AN: Thanks Goku275, Wadeparker, AliceCullen3, NinjaFang1331, and ezra2006. To answer your question, ezra2006, the Tenrou Group's return will take place immediately after this arc. I'm not sure exactly how long it will take to get there, but it will probably be at least a month and a half.
By the way, I changed the story from an Adventure/Romance to an Adventure/Humor (with Natsu/Millianna pairing). I just felt like I wrote more humor than romance.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
"Parallel Worlds!" shouted Ultear, her one orb multiplying into many that all shot at Silver from different trajectories.
However, the devil slayer didn't give the orbs a second glance, simply freezing all of them at once. "It'll take more than a cheap trick to defeat me."
"Impossible!" gasped Meredy, shocked by Silver's strength. She recovered quickly, though, and prepared to cast her own spell. "Sensory Lin–"
Before she could finish, the devil slayer struck. He appeared in front of Meredy and swiped his arm, freezing her solid. "That should hold her."
"Meredy!" shouted Millianna. She turned toward the Ice Mage, furious. "Why did you attack her first!? She's the youngest of the three of us, barely an adult! Did you join a guild of demons because you like bullying the weak!?"
"Hey now!" responded Silver, raising his hands defensively. "I targeted her because her magic was the biggest threat to me, not because she was the youngest! I don't have a way to dodge or defend against spells that attack my senses direct! And, speaking of threats…"
With another burst of speed, the devil slayer moved in front of Millianna. Reflexively, she fired a Nekōsoku Tube at him, only for the Ice Mage to dodge the spell.
But, before he could encase the Fairy in ice, a volley of orbs shot at Silver, allowing Millianna to put some distance between them. Although, the Fairy felt slightly irritated, given the identity of her savior.
"My Arc of Time can revert your ice to nothing, yet you consider me the least dangerous," noted Ultear, her orb returning to her hand. "I suppose arrogance isn't exclusive to the demon members of Tartaros. Luminous Minute!"
Ultear's orb again become many, this time striking at Silver so quickly that they appeared as beams of light. Unable to dodge in time, Silver rose a wall of ice to defend himself.
"That won't work!" declared Ultear, smirking. "Arc of Time!"
She cast a spell to de-age the ice wall out of existence. Except, to her surprise, nothing happened. The wall remained, blocking her attack.
"Impossible!" shouted Ultear. She had already successfully reverted Silver's ice earlier, unfreezing her orb after her first spell was stopped. "Why didn't my Arc of Time work!?"
"I just added a bit of my blood to the ice," explained Silver, revealing a self-inflicted cut on his hand. "Your Arc of Time doesn't work on living things, after all."
"Tch, just like Gray did," commented Ultear. The devil slayer grinned at this, pleased to hear that his son had inherited his wits. "I'll just have to repeat my tactic from then, too. Ice-Make: Rosen Krone!"
Icy rose vines formed, lashing out at Silver. The he didn't bother dodging, simply eating the constructs. Like dragon slayers and god slayers, a devil slayer could devour his element.
"Now do you get why you're the smallest threat to me," taunted Silver, grinning as Ultear flinched. "Your magic is useless against me. Honestly, the only reason I haven't frozen you is because I want you to suffer the most. I know that you played the biggest role in my son's suffering before his death. That you manipulated his friend into attempting to free Deliora. That you tried to kill him on Tenrou Island. And all because you were trying to avoid your issues with your mother. Well, you can't avoid justice forever."
His words hit Ultear deeply. Combined with the shock of being completely powerless, she found herself unable to move. Despite not using his magic, Silver had frozen her.
As this happened, Millianna struggled to come up with a strategy. "With Meredy out and her useless, only I can defeat Silver. But he's too fast for me to hit from a distance with my Nekōsoku Tube or Kitten Blast, and getting close would give him the opportunity to freeze me. Think, Millianna!"
Fortunately, Millianna remembered a recent incident where she defended herself from an enemy assault, which gave her an idea.
"Now, watch as I encase your only hope of rescue in ice!" declared Silver, turning from a paralyzed Ultear to Millianna, who stood a sizable distance from him. The Fairy was casting a spell, but the devil slayer ignored it, as he would be able to freeze her before she could hit him with anything. Only, when he waved his arm, nothing happened. Silver's smile was replaced with a look of shock.
"That won't work on me anymore," spoke Millianna, seeing her foe's confusion. She was surrounded by a pink layer of magic, with about a centimeter between it and her skin. Cat ears poked out of it on her head, as did a tail behind her. "I reshaped my Nekōsoku Tube into a shell that protects me from enemy magic. I got the idea from when I had to counter your guildmate's Magical Barrier Particles. It's like the armor used by the strongest woman I know, so I'll call it 'Nekōsoku Knight' in honor of her!"
