The morning sun rose completely before Erza forced her weakened body to sit up and stand. Although she moved very slow, her muscles and her skin ached with each movement as if she was tearing herself apart from the inside out with each small movement. Her body was wrapped in bandages from her head to her toes. The once white bandages were soaked through with blood and signs of various stages of infection. Her face was sunken and dark circles held down the skin under her eyes like concave ridges of a quarry. Her skin was pale with anemia and her cheeks flush with fever. As she had finally stood, lost her vision and balance, and regained it once more she slowly glanced out the slats covering the window seeing the bright orange sun that seemed untouched by all that has gone on in this world. It still rose and set on schedule and glowed with the same intensity that it has been for billions of years. Erza became jealous of the sun in that moment, for she no longer could find her own sun which rose when darkness fell far too often inside her.
She headed slowly for the door, each step sending waves of pain through her body, but her face stayed unmoving as if it didn't even exist. It was, in fact, the only proof to her that she was still alive, the excruciating shockwaves that were sent up her nerves with each careful step. She laid her hand on the doorknob and took as deep a breath as her body would allow, softened her face, and stepped out into the hallway.
"Juvia is right," she thought to herself, "As the master, I have no right to be anything but strength and hope to everyone. What's left of the guild would not survive without it."
Erza slowly walks down the hallway into the living room and turns right into the kitchen. The whole house is beginning to gain an orange and yellow light that spreads across each room as evenly as the slats covering the windows allows the sun to shine through.
"Good morning Er-Chan." Millianna's voice softly calls from the kitchen.
Erza cleared her throat before she spoke, attempting to clear it of the grogginess of sleep deprivation. "Morning Millianna." She said calmly.
"Did you have any breakfast yet Er-chan?" Millianna asked in a voice that sounded like a sweet-toned bell in the middle of the dark.
"Not yet." She answers plainly.
"Would you like me to make you some?"
Erza pauses before answering weighing the options she had. Her body was having trouble standing, weak from not having any food, she was dehydrated, and Juvia would likely scorn her in front of the guild.
"That would be great." She said lightly, sounding genuinely appreciative.
Erza's body would begin to shake with pain and lack of strength. She took a seat at the table as Millianna lit the stove on fire and rummaged through unfamiliar cabinets looking for a suitable pan. When she found one she placed it over the stove and began going through the cabinets once again until she found plates, cups, and silverware. She set the table for the both of them and pulled ingredients out of the fridge. She placed a large container of apple juice filled three-fourths of the way onto the table. Erza struggled with a deep and equally dark part in her mind that tried to drag her calm façade away and force her into despair. She needed to keep her mind busy.
"How did you sleep Millianna?'
"I slept well." Millianna lied as even she had trouble going to sleep. She didn't want to mention that Erza's screams echoed through the house each time she woke from a nightmare and that they would wake everyone each and every time. "How about you Er-chan?" Millianna asked a bit darker knowing that Erza did not sleep well. She never did anymore.
"Well," Erza responded curtly not wanting to revisit the nightmares or reveal the extent to which they affect her.
"I'm glad!" Millianna responds spritely hoping that maybe it will cheer Erza up and affirm to her that no one else knew about her nightmares.
Not ten minutes later a large plate of pancakes was placed in the center of the table. It was impossible for the both of them to finish it even if they both had been famished. Erza almost gagged at the sight and smell of the food.
An opening of a door echoed throughout the house interrupting the quiet of the morning. Juvia and Gray soon appeared in the kitchen from behind Erza and on either side of her. They both looked at the pancakes with ravenous eyes. They both took a seat on opposite sides of Erza and across from Millianna.
"Good morning." They said in unison both with scratchy tired voices.
"Who made the pancakes?" Gray inquired right after.
"Me!" Millianna stated happily and proudly. Juvia and Gray both smiled at Millianna's enthusiasm.
"Thank you Millianna," Gray says graciously before putting a couple onto a plate that he pulled from a stack at the end of the table.
"Yes… Juvia really appreciates it." She said doing the same.
"Meow! You're welcome!"
Erza finished her first pancake and a half a cup of juice before she could not force herself to eat anymore. Her stomach was already contracting painfully with the first food she has eaten in two days. She quietly rose from the table and placed her dishes in the sink. She stopped at the exit of the kitchen.
"I'm going to check on the others." She said in a melancholy tone.
The background noise of chewing and the clanging of utensils on plates ceased at Erza's words, the house now eerily quiet before Erza's footsteps begin and fade into the hallway and up the stairs to the attic.
