Geoffrey's Legacy
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Fairy Tail - all rights and stuff belong to Hiro Mashima. If I was the one to start Fairy Tail, fan-service wouldn't be so prominent and there would be side-series' focused on Irene's ascension to a Queen, how the Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale and Phantom Lord guilds came to be, Makarov's rise to Guild Master and how Gildarts joined Fairy Tail and became Guild Ace. I only own self-made characters, magic and storylines (I don't).
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King, Jr
Chapter 23.
Darkness.
That was the only thing Totomaru could see. Eternal, unwavering darkness which stretched around him and made the room he'd supposedly just walked into seem impossibly big.
He could still see Mary, Sugarboy and Amber stood close by, but other than that, there was nothing else, except for the light from the opened door which didn't help at all.
There were no textures or features to spot. Just... nothing but black.
Is this what being blind was like? Absolutely no sensory input whatsoever? The eerie feeling sent unforgiving chills down Totomaru's spine as he held up one hand and allowed it to become awash with multicoloured flames.
That didn't help them in the slightest.
Any light was made was just drawn away and consumed into the void of misery and nightmares, so he snuffed out his magic to avoid the wastage of valuable magic power and allowed darkness to consume them once more.
Staring aimlessly into darkness, Totomaru tried to sense the magic power of whoever was hiding behind the cold, cruel veil of darkness, but it was practically impossible.
Magic power was everywhere, and there was so much that it felt like it was weighing him down and soaking into his skin. It was nothing but overwhelming and Totomaru coated his skin in a light coating of magic power to fight off the invasive magic.
A creaking noise came from somewhere behind him.
Glancing back, Totomaru watched as tendrils of darkness reached for the door, encircled the handle and slammed it shut. However, there was no noise to be heard, just witnessing their only source of light disappear from view.
Well wasn't that nice of those psychopaths?
Now he couldn't see anything.
Sugarboy, Mary and Amber had disappeared from view, but as the space around him was totally silent, so the sound of their breathing was nothing short of deafening.
Cautiously, he rested one hand against the hilt of his katana.
Then, somewhere on his right, he heard Amber spit out a curse and presumably raise one of her guns.
'What's she going to do? Fire blindly into the darkness until she hits them or us?' Totomaru thought, nearly snorting at the ridiculous suggestion despite being aware that it was the sort of thing Gajeel would've done.
A 'POP' shook his ears and a blindingly white sphere burst into life, bringing a sense of normality and comforting warm to the eternal darkness.
"Show yourself, cowards!" Amber demanded, firing off another flare which burned brighter than the previous one.
A dark mass reached down from the ceiling - with darkness still ever present and concealing features, Totomaru guessed that the ceiling was about 14 ft up - and swallowed the two flares, smothering them and returning them to a state of complete blindness.
"This isn't so sweet." Sugarboy's voice said, coming from his left side.
"I'd have to agree with you on that one." Mary's voice replied, sounding uneasy.
If Totomaru were to hazard a guess, he'd sat that Mary had lost her usual smirk.
"Can't you use your Command Magic to get rid of this darkness?" Totomaru questioned, eyes snapping over to the third flare that Amber had fired off.
It was snuffed out barely two seconds afterwards.
"No. My Command Magic and Holy Tact requires me to see in order to work. And right now, as I'm sure you're aware, I can't see."
Shaking his head, Totomaru returned his attention to the eternal darkness around him.
Mary couldn't use her magic to counter Statham Gear's Darkness Magic, his magic couldn't produce enough light to allow for better visibility, and anything Amber tried was snuffed out within seconds.
"Is that you're going to do? Hide until we die of boredom?" He asked.
Then he flinched at the feeling of two fingers pressing against the base of his skull.
"Bang. You're either dead or a quadriplegic."
Unsheathing his katana and pivoting, Totomaru cried out as he cut through nothing but air.
'That's got to be Julius Shade. But did he duck under my cut or-'
"Bang, you're dead." Totomaru heard, prompting him to execute another deadly slice to what would've been any grown man's chest as two fingers pressed against his temple.
Once more, he hit nothing.
After a few tense seconds of Totomaru waiting for the next 'attack' he heard laughter to his right.
"Why swing at something you cannot see and know you can't hit?"
"Because not trying would mean that I've given up. And as a proud Phantom Lord mage, I say to hell with that."
"Your determination amuses me. No wonder so many of your kind die every year. The delusion that if you don't give up, you'll succeed in the end. Yeah, well try telling someone that when you've died." Julius said.
