Chapter 27

'Thinking' – thoughts

"Speaking" – speech

'Thinking' – Dragon/God/Beast thinking

"Speaking" - Dragon/God/Beast speaking

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters they are property of Hiro Masima.

demigodninja21: That is incorrect kind sir. ;)

Amanny: No the test of will won't be making another appearance, or at least not as far as I have planned. Natsu will meet Wendy in the Oracion Seis arc, I think I have started setting up that arc a little bit, but I haven't thought of exactly what my plans will be there, I already know how Natsu will be dragged into Oracion Seis and I already thought of a cool line I want to put in there.

Kriim-Ssauce786: Acnologia and information pertaining to him I will keep in the dark for now. During the time skip, I have plans that involve Natsu and the Royal Family, though I haven't thought about a lot of details. I like what you suggest with Natsu being involved with some of the other guilds and the time skip seems like a good time to bring that in, at least to me it does. In the next chapter, I will bring Ultear's arc of Time and Ice-Make together as in this one the focus was solely on Ice-Make, I agree with you on a calm approach and I think I gave some indication to that in this chapter. The Ice Dragon idea is interesting and I might look into something like that but that is for the future me to think about xD.

-Magnolia Train Station-

The group consisting of Erza, Lucy and Gray boarded the train that would take them to the town at the foot of Mt Hakobe. The three wizards had just found themselves an open carriage and took their seats with Gray sitting on one side with some of their luggage while Erza and Lucy occupied the opposite bench.

"So, what is the mission you picked out for us?" Gray asked once the group was settled in.

"I thought a monster extermination mission would be the best option since we would like to use this as training. While attempting to develop new spells or practising those you already have on S-Class monsters is foolish, this quest will take us to the top of Mt Hakobe where the target for the missions will be. There isn't a lot of information on the monster we should face on the request so we will have to ask around before we start the climb. As for training, I chose this mission because of the Vulcan population on and around Mt Hakobe," Erza started as she re-quipped the request flyer into her hand.

"Wait you want us to train against those perverted monkeys?" Lucy asked with a slight quiver in her voice.

"Yes, they are simple-minded brutes, so isolating them shouldn't be much of a problem and their individual power is quite low, meaning that we will have the safety to try new things against them without much risk to our safety," Erza replied.

"So we train against the Vulcans until we are ready for what the request asked?" Gray stated to make sure he is following the plan.

"Correct, now for what the request says about the monster," Erza said as her eyes fell on the request paper.

"Please help! A large monster has started coming down from the mountains and decimated our livestock. If this continues we will be without food for the colder months, our livelihood depends on you brave mages. The monster hunts once the sun sets and brings with it a powerful blizzard. The only information we have on its abilities and features are powerful claws that can crush our wooded barns and the ability to summon blizzards. Reward 2 500 000 Jewel," Erza read the request out loud.

"That request doesn't really give any information on the monster does it?" Gray asked.

"Sadly no, meaning that this will be harder, but that just means that our training will be put to the test," Erza confirmed before forming a fist as a determined look spread across her face.

"I was wondering, what exactly will we be doing for this training?" Lucy asked.

"I have done us the liberty of asking the Master to scour the library for books pertaining to our magic, so I suggest we each get at least one new spell to work on or perfect a spell we have been struggling with until now," Erza said as her hand begun to glow. After a moment the glow dissipated and revealed three books in the knight's hand.

"Gray, this is the guild's most advanced book on Maker Magic. Lucy, for you I found this book on how holder mages can harness the power of their magic through their body as well as their items. As for myself, this book includes fighting techniques utilizing spears," Erza said as she handed the other two mages their books.

"I never knew we had books like these in the library," Gray said with an impressed expression as he started to examine the book.

"Yeah, this is amazing," Lucy agreed as she started to read the first chapter.

"Sadly Master Makarov informed me that Haru was correct when he said that there were no books relating to Dragon Slayer Magic in the library," Erza said with a downcast expression.

"Wow, Ash for Brains really might have looked through the entire library for a book on his magic, I thought he would have just looked at the first shelf and decide that nothing was there," Gray said slightly surprised.

"Well considering it has to do with his magic I don't think it's that surprising," Erza commented.

The conversation between the three petered out in silent agreement to Erza's statement before each of them started reading through their respective books, looking for something that would increase their power or something they could work on.

