Iggy walked with the three other Exceeds just behind the other wizards. Everyone remained quiet, all while the foreboding aura of Hades filled more and more of the ship. He was unmoving, stagnant, but radiating with magic power. No doubt he too was aware of their presence.
They arrived at an elevator at the end of the lonely hallway.
"This is where we must leave you," Carla said.
"We'll blow this thing sky high," Happy said.
Kai and Iggy shared a nod to one another while Lily held up his tiny sword, quite happy to be out of the rain.
The elevator dinged as Lucy approached. It was more than big enough for the six wizards. The Exceeds burst into another room, getting to work immediately with wrecking the ship. Everyone else clambered into the elevator, which, when the door closed, zoomed up. Wendy managed to just cast her motion sickness spell on the Dragon Slayers before it moved.
"We'll need to hit Hades hard and fast," Erza said. "His power is greater than Makarov's."
"He's gonna be begging for mercy," Gray said.
"I don't think he deserves Mercy," Lucy said, checking her keys.
Kai's sword glowed bright blue as everyone else prepared their magic. "We're all that's left to stop him. If we fail, he could kill everyone else on the island."
"We have to save Fairy Tail," Wendy said.
"Don't hold anything back!" Natsu exclaimed, and the elevator stopped, the door sliding open to reveal Hades.
He did not wear the silly headpiece, but of course had the overblown flowing cloak. He spread his arms.
"Welcome," was all he managed to say before Natsu burst like a missile out of the elevator right toward Hades, shooting plumes of flame from his fist that Hades blocked. Kai, Gray, and Erza followed.
Kai sliced up with his sword, cutting open the roof of the entire place as Hades effortlessly swatted his sword strike aside. Gray and Erza came in with their own blades, with Erza Requipping into the Black Wing Armor, though Hades avoided both attacks, running right into the newly arrived Taurus.
Hades ducked beneath his swing, but Kai hounded him already, almost connecting his knee to Hades' face before Hades blasted him away. Kai flipped end over end as Natsu came to engage Hades, distracting him for a moment as Wendy cast enhancements on the rest of the group. Kai felt his body lighten up.
Kai flung his sword into the wooden floorboarding and charged the magic in the sword as Natsu landed on the ground and Erza and Gray moved at incredible speed toward Hades, who used his chain magic to evade them, leaving himself seemingly wide open to Kai's spell from his sword, which landed with a direct hit.
Excellently, Natsu landed and leapt toward a stumbling Hades, with Wendy and Lucy (having cast Scorpion) launching Natsu at incredible speed in their own surprise Unison Raid. Natsu speared Hades all the way to the other side of the airship, obliterating the back section of it, part of the roof, and eradicating the elevator.
Dust and debris exploded all around them as everyone got back to their feet, Kai summoning the blade back into his hand.
"How's that for a warmup, you son of a bitch?" Kai asked.
A low, guttural laugh resounded through the open room. Nobody stiffened in fear or reacted in any real way. Scorpio and Taurus descended near Lucy to guard her while Wendy summoned wind around her to prepare her next spell.
"You have gotten quite stronger, Kai, I'll give you that." With a swipe of his arm, Hades completely wiped away the dust and debris surrounding him, standing unscathed but in a path of destruction nonetheless. "But it isn't enough. Not even close."
"Like I said, it was a warmup," Kai said.
"Stop toying with me, then," Hades said.
"With pleasure!" Gray exclaimed, and summoned forth an Ice-Make: Cannon that didn't even catch Hades's attention.
Gray launched the cannonball that Hades absorbed and fired right back at Lucy with a dark coloration to it. Taurus sliced the ball in two. Kai sprinted across the way, making one last leap toward Hades as he held his sword over his head. Hades braced himself, but Kai contorted his body halfway to throw his sword toward Erza. Hades ignored the distraction and aimed a finger-gun at Kai while holding his hand out to block Natsu's next punch.
"Ice Dragon Shield!"
The shield formed and immediately shattered to block Hades's attack as Erza swooped in with her both her blade and Kai's crossing them in an "x" at the Dark Guild Master.
Kai slammed against the ceiling as Hades easily kicked Erza away and blocked another cannon blast from Gray. He whipped his hand around, using the chain from it to launch at Gray and catch him by the arm, throwing him toward Lucy. Scorpion managed to catch Gray before he could hit Lucy.
