Fairy Tail Bluemage (Chapter 15) (Patreon)

"This... burns you?" Levy questions, looking over the little shard of metal. 

She holds it out slightly. 

"Do not." 

"But it's not hot!" She replies. 

"And? It still burnt me." I shoot back. 

"So are we just not going to talk about why this random piece of metal burnt you?" The girl questions. 

"I'd rather not." I reply, a frown appearing on my lips. "We completed our job. Let's just collect our payment then go home." 

"Okay..." The girl sighs, seemingly relenting. She seems to requip the shard of metal. 

"Can... we talk about how you copied Jellal's spell?" 

"Oh. I can copy most magic I see." 

"..." 

"What?" The girl blinks. 

"Yeah." I nod once. 

"S-Seriously?!" She gasps. 

"There's a limit to it, of course, I like to call it 'Remembrance Magic'. At the moment I can copy a total of... twenty two spells. Any more than that and I have to remove an old one." 

"I-I see..." She whispers. "So... when you were throwing Pallug around all those times-" 

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist." I nod once. 

"That makes soooo much more sense." She whispers. 

"I sort of thought you'd make more of a big deal about this... in the sort of like... disappointment way." I state. 

"Huh? Why? That's super shallow." 

"isn't copying all of someone's effort sort of... wrong?" 

"Eh. No." The girl waves off. "Did you copy any of my magic?" 

"I've thought about it, but considering we're a team, there's no real reason to. After all, why should I have your magic if you'll be right beside me anyways?" 

"That's true." She nods slowly as we fall into a small silence. 

"So who'd you copy that lightshow magic from back at the tower of heaven?" 

I am silent for a moment.  

Seeing my discomfort Levy quickly waves her hands in front of her. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I'm just curious!" 

"I... will tell you eventually... but let me just say... that? it wasn't copied." I reply as I turn and begin walking away. 

~~Linebreak~

The train rattles and shakes underneath us. I cross my arms, gazing out the window that quickly passes us by. 

I let out a long sigh as I look over to the blue haired girl. "Fine. I'll use 'Turn Back the Key' on it. Give it here." 

"H-Huh?" 

"The little piece of metal you brought back from the dig site. I know you can't put down a puzzle once you find one, and you'll likely look into this more on your own, so I might as well help you out a little bit along the way." 

"I'm just... concerned for your safety, Merlin. I-I don't want you to be hurt... I want to know why... I need to know why. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I-I understand that it must be pretty private for you, I... I don't know. I-I'm sorry." 

"I have suspicions... but nothing concrete. I know about as much as you do, but what I do know scares me quite a bit." I sigh. "Can- Can I see it?" 

There's a small flash of requip magic as the girl holds out a tiny sliver of metal. 

She drops it into my waiting palm. 

There's a small stinging pain, as if I got stung by a wasp or bee, I quickly swap the piece of metal between my hands then, in the next moment, it is trapped in a globe of magic, causing me to let out a sigh of relief. 

The train ride back home is about an hour. 

That should be more than enough time to see what this is. 

I watch the metal glimmer and shake, a frown on my lips. 

~~Linebreak~~

I blink down at a massive sword which had just stabbed into the floor of the train car as it slipped out of my spell. 

It's seemingly complete. 

Levy pales slightly as It narrowly misses our feet. 

"U-Uh..." The girl blinks. "W-What is this?" 

"A holy sword." I blandly hum. "Which is concerning for a multitude of reasons." 

Celestria 
Hardness: 30 
Health: 210 
Weight: 6 
Damage: 5d8+10+Str*5 (+4d10 Holy) 
Crit Range: 18-20 (x2) 
Powerful: Base damage is quintupled, +10 to damage. 
Holy: Sword deals an additional 4d10 Holy Damage 
Evil Banishing: Deals an additional x2 damage to evil or unholy creatures. 

"A holy sword?" The girl repeats, looking from me back down to the weapon in question. 

"Huh..." She hums. 

"Well, let's go give it to Erza, I guess." I shrug mutely. "She's the one who could use it the best." 

"R-Really? Are you... sure?" She questions as she carefully takes the blade. 

"Yeah? I trust her." I shrug. "Besides, you don't use swords... and it's not like I can use it... apparently." 

I grimace down at my hand. "I'd rather Erza have it than anyone else, honestly." 

"I-" The girl quietly begins before reequipping it away. "Okay..." 

"So... how was your birthday this year, Levy?" I begin, trying to move onto other topics. 

