Author's Notes: As I said earlier, I'll be posting new chapters each week (maybe once or twice a week). At the end of each chapter, I'll be posting the title of the next chapter - nothing too spoiler-ish. Enjoy!
Chapter 9 – Towards Velder! A New Journey Begins
Two weeks had passed since Lucy and her friends began travelling north towards the capital of demons, Velder. According to Erik, Velder's their only way in if they want to retrieve Ignia's Memories since its giant walls border the entire northern region. He also mentioned that what they're looking for is not in Velder – they just have to cross Velder in order to proceed north.
Travelling for two weeks straight made everyone groggy, so they're currently taking a break on a small fishing village called Honleath. Despite being small, Honleath's quite popular because of its clean, revitalizing springs and hot baths. The gang eventually decided to stay for the night on one of Honleath's hotels.
"Lucy!" A voice called out to Lucy from the hallway behind her. She quickly turned around and saw Aurion with his signature smiling face walking towards her. He was wearing a dark-blue yukata and his signature spiky white hair was brushed down. "Where are you heading?" He asked.
"I'm just going to check the village stores." She replied. "I'm going to buy souvenirs for my friends."
"You mean the people from your previous guild?"
Lucy just laughed it off. "No. I mean my Celestial Spirit friends."
"Oh right, you're a Celestial Spirit Mage. I forgot."
During their travels, Lucy told their new friends about her and Erik's abilities. They were surprised when Lucy told them that she's a Celestial Spirit Mage, but more surprised when she told them that Erik's a Dragon Slayer. Aurion told them that from where they came from, Celestial and Dragon Slaying magic were very rare and no one has ever seen one.
This wasn't a surprise to Lucy though. She already knew that there were only a few Celestial Wizards in existence, much more Dragon Slayers. Besides, most of the Dragon Slayers she knew are members of Fairy Tail.
"Can I come along?" Aurion asked.
"Sure!" Lucy replied with a smile.
Moments later, Lucy and Aurion were already busy checking out every store and stall around Honleath. They found tons of beautiful souvenirs for everyone and ended up buying too much than they intended to. Lucy bought ten simple bracelets for her Celestial Spirit friends and four more for Aurion, Therron, Mathilda and Erik. They only met two weeks ago but Lucy already considered them dear friends.
She gave one to Aurion and the later accepted it with a huge smile on his face. Lucy couldn't help but think about her friends back at Fairy Tail – especially Natsu since Aurion's attitude reminds her of the salmon-haired Dragon Slayer.
"Thanks, Lucy! No one has ever bought anything for me before. I'm going to treasure this."
Before she could even reply, Lucy felt a tremor on the ground. Her instincts quickly took over and she automatically put her hand on her keys. A few seconds later, the night skies of Honleath lit up as a huge explosion broke the night's silence.
"What was that?" Aurion's eyes surveyed the area, preparing for a surprise attack.
"We have to find out what's happening."
"What about the others?"
"They've heard the explosion by now. I'm sure they're on their way too."
Lucy and Aurion quickly ran towards the explosion. On their way, they saw chaos: people running around scared, injured civilians are everywhere and flames burning the surrounding houses. Lucy wanted to stop and help everyone but Aurion told her that stopping whoever's behind the explosion was their priority. And with a reluctant nod, Lucy ignored her feelings and followed.
A huge crater was on the ground when they arrived at the explosion's crater. Nearby houses were reduced to ashes and burnt corpses littered the ground. Lucy could feel her stomach churning at the sight in front of her.
"H – Help me …"
Lucy heard a voice and quickly scanned the area. There, under a pile of rubble, she saw an old woman. She's obviously injured and was bleeding profusely. "Hold on! I'm coming!"
"Lucy, wait - !"
She didn't wait for Aurion and quickly ran towards the old woman. When she got to her, Lucy tried to pull the old woman out of the rubble but couldn't. She tried to lift the rubble but it was too heavy and there were burnt woods too. "Hold on, okay? I'm gonna get you out of here."
"Thank you, but it's too late for me …" the old woman whispered.
"Don't say that!" Lucy tried to pull her out once more. "My friends will get here soon and – "
"But not before I get you!"
Lucy's eyes widened when the old woman suddenly transformed into a demon right in front of her. The old woman's face contorted and turned into that of a horrendous demon, its bones breaking and its skin turning dark. It jumped out of the rubble, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her on the ground. "You will die here!"
Lucy tried to pull out a key but the hands strangling her were too much. She could feel the demon's sharp nails tearing her skin. She was starting to lose consciousness
"Die, human."
"Oh no, you don't."
