Natsu and Bluenote continued to stare each other down. From behind them, Lucy managed to lift her head just enough to see them both. Truth to be told, she was grateful she was in a hole right now – she'd rather avoid feeling Natsu's heat again.

"How's...Master?" grunted Carla from beside Wendy.

The girl looked at him and frowned. "Not well. We have to get out of here as soon as possible..."

"We have to leave it in Natsu's hands. He's our only hope right now." noted Lily, who tried to power his way out with his battle form, to no avail.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time, nicely. Where is Mavis' grave?" asked Bluenote.

"I already told you, I don't know. None of us do." replied Natsu.

Bluenote sighed. "Well, that just complicates things." he whined, before pulling his right hand back and striking at Natsu, who retaliated with the same punch. Their fists connected, a small shockwave being born from the blow. The mercenary smirked, satisfied with his opponent's strength. Natsu continued to scowl, feeling Bluenote up. Just when he was about to throw a second strike, all of his instincts started to scream. Acting purely on reflex alone, he jumped back, just in time to see the ground where he was standing not even a second ago start to crumble and turn into dust, massive pressure being put on it from above.

Natsu landed on his feet several meters away and bent his knees, anticipating the next attack.

"You're good." praised him Bluenote and pointed at his feet with his hand, before snapping two of his fingers upwards. The ground beneath Natsu's feet was ripped out of the soil, along with him, and started to levitate upwards. The merc relaxed his fingers and made a fist, causing Natsu's footing to break into dozens of rocks. He then relaxed it and clenched his fist again, the rocks flying towards Natsu with the intent to trap him.

Natsu quickly lit his feet on fire and turned them into thrusters, escaping the prison. Once he rose up high enough, he leaned forward and launched himself at Bluenote like a missile, charging in a straight line.

The merc smirked in amusement and aimed his hand at Natsu, before releasing an invisible ball of gravity. Predicting it, the Dragon Slayer used his left hand to launch a ball of fire to the side, changing his trajectory. He then used flames on his right hand to give himself momentum, which he used to spin in the air and deliver a powerful right kick to Bluenote's head, who blocked it with his left forearm. The strike rendered his hand numb.

Not giving him a chance to counter, Natsu used Bluenote's arm as a launchpad and jumped above him, before kicking him in the lower back. The merc grunted in pain, which Natsu took as a chance to strike again. Much to his surprise, he spotted something coming his way with the corner of his eye, which happened to be Bluenote's fist. The man threw a blind right backhand that caught Natsu right on the cheek, blowing him aside.

The Dragon Slayer groaned and flipped in the air, before landing on all fours. As soon as he stopped sliding on the ground, he jumped backwards just in time to avoid being crushed by gravity.

Bluenote scoffed and cracked his neck. So, his plan is to stay on the move and avoid being caught by my magic. In that case…

He spread his arms to the sides and increased the gravity of the entire area. Natsu groaned lightly and felt his neck bending downwards, along with his body. It took him couple seconds to get used to the weight.

Bluenote used this moment to dash at Natsu, unaffected by his own magic. He grinned wickedly at his immobile opponent and retracted his fist, ready to strike.

FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!

His plans were stopped by a point-blank Roar thrown directly at his face. Bluenote emerged from the flames with his arms put up in front of his face, light burn marks all over his body. As he expected, Natsu was nowhere to be found, at least not on the ground. Bluenote looked above just in time to see a fist right in front of his nose. He slipped his head to the side and retaliated with his right, smashing his fist directly into Natsu's stomach. He shifted his pivot and pushed Natsu through with his fist, before launching him to the side like a ball.

The Dragon Slayer spat out some blood and clutched his stomach, but landed on his feet and slid on the ground. He found himself back where he started, at the very edge of the hole his friends were in. Bluenote started to walk up to him, the gravity around them still increased, continuously putting pressure on Natsu. He wiped his lips off and breathed out loudly, trying to come up with his next move.

This was definitely a tough opponent.

