Fairy Tail Bluemage (Chapter 16) (Patreon)

"W-What?!" Erza gasps. 

"HUH?!" Levy shouts. 

"Well... at least I know why you're so fucking strong now." I whisper. 

I gently grab her arm and hold it out, gently twisting it, looking over it slowly. 

"I'm a dragon slayer?" Erza repeats. 

"Yeah... but... you're a bit different than Natsu... or that Gajeel guy." I point out. "You see. There's one common point between ALL slayer magics. Devil Slayer or Dragon Slayer... maybe even God Slayer, and that singular common point is that you become what you slay... Dragon slayers become dragons. Devil Slayers become devils. And, well, I assume it's a little harder to become a god than it is to become those, so... uh... maybe God Slayer is the exception?" 

"Wait- Then is Natsu becoming a dragon?!" 

"No. Not him." I shake my head. "Well, not entirely, at least. I assume you have noticed some of his draconic features like sharpened teeth, slit pupils and abnormal strength. Natsu has what's basically an antibody... and as long as that antibody is there, he won't turn into one." 

"You on the other hand..." I let out a low hum as I poke her muscle, eyes narrowing slightly. 

"Huh..." I mutter. "Do... you know who your mother is?" 

"Pardon?" The woman blinks as I release her arm. 

"Your mother... or father. Do you know who they were?" 

"I- No... I don't." The girl shakes her head. "I was... always by myself before joining the guild." 

"What is it, Merlin?" Levy questions. "Is she going to be alright? Wait... are you a devil slayer?" 

"Yes for the first question... and No for the second." I state. "I use Cath as a medium for Pallug Missile so I don't get turned into a dragon by the magic. As for my... let's call them unique traits... I genuinely have zero idea why I am like this. As for you, Erza. You appear to have antibodies... or rather, your body has already found its balance between dragon and human." 

"A balance?" The woman echoes. 

"You are a half-dragon." I explain blandly. "One of your parents was a sage dragon. You can use sage dragon slayer magic." 

"H-Huh?!"  

"What-" Levy squeaks. 

"What is Sage Dragon Slayer Magic?" Erza questions. 

"it's... well... huh. That's a little hard to explain. It's sort of a... multiplier for your magical power and your magics... more specifically attuned to enchantments. As for why you aren't screaming in agony right now. Well, one of two theories. One: your second origin is partially open, so it's easier to 'force' it to full capacity. Next. It is said that transformed slayers go mad due to their lack of sensation. Lack of scent. Lack of touch. Lack of taste. It's possible that you just have a dulled sense of pain due to your nature." 

The red haired woman closes her eyes, there's a slight shake to her hands. 

"I would not say that I am feeling no pain..." She admits quietly. "But... it isn't as bad as you made it sound... strange..." 

Her eyes crack open a moment later. "You are the go-to person in the guild when someone is wondering how to proceed with their magic... thanks to your eyes. So. How would you suggest I harness this new strength? Slayers can consume their element to regain power, correct? What element do I eat?" 

"Uh... magic? I guess? Maybe enchantments in general? Like you could drain ring magics and stuff? I'm honestly not so sure. But anyways, your slayer magic seems to be sealed. I could probably force it, though." 

The woman nods slowly. "Yes. I believe that it could be useful. But I shall use it sparingly as I fear that I might 'draconize' more than I already have." 

"Oooh. That'd suck. Imagine if you got as sick as Natsu on anything even slightly mobile?"  

"..." 

She steadily grows more and more pale, seemingly thinking deeply on that thought. 

"That would be... horrible." She decides. 

~~Linebreak~~

I watch Erza take a deep breath, a magic circle flickering to life in front of her mouth. 

A torrent of swirling magical flames spew from her mouth in a manner similar to Natsu. 

The key difference, I would say, is that these flames are more uniform... also they're a little greenish. 

The torrent continues for a few seconds, then Erza is left huffing, a frown tugs at her lips as she looks down at her clenched fist, rising to her full height. "My body is not suited for this magic yet. But. I will make it my own." 

There's a deep determination in her eyes. "And I will find my parents... Dragons live for hundreds of years, correct?" 

"Yeah, basically." I nod once.  

"Then my dragon parent is almost certainly alive. I will find them... and I will give them a piece of my mind." She declares loudly. 

