Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! Read at your own risk. There's still original stuff in here, but if you haven't gotten to this point in the anime/manga, then some things may be ruined for you. I advise catching up to the anime/manga if you haven't already (for more reasons than just reading my story)! Thank you and enjoy!

Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon

Chapter 34

"Finally," Master Hades smirked. "Finally, the goals of Grimoire Heart are no longer just a fantasy. The chance to awaken Zeref is within our grasp!"

"Master, I feel I should warn you to not overlook the opposition," Ultear warned. "What if Fairy Tail gets in our way? It can hinder our plans if they get involved."

Master Hades laughed. "I have no fear of Fairy Tail."

Ultear closed her eyes. "That could prove foolish. They were able to defeat the Oración Seis and stop Nirvana. Not only that, but their strongest members are currently on Tenrou Island."

"I still remain unconcerned," Hades said. "I hope that this is not fear that I am hearing from you, my dear Ultear."

"Not fear of Fairy Tail, Master Hades," Ultear assured. "I just feel that their involvement alone is enough to set us back."
"Is that all?" Hades laughed. "Do not worry. We will succeed."

Ultear sighed. "There is one more thing that I feel that I should report."

"Go on."

Ultear's eyes opened. "There is one member above all others who worries me. If he gets involved, it could be the end of all of our goals."

"A fairy has you this concerned?" Hades said. "I will put your mind at ease, then. No one will stop us."

"You know not of whom I speak, Master Hades."

Hades laughed. "Then pray tell, who is this man? The old fool Makarov? Or perhaps the Salamander, Natsu Dragneel?"

"Neither, Master Hades," Ultear said as she held up her crystal ball.

"Ultear, who has you worried?" Meredy asked her, concerned for her beloved mother figure.

"You shouldn't be afraid of such little creatures," Zancrow cackled.

Ultear sighed again as an image appeared in her ball. Inside, the members of Grimoire Heart could see a young man flying through the air on black wings, a serious look on his face.

Hades leaned in and narrowed his eyes. "So what? He's a Take Over mage. Fairy Tail has quite a few of them. It's nothing to be concerned about. Unless the problem is that your heart has betrayed you and you don't believe that you could kill the boy."

Ultear grinned. "While I will admit that the man is quite handsome, that is not my concern. The problem is that this young man has no magic signature."

Hades' eyes widened. "What?"

Meredy, who found herself entranced by the image of the attractive man, finally snapped out of it and looked to Ultear. "What do you mean he has no magic signature?"

Ultear kept her gaze on Master Hades while she responded. "It means that whatever this young man can do, it has nothing to do with magic. He could be quite troublesome, especially since I know nothing about him."

"Oh, stop worrying!" Zancrow declared. "I don't care what that guy fights with. He's part of the Fairy Tail guild, which means that he's weak! I have more power than their entire guild in one finger!" He began to laugh wildly.

"Be careful of overconfidence, Zancrow," Ultear warned.

"You should never underestimate an opponent," Caprico added as he studied the image of the young man. "We may not know much about this one, but that doesn't change the fact that I have confidence that we will succeed."

Ultear turned to the young pink haired girl and smiled. She could see that her gaze had once again returned to the crystal ball and she could see the faintest blush on her cheeks. "Meredy, will you be joining us in the battle?"

Meredy tore her gaze away and blushed in embarrassment before regaining her composure. She nodded. "Yes."

Hades stood. "Even with the mystery of this boy, no one will stand in our way. Soon, all in Fairy Tail will see the true power of darkness, for we are Grimoire Heart! We have walked the path of darkness and we will force the world into that darkness." An evil smirk spread across his face. "I cannot wait to see the look on Makarov's face when his beloved children's blood bathes Tenrou Island in a crimson red." He raised a hand. "The attack begins now! Go forth and fulfill our desires!"

