Secret Weapon

Mystogan's Legion continued its flight in the air, soaring near Coco's Legion. The two Legions flew side by side as they hovered closer to the floating island of the large lacrima. Natsu and Meliodas waved at the group on Coco's Legion, with large grins on their faces.

"Good job you two!" Erza complimented as she smiled back.

"Natsu!!" A familiar voice suddenly cried out from above them.

Meliodas and the rest of the group looked up above them. Flying quickly towards them with a large smile on his face was Happy, carrying Gajeel over with him as well. Behind them, was the hulking form of Pantherlily.

'Oh him?' Meliodas thought as he looked at the large black cat man. 'I guess I held back a bit much when I knocked him to the ground earlier.'

Pantherlily noticed Meliodas looking at him. He quickly turned his head away nervously. The nervousness quickly vanished however as he noticed Mystogan on the Legion with Meliodas.

"Y-young prince!" Lily exclaimed as he got closer to the Legion.

"Prince?!" Lucy, Gray, and Natsu shouted in disbelief.

"I'll explain it all to you later." Mystogan said as he sighed.

"Salamander, look at you, getting rescued by Meliodas. Geehee'' Gajeel taunted with a smirk on his face.

"What the hell did you say?!" Natsu flared back. He hopped up from his sitting position as Gajeel smirked at him while descending. Happy let go of Gajeel, letting Gajeel fall onto the Legion. He and Natsu glared at each other briefly.

"Cut it out! We have more important things to deal with." Lucy said, trying to stop them from bickering.

"She's right." Mystogan responded. Both Gajeel and Natsu looked at Mystogan before looking back at each other again, instead with smirks on their faces.

"So what about our friends? They're still Lacrima." Lucy asked. She gazed at the enormous, crystalline blue Lacrima standing on the floating island.

"Can't me and salamander just smash the lacrima?" Gajeel questioned. He raised his hands up and cracked his knuckles before glancing over at Lily. "Well that's if my new cat here doesn't want to get in my way again. I don't mind a round two."

"That won't be necessary. I've set a reverse anima on a timer. It should go off any minute now and bring the Lacrima back to Earthland, which will transform your friends and Magnolia Town back to normal." Mystogan explained. He looked over at Meliodas.

"If it wasn't for you and Natsu stopping the cannon, I'm not entirely sure my plan would have made it in time." Mystogan continued.

"Wait Meliodas...your arms!" Lucy exclaimed as she got a closer look at Meliodas. His forearms were a dark purple in color from heavy bruising and were massively swollen.

"Oh this? Don't worry about it. Holding off that cannon with my bare hands at first probably wasn't my greatest plan but I didn't have much of a point. Besides, I heal fast." Meliodas said with a grin.

"Now...what about Faust?" Meliodas asked, changing the subject. "Where did he go?"

"I remember his Legion picking him up and flying off as you and Natsu caused the floor to collapse." Erza replied. Mystogan's eyes widened at Erza's statement.

"This can't be good..." Mystogan said, with noticeable panic in his voice. He glanced at Coco who also had a distressed look on her face, knowing full well what was about to happen. Meliodas looked at Mystogan and raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he was so nervous about.

"Look it's Wendy and Carla!" Happy suddenly shouted out as he pointed his tiny blue paw up to the sky. The group looked up in the sky and saw Wendy being carried by Carla. She slowly descended down to Mystogan's Legion and landed in front of Meliodas and Natsu.

"Looks like there's more." Meliodas pointed out. The rest of the group turned around and saw dozens of Exceed flying towards them that filled the sky. Lily's eyes widened as he saw the one winged Exceed who was leading them.

"They're not coming down to say hi?" Meliodas asked.

"Well...we were originally going to help stop the lacrima from crashing into Extalia...but you and Natsu had that covered." Wendy answered.

"Guys look at the lacrima!" Happy suddenly shouted. He pointed his right paw at the floating island with the lacrima. A strange portal appeared above it, much smaller yet similar to the one that had absorbed Magnolia Town. The Lacrima began to glow brightly, with particles of magic rising upward into the portal as the lacrima started to break down. The group watched silently as the anima continued to pick up the lacrima.

Meliodas noticed Mystogan's expression and walked up to him. He tapped him lightly on the shoulder, snapping him out of his trance. Mystogan faced Meliodas, who returned a friendly smile to him.

"So what's got you worried?" Meliodas asked.

"I fear Faust may resort to using Dorma Anim..." Mystogan said quietly. Meliodas raised an eyebrow, puzzled by what Mystogan mentioned.

"And what's Dorma-" Meliodas stopped mid sentence as he felt a large surge in magical power approaching them making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He quickly turned around and saw a huge blast of magic coming their way.

"Watch out!" Meliodas yelled. Everyone immediately turned towards Meliodas as they heard him yell. Meliodas quickly leaped into the air in front of the Legions. Before him, was a giant glowing beam of magical energy that dwarfed even the Legions in size. He reached to his back, grabbing the handle of his sword. For an instant, he winced in pain as he grabbed the handle. 'Damn...I've just about reached my limit on healing for now…'

"Full counter!"

With his left hand on the handle of Mel Force, he swung his blade downward as the beam was about to connect with him. The beam suddenly turned, returning to the source of the attack on the ground below. A giant explosion erupted from the ground in the shape of a dome. The shockwaves of the explosion generated gusts that caused even the massive Legion's to lose their balance and get blown back while those who were on them were forced to hold on tight. The Exceed in the air above them scattered as the large gusts of wind pushed them further away.

"What the hell was that?!" Natsu exclaimed as he held onto the Legion as gusts of air pushed him back. Next to him were Gajeel and Wendy who were also holding on.

"Kyaahh!!" Wendy screamed as she couldn't hold onto the Legion. Gajeel quickly reached out, grabbing her hand before she could fall off.

The shockwaves from the explosion died down. Everyone else got their bearings again as the Legions stabilized themselves.

"Meliodas what happened?" Erza questioned as she saw Meliodas hovering in the air with wings of darkness extended from his back. Meliodas remained silent as he watched the ground. Erza noticed where Meliodas had his attention drawn to and also looked down.

The smoke began to clear out, revealing the figure of a large bipedal dragon. As more smoke cleared, the dragon's full body was revealed as entirely armored with glowing red eyes. It's armor was a silver color that gleamed off the light of the moon.

"What is that thing?!" Lucy questioned.

"It looks like...a dragon?" Gray added.

"That...is Dorma Anim…" Mystogan replied.