The attic floor was made of old, unvarnished, raw wood. The wood was still wet with the attempts to rid it of the blood that stained it two days before. There were two rows of four white sheets stained in various colors of drying blood, drainage, and earthly substances. One, however, was perfectly white and unnaturally still in the left corner of the room, raised up in the shape of the body of their master. Erza walked down the middle of the two rows looking at the people who lay under the sheets watching the slow rise and fall of each one of them to make sure everyone was alive. She stopped at the end of the row on the right side of the room. Wendy laid at the very end sleeping peacefully on her back. Charle curled up next to her and Happy kept his tail wrapped around Charle's. The next white sheet covered the body of Natsu. Only his ruffled pink hair that was stained with dried brown blood and the black singe of grazing death. Happy was curled up on Natsu's lap and Lucy laid her head on his chest. She wouldn't rest unless she could feel Natsu breathe and hear his heartbeat. Natsu and Lucy had been asleep for two days straight, most of those in the room had been. Erza took her place kneeling on the floor in-between Charle and Happy. She gently pulled the sheet back enough to reveal his face. She didn't need to pull it back any further to know how injured he was, the sheet showed it and she had seen it. She had seen it. Natsu's body was slashed deeply diagonally across his back several times. He had a single deep slash across his abdomen. Smaller cuts covered his body.
"Come on Natsu." She whispered her eyes glittering. "We can't lose you too."
Erza's eyes glazed over staring at him and now all she could see was the recent past.
Magnolia was unrecognizable. It was on fire and the air was turned to black ash. Most of the buildings were reduced to rubble that littered the city as if it had been abandoned for centuries after a war. Civilians scattered out of the city at the arrival of the demon army but there was no warning, most of them became trapped in the city by the army. They were tortured and mutilated and fell as quickly as the buildings. The air still smelled of burning and rotting flesh. Fairy Tail was the only thing between the demons and the civilians. Damned they tried to protect them, to get them out, but there were too many demons, they couldn't handle it. They called the other guilds for backup as they desperately tried to protect the civilians left. The demons began to overpower them, they would take the civilians away one by one and mutilate and torture them in front of the guild. Their bodies were thrown unceremoniously into the rubble of the buildings. The guild fought vehemently. They fought using their emotions. Everyone screamed and cried like the shrill bells that warn of danger and death just before the soul separates from the body each time a demon snatched a civilian away from their protection. Back up from the other guilds didn't arrive till a few hours later when it was too late. All the civilians were dead, dying, or had fled. Fairy Tail and the other guilds were surrounded by the army that covered the width of Magnolia in all directions. Demons of all shapes and sizes leered at those in front of them who were injured, exhausted, and emotionally damaged from the sights they were forced to watch. The ground shook as the largest demon of the group stepped to the forward ranks of his army to address the Masters of the guilds. He laughed at the group before him.
"This sight is pitiful. You pitiful humans. You actually thought you could protect them from me. Humans will never, ever, surpass a demon." He paused and stood taller. "Kneel before your king." He said commandingly. A crown was placed on his head by a flying demon. It dripped red with fresh blood down his face. The crown was made of the limbs of civilians. The open hands of the arms lay waiting for jewels, one for each of the guild masters. Several other demons carried a staff made in a similar fashion to the king demon's crown. The master of Fairy Tail, Master Makarov, stepped forward toward the King Demon.
"You underestimate us and our will to protect our friends."
"You already failed to protect them." The demon chuckled and all the demons around him began laughing. The area became deafened with the sound of thousands of demons laughing. Fear filled the determination of the faces of the mages. The masters turned to each other before facing back forward to the king demon.
"I will not fail my family," Makarov said turning back around to face his guild. He intentionally finds Erza within the crowd and locks eyes with her. "Take care of them Erza." He said solemnly before turning to the King Demon.
"Master?" Erza questioned her eyes glittering with tears half knowing and half denying what he will do next.
Makarov began to form a bright ball of golden light in his hands.
"You will take good care of them Erza. Protect them, not with your life, but with your spirit. There will be enough bloodshed and darkness on this day."
"I promise." She said just before Makarov brought his hands together through the ball of light.
"I invoke Fairy Law." He said strongly.
