Hello again! And welcome to the next chapter of Manarath's Fairy Tail adventures! Hopefully, this chapter comes out sooner than the last one!
Sadly, my time at Fairy Tail had to end. I met up with Makarov in his office late at night, for my last conversation with him for now.
"So you have planned everything out?" Makarov asks me, his voice filled with hope? I guess that makes sense. With my time spent here in Fairy Tail, I have learned that something in the guildhall gets destroyed every day.
"Yes, everything has been planned out. But it will only apply on the inside. If someone attacks the guild from the outside, nothing will block it. And if a wall gets destroyed, the enchantments will most likely fail," I explain, in a serious tone.
"Yes yes, you have explained this already, I just don't want the guildhall to be destroyed," Makarov says.
"I can understand that, but it won't help you if you get attacked by someone. It will literally be useless if you get attacked by someone"
Hearing what little alarm I slipped out in my voice, Makarov sighs.
"It is against the laws created by the magic council that guilds fight each other, and it will set off alarms when either the magic council or another guild finds out that I had someone enchant my guildhall to stop magic from the outside. But if it's just the inside, it will raise less suspicion since, much to my annoyance, we are chaotic and destroy things"
"I know that old man doesn't mean I like it and would rather finish what I started with the enchanting," I say in annoyance. Politics, the scourge of all leaders, and the reason you have advisors to think about it so you don't have to. I have always been the powerhouse of the Ebon Blade. My appointment to Deathlord was more for whatever moral undead can have, and to have someone who is known at the forefront of the Ebon blade to help with public relations. Or that's the explanation. I still hold the belief that Darrion had something to do with it, so he didn't have to make more of his speeches.
"I agree with you, Manarath, but I have to follow the rules or have the magic council after my guild even more than they already are"
"*sigh*... I understand. If you ever change your mind, you now have a way to contact me. I hate not finishing a project," I say in a resigned tone while pointing to the contents on Makarov's desk.
On Makarov's desk is a single card and two books, along with 3 letters. The card is just a simple black card the size of a normal playing card, but where there would normally be a suit and a number, there are 5 runes in total. A single big rune in the middle, and four smaller runes in each corner. While the two books look nearly identical, one of them has a small letter laying on top of it, while the other has the title 'Rune layout and explanation'. The three letters each have a different name. They are addressed to Laxus, Gray, and Levy, the three protegees that I picked up during my time here in Fairy Tail.
Looking over the contents on his desk, Makarov gives the letters a funny look.
"I still don't understand how you got my problematic grandson to listen to you and actually take your advice," Makarov's tone is annoyed at the fact Laxus only started socializing with his other guild members because of the advice I gave him.
"Ah yes, young Laxus, he is hard-headed and won't listen to anyone he deems weaker than himself or has wronged him or those close to him. All he actually needed was for someone to show him up, and then teach him what was happening. He wants to be a leader. So he needed someone to teach him what that means"
At my explanation, Makarov grumbles about ungrateful brats and how they should listen to their elders. I can't help but chuckle at his grumbling, but I can hear his tone is more relived that Perhaps Laxus won't go down the same dark path as his father.
And wasn't that a shock, learning about The Dreyar family and their history in the guild? How Makarov had to exile his own son after what he did to both his grandson and daughter-in-law. And how a young Laxus didn't understand why his own grandfather sent his father away with no reason, according to him.
"I still don't understand how you have turned him around, but I thank you. I feared he would follow in his father's footsteps or something along those lines and I would have to do something that would haunt me for the rest of my days." Hearing the tone of Makarov's voice, I realize he is more thankful than I thought he would be.
"Even so, how you balance both Laxus, Gray, and Levy along with getting your work done, I do not know. I have problems managing everyone and do the stupid paperwork the brats give." Makarov grumbles, looking at the big stack of paper next to the things I have laid out on his desk.
Chuckling, I have to agree with Makarov "Yeah they were a handful, but having to lead armies with infantry who has the mind and attention span of a toddler you get used to dealing with difficult and conflicting personalities"
even though I was enjoying the comfortable silence between us, it had to end since I would leave when I was done here.
