souls | fairy tail

3.02: i'll kick your ass

A bolt of lightning slammed into a tree, cutting a hole clean through as a shadow just narrowly dodged the form.

"Seriously?" Laxus huffed, eyes following the hide-speed shadow that was racing around the clearing.

They had spared hundreds of times over the years, but never did he not find Nox's Shadow Form spell incredibly annoying to fight against.

He briefly saw Nox reform into her corporeal form high up in a tree, so he sent a barrage of lightning in towards it. The lightning slammed into the tree, setting branches ablaze and causing smoke to billow up.

In an instant, through the cloud of smoke, Nox burst through, hands coated in shadow.

"Shadow Claw!"

Laxus just barely sidestepped enough to avoid getting hit, though the talon of Nox's pinky finger managed to graze his cheek, drawing blood. He swung around, fist covered in lighting as he landed a hit on her ribs.

Nox bent over slightly, effortlessly flipping through the air and skidding to a halt in the grass. Laxus raised an arm, summoning a massive amount of lightning before bringing it down on the ground.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at the lightning heading right for her, melting instantly into a pile of shadows as she whirled towards Laxus, reforming behind him to plant a kick on his back.

The large man was lurched forward a little, but he was quick to swing back, aiming a wide punch that hit her in the shoulder. Nox flipped over him, landing in front of him. She aimed two fingers towards his neck, and they were swiftly engaged in a flurry of fists.

They needed no testing of strength, no searching for weaknesses. They knew each other's fighting styles as much as they knew each other personally. Their blows weren't restrained, fists flowing effortlessly as neither showed weakness or backed down. It was almost as if it was all an intricate dance between the two, if you could count the fact that neither of them danced.

"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"

Nox winced as the edge of the fist of lightning grazed her side, and she tumbled into the ground, rolling uncomfortably on the ground. In seconds, Laxus was above her, hands imbued with lighting.

"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!"

Nox wasn't quick enough to cast a barrier spell, so she had to quickly change into her Shadow Form. But she hadn't been fast enough, so her body was partially shifted when Laxus's lightning hit her.

Wincing and feeling the effects of his lightning, she maneuvered herself around. Reforming on a branch, she pushed off with a great amount of strength. As she got close enough to Laxus, who had already turned to face her and had lightning readied in his hands.

A grey magical circle flashed in front of her hand, and Laxus's eyes widened slightly.

"Soul Lock!"

A loud groan emitted from Laxus as Nox seized his soul momentarily, and he doubled over, slamming into the ground. He forgot how annoying the paralyzing effects of that spell was, though this was the first time she ever used it on him. He had only ever seen her use the spell on Bickslow, which had incapacitated him for nearly an hour, and that was even with him being a Seith Mage. As he hit the ground, he briefly saw Nox dart out of his line of sight and disappear.

Nox smiled cheerfully, leaping amongst trees as she gave herself plenty of distance from Laxus, before sitting herself on a nice branch and sitting to regain some of her breath. She relaxed, breathing in the fresh air of the mountain.

The chirping silence only last for so long, as about fifteen minutes later a sharp cry rang out.

"NOX!"