He felt two fingers press against his throat.
"Bang, you're-"
Totomaru lashed out and grinned when he felt his elbow connect with something solid. He heard Julius grunt and the feeling of fingers pressed against the throat disappeared.
"You have impressive reflexes. Still, that was the third strike. When I press my fingers against you again, you can count on it being the real thing." Juliua murmured.
Totomaru adjusted his grip on his katana's hilt, "Well then bring it, bitch."
"Keep him talking. We might not be able to see where he is, but our hearing can go a long way." Amber called over to him.
Somewhere amidst the darkness, Julius laughed.
"Robbed off your sight and you think your hearing will help you? Cast your delusions aside, Captain." The cultist said, then there was a flicker of blue.
The dual-colour haired mage jerked to one side as a magical bullet whizzed past his face, lightly grazing his cheek. With a wave of one hand, Totomaru sent forth a wave of green and orange fire in the direction he'd been shot from.
Gunshots rang out like thunder, no doubt Amber's doing, with bright tracers flying from one side of the room to the other and melting into the darkness which lined the walls.
Totomaru followed up with twin, spiralling streams of multicoloured flames and scowled when he saw them hit some kind of barrier barely a few metres from where he stood
There was no way the room was only 14 metres long - from the outside, the mansion was way longer than that. Julius had no doubt been in-front of him and he'd been saved from meeting a fiery end and becoming a human barbeque by Statham Gear.
"Missed." Julius sneered.
A magic bullet shot forth and Totomaru ducked, avoiding taking a shot to the forehead by a couple of inches - the magic bullet grazed through his hair instead.
"Likewise. You're a poor shot. Have you actually tried aiming" He retorted, smirking.
"You think you can mock me? Have you forgotten that you and your allies have been robbed of your sight. I'll-"
A few more gunshots rang out and Julius cried out, spitting out a variety of curses. Totomaru could've sworn he heard the sound of tomatoes exploding as they hit flesh.
Did Amber just shoot a criminal with tomatoes?
"Gah, what is this stuff? Why does it feel like... is this paint?" Julius asked, sounding incredulous.
Somewhere nearby, Amber chuckled, "Paint. I have no doubt that you're concealed by Concealment Magic despite the darkness around us. Don't worry it's not poisonous, just a marker for the others."
"You bitch," Julius spat, "I'll kill you. How did you find me? You can't even see!"
"I asked Totomaru to keep you talking. If you're going to be a stealthy murderer, then keep you mouth shut. You gave away your only advantage." Amber stated.
A multitude of flares burst into life and Totomaru saw a human-like figure covered in yellow and white paint reaching out towards him, magic flaring to life at tip of an unseen fingers as Julius, without a doubt, prepared to shoot him from point-blank range.
"DIE, Infid-"
Julius was cut off as Totomaru grabbed the outstretched finger, aiming it off target and burned it down to the bone. A knee then slammed into his throat, cutting off his oncoming scream of agony, then he watched in horror as the Phantom Lord mage unsheathed his katana and slashed him across the throat.
As the flares were snuffed out, one by one, Totomaru watched as Julius shimmered into existence and dropped to his knees, blood pouring out and staining his clothes red. Green eyes, full of panic, dimmed as the criminal fell to one side and let out one last shaky, wet breath.
"Totomaru?" Amber called over to him.
Totomaru wiped the blood off of the blade and then sheathed it, "Julius is dead, Captain."
"You're now alone, Statham Gear," Mary said, sounding gleeful, "no point in hiding from us anymore. You may as well face us directly."
"My sour man is a coward. There's no waaayyyy he faces us." Sugarboy added, whistling.
The darkness and magic power surrounding them increased in intensity, causing Totomaru's ears to pop, then the darkness retreated as it was drawn to a singular point in what turned out to be the middle of the room.
The room itself was fairly ordinary.
There was a piano, oak, red and polished, on the left side of the room and further along was a large cabinet full of a wide range of delicate and expensive looking glasses. The floor had been lined with wooden boards and there was a long dining table set along the right wall; bullet holes lining it.
Statham Gear was sat in the middle of the room, biting into the knuckles of one hand as he stared at the body of Julius Shade.
"You actually killed him." The cultist muttered.
"We did," Amber said, stepping forwards and brandishing her Adaptive Combat Pistols, "and if you don't give yourself up, then we'll do the same to you."