"Alright, I've had enough of this!" Gajeel roared as he leapt up from behind a rock that he and Levy were hiding behind. "IRON DRAGON HAMMER!" Gajeel's hand became a massive iron sledgehammer that crashed into the face of the massive mole-like monster that had been chasing them for the past half hour. It fell to the ground, unconscious, while Gajeel laughed. "Finally! Man, it feels good to fight again. I've been so tired of this running and hiding shit. Haven't had a good fight since Nikolias."

Levy stood up as well and walked over to him. She had kept hiding when Gajeel decided to fight the monster. "You know, there's more to these Trials than just fighting."

Gajeel snickered. "Eh, you're only saying that 'cuz you ain't strong enough to fight any of these monsters without me." He stretched. "I gotta fight to stay sharp, you know. Who knows when I'll end up fighting Salamander or Erza during this thing?"

"Why are you always talking about them?" Levy asked. "Why do you only care about fighting them?" She looked down and blushed slightly. "I just wish you would care about me," she mumbled.

Gajeel patted her head. "Well, if you want my attention, you'll have to get bigger and stronger. Then I'll notice ya 'cuz then you'll be a challenge for me."

Levy felt tears stinging her eyes. 'Why won't he look at me the way I want him to?'

Gajeel noticed her look. "You don't have to cry, shrimp. I'll help ya get bigger and stronger!"

Levy couldn't take it anymore. 'All he cares about is fighting people!' She swung her bag and smacked him in the face. He collapsed to the ground and she took off running. "Fine, who needs you? You're the worst, Gajeel Redfox!" she cried as tears streamed down her face.

Gajeel sat up, a hand pressed to his face where Levy's bag struck him. "What was that all about?" he groaned. "I was just offering to help her get stronger so that I'd be more interested in fighting her. Why'd she hit me and run off? Man, I do not get her."

Levy couldn't stop the tears as she continued to run aimlessly through the woods. "Idiot! Stupid idiot, Gajeel! How can he be so stupid? All he ever thinks about is fighting Natsu or Erza or Nikolias. Why can't he just pay attention to me? All this time, I thought that we were getting closer, but that was never really the case. He's just an arrogant jerk!"

Levy stopped for a moment to catch her breath and wipe away the tears from her eyes. "But then again, his fighting spirit has always been a part of who he is. I knew that about him from the moment I saw him and it's part of what I love about him." She looked over her shoulder. "Maybe I shouldn't have hit him. Should I go back and apologize?" Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. "Gajeel? Is that you? I just wanted to say I'm sor…"

Suddenly, two men leapt out. One of them unsheathed a sword and swung it at Levy. She was able to get out of the way, but the ribbon holding her hair together was cut off.

"What the hell?" Levy said in surprise. The next thing she knew, the other attacker was holding her up by her arms so that she couldn't escape. She glanced behind her to see that this attacker looked like a giant chicken with an orange chest plate. The chicken man pushed Levy to the ground, holding her arms above her head while the other attacker stepped forward. Levy noticed that this one looked like a goat in a samurai outfit. She kicked and screamed, but she couldn't escape. She was as good as dead.

The attacker in the samurai suit grinned. "Alright, first catch of the day!" He raised his katana, prepared to strike.

And all Levy could do was scream as the blade descended.

But the blade never reached her, for blocking its path was Gajeel, his arm coated in iron to block the blade while his right arm used Iron Dragon Club to knock out the chicken man holding Levy captive.

Levy looked at Gajeel in amazement. "Gajeel…"

Gajeel stared down the samurai while the chicken man got back up and stared him down. "It's tough to keep track of ya when you run off on your own, shrimp. So don't ever leave my side again."

Levy blushed as tears stung her eyes. 'He does care.' She smiled and nodded. "Right." She stood up and pressed her back against Gajeel's, ready to support him however she could.

"So who are these clowns?" Gajeel asked.

Levy noticed the guild mark on the neck of the chicken man. "No way…they're from Grimoire Heart? But why are they here?"

