Case #4-The Supernatural Tournament, Round 3

"Welcome, everyone, to the third day of the Supernatural Tournament!" Loki booms, and the crowd goes wild. "Without further ado, let me announce the teams that will be battling today!"

"On my right is Team Reaper's Paranormal!" Loki booms, the five of us step forwards. Of course, the crowd is cheering like crazy, for our impressive victory the other day. "And on my left, is Team Zodiacs!" Loki booms as the Twelve Zodiacs enter the arena.

"Now, as per the rules of the Supernatural Tournament, will the team captains enter the ring?" Loki orders, and Ezra and I step forwards. "Now, Team Zodiacs, what will be the rules of this match?"

"Ezra…" I growl.

"Zach…" Ezra growls back.

"So how have you been, Zach Reaper?" Ezra asks.

"I know who I am now," I reply. "Thanks to you, I guess. And now that I know the truth about me, you, and my lineage…you'll never win. I've been training under the strongest Harvester, Aunt Lucine."

Erza's eyes widened. "Aunt Lucine…?" He asks.

"What's wrong?" I smirk. "Aunt Lucine told me about how she saved you. Miss her?"

Ezra furiously shakes his head. "No," he answers. "I've shed all of my familiar bonds for the sake of my revenge. All that matters now…is making sure every Reaper is dead."

"So who's facing who?" I ask.

"First up…will be Yamata and Mikoto vs Raiden and Circe," Ezra answers.

Raiden and Mikoto's eyes widen.

"Aw man…" Raiden whimpers.

"I see…" Mikoto softly replies.

"Hey, Sagittarius!" Yamata snaps. "What's the big deal? This isn't what we talked about!"

"The plans have changed," Ezra says as he smirks at me. And then, without another word, Ezra turns around and exits the arena.

"Ezra…" I growl, before turning around and exiting the arena as well. "You're up, guys," I say as I give Raiden and Circe a high five as we pass by.

"Right!" Circe confidently exclaims.

"Right…" Raiden gloomily replies.

"Let's go, Mikoto!" Yamata smirks as he enters the arena.

"Right…" Mikoto replies as he enters the arena as well.

"Without further ado, let the first match of the third round…begin!" Loki booms.

"We'll end this fight right off the bat!" Circe exclaims as she aims a hand at Yamato and Mikoto, her poison gas begins to leak from her pores. "Poison Curse Magic: Forbidden Fruit!" Circe shouts as her poison gas begins to fly towards Yamata and Mikoto.

"Mikoto!" Yamata orders.

"I know what to do, brother," Mikoto replies as he crouches into a running position, placing one hand on the hilt of his Susanoo Katana and the other hand on its sheath. "Predetermined Cutter," Mikoto shouts as a purple arrow spreads from Mikoto's to feet straight forwards towards Circe, an arrow that only he can see. Next, in the blink of an eye, Miktoto draws his katana and dashes towards the witch, slashing straight through Circe's cloud of poison, sending shockwaves of air flying out of the speed and power of Mikoto's attack, which blows the smoke away.

"That's right…" Circe grumbles. "Mikoto can just cut my poison."

"Octo Dragons: Fang Drive!" Yamata shouts as he swings a hand towards Raiden and Circe, sending all eight of his glowing orange dragon heads flying towards me, fangs bared and ready to strike.

"Inpulsa Fluctus!" Raiden shouts as he aims his wand at Yamata's dragon heads, firing off a net of lightning at them. Raiden's net of lightning blasts into Yamata's dragon heads, electrocuting them, and causing the dragon heads to fall to the ground, covered in ash and billowing with smoke.

"Fulminis Ure!" Raiden then shouts again as he fires off a bolt of lightning towards Yamata and Mikoto, but Mikoto simply draws his sword, slicing through Raiden's attack.

"Is that all you can do, Raiden?!" Mikoto roars as he resheaths his katana before dashing towards Raiden and drawing his sword.

"R-right…" Raiden stammers as he begins to prepare another spell, but before he can attack, Mikoto dashes by Raiden, slashing him with his sword as he passes by. At first…nothing happens. But then, Mikoto sheaths his sword, and a slash wound of blood erupts from Raiden's chest.

