AN: This is not based on the current Tartaros Arc in the manga and such the demons that appear from now on will differ in strength and weakness from ones currently in the manga.
Chapter 14: Demons
"Gajeel! Where are we going?" Happy whined as the Exceed hovered above Gajeel's head.
Gajeel, Happy and Wendy were currently trekking through Bewilder Forest. Even though it was day time the thick canopy created by the trees made it seem as if it was night. The streaks of light that somehow did snake through the leaves became twisted and contorted into terrifying shadows.
Overhanging tree limbs cut across the barely visible trail that was snaking through the undergrowth and clumps of bushes. The sound of wind slipping through leaves, creaking tree trunks, the fluttering of wings of unseen creatures and ominous howling emerged from the forest.
Bewilder Forest was aptly named because when people entered the forest seemed to play games with their mind and trick them. It was all the natural elements working together to confuse the senses and frighten the mind or at least that's what people said to explain the mysterious forest.
"I'm scared." Happy cried landing on Gajeel's head.
"Don't be. There's nothing scarier than me in this forest." Gajeel grinned.
"Well, that's not true." Wendy stated.
"What do you mean?" Gajeel asked with a fading smile.
"You never hear the story?" Wendy looked at Gajeel in dismay. "You weren't paying attention when that old man was warning us about cutting through the forest."
"What story?" Happy shuddered.
"I shouldn't tell you. If you don't know then that's a blessing." Wendy shook her head.
"Now you have to tell us!" Gajeel demanded.
"There is a legend about these woods. Tales of unnatural occurrences where people disappear." Wendy replied.
"Unnatural occurrences?" Happy cried.
"Supposedly a hundred years ago, a rich king found a mistress. He would spend his time with her and enjoy her. As the years went by she grew older and the king grew tired of her. The king knew if he left her she would just tell people about the affair so he devised a plan. He brought her to the middle of this forest under the pretence of a romantic getaway. Once there he drugged her and planned to kill her while she slept. The king however could not bring himself to slay her so he just abandoned her hoping the forest would finish her off. She soon awoke and found herself trapped by this confusing place. She managed to survive for a few years before going insane and dying while cursing the king and all men. Then over the years since her death men began disappearing. One woman survived the ordeal and explained how she and her husband were approached by a woman as pale as snow. The pale woman claimed she was lost and needed help but when the man approached her she turned into a terrible demon and snatched him away. To this day men still disappear from this forest."
When Wendy finished the story Happy was weeping while Gajeel was looking around him searching for something.
"That's just a made up story right." Gajeel laughed uncomfortably.
"Off course it is. The story makes no sense. If the king wanted to keep his relationship with the mistress a secret how did people find out about it?" Wendy laughed.
"You're right." Gajeel said as he and Happy began laughing as well.
"That stupid story was just made up to explain why men keep disappearing from this forest." Wendy sighed.
"Wait what?" Gajeel said stunned.
"That part is true. Over the last few years, over a dozen men have disappeared from this forest." Wendy explained.
"Waaah!" Happy began tearing.
"Don't worry, it's not a ghost. Ghosts don't exist." Wendy reassured.
"Gi hi, it's completely ridiculous." Gajeel chuckled.
"Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…Ga…" Happy stuttered uncontrollably pointing to Gajeel's left.
There between the trees just over a hundred meters away was the most beautiful woman that Gajeel had even seen. Her clothes were that of royalty and her skin as pale as snow. She had long flowing white hair that was resembled clouds.
"We… We… We… We… We… We… We… We… We… We…" Gajeel stammered as he grabbed the younger dragon slayer and made her look in the direction of the pale woman.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" Wendy asked.
Gajeel looked to where the pale woman was but she was gone. Happy had passed out on Gajeel's head. The iron dragon slayer began carrying the Exceed in his arms as he quickened the speed of his journey through the forest.
"What's the rush?" Wendy questioned as she followed.
"Nothing." Gajeel responded uneasy. "I just want to get out of here as soon as possible."
"Wait Gajeel, you're heading the wrong way." Wendy warned.
"What are you talking about?" Gajeel questioned. "This is the beaten path."
"Something's not right here. This path heads west but according to the map and my compass magic the next town should be north-east of here." Wendy answered.
"Maybe this path bends and then heads north-east." Gajeel shrugged. "Anyway let's just get out of here."
"I don't even know why you chose this route. We could have gone around this forest but you wanted to explore." Wendy criticized.
"It wasn't me. It was Happy. He said a forest this thick must have a river with tasty fish." Gajeel revealed.
As they walked the forest suddenly lit up with a bright blinding light. The light was actually a powerful form of sleep magic that knocked out both dragon slayers.
Gajeel found himself trapped in a dream… or was it a nightmare. He wasn't sure. He could see the images clearly as if they were really happening.