"At least we finally have an explanation for why she's so strong." Levy sighs. "She was just born different." 

"Do not be discouraged, Levy." The red haired woman smiles. "We may have been given different starting points, but not even I can hold a candle to Gildarts or the master... even with all this extra magical power. You could very well rise to match and even surpass me in the future. You have already blown all of my expectations out of the water. You are strong. But you can grow stronger... I know you can." 

The corners of my mouth turn upwards at this. 

"So..." I eventually speak. "Do you think we could convince Lucy to have her second origin unlocked?" 

"Hmmm." Erza mutters. "It would be of great benefit to have as many of our wizards unlock their second origins as possible." 

"The main problem is... if other guilds find out, specifically dark guilds, I'm probably going to be hunted down for an easy force multiplier... so maybe don't tell anyone?" 

"Alright." Erza nods once. "You have my word... but I will be telling Master." 

"That's fine." 

~~Linebreak~~

"Come oooon~" Levy pesters, poking my shoulder from behind. "It'll be fuuuuun~" 

"You're whispering into my ear like some sort of devil." I frown. 

"Come on, Merlin! Being interviewed by Sorcerer Weekly is like... the big thing for wizards!" The girl exclaims. 

"I'm shy." I deadpan. 

She lets out a quiet snort. "Alright~ pull the other leg." 

"..." 

"..." 

"Wait- you're being serious!? That's adorable!" The girl laughs. 

A sigh leaves my lips, as I gently rub my temple. 

"Fine. I'll do it. What do I need to do?" 

"Typically you need to send in a letter that you accept. At that point they'll track you down." Levy continues. 

"That sounds a little... ominous." 

"It's not that bad! Just... don't agree to any photoshoots." 

"Why? Are you afraid people across Fiore would want pictures of my shirtless body? Are you getting jeeeaaaalous?" 

"N-No!" 

I roll my eyes slightly, taking a seat on my bed. 

Today we're just hanging out after coming back from a relatively simple mission to defeat some Vulcans. 

It took us no time at all. 

Especially after Levy whipped out the 'Anti-Material Rifle'. 

She isn't coordinated enough to call it without my 'Invoke' forcing her, but she's starting to train her ambidexterity. 

"Sooo uh... Levy." I begin quietly as I walk over to my desk and grab a book. "I've been working on something recently... a bit of a hobby of mine. What do you think?" 

"Hm?' The book is featureless, but she eventually opens it, looking over the pages. 

"What... is this?" 

"A game I'm sort of working on." I admit. "Final Fantasy... the Role Playing Game." 

She cocks her head to the side, quickly reading through the pages. "These drawings... did you do them yourself?" 

"I did." I answer with a sole nod. 

"They're seriously good." She compliments. 

I did sort of dump a bunch of skill points into 'Profession: Artist' recently. 

I shyly scratch the back of my head. 

"So... how do you play?" 

"Well, the general idea is to gather up with a group of people and 'role play'." I quietly answer. "I've been working on a design for the character sheets if you want to make a character really quickly. There's still some things I need to test, though." 

"Sounds fun!" 

~~Linebreak~~

"Sooo I just roll the dice?" She mutters. 

"Yep. The standard I'm thinking about giving the players is four D-six, re-roll ones, keep three. Which is basically you roll four six sided dice, re roll any ones you get, then drop the lowest. The remaining three added up is your stat. You do that six times." 

"And the stats?" 

"Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma." I list off. 

She begins rolling the dice. 

"Strength determines hit chance for melee weapons, damage with melee weapons, carrying capacity, ability to grapple, and some skills revolve around strength."

"Dexterity determines hit chance with ranged, your ability to dodge, stealth, and your reflex saving throws." 

"Con is health and fortitude." 

"That's it?" Levy questions. 

"To be fair, health is probably among the most important stats in the game." I point out. 

"Intelligence is typically used for magic casting, skills, languages, and it gives you more total skill points. Wisdom is useful for some skills, for casting in some classes, and will saving throws." 

"What are saving throws?" Levy questions. 

"They are dice rolls you make to resist something... like a dragon breathing fire on you might allow you to make a reflex saving throw for half damage, where you roll a twenty-sided dice and add your 'reflex saving throw bonus' to the roll against a set difficulty class." 

