Chapter 18: Fairy Law, the End of Phantom Lord

Chapter 18: Fairy Law, the End of Phantom Lord

 Dante entire body was tense as he stared down Jose, his magical power was suffocating. He knew that Jose would be his most powerful opponent by far, and he likely had a close to zero chance of prevailing. The odds of success didn't matter, the guild was depending on him to win. If Dante failed here, then no one else from Fairy Tail would be left that could stand a chance. With Markov and Erza out of the fight, Dante was Fairy Tail's best hope.

 "I don't give a damn if you're a wizard saint! You are going down" stated Dante with determination as he summoned his own magical power. Jose laughed as he felt Dante summon forth his magical power.

 "Haha is that all you have boy? With magical power like that, this fight wont last long at all" mocked Jose before a sent a phantom blast at Dante.

 Dante quickly spread his wings and took flight, narrowly avoiding Jose's attack. Despite dodging the attack, the resulting shockwave still rattled Dante. As the shockwave shook his body, Dante wondered just how powerful Jose can be if just the shock wave shook him this much. Jose laughed as he sent more attacks towards Dante. Each time Dante narrowly avoided the attacks, the shockwaves chipped away at his stamina until the last attack nailed him in the chest.

 Dante was sent crashing into a wall from the force of the attack. The moment the phantom attack connected with his body, Dante felt a huge drop in both his life force and his magical energy. Dread filled Dante as he realized that Jose's attacks drained his magical energy. This was bad, the longer the fight dragged on the more magical energy Dante would lose. This fight was already going to be nearly impossible even without facing an opponent that could take away magical power. Dante struggled to get back to his feet, but he did and went on the offensive.

 "Heaven's ray" yelled Dante as he sent his own beam attack towards Jose. Jose simply laughed as he batted away the attack like it was nothing. Still determined, Dante launched himself straight towards Jose. Dante flew at a high speed towards Jose, while charging his fist with holy magical energy.

 "Oh, a frontal assault, no one has ever tried that one before" mocked Jose not even trying to doge Dante's incoming attack. With anger pouring from his voice Dante launched his fist right at Jose.

 "Shut up! Heavens fist" yelled Dante as he sent his fist straight at Jose's face. As his fist connected, it passed right though. Dante was confused for a moment before the image of Jose disappeared, revealing that it was an illusion.

 "Damn it, were did he go" stated Dante out loud as he looked around for Jose.

Jose laughed as he appeared some distance away from Dante while he activated another spell. Dante looked below him as a powerful magical circle enveloped him. Dread filled Dante as he realized he walked right into Jose's trap. Pain raced through Dante's body as he was enveloped by Jose's destructive magic. A large explosion filled the room as a result from the attack. When the smoke cleared, Dante was seen still standing but barely.

 "Oh, you survived that one, count me impressed boy" mocked Jose as he laughed at Dante who was barely standing. Dante was breathing heavily as he tried to gather himself, he could not believe how strong Jose was. This was the first time in his life that Dante was so hopelessly outclassed.

 "Damn it, I said SHUT UP" yelled Dante as he once again flew towards Jose.

 Again and again, Dante tried his own attacks with each of them failing. Each time Dante tried to counterattack, Jose easily avoided his attacks while dealing massive damage to Dante. Soon Dante's body was screaming to him in pain, everything hurt. His magical power was quickly fading, he could barely hold onto his angel form. With all of this, Dante started to think this was it. As Dante began to give up, his memories flashed through his mind.

 He remembered when he first joined Fairy Tail with his siblings. They had been on the run for a long while when they first came across Fairy Tail. Wherever they went, everyone treated Mira like a demon because of her condition. Dante couldn't do anything to help Mira, she had tried to take over a demon and he had no experience with that since he used take over for angels. Mira's magical power was essentially the opposite of his so he was lost on how he could help her. As a result, Mira had a constant appearance of a demon, and they were welcome nowhere.

 All of this changed when Master Markov welcomed them all into Fairy Tail with open arms. Overnight, the Strauss siblings had found their home and people that accepted them. Dante remembered more memories, memories of other Fairy Tail members. He remembered growing up with everyone in Fairy Tail, and the memories they made doing so. The sense of having a home and belonging after so long with either was something that Dante treasured.

 Dante then remembered one of his personal proudest moments. He remembered the day he made S-class. After a long and grueling test on Tenrou Island, the final obstacle that stood in front of Dante was Laxus. He and Laxus were the same age and were taking the S-class test together. They both had made it through all the test and now they had to fight one another to see who would get the title. After a long and tough fight, they both collapsed to the ground at the same time. When they awoke, Markov was smiling at them as he declared them both S-class.

