Chapter 170

A Fight Unhinged.

Willy snarled and glared at Mira as she continued to keep a firm hold of his wrist, while she gazed back at him, not backing down. Then, she threw Willy's hand away enough to send him flying back a few feet, forcing him to backflip midair and land on the ground in a crouch.

"Are you two all right?" Mira asked Lucy and Happy.

"We're fine, thanks to you," replied the blue exceed. "Way to make the save, Mira!"

At that moment, two other familiar voices were heard.

"Looks like things have gotten even more troublesome."

"Why is it that every time that we're separated as a group, Salamander and his team always ends up with the crazy opponent, hogging all the fun?"

Then, Gajeel and Erza arrived, appearing on either side of Mira, much to Lucy and Happy's delight.

"All right! Erza and Gajeel are here, too!" cheered Happy.

"Hey, Salamander. Do you usually like getting beaten up so we can save your ass, or are you just holding back?" Gajeel teased.

"Oh, shut up," Natsu huffed with a smile. "I'm just getting my second wind, that's all!"

Elfman grunted as he looked up, and was happy to see them too. "B-Big Sis... you're here," he weakly spoke. "Am I happy to see you. How did you find us?"

"Warren tipped us off through his telepathy," said Mira. "He then sent Gajeel, Mira, and myself over here for backup." She looked across to Willy. "So, it's happened again. Willy's under the control of a spell, and I take it this Silver Beard fellow's the one pulling the strings?"

Silver Beard stared at the three. Then when his eyes fell upon Mira, his mood soon changed, his face twisting into disgust and spite as he glared.

"So, it's you again. The wench known as the She-Devil," he spat. "You always were the one to stick your nose where it didn't belong. I swear, just looking at you infuriates me. And not just you, but every last one of you Fairy Tail fools."

"Whoa, what's going on with him?" wondered Lucy. "He's acting differently than before."

"Lucy, are you and the others all right?" asked Erza.

"Well, Natsu, Happy, Elfman, and I are a little banged up, but we're fine," said Lucy. "But Coco and Lisanna are in pretty rough shape. They might need medical attention."

"In that case, you and the others need to get out of here while you still can," said Erza. "Wendy should be able to treat their injuries. We'll stay behind and take care of Willy."

"Hold on! I ain't going anywhere!" barked Natsu. "I can still fight!"

"That goes for me too!" said Elfman. "A real man never runs away from a fight!"

"Would you two stop being morons and think for a minute?" barked Gajeel. "Most of your group is either too beaten up or weak to fight, and everyone else outside is busy taking out those chains. Not to mention that despite being controlled, Water Boy ain't playing around. If you guys end up staying, then things are gonna get even more complicated around here."

"Gajeel's right, especially since we have so many injured," said Erza. "Please understand, Natsu, we're only telling you this because the others will only get in the way, and will need someone to protect them, and take them to safety."

"I hate to say it, but she's got a point," said Lucy. "If we stay here, that Silver Beard guy will probably get Willy to attack us." She then leaned down and lifted Coco, looping her arm around her shoulder as she looked at Elfman. "I'll carry Coco. Elfman, you get Lisanna."

The middle Straus sibling was reluctant, but he answered with a nod as he went over to his sister, lifting her gently into his arms with his claws. Then, while each carried an injured person, they took off, leaving the area.

"Come on, Natsu. We should get going," urged Happy. "Let's go."

But Natsu was still insistent on staying. "I'm not going anywhere! Not until I help Willy!" he snarled. "And I'll beat the snot out of that old guy, too!"

"Natsu, this isn't the time to be stubborn," said Erza. "You need to go with the others."

"And I said I ain't leaving!" Natsu argued.

"Listen, Natsu. That isn't the same Willy that you remember," Mira spoke, her eyes never leaving Willy. "He may be under a spell, but he still going to come at us with the intent to kill. As far as I can tell, that's an enemy. He's not even a member of Fairy Tail anymore. We can't afford to pull our punches; otherwise, we won't be able to protect our guild as well as the town of Magnolia."

