Master Jose Porla, the powerful leader of the Phantom Lord Guild and one of the great Ten Wizard Saints had just finished a meeting, involving multiple guild leaders, in the city of Magnolia. He despised everything about that city, its guild and, most particularly, he despised Magnolia's Fairy Tail Guild Master, Makarov Dreyar. He just didn't understand how such a pathetic group of talentless mages had come to be ranked number one in all of the land of Fiore.
"One of these days…I will be number one; one way or another," he said in a somewhat sulky manner. As he passed through Magnolia's marketplace, he could hear the empty chatter of the townspeople and merchants. He was already in a poor mood, so the mindless conversions only added to his level of annoyance.
"How's the new viewing lacrima treating you?"
"Oh, I wish he would just man up and ask me out already!"
"Checkmate, I win."
The deeper he went into the market the more and more he started to feel infuriated with the conversations being held around him; in particular, there was one discussion that drove him to the point of insanity.
"Man, Fairy Tail is so cool! When I grow up I'm gonna become a mage and join that guild."
At the mention of the object of his animosity, Jose turned his head to glare at two young children, most likely between the ages six and eight, playing with their Fairy Tail action figures. One had brown hair and was wearing a striped, blue shirt with a pair of overalls while the other had black hair and was dressed in a plain yellow tee-shirt and a pair of jeans.
The boys were playing with a figure of Makarov and a figure of "The Crash Master" Gildarts. Just the mention of the other guild master sent a shiver of dislike up Jose's spine. Even though Makarov and his guild were the bane of Jose's existence, he had to admit that Makarov chose some damn fine mages to be part of his guild.
'What idiotic playthings.'
"Me too, I heard that a whole group of guildmasters met earlier today in some sort of secret meeting."
Jose scoffed at the words secret meeting. What was considered a big deal for others was nothing but a simple daily chore for him. These pathetic fools truly had nothing to live for. Even if the poor juveniles did have enough magic energy to become mages someday, they could never hope to compare to the mages in the Phantom Lord guild.
"No way. Really?!" the other boy nodded, looking rather proud that he knew something his friend didn't.
"Yeah, but I don't know what they were doing," the boy put a hand up to his chin and lowered his head, looking deep in thought.
"Do you think they were having a battle? That would be so cool!" the young brunette said to his friend as he readjusted his figure's stance.
"I don't know, but if there was, I bet Fairy Tail won it!" the boy with black hair shouted with glee to his friend.
"Do you know any of the other guilds that were there?"
"No, but who cares? Fairy Tail's the only special one."
Jose couldn't stand to listen to any more. He marched over to the young boys and snatched the figures out of their hands. "Idiots, would you want with these? They're nothing more than insignificant dolls!" he said as he crushed the toys between his fingers. He stretched out his hand and showed the boys the remains of their playthings.
"See, just like the real ones; these Fairy Tail mages fall under the strength of a superior mage." All that remained of the beloved toys was dust. Jose briskly cleaned his hands of the debris and smirked at the two boys, who were in tears after watching the destruction of their favorite toys.
As Jose started to walk away, he was delayed by the boy in overalls. "Hey mister, why'd you break our toys like that? That wasn't nice." The boy was trying to look tough despite the tears rolling down his cheeks.
'Truly pathetic and weak.'
"Well, unfortunately for you, my dear boy, I am not a very nice person. I will, however, offer you some words of advice. Give up the thought of being a mage because you do not possess the power or the will to become one."
When the boy physically tensed at the harsh words, Jose scoffed and turned to walk off again, only to be halted once again; this time by the other boy. He was starting to get seriously irritated at these insignificant little pests who kept interrupting his departure from this miserable city.
"Listen, you little punk, just like I told your friend, you are not good enough to take on a real mage like me!" Before he could take more than a few steps in the direction of the city gates, he felt a sudden pain course through his lower leg. He looked down to see the second boy retracting his leg from the kick he had just delivered to Master Jose's shin.
The mere thought that some common street rat would disrespect him like this in public was enough to make the guild master red with fury. Without stopping to think about the consequences, he grabbed the boy by the neck and lifted him until they were face to face.