Statham stared at her, then glanced at Totomaru.
The dual-colour haired mage smirked and made a 'come hither' gesture.
The cultists magic power spiked in anger and Totomaru exerted his own magic power, countering the attempt to press him into submitting.
"That won't work. If you want me to cower, then you'll have to physically force me." Totomaru stated, watching as tendrils of darkness rose up and began dancing gently around Statham.
"You kill my friend and now you have the audacity to taunt me. You think I feel nothing over his death?" Statham hissed, his grey eyes becoming awash with black.
We could care less about how you feel," Mary commented, "all that matters is that you're a dog who has threatened the Zentopia Church and needs to be put down."
After giving her a critical stare that promised lots of pain and suffering, Statham bowed his head and muttered something inaudible.
A tendril of darkness lashed out a Mary, but with a flick of her Holy Tact and Command Magic, it veered off target and pierced through the floor.
Statham raised his head and snarled, "Let me show you hoiw much pain I'm in by taking out my agony on you infidels."
A mass of green ooze suddenly cascaded towards the cultist who backpedalled, clearly surprised by how quickly it moved. As it brushed against his foot, Statham tripped and fell, dropping into his own shadow and disappearing from view.
He emerged out of Mary's shadow without a sound, a sword of darkness clutched in his right hand. As he rose to his full height, Statham swung the blade as he aimed to behead the legionnaire.
The dark blade clashed against Totomaru's katana, the blade thrumming with magic power, as the Phantom Lord mage shoved Mary out of the way to intercept the strike.
"Die." Statham spat.
"After you." Totomaru retorted.
He thrust his free hand forwards and blasted Statham, point-blank, with orange and red flames. The fire washed over his form, supposedly lapping and eating away at his flesh and charring his bones, but no scream of agony came from the cultist.
Ceasing the use of his magic and letting his fire dissipate, Totomaru was surprised to see that his attack had been blocked by a wall of darkness.
Seconds later, it disintegrated, crumbling like glass, and a thin beam of darkness shot forth from Statham's finger and pierced through Totomaru's shoulder.
Grunting in pain, Totomaru stepped back and Statham lunged at him, but was forced to stop when Amber shot at him.
Darkness burst out of Statham's skin and enveloped him like a second skin, absorbing the magic bullets as the impacts caused the darkness to ripple like water under light rain.
When Amber stopped shooting, the protective shroud of darkness fell away and once more, Statham fell into his shadow as Sugarboy's ooze - Dog Whistle Magic - barrelled towards him.
Then, the cultist emerged from Sugarboy's shadow, a dense bundle of darkness magic clutched in his cupped hands.
"You, you're a pest. Darkness Storm!"
As he thrust his arms towards Sugarboy, Mary pointed Holy Tact at Statham and smirked, "Not so fast. Command Magic - First Movement."
Holy Tact pulsed with magic and then against his will, Statham spun around on the spot as his magic blasted forth. A laser-like beam of darkness shot out of Statham's hands and blasted a massive hole in the wall, the beam of magic continuing and obliterating several trees in the distance.
"Thank you, Sweet Violet. Slime Arm!"
Waving Holy Tact once more, Mary forced Statham to turn back around as an arm of slime slammed into him, eliciting a grunt from Statham as the impact sent him flying over to another part of the room.
The slime made an odd squelching noise as it hit the floor and continued to expand, creeping at a considerable pace towards Statham, who snarled as he picked himself up, and the prone, lifeless body of Julius.
"Don't you TOUCH HIM!" Statham screamed, enveloping his legs in darkness. He partially sunk into the floor and raced towards Julius, but a few shots from Amber forced to him to back off and take another route to reach his deceased friend.
Moments before he reached Julius, Statham found himself veering off in another direction as Mary briefly took control of his body once more with her Command Magic and Holy Tact, forcing him to glide through the floor and slam into a wall, the impact causing him to fully emerge.
"Stop getting antsy. I'm not going to desecrate your friend's corpse, my sour man, just protecting it until this fight is over." Sugarboy stated, winking at the cultist.
Statham didn't want to believe a word Sugarboy said, but found himself slightly at ease. Still, if the legionnaire went back on his word, then Statham would make him suffer through some of the worst tortures imaginable before killing him.
"You better, or I'll gut you like a fish."
"Oh my, that's not very spicy of you." Sugarboy replied, adopting a dance pose which allowed him to dodge a spear of darkness which would've impaled him through the legs.
