Chapter 11:
(Magic Council - Fiore Branch Meeting)
"Exalted council," a human member of the council's staff uttered, entering the area where the Councilmen and women made their lounging quarters.
"Speak." Org said. The staff member rose from her bow and nodded nervously.
"I-I have just received a nearby sighting report from Sunspot Village. T-The explosions, sudden natural disasters, wreckage... honoured Councilmen and women, it was... horrifying."
"What happened? Were there any sightings of any people?" Belino asked, raising an eyebrow. "Those kind of disasters don't just happen out of nowhere."
"T-There was... recordings of several people," he spoke, shaking a little.
"Who did you see?" Yajima questioned. "Speak."
By now, the human member was shaking horribly. "I-It w-was... t-the B-Blood-dimmed K-K-King." Eyes went wide at hearing the name. "When more people came to report, t-they saw the b-bodies of... o-of..."
"Spit it out!" Org yelled, making him jump.
"G-Grimoire Heart!" he exclaimed loudly in response, making everything go silent. He took that as his cue to continue. "Different recordings show t-the Blood-dimmed King engaging several known members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, along with the headless body of Bluenote Stinger. In addition, it seemed that the Guild Master was also seen engaging him." He shivered again. "By the end of the natural disasters - presumably caused by the Blood-dimmed King - he was seen... laughing madly. There didn't seem to be any trace of Grimoire Heart's Guild Master."
Everything was silent. So much so, that there could be a pin drop heard across the entire room. Finally, Org managed to say something, a stutter on his tone.
"I-It seems that the Blood-dimmed King is much more stronger than we thought," he finally said, sweat beading down the side of his face.
"Indeed," Siegrain commented, an interested gleam in his eyes that he quickly hid. "To be able to destroy Grimoire Heart single-handily is... to be frank, terrifying."
"Is there anymore information gathered from what witnesses and reports say?" Belino questioned.
"No," the human member denied, shaking his head. "T-There wasn't."
"I see," Org said, a frown on his face. "Go to the area where we make our wanted posters. Get the Blood-dimmed King's own changed. Tell any and all not to engage him in any sort of way, be it physically, verbally or mentally. That... monster... is too powerful to be trifled with. Thus, he is deemed as an SS-Class criminal."
"S-SS-Class?! Isn't that a bit high, Org-sama?!" the staff member exclaimed. Org shook his head as he looked to his fellow council members, all nodding in agreement with his decision.
"No. Deem him as a 'Flee-on-Sight' mage. He is not to be engaged at all."
"O-O-Of course, Org-sama," the staff member bowed before exiting the chambers, nervous. There was rarely ever a time when a criminal was given an SS-Rank. Much less a 'Flee-on-Sight' order. The council room was silent for a few moments, digesting all that they had gathered.
It seems like this new player will be more troublesome than I had thought, Siegrain thought to himself. The Blood-dimmed King... you certainly are one very dangerous foe...
XXX
(Unspecified Location)
A loud slap rang out in the air, shocking Ultear awake. She winced at the pain she had felt in her cheek as she opened her eyes. Though, she soon regretted doing so, as she shook in fear at the familiar haunting crimson eyes.
"Have a nice nap?" Shura remarked, smirking.
Ultear yelled in surprise, about to summon her magic, but was shocked when she felt pain. Biting, unimaginable pain. She screamed loudly as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, clawing at the ground and at herself as she shrieked, convulsing. Just as the pain seemed to make her pass out, it stopped suddenly.
She gasped, her pristine form and composure now becoming dishevelled. "W-Wha... Yer..." Gibberish started to come from her mouth.
"Yeah, my 'Blood Rune: Mark of the Kaine' is quite something," he remarked, as if Ultear wasn't struck with absolute pain. "One of my best works of my Rune Magic. I'd say it's one of a kind, but I'd be lying."
"W-Wha... Where am I?" she asked, glaring at Shura. "Why am I alive?"
"For your first question, I don't know," he answered, sitting down on the grass. "As for your second question... well, for a number of reasons, really. One of them is decent eye-candy." She scrunched up her face in disgust. "Another is because I was able to find out that you're a Councilwoman on that fucking Council. And another..." Shura stared at her, fear gripping the purple-haired woman's heart. "Is the location of Tartaros. Now, I can literally rip that information right out of you, or torture it out of you. Either way, you're fucked. And not in the fun way." She glared at him for that remark. "Well?"
"I-I don't kno- AAAAARGH!" She started screeching near the end of her sentence, collapsing to the ground as she writhed in agony. On her neck, a five-pointed seal appeared, glowing crimson as it struck Ultear with unimaginable pain (A.N. - Same symbol as the one on Alucard's gloves in Hellsing).
"Now, I know that you weren't going to respond with 'I don't know'," Shura snarled, eyes glowing similar to hellfire. "You know of Tartaros' position, so you should know where it is. Tell me."
Ultear gasped for air as the Blood Rune stopped causing her pain, making her fall face-first onto the ground. Shura bent down, picking her up by her hair as she moaned, staring into Shura's furious orbs. "Do you want me to continue?" he asked lowly.
Fear taking hold of her, she quickly answered, "I-I don't know! Honestly!" Seeing Shura's maddening expression, she continued. "I'm telling the truth! T-They never revealed their location to any of the members of the Balam Alliance! I-I heard that they didn't even w-want to interact with anyone! All I know is that they're secretive! T-That-"
"They're demons," Shura finished for her, dropping her to the ground. Ultear grunted, moaning. He grit his teeth. "Of course. They wouldn't inform any human of their inner workings, or their location. So, it's a dead-end."
She made to say something, but couldn't, panting harshly. Shura contemplated killing her, since he had no use of her, but paused. Well, he still had one more thing that he could use her for.
"Okay, listen up, woman," Shura barked, making her weakly look at him. "I can tell that you're telling the truth. Normally, I'd kill you, but I have another use of you. I want you to infiltrate the Magic Council, and relay any valuable information related to Fiore, Light Guilds, Dark Guilds or me." Shura realised that he needed to keep an eye on what was going on in Fiore. Who better to help him than a Councilwoman herself?
Also, while he was sure that Dark Mages would stay clear of him due to destroying one of the Balam Alliance Guild's by himself, he wouldn't underestimate human stupidity. There was bound to be some fools who wouldn't leave him alone, for whatever reason.
"Y-You make it s-sound like I have a choice," Ultear bit out, her normally beautiful figure now scuffed by dirt and bruises.
