Fairy Tail - Twilight Empire

Chapter 119 - Yukino & Sorano vs Ajeel

Ajeel gave the two sisters a slow clap as he approached. He was always nonchalant and apathetic in every facet of his life, but he was truly playing it up in front of them.

Yukino brandished her two Gold keys—Pisces and Libra—while Sorano rested her hands on her hips, giving Ajeel a curious look.

"I think of all the people in the Empire, he's definitely in the upper tier of faces I've wanted to punch," Sorano said. "Like there's Axel, August, Neinhart, and then this idiot."

"He's certainly one of the more loud-mouthed ones," Yukino said. "Wears that title of king a bit brazenly, though it's not unwarranted."

"No doubt about that," Sorano said. "So, how do we approach this one?"

"I've got a few ideas in mind, but I'm going to need you to improvise for a bit," Yukino said.

"Don't wanna just jump into it straight away?"

"No, we need to hold onto that in case things get dangerous."

Sorano shrugged. "Fine by me. Wouldn't mind having it from the jump, but you're way more of the strategist than I am, sis. I'll let you take the lead on this one. We'll play cleanup."

Her hands glowed and several golden coins appeared in them—the catalysts for her Angel Magic. Before, when she was new to the Empire and they were all coming into their own strengths as guided by several of the expert wizards and trainers that Zeref had from Alikitasia, the Gold Coins were something she was still getting used to.

The cost of summoning her great Angels, the divine entities from a dimension even beyond the Celestial Spirit World, was grave on Sorano. However, she soon created a barrier between herself and the cost of the magic. Sorano was able to ensure that the summoning cost would only ever be so grave on her magic system. There were still a few, some of the more remarkable Archangels, that could inflict serious damage on her, but Sorano rarely had the need to tap into those.

This fight, Yukino thought, could change things a bit.

In theory, the three combatants all had a similar weakness: they relied extensively on their ability to let their magic fight for them. Yukino and Sorano had their heavenly entities, while Ajeel was not only capable of manipulating the sands around them but also could create Sand Creatures, deadly beasts that could not be defeated so long as Ajeel was left standing. However, breaking through any of those defenses meant that the wizard should be vulnerable.

Sorano was trained well in martial arts and had a few tricks up her sleeve, sure, but Yukino was the one who would have to get in close and fight Ajeel hand-to-hand, since her Star Dresses afforded her increased power in that regard.

Ajeel flexed his hands, and two small sandstorms whipped up on the mountaintops behind them. The ground began to shift, and large Sand Wyverns crawled out, not making any sound beyond the shifting of their grainy bodies against the mountain breeze.

"Open: Gate of the Fish!" Yukino cast. "Pisces!"

"Come forth, Barakiel!"

The mother and son human forms of Yukino's spirits leaped through their magic circle, while Sorano's heavenly entity appeared out of the merged from the gathered three coins Sorano tossed into the air. The angel, of three heads with two wings and arms, drifted down, its blank, stone face staring down at the sneering Desert King.

"Look at you two, calling in backup already," Ajeel said, as if the taunt meant something.

"Such an idiot," Sorano muttered.

"He's trying to throw you off," Yukino said.

"Oh, I know," Sorano said. "Beating the hell outta him is gonna be real fun."