Everyone gathered outside of the guild, a huge crowd having formed around a pair of people. Voices echoed through the group as people boldly declared bets on the two participants about to fight.
Erza and Nozomi both stared one another down- Erza smiling, Nozomi grinning.
I just sighed as I stood together with Levy, her fingers interlaced with mine as I watched with an amused look. "Erza's gonna beat her, poor girl."
"You sure about that?" Levy asked, though her voice showed she was merely asking for the sake of it- she had no faith that Nozomi could win against Erza yet.
I just gave her a look that made her chortle and decide to bet some money on Erza winning.
A day or two had passed since the incident with Lullaby, and now was the day for Erza and Nozomi's fight. After our return, Nozomi had told Erza that she wanted to fight her as a 'thanks' for the request. Of course, Erza had no problem with it and only asked for a short amount of time to prepare for the fight.
I, of course, had stayed out of it. I didn't want to draw more attention to myself, especially since the name 'Oberon' had already started making the rounds through the guild... I'd even already been featured in Sorcerer Weekly under the nickname, it was crazy how fast things could spread in an anime.
As I watched the two about to throw down, I lamented that it was almost a shame that I knew the fight was going to be interrupted...
But would it?
Come to think of it, the excuse to have Erza arrested to 'show an example' was because she had destroyed the Guild Master building plus excess damage everywhere else. But I had personally gone back and undone all the damage that we had done before with my Rewind spell, so their pretence to take her should be gone.
I was about to think more about that before Makarov's voice cut through the air. "Alright!"
Makarov looked between them both. "I want a nice clean fight between you two ladies, understood?"
"Yes," Erza nodded simply.
"I'm all fired up!" Nozomi grinned widely as she punched her palm with a grin. "I'll show you how much better I've gotten since last we met, Erza!"
The red head merely smiled. "Then show me how good you've gotten, Nozomi."
"Begin!" Makarov declared.
Predictably, Nozomi charged in first, fists aflame as she threw a punch straight at Erza's face without hesitation.
However, Erza changed into her Flame Empress Armor without missing a beat, deflecting the attack away from herself using her sword. Another sword formed in her other hand, lightning coursing through it as she thrust it towards Nozomi.
Flames burned to life on Nozomi's feed as she lifted her leg and met Erza's sword with her foot. A wild grin bloomed on her face, her black eyes shining with pure delight at the two clashed.
I watched the fight seriously, my God's eye activating of its own accord. Using my Time Magic as a basis, I had managed to add another attribute to my God's Eye- minor precognition. It was nothing like Clairvoyance, instead it was closer to Akashi's Emperor Eye from Kuroko's Basketball, or the Sharingan.
What was caught in my vision was rapidly analysed at high speeds, allowing me to simulate the effects of 'seeing the future' just like the Sharingan was said to do, or the Emperor Eye.
I was using my God's Eye to watch the fight, using it as training for myself to see if I could predict their moves before they happened... This was as good of an opportunity as ever, after all.
I did lament that I had yet to add the 'Copy' function to my God's Eye though... Otherwise I could have copied Nozomi's Dragon Slaying Magic. Mixing her Fire with my Stars would have been a huge boon. There was even a chance that I might have been able to develop Sun Dragon Slaying Magic down the line.
With the cosmic energy of the stars mixing with the raging flames of the fire dragon... There was a possibility for it.
"Left high kick," I murmured quietly, just loud enough of Levy to hear.
The next moment, Nozomi's leg lifted off the ground, aiming a kick at Erza's shoulder- her left leg to Erza's right shoulder.
Levy looked at me in surprise. "You..." She saw my active God's Eye. "You're predicting their actions?"
I gave a short nod at her words. "Why shouldn't I use this chance to refine my God's Eye even further, right?" I smiled, not taking my eyes off the fight.
She just chuckled and rest her head against my shoulder. "Sneaky," she murmured, but her eyes moved back to the fight as well.
It was shaping up to be a pretty good fight between them, even Erza's face began to focus up a bit more than before. She clearly realised that she might have underestimated Nozomi and was now about to start putting in some serious effort.
As I watched, I couldn't help but feel my blood starting to boil... A desire was welling up within me, one I hadn't yet experienced in my life. One that likely came as a result of my recent bloodline evolution, or perhaps it was even my own mentality finally shifting after having been in this world for long enough.
I wished I could join the fight.
I wanted to thoroughly test myself against Erza and Nozomi. I wanted to see how long I could last against the both of them. I wanted to push myself and see if I could get even stronger.
BB, floating behind me and unseen to even me, merely smiled with a wicked gleam in her eyes. For a moment, her eyes flashed crimson with delight, before they returned to purple as she kept her focus split between me and the fight.
Suddenly, I noticed it. A shift in Nozomi's expression as she backed up, her hands coming up close together. I tensed, and my eyes glistened as Nozomi's magic power began to fluctuate for a moment before it grew.
It was coming. A Secret Art-!
"Clear the way!" A voice declared.
