Chapter 13: Crash Of Monsters

I'm almost back to full health. Just waiting on some of my voice now but I'm almost better. And I saw the results of last chapter. Second most reviews since the first chapter. Amazing. Thank you all. I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy the chapter. Would have been up earlier but I have some stuff to sort out so better late than never.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Bleach. Shame, it would be great if I did.

Protector Of The Fairies

Crash Of Monsters

Ichigo watched from above at the scene below. The attack connected directly with Gildarts and now they couldn't see anything. The dust blocked most of their sight but they could at least see where Gildarts roughly collided. It was just by Levy's staff.

That had been quick thinking on her part. Raikouhou was the most powerful attack he had available after the Getsuga Tenshou, and that attack all depended on the amount of Magic used in it. Raikouhou had the advantage of not only a large amount of direct damage but also from a paralysing effect similar to Laxus's own lightning attacks.

It was nothing short but pure luck that they managed to pull that off though. Gildarts sure could be dense sometimes. He was certainly stronger than they were but he if he paid more attention, he would have seen their trap. Strength could be overcome if the right situation occurred.

But why were they set up against Gildarts in a straight up fight? It didn't make much sense. This outcome was from luck mostly and, while they wouldn't have given up, it didn't make sense to put them in this kind of situation. Gildarts was the Ace. He was still wondering when Gildarts would get back up.

So if the task wasn't to beat their opponent, then what was it? There weren't any clues and all they had seen was a path leading here.

Levy ran along the ground, going to reclaim her staff. He ignored her for the most part as he tried to work out what was going on. He and the others were brought here and made to fight an S Class Mage each. Erza would have been easier for him and Levy, and Laxus would have been a challenge. Gildarts was the one who technically outclassed them.

If Cana fought Laxus, then he would certainly be far stronger than her. Mirajane would have Erza who, despite being evenly matched, would still be an extremely tough match. Then why? What was the purpose? They were all set up in matches that were purposely tough to what? Test them?

Raikouhou. Gildarts didn't make much attempt to stop it. His greatest fear back then had been if Gildarts had broken free from Rikujoukourou before Raikouhou had been finished. If that had happened, the man could have stopped the attack with one Spell. It was certainly within his ability.

So he took the attack dead on just to see what they were capable of? But he won't take it unless he was positive he could survive. So that meant…

He was moving before the danger appeared. One second Levy was reaching for her staff, and the next she was under his right arm. He vanished with Shunpo as quick as he had appeared, getting them to a safe distance. The dust was finally clearing.

"I'm impressed. You knew I was attacking just as I started."

Ichigo stared at Gildarts as the dust finally scattered. "I thought something was off. So that attack didn't even do anything?"

"I wouldn't say that." Gildarts reached to his cape and pulled part of it out of the way, revealing more of his chest. Tracing a line across it was a large scar.

"Do you see that?" Gildarts pointed at the scar. "That was your attack right now. And it was brilliant. Your teamwork was beyond what I expected. But you don't honestly think you can continue in your condition?"

"Ichigo?" Ichigo looked down at Levy, still under his arm.

"Sorry," he said as he placed her back on the ground. "I needed to get you out of there quickly."

"But…" She looked terrified. "Your arm…"

Ichigo glanced at his left arm. It hung limply by his side and refused to respond to any of his commands. He knew why.

"It's nothing. I'm still fine."

Gildarts raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I caught your arm with my Crash Magic as you grabbed Levy there."

"What were you even doing aiming such a powerful Spell at her?"

Gildarts avoided flinching. Those eyes were glaring at him with undisguised anger.

"I knew you would react in time. I wasn't trying to disable her. You are the main threat here. Especially some of those Kidou Spells you use."

Gildarts looked at Ichigo's limp arm. "I noticed your method of casting. You use your right arm to wield that sword of yours, though how you can manage its weight is beyond me. You have your left arm free so you can still cast Kidou with it. While you may be able to use Kidou with your right, you can't do it at the same time while holding your Zanpaktou."

Ichigo glanced down at his left arm. Gildarts got it all right. So there was a brain in that guy. To even use his protective instincts against him to disable him in such a way showed it. And without Kidou, it would severely limit his ability to fight.

And if he had the choice, he would stay with Zangetsu. Kidou was powerful but it didn't have that reassuring feel a Zanpaktou had. He'd rather have that right now.

Still, he wasn't running. This entire thing was all a test. And he would pass it no matter what happened.

