There's so many of them.

Even when Meredy joined Zancrow in protecting Begonia Village and preventing the dark mages from reaching it, there's only so much the two of them can do when the entire village is surrounded by nearly all sides. Luckily, the village is small enough for the two of them to defend easily.

"Why the hell are they so interested in Begonia? There's nothing of interest here!"

Meredy agreed with Zancrow's words as she slashed at another group of dark mages with Maguilty Sodom. Deciding that she have enough, she linked the senses of another group of dark mages among themselves with Maguilty Sense and knocked out one of the dark mage affected with a swift chop to the back of his neck. The rest of the group followed suit as they collapsed.

"It would be helpful if you did this sooner. Why don't you do this to the entire group?"

"I don't have yet enough control in this function of my magic to ensure that I don't accidentally kill them, Zan. A group this large is the maximum I can do without losing control."

"I see. By the way, get down."

Meredy didn't hesitate for a second and immediately ducked her head as Zancrow shot a large cone of flames where her head once was towards a dark mage who had somehow managed to sneak up to her undetected. Meredy sent a few Maguilty Rays at a bunch of dark mages who is trying to attack Zancrow's now undefended back and blasted them unconscious.

"There's too many of them!" Meredy exclaimed as she stood back to back with Zancrow.

Zancrow pointed his index and middle fingers at the largest group of the dark mages and gathered a sizable amount of magic in preparation for a spell.

"Living Magic: Tigers."

The numerous rocks strewn about the two of them morphed and transformed into living tigers as they roared and pounced onto the group of dark mages, neutralising them immediately.

"That's..."

"Ria's eye magic. I can now use it since her eye is now implanted in me. Her magic is beautiful, isn't it? Thanks to it, the numerical advantage they have is somewhat neutralised."

Meredy gave a nod of agreement as she continued to hold the dark mages back. For his sake, Zancrow have to get out of here soon.

"The Rune Knights will be appearing anytime now, Zan. We are stuck here for way too long, it's already been an hour!" In fact, it's a miracle that none of the dark mages have managed to got past the both of them yet. None of the dark mages they faced are strong, but they swarmed out from the mountains like ants from an anthill. Where have they been hiding all this time?

"Right now my identity is Skull, not Zancrow. So long as my disguise isn't busted, there shouldn't be anything to be worried about even if the Rune Knights arrived. Don't lose your cool, we are in battle now."

"Still, what are the dark mages after?"

"That's what I like to know too. Begonia never had problems with dark guilds before, the only reason why they needed help was the abundance of monsters that tend to raid the town. This is very unusual."

A new group of participants joined in the fray and the duo recognised the group as the Rune Knights who finally appeared onto the scene. Meredy spotted a bunch of Begonia's villagers leading the group of Rune Knights to where the main bulk of the fighting is. Help had finally arrived.

"Took them long enough." Zancrow grumbled.

With the help of the Rune Knights, the dark guild was quickly suppressed and victory was in their sights. The Rune Knights had split themselves up to protect the village, leaving Zancrow and Meredy free to take out the dark guild without any worries for the village's safety. It is only a matter of time now before everything is over.

"Skull-sama! Meredy-sama! Look out!"

Other than the warning from a villager, a glint of light from a metal surface was the only extra warning they got as a huge blast of condensed magical energy shot towards them. Meredy eyes widened in shock as the magical beam shot towards her at an alarming speed. There's no time for her to defend herself. She closed her eyes, waiting for her imminent demise.

She reopened them again when she felt herself getting forcefully shoved away and saw Zancrow standing at the position where she used to be a second ago. Black flames erupted around him as Zancrow casted a spell.

"Fire God's Flaming Shield!"

A massive shield of black flames intercepted the magical beam and a huge explosion resulted from the clash in powers. Zancrow leapt out from the smoke, his mask now destroyed from the impact of the explosion happening too close to him.

"Zan!"

"I'm alright! We need to take down whoever fired that attack or the next shot from it will toast the village! That has to be some sort of cannon! Nothing else could produce a magical beam that powerful and condensed!"

Meredy immediately shot out her Maguilty Rays at where the attack fired from as Zancrow rushed in to destroy the cannon that is now exposed from its hiding place thanks to Meredy's attack.

"Fire God's Scythe!"

Meredy watched in satisfaction as the cannon was cut into two before getting devoured by Zancrow's flames. She walked closer to where Zancrow is, only for an alarmed expression to cross Zancrow's face before he shouted at her.

"Meredy! Get away! This is a trap!"

Numerous rune marks appeared on Zancrow's body as it shimmered into existence to restrain him. The area around him glowed startling bright and another explosion erupted at where Zancrow stood.

A pillar of black flames cleared the smoke as Zancrow emerged from the explosion alive, but utterly exhausted from defending himself against another huge explosion so close to him. He had lost his left arm as well and it is now a stump.

