章節 363: Preparations: Pt 2

In one corner of the Fairy Tail guild hall, on the second floor, a solitary petite figure with long flowing blonde hair was reading her book alone, Yami.

Unlike the other members of Alex's peerage Yami didn't care about making friends with the people of the mage guilds around them, content with only Yuki Mikan as her friend outside of Alex's peerage. That was why she didn't even look up as a couple people sat down at the table with her, before one of them said,

"U-um, I'm levy Mcgarden and this is Gajeel Redfox, it's nice to meet you." Yami glanced up from her book to see a petite girl with light blue hair, and thuggish looking man with long black hair and piercings all over his body sitting across from her. Closing her book after marking her place, Yami said,

"It is nice to meet you Levy, Gajeel. I am called either Yami or Golden Darkness by those around me." Her introduction done, Yami then proceeded to reopen her book to start reading it again, making Gajeel's brows twitch in irritation as he snarled,

"Hey! Aren't you being a little too rude there?!" However when she heard him Levy stated,

"Gajeel! It's ok since we interrupted her reading! I know I get a little cranky when someone makes me stop a good book!" When he heard that Gajeel snorted again, as Levy getting 'a little cranky' meant that she usually pouted until she was left alone to continue her book. Meanwhile Yami continued to ignore the duo until Levy then asked hesitantly, despite also mentioning that she didn't like being interrupted while reading,

"So what kind of book are you reading Yami?" Realizing that the two of them weren't just going to go away, Yami sighed as she once again closed her book and showed her the cover of it while saying,

"It's part of a mystery series that I've been reading recently, this is the sixth book in the series, but I also have the first if you want to look at it." As she spoke Yami produced another book that she had stored in the storage ring, making Levy beam at her as she accepted the offered book, while Yami also mentioned, "It probably has several things you haven't heard about before, so let me know if you want me to explain something." Since the technology on Earthland wasn't anywhere near the level of what she was used to, Yami didn't think that Levy would find the book too interesting once she started to look at it and found it full of terms and items she was unfamiliar with.

She was quickly surprised though when Levy started flipping through the first couple pages, before adopting a serious expression as she quickly became engrossed in the story. Though she did end up having to ask Yami a couple questions every now and then, Levy seemed to interpret most of what the various new terms and machines mentioned in the book were through context alone, and soon stopped asking her anything entirely as the pages drew her in.

Eventually Levy then even produced a pair of what seemed to be normal reading glasses before putting them on, and what happened next stunned Yami as Levy began to flip through the pages at an abnormal speed. Her own book forgotten, Yami could only stare in awe as Levy quickly finished the book in minutes when it had taken her a couple days to finish reading it. When she had finished reading it Levy slowly closed the book covers, before looking at Yami with stars in her eyes as she declared,

"This. Book. Is. Amazing!!! Do you have the next one on you as well?!" Stunned, Yami waved her hand and produced several stacks of books from the storage ring, before saying,

"I've already finished all of these and there are several copies of them back home, help yourself...." After a moment of thought Yami then produced yet another book, before adding, "This is a dictionary as well, in case you find any terms you don't know and none of us are around to explain them to you." Levy's eyes sparkled like a kid's on Christmas morning as she looked through the veritable mountain of books, before glancing towards the silently watching Gajeel and asking,

"Can you help me take these to the storage room?" Without waiting for a reply, Levy picked up a stack of the books herself and balanced them on one hand, before suddenly grabbing Yami's hand with her free one and continuing, "Come with me real quick!" Though she furrowed her brows slightly, Yami didn't fight it as Levy dragged her back downstairs, through the rest of the guild members, and to a room set behind the counter that was covered with bookshelves, that were all filled to the brim with books.

Looking around with more than little curiosity, Yami focused on one book in particular as Levy explained, "This is our guild's record storage area, as well as where we keep the informative and miscellaneous books that people bring back. Though I can't give any of them to you, please help yourself and look through them, I'm sure there are a few that you'd like." Surprising Levy by picking up a book that recorded one particular member's various dead and accomplishments, Yami then said as she flipped it open and started looking through its pages,

"Thank you, Levy." The blue haired Mage faltered slightly at first when she heard that, before smiling radiantly even as Gajeel tried to squeeze his way into the room with several stacks of books balanced on his arms.