Bringing up his right arm, his hand held Zangetsu strongly and he prepared himself. He could not afford to get hit by another burst of Crash Magic. He remembered that old story Gildarts told him so he knew exactly what Crash Magic could do. It was a miracle his arm was even in one piece instead of being blown apart.

Gildarts gave the teen a smile as the sword came up ready again. So the kid still had a fighting spirit in him, even after that injury. That was good. The kid was ticking off everything he was looking for. He had the power. He had the courage. Now was the hardest part. Would he pass?

"Very well. After all you've done, it would be a disservice to not take you seriously now. I will fight you at full strength."

His Magical Power increased, the rocks crumbled, and the earth shattered.

Protector Of The Fairies

Mira didn't even see it coming. Erza had been right where she wanted her. Soul Extinction had hit Erza. She was sure of it. Her rival had been caught in the giant wave of darkness the Spell had released on impact and it should have beaten her.

They had sparred before so she knew roughly Erza's level. She had never used Soul Extinction against her before but she knew enough from previous experience to know that it would do the trick. Her ace in the hole.

She thought this so why did the darkness disappear into that spear, and why was it protruding from her chest?

"SIS!"

She fell. She didn't know when she began falling and when she stopped. She looked up at her brother to see him holding her in his arms, panic covering his face.

"You'll be okay. You'll been fi-"

He was cut off as he found himself being sent flying. Mira looked up at her brother's attacker only to find Erza standing over her body, barely a scratch on her from the attack.

Her armour had changed. It was now pure black with a pair of creature like wings on the back of her armour, a lot like those of a bat's. Large crosses decorated the shoulder pads and the same crosses appeared on plates that were flanking her and that were attached to her at the waist, forming a skirt of sorts. Protective plating covered her arms and legs while a small breastplate protected her chest, exposing most of her stomach. And to finish it all off, her hair was now no longer loose and was instead tied up in a high ponytail.

This armour was a much faster one than before, and far greater at flying too. The Black Wing Armour. It was one of Erza's most powerful offensive armours as it increased her damage with her weapons.

But what happened to the darkness?

"I kept it a secret."

Mira strained her neck to look at Erza.

"This weapon is called De Malevo Lance. I would normally use it with my Giant's Armour because it lets me throw it better but circumstances forced me to make do here."

Erza grabbed the spear from Mira's chest and pulled it out without a hint of remorse. The demon girl groaned in pain and had to cover her mouth to catch some of the blood threatening to escape. "The power of this weapon is in its ability to seal away darkness. With the power of my Black Wing Armour, it had enough strength to negate your Soul Extinction."

A flash of light appeared and the spear vanished, being replaced by a simple sword. It was placed by Mira's throat.

Mirajane froze as the sword appeared, not even trying to move. She was afraid. But this was Erza. They fought but they were still friends right? She wouldn't really kill her?

But that face and aura. Erza had increased her Magical Power with her threat, making it look more and more like she would really do it. And she didn't look like she had anything stopping her. There was no guilt on that face or anything. It was just blank and serious.

Was this what people felt when faced by her Demon Form? She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live.

She knew what she had to do. It would hurt her pride but she would rather live.

"I surrender."

In those two words, Erza's personality did a one eighty. The sword vanished and her armour returned to her usual set. No longer did Mira feel afraid and no longer did Erza have that blank look on her face. Instead was a warm smile.

"You passed."

Mira's jaw dropped. "What?"

Another flash of light and a medical kit was in Erza's hands as she started treating Mirajane's injuries. "I'm sorry. I had to act like I was willing to kill you."

Mira still looked lost. "Why?"

Erza smiled at her rival. "Every S Class Mage had some sort of trial to overcome that wasn't to do with strength. It is normally to do with fear but it can change. I wanted to teach you that you don't always have to stay and fight. Sometimes you can give up the fight, even if it means your pride is lost, just as long as you can live another day to reclaim it."

"So you-"

"Put you into a situation where you had two choices. Try to fight in your condition and have a chance to win but ultimately die, or to surrender to me so you could continue living. And in Fairy Tail, we never want one of our comrades to die. We want everyone to always keep on living and having fun together."

Erza helped Mira to her feet just as Elfman appeared. "Go on. The Master will meet you up ahead. Take the next step towards S Class."

Mira nodded as Elfman took her from Erza. She refused his aid though. Even if she had to lose to pass, she didn't want to show any more weakness for now. She would walk on her own, and take pride in that.

Protector Of The Fairies

Laxus stood over the body of Cana, the girl barely conscious. Mystogan was already down for the count and it was unlikely he would be up any time soon. He hadn't held back.

