Natsu wasn't quite sure what happened, but he knew that as soon as Lucy proclaimed who she was to the world, the entire building began to shake. People dropped to the ground, crying out and wrapping their hands around their heads and stomachs. Annea crumbled against the wall, gasping for air and closing her eyes to stop her head from spinning. Wendy and Evia were no better, clutching each other for strength even as their legs gave out. Gray groaned, swaying and collapsing to one knee.
Lucy looked around wildly, not understanding what was going on. A crack from overhead drew her attention, and she glanced up to see a massive chunk of the ceiling break away and hurtle toward her. Her eyes quickly scanned the surrounding area, and a brief flash of satisfaction shot through her when she saw she was the only one in the path of the massive stone. She longed to run, but even now her limbs were filling with lead, her eyes struggling to stay open.
The stone was growing closer and closer, her eyes fell shut, she screamed at her muscles to move, a warm hand pressed against her back-
The chunk of ceiling slammed into the ground, cracking the smooth stone around the impact site. Smaller pieces continued to tumble down from above, landing amongst the crowd of unconscious and groaning inhabitants of Grimstone Manor. As the dust began to settle, only two figures remained tall and strong.
Ajax curled his lip, looking around at his ruined Great Hall in disgust. He searched for Lucy in the rubble, not caring if she was unconscious or not. She was going to pay for what happened here. He would whip her to the bone, mutilate her pretty body, harm her beyond repair, and he would make whoever her partner was watch. And then he would force her to sit by as he wiped every trace of her existence from the world. Then, and maybe only then, would he finally snuff out the life who had caused so much destruction here today.
"Ajax," Verlane called, coughing slightly as the dust invaded his lungs. He waved a hand in front of his face, clearing the air and meeting Ajax's wild gaze. "They're all gonna be out for a while. Let's go see the extent of the damage, see if Lucy's partner is still alive, and then we can return up here and fix things."
"We should restrain her first," Ajax growled. Verlane shook his head.
"I'm ninety percent sure she's under that pile of rubble," he said with a motion of his hand. "Besides, all of these people have been without ethernano for their entire lives. It will take them a while for their bodies to adjust. It'll be fine. We'll be back with plenty of time. Come on, this is important."
Ajax took a deep breath, the lingering dust somehow not bothering him. "Yes, I suppose you are correct. Although…" He flicked his wrist at the rubble before turning on his heel and stalking out of the room. The answering groan of pain at the shift in debris made him smirk in sadistic satisfaction.
Verlane and Ajax hurried through the empty halls, heels of boots ringing against the stone floors as they walked very quickly. They passed only a few stray servants or guards, and Ajax made sure to memorize their faces. Punishment would be swift for failing to listen to his declaration. The only ones he would excuse were those two guards he had left in charge at the stairwell. Although… the more he thought about it, he wasn't so sure that those guards were innocent. For Lucy's coconspirator to get so far, they would have had to make it past those guards. How much of his manor had Lucy turned against him? Oh, that bitch was going to pay.
They passed by those two crumpled guards, their faces contorted in discomfort and confusion. Verlane noticed the chunk of rock, well, ceiling, crushing one of the guard's legs. Yet he didn't have it in himself for pity. Nor was there time to move the rubble. Especially not for a man who had likely committed treason.
Together the lords of Grimstone Manor hurried down the staircase, the lack of ethernano continuously filling their veins becoming all the more apparent. Ajax scowled when they caught sight of the ruined fabric lying in the center of the hallway.
"It was a woman," he bit out, kicking the dress with his shoe. "All of our hard work was taken down in a matter of what? Weeks? By two women?!"
"They showed up in February," Verlane reminded him. "But I wonder who this other woman is. Was it one of our servants?"
"No, this dress is too finely made to be a servant." Ajax kicked the gown again, blinking in shock when his shoe made contact with something hard. He crouched and lifted the material up, fishing around until he found the dagger that had been concealed in what would have been the bodice. "What the hell?" Running his hand through the rest of the tattered fabric, he counted several more weapons.
Verlane blanched, recognizing the color and the design on the neckline of the gown. "Scarlet Surge wasn't in the Great Hall, was she?"
Ajax dropped the dress, cursing up a storm. Verlane's eyes closed, and he tilted his head back in resignation. If Scarlet was working with Lucy, did that mean the others were as well? The clues had always been there against Scarlet; she was too loud and forward for a woman of Benos. And she'd never acted like a proper noblewoman should. But how could Shelia's aunt be a traitor and the rest of them be innocent? Lucy's explanation had made sense, but the introduction of a new player…
"Let's go," Ajax ordered, stalking down the hall toward the machine room. Verlane followed, kicking the dress against the far wall in anger. Things had been going great. They were fantastic. Life was good. And now everything was falling to shit.
