The Birth of a New Demon
Part One
Hey all you readers! I've been reading the recent Fairy Tail Chapters, and something went off in my head. I just had to get it out. I thought that the character in this story was depicted as 'innocent' instead of how she really is, but the character gradually changes as the story goes on. Well, I did change it a bit to fit with this story and the manga. And it probably also has a crappy ending, but I decided to leave it at that. But anyways, I hope you all like it!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
"Manipulating the pieces according to your strategy . . . That is what defines a King."
Normal POV:
In a clearing:
The sun was hardly up in the black sky. Dawn was slowly approaching the sleeping sky. In a clearing far from any civilization, this was no exception. No animals were awake. A cold wind flew by, making the leaves rustle on the branches of the trees. The natural silence did not last long however . . .
BAM! WHACK! SLAM!
"Ugh!"
A voice cried out, shattering the silence in the clearing. Any surviving pieces of the former peacefulness were crushed by a young girl's shouts of pain.
"Get up!"
The two harsh words were echoed throughout the clearing. A tall and stern man glared down at a beaten girl struggling to stand up.
"But—" The girl fell back down to the ground and attempted to get back up again. "It hurts . . ."
"You think you can get stronger with you like that now?" The man sneered at the girl. "Pathetic."
"I . . ." The girl gasped for breath. Her black hair stuck to her face from the sweat covering her body. "I can get stronger. I will soon be strong enough to master this magic. If I could—"
"Could what?" The man interrupted her. "Escape? From your future? From me?"
The man sneered down at the girl. She looked up at him with her wide green-brown eyes.
"If you don't get stronger, my reputation will forever be stained!" The man said with distain, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "If you do not get stronger, you will forever be a weakling. You will not have the right to call yourself my daughter!"
The girl's eyes watered, the cruel words stinging more than the pain and fatigue she felt in her body. She quickly looked down at the ground and held in her tears. She grit her teeth together and let her black bangs cover her eyes so that her father wouldn't notice.
'Don't show it,' she chided to herself. 'This is a sign of weakness. If I show anymore weakness to Father now . . .'
"No wonder your mother died! You're the cause of her death! If you weren't here, she would be alive!"
The bitterness of his words broke something in the girl. She had been insulted numerous times, been bloodied brutally to the point of near death, but her father never said this to her before. She clenched her hands, ignoring the pain, closing her eyes tightly in a futile attempt to fight against the tears breaching through her eyes.
The man looked at her trembling body, at her bloodied hands, her bruised legs, her torn clothes. He shook his head in disgust. Taking pity on her, he decided to end it for today.
"That is all for today," he sighed tiredly. "I expect for you to get yourself cleaned up. We will continue where we left off tomorrow."
Without another word, he turned and strode out of the clearing, heading back to the town, his clothes swishing in the wind.
The girl, now all alone in the clearing, let her tears slip freely down her face. A cry escaped from her, and she sobbed.
'It hurts. It hurts so much.' She curled up into a ball and continued to wail.
'Why?' she thought to herself. She stared at her bloody and now shaking hands. 'Why me?'
7 Years Later . . .
A young girl walked through the town, heading to a building of a guild. She had a tattoo permanently marked onto her, so she was now part of that guild. Her father had become the new Master, dominating over all the members. He had sent her a letter via pigeon with instructions to immediately stop her training and report back. It seemed to be urgent business, so she complied. Not knowing what her father was planning to do, she hurried her pace.
When she opened the doors, she quickly walked to the stairs that led to her father's office. As soon as she was standing before the doors, she took a deep breath, and knocked.
"Come in."
With that word of access, she opened the doors and walked in.
In his office, four boys stood at attention, all of them not moving. She could feel immense magical power coming from them. And each of them had the mark of the guild.
"Father, what is the meaning of this?" The girl asked.
"These are our newest recruits. They will help expand our legacy. You will be working with them from time to time. Am I clear?"
'Was I not enough? Aren't I getting stronger every day? Will I never be able to truly fulfill your expectations?'