Everyone looked at Mira, a bit surprised.

"Mira, you don't really mean that do you?" Natsu asked. "I know you and Willy had some issues going on, but he's our friend!"

"This isn't about what happened with Willy and me before," Mira interrupted. "The only thing that I'm focusing on is protecting our guild as well as the lives of innocent people. If you don't have the resolve to fight Willy, then you're better off staying out of this fight. But, if you want to stay and fight, that's fine, however, you have to give it everything you got. No holding back."

Natsu was silent for a brief few seconds as he stared at Mira, and then looked back at Willy. Then he clenched his fists while steeling his nerves.

"Happy, you go with the others, and tell them I'll catch up with them later," the fire dragon slayer said. "And make sure that Coco and Lisanna get to Wendy as soon as they can."

The blue exceed could see that Natsu's mind was made up, so he couldn't talk him out of leaving. "All right then," said Happy. "Be careful."

He then flew away. Natsu then stood with Mira, Gajeel, and Erza, his fists burning with the fires of determination.

"No matter what you guys say, I'm staying," the fire dragon spoke quietly. "I ain't leaving without Willy, and before I beat the snot out of that bastard for what he did to him. And it doesn't matter if he quit Fairy Tail or not. He's still a part of our family. If one of us is in trouble or hurting, I ain't gonna stand by and let 'em suffer. And right now, Willy's suffering, so I have to help him. Besides, all we need to do is take out that Silver Beard guy. If we do, then he won't control Willy anymore."

"At least that's a plan," said Gajeel with a smirk. "Sounds good to me. I've wanted a piece of that old guy anyway."

Erza then spoke to Mira, so only she could hear her. "Are you up for this, Mira?" she asked. "We are facing a challenging adversary. If you want, I can have you switch with Natsu or Gajeel."

Mira looked across to Erza, and gave her a wink and a smile. "There's no need to worry about me," she said. "I'll be fine. I'm a bit tired, but I'm more than ready to fight. Besides, I wouldn't mind letting out a little bit of steam right now."

Erza wasn't sure, but she decided to trust Mira's judgment. "All right then. Natsu and Gajeel will attack Silver Beard, while Mira and I fight Willy. If one pair fights one opponent, then we should have a chance of victory.

"Have you all finished strategizing?" Silver Beard huffed. "Because I want to continue the experiment sometime today." He looked over to Mira. "I hope you've said your piece, girl, because neither you nor your friends are leaving this place alive, and I sure won't be satisfied otherwise."

"Looks like that old guy's got a problem with you, Mira," said Natsu. "Did you do something to him to make you hate you so much?"

"Search me," said Mira. "Can't say that the feeling's mutual, though. Anyway, get ready to fight, you guys."

As everyone got ready, taking their stances to fight, Willy snarled, seeing that he had new opponents to fight, as Silver Beard gave the order.

"Now, my subject, your opponents are those fools before you. Make sure that you dispose of them. Kill them without mercy, and bring me the head of the wench."

With a snap of his fingers, Willy let out a roar as he shot towards the four, and swung his fists of ooze, making them extended. As everyone scattered, avoiding them, Erza, requipping to her Sea Empress armor, and Mira both went straight for Willy, while Natsu and Gajeel went for Silver Beard. But before the two could even attack him, Willy rebounded, and shot towards them, turning the ooze in his hand into a large tendril and whipped Natsu smack on the hip, sending him crashing into Gajeel, making the two fall to the ground in a heap.

"What's the big idea, Salamander?!" snapped Gajeel. "You trying to pick a fight with me!?"

"Hey! It's not my fault!" barked Natsu. "Blame Willy, not me!"

