Curse of Compassion

Chapter 13

The light flickered out after several seconds, and when the dust cleared, the entire arena was covered in minerals the size of the castle itself. "This is her power?" Rogue's eyes widened after the light dimmed.  "This is amazing."  He and his team admired the quartz gleaming in the sun.  That's my teammate.

"Wow! With that one blow, Mikal wins the match!  Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we just witnessed something incredible! W-"

Rogue and Sting didn't have time to process what had just happened before they both jumped down from the stands and ran full speed towards Mikal.  The scent of blood echoed strongly in their noses, and they both knew immediately that it was hers.

There, Josie stood with a silver dagger in hand that was dripping with blood.  The bloodthirsty grin on her face said it all. The illusion of Josie lying on the field disappeared in an instant. Natsu reached Mikal first, and dove to catch her before she hit the ground. Sting and Rogue blocked Josie from coming any closer to her.  The entire Sabertooth and Fairy Tail guilds flooded onto the field.

"Holy-! Josie has just attacked Mikal after the match was called! Both teams have joined the field!" The commentators and the audience were buzzing with confusion and shock. No one knew what to do as they watched the scene unfold.  "We need security and a medical team on the field immediately!"

"Wendy! Shelia!" Natsu screamed the second he grabbed onto Mikal.

"We're on it!" The two healers hovered over Mikal and Natsu, with their arms extended over her body.

Rogue was infuriated at the sound of Mikal choking on her own blood behind him. Shadow drive.  His fists shook from how tightly he held them.  "HOW DARE YOU!"  He was about to swing at Josie before she snapped her fingers.  Illusions of Future Rogue and Bloodman appeared before them. 

"You don't want to mess with Alvarez women," she chuckled in amusement and watched Mikal bleed out.  "You're lucky I got to her before she got to you. You should be thanking me for saving your life."

Rogue shook with rage as he and Sting hesitated to engage after the illusions appeared. They were both still fearful of the two monsters they had defeated before, but fear wasn't enough to stop Rogue in his tracks.

"You mess with Sabertooth, you mess with Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted angrily, unafraid of the illusions in front of him. The rest of his guild shouted in agreement and joined the wall of mages that shielded Josie from Mikal.

On the ground, Mikal struggled to breathe while blood filled her lungs and soaked the dirt around her. She caught glimpses of Rogue behind Wendy as she gasped for air. She had never seen him so enraged, the fury even emanating around him like a dark cloud. It was as if he was a completely different person, and something about his shadow on the ground was unnerving.  "R-Rog-" she choked out and tried reaching out to him even though he was several feet away.

"Don't move! You'll make it worse!" the girl named Shelia grabbed her hand and held it. "We'll stop the bleeding, don't worry!"

"Just hang in there!" Wendy encouraged her.

They're both so beautiful. Mikal watched them with awe and admiration as they held their hands over her neck. Rogue...

"We need the medics on the field, NOW!" The commentators yelled through the speakers. 

Rogue threw a fist at Josie, but her body dissolved in thin air. "Show yourself, you coward!" He yelled in furiously as he lunged at the other illusions only to be greeted by empty space time and time again.  "You'll pay for this!"

"Even she was an illusion?" Sting quickly surveyed the coliseum, even sniffing the air to pick up her scent. "She wasn't even here to begin with!" He didn't let his guard down, and continued to watch for movement.