Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus. 

July 6, x790. 

"[Blizaga]." Vivi chanted with his staff raised above his head. 

In the next Instant, an innumerable number of ice shards began to form around Jura before they all exploded into a large glacier reaching fifteen feet in height and just as wide. 

"Don't let your guard down, Vivi." Squall said as he looked into the mist that was created from the rapid cooling of the air. "I doubt that was enough to take him down." 

"I-I know." Vivi said as he started stepping backwards. 

A few moments later, the mist cleared. When it did the aforementioned glacier could be seen sticking out of the ground. However, thanks to the clear ice, both Squall and Vivi could see its interior. And what they saw let them know that Squall's assumption about the fight not being over was true. 

Inside the ice, where Jura had been standing, there were four rock walls obscuring their vision of Jura. And they knew that those ice walls had protected Jura from Vivi's spell. However, it seemed that Vivi's spell had done some damage to the rock walls, as there were a number of cracks that could be seen on the wall that was facing them. 

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* 

Yet, before either Squall or Vivi could react, they heard the sound of something solid being struck. And with each sound of striking, more and more cracks appeared in the rock walls surrounding Jura. 

"[Rock Avalanche]." Jura's voice could be heard from the inside of the glacier. 

*Boom!* 

In the next instant, the glacier exploded outwards, sending chunks of ice in all directions. Along with the ice, pieces of the rock walls were sent flying, as well. 

*Bang!* *Clang!* *Bang!* *Clang!* *Bang!* *Clang!* 

In response, Squall quickly swung his gunblade to deflect the chunks of ice and rock. And with each swing, he pulled the trigger on the gunblade's hilt, causing the sound of a gunshot to accompany each slash, raising the power of his strikes. 

Meanwhile, Vivi once again raised his staff. He then chanted a spell just before any of the chunks of ice or stone could reach him. 

"[Shell]." Vivi said, chanting the name of his latest spell. 

With Vivi's chant, a translucent pink dome appeared in front of him. Pieces of ice and stone then struck the dome. However, they were unable to pierce through the dome. Though, it seemed as if they still caused a small amount of damage to Vivi, who was forced to step back with each strike on the dome. 

"That was impressive." Jura, with his palms pressed together, having clearly cast [Iron Rock Mountain] to defend himself, said while stepping past the remains of the glacier and the rock walls. "It would seem that I am in for a workout." 

Instead of replying, Squall dashed forward with is gunblade drawn back, ready to attack. 

Seeing Squall's actions, Jura smiled. Then he spread his hands and wrapped them in stone gauntlets before taking a fighting stance. 

*Clang!* 

As soon as Jura had taken his stance, he swung his right hand, knocking away Squall's blade with the back of his hand and causing a loud sound of impact. 

*Bang!* *Boom!* 

An instant later, Squall's blade slammed into the ground, causing a small explosion on impact. Yet, Squall was not deterred, as he let go of his gunblade's hilt with his right hand and held it towards Jura's chest. 

"[Fira]." Squall chanted as an ember formed in the center of his palm. 

Reacting quickly, Jura used the back of his left hand to knock Squall's right hand towards the outside of his body just before the spell could activate. 

*Boom!* 

In the next instant, a house on the side of the street was engulfed in a torrent of flames. Unfortunately, Squall was also left wide open, as his arms were spread to either side of his body. 

*Thud!* 

And Jura, as experienced as he was, did not miss the opportunity that moment of opening represented, as he drew his right arm back before lashing out with a palm strike that landed on Squall's sternum. 

*Cough*" Squall coughed up a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying by Jura's attack. 

Yet, that also gave Vivi another opening to attack. 

"[Thundaga]." Vivi chanted as he once again raised his staff. 

In the next instant, the sky above the three wizards was covered in dark clouds that drew the attention of everyone still in the recreation of Shirotsume. And bright streaks of lightning could be seen moving through the clouds. Yet, a few seconds passed and nothing happened. None of that lightning fell from the sky to strike Jura. 

"What's going on?" Vivi asked as he looked up to see what was going on with his spell. 

When Vivi looked up, his eyes could not help widening, as the lightning streaking through the clouds was all moving in a certain direction, towards the recreation of the Everlue Mansion in the distance. 

"How...?" Vivi asked in a disbelieving tone. 

"Viv! Look out!" Squall shouted, snapping Vivi back to the ongoing fight. 

Unfortunately, Vivi's momentary distraction would be his undoing in the Grand Magic Game event. 

"[Iron Rock Fist]." Jura chanted with his right index and middle fingers extended towards Vivi. 

With that, a stone fist, wearing a stone gauntlet, grew from the street in front of Vivi. Then, before the young wizard could chant a protective spell, it struck him in the abdomen, throwing hin back with great force, slamming him into, and through, the wall of a building more than a block down the street. 