Erza swung her blade with a cry aiming right for Willy's neck, but he was quick to counter by changing his ooze into blades and made an X with them, blocking her. The two swung their blades at each other, the sound of rapid metal clangs ringing in the air. Mira came flying in with her Suppression Arts, dark magic radiating in her hands. Sensing her coming, Willy kicked jumped away from Erza, and countered Mira with a fist of his own. The two attacked each other with fists ablaze with their powers, using their speed and power to land a blow.

Erza then jumped in, rejoining the fight, and swung her blade at Willy's back to catch him off guard, but when her blade struck, a bladed tendril shot out and blocked the blade. The redhead was surprised, but pressed the attack along with Mira as the two punched and slashed while Willy defended and parried their blows. Seeing that he was distracted, Natsu and Gajeel both went for Silver Beard again, Natsu igniting his hands with fire while Gajeel turned his arm into a giant club.

"FIRE DRAGON: WING ATTACK!"

"IRON DRAGON: SPEAR! DEMON LOGS!"

The Fire Dragon Slayer unleashed a powerful shockwave made of fire streams, while the Iron Dragon Slayer fired an array of iron spears. But before the attacks could hit Silver Beard, Willy broke away from Mira and Erza, and launched himself in the line of fire, and with a mighty slam of his fists to the ground, a wall of black liquid erupted from the ground, blocking the attacks. Then he jumped straight through it, flying towards them, and bashed them each with a lariat folding them both, and using the ooze to make large fists, punched both of them at the same time, while making them extend slightly.

"Damn it. This is getting annoying," complained Gajeel as he landed on the ground. "How are we supposed to knock out the old geezer if Water Boy keeps getting in the way?"

"You can't," said Silver Beard. "No matter how much you try to get to me, my subject will defend and obey me. I don't even have to lift a finger."

"You coward! Stop making others fight your battles for you, and fight!" Natsu barked indignantly. "What, you scared to take a punch?!"

"Your insults mean nothing to me," scoffed Silver Beard. "All that matters to me is my adoring subject, and my project. Then again, you always did like to hear yourself bark like the dog you are, Salamander."

"What'd you say?!" snapped Natsu angrily. "Say that to my face!"

He pounced straight towards Silver Beard, swinging a fist, but Willy immediately appeared and barred his way, countering with a punch of his own, the collision creating a powerful shockwave. As the two recoiled back, Gajeel managed to catch Natsu while Willy stood his ground standing in front of Silver Beard.

"We're not getting anywhere if we keep doing this," Erza huffed. "Every time we try to go Silver Beard, Willy keeps blocking our path and defending him."

"Then there's only one we can do if we want to take him down," said Mira. "The four of us are going to have to take down Willy first."

Everyone looked back at her.

"Whoa, that's pretty hardcore, girly, even for you," commented Gajeel.

"Listen, we only need to incapacitate him," explained Mira. "As long as Willy's under Silver Beard's control, he's going to keep protecting him. But if we attack him to the point where he's unable to fight anymore, then he shouldn't be a problem."

"Attack him to the point of not moving, eh?" repeated Gajeel. "That ain't gonna be easy, but if you need to stop him from moving, then I think my iron can do something about that. You up for it, Salamander?"

"Like you need to ask," Natsu spoke while cracking his knuckles.

"Then we all agree," said Erza. "Everyone attack Willy at once! Strike him, and don't hold back even for a moment! Got that?!"

"Right!" yelled out Natsu, Gajeel, and Mira.

Willy growled as he glared at the four while turning the ooze in his hands into tendrils, and flung them forward. Erza quickly requipped to her Black Wing Armor while Gajeel morphed his hand into a sword. Both of them cut the tendrils with their swords preventing them from doing any damage. Mira and Natsu shot toward Willy at incredible speeds, Natsu igniting his fist with flames, while Mira cloaked his claw with Darkness Magic. Both of them swung, and each clocked Willy square in the stomach, sending him skidding back.

Willy snarled as he tried to counter, but Natsu and Mira were already on top of him as they attacked him again.

"EVIL EXPLOSION!"

