บท 39: Chapter 40: Ominous Alliance Part 4
Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331
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-Ishgar, deep within the mountains-
Was he wrong in his actions? While flying through the air, the saying kept rethinking about his past actions again and again. Recalling his friends' reactions and those around him, the angered voice of Natsu and the betrayed look within Erza and Lucy's eyes. Some parts of him hoped that at least one of them would understand his actions, to realize why he was going so far in the first place. It's not out of ego or an irrational fear of the Oracion Seis, but because he wanted to keep them safe from being around him in case he lost control again.
'It should be around somewhere, but why can't I sense any unique signature?'
He mumbled to himself, having flown at low altitude for the past half an hour, circling the wide mountain range and vast dense forest below him in search of any clues as to where these people were hiding. 'I should have kept quiet for a bit longer. At least I would have gotten more information about their location before setting off,' he thought, frustrated at his lack of forethought.
The main reason for his change in behavior back then was mostly fueled by his former quest memories coming back to him and the fact that a guild would actually send a frail child into such a dangerous environment. It reminded him of the kids in the Tower of Heaven. Come on, regardless of how much power she possessed, he could not see himself ever forgiving himself in case his anger accidentally hurt her or anyone else in the group for that matter.
'I'll check over there,' he said while looking into the distance. Most of the area had been scouted, and he found no traces of this guild of powerful magic users. He only stumbled upon the side of a small village, with small tents perched here and there. There was no way that could have been the Oracion Seis headquarters. Not to mention, he only managed to sense a single key signature in such a big area, an entity who also sensed his presence and tried to create an illusion of multiple people roaming around for some reason. He didn't bother to check it out and just continued to search. Wasting any more time would mean that the group he put down could recover and make their way towards him.
A couple of minutes soon passed by, and Broly finally found a possible sign of the location of the dark guild's base. Landing on an empty piece of land, he gazed into the distance where he sensed for a brief moment someone's key signature appearing and disappearing in a matter of an instant, powerful enough that it couldn't have been a mere passerby or even an animal. And the scent was a big sign as well; his nose twitched as more and more familiar scents started to be picked up by his nose. 'That scent… It smells familiar.'
He racked his brain on where he remembered that scent but coming up with nothing. It smelled similar to a snake now that he thought about it, but he was certain that he had never encountered such a creature in the past, and this one in particular shared a similarity with Natsu's energy. But he wasn't sure if that was true or if he just made a mistake, given it happened so quickly. Without wasting any time, he carefully continued forward, his eyes now fully surveying his surroundings.
Before he could advance any further, a loud bang echoed all around him, and his face impacted a large invisible wall that appeared out of nowhere. "What?" he exclaimed, momentarily shocked, holding his nose which actually hurt. His hand touched something he couldn't see—an invisible wall that he hadn't sensed somehow, one capable of escaping his senses. "What is this? This is the first time I've seen such a form of magic," he whispered, looking within his memories to recall any kind of magic that resembled this one. Yet the only time something came ever so close was during the Tower of Heaven, where his mind was being assaulted by some entity.
"This one feels different," he noted. Not only was it more powerful, but it truly could not be detected by his senses even as he stood before it, as if it were a piece of glass rather than a spell. Broly frowned before applying more force, his muscles tensed, yet no cracks showed upon the barrier. "Ha!" Transparent key gathered around his body, condensing sharply around his arms, turning from raging wisps into a dense small marble. The wind howled from the dense energy that he was forming.
The surrounding tree branches broke off due to the wind pressure generated from his technique. This entrance, coupled with his following action, would definitely catch the opponent's attention; heck, whoever created this barrier most likely already knew he was here and perhaps thought that this would have been enough to keep him away. Broly concentrated, the transparent marble turning into a light green construct with overwhelming energy. His focus went into ensuring that this attack wasn't as powerful as it could be; quite the opposite, he made sure that, along with the barrier, it wouldn't accidentally destroy the entire mountain range. Taking a strong stance, his feet dug into the ground, he thrusted his open palm where the green marble was hurled straight into the barrier.
Bang!
