Chapter 74: Dante vs Levy and Gajeel!
Dante was currently waiting for the unlucky two that would have to face him in intense combat. Master Markov told each of the S-class wizards to test those that walked their cave paths, that they were their examiners. It was Dante's responsibility to ensure that whoever stood before him was tested to make sure they were worthy of becoming S-class. Sure, Master Markov did tell Dante to hold back a bit since he could seriously hurt whoever faced him, but the test takers didn't have to know that. Just as Dante started to wonder who he would have to face, he heard approaching footsteps along with voices.
"Just make sure whoever we face, that you listen to what I say. I was the one chosen so that means I am in charge here" stated Levy in a serious tone to Gajeel as the walked into the open area.
"Yah yah just don't get in my way little girl. Leave all the heavy lifting to me" responded Gajeel in his signature rough tone. Hearing these words Levy started to pout as she responded.
"Hey I'm not little! I'll show you" Levy started to say before Gajeel stopped in his tracks. Sensing that Gajeel was on edge Levy became slightly nervous as she continued to speak.
"What is it Gajeel, do you sense something" asked Levy in a nervous tone with how worried Gajeel looked in this moment. She knew from personal experience how strong Gajeel was so they must be unlucky if he is this nervous. Dread filled Levy as it looked like they picked an intense combat path.
"Aww crap, my nose it telling me that we are screwed" responded Gajeel as he visibly sweet since he now knew who they had to face in combat.
"W-who is it" asked Levy in a nervous tone.
"It's your master" responded Gajeel as he started to fall into a combat ready stance. Hearing these words dread filled Levy, this was the last person she wanted to face in battle. Descending now was the best time to reveal himself, Dante stepped out of the shadows.
"I'm sorry you have to face me Levy, it looks like your S-call journey ends right here" stated Dante in an intimidating tone as he used his magic to transform into his Angel Soul Gabriel form. Both Levy and Gajeel could feel Dante's immense magical power radiate from his body. Dante was, however, surprised when Levy confidently stepped forward and started to speak.
"I really didn't want to face you in battle master, but I refuse to lose" stated Levy in a confidant tone that surprised both Dante and Gajeel. Levy wanted to prove herself to her master since he was the one that believed in her, she needed to make S-class to prove herself to Dante.
"I'm surprised with your confidence; you do know I won't hold back just because you are one of my whores right Levy" asked Dante in an intimidating tone as his magical power radiated from his body.
"I know that, and I still say you are going down" responded Levy as she assumed a combat stance before she continued to speak.
"Gajeel listen up and hey" stated Levy since Gajeel ignored what she was trying to say and rushed forward.
"Just leave it to me little girl" responded Gajeel with a smile as he rushed towards Dante. Dante didn't even move from his spot as Gajeel charged right at him.
"Iron Dragon Hard Fist" yelled Gajeel as he aimed a punch at Dante while it was covered in his iron dragon scales. He was shocked when Dante simply caught his fist with his hand without any effort on his part.
"You should listen to Levy, Gajeel. She was chosen over you for a reason" stated Dante before he hit Gajeel in the gut with his own punching attack.
'Heaven's Fist" yelled Dante as his punch charged with holy energy connected with Gajeel's gut, sending him flying backwards. Gajeel went crashing to the ground some distance behind Levy who had a worried look on her face.
"Gajeel! Are you okay" asked Levy in a concerned tone as she rushed over to his side. Dante stood in his spot as he waited to see what their next move was going to be. Gajeel grunted in discomfort as he stood up before he responded to Levy.
"Damn he's stronger than I thought" stated Gajeel in a shaky tone. Levy in response slapped him across the face as she started to speak.
"Of course, he's strong! He's S-class, you can't just beat him on your own" stated Levy in an annoyed tone with Gajeel's behavior.
"Fine, what do you have in mind" responded Gajeel as he accepted the fact that he would not be able to beat Dante on his own. Levy smiled at Gajeel since it seemed he was finally going to listen to her. Dante waited patiently for them as they discussed their plan in a low tone so he could not hear. After a short moment, Levy and Gajeel both stood up and faced Dante with confident looks.
"Are you ready Gajeel" asked Levy in a confident tone.
"Yup I'm ready to go" responded Gajeel as he punched his open palm, clearly excited to test himself against such a strong opponent. Dante smiled in response as he started to speak.
"Alright you two, show me what you got" stated Dante in an eager tone. He hoped that whatever Levy had planned would show him she was worthy of becoming S-class. Gajeel then brought his hands to his mouth as he took a deep breath before screaming his next attack.
"Iron Dragon Roar" yelled Gajeel before his magic burst from his mouth in a powerful tornado that was sent towards Dante. The ground was being torn apart as the powerful blast was rocketing towards Dante who did not move from his spot. Dante raised a single hand towards the incoming blast as he summoned his own magical power.
