The news would travel through Magnolia like wildfire, citizens evacuating and preparing the oncoming war. Though they had only heard stories of Fairy Tail's previous guild wars, most did not want to test fate by staying to watch the carnage.
Members of Fairy Tail would be training or getting ready to charge Blood Hound's current base of operations, including Kratos and Lena, leaving Azrael to his own devices in one of the training rooms. He decided to take a moment to try harnessing the wind magic he had used in his previous bouts with Dave, only to be interrupted by Esme and a young woman with forest green hair tied up in a ponytail that stretched down her back.
"And what do you think you're doing?" Esme asked Azrael, him turning to face the two women. "You're not a member of Fairy Tail. We can't let you get involved in this."
Azrael's heart sank. He thought that her turning to face him meant he was allowed to join the fight. "I'm already involved in this," he retorted. "Let me fight with you guys!" Esme and the woman looked at each other, before ice shards flew at him at high-speeds, Azrael deflecting them with a blast of wind. The woman smirked, approaching Azrael.
"Master Faerune figured you'd want to join, so she's allowed me to test you to make sure you don't get yourself killed out there. If you can knock me to the ground, then we'll let you join." She stated.
Azrael would get in a battle-ready stance, preparing himself for whatever attacks she may throw at him. "May I know your name before we start?" He asked, the woman scoffing at the very thought.
"Lyndus. Now fight like your life depends on it!"
The woman named Lyndus would coat the floor beneath the two of them in ice and rush forward at high-speeds towards Azrael, skating on the ice for the added speed. Azrael would use this to his advantage to launch a concentrated blast of wind from his leg by spinning on the ice. The attack would connect exactly as planned, knocking Lyndus back in the air, only for her to recover on the ice as if nothing had happened.
"You're sharp, but I won't go down that easily!" She exclaimed, Azrael feeling adrenaline rush through his body. As if instinctual, he would reply, "Neither will I!"
This time, Azrael would jump in the air and shoot wind from his left palm to charge at Lyndus, reeling his right arm back to land a heavy punch. He didn't want to seriously hurt her, so as long as he landed one solid hit, that'd be enough for him. As he hit Lyndus, it would appear that his attack connected perfectly, only to realize she had blocked it with her arm, which she would then use to grab Azrael's arm and attempt to freeze him solid.
Being forced to think on his feet, Azrael's immediate response was to launch a full-powered wind blast to release her grip on his arm, only to pull back his power after the initial impact. As he succeeded, he would use his body's momentum to swing his leg up and smash it into the side of Lyndus' head. Her knees buckled, but she didn't drop.
Azrael would back off, creating a veil of wind around their area and attempting to use it to feel every movement that Lyndus would make. Lyndus would spit out a bit of blood before slamming her right foot on the ground, creating a pillar of ice underneath Azrael. Taken by surprise, Azrael would create a blade of wind to slash the ice underneath him and destroy it before it became too massive.
Lyndus had predicted this and already closed the gap between herself and Azrael, touching the ground as Azrael landed on his feet to attempt to encase him in ice. Azrael's feet would get caught in Lyndus' attack, only for him to shoot a swift, yet powerful blast of wind at her feet, knocking her down as she focused on encasing him in ice, and busting her jaw on the ice.
A whistle blew from Esme's direction, which seemingly came from out of nowhere. "That's enough! As per the rules of this sparring match, Azrael will be allowed to join us in this battle!" She declared, Lyndus slamming the ground in anger.
"He was about to be taken out and all he managed to do was knock me down once! He'll be slaughtered out there!" Lyndus replied in anger, pulling herself to her feet as she released Azrael from the ice. Esme shook her head with a smile, "You're the one who set the benchmark, not me. Either way, it would seem that Azrael here was pulling his punches, while you weren't. The fact that he was able to still meet the parameters of the match while holding back is a feat in and of itself, right, Azrael?" She smiled.
Lyndus would scowl, before approaching Azrael and slapping him. "How dare you hold back on me? I won't forget this, Azrael…" She would walk away in anger, Esme giggling as she did so.
"I'm going to reach out to the guildmaster of Blood Hound one more time." She said, looking out of the training room to see the guild members working hard at preparations, "I don't want a single one of my friends getting hurt. This includes you, Azrael."
Azrael chuckled a bit, "I've barely been here a day. I'm not even in your guild, and yet all of you have treated me like family." As soon as he said this, he felt like he was eating his words considering what literally just happened between himself and Lyndus. "Well, at least most of you do. I don't get it."
"You don't have to," Esme stated, facing Azrael now. "It doesn't matter if you've been here for a day or a year - the people we consider friends are family, here. Also…" She looked back through the door of the training room at the other guild members, once more. "You're more than welcome to join Fairy Tail if you so choose. It's your decision."