"Left Swing Strike!" Erza exclaimed, soaring in, still in her Black Wing Armor, and slashing at Hades, who dodged each strike.
Natsu and Kai landed on either side of the Dark Wizard.
"Fire Dragon Roar!"
"Ice Dragon Roar!"
Hades absorbed both attacks and launched them back at the wizards with what would have been renewed power if the two hadn't evaded the strikes, instead allowing Hades to blow massive holes into the walls of his ship. Kai slid behind Hades as Natsu appeared in front of the wizard.
He flexed a dark aura out and aimed finger-guns at the two Dragon Slayers; however, Gray reappeared, holding twin blades in his hand. Hades glared at Gray and what was really an Ice-Make: Clone froze in place as Hades unloaded on Natsu and Kai, who flipped away but were both still hit by the bullets.
Kai bounced against the busted up back wall as Scorpio came to try and supplement Natsu and Kai but was no match for Hades, who easily destroyed him with, "Amaterasu: Formula 34!"
A cube of black magic appeared at each of Scorpio's appendages then exploded, blasting him back into the Celestial Spirit World.
Kai sighed, wiping some sweat from his brow as he surveyed the battlefield. Natsu was down, barely able to his feet, and Hades did away with Gray and Erza, leaving only Kai, Lucy, and Wendy.
Erza released her grip on Kai's katana and he summoned it back to his own hand.
"That's all Makarov has to offer?" Hades grumbled. "Even against three of his Dragon Slayers, against his little Queen, I still reign supreme. My how Fairy Tail has fallen. Once we had the four strongest wizards in the world. Now? Pathetic children thinking they can defeat me."
"What do you mean we?" Lucy shrieked.
Hades chuckled. "My name is Precht Gaebolg. And I was once the Second Guild Master of Fairy Tail. A guild that will soon be nothing but a memory in the annals of history."
"No it won't!" Kai roared, and blasted down at Hades, dodging his bullet but not the chain that stabbed him through the shoulder.
Kai clamped his hand on the chain and turned it completely to ice, comprising the magic and shattering it. Hades grinned and held an open palm to Kai.
Wendy, however, had something to say about that: "Sky Dragon Roar!"
Hades was buffeted by the attack, surprising him for a moment as Kai sprinted forward. He threw his shoulder into Hades and the Guild Master caught him.
"Fool."
"I know, right?"
A cowbell rang out mere moments before Taurus leapt up and sliced down on Hades, ripping through his arm and using enough strength to push Kai to his knees as well, but he surged magic out and blasted Hades away.
The old man flipped end over end until he at last landed on his gut. Kai pushed himself to his feet. Hades raised his head, snarling and chuckling. A dark purple aura appeared around him, and with a dark flash, new clothes appeared around him, and he got back up with hardly a scratch on him.
"Sneaky tactics may have been your only hope of defeating me," he said, holding his hands out. "Since you certainly don't have the power to defeat me on your own! Amaterasu: Formula 44!"
Four magic seals appeared at various points around the airship, each of them aimed the disparate members of Fairy Tail: Lucy, Wendy, Kai, and the mangled clump of Erza, Gray, and Natsu. In a flash, beams of crackling magic fired from all of them.
Horolgium appeared at once around Lucy while Kai was able to flick a shield around Wendy and Gray defended his fallen comrades with barely any magic, leaving Kai as the only one to take what would have been a direct hit if he didn't side-step some of it and leave his arm prone, getting it scorched by dark magic.
Kai faltered to the side as Hades roared in laughter. Lucy, still having taken damage within a broken Horolgium, slumped to the ground and Wendy was on her knees as well. Kai remained on his feet, holding his sword in his good hand.
"And then there's you, my failed prodigy," Hades said, pointing another finger-gun at Kai. Kai glared at Hades, feeling a tugging in his body that he recognized and feared. His power. The real power of a Dragon Slayer, that which came out against Jose, which he'd been able to suppress against Laxus thanks to its brief use.
It was their last chance. Their last hope.
Kai stole a look toward Erza, who definitely saw the fear in his eyes. She pushed from being prone to her elbows, and, with a faint gasp said,
"Get him."