It took them longer than it should have to get to the machine room. Parts of the ceiling had caved in, blocking off their usual route and only fueling the anger in them both. Verlane assumed all of the detritus was caused by the machine being broken, all of the contained ethernano likely too much for the surrounding air. He hoped the explosion had killed Scarlet. If that was even her name.
As they walked, Verlane tried to remember what he knew of Lucy of Fairy Tail. It wasn't much. Ajax likely knew much more since he actually paid attention to accounts from other nations, but he was too far gone in a red haze of rage. Verlane thought hard, ducking under a fallen beam. Fairy Tail was one of the most well known magic guilds in the world, so well known that they were more myth than fact here. But Lucy… she and her guild were the ones responsible for the defeat of the Black Dragon Acnologia, were they not? And she had several teammates who were always with her in the stories. What were their names? And how many were there? What if all of them had come and he and Ajax had been played for total and utter fools?
He cursed under his breath as he tripped over a large stone. Damn, all he could remember was Natsu Dragneel, the pink-haired idiot who was one of the strongest mages in Fiore. Wait… pink hair-
"Verlane," Ajax snapped. "Get your head out of the fucking clouds. We're here."
Verlane nodded, his moment of brilliance fading quickly as he went on his guard. His fists rose slightly, a cloud of black mist emitting from both lords.
The dust had yet to settle completely in the large room before them. Smoke continuously poured from the shattered machine, a deep rent partially visible through the haze. Here was the brunt of the damage; half of the ceiling had completely fallen in, and the floor was broken up by long jagged cracks. Ajax yelled out a curse, unable to look away from the ruined machine. Their masterpiece spent years in the making, and it was completely and utterly destroyed.
"We can fix it," Verlane muttered, lowering his fists when he didn't see anyone beside them present. "We know what we're doing now. It won't be as difficult-"
"Oh, don't daydream. We have absolutely no idea what we're doing! We built this thing years ago! How the hell are we supposed to remember what we did! We'll have to fucking start from scratch! Do you remember how hard it was to get people to believe that ethernano had disappeared for no goddamn reason?! And now with that bitch spilling our secrets to the mindless masses, it'll be nearly impossible to make this work like it did before!"
"It won't hurt to try," Verlane responded stiffly, glaring up the extra inch at the man still fuming to his right. "And at least Scarlet was destroyed along with the machine. That only makes our jobs easier."
"I'd compel you to think again," a strong voice called. Ajax and Verlane both whirled toward the source of that voice, finally catching sight of the figure obscured by smoke and dust. "I think you'll find that I'm not so easily gotten rid of."
"Oh, this is wonderful." Despite the situation, a wild grin plastered itself across Ajax's face. "Now I get to kill you myself. You and your little friend."
"I don't know what you're talking about," the woman responded, and Verlane caught sight of a brilliant red through a break in the haze. "I came here by myself. No one else but I was responsible for this."
"Stop trying to protect your friend. She spilled the whole story after a little… persuasion. Lucy Heartfilia, from Fairy Tail, sent here to bring magic back to Benos. And what, pray, does that make you?" Ajax sneered, conjuring more black magic to dance around his knuckles.
"I never lied when I said Scarlet was my name. And obviously, she didn't fold like you expected her to. For the mission is still completed. Magic has returned to Benos." Verlane swore there was a prideful edge to her tone when she spoke those words. It enraged him enough to speak.
"So what if you destroy this machine? What's to stop us from building another one? And another one. However long you think you can go, we can most definitely go longer."
"And how have you made it this far? You can't be descended from those who built this machine. I heard you talking about how you built it. So who are you to have lived this long? A hundred years I could believe if you looked your age. I have known men who lived for over a century and are still able to fight, but they definitely do not look thirty years old. The only possible explanation I see is that you have been cursed by Ankhseram, same as Zeref and the First Master. But that does not explain the ethernano."
Ajax thought for a moment before responding, gesturing to Verlane to start moving toward the woman's other side. "Only because I know you won't leave this room will I tell you the truth of me and Verlane. We are not cursed like the Black Wizard was, and honestly, I doubt it is even possible for us to become so. You see, Verlane and I are demons. True and proper demons, not like those from those wretched books. We are kept alive by ethernano, and it is for this purpose that, a century ago, we built that machine in order to contain this country's ethernano. It feeds directly to us, keeping us alive and powerful."