This action was followed by a thunderous roar, a shockwave that expanded from his position all the way outwards, uprooting the surrounding trees within intense green light illuminating the area. The shield broke into millions of pieces in an instant, looking like shards of glass that rained from the sky and finally showing him what lay beyond it.
"So it was an illusion as well," he remarked. The once empty and quiet expanse of forest and deep greenery now had an additional sight—a large town, bigger than anything he had seen before. Even from afar, the strange presence it carried along with the amalgamation of so many energy signatures gathering at the center caught his attention.
"That must be the dark guild's headquarters," Broly said, taking a deep breath as he finally found his target. He looked down at his hands, having them held up into fists before his vision sharpened. And in an instant, the aura around him grew twice the intensity before he rocketed towards the sky, heading straight towards the strange ruins in the distance overgrown by vegetation.
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"I can't believe we're stuck in this situation," the young man exclaimed, sitting in the middle of a rundown temple-like building. He grunted with anger as his fellow guild members listened quietly, neither one of them betraying any emotion upon their faces, a few looking no different than mindless puppets.
"We've helped that bitch with her experiments for the past few days without saying a word or any resistance, yet she keeps treating us like random fodder. Who does she think she is?"
The man, with tan skin and a slash scar across his right eye, seethed with fury. A dark blue snake, larger than any python within the forest, slithered around him, its tongue licking his face as it seemed to try to comfort him. His hands were going to rub the lower part of his neck, where a mark was present, glowing with power that kept both him, and those affected loyal.
"A safe measure she says, no different to a fucking slave brand."
"Keep your voice down, Cobra. You don't want the others, and worst of all, Mistress to hear us. You don't want to get crushed by another wave of that gravity magic of hers," warned the second person in the area, a large man towering over many members of the dark guild. His skin looked no different, holding orange hair, wearing a black robe and even darker eyes.
Easily the tallest amongst everyone he knew.
"We wouldn't want her to overhear our conversation, I've had enough of having my bones threaded to be turned into dust for a day." he continued.
Cobra's teeth gritted against one another. "Why the secrecy? I just don't understand her motives, she wants us to continue operating and behave as if she wasn't here to begin with. The audacity! She's looking down on us and barely thinks we are of any threat to her!"
"You know why. You don't need me to answer that," came the reply from the wood-faced man. "You can always ask her, though I'd advise against it."
Cobra couldn't argue against Hoteye,
remembering the day when everything went to complete chaos. That woman appeared out of nowhere, back when they were still planning their next move against the upcoming battle with the guild. The eventual outcome was inevitable, given how active the Balam Alliance was becoming. It was only a matter of time before the Magic Council would notice their activities and take action. Brain, their leader, kept talking about his final project, the goal they had been working towards for years, ever since he and the rest managed to escape alive from the Tower of Heaven.
Nirvana, which was nearing completion, suddenly came to a halt the day when that woman showed up in the middle of their headquarters, strutting around casually as if she owned the place and disregarding their presence in less than a second. He still remembered the gaze she gave him and the others, looking at them as if they were no more than mere insects. It angered him, fueling his frustration, and both he and Hoteye were the first ones to attack her. And that was all he could recall, as the next thing he knew, Cobra found himself waking up on a comfortable bed in the infirmary. Racer, Angel, and Brain were alongside him, some even asking how he got injured in the first place. But before he could answer, their leader forced everyone out of the room except for himself, Cobra, and Hoteye.
"What the fuck do you mean by a failsafe!? You're telling me a random nobody appeared out of nowhere, and set a spell on us to keep everyone under control!? This is bullshit!" Even if Brain was their leader, some even going so far as to call him a father figure, the truth about what happened and how Brain not only bowed his head but completely allowed the woman to do as she pleased took him by complete surprise. "We can take her on! All seven of us will go up against her, and surely that would be more than enough to take her down. Don't underestimate a Dragon Slay—"
"Enough, Cobra," Brain said sternly, his staff hitting the ground with a loud thud. "No one is submitting to her, not you, me, or anyone else for that matter. We are members of the Oración Seis. It's not some random mage who will defeat us so easily." That statement fortunately made the man feel a sense of relief; at least their leader hadn't completely lost his mind.