Gajeel smirked. "Well, suddenly things got way more interesting. I love the unexpected. Being able to adapt is another way that you can be strong. If you don't adapt, ya die."

"But Grimoire Heart is the head of the Barum Alliance. We're not even allowed to fight them without approval from the magic council!"

The samurai laughed. "That's the problem with legal guilds. What's the point of it if you're just gonna be held back by rules?"

The chicken man nodded and bawked. "That's no way to fight a war, if you ask me."

"Who are you guys?" Levy demanded. "And what are you doing here on Tenrou Island?"

The samurai grinned. "My name is Yomazu."

"And I'm his partner, Kawazu," replied the chicken man.

"The two of us are passionate hunters looking for the ultimate prey!" Yomazu said.

"Ultimate prey? What's that?" Gajeel asked.

"I'm so glad you asked," Yomazu smirked. He then swung his katana three times and the character for ROAR appeared in the air. As soon as it did, a deafening roar spread across the area, forcing Gajeel and Levy to attempt to block out the sound.

"It's killing my ears!" Levy shouted.

"You want to know what the ultimate prey is?" Yomazu shouted over the noise. "Our prey is every member of Fairy Tail!"

Nikolias continued to fly through the air. "I know that feeling from somewhere, but why can't I remember? Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. Right now, I need answers as to what that power was and where it was coming from."

Suddenly, a faint sound hit Nikolias' ears, forcing him to stop his flight. He turned behind him and narrowed his eyes. "Now that didn't sound good either. It almost sounded like a roar. What the hell is going on here?"

Gracie stood up and narrowed her eyes.

Makarov opened his eyes and looked up at her from his seat in front of Mavis' grave. "So you sensed it as well."

"Master…what is this feeling?" Gracie asked.

Makarov sighed. "I fear trouble is on its way."

Gracie turned to look at him. "Master Makarov, please allow me to go investigate. I know that these Trials are important and I shouldn't get involved, but I couldn't bear the thought of anyone getting hurt while I did nothing."

Makarov nodded. "Yes, go see what's going on. I hope that it's nothing more than my paranoia."

Gracie nodded and took off running. 'This feeling…it's so evil. I can sense a lot of malicious magic. I hope everyone's alright.'

"This noise is fucking killing me!" Gajeel roared while covering his ears. "Hey shrimp, isn't this the same magic you use?"

Levy, however, couldn't hear him. "I think this is the Eastern version of Solid Script magic! I'm almost sure of it!" Levy called out. Then she noticed Kawazu lunging at them. "Gajeel, look out!" Gajeel didn't move. 'Oh no, he can't hear me over this noise!' She grabbed onto his shirt and pulled with all of her might just as Kawazu's punch flew overhead.

Gajeel gulped. 'That was close. I owe ya, shrimp.'

Kawazu wasn't happy that his prey evaded his attack. However, he quickly regrouped and leapt into the air, puffing out his cheeks as he did so. "EGG BUSTER!" he clucked as dozens of eggs shot from his beak towards the downed Levy and Gajeel.

"Are those fucking eggs?" Gajeel cried over the noise in disbelief.

The eggs descended upon the two mages before breaking apart and exploding. Levy screamed in pain and Gajeel groaned as the explosions shot pain through their bodies.

The smoke cleared and Gajeel shook his head. "Damn." He looked up just in time to see Yomazu descending upon him from the air, katana raised and prepared to strike. Gajeel managed to dive out of the way as Yomazu's blade connected with the ground with incredible force. Gajeel stared at the place where he once was and Yomazu's blade now rested. 'Damn, I couldn't even hear him coming over this racket.'

Yomazu smirked. "How agile of you. You will be fun to hunt after all."

Levy stood, but was quickly knocked back down by a powerful kick from Kawazu. She shakily got to her knees while looking at Gajeel. 'I have to do something about this noise or else we won't be able to communicate like we did against Nikolias.' She raised her arms to her chest. "SOLID SCRIPT: SILENT!" A large, 3-D version of the word SILENT appeared and flew at the character ROAR that Yomazu had written, shattering it upon impact and stopping the noise.