"You little brat! You dare to do that to me? I'll teach you to disrespect me like that!" Jose enveloped his free hand in a fog of shadows. "Now I will teach you the power of a real mage!" The brown-haired boy tugged frantically on the hand Jose had wrapped around his friend's throat while bystanders threatened him in an almost insulting way. Despite these annoyances, Jose's hand continued on its path toward the captive boy.
15 minutes earlier
It was a good thing that the guild masters' meeting in Magnolia was not supposed to have been kept a secret. It never would have been possible. Fiore's guilds were an often-discussed subject by the general public in Magnolia; maybe because the guilds had so many high-ranking members who were so very…conspicuous. Like the two men currently exiting the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. The extremely short man with white hair wearing a fur-trimmed white tunic with the Fairy Tail emblem on the left collar and the Wizard Saints' symbol at the back was the renowned Fairy Tail Guild Master, Makarov Dreyar. His companion went by the name of "Bob" and despite the fact that he was a bald, cross-dressing, elderly man dressed in a purple spaghetti-strap shirt and vertical-striped pink and purple shorts accessorized by a gold and fuchsia hoop necklace; he maintained the position of Guild Master of the Blue Pegasus Guild. Surprisingly, his fashion-sense wasn't the most remarkable thing about this man. That distinction was reserved for the small, white wings on his back. In spite of their delicate appearance, the appendages enabled the guild master to fly; albeit only for a limited distance. As usual, the mages were attracting a great deal of attention from Magnolia's civilians as they passed through the city.
"Jose and his guild sure have caused a lot of problems recently, haven't they, Bob?"
"That's true, Makarov," Bob sighed, "I was kinda' hoping that Jose would have changed over the past few years. But I guess that's not the case."
Makarov detected something in Bob's voice the caused him to raise an eyebrow and express a sudden interest in Jose's motivation and personal history. "What do you mean? Has something happened that would bring about a change in him?"
"No. Nothing," Bob paused and shook his head, "I was just hoping he would… go back to the way he used to be."
Makarov let out a disappointed sigh, "unfortunately, we both know that that's not going to happen." Makarov let go of the memories and continued with his happy day. "You are truly an oddball, Bob."
Bob chuckled and glanced at Makarov out of the corner of his eye, "Oh please, flattery will get you everywhere, Makarov."
Makarov subtly took a step away from Bob and awkwardly adjusted his tie, "I wasn't really trying to get anywhere," he pointed out.
"Well that's beside the point plus you yourself haven't been making it any easier for the magic council." Bob was now using a serious tone with Makarov, which he hardly ever heard.
Makarov started to chuckle. "I appreciate the concern Bob, but you don't have anything to fret. Getting rid of the number on wizards' guild would cause some major controversy for the council."
"I'm serious Makarov, if your guild causes any more destruction the magic council will not hesitate to disband your guild."
Makarov smiled at his longtime friend, "once again Bob, I appreciate your advice, but I doubt they would take such drastic measures."
Makarov and Bob both laughed at the thought of hundreds and hundreds of angry citizens rioting in front of the ERA with the members of the council panic. Before their thoughts could progress any further, a young man bumped into Makarov sending them both tumbling to the ground.
"Sir, please forgive me. I'm terribly sorry!" The man got to his feet quickly and then scrambled to offer a hand to help the fallen guildmaster up.
Makarov accepted the hand with a smile, "No harm done, my boy. But where are you headed in such a hurry?"
"There's a fight happening right down the street!" As soon as the man said that, he sped off down the street in his original direction.
Makarov mentally paled. A fight in Magnolia usually meant destruction of some sort, mostly always caused by his guilds members. If it was a minor squabble, an acre of land might be destroyed. If the fight was particularly brutal or if they were especially unlucky, an entire city might be annihilated. For the sake of the city and himself, Makarov hoped that the young man had been wrong and that there was no fight.
As Makarov and Bob reached the location of the fight, the scene that met their eyes horrified them to their very cores. There stood Jose, the guild master who was causing such turmoil within the Guild League, with a small boy hanging from his outstretched arm. Makarov looked over at Bob, because he knew that Bob hated to see any sort of abuse especially that of an innocent child. Just as Makarov suspected, Bob was furious at Jose's actions. Makarov looked back to see Jose's shadow -covered hand about to besiege the small boy.
