The Council Ball! A gathering by the Council goes terribly wrong when Tartarus and Dealer strike. Future Rogue lurks in the darkness, waiting for his chance…

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Laxus stood before Count Waltz, red lightning dancing all around his body. Although Laxus was wounded, this was an ideal situation for him, as Red Lightning grew stronger the more Laxus bled. Waltz wounded Laxus rather severely, but the lightning dragon was able to smirk it off, his power bolstered because of this. Waltz believed he was in control of the battle until this point, but Laxus' power was unlike anything he had ever witnessed before. "This power is…" Waltz grit his teeth.

"It's too late for you to turn back." Laxus said while clenching his hand into a fist. The damage was already done, and Laxus intended to see this fight through to the finish. In the blink of an eye, Laxus appeared in front of Waltz in a flash of crimson lightning, slamming his fist into the ruler's stomach. "RAH!"

"GUH!" Waltz's eyes widened from the impact, spit and blood flying from his lips the instant contact was made. Waltz's body flew backwards against his will, tumbling violently across the rocky ground. Before he could even come to a halt, Laxus predicted his landing point and zipped around, kicking Waltz square in the back. "AGH!" Waltz grunted, tumbling around out of his control.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" Laxus was giving Waltz no rest, popping his jaw open to release a searing bolt of red lightning from his mouth to further put pressure on the Count.

Waltz was able to catch himself at last, jumping off to the side to avoid the incoming bolt of lightning. He closed the gap between himself and Laxus within a heartbeat, swinging his sword at him once again. "Do not get so ahead of yourself! Dazzling Spin!" Waltz slashed across Laxus's chest once while sliding past him. A magic circle appeared under Laxus, numerous beams of light shooting out in a cylindrical pattern to pierce him in numerous locations.

"Grrr…!" Laxus bit his tongue to keep from letting out any pained noises.

"You should beg for the King's favor! Perhaps then I'll spare your life!" Waltz stabbed his sword into the ground, making use of Apocalypse Fall once more. A great deal of crystals shot up from the ground as he attempted to finish Laxus off. "Your blood may make you stronger, but it is a double edged sword! The more you bleed, the faster your body will give out!"

Laxus used Lightning Body once again to try and navigate through the rising crystals. He was making a beeline straight to Waltz, rearing his fist back with narrowed eyes. "Unfortunately for you…" Some crystals did manage to strike and graze his body, but he fought through the pain to keep going. "This body of mine ain't givin' out until everyone in my guild makes it back home! As Fairy Tail's guild master, that's the one thing I have to accomplish!" The will of Makarov was behind Laxus. Makarov always fought for the sake of his brats and Laxus understood that will now that he was in his grandfather's shoes. Makarov put his life on the line so his children could return home to Fairy Tail, and Laxus was doing the same. The red lightning around his body crackled loudly as he closed the distance between himself and Waltz. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Red Lightning, Roaring Thunder!"

"Wait…!" Waltz couldn't defend himself in time. He was defenseless as Laxus' fist slammed against his face, lightning crackling and thunder echoing outwards with a loud BOOOOOOM that could be heard for miles. Waltz's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he hit the ground one more time, completely unconscious.

Laxus touched down on the ground, panting heavily as blood dripped from his body. "It doesn't matter who you are or where you are. When you threaten Fairy Tail, my lightning will strike you down."

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The sound of thunder booming out caused Rondo turn around. "What was that?!"

"The Count…!?" Tuba gasped.

"Giehehe!" Gajeel laughed. "That's the sound of someone failing to mess with Fairy Tail!" The Iron Dragon launched towards Rondo while she was distracted, iron scales covering his body to increase his power. He punched Rondo in the cheek, causing her to stagger. "You get the message now?! You don't have a chance in hell in beating us!"

"He's right." Cobra said while purple mist swirled around his body. It was his poison seeping into the air, and he was making sure that Gajeel wasn't inhaling any of it. "I can tell you don't want to continue this fight right now, I can hear your thoughts. You're worried about your ruler."

"We were working under his orders." Rondo said while keeping her blades at the ready.