"Heaven's Shield" yelled Dante as he produced a shield that blocked the incoming blast. Dante smiled as his spell was able to successfully repel Gajeel's attack, the drop in his own magical power was minimal.
"No way he blocked it so easily" stated Gajeel in shock at having one of his best attacks so easily repelled. Dante smiled as he spread his wings wide and took flight, flying straight towards Gajeel.
"You are going to have to do a lot better than that" stated Dante before he charged his fist with holy energy once again before hitting Gajeel across the jaw.
"Heaven's Fist" yelled Dante as he sent Gajeel flying into a nearby cave wall. Levy looked at Gajeel with worry before she heard Dante speak.
"Don't turn your back on an enemy Levy" yelled Dante before he turned around in the air thanks to his wings and sent Levy flying with a powerful kick. Just as Gajeel was about to get back up he was sent crashing back to the ground as Levy crashed into him. While still hovering in the air above them, Dante pointed his palm towards the unfortunate team.
"Heaven's ray" yelled Dante as he sent a powerful blast of holy energy at Levy and Gajeel. Since they were still on the ground, the two of them were unable to react quickly enough. They both grunted in pain as they were sent flying once again as the powerful holy blast connected.
"Damn, he's really strong" stated Gajeel in pain as he finally rose back to her feet. Levy grunted in pain as she did the same before, she started to speak.
"Just stick to the plan" responded Levy still confident that they could win despite being covered in bruises. Dante, still hovering above them in the air, started to speak.
"I really hope this isn't all you can think of Levy. Maybe I was wrong about you, maybe you aren't ready for S-class" stated Dante in a mocking tone, using one of his favorite strategies in battle which was to make his opponent angry so they made more mistakes he could exploit. Levy, knowing Dante well enough to see what he was trying to do, was unaffected by his words.
"I'll prove to you that I am worthy" stated Levy in a confident tone. Dante smiled at her response; he was proud that she saw through his plan to make her angry. Levy then made a few motions with her hands as she summoned her magical power.
"Solid Script Water" yelled Levy as she sent the word water flying towards Dante. Dante smiled as he easily dodged it but was then surprised when the word then burst over his head, drenching his body with water.
"Now Gajeel" yelled Levy happy that the first part of her plan worked. Dante was proud of Levy as Gajeel once again charged at him. She remembered that his got significantly slower if his wings were soaked and now, he could not easily dodge Gajeel as he charged forward.
"Iron Dragon Sword" yelled Gajeel as his arm transformed into a large and jagged steel blade.
This must be another part of Levy's plan Dante thought since she must have known he was too slow to dodge and his Heaven's Shield spell only blocked magical attacks, not a physical one. Bringing his arms up in front of him, Dante grunted as he was pushed towards the ground from the force of Gajeel's attack. Dust was kicked up into the air as Gajeel smiled with confidence since his attack hit its target. His celebration was but short, however, when the dust cleared, and Dante was still standing strong.
"No way! I hit him with everything I had just now" stated Gajeel in shock as his iron sword continued to dig into Dante's arms. Dante smiled back at Gajeel as he jumped backwards while summoning his magical power.
"I think it's time that I step things up a level" stated Dante in a confident tone as he used his magical power before continuing to speak.
"Heavenly reequip, Gabriel's Trumpet" yelled Dante as he used his magical power to summon, he holy artifact to his hand. Bringing the powerful instrument to his mouth, Dante summoned a large portion of his magical power as he prepared his powerful attack.
"Call of Jericho" yelled Dante as he sent a powerful soundwave filled with holy energy straight at Levy and Gajeel. The ground and walls were shaking from the force of the sound blast as Gajeel was about to be hit. To Dante's shock, Levy jumped in front of Gajeel.
"Solid Script, Silent" yelled Levy as she sent the word silent towards the incoming soundwave. Once the word connected with the sound blast, Dante's attack was canceled out. Being caught by surprise at one of his best attacks being repelled, Dante was stunned as Levy performed more magic.
"Gajeel quick while he's still stunned! Solid Script, Iron" yelled Levy as she sent the word Iron at Gajeel who happily ate it. Feeling a massive surge of magical energy, Gajeel stepped in front of Levy as Dante was still recovering from using so much magical power.
"Thanks Levy, now I got a fire in my belly" stated Gajeel in a confident tone as he charged up the majority of his magical energy. His body changed as it was covered entirely in iron dragon scales. Charging forward while radiating an immense amount of magical energy, Gajeel yelled his attack.
"Iron Dragon Club" yelled Gajeel as his attack had much more power behind it than usual.