"Zan! Your arm!"

"I'm fine. The arm was as good as dead to begin with anyway, maybe now I can get the prosthetic you have been harping about. I wonder what was used to induce that explosion? I couldn't eat the flames." Zancrow replied tiredly as he nearly fell onto the ground but Meredy managed to catch him in time. Zancrow turned to Meredy but an alarmed look crossed his face when he spotted the approaching Rune Knights. He quickly spoke to her.

"I'm afraid my identity has been leaked, Meredy. The Rune Knights have probably seen my face by now and will no longer see me as Skull, but Zancrow of Grimoire Heart. You need to get back to Fairy Tail, I don't want to implicate you. Leave before they arrive."

"I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Don't be stubborn! Go! Don't make me use Apollo's Chariot again! I don't want anything to happen to you!"

"Then what about you?! The council will probably give you a death sentence at worst or a life imprisonment at best! You-!"

"Meredy." Zancrow interrupted with a smile on his face. "Thank you, and goodbye."

The last thing Meredy remembered was Zancrow's smile before she fell unconscious.


"Master! Master! Are you there?! I need your help! Please!"

Makarov immediately jumped to attention from where he was napping on his office desk after going through piles of paperwork. He immediately rubbed away the sleepiness from his eyes and looked at his communication lacrima sitting on the side of his office table.

"Meredy? What's going on? Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine! But Zancrow was caught! He was captured by the Rune Knights! He's on his way to face his trial as we speak! Please! Save him! The Magic Council won't be lenient with him!"

Makarov's face turned gravely serious. Gran Doma is the Chairman of the council now, and he is very heavy-handed in how he does things, not caring about the consequences as long it benefits the council's image. Zancrow may get a slightly lighter sentence since he did a few noble acts throughout these years under the alias of Skull, the villages he helped can attest to that. It also helps that the citizens of Fiore have a favourable impression of him. Zancrow should be safe from the Magic Council's wrath for the time being. The Magic Council have been wanting to portray themselves in a favourable light for quite some time now, especially since their reformation after the incident with Etherion. Zancrow is now providing an opportunity for them since he was a very important member of one of the three dark guilds that led the Balam Alliance. The Magic Council will want to set an example using Zancrow. Zancrow will land himself in hot soup if nothing is done soon.

"Don't worry Meredy. Fairy Tail will not let anything happen to Zancrow. We will do our best to ensure his release." Makarov reassured her.

"It's time for Fairy Tail to repay her debts."


I don't know how long I was locked up for.

The Rune Knights arrived at my location shortly after I knocked Meredy out. I could have escaped, but I was drained of magic and heavily injured from experiencing two direct blasts of magical explosions so close to me. Furthermore, if I escaped, the Rune Knights may or may not place the blame on Meredy and I don't want to risk that since they saw how we fought alongside each other. If a mage from a legal guild is seen fighting alongside an infamous dark mage, what will happen to her? I don't want to know and I don't want to implicate anyone, especially Meredy.

I denied all relations to Meredy in front of the entire village. The villagers were confused by my reaction since they knew Meredy and I were very close to each other after we spent six months with them but with a few subtle hints, they played along.

The villagers were in an uproar when the Rune Knights placed magic-restraining cuffs on my remaining wrist, tied me up in chains and led me away in a reinforced carriage to bring me to wherever they are supposed to bring me to. The villagers tried to argue for me by stating what I did to help their village during my six months here and that I had just saved the village from an attack that the Rune Knights were almost unable to prevent since they were late. It didn't matter to the captain of the Rune Knights, who seemed eager to claim a promotion at the thought of capturing such a high profile dark mage like me.

I calmed the villagers down by explaining in a few short sentences that before I became their saviour, I was a sinner. I was a dark mage whether they believed it or not. None of them believed me, but I told them to check it up on their own when they have the time. I was led into the carriage that will be sending me to the Magic Council while blindfolded under the watch of the disgusting man who called himself the captain of the squad of Rune Knights. It's people like him that innocent citizens were left undefended in the times when they needed their protection the most.

Like what had happened to my hometown, Azalea.

I had seen many people like this captain during my travels. They only want the glory and fame but they were always to first to scamper off in fear whenever danger reared its ugly head. No wonder the dark guilds in Fiore are so bold in their attacks.

When my blindfold was taken off in what seemed like an eternity, I was surprised at where I ended up in.

I've never been to the place before, but I'm pretty sure this is the royal palace that is situated in Crocus.

Why am I here and not at the Magic Council? Any affairs regarding magic is usually taken care of by the Magic Council, the royal family rarely had a say in these matters unless it affects them personally. I had never done anything to merit such a treatment either, so what is going on?

A girl, no doubt a royalty, appeared before me in the room where I was waiting with the guards watching me.

"Kneel. This is the princess of Fiore."