"And we'll fight until ordered not to." Tuba readied his mace.

"There's no point to this fight right now." Cobra gestured to the situation around them. He never thought he'd be in a situation where he was talking people down. "The world is in too much danger right now for such a petty fight. Can't you save it for later?"

"Yeah, I'll gladly kick your ass whenever." Gajeel narrowed his eyes. "But I got important things I gotta protect. My guild, my woman, and my children. I need to be there for them right now, so…" Darkness started to shroud Gajeel's iron body, making use of his Iron Shadow dual mode to make a threatening point. "Either get out of the way, or I'll move you myself."

"Gh…." Rondo started to sweat, before ultimately placing her swords away. "Come on, Tuba. We should bring the Count back…"

"…" Tuba didn't say anything. He just put his weapon away and walked with Rondo.

"…Are they gonna try anything funny?" Gajeel asked Cobra.

Cobra shook his head. "No, they're going to retrieve the Count and hide until this battle is over. We don't have to worry about them at least…but everything is still…ah…"

"What?" Gajeel reverted to normal to stare at Cobra. "Something happened?"

"Yeah." Cobra nodded, slowly grinning. "It appears that the cavalry has arrived…"

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The defensive battle was slowly tipping into the side of the angel's favor. Even though the quality of Ishgar mages surpassed that of the angelic soldiers, the quantity was starting to show itself. Reiss and Tyson were back to back, sweating as they were surrounded by a few titan angels. "I know quality is usually favored, but I'm starting to see the merits of quantity…." Tyson said.

Max was able to brush a few angelic soldiers aside with some sand, but it wasn't enough. "Damn! There are just too many…!"

"We just have to hold out until Ace takes out that Commander! He only needs a few minutes!" Tia said while shooting some water from her scepter. This succeeded in blowing a few titans away.

"Not impossible, but it won't be a fun few minutes…!" Daryan admitted. They were slowly getting worn down with the massive numbers. "We can hold them, but…!"

"There are just a lot…" Wakaba's smoke magic was able to blind a few angels, leaving them open to Jet and Macao's attacks to knock them back. The background mages of Fairy Tail had to make up for their lack of strength with teamwork to pull their weight.

"HAH!" Kanade was throwing fists left and right. Her pure strength was enough to take out any small fry that came her way, but she did have to deal with the titan's in an even fight. "Come on, this is just me warming up!" The purple haired puncher boasted. Despite the bruises on her body, she was raring to go.

"Man, she's crazy." Jack Corvus said while matching some angels in the air with his flames. "But we need crazy right now." He then turned his attention to his sister, who was surrounded by a few titans. "Shit, Sis!" Jack went to fly down, but he was surrounded by numerous angelic soldiers. "Get outta the way, assholes!"

"Gh…" Tia looked around. In terms of raw strength, she could probably take them out, but it wouldn't be pretty. Their formation was tight and it was clear they weren't intending for her to slip away so easily. One of the titan's reared a fist back and prepared to swing, but their punch was stopped by some chains. "Huh?"

"Go, now!" That was Emerald, Emeraude's mother, intervening. Despite being old, she wasn't a slouch.

"Right!" Nodding, Tia jumped forward and spun around, creating a cyclone of water that swept the titans away and practically drowned them in its wake. She then turned to Emerald with numerous question marks. "Wait…you're Emeraude's mother, aren't you? Why are you…"

"Em wanted to lend a helping hand." Emerald said with a smile. The meaning of her words was made clear when a gigantic Brandish appeared onto the battlefield, looking over the state of everything with a sigh.

"This is what I have to deal with? What a drag." She turned her attention to an incoming Gusios. It launched a powerful blast of water in her direction, but with her magic, she was able to shrink it until it was an inconsequential drop of water in the palm of her large hand. "Command T: Magnification." Lazily flicking her finger forward, that drop of water turned into a gargantuan attack that crushed the angelic.

"Holy hell…" Reiss was staring up at Brandish.

"They're crazy…" Asuka Ichiro stated. But she noticed one person in particular arriving with the Spriggan.