"But—"
"Am I clear?"
The girl's breath hiked up in fear when the air pressure in the room suddenly thickened from the magic power coming from her father. The other boys had widened eyes, but quickly masked their initial shock.
The girl wanted to protest that she like being independent, and that working by herself was perfectly fine. She really did. But she couldn't say the words she desperately wanted to say as she stared into her father's eyes.
"Yes, I understand Father."
The man nodded in approval. "Good. You may leave. All of you will be going on a mission first thing in the morning to get . . . acquainted with each other. Do not disappoint me."
All of them bowed before exiting. As soon as she left the room, she quickly headed down the stairs and ran. She slammed open the doors and continued to run. She brushed past the towns people, ignoring their angry remarks directed at her. She continued to run until she reached the clearing where she trained every day. Once she stopped into a slow trot, she fell on her knees and let the tears flow out of her eyes, not caring if she looked pathetic.
She sniffed and wiped her tears away with her hands. She looked at her hands. 'Why does this only happen to me? When will I be free from these invisible chains? When can I be happy?'
She stopped staring at her hands and looked up when she felt a beam of sunlight land on her.
It felt warm.
She looked up. The sky was filled with bright colors and light. She saw a bird flying up towards the clouds, trying to catch up to the other birds flying just like it.
'I want to fly to.' She thought to herself with bliss.
"One day . . ." She lifted her hand towards the sky. "I will soar."
7 Years Later . . .
A teenage girl strode into a tall building with elegance. The building seemed to be endless, and it never ceased to amaze her. She looked at the front of the building, and walked quickly to the giant doors. They slowly opened as she walked inside. As she entered the building, the other people inside noted her appearance and bowed their heads slightly with respect.
A glint of pride and satisfaction appeared on her face as she watched them. After 7 years of hard work, and the expectations of her father, she finally gained the power and status that she rightfully deserved. The guild she was in gained more power and status. Of course, with power came respect from both her father and the members. She was now their strongest mage. But, with this came the ever heavy burden of her father's newest expectation of her.
To never be weak.
To be the strongest.
The best.
The magic that she wielded was stable, but, it was dangerous. She only used the basic methods of it, never the most complicated and strongest spells unless needed.
She inwardly sighed to herself, and nodded to the rest of the members gathered at the guild. They quietly went back to what they were doing. Looking at the clock, she walked up the stairs and quickly headed up to her father's office, not wanting to anger him for possible and slight tardiness. As she walked up the stairs, she noticed that a small group of some of their newest members have gathered, standing in the center of the guild hall.
She approached mahogany doors that seemed to have malice seep through. The teenager knocked on the doors, hearing a gruff "Come in." and entered. In the center of his office, her father sat on a velvet red sofa with a slightly impatient look on his face, nodding at her as she entered and closed the doors.
"It has come to my attention that the members down there are becoming . . . overconfident." As soon as the door was shut, he spoke with a rough tone that clearly showed he was displeased. "As you saw on your way here, there was a group outside waiting. Each of those mages selected missions, and each of them were uncompleted. We must dispose of them immediately."
She nodded, her head tossing her black hair. Her father glowered at her, not showing a sign of feeling in the endless orbs he called his eyes. For a while, an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
"You know what to do."
Those five words resounded clearly through the room. The teenager mentally winced for the poor people who had no idea what was going to happen. Making sure to keep her mask of indifference on, she nodded mutely, bowed, and exited the room.
She walked back down the stairs. She looked at the group of small members who had been assembled ahead of time, standing there patiently. Their faces had no expressions, but their eyes were filled with anxiety and fear.
She looked at them with her green-brown eyes watching them intently. The noise of conversation died down as all the members watched the assembled group. The teenager knew it was now or never.
'Time to get this over with.'
15 Minutes Later . . .
The group of people walked out of the guild with clenched fists, gritted teeth, and hardly contained tears, each of them stripped of their insignia.
Of the guild stamp, the guild's pride.