"Raiden!" Circe cries.

"You should be focusing on yourself!" Yamata cackles as he swipes a hand towards Circe, sending eight dragon heads flying towards her.

"Crap!" Circe cries as she whips her head towards Yamata and reaches for a vial, but one of Yamata's dragon heads swoops by Circe's hand, forcing her to drop the vial, which shatters against the ground. Yamata's seven other dragon heads then swoop past Circe, slicing Circe with their fangs as they pass by, and causing Circe to yelp in pain.

"You must do better than that, Raiden!" Mikoto roars as he sheaths his sword again. "Show me the fruits of our training!" Mikoto then draws his sword and dashes towards Raiden.

"I'm trying!" Raiden cries as Mikoto dashes towards him before Raiden has a chance to prepare another spell. Raiden flinches, braced for impact, but rather than slashing Raiden, Mikoto simply plucks the wand out of Raiden's hand before dashing away again. "Hey!" Raiden cries as Mikoto holds the wand up for Raiden to see. And then, using one hand, Mikoto snaps Raiden's wand in half, before tossing the two halves of the wand to the side. "How am I supposed to show off my training if you break my wand?!"

"You don't need that stupid wand, and you know it!" Mikoto snaps as he dashes towards Raiden again, and this time, Raiden doesn't even try to counter.

"Raiden…move!" Circe pleads.

Mikoto slash's Raiden again, causing the wizard to stumble back a bit, but he doesn't even flinch. "I don't…need my wand…" Raiden softly says as he stares at the ground, his eyes wide in concentration.

"If you still need that wand to wield lightning, then I've picked the wrong student!" Mikoto roars as he dashes towards Raiden again. Raiden then peers up at Mikoto and narrows his eyes at the swordsman, before aiming a finger at him. Raiden takes a deep breath in…then out, and his finger begins crackling with electricity.

"FULMINIS URE!"

A blast of lightning then shoots out of Raiden's finger, flying towards Mikoto, and electrocuting him. Once Raiden's attack lets up, Mikoto drops to the ground, and a faint smile can be seen on Mikoto's lips.

"Without Mikoto, you have no chance at countering my poison!" Circe cackles as she aims a hand at Yamata. "Poison Curse Magic: Forbidden Fruit!" CIrce shouts as poison gas begins seeping out of her pours, which flies towards yamata.

"Fly, my dragons!" Yamata cries as he swipes a hand towards Circe, but Yamata's dragon heads are powerless to do anything against Circe's poison, and Yamata is engulfed in a poison cloud. Yamata howls in pain as Circe's poison gas fills his lungs and burns his skin. By the time that Circe's poison gas dissipates, both Yamata and Mikoto are laying on the ground, defeated.

"And the winners…are Raiden and Circe!" Loki booms, and the crowd goes crazy.

"What was that…Mikoto…?" Ezra growls.

"Sagittarius…is something the matter…?" Libra asks as she peers up at her leader.

"Great job, you two!" I cheer.

"Lightning without a wand, huh?" Circe asks as she slings an arm around Raiden, who has a beaming smile. "How'd you manage that one?"

"I know, right!" Raiden exclaims as he and Circe exits the arena. "I feel so… pumped up right now!"

"We have an advantage from here on out," Crimson adds as she cracks her knuckles.

"Alright, who's next?" I call to Erza with a smirk, as Yamata and Mikoto are carried off in stretchers.

"Let's see how you like this one," Ezra smirks back. "Your Crimson and Koga vs my Cancer and Libra."

Crimson and Koga gulp.

"It took both of us to defeat Libra, and now, it's a two on one," Koga says.

"And Cancer managed to push both Zach and I back at once," Crimson adds.

"Don't worry, guys!" I cheer. "I believe in you both!"

Crimson and Koga look at one another and smirk. "Right!" They reply as they turn back to me, before entering the arena for good. Libra and Cancer enter the arena from the other side.

"Let the second match of the third round…begin!" Loki booms.