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

Mira unleashed a powerful beam of darkness, while Natsu unleashed a mighty torrent of flames from his mouth, both attacks exploding in a mix of orange and violet upon hitting Willy. As Willy was blown back, Erza quickly reequipped to her Lightning Empress Armor, and aimed with her spear as it sparked and crackled with blue lightning. With a mighty yell, she fired a powerful blue beam directly into Willy's back, making him scream in pain as he convulsed from the attack. Gajeel then attacked next, covering his skin with iron and morphing his leg into a spiked club.

"IRON DRAGON SPIKED CLUB!"

The Iron Dragon Slayer gave Willy a mighty kick to his stomach with his iron leg, the blow sending Willy slamming to the ground on his back, enough to make the ground crumble. As Willy got up from the crater, shaking the feeling of being stunned from his head, Mira and Erza stood on each side of him, and Mira began gathering magic in the form of a black orb, while Erza requipped to her Heaven's Wheel Armor.

"SOUL EXTINCTOR!"

"HEAVEN'S WHEEL! CIRCLE SWORD!"

Mira unleashed another devastating blast, while a circle of swords danced forth around Erza as they shot forward at her command. The swords and the blast all connected, forcing Willy to cross his arms to defend. However, that didn't stop him from taking heavy damage from the attacks.

"Salamander! It's all you!" yelled out Gajeel. "Knock him out!"

Natsu let out a roar in response as he charged straight at Willy, his fists burning brightly.

"FLAME LOTUS: FIRE DRAGON'S FIST! ! !"

As Willy uncrossed his arms, not reacting in time, Natsu attacked with a continuous and devastating barrage of punches. Each blow produced a powerful explosion while slowly making Willy rise from the ground as he took them. Natsu punched and swung with all of his might and strength, and then finished the assault with a mighty punch right on Willy's cheek, creating another mighty explosion of fire that sent Willy flying and crashing into the wall, making the entire room shake. Rubble fell everywhere.

Silver Beard's eyes narrowed. "I miscalculated. I didn't expect you people to overwhelm my subject," he said. "It would seem that I underestimated you as well as my subject. Perhaps this is about as high as he can go even with the toxin."

"That's right! Now it's your turn, buddy!" Natsu snarled with a puff of his nose. "Now that we don't have to worry about Willy, it's time you get your beating! So get ready!"

"Oh, did you think that it was over?" wondered Silver Beard. "Then, you'd better take a closer look because the experiment is just getting started."

The others refocused their attention on Silver Beard, preparing to attack. At that moment, Willy's unconscious body began to stir as he struggled to his feet, his body covered with bruises and scratches, and his limbs trembling like leaves as he managed to plant one foot to hold himself up. After a few seconds, he managed to stand upright; his arms draped as he leaned forward. As Natsu and the others were turned toward him in surprise, Willy's body began to radiate in an ominous black aura as his fists clenched tightly at their sides. His eyes then snapped open, now glowing in a brighter green than before, and more anger twisting his face. In response to his aura growing more intense, the ground began to break apart and float away as it also trembled slightly.

"What the hell?" murmured Gajeel in shock. "How the hell could he have gotten up from all of that?!"

"And his magic power... It's increasing!" Erza gasped. "How is this even possible?!"

Willy then let out a bellowing roar as his aura exploded into an erupting black flame with blue tinges. Then, he lunged straight towards them and swung with a fist, causing everyone to scatter to dodge, as the ground crumbled from the impact. Gajeel rebounded on the rocky wall, and pounced while transforming his first into an iron club and swung. This time, Willy reacted in time by tilting his head to the right, the club narrowly missing his cheek, and threw a powerful punch straight into Gajeel's stomach. Upon impact, the iron that covered Gajeel's skin began to crack and crumble. Willy then attacked Gajeel with a series and powerful and rapid blows and finished with a hard kick to the jaw sending the Iron Dragon Slayer crashing into the wall. The Iron Dragon Slayer was now littered with bruises and welts, the armor that protected it nothing but little pieces.

