Surprised by Erza's enthusiasm and sudden proximity of her strong presence, Elrion leaned back into his seat to regain some personal space. Given her usual hawk-like stare and commanding tone of voice, he was shocked to see the scarlet mage display such a burst of emotions. In her eyes he could see a mix or hope, caution, excitement, and vulnerability. By glancing around, given by the faces of the others in the group, he confirmed that he was not the only one surprised.
"By requesting my assistance, do you mean you have a scar you would like me to heal?" Elrion asked cautiously to confirm, despite being quite sure what this is about.
"Yes." - she answered immediately without a second of delay.
"As I said, how much I can do depends on how large and old the scars is, so I cannot make any promises in advance. First, I would need to see it to know what we are working with."
"Very well." Without wasting time, she impatiently stood up from her seat and spread her arms wide before yelling "REQUIP".
As Erza yelled the name of her magic and her body immediately shone brightly, her long hair raising against the gravity, revealing her diamond shaped earrings which started to dance wildly on magic wind surrounding her. Usual plate armor and a skirt disappeared without a trace, and for a split of a second she appeared to be undressed, every line of her impressive outline visible. Her spread out arms and perfectly straight body posture also enhanced the short lasting view. The next second, the light disappeared and Erza was standing in a unique set of armor.
Lower part of the armor set was a robe divided vertically into five parts, each shaped as elongated petal of a white flower reaching below her knees. Front petal had golden trims and decoration patterns, while the other two on her sides and the two on the back were pure white. Above her waist, Erza now wore a tough looking set of light blue chest-piece, along with large arm bracers and impressive shoulder pads which protected her upper arms. The skin on her upper back was exposed, and quite a lot of skin was visible around the chest plate piece itself. For torso protection, the armor had only the front part in the form of a chest plate, directly connected with the dress below her waist, and indirectly tied with belts around her naked waist to the rear part of the dress which covered her lower back.
Overall white and light sea blue color portrayed purity, while golden yellow edges and decorations associated to wealth, dignity and lightning itself. Spikes protruding from shoulders and bracers gave the whole outfit an undertone of aggression. Her hairstyle also changed, and now the rear part of her hair was tied into a long braid, decorated with dark purple ball near the end. The whole outfit looked as if partially designed for battle and partially for some holy ceremony.
"This is my Thunder Empress Armor. It is designed to combat lightning magic, though its physical protection capabilities leave some things to be desired. If there was too much magi-steel parts which resist magic, it would affect my magic capabilities in battle as well."
Gray and Happy have seen it before, so they did not bat an eye at the sight, but Lucy and Elrion saw it for he first time and needed a few seconds to recover from the sight in front of them.
Lucy clasped her hands with stars in her eyes. "Wow Erza. That armor is beautiful. It almost looks as some sort of a sacred robe."
Erza simply nodded in confirmation, somewhat apprehensive of what is to come. She is not used to showing weakness, especially not in front of her friends, so this whole thing was way outside of her comfort zone. Still, she took a deep breath and took a few steps to the side, facing the middle passage between the seats and having her back turned to her friends and Elrion. Slowly she reached around her head to the back of her neck, holding the side of her hair as if it was a curtain. After one more deep breath, she slowly but decisively removed her hair and flipped it over her shoulder.
Lucy brought her palm to her mouth and made no sound when she saw what was hidden below her friend's red hair, her eyes wide in shock. Gray made an expression of pure hatred, as if he would go to hunt down whoever or whatever was responsible for this right this moment. Happy also stopped fanning Natsu and just stared blankly at her back. Even Natsu managed to suppress his state and had murder written on his face.
Three lines of deep, wide and nasty vertical scars were smearing their friend's back. Her otherwise smooth and unblemished skin only made the contrast worse. It was as if someone dug out three wide rows of earth in a meadow full of beautiful flowers and just left it like that, desecrating the view, yet still leaving enough intact so it is easy to imagine how beautiful it used to be.
Since he was not so familiar with the scarlet mage, Elrion was not as affected as others, yet he was also angry seeing the scars in front of him. From what he has seen during his few interactions with the knight girl so far, she had a noble character and certainly didn't deserve these. And that depth and size... These would be difficult to work on.
"How did you get these!?" Lucy couldn't help herself but to ask. The next second she realized this might be uncomfortable subject, so she quickly added: "I mean, if it is okay for us to ask?"