In another room of the guild, out of sight of everyone else, a trio of women were skillfully working around each other as they worked to prepare enough food and drink to keep everyone going through the day. Naturally one of them was everyone's favorite Fairy Tail poster girl, Mirajane, while the other two were a certain silver haired maid and her Crimson haired younger sister, Grayfia and Rias.

"Can you bring me some more mugs?" Mirajane asked as she prepared yet another barrel of beer to open up, while Rias helped prepare enough meat to feed an army and Grayfia helped. With everyone moving around each other like it was a dance they had practiced for years, Mirajane suddenly said,

"Thank you all so much...." Rias and Grayfia looked up suddenly from their respective tasks, before the silver haired maid said,

"Don't think anything of it. We are more than happy to help you out after the hospitality we have been shown." Mirajane however shook her head and said,

"I'm not talking about this. Saving Lucy, warning us of the attack, healing Gildarts, and now even helping up prepare for a battle that seems entirely un-winnable, none of us could ever thank you enough for this." To punctuate just how grateful she was, Mirajane then bowed at both Rias and Grayfia as the two simply stood there.

"The one you should be thanking is our lord, he was the one who brought us here and wanted to get involved in this fight. All any of us intended by coming with him is to support him while we are away from our families." Grayfia said while Rias nodded in agreement, before adding,

"As for me specifically, I'm just counting down the days until I can see my baby boy again..." Mirajane looked up at Rias curiously before she asked,

"You already have a son Rias?" The Crimson haired woman nodded while an affectionate smile formed on her lips, making Mirajane mutter,

"You look so young too..." This time both sisters smirked with more than a little humor, as Rias explained,

"We are capable of changing our apparent age at will, though I look like this it would be more accurate to say I'm closer to my thirties." As Rias said she was several years older than she appeared due to the amount of time she'd spend in the space-time orb, an increasingly common occurrence amongst those who had made it their home. Appearance wise though she still looked as if she was in high school due to the fact that she wasn't exactly comfortable with looking older than her own mother, who's typical appearance was only a few years older than her own.

She then demonstrated what she was talking about by willing herself to age several years until she matched her actual age, turning her into a very seductive milf, before proceeding to reverse the process until she looked like she was about ten years old. She then ended by changing back to her usual appearance as she also pulled out a small photograph, and held it out to the stunned Mirajane while saying,

"This is my son by the way, Ryoto." Mirajane hesitantly accepted the offered slip of paper, which she thought was a really small painting made with magic, and smiled as she looked upon the trio on it.

Taking up the center was Alex of course, except, instead of looking ahead at the camera, his gaze was directed at the Crimson haired infant boy that Rias held in her arms along with the beautiful woman herself, making them look like the ideal happy family. After nearly a minute she handed back the photograph to Rias and said,

"You have such a lovely little boy, I actually feel a little envious after looking at such a happy family." Rias smiled warmly as she accepted the photo back, before she said,

"Ask Alex about them and he'll show you all of his children, and his wives as well." Though Mirajane looked at them weirdly when Rias mentioned Alex's wives, neither woman noticed it as they got a far off look in their eyes. Instead Grayfia eventually pulled out another picture of Millicas as well, before Mirajane went to ask one of the guild members, a magic painter called Reedus, for some paintings of Lisanna and Elfman when they were little.

***

While Yami and Levy were discussing books, and Rias and Grayfia were helping Mirajane, outside a certain woman was helping direct the others in preparing their defenses. She had long scarlet hair, brown eyes, and was wearing a metallic breastplate with matching gloves, a blue skirt, and black boots. S-class Mage Erza Scarlet narrowed her eyes slightly against the glaring sunlight, as she called out,

"Jet, Droy! I thought I told you to move that boulder an hour ago!" The duo she had called out, one a relatively thin man with his orange hair tied back, while the other was heavier set with his black hair styled to resemble an antenna. Both were crying while one exclaimed,

"Don't ask for the impossible!" The other nodded and declared,

"We're not strong like you Erza!"

