A Venomous Fray

Greed and Layla were busy conversing with Zero as they stood waiting for their guild master's announcement. They were tasked with standing by the door to make sure that all the family members who have come to hear the announcement made it inside the guild so that they could notify their master when to address the crowd.

"I wonder what the announcement is going to be?" Greed asks, as he casually glances out the door to see if anyone else was coming.

"I heard that Lady Inari was going to tell us how she was going to use the money we won from the Grand Magic Games." Layla says as she directs someone towards the center of the guild hall.

"Yeah, I am super excited to see what we are going to do with it. We all worked so hard for it too!" Zero exclaims, still a little sore from his time in the Grand Magic Games last week. He glances through the window of the door and says, "Well I think that's everyone. I'll go tell Lady Inari that she can make the announcement now" Zero then leaves Greed and Layla to go walk up to the upper deck in the guild hall.

"Well regardless of what it is, I'm sure it will be cool!" Greed says, as he rocks back and forth on his feet. "Hey Layla, I was wondering if you wanted to go grab some ice cream in town afterwards? As kind of an "extra celebration" for winning the GMG's." Greed laughs out.

Placing a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek, Layla replies, "Of course, that sounds like a wonderf--" Before she could even finish her sentence a loud crash was heard through out the guild, as the walls started shaking. A mere second of silence was followed by another loud crash and shaking. Greed and Layla, being closest to the door turn to see what the cause of this disturbance was, but glance to see that the front door of the guild hall was being melted down as if it was ice cream on a hot summers day. Multiple figures step inside and scatter everywhere, and before Greed or Layla had time to react, they hear their guild master yelling to get all family members to the lower levels. Finally registering who these mages are, dark wizards from the guild Shattered Dusk, Greed and Layla know that they need to buy some time to help give the family members time to go into shelter.

Greed uses his Wind Magic to create a giant cyclone that slows the entrance of some of the Shattered Dusk mages. He sees a figure making its way towards both Greed and Layla from in the dust. Taking quick action, Greed uses his Alloy Illumina bracelet to shoot off four metal spikes towards the target. Wondering if they made contact, Greed waits until the dust has settled. He then sees that his spikes lay corroded and destroyed on the ground as a blonde haired women in black Victorian clothing approaches them.

"Silly boy, you think those puny needles would be all it took to stop me? Well surely you'd be mistaken." The women takes one step closer to the two Koma Inu mages, gazing into their eyes with an evil grin plastered on her face. "Well I feel it's only fair that you should know the name of who is about to kill you. The beautiful goddess you see before you is named Maria Picantez. The last person you'll ever meet." She does a slight curtsy, and then leans back to shoot a large wave of acid towards the pair. Seeing the two mages get covered in acid as the substance begins to corrode their flesh sends Maria into a maniacal laughing fit.

The dark mage is caught off guard when she is knocked across the room by a wind covered fist. Regaining her bearings, Maria looks over to see that Greed and Layla are standing there with fists clenched and Layla's bow and arrow pointed directly at her. "What?! How could this be?! I covered you in my Acid Wave, you should be a pile of dust by now!" Maria spouts.

"You should be more careful next time. The moment you looked into my eyes earlier, I put you under an illusion. So Acid Magic is your specialty, correct? I guess I will just have to make sure I avoid it all all costs then." Layla says calmly, her arrow quivering in her bow, aching to be released.