The entire room froze over in an instant, though Hades had a strong enough aura to block it. He raised his head as a blue aura exploded around Kai and his body transformed from just a human to a Dragon Slayer coated in thick ice with powerful frozen wings stretching out and sharp ice covering his blade.
Kai had no words, but he could roar, and he did so, shooting at Hades with incredible speed, slamming into him as Hades tried to hold him back. The Dark Wizard managed to just push Kai back with a blast but Kai rounded on him and kicked Hades clear in the face.
Hades snarled and Kai slashed down his chest, then once more as Hades stabbed him through the shoulder—Kai's useless, bad one—with a chain. Kai ignored the pain and the tug Hades gave his body as he unleashed hell in the form of an Ice Dragon Roar point black.
Hades mostly managed to avoid it, though got his ear completely frozen as a result, and the roof of the airship completely blew off. Kai roared once more, unaware of his actions, only aware that each strike carried with it immense force and hatred.
Yet still Hades was relentless in his counterattack: for each blow Kai dealt, Hades hit him back just as hard. And Grimoire Heart's Master smiled with each attack.
"Fight me with all your might and watch your final ounces of hope die off!" Hades yelled. "You could have been something under my power, but you are nothing now!"
Kai landed an Ice Dragon Talon against Hades's chest, bringing the wizard down, but it was at the cost of a great burst of Amaterasu Magic to the chest, shattering the protective Ice around him and snapping Kai out of his magic. He slid back, almost falling to his knees.
Hades got to his knee, sagging a few breaths while his dark aura appeared once more.
"I will never lose to Makarov," Hades said. "Nor his pathetic children."
Kai was all that remained. Everyone else tried to get up but, Kai noticed, had small chains attached to them. Kai's eyes fell upon Gray.
And he knew what he had to do.
He sighed, staring down the seemingly immortal, unbeatable Hades. If he defeated this group, he would slaughter everyone else. He would destroy Fairy Tail's home as they had already tried. Kai balled his fists.
"Erza," Kai said. "Take up my sword and use it to kill Acnologia one day."
"What?" she asked.
Ice formed around Kai's skin once more as he spread his legs and held his arms above his head. Flakes of snow fell from his eyes where tears would have been had they not frozen over already.
"Hades won't go down," Kai said. "Not with just power. Someone has to defeat him giving it their all."
Kai flinched at the karma of the situation. He'd once abandoned Fairy Tail for this heinous man. Now, he had to save Fairy Tail from him. He swung his arms down and Gray yelled at Kai to stop as Kai uttered,
"Iced Shell."
Flakes of ice formed around Hades as well as his eyes widened. "W—what? You fool! That spell will—"
"Save my family!" Kai shouted. "It will save Fairy Tail, and end you once and for all! You made a mistake challenging us, challenging me! Now, die!"
Just as Kai surged his magic, Hades barked a laugh. "I should think not, young Dragon Slayer! Amaterasu: Formula 1."
A single seal formed beneath Kai that laced dark lightning through his body, completely stunning him and breaking the spell. Hades turned his hand to a finger-gun one last time and shot a bullet of magic right into Kai's chest, sucking the air from his lungs and sending him toppling over.
"I thought as much."
Kai lay prone on the ground, staring up the grey, dark clouds above as Hades sauntered over toward him, smiling down at him.
"You would have done well among my guild," Hades said. "You have the power of my Sins. But not the power of a devil."
He trained another bullet on Kai. Kai grit his teeth, holding his hand out for his sword, but he didn't need it.
The skies flashed overhead for a moment before an arc of lighting blasted Hades far back and another massive figure took his place. Kai pushed up to his elbows.
"The hell do you think you're doing?"
Laxus Dreyar stepped forward, lightning arcing off his magnificent magic aura.
"The grandson," Hades growled, and straightened out. "Still that same annoying brat, huh?"
"Didn't expect to see you here at all, old man," Laxus said. "Came here to see my ancestors and pay respects."
"Yuri deserves better than your respect," Hades said.
"And my guild deserved better than you as a Guild Master," Laxus said. "Guess it's a win-some, lose-some, eh?"
"Coming back here means you're willing to lose it all, Laxus. You've come at a bad time."