Azrael was taken back by what Esme had just said. "What an odd philosophy…" He remarked, smiling, before passing out in exhaustion on the floor. It had been a long day for him. Esme would leave the training room and fetch a blanket for him, before leaving to attend to other matters.
- - - - - - - - - - {the next day} - - - - - - - - - -
The streets of Magnolia would be abandoned as members of Fairy Tail stood before a warehouse that had a sign saying Wolves' Den, with whom one could only assume were members of Blood Hound guarding the place on the outside. Esme would wait to speak with someone at the frontlines of the group. In the meantime, Azrael was picking at his clothes, slightly upset that he didn't have a chance to change before this meeting.
A tall, athletic man in coiled back armor would begin to weave his way through the ranks of the Blood Hound members, his red-inlay, black cloak flapping in the wind as he approached. The man had light brown skin, long-black hair, light facial hair, and features that would make him a shoe-in for a Dracula look-alike contest. He would eventually stand before Esme, bending a knee, taking her hand, and kissing the back of her palm.
"Esme Faerune, what a pleasant surprise. To what do we of Blood Hound owe the pleasure?" The man said in a deep, yet charming voice. Esme would pull her hand back and shake her head.
"You know why I'm here, Drayven Albright," she stated coldly, glaring in the very depths of the kneeling man's soul. He would nod and stand up. "What have my men done this time? I allowed them to do as they please, so long as they did not stir the pot and trouble the good men, women, and children of Magnolia." He asked.
Esme would snap her fingers, signaling Kratos and another woman with long dark-brown hair, tied in a pony with a red ribbon, to drag the five men in chains and shackles before Drayven. He would look at the five and sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The Cutthroats… I should've known it was them… Bring them here and I will see to it that they are punished accordingly."
"You're not even going to ask what they're accused of?" Kratos asked, before being waved off by Esme. He growled, before he and the other woman handed over the ends of the chains to Drayven, before joining the rest of the guild members behind Esme. "You simply couldn't control yourself, could you, Dave?" He scoffed.
Dave would scowl and look over towards Azrael. "He's the one who started it! That damn wizard picked a fight with me at Cloak's bar, and now that Fairy Tail is backin' him, you're just gonna bow down?! I'm the one who got beat up, 'ere!" He shouted, Drayven simply closing his eyes and squatting down to be eye-level with Dave, before plunging his hand into Dave's chest.
Blood would slowly trickle down from the entry wound where Drayven's hand was embedded, a look of shock and horror washing over Dave's face as he shakily grabbed Drayven's wrist. "That's your problem." The guildmaster stated as his arm tensed up and began to pull back, Dave groaning and choking as Drayven ripped out his still-beating heart. The large man would collapse to the ground, the sound of chains and spilt blood filling the void his dying groans left. Drayven would stand and crush Dave's heart as he peered over the man's lifeless corpse, blood dripping from in between his fingers.
"Behead the others. This type of behavior will not be tolerated in the slightest. Anyone that attempts anything similar will meet the same fate at my hands." Drayven announced, before looking back at Esme, his hands and armor stained with blood. "I hope that suffices?"
Members of Fairy Tail looked on in horror at the atrocity that this man had just committed, lost for words. Even Esme had a disgusted and horrified look upon her face. As everyone was stunned by this display of cruelty, Azrael would take a good look at Drayven and the smirk upon his face. This man was… smiling? He was smiling after not even giving a member of his guild a chance to defend himself? He was smiling after one of his allies, one of his friends, was killed by his own hand?
Powerful winds began to swirl around Azrael as he suddenly vanished, using these winds to move at speeds intangible to the naked eye, to sucker punch Drayven at full power. The guild master would be knocked back, the other guild members beginning to charge after Azrael, before being waved off by none other than Drayven himself.
"I will let you have that one, boy. Both out of respect for Fairy Tail and Miss Esme, here." He said, a smug smirk spread across his face. Azrael's action shocked the members of Fairy Tail, some of them beginning to grit their teeth in anger, though not at Azrael, but for not having done it themselves.
"How could you?!" Azrael cried out in anger, a confused look forming on Drayven's face, until he realized what he meant. He chose to stay silent for now, smiling at him once more. This only angered Azrael even more.
"He was a member of your guild! He trusted you! He was your friend, damnit! How fucking could you?!" Azrael exclaimed, preparing to charge at Drayven for another attack, only for Kratos to pull him back. "You bastard!"
Drayven would begin to chuckle, only for it to turn into full-blown laughter. "I see, but how could I not?! He violated the very delicate treaty that was present between Blood Hound and Fairy Tail. He disgraced us by living up to the poor reputation dark guilds already suffer from. He deserved to die!"