"JOSE PORLA! What do you think you are doing? What would possess you to try to harm a child?" Bob's rage scared everyone except for Makarov and Jose. Makarov because he had witnessed that anger first-hand before and Jose, because he didn't seem to think that Bob's power was on the same level as his own. But Jose's hand paused just above his victim's black hair as Bob's words finally penetrated the haze of his fury.
Jose scoffed at both Makarov and Bob. This only seemed to infuriate Bob more. Jose flung the boy at a nearby fruit stand, intending to harm him. Before the boy's body impacted the stand, Bob's delicate wings had carried him across the market to reach the boy. He caught him in his arms and gently set him on the ground to survey his body for damage.
Makarov looked back at Jose with heated eyes, "Jose, I demand you tell me what happened, this instant!" Makarov glanced back at Bob who gave him the thumbs up sign, meaning that the boy was fine.
"Mommy," the boy's whimpers could be heard by all who witnessed this traumatic incident.
"I will ask once more," Makarov's voice rose with each word, "What happened here?!"
"I do not answer to the likes of you, Makarov."
"Jose, I should report you to the magic council for this incident!"
"Then why don't you," Jose said giving Makarov a knowing smirk.
For one dangerous moment as Jose faced him, Makarov thought that the fight he had come to prevent would still take place and he knew that the destruction would be immense. But then, Jose simply shrugged the threat away and continued down the street, not giving them a second look.
'How far will you go?'
Makarov's mind spun as he watched Jose walk away. He turned to where Bob still hovered protectively over the shaking boy and his companion. "Young man," he began in a soft tone, conscious of the fear still evident on the boy's face, "What happened here?" In an unsteady voice the boy explained what had led up to the tense scene that the two guild masters had just witnessed.
Makarov knew that Jose had a personal vendetta against Fairy Tail. In fact, if Makarov were honest with himself, he knew that he had probably added fuel to that fire when he had beaten Jose badly in a drunken battle over which guild was the better. But it had never occurred to him that the man's jealousy would drive him this far. He knew what his next course of action had to be; he had to ask the council to remove Phantom Lord as a legal guild.
Outskirts of Magnolia
A small boy, who looked about the age of 7, was running through the forest rather frantically. His rose pink hair was a dirty mess with twigs and mud particles clinging to it. His clothing was not fairing any better than his hair and was a tattered mess. His small vest had burn marks and blood stains all over it. His stomach and chest were covered with mud and blood. The boy was desperately trying to escape the sound of footsteps behind him.
"Stop running, kid; you're making this a lot harder than it needs to be!"
"Hey boss, maybe I should cut off a leg or two to keep him from running any further." The boy could feel the sick pleasure the man would get from that action in the tone he used.
As he dodged underneath a low-growing tree limb, the boy missed a step and tripped on a root that jutted out from a nearby tree. He landed flat on his stomach, gasping for air after the impact with the ground. He could hear the footsteps of his pursuers slow to a walk and finally stop right behind him.
"Well, well… look what we've got here. Did the little baby trip?" The last bit of the sentence was oozing with mockery.
The boy spun around as quickly as he could so that his back was on the ground and he was facing the men who had been chasing him. He couldn't see their faces because they were covered with the hoods from their cloaks. The cloaks were brown and plain with a single symbol that he could make out; a black coffin.
"What do you guys want?" He gasped. Neither of the two men answered, but the second gave a sinister chuckle.
"Accept your fate with open arms, kid." The first one pulled a dagger from a sheath concealed under his cloak.
As he stepped closer, the boy tried to get up to run again, but was stopped when he felt an icy cold touch wrap around his wrist.
"It's nothing personal, kid. Just business." With that said, the boy felt a painful cold pierce his lower back. He dropped to the ground struggling to stay awake because he knew that if he fell asleep, he would not wake up again. He swayed on his knees clutching the area the dagger had penetrated and fighting the uneasy urge to be sick.
"Well the job seems to be accomplished. Let's head back and collect our reward."
The boy's vision was blurring and his breathing was becoming shallow. His killers' laughter and the crunching of leaves under their feet as they left seemed to echo in his ears. The boy couldn't take the feeling anymore and decided to that he might as well follow the man's advice and accept his fate. As he slumped to the ground, in a pool of his own blood, he regretted that he had not been able to find his foster father before the assassins had found him. His eyelids slid closed and he finally felt bliss.