-With Natsu and Haru-

As the first rays of dawn reached over the horizon Natsu woke up. It was a rare occasion for him to sleep this late but not an unwelcome one, especially considering that when he will be training Haru, the young Slayer would have to be ready to chase those brilliant rays of dawn.

Getting up Natsu gazed at the cave that held the way to Agartha and took a deep breath of the morning air. Haru's soft snores accompanied the morning chirps of the birds as Natsu relished in the sounds of life around him. While his magic harnesses the power of death, the inevitable destination of all living things, he still appreciated the beauty that was life and on his journey, he constantly fought to preserve as much of it as possible.

As Natsu's senses spread across the surrounding landscape a frown found its way to his face. 'Even though Haru's companions decided to heed my warning, it still seems like an uninvited guest has found his way here,' Natsu thought as a dark look came to his eyes and a mixture of purple, black and grey energy started to seep from his form.

Haru's peaceful sleep was swiftly brought to an end when he felt the deathly aura that started flooding the area just outside his tent. Worming himself out of his sleeping bag proved to be a slight challenge in his recently woken state, but he managed to stumble out of his tent and scan the area surrounding them for any threats.

Haru quickly saw the form of Natsu as well as the aura around him but nothing that he perceived as a threat. Quickly making his way over to Natsu, willing his sense to search for the threat he could not see, he came to a stop in front of the older Slayer.

"Where is it?" Haru asked as the last remanence of sleep left his mind, a question that might not seem like much but asked for everything that he might need to prepare for.

"Come out now, or I will not hesitate to complete what I left undone," Natsu shouted out as his onyx eyes narrowed in anger at the forest away from the cave. Seeing the direction he was looking, Haru quickly turned his attention there as well, embers flickering in and out of existence at his fingertips.

'Please listen to what he has to say. He has lost himself and needs this to reignite the will he once had. If not for any other reason, please do it for me?' the sweet voice of Mavis echoed in Natsu's head as a large man wearing a brown coat walked out of the woods.

While Natsu held his battle stance, Haru dropped out of his as he finally recognised who the man was that now stood before them.

-With Ur and Ultear-

Ur was woken up by the alluring aroma of a freshly brewed pot of hot coffee, the perfect companion for the early morning in the snowy slopes of Mt Hakobe. A smile spread across her face as her eyes sparkled in anticipation for the day. Yesterday she and her daughter had both found the success they were looking for. A pleasant memory she would always treasure.

-Flashback-

Ur was sitting in a meditative pose with a swirling maelstrom of ice around her. It had been about an hour since she felt the ice responding to her will. Unlike using her magic to form the ice, this feeling was her bending the natural ice and snow to her will. This was what she was after. To be one with her element. Ur had revelled in the feeling she had once felt daily.

Opening her eyes Ur was greeted by the maelstrom that surrounded her, turning her gaze on where her daughter was. A content smile formed on her face as she saw the concentration on Ultear's face. Her keen eyes saw the slight disturbances on the snowy ground around Ultear and her heart swelled with pride.

Placing a fist on an open palm, Ur started channelling her magic into her hand. "Ice-Make: Rose" Ur chanted softly while she watched the delicate ice rose form on her palm.

'I missed this,' Ur thought to herself as she allowed a stem to grow from below the rose with a gentle supply of her magic. The stem started to sprout more rosebuds as it started to twirl around her. It wasn't long before she was surrounded by a dense bush of ice roses. Casting a quick glance towards Ultear, Ur saw that a light purple hue was beginning to shine around Ultear.

'I'm so proud of you Ultear. For you to be so close to connecting with your surroundings so soon after myself. I can see you quickly surpassing me my daughter,' Ur thought with a loving smile.

Ur played around with her magic while she was waiting for Ultear resulting in a vibrant icy garden surrounding the mother-daughter duo consisting of multiple rose bushes. Ur opened her eyes once again and her smile grew once she saw the snowy veil around Ultear. Ultear opened her eyes once she felt the winds around her and he eyes widened in surprise

"Well done Ultear, now try and form something with your magic but keep it small and detailed," Ur instructed before Ultear could say anything.

"Wait now, but I haven't used Ice-Make magic," Ultear asked with an uncertain look on her face.

"Just clear your mind and allow your most inner thoughts to form in your hand. Let your mind wander to whatever you keep close to you and form what comes to mind," Ur instructed. Ultear closed her eyes and her mind started to wonder.

