Levy knew it was him. She had been holding Corin when the shadow had fallen over her, and when she had whirled to see what it was, she only saw a dark figure disappear behind the building. Natsu and Lucy reached them and found Loki watching the streets warily, Morani clutching his hand tightly. Pantherlily as well was looking around, and his fur was standing on end.
"What's the matter, guys?"
"It was him. He was watching us just now."
"Who was?"
"Kurogane."
"He wasn't causing any trouble, guys. Calm down." Levy frowned at the two, who glanced at each other and sighed. Ultia walked forward and took Corin from Levy, seeing that her brother was beginning to yawn. Morani grabbed Serekia's hand and released Loki's.
Lucy noticed that Corin was starting to fall asleep and announced that she was taking him back to the inn to let him nap. The girls begged their mother to let them go to the market and shop, and Lucy agreed-only if their father would go with them. They swarmed Natsu, who sighed and agreed, earning a chorus of squeals from the girls. They dragged their father away towards the market while Lucy took Corin back to the inn. Levy glanced at her two cat companions and sighed.
"Let's go and see if Romeo and Wendy are still here."
"Fine."
"Does the market sell kiwi?"
"Maybe. We'll check tomorrow. On second thought, we'll visit Wendy and Romeo tomorrow, too. It's starting to get dark."
She glanced at the darkening sky, then started to walk towards the inn, Pantherlily and Loki following close behind.
Jose was angry. Very, very angry. How is it that his strongest fighter, his Kurogane, had still failed to kill Levy McGarden three years ago? Impossible. And yet, his warrior assured him that this tiny, frail little scrap of a girl was not the Solid Script mage. He frowned at the warrior, bent over in pain.
The spell was weakening. He would have to reinforce it soon. Gajeel Redfox's will was extremely strong, and after seeing this girl that looks so much like his little Levy, the Iron Dragon mage had redoubled his efforts to break the spell. Jose chuckled as he watched the younger mage's efforts to stop the voices screaming in his head.
Redfox was strong, much stronger than he'd expected. But he was also extremely susceptible to feelings. Pain, anguish, and longing were only three of the emotions that helped Jose gain a foothold over Jose's warrior. The Phantom Lord master frowned.
Maybe the death of a certain mage would send Gajeel Redfox hurtling out of his mind, leaving Jose free to control, free to create Kurogane again, a monster to obey Jose's every command. He snapped his fingers. Aria, Boze, and Sue materialized from the shadows. The shorter green-haired Mirror mage glanced quickly at her former teammate, fear emanating from her when he snarled viciously and pounded at the ground. She snapped to attention when Jose spoke.
"Aria, I want you to find the girl that looks like Levy McGarden and bring her to me. Boze, the Lion spirit. Use your magics to keep him from reentering the spirit world. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master!" they chorused. He nodded.
"Good. Sue." He addressed the Mirror mage, who stiffened. "I want you to capture the black exceed that accompanied Redfox."
"As you wish, Master Jose." He dismissed them, and they began to melt back into the shadows. His warrior roared angrily and glared at Boze, who recoiled in fear.
"Don't you fucking dare touch her. I'll rip your head off your shoulders." He growled. His threat was accompanied by a glare. If looks could kill, they would all have been dead. Jose especially would've been dead twenty times over. The master just looked at the fuming dragon mage quietly and simply snorted.
"Go on, then," he addressed the three mages, "Find them!" They disappeared into the darkness and Redfox let out an ear-piercing roar of anger.
"LEVY!" He yowled. Jose chuckled and stood, seeming to almost float as he walked over to the pained warrior.
"Levy," he hissed, reaching down and grabbing his face, tilting it up to look him in the eyes, "Levy McGarden is dead."
The iron mage's red eyes narrowed.
"You liar. She's alive."
"She won't be for long."
"Don't fucking touch her!" Jose snickered darkly and released his chin, only to jab the side of his neck with one clawed finger. The black-haired man convulsed in agony and dropped to the ground, curled into a ball. He snarled and groaned and clawed at his head. Jose only smirked at him, kicked him in the side painfully, and walked away, the shadows swallowing him up.
Soon, this whole McGarden problem would be behind him.
And Gajeel Redfox would cease to exist, leaving Kurogane free to obey Jose's every command without problem.
He would be unstoppable. Phantom Lord would rule as the superior guild.