 Dante was brought back to the present as he looked at a cackling Jose. Those memories seemed to strengthen his resolve. It didn't matter that his body was screaming at him to give up. Jose could break his body, but he would never break his spirit. Fairy Tail needed him and after everything Fairy Tail has done for him, Dante will fight. He summoned fourth the rest of his magical power, he would leave everything he had left in this next attack.

 "Heaven's blinding light" yelled Dante as blinding light emanated from his body, filling the room. Jose was taken aback from this and had to close his eyes to shield himself from the blinding light. Dante inwardly cheered; this was the opening he needed. Charging up the remainder of his magical power, Dante flew at top speed towards Jose. With his eyes still closed, Jose's guard was down, and he could not see Dante's next attack.

 "THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR MESSING WITH FAIRY TAIL! HEAVEN'S FIST BARRAGE" yelled Dante as he sent a volley of powerful punches charged with holy energy at Jose.

 Jose screamed in shock and pain as Dante landed serval direct hits before he was blasted away. Jose crashed into the ground, while at the same time Dante lost his angel form. Dante was breathing heavily as he collapsed to one knee, that last attack costed him the rest of his magical energy. For a moment Dante thought he had won, his hopes were shattered as he heard Jose get up to his feet.

 "I admit boy that was a good attack, you almost had me. I suspect that if you faced me at a hundred percent, you might have done better but this is it. You made me angry" responded Jose as he activated another spell that quickly trapped Dante in phantom energy.

 Dante had no more magical power left, and he could not break free of his bindings. Jose laughed as he sent powerful waves of magic coursing though Dante's body. Dante screamed in agony, not able to do anything else. This was the end Dante though as his vision began to blur. He gave everything he had, and it still wasn't enough. Dread filled Dante as he realized he failed, and with his failure Fairy Tail was doomed. Mentally apologizing to all of Fairy Tail, Dante accepted that he was about to die.

 Suddenly Dante was freed from his bindings and gently feel to the ground. At first Dante was confused, until he turned his head and hope filled him. Master Markov stood confidently against Jose. Dante was relieved that Markov was okay, and he had saved him. With Markov now able to fight, maybe Fairy Tail would survive after all.

 Markov looked at Jose with extreme anger which surprised Dante somewhat. He had known Markov for over a decade, and he could have never imagined the kind old man could be capable of such anger. The pure magical power coming from Markov made the air heavy, and Dante was reminded that Markov was so much more than just the kind old man of Fairy Tail. Seemingly not afraid of Markov, Jose laughed in defiance.

 "Haha so you were able to recover Markov. This is good, I can kill you right here before I kill your children" stated Jose as he smiled evilly. Markov directed his attention for a moment at Dante, his expression softened somewhat as he spoke.

 "Are you okay Dante" asked Markov with concern.

 "Y-yah I'm fine master" responded Dante. This was a partial lie. His body was screaming and pain and was close to unconsciousness. Dante was fine because Markov was here now, everything would be better now he thought. Markov nodded and then turned back to Jose, his anger returning tenfold.

 "You hurt my children Jose! For that I cannot forgive you! This ends now! I will give you till the count of three to kneel to me" yelled Markov, anger seething from his voice.

 "What?! Like hell I will" stated Jose in defiance. Dante could not believe that Markov was so confidant about facing such a strong opponent. He needed help Dante thought, maybe he could offer some. Dante rose shakily to his feet.

 "Master let me help you" stated Dante as he tried to rise to his feet before he collapsed once again.

 "There is no need my boy, you've done enough for Fairy Tail. Leave it all to me" responded Markov.

 "Haha you really think it will be that easy Markov" asked Jose. His only response was Markov beginning his countdown.

 "One. Two. Three" responded Markov as his magical power radiated from him. Once the count had reached three, Markov clapped his hands together.

 "Fairy Law" stated Markov as a blinding light enveloped the entire area. Awe filled Dante as he watched Markov perform a legendary spell. He wasn't aware Markov knew Fairy Law, with his spell the fight was won. Sure, enough when the light faded, Jose was a shell of his former shelf and collapsed to the ground defeated. Dante could hear cheering in the distance, meaning that Fairy Law had also defeated the phantoms on the ground fighting the others.

 "You did it master, it's really over" stated Dante as relief flooded his body. His family was finally safe, he could rest now. Dante collapsed onto his back as he lost consciousness. The last thing Dante saw was Markov rushing to his side, he wore a kind smile showing that Markov was proud of Dante. Dante wondered why Markov would be proud of him, Dante failed. If Markov didn't arrive when he did, Dante would have failed and Fairy Tail would have suffered because of his failure.

