Chapter Ten
It was dark. Even Bixlow's special eyes had trouble adjusting in the tunnel's gloom. The shadows all around them engulfed the light cast by the lacrima, until it was a little blue star tied to Poppo. Lisanna scooted a bit closer. Bixlow jumped when she brushed his arm.
"Sorry," she whispered. "Can you see anything?"
"No," Bixlow said. "You should probably stay close. There's a miasma caused by the black magic. Looks like the illusion was camouflage and a barrier to contain the demonic energy. I think we're in the right place."
"How do we find Elfman and the others?"
"If they're anything like Erza, they're probably out looking for us," Bixow replied. "We'll need to look for their souls, if Phasm hasn't already used them to feed Spyrodon."
"And if they have?"
Bixlow looked at her. He could just see the outline of her pale face. "Let's just assume they haven't."
"Oh." Lisanna crossed her arms. "Let's get going, then."
She started forward, but Bixlow reached out and grabbed her arm. "Lisanna," he began, "you realize that we're not gonna be able to kill this thing by ourselves, right? The most powerful mages in our guild didn't even get to it."
Lisanna turned and planted her feet. "What are you saying?"
"If we can't find their souls, if they're already gone…maybe we should just leave. We'll get Makarov if you want, we'll tell him everything, but even then I don't think we should continue. We'll need more than Fairy Tail if we're gonna defeat Spyrodon. Maybe…it's not worth the casualties. To be honest with you, I don't even know if killing Spyrodon will—"
Bixlow was cut off by Lisanna's flat hand, which flashed in the darkness as it slappe his face with enough force to bring tears to his eyes. He stifled a loud groan and cradled his jaw, working out the stinging pain with his fingers.
"I am not giving up on my family," Lisanna said fiercely. "I refuse to believe that they're gone. While there is still breath in my body, I will do everything in my power to make them safe again. If you want to leave, then go. But I've come this far. I'm not turning back until I've got my big brother beside me."
Bixlow closed his eyes. He should've known better than to even bring it up. Even if he tried to explain their dismal chances of success, even if he promised to beg for the Council's help if she would just turn back, even if he confessed that the breath in her body was exactly what he was worried about, it wouldn't matter. Any argument was pointless. I should've just gone to the old man, Bixlow thought. Shouldn't've worried about stupid lesser demons like that wendigo. I shouldn't have even brought her here. People always said hindsight was twenty-twenty. Bixlow had never understood clearly what it meant until now. He left little room for regret. But this—bringing Lisanna up Mt. Hakobe for a glaringly obvious suicide mission—he regretted this. I'm sorry, Lisanna.
"Okay," he mumbled. He straightened up and readjusted the backpack on his shoulder. "Let's get goin', then."
The babies led the way with the light lacrima, although it did little good in the thick, oily miasma. It grew worse as they walked, until their lungs clenched with every breath and a bitter taste rested constantly at the back of their tongues. Even Bixlow's nimble feet fumbled on the slope in the dimness. Lisanna rested a hand on his shoulder as the ground became even more treacherous, in an attempt to keep her footing. "Can't you transform into a mountain goat or somethin'?" he whispered back at her when she nearly tripped both of them.
"Why should I?" she huffed back. "I've got an ass right here, leading the way."
"I knew you were starin' at my ass."
Lisanna narrowed her eyes at him. "I haven't seen anything but this tunnel. How do you know we're going the right way?"
"I don't," said Bixlow, "but the miasma's gettin' thicker, so that's a good sign. Hypothetically."
They continued down. The terrain evened out, and the tunnel became more of a smooth corridor. Even the miasma began to clear, burned away by enchanted torches scattered along the walls, casting what Bixlow could only describe as silver light in the gloom. When they passed the torches, the flames began giving off red sparks.
"That can't be good," Bixlow remarked.