"The Spriggan are here to help? Never thought I'd say that." Bacchus scratched the back of his neck. "But I ain't complaining!"

"You've all done quite enough." Julius said while sitting on a floating throne. "Clearly this task has you at your wits end. So allow the Spriggan to show their strength and brush aside this issue."

"I don't like the way he insulted us." Kinana frowned.

Julius, Brandish, Jacob, G, Ragen, Zero, Ken, Little Queen and Oriana all appeared. With their incredible magic ability, they were making short work of the angelic forces without even breaking a sweat. "We are missing a few, but there is no doubt they'll make their appearance soon enough." Julius said. "Rest easy, Ishgar. Your trump cards have arrived."

"Does he really have to stroke the Alvarez ego that much…?" Macao sighed while rubbing his head.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Dad!" Romeo said.

"Thank you, Spriggan!" Hisui looked up to the Spriggan and smiled. She was more than glad that they were offering their support. They were terrifying opponents in the war and in the tournament, so it was nice to be allied with such powerful mages for once.

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Cumore was looking down at the state of the battlefield with widened eyes. The power of the Spriggan 12 could barely be considered human. An audible gasp left him when he saw Brandish just step on a Gusios like it was an insect. "W-What is this!?" Cumore said while looking around frantically. "There is no conceivable way humans are capable of being that strong!"

"You underestimate us!" Ace said coolly, flying forward with his electric sword. With the tide of battle shifting in Ishgar's favor, Cumore's resolve waned just a little bit. This allowed Ace to get the edge in close combat, slashing Cumore's chest.

"Guh!" Cumore grunted, flying back to try and gain some distance. "Nonsense! No matter how powerful these humans may be, they pale in comparison to the might of Lord Yggdrasil!" A white ring appeared around Ace and Cumore clenched his hand into a fist. "Angel Ring!" This ring closed in on Ace and exploded in a brilliant flash of light. It was a direct hit. "Do you see now? No matter how strong you may be, there is a force that is always greater!"

"Hah…" Ace coughed up some blood. He had been working himself nonstop, so his illness was starting to take effect. He could feel his body growing a bit heavy, but he ignored this because of the situation. "You're right about that. Even as strong as I am, I know that somewhere out there, there's a person who's even stronger. The world's strongest wizards are right there after all…" Ace's armor shifted to his Black Battalion armor. "But I can tell you one thing…you've already met the person who's greater than you. He's standing right in front of you."

Cumore grit his teeth. This disgusting, feeble human had the audacity to claim superiority over him. "You think you can best me!? I will not be slain by a mere human a second time!" Cumore swiped his arm downward, gathering a large amount of magical energy. This magical energy took the shape of a gigantic cross. "Grand Cross!" And with all his might. Cumore hurled this cross in Ace's direction to finish him off. He was putting every ounce of power he could muster into this attack, because he didn't want to face such humiliation once again.

"Even if I can't best you…." Ace said while shifting his blade slightly. "There are a ton of mages around here who can pick up that slack. But we don't have to worry about that, because this will be the end!" Ace flew towards the Grand Cross, slicing it in half with his sword with no struggle at all. He was showcasing his absolute dominance and why he was, without a doubt, the strongest mage in Seven.

"…!" Cumore's jaw dropped. The shock he experienced in that moment was so strong, he couldn't even make a sound. He put every ounce of magic power he had in that attack and it was cut through like butter. Instincts took over and he started to fly away. "Stay back! You're not a human! You're some inhumane monster! A demon!" The mere act of fleeing was caught by some of the angelic soldiers, who stood in fear that someone was actually making their esteemed general run away.

Ace was on Cumore's trail as he fled, grinning the whole time. "I'm the most human guy you'll ever meet!" Ace formed a black hole on the tip of his finger, flicking it towards Cumore. This tiny black hole quickly expanded, its gravitational pull far too much for Cumore to withstand and he was draw in. "Now, let's wrap this up! Black End Galaxy!" Ace flew past the black hole he crated, slicing it in two with Cumore still inside. The Black Hole exploded violently in a flash of bright light, causing everyone present to cover their eyes. As that light faded, the burned body of an unconscious Cumore hit the ground.

