Finally, it's time.
"Zancrow?"
"I'm fine, Meredy. Don't push yourself too hard later."
Meredy looked at me in concern but I reassured her by patting her on the head. Doing so always calm her down.
"I'm fine. Just remember the plan and we will be alright."
The both of us walked into the bridge of the ship where Hades and the rest of the Seven Kin were already gathered.
"Zancrow, Meredy." Caprico greeted us the moment we entered.
"Caprico-san." Meredy greeted back with a smile. I merely nodded back at Caprico in acknowledgement. Meredy looked out through the glass panes as we saw our destination.
"Look!" Meredy pointed excitedly straight ahead where an island is in sight. "The island's in view!"
An island in the middle of the vast ocean appeared in our view. A large tree stood tall in the center of the island with numerous branches growing outwards sustaining an ecosystem on its own. It's like having an island on top of an island. All in all, it looks like a nice vacation spot, only that there's a small problem.
I stand corrected, it grew to be a really big one.
"What is that?"
True to Rustyrose's words, a giant stood in front of our ship, blocking its path towards Tenrou Island.
So this is Makarov, Fairy Tail's third master and one of the members of the Ten Wizard Saints. His power is truly tremendous.
"A giant..." Ultear stated in awe as we looked on at the behemoth of a man. Even I can't help but feel immense respect for the power Makarov is emitting. He deserves the title of a Wizard Saint.
"I won't let you go any further." Makarov's voice boomed out as he stared down our airship.
Without further warning, Makarov punched and demolished a section of our ship as if it was made out of cardboard. Everyone in the ship tumbled around from the impact.
Damn it, I really hate being tossed around like this.
"The starboard sides's been demolished!" One of the grunts cried out. "He crushed through the reinforced armour like it was paper!"
"Increase the speed!" Hades barked out his order as he remained calm on his throne. "Magical convergence cannon Jupiter: Fire!"
With a screeching sound, the cannon at the front of the ship blasted itself straight at Makarov, who blocked it with his left forearm.
What the bloody hell. This guy ain't human. I don't think there's anyone in Grimoire Heart save Hades who can stand up to a Jupiter cannon and come out with nothing more than a bloodied arm like Makarov did.
With a shout, Makarov raised his left leg and kicked at the ship, causing more destruction.
"Ultear."
Upon Hades's order, Ultear utilised her Arc of Time and restored the ship back to its former state before it got ripped by Makarov, reducing his earlier efforts to naught.
"Caprico, take everyone on board to the island." Hades said as he slowly stood up from his seat.
"What about you, Master Hades?"
"I'll take care of Makarov."
With that, Caprico used his magic to store the entire fighting force of Grimoire Heart in small bubbles with a single clap and flew out of the ship with his jetpack.
I closed my eyes and took a breath. I have planned for this day for years. If everything goes as planned, Meredy will no longer need to be a dark mage and will finally be able to live the rest of her life as a legal mage. I will have my revenge and Hades will be dead by my own hands. Fairy Tail will live the missing seven years that they were deprived in canon, it will be my thanks to them in advance for taking care of Meredy in my absence after this is over.
Hades will die today, I will end him with my own hands. His original death by Zeref's hands is too merciful a way for him to go. Hades deserves so much more pain for what he did to my family. I still cannot say for sure that I can kill him, Hades is just that strong. But this is the best and last chance I'm going to get. I can finally have my revenge.
Even if I failed along the way, at least I can take solace in the fact that Zeref will appear and kill him later if the storyline from the plot still holds true.
Everything ends here.
Dad, Mum, Ria.
Wait for me.
I'm coming.
"Haah!"
With a flying kick, Natsu sent one of the goons crashing into the rest of the other goons. This is fun!
A flaming bullet of fire shot itself towards Natsu and he grinned. Just what he had been waiting for!
"Thanks for the meal!"
"What!"
"This guy! He...!"
"He ate fire?!"
"Then he is the-"
Natsu allowed himself a grin before launching himself at the group of mages.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
With both his arms bathed in flames, Natsu obliterated the entire group of riff-raffs. Heh, none of them got anything on him.
"Enough."
With that simple command, the group parted to let a single individual walk through them.
"Master Zancrow!"
"I'll take him, the rest of you go and search for our objective."
The blond hair guy, now known as Zancrow stood in front of the group and studied Natsu with a careful eye as if he was searching for something.