Shura grinned, fangs out on display. "Wow, and I don't even have to teach you anything." A burning glare was his response. "But I want you to know something; that seal is just a precaution. I don't want a slave." He seemed to make the word 'slave' sound as if it was filled with poison.
"I-If this is your way of... t-trying to justify your actions-" "I'm not," Shura interrupted, rolling his eyes. "I loathe what I'm doing to you. It's looking all too similar to how a certain bitch acts. If I actually trusted you, I wouldn't have even bothered with the rune in the first place. But I don't. So, you're going to have to live with it."
"Y-You destroyed my guild," she bit out, a guttural snarl ripped itself from her throat. "Ruined all of o-our plans. A-And you expect me to just live with it?!"
She flinched a little, expecting to be feeling agonising pain. However, she was shocked when Shura looked at her with remorsefully.
"I don't," he responded quietly, making her glare increase. "I don't apologise for what I did. You attacked me first, and I responded as anyone wanting to avoid trouble later on would. I don't care if you hate me, I already have more than enough hate to deal with. Honestly, there are other, more cruel ways I could've gone about this whole thing. Trust me." Shura gave a humourless smile. "This is probably the most humane way I could've done things."
Shura picked her up, seeing that she couldn't walk, and started to move along, making Ultear grit her teeth.
One way or another, I will kill you, Blood-dimmed King! Ultear roared in her mind, trying to kill him with her glare.
(Sunspot Village, ruined remains)
Sunspot Village was practically wiped off of the map, only ruined buildings and dozens of corpses the remains of the battle that had taken place. Among all the bodies and wreckage, there seemed to be no life among the land.
Suddenly, far from the scene, a hole in the ground was formed, due to the earth being pushed upwards. From below, out came a young pink-haired girl, gasping for air as her body was covered in soot and dirt. This girl was Meredy, a member of the now somewhat deceased Seven Kin of Purgatory of Grimoire Heart.
Meredy was a young girl of short stature. She had short, pink hair and bright green eyes. She wore a sort of gold wing-like headgear around her ears. Her ruined uniform was a tight, purple leotard that had some tears in it, with brownish thigh-high boots that had white stripes at the top. Over her uniform, she wore a tattered red cape with a golden lining around the edges.
"Wow, Ul-chan sure was smart to place me here just after we crashed," Meredy commented, coughing up soot and dirt. She rubbed her face, lifting herself out of the hole. "I just wish she didn't make it uncomfortable. It was hard to brea-"
Her words got caught in her throat as she turned around, observing the destruction that had taken place. She saw the scorched land, the bloody and destroyed corpses. Her eyes went wide as she stayed motionless for a good while. "W-What... happened?" she whispered, stunned. Her eyes went wider. "T-The Blood-dimmed K-K-King. Did he... did he defeat us?"
She shook her head frantically, a hand flying to her mouth. "No. I-It's not possible. Grimoire Heart is the s-strongest." She seemed to sway for a moment, before her legs decided to stand straight. "The s-strongest. The strongest. The strongest. The strongest! The s-strongest!" She was now shouting the words out, hyperventilating harshly. "THE STRONGEST! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Tears started to fall from her eyes as she staggered towards the corpses and wreckage. "THE STRONGEST! GRIMOIRE HEART IS THE STRONGEST! IT IS THE STRON-" She paused, hand flying to her mouth as the stench of the rotting corpses and blood was getting to her, along with the display.
She turned to the side, throwing up. She kept on coughing and sputtering, sick clinging to her mouth as she continued to vomit. After five minutes, she wiped the sick from her mouth as she shivered violently. She continued staring at the carnage, a horrible thought coming to her. "U-Ul-chan..."
Meredy turned her head, standing up and walking around in a daze. "U-Ul-chan... Where are you, Ul-chan?" she asked, speaking more to herself rather than a particular person. "Ul-chan, where are you?" Tears continued falling from her eyes as she kept on walking, which eventually turned to running. "Ul-chan?! UL-CHAN! WHERE ARE YOU?! WHERE ARE YOU, UL-CHAN?!"
She searched, she inspected, she cried, she shouted, and yet, it was all for nought. No voice came to answer her. No cold response followed. Meredy kept on searching for hours and hours until she fell down, exhausted. She kept on calling out, crying both in distress and in sadness.
"U-Ul-chan..." Her eyes seemed to close, the trauma being too much for her to witness. The last word on the tip of her tongue was, "K-Kaa-san..." And her world went black.
XXX
(Fairy Tail Guild - Four Days later)
The Fairy Tail Guild in Magnolia sat tall and proud, housing the most loudest, noisiest, rambunctious, and destructive mages in almost all of Fiore. And yet, it was a place of cheer, laughter, family, and supposed happiness.
Sitting inside the spacious guild, among all the loud chatter and occasional brawl, was a young, tall blonde woman, who sighed upon looking at all the forming fighting.
"Good grief..." Lucy Heartfillia sighed, doing her best to drown out all of the sound as she brought a cup of alcohol to her mouth, downing it gently.
It had been three years since she had joined the famous (or infamous) Fairy Tail Guild, along with her mother. Something that she had dreamed of doing since she was very small. When she first arrived, she had been initially shocked, not expecting her dream guild to house fighting, drinking, and - quite frankly - insane people who you couldn't find anywhere else. But she eventually settled in, amazed at how easily she and her mother were accepted into the guild.
Lucy had met so many interesting people; Natsu, Gray, Erza, Mirajane, Lisanna, Elfman, Levy, Cana and much more interesting people. And it had been quite an experience, with its ups and downs. She had even managed to thrive inside said guild.
After being allowed inside the Fairy Tail Guild and properly settling down, she had asked her mother to train her in the arts of Celestial Spirit Magic. Her mother had denied her at first, saying that she was too young. But she had pushed, giving her reason as to why she wanted to start so young and become a powerful mage: her childhood friend, Shura. Her first friend. And the one who had saved her mother's life.
Lucy hadn't forgotten the pain that was on Shura's face, when he told them that he had to leave them. At the time, she didn't understand or know why he couldn't come with them to Fairy Tail. She still didn't. At first, she wanted to be angry at him for basically abandoning her and her mother, without even a proper explanation. And she was, for the first couple of weeks since they had arrived.
But then, she remembered all the good times they had shared. All of the games they had played. All of the stories her mother would usually tell them when they were going to bed. All of the laughs and jokes she had shared. The joy she had felt towards him for saving her mother's life when she was literally on her death bed. Everything. And then, she remembered the promise he had made, to come visit them soon.
