Before we begin, I'd like to thank a certain Guest, who pointed out my lack of consistency regarding the fate of Makarov's leg. For some strange reason I stated in Chapter 34, that it was saved, even though for the entirety of previous 2 chapters I insisted it was gone. I must have had a tiring day. Thank you and sorry for the confusion!
I'd also like to talk about the future of this story. Once this chapter is uploaded I will begin to write the next one to post around Christmas time. I am also aiming into ending it next year.
I'd like to finish Of Inner Demons within 60 chapters, with the ending taking place after Tartaros. I've decided, that since I am still uncertain if I will write Alvarez, which if I DID sit down to would probably take me another few years to finish, I'd rather just give you guys some closure instead of leaving the story unfinished for God knows how long. However, just because OID might end on chapter 60 doesn't mean it will be the absolute end. Even if I don't write Alvarez I will still release an Epistle, or something among those lines, that will be a slightly polished blueprint of the arc. It might be several chapters long itself, so you won't be bored and you will get to see the end of the story in its entirety.
Also, my Alvarez will be much different from the original. If I were to tease you about it a little bit, then I'd say, that it will fit some of the lyrics of the song Soldier Side by System Of A Down quite a bit. Only some parts, though.
PS: Also, yes, I know the referee is not actually named Kabo, but at this point changing it would feel weird. He's Kabo now!
Wendy remained on her knees, completely spent. Sherria wiped her lips and smiled at her new friend. She walked up to her and started to heal her injuries, much to the Dragon Slayer's surprise.
"Oh." she gasped. "So this is how it feels!"
Sherria chuckled. "Knowing just how soothing it is makes it all the more exciting to help others!"
Wendy smiled. "It really does."
The respect between the two competitors moved the already excited crowd even more, their clapping deafening. Lyon looked around and smiled to himself. "I can't even be upset right now." he shook his head with a smile. Even Obaba ceased to complain and took the moment in.
"It's hard to think this is the same scared little girl we met all those days ago." Gray smiled tenderly as he watched the two girls stand side by side with their arms raised in the air in joint victory.
Mirajane smirked. "You said it."
Erza looked at Natsu and smiled at him. He clapped along the crowd with a kid-like grin on his face that also contained something that resembling of pride underneath. Wendy was one of the people he connected with the most in his time in Fairy Tail, and he was one of the people who had the biggest impact on the girl in return. Her past annoyance at his disappearances into the woods with still asleep Wendy under his armpit have completely ceased to exist, now replaced with pride.
Natsu blinked and looked at Erza, having felt her gaze on his face. "What?" he asked.
Erza shook her head with a smile and leaned in to kiss him, much to his confusion. "Nothing." she said tenderly and turned back to the arena.
Wendy and Sherria went their separate ways and soon found themselves back with their teams.
"Great job, kid." Mira tousled her hair with a grin.
"You kicked some ass." said Natsu and put his hand next to Mira's and did the same.
"What they said." added Gray and put his hand on the back of Wendy's head, tousling it with others. At this point Wendy's head was bobbing all over the place, which clearly was making her dizzy.
"Stop that." said serious, yet slightly amused Erza. Wendy emerged from the forest of hands, her hair puffed up and roughened. Erza walked up to Wendy and looked at her. "You've done well down there." said the knight with a smile.
Wendy beamed at the praises and completely forgot to discredit her efforts like he always used to. "Thank you!" she said with a little bow.
Erza smiled even wider and tousled Wendy's hair as well, much to the girl's dismay.
"I'm sorry, guys." Sherria said sheepishly while scratching the back of her head. "I couldn't finish her!"
"Don't bother." said grumpy Obaba. "As long as you scratched that itch of yours, we're happy."
Sherria blinked and looked around, her team smiling at her with happiness. This made her even happier, as she nodded so hard she almost hit her own knee. "Yup!" she squeaked.
"What a fight that was!" said Lola while waging a fan in front of his face, the excitement taking the best of him. "Without further a do, let us continue with the last match of the day!"
The letters rolled for the last time this day and selected the remaining mages who'd square off in the arena.
Raven Tail A, Leord
vs.
Mermaid Heel, Risley
"It appears the ace of Raven Tail A won't get much rest today!" said Lola in an attempt to shout over the rowdy crowd. "Listen to these cheers!"
"His performance may have had a hand in this." said amused Yajima.
Leord cracked his neck and turned back to the stairs.
"Don't say a word, any of you." said sternly Emilia.
Leord blinked and turned around to look at her, surprised. The girl ignored the questionable looks of her teammates and gave the teenager a slight nod, something he was very grateful for. He peacefully left the area and headed down the stairs.
"The hell's with you?" asked confused Svenar. "We just wanted to wish him luck."
"He knows." she replied shortly.
Svenar scoffed. "What are you, his mom?"
"Well, perhaps we are being too pushy with him..." pondered Albert. "He never gets as much attention as today."
"Talking to any of us at the guild is too much attention for him." sighed Ellia and pressed herself against the railing. "The only person he ever really talks to is Master."
Unwillingly. thought to herself Emilia and looked into the crowd, her Master, as expected, already beaming with pride and joy.
"Man, I'm in for some trouble!" laughed Risley. "But no matter! I shall do my best!" she clenched her fists and made her way downstairs.
"What are her chances?" Arania asked Kagura.
"None, most likely." she deadpanned, much to her guild's disappointment.
Both mages met in the arena, both lost in their own thoughts. Leord didn't even notice to hear the bell, Risley's charge snapping him out of his trance.
"Looking away will cost you dearly!" she threatened and tried to kick him. Leord, with his hands still in his pockets, replied by raising a wall from the ground that blocked the strike in its entirety. Smirking to herself, Risley used her magic and glued both her feet to the wall, before running around it vertically. Leord was surprised to find her charging at him from around his wall and jumped back to create distance, dodging a kick to his head at the last second.
With Risley still stuck to the wall he sunk it back down, effectively stealing her footing, and raised four more walls meant to trap her inside. Before he could push the walls together to crush her inside, however, Risley ran up one of them and jumped out, now in the air.
Leord clicked his tongue and raised several spikes from beneath his feet. Risley rapidly dodged one of them and then used her magic on her hand to spin around and get on top of it. She then ran down the spike and threw a punch at Leord, who blocked it with another wall. This time, however, the wall broke under the weight of the strike and made him jump back covered in dirt and small pieces of debris.
Risley landed on her feet and scratched her nose while laughing. "Do not underestimate me just because I am puffy!" she said cheerfully.
Leord grit his teeth and threw a glance at his Master. His smile was gone, now replaced with visible confusion. Feeling cold sweat running down his neck, Leord spotted Risley charging at him yet again with the corner of his eye.
In a sequence that lasted quite possibly less than a second, Leord swiftly trapped Risley's feet by wrapping the ground around her legs up to her knees. He then forced her to sink down into the ground while four walls have risen around her and connected in one spot around her neck. With her lower half deep in the ground and her torso trapped between thick walls, Risley was rendered unable to continue.