'AWAKEN ME!'
The brown-cloaked men were laughing and discussing their reward when they felt the wind pick up in speed and intensity. Both men looked up to see clouds quickly blocking out the sun and the sky turning an eerie blackish-purple. Then the most peculiar thing happened. They both started to hear the sounds of bells. The first man turned and looked at the boy while the other still had his gaze locked on the sky.
The boy was enveloped in a dark red aura. The first man tapped the other on his shoulder, unable to muster any words to get his associate's attention. As the two criminals looked on, the boy's body started to twitch. He slowly started to stand, but not like a human. More like a zombie, limp and lifeless. The boy turned to look at the men with eyes that could scare a ghost. His eyes no longer had pupils instead his entire eyes were red. He opened his mouth to say something, but it was not the boy's voice they heard.
"For whom the bells toll, shall burn in crimson purgatory."
The voice that the men heard was horrifying. A chorus of jumbled up voices, both male and female, rang out.
"You shall not leave here alive."
The criminals were too terrified to respond to the possessed boy. They tried to turn to run, but their legs would not respond to their commands. The boy raised both his hands and magically forced them down to the ground creating a rumble and shockwave.
"Demon's Trick: Devil Spawn-Leviathan!"
Two magic circles formed around the boy's hands and another rumble could be heard from deep within the earth. Before the men could even blink, a 200-foot long serpent appeared and atop his head stood the demon child. The creature's eyes and the scales that made up its features were as menacing as its teeth were. The serpent let out an ear-piercing screech that snapped both men out of their trances and forced them to cover their ears.
The giant creature then brought its gigantic maw down upon the two screaming men. It grabbed both of the hired killers by their legs and flung them high into the air. On their downward trajectory each man was captured between the teeth of the beast. The boy gave an evil smirk at the sickening sound of bones being crunched and flesh being ripped. He looked down to see organs and intestines fall to the forest beneath him and his creation.
The boy got down on one knee and proceeded to pat the top of his pet's head. The beast lowered its head as close to the ground as possible to let its master off. As soon as the boy was on the ground the beast bowed again, but this time out of respect and then vanished leaving nothing behind except the innards of its victims. Once the devil spawn disappeared, the sky returned to normal and so did the boy.
The child looked around and noticed that the bad men were no longer around. Instead a gory and bloody scene stretched out in front of him. The smell of blood quickly swept over his senses and made him sick to his stomach. He fell to the ground trying to ease his aching stomach. Suddenly he heard a voice cry out.
"You there, boy."
The boy turned around to look at the source of the voice to find an, in his opinion, elderly man standing there looking at him with eyes the size of saucers.
"What the hell happened here…" the man's gaze traced the bloody scene in front of him, "…don't…don't tell me you did all of this!"
The boy trembled. He did not know who this man was. For all he knew he could be with the men who had attacked him earlier. Not having the strength to stand the boy closed his eyes and braced himself for what was to come, knowing that he could die.
"Well, I'm impressed."
The child's eyes shot open at the words.
'How could he not be horrified by this?'
The man started to take a few steps closer to the boy but the boy backed away from him.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I'm going to make a proposal."
The boy, visibly eased, showed interest in what the man wanted. Nodding his head showing that he was willing to listen made the man continue.
"Good, how would you like to become a member of my guild?"
The boy was a little skeptical at first, but eventually gave into the temptation at another chance at life.
"Excellent, as of now, my boy, you are a member of Phantom Lord. First things first though…what is your name?"
"N-Natsu Dra-Dragneel, sir."
Meanwhile
A sickly thin man sat upon his throne in a dark room looking down on one of his subjects who was kneeling and waiting to be acknowledged.
"Was the mission a success?"
"No, my lord it was an utter failure and we also suffered two casualties."
The man on the thrown gave a displeased grunt, "I see…that will be all for now report back to Kristian."
"Yes, my lord," the subject stood and backed away not even looking up until he was completely out of the room.
The man sat down and looked up towards the ceiling. "Natsu Dragneel… you far exceed expectations."