"I can tell. So let's bring this party to an end. Get the hell off the island and never come back and I won't have to kick your old ass."
Hades grunted. "Even you won't compare to me, Laxus. Trust me."
"Let's just find out!"
Laxus charged headfirst toward Hades while Kai slumped back against the ground, but an odd warm, soothing sensation washed over him: healing magic. And there was music now? He turned his head toward the source of the music while Hades and Laxus duked it out.
Natsu managed to get to his feet, revealing the hidden and cowering form of Lyra, one of Lucy's Celestial Spirits, behind him.
"I have to help him," Natsu said, still weak. Kai's strength was returning much faster than the others, who all had experienced extensive damage in the battles against the Sins.
"We need to attack him together," Erza urged. "That's the only way we can win!"
"You still think we have a chance?" Wendy asked meekly.
"There's always hope." Erza turned to Kai.
At once, he understood. She held some embers of anger toward him in her eye, but only because he was willing to do what he'd always tried to do: fight alone.
When, each fight he'd won, each fight he had a chance in, he did so fighting with an ally. He and Erza defeated Jellal. He, Natsu, and Gajeel defeated Laxus. He and Erza defeated Reaper and Nightwalker.
And now, he had to stand with Fairy Tail against Hades. Before, he succumbed to the old wizard's power. And he'd been alone.
Hades's sudden laughter caught their attention as Laxus slid back, haggard already. Hades landed, grimacing at the sight of Laxus.
"Pathetic," he said, preparing another attack. "A shame that I must kill of Yuri's own this day, but it is to ensure that true magic returns to the world!"
Laxus grinned, holding a hand aloft. "Yeah…you ain't winning today!"
"Grimoire Ray!"
Everything happened so fast that Kai barely registered what happened: as Hades's attack collided with Laxus and he flew back, lightning arced across the room and struck Natsu, momentarily stunning everyone until a massive gulping sound echoed around the chamber and Natsu alone stood, his aura of fire wreathed with leaping lightning.
"The hell?" Gray muttered.
"Laxus…" Natsu said. "Why…why give me your power? I'm weaker than you!"
"Strong…weak…doesn't matter," Laxus braced against the far wall as Hades crossed his arms. "What matters is he attacked Fairy Tail and someone still needs to do something about it."
Kai balled a fist, but was too slow to move with Natsu, who now basically had Laxus's speed, and completely surprised Hades as he slammed a lightning-flame fist into his face.
"You're damn right!" Natsu exclaimed. Hades rounded back, throwing up a defense that Natsu was able to get through.
Hades retaliated with another Grimoire Ray that Natsu swatted aside, his power going absolutely nuts. He punched Hades hard in the gut and then ripped into him with two lightning-flame talons that sent Hades spiraling away.
"Excellent, Dragon Slayer, excellent!"
The Dark Wizard bounced away from one of Natsu's next attacks, but left himself open in the air for Natsu to unleash all his power,
"Fire Lightning Dragon Roar!"
The blast absolutely consumed Hades and the entire back-half of the airship, cleaving through much of the island, too.
Natsu landed and Lucy sprinted over to him. Everyone else managed to get to their feet as well, mostly healed thanks to Lyra, who had returned to the Celestial Spirit World thanks to Lucy's limited magic.
Lucy helped Natsu get back to his feet.
"Thanks," he muttered. "I…I don't even know if I can stand anymore."
"You did it, pal," Gray said, clapping Natsu on the shoulder. "With some lightning flame magic?"
"Pretty awesome," Kai said. "I didn't even know Dragon Slayers could fuse types."
"Me neither, and I doubt Laxus did, too," Natsu said, barely able to get the words out. "Just more of that Fairy Tail luck, right?"
"Wrong."
The word sent a chill through everyone as shadow enveloped the entire area. Kai recognized it, and since they were surrounded, none of them had anywhere to go.
"Amaterasu: Formula 100."
The sphere around them rippled, collapsed, and at once exploded, shredding through all of them with ethereal power, reducing Kai's mind to nothing but pain and rending his entire body useless as he fell face-first to the ground.
Purple smoke rose all around them. His sword clattered to the ground next to him. Nobody moved.