"Oh! It was incredible!" She beams. "I got to read an ancient book, explore some ruins-" 

"Got a how-to porn book, apparently." I roll my eyes with a small grin. 

Her smile falls, being replaced with a pout. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?' 

"Probably not." I snort, gazing at the rapidly passing landscape. 

"Regardless." The girl states, voice sounding slightly irritated and strained as she moved on, but judging how she loses that irritation with her next words, she wasn't actually angry with me. 

A little annoyed, sure, but not actually angry. 

She'll probably get me back with her own teasing at some point in the future.  

"It was fun. One of the best birthdays I've had in a... long... time." She smiles slightly. "You see, I don't really like parties. I'd prefer everything to be- like- small. Subtle. I-I don't like it when people make this big deal out of me. It makes me a little uncomfortable, honestly. I'd much rather just hang out with friends on my birthday, maybe curl up and read a good book. That's it." 

I nod along slowly. 

"And, well, I guess I got my wish this year." She admits, causing me to let out a small amused huff.  

"Who knows what Jet and Droy are going to do when I get back." She bemoans. "They always made this massive deal out of my birthday. It drew sooo much attention and, well, it was sooo embarrassing. When I heard they were getting a massive flower arrangement, I just HAD to get out of dodge for the day." 

"it's fine. I understand." I agree. "I don't really like attention either, honestly. I actually got a request for an interview a couple of days ago from Sorcerer Weekly." 

"Really?!" The girl gasps, eyes twinkling slightly. 

"Yeah, I'm debating on doing it." I sigh, rubbing my face with a hand. "If I get on one of those 'Top ten wizard bachelors to totally be your boyfriend! Number three will surprise you!' Lists I might just die of embarrassment. I've been pretending for the past three days that I never got the letter, honestly." 

"You should do it!" The girl across from me exclaims.  

"Nhhhh." I groan.  

"I'd personally love to get interviewed by sorcerer weekly!" She continues. 

"They'd probably do like they always do for women and ask for Bikini pictures." I deadpan with a half-lidded glare. 

She pauses, as she's about to say something, mouth open. 

"Huh..." She mutters. "That is... huh... do you think I don't get any interviews because I'm not pretty enough?" 

"That's sort of a loaded question, Levy." I deadpan. 

"A-am I n-not?" 

"You are pretty enough. Now. Let me just open this window and hop out of this moving train. Hopefully I get decapitated by an oncoming pole or tunnel" I roll my eyes. "I thought I made my stance on your pretty obvious on the Island the R-System was on." 

"Why are you acting so insecure." I accusingly point. "I could have sworn you would have heard mountains upon mountains of praise from Jet and Droy." 

"W-Well... uh..." She begins quietly, a small dusting of red on her cheeks, she touches her fingers together shyly. "It- sort of stopped meaning anything from those two after a while?" 

"..." 

"Hey, Levy. Thought occurs. Do you want to keep avoiding Jet and Droy for a bit longer?" I ask suddenly. 

"Hm? Why? What do you have in mind?" 

"Well, if they went out and bought that big bouquet, they likely want you to see it. They more than likely know you went out on a mission yesterday-" 

"I actually got it the night before. Just before the guild closed for the day." She informs. 

"Well, they likely know that, and are likely expecting you to be back any time now... soooo instead of going straight to Magnolia... want to sightsee for a bit in a few other towns? Maybe go visit a few magic shops, libraries, book stores, see if they have anything you want for your steadily growing collection?" 

"Cause, Jet and Droy are likely waiting for you in one of three places." I raise a finger. "The guild Hall." 

I raise a second. "Outside Fairy Hills." 

I raise a third. "Or at Magnolia station itself." 

"..." 

"let's stop at the next station and get off." She decides. 

"Once more, Ice cold." I snort. 

"I've already told them I don't like them making a big deal of things. Buuuut I guess they didn't listen to me... as usual." The blue haired woman lets out a long sigh, a deep disappointment seemingly seeping into her body. 

~~Linebreak~~

I let out a low hum as I gaze over the many magical items. 

This is... actually sort of fun! 

Colors Magic: Prest-o Change-o 
A specialized box that can change the base colors of your outfits on demand by using the color wheel on the front of the box (As the base Pathfinder 'Prestidigitation' Spell) These changes last 4 hours. Please note that this doesn't do that well with clothing that has multiple colors and it will typically target the most prevalent color. It regains charges at a rate of 1 per hour.  

Special: A mage can recharge this much faster than normal, converting 1 MP into 5 charges. 