All of us turned to see the unusual frog... Person... Thing? Whatever it was, it was flanked by the Rune Knights- an official spokesman for the Magic Council... But why? I repaired everything, so...
Wait, was it possible that they weren't here for Erza, but-
"On behalf of the magic council, the one known as Ash Crestfall is to be taken into custody," the frog declared.
Everyone gasped and eyes turned to me. Levy in particular looked shocked and I just sighed, rubbing the sides of my head. I knew this was just for show, but come on- really?
"I'll be fine," I promised Levy quietly. "It's just for show."
She gulped but nodded as I stepped out of the crowd and offered my wrists, allowing myself to be cuffed.
As the cuffs were put on me, my Transformation magic was broken- my wings and halo emerging. I saw people jump slightly at the sight of them. I grimaced in distaste… I didn't like being stared at…
"Hey, this isn't right!" Nozomi complained, marching forwards.
"Erza, knock her out!" I called back.
BANG!
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome," her voice called back. "I'll keep an eye on her!"
I nodded and allowed myself to be taken away by the Rune Knights without complaint, feeling annoyed as I was taken to a branch of the Magic Council.
I should have thought about this. I had been the standout on this mission; they would call me damaging the valley justification to arrest me in order to get a measure of me and determine if I was going to be a problem for them in the future. After all, the Magic Council already wanted Fairy Tail gone. They didn't want to see another powerhouse added if possible.
In other words, they wanted to intimidate me. To make it clear that if I stepped out of line then bad things could and would happen to Fairy Tail as a whole.
I resisted the urge to snort... Honestly, this was why so many people in fanfictions looked down on the Magic Council. They didn't truly care about the people; they only cared about their own fragile egos. It was why it was so easy for Jellal to manipulate them in canon.
[I mean, every world needs some sort of government council that are arrogant and full of themselves, right?] BB floated in front of me as she asked that question. [Otherwise, it's boring.]
'True,' I acknowledged her words... It was a common trope in all worlds, Fairy Tail was no exception.
Power corrupted- but in this case it wasn't magic power. It was political power. Political power was perhaps the most toxic power in the anime universe; it could turn most normal people into power hungry tyrants who got a high off of using it.
Very few on the Magic Council hadn't been corrupted by their power.
Them arresting me? Just a power move, and nothing more.
'Ahh, I think the bad thoughts are coming back,' I thought to myself, because all I could think about was how much I would absolutely tear the council apart if I was a Dark Mage.
[Nah, it's not your bloodline. Otherwise, you'd be angry for the fact they were making a power play with a 'superior being.'] BB disagreed with me immediately.
'Well, at least I'm not isolated... I have you... Even if I've noticed you have been getting suspiciously quiet lately.'
[Do you think all I do is watch you?] She raised an eye in amusement. [BB-chan is an Outer God as well as your cute and sexy Kouhai, you know. I have other things that require my attention besides watching you, Senpai.]
'And yet the Kouhai got cucked and even touched herself to it,' I retorted while holding back a smirk.
BB froze and she looked away, her cheeks tinting pink. [I... Did not think you would notice that.]
'BB, I have said it several times. I am not a dense Harem Protagonist. While I don't know what makes me specifically so special, I do understand that I'm clearly important to you for some reason that you haven't revealed.'
[... Indeed, you are not a dense harem protagonist.] BB agreed after a moment. [Do you want me to tell you?]
'You'll tell me when you want to, not before or after. Anything you tell me now will probably be a half-truth at best.'
BB merely nodded, acknowledging my words as truth. That was just who BB was- someone who found it hard to be honest, both with herself and with others. In many ways, the reason was because BB was an amalgamation the emotions that the A.I. Sakura Matou had abandoned once she'd begun to feel for Hakuno Kishinami. BB loved, but she was so new to love that she went about it like a child- being mean or even outright cruel to the person she was supposed to love.
My attention snapped back into focus as I was led into a building, my eyes focusing up as I slowly took in my surroundings... The branch of the Magic Council in Magnolia... Hopefully, the guild would keep a better eye on Nozomi and not fall for Macao's transformation magic and let her raid this place.
As I was led down the halls, a figure appeared nearby- causing all the guards to tense and immediately salute to them without hesitation.
But me? I just stared, dumbfounded.
Short blue hair and matching blue eyes, with a tattoo running down over one of their eyes. An amused smirk on their face as they walked forwards, clad in a white long-sleeved top and white pants... That did absolutely nothing to hide her impressive chest and her wide, lovely hips.
A smile crawled onto her lips as she took in my appearance, appearing amused.
"Lady Huld!" The quickly greeted her, while I stared- barely able to keep my face normal.
"I'll take it from here, boys," she told them. "I'll escort the prisoner now, so off you go."
The guards didn't hesitate to leave while I was still in the middle of an existential crisis.
'God damn it BB! Another one!?'
Her melodious laughter filled my mind as I lifted up my hand and face palmed.
Today was just another fucking thing.
************
Full disclosure- I'm not done writing this volume of Flugel's Gacha yet. But I've left you all waiting long enough and, hopefully, this helps motivate me to get back to writing it.