Fairy Tail: Swallow the Fire

50. Erza's Sinister Plot

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Erza and Mirajane sat in a seiza in front of a short old man with a disappointed look on his face. The former was drenched, the fur of her winter armour matted down while a crystalline blue spear sat in front of her, broken. The platinum-blonde beside her was in a transformation unknown to me, with pale blue scales covering her arms and legs with matching horns and wings.

Behind them were the younger Take Over siblings, both sweating despite the freezing cold. Or maybe it was the unpredicted "rain" and "hail" that was currently falling?

"Which one of you did it?" Master Makarov sighed as he looked at the empty lake the two girls were fighting in.

Naturally, both of the girls pointed at the other. Which, from what I could tell, was technically correct. The best kind of correct.

But it didn't save them like they had thought.

"Is that so..." Makarov grumbled as his magic aura began to shake the ground, making the others sweat even more. "Was this trident what you used to fight, Erza?"

"Yes, Master."

"And did you use this form for the fight, Mirajane?"

"Y-Yes, Master."

"I see," he said as he scratched his chin in thought. The ordinary action is made terrifying by the pressure he exudes. "Erza, seeing as the trident was already broken you are not allowed to have it repaired, and must refill the lake. And you Mira are going to help her refill the lake, and are prohibited from using this form in the future. Am I clear?"

""Yes, Master,"" the two trembled, with Mira deactivating the transformation.

Their guild master sighed and pulled in his aura before laying a careful hand on their shoulders, and warmly saying, "If you girls want to challenge each other, that's fine, just remember to exercise restraint. Okay?"

They nodded in agreement, causing a small smile to come to his face before walking away back towards the guild hanging on the cliffside. At least you would assume so, if not for the grumbling of "paperwork" and "annoying mayors". "Make sure you five get home already, too! It's getting late!" he shouted to the group before he could leave earshot.

The two girls got off the ground and sighed, admittedly looking a little embarrassed before a smug look crossed Mira's face. "How does it feel to lose, Erza?"

"You're getting punished just as much as I am!" the red-head shouted losing her sense of shame just as quickly.

"Who cares about whether or not you won or lost? What were you two thinking!?" Lisanna pouted while flailing her arms.

"We had a bet," Erza said casually before looking around in confusion, "Speaking of, where is Lyssa?"

"I'm over here," they heard me say before looking around in confusion. Mira caught sight of me though, as my body began to morph out of the shadows of a nearby tree.

"When did ya learn to do that?" she asked.

"Darkness is a pretty broad category of magic. Shadows are on the easier side to manipulate," I explained simply, "Still, I'm surprised he sensed me..."

"Well, Master is a Wizard Saint," Erza shrugged nonplussed.

"Wizard Saint or not, his detection is pretty impressive. I've stolen enough money from Jose to be competent in my stealth, and he's a Wizard Saint, too."

"Wait you steal from your guild master!?" she shrieked in surprise.

"Not my fault he hasn't realised someone knows the password to his safe."