After a few seconds of consideration, Erza decided to share the story behind her scars. For a moment she considered refusing because she was embarrassed by her actions which lead to the wound, but quickly dismissed the idea. Instead, she has decided to turn it into a lesson, in hope it would stick and prevent her friends from making the same mistake she did. She flipped her hair back, hiding the scars again and returned back to her seat before starting the story.
"It happened during my first battle with an A+ rank monster, about two years ago. Back then I was, inexperienced, and very prideful. Around that time, my power had broken through the S rank threshold and Master had already announced I would take my place in the next S rank exam. Until that point I was fortunate enough to overcome all my foes without a significant injury, so I started to drop my guard and overestimate my strength, while underestimating my opponents. A nearly fatal mistake."
Lucy was interested in Erza's story, but she was quite surprised to see that even Gray and Happy, who knew Erza for over a dozen years, were displaying interest. Could this be the first time she is talking about this? Her suspicions were confirmed when Gray asked in a serious voice: "What were you fighting against?"
Erza continued with a downcast look on her face. "It was a whip-ape, an A+ rank monster, which is nearly in the S- rank. It is a menacing mass of muscles, standing on all four limbs like a gorilla. They have green eyes, elongated skull like a crocodile filled with overgrown teeth, and yellow fur. They can use thunder magic, but their most dangerous trait are several whip-like appendixes on the back of their head, which can move like tentacles. Not only are those hair tentacles fast, strong, very resistant to injuries and extendable, they also end up in blades almost as big as shortswords."
Lucy shuddered. "What a monster..." She was already certain she would prefer to never encounter one by herself, and it was at this moment that Erza just began describing its true capabilities.
"While attacking, whip-ape intuitively use thunder magic from their mouth and hands, they constantly try to rush their opponents to smash them with their front limbs and snap at them with their jaws if they get too close, while hair tentacles try to impale opponent by stabbing from multiple sides. It is a very troublesome monster, which tries to use all of its strengths at the same time."
Just listening to the monsters description, Elrion was on edge. He wondered what would be the first way he would die if he ever crossed his way with one of these monstrosities. And that was with his old B rank battle-suit.
Happy was also invested into the story. "So what happened?"
Erza closed her eyes and got more tense as she remembered the battle in which she nearly lost her life. "In the beginning I was careful, as I should be. After all, this was my first duel against an opponent of such strength. Never before had I confronted such an enemy alone. I used my Thunder Empress armor to block its magic and bid my time, getting more and more adapted to its attack patterns. Once I saw a hole in its defense I rushed in.
The monster was twice taller than me even while crouching, so I had to jump to reach its head. Despite using one of my strongest swords and all of my speed, monster still managed to catch my sword in its teeth in the middle of my airborne strike at its neck. Still, this was something I predicted.
My first strike was just a distraction and a successful trap. I smirked as I let go of my captured sword and continued to fly for another moment until I flew past the monster's head. Once in position, still airborne, I summoned another sword and immediately swung it upwards and behind ape's head, cutting away all of its head tentacles in one move."
Gray frowned. "So far so good. What went wrong?"
Erza sighed in resignation as she continued her story: "This was the exact moment when things went downhill for me. As those dangerous appendixes flew into the air, now severed from monster's body, I smiled, and... dropped my guard a bit. Without those things, monster was now degraded to A-, or even B+ monster in strength. It was no longer a match for me. Not to mention I thought it to be severely wounded, so I would soon take it down while it is panicking. Except, it did not do such a thing."
Happy was confused. "Even though you slashed off so many of its parts?"
"Yes. Later on, I learned that whip-apes do not feel pain from their hair tentacles being cut away, the same way we humans do not when someone cuts our hair. They even regrow them after some time. Without even looking back at my position, it swiped at me while turning its torso, three of its long claws swiping across my back, digging deep. It was dumb luck that my body orientation and its direction of attack made the wounds almost vertical, so it did not struck against my spine. If it had, that would have been the end of me right then and there."
The mood around the Fairy Tail mages got heavy again, as they listened to their friend's story. They always considered Erza to be nearly invincible and in their mind she seemed invulnerable. Imagining that she came so close to death made them rethink the things they take for granted. Even Natsu was glancing at Erza, despite his state.