There was a brief pause, the woman behind the haze deliberating his words. Verlane continued to creep around to her other side, hoping she was distracted enough by Ajax's words to miss his motion.
"So you are demons harnessing the power of ethernano," she begun. "But I don't get it. Why did you have to take ethernano from this country to stay alive? Ethernano exists everywhere and keeps everyone alive; why is this country condemned to suffer?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ajax cackled, magic spilling from his fingers and swirling around the dust and smoke. "Power. That's all this is. Power! By drawing all the ethernano to us, we are fed a constant supply of pure power, making us stronger and healthier than anyone else here! No one can stand against us. No one would dare! We are the supreme leaders of this land, whether the people know it or not. And since ethernano is infinite and will never run out, we will forever remain powerful. Even now," he paused to inhale deeply. His body began to glow faintly, the same black light from earlier now dancing across his skin. "All of this ethernano you have released, this power, it is more than we have ever felt. And we are absorbing it now, taking it in, and growing stronger than you could ever imagine. You may have had thoughts of fighting us, but there is no possible way you could win! Not against the two of us!"
Together, he and Verlane lashed out, sending bolts of black magic shooting through the smoke toward the wavy outline of the woman. Ajax laughed maniacally again, throwing his head back in glee. No one could withstand that sort of attack! And she couldn't have dodged, not with both attacks coming from different sides! Ha! One down already!
Ajax was certainly not prepared for the golden light that cut through the haze. Nor for the sound of steel being drawn. Nor for the rebounding spells that came flying back at him and Verlane. They cursed, throwing themselves to the side to dodge the violent magic they had cast only moments prior. "What the hell?!" Verlane shouted, squinting at the figure hidden by clouds of smoke.
"You're powerful, I'll give you that. Stronger than most I have fought. Or perhaps that is just coming from the lack of action I have faced since coming here to Benos. Nevertheless, you'll have to try harder to take me down. Many have tried. None have succeeded."
The figure began to move, coming closer and closer. The demons scrambled to their feet, raising their fists in preparation.
"I will give you a chance now to surrender. But you only get one chance. After that, nothing will be able to save you from my wrath. Not after all of the destruction and suffering you have caused."
More flashes of light broke through the haze, a dozen new shapes left behind and surrounding the figure of the woman as she continued to approach.
"You don't scare us!" Ajax shouted, throwing another blast of magic barreling toward her. One of the small shapes moved, and his magic was returned once more. He scowled, throwing countless bolts at her. Each was deflected even as he kept going. "Show yourself! Or are you too much of a coward to face us?!"
"Ha! The only coward here is you."
And then she was clear of the smoke.
Erza Scarlet, Titania, Queen of the Fairies, stood before them, back tall and expression fierce. Her hair danced around her face as her body, garbed in her ethereal Heaven's Wheel armor, began to glow with the magic power she had missed for too long. A dozen swords arrayed themselves in a circle behind her, a halo threatening pain and retribution.
For the first time, Verlane began to wonder if this girl might actually be a threat.
"I am Erza Scarlet. I, along with Lucy, have been sent here by the Fairy Tail guild and by Fiore to rid this land of its plague. So that means that after today, you will never again threaten Benos."
Ajax snorted. "You can't defeat us. Didn't you hear? All of that ethernano that the machine contained is now pouring out. Sure, its replenishing the land and people, but here, at the heart of the explosion, is where the true power lays. And we grow stronger every moment." He grinned, eyes flashing black as his true nature was revealed.
Erza paused for a moment, her own eyes glinting with an emotion Verlane couldn't place. "That is true," she relented. "But so do I."
And she struck.
Let's go Erza! She's gonna kick some ass! But can she stand up to both demons at once by herself? Also, did anyone come close to guessing what Verlane and Ajax actually were? Let me know!
Enjoy, and until next time!
Also, just gotta rant for a minute. My school is supposed to be having our drama play this week, and I'm stage manager so obviously I'm involved, but people keep getting Covid so the show got postponed like ten minutes ago, and the only time we can have it is like the last day of school for seniors but other people cant do that day, and it's just getting so freaking complicated. Ugh. Anyway, thanks for sitting through this rant that has nothing to do with anything :)
ALSO ANNOUNCEMENT: my schedule is about to become hella crazy over the summer, so I'm going to be switching over to a weekly update. So sorry, but I don't want to miss updates but I also don't want to rush chapters. So from now on, updates will be every Tuesday. Hope you all can wait ;(