Sighing, I get up from my chair and stretch out the stiffness in my joints. "I will have to leave now Makarov, make sure the three of them get what I left them." Not waiting for a response, I turn around and walk towards the door of Makarov's office to leave.
"I will Manarath, take care of yourself, and know you will always have a place to stay here at Fairy Tail." Hearing Makarov's honest words about there being a place for me makes me falter for a moment and I stop in the open door. Turning my head back to Makarov, I can only say one thing.
"Suffer well Makarov."
The next morning at Fairy Tail started like any other. After an hour after, the doors opened the guild members slowly trickled in and went about their day. It took a turn when Levy walked into the library, and instead of Manarath as she would normally see working at the table in the middle, she saw guild master Makarov sitting on the table with a small smile on his face. Makarov, seeing her, beckons her over to the table. "Take a seat Levy and relax while we wait on Gray and Laxus"
Feeling confused but accepting the situation, Levy takes a seat, taking out the books she normally works on runes with and continuing her work from yesterday.
It didn't take long for Gray to show up, and not long after Laxus showed up.
Seeing everyone is here, Makarov starts. "Now that all of you are here, I have some news regarding Manarath."
"And what's that, old man? Where is he anyway?" Laxus speaks upright as Makarov finishes his sentence.
"Yeah, I have some questions about the last runes he showed me," Levy asks, as well.
While these questions were asked, Gray just had a frown on his face
"Yes, about that. Manarath has done the work I commissioned him to and has left as of last night." At Makarov's word, all eyes go wide.
"What do you mean he left, old man! How could he be done already!?" Laxus yells out. Levy and Gray just looked devastated at the news.
"Manarath has other things he needs to take care of, but he didn't leave you without a word and left each of you a letter." When he finished, Makarov took out the three letters for each of them.
"You can read them when you want. Oh and Levy, he left you these books so you can continue your research into his runes"
Looking at his children reading the different letters, Makarov knows Manarath had a bigger impact on their lives than he probably knows. Makarov has seen how quickly his children grew during Manarath's stay here at Fairy Tail, and can only hope that their growth will continue in the same direction. Even if it will most likely be years before Manarath comes to a visit, if he ever will.
Walking along the road, it has been a couple of weeks since I left Fairy Tail and started traveling this new world, looking for things to occupy my time, when I see a flash coming from the bag I had linked to my chest back on Azeroth. This means Darion has finally seen my letter.
Sticking my hand into the bag, I finally grab what Darion left for me. A small note.
"Deathlord
It hasn't even been an hour since our last contact. But I am getting all of our mages into getting you back.
In the meantime.
Suffer well
Highlord Darion Mograine"
Reading the letter again just to see if I actually read it correctly, I can feel the annoyance build in me. If what Darion says in the letter is correct, time moves differently, and without sitting down and timing everything, I do not know how different time flows. A week on Azeroth could be several years here on Earthland. But now I at least know that I will spend a lot of time here on Earthland before going home.
Sighing, I put the letter in a side pouch and continue my walk. During my time traveling, I picked up on some rumors in the different taverns I stayed at to have a break from traveling that a dark guild has set up in the next town I'm currently traveling to. From the rumors, they deal in slavery, not for trading, but they bring them somewhere and I plan to find out where they take these slaves.
In the middle of the city where the only building wasn't destroyed, the dark guild Bloodhammers are currently set up with their current batch of slaves they will transport back to the tower of heaven.
"Oh man, we got a good haul this time! The boss will be happy with this one!" A member yelled with excitement.
Around the hall, everyone who heard the dark mage laughs and raises their cups in agreement and celebration.
"Yeah, I can't believe how easy it was to take over this stupid town, and it's out in the middle of nowhere the magic council will never know about what we did here!"
Laughter filled the hall again and continued until an icy wind starting blowing through every window in the building.
"Woah what the hell, it was warm just a moment ago. What happened?"
Confusion spread through the members of Bloodhammers. The confusion made some of the dark mages look outside to see how bad the weather had gotten.
"Hey! someone is standing outside! It seems like he is the course of the storm!"
"Yeah! What the hell, I thought no one was supposed to know we were out here!"
"That doesn't matter! Someone get out there and kill him before he reports us to the magic council!"
