Fairy Tail: The Dark Swordsman

96 - The Anima

[X784, Edge of Magnolia, Dannis' house]

— Dannis Martell —

"Are you sure about this, Mira?"

"Yes." Mira nodded firmly, eyes shining with determination. "We kicked the hornet's nest when we went after Oración Seis. It won't take long until the rest of the Balam Alliance retaliates. When that time comes, I need to be as strong as I can be."

Dannis nodded, understanding the logic. "I do feel the need to warn you. This guy was a Wizard Saint. It took both me and Laxus to take him down. Even then, it was the Etherion that killed him instead of us."

"I'm sure," Mirajane replied without hesitation, her lips curving into a smile.

"Alright." Dannis couldn't help but smile back, proud of the She-Devil he called his girlfriend.

With a simple gesture, black mist swirled at his side as Wraith Jellal emerged across from Mirajane, the right side of his face where the tattoos had been in real life glowing an eerie red.

Mira's body glowed, bathed in light as she shifted into her Satan Soul form. The bat-like wings unfurled from her back as her smile sharpened into something more dangerous.

They charged, forearms clashing as the ground cracked from the force.

Dannis stayed back, watching closely. While Wraith Jellal did not have the same strength that he had when he was alive, it was close.

All Wraiths retained their memories as well as their instincts, which means that this Jellal still had all the combat experience he gained as a Wizard Saint.

His attacks were sharp and methodical, and his intelligence had not waned in the slightest. He continued to probe Mira for weaknesses, knowing what to do to push her to her limits.

Mira met the challenge with a devilish grin, matching him with ferocity. Her claws raked against Jellal's hexagonal shields as she turned, whipping at the former saint with her tail.

It won't be an easy fight for her, but the experience of fighting a Wizard Saint will do wonders for her training.

Dust plumed into the air as their battle echoed across the forest, shockwaves rattling the leaves.

"Not bad," Dannis muttered under his breath. The sight of Mira fighting like that lit a fire in his chest. If she was pushing herself forward, then he had no excuse not to do the same.

Fairy Tail had never been stronger. He knew it, Makarov knew it, and Mavis knew it. In fact, he had heard from Wakaba saying that the current generation of mages was the strongest that Fairy Tail has ever had.

Their generation was stacked with S-Class mages, with even more waiting in the winds.

All of the higher ups of the guild had held the meeting just days ago regarding the coming S-Class trials, specifically about the potential candidates that would be chosen.

Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Levy, Gajeel, Juvia, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, Cana, Lucy, even Wendy. Each one had the potential to be S-Class.

Yet strength attracted enemies. The potential danger that Fairy Tail would face in the future was astronomical. The other two heads of Balam Alliance still lurked, along with Alvarez breathing down their necks.

Gildarts' story about his clash with August the Wizard King still had Dannis shaking his head to this day.

Eclipse-Born, a person born from the descendants of the Etherious, which allowed them to utilize demon curses as well as have a 100% affinity to demonic magic. Since the Etherious were Zeref's creations, that made Dannis, in some way, a descendant of Zeref himself.