A small magic circle with a golden Fairy Tail insignia shone before him and a large one opened through the clouds and ash in the sky above. All of Magnolia was flooded with a bright golden light. The demons screeched as they were scorched by the light. The sound was deafening, and the light was blinding. The spell lasted for a whole minute before suddenly the bright light disappeared and the only thing Erza could see and hear was the body of her master fall to the ground, hard. The sound of the screeching demons couldn't drown the thud of lifeless flesh hitting the ground. Her scream pierced through the sound of all the demons. The Great Titania sobbed. She dropped to her knees staring blankly ahead at the motionless body of her master. The tears in her eyes blurred her vision but through it, she saw the large hand of the King Demon reaching for Makarov's body. Erza suddenly re-quipped her black winged armor and just before the King Demon was able to touch the Master, his hand met Erza's sword as it disconnected from his body and hit the ground next to her. She stood over Makarov's body defensively and spoke with a voice full of rage and venom.
"You will never touch anyone in this guild." She looked around at the remaining demons both injured and uninjured. They kept flowing in like water through a cracked dam. They stood over the bodies of their dead comrades and trampled the ones too injured to fight. This enraged Erza further. Her eyes stopped crying and began to glow red. Her guildmates stood behind her not knowing how to handle what they were seeing. They were numb to the world. The other guilds mimicked Fairy Tail's. The other masters faced Erza with caution and empathy, save Jellal. Jellal stood in front of Crime Sorciere and faced Erza with a knowledge of her whole mind and being. He understood her better than anyone. Erza stood tall now and with glowing red eyes and a red aura forming around her dark black armor she extended her wings high above her and she flew up to the eye level of the King Demon and twirled slowly around in the air to the swarm of demons around them.
"None of you will ever touch them!" She screamed her voice easily carried to the back ranks of the army. She faced the King Demon again.
"I will never let you harm my family, and for that, it will be by my blade that you fall." She said strongly.
She flew at the King Demon sword extended and all the guilds took a direction and began to fight through the ranks of demons. Row by row of demons they fought hard and long. Jellal had activated meteor and flew to back up Erza. They fought together as if they had always so. Everyone poured their heart out into this fight and it lasted for hours before they started falling. Demons never ran out of curse power, and it seemed as if they never ran out of demons either. No matter what dent was made into the army it always filled back in, quicker than it had been taken out. Few were left with magic or physical strength to fight. They were being overcome and quickly. Erza had seen it and so had Jellal. They looked at each other with understanding. They needed to end this and now, before there was no one left to save. They backed away from the King Demon closer to their guilds.
"If we can just take him out Jellal…That's our only chance." Erza said in exasperation, her own magic beginning to run low.
"I know," Jellal said softly and comfortingly. "Don't let them put out your light Erza. It will be the thing that will guide everyone to the right path."
"Jellal?" Erza asked confused before her eyes widened as he took off toward the King Demon. "Jellal?! What are you doing?!" She cried out to him chasing after him.
I'm sorry Erza, Jellal thought to himself as he went for the demon, intending to complete a self-destruct magic circle that he had begun throughout the fight.
Erza stumbled in the air, slower than usual and unable to maintain an even speed and altitude with her magic faltering. The King Demon was too quick for the pair of them in their current states.
"Disintegrate," He spoke with an evil smirk as he watched Jellal begin to dive head first toward the dove after him catching him just before he hit the ground and placing her body down toward the earth. They slid through the rubble for a few yards before they came to a stop. Jellal's body had begun to crack open like parched earth in a drought. The cracks were pure black, and his body slowly broke up into smaller and smaller pieces that lost their color and turned pitch black as they floated into the wind like ash. It began at his feet and moved upward toward the rest of his body. As Erza gained her bearings once again after the crash landing, the curse had already reached his upper torso and his neck began to crack like old paint on porcelain. Her eyes were wide with fear and disbelief as she stared into Jellal's calm eyes.
"I love you, Erza." He said sweetly as his neck was claimed to the wind and his head began to crack open. For the first time, Jellal did not want to die. It would be in vain. He didn't complete the circle, and now he couldn't. He couldn't protect his light and he would never be able to spend his life with the woman he loved. He would give anything, to not leave this world now. Erza couldn't speak. She was too distraught. "…I…." She began to speak but, before she could continue, Jellal's face had been completely claimed by the wind and the ash of his body floated around in the air, indistinguishable from the burnt pieces of their city that flowed through the air swirling in patterns that would have been considered art if they didn't contain the lives of friends and the safety and memories of their home.
Demons began to swarm Erza. She stayed in the indented Earth, staring blankly ahead, watching as all her friends began to fall one by one, like the civilians. She watched the desperate efforts of everyone to protect the fallen bodies of their family and their friends. She watched the pieces of ash floating through the air wondering which were pieces of Jellal, in disbelief that she had lost not only her Master, but Jellal as well. A single tear streamed down her face as she was lost to the shock and the grief of the events of today and the hopelessness of the future. Her magic was gone, this was likely her end as well. As the demons closed in on Erza, they were suddenly stopped by a dome made by seven magic circles. Erza looked up shocked to see her and the demons separated by magic that felt so much like Jellal.