Three cloaked figures emerged from the shadows, like they were crouched and waiting the entire time. Bixlow waved his hand and the babies shot forward before the dark mages could attack, each colliding with one of the mages in a burst of green light. Two of the babies hit their mark and the mages collapsed with a blow to the head, but Pappa was deflected by the center mage. The doll went spinning into the corridor wall, but recovered in time to launch another attack. The mage whispered something and immediately the babies froze, then dropped to the ground. Bixlow scowled and reached up to remove his mask. He could feel Lisanna tense behind him.
"I never thought I'd meet you again," a female voice cooed from inside the mysterious cowl. Bixlow felt the blood drain from his face. His hand hesitated on the cold metal of his mask.
"No fuckin' way," he hissed.
The woman laughed. She removed her hood, revealing a tumble of brilliant orange curls that were as wild as she was. Her dainty face was harshly freckled in the flickering silver light, and in any other circumstance she would have been pretty. She had what Bixlow used to call a summer face—one made for laughter in the sunshine, for eating fresh red strawberries and breathing in the scent of sweet honeysuckle on the breeze. But the eyes ruined it. They were milky white from years of blindness, the eyes of an old gnarly fighting dog gone mad with rage.
"You sound surprised to see me," she said. "I wish I could see your face, Bixlow. It's been so long. How are you?"
Bixlow was speechless. Lisanna inched forward and touched his shoulder. "Bixlow?" she squeaked.
The woman tilted her head, frowning. "I thought I smelled a little slut," she said. "Girls didn't used to like you all that much. I was the only one who could stand you. I guess times have changed, though, haven't they? You're probably a hot commodity now. Tell me, slut, is Bixlow a good lay? He used to be a horrid kisser."
"Enid," Bixlow said. "What are you doing here?"
"I should be the one asking you that question," said Enid. She crossed her arms and shook her head, making a disappointed sound. "The Bixlow I knew would have had better sense than to enter a place with such a powerful miasma. Surely you can feel it?"
"How are you even alive?" Bixlow snapped, completely ignoring the blind woman's repartee. He could feel the rage rising up in him, an anger that hadn't surfaced in a long time. With it came all sorts of old, sepia-toned memories—a scrawny little girl with a mop of red curls effortlessly walking the tightrope, blindfolded for theatrical effect; a spunky smirk as she fumbled for the collar of his shirt and pressed their lips together; bitter tears streaming down a bleeding freckled cheek; screams, a face contorted in fear, panic breaking the blank white slate of her eyes.
Enid frowned. "No thanks to you," she said with a chill. She raised a hand. "I don't think I owe you an explanation. You never offered one to me. After all the chaos you caused, after all the lives you destroyed, all you did was run away. Like a coward."
The babies, which until now were suspended in midair, began to tremble violently. They shot higher into the air as though jerked upward by strings and slowly turned their smiling faces toward Bixlow and Lisanna.
"Bixlow…" Lisanna whimpered. She donned her tiger form, claws out, glancing warily between him and the levitating tiki dolls.
"Impossible," Bixlow breathed. He couldn't feel the babies' souls anymore. They were completely gone from his control.
"I'm not the incompetent novice anymore, Bixlow," Enid said. "I'm no longer the runt of the litter. I've had training. I've learned things—done things—that you can't even begin to imagine. Things that are completely out of your league." She smiled and closed her hand into a fist.
The babies simultaneously gave a high-pitched screech, echoing painfully in the cave. Bixlow blinked, and suddenly there was a white light across his vision, and something collided into him, sending him flying down the tunnel. The air left his lungs when he hit the ground, and his shoulder exploded with pain. He gasped, and blinked until his ears stopped ringing. Only after he could breathe again did he realize it wasn't ringing he heard.
It was screaming.
Lisanna.
He scrambled off the ground. There was blood smeared on the rock underneath him, but he ignored it. "Lisanna!" he called. He'd landed on the other side of the barrier, so he couldn't see anything that was happening on the other side. He heard her scream his name.