Lucy was still waiting for him to uphold that promise each day. And so, she waited and trained, so that she could stand beside him.
Shura had left because he didn't want the two of them getting hurt. That his path was his, and his alone to walk. Basically saying that neither of them could stand with him, because they were too weak, and needed to be shielded. To be protected.
Lucy never wanted to be the strongest, nor be particularly strong. She never had a goal in mind that required her to be the strongest. But remembering Shura's words, and how she couldn't help him, made her want to be so strong that she'd be able to not only stand with him, but also protect him as well. And so, she trained. She trained with her mother. She had pushed herself to the limit and beyond.
Celestial Spirit Mages weren't known for being particular strong, only being support characters that were weak physically. And so, she challenged that idea. She had spent sleepless nights, practising what her mother had taught her, day in and day out. Layla often scolded her for pushing herself so far, but Lucy always responded with the idea of standing with Shura. Of being there for him, like he was there for them.
She had even did her best to push herself physically, trying to eliminate all of her weaknesses and build up on her strengths. And so, she had gone to the one person who could've helped her; Erza Scarlet. The strongest woman in Fairy Tail.
Many people discouraged her for her idea, calling her insane and stupid and suicidal. And, granted, they were right. The training the redhead had offered her was intense. She still shivered in pain at all of the sparring the two did when Erza wasn't on any jobs. She still had some of the scars to prove it.
But she had endured. She had suffered. And she had profited. In addition to learning Requip Magic, she had also taken to learning how to use a sword from Erza. She wasn't perfect, but she most certainly wasn't a novice.
In addition, she had even gone to Mirajane for help, which she soon regretted. The woman had more than earned her title as 'The Demon', as she was possibly even more sadistic and demanding than Erza, often times taking pleasure from her suffering deemed as 'training'. But the hellish training from both S-Class Mages had made her strong. Strong enough to even be considered an S-Class, which she now was.
Taking the exams when offered by Master Makarov, she had quickly and studiously trained for it, taking advice from both women and her mother. Not only that, but she had also taken to learning and practising with Star Magic, a Lost Magic that she had came upon when out on a mission, and was gifted the book on said magic as a reward.
Lucy found that it complimented her Celestial Spirit Magic perfectly, as it allowed her to use magic to call aid from the very stars themselves. She hadn't mastered it yet, but she was quite proficient.
Anyways, she had passed the trials quite well, impressing the old man enough that she was made S-Class. Something that made Layla, Erza and Mirajane quite proud.
She frequently took S-Class jobs, earning quite a lot of money. Though, initially she went with Erza or Mirajane, as she was still new to the title of S-Class. Something that irked both rivals, and was often the reasons for brawls between them to start.
Her mother couldn't stop gushing over her. Even to this day, she still told her how proud she was, something that warmed Lucy's heart everyday.
As she drank her mug, she brushed her long blond hair that went to her lower back. It's grown again, she noted with a scowl. She had always been annoyed at having her hair very long. It was like it never listened to her, always growing in size.
Also, that's not the only thing that's been growing... she noted, looking down at her chest in annoyance.
Her breasts were always being ogled at, either by men with lust, or some women in envy. When she had started to grow more physically, she always had trouble with shirts, as they always strained against them. But she learned to live with it. Barely. The only growth that she was actually happy with was her figure, as she'd definitely gained muscle due to her training. Though, it still was toned, and only added to her beautiful figure.
"Lucy!" an voice called out, snapping her from her thoughts. She looked up, seeing a young girl about her age with white hair walk towards her.
"Lisanna!" she called out in greeting, smiling.
Lisanna Strauss was a pretty girl, around Lucy's own age. She wore a maroon apron, covering her purple spaghetti shirt with her shorts on. She had a tray of beer in her hand as she handed each drink to the customers, smiling as she heard their compliments.
"Lisanna-chan, you look so lovely today!"
"Hey, Lisanna! Wanna join me for the afternoon?"
"So cute! Hey, Lisanna! Ignore those losers and come with me!"
Lisanna just smiled at the compliments. "Aw, you're all going to spoil me with the sweet talk. But..."
On cue, a dark, demonic presence filled the guild, making some shiver in fear. Lucy sighed. "Oh, boy..."
"I thought I told you dumbasses to stay away from my sister," a terrifying voice spoke, making all the men who had spoken shake slightly. They robotically turned to the one who had spoken, Lucy smiling as she did the same.
The one who had spoken was a slim young woman of below average height. She had long white hair in similar shade to Lisanna, which had curls slightly at the ends. Two bangs framed her face and reached down to her large breasts, with some covering her forehead. Her scary blue eyes narrowed in pure fury.
For clothing, she wore a purple T-shirt that had the kanji for 'Demon' printed on the front, a pair of black skin-tight jeans adorning her long legs. She also had black boots on her feet.
This was Mirajane Strauss, S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail, and Lisanna's older sister.
"M-Mirajane-sama, please forgive us!" two of the men who had been catcalling begged, even going down on their knees and bowing.
"Y-Yes! Very sorry, Mirajane-sama! Spare us! Show mercy!" the rest cried out, copying the others' actions.
Mirajane gave a devilish smirk. "Sorry. All out of mercy." She cracked her knuckles, approaching the men. Five torturous, scream-filled, and bloody minutes later, Mirajane was whistling as she went to her sister, leaving a pile of broken and bloody bodies.
"Mira-nee!" Lisanna exclaimed, jumping into her big sister's arms. Mirajane smiled sweetly and hugged her back. "Back from another job?"
"Yeah," she answered, looking at Lucy. She smirked. "What, not going to greet me, my little protégé?"
Lucy grimaced. "Yeah, no. Last time I did, you almost broke my skull, and then later responding that it was for 'training' purposes."
"Well, it was," Mirajane replied, smirking. "Speaking of which... DODGE!" She grabbed a mug from Lisanna and whipped it at Lucy at breakneck speeds. Yelping, she ducked and got onto the ground, the mug missing her by millimetres as it crashed behind her, her own cup being spilled.
The white-haired woman chuckled happily. "Looks like you're reflexes haven't dulled."
"Crazy, sadistic demon..." Lucy muttered, picking herself up.
"What was that?" Mirajane asked, a dark look on her face.
