The Provenance of Destruction

Chapter 1: Just Some Harmless Fun?

The gentle autumn breeze whistled through the trees and whisked multi-colored leaves away on an airborne journey. They seemed to dance as they floated past the Fairy Tail Academy building, elegantly twirling about as they caught the eye of a red-haired female student. She was seated in a desk beside a window, and her brown eyes were locked on the world outside. Her mind appeared to be a million miles away while the teacher continued with his lesson. Suddenly, a pink-haired male sitting in the seat adjacent to the female's began whispering to her.

"Psst! Erza! Erza, are you listening?"

The young woman's mind instantly returned to reality, and she blinked before turning her head to look at the boy.

"Hmm?"

"Mataku... you must really be out of it. I don't think I've ever seen you space out during a lesson before."

"Yes, well... I'm just having some personal issues right now, and I'd rather not discuss it." As she whispered those words, her gaze shifted toward a blue-haired male student on the opposite side of the room. He possessed a strange crimson tattoo which began about an inch above his right eye and descended down most of his cheek. He was apparently focused on the lesson and did not even glance at Erza. After the duration of a few seconds, the red-haired woman once again focused her eyes on the pink-haired boy. "Natsu..."

"It's because of Jellal, isn't it?" Natsu's typically cheerful expression suddenly morphed into a serious one. "I won't ever forgive him if he made you cry, Erza."

"D-daijoubu. You don't have to worry about me, Natsu."

"Of course I'm g-" Before Natsu could finish his sentence, a flying textbook suddenly impacted his face and caused him to fall backwards in his chair.

"I HEAR TALKING!" The blond-haired teacher growled, glaring at Natsu. "Until you've surpassed my intellect, you have no right to speak in this class, Natsu!"

"Itai! Damn you, Laxus!" Natsu sat up, growling and rubbing his forehead. "I just took notes over our country's civil war yesterday!"

"That lesson was from three months ago!" Laxus suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out a tazer. "...and it's Laxus-sensei to you, punk!"

Erza sighed deeply and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand.

Once classes had ended for the day, dozens of students began exiting the school grounds. Erza was amongst the crowd, remaining silent and somewhat distant from everyone else. However, she stopped in her tracks when she heard someone calling her name. After turning around, she saw Natsu pushing his way through the crowd with a wide grin on his lips.

"Erzaaa!"

"Nani?"

"You're comin' tonight, right?" Natsu stopped beside the red-haired student and moved both of his arms up, resting them behind his head.

"Doko?"

"Kashiri Cathedral... a group of us are heading there to see if the curse is true. Everyone says that if you go in there after nightfall, you'll be locked in, and you'll be cursed... doomed to die a horrible death before the sun rises."

"You don't actually believe in such legends, do you?"

"Nah, 'course not. Some of the others do though, and I wanna show them that they're wrong. Plus, it'll be a new adventure."

"Why is my presence required?"

"It's not, but I thought it might be something fun to help cheer you up and get your mind off of everything."

"Will Jellal be there as well?"

"Uhh... not sure. I didn't invite him, but someone else might have."

"Hmm..." Erza pondered over this decision for approximately one minute before she finally spoke again. "Very well. I'll accompany all of you tonight."

"Yosh! I'm gettin' fired up!"

The orange rays of the sun were gradually fading as the giant circular object descended below the horizon. A lone figure stood before a large, abandoned church in a secluded area that was surrounded by a forest. Another figure soon stepped out from the maze of trees, speaking up in a deep, female voice.

"I should have known that you'd be the first to arrive, Natsu."

"E-Erza?! You really came?!"

"Well, I did tell you that I'd join you... and I always try to keep my word."

Moments after those words left Erza's lips, two more figures stepped out from the forest. The first was a young blond woman who was wearing a pink spaghetti strap top and a blue skirt. She was also carrying a brown paper bag in her right hand. The second person was a shirtless young man with black hair. Upon their arrival, Natsu's grin instantly widened.

"It's Lucy and Popsicle Brain!"

"What was that, you singed dragon butt?" The other male's eyes narrowed, and he forced his face right in front of Natsu's.

"Teme!" Natsu's eyes narrowed as well, and he clenched both of his fists.

The two young men began bickering as usual, causing Erza and Lucy to sigh simultaneously. The blond woman glanced over at the other female and spoke up moments later.

"Where do all of those lame insults come from?"

"I'm not certain. Only Natsu and Gray can answer that." Erza actually appeared to be wearing a faint smile as she responded. Perhaps she found the situation slightly refreshing or amusing.

"On second thought, I'm better off not knowing."

After a few minutes passed, the bickering finally ceased, and Natsu focused his attention on Lucy and the object she held in her hand.

"Oh, is that a vomit bag, Lucy?" He blinked, wearing a curious expression.

"Chigau!" Lucy was visibly annoyed and flustered as she opened the bag. "I brought doughnuts in case anyone was hungry."

Natsu's face brightened, and quickly reached his arm into the bag. In a matter of seconds, he pulled out a handful of doughnuts and began devouring them.

"Umai! Arigatou, Lucy!"

"Ch-chotto!" Lucy quickly shut the bag and used her free hand to try saving some of the morsels from the pink-haired boy's voracious appetite. "Natsu, those are for everyone!"