"ooooooh." The girl gasps. "So, will would be like... for mind control right?" 

"Mhm." I nod. "And fortitude for poisons and stuff like that." 

"I see!" She gasps. 

"The final stat is charisma, which is used for casting, but also diplomacy." 

"There are, of course, some class features that make use of certain stats, but those are only relevant if you use specific classes." 

Levy looks over the little piece of paper she had marked down. "Well, I got two sixteens, a fifteen, two tens, and a thirteen... what class do you suggest I make?" 

"With two sixteens, realistically you could anything. The real question is what do you want to make?" 

"Let's make... a bard!" 

~~Linebreak~~

I gently knock my knuckles on a wooden door. 

"Come in!" A voice calls from the other side. 

I gently open the door, stepping inside and closing it behind me. 

"Ah, Merlin. Did you need something, my boy?" 

"Well, uh... two things." I begin quietly. "Firstly, is there like... some sort of magic item or blood magic spell that tells you who you are related to? Like... some sort of 'blood biography' or 'Family Tree' magic?" 

The man frowns slightly cocking his head to the side. "What brought this up, lad?" 

"I just feel as if that knowledge would be good to know." I answer quietly. "It's... sort of important to me." 

"Well... to answer your question, there's no real... common magic item that does such a thing." The man admits as he strokes his chin. "If it means so much to you, I could probably call in a few favors. I know someone who might have what you're looking for." 

"Thank you master... this is important to me because, well... I'm not sure if I'm completely... ah..." 

"Human?" The man hums before waving it off. "Don't worry about it. There are dozens of races in this world. Fairy Tail isn't a guild that discriminates by race." 

"The problem is, Master... Levy and I found a holy sword that hurt me." I frown. "Thus... I'm evil... or at least my body is." 

"Bah. Who cares what a simple sword thinks? You are whatever you want to be. Do you feel evil?" 

"Sometimes I feel urges of incredible violence." I admit quietly. "And- well... honestly that sort of scares me." 

"Lad..." The man sighs, arm stretching unnaturally as he places a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay... the fact that you are so bothered by them just proves you are a good person. If it would give you peace of mind... yes, I'll see what I can do." 

"Thank you..." I whisper, gazing down at the floor. 

"What was that other thing you needed, my boy?" Makarov questions. 

"Oh... well... I sort of just thought you should know that I think Laxus is planning something." 

The small man blinks twice. 

"Huh?" 

"I saw his green haired follower inscribing runes across town... then I had Pallug follow him for a bit from the sky... he apparently did this quite a few times. I've stumbled across a few of his runic traps and... it doesn't paint a good picture. They're... all based around a single concept... they trap two or more fairy tail wizards inside... the only way they can leave is if they defeat or kill everyone else inside." 

"What?" Makarov questions, eyes narrowing slightly, his voice sounds dangerous. 

"I can take you to a few of the locations if you want to see." I point out quietly. 

"Laxus..." Makarov breathes, sounding hopelessly irritated. "Very well. Show me." 

~~Linebreak~~

"Here it is." I motion downwards. "Jutsu Shiki. Word enchantment. Inactive right now, but can be set to trigger at a moment's notice."  

"Damn it Laxus." The old man growls.  

"If I had to make a rough guess when he would try something... it'd be the harvest festival." 

"Yes. Those are my thoughts as well." Makarov sighs. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll deal with it. Do not worry and enjoy the festival." 

"If I had to take an estimated guess on what his plan is... he is likely going to try and take people hostage in order to force you to step down as the guild master. Tossing out a challenge of 'If you want to put a stop to me I'll be waiting at this location'... probably the Kardia Cathedral as it is both large enough to fight inside and is extremely thematic, looking over most of the town. Should I put some Jutsu Shiki of my own down? Something like 'Laxus can't leave this box until Master Makarov permits it'?" 

"Do what you want, boy, but I doubt it will come to that... Laxus is misguided... but not that far gone." 

~~Linebreak~~

I walk through the crowded streets, a small smile on my face. 

Ah. 

The harvest festival. 

This probably won't do very well for my weight; I've already had three candied applies. 

My teeth are harder than I'm used to... bit sharper as well.  