"What are you guys waiting for?! Move it!"
With a squeak of "Yes sir!" from the group of riff-raffs, they disbanded and disappeared within the thick foliage of Tenrou Island, leaving the blond hair mage alone with Natsu, Wendy, and the exceeds.
"So you two are two out of the three Dragon Slayers in your guild?"
"Hell yeah we are! What's your damn problem coming to our sacred island like that unannounced?!"
"My problem?" Zancrow's form trembled slightly before black flames came to life and surrounded his body like a shroud. "Your guild is the problem." The entirety of his right arm was covered in those black flames as he cocked it back. "If you guys had kept a better eye on your god damn mages..."
"...MY FAMILY WOULDN'T HAVE DIED!"
The entire group of Fairy Tail mages were in a state of shock at that statement, but Natsu recovered quickly as the torrent of black flames were sent crashing towards their location. Natsu stood in between the black flames and his nakama, determined to protect them. He will listen to blondie's story later, he must be mistaken. Fairy Tail mages don't kill unless strictly for self-defense, it has been their iron-clad rule since the guild's founding.
"Flames don't work on me!" Natsu exclaimed as he opened his mouth to suck them in.
"Natsu-san! Stop! Those flames are giving me a bad feeling!"
Wendy's warning was too late as the explosion from the flames caught Natsu in it, changing the landscape in an instant.
"Don't get too cocky, Salamander. There's no such thing as a perfect immunity to anything. These are flames that even Dragon Slayers can't eat." Zancrow's eye shone ominously as he walked towards Natsu's fallen form. "I am a God Slayer."
"Uoooohhhh!"
Natsu sprang up as he tried to clobber Zancrow with his fists but he blocked every single one of them effortlessly.
"God Slayer my ass! Are you saying that God taught that to you?!"
"No, I don't care what this power is called as long as it can kill that one person I have been dreaming to kill for ages. You are just the perfect warm-up practice."
"Hah!" Natsu scoffed as be disengaged from Zancrow and leapt backwards, putting some distance between the both of them. "I learned mine from a REAL dragon, Dragon Slayer magic! Your rip-off magic won't be able to defeat me!"
"Suit yourself. Fire God's..."
"Fire Dragon's..."
"KAGUTSUCHI!/ BRILLIANT FLAME!"
To everyone's else horror, Natsu was pushed back and crashed painfully into the rocks.
"Anything else you want to try before I pummel you six feet under?" Zancrow stated nonchalantly as he dusted his hands. "I have a tight schedule to follow, you are starting to bore me."
"You...jerk!" Natsu cursed as he quickly got onto his feet before sucking in a deep breath.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
A brilliant blast of flames was released out of Natsu's mouth as they directed themselves onto Zancrow's location. Zancrow just lifted an eyebrow, looking suitably unimpressed and responded by opening his mouth.
He ate Natsu's flames.
"No...way..."
"Fall before the might of a God." Zancrow whispered as he licked his lips and sucked in a breath as well.
"Fire God's Bellow!"
The resulting destructive power blasted Natsu towards the dense foliage of the island. Wendy and the exceeds could only stare on in shock at the power exuded from the dark mage.
"Natsu!" Happy cried out as he tried to fly to his partner's location but Pantherlily held him back.
"Don't! That guy is still there!"
"I wonder if that idiot got himself killed in that attack." Wendy heard Zancrow murmur under his breath, she wouldn't have caught on to what he said if it wasn't for her enhanced hearing, thanks to her Dragon Slayer magic. "Maybe I should have toned it down a little?"
Zancrow began to walk off towards where Natsu was supposedly blasted to, not even sparing the other four members of Fairy Tail a glance.
"Don't hurt Natsu-san!"
With a newfound courage Wendy didn't even know she possessed, Wendy dashed towards Zancrow while cloaking herself in wind.
"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!"
To her absolute horror, Zancrow simply caught her fist without even using his magic, the same expressionless look is still on his face.
"Are you quite done?"
Zancrow released his grip on Wendy and pushed her off, causing the already injured girl to yelp in pain as she fell onto the floor. Her previous injuries she sustained from fighting Azuma is getting too painful for her to fight properly.
"Get away from Wendy!"
Carla hissed out as she tried to swipe at Zancrow with her paws but he merely knocked her into the ground with a well placed hammer punch.
"Carla! Wendy!"