"Submit." said Leord and clenched his hand a little tighter, which put slightly more pressure on her neck.
The girl grit her teeth. "N-never!" she gasped. "I do not give up!"
"If you don't submit I can keep you like this for the remaining 29 minutes, if you wish." he said. "Your choice."
With the walls pressing against her neck and with no means of escape in sight, Risley knew, that defeat was inevitable. "I...I give up." she swallowed her pride and surrendered.
Kabo crossed his arms and Leord released Risley from her restraints. He shot one quick glance at his Master and turned around to leave the arena, leaving humiliated and heartbroken Risley behind.
"Talk about cold-blooded." snickered Sting.
"Whoever is putting these matches together clearly does not pay attention to what's happening in that arena." said Lyon.
"The gap between upper and lower halves appears to be significantly bigger than it ought to." Jura stroked his beard and watched the scoreboard, which displayed such results:
Raven Tail A: 50 points
Sabertooth: 37 points
Lamia Scale: 35 points
Fairy Tail: 34 points
Blue Pegasus: 24 points
Mermaid Heel: 22 points
Raven Tail B: 14 points
Quatro Cerberus: 10 points
Lyon clicked his tongue. "We fell down to third."
"We're still not first." scowled Minerva. "Regardless, that is still a better result than being fourth."
"The B bunch is way behind." Rorge scratched his messy hair. "I guess we shouldn't expect much from a bunch of such different characters..."
"Their role has yet to be played." said calmly Ivan. "As long as they know their place and obey, things shall proceed as planned."
Rorge gulped. He was still not entirely on board with his Master's grand plan. "Are you sure that this is the best-"
"You'll have a big role to play out tomorrow." interrupted him Ivan. "I do not expect our hooded friend to visit this arena again for the foreseeable future. You'll have to take his place."
Rorge paled. "Master, I truly doubt my shit magic can-"
"I merely require you to fill out the gap, that is all I expect of you." Ivan interrupted him yet again. "Whatever happens is none of my concern. As long as you show up and represent our guild, I will be satisfied."
Rorge moaned. "Do you think our little fugitive has learnt anything that could harm us?" he asked, worried.
Ivan smirked. "If he had, then I will have only one person to blame." he said and turned to throw Rorge a cold, intimidating glance that made his hair stand up even more.
"He knows nothing, then." the man chuckled nervously and averted his eyes from Ivan's, the cold glare still freezing his cheek.
"Good." said Ivan and stood up whilst adjusting his robes. "Let us meet our young ones."
With that said he left the crowd, leaving exhausted and conflicted Rorge alone in his seat.
The celebrations in Fairy Tail's inn were, as usual, loud and energetic. The other residents, however, have grown to put up with them, and in some cases joined in during toast or songs.
After receiving her praise for the performance she showed during the event, Erza and her team enjoyed a meal by a large table, accompanied by Juvia and Cana.
"So, after we left the arena we wanted to get some food, so we entered a restaurant by the arena." said Gray over his glass. "But when we sat down and looked at the menu, there was no meat on it. No eggs, cheese, nothing, mostly salads and desserts, and even those were modified."
"Maybe it was a salad restaurant?" shrugged Mira.
"No, they explained it to us..." Gray tried to remember "They had a name for it...I can't remember it now..."
"Oh, I think I know." said Lucy. "I've read about it somewhere, it's a special diet. I thought about trying it out myself, I've had too many fatty meals recently."
"What kind of a diet even is that?" frowned confused Cana. "No meat, no eggs. Why would people even do that to themselves?"
Gray shrugged. "Maybe health problems? I know we had someone in the guild who couldn't drink milk."
"The Water Guy!" said Mira and Cana at the same time, both laughing. "He always asked Lisanna if she could change milk to water in some dishes, I believe he once made her bake a pie with water instead of milk, he ate it whole." said Mirajane, still snickering.
"Haven't seen him since before we sailed to Tenrou." sighed Cana and drank up. "Haven't seen many of us since then..."
The atmosphere around the table faded. Erza sighed and drank up from her own mug, before addressing Wendy. "You said you've met Macao in Magnolia, yes?"
Wendy looked at her. "Yes, I have. He said he would think about coming back, but he sounded really upset..."
"Can't blame the old man." sighed Gray. "I can't even imagine what they've all gone through."
Natsu slid his finger across the edge of his glass. "Maybe they'll come." he said. "It's been loud about us these past few days, at least some of them should have heard about it by now."
"With how much shit Raven has shoveled onto us I doubt most of them even care at this point." pointed out grimly Mira.
"I think you're being very rude." said Lucy. "These people lived most their lives in Fairy Tail, there's no way they wouldn't even come to see us!"
"I've been in the guild for almost 10 year now and never knew we were hanging out above a crystallized corpse." replied sternly Mira. "I didn't have to live in exile for 7 years like they have, but I'm still pretty damn disgusted by it. If I were to put myself in their shoes I would refuse to even listen to what any of us have to say."
"Didn't Gramps say he doesn't fully understand it himself, either?" frowned Gray.
"That might just make it even worse." addressed him Mira. "It's totally normal to have secrets as the Guild Master. It's not normal to have something so creepy and, on top of that, mysterious to even the culprit himself, hidden deep beneath the ground."
Natsu stopped twirling his finger and did a couple quick sniffs. His lips curved into a slight smile. "I've got a bet for you all." he said to the table. "I say someone will come today, this evening."
Everyone looked at him, surprised. "What, you think someone will come just because we've discussed it just a minute ago?" asked him Lucy.
Natsu nodded. "I do." He then looked at Erza, who was just as surprised as everyone else. It took her a couple seconds, but she understood the look he was giving her and smirked mischievously. "I'll take it." she announced. "I also think someone will come."
Mira raised an eyebrow and reached out to her pocket. "Fine. A thousand for nobody coming, be it today, or any other day."
"Me, too." said Gray.
"Count me in." Cana threw a bill onto the table.
"I think someone will come, too." said Juvia and pulled a couple of smaller bills from underneath her hat.
Lucy whistled. "You're not picking what Gray is picking?"
"I don't always do that." she smiled.
"Oh, no, you don't." Carla grabbed Wendy's hand from her lap, who was also about to bet. "You're too young for that." Wendy moaned in disappointment.
"What, you're not betting?" Gray asked Lucy. "Don't you always need some cash?"
Lucy shrugged. "It's not like I have a place of my own anyway." she said and drank from her mug.
A short moment later there were a couple of voices coming from behind the door, clearly distressed.
"Why do I have to knock?!"
"Because you're the youngest."
"And you the ugliest."
"I know. That's why you have to be the one to do it!"
"But I don't want to!"
"Oh for the...Fine! I'll do it!"
The owner of the third voice put their hand on the doorknob and turned it, entering the inn. They were met with at least a dozen faces staring at their mustached face and receding hairline.
Macao stared at the entire guild with an agape jaw, clearly not expecting to see everyone at once. Natsu smacked his lips and reached out to slowly drag the bills across the table straight into his pocket.