"Atta girl, Levy!" Gajeel shouted.

Yomazu's face twisted in anger and raised his katana. "You bitch! How dare you interfere with my magic! I will make your death slow and painful now!"

"Try it and I'll break every bone in your body!" Gajeel roared as his arm turned into metal rod. He thrust it at Yomazu. "IRON DRAGON CLUB!" The attack hit its mark, pushing Yomazu backwards and stopping him from attacking.

Kawazu watched his partner slide by. "Don't worry, Yomazu. Leave the little girl to me. EGG BUSTER!" Once again, Kawazu fired dozens of eggs at Levy.

"I won't go down that easy!" Levy cried as she once again raised her arms to her chest. "SOLID SCRIPT: FIRE!" A large, 3-D version of the word FIRE appeared, acting as a shield that disintegrated the eggs before they could hit Levy.

Kawazu's beak hung open. "WHA?"

Meanwhile, Yomazu stopped his momentum by writing the characters for SLIDE in the air repeatedly with his blade. He glared at Gajeel. "Okay, now you'll die." He wrote a character in the air. "SLICE!" Upon writing this, Yomazu swung his katana in an arc, creating an air slash that shot at Gajeel.

Gajeel, however, managed to dodge the attack. "Nice try, douche bag."

Yomazu only smirked. "You're wide open now." Once again, he swung his katana in an arc the other way, sending another air slash at Gajeel.

Gajeel knew that with his momentum from dodging the first attack, he wouldn't have time to get out of the way of this attack. "Shit," he grumbled as he quickly summoned his Iron Dragon Scales to cover his body and block the attack. "That was close."

Yomazu laughed. "There is no victory for you here. Surrender your lives already."

"Never!" Levy cried.

"Keep your eyes on your opponent!" Kawazu screeched as he puffed up his cheeks. "EGG BUSTER!" This time, hundreds of eggs flew at Levy.

"SOLID SCRIPT: FIRE!" Levy called out as another 3-D version of the word FIRE appeared before Levy. Some of the eggs were disintegrated, but it couldn't block them all. "There's too many!" The eggs that the fire wall couldn't stop exploded on Levy. She screamed in pain.

"LEVY!" Gajeel roared but was quickly brought back to the fight at hand by the feeling of a cut on his left cheek. He turned around. "Impossible."

Yomazu laughed as he wrote the characters for SLICE over and over again, sending out repeated slashes at Gajeel and breaking through his iron scales.

Gajeel winced with each attack. "How are you cutting through my scales so easily?"

"Nothing can withstand an attack from my katana!" Yomazu shouted as he ceased his attacks and wrote a new character in the air. "PIERCE!" A powerful slash shot out and wounded Gajeel's side. Gajeel staggered on his feet and held his bleeding side. "You see? You stand no chance." He then readied his katana by his side. "NARUKAMI!" Multiple characters for SLICE appeared in the air before Yomazu dashed forward with incredible speed, slashing through Gajeel's scales and sheathing his katana in less than a second.

Gajeel's eyes went wide as blood shot from his wound. He cried in pain as he fell backwards to the ground, his iron scales vanishing.

"NO! GAJEEL!" Levy cried.

Gajeel groaned as he got to his knees. "Run Levy!"

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "What? No! I'm not leaving you alone!"

"I could never live with myself if anything happened to you!" he shouted back. "So do what I say and run! Tell everyone what's goin' on here. I can handle these bastards no problem. Just get out of here!"

Levy hesitated for a few moments, but eventually did as Gajeel said.

Yomazu raised his katana. "You're not getting away from us, little fairy!"