"We don't have the luxury to be lenient with this match," Crimson begins to say.

"Right!" Koga agrees.

"DEVIL FORM!" Crimson shouts as black scales spread all across her body, curly, gray ram horns just out of her skull, her fingers and toes morph into maroon red claws and talons, the whites of her eyes turn black, and a long, red tail ending in a pitchfork shoots out of her tailbone.

"Right off the bat, huh?" Libra smirks as she extends a finger out to Crimson and Koga. "Last time I had to beat that power up out of you!" Libra then waves her finger downwards as one side of her scale begins to lower, and then, Crimson and Koga feel an intense pressure on their shoulders as they're forced to their knees due to the crushing force of Libra's gravity.

"Damn!" Koga yelps.

"Dammit…" Crimson grunts.

"Alright, Cancer, let's try that!" Libra smirks.

"Right," Cancer replies as he smashes both fists into the ground, sending powerful thorn-edged vine brambles jutting out of the ground and flying towards Crimson and Koga.

"I strike you from the Heavens…" Libra begins to say.

"...And I attack you from the Earth," Cancer finishes.

"HEAVEN AND EARTH DESTRUCTION COMBO!"

Cancer's thorn brambles continue flying towards Crimson and Koga.

"Hellfire Eruption!" Crimson exclaims as flames erupt from her body, but Libra's gravity forces her flames back to the ground.

"Dammit…" Crimson grunts. "I can't burn through Libra's gravity like I did last time…"

"Libra's leveled up from the last time we fought her," Koga adds.

Cancer's thorn brambles then blast into Crimson and Koga, causing them to grunt in pain as they're sent flying into the air. Cancer's thorn brambles then curve upwards, forming a carpet of spikes, as Libra extends a hand out to Crimson and Koga again. "Thorn Carpet!" Libra shouts as the other side of her scale tips downwards, and Libra's gravity forces Crimson and Koga to begin falling to the ground again.

"Crimson, follow my lead!" Koga orders.

"Right!" Crimson replies. Koga and Crimson then launch their feet outwards, pushing them against one another and using the other's momentum to spring outwards, and out of the range of Cancers' thorns. Libra's gravity then forces Crimson and Koga to crash to the ground, forming craters in the earth.

"At least we weren't skewered," Koga says as he pushes himself to her feet.

"Quick thinking, Koga," Crimson replies.

"You think you can avoid my gravity?!" Libra cackles as she waves a hand towards herself, and one side of her scale begins to raise up, as Crimson and Koga begin to fly towards Libra, as they're being sucked towards her.

"Gravity…is flowing from the side?!" Crimson cries.

"Not exactly," Libra smirks. "I've become a center of gravity myself, and you two are being attracted towards me!" Crimson and Koga continue flying towards Libra, and as they do, Cancer's spikes angle towards them.

"This is bad!" Koga exclaims.

"I have an idea," Crimson replies, and her entire body goes up in Hellfire. "HELLFIRE METEOR!" Crimson shouts as she and Koga continue flying towards Cancer's spikes. And as Crimson and Koga are pulled into Cancer's spikes, Crimson blasts straight through them using her Hellfire Meteor, leaving her and Koga unharmed.

"WHAT?!" Libra cries.

"Just because your gravity pushes my flames to the ground…" Crimson begins to say. "DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T USE THEM!"

"Gravity: disengage!" Libra panics, but it's too late. Crimson's Hellfire Meteor blasts into Cancer and Libra in an explosion of flames, causing the two Zodiacs to howl in pain as they're scorched by Crimson's attack. Once Crimsons' flames let up, Libra and Cancer then fall to the ground. Libra's gravity then lets up once she's fallen.

"Good, we can move around normally," Koga says as throws a few punches.

"Then let's attack them while we can," Crimson orders as she invites her hands in Hellfire and charges Libra Cancer.

"Right," Koga replies as he draws his staff, and charges the two Zodiacs as well.

"Cancer…?" Libra weekly asks as her eyes flutter open.

"Yeah…?" Cancer replies as he slowly opens his eyes as well.