Hoteye spoke next, "But we also cannot overlook the fact that this woman is dangerous. I have gone through many records and old information from the past, and no one comes close to matching her description. She wields too many different types of magic for us to pinpoint her origin and possesses more power than all of us combined. These marks don't make things easier, but rest assured, it's only a matter of time before I figure them out."
"You've got to be kidding me. So what if she has so much power? I'll surround her with poison and kill her from the inside! Nothing me and Jubelius can't take care of given she's not marked." Cobra declared. The snake showed up on cue and reinforced his words by hissing menacingly. A smirk grew on his face as he petted the animal, his partner who always had his back no matter what.
"I am not doubting your prowess, but we are merely taking a more cautious approach. Don't forget where we are standing; a battle with enough damage to its surroundings could ruin the integrity of Nirvana or push us far behind, meaning we would have to basically start over. I don't need to remind you how much effort and resources we went through to find this contraption and put it back into working order. That is why we must be very careful," Brain explained patiently, the mark around his neck just as visible as his own.
It felt disgusting, like if he was dragged back into the Tower.
What a crappy situation, he thought. He was once again taken aback at how their leader was also trapped like him. If he had to say more, he'd even mention how scared the man sounded as well. It was so strange to hear it from his tone, but it was definitely there, a hint of fear.
"Regardless, only we are aware of her presence in the alliance from what I'm seeing. The others believe that you ran into some highly powerful mages sent by the Magic Council and defeated them, but the resulting battle led you to become injured and in this state." Hoteye continued. "For someone so fearsome, she must have a high bounty somewhere, it's only a matter of time before we drown in money. This reminds me about that one time I went out hunting for some petty thief…"
And just like that, the man started to ramble about his past exploits and ways of earning money.
The young man didn't pay him any attention anymore, focusing on the first part of the conversation. Now that he thought about it, just moving around felt like a chore, his limbs protesting as he tried to get up from the bed. "Why?" was all he asked about Brain's handling of things. Why not just reveal it to everyone and have them join hands together like they usually would and come up with a solution without needing to damage Nirvana?
While dark guilds in general weren't known to physically help one another, surely an entity like Grimoire Heart could spare a few of their elites to help out.
"You will listen to my orders. I am in no need to explain everything to you, but know that it's for our cause. For now, our little guest is preoccupied in the lab. She doesn't seem like someone sent by the Magic Council. As far as I've gathered so far, she's actually accelerating the recovery process of Nirvana and its rate of energy accumulation."
"At this rate, the entire structure will be operational in a matter of days," he remarked. A twisted grin appeared on his face, a familiar sight of greed and malicious intent surfacing in his eyes as he plotted out their next move. "We will continue to let her work on her own. You pretend to follow her orders and reap the fruits of her labor at the end. This is not a chance we can pass up! And once we get what we came for, she will truly understand what it means to cross us. We will show her the true meaning of death and pain."
Truth be told, Cobra didn't like that plan, if he had to be honest. It seemed far too troublesome, and keeping this matter secret sounded almost humiliating. But he didn't have much of a say, as Brain had already made his decision. The only thing he could do was clench his fists and follow through with his plan.
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"Who are we fighting against in the first place? Did you manage to gather any useful information?" Cobra asked Hoteye, the latter humming and scratching his chin with amusement.
"From what I've gathered so far, I do not have any definitive answer aside from that being 'Cait Shelter,'" Hoteye replied.
"Cait Shelter?" That was the first time the Dragon Slayer ever heard of such a guild. It must have been a small one, barely known by most of the masses in Ishgar. Perhaps Midnight knew more about them, that sleepyhead, despite spending his entire time sleeping, knew a lot more than one would expect from him.
"Other than them, the other members most likely will be from Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, or perhaps even someone from Sabertooth. Basically, those who are amongst the top strongest guilds currently will send a representative to participate in this quest. I'd advise you to be prepared to face S-Class Wizards."
The Dragon Slayer scoffed.