Probably a result of Bahamut... or the fact I've been using dragon slayer magic... or the fact that I'm apparently only half human... regardless, thanks to said hitchhiker- possibly-, I was more or less able to bite completely through the hard candied shells. 

Candied applies just bring back memories of my childhood. 

The old one. 

Not the- apparently- half demon one. 

I can't go back, but... 

Haah. Damn. I do vaguely miss my family, even if names, faces and, well, generally everything seems to elude me. 

But... I suppose I do have a new family now... even if some of them royally piss me off. 

I glance up to a large banner above the guild's new entrance. "Miss Fairy Tail Contest." 

Ah. Right. Isn't this where Laxus acts like a massive cunt? 

Ah well. Surely enough has changed where that doesn't happen, right? I mean, Fairy Tail's been having win after win. Then I sent Makarov after him. 

I walk inside. The place is absolutely packed. 

I watch some straight haired guy, Max I think his name was, dart around on the stage. 

I take a seat towards the back of the room, hopping atop a few large boxes to get a better view. 

There's tons of people here. 

Wizards, non-wizards. 

Mostly Non-Wizards. 

"Groooawl!" Cath meows as he hops up and lands in my lap, curling up and closing his eyes. He himself has been pampered with a large bacon wrapped turkey drumstick.  

It looks like Makarov hired some extra help as Mirajane is probably going to be pretty busy up on the stage fairly soon. 

I wonder if Levy would join me for a walk through the festival after this. 

There's a bunch more harvest festival food I want to try! 

~~Linebreak~~

Man. What's the deal with everyone putting on bikinis? 

I duck slightly as a bullet slams into the wall a few feet above me, the woman on the stage who shot it catching four coins which she had tossed up. 

All four of the coins had been pierced cleanly through the center with just one shot. 

You have to admit, that was seriously impressive. 

She's also wearing a Bikini. 

She was, and Cana did. Admittedly, Erza wore gothic Lolita. It was pretty good. 

Levy... admittedly didn't really try, but she's got my vote. 

"Let's move onto entry number eight! Fairy Tail's Rising Star! She shines as bright as the spirits who guide her way, It's Luuuuuccccy!" 

Lucy steps out giving an awkward wave. "W-Well... I uh... didn't exactly plan on anything, so I guess me and my spirits are going to do a little cheer for you all." 

"STAR DRESS!" She calls out. 

FLASH 

People begin to cheer as she changes into a maid uniform. 

"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" 

With a flash a pink haired girl in a swimsuit appears.  

"I am here, princess." The blue-eyed maid declares as she strikes a pose. "Is it punishment time?" 

"WHY ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE THAT?!" 

"Oh. I saw the others dressed like this and I thought it looked fun." The spirit declares as she sticks out her rump slightly. 

"I don't even know where to start with that." Lucy grumbles. 

"Can I get an F!" 

~~Linebreak~~

Levy pouts slightly as we walk through the fair, there's a small smirk on my lips. 

"I can't believe nobody voted for me." She bemoans. 

"Hey, I did." I protest. 

The person who won the contest was sort of surprising... 

Virgo. 

Yeah. 

The celestial spirit. 

Erza got second, then Lucy got third. 

Beaten by her own celestial spirit. Kind of ironic. It looked like she was about to cry blood. 

"You did better than Mirajane." I point out. 

"Mirajane turned her head into Happy's." The girl deadpans. 

"And yet she still is the poster girl for sorcerer weekly." I continue, causing a low hum to leave the girl's lips. 

"I... guess..." 

"So, want to get a bite to eat?" I ask as I gesture around the fairgrounds. 

"Sure!" The blue haired girl grins. "There's so many foods that I just don't get to have after the harvest festival ends! Oooh I want a Shrimp and Grits Sundae!" 

She notices my disgusted look.  

"Oh! No. It's not like it sounds. It's shrimp, grits, fries, cheese and bacon in a sundae cup... there's not ice cream anywhere near it." 

"Oh." I blink. "That actually sounds really good." 

"oooh and maybe I'll get a wine slushy?" She whispers to herself. 

"I'm... not good with alcohol. The idea of losing control of my body sort of scares me." I admit. "So I give most alcoholic drinks a wide berth. The only thing even remotely close to Alcohol that I'd drink would be the guild's spiced pineapple. But that barely counts." 

She grasps my hand, quickly pulling me forwards. "Come on!" 