Ur watched as Ultear slowly moved her fist to her palm and felt Ultear's magic rising. Ur was a bit concerned when she saw Ultear's expression saddened and then confusion spread across her face as a detailed pair of earmuffs. Once Ultear completed forming the icy earmuffs she looked at them with a sad smile.

"Mind if I ask why earmuffs?" Ur softly asked.

"The connection I had with Ice-Make magic until recently wasn't a pleasant one since I thought you had replaced me. I'm overjoyed that I was horribly mistaken. You can say that there are a few negative emotion connected to it that hopefully will change with this training trip. But back to the earmuffs, when I thought back and the pain I felt from when I thought you abandoned me I thought back to my greatest regret," Ultear explained with her sad smile.

"Want to talk about it?" Ur asked.

"Not really, not yet anyway. I would rather have happy thoughts connected to this trip," Ultear said with a smile.

"All right, and ass for a first happy memory I can confidently say that tomorrow I will finally be able to teach you everything I know about Ice-Make magic and watch as you bloom into a talented Maker mage who will soon surpass me," Ur said with a bright smile filled with pride.

-Flashback end-

Ur got out of bed and made her way to the little kitchen where she found Ultear with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Good morning Ultear," Ur greeted her daughter.

"Morning Mother, I was just about to come and wake you up," Ultear returned the greeting and handed her one of the cups.

The two enjoyed their coffee as well as a quick breakfast before they exited the cottage and moved over one of the larger clearing that surrounded their temporary home.

"Now, the first thing I want to teach you is 'Ice-Make: Shield. It is a very diverse move with more than just defensive properties," Ur began as soon as they arrived at the clearing.

"Outside of the obvious blocking capabilities what other uses can you think of?" Ur asked as she turned around to face her daughter.

"I can't see any form of offensive uses for the spell and I haven't seen your other students using it outside of blocking incoming attacks," Ultear answered with a frown as she tried to think of other uses for the spell.

"Ice-Make: Shield" Ur called out and created an ice shield that resembled a frozen wave crashing against a cliff. Ultear looked at the spell with interest, this being the first time she saw it outside of battle.

"When you can't see your opponent it provides them with the advantage. Being creative with what you have is the first step to coming out victorious in a battle as well as a cornerstone of Maker magic," Ur continued from behind her icy shield.

Ultear looked to the side she heard her mother's voice coming from but was surprised to feel a cold wave of powered snow coming from the opposite side of the shield. Spinning around she saw her mother standing there with a smirk.

"You can use it as a distraction, repositioning and surprising your opponent," Ultear finally answered as she realised what her mother did.

"It's good to know that one of my students will be able to explore the finer parts of Ice-Make magic. Those other two boys were never ones to use their heads to get a foot up in a fight, they only tried to brute force through their problems," Ur said with pride before a hint of disappointment seeped into her voice when she mentioned her other students.

"Well, I have met both of them and honestly, I'm not surprised at all that they would only focus on brute strength," Ultear laughed, Ur joining her with a chuckle.

"Back to business, it's time for you to start forming your own 'Ice-Make: Shield'. The best way to form it is to gain the image of a protective shield in your mind and use that image to create your shield," Ur instructed.

Ultear closed her eyes as she placed a fist into her open palm. Searching her mind for the time she felt the safest, a small smile formed on her face as she started to supply magic to her hands.

"Ice-Make: Shield" Ultear called out, remembering the feeling of the ice that had stormed around her the previous day and creating a mental image of what made her feel safe. Ur watched in amazement as a scaly face of a dragon began to grow in front of her. It had a menacing look on its broad face, forming an impenetrable barrier for its caster to hide behind and keep the enemies attention on it.

"I can guess where you found your inspiration for this protection," Ur commented with a grin. A giggle left her mouth as the icy shield dissolved and a light dust of pink was present on Ultear's face.

"S-So what's next?" Ultear asked while avoiding eye contact.

"Is this eagerness to learn or is my little girl a bit embarrassed that she feels safe around her big bad Dragon?" Ur teased. Once she saw the deep red colour covering Ultear's face she bent over double as laughter filled the clearing.

Ur was brought out of her moment of euphoria when a large ball of snow connected with her head. Looking up she saw a pouting Ultear standing with her hand extended, revealing that she had just thrown a snowball at Ur.