"S-Class? Low class, middle class, average, powerful, S-Class, or whatever other kind of class these idiots have! Come on! We all know they are mostly all talk and no bark. I doubt we will be dealing with truly dangerous opponents, and don't forget we are people who can handle Wizard Saints without any issues," Cobra exclaimed with a hint of arrogance.
"You forget we've never actually fought a Wizard Saint. You shouldn't underestimate them so easily," Hoteye cautioned.
Unfortunately for Hoteye, the young man was not willing to listen to his advice. "If these people were truly that powerful, then they wouldn't have allowed for the existence of the Tower of Heaven. The fact that it took a complete stranger to crash-land there and destroy speaks volumes of those who people call the strongest wizards in the world," he asserted.
At that, both of the dark guild members went quiet as Cobra slowly started to reminisce about his past. Back when he wore nothing but torn rags and walked barefoot upon sharp gravel. His body littered with bruises and cuts, malnourished from what little they were fed. Only for one day their lives to become a tiny bit more manageable as a large man crashed into their abode.
At first, the little boy back then was happy with his arrival. He made things more bearable, along with everything else, and temporarily made him forget that he was living in hell back then. For the first time in years, longer than he could recall, his stomach felt full; he was finally satiated. Even though they rarely interacted with one another, given that he mostly spent his time around another group of kids, Cobra never truly got to know the guy.
'And even he ended up betraying all of us,' he thought with pure anger, recalling how out of nowhere, the entire tower started to shake beneath his feet. A large tsunami of energy washed over everything else and nearly drowned his senses, crushing his body. If it weren't for his quick actions and the help of many, he would have been swept away and ultimately killed by the imminent explosion that destroyed the tower.
As he gasped for breath from the water's surface, trying not to drown, he recalled seeing the green figure of the man who he once admired, now looking downwards with an expression of pure anger, having destroyed everything Cobra held dear. At that moment, he wanted to know why he had done so, why he had killed those he had helped prior for no reason. But he didn't have enough energy, ending up falling unconscious and soon waking up near the shoreline with Cubelius tightly nestled around his wrists.
Those memories still haunted him till this day.
"At the end of the day, they are all the same. No one truly cares about us and only wants to gain something in return. And when they don't get it, we are of no use to them anymore."
"…"
Hoteye didn't say anything, staying quiet. Both observing the stars in the sky from their vantage point. Despite living in what was basically a ghost town with an eerie atmosphere, everything was surprisingly peaceful up there. If only that witch wasn't present, he and he would have truly been in a good mood.
"Hm?" As soon as he tried to close his eyes, Cobra's senses suddenly went wild. The man quickly got up from his spot and stared around in stupor, his hair rising, goosebumps spreading across his skin, sensing danger.
"What is going on?" Hoteye asked, noticing his reaction and getting tense.
"Enemy attac—" Before he could even finish his sentence, a powerful beam of green light descended from the sky, crashing onto the side of the city and destroying a few buildings instantly.
{Break}
"What the hell!?" shouted one of the Oracion Seis guild members with shock. A long-faced man with blond and black hair; the blonde, central part of his hair being styled in a long, spiky mohawk.
Known to be the fastest member due to his Slow Magic.
Just a few seconds ago, he was making his way down the road, heading to his post, having patrolled the area after the orders given by Brain. But out of nowhere, he was pushed away by a shockwave powerful enough to destroy the surrounding buildings with little issue. A pained shout leaked out of his mouth as his back struck a crumbling concrete wall. "Gah!" he exclaimed, his ears ringing and limbs shaking. Racer immediately knew what was going on. They were being attacked!
"The Guild Alliance set up a surprise attack upon us, having arrived much earlier than anticipated!" the appearance of their most trusted members. Yet for an attack to have occurred this early on, it only meant she had failed. "Damn it!"
Cobra, Hoteye, and Midnight would normally come over to see the intruders, but Racer was confident he alone was more than enough to handle whoever these intruders were. "You have a lot of nerve, attacking our guild so openly without a plan. Heh, I was honestly hoping for you all to approach us from the forest and for me to hunt you… all… down one by… one…" Slowly but surely, Racer started to lose his voice as the dust cleared.