"Uh..." Macao scratched the back of his head. "I, uh..."
"Oh, for the love of God, get in will you! It's cold!" moaned someone from behind and pushed him inside. This someone turned out to be Wakaba, who was much less anxious about seeing his old guildmates. Behind him were Max, Warren and Romeo, all of them nervous, but happy nonetheless.
"We, uh... I supposed we should talk for a bit before we greet each other." said Wakaba. "So-"
"There is no need for words." said Makarov from the bar and rolled toward the newcomers with his wheelchair. Their expressions dropped at the sight of the old Master. "You have no need to explain yourselves, we already know everything. Not one person here blames you for what happened."
"Took you old bastards long enough." scoffed Laxus.
"Welcome back." Lisanna smiled at them.
"It's great to see you all again." Erza walked up to them with a warm smile.
It looked as if an enormous weight was taken off their chests, as all five newcomers started to tear up, their pent up emotions taking the best of them. Erza patted Macao on his shoulder in an act of compassion, only to be pulled into a group hug that made her gasp, her wounds still not entirely gone. Soon more and more members started to approach the group, the warming reunion growing in size.
Mira, who remained by the table with Natsu and Wendy, blinked and turned to Natsu with a scowl. "You knew they were coming, you and that shitty nose of yours!" she snarled.
Natsu merely shrugged and dodged a mug thrown at his head while laughing at Mira's loss. Mira moaned in disappointment and turned to Wendy "You could have told us they were coming!"
"I didn't smell anyone." said truthfully the girl. "His nose is just better than mine."
Mira simply deflated in her chair and dropped the subject.
"I am sorry for what happened to you all during our absence." said Makarov. "I wish none of that had happened."
"We're sorry for whatever happened on that island." said Macao in return, his eyes still on Makarov's crippled leg. "And we're sorry for abandoning the guild like that."
"We couldn't stay, even though we wanted to." said Wakaba. "When Macao told me he got to see Wendy and Levy he contacted me as soon as he could, but you were all already gone."
"By the time we saw you in the paper we still didn't know if we had the right to even come see you guys." added Warren. "That's when Max gathered us around and put his foot down."
"Someone had to." snickered Max.
"That is fine." smiled Makarov. "I'm glad you're here, no matter if late, or not."
Macao nodded with gratitude. He then looked around the inn. "Is everyone who was on the island in here?"
"Yeah, pretty much." said Gray and did a quick scan himself. "Yup, everyone's here."
Warren snorted. "So, Gildarts is wandering around, as always?"
Everyone's faces dropped. Taking this as an alert, Max looked at Makarov. "Did something happen?" he asked.
Macao looked away in shame. Levy and Wendy frowned sadly, both aware they were in no place to judge him. The news carried too much pain to deliver.
It took a while for someone to reply, however, the dreaded words finally came out of Cana's mouth. "Gildarts died." she said. "He died protecting us on the island."
Wakaba paled. "But...that's..."
Lucy gave Cana a worried look, however, it may have been for nothing. Although hurt, Cana's eyes remained strong and composed.
"How did that happen?" asked Romeo. This was the first time he spoke out since arriving. He looked as if he was hoping to hear it's all just a bad joke.
"A dragon attacked the island. Gildarts and Old Man tried to stop him, that's how he lost his leg." explained Laxus and pointed at his grandfather. "That's how Gildarts died."
Wakaba had to sit down, shaken by the information. Macao bit his lip and walked up to the bar, before snatching a mug. "I guess there's only one thing to do, then. We may be late, but as long as we remember him, time has no meaning." he said and lifted the mug in the air. "To Gildarts." he said.
The rest of the guild followed him in suit and drank up in honor of their fallen friend. With that taken care of Makarov gave an order to liven the party back up and allowed the freshly returned old members to stay with them, despite the crowded place. With all the catching up, bickering, praises of growth in the case of Romeo and all the crowded space, Erza had to excuse herself after an hour to avoid suffocating. She asked her team for some privacy, who was far too busy playing cards anyway, and wandered into the dark city, the cold, night air pleasantly passing through her with a soothing effect.
The girl wandered aimlessly in the streets, already quite accustomed to their look and structure. All the pubs and inns were full of people, with barely anyone walking around, which Erza took with relief. After a few more minutes she spotted a very nice looking spot and leaned over the railing of a concrete balcony that gave a great view of the neighborhoods down the district.
"I was hoping to catch you alone one of these days." a voice snapped the knight out of her relaxed state. She turned around, possibly harsher than needed, and spotted a hooded figure standing before her.
"Who is this?" she asked, slightly on the edge.
The figure chuckled, albeit sadly. "I should have known you wouldn't recognize me...It's been too long."
The figure took her hood off, revealing a very unusual look consisting of brown hair stylized to look like cat ears, with her nose, eyes and mouth resembling that of a cat as well. She was wearing a uniform very similar to that worn by Kagura of Mermaid Heel, only green in color and dosed with several personalized adjustments, such as the buttons being shaped like cat paws.
The young woman smiled sadly at the redhead. "I guess I was ri-"
She was interrupted with almost being ran over by Erza, who hugged her so tight her ribs almost cracked.
"Millianna..." she whispered into her neck, already on the verge of tears. "I...How..."
Millianna smiled and hugged Erza back, her eyes becoming misty as well. "Hi, Erzy."
Erza made a sound that bordered on the edge of a laugh and a sob and hugged her old friend even harder, afraid to let go. "I thought you were dead." she choked out.
"I know." gasped Millianna, now out of breath from Erza's iron hug. This was Erza's sign to let go, as she now took a closer look at Millianna. "You've grown up so much!" she said.
"So have you!" grinned the woman. "I love your hair!" she said and dragged it across her palm. "You've always wanted to grow it out, haven't you?"
Erza wiped her eyes and laughed. "I'm glad you like it, I enjoy it quite a bit as well. And so does my boyfriend."
Millianna blinked. "Erzy, look at you!" she cooed and nudged Erza with her elbow, which made her laugh even more.
The two friends sat down on the nearest bench and started to catch up as if they had never lost the years since their last meeting. They talked about everything, their guilds, their experiences of the Grand Magic Games, as well as their friends. As much as Erza enjoyed this, there was a matter that just couldn't be avoided any further.
"So, Millianna..." she began carefully "What happened all those years ago? I was told you were killed, you and everyone else."
Millianna's face dropped. With an anxious sigh she slouched her back and started to play with the corner of her cloak. "Well, that wouldn't be exactly a lie." she said sadly. "We've lost Simon and Sho. Only me and Wally managed to survive."
"Is he safe?" asked Erza.
"From what I know, yes." said Millianna. "He's been traveling the world for a few years now, he sometimes sends me cards."
Erza sighed internally with relief. "That's good."
