong punch charged with holy energy with Brain's gut. Brain grunted in pain as he was pushed backwards some distance from the force of Dante's attack.
"Don't think you've won by landing a lucky hit" yelled Brain as he charged a large amount of magical energy.
"Dark Capriccio" yelled Brain as he fired an even stronger dark energy blast at Dante.
Just like before, a rock wall appeared to block the blast, Dante smiled back at Jura in thanks before he mounted his counterattack. Dante flew at Brain and was able to land another heaven's fist attack. Brain was pushed backwards once again and attempted to fire another strong dark energy blast in retaliation, only to be blocked once more. This pattern repeated itself multiple times until Brain was breathing with effort as he sustained a fair amount of damage. Brain was visibly angry, seething with rage as he yelled out to Dante and Jura.
"Enough of this! This ends now! Dark Capriccio Scream" yelled Brain as a supercharged blast of dark energy flew towards Dante. Seeing the power behind this blast, Dante wondered for a moment if Jura would be able to block such an attack. Seeing Dante falter for a moment, Jura called out to him.
"Don't worry about this! I got it, just get ready to deliver the finishing counter attack" yelled Jura before he summoned a large amount of his magic.
Multiple iron rock walls were erected between Dante and the strong dark energy blast. The dark energy blast quickly tore through the erected walls, but Jura was able to replace them as quickly as they were destroyed. Dante smiled as he marveled at Jura's power, he supposed he wasn't made a wizard saint without good reason. Once Brain's attack was gone, Dante decided it was time to show why he was also made a wizard saint.
"Get ready to take him out! Supreme rock crush" yelled Jura as all the ruble from his destroyed rock walls flew towards a stunned Brain. Brain was too stunned from his best attack being blocked so the incoming attack hit its target. As Brain was incased in a tomb of rock, Jura yelled out to Dante.
"Finish him now" yelled Jura as Dante smiled in response. Dante charged up a large amount of his magical power to perform his strongest magical attack in his arsenal. He placed his hands outwards, cupped hands on top of one another as he gathered his holy energy between his hands.
"Heaven's Cannon" yelled Dante as a supercharged beam of holy energy erupted from his hands and shot towards the trapped Brain. Blinding light filled the area as the holy energy blasted away from Dante's hands, the ground shaking from the force. The holy energy enveloped the trapped Brain, blasting him away. Once the smoke cleared, Brain laid defeated on the ground. Exhausted from his attack, Dante dropped out of his angelic form, the fight was won.
"I don't believe it; how could I lose" stated Brain in disbelief before he passed out.
"Damn you two that was incredible" stated Gray as the rest of the group joined back up with Dante and Jura. For a few moments they all celebrated before it was noticed that Nirvana was still making its way to the Cait Shelter guild despite the pilot being defeated.
"Damn it looks like this thing won't stop moving unless we take out the rest of the Oracion Seis" stated Dante to the rest of the group.
Midnight was the only member of the Oracion Seis that remained, but Dante was exhausted from his fight against Brain. Taking a look around, it was obvious that not even Jura had enough strength to engage in another difficult fight. Both Gray and Lucy looked beaten up and exhausted as well. Natsu looked the worst after his fight with Cobra and his ridiculous motion sickness. Looking at all of this, Dante had to sigh in frustration. He would have to leave the rest to Erza, she should be able to handle Midnight.
Some time later, Dante was lying on the ground exhausted and barely able to move. The situation had gone from bad to worse very quickly. Apparently, Brain wasn't the real leader of the Oracion Seis. When all of the Oracion Seis were defeated, Brain's alter ego Zero awakened and made quick work of Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and himself. Dante struggled in vain to rise to his feet as Zero walked away laughing at the fallen Fairy Tail wizards. Despite defeating the six Oracion Seis, it looked like Nirvana was going to succeed in destroying the Cait Shelter guild.
Dante was about to lose consciousness when he heard Hibiki's voice in his head. Hibiki had found out a way to stop Nirvana. Nirvana was powered by seven powerful lacrima and needed to be destroyed simultaneously in order for Nirvana to be stopped. After this, Dante also heard Zero's voice in his head. Zero mocked them saying that their plan was impossible since he was standing in front of one of the lacrima and would not let it be destroyed. Knowing that failure was not an option, Dante along with Gray and Natsu pushed themselves to stand. Looking at Lucy, she struggled to stand but fell to the ground once again.