"Enough with the 'spicy' talk." Totomaru snapped, directing a wave of flame towards Statham who went to counter with a technique of his own, a magic circle materializing. Unfortunately, Mary forced him to turn around, disrupting whatever spell he'd been preparing and forcing him to take the blast of multicoloured flames to the back.
The cultist hit the floor and unleashed a pair of Darkness Storms in the middle of a forward roll, striking Sugarboy with one.
Taken aback by the unexpected manoeuvre, Totomaru grunted as the other stream of darkness struck him in the chest, knocking him off his feet. It launched him with enough force for the dual-colour haired mage to be thrown across the room, coming to a halt when his back struck a wall.
This guy was a major pain in the ass, literally and figuratively. Totomaru would trade anything for a Dragon Slayer who could consume darkness and shadows.
In a Phantom Lord subdivision, located somewhere in the Kingdom of Fiore, a certain Shadow Dragon Slayer sneezed.
"Huh, that's odd. I definitely don't have a cold. Do Dragon Slayers even get colds? Perhaps someone is talking about me?"
"Fro thinks so too."
Scrambling to his feet, Totomaru watched as Statham raced over to Sugarboy and booted him in the face, the strike amplified by the mass of darkness swirling around the criminal's leg.
The Legion Corps legionnaire fell unconscious. As he fell to the floor, green ooze spurted out from his body and clothes, snagging onto Statham's leg and briefly turning a disturbing shade of black before popping loudly like a balloon.
He watched, eyes narrowed, as the cultist pulled his leg free of the rapidly disappearing ooze - narrowing avoiding getting shot through the knee by Amber - and staggered briefly, as if intoxicated.
That was new.
However, Statham didn't appear to be hurt. He was already up and fighting once more with Amber and Mary, ignoring the leg which'd briefly been enveloped by Sugarboy's Dog Whistle Magic.
Could Sugarboy's ooze absorb the magic power of others?
Was that why it had adopted a black colouration after touching the cultist?
If that was the case, then Statham had less fight in him than before. They needed to pressure him and force him into expending whatever magic power he had left so he defenceless, or take him out with one clean hit before he started getting reckless and desperate.
Totomaru rolled to one side as a stream of darkness magic shot past his head and struck the wall behind him, destroying it and sending debris everywhere.
Getting to his feet, he watched as Statham created a whip of darkness and lashed Mary's hand which held Holy Tact, forcing her to drop it and then followed up with a blow to the face, sending her sprawling to the floor.
The cultist turned as a magic bullet flew past his head and curled the whip around Amber's wrist and pulled, forcing her next shot off target.
With his free hand, he created a spear and threw it at Amber.
The Rune Knight Captain coated her forearm in magic power and knocked the incoming projectile away.
Her retaliatory shots were nullified and absorbed into the darkness magic which layered Statham's skin, then a blast of multicoloured flames from Totomaru forced him to raise a defensive wall of darkness.
When the wall fell, Totomaru noticed that Statham had disappeared from view.
Mary had gotten back to her feet, Holy Tact in hand as she sported a large bruise running down one side of her face, painting one of her cheeks red and purple.
"Totomaru, watch out!" Amber called out, just as a chill ran down the Phantom Lord mage's spine.
"Wha-" He spun around and found a fist buried in his stomach. The twenty year old mage gasped and doubled over, his breath having been knocked out of him, then found himself crashing to the floor by a ferocious kick to the face.
Before Totomaru could even think about getting back up, Statham's foot slammed into his stomach, sending him once more into a gasping and coughing fit.
"B-Bastard." The Phantom Lord mage spat, getting another kick to the abdomen for his troubles.
"Stand up, infidel."
All he could do was greedily inhale as much oxygen as possible into his deprived lungs as Statham heaved him to his feet, spun him around and wrapped an arm around his throat. Totomaru's body tensed when he felt two fingers press against his right temple.
Horrified at his predicament, he watched as Amber and Mary slowly approached.
Ooze exploded into existence around him as Sugarboy muttered something about how sour his headache was as he re-entered the state of consciousness.
As the two women approached, Statham edged backwards, forcing Totomaru to follow.
"Don't try and be a hero. I'll kill this piece of trash otherwise." Statham snarled, his hot breath washing over Totomaru's right ear.
Amber stopped, still pointing her pistols at them as she chewed on her inner cheek, clearing weighing up her options.
