Scarlet Angel (edited)

Chapter 18

Jellal's POV

The creature was huge, but that's not what stopped me in my tracks. Skin was hanging off its body, some pieces falling. Bones were visible on every limb, but what wasn't bone or rotting flesh was pure muscle or plates of steel armor protecting it. Swords, arrows, and marks of war covered the thing, proving its fighting chances and lessening ours. Multiple heads spouted out from the neck, entangled in ways that should mean death to the monster. It was a creature of nightmares and death, immortal by every sense of the word. Unkillable. Unstoppable. And blocking my one way to save Erza. 

It would be killed by my bare hands if it stayed in my way. Nothing would hurt Erza as long as I had a say. 

I bared my teeth at the looming figure which I assumed was a dragon of sorts. It was no Acnologia, but the embodiment of a dying prisoner. Willing to fight teeth and bone, never giving up, always facing its doom, but never quite reaching the end. It was a familiar feeling... just like in the Tower of Heaven... but I couldn't fight this dragon with sympathy. It would take more to kill it than to understand how it feels. 

My gaze was focused on the creature, scanning for a weakness that could save me some time in what would indubitably be a gruesome battle. The pointed fangs bared in a snarl would be deadly, but so would the red-stained claws extending from its large paws. 

I was too focused on the creature to notice the people around me raising their weapons to the beast until one voice commanded soldiers to march forward and "Subdue it quickly".

Her figure was still as ghost-like as always, but the energy radiating off of her was different. She was commanding a troop and leading not by fear, but respect. Even when she looked at me, there was no intimidating feature upon her face, but I still couldn't ignore her leadership.

"You're part of my troop. Why aren't you attacking?"

"We can't overwhelm it by sheer numbers. Don't you see how many people have failed to kill it before?" I motioned at the dead remains of those who came before us to get the precious artifact out of this place. "We need a strategy. Do you see its arms? When it lifts them, the skin underneath is unprotected, and-"

"So what are you waiting for? You're a wizard, you can fight, so help them." 

I nodded, powering up my meteor to rush the beast as soon as it attempts to crush a group of warriors trying to break through its skin. The speed of the stars was coursing through every drop of blood in my veins, but nothing would push me to move until I saw my opening. Soldiers were being flung across the cavern, dying on impact, but if I made a move prematurely, it would be for nothing. 

For a brief second, I could see the creature lift its front leg, so I ran with everything I had to reach it in time. The red skin was so raw, the smell of its decaying flesh was spreading through my nostrils, but if I could persevere, I could defeat it. One punch. One burst of magic. One move is all it would take. I lifted my clenched fist whilst in midair, pulling it back as far as I could, and then I froze. 

A second in the air of doubt before I started to fall out of reach of the goal. No. No, no no! If I let myself fail now, I would never see Erza again. 

I forced myself to ricochet off of the creature's back leg, kicking off towards its armpit. My fist was charged with my heavenly magic, ready to strike the beast down, and I didn't disappoint. It fell on impact with my fist, its front leg now torn off its large frame. 

The soldiers around me were silent, but their expressions showed relief and ecstasy. They were proud of me, and outsider who won a major battle for them. I thought the same would be true for Layla, but she only stared at me with her neutral expression, letting two simple words fall out of her mouth. "You hesitated."