I didn't budge. The royal family don't deserve my respect. They weren't there to help save my family when we needed it the most, the same goes for the Magic Council. They had failed their duty to protect their citizens which they have sworn to protect.

I won't kneel to a self-entitled girl simply because she was lucky enough to be born a princess.

One of the guards kicked me at the back of my knees, forcing me to kneel down. Bastard.

"Arcadios, he is a God Slayer?"

The armoured knight beside the princess respectfully replied. "Princess, he is the Fire God Slayer, Zancrow. Formerly of the dark guild Grimoire Heart."

I held my head high even when I was forced onto the ground. I have my own pride.

"Then let's get on with the experiment."

I see now. The royal family is conducting an experiment that involves God Slayers and I just happened to be a candidate. Wonderful. No wonder I was brought here instead of the Magic Council. How many strings did they pull to get me here?

"Any last words, criminal?" The princess asked me as we made our way to wherever they are leading me to, walking around the huge palace through a series of twists and turns. We seemed to be heading somewhere underground.

"You and your father have more blood on your hands than mine. I hope you can sleep soundly at night with that knowledge."

That comment did grab their attention and earned me a hard punch on the face from the knight named Arcadios.

"Watch your mouth! A criminal like you has no right to compare yourself to the princess!"

"Oh yeah?" I replied as I turned my head back to face the princess and stare at her in the eye. "Ever wondered why I ended up a dark mage?"

The princess remained silent but it was obvious that she is feeling uneasy and a little curious at the same time. Heh, time to get her head out of the rainbows that she was fed with in this stuffy palace.

"No one saved my family when Grimoire Heart eradicated the entire town I lived in. That was fifteen years ago. Aren't the kingdom and the Magic Council duty-bound and sworn to protect its citizens? Where were you guys when they killed my Mum and sister? How many towns and people have perished because you guys can't do your fucking job?" I directed the question to the princess. "How many towns had been destroyed by dark guilds in the last two decades?"

The green-haired princess is trembling right now. Whether it is in rage, shock, or embarrassment I will never know, nor do I care.

"The bloods of the innocents are on your hands too, sweety." I said as I allowed my psychotic persona, a side-effect for using God Slayer magic, to surface. "Every person you failed to save is more blood on your hands. You are the princess, aren't you? You and your father are supposed to protect us, the citizens. Where were you guys when we needed you the most?"

"Shut your trap! You are a member of Grimoire Heart! You are not making any sense! Why would you join a guild that killed your family!" Arcadios boomed out.

"I joined for the sake of revenge." I replied. "I figured that if you guys can't take them down, then I will do it myself from the inside. Took me twelve years, but I managed to kill Hades, the bastard who killed my sister for the sake of obtaining her Eye Magic. That same eye is now sitting in my head after I ripped it out of that bastard's skull." I blinked my implanted eye that sits in between the scar on the right side of my face for emphasis and leaned in closer to the princess. "My sister is watching you, princess."

The princess is visibly shaken by my words and I counted that as a victory. If I were to die, then I might as well do it in an effort to better the world. If my last words can spur the princess in doing a better job in governing the country, then I guess it is worth it. She looked vaguely familiar though, and I guessed that she might have played a role in canon. I had forgotten a lot of the events that happened after the Tenrou arc. It wasn't important as I didn't planned on surviving beyond that point, so I let my memories of it be forgotten during my quest for revenge. It has been more than twenty years since I was reborn into this world, most of what I remembered of canon is now a muddied mess, especially so for the events that happened after the Tenrou arc. I only remembered the details for the Tenrou arc as it was the point where I have chose to be the best time for me to enact my plans for revenge, so I commit every brain power I have to remember every single detail of that arc.

I was soon led into a room where a huge gate is being housed. It has a large door big enough to fit even a wyvern and is elaborately designed. I recognised this gate immediately, I had saw its blueprints before when Grimoire Heart is researching on Zeref and his creations. I can recognise an invention of Zeref when I see one.

"The Eclipse Gate." I whispered out.

"You know about it?" The princess asked out loud without looking at me.

"Please. I am an ex-member of Grimoire Heart, a guild that was dedicated to Zeref. Give me some credit."

"That make things simpler for all of us then. You will have the honour of being the first person to power the weapon."

"Huh? Weapon?"

What the hell is this idiotic girl talking about?

"You talk about knowing about Zeref, but yet you don't know what is the gate's purpose?"

"The Eclipse Gate is built to travel through time." I replied. "I don't know why you refer to it as a weapon."

The princess's eyebrows furrowed. "It is a weapon. It will be our weapon for salvation when the dragons attack our country four years from now."

I can't help but laugh out loud at that statement. This is fucking ridiculous.

"Nice try, princess, but I have saw the blueprints for the gate before. This is no weapon! It merely connects two separate time periods to allow time travel! HAHAHA!"

