A/N: benie here once again after two chapters!
Time to answer questions...
Justiceseeker85: After chapter 23, the 7 seven year timeskip (Tenrou Island arc) happens. Where chapter 24 starts is before the fairies' return to Magnolia.
MasterShadow 115: Canonically, no. I intend to keep it accurate to the canon as much as I can. And it will continue to stay that way.
And no Larry... as you can see, I'm not dead. XD
Chapter 25: Plan to Die, Die to the Plan
Faust. Two days after its decimation.
"GARRGH!"
"Riley! Calm down! It's just a dream!" Kagura held her down in the stretcher within the confines of the medical tent.
"I'LL KILL THAT HYBRID! I'll kill…" the blade mage simmered down before realising where she was. She gingerly sat up with some help before glancing around the tent. She saw five other beds, all laden with the men that had survived the terrible ordeal just two days ago. Beside her stretcher was Kat, still in her comatose state, her skin colour turning paler by the minute.
"Kat…" Kagura explained, "hasn't moved since the massacre." She gestured to her own forearm that was wrapped in a bandage.
"Anybody make it out alive?"
"Everyone here and the two captains," the gravity mage spoke grimly. "The rest are all dead."
Riley cast a look at Kagura, tears forming in her eyes. They slowly streamed down her cheeks in regret, causing Kagura to tear up in grief as well over the state of things. The two silently cried before inaudible moans poured out from their hearts, experiencing a new kind of pain neither had felt before.
The pain of helplessness.
They had never expected this, being top mages from credible and respectable guilds. They were usually sent to job requests to provide solutions to potentially disastrous problems or to provide a quick solution against an impossible odd. Both of them had achieved the impossible before, so to be rendered helpless was humiliating.
The tent entrance unfurled to reveal the two captains, one sporting rimless glasses while the other had a huge facial scar across the right side of his face. They stepped in, their pride hurt more than anything else, and walked to Riley and Kagura, patiently waiting for them to collect themselves before bringing the reality of the matter back to hand.
"Ladies, while we may have lost the entire town and the guild along with it, I think it is best to let you know that there are other survivors apart from us." Lahar spoke. "As of an hour ago, we have rescued five families, four guardsmen, and a town hall clerk."
"All's not lost for the town of Faust," the other captain, Doranbolt, added. "However the problem at hand is still this hybrid demon that will undoubtedly return to finish all of us off."
"How would you sugge-"
"AARGHHH!"
"KAT!" Riley reached out to the healer mage, who was suddenly convulsing and wildly thrashing about screaming. "Snap out of it! SNAP OUT OF IT!"
Kagura reached over and shook her while the captains quickly called for immediate medical attention. Kat was like that for a few minutes before drawing a large breath and flopping back down on the stretcher, comatose as before.
Reality struck the whole tent; the time when he was going to strike would be soon.
Katienne
Get me out of here… please.
Why would you want to do that?
Please… I just want to get out of here and get back to the guild.
But your guild is destroyed… where will you return to then?
The black expanse lit up to reveal a white room, full of three dimensional grid lines. There was nothing else in the room except for Kat, who began walking forward, expecting to meet a wall at some point. Her mind spoke against the quiet, malevolent voice that she had come to recognise as the source of all fear from the past two days.
I will return to my family.
Family? You mean whatever that is left of them?
What do you mean? Aidan? Gary? The twins? What happened to them?
I killed them all, to say the least. There was a pause as Kat gasped. Only Riley is all that is left of Phoenix Crown.
Riley? Why?!
A certain Kagura Mikazuchi jumped in and saved the day, or what is left of it rather. You have been walking for quite a while now, why not take a rest?
I will get out of here. You will not keep me forever.
True.
Why keep me here in the first place then?
I always remove the party's healer from the equation first before dealing with the rest. Standard tactic.
You could have killed me.
Also true. But that would set back my plans in the near future.
For what?! You won't keep me here forever! Just let me go!
I may not keep you here forever… but I can keep you here for a long time until your usefulness ends, which could be in another few more days or so.