"I never asked you…what will you wish for?" Libra asks as she struggles to push herself off of the ground.

"The Twelve Zodiacs mostly keep to themselves, I don't know anyone's wishes by Sagitarrius," Cancer explains as he struggles to push himself up as well. "I will wish …for a world where all nature is respected, a world free of pollution."

"That sounds…very noble," Libra replies as she stands up at last.

"What will you wish for?" Cancer asks as he stands up as well.

"What I will wish for, and the reason that I followed Sagittarius…is to go back in time, and stop my family from being killed by the Landow Village Witch Hunters," Libra answers.

"I see…" Cancer replies.

"Let's fight, Cancer!" Libra booms as she turns to face her comrade. "Let's fight for our wishes!"

"Right!" Cancer replies. Cancer then stomps a hand into the ground, and four thorn brambles jut out of the ground at each corner of the arena.

"Graviola!" Libra shouts as one side of her scale tips downwards, and in response, Cancer's spikes begin to glow purple.

Meanwhile, Crimson and Koga begin charging Cancer and Libra, but they pause when they feel their bodies being dragged towards each one of Cancer's brambles. 

"What's…happening…?" Koga grunts as he clutches either side of his head. "It feels like…my skull is being split apart!"

"My Graviola applies gravity to any object that I desire!" Libra explains. "So right now, your bodies are being pulled in four different directions at once! Try to beat that!" Libra then brings her hands together as a black a sphere of magic begins charging in between her palms. Libra then thrusts her hands outwards, and the sphere of black energy begins to very slowly float through the air towards Crimson and Koga.

"Shit, she's using that attack!" Koga cries.

"BLACK HOLE!"

Koga and Crimson struggle to move, but with gravity pulling their bodies apart in four places at once, they find themselves unable to counter Libra's attack.

"Koga," Crimson says.

"Yeah?" Crimson asks.

"You go for the thorns, I'll deal with the Black Hole," Crimson answers.

"Right," Koga replies.

"HUH?!" Libra cries. "You must not be scheming over there, becasue my Graviola is INVINCIBLE!"

Slowly, Koga struggles against Libra's gravity as he draws a scroll and unravels it. And then, in a cloud of smoke, appears four shurikens. "Koga Clan Secret Ninjutsu Technique, Number 104!" Kokag begins to shout as he flings all four of his shuriken outwards. "YON TSU HOSHI!" [Four Stars]

Being pulled by Libra's gravity, Koga's four shurikens fly towards each purple vine, shattering them to bits.

"NO!" Cancer cries.

As for Crimson, she chambers a fist as her hand begins to ignite in Hellfire.

"YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU CAN BURN A BLACK HOLE?!" Libra cackles.

"I told you last time…" Crimson begins to say. "THE FLAMES OF HELL BURN THROUGH EVERYTHING!" With a roar, Crimson then launches a flaming fist towards Libra's sphere, engulfing it in flames.

It's futile!" LIbra cackles as her Black Hole begins to push Crimson back. "It won't work!" But then…Crimson lets out another roar, and her Hellfire begins to glow brighter and hotter, and eventually, the flames of Hell begin to turn white due to the heat. "What?!" LIbra cries. "White fire?!"

"SOLAR HELLFIRE SCREAM!"

Crimson's flames begin melting Libra's Black Hole.

"What?!" Libra cries. "It can't be!" And then, with one final roar, Crimson pushes past Libra's Black Hole, shattering it to bits and causing Libra's eyes to widen. Crimson's white flames then engulf Libra and Cancer, causing them to howl in pain. Once Crimsons' flames let up, the two Zodiacs are laying on the ground, defeated.

"And the winners…are Crimson and Koga!" Loki booms, and the crowd goes crazy.

"We're on fire!" I cheer, as Cancer and Libra are carried off in stretchers.

"That means we win, right?" Raiden excitedly asks. "We've won two out of three matches!"

"Yes, of course!" Loki answers. "And that means, that the winner of the third round, is team-" Loki begins to say, but he's cut off.

"Not so fast…" Ezra begins to say as he strolls onto the stage with a devious smirk.