Silver grimaced as his magic-clad opponent jumped at him, moving faster than earlier. "I was wrong before. This girl is the most dangerous one!"
"Fwirl," uttered Tempester, conjuring a pair of twisters. Minerva, Yukino, and Pisces were blown into the air.
"Shadow Dragon's Slash," spoke Rogue, surprising the Etherious as he rose out of the ground to deliver a punch. Tempester was knocked back and, with his concentration broken, the twisters died down. The dragon slayer glared at the demon. "Tell me where you're keeping Frosch prisoner, or I'll—"
Rogue's threat was cut off as Torafuzar rammed into him. As the dragon slayer was sent flying, Torafuzar turned toward his guildmates. "I'll handle the dragon slayer; decide amongst yourselves how to deal with the other two."
Keyes and Tempester looked at one another, before the former spoke. "I was unable to significantly harm the Spatial Mage during previous clash. I shall leave her to you."
"Understood," responded Tempester. The Etherious created a small tornado around his lower body, using it to propel himself toward Minerva. He tackled the Fairy, dragging her away from Yukino.
"So, what's your Curse Power," Yukino, hoping Keyes was arrogant enough to answer. The demons of Tartaros thought rather highly of themselves, after all.
"My primary Curse is Necromancer," replied Keyes matter-of-factly, proving Yukino's hunch. "It is ill suited for direct combat, yet priceless in other pursuits. For example, reanimating ex-Chairman Crawford's corpse and having it remotely activate the 2,999 Faces remaining after your guildmate stopped the first one."
A feeling of horror washed over Yukino. She had to stop this Etherious as soon as possible. Even if that didn't undo his Curse (like with Franmalth), it would allow her to return to the control room and destroy Crawford's dead body personally, as gross as that was.
"Ice Devil's Laughter!" shouted Silver, unleashing a storm of ice shards upon Millianna as she charged toward him. The Fairy continued forward, her Nekōsoku Knight nullifying the magic that formed the shard and erasing them from existence before any of them hit her.
"So it cancels out all spells, not just ones that are cast directly on her," noted the devil slayer. "Guess I'll have to change tactics."
Silver knelt down, bringing his hand to the ground. He started by forming ice below the surface, then expanded it upwards. The surface cracked and broke into several large chunks, which the devil slayer pushed toward Millianna with his ice.
"Even if you negated the ice, it wouldn't stop the force propelling these stones" thought Silver smugly.
To his surprise, Millianna threw her arms out and field surrounding her stretched, extend until the 'hands' grabbed onto the top of a rock. She jumps as her 'arms' began to contract, shooting her over Silver's attack like a slingshot.
In midair, Millianna extended her 'arms' again, this time reaching for her opponent. Shaking off his shock, Silver jumped to the side, avoiding her attack. But, before he could come up with a new plan, an orb struck his gut and knocked the wind out of him.
"Infinite Sphere!" Ultear declared to Silver, no longer in a stupor. The fire in her eyes, extinguished by the devil slayer's harsh words, had been relit. "It's true; I always avoid my problems. I learned the Arc of Time to escape the thought that my mother abandoned me. I toyed with her disciples to avoid my grief over her death. I helped form Crime Sorcière to run away from my past in Grimoire Heart. I even unlocked the Dragneels' Second Origins as a way to avoid my guilt for surviving the destruction of Tenrou Island."
"But I can't keep doing that!" continued Ultear. "I committed terrible, unforgivable deeds, things I can never truly make right! If I want to redeem myself even slightly, I have to face my sins head on! Infinite Sphere!"
A swarm of orbs battered Silver from all directions. They did not hurt much, but they pinned him in place and were so numerous that he couldn't see his surroundings.
"Nice try, but I'll still get revenge for my son's death!" yelled Silver. He conjured a small blizzard, breaking apart Ultear's assault. The devil slayer relaxed for a moment, before a pink fist slammed into his chest.
The fist then split into several tubes, wrapping around him and cutting off his magic. As the limb retracted (separating from the parts binding him) and the blizzard faded, Silver saw Millianna walking up to him.
"You wanted to lose, didn't you?" said Millianna bluntly. Silver flinched, confirming the Fairy's guess. "You may have wanted to kill Meredy and Ultear, but you also wanted to be killed yourself. Why else would you bring me here despite knowing my magic?"
