Sweet Starry Shadows (Fairy Tail)

Tipped Balance

Sweet Starry Shadows
Chapter 53: Tipped Balance

Lucy dodged the black orb that was thrown at her by Zeref. She wasn't stupid to allow it to touch her. If she did it, then she would've been dead and that's not on her wishlist anytime soon.

"Can't you just give up? Knowing you both, you can't do anything to -" He stopped talking once he heard Acnologia's body being pushed into the ground with Sakura pinning him down with her claws around his neck. Narrowing his eyes, he accepted the kick to the waist by Lucy where he skidded across the ground. His mouth tilted into a smirk, he froze time where it was only Acnologia and himself that was unaffected to his magic. "You should weaken her while you can. I know that you're holding back for her since she accepted her title," he scowled, turning his head to give the blue and black dragon a pointed look.

Acnologia growled as he kicked Sakura away where she was held up high in the air. Opening his mouth to give out a roar, it froze along with time where it was in a different colour where it almost hit Sakura's stomach.
He knew that his actions wouldn't be enough to satisfy his Tamer's thirst in accomplishing his missions, so clawing her stomach, he took a step back where Zeref nodded his head.

"I should've done this earlier. They cannot kill me... I am immortal..." he muttered under his breath where he walked towards Lucy and wrapped his fingers around her neck. "Such a fragile thing shouldn't be controlling a dragon this powerful. I should be the one in control." With that, he tightened his hold around Lucy's neck where he dispelled his magic, making both girls widen their eyes in bewilderment.

Sakura taking the full blow she gritted her teeth as she listened to Lucy's grunts of pain. With the blonde now in Zeref's hold, she had to finish off her uncle quickly. She had to kill him. He won't return to her. He never will.

"I'll be taking that heart of yours."

Lucy tried to free herself as his free hand began to approach that special place that held both of her hearts. Narrowing her eyes as she gritted her teeth, she snarled. "Celestial Dragon's Roar!" she cried out, giving out her bellow to his face where she gasped at the minor cuts on his face.

Not liking her situation, she squeezed her eyes shut where suddenly a growl made her eyes snap open just in time as she watched Knight bit into Zeref's arm.

Feeling his grip on her loosen, he was pushed away from her when Yuuto headbutted him in the stomach where she was dropped onto the ground with her breathing all ragged and harsh. "I never want to experience that ever again," she coughed before looking up to see Ace and Yuuto dipping their heads to her.

She forgot that they were there. Nodding her head to the both of them, she tensed as she turned her attention to Zeref who was looking at them with no injuries on his body. "I'm wasting a lot of time here, aren't I?" he asked himself before looking at Sakura attempting to bite Acnologia's neck.
Shaking his head, he glowered at her in annoyance. "You're pathetic. You cannot defeat me," he muttered.

"Death Orb," he then whispered where Lucy and Sakura's wolves jumped high into the air.
Sakura noticing how vulnerable the three of them were when they were in the sky, she quickly pushed Ancologia away from them. Not wanting to get killed instantaneously by Zeref's magic, she took flew into the air where the darn old dragon caught her by the tail with his teeth.

"Celestial Dragon's Celestial Sphere!" It was too late for her to take back her magic as she widened her eyes, watching Sakura get thrown in between their magic. Covering her mouth as she watched Sakura shift back into her human form, she quickly closed her eyes in horror. "Whatever happens... Please don't hurt Sakura!" Lucy pleaded in her mind where a strong gust of wind ran past her which made her open her eyes.

Feeling a pair of arms hold her gently, tears flooded her eyes as she caught his familiar scent shrouding over her like a security blanket. "R-Rogue?" she questioned, slowly turning her head to find him sadly smiling to her. Without any hesitation, she quickly pulled him into a tight embrace where she began to cry. "Rogue!" she cried, not realising that he too returned the hug and placed a comforting hand behind her head.

"You've done well," he whispered as he tightened his embrace around her. Lifting his gaze from Lucy's back to Sakura, he was somewhat relieved that Sakura was saved by Takuto who quickly shifted into his human form to push themselves away from the two attacks. "Don't worry, we're here now," he reassured before narrowing his eyes at Zeref who was beyond annoyed to see them here.

The blonde hearing a long, yet deep growl, she turned her head just in time as she watched Sakura get out of Takuto's hold where she shifted into her dragon form again. Her eyes wide was she watched the blood splatter onto Sakura's face, she shivered while watching the crimson dragon tighten its jaws on Acnologia's fatal point on the neck.

"Don't you dare throw me in between two attacks... That was very low of you," she whispered as Acnologia tried to push her away.

Takuto shifting into his dragon form as well, he aided his mate in her assault where he bit onto the other side of Acnologia's neck where they both stayed there with their firm hold. Their eyes on each other as they felt his body slowly losing its strength, they let go of his neck where Sakura moved out of the way just as Takuto embedded ice into the black and blue dragon.

Their enhanced hearing picking up nothing as his body fell forward limp, Lucy winced as she watched Acnologia's body fall deeper into the sharp icicles where Sakura growled before whimpering as she realised that she just lost another family member. The girl taking a step away, she turned her head look somewhere else as vines pulled his body into the ground and deeper to some unknown depth underneath.

Her head slowly turning to look at Zeref, she showed him her crimson teeth where she bellowed in anger. "Another family lost, thanks to you!" she boomed where he looked at her in mock horror. "You're the one that killed him, no?" he questioned, smirking as he watched her flinch and shift into her human form where she was looking down to her blood-stained palms in despair.

Lucy pushed Rogue away where she quickly ran over to the crimson that was visibly shaking. Takuto shifting and running to her as well, he stopped when Lucy placed both of her hands onto Sakura's shoulders and gently shook her to snap the girl out of her trance. "You're not the one that killed him! Sakura, don't think like that or he'll get us!" Lucy pleaded as she tried to catch Sakura's attention.

The blonde biting the bottom of her lips as she listened to Sakura's mantra, she snapped her head to Zeref and narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to stop... I get that, but can't you leave us -"
"He will not stop until he claims us as his," Sakura interrupted where Lucy tightened her hold on Sakura's shoulders. "Then what can we do when you're in this state?" Lucy questioned.

Sakura slowly looked up to Lucy with red eyes. "Control me. Abuse me to cleanse my sins of killing a family member..." she whispered where Lucy froze.

She shook her head before turning her attention to Takuto that had clenched his fists so tightly that you could see the whiteness of his knuckles. Forcing herself to smile at him, she let go of Sakura's shoulder and slowly helped her up. "Please take her back to the castle where you are safe..." she instructed, gently pushing the crimson towards her mate.

Takuto looking at her in confusion, she looked over her shoulder to Zeref before shaking her head where she stared at Sakura's shaking form with a frown on her face. "I'll deal with Zeref... With Sakura being like this, she won't be able to fight," she reasoned where Rogue came forward slowly held her hand. "I'll be her support so go," he said, looking down to their entwined hands where he felt her body temperature pass through this hand and into his body.

Softly smiling, Rogue gave Lucy a reassuring squeeze to her hand where she nodded and placed a hand on Sakura's head. "She may be younger and more powerful than us, but when Rogue and I are together, we can easily overpower her magic," she whispered.

[Dreame 2019 Edition]
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