"N-Nothing, Mirajane-senpai!" she yelped, suddenly breaking out into a nervous sweat. Mirajane nodded happily. "Good!"
"Mira-nee, you can't keep throwing my cups all the time. I need them!" Lisanna complained, frowning. Mirajane chuckled, ruffling Lisanna's hair.
Lucy smiled, seeing the scene before her. It was heart-warming to see, and even more when she was the reason why.
Lucy remembered the S-Class job the Strauss siblings had taken roughly two years ago. How they were tasked with dealing with a powerful monster called The Beast. Initially, Lucy wanted to join the group, having wanted to both take it because she originally wanted to, and because she wanted to show Mirajane the fruits of her labour. But the white-haired demon rejected her, telling her that she could do this without her.
Angered at what she deemed to be her saying that she wasn't strong enough, Lucy ignored the rejection and snuck on, wanting to prove herself. However, things didn't go as Mirajane expected, as all three siblings were easily defeated by the Beast, with Elfman failing to properly Take-Over its soul. Thus, he went on a rampage, destroying everything in sight. Mirajane was too injured to stand up to him, so Lisanna stepped forward, initially pleading with her brother to stop and allow them to go home together.
Elfman didn't listen, and was just about to swat her away like a fly, until Lucy interfered, saving Lisanna in the nick of time. Without saying any words, Lucy had then proceeded to use her Star Magic to subdue Elfman, hitting it with everything she had. Mirajane and Lisanna joined her, as weak as they were, and with their combined efforts, they managed to take Elfman down, who had reverted to his normal state.
Upon doing so, he broke down crying while begging for forgiveness from his sisters, who had easily forgiven him. He had also thanked Lucy profusely, who had blushed and waved away the thanks.
"Yo! Earthland to blonde!" Mirajane snapped, breaking Lucy out of her thoughts.
"S-Sorry, was just deep in thought," she admitted, before noticing something earlier. "Lisanna, where's Master Makarov? I haven't seen him since this morning."
Lisanna smiled as she prepared to answer her question. "Oh. Well you see, the Magic Council has arranged that one every month, the guild masters of all the major legal guilds which include us, Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, Phantom Lord, etc., would come together to discuss the status of their guilds, along with other stuff."
"Basically, just another meeting," Mira admitted, shrugging.
"Yeah, I guess... if you put it that way," Lisanna chuckled. Lucy sighed once more as she looked over and watched Natsu and Happy argue over a request on the board. Natsu picked up a piece of paper and waved it in front of Happy.
"Look, why don't we take this one?" the pink-haired mage asked.
"Hmmm. Bandits steal museum artefact. Pay is 25,000 jewels. I don't know Natsu... it's seems kind of cheap," the blue cat commented. Natsu frowned.
"Aye!" the Exceed responded. Natsu hummed and stared at the board once more... only to be hit in the side with a chair, sending him rolling on the ground.
"Will you just pick a damn request already! I got a job to take, too!" Gray called out. Natsu rubbed his side before glaring at the black-haired Ice Mage. He was currently wearing no shirt and was oddly, and seeming to do so unconsciously, strip the pants and boots he was wearing leaving him in only his boxers.
"The hell, ice freak!" Natsu yelled, a tick mark on his forehead.
"Shut it, and take a job!" Gray fired back.
"Don't tell me what to do, you perverted stripper!"
Natsu and Gray clashed, foreheads pushing against one another. Auras of fire and ice surrounding their respective forms causing the viewers who were watching it to sigh.
"Looks like those two numbskulls are at it," Mirajane commented, crossing her arms. Lisanna smiled, looking at her sister.
"Kind of like how you and Erza are," she compared, only for Mirajane to scoff.
"Those two will never get along," Lucy commented as she watched Happy seem to tumble through the air above the two rivals, cries of "Aye, sir!" being uttered from his mouth.
Suddenly, everyone went silent as loud thuds were heard, as if gigantic footsteps were taken. Many of the guild members shivered in fear, while Lucy had a smile on her face. Mirajane scowled.
"Looks like she's back," Lucy noted softly. She - along with everyone else - stared as the loud thuds became louder and louder. The proximity between the owner of those thuds and the door growing smaller by the second. Finally, there was silence. The guild gulped simultaneously before the doors were slammed open by a single hand.
In walked in a very attractive woman with long scarlet hair that reached her mid back and had deep brown eyes. She wore a white blouse, but that was obscured by the armour that she wore which also covered her arms. A dark blue skirt and dark brown boots completed the outfit. Held high above her head was a gigantic horn which was beautifully decorated with glittering gems.
Erza Scarlet slammed the horn down on the ground causing the tables and chairs to fly up a few feet off the ground before settling back into their previous positions.
"I'm back," she greeted. "Where is the Master?"
"Welcome back, Erza," Lisanna greeted, smiling. "The Master is at his meeting now."
"I see." She started to look around the guild, a scowl present on her face. "Now, what is wrong with this guild? I've been gone for only a few weeks and already you guys have gotten in so much trouble! Wakaba stop smoking! It's bad for you! Nab, stop standing there and just pick a job already! Vijeeter, stop dancing like a fool inside the guild and do your dancing outside! All of you, this guild is filthy start cleaning it! Macao!"
She kept on staring at the man, seeming to sigh. This ticked the old man off. "Say something, dammit!"
"Now, where's Natsu and Gray?" she questioned, looking around.
"Over here, Erza!" Gray yelled as he and Natsu wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders. "See, we're all best friends. We get along great!"
"AYE!" Natsu said with a salute. Lucy pinched her nose while Mirajane let out a laugh.
"Seriously, one Happy is bad enough," she muttered.
"Listen, I need you two to come with me for a mission. It's a tough mission so I will be needing some assistance and I would like you both to accompany me." Erza smiled when she saw Gray put on a confident smirk and Natsu put on a toothy grin, flames dancing from his hands.
"I'm all fired up now!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Do try not to destroy anything, flame brain," Gray commented, smirking.
"WHAT'D YOU SAY TO ME, YOU STRIPPER SNOWMAN?!"Natsu roared, flames being produced from his head.
"I SAID YOU'VE GOT FLAMES FOR BRAINS, DAMNED HOT HEAD!" Gray responded, slamming his head against Natsu's again.
However, before their argument could lengthen, Erza had already raised her fists and crashed them down on both mages' skulls. Two large bumps formed on their heads, smoking from the impact.
"How many times have I told you two... don't fight!" Erza roared. Natsu and Gray rubbed their aching heads, before standing back up.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" they responded fearfully. Erza turned towards Lucy, smiling.