Mary didn't seem at all amused by the threat, but ceased her approach regardless of what she thought.
Sugarboy, who had propped himself up into a kneeling position, willed the expansion of his Dog Whistle Magic to stop a good eighteen yards away from Totomaru and Statham.
Totomaru cringed when Statham harshly jabbed his finger against his head.
"As for you," he sneered in Totomaru's ear, "if I feel you gathering magic power in an attempt to free yourself, I'll blow your brains out.
And just like that, the prospect of the Phantom Lord setting himself alight to throw the cultisit into a confused panic jumped out the window and died a miserable death.
After a moment of contemplation, Mary sighed and lowered Holy Tact, moving to check up on Sugarboy. They'd all witnessed her magic. It wouldn't work on just Statham's finger, only his entre body, and forcing him to turn around with First Movement would force Totomaru to do the same.
Granted, it would mean the cultist's back was open to the trio, but it'd also result in Totomaru receiving a fatal headshot.
"Smart girl," Statham leered, then glanced at Amber, "and what about you? What're you going to do?"
Amber remained steadfast as she glare at the criminal, "Why are you doing this?"
"For the sake of Lord Zeref and to enact the downfall of the Zentopia Church."
"And why is that? Because of the Church's so called crimes?" Amber asked.
"Which clearly don't exist. Simply nothing more than made up facts in these people's minds." Mary added, smiling arrogantly.
"They're not made up! I've seen them. Heard about them. And Master Roark will show you what they are. He has proof!" Statham cried, irritated at the disbelievers.
Totomaru chucked, despite the precarious situation he was in, "Oh, come on. You really expect us to listen to your bullshit. Especially, the two Legion Corps legionnaires?"
"They have to. They cannot stay ignorant about the crimes of the Zentopia Church. Master will-"
"I've heard enough." Amber interrupted, channelling magic power into her Adaptive Combat Pistols - Casull and Jackal.
Mary's face twisted into one of slight apprehension and Sugarboy watched in morbid anticipation.
The hold Statham had around Totomaru throat tightened, nearly cutting off his supply of air.
Totomaru himself wasn't all that worried. Despite the fact that he was a flex away from being choked out and in a position where Statham could easily kill him, he had faith that Amber would do what needed to be done in order to save him.
He inhaled and exhaled.
'Please, Amber, whatever you do, don't screw up.'
Inhaled and exhaled.
'I swear, don't screw this up.'
Inhaled and-
Twin gunshots rang out simultaneously. Totomaru cried out as one struck his shoulder, forcing him to lean to one side. He heard the other shot fly past his head and hit Statham's outstretched finger, severing it.
As he crumpled to the floor, Totomaru turned his head to see Statham reaching out towards him with a gunshot wound to the chest, darkness magic gathering at his fingertips as his face twisted into a ugly mask of rage, disbelief, fear and agonizing pain.
The sound of a third shot thundered throughout the room.
Statham's eyes went blank in an instant as the third shot struck him in the forehead, sending bits of bone and brain matter flying out the back of his head as he fell into the floor like a puppet with its string cut.
Totomaru scrambled back as the body fell by his feet, making as much space as possible between himself and the dead cultist.
He hissed as the action sent a spike of pain through him.
"H-Holy shit." He muttered, glancing over to Amber as she holstered her pistols and hurried to his side.
He grunted as she ripped off his sleeve to assess the injury, the forceful action causing another jolt of pain through his system.
"You'll be fine."
"Yeah?" Totomaru watched as she produced a bundle of gauze and stuffed into in the injury, eliciting a yelp of pain from Totomaru, then wrapped it over with some heavy duty bandages.
"Went right through. Generally, with gunshot wounds, that's the favourable scenario. Gives your surgeon less work to deal with; leaves them only with stopping blood loss and closing up the wound." Amber told him, tightening the bandages so they wouldn't fall apart at the slightest of movements.
"Good to know. Where did you learn to dress wounds?"
"In the field," Amber deadpanned as Sugarboy and Mary walked over, "do you think you can stand?"
"Only if you help me up by my uninured arm." Totomaru replied, holding out his uninjured arm.
Amber took his hand and effortlessly pulled him to his feet.
"I don't want you fighting any longer, not with an injury like that. Mary, stay here and watch over him. Make sure he doesn't run off." Amber ordered, watching as the female Legion Corps legionnaire smirked down at Totomaru who sagged.
"And me, Captain Lady?" Sugarboy inquired, posing.