Gajeel winced as he raised his hand. 'I haven't really mastered this, but it's the best I got right now.' Metal bits began gathering in Gajeel's palm and molded together into an orb. "You ain't gonna touch her! IRON DRAGON GRENADE LAUNCHER!" The orb of metal shot at the two Grimoire Heart members with incredible speed. Before they could react, the orb exploded, firing out metal shrapnel in all directions. The two managed to evade or block the flying shrapnel as Levy made her escape.

Tears poured down Levy's face as she wrote the word IRON in the air with her Solid Script magic in front of Gajeel. "Don't you dare die on me!"

Gajeel chuckled through the pain. "Geehee. That girl really is somethin'," he said as he took a bite out of the iron.

Yomazu and Kawazu shook off the last attack. "It looks like the girl got away from us, Kawazu."

"Yes," Kawazu clucked, "but at least we still have some prey before us. Then we can hunt the girl down."

"Like I said, you ain't gonna touch her," Gajeel growled as he rose to his feet. He could feel his strength returning to him. 'Thanks, Levy. Don't worry, I ain't leavin' you yet.'

"How is he still standing?" Yomazu said in shock.

Gajeel glared at his opponents. "You two fuckers picked a fight with Fairy Tail. Trust me when I say that's the biggest mistake of your life."

Levy ran through the woods as fast as she could, searching desperately for anyone to come and aid Gajeel. "In the end, I was no help to you, Gajeel, but I promise you, I will bring help! I won't let you die!"

As she was running, her foot caught in a root and sent her tumbling down a hill. She tried to get up, but was in too much pain. "Gajeel," she whimpered, "please hang on. I'm coming. Just wait a little bit longer." And with that, she passed out.

Gajeel took a deep breath. "IRON DRAGON ROAR!" A torrent of metal flew at Kawazu and Yomazu.

Yomazu raised his katana and held it out horizontally. "DEFENSE!" The character for DEFENSE appeared in the air and a barrier blocked Gajeel's Roar.

Kawazu leapt behind Gajeel and fired hundreds of eggs upwards into the air.

Gajeel looked up to see the bombardment headed straight for him. "Shit."

"HEAVY EGG RAIN!" Kawazu called out as the eggs hit the ground and exploded all around Gajeel. Once Gajeel stumbled out of the dirt cloud, Kawazu once again puffed out his cheeks. "EGG BUSTER!" Dozens of eggs flew at the beaten Gajeel.

Gajeel quickly reacted and turned his arm into a club, blocking the egg bombs but still taking damage. "You two can't possibly beat Fairy Tail so just turn around and leave before I kill you both."

Yomazu smirked as he readied his katana. "How funny. The helpless prey is trying to scare off the predator. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way." He wrote the character for SLICE in the air repeatedly, sending out multiple slashes.

Gajeel leapt out of the way and fired his club arm forward. "IRON DRAGON CLUB!" The club connected with Yomazu, knocking him away. Gajeel then quickly fired a second Iron Dragon Club with his other arm and hit Kawazu full on and knocking him to the ground.

Yomazu gritted his teeth. "You've landed too many hits! This is over!" He wrote the character for PIERCE in the air with his katana before thrusting his katana forward.

However, Gajeel struck forward with his Iron Dragon Club, lodging the blade in his arm. No matter how hard Yomazu pulled, it couldn't be removed. Gajeel stared at Yomazu. "You threatened Levy and all of Fairy Tail and I ain't about to forgive that action."

"You will fall to Grimoire Heart!" Yomazu shouted before shifting his body and pushing forward on his katana's hilt. He grinned maliciously as cracks appeared in Gajeel's arm. "You haven't forgotten that my katana can cut through anything, have you?"

Gajeel gritted his teeth against the pain as his club began to break apart. 'I don't know how much more I can handle.' He clenched his jaw even tighter. 'No. Levy's waitin' for me, so I can't go down here. I'll keep goin' until the bitter end! I just hope Levy is safe.'

"Levy! Levy wake up!"