The white room suddenly flashed into pitch black darkness.
But it is time for you to stay silent.
She felt a precise non-lethal strike to the back of her head, knocking her out cold instantly.
Captain Doranbolt
"That was not what I was expecting," Lahar commented after Kat had stilled.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" both Riley and Kagura got up in an outrage, not believing their ears when one of the captains of the famous department of magical law enforcement spoke out of turn.
"That was out of hand, Lahar," Doranbolt attempted to salvage the situation, bearing in mind that the hybrid demon might make a move anytime. "However, I've never seen a magic like that. Any ideas as to what it could be?"
"Nope."
Both captains turned tail and proceeded out, stopping to give a nearby medic specific instructions to monitor Kat's status and general health.
Lamia Scale
It was apparent the other guilds were scrutinising the situation. Blue Pegasus had already offered command of the Christina to the nearest guild from Faust. The next thing Lamia Scale knew was that the guild in the next town, Falling Rose, was hit by a devastating plague that dwindled its 200 members down to fifteen mages barely fighting for their lives in hospital. The guild master, Eriko Naotsuna, was found dead in the same position as Mayla Loskov was when Faust fell.
Rockiron Jura definitely noticed that pattern, as did Ooba-sama when she read the news the following day, noting that only the guild masters died in the same position.
It was one day that the two of them decided to discuss the matter of the strange attacks. Both Ooba-sama and Jura had seated themselves in the former's office, having the two newspapers on the desk.
"Two attacks in two days," Jura mused, "This has to be because of a grudge the attackers have." He pointed a finger to the images of both Mayla and Eriko, the position of their bodies in perfect synchronisation.
"It could be that their guilds angered some dark guild hiding under the shadows," said the old woman, "an act of revenge would clearly be the cause of reason."
"That is true but, only toward a specific group of people? The recent report mentioned only Falling Rose being victim to this unnatural plague. The first attack wiped the town off the map and the few survivors that remained are still under extensive investigation. There is a level of precision even guilds cannot execute, not even the twin dragons of Sabertooth."
"And Bob's magical flying ship is missing."
"Ooba-sama, you don't mean?"
"It could be the act of one person; sadly we will have to wait for the next attack to be sure."
"I don't follow…" Jura looked at her, puzzled.
"If the next attack is consistent, then we will know it is the work of one person who is against the hunting of hybrids, both beast and humanoid alike. The two guilds that have fallen were both hybrid hunting guilds specialising in hunting and eliminating daemonic beings."
"You mean demonic?"
"Daemonic. The worst kind there is," she replied gravely.
Jura stood up, looking out of the guild master's window behind her desk. "I will pay a visit to Falling Rose and see what information I can get about the attackers. If time permits I will also journey to Faust."
"Faust? That town is no more." Ooba-sama inquired, skeptical of his decision.
"Word is that Kagura Mikazuchi of Mermaid Heel and another S-class mage of Phoenix Crown survived the attackers' onslaught," he waited for her to ponder over his plans and received a nod in approval.
"You may go," she spoke, "but be careful. You may be a wizard saint but these attacks on legal guilds show that whoever these people, or person, they are extremely dangerous."
"Yes, master. I will leave for Falling Rose at once."
Fabula, home town of Falling Rose
To say that the morgue was overcrowded would be a massive understatement. A whole guild found dead, struck by an unknown plague, was being mourned by the town of Fabula, its residents now living in fear in the shadow of the nearby mountain.
"Another Rose just died," a doctor could be heard in the corridor where they had to pull out beds to prevent infecting the other patients. The news always spread like wildfire.
Only four Roses remained but they too were fighting for their lives. Two of them were conscious and aware of the situation, although with limited information.
"... straight after I discovered that Phoenix Crown was attacked just a few days ago," the two who were awake heard the voice of the fifth wizard saint. "Are any of them in stable condition?"
"None," the doctor could be heard replying, "but two of the remaining four are still awake due to the fact that their bodies rejected general anaesthesia. I will escort you in."
Faust
"So is she going to be okay?" Riley asked the field medic, gesturing to Kat.