Out of nowhere, Aurion's fist connected with the demon's face, sending the creature flying towards a nearby building. He quickly checked up on Lucy and saw her slowly opening her eyes. "You alright?" He asked her as he helped her stand up.
"I'm - I'm fine." Lucy replied. "How did you do that – appearing out of nowhere?"
"I'm a Space Wizard. My ability allows me to break space and appear anywhere my eyes can see. Neat, huh?"
Lucy saw blood trickling down Aurion's right fist and quickly checked on it. "Aurion, your hand!" Its skin's been partially torn and blood kept coming out of it.
"I'm fine, Lucy." Aurion reassured her. "I usually fight with my gloves on but as you can see, I'm in vacation-mode right now. Besides, now's not the time to worry about a little wound."
Lucy, still a bit weakened because of the demon's surprise attack, pulled out Icarus' key and prepared to call forth the phoenix. "Thank you for the help, Aurion. Now it's my turn. I open thee, gate of the Phoenix! Icarus!" Red and orange flames converged into a man's visage, revealing Icarus' human form.
"Whoa." Aurion exclaimed, seeing Celestial Spirit Magic for the first time.
"What?" Icarus asked, obviously annoyed.
"We need your help, Icarus." Lucy pointed at the demon walking out of the building where Aurion sent it flying earlier. "That's a demon and we need your help to defeat it."
"Demon, eh?" The red-haired spirit looked at the creature and grinned. "It's been too long since I've killed a demon."
Unscathed from Aurion's attack, the demon jumped in front of them and Lucy finally saw what the demon looked like. Its face is that of an old woman – its teeth as sharp as a blade, its eyes bloodshot red, and the hair on its head moving in all direction. Its arms were long and its hands were big and clawed. Its upper body's that of a man but its lower body's a goat. Lucy had never seen anything like it before.
"Aurion! Lucy! Are you okay?!" Therron's voice echoed.
Behind them, Therron, Mathilda and Erik were already running towards them. Erik completely ignored Aurion and walked towards her, checking her for any injury. When his hands touched the wounds on her neck, Lucy couldn't help but flinch. The wounds weren't life-threatening by any means but it was deep.
"Who did this?" Erik's face was filled with controlled rage. "Tell me so I can kill them."
"Don't mind me." Lucy replied. "Aurion's injury is worse than mine. Besides, we have a demon to defeat."
Suddenly, a spine-tingling laugh filled the air. The demon was laughing.
"So, this is the group trying to enter Velder? What a joke." Even though laughing, the demon's face was devoid of emotion. Lucy could feel its eyes looking down upon her – upon them. Demons are naturally powerful creatures, but this one Lucy could tell was very powerful. "And a Celestial Spirit Mage, no less. He will be pleased." The demon continued.
"Who will be pleased, demon?" Icarus asked.
"You're all nothing but tools - objects that will be used by him. Especially you, Celestial Spirit Mage. He will use you to his heart's content. The Dark King will be waiting for you at Velder."
In an instant, the demon was gone. Only destruction and death was left at Honleath. Lucy couldn't believe it. The demon attacked Honleath because she was there. She triggered that night's events. The demon's mission was probably to size them up – to test their strength. And the demon deemed them unworthy.
"Whatever you're thinking, stop it." Erik's voice broke her thoughts. "You didn't cause this – that demon did. If you want to wallow in self-pity, then be my guest. But if you want to avenge the people of Honleath who lost their lives today, then you'll stop being an idiot and get back on your ass."
Erik's never good at giving pep talks but Lucy knew that he's right. Thinking too much won't get them anywhere. They need to act.
"The demon mentioned something about a Dark King. Is it talking about that Joaquin guy you mentioned, Cobra?" Aurion asked.
"I don't know." Erik replied. "I do know one thing though – whoever sent that demon wants us to get to Velder."
*Back at Velder*
"I have returned, Master Joaquin."
"Ah, Belial you're finally back. Tell me – how's our future guests?"
"There are five of them, Master. And one of them is a Celestial Spirit Mage."
"Really? Now that's something. Thank you, Belial. You may take your leave now."
"Yes, Master."
"Did you hear that? A Celestial Spirit Mage is coming here."
"Indeed."
"Is that a smile I see on your face, old friend?"
"Maybe."
"The Dark King is smiling. Should I call for a feast?"
"I told you to not call me that. I'm not a king – not anymore."
"Fine. What do you want me to call you then?"
"My name."
"Your name it is then, Erebus."
Author's Notes: Next chapter will see our gang finally arriving on Velder! Next chapter: "Destroy Velder's Gates, Mathilda's Hexes!"