"Attack me one more time and I won't hesitate to kill you off for real." Zancrow growled out as his magic rolled out in waves, paralyzing Wendy and the exceeds in fear, leaving them a trembling mess. His point made, Zancrow turned around and stalked off towards Natsu's location, leaving the Sky Dragon Slayer and the three exceeds staring at his back and disappearing into the woods.
"Monster." Carla whispered out as she shivered in fear.
"C-Carla?"
"His future... I can't see it." Carla continued talking. "I-It's like... he's coming here to die."
"So there you are. Is that Makarov?"
Natsu whipped his head around to look at the God Slayer who had arrived onto the scene, looking bored out of his mind as he leaned against one of the large trees that dotted the entire island.
"Stop... Natsu... You are no match for him." Makarov groaned weakly from where he lay on the ground, trying to persuade Natsu to make a run for it. It didn't seem like Natsu heard anything the old man said, his whole body is trembling in cold sweat as his eyes locked onto the God Slayer.
"This is...fear?" Natsu whispered out as he looked down on his trembling hands.
"It could be." The God Slayer answered Natsu while crossing his arms and gazing lazily at the sky as he leaned against a tree with his back to it. Makarov looked on as the dark mage looked totally unbothered by what is happening in front of him. "I don't really want to fight any of you, to be honest, but it is necessary if I want to kill that man. I need to get his eyes off me. Thank you for that, by the way." His gaze turned to Makarov, who is bleeding out on the floor. "My only beef is with Makarov and your first master. But Makarov is already on death's door thanks to Hades and your first master isn't around anymore, so technically my business with your guild is done. I needed that fight earlier to get Hades's eye off my back."
Huh? What?
Both Makarov and Natsu looked on in confusion at the words the God Slayer spewed out. Just what is going on?
"Thanks to our little scuffle earlier, Hades's eye is now turned elsewhere. Sorry for beating you up like that earlier but I had appearances to keep up. Help me convey my apologies to that little girl who was with you earlier, won't you? The one called Wendy. I think I traumatised her."
"You..." Makarov had a ton of questions for the God Slayer. This youngling isn't in leagues with Precht, that much is obvious. But what is he planning?
"Sorry Natsu, this will hurt a little. But I have something to say to your guild master in private."
"Huh?"
It was the only intelligent reply from Natsu before Zancrow suddenly appeared behind him and knocked him out with a chop to the back of his neck. He lowered the unconscious Dragon Slayer onto the ground gently before facing Makarov.
What insane speed.
"I believe this is the first time we have met face-to-face, Makarov. I apologise that we couldn't meet under better circumstances. My name is Zancrow."
Makarov coughed a few times due to the extent of his injuries but his gaze remained fixed on the God Slayer.
"I will get rid of Hades, but you have to make sure you and your guild members pull out of the island as soon as possible. I know this sounds like a ridiculous lie, but I have been planning this for twelve years. The perfect time for me to strike Hades down is finally within reach. I can finally enact my plan to take him down for good."
Makarov's eye widened at what the young mage is insinuating. His mind went through the possibilities of why such a young man is subjecting himself to such acts. A few possibilities came to mind, but upon seeing the look in Zancrow's eyes, there's only one possibility left that he could think of.
"You... you are doing this for revenge."
Zancrow's eyes softened at the statement Makarov made and just like that, the mask that he had been wearing all this while dropped.
"Yes."
"You don't have to do this alone! Urgh!" Makarov wheezed out, but the injuries he suffered is simply too much.
"Easy there, old man. I just want you to hear me out. It concerns the lives of your guild members."
Makarov looked at Zancrow and saw the sincerity in his eyes. Makarov hated it. He had made it his life mission to save young mages from spiraling down the dark path. This young man here is proof that he had failed.
"Wipe that look off your face, I don't need your pity. Look, Acnologia, the dragon of apocalypse, will be coming. You need to get your guild members off the island asap. Grimoire Heart is looking for Zeref, who had somehow made this island his little hiding hole. Ignore Zeref, and focus on ensuring that your guild members survive. There's no way Grimoire Heart can contain Zeref, he is not a legendary wizard for nothing. The real problem is that wherever Zeref goes, Acnologia tends to follow. It's just a matter of time, the collective evil our guild brought along is like a shining beacon to that damn dragon. That's why you have to make sure you get your guild off that island before that bastard dragon arrives. No mortal can stand up to Acnologia. Your sacred ground is about to become one hell of a battlefield."