He stared down at Cana. "Why?"

She looked at him confused. "Why what?"

"Why didn't you use that attack earlier?"

Cana looked away in shame.

"You understand why don't you?" The girl nodded. "If you had used that earlier in combination with Mystogan, you would have passed."

"You focused too much on him. Wasn't I your opponent?"

He shook his head. She still didn't get it, even if she knew she should have worked together more.

"Why did I focus on Mystogan? The better question is why didn't you use that to your advantage?"

Cana still didn't understand. "But-"

Laxus swiped with his fist, lightning flying to the ground and shattering it. "Look at this!" he roared at her. "Did you really want to fight me? Did you want my attention focused on you?"

Cana looked at him fearfully, slowly shaking her head. Laxus seemed to calm down at her answer.

"Good. You aren't a complete idiot." He looked over at Mystogan. "I focused on him because he was technically the bigger threat in the short term. You're like Levy. Both of you can handle battles up close and react fairly quickly but your strength is different than just sheer power. Your spells work most effectively in combination like that last one."

Laxus sighed. "Why didn't you attack me when I was distracted? Why did you wait for me to finish blocking Mystogan's attacks?"

"It-"

"Didn't feel right?" Laxus laughed. "You can only say those words when you become strong enough to fight as an equal. Do you really think you would be able to challenge me as you are?"

"S Class Quests aren't as simple as people always think. Some are just longer missions with tougher enemies but some require other methods rather than brute force. If an enemy is distracted, take them down during that time. When someone is stronger than you, don't fight how they want to. Use what you can and they can fall."

Cana looked down in shame. Laxus didn't bother trying to comfort her. He wasn't good at that stuff anyway. Besides, he was only meant to test her. Technically, he wasn't required to explain what she did wrong. Ichigo really rubbed off on him.

"I'm sorry, but you fail."

He ignored the tears falling from the girl's eyes as he walked away. It may hurt for her but she would grow stronger with this failure. In all honesty, he believed Gramps had been too hasty with her participation. This was the girl's second trial and she failed again.

He didn't know what was driving the girl, as she seemed to have much more passion in these trials than anything else. The problem for her was that each time she failed and others passed was another blow to her own self esteem. It wouldn't have helped that Erza passed first time at such a young age while she had failed twice now.

He glanced over at Mystogan as he left. While the guy was new, he had potential. Something felt off about him though. His Magic seemed too… artificial? It was off slightly, originating from the staffs rather than his body.

He had to be imagining things. He wasn't brilliant yet at sensing Magic. Being around Ichigo always made it hard because you didn't even have to try to find that guy. It made it hard to find Levy originally though when she was near his friend.

He would have to keep an eye on this Mystogan. No one ever knew what he looked like and, while he could understand some privacy, he was too secretive. He didn't even interact with the guild much, if ever. He just appeared, grabbed a request or two, and then vanished for weeks on end.

He could sense the Magic being released dying down over when Erza and Mirajane were. So they had come to a conclusion too eh? He wondered what Erza had been testing for. Him, Erza, and Gildarts all had something they wanted to see in how they were testing, and it meant that neither one of the trials were the same. Erza was all about survival and pride, he was all about taking advantage of openings and using what you could get, and Gildarts…

Well he was all about fear.

The man's Magical Power was said to be overwhelming. Even he and Erza would get a little scared in the face of it. The man was a monster like Ichigo was.

He could already sense it in the distance. Even all the way over here, he could feel the ground shaking. Over at where the source of the Magic was coming from, he could see the pressure Gildarts was exerting around him. So much Magic was being released around the man that had stretched into the sky as a pillar of Magic, so dense and heavy from the sheer quantity of it.

He really hoped Ichigo passed. It was one thing to fight someone. It was another to fight fear. He could only pray that he and Levy would be okay.

Protector Of The Fairies

A crater was what Gildarts was standing in. The sheer force of his Magic had shattered the weakened ground beneath him and even the crater beneath him looked like it would break even more soon enough.

It was terrifying. The air was saturated with the man's Magic, making it harder to breathe. He subconsciously raised the amount of Magic he emitted just to stand easily. Still, it was scary.

While Ichigo tried to calm down, Levy was in a worse state. She stared at the S Class Mage ahead of them, frozen.

What could she and Ichigo do? They couldn't fight someone like this. It was impossible. The man just released his full power and the ground broke apart. They would be obliterated.

Was it getting harder to breathe? She felt like it was getting harder and harder as each breath became further and further apart. Was this normal? Were they going to die from just being near the man?