"All right, I'll ease off with the teasing. I'm impressed with how you were able to form a near-perfect shield on your first try, but then again, you are a powerful mage and my daughter. We can come back to it later and perfect it, but for now, we will move our focus to some basic offensive spells," Ur instructed, the amusement in her voice quickly being replaced by a more serious tone.

The rest of the morning was spent practising basic techniques and starting to come up with new spells that Ultear will use, keeping the magic she used to Ice-Make only for now.

-With Natsu and Haru-

'If he shows any signs of aggression, I won't just stand around,' Natsu mentally replied to the blond-haired spirit though his stance didn't drop.

'Thank you Natsu,' Mavis replied in a relieved tone.

As the cloaked man neared the two slayers he lifted his hand up as to show that he wasn't a threat. Haru's eyes widened even further at this action since it was not something he would expect from this man.

"Speak," Natsu commanded as he allowed some of his magic to roll off of him. There was an unanswered threat in his tone that meant if the command wasn't followed and soon, someone will get hurt. Haru felt a slight shiver running down his spine at the deathly undertone in Natsu's voice and the unspoken threat wasn't even directed at him.

Much to the credit of the cloaked man, he didn't flinch at the power Natsu was displaying neither the silent threat.

"I want to challenge you to a battle," the cloaked man said.

"What are you doing here Laxus?" Haru asked before Natsu had a chance to respond.

"That… encounter we had… was a slaughter and if that is truly an amount of magic a mage can obtain, and one of your age, 'Death Walker'. I want to face you in another battle because if the gap between us is that great then I don't know if I will ever be able to reach my goals," Laxus said as he removed his hood.

'I have no idea why I'm agreeing to this but hopefully, this will help Haru as well,' Natsu thought and even though he couldn't see it, he knew Mavis had a happy smile.

"Haru, remember what I told you yesterday about what I will be teaching you?" Natsu said as he stood up straight and his magic aura started to encircle him.

"You said that the next step was to manipulate the state of my element right," Haru replied as he looked at Natsu.

"Indeed, now Laxus prepare to take part in this demonstration of what feats Haru will soon be able to replicate," Natsu announced. A small smile formed on Laxus' face before he dropped into his battle stance. Haru took a few steps back and kept his focus on Natsu. This was his chance to further his magic, to grow and hopefully achieve the power he would need to find Igneel.

Natsu levelled his gaze at Laxus while the blond-haired man stood still with his eyes darting from side to side.

"Not as cocky as last time, good. But unfortunately, I want to start with Haru's training so I will not go easy on you though I will give you a word of advice. Don't try and use that 'ace you thought you had last time," Natsu said as he slowly started to advance.

"This Haru is what I meant by the state of your element," Natsu announced as he held his hand out to the side while continuing his slow advance. Laxus and Haru both focused on his outstretched hand, Haru wanting to see what he will learn while Laxus wanted to see what he will face.

A mix of purple and grey swirled around Natsu's hand before it started to extend outwards. Natsu grabbed hold of the purple and grey energy and it seemed to solidify. Laxus instantly morphed into lightning as soon as he saw the purple and grey blur flashing towards him.

Haru was surprised by Natsu's sudden movement and had to snap his head towards where Laxus was so he could try and keep track of the two. He saw the purple and grey energy chasing a bolt of lightning while it was shooting what looked like liquid projectiles.

"Lightning Dragon Iron Fist" Laxus roared out as he stopped dodging the energy from Natsu and started his counter-attack.

Haru saw the sword-like energy morph once more and like a liquid started to flow into a larger circular shape. Laxus' fist connected with the circular energy and the electricity was quickly dissipated. Laxus wasn't ready for the fist coming through the energy and landing a hard blow to his abdomen.

Couching up spit as he was sent flying backwards Laxus quickly took his lightning form again moments before a spear-like beam of purple and grey energy impaled the ground where he once stood.

"You like throwing spears at people, then how about you take this," Laxus roared out before calling out "Lightning Dragon Heavenward Halberd". A massive spear of electricity formed above Laxus' head before the blond mage threw the mass of electric power at Natsu.

"Now Haru, the final form of the next step," Natsu announced as he watched the powerful spell approaching. "Art of the Dragons: Elemental Control" Natsu called out as the purple and grey energy rushed towards him. Once the energy was completely covering Natsu tendrils started to lash out from his body.