Levy slowly opened her eyes to see Erza and Juvia looking at her with concern. "You guys…what are you doing here?"

"We were looking for Wendy and Mest when we stumbled upon you lying here," Juvia replied.

"Levy, what happened?" Erza asked. "You're so injured."

Levy gripped Erza's arm tightly. "Gajeel…we have to help Gajeel!"

Yomazu grinned. "Your end is near!"

Gajeel cried out as his Iron Dragon Club continued to crack and break apart. "I ain't gonna lose to you assholes. It's just simply not an option."

Kawazu stood up from the ground and laughed, which sounded like clucking. "It's true that you've lasted longer than anyone else, but this is it. You can't hope to win. You will fall just like everyone else in your little guild of weaklings."

Yomazu chuckled as he pushed harder on his katana, cracking the iron even more. "Die now, fairy!" And then the iron shattered, revealing that Gajeel's right arm was covered in iron scales and was firmly grasping the sword. Yomazu's eyes went wide. "How?"

Gajeel pulled Yomazu closer. "Like I told ya, I ain't losin' to you. Picking a fight with Fairy Tail was a fucking mistake!" With that, he clenched his fist and snapped Yomazu's katana.

Yomazu's eyes whipped between Gajeel and his now broken katana. "Impossible!"

"He snapped your katana?" Kawazu asked in disbelief.

Gajeel took the blade bits and began to devour them.

"NO!" Yomazu cried. "My soul is in that katana!"

Gajeel ignored him as he finished his meal. As soon as the last bit of metal was swallowed, he became shrouded in an aura of incredible power. Yomazu and Kawazu could only stare in fear. Gajeel then leveled his gaze on Yomazu. "Let me show you why you're fucked." He put his hands together. "DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART." He lifted his right arm in the air. In a flash of light, it became a towering iron blade that rose high into the air. "KARMA DEMON IRON GOD SWORD!"

Yomazu, with no katana left to fight with, turned and ran for his life.

"It's no use!" Gajeel roared as he brought the Iron God Sword down with incredible speed and power, completely squashing Yomazu beneath it. The Iron God Sword disappeared, revealing an unconscious and wounded Yomazu. Gajeel then turned his attention to the stunned Kawazu. "And you."

Kawazu bawked in fear.

Gajeel snarled at him. "You dare threaten to hunt Levy down? I will fucking tear you to pieces!" He leapt high into the air and as soon as he reached the peak of his climb, he began to turn his body faster and faster while positioning his body towards the earth. "IRON DRAGON DRILL!" Iron began rotating around Gajeel as he descended towards the earth. The iron began spinning around him faster and faster until Gajeel vanished in a spinning cyclone of iron that looked like a cone-like drill. He collided with the earth where the terrified Kawazu stood, knocking the chicken man unconscious. He stood from the dirt cloud, panting heavily. "I told ya, Fairy Tail isn't to be fucked with," he wheezed before collapsing to the ground, completely void of energy.

"GAJEEL!" Levy cried out as she ran towards Gajeel with Erza and Juvia in tow. She had seen the dust cloud from Gajeel's attacks in the distance and had arrived just in time to see Gajeel fall to the ground.

Erza looked around. "What in the hell happened here?"

Levy ran to Gajeel's side and kneeled by him. "Gajeel! Please tell me that you're alright."

Gajeel struggled to open his eyes, but eventually was able to. He looked at Levy and forced a smile. "See?" he rasped. "I told ya I could handle them. Are you alright?"

Tears filled Levy's eyes as she smiled at Gajeel. "I'm fine, but honestly how can you be asking about me when you're so injured?"

He let out a small laugh but said nothing.

Suddenly, laughter could be heard coming from behind them. All but Gajeel turned to see Yomazu laughing on the ground.

"What's so funny?" Levy demanded.

"You Fairy Tail weaklings stand no chance! Grimoire Heart's main forces are on their way and then you will all meet your end," Yomazu said. "Their power is unbeatable. They're known as the Seven Kin of Purgatory."