Erza sighed and walked towards the duo, making them shiver in fear until she simply grabbed the giant boulder, and easily lifted it over her head with one hand. The duo watched in awe as she then effortlessly walked to the edge of the beach, and tossed the giant boulder into the ocean and out of their way. Erza then dusted her hands off like it was nothing, before turning back towards Jet and Droy and asking,

"How do you expect to become great mages like Jura if you can't even solve such a simple task?" The duo couldn't help but to look at Erza with more than a little blame as they shouted in synchronization,

""WE ALREADY RECOGNIZE THAT WE'LL NEVER BE GREAT MAGES LIKE JURA!!""

Erza went wide eyed at their response, as it was the first time Jet and Droy had ever actually talked back to her. Instead of being pleased though, her expression turned from one of surprise to one of a demoness as she muttered while cracking her knuckles,

"So, the two of you have grown enough of a backbone to talk back to me, huh?" Realizing their mistake too late, Jet and Droy immediately grabbed onto the other in sheer terror as Erza approached them slowly and menacingly. Suddenly, at the last second, a figure with a long black ponytail stood between them and Erza, and said with a casual smile,

"Rather than picking fights here and now, isn't it better to just give them jobs they could use their magic to do better than things that they're too weak for?" Though the duo originally looked at Shizuku as if she was their savior, their expressions fell when she called them weak before they collapsed to their knees, while Erza said,

"True, but any great Mage can use whatever powers they do have to conquer any problem before them, no matter how difficult it may seem." Shizuku nodded in agreement while silently shooing Jet and Droy away, now that Erza's attention was on her, to which the two thankfully crawled away. She then asked,

"Are you a Mage though? I can't say I've seen many mages who wear armor like a knight." Erza smiled proudly, before she made a sword appear from nowhere and said,

"My magic involves the use of swords and armor." She then instantly changed her armor to one that was dark red with bits of orange that were pointed to look like flames, while her scarlet hair was instantly styled into a set of twin tails. In her grip was a large dark red sword with silver and orange accents, which she slung over her shoulder casually before continuing,

"I use what's called Requip: The Knight. It's a storage ability that I use to store over a hundred different sets of armor and two hundred different weapons to use in combat, which I can change at a moments notice. This particular armor is called Flame Empress Armor, and the Flame Sword. It allows me to incorporate fire in my sword attacks, while also halving any fire based attacks I receive."

Erza then released her grip on the sword, making it hover in the air behind her while another one appeared next to it, and then another. Soon the air was filled with several dozen swords that were simply hovering while awaiting their master's command. "I can also use my magic to remotely control all of my weapons to effectively wield several at once."

Shizuku couldn't help the awe that overcame her when she saw Erza's magic at work, as she pulled out her own black katana that Alex had given her so long ago, and said, "I don't use an entire arsenal of weapons and armor like you do, but I do have a set of swords, daggers and tools that I use in partnership with my speed and stealth."

Once she finished speaking Shizuku then demonstrated her speed, by instantaneously appearing behind Erza faster than the scarlet haired knight could react, or anyone around them for that matter. Erza turned to look at her with a glint in her eye before she said,

"Not bad. If we weren't preparing for the battle tomorrow then I would want to challenge you to a match." Though the her of the past would wanted to avoid fighting an opponent like Erza as much as possible, after spending so much time as Alex's 'Knight' she had long come to terms with the idea of pushing herself and fighting others. That was why she simply gave a small smile to Erza's words, and replied,

"So would I." There was brief moment where the two locked eyes, and an unspoken understanding of respect passed between as fellow students of the sword, before the front door of the guild was suddenly thrown open.