As the minutes kept ticking away, more and more people began to arrive at the meeting site. Gajeel, Levy, Juvia, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, Evergreen, and Wendy were all amongst the group. Finally, a woman with green hair stepped out from the trees, holding onto the hand of a black-haired male. Lucy cringed slightly upon their arrival, wearing an uneasy expression.

"Ano... who invited Bisca and Alzack?"

Her inquiry went completely unanswered. After a few moments, she sighed deeply and held out her bag to the newcomers.

"Would either of you care for a doughnut? Natsu ate most of them, but we've got a few to spare."

Suddenly, Alzack let out a shrill, ear-piercing scream and quickly released his girlfriend's hand. Afterwards, he shot back into the forest. Lucy's right eye began to twitch while everyone else just stared at her awkwardly.

"...what was that all about, Bisca?"

"He's afraid of doughnuts."

"Any particular reason why?"

"It's a long story..."

"Of course it is." Lucy hung her head downwards, just staring at the ground with an embarrassed expression.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to pass on the fun for tonight. I can't leave him alone in that state. Ja ne, minna!" Bisca waved to everyone and turned around, following her lover back into the forest.

"That was one of the oddest moments of my entire life."

As soon as Lucy made that comment, one more figure entered the vicinity. It was a young male with blue hair and a scarlet tattoo. Erza's eyes immediately widened at the sight.

"Jellal..." The red-haired female uttered his name under her breath.

Jellal himself glanced around at each of the other students briefly... except for Erza. He didn't even attempt to make eye contact with her. Natsu stepped up to the towering front doors of the cathedral and placed his hands on his hips.

"Seems like everyone's here. I guess we can go in now." As he spoke, Natsu began to open one of the heavy doors while Gray opened the other.

Once the entrance to the large building was wide open, everyone entered the cold, dark church. When they were all inside and their backs were turned to the doors, the two rectangular objects suddenly slammed shut behind them and caused them to jump in a startled manner. Natsu and Gray instantly rushed back there and used all of their strength to try pushing the doors open... to no avail. Even with Gajeel and Elfman's assistance, they were unable to force their way out again.

"I-it's the curse..." Lisanna's entire body began to tremble uncontrollably. "A-are we all g-going to die horrible deaths in h-here like everyone s-said?"

"Of course not, Lisanna. Those were only rumors." Mirajane wrapped both of her arms around her younger sister gently, attempting to provide comfort.

"Mirajane's right." Erza spoke in a calm tone, completely unfazed by their circumstances. "We should still search an exit though. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd prefer not to spend the rest of my night trapped in here." After speaking, she pulled out a flashlight and glanced about the room. A few of the other students followed suit, pulling out their flashlights as well.

They were currently standing in a small foyer which led to the cathedral's sanctuary. Cobwebs were present in each of the corners of the room near the ceiling, and a small wooden podium was propped up against a wall. The wood was rotten, and it displayed evidence of termite nibbling. It was probably a miracle the object could still stand up, even with the assistance of a wall. An open book was resting atop the podium, and the brown cover was soiled with mold. The pages were yellow, and many of them were torn. Strange writing was visible on them, but most of the markings were blurred or smeared.

Erza kept her vision focused on this book for nearly a minute, and her expression tensed up slightly. It appeared as though she were trying to read it... as though she found it suspicious. However, her attention was quickly averted when Wendy let out a horrified gasp.

"Where are Jellal and Evergreen?!"

"Nani?!" Erza swiftly glanced about the room again. Sure enough, Jellal and Evergreen were nowhere in sight.

"Oh no!" Lisanna began to sob, wrapping her arms back around her older sister tightly.

"Eh, what're ya all worried about?" Natsu used his usual carefree tone. "They're probably just tryin' to pull a prank on us. It's just some harmless fun."

"Well, I could see Evergreen doing that possibly, but..." Levy spoke up in a soft, uncertain voice.

"...Jellal wouldn't." Erza finished Levy's thought for her. "I have known him for several years, and I know he wouldn't behave in such a childish manner."

"Where would they have gone then? They did come in with us, right?" Gray crossed his arms over his chest, wearing a rather serious expression.

"Yeah, they were standing right beside me shortly after the doors closed." Gajeel replied, turning his head to look at Levy moments later.

"Which means they have to be in here somewhere." Mirajane insisted, still holding her sister in a close embrace. "They probably just wanted to get a head start in looking for an exit. I can't blame them."

"I agree. Even so, we should split up and search for them just in case." Erza glanced down at the watch that was wrapped around her left wrist. "We'll split into groups of two or three... and we'll all meet back here in twenty minutes. If anyone doesn't possess a watch, they should pair up with someone who does." Her leadership skills were making another appearance as they usually did during somewhat dire moments. "When we return, we'll share any information we have discovered regarding safe escape routes and the whereabouts of our missing friends. How does that sound?"

"Brilliant as always, Erza." Mirajane had a faint smile form on her lips.

"Mira-nee... I w-wanna go with you." Lisanna's sapphire eyes were glossy with tears as she stared up at the other white-haired female.

"Of course you can come with me." Mirajane replied, pulling her sister a bit closer.

"Well, this'll be interesting..." Natsu still seemed as unfazed as Erza.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Levy moved closer to Gajeel, swallowing hard. "I think something demonic resides here..."