"If you're feeling fit to fight, go and- GET DOWN!" Amber and Sugarboy dived to the floor as multiple spikes of black ice pierced through the ceiling - reaching down like a set of stalactites in a cave - and impaled the floor.
Totomaru forced himself to roll onto his injured shoulder, ignoring the pain that shot through him as a spike smashed into the floor where his head had been.
'The hell is going on up there?' He thought, staring at the ceiling as a heavy impact could be heard through it, shaking the mansion.
He hoped that neither of his fellow mages had just tragically died.
Mary jumped back and crouched, narrowly avoiding being run through from her head to her pelvis.
Once everything had stopped shaking and the temperature stopped falling, Amber rose to her feet and pulled Sugarboy up.
"Go and help Mr. Cracy," she told him, already heading over towards a nearby staircase, "I'll provide assistance to Coco, Lorraine and Gajeel."
Byro Cracy stared down the international criminal stood before him.
Roark Highsail stared back at the Duke of the Legion Corps who stood opposite him.
"I hope you're aware that as you have insulted my pride, you will not leave this place alive." Byro stated, toneless.
Roark scowled, "Are you going to kill me, Duke? Surely that's a joke, coming from a deeply religious man like you?"
"I don't think he's joking, Master." The woman stood next to him, Akula Garza, said, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else but here.
"Your friend is right," Byro said, confirming their thoughts, "I don't want to, but I'll take your life if you must."
"Surely you must've realized by now that declaring war on the Zentopia Church would only end badly. Clearly, you didn't think your actions through. Cause and effect. Criminals usually aren't smart people." Samuel said, landing gently on the floor.
Akula flinched, though she quickly composed herself when Roark shot her a look, when Samuel's magic power spiked.
It was unbelievable that such a small creature could give off such an incredible output of magic power. It made her own, that a mage who graduated from the Academy of Aspiring Mages had barely had any life experience, seem insignificant.
Samuel was enveloped by a veil of magic as he began to grow in size, wingspan expanding dramatically as his body became increasingly human-like, well built with highly developed muscles - the most prominent being the exposed six-pack.
His face went from cute as a kitty, in spite of the condescending scowl Samuel always wore, to that of a ferocious tiger. Wicked looking, razor-sharp claws lined the tips of Samuel's fingers, looking like they'd cause horrific injuries with just a glancing swipe.
Kanaloa, meanwhile, had expanded to a size where the top of his head was slightly flattened as it brushed against the room's ceiling.
"Before we start, deliver your evidence against the Zentopia Church," Byro spoke, fixing Roark with a glare, "speak now and forever hold your peace."
Roark chuckled and nodded, "Very well. I assume you're well caught up with the history of Fiore. Perhaps the period when the nation was overrun by demonic activity and both Crocus and Zentopia were the only 'safe havens'?"
"Yes."
"During this time, Fiore had nearly no way of fighting against the demons until a man named Mio Arius arrived at the doorstep of the Zentopia Church. You know who he really was? Zeref, the Dark Lord himself. Prior to this, he'd created a book full of demons. Initially, they were under his control, but after a while, they partially freed themselves from his control." Roark started.
Samuel growled, a deep rumbling that echoed through his chest, "Are you saying Zeref wanted to help Zentopia, just... because?"
The cult leader smiled, a cruel and empty gesture, "Perhaps. Or he'd gotten bored of the despair and hopelessness of humanity."
Byro's flitted over to Akula as she shifted uncomfortably, then looked back at Roark.
"Despite the doubts as who this disguised dark wizard was, Zentopia welcomed 'Mio' and allowed him to teach what would eventually become Devil Slayer Magic to the first members of the Legion Corps. After years of training, they stabilized the new, unholy powers and turned the tide against the demons who roamed Fiore, forcing them all to scatter and be known as the Exorcist Mages by those they had saved." Roark continued, his magic power beginning to rise.
The Duke of the Legion Corps hummed, appearing to be slightly disconcerted with the information, but refused to let anymore emotion show on his face. He wouldn't give Roark that satisfaction.
"Goodness." Samuel rumbled next to him. In his smaller form, his comment would've come out as a whisper.
"Exactly. Your great Church made a deal with the devil to destroy other demons," Roark said, grinning, "Once the dust settled, 'Mio' disappeared and Zentopia made him the Patron Saint of the Exorcist Mages. Ha, imagine that. They worship and honoured the man who nearly destroyed the country and brought Zentopia to her knees."