"What is it now, Ezra…?" I growl as I enter the arena to face Ezra as well. "Is it time for our fight? I'll warn you, I've been training!"

"You've impressed me, Reaper's Paranormal, truly," Ezra begins to say. "Although I haven't entered the tournament with my strongest members, I'm still impressed that you've managed to defeat everyone."

"These…aren't the strongest members of the twelve Zodiacs?" I ask as my eyes widen.

"No…" Ezra smirks.

"Then who is?" I blink.

"WE ARE!"

IN the blink of an eye, a blast of water, earth, and wind begins flying towards me.

"HUH?!" I cry.

But then, before I have a chance to defend, Crimson, Raiden, Circe, and Koga all leap onto the stage, repelling the three attacks.

"HELLFIRE SCREAM!"

"FULMINIS URE!"

"POISON CURSE!"

"AREKURUU SHURIKEN!"

"You go, guys!" I hear Evelyn cheer.

"Just what do you think you're doing…?" Koga growls.

"That's our Team Captain, you know!" Circe snaps.

"Y-you'll have to get through us, if you want to get to him…" Raiden stammers.

"Sisters…" Crimson growls.

And then…three women enter the stage. All three of the women have curly hair like Crimson, and also like Crimson, their hair color matches their eyes. The first woman is purple, and looks a little older than Crismon. The second woman is orange and is the largest of three who looks a little younger than Crimson. And finally, the youngest looking and smallest of the three, who's green.

"Crimson," the purple woman smirks.

"Sister…" Crimson growls back.

"Crimson, are these-?" I begin to asl, but Crimson cuts me off.

"Yes, these are the three other daughters of Satam and my sisters," Crimson answers. "Sapphire, Bronze, and Emerald."

"Not exactly," the purple one that I'm assuming to be Sapphire smirks. "These days…we sometimes go by Aquarius, Taurus, and Gemini."

Crimson's eyes widen. "You…joined the Twelve Zodiacs…?" She asks. But why?!"

My eyes widen as well. "Ezra…you're working with Satan?!"

"Maybe," Ezra smirks back. "But as I was saying, even though you managed to defeat my team it doesn't mean that the Twelve Zodiacs have been defeated for good. The Twelve Zodiacs will win the Supernatural Tournament, and I will get my wish to have every Reaper dead!"

"Not unless we defeat you in the next round…?" I growl.

"Wanna bet?" Ezra smirks. "There is no doubt in my mind that I will defeat you, Zach. And then after that, the rest of your team is so banged up right now, that I'm sure I can defeat them too. It's your choice. Either I challenge you to a one on one and then a one on four and win, or…I'll give you the victory here, and you live to see another day. Now, I'm not saying that you have any chance of defeating Team Satan in the next round, but a little bit of hope is better than no hope, right?"

My entire body tenses up. "Ezra…" I growl.

 "What's the matter, little cuz'?" Ezra smirks. "Not confident that you can beat me?"

"What…are you talking about down there…?" Evelyn asks as she narrows her eyes at Ezra and I.

"Zach…?" Raiden asks as he looks up at me. "What should we do…?"

What should I do? If I take Ezra's deal and admit victory here, then Team Reaper's Paranormal will move to the final round, where we have a shot at winning the Supernatural Tournament. However, if I take that deal, I'm throwing away my pride and admitting that I don't think that I can defeat Ezra as I am now.

I then turn around to face my friends. Crimson, Raiden, Circe, and Koga peer back at me. All of them are panting heavily and are soaked in blood and sweat from their previous match. The pathetic sight causes me to let out a sigh. And so, I take a deep breath in…then out, and I turn back to face Ezra.

"Made up your mind?" Ezra smirks.

"I have," I answer. "Let's do it."

***

"Are you sure that you're alright with this outcome?" Evelyn asks as she flops onto my bed next to me. "It feels like we didn't really win, you know?"

"I know," I answer. "But at the same time, the way Ezra set the match-ups, we had already won best two out of three style."

"I just can't believe that Ezra thought he could beat all of us in a five on one!" Circe exclaims. "How cocky was that?!"