"Lucy, how are you?" she greeted, walking towards her. The blonde's smile strained a little, knowing what was going to come next.
"E-Erza, how are- Urgh!" She grunted as Erza greeted her in typical fashion; via head-slam against her metal chest-plate.
"It is good to see you. Have you kept up with your training?" the redhead continued, Lucy not able to respond as her soul was slowly leaving her body. The others grumbled at seeing this.
"Man, I'm so jealous. How come she doesn't yelled at?"
"Even though that looks painful, that's still a much more warmer greeting than we got."
"Lucky bitch," Gray muttered, Natsu nodding in agreement.
"Aye." Lucy's eye twitched at hearing all of the complaints.
"I CAN HEAR YOU!" she roared, getting all of those who had spoken to shake in fear,
"A-AYE!"/"S-SORRY!" All of them responded, the fear of Erza 2.0 coming to life haunting their minds. Or was it Mirajane 2.0? Either way, they were both scary.
"My, I'm so proud!" Erza smiled, patting Lucy on the shoulder. "You've gotten them to behave so quickly! I..." Proud tears started to come from her eyes as she rubbed them away. "I'm so glad I've managed to impart such amazing wisdom!"
"Uh, amazing. Yeah..." Lucy responded, not willing to say otherwise. Close to the woman she may be, she did not want to make her angry.
"So, would you like to join me for this mission?" Erza asked, back to normal.
"Sure!" Lucy responded, beaming. "I've been wanting to take a job for a while! Let's go!"
"Brilliant! Now, let's go-" "Ahem!" Mirajane coughed, interrupting Erza's speech. Everyone froze, knowing of the oncoming conflict.
Erza glared at the white-haired mage. "Oh, I'm sorry? Did you have a cough?" she responded sarcastically, a dark aura surrounding her. "Perhaps get that checked out."
"You know damn well what I meant, Tin Can!" Mira responded, giving her own glare. "The fact that you consider those two-" She pointed to Natsu and Gray, who jumped in fright "-and not me is insulting! Even if I do have to go with you!"
"Too bad!" Erza retorted, her eye twitching. "They are a much better than you, you shameless slut!"
Mirajane's eyes also twitched at the insult, feeling like she should give this armoured freak a good lesson. "You damned ginger!" She tackled Erza, starting a full-on brawl between them.
The poor and terrified people in the guild watched and cowered in fear as the two fought back and forth, trading insults.
"Succubus!"
"Redheaded bitch!"
Lucy quickly moved out of the oncoming collision, wanting no part in the destruction. "Why can't those two get along?!" she wailed, ducking underneath a table and hoping the entire situation would blow over.
XXX
(Void between Space and Time)
Hello, my wayward champion, Nifrit cooed, Shura being summoned to the Void between Space and Time. Shura scowled, seeing that a mental projection of himself was brought forth.
"What do you want?" he snapped, ignoring the burning sensation that travelled through his body. He had already endured worse, this paltry pain was nothing.
Nifrit sighed sadly. Why are you still so spiteful towards me? Have I not done enough for you? Have I not ignored your rudeness, your disobedience? I have given you power. I gave you strength. And still you are unsatisfied.
"You wouldn't summon me here unless you wanted something," Shura spoke, not even bothering to give a response to her words. "Get to the point."
Nifrit scowled, Shura feeling the pain increasing. Still, he did not twitch. He did not scream in pain. He just looked at her with the same bored expression on his face. Her scowl deepened.
And here I was, going to reward you for such good behaviour.
"I must be dreaming," Shura chuckled. "Because we both know that you wouldn't reward me for anything."
As a matter of fact, I am. A smile stretched across the goddess' face. Despite your initial disagreement, you have done well in sowing the seeds of despair across the land. You may not have done it in my name, but through your magic, I have flourished.
Shura's smile was wiped off of his face as he frowned. "What?"
The destruction of that guild known as 'Grimoire Heart'. Your kidnapping of that Time woman. The despair of a young, little girl. So drowned in misery at the thought of her dear caretaker and guild destroyed. All those innocent people you killed. Nifrit sighed happily, as if she herself was the one causing the actions listed. Even your saving that weak woman from death has been a nice change. An interesting change.
"And why is that?" Shura questioned, his frown deepening as realisation hit him: he was playing right into Nifrit's hands. His choices were actually helping Nifrit, doing her very own dirty work for her.
Nifrit chuckled, her body seemingly shining. Shura had only noticed it now, but he could tell that the goddess was starting to look healthier. Stronger. That Celestial Spirit Mage was supposed to die, and yet you saved her. Her daughter aspired to join a guild down the line, and yet you accelerated that growth. Do you not see? You have thrown a wretch in Destiny's plans! All things have a set start and end. You, my wonderful Shura, have screwed all of that up!
Shura's eyes widened as he realised all of this. This-This wasn't possible. He... Shura snarled, now knowing of Nifrit's true goal.
Even with you doing your best to 'save' people, she chuckled, when using my magic, everything unravels. Quite an interesting power, no? Though, it makes sense. I am the antithesis to Destiny. It only makes sense that my champion is the same.
No, no, no, no, no!
And with those changes, my power continues to grow. Her clothes shined, the robes looking more pristine than ever. Her crimson eyes glowed with power. I have never made such an investment before! Your little rebellion aside, I'm so happy that I've moulded you! My perfect pet!
NO, NO, NO, NO NO!
And to show my appreciation... Suddenly, Nifrit appeared before him, making him jump. She pressed her hands to his eyes, cooing. I grant my gift upon you. Your eyes will be able to see if any and all kinds of chaos can be caused while in battle. She grinned. I look forward to the kind of insanity you will produce.
Pain. Blinding, mind-numbing pain, along with a scream that belonged to him ringing throughout the void. A scream of anger. Of frustration.
(Oak Town)
Shura's body sprung up, immediately hissing as he held his eyes in his hands. The phantom pains burned at his retina, as if a blinding, burning light was aimed at his eyes. His eyes seemed to glow, making him grunt as he forcefully cut off the magic circulating there.
He growled, rising up from the dome of shadows that he had built himself, seeing it break. He panted, his anger growing even more, if possible.
"That bitch," he snarled, punching the ground and making a crater. "That conniving, insane bitch. She planned this. This entire plot! She..."