Current Charge: 10/10 

Its honestly sort of wild seeing how these items fit into my 'dungeons and dragons-esque' system. 

Like, most attacking items rely on you supplying them with magical power, like this ring, for instance. 

Ring Magic: Fireball Special: 
A basic magic ring that even non-mages can use. It just might be more beneficial to be a mage. 
You can spend 1 Charge of this ring to shoot a ball of fire at a nearby target within 30 feet, requiring a Ranged Touch Attack to hit. This fireball deals 1d6+1 damage. This ring regains a range at a rate of 1 every 5 hours. 

Special: A mage wielding this item can use their MP instead of the charges, in addition the total damage of the fireball is improved to 1d6+Caster Level (To a maximum of +5)+Casting Stat. A Mage can recharge this ring at a rate of 1 charge per Mp 

Current Charge: 5/5 

They are... Interesting... to say the least. 

I even saw a magic lamp- like in Aladdin- but instead of the whole genie shtick it just spewed fire. 

Sort of a superior 'Fireball Special' to be honest. 

Levy and I have more or less wandered numerous towns this past week. Hitting every major library, book store, and magic shop. 

She picked up a few things, but I myself haven't found much of anything to catch my interest. 

"This week has been really fun, Merlin." Levy smiles. "I think this might be enough time for the flowers to have wilted." 

"But Droy's a plant wizard, right? Couldn't he just like... extend the flowers' life span?" I question. 

"True." The girl relents. "But one week is probably enough time for them to get over my birthday." 

"..." 

"Want to hop off the train before it gets to Magnolia and have Cath scout?" 

"Sure!" She beams. 

~~Linebreak~~

"Alright. This is fucking sad." I sigh, rubbing my face as we slowly wander into Magnolia. "Also very creepy." 

I look to Levy. "This cannot be healthy." 

"What is it?" 

"Oh. Cath has an empathic link with me as my familiar... he just informed me that they are both waiting in front of Fairy Hills... with like... an uncomfortable number of gifts... at least like... eight... which is how high Cath can count." 

"..." 

"..." 

She lets out a long sigh, rubbing her forehead. "Can I sleep at your place tonight?" 

"Sure. I don't mind." I shrug. "Just make sure you wake me up before you-" 

"Finish that and I'll punch you." The girl states causing me to chuckle impishly. 

"Fine. Fine." I snort. "Want to take a quick stop off at the guild? Let them know that we're alive and all?" 

"Sure." The girl shrugs. 

We quickly make our way to the guild. 

It has changed a bit in the time we were gone. 

The reconstruction had begun back before we had left for Akane Beach, but now, about a month later, it's finally finished, 

We step inside, gazing around. 

Everything is... changed. 

It still has that little homely aura, but everything is not quite right. 

I see Natsu sulking in the corner causing me to glance over to the blue haired girl next to me. "What do you think Natsu's so worked up about?" 

"He really doesn't like change." Levy observes. "He probably doesn't like the new guild hall." 

"Ah. I see." I snort. "It'll grow on him. Hopefully." 

"Maybe." She agrees. 

"Ah! Welcome back you two!" Mirajane smiles. "How was your mission." 

"Hello Mira." Levy waves. "It went pretty well! I even got to read some ancient books! How has everyone been while we were gone?" 

"Well, you know how it is in fairy tail." The white haired woman smiles. "Natsu's pouting, and there's fights every so often. Not even a day and the guild hall was christened with its very first bar-room brawl!" 

"Heh. I sort of wish I could have seen it... the hall is larger than it used to be, so I bet it was even crazier than normal." Levy huffs. 

"Oh! And before I forget, Jet and Droy have been looking for you." Mirajane states. 

"I know..." Levy bemoans. "I heard that they're camped outside of fairy hills at this exact moment. I told them that I don't like it when they cause a big commotion like this! But I'm ignored by them again... as usual." 

"I-I-I'm a grown woman!" She growls. "I just don't get how they expect to 'win me over' if they just walk all over me. It's getting genuinely irritating at this point!" 

She lets out a long breath, rubbing her temples. 

"Hey, Levy, I don't mean to alarm you, but uh... Jet and Droy are now running towards the guild hall." 

She stares for a long moment. 

"I have a solution to this, though." I begin with a bright smile as I quickly select one of my three remaining 'empty' final fantasy spell slots. 

I place my hand on her shoulder. 

"Vanish. Extend." 

She utterly disappears. 

"H-Huh?!" The invisible girl gasps. 