"You pushed me all far beyond the limit I expected you to," Hades said, unscathed once more from the attack. He touched down on the ground. "And though it would be simple to finish you all off and be done with it, that's not the game I wish to play. I wish to show you the depths of your failure, to bear witness to the insurmountable power you all challenged."
Kai closed his eyes, summoning only enough strength to get to his elbows. When he glared back up at Hades again, his entire body feeling like lead, Hades removed his eyepatch, revealing beneath it a glowing red eye. Darkness blossomed behind him as Hades held his arms out.
"Witness, now, the purest form of darkness!"
Shadow tendrils sprouted from the debris all around Hades. Figures congealed together; many demons with multiple limbs and glowing red eyes stood around Hades, each with their own incredible amounts of power.
"Soon Zeref will discover the Magic of One," Hades said. "A Grand Magic World will grow from our actions, and the world will never be the same again."
"My…mother used to tell me about that," Lucy muttered.
"Good, and soon you shall meet her," Hades said. "Gaze now, you pathetic runts, into the Abyss of Magic! Know true terror!"
Kai did so, just raising his head to watch as even more demons appeared and the entire building shook with almighty power far surpassing his own. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
Someone, though, got to a knee near him: Natsu.
"Yeah, that's it?" Natsu groaned.
"Stay down," Lucy said.
"Why, because I'm afraid?" Natsu asked, and Kai noticed how much he was shaking. "Fear isn't a bad thing. I used to think it made you weaker, but fear is what keeps you alive. Fear helps us learn about how we're weak now, but can always grow to be stronger!"
Hades grunted a laugh. "A ridiculous sentiment, but at least one honest to the creed of Fairy Tail."
"Don't you dare pretend like you're a part of our guild." Kai spat and pushed himself up as well. Hades tsk, tsk'd at him and the demons all gurgled their own laugh. Hades flicked his wrist and the power knocked Natsu back onto the ground.
"It is impressive that you should still stand," Hades said. His hair all stood up, his beard sharpened, and his cloak had returned. He definitely resembled more what Kai remembered of him from their encounter near Clover Town. "I could also be generous and give you one last chance, Kai Hope, to join me."
"Enough with that."
Kai held his hand out. Hades laughed and flicked his own wrist to summon the sword to him, but it stopped just in front of Hades.
The Ice Dragon Slayer rose to his feet, hand out, holding the blade in place. Hades leered at him.
"Persistence is the birth of ignorance," Hades said.
"Great," Kai said. "I'll be ignorant of the fact you think you're honestly going to walk away from here before we kick your ass."
"Need I remind you of what just happened?"
"Need I remind you who else is still standing, Hades?" Kai's hand strained as Hades also tried to pull the sword closer. The blade quivered. Hades snarled and the demons moved toward Kai.
"You'd die over a sword?"
"I'd die for Fairy Tail, but I'm not dying today. You won't kill me. You ripped me away from my family once, something I'll always regret, but something I have the chance, right now, to rectify. Because I don't stand alone."
Natsu got up behind Kai. Wendy followed, and faint lights glowed around the others.
"You'll be the first to die, Sky Dragon Slayer," Hades grumbled.
The sword stiffened between them, the ice gems in the blade glistening as Kai regained control of it momentarily.
"Don't threaten her," Kai said.
"You don't have the power to do anything about it, boy. Your magic wasn't good enough before and I've summoned forth more magic than you'll ever attain in your life. What makes you think you even have a chance."
"It's not my life on the line," Kai said. "It's not just me, Precht, but it is just you! Those demons, that fear your trying to put in us? It's what got us back up! It's the reason we have to keep on fighting: so we can protect people we love from them."
"You aren't always going to be strong enough."
"And we'll never know unless we try."
"Giving up because you know you'll lose is one thing," Natsu said, and small wisps of flame coated his fist. "But I know I won't lose this time. Not with my friends around me."
"We haven't lost," Gray said.
"We won't," Erza said.
"How are you all so naïve?" Hades cried, and the sword ripped out of his grasp at once. Kai snagged it out of the air.
"We're not naïve," Kai said. "We're Fairy Tail."
The sword glowed a bright blue as Lucy and Gray too got up to stand against Hades. The demons all faded around him as the ship rocked beneath their feet and Hades grit his teeth in a not-so-subtle rage.
"The Devil's Heart has been destroyed?" Hades shouted.