'Now, now. Is that anyway to talk to me?' her voice spoke, breaking his thoughts. Unbelievable, boiling fury built up inside of him, increasing in intensity the more that she spoke. 'It's not my fault that you were duped. I didn't really need you to spread chaos in my name. Though, it would've been much preferable. Just your continued use and actions were-'
"Get out," Shura whispered, clenching his fists so tightly that blood was being drawn.
'I don't think you understand-'
"I SAID GET OUT!" Shura roared in absolute rage, his body alight with chaos energy. The nearby darkness rippled and warped, responding to its master's emotions. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Using pure willpower, he literally slapped the goddess out of his mind, slightly enjoying her screech of surprise.
He panted harshly, seeing the forest around him being blown away, as well as the fact that he was now sitting in a crater. He snarled, eyes lighting up in a similar colour to hellfire.
She's gotten stronger, Shura thought to himself, wanting nothing more than to explode like a volcano. Through the use of me, she's gotten stronger. I... It wasn't a pleasant thought to think about. He had thought to himself that he had managed to finally get one over Nifrit, his trip to Skyrim being his biggest highlight. But it was all for naught. It turns out that his very actions seemed to make the goddess stronger. The longer he went against the natural order of things, the more chaos he brought. This made him stronger, true. But also made Nifrit stronger as a result.
Should I stop using my God Slayer Magic? he thought to himself, wondering if he should do such a thing. By doing that, Nifrit would have no chaos to draw on from him, and her influence on him would lessen. That'd be perfect. Except...
Except he couldn't. As much as he wanted to deny it, his God Slayer Magic was one of his biggest trump cards. It was mainly what he needed to destroy Grimoire Heart. Mages of that calibre needed high-level magic to be defeated. And while his Darkness Curse was invaluable for a number of reasons, with God Slayer Magic on top of that, he was unstoppable.
No, he'd use it. If only to survive. Immortality he may possess, trusting a fickle goddess such as Nifrit was paramount to suicide. Plus, death wasn't the worst thing that could happen to a person. He knew that more than anyone.
Shura sighed, clenching his fist. A minor setback. ... Okay, a major setback. A very, very major one. But his goals haven't changed. He just needed to become stronger, gain more allies, continue finding goals on Tartaros. He still wanted his vengeance and freedom.
A lacrima glowed on his body. Removing it, he saw it light up. Speaking of which...
"Ultear," he spoke, seeing the purple-haired woman's face appear. "I take it that you have news for me?"
Ultear glared at him. "Yes, I do," she bit out, making Shura sigh. Understandably, she still loathed him, both for destroying her guild and essentially branding her. He had sent her off to the Magic Council, his seal monitoring her actions and letting him know through the rune. Right now, she was Shura's best bet at finding more about Tartaros, as well as any specific information needed.
"I have managed to get information on the Dark Guild known as Eisenwald. While not well-known, they're a Dark Guild that became as such due to having taken on a few assassination missions. The guilds consists of a little over sixty members, all of which use various types of magic. Due to being labelled as a Dark Guild, they've been planning revenge against the Magic Council. They plan to attack the Guild Masters of the legal guilds at today's annual meeting of the Guild Masters. Their ace and current leader, Erigor the Reaper is a user of Wind Magic. He is said to have come across an ancient artefact."
"Go on," Shura commanded.
Here, Ultear had a slightly happy expression as she spoke. "Well it appears that the artefact is the Lullaby flute. The flute is said to contain the soul of a demon within it and was said to have been created by Zeref-sama about four hundred years ago."
Shura's pupils dilated at hearing the name 'Zeref'. So, another one of his creations, Shura observed, a slow, dangerous smile on his face. It's likely to be an Etherious, since it's a demon. It's most likely to have information regarding Tartaros. And if not... Shura's smile became a predatory grin. Then I can at least have the pleasure of wiping out another one of those abominations off the face of Earthland.
"Do you know where they are?" Shura asked Ultear, breaking her out of her happy demeanour. She scowled as she continued.
"Their main base of operations is located on the east outskirts of Onibus Town."
Shura nodded slowly. "I see. Well done, Ultear. And Lullaby is the demon supposedly able to kill with a melody?"
"Yes."
"Good." Shura smiled. "You are dismissed." With a scowl, the communication lacrima cut off from both sides. He grinned.
"The goddess may be an annoyance, but at least the demons are in reach. Waiting to be slaughtered." Closing his eyes, he burst into shadows.
XXX
(Eastern Outskirts, Onibus Town)
Shura appeared in a forest that had some dead-looking trees. He saw the guild hall up ahead, and smirked. "This is too easy," he muttered, walking forward. He kicked down the door, seeing them fly off to the wall opposite the door.
The Eisenwald guild members inside all gaped in shock. Some looked rough, like thugs. Others actually looked like mages, wearing protective clothing on themselves. They all gulped, seeing who was at the door.
"T-The B-Blood-dimmed King..." one stuttered out, making others fall on their asses in fear. Shura withheld a chuckle as he spoke.
"I'm only going to say this once: tell me where Lullaby is, and I'll consider sparing you," the God Slayer bargained.
"Th-The others left with it! They went to Oshibana Town to do the mission there! We don't have it!" one exclaimed nervously.
"You idiot! Why'd you tell him our plans?" his friend exclaimed.
"Because unlike you, I want to live!" he exclaimed.
Shura nodded slowly. "Smart. Fortunately, I have some use for all of you."
"W-What's tha-" "Gol - Hav - Dov!" Shura Shouted, the power rolling across everyone. He made sure to project the Shout to the crowd, making it widespread. He had to sacrifice quantity over quality, so the Bend Will Shout wouldn't usually work this way. Fortunately, each of the mages were weak-willed, so the Shout easily took effect.
"You now serve me," Shura ordered, ignoring the disgust bubbling up in his throat. Another reminder of his hypocrisy. "Remodel and move this guild. When I am done, I will come back, and we will discuss more of the plans for the future."
"Yes, master," all of them nodded simultaneously, voice monotone.
Shura visibly cringed. "No. Just call me Blood-dimmed King."
"Yes, Blood-dimmed King," they repeated.
Nodding, Shura spoke, "Better." He then turned around, ready to head to Oshibana Town. He was glad to have minions work for him. Not only could he have a place of residence, having more ears out could lead to him hearing rumours or facts to locate Tartaros. Plus, to build an eventual army, he needed to start somewhere.