"You're now invisible for the next twenty four-ish minutes... or until you use your magic or attack something." I explain. "You can likely slip right by them and sneak into your room." 

"..." 

"Thanks, Merlin." Her voice echoes out around me. 

"No problem. What are friends for if not helping you avoid your creepy weirdo stalkers." I shrug. 

"..." 

"..." 

"I guess she's gone." I shrug, my attention turning to the woman behind the counter as I take a seat. "Sooo Mirajane, can I get a fairy platter and a... spiced pineapple?" 

"Coming right up, Merlin!" The white haired woman smiles. 

The doors creak open as a horned cat with bat-like wings flutters into the room. 

It soars through the room, eventually landing in the chair beside me. 

I reached over and pet the top of his head. "Hey, Pallug." 

"Grreow!" 

"Hey, Mira, can I add a turkey leg to that order." 

"Of course!" She replies. 

The doors behind me slam open abruptly.  

""LEEEVYYYYY!"" 

"..." 

"..." 

"..." 

After that long and awkward silence, the idle chatter, thudding drinks, and clinking plates return to normal. 

That's a big yikes. I don't know what to say. 

"Y-You!" One of the two shout. "W-What did you do with Levy." 

"Mrooow?" Cath mewls up at me. 

I look to him. "hm?" 

I swivel the bar stool so I am facing the other direction. "Huh? Are you talking to me? Levy left. You must have just missed her." 

"Don't bullshit me!" The orange haired speed mage snaps. "She didn't walk past us!" 

"Maaaaybe she went out the back door?" I shrug. 

"The guild building doesn't HAVE a back door!" 

"Well maybe it should. Not having more than one exit is honestly such fire hazard." I state, a small grin appearing on my lips as I'm just making fun of them at this point. 

"You-" The plant mage begins, but the hotheaded speed mage steps forwards. "Listen here you arrogant holier than thou piece of shit. Ever since you came here you have been trying to ruin our friendship with Levy!" 

"Do you even hear yourself?" I question. "Do you ever take a moment to step back and realize, 'hey this is a fight that just isn't worth it?' Do you ever consider that making a total ass of yourself publicly in front of the entire guild... will only result in souring that friendship of yours further?" 

"Levy's always worth it!" Droy exclaims. 

"Ever since I have been here... I have done literally nothing." I wave my hands around. "I have done absolutely fuck all. Do you think I loom over Levy's shoulder whispering into her ear like 'hey, ditch those two losers and join me'. No. I fucking don't. Literally ALL I have done... is take missions with her... and help her with magic." 

"You making this massive fucking commotion about literally nothing at all is sad. Pathetic. And genuinely one of the most delusional and abusive things I have ever seen." I scoff. "Now. Tempers are high. Why don't we all just take a nice calming step back, take a deep breath... and move on with our lives. Water under the bridge, as it were." 

"I-" 

The orange haired mage blasts forwards, green energy crackling around his shoes. 

His heel crashes into my face, my back smashing into the bar and cracking it slightly. 

"..." 

He flips away, blood dribbling from my nose. 

"OI OI!" Natsu shouts as he rockets to his feet. "What's wrong with you, Jet!?" 

Fire crackles around his hand. "I'm going to kick your fucking-" 

"You get one." I growl as I bring my hand to my face, causing Natsu to pause.  

Red light explodes off my body as my nose is healed. 

A wave of bubbles explodes across my body as I stand up. "Now. If we're all calm. Turn your asses around and walk away. I promised Levy I wouldn't beat the snot out of you, but... I'd imagine she would understand if-" 

A figure seems to appear in front of Jet, a haze seeming to flicker around her. 

Levy appears with a small poof, hand brought back. 

Her fist swings forwards, crashing into Jet's jaw with a shuddering impact. 

He is knocked to the floor with one simple movement, wind knocked out of his lungs. 

"THAT'S IT!" She shouts. "I'm DONE." 

"Since you are doing all of this, let me just be as CLEAR as possible, since you can't seem to get it through your thick skulls. I. Want. Nothing. To. Do. With. Either. Of. YOU! I have been avoiding you both because you don't LISTEN! I say I don't want you to make a big deal of things, AND YOU DO THIS?! I want to do a mission by myself and it's whine and whine and whine." 

"I am FRIENDS with Merlin. You were already on thin ice with what you tried before. Merlin didn't care and maybe... MAYBE I could have forgiven you. But here you go. Attacking him for no reason! You two are insecure, pathetic, possessive, jealous and clingy LOSERS! That's all you can be described as! To go so far to try and alienate me. To try and control me? I'm sick and tired of it! I am tired of being treated like some sort of toy for your amusement or just eye candy!" 