Cana lowered her head to avoid a rock and sprinted out of the entrance to E-Route, at the same time checking all of her pockets. She found what she was looking for in her back pocket and pulled out a card with Lucy's distraught face drawn directly next to a big sign that said "Help!".

She clutched the card as hard as she could and sprinted into the wilds, at the same time remembering her conversation with Mavis.

"Have you remembered the chant?"

Cana did not hear Mavis' question. Instead, she focused on staring at the fresh mark on her arm, its magic overwhelming her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I did." she muttered after snapping back to reality.

Mavis nodded. "Good. Just keep this in mind – you are barely able to contain this spell. If given time to bring out your full potential, you could definitely master it, but we do not have this luxury. I'd highly suggest you refrained from using too much magic power before unleashing this spell – the more magic you lose, the bigger the chance it will fail."

Cana nodded and put her jacket back on. "Do you want me to use it on that Hades guy?"

"Use it whenever you feel it's right. I have faith you will make the right decision." smiled the spirit. "I'm afraid this is all I can do for now. With the Tenrou Tree being broken, my hands are tied. I will, however, try to apply protection onto the more injured members of the guild." said grimly Mavis, frustrated with her powerlessness.

Cana looked at her and smirked. "We'll pull through, I'm sure of it." she said and patted the spirit on the head, much to her surprise. "Oh, sorry. Too bold?" Cana backed her hand off.

Mavis blinked, but shook her head with a smile. "No, not at all. Thank you. Now go, we have no time to waste."

Cana nodded and ran out of the cave.

As she pulled Lucy's card out, she felt determination and resolve filling her heart back to what it was before the invasion.

"Wait for me, Lucy!"

Gray's eyes searched all over Ultear's figure, as if looking for any hints that could possibly suggest she was lying. However, he did not find even a single one.

"I know it's sudden, but please, believe me when I say I am not your enemy." smiled gently Ultear. "I'm your ally."

Gray relaxed his body, but remained skeptical.

"If it's about my mother, then you shouldn't feel bad. I know you had nothing to do with her death. I do not hold a grudge against you. I'm your friend." said the woman and reached out to him.

Gray knocked her hand down and took a step back. "You can't possibly think I'll believe you right off the bat. Especially with that mark on your body, as well as you dragging Zeref for almost half the island. What the hell do you want with him?"

Ultear blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"If you know I wasn't the one who did it, then you must know the truth." growled Gray. "Ur died fighting Deliora, a demon created by none other than Zeref. And you're just casually holding him in your arms, caressing like he was your long lost child? Get real."

"It's not like that, Gray." she shook her head. "It is true that he's the one who stole her from us, but he can also bring her back."

If Gray was angry before, now he was livid. "R-System, right? Sacrificing others to bring back one life? As if I'd let you-"

"No, R-System is not what I had in mind. By achieving the Ultimate Magic World, we will be able to go back to the moment she died, and rewrite it. However, it can only be done with Zeref."

"As if Ur wanted to do something like that!" roared Gray. "You're her daughter, you should know that better than anyone!"

"I wouldn't be doing this if I hadn't received her permission." replied calmly Ultear. "This is Ur's will."

Gray's eyes slowly widened in shock. "What?"

"Ur knew, that the world of magic was in a very grim place. The world itself was not very kind for mages, who suffered dearly because of it. It also went the other way around: strong preyed on the weak. So, she's decided to help in creation of the ultimate world, where peace was as natural as breathing. She relayed her will to me in case something happened to her. Which, unfortunately, did." she explained with pained expression.

Gray stared at her, before narrowing his eyes. "How come I've never heard of this?"

"Do you really think she'd explain something that complicated to a hotheaded child such as yourself?" Ultear asked rhetorically. "She wanted to wait before telling you, but her death prevented that from happening."

Gray grabbed his face with his hand and sighed through his nose. Taking it as a sign of an upcoming victory, Ultear pushed further.