"How disgraceful." Akula spat, clearing putting on her best 'I'm so evil and you're intimidated by me' impression.
It was so flimsy and overacted - he'd seen theatre plays with less dramatics - that Byro would've laughed if he actually had an existing sense of humour.
As sparks of electricity leapt away from Roark's body, the cult leader cocked his head to one side, waiting for Byro's response.
"This is upsetting news and I'm aware of Mio, but I never knew who he really was," Byro started, causing Roark's grin to grow, "but my loyalty and faith in Zentopia remains unchanged. It shows me that despite Zentopia's pledge to do no deal with evil, she is willing to do what it takes to bring balance and peace to the world."
The leader of the Pergrande Satanists blinked, "That's no. No outrage? No screams of denial? Nothing?"
Byro simply shook his head.
Roark sighed, his magic power growing even more and causing bolts of electricity to leap from his body and strike the walls and floors, "Loyal to your Church, despite knowing that she willingly sinned. You truly are incorruptible."
"We'll take that as a compliment." Samuel growled.
Kanaloa made a noise of agreement.
"And I wouldn't be affiliated with Zentopia Church, much less be Duke of the Legion Corps if I was." Byro deadpanned.
A bolt of electricity leapt at his chest. Byro raised an hand and didn't even flinch as it made contact and then fizzled out of existence. Seconds later, the floor cracked as electricity coursed through it.
Samuel tensed and growled threateningly.
"Before we begin," Byro said, "there's one more 'issue' which needs to be sorted out.
"Oh? And what's that?"
The Duke of the Legion Corps simply pointed at Akula who froze like a dear caught in the blindingly bright headlights of a car speeding down a highway.
"Akula?" Roark questioned, raising an eyebrow as the woman edged away from him.
The sole female in the Pergrande Satanists met his stare, "I'd say sorry for this, but I'm really not.
Roark twitched, "What. Is. Going on?"
"I gave our location away to the Magic Council and the Zentopia Church. Without me, they would've never known that you were hiding out here. Now, I'm going to assume that you'll ask why? It's because I never believed in your ideals. All I wanted, after graduating, was to join a guild, but you happened to find me first." Akula said, readying her own magic power in-case Roark attacked.
"You've lied to me all this time? Why, I gave you a purpose. A new life!?" Roark sneered.
"No, you didn't," Akula replied, still backing away, "you ruined what life I could've had and I'll never forgive you for that."
"You- What? How many people have you killed in service to me?"
"None." Akula said, a sense of satisfaction overcoming her when Roark screamed in anger.
"HOW DARE YOU," He bellowed, a bolt of electricity leaping from his body and striking the wall next to Akula, "you ungrateful, disloyal wrench. You're dying first."
Coating his body in electrical-based magic power, Roark lunged at Akula, hoping his wrap his hands around her throat and choke her life out of her, but she fell through a rip in space which closed before he could pass though.
Coming to stop and turning, he watched as she dropped out of thin air and landed in a crouch next to Byro who spared her a brief glance.
"Are you hurt?" He asked.
Akula shook her head, "No, sir."
Byro nodded and looked back at Roark who coated his body in electricity. A powerful gust picked up, creating visible air currents which swirled around Roark like a miniature tornado as the floor beneath his feet began to shift and move about.
"All of you are dying today." Roark stated, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.
There was a crack of electricity, and in less time than it would've taken Byro to blink, Roark reappeared in-front of the Legion Corps Duke and threw a powerful, electrically-enhanced punch at his face, aiming to take his head off with one clean strike.
Roark grunted as Samuel - despite his own speed, he barely saw the damned cat move - snarled and body-checked him before the would-be fatal punch could land, knocking him away and back to where he started.
"On the contrary," Byro spoke, unfazed as if someone hadn't just tried to murder him a few seconds earlier, "The only one dying today on this floor is yourself."
A/N: And here is Chapter 23. Follow, favourite and review; tell me what you thought about Mary, Amber, Sugarboy and Totomaru vs Julius and Statham. Did I do Totomaru dirty by briefly making him a hostage?
As for the revelation and history between Zeref, Zentopia Church and Devil Slayer Magic, and Byro's casual reaction to it, full credit for the idea goes to my fellow author: Warmachine375.
Furthermore, for those who have stayed with this fic - which I thank you all for - you won't have to wait long for Lorraine's Mythic Soul: Phoenix Take Over.