The prior confidence and arrogance were soon replaced by confusion and disbelief. His eyes behind the glasses widened with stupor as what appeared before him was not a group of people, but rather a single person.
A tall, buff man landed on his knees before slowly getting up, his figure towering over Racer and perhaps even taller than Hoteye himself. But that wasn't the part that made Racer react like that. As soon as he saw the man before him, he recalled his last moments in the Tower of Heaven before everything turned dark and he was rescued by Brain.
The image of a furious monster surrounded by pure power, releasing his fury upon everyone around him and destroying the entire landscape. The one who nearly killed him and everyone else. "It's you!" He said with pure hatred in his voice, unsure whether he should feel lucky or unlucky to finally encounter him once again. "You'll pay for what you di—!?"
His words were cut short as Broly's towering figure blurred before his eyes and reappeared in front of him in less than a second, no different from instant teleportation. To someone like Racer, who found himself facing the shadow of a large fist merely a couple of centimeters away from his face.
"Like hell I'll let you!" Utilizing his power to the fullest, a large amount of Ethernano gathered and absorbed his body, the giant's fists before slowly losing speed and giving him a small window of opportunity to dodge it right in time. Broly's speed slowed down to a snail's crawl while Racer's remained the same, allowing the mage to go back in and deliver a devastating kick to the Saiyan's head.
"You've come here to finish the job, haven't you!? Too bad you're too slow! Humph, who would have thought that a monster like you would have been given a place in any regular guild!" Racer said as another magic circle appeared next to him, "Dead Grand Prix!" summoning a bike. Getting on top of the vehicle, he revved up the engine and headed straight for Broly. Pulling his body weight backward, the upper tire struck the man's face.
"Don't even think about avoiding me!" Racer shouted triumphantly as the tire connected with Broly's face, causing the Saiyan to stagger backward under the impact. The force of the blow was followed by a second impact with the back wheel as he rotated around, bashing his opponent to his knees. The combo rattled nearby buildings and caused debris to fall from the crumbling structures.
But Broly was not one to be taken down so easily. Despite the blow to his face, he quickly regained his footing and glared fiercely at Racer. With a menacing growl, he unleashed a wave of energy from his palm, sending it hurtling towards the approaching mage on the bike.
Racer's eyes widened in surprise as he realized the danger he was in. With a quick burst of speed, he veered sharply to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast as it sailed past him, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. "What the hell…"
Even if he was slow, those energy attacks still held a lot of power. He couldn't help but gulp as the upper half of a two-story house was instantly destroyed.
The mage gritted his teeth as he fought to maintain control of the bike, his heart pounding in his chest as adrenaline surged through his veins. He knew he had to keep up the pressure if he had any hope of defeating this man. "Damn it, if I don't end it soon then the others will get here."
As he continued to dodge and weave through the chaos, Racer's mind raced with thoughts of strategy and tactics — he went back in.
"High Side Rush!" He moved his hand towards the target, generating a multitude of spinning tires to appear and attack at high speed. Each attack reaching the target, staggering Broly backwards with his moves unable to block all of them in time.
Racer's magic dampened his perception of time enough that any attempts of blocking or deflecting effectively became useless. "Hahahahaha! This was easier than I imagined! The high and mighty mage who put so much fear in the hearts of those guards back then, now reduced to such a state because of me!"
With newfound confidence he jumped in, using his own hands and feet to deliver more and more attacks to the Saiyan. Dodging any attempts of grappling him or counterattacking. "So slow! So freaking slow that it's hilarious! This is true speed!"
He smashed his foot onto the latter's head, slightly frustrated about how the other hadn't yet fallen unconscious. Strangely, his face showed no signs of bruises or even a cut, despite having been repeatedly smashed by his bike.
The mage continued to run in circles and deliver hundreds of attacks.
"This." he swept his legs as hard as he could against Broly's waist. "Is." Using both of his hands combined into an overhead strike. "For." A knee to the guts, ignoring the sensation as if he'd hit a steel beam. "Betraying." Bashing his body against the giant, the spiked pauldrons were unable to even pierce the latter's skin. "Us!"