Makarov stared on in shock at the news. If it was on any other day he would have brushed it off as utter nonsense. However, the way Zancrow spoke about this somehow made him believe that everything about Zeref and Acnologia is real.
If these legends were real, then his children really need to get out of here pronto.
"Of course, I'm not giving out this information for free, I also have a favour to ask. There's a girl in Grimoire Heart, her name's Meredy. Pink hair, thirteen years old this year, uses a form of Lost Magic called Maguilty Sense. I want you to take her into your guild. She still have a pure heart despite being raised in a dark guild. I made sure that she stayed off the council's radar all these years so that she will have a chance to walk in the light and I want it to stay that way. I want you to help me protect her from dark guilds and the Magic Council for the help and information I'm giving to you. Grimoire Heart will be disbanded today, I give you my word. However, Meredy needs a better place to go to after all this is said and done. She needs to experience what living life in the light is like." Zancrow took a pause as a weary look filled his eyes. "She's just another victim as well."
Makarov slowly nodded as he processed Zancrow's words. "If what you said is true, then you have my word."
Zancrow let out an audible sigh of relief. "That's good then." With a flick of his wrist, he produced a small bottle from his pocket and poured the liquid within it on Makarov's wounds.
"This will allow you to stay alive and awake until help arrives from your guild. I hope you remember our promise, Makarov."
"What about you?"
"I am already a dead man walking. I appreciate your gesture, but I cannot be saved. If I could I will erase Meredy's memories about me, but that is impossible since her whole life has been revolved around me. She got picked up by the wrong guild. Fairy Tail looks like a good place for her to start anew, so I decided to gamble and leave her into your care." He slid a ring onto one of Makarov's finger with a small piece of lacrima embedded in it. "This will help you find Meredy, just channel a little of your magic into it to locate her should you need it."
Zancrow stood up and adjusted both Makarov and the unconscious Natsu into a comfortable position.
"Remember our promise. I will go and take out Hades, you make sure your guys get off this island and help me take care of Meredy."
"Wait-"
Zancrow disappeared into the woods before Makarov could say anything else. He looked at the ring which Zancrow had put on the pinky finger of his left hand. It seems like he wasn't hallucinating after all.
He really needs to get pissed drunk after this crisis. He's too old for this shit.
After they survive this ordeal, of course.
"Ah!"
"Juvia!"
"You are 13th place."
Erza gritted her teeth as she requip to her Heaven's Wheel Armour and tried to slash at the little pink-haired girl who is also their opponent.
"What are you ranking?"
"The order in which I've decided to kill you in."
The two mages engaged in a clash of swords and Erza tried to engage in a conversation with the opponent once more, trying to find out their motives.
"Third place is Gildarts, but he is not on the island anymore." Erza listened in quietly as she defended the rain of swords from her opponent. "Second place is Makarov, but Hades had beat me to it."
Erza was perplexed at this statement and voiced it out.
"Master is second place?"
"First place is Mavis Vermillion." The swords swirled angrily around Meredy before lashing out at Erza. "I will find her grave and I will rip it to shreds."
"Our first master is already dead!" Erza shouted back as she defended herself. "What grudge do you have against someone who died so many years ago?!"
"It's because of her ineptitude that she allowed him to walk free." Meredy's glare got harsher as her magic rose in response to he emotions. "It's because she is so inept, that it allowed him to hurt Zancrow!"
Meredy's swords surrounded Erza in a circle as Meredy continued to shout in rage.
"It's because Mavis and Makarov couldn't keep an eye on HIM, that it allowed him to kill everyone that Zancrow held dear! They are the reason why Zancrow has been hurting for so many years!"
With a final shout, Meredy's swords honed in on Erza but a whirlpool of water blocked it off.
"Huff... huff... Erza-san, are you alright?"
"Juvia!"
"I'm alright!"
Meredy merely looked at the duo in contempt and pointed a finger at the both of them. Erza and Juvia tensed at the action, but a look of surprise suddenly appeared on Meredy's face.
"Zancrow?"
Meredy held up two fingers to her temple with her free hand as she appear to converse with someone else via telepathy. Erza and Juvia used this time to recover, trying to figure out the kind of magic their opponent uses.
"What?... I... No! I mean... Let me help too, Zancrow! But!... Just let me help!"