At about the same time, in the space above the Everlue Mansion, a web of white lightning spread out in all directions. However, from what anyone could see, no one seemed to be taken out of commission during that spell. Though, it was clear to see that someone had been hit, as a body fell from the roof of the mansion while smoke drifted off of it. And everyone other than the other members of Fairy Tail had no idea exactly who launched it. The members of Fairy Tail knew it was Alfonzo, though. And he had used Vivi's spell to launch one of his own after stealing control of it. 

Back on the street where the fight between Jura, Squall, and Vivi was happening, a light shined through the rubble of the house that was destroyed when Vivi was sent flying into it, signifying that Jura's attack had eliminated him from the Grand Magic Game. 

And although Squall felt terrible to see one of his teammates defeated in front of him, he was experienced and level-headed enough to not let it bother him. Not to mention, if he had, he would have been taken out while distracted, as well. 

*Clang!* 

Luckily, that was not the case for Squall, as he quickly swung his gunblade and deflected another palm strike from Jura before following up with an upward slash to force Jura back. 

"Haste]." Squall chanted once he had a bit of space, causing a magic circle resembling a clock to appear under his feet before the hands started moving forward at high speed. He then chanted his next spell. "[Limit Break: Renzokuken]." 

In the next instant, with his augmented speed, Squall dashed forward. Then, when he was in range, he swung his gunblade down at Jura, who was forced to block with his stone gauntlet. 

*Bang!* 

"Gahh!" Jura groaned as his arm was slammed down into his chest. 

However, because of the additional speed afforded to Squall thanks to the [Haste] spell combined with the extra force from a well-timed trigger pull, Jura was stunned slightly. As a result, Squall was able to land the next six strikes of his [Renzokuken] combo on Jura, damaging him heavily, and surprising the audience in the process. 

A moment later, while Jura was forced to stumble backwards from all the hits he just took, Squall's magic power exploded from his body once again as he dashed forward, this time even faster than the last. 

"[Lion Heart]." Squall chanted as he performed an upwards slash. 

*Bang!* 

Though Jura was able to get his hands up to block the incoming attack from Squall, he was still sent flying up into the air. Unfortunately, because of the force behind Squall's strike, which was much higher than before, Jura felt his arms go numb as he ascended into the sky. 

Even worse, that meant that Jura was barely able to defend himself from the thirty-hit onslaught that followed. Instead, the only thing he could do was move his head and eyes from side to side as Squall bounced between the buildings surrounding the area where they fought and do his best to brace himself every time Squall slashed him. 

*Bang!* 

After the barrage of gunblade attacks ended, Jura fell from the sky, the impact of his fall creating a small crater in the ground beneath him. Meanwhile, Squall landed a few feet away from Jura while breathing heavily. 

"You are ... even more... impressive... than I thought." Jura struggled to say from his spot in the bottom of the crater. 

"Well, I've been trained to fight some of the most dangerous dark wizards. "So, it makes sense I would be able to do this much." Squall replied while breathing unevenly. Apparently, the term, [Limit Break], was not just for show, as he was clearly exhausted from the exertion. 

"And it shows..." Jura said as he raised his right hand in Squall's direction. "But, you under estimate me a little too much. [Rumbling Mount Fuji]." 

Hearing the name of Jura's spell, Squall's eyes widened in surprise. Unfortunately, he was unable to do much more than that before he was engulfed in the light of Jura's spell. Luckily, thanks to Jura's injuries, he was unable to unleash nearly as much power as he had during the preliminary round. Still, with Squall completely unprepared, what he could muster was more than enough to eliminate the Final Fantasy ace. 

"*Sigh* I thought I would be able to go further." Jura said as his arm dropped to the ground. 

A moment later, Jura was engulfed in particles of light before he was also transported to the infirmary to receive medical attention. 

At the same time in another part of the town, Marin was facing off against two of Jura's teammates. And while Yuka Suzuki was wearing a solemn expression, Toby was already dashing forward to meet Marin in close combat. And with his magic, if he were able to land even a single hit, the fight would be his and Yuka's. 

"[Super Paralysis claw: Mega Mega Jellyfish]." Toby chanted as his fingernails grew longer. 

Then, once he was in range, Toby launched a barrage of slashes at Marin. However, despite how fast, or how many slashes he sent her way, Marin managed to dodge all of them with minimal movement. 

"Man, if I hadn't been training with people like Lici, who attacks from all sorts of weird angles with that Capoeira of hers, this would be really dangerous." Marin said as she continuously dodged Toby's claw strikes. 

"Hey! Stand still!" Toby shouted while continuing to attack. 

"Would you stand still if you were me?" Marin asked with a smile. 

"No!" Toby shouted back in a frustrated tone. "But I'm not you. So, stand still!" 

Meanwhile, Yuka could only sigh in exasperation while watching Toby try, and fail, to hit Marin. 

"It's a good thing we ran into her together, though." Yuka muttered while looking up to see Marin basically toying with Toby. "She doesn't really use projectile magic. So, my [Wave Magic] is a little less effective in defending against her. Though, I still think I could stop her if she were to get too close. But with Toby here, I should be able to take advantage of an opening... Just like that one." 