The other members sneered at them, showing no remorse as they left. Very few looked down in shame, sympathizing and showing pity.
In the center of the guild, the teenage woman stood there and smirked. She turned to the members and spoke in her deep voice.
"As you can tell," she began. "We do not tolerate weakness. All of you take this as a warning, especially the newest members."
She paused for a moment looking through the crowds of people. Most of them had stiff expressions on their face, as they had already witnessed this before, while some of them had wide eyed faces.
She continued with her speech. "To be in this guild is a sign of strength. To be cast away is a sign of weakness. We will have no use of you if you do not prove your worth."
She gave them a stern expression. "Do not disappoint us."
3 Months Later . . .
The city of Crocus was dark, lights of street lamps dotting the entire city everywhere. Around this time especially, people were bustling around, chattering excitedly, talking about the recent event that has just taken place.
The Grand Magic Games.
By herself, a woman stood outside of her room, bathing in the light of the moon, watching all the people below her. As she watched them, she could hear bits and pieces of their conversations.
"Did you see that last battle?"
"Can you believe it? They have two losses in a row!"
"That's never happened before! They always came to the top!"
The woman gritted her teeth. Her guild's reputation and strength was falling apart. She somehow needed to fix it. By replacing the new member in her place in the competition, which should ensure their victory.
Of course, there was only one possible problem.
Fairy Tail.
They were different from the other guilds. They seemed so determined, as if they knew that they would win. They were full of confidence in themselves. They had talked about winning for their members and guild. They cheered for other people. They were beginning to impress the people.
She had to make sure that their confidence would dim, make sure that they would fail.
After all, she was the strongest mage in her guild, and they held the title of "The Strongest" for seven years straight. It would be no different. They would get crushed by their power.
Right?
The very next day, she decided to volunteer herself for the contest. She entered the water sphere with a confident smirk upon hearing the crowd chant her name.
The contest was simple. Knock out everyone from the sphere. If there were only two people left, then a five minute rule would be set up and both competitors would fight until the time limit was up. The competition wasn't much either. Only the questionably and seemingly strong mages caught her attention. The water mage from Fairy Tail B seemed to get stronger, since she was in her own element. The god slayer from Lamia Scale didn't seem to be as strong because of the water. The celestial mage from Fairy Tail A seemed to be extremely determined to win for her guild. Everyone else in the sphere was deemed unimportant.
Soon, everyone started to fight against each other, picking out each of them one by one. Soon, it was just her and the blonde celestial mage from Fairy Tail Team A. The teen thought that she could beat her in less than five minutes by taking away her keys, and therefore taking away her magic. But that would be boring. She decided to make the fight last longer than it should have.
As she started to attack, the blonde celestial mage wouldn't give up. Even though it shouldn't have bothered her, the blonde fairy seemed to think that she could win, even though she couldn't defend herself.
It annoyed her to no end.
She had to work hard, suffer constant, harsh and rigorous training from her father everyday of her life. It took her fourteen years to become as strong as she was now.
And this person thought that she could beat her within less than five minutes?
'Pathetic,' she thought, seething to herself. 'This girl seems like she's mocking me. I'll crush this girl's fighting spirit. I'll crush all of them. This girl is where I start. And then I'll start plucking the Fairies' wings one by one.'
20 Minutes Later . . .
The winner of the contest smirked. Back at her booth, she was showered with compliments and praises from the other top five members of her guild. She made sure to make the battle last longer than the time limit, and purposely flaunted off her magical power.
The injured blonde fairy was currently in her guild infirmary, resting from the wounds that she inflicted upon her. According to the announcer, she was close in a life-threatening situation, but her condition was now stable. The announcer also added that they would have to wait for both Fairy Tail teams to re-evaluate and combine their teams into one to continue the Games.
"You have made enemies of the worst guild to anger."
The glare that came with those deadly words excited her. But that threat itself had no meaning to her. There was no way that Fairy Tail could bring their guild to its knees. Still, that meant things were going to become even more serious.