Gajeel bolted to an upright position as he lay in a bed of leaves on the forest floor drenched in sweat. His head felt as if someone had been pounding on it with a hammer. He looked around and saw Wendy and Happy still unconscious lying a few feet from him.
"I'm glad you're awake, Gajeel." A soft, angelic voice spoke.
Gajeel turned towards the voice and became white as a sheet as he was stricken with fear. "G...G...Ghost!"
"I'm not a ghost." The pale woman spoke.
"What are you?" Gajeel questioned.
"I have a name. I am Zuri, demon of the white mist." She introduced herself.
"You're a demon." Gajeel replied stunned.
"Is that so hard to believe? Do you expect all demons to look like Lullaby and Deliora? Though you've only seen them in books." Zuri smiled.
"How do you know about that?" Gajeel shouted getting back to his feet.
"Even trapped in this forest I have my ways of finding out about the world. When it comes to you Gajeel, I'm very interested." Zuri explained.
"Why?" Gajeel growled.
"I'm a girl. Is it so wrong to be interested in cute boys?" Zuri asked biting her lips.
"You're just messing with me aren't you?" Gajeel refused to lower his guard.
"That's astute. I see these three harsh years of training in your rival's absence has sharpened your sense." Zuri complimented.
"So you even know about that." Gajeel gritted his teeth.
"Do you know why I take such an interest in you?" Zuri asked.
Gajeel shook his head. He was planning on taking her out without getting Happy or Wendy hurt.
"It's because I like you. You have a soul as tough as iron. You're the kind of man I could envision myself with. Surrender your body to me and I will teach you pleasure you can only dream off." Zuri offered approaching Gajeel.
"Sorry lady but I'm a married dragon." Gajeel declined.
"I know but can you really enjoy yourself with Levy? She's so small and fragile. With me you can be as rough as you want." Zuri whispered seductively.
"I'm not interested in whatever sick games you have in mind." Gajeel refused as his skin turned to iron scales.
"You fool; you think you can fight me in my forest. From the moment you entered here you've been breathing in my poison. I call it phobia; it makes you timid and anxious. You must have been feeling it." Zuri revealed.
"Well too bad, I can still fight." Gajeel snarled.
"Can you really? A second affect of phobia is that in large doses it causes severe nerve damage." Zuri said as she held her palm to her face and blew into her palm releasing a cloud of white dust at Gajeel.
The iron dragon slayer tried to hold his breath but Zuri was upon him in an instant and using the dust as smokescreen she sucker punched him in the gut causing him to gasp and then inhale.
Gajeel was astonished by the demon's strength in the fact that she was able to hurt him through his iron scales. Once the phobia poison hit his lungs Gajeel keeled over and lost his iron scales.
Gajeel felt his eyes get heavy as Zuri approached him. The demon showed her true nature when she unhinged her jaw and opened her mouth to reveal her razor sharp fangs. The last thing Gajeel saw before he passed out was a golden spark.
XXXXX
Erza sat up in bed, holding on to the blanket to keep herself covered. It was dark and the red head felt around the bed next to her searching for the person who there just a few minutes ago.
"Hey, I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful sleeping like that." Jellal said walking up to Erza carrying a lantern.
Jellal activated his heavenly body magic setting of a chain of spells. Streaks of light travelled along the stone walls lighting up the room.
"I never took you for the type who would take sanctuary in an abandoned castle." Erza smiled as she cast aside the blanket and Requiped her regular armour and clothes.
The red head was now standing face to face with Jellal.
"I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed." Jellal mumbled.
"There's no time for that, we should head straight to Magnolia." Erza said. "It was too late when I arrived last night but if we leave now and hurry we can make up for lost time."
"Erza, I've been thinking about things. It might not be safe to return." Jellal admitted.
"What are you talking about, Gran promised your safety." Erza responded.
"Gran was also the one who changed my sentence from life in prison to death." Jellal reminded.
"The magic council is desperate. They need your help and they're willing to do anything for it. We need you to help us stop Behemoth." Erza explained.
"As Crime Sorcière, we will definitely help fight Behemoth from the shadows." Jellal promised.
"If you stand together with Fairy-Tail then you can earn your freedom. I will hold Gran to his word with my blade if I have to." Erza vowed.
"What about people like Millianna?" Jellal asked.
"Millianna understands the truth. She knows that you were manipulated by Ultear." Erza answered.
"What about those who don't. I hurt a lot of people Erza. I made many people suffer. I don't deserve to be happy." Jellal confessed.
"What about me? You hurt me! Don't I deserve to be happy?" Erza shouted.
"Off course you do but I can't …" Jellal tried to respond.