What Yuka saw was Toby, after getting too frustrated, lunging at Marin and flying right past her as she sidestepped. And with all of Marin's attention on Toby, Yuka felt now was the perfect time to make his move. 

First, with a blast of his [Wave Magic] from each of his hands, Yuka fired himself into the air. He then let gravity take hold of him. At the same time, he put the butts of his palms together, aiming them at Marin as he fell. 

"[Wave Magic: Wave Blast]." Yuka chanted shortly before he would have landed on top of Marin. 

At the same time, a transparent energy wave was fired from Yuka's palms, aimed straight at Marin. 

Unfortunately, Yuka, like many other wizards, were unaware of [Magic Power detection]. So, he did not know that Marin had been keeping track of him the whole time. 

"[Transformation Magic: Long Suffering]." Marin chanted as she pointed the blades of her kodachi at the ground in front of her. 

In the next instant, Marin's blades extended at high speed before the tips were buried into the ground. However, that did not stop the blades from extending. Instead, with the ground as an opposing force, they continued to extend while pushing Marin backwards. 

*Boom!* 

Not even a second later, Yuka's [Wave Blast] crashed into the ground cracking it under the force. Then, Yuka, his descent slowed by his spell, touched down on the broken and uneven ground. 

At the same time, Toby regained his footing and dashed towards Marin once again with is nails primed to sink into her shoulders. 

But like before, Marin was ready for the sneak attack. So, after returning Nova to her normal size, the two kodachi transformed back into the bracelets she wore when not in battle. Then, she stepped to her right. At the same time, she grabbed Toby's outstretched left arm with her own left hand, swung him around, and locked his arm behind his back. 

*Zap!* 

Unfortunately for Toby, when his arm was locked behind his back, his extended fingernails scratched his lower back. As a result, Toby felt as if his whole body was shocked when the potent magical paralytic poison smeared on his nails quickly circulated through his body. 

Meanwhile, Yuka, after seeing the way Toby froze up, could not help but start rubbing the space between his extremely bushy eye brows in exasperation. 

"How many times does this make, Toby?" Yuka asked rhetorically. "You really need to find a way to protect yourself against your own attacks." 

Unfortunately, thanks to the paralysis, Toby was unable to answer Yuka. And even if he were able to, Marin had no intention of giving him the chance to. 

*Bang!* 

Releasing Toby's arm, knowing that he would not be able to defend himself, Marin sent a front kick into Toby's back. As a result, he was sent flying in Yuka's direction. Meanwhile, she reverted Nova back into the pair of kodachi and pointed the one in her left hand behind her while she turned her body to the side. 

"[Transformation Magic: Blade Rush]." Marin chanted as the blade in her left hand extended, pushing her forward at high speed. 

Quickly catching up to Toby, Marin swung the blade in her right hand at the back of Toby's neck, hitting him with the flat of the blade and knocking him out in the process. Shortly afterwards, Toby was engulfed in particles of light before being transported out of the arena. Yet, Marin did not stop her forward momentum, as she was still approaching Yuka. 

Yuka, on the other hand, reacted quickly, [Wave Magic] swirling around his hands as he prepared to defend himself. 

"[Transformation Magic: Claws and Fangs of Violation]." Marin chanted as she reverted the blade in her left hand to its normal size. 

Marin then launched into a series of slashes, sweeps, and thrusts while extending and shortening her blades at random intervals. And to his credit, Yuka, with the use of his [Wave Magic], was able to deflect most of Marin's attacks. Even so, with the unpredictability of her attacks, several still made it through his defense. 

Luckily, he was given a slight reprieve when the sky overhead darkened. 

"A storm?" Marin asked as she stepped back just in case a sneak attack came from the thunder clouds above. However, she breathed a sigh of relief when all the lightning in the clouds was pulled towards the Everlue Mansion in the direction where she came from. "Oh, it's just Fonzie." 

Marin was not the only one who was relieved that the lightning in those clouds did not fall on her, as Yuka was thinking something similar. However, when he saw the large web of lightning that spread from above the mansion, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!* 

Unfortunately, that distraction was enough for Yuka to be hit by a sneak attack consisting of a barrage of magic bullets that sprayed over the area where he was fighting Marin. 

Marin was able to dodge the incoming barrage as she had noticed the approaching pair of wizards, though. 

"I only got one." A female voice said from the roof of a building. 

"Well, it's better than none, right?" A male voice replied, though it sounded muffled, as if it were passing through a window, or something of the sort. 

Looking in the direction of the voices, Marin saw Jenny wearing her [Battle Suit], with a pair of vulcan cannons on her shoulder and a minigun attached to her left arm, and kai wearing his space suit standing on top of a nearby building. 

"Kill stealing isn't cool, you know?" Marin asked in an exasperated toen while readying herself for the next battle.