'Good,' she thought. 'Let them know that we're serious. This is only the beginning.'
"Well folks . . . let's see the new Fairy Tail!"
Suddenly, she felt a huge rumble in the air. The immense magical pressure from the newest Fairy Tail team was filling the air, the crowd cheered wildly chanting "Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail!" over and over again.
"The grounds are shaking!" The announcer was shouting into his microphone loudly. "We present to you . . . TEAM FAIRY TAIL!"
The five new team members walked out. Three of them were originally from Fairy Tail Team A while the other two were from Fairy Tail Team B. Each of them had hard looks on their faces, the goal of victory on each of their minds.
"This is the complete opposite of the first day's 'booing'!" The announcer cried. "They were able to recover their former popularity in just a short four days!"
The crowd continued to cheer, their chants filling the entire arena. The Fairy Tail team and her team had a stare down, each of them glaring at each other.
"I'm all fired up." The fire dragon slayer from the night before said.
'Not for long.'
"Let's see how long you last Fairy Tail."
Her screams at the time seemed like music to her ears. She reveled in it, enjoying the livid looks that the Fairy Tail members were sending her. She knew that she was playing dirty, but she didn't care during the match. All she wanted to do was win.
Did I really want this?
"You have your heads in the clouds! Fairy Tail! What kind of heart do you think we have?! We are number one in the whole world!"
No . . . that's not true . . . We used to be nothing . . . The guild was changed . . . I was changed . . .
"To show that our guild is the most powerful . . . . I'll get rid of petty soldiers like you."
Did I really say that?
"I had better modify my plan a little . . . otherwise this fight will never end."
What I was doing was dirty . . .
"Yes. That's the expression I wanted to see. I'll show you how a king fights. The king is the one who moves the pawns according to his own strategy. The king must always win, no matter the condition."
Why did I do that?
"I told you that I would show you how a king fights. Kings only eat delicious food. Like Mermaid heads . . . or Fairies who lost their wings!" She had laughed for good measure. At that time, she had no idea what the word 'defeat' meant.
Why am I such a wicked person?
"I was tired of waiting. So I hurt her to have some fun. I enjoyed her screams." The look of pure rage on the mage's face was satisfying.
Why did I seem to enjoy it?
"As long as I'm fighting a battle that I mustn't lose . . . I'm ready to stand up as many times needed. As I already told you, you provoked the last guild in the world you should anger. How dare you hurt Lucy . . . my teammates . . . Kagura . . . Milliana . . . I'm angry.
My anger is my guild's anger!"
I had scoffed at her and her guild.
"This is the end. You hurt too many people I care for.
This is the reward."
I had let my pride get the better of me.
"Impossible . . . . How can you have so much power left . . .?
I was afraid . . . of such power I haven't felt before . . .
And because of that, my arrogance, the mistakes I made, I lost.
"There's still one left." A person in the crowd exclaimed.
"But what can one person do against those guys?" Another argued.
"That's right!" One person shouted.
"The Fairies have already won!" A single person shouted to the rest of the audience.
"Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail!" The crowd cheered over and over again.
People really did lose faith in us . . . Fairy Tail has the support of the crowd . . .
In the beginning, five people stood proudly on the battlefield. Then, slowly, one by one, each of them succumbed to defeat in their individual battles. Until finally . . .
"I can't . . . win. I . . . surrender."
Tears poured out of her eyes as she silently sobbed at her comrade's surrender, excepting defeat for once in her life.
"It's settled then! THE WINNER OF THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES IS . . . FAIRY TAIL!"
The full feeling of pain hit her body all at once, and, with the injuries on her body, and the bitter feeling of defeat in her mind, she closed her eyes that were still wet with tears into unconsciousness.
As her thoughts continued to shift inside her mind, new different thoughts emerged from the once innocent girl she was, questioning her previous actions, up until now.
When did I become like this?
Was that really me?
Is this really me?
Just who am I?
She didn't even know anymore.
"I want it right here." She announced.