She couldn't give up. She couldn't lose hope. But she still felt it slipping away. She collapsed to her knees, her breathing almost stopping from the amount of time between each breath now. What could they do against such a monster? They were going to die? They were-

Warmth. Suddenly everything she had been feeling vanished, the warmth replacing it just as she was about to lose consciousness.

She saw Ichigo with an arm around her, his body positioned to shield her from Gildarts. She could feel his Magical Power around her, keeping her safe from the effect Gildarts's was having on her.

"I'm sorry. I'm going to need to ask you to stay back now."

"But…"

"Levy." She looked up at him, worry written over his face. "Please."

She found herself nodding. Despite how much she didn't want to leave him to fight alone, she knew she had no choice. She couldn't even breathe in Gildarts's presence, and if she stayed there any longer, she would be completely useless.

She hated that weakness.

They vanished, Ichigo's Shunpo moving them far away in the blink of an eye. He set her down carefully. She still felt weak from Gildarts's Magical Power but she could feel herself slowly recovering.

Looking around, she could see they were at the furthest edge of the arena, reaching the continuation of the massive forests.

"Stay safe here. I'll be back afterwards."

She wanted to point out his lie. She knew how much danger Gildarts would be now. They could barely do anything before when he wasn't even serious. What chance would Ichigo have?

She had to believe in him at least though. This was Ichigo after all. He always pulled through. He always managed the impossible. He would be okay.

Ichigo gave her one last worried look before he vanished again, returning to the new battlefield for him and Gildarts. The man watched him return, not having moved from his spot as if he had been waiting patiently for him.

Gildarts glanced over in the direct he had roughly seen Ichigo vanish at. "I assume you took her somewhere safe? Are you sure you won't need her?"

Ichigo shook his head. "She's safer away from this fight."

Gildarts understood what the boy meant. Someone who couldn't even breathe in his presence would find it impossible to fight him. It was be nothing short of suicide. That left only the two of them.

Ichigo looked different now though. He was slowly getting use to used to his Magical Power and any problems breathing had been eliminated almost instantly. The teen's own Magic instinctively increased as his own did, as if excited by the challenge his own Magic was showing.

And the boy's eyes. Where was the fear in them? He had seen some at the start but it was slowly vanishing, being replaced by a fierce determination.

Normally, he would have failed someone if they hadn't given up. That was the main way to pass this test. You needed to show fear and act on it. You had to give up. It was the only thing left that you needed if you ever wanted to reach the top of the Magical World. It was a requirement of an S Class Mage in his opinion.

But then, had he ever expected Ichigo to give up? He probably would have been disappointed if that had happened, even though it was what he was looking for. And it wasn't that Ichigo seemed to not be afraid, rather than he had discarded it.

Fear wasn't evil. In battle, it could hinder you, but it did show you your weaknesses and allowed you to become strong and gentle. That was what he believed. Discarding it should be foolish.

But that look on Ichigo's face. He hadn't given up. Why? He wanted to know. Could Ichigo be the first person to pass another way? Could he have the strength to stand up against him and fight his fear?

It was time to find out.

Ichigo shot towards him, striking fiercely at him with his Zanpaktou. It was stronger than before he noticed, and much faster too. He had to dodge it more carefully this time compared to before.

He made to strike at Ichigo in the moment of recovery but found Ichigo already gone, appearing behind him.

That was new. He changed his Shunpo speed somehow and slipped straight past him without him even being aware of it. Smart.

Dodge, strike, dodge, strike, dodge and strike. This was their game of cat and mouse. Neither one was giving any ground.

So he could deal with this level could he? It was time to step it up.

He shot his arm out faster than before, Ichigo barely dodging the blast of Crash Magic as it shot over his head. He brought his sword up, trying to swipe at Gildarts only for the man to grab the blade by the edge and swing him over his shoulder, hitting the orange haired teen in the process.

Ichigo glanced from Gildarts to his blade, a moment of fear appearing before it vanished. Gildarts inwardly smiled. So Ichigo already knew what he had done to catch the sword. By covering his hand in a layer of Magic, it overwhelmed the attacking power of the blade and dulled the blade considerable.

He wondered when Ichigo stopped dulling the blade in their fight. It was probably when he got serious. Fighting someone like himself with a dulled blade was suicide if you weren't strong enough to compete normally.

Ichigo came at him again, but this time he didn't bother dodging as much. He wasn't anywhere near as fast as Ichigo across distances but as long as he was within his range, he wouldn't lose in speed. Every time Ichigo used Shunpo to dodge, he was already striking at where the teen had moved to.