Meredy appeared to be frustrated at the conversation she is having with this person called Zancrow. Erza filed that name away for a later thought.
"...Fine."
With that, Meredy ended her telepathic conversation with Zancrow. She cast Erza and Juvia an angry look before calling off her magic, much to their surprise.
"My fight with Fairy Tail is over. Count yourself lucky."
Meredy left the moment she finished her sentence, leaving Erza and Juvia to stare at her departing figure in confusion and unable to make heads or tails of this bizarre situation.
"What is going on?"
"I don't know, Juvia." Erza admitted. "I'm just glad that this is one less opponent to face."
Erza helped Juvia stand on her feet as they began their long trek back to their camp.
"Erza-san?"
"I will bring you back to camp to treat your injuries, then I will go out to look for the rest of our nakama." Erza told Juvia.
"Juvia wonders if Gray-sama is alright..."
"He will be. Everyone will be."
Hades closed his eyes as he waited for news of Zeref to come in. The magic signal of Zancrow, Meredy, Kain, and Caprico had disappeared one by one, with Meredy's signal being the most recent one to disappear. Bluenote had sneaked out upon the disappearance of Meredy's magic signal, much to Hades's regret.
"Heh, Makarov did raise some fine soldiers but none of them will be able to face Bluenote and survive. I'm sorry, Makarov."
Hades stood up from his seat to look at the scenery outside. How many years has it been since he last stepped onto this island?
"Mavis, Yuri, Warrod. Forgive me."
Hades stood with his eyes closed, remembering the times when everything was not as complicated, where he truly believed that camaraderie was all he needed.
How foolish he was.
An acute pain in his chest brought him back to reality as he coughed up blood. What?! What's going on?!
A column of black flames erupted within the airship and burnt a section of it into charcoal within seconds, Zancrow walked out of the destruction, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
"Zancrow! What is the meaning of this?!" How did Zancrow sneaked up back onto the ship undetected?!
Zancrow merely gave a psychotic grin, the rage in his eyes intensified as if he would burn a hole through Hades's body if he could.
"Revenge."
Hades's mind shut down temporarily as he tried to understand what Zancrow is saying. Revenge? Revenge for what?! Zancrow had always been one of his best soldiers and his best informant when it comes to matters of the underworld. His results are stellar. Because of that, Hades had always treated Zancrow with the best he could offer. He let Zancrow get away with things that other members of the guild would not be able to. Zancrow is just that valuable to Grimoire Heart. Why would Zancrow want to usurp him?! Revenge? Revenge for what?!
"That eye." Zancrow pointed a finger at Hades's right eye. "Ria's eye. I'm taking it back today. Twelve years, I have waited for twelve years for this day. It's time I send you down to hell to meet Ria and Mum."
Hades's eye widened in realisation at what Zancrow is referring to. How did he not see the similarities before?!
"You are related to that little girl who can use Living Magic back at Azalea."
"Her name's Ria. She's my little sister." Zancrow stated as black flames roared to life around him. "One of the people I have sworn to protect. One of the reasons why this life was worth living. She was my purpose. She was screaming for me the entire time when you ripped her eye out of her head, and I couldn't do. a. fucking. thing."
"So you want my life?"
"I want more than just your life." Zancrow spoke as the intensity of his flames grew stronger. "I want you dead and groveling at Ria's and Mum's feet in the depths of hell."
"I want to burn your very soul."
AN: Have I ever mentioned that RC is going to be a short story? In fact, I have everything all planned out in my free time and the entire story will only take about 10 chapters, give or take. I'm only going to cover the plot up till the GMG arc as I don't see Zancrow making any more differences in the story beyond that. Also, this story isn't the story where you will see exciting fights frequently, RC just isn't that kind of story. So if such stories is what you are expecting from RC, then I'm sorry, RC is not the story for you.
All I can say is that you can expect several plot twists here and there that I'm sure you guys will not be expecting. You guys might have to wait for it though. This story is to explore Zancrow's and Meredy's growth as a person and the change in their characters before and after the Tenrou arc. I'm not a fan of stuffs like training arc or big fights that don't serve any purposes beyond retelling the original story so don't expect much of these in any of my work. If I want to write, I want to write something no one had done before or to write something that is rarely explored. I want to try something different.
In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the story thus far.
And I really hope I can pass my mid-term test two days from now. LMAO