"Fairy Tail!" Erza roared. "Give him everything you've got right here, right now!"
Everyone's aura burst around them—Lucy cracking her Celestial Whip—and they all burst forward, Kai and Natsu intertwining to create a cloud of steam in front of Hades, who blasted through it with an Amaterasu as Gray swooped in with an Ice-Make Hammer and slammed him in the side. Hades blasted him away. Erza flipped over him and kicked Hades away from a fast-moving Wendy.
"Kai!" Natsu shouted, catching the boy's attention. "Let's get him!"
Both flipped end-over-end, stopped, and once more moved in unison at Hades, dodging his initial strikes as they both swung an ice and fire fist at Hades, connecting.
Hades leapt into the air, holding his arms out. "My source of power may be gone but I still have power within! I still have the Grimoire Law!"
The Dark Wizard put his hands together, but Lucy whipped up his arm and yanked it away.
"Don't let him cast that spell or we're all doomed!" Erza shouted.
Kai leapt in the air to match Hades, not willing to risk shooting a large blast of magic. Instead, he slapped some ice on Hades's other hand as Hades punched Kai back to the ground. He bounced, rolling back as Natsu took his place.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Lightning Blade!"
"I don't think so!" Hades roared back as Natsu took to the sky, his spell charging up. "Grimoire Ray!"
The ray shot right through Natsu's spell and blasted Natsu back. Gray quickly created a net for Natsu. Hades dropped to the ground with a resounding thud and dashed at Wendy.
"Sky Dragon Roar!"
The blast hit Hades square on, deflecting him toward Gray.
"Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur!"
Hades deflected Gray's attack, just barely, and the two drew to a standstill, giving Kai and Erza the perfect opening to swoop in and delivering punishing blows to Hades, but the old man smiled.
"Thank you," he muttered, and the ground glowed beneath them.
None of them evaded the attack that send them all blasting away. Hades returned his attention to Lucy and Wendy, who stood alone, but stood strong. Kai slid back, stabbing his sword in the ground.
Hades was still just too crafty, and they were all about to be out of magic. What the hell could they do to stop this guy? Kai grit his teeth as Hades closed in on the girls. Wendy side-stepped Hades's attack as Lucy cracked the whip around his leg and pulled down, Wendy slamming him with another spell. Hades swiped out and struck them both.
"I'm ending this now, Fairy Tail!" he roared, putting his hands together once more. "Grimoire-!"
KRATHOOM!
From the heavens above, a lightning bolt struck down and blasted Hades back, Laxus's body forming in the residual magic.
"That's it!" Kai shouted. "Laxus, cast Fairy Law on Hades, now!"
Laxus didn't even blink, he just folded his hands together and a small light formed. But Hades recovered fast, and had a direct line to Laxus.
So Fairy Tail acted, and defended their own.
As Hades charged, the rest of the fighters fell in line. Gray threw up a wall that was quickly smashed through and Hades flung him aside. Wendy and Lucy tried to restrain him but he barreled through them.
The light grew behind Erza, Natsu, and Kai, all that remained to save Erza. Kai summoned forth all of his magic and cast, "Ice Dragon Roar!"
"Grimoire Ray!"
The two beams collided and exploded but Hades still moved through it, impossibly strong, likely using the last of his own magic.
Hades slammed into Kai, Erza, and Natsu, who could only use their physical strength to hold him back.
"You're mine, Laxus!" Hades shouted, but the light had reached its apex and everything still around them.
"For Makarov," Laxus muttered, then, with a great bellow, "Fairy Law!"
The brilliant golden engulfed the entire airship and for a moment, a calming warmth washed over Kai. An image flashed in his mind, of a young woman with long blonde hair in a white dress sitting atop the Tenrou Tree, before the world at once returned to him and he slumped to the ground with Erza.
Hades stood, frozen, completely pale. His mouth dropped. His clothes were devoid of darkness—instead, they'd turned a petrifying white.
"M—Mavis," he muttered before falling back, eyes shut, immobile.
Kai dropped his head to the ground as Natsu, instead, threw his arms up.
"We did it!"
And his voice echoed around the island. The battle was over. Hades was defeated. Under the sun at last poking through the storm clouds above, Fairy Tail had defended their sacred home.