Bixlow ran and barreled right into an unforgiving rock wall. The impact was nearly as jarring as the first, only this time he managed to remain upright. He pressed his hand against the rock and discovered a solid barrier in his way. He beat on it with his fists, but it was unyielding. "Enid! Enid, what the hell did you do?! Let me back in! Enid!"
He heard a cry of outrage. A cracking sound. Laughter. "I'll give you this, Bixlow," Enid called from within. "She's a fighter."
A wail of agony.
"Lisanna!" There was blood on the rock. "Lisanna! Dammit, Enid, stop! Let her go! Your beef's with me, it's got nothin' to do with her! Enid, listen to me!"
"Bixlow!"
This shout didn't come from within—it came from behind, from outside. Bixlow wheeled around and saw a sight that, if he were a lesser man, could've made him fall to his knees and cry in relief. As it was, he didn't have the time. He barely had time to dive out of the way as Black Steel Gajeel sprinted at the barrier with two metal javelins for arms. The wall cracked like glass when they collided. The snarling silver dragonslayer took three loping steps back and rammed into it again. The Salamander came in after him, alight like a comet. He planted his feet, took a deep breath, and gave a mighty, fiery roar. The barrier erupted in a burst of red sparks.
Dark energy spilled from the tunnel, dimming the Salamander's fires. Bixlow saw the whirl of Enid's cloak as she spun around, the black fabric catching on the orange flame. She waved her hands and the miasma gathered around her, suffocating the fire. She drew her arm back and Bixlow ducked from the flash of silver. A delicate knife clattered to the ground behind him, slick and red with blood.
Enid gave a wordless scream and the three tiki dolls zoomed toward them. Natsu fended them off with his flame, and Gajeel jumped out of the smoke, smashing the dolls to bits with his iron fists. Enid was muttering quickly under her breath, making signs with her hands. Bixlow felt the miasma pulse, and dark energy gathering all around them. He got up and charged at her, but she heard him coming and the miasma condensed around him, blocking his path, slowing him down. It was like trying to run in water. Her chants continued in a steady stream as the two dragonslayers finished with the babies. She pressed her hand to the ground and the miasma hissed and became two shades darker, slithering toward them, winding around their flailing arms and legs.
"What the hell is this?!" Natsu yelled. Fire rolled from his mouth and hands, but it was no use; the miasma snuffed it out on contact, leaving no trace but the smell of burnt oil.
Gajeel punched at it, but to no avail. "I can't touch it!"
"She's manipulating the demonic energy around us!" Bixlow said. He struggled with the tendrils of shadow, but what it lacked in strength it made up for in persistence and quantity. Every time he gained ground, the miasma's current dragged him back down, gently gripping and pulling. He grit his teeth as the fog crawled up his body, slowly heading for his neck. "Enid…please. I'm asking you to stop!"
Enid smirked, her lips still moving. The miasma curled around his neck, tightening in microscopic increments. "I want you to beg," she said. Her fingers curled, and the tendril squeezed his throat. He could hear Natsu and Gajeel gurgling behind him.
Suddenly, Enid gasped and turned around, but too late. Lisanna tackled her from behind, knocking both of them to the ground. The miasma loosened its grip. The two women tumbled and landed with Enid on top, digging her fingers into the cuts she'd inflicted on Lisanna's chest and arms. Lisanna screamed, but her tiger paw swatted Enid down, claws raking three red lines down her cheek. Gajeel caught the blind woman and held her slim body still with one arm, his other hand coming up to cover her mouth before she could begin her incantations again.
Bixlow went to Lisanna, who was struggling to sit up. The front of her green sweater was soaked in blood and sliced in several places. Bixlow helped her sit up and peered at it, gingerly taking the wool between his fingers and peeling it away to get a better look. Lisanna yelped and slapped his hand. "That hurts!"
"Well, I need to get a look at it before you bleed out!"