"The reason I joined Grimoire Heart was to get close to Zeref. And, as you can see, it paid off. All that's left is to leave the island and create the world Ur's always wished to be. But in order to achieve that, Hades must fall. If we do it with him around, he will get in our way." said Ultear. "Gray, will you help me? Will you join me, and help me fulfill my mother's will?"

Gray slid his hand down his face and looked into Ultear's eyes. They stared at one another for a minute, before Gray burst out into laugh. The woman blinked in confusion, as he wiped his eyes off and wheezed out.

"You really are her daughter." he chuckled and shook his head.

Ultear sighed internally and smiled. "I told you, didn't I? I'll do anything to carry out her-"

"You're both absolutely garbage at lying." he finished with a growl, his expression growing cold and angry in a matter of seconds.

Breath got stuck in Ultear's throat, who's been caught by surprise.

"Ur's will? Cut the bullshit. You know very well, that she'd rather die, than hurt others for her own benefit. Ur helping, or using Zeref? The sheer thought is so ridiculous I'm about to throw up."

Knowing that she was busted, Ultear changed her expression to disgust mixed with anger. This only supported Gray's claim and made him angrier.

"You do not deserve the right to call yourself her daughter. You're lower than filth." he growled and took a fighting stance. "I'll make sure to scold you in her stead, tenfold."

The woman burst out in sarcastic laughter, before summoning her orbs. "A brat like you is 100 years too young to challenge the leader of Seven Kin of Purgatory. I will make sure you two meet very soon. You can give her my regards, and remind her how big of a failure she was."

Gray roared and charged at Ultear, who merely smirked. She could finally let loose.

Natsu and Bluenote's heads clashed, ground beneath their feet cracking. They've been locked in a power struggle for a bit now, one that rendered them equal.

"Do try and make it up for me, fairy. I'm holding back here, all for you. I want to fly with you, and we're very close to achieving that." smirked Bluenote.

This touched one of Natsu's nerves. He raised his right leg and kicked Bluenote underneath the chin, much to his surprise. He then broke the struggle off and delivered a devastating uppercut to Bluenote's gut, that made him gasp in pain. His bent over, which put his head on Natsu's level, who immediately used the opportunity to smash him with a left hook. Bluenote's body was blown back, and he turned around to fall on his knees.

Natsu tried to follow up with a kick, only to be caught by the ankle. "My turn." whispered Bluenote and shook the kick away, before throwing his fist at his stomach. Natsu blocked the strike by crossing his arms over his belly, but the damage was still dealt. His feet lost contact with the ground, the punch lifting him up in the air. He landed a meter back and tried to charge, only to be stopped by gravity grinding him into the ground: he failed to dodge it in time.

The merc used this moment to punch Natsu's stomach one more time, this time succeeding. Natsu coughed up blood, but recovered pretty soon and shook it off, before throwing a punch of his own. Bluenote blocked it with his left forearm, but it turned out to be a feint. Natsu kicked Bluenote in the thigh and caused him to lose his balance, his face once again exposed, which was then nailed by another hook, directly in the jaw, drawing blood.

"He's holding his own. He can do this!" cheered Lucy from the hole.

Lily nodded, but remained skeptical. "Yes, it appears he has a fighting chance. But this man said he's still hiding an ace up his sleeve."

"So is Natsu." noted Wendy.

Shortly after this brief exchanged, another wave of rocks flew over their heads, as Natsu and Bluenote connected their fists once again.

"You move well, despite being in my gravity." praised the merc. "Let's bring the things up a gear, shall we?"

Natsu grunted upon feeling more weight being put on his shoulders. Bluenote increased the gravity even further and broke contact, before kicking Natsu in the stomach. The Dragon Slayer blocked the strike, but it pained him dearly. Not willing to take another hit, he shook the leg off and winded up with his left, only to be caught by a left hook. With his lip split, Natsu felt blood rush to his head, anger slowly overtaking his mind. He raised his magic to its absolute limits and retaliated with an uppercut to the gut.