"What the… how is that even possible?" Laxus shouted in disbelief as the tendrils shot out of Natsu and grabbed hold of his spell. Moments later the lightning halberd was pulled apart and flickered out of existence.

'W-What power, Laxus' spell was completely obliterated but that strange energy around Natsu looks like nothing happened,' Haru thought in amazement.

"This fight is over. I have shown Haru what I wanted and I have no more interest in this fight," Natsu announced as the deathly tendrils vanished along with the energy that surrounded him. Haru stood stunned at the power Natsu had while Laxus was left unsatisfied.

This wasn't what he wanted, he wanted to see himself fight against 'Death Walker' in a duel that would shake the very ground. The power he saw coming from the mysterious man filled him with lust. He needed that power.

"No, we aren't finished yet. I will defeat you," Laxus roared in rage as he charged electricity in his fist.

"Wait Laxus don't," Haru shouted in fear as he saw flashbacks of what happened with Erza the previous day. Haru quickly looked over to Natsu and saw him walking over to his tent where he calmly started to pack up.

"Lightning Dragon Secret Art: Roaring Thunder" Laxus called out as he launched himself forward with the massive amount of lighting sparking around his fist. His target was 'Death Walker', his goal was victory, the outcome…

Natsu felt the spike in power behind him accompanied by Laxus' rage infused rage. With a sigh, Natsu released his hold on his magic. Spinning around moments before Laxus reached him and called out his counter.

"Death Dragon Secret Art: Decaying Grasp: Death Dragon's Fist" Natsu called out as his fist was covered with purple and grey energy. Their two fists met with an explosion of yellow, grey and black that covered the entire area in a massive cloud of dust.

Moments later the burst of magic power originating from the epicentre of the massive explosion cleared all the dust. Natsu was standing where the clash originated while Laxus was lying on the ground a few meters away.

"I said we were done," Natsu said in a deathly quiet voice as his magical power rolled off of him.

Laxus sat up and rested his arms on his knees, a frown on his face.

"Seems like I am just too weak. Even after all the power I gained I still failed to bring glory to fairy Tail and now I was once again shown how weak I truly am compared to a monster like him. Have I reached my limit? Seems like it," Laxus softly said with a sigh.

'It breaks my heart to see someone with his potential being so defeated. I'm sorry for the trouble you had to go through because of my request. I had hoped for him to find inspiration in seeing your strength but it seems like it had the opposite result,' Mavis' voice sounded in Natsu's mind.

Haru had a concerned look on his face as he saw the man he wished to surpass look so defeated. He was about to move to comfort the older Dragon Slayer when he saw Natsu starting to move.

A sigh escaped Natsu as he heard the sorrow in Mavis' voice. He wasn't completely sure why he even cared but something in him wasn't happy with the blond girl being unhappy. 'I can't believe I'm going to do this,' Natsu thought to himself.

"Even though you have lost this battle, there is still a lot more to this world that you can experience. As for power, your power is tremendous and you haven't yet reached your full potential," Natsu said as he moved closer to the sulking Dragon Slayer.

"The hell you talking about?" Laxus asked with a slight scowl. He wasn't in the mood to talk to a gloating opponent.

"I can see the potential you have, your soul is brimming with untapped power," Natsu stated as he sat down across from Laxus.

"Is this some sick form of gloating, giving someone hope just to stomp on it?" Laxus asked with a scowl.

"No, I have no reason to do that. The truth is that I can see your potential being reflected in your soul. Look, the reason you lost the first time, is because I gained a massive boost from your spell. The reasons I gained a boost, I will not reveal. But even though that was the main reason, I have had a lot more time to train compared to you, another thing I won't explain. What I'm trying to say is that there are reasons why you were defeated, one being that I have had a great amount of time to perfect my magic and while it is easier faster for Dragon Slayers who gained their power from a lacrima to reach a high level of power, their ceiling is lower than those who were trained by the Dragons themselves,' Natsu started.

"Do you find some sort of oy in contradicting yourself?" Laxus asked with a confused frown on his face.

"Where is it that I contradicted myself?" Natsu asked.

"You said I have untapped power but then you said I can't get more powerful since I have a lacrima, which one is it?" Laxus returned the question with a slightly irate tone.

