Gray crashed his hands together and pulled them free. A large, sharp ice lance formed. The freezing, unbreakable magic felt natural, powerful in his hands. Jellal braced himself, planting his foot behind him. Gray's rage consumed him, more than he'd let it in a long time, and he propelled forward. He pulled his dark arm back, then attacked, lance first, going straight for the kill.

Of course it wouldn't. This was Jellal, who took on Acnologia's dragon form and came away alive. The lance broke upon immediate contact with Jellal's magic shields, but he didn't have them for his lower body. With his free hand, Gray swung up, summoning a wall of ice. Jellal blocked that as well, but was too slow to block Gray's kick to Jellal's shoulder.

Jellal absorbed the hit and wasn't even knocked out of the guild hall. Gray's eyes widened. Jellal shook his head and flicked his wrist, opening his hand up fully. The magic quivered through the air and hit Gray right in the chest, sending him flying across the room and into his own wall of ice.

"Enough, Gray," Jellal said, and it was echoed by someone behind him.

Gray sat up, rubbing his head. He didn't let go of his Demon-Slayer form but did retract the wall of ice blocking everyone from joining him. He felt a little better when Juvia wrapped her arms around him, and when he saw Erza striding toward Jellal, that Cretan.

"I arrived as fast as I could, armed only with the information I could scrounge and speculate upon," Jellal said. "But I'm certain of who killed your master."
"Jellal," Erza said.

"Or who at the least played a critical part in his assassination," Jellal said.

Juvia helped Gray to his feet and brought him over to Jellal. Jellal gestured to someone behind them and, much to Gray's surprise, Macao came striding up after the three of them, joining Jellal in the middle of the hall. Everyone else in the guild hall watched with bated breath.

"I'm quite surprised none of you have picked up on the pattern just yet," Jellal said, "seeing as how you all were the ones who defeated this organization once before."

"You're making it really hard to jump to not jump to conclusions," Gray said.

"There's been few times when Dark Guilds have banded together, most recently, and noticeably, the Balam Alliance," Jellal said. "Tartaros, the Oracion Seis, and Grimoire Heart. Fortunately we didn't see something of their ilk since your incident on Tenrou Island, but it would seem that someone is content to change that and reform this new alliance."

"Why wouldn't we have heard about this?" Erza said.

"It's all so far under the radar even the guild members involved wouldn't know," Jellal said. "I'd only just realized it before Makarov was reported dead and it confirmed my suspicions."

"Get on with it, Jellal," Gray said. He wasn't wounded from their fight, anymore, but still felt some fire within him. He could barely stand to look at Jellal sometimes when he remembered what he put Erza through, Zeref-possessed or not.

"Harmonia and Acnologious have played their parts in this façade just to distract you from the real enemy here," Jellal said. "It's the Oracion Seis."

Gray almost attacked him again but Juvia held him back. "You bastard. You're supposed to be watching them, you and your damn Crime Sorciere!"

"None of the original six are working with this new, skeletal group," Jellal said. He didn't even flinch when Gray reacted. Did he really have such an ego? "Only one of their members, unfortunately one we've overlooked and their most powerful, is pushing for this and has all the proper pieces in play to make a power move. Assassinating Makarov was a statement on their end, and I can assure you, they've been awaiting Fairy Tail's direct response."

"Then they were expecting us to split into groups?" Erza said.

"Indeed, but you've subverted their expectations with the scout parties, as well as who stands before me as Guild Master." Jella's face shone with a tinge of pride. "They no doubt thought Fairy Tail's strongest team would branch out on their own while their remaining S-Class wizards took another group. That would leave the guild, and Macao, exposed."

"Me?" Macao asked.

"They're targeting every Fairy Tail master," Jellal said. "Since Erza wasn't with Natsu and his group, they tried to assassinate Sting Eucliffe."
Gray raised his eyebrow. Sting was almost murdered? "And Gildarts?"

"Harmonia's ambush was meant just for that, but it would seem you had some wizards capable of tracking others?" Jellal asked.

Now it was Erza's turn to reflect some pride. "Not quite."

"You've done well to hide your true power, Fairy Tail," Jellal said, nodding to them all. "I'm impressed, as always. But now's the time to reveal it to the Dark Guilds. Send this fake Oracion Seis to the hell that the old one once burned in."

"Where would we start to find these guys?" Gray asked.

"You wouldn't do anything, since this is also an operation that the Magic Council wishes to see executed," Jellal said. "Plus, Erza and Macao are still targets, and their assassins could be anywhere."

"Who is they?" Macao asked. "Harmonia and Acnologius have been dealt with already, so, that just leaves the Oracion Seis."

"Including the Oracion Seis there were two other guilds," Jellal said. "Normally I'd be inclined to include Acnologius but I'm a bit hesitant to do so given where the new Oracion Seis was headed, according to our spies: Raven Tail."