"Hey, where did AHH!"
At the yell of pain, panic spread through the members of the Bloodhammers, trying to find out what happened. The panic only increased when more screams of pain were accompanied by the sound of flesh getting torn and slashed.
"What the fuck is happening?!"
"They got in?! How the fuck did that happen?!"
"Doesn't matter, just get them, we can't let them escape!"
As panic continued to spread, so did the slaughter of the Bloodhammers guild. Whoever had infiltrated the Bloodhammers were like a ghost, a simple blur going from person to person. A member was fortunate enough that he was on the sideline when the slaughter started, and when the panic set in, he didn't move. The only thing he could see was the blur mowing down the whole guild. Severed limbs flying, and the dying screams of his fellow guild members and dark mages.
The single member who watched his guild members get slaughtered finally let the panic take him fully over and started fleeing towards the stairs that led downstairs to where they kept their prisoners.
"Fuck fuck fuck, this can't be happening, this can't be happening! Oh god, gotta get to safety before whatever the fuck is slaughtering the rest of them."
Finally reaching the door to the captives, the dark mage stumbles, trying to open the locks.
"Come on you stupid lock, open goddammit!"
Still trying to open the stupid locks, the dark mage didn't hear the end of all the commotion going upstairs, and only noticed when the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard from the stair he just went down. It was really too bad that the dark mage didn't get to turn around before he was skewered by several icicles that pinned him to the door he was trying so desperately trying to get into.
"*Sigh* goddammit, I need to learn how to hold back so I can interrogate someone. At least there are still the captives. Maybe I should clean up before I let them out though."
My thoughts get interrupted by the screams coming from the door I just impaled a dark wizard too. Maybe I should have killed him somewhere else. Oh well. Ripping the dark mage from the door, freezing him totally, then shattering him on the ground so the first thing people see isn't a body.
"Is there someone on the other side I can talk to real quick before I get you out?" I yell through the door to get the attention of someone who can lead all of them out of here.
Hearing the screaming stop, I take a step closer to the door.
"Hello?" a small feminine voice calls from the other side of the door.
"Yes hello, are there any injured with you?"
I can hear the person on the other side give a small sigh of relief.
"Yes, we have a couple of people who have been injured. Can you please get us out of here?" The person asked, their voice filled with desperation they were trying to conceal.
"Noted, sadly I can't help overly much with that, But I can get this door open. Are there any children in there?"
The question is met with murmuring on the other side. Seems like they don't trust me fully yet, that's good. They shouldn't trust a random voice asking questions about them.
"Why would you need to know if there are any children?" That's a new voice, a more masculine voice, asking the question.
"Things got a tad bit bloody when I started removing the dark mages. And I don't want the children to see all the guts spread around because of me." I find that being as honest and blunt is the best way of gaining the trust of people you try to rescue. Hopefully, it works with these people.
"... You killed them all?..." the same masculine voice asked. His voice filled with fear and hope.
"Yes, sadly, I needed at least one of them alive for interrogation, but I got carried away."
The only thing that followed my statement was silence, then quick movement and quiet chatter.
"No matter what, I'm opening the door so you can all get out of here. The question is, do you want my continued assistance? or are do you just want me to open the door and leave?"
The chatter stopped, and the feminine voice answered my question thankfully.
"We... we need more help. We currently have nowhere to go. We don't even know where we are!"
That got the chatter from the other prisoners in a frenzy, but I don't have the patience to deal with them right now. Blasting the locks off the door, I let the momentum of the blast open the door. The room itself is just a big storage room. From a quick count, there are roughly 50 prisoners, 10 of them children. And from the looks of it, their age range from 5 to 10. Taking the anger at seeing actual CHILDREN almost ending up in slavery and burying for later, I turn to the people closest to the door. One woman and one man. The man is on the older side, with his graying hair and slightly wrinkled face. The woman is younger; she looks to be in her twenties. Her hair is a simple brown.
Everyone in here is dirty. It doesn't help with my enhanced senses can pick up on the smallest of smells. Just another thing I have to ignore currently.
"If you want to get out, then please make sure the children don't see what's actually out there and just stand out in front of the building so I know where you are."
