As annoyed as she was for being struck, Kyoka couldn't help but be slightly amused. "I didn't expect any of you to be able to move."
Verani's Lightning Body continued to crackle around her. She clenched her fists, she didn't have a whole lot of time before she got too low on magic power to keep this up. Minerva didn't look like she could move and Mirajane would be out cold for at least a little while longer. The blonde knew that only left her to stand against Kyoka now that Erza had been robbed of her senses.
The Etherious was smirking at the blonde. As much as she enjoyed focusing all of her energy on the redhead, seeing the defiant look in those hazel eyes made her want to snuff it out. Verani was having a similar thought as she wished to knock that damn smirk off Kyoka's face.
"Do you think you will fare better than Erza?" Kyoka quickly shot her elongated fingers toward V.
Still cloaked in her Lightning Body, Verani easily zipped around the attack. Pooling her magic in her fist, she aimed for the Etherious' face again. Her only hope was knocking Kyoka out. And from how quickly her opponent was recovering from her punches, she needed to step her game up.
Verani extended both palms forward, a large golden magic circle crackled to life before the stream of black clouds and wild lightning barreled out of it, "Storm Torrent!"
Upon hitting its target, the angry storm spiraled upward into the clouds. Kyoka's muffled growls of pain and frustration reached the others, their eyes widening at the sight of the blonde making the Etherious cry out. But said blonde was panting harder than before, her Lightning Body fading down into the faintest ripples of electricity that moved along her skin. The sensitivity to pain that Kyoka's curse had caused throughout her body was becoming more apparent again. The small waves of static that she had been pumping through her nerves were growing too weak to continue to confuse the signals of agony from reaching her brain.
"That is enough!" Kyoka yelled, her body glowing as she dispersed the last of the electrical storm aiming the curse at the girl who had quickly run through her nerves.
Verani's back arched as the force of the blow lifted her a few inches off the ground. Even at full strength she didn't think she would have had the power to override the signals that Kyoka was driving through her body. Her hazel eyes were open as far as they would go as her mouth hung open, silent screams aimed for the sky. Her thoughts were jumbled and nothing made sense anymore. Was she even looking up at the sky? Was that up or was that down?
And then it all stopped.
Her ears were still ringing as she landed on her knees before slumping forward to faceplant the dirt. Waves of pain rippled through her body at the impacts, but she didn't have the energy to make a sound. But she had seen the flash of red that had streamed past her as she fell.
"Sight. Sound. These are luxuries, both. All that's needed is the light within. You would understand that if you had one." Erza stood tall as her sightless eyes still seemed to be staring into Kyoka's soul. "It would've led you to protect your comrades! You were created to live in darkness!"
Without a moment of hesitation, Titania nailed the Etherious in the chin with an uppercut. Her still agitated nerves screamed but she ignored them. "With pain your only guide, it's you who must be frightened!" She drove her foot into Kyoka's stomach, "And what a tragic creature you are. For you've never known the light you lack."
Through the growing numbness, Verani couldn't help the smile that faintly crossed her lips as she let her eyes sink closed, relying on only her ears to hear what was happening around her.
||~x~||
Natsu and Gray stood side-by-side as they stared Mard Geer down. The Underworld King paid attention to the boys, but also wanted to see the outcome of Jienma's fight against the Twin Dragons.
"Strong, isn't he?" Mard Geer referred to the large figure that had just saved his skin. "Though I'll have to do something about that arrogant streak."
The three remained still.
"This is the end of the line." Gray spoke plainly, "There's nobody left to protect you."
"And you think I require protection?" The aura around the long-haired man grew, wisps of purple came off his entire being. "You're a fool if you believe that little power of yours will have any effect on me. Not after I've taken on my Etherious form."
Natsu watched intently, "He's changing."
"E.N.D. is about to rise from a slumber lasting 400 years. The time has come for me to rise as well." His entire form had shifted. All of his features darkened and changed as he grew taller with bat-like wings sprouting from his back. "Behold. I am Mard Geer Tartaros, Absolute Demon, and King of the Underworld!"
"Natsu-"
"Don't say it, I know." His fists erupting with his fire magic, "We don't care what you call yourself king of. We're gonna take you out!"
"Come." The Etherious challenged back, "Give me your all...for this battle shall be your last."
And his opponents did not wait. Natsu and Gray charged forward. Mard Geer didn't wait either, flapping his wings as he sent a wave of thorns at the Fairy Tail duo. The pair paused, crossing their arms over the other's as their magic froze and burned the attack. But it distracted them from the demon's movements until he had a clawed hand gripped onto each of their heads. Flying up into the air, they tried to squirm in his hold.
"Hey!" Natsu yelled, "You better let go of me right now, you weird gargoyle looking freak!"
Tired of their feeble attempts at freedom, Mard Geer dove for the ground, "At last, the time has come for you to see what lies beyond the Netherworld Gate." He shoved both of their faces into the ground, dragging them through the earth. "I will savor every last moment of tearing your soul to shreds and erasing your existence."
But this did not last long. Maybe the Etherious was momentarily distracted by the sound of Jienma's body falling in defeat, but the two wizards were pulling themselves out of his grip. Their fists glowed with magic before ramming each into the Underworld King's head, making him eat dirt.
It looked good for only a second. The winged creature shot up, grabbing them by their heads again in order to soar up and throw them down with great force. He smirked inside as the dust cloud began to dissipate, to see the two forms pushing back up to their feet.
Gray and Natsu were surprised, but hardly phased by the counter. They both turned to the sky, taking in a breath to attack back. Mard Geer narrowed his eyes to gauge his path to dodge whatever the pitiful mages were planning to throw at him.