"You didn't have to kill him! You, yourself, showed us how vile dark guilds like yours are - not him! You're evil, and if nobody else will do anything about it, then I will!" Azrael declared, breaking free of Kratos' grip to stand before Drayven. The long-haired man leaned down, his wicked grin only a couple of inches away from Azrael's face. "Oh? You, and what army?" He retorted in confidence, only to see several members of Fairy Tail, including Esme, step forward. Drayven would take a few steps back in realization of what was to come next.
"This army!" Esme called out. "Fairy Tail! Sorry to keep all of you waiting! Let's do what we came here to do - win a war! Charge!"
All of the guild members would begin to rush at the members of Blood Hound, only for them to respond in kind. Both sides would clash, the sounds of the elements and blades clashing echoing through the landscape. Dust would begin to sweep across the battlefield as Azrael, Esme, and Kratos stood before Drayven.
"You have made a foolish decision…" Drayven sighed, only for Esme to immediately respond in frustration. "Maybe so, but it's mine to make! And my friends wouldn't forgive me if I turned a blind eye to the actions of a man as wicked as you!" She said, only for Drayven to suddenly appear before her and send her flying with a powerful blow to her abdomen. He began to look around to see various members of his guild being beaten down and hear cries of agony from all around from the ongoing chaos.
"All this over the death of a stupid grunt… Ridiculous!" He shouted, turning towards Azrael. "Before I dispose of that foolish guildmaster, I suppose I'll toy with you for a while." With lightning fast speed, Drayven would attempt to punch Azrael, only for his fist to be stopped by an armored hand. As Azrael looked over, hardly having time to process Drayven's attack, he noticed Kratos holding Drayven back.
"Ah, Kratos Scarlet, the fabled Defender of the Weak." Drayven said as he clasped his hands with Kratos', beginning to overpower him with his brute strength until Kratos' knees buckled, causing him to drop down on one of them. "I expected more of you!"
Kratos would groan in pain as Drayven began to crush his hands and overpower him, only to feel a sudden wave of relief. He looked over to notice Azrael standing next to him, suddenly feeling the aftershock of the blast of wind he had fired at Drayven to knock him back. "You need to get back! He's too strong for you to face alone!" Kratos cried.
Azrael would simply smile at Kratos, keeping his eyes focused on Drayven as he recovered from his attack. "But I'm not alone. If you're willing to help me, I have a plan for us to beat him." Azrael informed him, Kratos nodding in agreement. "I'll follow your lead," He replied.
Suddenly, power began to surge from Drayven's direction, blowing away all the dust and forming a crater underneath him. He would charge ahead at Kratos at an unfathomable speed, destroying his armor in one punch, before swatting him aside and attempting to, once again, deliver a powerful left hook to Azrael's skull. Feeling the wind caused by Drayven's sudden surge in power, Azrael was able to predict his movements, even without being able to see them, and slash at Drayven's face with a wind blade.
Drayven would collapse and cry out in agony and anger. "You BASTARD!" He shouted, clutching his right eye, which was bleeding profusely. In fact, it wasn't just the eye - a large cut on Drayven's face over his eye, brow, and cheek appeared to be the root of the bleeding. Drayven would suddenly vanish in thin air and was nowhere to be seen. Many of the members of Blood Hound began to retreat inside of their headquarters, only to be pursued by members of Fairy Tail.
Kratos would lift himself up, a new set of armor suddenly appearing on his body, as he uttered the word, "Requip!" The woman with the red-ribbon and dark brown hair would approach the two, her long-sleeve, white button-up covering her black tee in tatters. "Damn, that was a good job, you two! Drayven and his men are withdrawing to their headquarters! Let's go in and wrangle them up!"
"Thanks, Camelia!" Kratos said, turning to Azrael, "Right, let's head in there and make sure we take Drayven down, this time!"
Azrael would nod and follow both Kratos and the woman named Camelia inside the Wolves' Den, anxious at what they may come across as they venture further into the belly of the beast.
Author's Note:
I made cuts on how many characters we were going to introduce this chapter, deal with it ;)
No, but really, I had intended to introduce two other characters this chapter, but felt like with the way things were flowing that it wouldn't make the most sense. We'll do a mini arc in between this arc and the next to introduce most of the primary members of Fairy Tail in the story, instead. Sound good? Good!
I'm also thinking about adding a segment after each chapter to give stats on certain characters and maybe some interesting facts about them, like what magic they specialize in and whatnot. Lemme know what you guys think of that in the reviews or in PMs! Thanks!
I know that it's taking a bit to get into the grit of the story, but I have a lot planned (at least twelve major arcs hehe), so bear with me as we go through this together!
P.S. Drayven was born in the Fairy Tail universe's version of Transylvania, don't me