XXX
(Kunugi Station, Oshibana Town)
Shura burst into shadows, a few feet away from the train station. "The only mage of concern is Erigor, and he's too weak to actually be a threat," he muttered, walking forward. "All I need to do is just get in, possibly slaughter them, then slip out. Easy..." He sighed, seeing Rune Knights stationed ahead.
"Well, more blood is going to be spilled... actually, when has that ever been a bad thing for me?" Shura asked rhetorically, walking forward.
"What are you doing?!" one of the Rune Knights yelled. "This is a restricted area! Leave now..." He paused, seeing who it was. He shivered. "T-The... It's the..."
"Blood-dimmed King, yes," Shura answered for him, cracking his neck. "So... are we going to do this?"
"Get on your knees!" another one responded, weapon raised. "Now!"
"I'm not your mother last night," Shura fired back, smirking. A second later, blood whipped out of his gourd and decapitated all of them cleanly. Shura kept on walking forward, the fresh blood flowing into his open gourds. He kicked open the large doors of Kunugi Station, the members of Eisenwald looking at him in surprise.
"Who the hell are you?" a member asked. Shura turned to him.
"That's none of your concern," Shura responded. "I'm only here for one thing, and one thing only."
From the front, a white-haired mage stood up. He wore several robes, and his bare chest was revealed. He twirled a scythe in his hands expertly, slamming the pommel down on the ground.
"Well listen here, fool. I don't know who you are, and I don't care. But know that we are the dark guild Eisenwald, and we are about to destroy the Magic Council when we get Lullaby. So run along now before you get killed," the man said in an arrogant tone.
Shura just looked at him with a bored gaze, sighing. "I don't know what's more disappointing; that you actually think that you can destroy the Magic Council, or that you don't recognise who I am."
"Oh yeah?" Erigor retorted, before turning to one of his fellow guild mates. "Rayule, show this fool the strength of Eisenwald!" Rayule walked forward. He was a tanned man who wore a pair of dark green pants and a light blue t-shirt. Over the shirt was a yellow jacket that had dark blue sleeves. His head was covered with a black and yellow striped headdress.
"Heh! This'll be over in a flash!" he yelled, smirking. Suddenly, the black bands that the man wore around his fingers began to move on their own as if they were alive. The bands extended and became long cables that shot forth towards Shura. He sighed, before grabbing the man's weapons, shocking Rayule. Yanking Rayule forward, Shura caught the mage by the neck, giving a bored gaze towards his stunned and scared one.
He looked back towards the rest of the guild, snapping Rayule's neck. "Anyone else?" Shura questioned, his expression not changing one bit.
Hiding his fear, Erigor raised his scythe high. "Take this! Storm Bringer!" he yelled. A large magic seal formed in front of Erigor's body and the man made numerous movements with his left hand before spinning the scythe and making an upward slice with it. The air around Shura distorted and suddenly, a gigantic twister tore up the earth beneath him and spiralled upwards, blowing a large hole in the ceiling on the train station building. The rubble fell to the ground and a large smoke cloud was kicked up from the attack.
"Way to go Erigor!" one mage yelled.
"Yeah, I knew that punk wouldn't have been defeated by such a strong guy like you!" another one added. Erigor rested his scythe lazily across his shoulder as he scoffed.
"Of course. Dumbass had it coming, thinking he could take us on," the wind mage replied, chuckling. As the smoke from the attack was clearing, the only thing visible was Shura's blood red eyes. He was about to attack before Erigor was going to cast his magic, but he felt something was off.
His eyes could pick up glowing lines that circulated around the guild members. Some red, others purples, a few white, but there were a couple of black lines that he could pick up. The red lines circulated throughout the guild members' bodies. Red and black lines passed through their necks, white trailed over their limbs, purple covered parts of their abdomen and passing through their backs.
Not only that, but Shura could feel his senses being heightened for some odd reason. His mind suddenly held flashes of gory images; all of Eisenwald's necks being broken in vicious ways, their entrails falling out of their stomachs, blood pouring from a number of holes from their bodies, limbs severed, etc. He frowned, the information coming to him mysteriously.
This must be Nifrit's new 'gift', Shura thought to himself, scoffing. It seems that she's given me the ability to see where I can inflict pain and suffering, as well as how to do it. The most grievous way, to the most painless way. Interesting. Shura stopped channelling magic to his eyes, the lines disappearing. Enough of this. I'm getting bored.
In the span of time it took the Eisenwald members to blink, Shura had already gotten his spell ready. "Blood-Make:," Shura whispered, his voice carrying itself across the room. "Blood Festival."
Blood popped out of his gourd and moved towards the centre of the station, slithering at high-speeds like a snake. Some guild members tried to run, but it was too late. The blood rose up in a thin pillar. Then, it exploded. Bullets of blood flew everywhere, piercing every single member. All of their bodies shook as they were penetrated, many of them flowing towards where the red and black lines were previously trailing from.
Not just bullets were produced, however. Spikes, swords and daggers of blood popped out, devouring all of them like ravenous wolves. Not a single body part was spared as each member was attacked. This continued on, for a good while, before the spell faded, leaving a bloody massacre.
Entrails, guts and torn flesh was all that was left from the attack. Weapons littered the ground, bloody clothes clinging to the dead remains. Erigor's scythe fell and clattered to the ground, its wielder a bloody mess that was scattered all over the place.
The entire walls were coated with guts and blood, making for a rather gory sight. Shura chuckled as he walked forward, blood clinging to his boots. "I can never have a purely clean battle," he noted, observing his handiwork.
A train whistle was heard as Shura turned to see a man wearing a white tuxedo running through the doors, the Lullaby flute in hand. Kageyama grinned widely as he held the flute high in the air.
"Oi, guys! I got it! The flute! I got the..." The words froze in his throat as he gazed at the dead bodies, bloody floors and walls, and eviscerated flesh. He gulped, holding his hand to his mouth as he looked towards Shura. "Wh-Who are you?"
"Doesn't matter. Give me the flute, and I'll spare your life," Shura bargained, hand held out.
"W-Why do..." Kageyama's eyes grew wide as he backed away slightly, pointing at Shura. "I-It's you... Blood-red eyes, a black cloak, black armour... y-you're the Blood-dimmed King!"
"And just like that, you're much smarter than your friends," Shura noted, tone impatient. "Flute. Now."