Ichigo was falling back. He could see it. Ichigo's sword swings weren't effective against him anymore while his own attacks were damaging the teen, even if they were only amplified by Magic. He barely needed to use his Crash Magic.

He was easily winning now. There was no other way to describe what was happening. Ichigo had no hope at stopping him yet he still kept fighting. He still kept trying.

Ichigo was close. He could sense it. But he needed to be sure.

"Why do you keep this up?"

Ichigo frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Gildarts let the teen have this moment to recover. "This fight. You know I'm stronger than you. You know I outclass you. So why? Why do you persist when you know it is futile?"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo laughed. "You think because you're stronger than me that I would give up?"

Ichigo raised his sword and pointed it at the man. "I knew from the moment we started fighting who was stronger. So no matter how much stronger you get, it won't be enough to make me give up. I'm still going to fight."

"I bet you wanted me to run didn't you? I bet you wanted me to surrender. Well look around." Ichigo pointed at himself and at Gildarts.

"Zangetsu once told me that fear clouds the senses. There is only one enemy here and only one of me so what should I be afraid of?"

Ichigo raised his sword and aimed it at Gildarts. "Cast off your fear. Look forward. Go forward. Never stand still. Retreat and you will age. Hesitate and you will die. These were the words he said to me."

Gildarts examined Ichigo, looking for any signs of lies. He could still see some fear in the boy despite his words but it wasn't stopping him.

He had learned something over the years. If you continued into battle while afraid, you would die. Dodging while being afraid of getting hit, attacking while being afraid of hitting the opponent, and protecting someone when you were afraid of them dying. These were classic examples people showed when afraid.

But Ichigo wasn't showing these things. When he dodged, while he was hit, the mindset was definitely there. He was dodging with the intent to not let him hit him. If he was protecting someone, he could tell Ichigo would be thinking that he wouldn't let them die.

And when he was striking at him, he saw the key one. When he attacked, he did it with the belief that he would cut him.

Ichigo had the mindset needed to fight even in fear. If he had that, then he saw no reason why he shouldn't pass the teen. He really did surpass all expectations put before him.

But right now, he was going to keep fighting. A large smile filled his face. This was some of the most fun he had gotten in years. Ichigo wasn't his level yet but he got him to fight seriously, and that was rare in itself. He would enjoy this a little longer.

"Come on then. Show me this resolve of yours."

Ichigo swung his sword, a Getsuga Tenshou flying off the blade. Gildarts shattered it with a swipe of his hand and blocked as a sword came flying through the smoke from the attack. A foot kicked out and he blocked it with his own. His other hand shot out and chucked the Shinigami away.

Again, Ichigo attacked. He began losing himself in the fight, just as the teen was. He even threw in a few weak Crash Spells into the mix.

Rocks shattered around them and the ground gained new craters. Neither one was willing to back down and neither one wanted to show any weakness. Gildarts blasted through another Getsuga Tenshou with two Crash Spells, the second to force Ichigo to move before catching the blade of the Zanpaktou as it swung at him from behind.

He brought up his fist and prepared to smash it down on Ichigo when a scream filled the air.

Ichigo broke out of Gildarts's grip and was already moving, disappearing in a burst of Shunpo. Gildarts broke into a run, attempting to get to catch up. That scream had been from Levy, and it hadn't sounded good.

Ichigo was back where he placed her down in moments. She wasn't there. His eyes scanned the area, looking for her desperately.

"LEVY!"

Where was she? She had to be okay. She was out of the way. She wasn't meant to be able to be harmed at such a distance.

Unless… No. That wasn't meant to happen.

But Gildarts never said how far Crash Magic travelled if unopposed. He had dodged a few Crash Spells very recently and he hadn't been paying attention to where he was standing. If one had travelled this far, then Levy could have been caught in it.

He scanned the area, looking for a sign to dismiss his fears. The more he looked though, the more scared he grew. The area certainly did look like it had been caught in a blast, and it seemed like it could be Crash Magic.

A sound distracted him and he turned to where Levy had been. One of the destroy trees had droplets of a liquid falling off it into a small puddle.

That wasn't water. Water wasn't red.

Gildarts had said how destructive his Magic was. And after all these years of refining it, what would happen if it hit someone? He had a feeling that they would be completely obliterated, leaving barely a trace of their own existence.

He collapsed to his knees, Zangetsu falling from his hand. No. She couldn't be dead. He moved her all the way here to keep her safe. She wasn't meant to get hurt. She wasn't meant to die.