"Jellal?" She questioned aloud.
The magic circles began to shrink and form into a glowing set of armor. The armor was formed from the aura of the magic circles and was a bright gold that shone through the haze of the smoke and ash. The joints of the armor were black but sparkled as if they contained a small portal to other sections of the universe. Erza stood and stepped into the armor and it formed around her body. In her right hand, a golden katana formed. The center of the blade resembled the joints of the armor.
Erza let her last tear fall before her eyes turned to that of determination as she remembered what Jellal had said to her earlier, "Don't let them put out your light Erza. It will be the thing that will guide everyone to the right path." She was not going to give up on her friends. This wasn't the end as long as she could still fight.
"Requip… Queen of Balance." She said strongly giving her armor a fitting name.
It glowed brighter in response and the power emanating from Erza rivaled that of the 12 Wizard Saints. The whole battlefield stopped and turned toward Erza as smaller golden and galaxy swords began to appear in the air around her. There were thousands and with one motion of her arm they flew at meteor speed at the demons between her and the King Demon and behind her to the demons between her and her friends. The demons were killed on impact and fell to the ground creating a patchwork of demon bodies that resembled old, broken bricks of a road.
Erza headed for the King Demon, walking on the bodies of the demons. The King Demon looked all but sympathetic for the lives of his comrades. In fact, he looked amused with the new found strength of the red-haired mage.
"A fight between a King and Queen… How intriguing." He spoke with a smile.
Erza did not respond, infuriated and filled with revenge.
The next thing that could be seen was golden streaks flying through the air and leaving gashes on the King Demon's body. He flailed instinctually from the surprise and excruciating pain of Erza's attack. His hand hit Erza and propelled her to the ground. The sound of the impact boomed through the tense air. Both humans and demons, watched with fear and anticipation respectively. Erza's armor, fueled by her emotions and Jellal's fading magic, began to flicker. She stood shakily, she could not take many more hits with the power she had left and the power she needed to use. The demon looked down upon her and smirked as he took his foot and raised it a story tall and began to trample her. Erza screamed in pain as the foot was raised each time for another hit. The demon army laughed in unison as Erza's friends watched in horror as they heard her scream aloud and watched the light that had once emanated brightly from her armor dim and flicker. Erza knew she did not have enough fight in her to continue after this. She waited for the demon to raise his foot again. Her armor left her body and transformed into multiple small ninja stars. As the King Demon's foot began to lower itself down again, the ninja stars shot through his body at meteor speed. They sliced his body with ease dissipating as soon as they exited the other side. The King Demon's eyes filled with fear of the unknown and anger toward the Red-haired woman who lay exposed and broken before him spoke one last word before the life left his eyes.
"S-s-slice."
As the King Demon's body fell to the ground, the thud it made was covered by a familiar scream. Erza's body began to open up in increasingly deeper and larger cuts as if someone was dragging whips over her body in every direction, repeatedly. The guilds began running for her. Wendy and Natsu lead the rush to Erza.
"We did it Jellal. They can live in peace now and I can die in peace…I'll join you soon… I hope this made you proud." Erza thought before her mind went completely black.
Wendy and Natsu made it to Erza first. Wendy immediately and fearlessly plunged into the pool of blood that surrounded the chopped flesh of her comrade that was unrecognizable as Erza besides the chunk of red hair that lay where her head should be. She poured her healing magic into the fleshy pile all at once. She drained what was left in her in one shot. It was enough to bring Erza's cardiovascular system and most of her tissues back together, but she was left with deep gashes that poured the blood that Wendy had just restored. Natsu stood in shock as Wendy collapsed next to Erza and was slowly covered in Erza's blood. The rest of the guilds arrived. They all gasped as they saw Erza and Wendy together in that crater. Some eyes began to fill with tears as hands were raised to cover open mouths. Juvia, Gray, Mira, and Millianna rushed to Erza's side without a gasp and without tears. They feverishly began to stop the bleeding. Gray had to shake Natsu back to reality so that he could heat up a broken piece of Erza's sword. The used this to cauterize the wounds to stop the bleeding before Juvia began CPR to bring Erza's body back to life. It took 8 long and drawn out minutes for this all to complete. Erza took a weak breath and had a weak radial pulse. She was alive. Everyone took a fallen comrade, dead or alive, and carried them to the nearest shelter they could find that was still standing, Erza's house.
-END OF CHAPTER 4-