But the three were blindsided, even though the winged being was the only one who took any damage as he spiralled through the air. His assailant landed firmly between him and the Fairy Tail wizards, wasting no time in dispelling the fiery wings on her back.
"Sis!" Relief filled Natsu at the sight of his sister, but that soon faltered when a familiar scent hit his nose: Kia's blood. And after the particles in the air from the repeated impacts with the ground had their chance to settle, you didn't need a Dragon Slayer's senses to know what state she was in.
"Kia," Gray shouted, "what happened to you?!"
Even Sting and Rogue began to rouse at the odd commotion, tilting their heads to take in the condition of the Phoenix Slayer. Blood was dried to her skin around the array of holes that spotted the visible skin on her arms, but Kia showed no signs of pain or exhaustion besides the heavy rise and fall of her shoulders as her breaths came out ragged.
And she didn't respond to any of the boys behind her, her glare locked on the Etherious that was rising to his feet.
"I see the Celestial Spirit King did miss you when he took down the Plutogrim?"
Confusion crossed the other four's faces though Natsu asked the question, "What?"
But again, his sister failed to turn to him. "You should have known that he would make things as difficult as possible for you."
Though the smirk could not be seen on his demonic features, it was evident in his tone, "You think that you'll be a difficulty for me?"
Kia clenched her fists tighter, "I'm done playing, Mard Geer."
"And I assume you're also done playing diplomat."
Flames began rolling up the Phoenix Slayer's body. She knew that she didn't have a lot of magic power to use, but she also knew that she now had limited access to the power that had been sealed away long before the events on Tenrou Island. "You should have taken the chance to back down when I offered it."
Natsu and Gray shared a look, trying to understand why it sounded as if the pink-haired female in front of them was speaking to the being who called himself the Underworld King as if she knew him.
"Why would I ever concede to your wishes, little phoenix? Especially when you're determined to stay in that measly form."
"That form?" Gray turned to Natsu again. "What does he mean?"
The Fire Dragon Slayer only continued to stare at his sister's back, "I don't know."
"Though I wonder," Mard Geer's eyes squinted slightly, "when did you get the courage for your betrayal?"
No one in the immediate area was prepared for the laughter that came from Kia. She even allowed herself the luxury of closing her eyes for that moment of amusement.
"What do you find so amusing?"
Her laughter pulled back to a chuckle, "I never thought you were that dumb, Mard Geer." She stopped laughing, her gaze locking back to her enemy with a smirk on her lips, "You can't betray anything if you weren't on its side in the first place."
A growl sounded in his throat, "That's impossible."
"Wrong." Kia stopped holding back, her flames flickered rapidly as they began to engulf her entire being, "We're Fairy Tail..." she pushed off from the ground, leaving a small crater as she charged, "...and nothing is impossible for us! Phoenix Talon!"
Mard Geer lifted his arm to block the flaming kick, pushing her back. Kia flipped, resummoning her wings to take to the air. And he followed.
Raising an arm, another glowing sphere appeared in front of his palm before streams of vines shot directly for her. "I always did prefer you in chains and screaming for mercy."
She twirled through the vegetation, focusing her magic toward her hands. "You should have stayed in hell!"
Kia paused her dodging long enough to slam her hands toward in front of her, a few of the thorns ripping into her side. "Phoenix Tornado!"
The cyclone of fire cut through the curse, making Mard Geer dart around to miss the larger part of the attack. However, there was something different with Kia's flames. As they flickered up her body, the occasional ring of black could be seen mixed in with her normal magic. Gray clenched his right fist tighter as he felt another tingling in his arm, almost as if it were reacting to Kia's spell. It gave the new Demon Slayer an uneasy feeling that he just couldn't shake. There were too many things that had been said between the Phoenix Slayer and the Underworld King that weren't helping his suspicions any.
But it wasn't like he could ask any of his questions right then as the two winged combatants went back and forth in the air above them. Kia was keeping the fight low as she switched to her more basic spells that used less magic, her cry and her talon. As much as she wanted to destroy Mard Geer, she knew that she didn't have the strength right then, but she could wear him down, she could let the boys see how he fought.
Her brother watched eagerly, wanting to jump in and help, but Natsu knew his sister well enough to understand what she was doing. He would be getting in her way until she said otherwise. This was how they used to do missions when they had first joined Fairy Tail and he was still young. She would do the bulk of the fighting and leave space for him to get experience as well. Kia would also tell him to pay attention to how she moved, when she thought a move through versus when she reacted on instinct. "As a little dragon, you should be able to tell the difference. It will be key if you ever have to fight other wizards: knowing how they fight can help you to understand why they fight as well." In a weird way, it was like Igneel had continued teaching him through his sister. It was one of the main reasons why he was so good at fighting, what they were doing at that moment.
"Phoenix Talon!" Kia was upside down in the air, foot looped around Mard Geer's forearm. Holding him in place, she amassed everything in her core. The warmth swirled in her chest before the mixed flames of red and black with the light specks of silver shot from her mouth right into the Etherious' face. "Phoenix Cry!"
Mard Geer used his other arm to smack her leg away in an attempt to change the trajectory of her cry, but he only saved himself from a little more than half the damage. Kia had already assumed that he could try that, but it didn't mean she had the ability to counter as her last attack drained her completely, her wings flickering to pieces and leaving her to freefall, back first.
"Now!"
Fully prepared for her sign, Natsu took in a quick breath and attacked, "Fire Dragon Roar!"
Catching on only a millisecond later, Gray followed suit, "Ice Demon Rage!"
And then Kia realized what the difference in Gray's magical energy had been, he had acquired Demon Slaying magic. That was something she would have to worry about later, right now there were more important things to think about: the first being the best way to crash without breaking her entire body.