"It's fine," Lisanna huffed, pulling away. She pointed to Natsu and Gajeel. "Those two. They have souls? They're not like Erza?"
Bixlow nodded. "Yeah, they're in the clear."
"We escaped," Natsu explained. "Phasm ambushed us while we were battling some Vulcans. Happy and Pantherlily escaped too, but they're up in the air for surveillance. Phasm managed to get the others. We were looking for them when we heard Bixlow yelling."
"What're you two even doin' here?" Gajeel growled. He shook Enid. "And how the hell d'you know this bitch?"
"And what do you mean, 'like Erza'?" Natsu chipped in.
"Long story short, Lisanna was possessed by a demon when you guys left," Bixlow said. "Her soul contacted me and we managed to get her back in her own body and vanquish the demon. Then she wanted to find her brother, but we couldn't trust anyone in the guild, not after the way the demon threatened us. It implied that there were others."
"When we got to the mountain, we were attacked by Erza," Lisanna picked up. She gritted her teeth while Bixlow helped her stand, and buttoned Fried's coat to cover the blood. "She was possessed, too. We think that Phasm harvested her soul and is using her body for security."
"We're about to find out for sure," Bixlow said, narrowing his eyes at Enid. He walked toward her until they were face to face. She couldn't see him, but she would be able to feel the heat from his body, and hear the malice in his voice. "Enid, here in a few seconds, my friend is gonna release you. When he does, you're not to utter a single chant, you got me? All you're gonna do is answer our questions. If not, I'll slice you up with your pretty little knife like you did Lisanna. Nod if you understand."
Enid nodded. Gajeel uncovered her mouth, and she smiled. "You wouldn't really cut me, would you, Bixlow?"
"Try me." He reached up and touched the three scratches on her face. "I might let Lisanna do it. Looks like she already got in a good one."
"The slut's an even bigger freak than me," Enid retorted. "You sure know how to pick 'em, don'tcha?"
Bixlow drew his finger across her injured cheek, causing her to grimace. It left a red smear on her skin. "Play nice, Enid. I know it's hard for you, but try. Tell me, are there reinforcements on their way here right now?"
"Probably not," Enid said. "Usually I'm enough to take care of business. The others are busy."
"Doin' what?"
"Who knows? I'm not privilege to that information. I'm just security, that's all."
"For some reason, I don't believe you," Bixlow drawled. "But we don't got much time, so I'll get right to the point. My friends, the ones whose souls you've collected, the ones whose bodies you're usin' to house demons—where are they?"
"Well, their bodies are exactly where you said—on the mountain, looking for threats. Their souls…it's much too late for them, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean, too late?" Lisanna interrupted, bumping into Bixlow.
"They're gone," Enid replied. "Devoured. And I'm guessing you already know what ate them."
Lisanna gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, tears gathering in her eyes. Natsu looked equally devastated and stunned. Gajeel just scowled bitterly.
"I heard that two of them were quite valuable," Enid continued jovially. "One had a menagerie of monster souls packed into him. There was another one who had all these keys with her that each carried a soul. I'm told they were an especially tasty snack, and sped up the process quite nicely."
Lisanna leapt at Enid, but Bixlow held her back. "That was my brother, you bitch!" she screamed. "You murdered my brother!"
Natsu side-stepped them and put a flaming fist in Enid's face, though even that intense heat didn't faze the blind woman. She continued to look straight ahead, a little cruel smirk on her lips. "That can't be true," the Salamander growled. "You tell us where to find Lucy and the others, right now!"
"They're in the belly of Spyrodon, the Devourer of Lost Souls, Lord Zeref's final and greatest creation," Enid said. "There's only one way to get them back, and it's nigh impossible."
"Tell us," Natsu snarled. "Tell us now."