"Gajeel!" cried Erza.

"He punched straight through his Iron Scales like it was nothing!" Natsu gasped in disbelief.

Mira then swooped straight towards Willy, and unleashed another Evil Explosion spell. However, Willy shot straight towards Mira cutting straight through the attack, and gave her a powerful kick to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and then bashed her cheek with a punch sending her flying into a boulder. As Willy attempted to finish Mira next, Erza cut him off, protecting her, requipping into her Clear Heart Clothing.

"NOW, COME FORTH, DEMON BLADE BENIZAKURA!"

At her command, a large katana appeared in her hands, and while putting her magic power into it, went on the attack shooting straight towards Willy. In response, Willy morphed his hands into blades and charged as well. The two relentlessly swung their blades at each other, each slice filled with power and speed.

"Very well done, my subject," congratulated Silver Beard. "Now then, I think that the wench should go next, so now, take her down next."

But instead of doing as he was ordered, Willy continued attacking Erza, slicing his blades right at the redhead's neck, forcing her to lean back, barely dodging them. A hint of surprise crossed Silver Beard's face as he snapped his fingers to issue the command, but Willy kept on attacking Erza, seeming to ignore him. Natsu unleashed a breath attack trying to defend her, but Willy jumped back to avoid the flames, and gunned straight toward

0's him, morphing his ooze into giant fists.

"He's not responding to my commands," Silver Beard thought. "That's isn't supposed to happen. However, his power has risen drastically, perhaps in response to his anger. I suppose this is what it means when you see someone blinded by rage."

Willy relentlessly continued to attack Natsu swinging his fists like giant mails, while he tried to dodge his attacks. Erza then jumped back into the fray, swinging her blade, but Willy avoided the attack with a sidestep and countered with a series of rapid kicks, forcing the redhead to go on the defensive. Hoping to take advantage, Natsu swooped in and tried to hit him with a flame-coated kick, but Willy quickly whipped around, grabbed Natsu by his leg before it could hit him, and threw him over his shoulder right into Erza, knocking them both to the ground.

As Natsu and Erza tried to get up, Willy made the ooze on his hands morph into giant claws and, while making them extend, shot them forward and grabbed both by their necks, squeezing hard. Both of them struggled as they tried to get free, but Willy held them tight. Mira then pulled herself back to her feet, her Satan Soul undone, and when she saw Natsu and Erza were in trouble. She tried to use her Satan Soul to get back into the fight, but when she did, a wave of vertigo hit her like a magic mobile, making her fall to her knees.

"N-No! Not now!" Mira grunted weakly. "I can't be out of magic!"

All Mira could do was watch as Willy's grip on Natsu and Erza's neck tighten, as their faces grew paler.

Mira then turned back towards Silver Beard. "Leave them alone! Tell Willy to let them go, right now!"

"It's no use. At this point, not even I can stop my subject now," said Silver Beard. "Even if I could, why bother stopping? This is getting very interesting. You and I get to watch as my subject takes the lives of your fellow guildmates. And after he's done with them, you'll be next, so do kindly wait your turn."

"I said let them go!" yelled Mira as she struggled to get up.

Willy continued to wring the air out of Natsu and Erza's necks, their skins becoming paler. Then, just when it seemed that the two were about to die from strangulation, Silver Beard suddenly staggered as if an invisible force struck him in the back. Willy's eyes also stopped glowing green, returning to normal as well as his senses.

WILLY'S POV

When I became aware of my senses, I found myself holding Natsu and Erza in my hands, wringing the life out of them. As soon as I did, I immediately let go of them, while recoiling back, my eyes wide in shock.

"Wh-What? What's going on?" I gasped in disbelief. "Wha... what was I just doing?!"

Then I heard a familiar voice.

"It would appear that we made it in the nick of time."

