Chapter 17

Walking out of the Hot Springs, a familiar scent passed across his nose. He froze as he finished buttoning the last button on his dark silk shirt. Laxus glanced up at the rooftops to see Jellal pacing about the building.

Interesting.

In a flash, Laxus transported himself to the top of the roof, a couple feet behind the disgraced wizard-saint.

"Nice night," The blonde man groused, finding himself in a foul humor.

"Laxus." The masked mage turned around and folded his arms. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Dragon Slayer shrugged. "Missed you at the games today."

"Yes, well… I appeared at the end. Sorry to have missed your fight."

A silence lapsed between them. Jellal paced around the rooftop, concentrated on something. Laxus grit his teeth and felt the need to break the tension.

"So… are you meeting Erza here?" Laxus swore he could see Jellal flush red beneath his mask. Too easy he thought with a grin. The wizard straightened his shirt and let out a small huff.

"N-no."

"Then what are you doing at the bath house?" Jellal seemed even more flustered at the insinuation that he was meeting Erza at the bathhouse— a location notorious for sexual encounters. The Dragon Slayer flashed a grin as he watched the blue haired man straighten his coat and exhale in a huff.

"There were two similar disruptions of strange magic energy tonight— very similar to Zeref. The first one was here." Jellal motioned to the bathhouse. Laxus furrowed his brow. Strange magic energy…? Abi preforming magic on his arm flashed before the Dragon Slayer's eyes. Was that magic actually connected to her? And if so, what does that mean? For us—I mean me and for her? Jellal jostled Laxus out of his thoughts. "But you didn't interrupt my investigation just to catch up."

Laxus felt his jaw flex in annoyance and he forced a shrug beneath his coat. Jellal stared down at the street below him, clearly preoccupied with the magic signatures. Laxus sighed through his nose. His thoughts kept swirling, but he needed to figure out a few things… How to phrase this, without revealing his hand? Ah, fuck it.

"What can you tell me about the word 'Praesidio'?"

Jellal looked over at him, his eyes flashing with alarm and interest. "I haven't heard that word in a long time. Where did you…?"

The Dragon Slayer folded his arms, "I read it in a book somewhere. Humor me, loverboy." Jellal flashed Laxus a dark look and walked over to the opposite side of the building. He looked over the edge, clearly scanning for something.

"I've only ever read about them in ancient occult books." The wizard glanced over his shoulder to look at the Dragon Slayer pointedly. His tone suggested that there was no possibility of Laxus casually reading it somewhere. Still, the blue haired wizard continued, "The word itself means 'guard' or 'protection'. They're one of Zeref's first attempts at truly twisting humanity and magic together. They're by no means as strong as his other creations, but the original seven Praesidio to served as his personal guard until he made better monsters."

Laxus's face tightened, and Jellal watched his expressions carefully. "Do you think it may have something to do with the games?"

The Dragon Slayer shrugged his massive shoulders and didn't add anything, trying to process the thoughts beginning to swirl in his brain.

"If they weren't extinct, the Games would be a perfect place for them." Jellal continued running his hands over the bricks, scanning for something. Laxus's eyes flicked up cautiously. "What do you mean, 'perfect place?'"

"Well, the Praesidios grow stronger through absorbing other sources of magic. A massive, public source of wizards with large displays of magic energy would allow them to quietly gain power just through observing the matches."

If Laxus remembered correctly, Abi had to touch magic to absorb it. "How's that possible?"

Jellal sighed, clearly growing tired of the conversation. He misinterpreted what Laxus was asking and continued to explain his knowledge about the species: "You and I possess a place to magic energy that we fill up- our origin of magic. If I am correct, Zeref twisted their origins, so instead of one large container, every blood cell is a tiny container. It allows them to absorb ether-nano at a higher rate, and even drain it from other wizard's spells and origins."

Laxus narrowed his eyes. Not the information he was after, but still interesting nonetheless. "Can't you overwhelm them with magic?"

Jellal nodded, "In theory, yes. But there's no guarantee because their blood absorbs magic energy, and the more power they encounter, the greater their capacity for absorption— as long as they don't die from consuming too much at once. With Praesidios, the stronger the magic, the stronger they become." The blue haired mage looked at Laxus with an unreadable expression. He paused for a moment, then continued to speak with suspicion, "However, since they are one of Zeref's creations, I would sense them. The Praesidios are extinct."

Laxus's thoughts were reeling. So many things made sense now. But the Dragon Slayer still had some questions, so he chose his next words carefully.

"How do you know they're gone?"

Jellal's expression darkened, and he glanced at Laxus out of the corner of his eye again. The dishonored Counsel Member sighed. "In the last century or so, dark guilds rounded up entire families of Praesidios and drained them of blood for spells. When Praesidio blood exits the body, it's pure magic energy in liquid form. For you, eating electricity boots your power. Praesidio's blood acts in the same way, but it can amplify any magic or spell for anyone. The older they are, the more potent the magic energy in their blood." Laxus tasted the memory of Abi's blood, and he remembered how Ximus went mad on the power.

"So you've never encountered one?"

Jellal shook his head. "Not in many years. The Grand Magic Counsel's ordered any guild that encounters a Praesidio to turn them in immediately. The counsel burned entire families at the stake to stop dark guilds from having Praesidio blood. The last known group was eradicated almost fifteen years ago by Tartoros, I believe, in their pursuit of Zeref. Unless…" His eyes flashed up at Laxus, not bothering to hide the suspicion in his voice, "I'm mistaken."

"I think you'd know about that than anybody else," Laxus retorted, reflecting the accusation. He turned to glare at Jellal. The disguised wizard narrowed his eyes and took a step closer to him, his hand drifting back towards Mystogen's staffs. "I'd love to see the book where you saw the name."

Laxus showed a hint of fang as he gave Jellal a cryptic smile. "Sorry, the book's slipped my mind."

Anger flashed in Jellal's dark eyes. His words came out slowly, steeped in caution. "If you did know a Praesidio, I would be careful, Laxus. Anything Zeref creates is pure evil."

Dun dun dunnnnn...

originally, i had this chapter in many different places throughout this story. However, I felt it was best right after the previous chapter. I separated the two because this is quite important information, which I hope answers some questions as to what a Praesidio is.

Bad turns to worse in the next few chapters, so get excited (I personally love it when shit hits the fan)

R&R!