The Knight and The Strawberry

chapter 11

Erza knelt on the ground, one hand clutching her head as blood slowly flowed into her hair. She dug her fingers into the trampled earth beneath her while tears freely rolled down her face. All around her the city of Magnolia was in ruin. Infernos raged across the town and distant screams could be heard as people were found by the monsters hunting them.

It had happened so suddenly she could hardly remember what had happened in those first few minutes. It had been a particularly warm day for the middle of winter. She had simply looked up and that was when everything began. The sky itself was torn asunder, and enormous black hole ripped open the blue sky accompanied by a screeching distorted sound so unnatural it shook her to the core. All was still for a moment as the members of the guild observed the phenomena. That was when they came.

Monsters with beastly bodies poured forth. Some looked as if they were giant apes, others were bug-like, and some were simply masses of misshapen limbs. They all shared a pair of distinct features. A hole going through the center of their being, and a bone white mask covering their faces. The beasts had rushed toward the town and all members of Fairy Tail jumped into action.

Initially things had been going well. The monsters were tough, but still went down without too much difficulty. Their numbers however did not wane. In fact it seemed as if there were more of them every second. After only a few minutes of fighting, the real monsters arrived.

These ones at first seemed no different than their comrades. Their bodies were slightly more humanoid, though they still appeared beastly and deformed. They still possessed the holes and masks. The wizards realized far too late however, that they were on an entirely different level of strength.

The battle had quickly turned against them. While she and the stronger wizards had been capable of holding their own against the new variety of enemy, the rest had not been so fortunate. She couldn't remember who had been the first of her family to fall. They were gone so fast and so many died so quickly she was lost to try and tell who it had been.

With the advantage, the invaders had easily destroyed nearly all of the city. The weaker ones began hunting and killing all of the citizens. Their screams had filled the air and Erza felt her heart shatter with each new one. Soon the only ones left standing were the top wizards of the guild, and they had been pushed back against the ocean. When they were trapped, as if to add the final nail to the coffin, a last wave of reinforcements came through.

Only a half dozen of this final class came through, though they alone possessed more strength than all of the previous army combined. The rest of the monsters they had been fighting quickly shied away from these beings as if afraid. Were it not for the masks and the holes through their bodies, Erza could have mistaken them for nearly human. They were no larger than the average man or woman and had very humanoid bodies. They had almost effortlessly cut down the remaining survivors.

Natsu and Gray had foolishly rushed in. Natsu had gone down first. His foe had caught his fire covered arm and ripped it from the boy's body. He didn't have time to scream before a spear shaped arm punched clean through him, killing him instantly. Gray had frozen in place and put up his largest ice wall as a second being extended its hand in the young man's direction. A blinding dark green light consumed all before it and Gray screamed for only a moment before he was no more.

Laxus had been next. To his credit, it had taken much longer. He was able to very clearly wound one of the larger ones of their group. It was strange how the other 5 had simply watched instead of attacking Erza and Mirajane. It was as if they were far more intelligent than the rabid beasts before.

Laxus' fight came a quick end when his opponent became agitated and began moving at speeds that not even the lightning mage could track. It was brutal. Huge gashes began appearing all over the blonde's body and he would occasionally be thrown one direction only to be rocketed back into the ground. A final, crushing punch to the chest had stopped Laxus' heart.