The devil slayer sighed, then responded. "…As a parent, you should understand how it feels when you fail to stop your kid from getting hurt. I should be dead, not Gray."
"You're definitely a failure of a father," spoke Ultear, earning a glare from Millianna. Ignoring it, she continued speaking. "You gave up on your son, believing him to be dead. The rest of us, on the other hand, have never stopped believing he's still alive somehow. Him and everybody else that was on Tenrou Island that day."
Two pairs of eyes looked at the former Dark Mage with surprise, then warmth.
"Well then," started Silver, cracking a smile. "I don't suppose you would be willing to pass one or two things on to Gray the next time you see him, would you?"
"Pisces, attack!" commanded Yukino. The two fish obeyed, advancing toward Keyes from the left and the right. The Etherious avoided the strike by transforming into a dark mist, the Celestial Spirits passing right through him.
"Fools," uttered Keyes as he reformed. "This vessel is composed of Magical Barrier Particles, which I hold absolute control over. All thou have accomplished is poisoning thyself."
"Tch," went Yukino as she saw Pisces faltering, proof of the demon's claims. She unsummoned the pair so they could recover, then pulled out a different key. "Open Gate of the Heavenly Scale! Libra!"
Unperturbed, Keyes sent a stream of the deadly particles at Yukino and Libra. Instead of dodging, though, Yukino gave Libra an order.
"Alter the gravity of that demon! Force him against the wall behind him!"
The Celestial Spirit obeyed, pinning the Etherious to the wall. The Magical Barrier Particles that Keyes had fired at the two women were also pushed back, rejoining the demon's body as they collided with him.
"I see," observed Keyes. "As the particles were a part of my body, they were also affected by your magic. Sadly for you, it will take more than a little gravity to end me, and I still have another trick up my sleeve."
"So do I!" declared Yukino, whipping out a black key as the Etherious began to raise his staff. "Gate of the Snake Charmer! Open!"
"Judgement of Malefic Star," spoke Keyes as Ophiuchus the Snake Charmer appeared. A dark aura emanated from the demon's body, damaging the wall he was pinned to.
"Get him!" ordered Yukino to the snake-like spirit. Ophiuchus obeyed, lunging at the Etherious and swallowing him whole. The darkness produced by Keyes's Curse disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place.
Her opponent dead, Yukino unsummoned Libra and Ophiuchus. She then dropped to the floor, panting heavily. Defeating Keyes had used up too much of her Magic Power.
"I've gotta *huff* tell the others *puff* about the Faces," said Yukino to herself.
The Black Key of the Snake Charmer. This Celestial Spirit is often referred to as the 13th Gate, but that was not quite accurate. Unlike the other spirits, Ophiuchus is little more than a beast, driven by an instinct to consume. Fittingly, its magic allows it to digest anything it swallows, using the material to grow its own body.
The 'Snake Charmer' refers to the summoner of Ophiuchus, who must keep this beast in check. If it consumes too much during a single summon, it will become strong enough to overpower and eat the summoner. Ophiuchus would then wander the world, sustaining itself by devouring everything and everyone in sight. Truly, a weapon of last resort.
Omake
"A little kid? Why the hell—"
Happy (human form) cut off the demon's head and, by extension, his words. The blue Exceed had split off from the rest of the group, hoping to find Natsu. So far, he had only run into small fries who fell easily to his Musica Sword.
"Heh," chuckled Happy as he continued his search. "Calling demons small fries. I must be moving up in the world."
In spite of everything, from Natsu's abduction and the imminent threat of Face to the walls briefly turning gooey and him fainting, Happy felt… well… happy. For once, he was actually able to fight alongside his comrades entirely by his own power.
AN: The Omake is a small reference to the fact that I forgot about Happy for a bit. I didn't mention him at all during the scenes with Fairy Tail invading the Cube. Whoops.
I feel like Yukino's fight against Keyes was kind of short and ended abruptly. I kind of focused my attention more on the other battle, and this one ended up suffering as a result. I knew from the start that I wanted Yukino to win using Ophiuchus, even if I did not have a specific power in mind for the Celestial Spirit at the time. In the end, I made it like the Great Devourer from Ninjago.
Nekōsoku Knight: Millianna's new spell, named after Erza's "Requip: The Knight." It is a protective layer of magic that enhances her physical abilities, nullifies all magic other than her own, and can be reshaped at will (including into Nekōsoku Tubes and Kitten Blasts). I consider this spell to be similar to Naruto's Nine-Tail Chakra Mode (glowing and malleable) and Sonic's Werehog transformation (stretchy).
That's all for now. Bye!