"Ezra wasn't cocky," I reply. "He was serious."

Everyone goes silent.

"Ezra would have defeated me in a one on one," I explain. "And from there, the rest of you were too banged up from your previous matches to be able to stand a chance! Ezra would have one, no doubt."

"So tomorrow is the final round, huh?" Koga asks. "Crimson…what do you think your sisters would want to do for our matchups?"

"I'm not sure," Crimson answers. "Sapphire has some beef to settle with me, but other than that, I'm not sure who will face who."

"So what can your sisters even do?" I ask.

"Sapphire, my oldest sister, can manipulate the water of Hell, just as I can with the flames of Hell," Crimson explains. "My younger sisters, Emerald and Bronze, cna manipulate the air and earth of Hell, respectively. Sapphire can be defined by her purple hair and eyes, Emerald is green, and Bronze is orange."

"I see…" Koga replies.

"Ezra sounded…so confident in their victory…" Raiden sadly says.

"Do you guys…think that we can win…?" Circe asks.

Everyone is silent again.

I let out a sigh.

"Alright, alright," I grumble as I drag myself out of bed and rub the back of my head. "I'm the leader, and you guys are looking for an inspirational speech, I get it."

Everyone raises an eyebrow as they look back and forth between one another.

I let out a sigh, then peer around the room, scanning the faces of my friends individually.

"RAIDEN!" I boom, causing the Storm Wizard to flinch then look up.

"Y-yes…?" Raiden stammers.

"Who's the only wizard around who can use spells with a spell book or a wand?" loudly I ask.

Raiden's eyes widen. "M-me…" he blushes.

I then turn to face Koga. "KOGA!" I boom. "Who's the strongest ninja that the Koga Clan has to offer?"

"That would be…me…" Koga answers.

"CRIMSON!" I boom as I turn to face the Devil. "You took on me, Koga, Raiden, Agent Sniper, Agent Kardos, and STILL won?! Who else could do that?!"

A faint smile spreads across Crimson's lips. "Probably…no one…" she answers.

"CIRCE!" I boom as I turn to face the witch.

"Oh boy, my turn!" Cirrce exclaims as she giddily claps her hands.

"You're probably the only damn person in the world who could follow a potion brewing spell book without knowing how to read!" I laugh. "Is that not impressive, or what?!"

"It is!" Circe laughs.

"-And Evelyn," I finish as I turn to face the girl.

"Oh…I get one too?" She asks.

"You were my first friend in the world," I say with a small smile. "I couldn't have done any of this without you…"

Evelyn blushes. "Thank you…" she smiles back.

My friends look back and forth at one another for a moment, and smirk.

"Huh…?" I ask.

"ZACH!" Raiden booms as he jumps to his feet.

I snort and roll my eyes. "Oh…here we go!" I chuckle.

"You took me in, me, a Storm Wizard who could barely use lightning spells, and made me your right hand man!" Raiden begins to say. "And for that…I'm entirely grateful!"

"No problem," I laugh.

"Zach, I tried to kill you many times, but no matter how many times I've tried, you still accepted me, and welcomed me as a part of your team," Koga says as he stands up as well.

"About a few hundred, but who's counting?" I chuckle.

"Zach, I literally did almost kill you and all of your friends, but you still welcomed me with open arms," Crimson says as she stands up too. "You gave me…a place where I belong. Thank you."

"You're welcome," I smile.

"ZACH!" Circe booms as she jumps to her feet. "You almost died trying to save me, but you still carried on like a trucker. I know that I fell in love with Raiden, but I love you too! In a…brotherly kinda' way!"

"Same here!" I laugh.

"Zach…" Evelyn softly says as she stands up to face me.

"Yesh…?" I smile as I stare down at Evelyn.

"You gave my life meaning…thank you…" she says.

"No, Evelyn…thank you," I reply. I then look around at the faces of my now- smiling friends once more.

"LET'S GO WIN TOMORROW, OR GO OUT WITH A BANG!" I cheer as I throw a fist into the air.

"YEAH!" Everyone cheers as they throw their fists into the air as well.