Kageyama clutched the flute tightly, before bringing it to his lips. Before he could play, however, his body was locked, rigid and unmoving. "W-Wha-"
"Why does nobody listen when I ask them of something?" Shura questioned, crooking a finger in Kageyama's direction. The man's body flew towards him, his fear rising. Just before he was about to crash into the God Slayer, he stopped, just a few inches away from him. Shura's hellish eyes bore into Kageyama's own. "I try to be merciful, but instead, you don't listen, and try to kill me. Better people than you have tried. What made you think you were any different?" Before Kageyama could say anything, he felt a biting, agonising pain at the base of his neck.
He tried to scream, but his vocal cords were started to break. Blood started to leak from his tearing neck as Kageyama gave a silent scream as his head came off his shoulders like a cork from a beer bottle. Shura almost chuckled at the comparison, the blood the initial spray and the fool's head the cork. Ah, Telekinesis was so useful when applied correctly. Well, that and boredom, which resulted in Shura experimenting.
He caught the head, crushing it like a grape fruit, ignoring the grey matter and skull fragments from doing so. He caught the demonic flute of Zeref in his hands, grinning as he inspected it.
Its size was nearly 50 cm in length. It had a skull with three eyes on one end, and an oval-like cutout in the skull's brow. On the other end, there were root-like cutouts that arched dangerously.
He almost crushed the flute out of rage and elation, but he contained himself, placing it into his Requip space. "Finally, a proper lead," Shura remarked, about to leave. However, he stopped as he heard a loud, "WHAT THE HELL?!"
Sighing, Shura turned around to look at who decided to interrupt him, only to frown as he beheld the bizarre group before him. A pink-haired male, a shirtless dark-haired male, a white-haired girl in gothic clothing, a flying blue cat, a redhead in armour, and a blonde.
He looked to see the pink-haired mage who had spoken. He pointed towards Shura. "Y-YOU KILLED THEM!"
The blonde held a hand to her mouth, almost about to throw up at the carnage all around her. Eventually, she did, vomiting to the side. The shirtless mage had a disgusted and green look on his face, the cat followed the blonde's example, and the red and white haired females had looks of disgust on their faces.
"Excellent detective skills," Shura responded sarcastically. Looking at the mages before them and seeing their guild marks, he hummed. "Fairy Tail, huh?" He looked towards the pink-haired male, then to the redhead and white haired females. "So... Salamander, Titania, and the Majin. My, my. Don't I feel underwhelmed."
"Y-You killed them! How could you?!" the blonde yelled out in horror. Shura frowned, wondering why the voice sounded familiar. He inspected the blonde, looking her over. She seemed to be wearing dark and bright colours that seemed to contrast quite well (A.N. - Celestial Spirit clothing she wears during Oracion Seis Arc). She also seemed very curvaceous and busty, her brown eyes staring at him in fear.
Wait... Shura's eyes widened as he looked at the girl. Could it be... Her eyes... They were the same shade, had the same compassion in them as last time. "Lucy..." Shura whispered, his voice getting picked up by all of them.
"Oi, Lucy! How the hell does this creep know your name?" Mirajane questioned, narrowing her eyes at both him and the blonde.
"I... I don't-" Lucy paused as she looked at Shura's crimson eyes. Her own eyes widened. "N-No... it can't be..."
As if reading her thoughts, Shura removed the hood that covered his face, making it bare to all those who witnessed it. Shura's long hair became more visible at the front, the black hair the colour of the deepest night. His dark, ebony skin had seemed to age quite well. His face was angular and sharp. His fangs poked out and were revealed as his mouth was in the form of a smile. The surprising thing was that small tears seemed to be falling from his eyes, shocking those watching.
"Hey, Lucy," Shura greeted, a warm smile appearing on his face for the first time in a long while. "How have you been?"
Okay. That's it. I'm done. Whoo.
I wanted to make the chapter much longer, and include the fight, but I was way too tired. Plus, I'm studying for a couple of exams, which was why things took a little longer than expected. But here you go.
Just a couple of things to clarify in this chapter:
1) Shura's deemed an SS-Rank Mage due to the fact that, while the Magic Council know that he defeated Grimoire Heart, they don't know specifically how. Meaning that they don't know about his Take-Over Magic, God Slayer Magic, or Curse. If they did, he'd be ranked much higher.
2) Meredy's still alive, as Ultear stored her away to save her from the oncoming destruction. And she's devastated. Guess Shura isn't the only one going to want revenge in this story, huh?
3) Lisanna's alive. Now, I originally wanted her dead, as if there's one thing that I hated in Fairy Tail (along with a long, long, long list of other things that'd take a chapter worth of words to fill), it was that no one FUCKING STAYED DEAD! Seriously, Lisanna's death was treated as just a way to cause grief, and then throw it all away with her revival, which was one of the things I hated about the Edolas arc. It just made the entire sad scenes in flashback so worthless. So, in this fic, expect a lot more characters to stay dead. You can already guess who.
But back to this topic. I did want Lisanna dead, but then changed my mind so that I could pair her with Natsu. Their shipping was probably one of the only ones that actually even got screen time that I liked. Which is another reason why I hate that she was brought back later on.
4) Mira's retained her old behaviour, as I actually liked it, and found it more better than her one in the anime. Not saying that I hate it, just saying that the old behaviour was preferable.
5) Nifrit's plan. I got to keep things interesting, don't I? Basically, Shura's a walking, talking paradox, especially when using his God Slayer magic. His actions have basically been granting Nifrit with all of the chaos she needs (except in Skyrim, cuz seperate dimensions) and is a bitch about it. Plus, she gave Shura another present. More will be touched on it later on.
6) Lucy's behaviour. Obviously, I'd have things different than in canon. Lucy's an S-Class Mage. She ain't on Erza's or Mira's level, but is strong in her own right. Lot more confident, lot more stronger, etc. Reasons are obvious.
Think that's everything. Don't expect me to update as frequently as I did, as I've been busy with exams and work and all that other fun shit.
Guest review response:
1) The only other franchise crossing over with this fic (for certain) is Berserk. That's it. I don't want to make this a multi-crossover. Skyrim was for shits and giggles. As well as nostalgia. I can also understand what you're saying about the 5, as I've only ever seen 4 of the 5 used in either harem stories, or single pairings. And even then, those are rare. Also, I've rarely seen Anna paired with anyone (well, except maybe one or two Naruto x Fairy Tail fanfics). And I understand your gripe. And I'm here to deliver.
Well, have a wonderful, happy day to all of you. Thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story. Love y'all. Flamers can kindly fuck off.
Read and Review!