A new feeling spread throughout her body as the stamp was placed on her hip where her previous mark was. It was a dark feeling, but she thought that it felt just right.
Since the day of her defeat, she chose to hide from the public and her guild. She erased her previous guild insignia with her own power, knowing that her father must've already done the same thing, and left Crocus. Vowing for her revenge, she decided that the best place to start was from the shadows. Returning to the dark guild she had defeated on one of her missions, she asked to admittance into their guild, knowing that they wouldn't refuse such a powerful mage, such as herself. Even if this was just one of the minor dark guilds, she was confident that she could still work her way up and rise to power once again.
When the new tingling feeling ended, she looked down to her hip and saw the new symbol, glowing with power.
A wicked grin started to spread upon her face as she bathed in the new feeling in her body. It felt like a new person was born from her mind. And she had every intention of being that person.
There was no turning back now.
She didn't want to.
Curses slipped out of her mouth she hastily made her way back to her guild's hidden headquarters. Humiliation once again had sparked through her body, fueling a larger fire of rage in her mind at her new enemies.
"Don't let the darkness corrupt you, I know you have more fortitude than that!"
She inwardly had scoffed at that statement. There was no possible way she could reason with her anymore. She was now addicted to the feeling of darkness, and she didn't want to let it go.
Finally arriving at the crumbling base, she sighed as she prepared her grim report to her new master. Keeping her posture straight, she stepped inside. Instead of being met with jeers like she expected to, she was instead greeted with silence.
"W-What is . . . this . . .?" Shock and horror replaced the neutral expression she had originally had on her face as she stared at the guild.
The entire guild hall was filled with destruction. Furniture was strewn everywhere, not one in perfect condition, and there wasn't a person in sight. Strange black figures were spread all over the room, leaving an ominous feeling in the teenager.
"W-What's going on?!" She looked around, searching for survivors. "Everyone . . . where did you . . . ."
She stopped to inspect the 'human' figure and bent down to pick one up. "What is this . . .?"
"A person." A woman's voice from behind her answered the questions that she couldn't say. She could hear them beginning to walk towards her direction.
"A person . . .?!" Her hand was beginning to tremble in fear. What magic or human could have the power to have possibly changed someone else into the thing she was holding?
"My 'magic' makes people stronger." The speaker said, choosing to ignore the teenager's remark.
"Who are you?!" She demanded, turning her head to address the woman.
"However . . . the weak who aren't worthy of this magic . . . all end up that way." The speaker motioned towards the person in the now shaken mage's hand. "My name is Kyouka. One of the Nine Demon Gates of Tartaros." The woman had a suit that covered her upper body, a helmet that showed off her furry ears on her head, a long coat with a cape that covered her back and arms showing off her clawed hands, and bird-like feet. A smirk adorned her face as she revealed herself to the dark mage, unknowingly observing her.
'Tartaros?! Does it mean . . . that they already know we failed to protect the village?!'
"You didn't have to go this far just because one village was taken back . . .!" She began to an attempt to justify the woman for her actions.
"What are you saying? I know nothing about that." Kyouka replied, effectively shocking the mage. "I already said that I just want to make humans stronger. Very soon . . . a large-scale strategy will be set in motion. I came here because the master ordered me to gather soldiers."
"You're killing soldiers instead of gathering them . . . Are you stupid?!" The teenager gestured to the black figures everywhere.
"We don't need soldiers that cannot get stronger." Kyouka stated. Then, an evil grin spread across her face. "What about you?" She began to step towards the teenager.
A shudder raced through the teenager's body as she realized what the woman was saying. "No . . . Stop!"
Everything went black after that.
She didn't know what happened to her after she met Kyouka. She felt a hideous sensation from her magic, like it was trying to leech her own magic. But she was somehow still alive.
"Interesting . . ." She heard Kyouka mutter. "The others would want to hear about this."
She felt herself being lifted, and taken to somewhere by Kyouka and her forces. When they had arrived at their destination, she heard voices.
