VERiTY (Fairy Tail Fanfic)

38. Eir and Jura.

Eir's match with Jura was just as incredible as all the hype had brought it up.

The weather roulette lands on a light drizzle with strong winds, and the crowd erupts with excitement. Eir was entirely convinced that it was predetermined by some of the old coots up the chain of command. They always had that flair for the dramatic, after all.

"You sure your foot's alright, Eir?" Jura asked, hands still tucked into his sleeves, his smile warm. "I do recall Bacchus gave it quite a healthy crack yesterday."

"It was nothing. It's mostly alright now," Eir raised his blade, quickly changing it into a spear. There was no time to do so once the whistle for the match sounded, and Eir didn't want to spare any chances with Jura as his opponent.

The rain brewed down lightly, faint clouds overhead. It was still quite bright, and the wind was icy against his skin. His nose wrinkled and he turned away, failing to stifle a sneeze.

"Don't catch a cold now," Jura teased.

"Shut up," Eir hissed. It was definitely going to happen. Which is why he hated this weather roulette bullcrap to begin with. "I hate this weather."

"Aaaand now, for what we've all been waiting for!" The announcer's voice fluctuated almost obnoxiously, raising to a loud pitch only to drain back down for the next words. "Jura Neekis versus Eir Macmillan! The strongest Earth Mage against the strongest Wind Mage-- who will win? Place your bets now, because the battle begiiiiins.... NOW!"

Jura's head tilted slightly, "well, the crowd seems to disagree."

"Enchant: Wind," the spear gleams blue, a magic circle spreading forth, "Strike of a Hundred Miles!"

A razor of wind razes through the field, covering the whole diameter of the arena space. The wind shattered the walls and boulders with rumbling ease, sending tremors through the stadium as the blade flew toward Jura.

The man only smiled, and with a raise of an arm, erected walls of stone before him in a hundred-layered shield.

"Iron Rock Wall!"

The wind broke through them all, but failed to shatter the last.

Jura lowered it with a smug grin, "is that it?"

Eir didn't falter-- Jura realized a moment too late that Eir's spear was no longer in his hand. The blade was headed straight for him like a javelin, and Jura had a bare second to swerve aside.

It sliced the edge of his robe, embedding deeply into the soil behind him

He turned back around-- and Eir was above him, arm on its way down and a magic circle blooming in his fist.

"Gale Burst!" Eir declared, and the world exploded in a force of wind and mud.

An explosion of magic collision blew them apart, and Eir was sent flying across the field, gathering himself against the turbulence. Jura was also knocked off his feet, but he grabbed Eir's discarded spear and regained his balance quickly.

Neither were uninjured.

Eir's arm was sliced-- sparks of wind blades shredding through skin up to his elbow, leaving a rather bloody trail. Jura's arm was in the same state.

"You didn't have time to raise a rock wall, so you just countered my magic with an opposing force?" Eir surmised, remembering the point of contact.