My words got them moving. All the older women went to the children, most likely a maternal instinct taking hold. While the men went to escort them out.
"Anyone who needs immediate healing, please speak up and I will see what I can do." Hearing my words got several people speaking up. Reaching out my senses, I try to find which soul is closest to leaving this mortal plane, leaving out the older souls I walk around seeing what I actually can do to help these people.
Finally, having gotten everyone out in front of the building, I try to find the two people who seemed like the leaders, or at least the spokespeople of everyone here. Finding them away from the main group talking in hushed tones and not noticing my approach, I let them talk for another minute before giving a not so polite cough to get their attention. Seeing people jump when they do not know I'm next to them never gets old.
"I need you two to collect everyone. I'm making a call to a friend who can get actual help here so you can go home."
Seeing both confusion and elation in their eyes. It's the man who speaks up first. "Who are you calling?" Suspicion filling his voice.
"I'm calling Makarov Dreyar from Fairy Tail. He is the master of that guild."
"You have the guild master of one of the most popular guilds on call?" Even more suspicion. Understandable, so I take out a little black card engraved in runes and channel a bit of magic into it. Just to let them see I'm not lying.
Back at the Fairy Tail guildhall, everything is as it always is. Chatting, drinking, and fighting going on throughout the guildhall. The master of the guild himself is partaking in drinking himself. Sitting on the bar and laughing along with his children. Everything is as it should be, every one of his children just enjoying life. His peace and quiet got interrupted by a loud sound and blinking coming from his pocket. Confusion was the first thing that went through Makarov, then realization set in. Taking out the black card he kept on him in case he needed to contact Manarath again and channeling some of his own magic into the card to accept the call. A hologram came to life above the card, taking the form of Manarath's head.
"Manarath, it has only been a couple of weeks and you are already calling?" Makarov asked in confusion.
Saying Manarath's name got a few people to perk up, namely his grandson, Gray, and Levy. Levy most of all.
"IS THAT MANARATH" Levy yelled across the guildhall and ran to Makarov.
"This is a business call, sadly. I got word of a dark guild who has been collecting slaves and was transporting them." Manarath said, his tone serious.
Hearing that slavers and slaves were involved, Makarov's eyes narrowed, turning his full attention to Manarath.
"What do you need, Manarath?" Makarov's tone was no-nonsense.
"I need someone who can contact people who can help them. The cards we are using can find each other, and if you have a mage who can open portals, this should help them as well. If not, have Levy figure out how to turn this card into a portal. Call it a challenge she has a maximum of six hours for"
At Manarath's words, a look of concentration appeared on Levy's face.
"I will have the rune knights called to your location, Manarath, but it will take some. HEY!"
"Master Manarath, I will have the portal ready in less than six hours for the rune knights to come and help. You can count on me!"
When Levy finished, she turned off the call function and had all the runes inscribed on the card appear. With the help of her solid script and lightpen, she started copying the runes on the air in front of her. Making notes about the function of each rune and how they could be changed to help her accomplish her goal of creating a portal to where the other card was.
While Levy was busy working, Makarov could only look bewildered at Levy and how fast she was working, even without her Gale-Force reading glasses.
"*sigh* Warren! contact the rune knights! if they ask questions, tell them slavers are involved! Levy, when you have this worked out, Laxus and I will go and assess the situation."
For the former captives, the two hours of waiting for someone or something to come and help them felt like several lifetimes. The atmosphere was so tense it could be cut with a knife. But the relief that was felt when a portal opened up over the black card their savior had left was indescribable, but that relief disappeared when only 2 people stepped through, a short, balding old man, and a tall, slightly buff, blond teenager.
"Hello there, my name is Makarov, the guild master of Fairy Tail, and this is my grandson, Laxus. We are here to help until the rune knights come," the old man said, with a comforting smile on this face.
When Makarov finished, the elation and relief returned a hundred full. Every one of the former captives started celebrating. Out from the gathered crowd stepped two figures, one woman, one male.
"You came... you actually came... just as he said," the woman said as she started crying, slowly rolling down her cheeks, the emotions of today overcoming her. But she wasn't alone in shedding tears. The man that followed her towards Makarov and Laxus was also crying.