Approaching to the end of her story, Erza shifted in her seat: "After that, it took everything I had left to defeat it while struggling to stay conscious and rushing to finish the fight before blood loss makes me faint. I had nearly died before it went down and I was barely able to temporarily stop the bleeding and use the last of my strength to drag myself to the city to seek assistance."
She made a deep sigh, trying to dispel the heavy mood and concluded her story: "That mistake nearly cost me my life, and those scars have been a constant reminder of what can happen if you get overconfident. However, I have learned my lesson, and if given the chance, I would like to have them removed now."
Her eyes met Elrion's, giving him the unspoken question. He steeled himself and considered the best way to give her the bad news. He was certain he cannot fully remove them. For now, he decided to take a closer look to determine how much he can actually do. "These scars are big and deep. Let me take a closer look one more time."
"...Right." Erza turned around in her seat, and sat on her knees, facing the backrest. Once again, she moved her hair out of the way, as she sensed Elrion leaning towards her to examine the scars more closely. Noticing how Elrion is not confident about the situation, Erza was disheartened, yet she still hoped something can be done. Her skilled healer whom she trusts deeply had already told her she will have to travel to a distant foreign country if she wants to remove these scars. Even the mighty and mysterious old healer who lives on the outskirts of Magnolia could not help her.
As far as usual healing magic is concerned, scars are considered as functional and already healed part of the body, so it cannot heal what is already healed. These scars on her back made the best healers she knew give up on the spot. She knew that expecting from a stranger she met in a train to remove them was unreasonable, and she wondered if she is making him uncomfortable by placing such an impossible task in front of him.
She was angry at herself, because she felt it was wrong to pressure the stranger who was already kind enough to help her group once by healing Lucy into this kind of situation. Yet, her mouth refused to move to withdraw her request. Just when she was about to gather her willpower to reassure Elrion that it is fine if he cannot help her, he spoke before her.
"You have mentioned this battle was around two years ago." he asked without looking away from the scars.
Taking a brief moment to calculate, Erza confirmed. "Yes, they are almost exactly two years old at this point. I... remember the date..." she said looking to the side.
While inspecting the scars, Elrion noticed that this armor set did not put strong emphasis of physical protection. Erza's upper back was completely exposed, and while her lower back was under the upper part of the dress, it also had no metal parts to protect her. Apparently, armor's robes and metal were designed to counter pure lightning magic attacks, and some physical attacks from the front, with bracers and shoulder pads on the arms for protecting the sides of the body. However, physical attack from the back was the worst kind of threat that this set was just not equipped to deal with.
In every armor some sacrifices must be made to balance physical protection, magical protection, speed/weight, flexibility, interference with wearer's magic, price and maintenance cost. In this case, this set sacrificed a protection on the user's back in order to achieve more on other fronts, simple as that. Due to this vulnerability, her body took a full blow from enraged A+ monster, and she was indeed lucky to be alive to speak about it in the first place.
The age of scars was problematic as well. They get more and more difficult to heal as time passes, and become a part of mages's soul after two and a half years, becoming exponentially more difficult to remove with known magic. Since Erza's scars are two years old, it would be a lie to say nothing can be done, while at the same time it would be extremely hard to do anything. Not to mention there was another problem.
Elrion's thoughts raced through his head. "Shit, I am really really low on magic. But if I leave her be now, it is possible that our paths are not going to cross ever again. It has already been two year since she got them, several more months and they will truly become a part of her, making them nearly impossible to remove. She might never fully heal these scars if they are not at least partially healed and remade within the next few months, preferably right away. This is going to be tough, but I cannot leave her like this, so I will just have to power through it."
In a tense voice, purposefully devoid of emotions, Erza asked Elrion while facing away from him. "So... What is your diagnosis? is it possible to do anything with these? I am ready for your response."
While Erza was waiting for his answer, Elrion did not miss that she has clenched her hands into fists on her knees.
Deciding there is no point in keeping the poor girl wait any longer, Elrion explained the situation: "It is similar as it was with Lucy-san. While I can somewhat help, I cannot fully heal you. Due to my lack of skill, I can only reduce their depth and make their color become a bit less contradicting to the rest of your skin."
Erza took the news with strong and mixed emotions. At the same time she was immensely disappointed that her scars would have to remain, yet at the same time, the prospect of them being reduced made her extremely excited and happy. Pragmatic by nature, she decided to sort out her feelings later, there were more important things demanding her attention right now.