Millianna cracked a small smile herself, however it quickly vanished. "After we've overtaken the slavers, we were taken by that guild, Jellal told us to stick with him. He was their member now and said, that if we just obeyed nothing would happen to us. For some time we did just that, however, the rest of his guild thought of us as burden. They were starving us in hopes we'd drop dead on our own, but we always managed to scavenge something to eat. We could have escaped, but we were too scared they would catch and kill us. Then, one day Sho touched a sword that belonged to one of them. He just wanted to hand it back to her, he thought she'd lost it. So she just slit his throat as a thank you."
Erza's hands clenched on their own. She was fully aware who Millianna was talking about, her cackling face right next to Lucy's still very fresh in her memories.
Millianna took a deep breath and continued. "Simon got angry, he tried to fight her, but then their leader told Jellal to 'take care of it' and left with the rest, leaving us with him. We thought he'd let us leave...And then he killed Simon. who tried to plead for our safety. He was about to get me and Wally, too, but then something happened. It was as if he...argued with himself, as if he struggled to fight something back. He just dropped to his knees and screamed at us to run, which we did. We left him with Simon and Sho and haven't looked back even once."
The cat-woman put her face in her hands. "I still think about it to this day. I thought of them like my brothers, I loved them and yet as soon as I was given some kind of freedom I ran like hell, without even looking at them one last time. I hated myself for it for years, but then I've come to realize, that I should aim it at someone else."
Millianna looked at Erza with silent fury in her eyes. "It's Jellal who was responsible for this. He killed Simon. He may have let us go, but he still did it. And I swore, that I would not rest until I paid him back for what he's done. Not just to Simon, to us, but you as well. So I won't rest until he's dead, one way or another. You feel the same way, right?" she asked. "Erzy?"
Erza stared into her burning eyes, hers sad and tired. She knew exactly her friend felt, she could almost feel it herself, that's how well she knew what it felt to desire vengeance, retaliation.
"I have." the knight said after a while, her throat dry. "I was very close to giving in to it...However, I did not. I chose a different path."
Millianna blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
Erza took Millianna's hand into hers. "I confronted Jellal at the Tower seven years ago. He'd told me he killed all of you, he tortured me, he pulled on my strings. And yet I've decided to not fuel my hatred any further. I've decided to stay on a path I had created for myself with the help of my friends, rather than stray off of it towards the darkness. I had to do it, for both myself, and someone, whom I've grown to care about very much. Someone, who made me feel like I was looking into a mirror each time our eyes met, and I couldn't just leave them like that. I chose to remain human."
Millianna's face was hard to read. She did not take her hand out of Erza's, but neither did she squeeze it back. She looked calm, and yet...disappointed.
"I see." she said quietly. "I'm glad you've managed to be so reasonable."
"Millianna-"
"Do you think you've made the right choice? Not finishing it?"
Erza looked at her scarred arms. She recalled their meeting few months back, the things he'd told her. "I do not know to this day." she said truthfully.
Millianna smiled gently. "I do." she said and rested her head on Erza's shoulder. "I've missed you, Erzy."
Erza smiled as well and leaned her head on hers. "I've missed you too." she said truthfully and refused to let the sadness in her heart taint her voice.
Just behind the corner stood Kagura, her expression fierce and determined. She clenched Archenemy and took off, only to disappear in the darkness of the city.
Rorge paced left and right, clearly unsettled. His Master was in the main room, praising his members for their achievements like nothing was going on behind the curtains. Rorge knew, that the promised hour was coming, and the dread and regret in his heart grew with each passing day. He took a peek through the crack in the door and sighed deeply, the memories from over seven years ago coming back to him like it was yesterday.
X784, Tower of Heaven
The boat was rocking back and forth with the strength of a mule, even the most hardened of the crew holding their guts in check with sheer determination alone. Rorge had leaned over the board several times by now, his stomach now aching, yet still clearly rich in water.
The redhaired man wiped his mouth and looked over his shoulder. While the crew they'd hired to transport them was barely holding it in, the man standing by the main window of the cabin remained unaffected, his posture straight and his eyes looking straight ahead. It was almost as if his sheer determination to reach his goal hardened his body and spirit, making him immune to the petty struggles of other people.
Ivan Dreyar remained strong, his eyes fully focused on the massive structure before them and his fingers aimlessly rotating a sealed locket he'd so often worn on his neck.
"You really think it's a wise choice, Master?" Rorge asked him. "I'm sure the crew would be happy to go back."
"Going back would render our last six months pointless." responded Ivan in a calm, yet decisive voice. "It took great effort to arrange this meeting. Turning back is out of the question."
With that said the Master put the locket in his pocket and prepared to leave the ship. A couple minutes later both men walked down a wooden platform, right onto the rocky shore of the island. Rorge looked up to see the intimidating structure up close, a decision he came to regret within but a second.
"I hope we get to leave soon..." he moaned and adjusted his hood.
A short moment later two figures emerged from the darkness, an elderly gentleman in a suit and a brutish looking young man, who easily towered over everyone gathered.
"Welcome, Master Ivan." bowed Arthur. "We've been expecting your arrival several hours ago."
"Master hates people, who can't respect his time." Grigol clicked his tongue and gently clenched his fist, which made Rorge take a step back.
Ivan smiled. "I am terribly sorry, gentlemen. As you can see, the weather conditions are far from perfect. I assure you we have departed at a reasonable hour, the storm, however, changed our plans for the worse."
"Yes, it would appear so." said Arthur and gestured towards the entrance to the tower. "While what my accomplice here had said is true, Master Silva is a man of reason. He's expecting you any minute now."
Ivan bowed to the men and followed them into the Tower. After what seemed like ages, they had finally managed to reach the stairs.
"I do have to mention one tiny detail, however." said Arthur while leading them up the staircase. "Master Silva had decided to hold the meeting in a room that might not be too...professional, if I do say so myself. He does not wish to let strangers look at his work too closely."
"That is no issue." said Ivan. "My business is not over something that can be found on this island."
"I'd start with that if I were ya." said Grigol. "We've had too many pricks thinkin' they could just come here and demand things already."
Rorge moaned in his mind upon hearing this.
After another couple of minutes the group found themselves in front of a heavy oak door. Arthur knocked on the door and opened it for Ivan and Rorge to enter.
The room was, unlike the rest of the tower, well lit, with candles and lanterns scattered all over the place. It was relatively empty, with just a massive wooden table in the center, with at least half a dozen chairs surrounding it. In the most fancy looking chair sat a pale man with silver hair that ran down his back and crimson eyes that may as well have belonged to a demon. Behind him stood a scrawny looking boy with messy, black hair and a young woman with brown hair and two swords, each by one of his sides. The man gestured at a chair with his hand in silence, telling Ivan to take a seat.
Ivan took a deep breath and walked up to the table, his footsteps echoing as he did. He sat down in his designated spot, Rorge doing the same beside him. He looked around the room with curiosity.
"I was told you had some sort of a matter to speak with me about." said Silva with his calm, silky voice. "Would you like to begin?"
Ivan smiled and placed both his hands flat on the table. "Yes, my apologies. I meant no disrespect, I am merely fascinated with this construction. You can't find anything like this where I'm from."
"None taken." said Silva and grabbed a glass of wine from the table.
