Juvia Lockser vs. Keyes

Previous:	Lucy Heartfilia vs. Tartaros
Concurrent:	Sting Eucliffe & Rogue Cheney vs. Mard Geer Tartaros Gray Fullbuster vs. Silver Fullbuster Natsu Dragneel & Gajeel Redfox vs. Tempester & Torafuzar
Next:	Gajeel Redfox vs. Torafuzar
Juvia Lockser vs. Keyes
Arc:	Tartaros arc
Place:	Remnants of Cube, Magnolia Town
Outcome:	Juvia Lockser is victorious.
Combatants
Juvia Lockser
Keyes †
Powers and Abilities
Juvia Lockser Water
Keyes Necromancer Magical Barrier Particles
Damage Sustained/Casualties
Juvia Lockser is grievously injured.
Keyes is killed.

Juvia Lockser vs. Keyes is a fight fought between Fairy Tail Mage Juvia Lockser and Tartaros Nine Demon Gate Keyes.

Prologue

Fairy Tail readies to face Tartaros

Following Lucy's victory over Jackal, Gajeel spares her from the wrath of Torafuzar, however, he too is saved, this time from Keyes by Juvia's Water Nebula, which acts as a barrier around them. Just then, as Silver appears and threatens to freeze Juvia, Gray too arrives and cancels out his ice with his own, though he is visibly disturbed by the man's physical appearance. Now with no time to react, Tempester lands at the scene and attacks both Gray and Gajeel with a point-blank breath of flame; Natsu makes his entrance by eating the firestorm and thereby saving his comrades. With the immediate series of threats removed, Natsu states that he hasn't any idea as to what's happening, but that he feels as though Lucy has saved them from something. Now addressing the opponents before them, Natsu calls the line-up of extremely formidable opponents quite hospitable, and the Mages and Demons stare each other down, ready for battle.

	Silver removing Gray from the battle

However, before anything can begin, after Natsu notes that Tartaros' plan seems to have hit a snag, Gray's unease about Silver's appearance becomes apparent; Natsu explains that he's the one that froze the Sun Village whilst Gajeel, like Natsu earlier, says that Silver's scent is very similar to Gray's own, something which sends Juvia into a tizzy. With that, Silver rushes at Gray and then teleports the two of them to a new location, claiming that Gray is his to fight.

With the distractions removed, Tempester attacks the group with a series of tornadoes; Gajeel remains unaffected because of his iron body and rushes at Tempester, only to have his attack blocked by Torafuzar. Keyes, meanwhile, attempts to attack the staggered Gajeel only to be "hit" by Natsu, his body turning into a series of black particles upon contact. Juvia attempts to make good of the situation by attacking Keyes with her Water Slicer, but he merely dodges, which causes Gajeel to question the skeletal Demon's abilities, only to be mercilessly struck by Torafuzar mere seconds later. As Keyes retaliates against Juvia and Natsu calls out the names of his comrades in concern, Tempester attacks the Fire Dragon Slayer with a powerful thunderbolt. Such attacks, however, do nothing to diminish the hopes of the Fairy Tail Mages and they charge forth, ready to continue the battle. A short while later, Natsu unsuccessfully tries to attack Keyes once more, and the Mages regroup, with Juvia taking on Keyes by her lonesome, and Natsu and Gajeel teaming up against Tempester and Torafuzar.

Battle

Juvia struck by Keyes

Juvia attempts to harm the Demon Gate by kicking him, however, he merely turns into Magical Barrier Particles yet again and retaliates by swiping at her with his khakkhara. She looks shocked after seeing his magic, as her physical attacks didn't affect him, After being struck, Juvia notes that she has a bad feeling regarding Gray's wellbeing, though mere seconds later, she listens in to Natsu and Gajeel announcing the arrival of Sabertooth's Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney. Keyes, not much after, mentions aloud that Gray's story is going to soon come to an end, which greatly angers her. He expands his statement, saying that faced with calamity and rage, Gray will make the same choice as his master did before him. Ignoring Juvia's attacks, Keyes explains that Silver's power was recognized by the Underworld King and as such, he was justly appointed to the rank of Nine Demon Gate. While avoiding his attacks, she wonders why a Mage who kills Demons would be allowed to join a guild composed of them. Keyes ponders the reason as well, offering guesses based around Mard Geer's whim or a deterrent factor for the rest of Tartaros, but ends by saying that regardless, he was recognized by Mard Geer. Perturbed by this news, she continues to extend her concern for Gray.