"C-Captain Cumore…!?" An angelic soldier gasped.

"If you want to flee, you best do it now." Ace said while flying high above the angelic forces. "I'm not the only one capable of doing something like that. If you value your lives, you'll take your commander and go back to heaven, and never come back down. Do I make myself clear?"

"But really, it's your choice." Brandish said while shrugging. She was still a giant, and the overwhelming, suffocating presence of the Spriggan 12 put the fear of death into them. There was a lot of frantic shouting and panicking. Some titans picked up Cumore and the angelic forces quickly fled back into the sky.

"Huh…they really ran." Max said while looking up at the sky.

"That means we won!" Romeo jumped for joy.

"Don't get so eager kid." Ken said with a scoff. "That was only one round. We still got plenty to go."

"But we protected the people here." Hisui was smiling. "Thank you so much."

"It was on Her Majesty's orders." Julius said while closing his book.

"Then I'll have to thank her personally when we get out of this mess." Hisui was looking positively at the future. "I know that we'll all see this through to the end, I know it…"

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Zihark was overseeing the state of the battle. He could feel Cumore's energy fade and he saw a group of angels retreating back into the sky. This made him grit his teeth. "Damned humans…can't they see the situation at hand is greater than their own need for survival? If we do not purge this land, such chaos will only continue to spread!" As he spoke, a few demons attempted to ambush him, but he sliced through them in a single slash of his sword. "Prometheus will break free soon…this struggle is pointless." He flew around, staring at the remaining Gusios. "We have enough Gusios to trample any resistance. Eventually those humans will grow exhausted, and we will stamp them out."

"Are you sure about that, Zihark-san?"

"Huh?" Zihark whipped around, staring at the person who called out to him. It was…Ena, from the Isle of Dragons. "You…aren't you Princess Ena from the Isle?"

"That's right." Ena nodded, holding her hands behind her back with a smile. "When the world turned bright, it seems the Isle got dragged into it as well. This is the first time a lot of dragons have been able to travel to the mainland at once."

"….?" Zihark raised a brow. "I see. Well, from my understanding the Isle retains it neutrality in human affairs. So simply stay out of the way, and I am certain that Lord Yggdrasil will not bring you harm."

"Oh, you see, that is true." Ena started to pace around Zihark. "But, well…this isn't exactly a human affair anymore is it? From what I know, the Demon of Chaos is behind this, and soon after the angels come in to purge the land? With the way things are, my people have been dragged into this conflict unwillingly, and most importantly…there are humans I care about fighting right now. And after all they've done, I can't stand on the sidelines when the world is in danger!"

"What are you saying, Ena?" Zihark prepared his blade. "The angels have done more for the Isle than you could ever imagine! Your father may have been a fool, but you are different. You know it is foolish to stand against Yggdrasil's will!"

"I am different from my father." Ena narrowed her eyes. "I won't hide from the world! Isn't that right, Brother!?"

Kurthnaga dropped down from the sky in his dragon form, roaring loudly. "That's right! Yggdrasil shackled us to the notion of fate…but Fairy Tail and the humans of Ishgar opened our eyes. Our lives are ours to command!"

"Dragons of the Isle! FIGHT WITH ISHGAR AND PROTECT EVERYONE!" Ena commanded with a shout to the heavens. On that cry, several dragons dropped down right on top of some Gusios: Venoma, Gaia, Adamantine, Edna, Gaius, and a few other nameless dragons from the Isle were merciless in their approach. Gaia and Adam weren't from the Isle, but they weren't going to pass up this chance to maul these creatures again.

"A-All of these dragons!?" Zihark said with a sweat drop.

"This is too much work, but it's whatever." Edna said.

"We'll make short work of all of you." Gaius roared.

"I have a family to protect. I'm not going to let you bring harm to them." Adam said firmly. If he was the type to square off against a dragon like Acnologia without any hesitation, then there wasn't anything that would stop him.

"We're behind you, Ena!" Gaia said.