"Laugh all you want, I have it in good faith that my information is correct. Your sacrifice will help to protect the country."

"Oh, who is your informant?"

"A dying man does not need to know." Arcadios replied gruffly as he pushed me away from the princess with a rough hand.

"I asked the princess, not you." I said before turning my attention back to the princess. "Humour me. I'm a dying man after all."

"Someone from the future. That's all I can tell you."

"Pffft." I tried in vain to stifle my laughter as my shoulders shook from how ridiculous the whole thing seems. "And you are sure this person is not harbouring any evil intentions? Newsflash, princess. Not every time traveler travels through time to save the world! You are too naive!"

"Insolence!" My face was punched once more by Arcadios. "You shall treat the princess with respect!"

"Do what you want." I replied offhandedly. "Why do you need a God Slayer anyway?"

The princess continued to fiddle with some sort of control device which I assume is being used to control the gate. Or something. I cannot tell from where I am standing. "From our findings, we believed that through using the powers of a God Slayer, especially a powerful one, it is possible to quickly fill up the magic power needed to use the gate, more so than using the powers of any other type of mage. I don't know why the gate reacts to God Slayer magic the way it does, but there's no real need to know. However, the process will most likely kill the God Slayer in question. The only other two God Slayers that we know of belongs to legal mage guilds and they are respectful citizens of the country. They don't deserve such a treatment."

"Ah, since I am a dark mage and will most probably be sentenced to death or life imprisonment anyway, I'm the perfect candidate to experiment on. That's why you brought me here and not to the Magic Council. This is why I'm not even given a trial. Everything is supposed to be hush-hush and you don't want to risk the chance of me not getting sentenced to death. You will lose your 'power source' otherwise."

"You are correct. I'm sorry for doing this to you, but it is necessary. Any last words? Or if there is something that is reasonable enough and within my power to do so, I can grant it before your life and magic is being absorbed into the gate."

I remained in deep thought for a short while. The only thing now that anchors me to this world is Meredy and her well-being, and I have already done all I could to make sure she's happy. I even managed to say a goodbye to her before I was whisked here.

I have no more regrets.

"You are being used." I said to the princess as I stared at the gate that according to the princess, will be my executioner. "One day when this shit finally explodes in your face in one big mess, you will look back at this very moment and realise how wrong you are. I hope you remember my words that I said to you. I hope you remember this exact moment. And I really hope that should things really go bad, you have a way to remedy it." I said out loud and turned to face the princess one last time.

"I hope you are prepared for the thousands of lives that are sitting in your hands."

"I am. That's why I'm doing this."

"Good." I said as my guards strapped me in chains onto a chair placed a fair distance away from the Eclipse Gate in front on it and they made their way out with the princess and her knight to watch from a safe distance. With a press of a button, the process started.

The sounds of the whirl of the machination known as the Eclipse Gate roared to life as I felt my magic getting sucked into it forcefully. There's no way anyone can survive such a forceful extraction process. Even if I somehow survived, I will definitely be riddled with a severe case of Magic Deficiency Disease later on.

"Magic output-"

I tuned the words from the people who I assumed are the scientists or researchers involved in this project as I watch the Eclipse Gate shine from absorbing my magic.

"Abnormal signals detected! No way! This isn't possible!"

I closed my eyes as my magic was drained and let a sense of resignation took over me. Surprisingly, I don't feel sad or anything. In fact, I felt relieved and happy. I'm finally able to go see my family for real this time.

"Run! The gate's opening!"

"How?!"

"Get the princess out of here!"

Dad, Mum, Ria. I'm finally going to be able to see you.

And

Goodbye, Meredy.

Forgive me, I've broken my promise once again.


AN: Before you guys start to ask, no, this is NOT the ending of RC. There's still a few chapters left.

According to FT wiki, it wasn't specified when exactly the GMG was created and when exactly the Eclipse project was started, and even if the project started in X784, it wasn't specified that the gate has been in use since then. Hence, I just used that lack of information to create this plot. If you guys find this to be inconsistent with some canon plot that I am somehow unaware of, then just treat it as an AU or a butterfly effect.

On a side note, after I have cooled down I found my response to the reviews a little too overreactive and I have decided to take it down. I apologise for the immature behaviour and especially so if it spoiled the experience in reading RC. My views still stands though.

My previous outburst have also prompted me to give a second thought on how I want the story to end. After much deliberation, I think it might be better if I add another chapter to RC and change the ending to something more... explainable? I don't know how to describe it and I don't want to give any spoilers. However, after RC, the next FT fic I will write will be what I ranted about in the previous chapter. It will be about a guild that takes in children with magic who are being discriminated against or who are unable to lead a proper life of a mage for whatsoever reasons. I have some ideas in my head already, but the story probably won't come out anytime soon as I want to complete my other existing stories first.

Hope you enjoy this story.