He could hear Zangetsu in the corner of his mind trying to comfort him but he didn't listen. He was too lost in despair. Levy was dead, and it was his fault. She would have been defenceless against Gildarts's Magic, and because of that, he failed to protect her.

He got another person killed. Just like how he got his mother killed.

Was he even worth the Fairy Tail name anymore? Just like he wasn't worth the Kurosaki name, would he have to cast of the guild's name in shame?

Footsteps sounded nearby. Gildarts appeared and examined the clearing like Ichigo had, confusion filling his mind.

He knew for certain that his Magic didn't stretch this far. Crash Magic had a sizeable distance for such a close range style of Magic but it shouldn't have travelled this far, even at full strength. The distance was too long and the attack would have collapsed before even getting close.

But Ichigo wouldn't know that. He would be panicking and his mind would create answers that would be bad for both of them.

"Ichigo?"

He wasn't responsive. He slowly reached towards the teen.

Ichigo noticed the S Class Mage's approach but ignored him. What was he to do now? What good was he?

"Avenge her."

That voice. It wasn't Zangetsu. It was someone else. He recognised the voice. He had heard it all those years back after his mother's death.

It sounded an awful lot like him own but there was an echo to the voice. He hadn't noticed it back then but it was there.

"He took her from you. It's his fault she's dead."

Yes. The voice was right. He couldn't let this anger and pain go. He had to make the man suffer. He wanted to kill him so bad. But there was no way he was strong enough. He had already seen proof of that.

"Let me out. You aren't strong enough. I'll destroy him."

Would this voice he was hearing be powerful enough? He desperately wanted to kill Gildarts with his own hands and his own mind, but if this was the cost to get vengeance, he would pay it.

"Leave it to me."

He could hear Zangetsu's warnings in the back of his mind, trying to stop him from listening. He was too upset and angry to listen though. He felt the control of his body slipping away from him and instead of fighting it, he let it happen.

"I'll kill him for you King."

As Gildarts's hand was about to touch Ichigo on the shoulder, he withdrew it as fast as he could, barely avoiding having his hand severed.

Laughter filled the air. It was madness. It was insanity. The laughter was just too crazy in its sound for it to be anything else. And it was coming from Ichigo.

The boy stood up from the ground, bringing the sword of his up onto his shoulders.

"Well? Why are you just standing there like an idiot?"

Gildarts spun round, his fist snapping out and firing off a Crash Spell. It intercepted the blade that had been swinging for his head, stopping the blade's momentum and sending Ichigo flying back.

He saw the teen in front of him and shot his head back round, seeing where Ichigo had vanished. That was fast. He reacted on impulse, and it had just saved him.

Ichigo's Shunpo hadn't been that fast before. He would be able to keep up with it, he was sure of, but he hadn't expected such a massive jump in speed from before. It was a bit frightening.

Ichigo stared at him, a smirk on his face. Was it really Ichigo though? That laughter was too weird to be natural and that voice hadn't been Ichigo's normal voice. There had been a strange echo to it. And the teen's eyes. They looked like they wanted to rip him apart. But it was their appearance that really freaked him out. The pupils and sclera had turned black while the irises had turned yellow. That wasn't normal.

"Ichigo? No. Who are you?"

The person smiled wider. "Well well well. Look who figured it out." Ichigo slowly clapped. "I'm impressed you figured it out. Was it the eyes?"

Ichigo suddenly shot forward, the blade aimed to pierce through his chest.

"Or was it because of my instincts?"

Gildarts batted the strike away before grabbing Ichigo's right arm. "I asked you a question. Who are you?"

Ichigo smiled. "That's a stupid question. I am who I am."

Gildarts almost missed it. An attack shot at him from his right and he dodged under it, smashing his free hand into Ichigo's chest and using a small amount of Crash Magic to send him flying away.

As Ichigo was sent flying, his eyes turned to his cape. It had been caught by the attack, a small section ripped off by something.

His answer was in front of him. Ichigo stood up and held out the piece of cape mockingly, clutched in his left hand.

How? He crushed that arm earlier to the point where it should be unusable. It shouldn't have healed enough unless he had visited a healer afterwards. But here was Ichigo swinging his arm around like there was nothing wrong with it, and he could tell whoever was in control was doing this just to taunt him.

Healing Magic wasn't the most common Magic in the world and the speed it could be done at varied to large degrees. What kind of Magic was this though? He had never heard of something that allowed the user to heal themselves this quickly. Bones had to have been fixed and muscles re-grown and it could only have happened after the change. If it had happened before, Ichigo would have taken advantage of it. No, this was all the result of this thing.