"That's impossible, Raven Tail was disbanded five years ago at the Grand Magic Games," Erza said.

"Laxus saw to that," Gray said.

"And as Gray pointed out, the Oracion Seis is meant to be under my supervision," Jellal said. "I've got a feeling that what we're dealing with goes beyond just Dark Guilds making a rise for power. I'm meant to meet with Queen Hisue on the matter, but that's not important right now. Makarov's killer is still on the run and only Fairy Tail is capable of defeating him."

"You seem fairly capable," Gray said.

"Much as I would love to dirty my hands and aid you, I'm afraid this operation is out of my personal jurisdiction," Jellal said. "I need to get on the road to Crocus and ensure that there aren't any assassins headed to make this into a kingdom-wide affair. That's why I've entrusted three of my best peers to do the job."

"Who?" Erza asked.


"That all seems a bit complicated," Natsu said, walking back toward the Sabertooth Guild next to Brandish. The woman carried herself with such magnitude and power, it was pretty damn admirable. She flaunted her stuff and didn't even care about it. Natsu knew he did the same, but had a tough time not breaking something when he did it.

"The world is a complicated place," Brandish said. "I save your life, you turn into a demon and almost kill your friend. We live in a strange world."

"But why would the Oracion Seis reform now?" Natsu asked. "And what did they have against Gramps? Or Sting, for that matter?'

"I'm not sure what Acnologius is up to, probably try to exact revenge on all of you for killing Acnologia," Brandish said. She raised her hand to her chin, thoughtfully. "Although you're right, it doesn't make any sense to go after Sting and not you. Sting is a Guild Master, though."

"You think they're targeting the masters of Fiore's guilds?" Natsu asked.

"I think they had a different target and had to change plans," Brandish said. "They wanted to kill a member of Fairy Tail, but couldn't, since it didn't go with their plan."

"Again, sounds complicated," Natsu said.

"It's foolish," Brandish said. "They have neither the backing of Harmonia nor Acnologius, the only Dark Guilds worth anything in Fiore. Titanfall is weak and this new Raven Tail is barely a month old."

"We never heard about it," Natsu said.

"Because they're irrelevant," Brandish said. "They're a front for the new Oracion Seis, who are a shadowy organization as it is."

"Who's part of the new Oracion Seis?" Natsu asked.

"Hard to tell," Brandish said.

Natsu shrugged. Brandish didn't know much beyond what Jellal was saying inside his head, which freaked him out to no end. He thought Warren cut he communication, but the conversation back in Magnolia must have indeed been that interesting.

Natsu glanced at Brandish in his peripheral. No, she knew something more, something she didn't want to say.

"You say it was just the Oracion Seis, that you don't know who is involved," Natsu said, thinking of what Jellal was also saying, "Who is their leader?"

"I don't know."

"Whoever it is isn't putting just our masters at risk, they're putting everyone in the guild at risk. That assassin could have killed Lucy."

Brandish's demeanor finally softened. She slowed down before finally coming to a complete stop.

"It was their own master," Brandish said.

Natsu saw his face plain as day in his mind. He still remembered their fight, the one that taught him to master his Dragon Force, when he'd been at the very brink of death. He clenched a fist at his side.

"And where is he now?" Natsu asked.


Levy, Panther Lily, and Gajeel all slinked in their shadows that the abandoned Raven Tail guild hall provided. They were at the base of one of the deepest valleys near the fortress. The stone was jagged and stalagmites protruded from the valley all the way up to the main fortress itself.

Gajeel could only shake his head, staring up at it. He looked real nice in his Council wares. He didn't wear magic armor like Lily or Levy, since he thought it would weigh him down, so Levy created his own special armor, with a little help, that could adapt to his Dragon Slayer magic better than normal clothing.

"What a dump," he said.

"Is there no maintenance?" Lily asked.

"Looks like bandits ransacked the place when Laxus's pops ditched it," Gajeel said. "Scumbag."

"Honestly," Levy said. "But it doesn't look like anyone's taken it over since then."

"We're dealing with shadows," Lily said. "Organizations that've evaded even the watchful eye of the council."

"Got that right, cat," Gajeel said. He braced himself against a stalagmite. "I'd say it's best to wait things out."

"Jellal made things sound quite urgent," Lily said.

"And we don't know how long it'll be before someone else arrives," Levy said.

Gajeel tilted his head. "I meant inside. You think I wanna wait out here? No way. We're going in there, taking down whoever killed Master, and then we'll take out whoever else comes."

Levy nodded. That was more like it. There was no earthly way Gajeel would ever sit back and miss out on a fight, particularly when it came to beating Natsu to the punch. He'd never let Natsu live it down if he got the first shots in on the new Oracion Seis and Raven Tail.