Juvia spoken to by Silver through Telepathy

As she is struck by Keyes again, Juvia reflects on Keyes' earlier statement regarding Gray's choice and concludes that Keyes' must be referring to Gray using Iced Shell. Then, as Silver reveals his true nature to Gray, Keyes explains that Silver is merely a corpse and that his true nature shall be revealed. She finds the fact that Silver is a corpse to be impossible, but Keyes devilishly smirks and states that his divination always hold true, which prompts her to question what he is. Continuing to fend Keyes off, Juvia is soon contacted by Silver via Telepathy, who she correctly identifies as Gray's father. Stating that he doesn't have much time, Silver tells her that she needs to defeat Keyes, reassuring her with the fact that as far as the Nine Demon Gates' strength goes, he isn't very strong. Explaining that he's a necromancer, Silver tells Juvia that he's using the chairman's dead body to activate all three thousand Face bombs, and that the only way to stop Face is to defeat Keyes. Taking all the information into account, she tells Silver that if she does so, then he'll disappear as well; saying that it is of no consequence, Silver tells her that she must do it for Gray's sake.

Keyes swallows Juvia

As she is hit back, Juvia tries to continue her talk with Silver but finds him to be unreachable and concludes that she doesn't have a choice regarding Keyes, but wonders if it's really for Gray's benefit. Meanwhile, Keyes states that they all knew that Silver was acting against them, but recognizes his anger as the reason why he was able to stay "alive" the longest out of all of his experimental corpses. Calling Silver a wonderful puppet, she comments that he's disgusting; but he still states that the living son and deceased father will battle each other to the death and create another corpse for him to perfect. She screams that humans aren't his playthings, though Keyes responds by saying that, rather, they're his research tools. Angered, Juvia attacks Keyes and tells him that humans don't exist to quench his boredom, but he dodges and tells her that he'll kill her and use her corpse to kill all of her friends. As she says she won't let him, Keyes ensnares her with his body and attacks her allies by animating the skeletons around the area. He tells her to kill him, adding that without him, Silver will also disappear. He told her to sever the bond of father and son, which she tearfully says she can't. Taking glee in her tears, Keyes admonishes humans and calls emotions unsightly impedimentary bundles of ego, swallowing Juvia into his Magical Barrier Particle body as he does so.

Juvia destroys Keyes

Citing that he has removed one obstacle, Keyes feels a robbing sensation in his chest, which soon turns into a torrent of water kicking about in his insides. As she flails about, Juvia screams that Keyes cannot sever the bonds between humans. He curses himself for falling prey to a human's Magic whilst she tells him that Gray and Silver's feelings will reach each other even if they change, as they will always remain in the heart. Bursting out of Keyes' body, shattering it into pieces and utterly destroying him, Juvia states that that is what she believes to be the strength of human love.

Aftermath

Bursting into tears, Juvia tells Gray to forgive her as Silver disappears, but as he does so, he thanks her, telling her that his soul has finally found peace. As she tries to apologize for her actions, Silver stops her and tells her to merely look after Gray for him, which she tearfully agrees to doing. After agreeing to Silver's last request, Juvia falls to the ground, having been poisoned by Keyes' Magical Barrier Particle body, but is caught by Lucy, who listens to Juvia state that she only wanted to see Gray again. Lucy then tells Juvia that she will, which she affirms before falling unconscious. Then, as Natsu and Gajeel continue to battle Tempester and Torafuzar, Juvia is caught in Torafuzar's Tenchi Kaimei and swallows some of the poisonous black water, putting her life in grave danger.