He rushed forward, Magic enhancing his limbs as he shot towards Ichigo. His opponent was surprised by his sudden speed and tried to pull back to dodge but he wasn't going to let him escape so easily. One blast of Crash Magic and it shot straight into Ichigo's chest.

The teen flew away much further, a few unlucky trees breaking as he crashed through them. He hadn't held back too much with that strike. He needed to know how far that regeneration went.

He saw Ichigo struggle to move before slowly getting to his feet. His attack had ripped through the teen's shirt and he could see the bruises on the teen's chest.

That attack should have done more. He had meant to crack half the boy's ribs with that strike. This regeneration of his was stronger than he predicted if the damage had already been healed. And true to his word, he could already see the bruises disappearing.

In any other circumstances, he would have been fascinated by such powerful Magic. Right now though, he didn't have time to wonder too much about it. This was a battle, and whoever was controlling Ichigo wasn't afraid to try and kill him. The aim of the strikes so far had proved that, and he doubted the Magic he was using to protect his body would be able to block the blade against this opponent. It was why he had made sure to knock the blade away instead of catching it.

And if this wasn't Ichigo in control, he doubted trying to reassure the boy would do any good. Ichigo believed that he had killed Levy after all. Why would Ichigo try and stop his own attacks if Ichigo himself wanted revenge.

Ichigo stood up before looking at the blade in his hand in disgust. He grabbed the chain at the end of the hilt and gave it a few swings from it, the blade quickly spinning around.

The sword suddenly flew at him from Ichigo. The attack was easy to dodge but he didn't expect what happened next. As the sword flew past, Ichigo appeared right next to the blade, grabbed the hilt of it, and used his feet to dig into the ground and swing around.

Crash Magic erupted from his feet as he sank deep into the ground. The blade swiped over where his body would have been a second ago and he struck up at Ichigo, blasting the teen into the aim.

Ichigo flew up before kicking at the air above him, forming a tiny platform of Magic under his feet and using it as a springboard to launch himself back down. Energy gathered around the blade and a large Getsuga Tenshou shot at him.

Gildarts pulled an arm back and punched, Crash Magic accelerating his fist to blast the attack away, before he quickly leaned to the side as the blade of the sword swung past him. The two fighters turned to face each other as fist hit blade, each side fighting for dominance.

Ichigo was sent flying back again and the pattern continued. Gildarts would dodge another set of wild attacks and would get some blows in, causing damage to be done to Ichigo, only for it to all be healed a few seconds later and for him to attack again.

This Ichigo was tricky to deal with. Trickier than he would have liked. And he was definitely stronger than Ichigo. The advantage he had though was because of that Zanpaktou of Ichigo's. Whoever was in control of Ichigo would keep looking at the blade and he could tell that person was finding it hard to control.

It didn't match the person's style either. He was using Ichigo's body in a berserker style, relying on that regeneration trick to heal the damage he was taking and instead focusing on trying to hit the enemy and overwhelming them with superior strength. Ichigo's Zanpaktou had been more effective in those sudden quick strikes, not the strong overpowering ones this person was trying.

It would have still been effective, if he was a lesser opponent. But he was still Fairy Tail's Ace. He had completed Ten Year Quests, and he had fought Demons stronger than this. And he could handle someone using a blade they were uncomfortable with for certain.

This fight wouldn't last much long either. Each time that regeneration happened, he felt a drop in Ichigo's Magical Power. To sense such a big drop meant this Spell took up massive amounts of Magic. There was still a lot of Magic left, but he could outlast Ichigo.

Ichigo scowled at him before jumping from his latest attack. He ascended as he escaped and suddenly stopped. Gildarts gave him all his focus. Whatever he was planning to do, it would be big now. People always saved trump cards for when they were losing like this.

He felt Ichigo's Magical Power skyrocketing. From the look of it, this next attack would be the deciding one. This would be a pain. This was a lot of Magical Power that was being unleashed at one point.

Ichigo brought Zangetsu back, his other hand joining the right on the hilt. He held it back with both hands, ready to swing as massive amounts of energy gathered around it.

This wasn't a normal Getsuga Tenshou. This was much more powerful than any Ichigo had used before. Gildarts could see the power it held. There was simply so much energy wrapped around the blade that it couldn't be contained and was overflowing in massive amounts behind the teen.

He swore. He had gotten arrogant. He hadn't believed the Getsuga Tenshou was capable of this kind of power, but then no one had expected this much Magic to be put into it.