"A human!" She heard one cry violently. "Kill her!"
"Do not worry," She heard Kyouka speak next to her. "She is not a threat. She is a very powerful human, and she possesses the qualities of darkness needed in the Netherworld. She will be one of us very soon."
"This will be over very soon." She heard Kyouka promise.
The teenager felt herself being moved, she heard a slot open with a deep rumble. She was forcibly stripped of her clothes, leaving her naked. Someone laid their hand onto her hip, and a burning sensation spread over where her guild mark was. The guild mark removal suddenly stopped and she felt another person lay their hand onto her hip again, and a tingling sensation had spread through her body as they laid their hand over her hip. The tingling sensation didn't feel . . . right. It felt very unnatural. The person removed their hand and stepped back from her.
"Kyouka," She heard one say. "She is still human. The mark is rejecting her. It will kill her if this keeps up."
"We'll need to take her to the chambers to change her, if she is to join us." She heard another calmly counter.
Her body was now starting to shiver. She felt someone approach her, and pick her up. She felt that she was taken to a different room, that seemed to be empty except for the people entering.
"Put her in." She heard Kyouka order.
She felt herself being dumped into a cool liquid, soothing the burning pain in her body. Something large and unnatural quickly attached itself to her body, circling around her limbs and merging itself to her.
"Sleep," She heard Kyouka intone. "It will be over quickly."
Then darkness took over her mind once again.
A few days later . . .
The teenager began to stir. She was in the tank for days, and she could feel herself being changed. Her magic power expanding, and her body was now adapting to the strange change. As she began to slowly wake, she could hear a conversation with Kyouka and someone else.
"Sorry for the trouble Kyouka." She heard a man apologize, his voice sounding muffled due to the liquid she was in.
"Don't worry Tempester." She heard Kyouka wave off his apology.
"Is Tempester my name?" She heard the man, Tempester, ask. "Whenever I get a new body, I forget my previous name. I don't need a name." The man paused for a moment, and then asked. "How long will it take for me to regenerate?"
"Uhm . . . Normally one day would be enough . . .," She heard Kyouka contemplate. "But this time I'm using another lot at the same time, so it will take a little longer."
"Another lot," She heard Tempester ask. "Was someone else wounded?"
"No, it's my child." She could feel the smile on Kyouka's lips as she answered Tempester's question. "A new demon."
She heard footsteps as Kyouka approached the tank she was in. "Minerva. She is suited for Hades."
'A demon . . . me?' She thought to herself. 'Is that why I'm here?'
"I hope she doesn't become a failure like Doriarte-san." She heard a new voice say.
"Franmalth." She heard Kyouka say. Franmalth laughed in a strange way.
"How much did you spend on that? How much?" He giggled. Then he stopped.
"Tempester-san's restoration isn't free either. You shouldn't use magic-killing particles so freely." She heard him scold both Kyouka and Tempester.
"Fairy Tail." She heard Tempester snarl. "If they hadn't got in my way this wouldn't have happened."
"Fairy Tail?" She heard Kyouka repeat.
'Fairy Tail is involved? Those bastards!'
She began to twitch and move violently at those words. She thrashed around in her tank, the liquid and the strange restraints on her limbs keeping her from destroying the tank completely. Rage filled her entire body, and the desire to destroy them completely was starting to take over.
"Oh . . . she's reacting." She heard Franmalth say gleefully.
"Is that the guild that beat the Six Demons and Grimoire?" She heard Kyouka say to herself.
"Fairy Tail . . ." She could hear the smirk in Kyouka's words as she laughed. "Interesting. Are they going to resist us?"
Her body was changing into that of a demon's. She will receive a huge amount of power and strength. But all things do not come for free. 'Blessings' such as these are exchanged with a price.
Minerva's humanity was vanishing, all of her human traits being destroyed while her body was being changed.
The feelings that all humans possessed in their hearts, love, mercy, the will to be who you were, they no longer existed in Minerva's mind.
All that remained was wrath, hate, and vengeance.