"I NEVER want to see either of you again!" She shouts. "If I catch you following, stalking, or even talking to me, I'll be using you as target practice for my magic... this is your ONE warning." 

She stomps past the two wizards. 

"Levy- W-Wait- I-" the plant mage begins. 

Her finger twitches and shakes in front of her- 

Wait a second. 

She swings her arm back. 

BOOM 

The floor explodes, the plant mage who was just out of the range of the... bomb... which she had written at high speed, barely even moving her finger... knocking him back onto his ass. 

The floor catches fire, but before anyone can react she has already summoned a large glob of water and covered the floor in it. Inadvertently dousing the two mages. 

She continues walking without another word, eventually leaving the guild hall. 

"OI WHAT ARE YOU BRATS DOING TO THE GUILD HALL?!" Makarov shouts as he storms out of his office. 

He pauses noticing the tense aura. 

"..." 

"So, anyways." I begin, turning back around and grabbing another bar stool since mine had been broken. "Any good jobs come in recently, Mira?" 

"W-Well... ah... there's a couple." She admits after a moment, her smile looking a little strained. It probably hurts to see her guildmates fight like this. "Would you like to move to another spot?" 

"Hm? Nah. This is fine. I'll fix the bar and the hole in the floor before I leave." I shrug. "Uh... do... Do I come across as a holier than thou asshole?" 

"No. Don't worry about it, Merlin." The woman smiles weakly. 

~~Linebreak~~

Knock Knock Knock 

A yawn leaves my lips as I slowly approach the door. 

"Yees- oh?" I blink as I cause it to creak open. "Hey Erza, Levy. What's going on?" 

"Natsu defeated me..." Erza declares, looking down at her hands in shock. "Levy told me that you are the reason he has grown so much more powerful? Why she has grown so much more powerful?" 

My eyes flick over to Levy who shrugs slightly. 

"Well, I wouldn't say that I'm the sole reason she's gotten powerful. I sort of just gave her a shortcut." I blandly deny. 

"Yes... she told me of the second origin... do I truly not even use half of my overall magical power?" 

"Yep. Most wizards don't use it." I nod once. "I didn't. Levy didn't, both Natsu and Gray didn't." 

"I see..." She whispers, cupping her chin. "Very well. I wish for you to unlock this... second Origin for me as well." 

"Alright, come in, I managed to knock down the time to five hours recently." 

"Wait..." Levy mutters. "Already?" 

"Which is why I wanted you to wait, but nooooo." I roll my eyes. 

"To be fair." She pouts. "I-I don't think I could have done much to help on our missions if I didn't have my second origin unlocked." 

"Go lay on the bed, I guess." I state slowly. "I'll drop some runes." 

Erza slowly walks over to my bed, taking a seat as purple runes begin to be sketched out around the perimeter of the bed. 

"Annnnd. Done." I nod once. "Now. Erza." 

"Yes?" 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" 

"Yes." She nods once. "I do not wish to be anyone's burden. Frankly, I am a little offended you did not come to me sooner." 

"Alright. Let's do it. This is going to suck; I hope you know." I shrug as I reach over and place a hand on her shoulder. "Second Origin: Release!" 

Red lines cascade around her body, causing her to blink down at them as I take a step back. 

"..." 

"..." 

"..." 

I slowly look to Levy at her lack of Reaction. 

Erza pokes her head out of the silenced bubble. "Is... this it?" 

"What the FUCK!" I growl. "Seriously?!" 

"This is... ugh." Levy sighs. "She barely even feels it... how? Why?" 

I rub my forehead letting out a long growl. "Everyone else cried like little babies when that happened. Myself included. 'Is this it' she asks... tch." 

"Well, since you aren't experiencing the worst pain of your life. Maybe read a book or something. I wouldn't recommend using magic-" 

I pause as she requips a book from her requip space, she looks up, not having heard me due to the silence. 

"Wait..." I breathe quietly.  "Do that again." 

"..." 

I lean through the barrier. "Do that again." 

"Hm?" The woman hums as she looks up. "What?" 

"Requip again." I demand, eyes flickering over her body. 

She does so. 

"..." 

"Oh... Oh my god." I whisper. 

Levy's head pokes into the silenced bubble, looking over to me. "What? What is it?" 

I stare at the little light that has eluded me for the past couple of months. 

"She..." 

"She's a dragon slayer."