"Before we begin, however, I do have to ask - what happened to the remaining two of the seven?" asked Ivan.
Silva arched an eyebrow. "Is their presence required?" he asked.
"Not at all. I am, however, concerned over the crew that had brought us here. I am not assuming anything, of course, however it would be a shame if I were blamed for something they'd done prior to me hiring them, such as possessing weapons, or something else that you could take as a threat."
Silva chuckled and put down his glass. "It sounds almost as if it was your responsibility to make sure of that prior to your departure."
"It was quite difficult to obtain this crew, for all the others refused to come near this place no matter how much money I put on the table. This was my only chance of making it in time, and negotiating terms such as a thorough search was not an option."
"I see. Then you should be relieved to learn, that while I did send Dryden to inspect your ship, I would be surprised if he had found anything of threat to us. And on the off-chance he did, well..."
Silva looked to his left and gently nodded his head. The teenager blinked and aimed his hand at confused Ivan, before clenching it. In a matter of a second Ivan started to scream as if someone had put a spoon in his brain and stirred it left and right, his memories racing like crazy. After what felt like eternity the sensations stopped, leaving Ivan a gasping mess sprawled on the table.
"Nothing." said Luppi. "He does have something stupid to ask you, though, should I tell you or should we wait for his version?"
"I think it'd be quite rude to have him travel this far only to have his only purpose taken away from him." said Silva with a chuckle. "Now, proceed." he nodded at Ivan.
The Master looked up at Luppi with a mix of fear and hatred. Well aware that losing his composure could cost him his life, however, he adjusted his robes and cleared his throat.
"As I'm aware, and, frankly, so is half of the Underworld, you are currently in pursuit of Salamander. Now, I am in no way doubting you will succeed, I do, however, have a certain proposition that could be of interest to you." he said.
"What would it be?" asked Silva.
Ivan leaned in his chair. "I, too, am interested in this man. I'd like to capture him as well, for my own benefit. However, unlike you, I am powerless to even come close to him, let alone putting my hands on him. Thus, I have come to you, Master Silva. To offer you a deal."
Jolene snorted into her hand, her body shaking with smothered laughter. Ivan arched an eye at her.
"The man is still talking, Jolene." said amused Silva. "Continue. What sort of a deal would you be offering me? And why this man specifically?"
"It is no longer a secret that you are a major trafficker. However, it must be pretty tiring for even the likes of you to go out of your way every single time. Thus, I offer a better solution. I am willing to pay you a ridiculous amount of money in exchange for Salamander. You could use this money to safely buy your...product, without taking any sort of risk. Your operation could continue as it is, and so could mine." continued Ivan. "I could very well reach out for someone else, of course, but so could you. I think we've set our eyes on him for similar reasons."
Silva nodded his head slowly, before looking to his left. "It appears you were right." he said to Luppi. "You did, however, put it rather lightly."
Ivan's head was suddenly smashed against the table by Grigol, with Arthur restraining Rorge as well. Silva stood up from his seat and circled around the table, his smooth robes gently flowing in the light.
"Allow me to set this straight." he said quietly. "You practically manipulate me into arranging this meeting by bothering my friends here with offers and messages. You come into my home several hours late, although I do forgive you for that. You ask of me to give up a very major piece of my plan for your personal benefit. You treat us as mercenaries you can simply hire to do your bidding, as if we were some petty guild. I have no need of the Underground, I have no need for you, I can put my hands on any cargo I so desire. I can not be threatened by anyone, I can not be beaten by anyone. By assuming our reasons for capturing him are similar you have lost the remaining shreds of respect I had for you, not to mention you have called me weak. So, tell me, Ivan Dreyar, why would I ever accept such a ridiculous proposition?"
Ivan struggled to set himself free, but Grigol's grip was far too strong.
"Should I tell you, or should he?" asked Luppi.
"I think I've heard enough from this...person." said Silva with disgust. "Tell me, my friend."
"He wants to bring his wife back to life."
Silva blinked in mild surprise. "Really now?" he looked at Ivan with a mix of curiosity and amusement.
"Not with our way, though. He's not sure himself, so I couldn't see anything that would make sense." shrugged Luppi. "All I could see was a dark room and him arguing with someone."
Ivan sent Luppi a hateful glare from across the room, his face red and forehead full of veins that came from the struggle and anger.
Silva walked closer to Ivan and leaned over his ear. "I think I understand now. You are not a complete fool, my friend, you are desperate. A trait commonly found in fools, nonetheless. I suppose this does put you in a slightly different light." he said and straightened his back.
"Master." said Luppi and touched his temple. "Dryden says he found a giant chest full of money on board."
"Very well. Tell him to bring it here." said Silva and for a sheer moment Ivan's face lit up. "We shall take it as recompensation for wasting our precious time."
Ivan thrashed and wiggled as hard as he could, but Grigol's strength rendered him as helpless as a child. Tears of frustration began to form in his eyes against his will.
"Do not worry, we're not going to kill you." said Silva with faked reassurance in his voice. "It would be a waste of effort on our part to kill someone as pathetic as you. Farewell, Ivan Dreyar. I hope I never have to see your unsightly face ever again."
With that said he moved his head at Luppi, who raised his hand once again, and once again did Ivan's screams of agony echo across the empty hallways of Tower of Heaven, only this time, rather than seconds, it was for minutes.
Present Day
Rorge opened his eyes and took one more peak through the door, his eyes wandering from one of their members to another, before landing on his Master. The scene Rorge'd just seen might have been lost on him, his memory impaired from the trauma sustained during that night, but his resolve and goal was clearly still the same. As were his means.
Upon looking at the members yet again, Rorge's fists clenched on their own, almost as if his body made up its mind on its own. He sighed deeply and walked away into the dark, unwilling to remain awake for even a minute longer, afraid the guilt might just eat out a hole in his head.
November 25th, Fairy Tail's Inn
Natsu stirred in his bed and opened his eyes. He's been wide awake for some time now, his attempt to get more sleep rendered useless. He dragged his hands across his face and threw his legs over to the side. He did a quick scan of the room - all the girls were still sleeping. Despite their team changing members quite often, there was no point of changing beds as well, so since the first day Erza's team slept together in one room. Upon leaving the bed Natsu grabbed his pants and put them on, before opening the balcony door.
He was greeted with Gray sitting in the only chair, just as naked as he was.
"Hey." threw in Natsu quietly and closed the door behind him.
"Hey." replied Gray and shifted his eyes back into the horizon.
It was still early, but not dark, the sun peeking from behind the horizon and the sky changing into a gradient that faded from orange to dark blue. Natsu breathed the cold morning air and leaned over the railing.
"Can't sleep?" Gray asked him.
"Nope. Been awake for an hour now. You?"
"Same. Today was one of the bad nights." Upon receiving a questioning look from Natsu, Gray explained himself. "I still have nightmares from that night. Then again, in my case there are several 'those nights'."
"Ah."