"Do not stand in our way, Zihark-san." Ena said with a pleasant smile. "The Dragons of the Isle have pledged to face the world, not run and hide like my father wanted them to. We are the ace up Ishgar's sleeve!" After saying that, Ena transformed into her draconic state, roaring loudly.

Zihark was sweating profusely. He knew it was foolish to try and fight so many dragons. "Lord Yggdrasil must find that sword immediately!" He was about to fly off, but another dragon appeared in front of him. A large, black dragon leered down at him. "You-!?"

It was Rajaron. "So…you are one of the commanders of this angelic army. Lucia said I was free to dispose of enemy commanders however I saw fit…"

Kurthnaga and Ena's eyes widened. "R-Rajaron…!? Brother!?"

"Hm…?" Rajaron briefly took his focus off of Zihark, staring at Ena and Kurthnaga…his siblings…

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"What is happening!?" Sirius could feel the battle shifting away from the angel's. They were dealing with humans, demons, and dragons now!? How could things turn against them so strongly?! "No matter…" Shaking his head, the commander of the angelic army started to descend to the ground. "The moment Lord Yggdrasil issues the order to awaken Metatron, things will be under our control immediately. There are far more important things to do than deal with this…"

"I agree!" Gildarts said, walking towards Sirius with a grin. "Like kicking your butt?"

"Hm?" Sirius quirked a brow. "Oh…I vaguely remember you. You are one of the humans in the uprising several years ago. Go away, I do not have time to deal with you."

"Ah, stay awhile, why don't you?" Gildarts said while cracking his knuckles. That friendly demeanor quickly vanished when his magic aura came into play. A white pillar erupted from Gildarts and it was very clear by the way the ground trembled that he wasn't messing around.

"An impressive amount of magic for a singular human, I'll admit…" Sirius said while readying a sword, numerous wings sprouting from his back. "But if this is a contest of strength, I believe I'll defeat you. I won't fall a second time." But he sensed something powerful to his left and he turned, where a stoic Sidney Castle was standing. "What…another one…!?"

The Ace of White Eclipse barely said a word. His arms were crossed, staring at Sirius. "If I'm right, you're the second in command, aren't you?" Sidney asked, but he already knew the answer to this question. It was just a matter of Sirius responding to the question or not.

"Two…?" Two mages of high, equal power standing before him. This was turning into an unfavorable situation in terms of numbers, but Sirius did not fret, golden armor appearing around his body to bolster his strength.

"We haven't even budged yet, and he's already defending himself." Evanee shook her head. "It's almost a waste of time, but if nobody else is able to do it…then I guess this is a job only we can do." Her attitude was so standoffish. While it seemed like she was hardly invested the coming battle, her aura said differently. Sirius was locked between Fiore's most powerful mages. "I don't think this will take too long."

"Whoever gets the finishing blow wins." Gildarts said, as if this was some kind of competition.

"Let's just get this over win." Sidney didn't want to spend any more time on this one enemy than they needed to.

Sirius snarled. How dare these inferior beings look down on him!? "You are all getting ahead of yourself! You may be powerful on this rock, but in the heavens above, I am one of the strongest beings, and you will bow down to m-" He was silenced by a punch from Gildarts' prosthetic arm. Such power sent Sirius flying backwards until he caught himself, floored by the power of that single attack. "What…!?"

"There isn't anything stronger than a person who wants to protect." Gildarts said while holding his follow through. His gaze narrowed and the time for joking was over. The trio of aces planned to completely destroy this angelic commander and leave no trace of him behind.

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He sighed, sitting on a rock. "Reborn only for the purpose of doing his dirty work. Curse that Reaper…" Neinheart grumbled before standing up. His life was robbed of him by Prometheus' hands in the Alvarez War last year. Now, he was but a mere puppet for Prometheus' machinations, even while the Reaper himself was currently indisposed. "No matter…my last performance was cut short, so I should count this as a blessing. Once more, I get to conduct a brilliant symphony! Ishgar, show me the depths of your beautiful Historia! I want to see how deep the heart truly goes!"

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Next Time: Symphony Of The Heart.