 The next time Dante gained consciousness, he felt extremely sore all over. As he opened his eyes, Dante noticed that he was no longer in the Phantom Lord guildhall. He felt the soft mattress beneath him, and he quickly realized that he was laying in a infirmary bed, he was in Magnolia hospital. Turning his head to the side he saw Mira sitting in a chair beside his bed, she had fallen asleep. Mira was stirred out of her slumber when Dante struggled to sit upright in the bed.

 "Dante! Your okay" stated Mira with relief as she quickly assisted Dante in sitting upright in the bed. Dante flashed Mira a tired smile, his entire body was sore, and it was difficult for him to move. Taking a quick look at himself, Dante noticed that bandages covered most of his body.

 "Mira, what happened? Is everyone okay" asked Dante with concern. Mira teared up at these words, her big brother was severely injured and yet his first concern was for the guild.

 "Yes Dante, everyone is okay. You were the one that took the most damage, we were all so worried" responded Mira with tears in her eyes. Guilt filled Dante at this moment, he made everyone worry about him.

 "Sorry for making you worry Mira; I should have been stronger" responded Dante as he looked down with shame. Mira gripped his face and made him look at her. Dante looked into Mira's loving eyes as she responded to him.

 "Please don't feel bad, it wasn't your fault. You fought bravely Dante, and everyone is so thankful for that" responded Mira trying to get Dante to feel better.

 "Yah but Mira, I failed. I couldn't beat Jose. If Master didn't show up when he did, I would have been killed and then Fairy Tail would have been destroyed" responded Dante as he gripped the bedsheets while tears formed in his eyes. Mira tried to respond but Dante continued speaking.

 "I promised myself that I wouldn't fail again, not like I did with Lisanna. I was too weak then to do anything, and nothing has changed even after all this time" responded Dante. Both Dante and Mira remembered that fateful day at these words. Mira reached out and gripped Dante's face. She turned his head towards her and placed a loving kiss on his lips. The kiss didn't last long before Mira withdrew and started to help Dante out of bed.

 "Come on, you need to see something" stated Mira as she leaned Dante against her shoulder and started to lead him down the hallway.

 Dante was confused for a moment. His body was still sore, and it was a struggle for him to move. Normally Mira would have been incessant that he stay in bed and rest, so why was she the one that was dragging him out of bed. Soon the two of them were at the front door and exited the hospital. The moment they exited the hospital, Dante was met with loud cheering from a large crowd. Looking out into the crowd, Dante realized it was all of Fairy Tail.

 "Hey, your finally awake" stated Wakaba happily.

 "We were worried about you, happy to see you walking around" stated Macao

 "We heard you faced Jose for us, we are so thankful" stated Erza.

 "Yah that was really brave of you man" stated Gray.

 Dante heard similar statements from the rest of the guild, all of them expressing their thanks for his actions. He smiled as he was overcome with emotion. So, this was why Mira dragged him out of bed, she wanted him to see that he hadn't failed. Ever since Lisanna's death, Dante thought he needed to become strong by himself. Now he realized that he always had Fairy Tail to back him up. Tears feel from his eyes as he looked up at everyone.

 "Anything for Fairy Tail" stated Dante to the cheers of everyone. Soon after this, Mira told everyone that Dante still needed to rest, and she helped him to their home. Along the way Mira filled him in on the aftermath of the war with Phantom Lord. Dante learned that he was out for two days, and since then the magic council arrested Jose and forced Phantom Lord to disband. It was still up in the air what the magic council would do to Fairy Tail but for now construction on a new guildhall had begun. Relief flooded Dante as he heard that everyone had made it through all of this in one piece.

 Soon the two of them were home and Mira led Dante into his bed. Dante grunted with effort as he was laid down to rest. Mira explained to him that the doctors said that it would take roughly a week for Dante to recover to the point he could walk on his own. Even with magical treatment, Dante still needed all of that time to heal because of how much of his magical power was drained from his fight with Jose. At first Dante protested being on bed rest for a whole week but was stopped short by Mira.

 "Oh, come on big brother, it won't be so bad" stated Mira sweetly as she removed her dress right in front of Dante. Dante stared lustfully at his little sister as she was standing in front of him in just a sexy pair of white bra and panties.

 "A whole week of just me and you in the house? I'm sure we can think of something to pass the time" stated Mira sweetly as she removed her bra and let it fall. Dante stared at Mira's naked breast, cursing himself that he lacked the strength to reach out and touch them. A whole week of Mira prancing around like this while Dante could not move? Dante was suddenly worried as the implications of Mira's lewd game became clear.

 "I think I am in trouble" stated Dante jokingly as Mira walked out of his room to give him time to rest. Dante laid his head on his pillow and tried to fall asleep. The sooner he revered the less time Mira would have to tease him.

 End of Chapter 18