His arms move, fists clenched. Pouring every bit of strength within his move and going to strike Broly once again to end it all once and for all.
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Only to be halted in his action by his opponent's hands coming out of nowhere and instantly grabbing onto his wrists.
"—!"
Frightened by that, Racer hastily tried to free himself and surprisingly was let go willingly by Broly. Staggering backward, the dark mage barely had the time to think about what happened before the Saiyan finally moved from his initial spot at regular speed. "What!?"
A cry of pain escaped his lips as he failed to completely avoid a punch, the attack reaching his shoulders and nearly breaking his bones upon impact. "T-This can't be! Why isn't my magic affecting you!?"
He received no answer than the ever-present frown on the latter's face. The wave of punches and kicks continued coming, forcing Racer on the defensive and backed into a corner.
"Tch, Gear Change: Red Zone!" Racer yelled out, a dazzling light emanating from his body as his magic distorted the time perceived by Broly even more, allowing him to appear to move much faster. "Oof!"
Yet even that barely lasted for a few more evades until the Saiyan could once again keep up with him. The bruises multiplied with each successful hit, his glasses had shattered into pieces and his blonde mohawk was completely disheveled.
"Argh!" Blood and saliva flew out of his mouth as his opponent dug a knee into his stomach with great force. His ears ringing as his head felt heavier and heavier.
"W-Why isn't it w-working!?"
With each thrown attack from Broly's end, the next one came faster than the previous. From a snail-paced movement to now fully matching Racer, each step made the difference grow even more until once again his techniques looked no different to blur to the badly beaten mage.
He could no longer keep track of him, he just wasn't fast enough.
"Kurgh!" His conscience began to fade as his face was grabbed and held firmly in place. His eyes were too swollen to see Broly winding up for a final attack.
In his state, his spell could not stay active anymore, which made things much worse for Racer.
A loud thunderous sound spread across the ruins, Broly's movement accelerating far beyond anything he'd shown before and striking Racer in the guts with excessive force that even made the Saiyan shocked. The shockwave blew away any rubbles in the surroundings and sent the downed mage flying across the terrain in a straight line.
A loud crash echoed in the distance with a plume of dust rising in the air.
His body crashed through several layers of walls and trees, till he ended up embedded at the side of a mountain a few hundreds of meters away, the white of his eyes showing as a mixture of blood and foam dripping down his mouth.
Somehow he still lived.
"Huh?" Broly stood there, stunned. "What just happened? I made sure to hold back though…" Unable to understand how his speed could have accelerated so drastically all of a sudden, he checked his body for any anomalies. "No spells or illusions, I wasn't losing control of myself or anything."
Back then he was only trying to keep up with the speedy mage, too concentrated on landing a hit he couldn't even properly hear the distorted words spoken by the latter which were already too quick for him to understand.
"Hm?" Unfortunately, he had to turn his attention elsewhere as all of a sudden his entire surroundings were filled with a red mist of some sort. "Poison." His senses instantly knew about the effects of the mist, clearing it away by fluctuating his Ki a tiny bit.
"It's you!"
Shouted a voice from above, which turned out to be a young man standing on top of a flying snake with wings.
"You have a lot of nerves to appear before us once again, Broly!"
Hm? Those words made the Saiyan halt in his steps as he was about to form a Ki attack at the snake to take it down in one move. His nose twitched again, the familiar scent coming which he couldn't exactly pinpoint where he recognized it from.
"..."
"Don't recognize me? Humph, of course, you wouldn't, I'm the one who will destroy you and any guild you're part of for what you've do—Argh!"
Cobra's speech was cut short as soon his ears hurt with a loud screech coming straight from Broly's hand, the tiny green marble of pure destructive Ki growing twice in size before being ultimately shot upwards and tore right through the red stream of poison fired by his snake.
"Cubelius!"
The Dragon Slayer watched in shock as his partner purposefully circled its head and wings to shield him from whatever this was. Jerking its body to throw off the rider, making sure the latter wouldn't get hurt.
The ensuing explosion engulfed his lifelong friend instantly; all he could do was watch with horrified eyes.
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 2 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.
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