The two men sat in silence and enjoyed the sunrise. The more light there was, the more Gray's eyes wandered, as he quietly watched Natsu's figure. In this lighting he could easily see every scar that dosed the visible parts of Natsu's body, especially his arms. The scar on his face, although slightly faded, was still as jarring as it's been since he got it. His back was not spared either, but those were barely noticeable by now, possibly much older than the rest.
"I know you've probably been told this, but Wendy could take care of those for you." Gray said after a long while and nodded his head at Natsu's arms.
The Dragon Slayer looked at him and then at his body, before releasing a small sigh. "Yeah, I know. I don't want to. Makes for a good reminder."
"Hey, you do you."
"Why don't you remove yours, then?"
Gray shrugged. "For the same reason, I guess. I feel like I got them all because of my own stupidity, it'd feel wrong to ask someone to fix something I did to myself."
"Well, letting her stab you just to get a few hits in doesn't sound like the best of ideas." chuckled Natsu.
"Of course he told you..." sighed Gray.
"Yeah, well, if it makes you feel better he also told me how you saved his life." said Natsu, now more serious.
Gray smiled sadly. "Well, sometimes it looks different. In my head."
Natsu blinked and shifted his eyes back into the horizon. "I used to have them every night, you know. Nightmares. Not one night of peace, for years I'd either relive something, or see something else. Used to drive me crazy, I'd avoid sleeping just to get some peace. But they just...stopped."
Gray looked at him. "Did you do something to help them?" he asked with curiosity.
"Yeah, I guess." said Natsu. "I found peace. Started to let my guard down a little bit. Turned out to be the first step. I haven't had a nightmare in months."
Gray smiled gently and looked through the window. "So, you think you've settled in yet?"
Natsu turned around and smiled. "I'm not sure. Not yet, I think. But I do know one thing - I feel like at home for the first time in almost eight years." he said and watched as Erza rolled onto her back in her sleep with a wide smile on his face.
"We can tell." said Gray. "We can all tell, and not just with you. We can hardly recognize her at times, too. I guess I should thank you for it, and for what you've done for me after the Tower. I don't know if I ever got around to do that."
"You did do that, when it happened." said confused Natsu.
"Yeah, well, I've always wanted to do it on a bigger scale, so to speak."
"Don't worry about it."
With that out of the way, the boys watched the now very visible sun pierce through the clouds, as the city had begun to slowly wake up from slumber. They could hear noise from behind the door, with Lucy tripping over Carla, who somehow rolled off Wendy's bed in the night.
Another day has begun.
Domes Flau, Crocus
"Good morning everyone!" boomed Lola into his microphone, his wig, as usual, different than the day prior, this time in the shape of a bowl. "Welcome to Day 4 of Grand Magic Games, the second to last day of the event!"
"Time surely flies." said softly Yajima.
"You know, seeing it through the lacrima is one thing, but actually being here is another." Macao gasped in awe while looking around from his seat.
"How do you guys manage with all this noise?" Max asked the Dragon Slayers, his hands over his ears.
Both Laxus and Gajeel shrugged. "You get used to it." said Laxus
Gajeel leaned over Makarov. "When the hell is it gonna be my turn?! There's only one day left!" he asked, annoyed.
"Soon, my boy." replied the elder. "Any news?"
"None." sighed Gajeel. "He must know about me by now, or he just doesn't care. I even approached him one of these days but he just acted as if he didn't know who I am. I learned nothing new."
"And what about Porlyusica?"
"Nothing. I spent as much time as I could, but nothing. If she were killed I could have smelled it. Someone took her, and far."
Makarov massaged his eyes with his fingers and sighed tiredly. "Very well. There's no more point in keeping you on the sidelines anymore. I'll see what I can do about the rest of the event."
Gajeel bowed gently. "Thanks, Master." he said and leaned back to his seat.
"Today is rather special!" said cheerfully Lola. "While we're still keeping the usual format of an event and battles, the second half will be greatly modified! During Day Four, all battles shall be tag-battles of two versus two!"
The crowd appeared to like the idea, and so have some of the guilds.
"Now this is rather peculiar." Minerva caressed her chin with intrigue.
"I pity anyone that has to face us, right, Rogue?" grinned Sting and extended his fist.
"I am interested in only one match-up, and it's not going to happen this day." said uninterested Rogue, but bumped him back.
"This might be the most teamwork based challenge in the event thus far." said fascinated Hibiki.
"Doesn't matter who they choose, we're all equally wild!" cackled Bacchus and drank up from his bottle.
"Today's event is called Naval Battle!" Lola announced. "Guilds, please choose your participants!"
"As discussed, I'm going." Mira said and punched her palm. "I'll show you how it's done."
"We've had two perfect events up until now, though." deadpanned Natsu. "Sorry." he said to Gray.
Gray waved his hand. "It's fine."
"All I'm saying is, I'm gonna beat both of you lovebirds." said Mira with a smirk. "You'll see!"
"Is your hand doing well?" asked her Erza.
Mira clenched her scarred hand. "It's not perfect, but that's pretty much how far it'll go. I'm fine." She turned around and took a deep breath. "We'll I'm off."
"Mira, wait." Natsu said and raised his hand in the air. "Go get them." he said with a grin.
Mira grinned back and smacked his hand with hers. "You bet."
With that said the Demon jumped over the railing and landed in the arena, where the other participants have already begun to gather. Mirajane was up against Minerva, Arya, Ellia, Millianna, who'd lost the hood by now, Jäger, Sherria and Jenny.
"What's up, balloonman?" she teased Arya upon catching up to them.
The man looked at her from above. "I am doing very well, thank you." he said, unaffected by her mockery. "It appears fate decided we met on the field of battle once again."
"I'll flatten you harder than Erza did." taunted Mira.
"Oh, good, you know him already. Mind taking him away from us?" Ellia pointed at Arya with her thumb. "I am this close to killing him in his sleep."
"Well, aren't you a lot friendlier now." cooed Mira. "How you doing, kid? Solved your shit?"
Ellia lost her playful tone. "I don't recall us being friends." she said. "So don't act like it."
Just as she was about to talk back, Mira was interrupted by Kabo, who'd gotten around to explain the event.
"Naval Battle takes place in a replica of an abandoned prison on the outskirts of the city. The place will be submerged under water, however, you will still be able to breathe freely!" he said cheerfully. "Your goal is to find treasure hidden somewhere in the prison! However, this task will not be easy! You'll have to deal with old traps, the hard environment, darkness, and most of all, other participants! The person who finds the treasure wins the event! If it is not found within the timelimit, the winner will be determined by distance! You will all be frozen in place after time runs out, so that the readings are clear and right. Any questions?"
Millianna raised her hand. "What if someone can no longer continue?"
"They will be teleported away and granted their points based on their placement!" replied the referee. "You can find the treasure, best all other participants, or simply find yourself closest to the treasure: these are your three ways of victory!"
"It appears I have made an error in my judgement." said Minerva. "Sting or Rogue would fit this challenge much better than me."
"That's an awful lack of confidence, coming from a guild with the biggest ego in the country." smirked Jenny.