Then, there was a loud thud, and as I looked back, something shot across from me and hit a boulder with a mighty crash. When the dust cleared, I looked to where the object was sent and saw that it was Silver Beard, buried in a crater of his outline, having a spectacular bruise on his cheek. I then looked to who was the person that was sent flying came from, and from a distance, I saw Gildarts and Byro standing side by side. Gildarts had his iron arm, clenched tightly into a fist, radiating with magic, and Byro had his staff pointed, having recently cast a spell.

"B-Byro. Gildarts. You both made it," said a familiar voice. "Thank goodness."

That voice came from the right, and when I turned towards that direction, a shocking sight met my eyes. Lying on the ground was Mira, her dress tattered and torn, and her skin was littered with bruises, cuts, and blood. She wasn't the only one either. Gajeel was sitting against the wall, also covered in welts and bruises, and Natsu and Erza looked just as beaten.

Seeing everyone in their current states, and because I was choking Natsu and Erza not too long ago, it was obvious to me who was responsible for all of this, and that alone made my eyes fill with horror, as I held my head in my hands.

"No... Not again," I murmured while taking a step back. "Did... did I do all of this? No... Please, no. Not again. Please, not again!"

Then, I remembered what had happened before I lost consciousness. I was locked up in a room, with Silver Beard as my captor, and just after he injected me with that strange substance, he put me to sleep. Knowing this, my horror was replaced with anger as I clenched my fists tightly.

"It was his fault," I growled. "He manipulated me again! That bastard!"

I then started to walk towards Silver Beard, wanting nothing more than to kill that lousy rat, but before I could, Gildarts stepped in my way, blocking me with his arm.

"Take it easy, kid," the man spoke calmly. "He's already down, so there's no need to take things any further."

"But he... he controlled me again!" I snarled. "He made me hurt the others, and he... he did all that stuff to me again! He deserves to pay!"

"Willy, that's enough!" I heard Erza say. "I understand your anger, but you need to calm down. The battle has already been won, so stand down."

I was about to argue with Erza, but then I felt someone wrap their arms around my chest, catching me by surprise. I grabbed the hands about to throw them off, but then, I heard a voice whisper in my ear.

"Willy, please. It's okay. There's no need to fight anymore. You're okay now."

In a matter of seconds, my anger began to dissipate, knowing who the voice belonged to. It had to be Mira's. It had been a long time since I've heard her, but it alone was enough to relax me. But then, I heard the sound of scornful laughter, which came from Silver Beard, who remained stuck to his boulder.

"Care to explain what's so funny?" asked Gildarts.

"I just find this quite disappointing," said Silver Beard. "To think that I would be caught off guard by a traitorous dog cut from his leash, and yet another annoying Fairy Tail wizard."

"Surrender now, Satoshi," ordered Byro. "You're helpless without your magic. It's over."

Silver Beard pulled himself out of the wall and chuckled. "It's over? Is that what you think, Byro?" he spoke with an evil gleam in his eye. "I will admit, that was a good attack, nullifying my magic, to cancel my control spell, but this experiment is just getting started." He glanced in my direction as he scowled. "Any other person in my position would be infuriated by getting caught off guard like that, but the one thing that's infuriating me now, is that disgusting display I see before my eyes. I should have known a wench like you would steal my subject away, but it doesn't matter. All of you are going to die anyway, just like the people of Nomekop!"

This immediately got my attention as I gazed solely on Silver Beard. "Wait... what are you talking about?! How do you know about Nomekop?!" I demanded.

At first, Silver Beard began to chuckle. Then he began to laugh like a madman, appearing to turn completely unhinged.

"An excellent question, my dear subject. A question that I've been dying to have you ask me. Very well then, since you're an inquiring mind, I'll tell you."

He paused briefly as he flashed a slasher smile at me.

"It's because... I was the one responsible for that village's destruction."

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And as always, thank you for reading this update, and I hope to see you for the next one!

Dragomaster, signing off!