"Seven Kin of Purgatory?" Juvia repeated.

Erza used her Requip Magic to summon a flare gun and fired it into the air. "We must put this Trial on hold and prepare for battle! Condition: Red! We must stop them here!"

Makarov looked at the red flare that hung in the sky. "So my suspicions were correct after all. I felt something was off, but an enemy attacking us here? How is that possible?"

Nikolias stopped his flight to look into the sky. He had been searching for the source of that power for quite some time, but was coming up empty.

"A red flare? That means an enemy is coming." Nikolias immediately flew towards the source of the light. "Damn it, what the hell is happening on this island?"

Gracie stopped once the flare appeared in the air. She looked at it for only a moment before taking off at an even faster pace. "Hold on, everyone. I'm coming!"

"A red flare?" Lucy asked. "What's that mean?"

"It means an enemy is coming," Loke said as he appeared from nowhere with Gray.

"Where'd you two come from?" Lucy asked.

"We were fol…,"Loke began before Gray stopped him, not wanting Loke to reveal that they had been following the two girls.

Gray glared at Loke. "It doesn't matter. What does matter is that there's an enemy coming and we need to do something about it."

"Right," Lucy said as she took off with Gray and Loke.

Cana lagged behind, however. "This was going to be my last Trial. If I fail, I leave the guild. So why does this have to happen now?"

"An enemy, huh?" Natsu said as he punched the palm of his hand with his fist. "Whadya say we greet them, Happy?"

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed as the two took off to find whatever trouble was showing itself.

"Oh no. A red flare!" Lisanna cried. "An enemy is here?"

Mira stared at the sky. "It's not possible."

"I think it is. Come on, we need to prepare the base camp for when people show up!" With that, Lisanna began preparing food and resting areas at a quick place.

Mira, however, couldn't tear her eyes away from the flare. 'Everyone, please be safe.'

"Hey look at that!" Wendy said. "What's that mean?"

Mest looked at the red flare in the sky. "I have no idea." He then lowered his gaze. 'I need to act fast before the main force arrives.'

"So what should we do now?" Juvia asked.

Erza requipped into her regular armor from her bathing suit. "First things first, we still need to find Wendy and Mest. I'm worried that they won't be able to find our base camp."

Levy walked over, Gajeel draped over her shoulders. "I'll head over to base camp with Gajeel and meet you there."

"Sounds good. Thank you, Levy," Erza said.

"Of course," Levy said as she walked off.

Gajeel huffed. "Don't push yourself for me, shrimp."

"How else are you going to get there, ya big lug?" Levy giggled. "Now be quiet and let me help you."

"Yeah yeah, don't rub it in."

Erza walked over to Yomazu, who was now seated. "You, speak! Why did you come here?"

"Heh, I'm not gonna tell you, bitch. There's no good that will come of it," Yomazu snorted.

Such a comment of course infuriated Erza. With one of her iron-clad fists, she slammed her fist on Yomazu's head. "Tell me!"

Yomazu groaned. "We're here for him."

"Him? Him who?" Juvia asked.

"The legendary Black Wizard known as Zeref. He's on this island."

"That's not possible!" Erza shouted.

"How can that be true? Juvia thought that Zeref lived hundreds of years ago," Juvia said.

"Yes, 400 years ago."

"You fool!" Erza yelled. "While I can't say that living so long is impossible, I know for a fact that Zeref has long been dead!"

"You couldn't be more wrong!" Yomazu laughed. "He's been living for 400 years! He's just been sleeping for quite some time. And once he's awoken from his slumber, the entire world will be bathed in complete darkness!"

"No way in hell! This is our sacred ground! We will never let it fall to evil such as you!" Erza shouted.

Yomazu laughed again. "Believe what you wish, but the fact of the matter is that Master Hades and the Seven Kin of Purgatory will be arriving soon and then your fates will be sealed!"