Minerva chuckled. "Oh, do not worry. I am still far too much for any of you vermin." she said and turned away from the outraged Jenny.
"Hopefully you're at least better than rest of your guild." Mirajane sighed with mockery. "If not, then we're going to see yet another mediocre performance from Sabertooth."
Most of the other participants snickered at the remark. Minerva's eye twitched. "Fear not, victory is still within our grasp. You shall find that out soon enough, outcast." she smiled and walked away from the group.
"Not much love going on here, huh?." Sherria scratched her chin nervously.
"That's what happens when half the guilds hate one another." shrugged Jäger.
Several minutes later all participants were teleported into the area of the event. As soon as the transport was complete, all of them gasped from shock, not familiar with the sensation of being able to breathe whilst underwater. They managed to get used to it, however, and as soon as Kabo signaled the start, all of them dashed into the darkness without fear.
Each mage was transported to a different part of the prison, just like during Hidden. Mirajane swam through the dark corridors, accompanied by her own sounds and the dark. She was lucky enough to be teleported near a block that contained some windows, the weak sunlight piercing through the surface of the water to give her some sort of guidance. This luck, however, quickly ran out and forced the Demon to swim right into the jaws of pure darkness.
"It appears none of the participants have managed to met one another just yet." said Lola. "For all our viewers, fear not! We have special magic cameras that will allow you to see in the dark!"
The screen at the center of the arena received its first signal and view. It showed Arya, who slowly walked through the dark corridors, however, he was surrounded by something very weird.
"Arya is using his magic to its fullest capacity, it would appear." said impressed Yajima. "He's using his wind to push the water away and allow him to remain both dry and unhindered by the limited movement."
"As expected, he's still a worthy opponent." said Erza.
Arya tilted his head to his right and quickly shifted his hands to redirect his wind. He turned it into a sharp blade that cut a plant that launched itself at him from the dark in half.
"Your lack of grace spoiled your attack." Arya boomed into the dark and attacked with his wind.
His target turned out to be Jäger, who managed to barely avoid the currents by blocking them with a wall of vines, which he then used to attack with. The vines, however, were cut into shreds before they could even reach Arya, which Jäger took as a sign to retreat, a feat he pulled off successfully.
"There we have it, our first direct confrontation!" said excited Lola. "Quatro Cerberus' Jäger's ambush has failed! Luckily for him, the low visibility allowed him to escape unscathed!"
"So, he's just completely ignoring the blindfold then, huh?" wondered Lucy and ate some popcorn.
"Everyone does." said Juvia and ate some as well.
"What's this?! It appears one of the participants has blitzed through almost half of the prison already!" pointed out Lola.
The cameras tried their darnest, but managed to get a hold of the scene. Ellia was consistently bouncing off the walls like a rabbit, her magic leaving them as soft as jelly as they jiggled like crazy after each hop.
Since this place is not a maze it'd be stupid of them to just leave the treasure out in the open somewhere. she thought as she bounced yet again. Therefore, it has to be in a hidden room, or in the walls. If I check all of them with my magic I'll be able to find the thinner and most hollow ones.
As she bounced into a massive round room that was gently lit up by a skylight on the ceiling, which appeared to connect all the other hallways together, Ellia spotted something in the dark. Smirking to herself, she abandoned her plan for the time being and launched herself off a wall straight at the figure in the dark. She changed the attribute of her glove and turned it into rock, before smashing her fist into their stomach.
Jenny doubled down and gasped her soul out, before slipping off of Ellia's fist and floating up to the ceiling, unconscious and out of the event.
"We have our first casualty!" Lola said to the excited crowd. "Blue Pegasus' Jenny has been knocked out! They receive no points!"
"That's our Ellia!" Albert roared on top of his lungs. "Atta girl!"
Lucy shivered in her seat.
"Flashbacks?" asked her comfortingly Levy.
"Yeah." sighed the blonde. "I feel sorry for her..."
Ellia grinned to herself, but her moment of victory was short-lived, for she was forced to lean back from Millianna's kick.
"Damn it!" cussed the catgirl and jumped back into the dark, not willing to face Ellia head on.
Both girls were then suddenly blasted away by black wind and pinned against the wall by both the wind and water alike, unable to move. Sherria emerged from one of the hallways and smiled at them. "Got you!"
Ellia smirked. Her figure then sunk deep into the wall, which allowed her to slide her way out of the torrent of winds keeping her pinned and jump away. She then bounced off the ground towards the ceiling, which she used as a launchpad and flew across the room straight at Sherria, her baggy sleeve already turned into a blade.
Sherria ducked under the human bullet but lost a couple of her hair in the process. She quickly turned around and focused solely on Ellia, which made her lose control of Millianna, who disappeared into the dark to leave the two clearly superior than her mages to fight it out.
In the other part of the prison, Mirajane was growing impatient. She couldn't see, she had no idea where she was and she didn't even know what to look for. Tired of waiting, her body began to glow in white light and soon dispelled to reveal her Satan Soul, ready for action. Now able to see thanks to her demonic eyes, Mira grinned from ear to ear and smashed her fist into the wall, breaking it like a cracker. She entered the new hallway and spotted terrified Jäger in the corner, who had no idea what just happened.
"Hello there." Mira said with a demonic smile and soon Jäger's screams echoed across the prison, before he was teleported away with one point scored to his name.
"Fairy Tail's Mirajane takes down Jäger within an instant! Only six participants remain!" announced Lola. The crowd seemed to like it, as demonstrated by their cheers.
Svenar scoffed and looked away from the screen.
"I take it you are not impressed." pointed out Emilia.
"Not really." he said.
Arya continued his voyage through the dark tunnels and tilted his head to his right with curiosity. "It appears someone is feeling rowdy." he said, as the prison began to shake more and more with each passing moment.
Fed up with the game of cat and mouse with both the goal and other mages, Mirajane was currently using energy balls in her hands to fly through walls like a wrecking ball. Soon she found herself in a bigger area that must have been one of the cellblocks. She dispelled her balls and took a deep breath.
"Might as well search these rooms." she hummed to herself and began to check them one by one.
In the other part of the area, Sherria and Ellia duked it out in the round room they met had in. Neither could get any good hits on the other, however, Sherria still managed to find more success thanks to her magic that was more suitable for the conditions.
"Damn it, I can't get close." cursed Ellia and dispelled magic on her clothes. "Can't waste more time here."
With that said she retreated into the dark. Not even a second later she was blasted across the room by wind, and this one was not black. Arya entered the room and did a quick scan of his surroundings.
"He can use wind, too?" pondered Sherria and smiled. "Let's see whose is stronger!" she chirped and blasted a massive torrent of black wind at Arya.
Arya joined his hands and released his own spell, as both currents crashed in the middle of the room and caused a miniature whirlpool that dragged Ellia inside, much to her annoyance.
"He can nullify Sherria's wind?" frowned Lyon.
"Not exactly." said Yuka.