"That would mean a lot to me. No matter how small, I would sincerely appreciate any improvement you can make. Can you start immediately?" Erza asked hopefully, glancing over her shoulder with apprehension on her face.
Determined to help, Elrion still had some important information he needed to share: "Before we begin, we need to discuss one other thing. Instead of healing these scars, it might be smarter to replace them with new ones, which is going to be painful. Also, the scars are then going to hurt again for a few days."
Erza frowned a bit and shifted in confusion. "Is that a recommended course of action?" Lucy and Gray also exchanged glances, worried about this new development.
Elrion shook his head. "Let me explain in more detail. The older the scars are, the more difficult they are to heal. If we have met a few months later than today, there would be nothing I could do. For mages, about two and a half years is the time when scars permanently become the part of their body and soul. At that point, only the most skilled anomaly type healers can make a dent on them.
Instead of trying to partially heal your old and deep scars, it would be smarter to replace them with new and more shallow ones. The difficulty of completely healing these replacement scars will unfortunately remain the same, despite their reduced size. However, the 'countdown' until they become a part of you will start anew. That way, you will get another two years of time to find more capable healer than me to fully remove them.
Of course, I can simply try to heal them painlessly, and while it will reduce their size, the 'countdown' will continue uninterrupted. In that case, you will still have only a few months left to find a skillful healer who can finish the job before it is too late."
These news raised Erza's spirit. Determined by nature, pain would not stand in her way to have these scars removed, especially if she will also get another two years of time to find a healer to fully remove them. "I understand now. In that case, I choose to replace them. Do not worry about the pain. Even if it feels the same as it did back then when I got them... I will bear it."
Gray also nodded to Erza, confirming he would have made the same choice, while Lucy got on the edge of her seat, worried about the mentioned pain her friend would have to undergo during the process.
Receiving the answer he expected, Elrion smiled wryly, wondering if he started to understand redhead's character a bit. There was only one final detail to confirm: "With all of that settled, there is one final thing. The truth is that I am currently very low on magic energy (mana), but I know a spell which let's me drain it from others through physical contact."
Gray immediately interrupted. "Then there is no problem. You can take as much of my magic as you need. That mess near the window is being volunteered as well."
Lucy also did not hesitate and leaned in with a determined frown. "Mine as well. I am not that skilled in using it, but people say I have a lot of mana reserves. So I am confident I can help here."
"Aye. Although I don't know if I will make a dent, count me in." - Happy yelled in his usual excitement, raising the mood of the group.
Unable to speak in his state, Natsu did manage to frown and nod at Elrion, signaling he is here if needed as well.
"Everyone..." Erza was touched with the immediate offers of mana within the group. She wanted to thank them, but she was not skilled with words in these situations and did not know how to do it smoothly. Frustrated at her limitations, she decided to leave her words of gratitude unsaid. She would just have to show her feelings through actions later on, which suited her more anyway.
Elrion smiled at the comradery within the group. Though he no longer had something like this, he could not deny it was nice to witness it. "In that case, there is nothing else to be said. Fullbuster, I'll be counting on you." Elrion locked his eyes with Gray who simply nodded and smirked. "Right. Leave it to me."
Gray and Elrion exchanged seats to make the process easier, so Elrion was now seated between Erza on his right and Natsu on his left, while Gray sat across him and next to Lucy. Erza sat with her legs in the passage between the rows of seats and her back exposed to Elrion.
Elrion and Gray extended their left hands respectively and clasped them together around their thumbs. Using his draining magic, Elrion started to drain magic from Gray thus replenishing his nearly completely empty reserves. Lucy also placed her hand on top of theirs with a smile, allowing her magic to be drained into the mix. Happy also wanted to participate and floated in position from where he placed his paw onto the top of Lucy's hand. Elrion did not have the heart to tell him it won't work indirectly and since he suspected the 'cat' did not have large mana reserves in the first place, just left him like that.
He used Gray's and Lucy's magic energy to jump-start his healing spell. His middle and index finger of right hand were glowing with a chaotic white magic, as if he was holding a blowtorch of some kind. With this, he would have to go over Erza's scars and replace them, painfully.
One more time, he repeated his warning. "I am going to start now. Like I said, it will hurt."
"I am prepared." -she announced an octave deeper than usually, voicing her willingness to proceed.
The healing of Erza's Scarlet scars began.