S-Class Promotion Trial current standings:

Mest and Wendy - defeated

Juvia and Lisanna - defeated

Freed and Bickslow - defeated

Levy and Gajeel - defeated

Natsu and Happy - advanced

Gray and Loki - advanced

Cana and Lucy - advanced

Elfman and Evergreen - advanced

 Now back to the story . . .

"They're getting married!?!" Erza was stunned by the news.

"That's what they said." Mira forced a smile. "But I think they said that just to catch me off guard. And it worked."

The Fairy Tail S-Class wizards and the participants who had been defeated were gathered at the base camp, Mira and Lisanna cooking for everyone. The defeated were, of course, upset and sulking. However, one particular person was more depressed than the rest.

Levy say at the table with the rest of her guildmates, but from the corner of her eye, she could see Gajeel sitting far away from the table. The Iron Dragon Slayer was next to the wilderness, sitting up against a tree. His eyes were closed, but his head was hung in shame and defeat.

I couldn't beat her. Gajeel sat there, lost in his own thoughts. I lost to her twice. Why can't I beat Jasmine? Am I really that weak? I'm Black Steel Gajeel; there's no way I should be losing to her!He balled his hands up into fist and his jaw clenched in . . . . anger? Or was the emotion sadness? Or maybe self-pity? He opened his eyes and glanced to his right, towards the large table where the Fairy Tail mages were. His eyes locked on Jasmine. She was staring straight ahead, not looking at him, with a cup in her right hand. He saw her jaw clench several times. It appears that she was lost in thought as well.

"C'mon, Gajeel." Mira called once the food was done. "Eat." She gave him a soft smile, sensing that he wasn't in the best mood. Gajeel slowly stood to his feet, not really wanting to move, when the island shook.

"What was that?" Juvia asked, slightly panicked.

"We're probably under attack." Jasmine stated calmly.

"Why do you say that, Jasmine?" Freed asked.

"I can sense people arriving on the island." She spoke, "In vast numbers as well."

"She's right." Gildarts agreed, "And there's a group headed straight for us.

In that moment, an army of mask covered men arrived at base camp, surrounding you. The mages immediately stood to their feet, glancing around at the intruders.

"That insignia . . ." Erza gasped.

"Grimoire Heart." Mira confirmed.

"Erza, warn Master and the others of an enemy attack." Jasmine instructed.

"Right." Erza nodded, releasing a red signal flare into the air.

The battle between Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart begins.

 "Lisanna and I can handle this. The rest of you should go and find our other members. Make sure they're okay."

"This us such a pain." Jasmine groaned, remembering Mirajane's earlier words. She walked alone through the woods, growing bored and wanting to go home. "I haven't even met anyone of decent strength."

"Then perhaps I could grant your wish."

Jasmine stopped walking, but didn't look behind her. She knew that whoever it was that had snuck up on her was behind her. There was no reason for her to turn around.

"My, my, Master Hades was right." The person hummed. By the sound of the voice, Jasmine could tell that this person was a female. "You and Gildarts are the strongest mages on this island."

"You mean, including your guild as well or just the Fairy Tail mages?" Jasmine asked, still not turning around.

"Well, Fairy Tail of course." She grinned, though Jasmine couldn't see her face. "Grimoire Heart's mages are obviously stronger."

"You underestimate our guild." Slowly, Jasmine finally turned around, locking eyes with her opponent.

The Grimoire Heart mage had Caucasian skin, blue eyes, and blond hair. She was shorter than Jasmine, possibly five foot and four inches. This mage seemed to not stand a chance to Jasmine in every department.

The one thing that she might be on par with, with Jasmine is her magic.

"My name is Libitina." She spoke, taking a step forward toward Jasmine. "And you are Jasmine, yes?"

"Last time I checked." The Dragon Slayer shrugged.

"Hmm," Libitina smirked, "I think we'll get along just fine."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means, you'll surrender to me quite easily."

"And what makes you think that I'll surrender? If you know that I'm one of the strongest Fairy Tail mages on this island, then surely you know that I'm not going down without a fight."

"Do what you want." Libitina shrugged, "But I suspect that your magic won't affect me all that much. Because you see," The atmosphere around the area suddenly changed. The feeling of gloom and depression filled the area as darkness took over, as if the sun was hiding. Libitina's body (or rather skin) began dissolving, leaving behind the skeletal system. And instead of clothing, Libitina wore a large, flowing, black cape. A black aura was visibly seen and it followed her as she moved. "I am a Reaper."

Jasmine had never seen a Reaper before, this was her first time. And she was honestly surprised, but she wouldn't allow herself to show it. She didn't want to give Libitina that satisfaction.

"I collect souls." Libitina continued, "And your soul, Jasmine, will be the next one I add to my collection."

"We'll see about that." Jasmine growled.

"Oh yes we will." The Reaper grinned. She held out her left skeletal arm and the arm transformed into a long, sharp, silver scythe.

"A scythe, huh?" Jasmine mumbled, getting into a stance. She performed the Maker Magic's stance perfectly before casting her spell. "Lightning-Make: Death Scythe!" The bright yellow scythe easily curved around the Reaper's bony form and with an accurate swing, the scythe would have sliced any human person in half. However, the sharp scythe couldn't crack the Reaper's bones.

"Those are some strong bones." Jasmine mumbled.

"Thanks, I get a lot of calcium." Libitina replied before charging forward and swinging her scythe, aiming for Jasmine's neck.

Jasmine dodged, leaning back far enough to avoid her head being chopped off.

"You can dodge one, but can you dodge two?" Libitina's right arm transformed into another scythe. She spun around like a ballerina, swinging both arms around and away from her body. The blades easily cut down several dozen trees and they were moving at an incredible speed.

Jasmine used her lightning speed to back away from the scythes. Libitina noticed and increased her speed.

Think, think, think. Jasmine's eyes rapidly scanned the area, trying to search for a solution. As Libitina's scythes drew closer, Jasmine drew farther away. Here goes nothing. "Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

The lightning from Jasmine's mouth made direct contact with Libitina, causing an explosion. For a moment, things went silent, the scythes stopped spinning, and so did the Reaper.

But the area was still dark.

Dust and debris floated in the air, but it was light. Jasmine could see her opponent's form through the polluted air.

"That tickled, you know." Libitina spoke, "Your lightning rattled these old bones," The air became clear, "but it didn't destroy them."

"Well, that's too bad." Jasmine said sarcastically.

"Do you know what my name means?" The Reaper asked all of a sudden. "Libitina? It's the ancient name for the Goddess of Death, Funerals, and Burial. Fits perfectly with my magic, don't you think?" She cocked her head to the side, smirking at Jasmine. "I think I'll make your burial extra special. I'll even leave your body in one piece. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a good deal." Jasmine replied, her voice becoming low as she spoke her next words, "Too bad you won't be around to attend my funeral 'cause yours will be in just a few minutes."

"You've got a lot of confidence. How do you plan on killing me?"

"By using the natural order of things." When Libitina raised an eyebrow in confusion, Jasmine continued, "Yin and Yang? Whenever there's good, there will be bad and whenever there's bad, there will be good."

The Reaper opened her mouth to speak, but Jasmine spoke instead. "Oh, and don't forget the best part!" She smirked at her opponent, a plan already made in her head.

"Whenever there's light, there is darkness," Realization dawned on Libitina's face as the Dragon Slayer finished her statement, "and whenever there's darkness, there is light."