"There hasn't been any sudden outburst so far from her," the lad replied with a hopeful smile, "so long as she doesn't show any of her previous symptoms, I would say she's in the clear for now."
"Riley," Kagura strided through the tent flaps. "You should also be worried for yourself."
Riley looked at her to see the gravity mage carrying a burlap sack over her shoulder, a clear sign that she was heading back to Hargeon, having endured too much pain in the past few days. There was no doubt news had spread about what had happened here but for the two remaining mages of Phoenix Crown, the worst had passed.
"I'll come over to Hargeon the moment Kat comes round," the redhead promised. "I believe the worst has already passed for us."
Or so they thought, as Kagura waved them goodbye.
Katienne
That is… surprising, for lack of a better word.
The white room materialised again and this time Kat found herself on a small island. Getting up from the soft grass, she walked out towards the shore where the sand met the white expanse and began walking straight.
You've given me an island, she thought aloud.
Indeed I have, although that was not my original intention.
Then what was it?
To simply check on you. It seems my good will has been already rejected by you.
Check on me? Weren't you already doing that the whole time?
I have better things to do than suit your whims and fancies. No matter. I will still keep you until I have bigger fish to fry.
There's more?! You're keeping more people here?!
There was no further reply. Kat opened her mouth to shout for help, thinking that if anyone were to be stuck here with her, it would only be a matter of time before they found each other.
She took in a breath, and shouted.
No sound came out.
There was still hope! She ran back to the island and gathered enough dry wood for a small bonfire. If she could not shout, then getting other people's attention through sight would prove useful. Taking a step back, she pointed a finger at the pile of dry wood and uttered a simple fire spell.
Nothing. Not even a spark.
Trying to get someone's attention, are you? Your scheme will not work.
Then like before, her world turned black.
Jura Neekis
It was unprecedented; there was no way that he could save the two who were awake from the sudden convulsions and fits as they conversed about the strange person that they saw the day the plague struck.
The two that he talked to died on the spot.
The sight in the ward sent a wave of panic throughout the hospital and the rest of Fabula, the religious townsfolk spreading the rumour of demon possession to anyone who would hear. The masses chose to believe everything they heard and soon the news began spreading around the region, striking fear in the hearts of many who heard heard it.
And while it seemed preposterous for a man to possess another man, for the attacker had been described vaguely by the deceased, what Jura saw nearly fit the description.
Thrashing, convulsion, eyes rolled back in their sockets, uncontrollable mutterings.
Feral, unearthly, inhuman shrieks.
Demon possession.
As Jura left Fabula the next morning for Faust, he sighed to himself wondering if there were any prominent mages studying Take Over besides the three Strauss siblings of Fairy Tail.
"Monster, what is your reasoning for all this?" Jura thought to himself.
Riley
Kat was dying.
Her friend's condition had worsened, her breaths long drawn but shallow, as if someone had filled her lungs with water.
They were on their way towards Gallowstown to seek treatment for the healer mage but it seemed that the journey there was taking its toll on the two mages and their platoon of Rune Knight escorts. The heart rate monitor lacrima could not have spoilt but just to be sure, Kat was hooked up to another heart rate monitor in the event that one of them decided to blow out.
The distance to Gallowstown was too great to salvage whatever remaining life Kat had, and the desert they had to cross would slow them down even more. Magical vehicles would definitely get stuck in the sand and there wasn't a vehicle large enough that had caterpillar treads.
It seemed that the outcome was inevitable: Kat would die of unnatural causes, and Riley herself would embark on her last hunt for the hybrid monster in sworn revenge.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not come up with a solid theory on why the hybrid hunting guilds Phoenix Crown and Falling Rose were targeted by one man-monster hybrid.
The monster did not kill recklessly; he was entirely systematic in his approach, eliminating the guild masters first and going down to the S-class, A-class, B-class and so on. Riley and Kat just happened to be the lucky few that were returning from a job after the first initial attack. From the news of the attack on Falling Rose, the hybrid felled the entire guild in one day with a plague, killing everyone with an unknown virus.