"You do have the potential to gain more power, that much is true, but I never said you reached your cap with your Dragon Slayer Magic. I merely said that the highest those with a lacrima can reach is below the highest one can reach who was trained by Dragons," Natsu replied, clearing up the confusion for Laxus.

"So what you are saying is that Haru and that Iron Dragon Slayer are bound to surpass me and there is nothing I can do about it," Laxus said with a downcast expression. 'That's even worse, not only will I never reach my goals, now those fools will surpass me, even after all the work I had done,' Laxus thought.

"Once again you are incorrect, while they have the capability to surpass you ass Dragon Slayers, there is no guarantee that they will succeed. And that only refers to Dragon Slayer Magic. The combination of different magic types isn't impossible. While it is on the rarer side of things since a lot of mages would rather focus on one magic, you can combine different magic types, even if it is just for one spell," Natsu explained.

As if to prove his words, Natsu summoned up the most powerful magic he had. Around his hand a swirling mass of purple, grey and black. Laxus could feel the Dragon Slayer magic in that swirling mass, but he also felt something else. He wasn't sure what this other magic was but it had a similar feel to the Dragon Slayer Magic. The feeling of death that it emitted sent a shiver down his spine as he saw a flash of the monster that had defeated him at the cathedral.

"Search for the answers to your power on your own," Natsu said as he closed his hand as the magic he had around it disappeared. Natsu stood up and started to walk over to Haru who was watching the interaction between the two with interest.

"Come Haru, I would like to get to Agartha before another one of your guildmates interrupts us," Natsu said as he passed the Fire Dragon Slayer. Haru missed Laxus flinching at the mention of guildmates as he turned around to follow Natsu.

"Laxus, don't forget that the next time we fight I will definitely beat you," Haru shouted over his shoulder and cast a quick grin towards the exiled mage. Though Laxus didn't say anything, he let out a soft huff in amusement before getting to his feet, donning his cloak and setting off into the world with one thought on his mind. 'I will unlock this power you spoke of 'Death Walker', and the next time we see one another, you will be the one defeated.'

As Laxus disappeared into the woods Haru turned to Natsu, who was making his way to the cave mouth.

"Thank you for talking to him. The last time I saw him was just after he got expelled and while most of the guild was hostile towards him I kind of understand his reason for the whole thing. I don't agree with how he went about trying to strengthen Fairy Tail, but at least at the core he had good intentions," Haru said. Natsu quietly listened, not sure if the speech was solely for him to understand the lightning mage's behaviour or whether it was for Haru to keep the same image of someone in his childhood.

"The path one follows will most of the time seem like the right one for the person walking it even if those around you will see it shrouded in darkness. Though you might tread a dark path, the thing that will lead you to darkness is the decisions you make. While he was close to diving into the darkness I interfered before the mistakes were made," Natsu said.

"Thank you for keeping him on the path of the light. I looked up to him throughout my childhood. He was always a powerful mage and someone I wanted to surpass," Haru said with a happy smile.

"I never kept him on the path of light, I merely prevented him from being consumed by the darkness. Yth zklaen dronilnr hesi kurjh mitne ekess wer whedabra, pamon else shilta tir coi ihk udoka," Natsu said, ending it off with a phrase in Draconic.

A silence fell on the two as they stood at the entrance of the cave, The Gateway to Hell, as the humans call it, or the entrance to Agartha the Core as it is known to the Dragons.

-Unknown little town-

The mad cackling of a woman could be heard above the crackling of flames and occasional explosions that rocked the foundations of the small village. On the outskirts of the town, a man stood with a group of around thirty prisoners, floating knives hovering around the group.

"You are one psychotic girl Sithria," Hardon said with a chuckle as the blond-haired woman made her way out of the burning ruins of the village they had just raided and raised.

"And don't you forget it. I see it was a good idea to get a bit more than thirty," Sithria agreed with a laugh before adding the next comment as she looked at the bloodied corpses of five villagers that laid a few meters outside of the group.

"Told you some of them would try to run. Nothing better than to ensure a group is obedient than to show them how painful it can to feel the cutting edges of a hundred knives slicing you until you die of blood loss. Ah, the pained screams are what I live for as my blades rip them to shreds," Hardon replied with a crazed glint in his eyes.

"And you call me psychotic," Sithria said with a laugh.

"Let's get moving people, we have three days walk ahead of us, and if any of you try to run…" Hardon ordered, leaving the threat in the air as the blades that surrounded the group started to float closer.