Bluenote smirked through pain and threw a punch of his own, only to be blocked. Natsu replied with a kick, which was also blocked. Their strikes have started to pick up in both power and speed, and soon both men engaged one another in a wild exchange of hits, as the ground beneath their feet broke off and started to levitate upwards, with them slugging it out, still on it.

Natsu's head was blown to the side after eating a nasty left elbow across his face. He quickly turned around, and as he was doing that, he puffed his cheeks out and unleashed another point-blank Roar.

Bluenote groaned from the heat and blindly closed Natsu's mouth with his hand, who quickly pushed it off and nailed a right hook to the man's temple, which rocked him. The Dragon Slayer followed with another right hook, but Bluenote dodged it at the last second and Natsu's flaming fist smashed into their footing, breaking it into pieces.

Bluenote jumped onto the biggest piece of debris he could find and used his magic to keep it in one place, staying in the air. In the meantime, Natsu was falling to the ground along with the debris.

"I knew you were worth giving a chance to, this is much more fun than I expected it to be." smirked the merc and cracked his neck. "Let's get a little bit more serious, shall we?" he asked, before creating a purple ball in his hand. He then threw it above his head.

GRAVITON SURGE!

The ball expanded and started to attract all of the rocks and debris from the area, even ripping some of them from the cracked ground beneath him. Natsu, who was already on the ground, stared at the sight in terror, a large shadow slowly casting itself onto both him and his friends.

"Well, I guess this should do for now." muttered Bluenote. Above him was a massive ball made out of rocks, trees and other stuff ripped out of the ground. It was at least the size of a small ship.

"You...you're kidding me, right?" gasped Lucy in horror, cold sweat running down her face.

"Try surviving this, fairies." said Bluenote and flipped his finger at Natsu.

The creation smashed into the ground, cracking it and forcing its pieces to rise and descend respectively. Lucy, Wendy, and the cats were shaken by the impact, their hole breaking even further.

"Natsu!" called out Lucy in despair, her teammate most likely flattened by the man-made meteor.

Bluenote stared at the dust cloud from above, waiting for any signs of life from his opponent. Upon not seeing any, he sighed and scratched his cheek in disappointment. "Damn, I was hoping I could go even further with this guy. Well, I did have some fun, anyway."

Just when he said that, the meteor blew up, its pieces flying in all directions. Bluenote was forced to cover his face with his arms to avoid being hurt by the debris, a wide smirk forming on his face.

Natsu emerged from the dust cloud, his breathing hard. His forehead was split, blood flowing down the left side of his face. His clothes were torn even more than before, and small sparks of lightning cut the air around his body. He glued his eyes to Bluenote and grabbed his chest, giving it a light squeeze.

Bluenote lowered himself back to the ground and jumped off his rock. "You look familiar. You the one who kicked Silva's ass?" he asked and took off his coat.

Natsu spat some blood to the side and cracked his neck. "Yeah."

The merc grinned. "Makes sense. I'll take that as my ticket to stop holding back."

This bastard can go even further? groaned Natsu in his mind, but did not let himself to show it. If it came to that, he'd reach to that. It wasn't just his skin being at line here, after all.

Both men started to slowly walk up to each other, both of them raising their magic, Natsu surrounded his body in a flaming aura, his feet leaving scorching footsteps on the ground. Bluenote, on the other hand, was strolling with a severely heavy step, his feet sinking into the ground with each taken step.

"I've found you!" roared a female voice from the side.

Both men looked at the woman, who revealed herself to be Cana. She was panting loudly, her breathing irregular, but she smiled nonetheless. She made it.

"You..." Natsu frowned at her sight.

"Cana!" Lucy called out to her from the hole, glad to see her.

"Hey, Lucy! Good to see you!" grinned Cana, but quickly sobered and looked at Bluenote, easily deducing he was the enemy. "Sorry, Natsu, but I'm taking this guy down. Don't hold it against me!"

"Huh? Who the hell are you?" asked confused Bluenote. "I have no interest in trash, piss off-" he insulted her, but as soon as his eyes fell on her right arm, they widened. "Impossible. Why do you have it?!"