A smile finds its way to my lips as I allow Levy to lead me throughout the fair. 

"So... are you going to take part in the parade?" Levy questions, head turning back to look at me. 

"I'd... rather not. That's a little too far out of my comfort zone." I continue. "I'd like to watch from afar." 

"Ugh. You." The girl frowns. "Oh look at me, I'm Merlin, I fight gods and wizard saints, but would literally die if someone put me in a silly outfit." 

"Hey. At least I don't look at cook books and get turned on." I shoot back. 

"I thought we were passed that." She pouts. 

"Well, you don't really do that much embarrassing stuff for me to have new ammunition constantly~" I roll my eyes. "That's a compliment, by the way." 

"Fine, Fine. No part in the parade for you... I'll get you next year." She mutters. 

"Maybe if my whole game thing takes off that'll break me out of my shell enough to do well in front of large crowds of people." I mutter. 

"Hm... I wonder if Lucy would be open to join... maybe Laki as well?" The girl quietly whispers to herself. 

"Laki sort of scares me." I blandly comment. 

"Good! This way you can face your fears of people head on!" The girl grins. 

"It's just... I heard she collects torture implements." 

"..." 

"I promise to not let the scary wood make mage use her collection of torture devices on you, Merlin." Levy grins. 

"Fine. That's three people. Any more than a group of six is a bit too much." 

The reason I created Final Fantasy tabletop here is because, frankly, I was feeling the Dungeons and Dragons urge. 

My life may be a DnD character now, but that just means I have a very easy way to pull information of the game. 

Like, I'm my very own computer linked up to a dungeons and dragons homebrew website. That makes it a relatively easy new source of ideas. 

"Here we are!" She grins. 

"Levy if you get drunk off wine slushies, I'm not carrying you home." I frown as I come to a halt beside her. 

"I won't drink that much." 

"I'll hold you to that." I huff.  

~~Linebreak~~

"Heheh! The fair is Aweshome!" Levy cackles. 

"Levy. What the actual fuck?" I question. 

"Heheheh ahahahah!" She giggles. 

"You're going to miss the parade unless you sober up." I frown. 

"Hm? Ahhhh oh well. I'd rather hang out with you!" The girl smiles. 

"You only had one glass. Did someone spike you? Or is your alcohol tolerance just this shit!" I continue. 

"Heheh I don't do good aroun allchohal... plush I maaay have had a few drings before the Mish Fairy Tail contest to build up a little courage." She smiles. 

"Come on. Let's get you back to Fairy Hills." I begin as I slowly stand. 

"Mnnn!" She pouts. "But- But- Merliiiin I want to watch the parade! Pleaaash!" 

"Mrow-ow!" Cath growls as he flutters over, pulling Lucy's hand with his paws as he slowly flies forwards. 

"Ah. Good. Lucy. You're here." I sigh. 

"Oooooh hey Lush!" Levy giggles. She's a very giggly drunk. 

"Oh my god..." Lucy sighs. "You cannot handle alcohol, can you?" 

"Wah you talkin about? I'm fiiiine." Levy waves off. "Me and Merlin are going to watch the- Hic Parade!" 

"I guess we're going to watch the parade." I shrug idly. "Are you going to take part in it?" 

"Uh, yeah. There's  Miss Fairy Tail float..." Lucy mutters to herself. "I... was originally going to get Levy to come with me as we're about to get suited up... but she's in no position to do anything right now..." 

"I guess we'll find a spot to watch the parade." I shrug. I'll probably take us up onto a building. 

~~Linebreak~~

A smile rests on my lips as I sit atop the cathedral. 

In the distance we can clearly see large elaborate floats travel down the road, sparks and magic soar harmlessly into the air, creating hearts, stars and large puffs of colored smoke. 

Damn... 

This... 

My eyes slowly stray from the festivities to the girl clutching my arm to her chest, a bright- mildly drunk- smile on her face. 

A content expression slowly settles on my face.  

She turns slightly, glancing over to me. 

Her smile grows as she closes her eyes, she shoots me a beaming smile that nearly causes my heart to skip a beat. 

My eyes stray back to the parade. 

Well... 

I'd say the goal the strange omnipotent being gave me was completed... 

'Just Live'. 

If this isn't living, I don't know what is.