With the extra motivation of not ending up like their fellow villagers the group obeyed. If only they knew what waited for them at the end of their journey.

-With Team Erza-

With a battle cry, Erza swung her new weapon at the mountain Vulcan she was facing. Erza was clad in a white long-sleeved martial arts shirt with light blue flowers running in a line from top to bottom diagonally across her body, long white pants with the same flowers on the bottom of the pants and white shoes. Two light blue armbands were visible at the end of the sleeves of the shirt as her hair was tied in a tight ponytail. In her hands was a long Bo staff that rivalled her in length.

The staff connected with the Vulcan's face and it was swiftly knocked out. Gray was busy with his own duel against another Vulcan as he slammed his fist into his open palm and called out his new spell. "Ice-Make: Dory Apsis" Gray shouted as a hefty spear formed in his right hand and a round shield formed in his left.

Resting the massive spear on the shield, Gray blocked the punch the Vulcan threw at him as he shoved the spear into the Vulcan's shoulder. Quickly following up with a shield bash to the head, the Vulcan was defeated.

"Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus, give my weapon strength" Lucy chanted as she held her whip in one hand and her the Golden key in the other. Channelling the celestial magic into her whip a brown glow emanated from the black whip. Spinning to where her opponent was Lucy cracked the whip in front of her, sending a shockwave at the Vulcan, sending it tumbling into an icy shield Gray had previously cast.

"Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius, give my weapon the roaring tides," Lucy chanted before the brown glow turned blue. With another crack of her whip, a jet of water slammed into the Vulcan, leaving it encased in a prison of ice.

Team Erza continued using their new weapons and spells to swiftly defeat the large troop of Vulcans.

"Well done everyone, if we continue like this we will be ready to take on whatever the thing is at the top of the mountain," Erza said as she was engulfed in a golden light. After the light dissipated she was once again standing in her normal Heart Kreuz Armour.

The group had spent the morning in the town gathering information on their quest as well as going through what they will attempt based on the books Erza gave them on the train.

"Looks like it's getting dark, we should probably set up camp," Gray commented as he saw the sun beginning to sink below the horizon.

"Lucy you are in charge of food, Gray secure a perimeter while I will set up the tents," Erza instructed as she re-quipped their camping gear from her personal dimension. While Erza was setting up the camp she thought about what they had learned from the townsfolks about the monster they will be eliminating.

'The hunters in the village said that the creature was large and bipedal based on the tracks they saw. They also said it had a long and powerful tail. The repairmen said that it had to have large claws since the barns they had to fix were littered with claw marks. The creature can easily camouflage itself in the blizzards it seems to be able to create leading me to believe it should have white coloured fur. Other than that we don't have a lot of information and I can't recall ever reading about a beast like this," Erza thought as she moved on from tent to tent.

While Erza was busy with eh tents and Lucy handled the food Gray moved in a perimeter around the campsite. He had his eyes peeled for any forms of danger while creating small hidden pitfalls around the camp so that if something came near they would be alerted by its startled screams. While moving around he had an uneasy feeling. Something about the aura around the ice sent a shiver down his spine but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

The night was peaceful and after sharing their meal the group decided to turn in, planning on getting an early morning start the next day.

[Yth zklaen dronilnr hesi kurjh mitne ekess wer whedabra, pamon else shilta tir coi ihk udoka] – [We must bring our own light to the darkness, no one else can do it for us]

Hey guys, sorry for the long wait but I had a test week and a few other assignments I had to focus on. Sadly I will have to say that uploads will probably keep on being delayed from the weekly schedule for at least the next month since exams are approaching but rest assure that I won't be abandoning any of my stories. So on to the chapter, I hope you liked what I did with it and some of the bonding moments of Ur and Ultear. Let me know what you thought of Team Erza's new spells and weapons, I tried to think of something Erza didn't have and a staff-like weapon came to mind, for Gray I wanted to keep to the notion of him using weapons in his magic like his lances, blades and hammers and for Lucy I wanted to give her a bit more combat-oriented skills. If you want to suggest magic for Sithria you can, I haven't exactly decided on the details, only that there will be explosions involved hehe. I don't know how much of the actual training I will be showing, maybe leaning more towards the results or a conversation on what is behind the magic for Haru in the next chapter. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it, leave a review with your thoughts and I will see you in the next one.