Levy felt hope begin to swell within her as it seemed Gajeel was going to land a successful attack while Dante was still recovering. Dante simply smiled and shocked both Levy and Gajeel as he supercharged his fist with holy energy and punched Gajeel in the gut. The punch stopped Gajeel in his tracks and took his breath away despite being covered in his iron dragon scales.
"It doesn't matter how powered up you get Gajeel, the difference in our power is still far too great. Strength is not the answer to this trail" stated Dante before he started to barrage Gajeel with a flurry of punches.
"Heaven's Fist Barrage" yelled Dante as his punched Gajeel serval times in quick succession with holy energy. Gajeel grunted in pain as he lost his ability to remain consciousness as he was sent crashing into a wall. Levy looked at Gajeel and became worried, he was out cold. Turning back to Dante, Levy refused to give up.
"What are you going to do now Levy, your muscle is down for the count" asked Dante as he started to walk towards Levy while his holy energy radiated from his body. Levy nervously watched as Dante continued to walk towards her in a menacing way. Dante thought that this fight was just about finished, Levy had put up a good fight, but it wasn't good enough to pass the test. His thoughts, however, were interrupted as he saw Levy smile with victory.
"It doesn't matter if the muscle is out, because it the brains that are going to win" responded Levy as Dante noticed serval words appear on ground in a circle with him at the center. Looking at the various words, Dante realized that they were all various attacks such as fire and lighting and in his current position he couldn't do anything to dodge it.
"Very cleaver Levy" stated Dante in a proud tone as the magical attacks activated and Dante was consumed in a large blast of magical energy. Levy celebrated that her plan had worked, she had really done it.
"Holy crap you actually did it" stated Gajeel in awe as he weakly walked over to Levy as Dante was still being assaulted by Levy's numerous magical attacks. Soon Dante was concealed in a large plume of smoke as Levy responded to Gajeel.
"It wouldn't have been possible if not for you Gajeel, thank you" responded Levy. It was true, her plan only worked because Dante was primarily concerned with Gajeel's strength and didn't consider Levy laying a trap for him. Their celebration, however, was cut short as the smoke cleared and Dante was still standing.
"That was a great plan Levy, you actually hurt me" stated Dante in a proud tone as he continued to walk towards the cowering team. Both Levy and Gajeel looked in horror as Dante walked towards them despite them both throwing everything, they had at him.
"I can't believe it; how can he still be standing after all of that" stated Gajeel in a shocked tone. Levy was shaking in fear as it dawned on her that there was no way they would be able to defeat Dante.
"If you were facing someone a little less durable then that attack would have worked like a charm" stated Dante as he stopped in front of Levy and Gajeel who had all the fight taken out of them by this point. Both of them prepared for Dante's final attack but were surprised when he deactivated his magic and reverted back to his original form.
"Congrats Levy, as your examiner I declare that you pass and will move on to the next portion of the trails" stated Dante in a proud tone that stunned Levy and Gajeel.
"Huh wait I don't understand master, we didn't beat you. How could we pass" asked Levy in a confused tone.
"Well, I was never really testing you two to see if you could beat me in a fight, that would just be unfair. I was testing not your strength Levy but your intelligence, that was the entire reason why I recommended you for S-class" responded Dante with a smile on his face.
"I still don't understand" responded Levy.
"It's simple, I was testing to see if you could come up with a plan where you actually outsmarted me and you did. Take a look, you may have not beaten me, but you definitely damaged me" responded Dante as he drew attention to the bruises covering his body, showing that Levy had inflicted a good amount of damage. Levy was surprised since she didn't notice it at first, but Dante was telling the truth. Had she really been the one to inflict that much damage on Dante?
"Since you were able to outsmart me, you have shown to me you have the intelligence to become S-class. Remember that a wizard's magic isn't often their most effective tool" stated Dante as he motioned towards his head to imply, he was talking about a wizard's intelligence.
"Power without intelligence will lead to disaster every time. The guild doesn't need another Natsu after all. I think for this reason you are more than worthy of being S-class Levy. Now go and win this whole damn thing" stated Dante with a warm smile. Tears started to fall from Levy's face at her master's kind words and praise as she embraced him with a loving kiss. The two of them started to make out for a few moments before Gajeel started to clear his throat. Drawing away from her master's lips, Levy responded.
"Thank you master, I promise I won't let you down" stated Levy in a happy tone. Dante nodded his head as he responded.
"I know you won't, now hurry along you don't want to be late and have Master Markov disqualify you" responded Dante with a kind smile. Waving goodbye to Dante, Levy and Gajeel started to make their way out of the cave. As he watched Levy leave the path, Dante was happy and hoped that Levy would be the one to make S-class. Thinking that he should join the others, Dante started to make his way towards the makeshift base camp.
End of Chapter 74