Gajeel pushed himself off the stalagmite and led the way to a slight trail that led to a climbable dead end. Lily transformed into his Exceed form and started off, with Gajeel finding a different path. Levy used her magic to create gloves and a rope for her to climb with.

The climb wasn't too high, maybe forty feet, before Levy slipped off the stalagmite onto a plateau, with a path winding up to another point. She nodded to Gajeel, who was easily climbing his way to the top. Lily did so a bit more cautiously. Gajeel said something, just some banter, to Lily, who quickened his pace.

It reminded Levy of the old, old Team Shadow Gear days. Before the magic council and Gajeel came into her life, when it was just herself, Jet, and Droy. Before Lucy came along and made Fairy Tail that much better, they were Fairy Tail's most notable, likable team. Sure there was the Thunder Tribe, but they were more muscle than Shadow Gear's friendliness.

And how times had changed. Councilwoman Levy McGarden stood aside the legendary Gajeel Redfox, the Dragon Slayer, and most powerful Exceed in the world, Panther Lily. Old Levi never would have even dreamt this. Shadow Gear didn't hold her back, not one bit, but it helped her remain complacent.

Levy continued up the path, coming to another climbing dead end. She made her way up the stalagmite, clutching to it tight, before pulling herself to the top and coming face-to-face with the Raven Tail guild fortress. She stepped behind another stalagmite, stepping on an old skeleton. It didn't even faze her. It was a prop, she could tell it was immediately.

Levy spotted movement near the front gate. She checked the western side of the castle and saw nothing, but to the east was Gajeel, hiding in the shadows. Lily was all but invisible given his tiny stature. The two were whispering to one another, but Levy couldn't tell what it was. She checked the door again and reached for her Enhanced Light Pen at her side. The ELP served, essentially, like a magic wand. She need only think of the inscription in her mind and with the flick of a wrist, her Letter Magic would do appear accordingly. It was a benefit to being a woman who helped structure the world.

Levy braced herself against the stalagmite. This really was a gaudy place for a guild. Sure, Raven Tail was meant to be the natural opposite to Fairy Tail but did Ivan Dreyar really have to take it so seriously? Fairy Tail was serene, by the lake, a beautiful guild hall. This was gloomy, in the mountains, surrounded by sharp rocks meant to repel enemy forces.

Some of the movement by the door stopped, and then the gate started to creak open. Levy watched. Five shadows emerged from the gateway, one of them wreathed in some sort of aura. She checked where Gajeel was and saw him rising, looking like a hound about to pounce some prey.

The five emerged. Levy flicked her wrist for SIGHT and the words appeared small in front of her, but the rocks were suddenly much larger. Levy turned and examined the new arrivals.

They were all strange looking. Not much stranger than a petite woman with blue hair wearing not-so-subtle Magic Council magic-armor, but still strange. She barely got to notice their designs when Gajeel moved and they all, startled, fell back. Levy shook the spell from her mind and remained back, same as Panther Lily.

The Exceed remained calm, as Levy saw it. He was also braced against the stalagmite on their end, but he would serve more the backup role should something befall Gajeel.

The Dragon Slayer stood in front of them and the massive fortress. The thing was humongous and imposing, but somehow, Gajeel made it seem that much smaller. Levy loved it about him, how confident and brazen he could be. She touched her hand to her heart and smiled at her husband.

"You must be the new Raven Tail," Gajeel said. His voice was abnormally raised. Levy blushed. Was this an act for her?

"Gajeel Redfox," one of the Raven Tail member said. "Fairy Tail, eh? Took you long enough to find us."

"Fairy Tail, Magic Council, whatever you want, really," Gajeel said. "Regardless of which I'm here on business. See, my master died just the other day and I have a sneaking suspicion you might know something about it."

"Of course," that same member said. It was the one in the aura, Levy noticed, and she hated his guts already. "We were happy when we got the news."

"Who gave the order?" Gajeel asked.

The one in the aura flashed and a blast consumed Gajeel, but when the dust settled, the Dragon Slayer remained unfazed. Levy's smile almost touched her eyes. That's my man!

"Who?" Gajeel asked. "Before I crush all five of you without breaking a sweat, and then destroying the one who did in Makarov."

"You think we'll talk?" the aura wizard asked. "You don't scare us, not the way he scares us?"

Levy saw movement again. It was fast, and it was a person. Racer? No, impossible. He was still with Crime Sorciere.

Wait, no, this wasn't speed, this was just magical interference. Before Levy could even conjure the spell, someone appeared behind Gajeel. Gajeel didn't even notice when he was punched straight in the back of the head and dropped right to the ground. Levy stopped mid-incantation in her head and braced herself against the stalagmite, praying she hadn't been spotted.

But damn it if her earlier prayer had been ignored. Jellal was right, he'd been right all along.

"That's one down," Master Zero of the Oracion Seis said. "Now we can only hope Fairy Tail sends more my way. I'd love to continue my little hunt."