"Well then let's test which one is better between Physical Reinforcement and Take Over then!" Shia cried out with a large smile as she led Elfman and Lisanna, who both had game faces on as Elfman declared,

"If a man gets a challenge, it's his duty to answer it no matter what!" Lisanna nodded in agreement before saying,

"And I have to help defend the name of the Take Over Siblings!" As everyone turned their attention to the trio Shizuku's expression fell as she muttered,

"Uh oh...." Erza looked at her questioningly as she shifted back to her usual armor, and asked,

"They just going to have a sparring match, so what's wrong?" She was then surprised when a new voice said from behind her,

"What's wrong is that Shia has a hard time holding back her strength." Erza jumped in mild surprise and turned to see Alex standing there with Lucy right next to him, both looking at the developing situation with grim expressions. She then snorted though and said,

"He may not seem it, but Elfman has the potential to become an S-class mage if he applied himself correctly. He shouldn't be underestimated." Alex however shook his head and stated,

"I'm not underestimating him, it's just that Shia is too strong." Erza frowned at that, as it appeared to her that Alex was looking down on her guild members too much, but before she could say anything else Grayfia suddenly appeared and sternly said,

"Shia, remember to not hurt them too much." The rabbit girl laughed lightheartedly at Grayfia's warning, and replied nonchalantly,

"It's alright, I'll make sure to be careful!" Though they weren't entirely reassured, Alex and Grayfia released a sigh as they stepped back to watch the fight, and intervene if need be. However the members of Fairy Tail were around them were mostly frowning as, like Erza, they felt as if Alex and his women were looking down on them too much.

Before they could say anything about it though, magic power started radiating from Elfman as his form started growing to a massive height and he cried out, "Beast Soul!" As the clothes covering his upper body tore with his growth, Elfman's skin started turning red while his white hair started elongating and flowed down his back, and two matching sets of curved yellow horns grew from his shoulders and forehead. Once his transformation was complete Elfman opened his mouth to reveal the rows of now razor sharp teeth within, and let loose a mighty roar that alerted anyone who hadn't heard about the match yet.

"I can't just leave this all to Elf-nii!" Lisanna stated as she too activated her transformation, except instead of the rabbit form she used earlier a pair of cat-like ears sprouted from her head, along with a set of whiskers, a tail, and claws on her hands with a light blue color and black stripes. Along with the change to her physical appearance, her regular clothes also disappeared as they changed to a matching patterned bikini with even a choker that had a bell.

With the siblings before her prepared, Shia flashed a fearless smile as she cried out, "Yoooosh! I guess I should prepare as well!" What happened next shocked everyone present, as a torrent of light blue magic power suddenly started radiating off of Shia as it grew to even surpass Elfman's new size, and was comparable with even the giant trees around them.

Despite the massive amount of magic power she was displaying, which made those around them stare in awe, Alex, Grayfia, and Shizuku let a small sigh of relief from how much Shia was actually holding back, as her goal was to one day match Alex's Super Saiyan transformations in raw power. Of course, this was a small tidbit that they decided not to mention to Erza, or anyone else around them.

Though the power Shia was displaying was far from what he thought she would capable of, Elfman didn't try to back out of the match as he released another roar of challenge at her, before bringing one of his massive claws back to swing at her with all of his strength, while Lisanna stepped back to avoid being caught in the attack. Shia's smirk widened though as she didn't make any movements to avoid the powerful attack, or even to defend herself as the massive and dangerous claws approached her in what appeared to be slow motion.

KABOOOOOOOOM!!!

The entire island seemed to shudder with the impact of Elfman's attack as a cloud of dirt and sand rose from where his claws had impacted, covering everything from his elbow down from view, including Shia.

"W-what is this?!" Elfman groaned with his now monstrous voice, confusing many of those around them until the dust cleared a few seconds, later, to reveal his giant claws wrapped firmly around Shias body, yet she hadn't even budged a single inch. Instead she simply stood there with a casual smile as if his attack had been nothing but gentle breeze, before asking,

"If that's all then I guess it's my turn?" Before Elfman could have the time to say anything, Shia then grabbed onto his giant hand with both of her own, before she began to slowly turn. Despite the fact that he put all of his strength into maintaining his footing, it meant nothing as Shia effortlessly dragged him along by his arm as she started spinning, making him spin around her like a massive wreaking ball.

Everyone quickly cleared the area as Elfman's massive body began to snap any tree that was around them while Shia spun him around, until they eventually started to become a blur. Then, when she was spinning fast enough, Shia released her grip on him suddenly, sending Elfman flying out over the ocean until he couldn't even be seen anymore.