"Don't worry Lucy, just relax. We got this" stated Dante in order to make Lucy feel better about her lack of strength. Along with all the others in his head, Dante set out towards one of the Lacrima. One of them would have to face Zero and Dante had a good idea on who it would be. Natsu was always a battle crazy idiot and with his strong nose, Dante was sure he picked lacrima number one because he could smell Zero. Dante decided to trust Natsu as he made his way towards his own assigned lacrima.
Dante struggled with each step, his body screaming at him to rest. After what seemed like an eternity of struggling to move forward, Dante was standing in front of a giant lacrima. He waited a few moments until he heard voices in his head from the other's. Everyone had made it to their assigned lacrimas and sure enough Natsu was currently battling Zero. Saying a quick prayer that Natsu would be alright, Dante used the last of his magical energy to transform into his Angel Soul Gabriel form. Charging his fist with holy energy, Dante waited for the signal. At the count of three Dante charged forward and punched the giant lacrima with all his strength while Erza and the other's did the same. At the same time, Natsu was able to overpower Zero and send him crashing into the remaining lacrima.
Sometime later Dante was resting with the others. They were all back on solid ground, Nirvana in ruins some distance away. Some drama broke out when Jellal revealed himself but once it was known he had helped Natsu out against Zero, everyone decided to let him be. Dante made sure this was okay with Erza and she said that Jellal had changed. He trusted Erza so Dante decided that Jellal was okay for the moment. Seeing Sorano some distance away from everyone, Dante walked over to her while the others were still celebrating.
"I'm glad to see you are alright Sorano" stated Dante as he sat next to Sorano. He noticed that she had a sad look on her face.
"I truly don't deserve your kindness master" responded Sorano as she looked down with shame in her eyes. Dante responded by lifting her head and placing a kiss on her lips. The two of them kissed for a few moments before Dante withdrew in order to speak.
"Yes, you do Sorano. You might have made mistakes but that doesn't make you unworthy of love" responded Dante in an understating voice. Hearing his words, Sorano began to cry tears of happiness before she kissed him once again. Sorano then withdrew from Dante and looked into his eyes, her own full of love as she responded.
"Thank you master, I love you" stated Sorano before Dante kissed her sweetly on the lips before he responded.
"I love you too Sorano, but you should" responded Dante wanting to make sure Sorano knows she would not be the only woman in his life.
"I know already about Lucy and the others" responded Sorano as she went on to explain how the Gemini Sprit works. Dante was glad that Sorano already knew, saved him the trouble of explaining himself.
"So, you're okay with that" asked Dante.
"Yes as long as I can be with you, I don't care if I have to share you master" responded Sorano. The two kissed once more before a loud noise interrupted them. The magic council enforcement unit had surrounded them and were demanding that Sorano be handed over to them for the crimes she committed. Dante stood between the small army and Sorano as he responded.
"Hold on a minute, she's changed" stated Dante before he was interrupted.
'We don't care if Angel changed, her crimes must be answered for" responded Lahar, the head of the magic council enforcement unit.
"Her name is Sorano, not Angel" responded Dante as he assumed a combat stance. He was ready to fight for Sorano's freedom but was interrupted by Sorano placing a hand on his shoulder. Dante turned his head to look at Sorano as she started to speak with a sad look.
"Please master don't. He's right, I have to answer for my crimes, and I don't want you getting mixed up in my mess" responded Sorano as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Dante looked into Sorano's eyes and saw that she was determined to turn herself in, this saddened him. He was hoping he could convince Markov to let Sorano join Fairy Tail.
"Sorano are you sure? I don't want you to go" responded Dante. Sorano allowed her tears to fall as she leaned in and kissed Dante. She imparted all the love and adoration she had for her master in this final kiss before she drew apart.
"Yes I'm sure master. Thank you for loving me" responded Sorano before she walked over to Lahar and was put in chains. Dante had to bite his tongue in order to resist the temptation to free Sorano. He supposed this was the right thing to do but it didn't make him feel any better about just letting Sorano go like that.
"Since you're a wizard saint I will overlook the fact that you attempted to stand against justice just now. The magic council thanks you for taking care of the Oracion Seis, good day" responded Lahar in a cold tone before he walked away with the army and Sorano in chains.
Dante walked back the rest of the united guild coalition and found that their moods were no better than his own. Jellal had also been arrested due to the crimes he committed, and no one was happy to see him go. He checked with Erza to see how she felt about her childhood friend being clapped in chains. Erza smiled as she placed a loving kiss on Dante's lips before she told him she would be alright in time. With nothing else to do, Dante and the other Fairy Tail wizards decided to head home. Just before Dante and the rest of Fairy Tail started heading home, Sherry promised Dante that she would visit Magnolia soon.
End of Chapter 41