If he was consistent enough, another hybrid hunting guild would already be in his sights.
Katienne
My dear Kat…
What do you want now?!
There is no need to be so rude… I just wanted to ask you where you would like to buried is all.
What?!
Whoosh.
There came the island and grid lines again but the expanse wasn't white anymore. The expanse was dark and the island was now completely surrounded by water, small shrubs had sprouted here and there and the thin strip of sand separating the water from the grass was littered with the occasional garden pebble.
Kat tensed up as the all-surrounding voice seemed to focus onto one point by the small shoreline.
"Should I ask nicely again?" he thought to himself. "It would seem foolish if I got shouted at…"
Kat could only stare in shock as she saw the hybrid thought out loud like any normal person. Even though his hood was up, she could have sworn he would blend in with any crowd of people, as if he was a nobody.
"What do you want, you monster?!" she shouted at him. To her horror, he slowly turned to face her but the hood enshrouded the face in shadow such that he had the appearance of a faceless demon.
"Monster?" he asked her incredulously, poison laced in each word he spoke. "After everything that you have been through and all that I have put you and Riley through, I am a monster to you?"
He began to take steps towards her, each step spelling clearly his intention. Kat backtracked in fear, knowing that there was no way she could run anywhere and escape in the reality that he created. She raised her hands to defend herself and was on edge when he stopped in his tracks.
"I am hurt," he spoke quietly, finding a nearby rock that was large enough to sit on. The randomness that occurred in the last few moments were just about enough to drive any sane person crazy.
"Fine," she huffed, "what do you want this time?"
"I wanted to tell you something important to you as your companions are trudging across the desert. They do not know of the conversation we are having-"
"What do you want to tell me?!"
"Rude," he tutted, clearly put off by the interruption. "At least have some manners, woman."
"Says the one who kidnapped me against my will."
"You could afford to be a little nicer, you know," he retorted back. "Anyway, your usefulness to me has officially come to an end."
"Wait… what?" Kat stopped, stunned by the earnesty in the tone of his voice.
"There's no more reason for you to stay here; your usefulness to me is no more," he solemnly replied.
Kat lowered her guard against him before casting her eyes on the sand beneath her feet, not knowing how to react to the sudden piece of news. It wasn't long before tears of anger and confusion ran down her face. She began stamping her feet, refusing to accept the man's world as well as her inevitable fate.
"It seems that I should leave you alone for now… if that will make you feel any better. Furthermore, your physical body has already deteriorated beyond the point of recovery. This will be the first one I send there…" he trailed off in thought. He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a tombstone with all her details on it.
Jura Neekis
Hell. That was the first word that came to mind when he had arrived at Faust.
Buildings razed to the ground, leaving only destroyed walls and scorched trees amidst flames of hell fire that never went out. Among the debris, the wizard saint saw vividly a crudely constructed cross made from the very same products of destruction that surrounded it.
The pungent smell of ash, sulfur, and brimstone was heavy in the air; there was no possible way that anyone could live in the rubble since the attack.
Hellfire. This is not the work of some monster, nor a hybrid, this is the work of a demon.
Jura toured the remnant of the city protected by his magic, which shielded him from the fire and the poisonous gases in the air. Rocks sprung up to where he would place his steps and rock columns bounded across large areas of fire. The dark sky only made seeing everything worse, as if eternal night had settled down here.
What did the guild do that would warrant such a response? And why would Tataros send only a fire elemental to get the job done here while utilising a magical plague on Fabula?
I cannot tell if it is the handiwork of one guild or one mage… this needs the magic council's attention.
Mermaid Heel
Beth was surprised to see Kagura approaching the guild doors with bandages wrapped around her arm and forehead. She ran to the gravity mage to greet her.
"Beth," Kagura returned the greeting, "did anything happen to the guild while I was away?"
"Another guild was attacked by a magical plague. Some people are saying that whoever attacked Phoenix Crown attacked Falling Rose."
"Isn't that the guild in Fabula?" the S-class mage asked, which Beth nodded in reply. "The guild is five days away on foot… how did he even get there in less than one?"
