Aria (Gray x OC)

+Twelve+

The man's fist didn't move any further. As he tried, his fist remained suspended in the air as though an invisible substance held him back. And surely, it was exactly just that. Confused he looked back at the magenta-haired girl with a stern frown.

With a flame of determination dancing in her warm eyes, she stood with furrowed brows.

Noticing her hands appearing to hold something, the man knew that Mellodi had to be the source of what was preventing him from attacking Gray.

His lips curved into a sickening grin as he dropped his fists and quickly approached the girl. "Aren't you a surprising one?" He hummed. "First that voice, and now I've discovered this neat little magic." Within the blink of an eye, the man was in front of her face. "I think I like you, girl. I'll just keep you to myself."

He reached out to touch her chin, but a shard of ice grazed his fingers, just barely missing the girl's skin with stellar accuracy.

"Don't you dare..." Gray growled as he wobbly stood to his feet.

The man chuckled at his attempt to protect Mellodi.  "Would'ja look at that. Lover-boy's gonna protect his princess."

The girl frowned. "I'm not defenseless." She said, furthering her resolve.  She set down her guitar case, knowing the situation was going to become serious.

The man's face twisted into a pained expression, and then he began to struggle for air to reach his lungs. His cheeks took upon a deep shade of purple.

But as soon as he appeared to struggle, he was fine again.  His hands clutched onto the solidified air particles that laced his neck, and although they were invisible, they immediately turned to ice, stretching all the way to the girl's fingers.

Mellodi yelped as the ice pierced the skin in her and where the air was collected.

"Nice try, girl." The man scoffed. "But whatever I touch will turn to ice upon my will, as long as it's solid." The ice that had encompassed the air that the girl manipulated shattered. "And it will only shatter upon my will."

From behind the yet-to-be-known man, Gray positioned his hands for a spell, and quickly shouted, "Ice-Make; Lance!"

Before the sharp shards could impale his body, his back became encrusted in ice, and Gray's magical creations shattered. "That includes my body." He added.

"Just who the hell are you?!" Gray raised his voice, becoming very irritated. 

He turned his head, looking down upon the two guild mages. "I am the Ice Dragon Byron." He proclaimed with great pride.

The Ice Mage couldn't stifle his laughter as he scoffed at their enemy's proclamation. "So you claim to be a dragon?!" Tears budded in his eyes due to the immense laughter.  Mellodi, too, released a giggle. "That's more stupid that claiming to be a God!"

"You sure as hell better believe it. Keep my name in mind: Byron the Ice Dragon; the one that kicked your ass and stole your girl." He flashed a cocky grin at Mellodi, who blinked in surprise.

"Psh." Gray clicked his tongue. "Like I'll let a chump like you touch her." 

"You mean, touch her like this?" Within an instant, Byron took a thick lock of her magenta hair within his large hands, and each strand froze upon the contact. 

Mellodi pulled away in shock as Gray angrily attacked Byron with a slew of Ice-Make attacks.  None of which caused any damage to the icy-haired man.

Alternatively, the girl was oddly concerned with her frozen hair.  The sensation didn't seem to be normal ice, and was vaguely familiar in some respects, but not similar to any of Gray's Ice Magic. As she cautiously touched one of the icy strands, her thoughts intertwined into a conclusion.

This man's Ice Magic was the same that created the massive ice block that prevented anyone from entering the tunnels in the volcano. The shine in her auburn eyes must have alerted Gray to her realization.

She clutched onto the ice that encompassed the lock of hair that Byron froze, and it shattered.

She was correct; the ice that Byron created was not solid, and because of the air inside, she could shatter it from the inside out.

While the man focused on defending himself from Gray's attacks, Mellodi took hold of his hand, which was as cold as ice itself, in attempt to use her own power for her and Gray's benefit.  However, Byron just easily flung her off, and her back collided into the cave wall with a thump.  She released a gasp as her breath escaped her. 

After a few moments on her knees, gasping for air, she regained her composure.  Reestablishing her resolve, she stood again and rushed over to the tall man.

Once again, she clutched onto his arm, but even tighter.  "Gray!" She shouted, hoping he understood just where her thought process was.

He nodded, and as quickly as possible, commanded, "Ice-Make; Lance!" once more.

This time, the hundreds of spear-like icicles pierced Byron's muscular body, causing blood to spill from the wide wounds as the red liquid also spewed from his mouth. He fell to the ground, cursing himself as he bitterly pondered, "How?" in a rough, raspy voice.

"Looks like your magic is ineffective against my 'neat little magic.'" Mellodi mocked with a confident air.

Byron spat more blood from his mouth as he cursed the girl. 

"Don't even dare to look at her." Gray placed a foot on top of his muscular back triumphantly. "Tell us why you're doing this." He demanded.

"Why?" Byron scoffed, his ice-colored messy hair becoming stained with the pool of blood surrounding his body. "I just enjoy it." He huffed, knowing that wasn't the sort of answer the other mages wanted to hear.

"You enjoy torturing these people?"

"What's so odd about that?" He released a distorted chuckle as his dark eyes reflected nearly insanity. "Holding the lives of people in your hands... Knowing you're the only one that can decide if they live or not."

"What if we kill you right here and now?" Gray questioned devilishly, becoming more irritated by his words as he pressed on his back harder.

Byron scoffed as though the entire scene was a joke. Before they could understand what was happening, ice encompassed Gray's foot, keeping him in place as the bloodied man rolled from under his other foot, which immediately became frozen to the icy ground after he did so.

He tightly grasped onto Mellodi, keeping her from escaping. "That won't happen." He grinned and spat more blood from his mouth.

Mellodi desperately tried to break free from Byron's arms, but her efforts were useless. "Heh." He chuckled, enjoying watching the girl struggle as Gray was unable to free himself from the ice that captured his feet. "My magic may be ineffective to you, but there's no way you can overpower me in physical strength." 

He began to walk towards the hole where he had come from, and the same hole that the girl had fallen down, with her still struggling in his grasp.

Gray began to panic as he reached out to the girl, to no avail. "Mellodi!" He shouted, his blue eyes showing his fear. 

"Gray!" She screamed, also reaching towards him. But Byron was too physically strong for her to be able to do anything.  And she didn't know how to use her magic enough to find a way to stop him. "Gra-" She began again, but was immediately interrupted by a sharp stinging on her neck.

Byron's lips pressed heavily on her flesh, exactly where the painful sensation emanated, but spread throughout all of her veins. When he removed his lips, a parasitic object remained, clearly protruding into her skin and entering her veins with whatever he had forced into her body.

"Mellodi!" Gray's yelling became more panicked.

The edges of the girl's vision blackened,  and everything else became fuzzy. Her head felt dizzy and her entire body ached.

The last thing she remembered seeing was Gray's desperate eyes as he reached out to her.