"No, don't say it. You're the only person who can make me happy. I don't care about the past; I've moved on and forgiven you. I know what happened. I don't care that a life with you might be hard. I don't care what problems come our way. As long as I have you there, I can handle anything." Erza yelled.
With that outburst Jellal could only smile and relent.
"Erza, when this is all said and done, and Gran keeps his word. I promise I will give the opportunity to finally use one of your many wedding dresses." Jellal said.
"No, I'm going to have to buy a new wedding dress for that." Erza laughed.
XXXXX
Gajeel slowly stirred as he felt a powerful yet gentle energy pulse through his body. When he opened his eyes he saw Wendy kneeling down beside him with her hand over him using her healing magic.
As he raised his head he saw Zuri strapped to a tree with iron chains. The demon was struggling to break the magical chains.
"You're finally awake." Natsu scoffed.
Gajeel forced himself up and looked over behind him. Leaning against a tree with an unconscious Happy beside him was Natsu.
"Salamander, what are you doing here?" Gajeel questioned as Wendy helped him stand.
"I'm here to capture that abomination." Natsu looked at Zuri. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Tracking you, we were heading to next town over because there were sightings of a pink haired mage." Gajeel responded.
"Natsu, what is she?" Wendy asked staring at Zuri.
"This creature is a failed experiment conducted by Grimoire Heart years ago." Natsu replied.
"You're going to have to be more specific." Gajeel jeered.
"They created me those bastards. I was there first successful demon." Zuri cursed.
"You were a failure Zuri; you were unable to sustain yourself without feeding. That's why Hades bound you to this forest with a curse." Natsu revealed.
"So you feed on men to live." Wendy shuddered looking at the demon.
"Only men but for a cutie like you, I could have made an exception." Zuri taunted.
"Why didn't you just eat me when you knocked me out?" Gajeel asked.
"I was also curious about that." Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you eat him?"
"I'm not going to tell the likes of you." Zuri scoffed.
Natsu walked over and began mercilessly punching the restrained demon, alternating between body shots and jabs to the face.
Wendy let go of Gajeel, who had regained his balance, and rushed over to grab Natsu. The sky dragon slayer pulled the fire dragon slayer away and forced him back.
"Natsu, what are you doing?" Wendy shouted.
"I was going to make her talk." Natsu sneered.
"You think that pathetic assault is enough to make me talk." Zuri laughed.
"Natsu, that's not right. You can't just beat her like that." Wendy lectured.
"It's a demon." Natsu retorted.
"That doesn't matter. There's right and wrong, and you're wrong." Wendy countered.
Wendy locked eyes with Natsu and glared at him with intensity and defiance. The staring contested was ended by the sound of steal piercing flesh.
Gajeel had used his Iron Dragon's Sword and transformed his arm into a large, jagged steel blade. The iron dragon slayer had stabbed Zuri in the stomach through a gap in the chains.
"What are you doing Gajeel?" Wendy shouted stunned.
"How did you know about Levy?" Gajeel demanded to know ignoring Wendy.
"That little bookworm looked very tasty." Zuri mocked.
The jagged spikes on the blade began running like a chainsaw, causing Zuri to scream out in pain as Wendy turned away.
"I'm telepathic; I looked into your mind and saw everything." Zuri screamed causing Gajeel to stop the chainsaw motion.
"Now tell me why you didn't eat him as soon as you knocked him out or he can make that blade wider." Natsu questioned.
"I need to get the phobia poison out of his system before I ate him. I can't ingest my own poison. I needed to stimulate him more and get his body to release adrenalin to clear out the phobia." Zuri revealed.
"That's why you tried to seduce me." Gajeel mumbled.
"How were you created?" Natsu demanded to know.
Zuri didn't respond and kept silent.
"How many people were sacrificed to bring you to life?" Natsu roared.
"What do you mean?" Wendy asked.
"There's an alliance of guilds called Behemoth that plans to create its own personal army of demons using a book written by Zeref. The more powerful the demon, the more human sacrifices are needed." Natsu explained.
"Yes, it is that human sacrifice that gives us power. We are born from the suffering and anguish of the souls sacrificed to give us life." Zuri laughed.
"She's not going to talk." Natsu gritted his teeth.
"Natsu, Fairy-Tail has been tasked with fighting Behemoth." Gajeel revealed.
"We could use your help." Wendy spoke up.
"I work alone. It's better that way but I will tell you everything I know so far." Natsu responded activating his Lighting Flame Dragon Mode.
Gajeel pulled the sword from Zuri and returned his arm to normal.
"Natsu, what are you going to do?" Wendy asked.
"You should leave Wendy. I have to destroy this demon." Natsu muttered.
"No, I'm not a child anymore Natsu. Stop treating me like one. While you were gone I grew up." Wendy refused.
"Stay if you want, I don't care." Natsu scoffed as he set his sights on Zuri.