While it was indeed true Arya could hold his own against Sherria, he had to make up for it by using much more magic than her. Well aware he was about to be outclassed, the man released his spell and decided to retreat for the time being, but not before blasting one more torrent at his opponents.
Sherria raised her hand and dispelled the incoming attack with ease and a smile on her face. Seeing that she was alone in the room, she adjusted her hairties and ran into one of the corridors in further search of the treasure.
Somewhere else Millianna ran around aimlessly, just as clueless as the rest of the participants. After growing more and more frustrated her eye spotted something in the dark, something, that stood out from the rest of the area. There was light coming from one of the rooms, the door slightly open and gleaming in the light.
Well aware it could have very easily be a trap, Millianna took a deep breath of courage and walked up to the room. She gently pushed the door that said "Warden's Office" open and took a peek inside, her heart dropping to the bottom of her stomach as she did.
There, on top of the desk of this very massive, empty room stood a massive chest filled to the brink with gold, so much, that it had already spilled once or twice prior to her arrival.
Excitement taking over her reason, Millianna launched herself across the room off a wall and extended her hand towards the treasure, certain of victory. All of a sudden she had her face grabbed by a hand that has seemingly grown out of thin air. The hand squeezed her face and launched her across the room back to the door, as she slammed into it with enough force to knock wind out of her lungs.
Minerva chuckled and exited a weird, green bubble, her eyes looking down at Millianna with pity.
"I must thank you." she said to the catgirl. "It appears following you was a wise choice."
"What sort of magic is this?!" Lola stood up from his seat. "Sabertooth's Minerva snatches victory from Millianna's hands!"
"It appears to be magic connected to other dimensions." Yajima stroked his beard. "Minerva must have remained hidden this entire time while watching other contestants, awaiting the perfect moment to strike."
Millianna grit her teeth and stood up. "I won't let you steal it!" she yelled and tried to attack, only to be hit in the face with another bubble that blew up and knocked her even further away.
Minerva laughed and blasted Millianna one more time, before turning around toward the treasure. Just when she was about to touch it the wall to her right broke, with Mirajane blasting through it and, in result, right into Minerva. The woman managed to block Mira's punch with her magic just in the nick of time, but was knocked away as a result.
"I knew it!" said Mira in triumph. "The louder it gets, the closer it is!"
Minerva clicked her tongue. "Do not get cocky!" she said and conjured a sphere that blew Mira away.
Just as she landed the room found yet another visitor, this time in Sherria, who quickly assessed the situation and unleashed her magic to pin everyone against the walls. Minerva, just like before, concealed her presence and slipped into her dimension right out of Sherria's wind.
Mira struggled to set herself free, but to no avail. Instead of panicking, she took a deep breath and looked around the room. Both her and Millianna were pinned. Sherria, who was doing the pinning, could not move herself in return. The Sabertooth witch was God knows where, plotting, and the remaining two were not in the area.
Now focused solely on the treasure, Mira started to connect the dots. Having given up on freeing herself from this jail, she instead began to store her magic in her right hand, the hand she could take the best aim at the treasure with. She waited patiently, but eventually her efforts were rewarded, as she spotted a shift in the air and a hand slowly reaching out towards the treasure from above.
Mirajane gave shape to her magic and aimed it directly above the goal, as she launched her spell with a grin on her face.
EVIL EXPLOSION!
Minerva's arm was blasted with a torrent of dark magic, both toasting it and forcing it back where it came from. The sphere vanished and reappeared someplace else, now with Minerva's entire livid figure stepping out of it, her right arm badly injured and smoking.
"You dare injure me?!" she growled through her teeth. "You dare?!" she roared and began to chant in a foreign tongue. The entire room was filled with bubbles, that exploded upon impact with anything and anyone, with Sherria being hit by one of them. This dispelled her wind and freed Millianna and Mira, who both began to dodge the explosions that took the room by storm.
Although she got hit once or twice as well, the Demon grit her teeth and flew across the room whilst dodging more explosions and headed straight for the treasure. Just when she was about to touch it she found herself at the end of the room, with a massive piece of debris taking her place, which was then shattered into pebbles by Sherria's Bellow. It was then when Ellia had finally managed to catch up to everyone else and join in on the race for the gold.
Time was running out. Both Mira and Ellia were dead even while desperately trying to cut through the room. Minerva had regained enough composure to realise, that she had left the treasure wide open and began to make her way towards it as well. Sherria, who used both Minerva and Mira's confusion to her advantage, was the closest to the treasure and was just about to touch it.
Mira's eyes shifted towards Minerva and she could see the grimace of anger and panic on her face. She quickly recalled what had just happened and relived her memories in a split second, before deducing something she had little to no proof of. Well aware she would never make it in time by herself, the Demon decided to bet everything on her gamble and instead of continuing to go straight ahead, she threw herself to her right.
Minerva raised her hands and aimed them both somewhere to her left and at Sherria, before yelling out a word. Sherria's figure, just like Mirajane's before, flickered and disappeared, replaced by a piece of debris that was closest to Minerva. Her scowl now turning into a terrifying grin, Minerva took a step toward the treasure, only to pale within a split second, as Mirajane, with a shit eating grin glued to her face, emerged from behind the piece of debris teleported by Minerva and landed on top of the chest with her butt.
A deafening siren echoed across the underwater prison, signalizing the end of the event. All of the participants were then frozen in place, unable to move even an inch, as weird lines started to emerge from their bodies.
"It's Mirajane!" roared Lola into his microphone. "After the blood-freezing events in the treasure room, Fairy Tail's Mirajane managed to outsmart her competition and obtain ten points for her guild! Unbelievable!"
Fairy Tail roared just as, if not louder, as they embraced one another in joy. Elfman knocked several people over, including Lucy, by waving his arms around like a maniac while screaming on top of his lungs.
Minerva continued to stare at Mira with bloodlust and fear in her eyes. The Demon, however, was not impressed and merely continued to grin in genuine happiness.
The lines have developed some sort of readings, before vanishing along with the binding spell. All participants were teleported out of the area and were now back in the arena, standing before a massive scoreboard.
Mirajane: Winner!
Minerva: 2.24m
Sherria: 4.2m
Ellia: 4.22m
Millianna: 7.67m
Arya: 26.7m
Jäger: Eliminated
Jenny: Eliminated
Mira grinned and dispelled her form, before raising her arms high in the air in victory. While bummed out they failed to win, Millianna and Sherria clapped for the winner with smiles on their faces. Ellia and Arya left for their respective stands in silence, while Minerva teleported to the infirmary in silent fury.
Sting gulped, pale and nervous looking. He gave Rogue and Orga a quiet side-eye, one they sent him back, just as quiet. While tonight wouldn't be the first time they had to deal with their Master's rage, they could feel, that tonight would be unlike any other. And yet, somehow, rather than fear, the sensation in their hearts was slowly growing to be replaced by anger and frustration, but also hunger.
Hunger for something the very guild that had just bested them was just full of.
End of Chapter 43. To be continued in Chapter 44: Day Four: Where The Fairy and The Raven Dance