"HAVE A NICE TRIP!" Shia called out cheerfully after she sent the man flying, further stunning everyone around her from how casual she was after displaying such strength. They didn't get time to gawk though, as Lisanna suddenly appeared behind Shia with the enhanced speed from her own transformation, and cried out,

"You're wide open!" Shia however didn't even flinch at Lisanna's sudden appearance as, despite being a 'Rook' that specialized in strength and defense, her strength also allowed her to move at speeds greater than most of those around her, with only people like Shizuku and Rias's own 'Knight', Kiba, surpassing her.

Instead she mimicked her earlier move with Elfman, grabbing Lisanna's arm as she tried to use her claws to pierce through Shias defense, and throwing her in the opposite direction, right at Alex. There was the briefest of seconds where Shia made a very noticeable 'oh shit' look on her face, right before Lisanna crashed into both Alex and Erza, sending all three of them tumbling to the ground.

As per the the rules of the 'Lucky Pervert', neither Alex nor Erza could react to Lisanna flying at them, or control their fall on their way to the ground. Instead, the end result of their fall was Alex sitting with his back up against a tree, while on his left side Lisanna ended up with her back against him while his hand had somehow ended up inside of her bikini top; and Erza was in a similar position on his right side, except that Alex's hand had somehow ended up inside the front of both her skirt and her panties.

There was dead silence as everybody around them froze, dread filling their hearts. Around the time Loke had first joined the guild he made the mistake of trying to ask Erza out, and as a result she had nearly killed him at the time. As such the only thing anyone might have heard at the moment was the thundering of their hearts, and their nervous gulping as they awaited how the scene before them would play out.

Alex however was focused on the softness he held in his left hand, and the increasing dampness in his right. Having been in too many similar situations to count before, there was no panic in Alex's face. Instead he absentmindedly gave Lisanna's breasts a gentle squeeze, while the middle finger of his right hand traced the line of Erza's crotch up and down.

"What....do you think you're doing?!" Erza demanded with obvious anger, except her cheeks were almost as red as her hair, and Alex could tell that her breathing was becoming increasing ragged as he slowly stroked the entrance to her honey pot. He then said with complete seriousness,

"I've been looking for another 'sheathe' to my 'sword', interested?" Erza mind blanked when she heard a phrase she was familiar with from the various erotic novels she'd borrow from Levy, until she was brought back to the current situation as Alex's pointer and ring fingers spread her open slightly, and his middle finger began to slowly move inside her.

"Ngh..."Erza groaned at the increase in stimulation, which was even better than when she pleasured herself. Meanwhile Lisanna was also shifting and groaning on the other side as Alex expertly massaged her breast and pinched her nipple.

"Oh my goodness, how lewd!" A voice suddenly said, snapping both girls back to the fact that they were currently being watched by several dozen people.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!" Lisanna suddenly cried out as she rushed away from Alex's side in embarrassment, while Erza silently jerked away from Alex's grasp before awkwardly trying to fix her skirt and panties. Thankfully no one had been able to witness what exactly was occurring within their confines, however that didn't make the situation any less humiliating as Erza tried to get some control back over those who were just gawking.

"T-that's guy's a monster..." One guild member muttered, while another said,

"To think he beat Gildarts so easily yesterday, and now he's even doing whatever he wants to Erza of all people..." Again Alex was the center of attention due to the fact that he had, in a way, now laid hands on three of the guilds girls, Lucy, Lisanna, and even one of their only two active S-class mage's, Erza.

The man himself ignored them of course, and instead turned to Shia and asked, "So what about Elfman? He's kind of needed for the battle tomorrow." Shia however waved away Alex's question and said nonchalantly,

"He's fine, I didn't send him that far away. If need be we can just use Regeneration and Spirit magic to ensure he's not too tired to fight tomorrow!" Alex could only sigh as he shook his head in undisguised exasperation, before sending a message to Kuroka asking her to send one of her familiars to keep an eye on Elfman. Of course, when Natsu then tried to make Shia fight him as well and got sent out even further than Elfman did, Alex wasn't too worried about him.