Enid considered it for a moment. "No," she said. "I don't think I will. In fact, I'm sure that I've already said too much already. I'm bound to get a time-out for this. But I'm sure Bixlow can tell you." Words began spilling from her mouth again, a river of sorcery. She was already disappearing before Gajeel could silence her. Her body dissolved into ash that crashed onto the Iron Dragonslayer's steel-toed boots. He clutched hopelessly at it, but it slid through his fingers.
Bixlow stared at the spot where that pretty blind phantom had stood only seconds ago. In the ensuing silence, he tried to wrap his mind around it—Enid was alive, she was part of Phasm, and she was more powerful than ever before. More powerful than he was.
When he looked up from the ashes, Bixlow found three expectant pairs of eyes staring back at him. "What?" he snapped.
"She said you'd know," Natsu responded, making a fist at his side. "She said you'd know how to bring the others back. Do you?"
Bixlow swallowed. He looked at each of them in turn—Natsu's determined gaze, Gajeel's suspicious one, and Lisanna's hopeful blue pools. "I think so," he confessed.
"How?"
"It…it's black magic," Bixlow whispered, turning away. "It's bad. Really bad."
There was a hesitant pause. Lisanna touched his arm, forcing him to look at her. "Whatever it is, we'll do it. If it means saving our nakama, we'll do anything."
Gajeel crossed his arms. "What no one knows won't hurt 'em."
"Agreed," Natsu nodded. "What do we need to do?"
"From what Enid said, they're trying to resurrect Spyrodon by feeding him enough souls," Bixlow began. "But she made it sound like they weren't quite done yet. Greater demons who are bound like that, who haven't manifested yet, need what you'd call a familiar. They're too big for containers or possession, so instead they…influence the mind of a person. This person is what keeps the demon tethered to the material plain. Without a familiar, the demon returns to whatever hell it came from, or is locked back into its prison until another potential familiar comes around. I think that's why, back you were tellin' me how Leon tried to release that ice demon—"
"Deliora," Natsu said.
"—right, Deliora. When he was tryin' to release Deliora, the demon crumbled up. It's because he didn't have a familiar." Bixlow took a deep breath. "When the bond between the familiar and the demon is broken, the demon returns to its original stasis. That means any progress—and relation with the material plain at all—is reverted."
"So if we sever the bond between the familiar and Spyrodon, then all the souls it's devoured will return to their bodies," Gajeel guessed.
"Hypothetically," Bixlow said. "But we'd have to make sure the bodies were empty vessels."
"Meaning we'd have to defeat the demons that are possessing Erza and the others," Lisanna said dismally.
Bixlow nodded.
"We can handle that," Natsu said confidently, looking at Gajeel. "The real question is, how do we find the demon's familiar?"
"Easy," said Lisanna. "The familiar will be the leader of the cult. All we have to do is find him and sever the bond." She turned to Bixlow, raising an eyebrow. "How, exactly, do we do that?"
"There's only one way," Bixlow said. "We kill him."
Another loaded silence. Bixlow was quickly becoming tired of those.
"Is…is that the only way?" Lisanna finally whispered.
Bixlow nodded. "If there was another way, I'd tell you. But this is it. Even if the familiar's just some poor guy who was exploring the wrong caves—even if it's some kid—even if it's a completely innocent person, the only way we're gonna have any hope of rescuin' the souls is by killin' him. My guess is that he's pretty much gone, anyway. A demon's influence…changes a person. If we wait for the demon to manifest, we'll have to kill it, too, and then it's a long shot as to if we'll get anything back at all."
"How do you know there's not another way?" Natsu challenged. "How do you know about all this in the first place?"
"Because," Gajeel said when Bixlow wouldn't answer, "he's done it. Ain't that right, rock star?"
"It was a long time ago," Bixlow said defensively. "Before I joined Fairy Tail."
Gajeel shrugged his shoulders. "I ain't one to judge. I'm willin' to do this if you are."
The other two shared a glance, then nodded. "Alright," Lisanna said. "Let's go save our friends."