"Kagura-san, he…?"
"The attacker is a male person, about 24 years of age. He wore a hood in battle."
"You mean one man did all this?!" Beth exclaimed.
"I'm not sure but it did look like the attacks belonged to a demon of power."
"We gotta tell Master!" the younger girl grabbed the sword maiden by the hand and pulled her inside the guild hall, calling for Master to bring her communication lacrima along.
Katienne
He stood there on the edge of the shore facing the sea as she sat facing her tombstone.
Death had come to collect.
She had never expected Death to come knocking on her door this early. She had never expected that just two years as a mage that her end would come so swift.
At least let her die fighting! With honour! With pride for a guild that was destroyed! At least for someone to remember her by!
"You wish to die fighting?" the man spoke, still unmoving.
She seethed at how he knew everything about her, her behaviour, her thought processes, everything.
She was bare in this place, and she despised it. There was no secret he did not know about her, her guild, even her darkest secrets were laid bare out in the open. How the man knew, she did not know, but he chose to hide what he knew from her, and that made her even more wary and suspicious of his intentions for her.
"Do you wish to die with a fighting chance?"
Bomber Christina, hovering above Galuna Island bay
"Many thanks, Chief Moka." The hooded man pulled out the bomber's tracker and radar transmitter overboard into the depths of the sea. Ever since stealing it from the backyard of Blue Pegasus' Master Bob, he had set it down in water, and somehow single handedly sailed it away from sight and mind. While the whole of Fiore was out searching for it, the hooded man had stowed it away from the keen and observant.
"Now now," the old demon replied, reverence in his tone, "we are obliged to help and provide for the vassal that she chose. Speaking of which, what assignment did she send you on?"
"That would be telling, Chief," a coy tone came from under the hood. "She sees everything, you know."
"That must mean you have her eye then?"
The man gave a nod, proceeding to take a slow stroll through the bomber's brig, glancing at the console and keyboard which he had siphoned information from on his way here. Chief Moka walked side by side with him, noticing that while the man had been daemonized there was nothing to show for it. If anything, his prosthetic appendages were close to the real thing as much as they could get. The entire left arm and right leg were blackened with some unknown metal, the frame structures that made up the arm and leg sections had all sorts of sharp protrusions and twisted thorns jutting out in wild directions, and the old demon could sense the multitude and the magnitude of pain hidden within each prosthetic to deal great damage.
"Your son distrusts me." said the daemon flatly.
"H-h-how did you know?"
"Your villagers think of me as some young upstart," came a calm reply. "I have seen it; Bobo is notable among them."
"But they wouldn't hurt a fly! I know them well enough!" Moka said, suddenly exasperated.
"I'm not going to judge them, friend. What I said is merely my observation. That said, I will not attack you or your village."
The old demon sighed in relief. He turned away from the daemon to look out towards the sea, then turned back to face the enigma of a man chosen by her.
"She disallowed you from attacking demons, didn't she?"
"Depends," he returned with the cryptic reply.
There was the sound of fluttering wings as the new arrival landed deftly onto the deck. They belonged to a red demon, with horns atop his crown just like his father.
"Father!" Bobo entered the bomber ship's brig in a hurry. "There's a frigate coming towards our island! It looks like a magic council ship!"
The demons grew tense but the daemon remained calm and composed, his demeanour nonchalant to the news. The two Galuna demons slowly turned to look at him, his expression stoic and unmoving as he nonchalantly turned towards the computer terminal to fetch the news.
"He brought them here!" Bobo pointed an accusatory finger at the hooded man.
"Excuse me?"
"Jii-jii, he's been hunting hunter guilds across the country! He's destroyed two guilds in days! The council is going to destroy us because of him!"
"Are you sure?" Moka asked his son. "How can you be so sure?"
The black arm stretched out in front of the elder demon, halting the conversation.
"No worries, this is a small matter." the hooded man spoke. "I will deal with this shortly."
As he leapt off the bomber and into the water, the two demons felt a sense of terrible foreboding.