SailorStar9: We now continue with Chapter 153 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and my OCs.

Chapter 153: Alvarez Empire Arc: The Winter Wizard

"Where were you, old man?" Cana chided. "It's about time you showed up."

"Cana-chan!" Gildarts wasted no time in nuzzling his daughter.

"Pay attention to the bad guy!" Cana protested.

"Right." Gildarts went back to the matters at hand. "But this guy's magic power... it doesn't feel like he's alive. If you were alive, you'd be one hell of a mage. But like this, you're a small fry."

"You sure talk big for someone facing 'Eight Dragon' God Serena." God Serena posed.

"What strong magic power." Wendy squealed, the outsurge of magical energy washed over the battlefield as the two combatants literally butted heads.

"What the...?" the battlefield was suddenly engulfed in a sandstorm. "A sandstorm?"

"Wither and die." Ajeel mocked.

"I'm gonna tear a manly path through it." Elfman stepped up. "I can handle this." he shot through the sandstorm in his 'Beast Soul: Sand Beast' form. "Sand doesn't work against my Sand Beast."

"We'll see about that." Ajeel grinned and trapped Elfman in a quicksand pit. "Ant Lion Pit."

Lisanna swooped in using 'Animal Soul: Harpy' and took Elfman to safety.

"You aren't getting away from us." Ajeel mocked.

"Good grief." Jacob sighed. "I'll just have to take you all..."

"You're dealing with me." Mirajane punched Jacob across the face.

"Let's wipe out every last one of them." Wall led the charge with Bloodman.

Rouge entered the fight in a streak of shadow and punched Bloodman away.

"Annoying flies have entered my 'territory'." Minerva nullified Wall's missiles with her 'Territory Explosion'.

"Now things are getting interesting." Wall grinned, Minerva had attributed Kinana to them being present.

"Everyone is fighting." Natsu affirmed his resolve as the rest took on the charging army head-on. "To curve a path to the Guildhall. We can't let them outdo us."

"He keeps breaking my spells." God Serena cursed, Gildarts had nullified his spells again.

"What a shame." Gildarts smirked. "I wish I could've fought you at your true, original strength. Purifying Truth: Firmament!" he ended the fight, taking out not only God Serena and also the soldiers behind him. "All right, kiddos. The Guildhall awaits."

"Forward!" Natsu led the charge.

Erza cut her way through the army using her 'Heart Kreuz Armor' sword, before switching to the 'Purgatory Armor' and sliced a path with said armor's spiked mace.

Gildarts' 'Crush' magic leveled the ground before him.

"Damnit, old man!" Cana fumed. "Ar you trying to take out our guys, too?"

"Quit it." Gildarts teased. "You're making me blush."

"That wasn't a compliment!" Cana snapped.

"What's the matter?" Ajeel mocked the younger Strauss siblings. "If you're not gonna attack me, I'll just have to attack you."

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu fired his breath attack at the troop squadron in front of him when the flames were instantly frozen. "What's the big idea, Gray?"

"It wasn't me." said ice mage protested. "This coldness, though..."

"I'm cold." Lucy shivered. "My whole body...

"Is going numb..." even the fully clothed Juvia was affected by the sudden chill.

"Burn up!" Natsu powered up his flames, only for them to be frozen a split second later. "No way..." he gaped, before he was also frozen over.

"It would seem you're resistant to cold." Invel noted, entering the fight, as the others, minus Gray, were subsequently locked in ice.

"All right, you..." Gray readied himself for the fight and barely managed to dodge the icy wind Invel fired at him. He was then bombarded by the numerous icicles Invel shot at him.

"My name is Invel Yura." the Winter General introduced himself. "I change all into winter. Your meager coldness cannot surpass my winter."

"Ice Make: Shield!" Gray's barrier was instantly in place to deflect Invel's next attack. "Ice Make: Ice Impact!"

Invel lifted a hand to block off the ice construct. "I see." he noted. "Ice creation magic. That explains your resistance to cold." he easily shattered the hammer. "I am a genuine ice mage. I don't create things from ice. I freeze things: everything with ice. Your Make magic is nothing more than an inferior derivative. I can easily topple your spells, as if they were toy blocks."

"Then, how about this power?" Gray retorted. "I inherited from my father to slay devils. The power to defeat E.N.D." he powered up his Ice Devil Slayer magic. "Ice Devil: Zeroth Long Sword." he slashed Invel once from the front, before attacking a second time from the back.

"The power..." the injured Invel winced. "Dragon Slayer magic? And he's used that power to create an ice weapon? But that power robs him of his mind. It seems devil-hunting humans lost control of their thoughts. How interesting." he smirked. Lifting a hand, he blocked off Gray's next sword strike. His power then flared, turning the entire Fiore into an icy wasteland. "You have what it takes to be one of us." he stated. "You probably haven't noticed it yourself, but your heart is close to turning dark."

"Spare me your nonsense." Gray retorted.

"The power of darkness is the very original of black magic and is a testament of our emperor's strength." Invel explained.

"So, you actually see yourself as a villain, then?" Gray scoffed.

"The dark side has no concept of good or evil." Invel stated. "Darkness is a powerful force that exists inside everyone. And your dark side is about to be released."

"I've heard enough of your crap." Gray hissed. "I've never been playing the 'good guy' role to begin with. If it's to protect our Guild, I'll gladly turn evil or whatever the hell else."

"You tell him, Gray." Natsu piped in, his flames having unfrozen the others. "That's the Fairy Tail way."

"You guys..." Gray was surprised.

"I was just a fraction faster casting 'Flash-forward'." Ulyo winked.

He managed to melt my ice. Invel was impressed. This Natsu truly something else.

"Time to turn the tables." Lucy declared.

"Wha?" Natsu exclaimed when a giant Brandish grabbed Lucy, Natsu and Happy.

"These ones are mine." Brandish told Invel and took her fight to another area.

"What is this..." Gray muttered, Invel had used his 'Ice Lock' on him and Ulyo. "My head is spinning."

"The 'Ice Lock' spell constrains a person's mind and makes them my puppet." Invel explained. "You two will fight to the death, regardless of what you want."

"Arc of Time: Chrono Stasis Grigora." Ulyo cast the 'Arc of Time' spell, locking each chain link in a time loop sphere. "Flash-forward: Disintegrate." she scattered the chain links.

"Time magic..." Invel was taken aback. "You... that face..." his eyes widened in shock. "It can't be..."

"All these years, I've always wondered who my birth father is." Ulyo stated. "But I've never expected to meet him in a situation as this. This is the first time we've met face-to-face, isn't it, Father?"

"The enemy is Ulyo-sama's... father?" Juvia gaped.

"EH?" Gray exclaimed in shock.

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.