"I take it Manarath told you at least I would come? Is he still here, perhaps?" Makarov asked the two. Wondering if he could get some answers to what the heck was going on and what he was doing.
The woman took the time to compose herself before answering. "He is still here. He went inside to gather information about where they were taking us... I don't know how he could do that. He killed them all..."
Looking between themselves, Makarov and Laxus nodded and started walking towards the building pointed out by the woman. Hoping to get information from the man who caused this situation. After telling everyone that in another hour, the rune knights would come to help them out with what they need.
Walking through the doors that are only just hanging on and blocking the view from what was happening inside, Laxus and Makarov were met with the smell of blood and a deep drop in temperature. Looking around the hall, trying to spot where Manarath where.
"Just follow the screams, gentlemen! I'm in the middle of something!"
Just as the voice of Manarath finished speaking, the screaming he mentioned started. It was a soul-wrenching sound, but it was accompanied by yelling when the person screaming ran out of breath.
"Laxus, my boy, can you hear what is said?" Makarov asked Laxus.
Taking a moment to collect himself, Laxus turned out the smell of blood and the freezing temperatures to focus on his hearing. The power of a dragon slayer granted to him by the implanted lacrima in him granting him enhanced senses.
"The screaming is deafening, but the yelling I can make out. It's Manarath asking questions, forcefully. He is torturing someone to get answers about the slave operation," Laxus answered his grandfather, his tone grim.
"We have to stop him then. There are better ways to get information out of someone." Makarov said, his tone just as grim as his grandsons.
Following the screaming, as instructed, Makarov and Laxus made their way through the building to find Manarath and put a stop to whatever he was doing. Keeping their pace as quick as possible with Makarov's small legs, they eventually make their way to the door where the screaming was coming from, said screaming had only been growing louder and more soul-wrenching with each step they took. But the moment Laxus reaches out for the handle to open the door, the screaming stops. Sharing a look between them, Makarov and Laxus steel their nerves and open the door.
"Took you long enough to get here. I just finished with this one."
Ignoring the words coming from Manarath and looking around the room, the only things they noticed were the specters floating around, silently screaming, their faces locked in constant agony.
"Manarath, what is happening? What are you doing?" Makarov asked, his tone uneasy.
"These specters are the only thing remaining of the dark guild I destroyed. I'm getting the information I need out of them before letting them suffer damnation." The casual way in which Manarath explained what he was doing sent a chill down both Makarov's and Laxus' spines.
"The people of this world a weaker than I thought they would be, so I accidentally killed all of them before I could question any of the remaining ones." Manarath continued.
"There was no need to torture their spirits. They paid for their crimes when they were killed Manarath." Makarov tried to reason.
All that got from Manarath was a dark chuckle. "Oh, but it isn't Makarov. The crimes you commit in life follow you, even in death. I'm just making them pay for some of them before they can in the afterlife while getting the information to punish their compatriots." Turning to look at them, Manarath gave them a blank look before continuing.
"I am a death knight. I suffer in place of the innocent and protect the innocent while punishing those who would threaten them. I use the methods they would use against them so that no one else has to. I will continue to do so until there is no more suffering happening to the innocent. But as long as suffering happens, I will stand against it and make those who would inflict suffering onto the innocent suffer!" In the end, Manarath had stood up and was yelling. Makarov and Laxus had each taken a step back in shock.
Seeing their reaction, Manarath stopped, took a breath to calm the anger that had built up during his questioning of the dark guild.
"My apologies. My anger got the better of me. But my point still stands. Good cannot exist without evil, but I would rather see something evil being used for good, so good people don't have to suffer."
Turning back towards the specters still floating around the room, Manarath waves his hand at them and they disappear, screaming as they get sent to whatever afterlife they deserve.
"Know that I only seek to protect those who can't protect themselves, and only fight those who would seek to do evil."
walking to the door, Manarath turns and gives Laxus and Makarov a small smile.
"We will see each other again, but I have a lead to follow and slavers to punish."
And with that, Manarath leaves Makarov and Laxus with conflicting feelings about what kind of man Manarath Frostbringer really is.