He could not let himself get hit by this. An attack like this would kill him. There was no way he could escape the blast though. He had to cancel it out.

"Too late," Ichigo cried out. "GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

Damn. Would he make it? What he was doing was risky.

The sides of his palms came together as he stretched them out towards the Getsuga Tenshou. He waited till the attack was almost upon him before separating his palms and swiping them to the side.

"Crash Dispersal."

His Magic flew out and connected with the Getsuga Tenshou, both attacks fighting for dominance. He knew a normal Crash Spell wouldn't be enough to stop this attack so Crash Dispersal would solve that problem by spreading the attack out and hitting it with multiple Crash bursts simultaneously.

That was how it worked in theory but it was very hard to time. A second too late and the attack would break through. A second too earlier and the attack would be too far away to work successfully.

He didn't give up supplying Magic to his attack. This was a battle of Magical Power, and whichever one had the most would win.

Finally, the two attacks imploded, each being destroyed by the other. Gildarts panted and tried to draw in a few large breaths, trying to recover from the sheer amount of Magic he had been forced to use so suddenly.

He froze and tried to spin round, Ichigo already behind him. How had the teen gotten past? He hadn't seen anything or even sensed anything.

He could already see he wouldn't be able to avoid the blade. It was too late. All he could do was try to force the blade to miss any vital areas.

He pushed forward with his feet, Crash Magic firing him away as the blade tore across his skin. He was lucky. He avoided most of the blade and it had barely managed to cut the skin, the wound shallow along his arm.

Instincts took over and he slammed his fist into Ichigo's chest, not willing to let him have the time to recover. Crash Magic erupted from his fist, blasting through Ichigo and breaking half the bones in the teen's chest and possibly even crushing some of the teen's organs.

Ichigo struggled to stand for a moment, even with his spine shattered, before he finally collapsed. Already, Gildarts could see the signs of regeneration but he knew it was over. As the last of the damage healed, he could sense how low Ichigo's Magical Power was at.

"Damn. Sorry. I missed King."

The eyes changed as the teen collapsed, returning to their usual brown.

Gildarts finally let himself relax. It really was hard to fight someone this strong while still trying not to completely obliterate them. It Ichigo hadn't been able to regenerate somehow, he could have saved them a lot of trouble.

He touched the small wound on his arm, just by his shoulder. It really was faint. It was only luck that saved him there. He hadn't expected Ichigo to try one last strike after that Getsuga Tenshou. The lingering energies from the two attacks had provided large cover for him to slip past suddenly and he had almost gotten him.

As for that Getsuga Tenshou, the damage it had done along with his Crash Magic was evident all around them. Half the landscape had been blown away from that last strike, a new large crater decorating the landscape. He was certain that the ground had been higher in places too. That had certainly been a powerful clash.

Ichigo looked okay now, and that was good. He didn't know what that thing was, but he didn't want to know either. It was too strange and powerful.

But now, he had someone else to deal with. His head turned towards the forest and glared into the darkness through the trees.

"You better have a good explanation for what you did."

Protector Of The Fairies

Okay. Who thought the S Classes Trials had really ended? Come on. Admit it now.

I couldn't end it there last chapter though. It ended with everyone passing from a rough outsider view, though a lot of you knew what was coming. And here it was. The conclusion to each battle. Some were short like Erza's and Laxus's and I hope you liked the results of those two.

Now Ichigo's was one of my favourites. It took up most of this chapter, and we all know who made a guest appearance in this chapter. Did you like that guy? I hope I captured his personality right for what I'm going for.

Did you also like my reasoning for why Ichigo still stood his ground? Unlike Natsu when he took his trial in the future, Ichigo can stand up to Gildarts when he gets serious. He was completely outclassed as we saw, but he could fight. With Kisuke as a teacher and Zangetsu too, I couldn't see him retreating because of fear. He was taught how to fight by them and how fear would get him killed as we saw in the manga.

What happened to Levy I bet you want to know though? You will need to wait to next chapter though Gildarts seems to know what has happened. Can any of you guess?

For the record, that final Getsuga Tenshou of this chapter is that one Kuugo saw in Bleach. I'm sure all you Bleach fans out there know the scene.

As for Fairy Tail, did you guys read the new chapter? Tartaros has raised the bar and I can't wait till I get there in the future. Got one or two little chances to that scene with the Council planned but I have to give that Dark Guild props. Take out the Council first and hopefully they can cause some chaos to give them some cover despite being out in the open.

Anyway, till the next time. I've been Takei. Thanks for reading.