He shifted his attention from Natsu to Cana, and turned in her direction. Seeing this, the Dragon Slayer quickly dashed at the man, willing to prevent the incoming tragedy.

Bluenote shifted his glare at Natsu and used all of his gravity on him, successfully stopping him in his tracks. Natsu's knees bent along with his body, his feet sinking into the ground. Although he did not fall, standing was the biggest feat he could pull off right now.

This sight impressed Bluenote, who whistled. "You're still not falling, even after taking my full power? You're worth keeping alive, kid. Now then..." he turned back to Cana and started to walk in her direction. "Where did you get this magic from?"

The brunette gulped, but did not falter. "None of your business." she scoffed. To use this magic, I need some time. But I won't get any with this guy in my face…

Cana pulled a card from her deck and threw it at Natsu. It contained a writing that said Cancel, which expanded and released Natsu from the influence of Bluenote's gravity.

Natsu repeatedly clenched and relaxed his fist and smirked, before dashing at Bluenote. "Good job, card chick!" he praised her and threw a kick at the merc's head, who blocked it with his forearm.

"My name's Cana!" she reminded him, irritated, and threw two more cards at Bluenote, before jumping backwards. The man simply used his magic on the cards and pinned them to the ground, before knocking Natsu's leg away and pinning him back to the ground with his magic. Natsu fell to his knees, his hands crashing into the ground, breaking it. "Stay down." growled Bluenote and turned back to Cana.

Natsu groaned and tried to get up, to no avail. Knowing he was pinned, he sunk his hands deeper into the ground.

"I'll ask you one more time. How did it happen, that someone of your caliber managed to contain the magic, that obliterates everything deemed as a foe by the caster with the combined power of the sun, moon, and stars? The sheer thought is too ridiculous to be even considered a joke." asked menacingly Bluenote, as he made his way towards Cana.

The brunette was starting to panic. Even if she started to cast the magic now, he'd easily stop her. With everyone down, she was the only one standing. What should she do?

"Cana, get away from him!" roared Natsu, snapping her back to reality. She looked at him, unsure of what he meant, but upon meeting his commanding glare, she complied and jumped further back.

Ground beneath Bluenote's feet started to shake, and couple seconds later he was consumed by flames.

FIRE DRAGON'S PILLAR!

The merc was swallowed by a pillar of flames erupting from beneath his feet, blowing Cana back in the process. This caused him to lose control over his magic, which freed Natsu and the others from the influence of his magic.

Bluenote emerged from the flames, burned, and fell to his knees. Natsu used this opportunity to charge and nail him with a right hook, followed by a left one. He then placed his right hand on the man's chest and blew him back with his flames.

"Whatever it is you wanted to do, do it now!" Natsu shouted to Cana and followed after Bluenote. The merc stood up and glared at Natsu with pure bloodlust, before pointing his hand at him. Natsu was stopped in mid-air by gravity, unable to move.

Shortly after, rocks started to fly in Natsu's direction, slowly but surely trapping him in the debris.

"Out of my sight." growled Bluenote and squeezed the rocks tighter, making Natsu yell out in pain. Despite that, he smirked and looked at Bluenote through his bangs. "You fell for it." he grunted.

Bluenote's eyes widened in realisation. He quickly smashed Natsu into the nearby tree and turned to Cana, whose right arm was now glowing.

Gather! O river of light that's guided by the fairies!

Shine! In order to perish the fangs of evil!

FAIRY GLITTER!

A beam of light stroke Bluenote down from the skies, making him scream out in agony. Cana felt her right arm throbbing in pain, tears forming in her mind. Her magic was being drained at a ridiculous pace, but despite all that, she pushed through and gave it her all.

The light started to expand and cover more area, completely swallowing Bluenote up. Cana's skin began to crack, blood flowing down her arm to the ground. After couple more seconds, Cana's magic reached its limit, the spell breaking.

Cana lowered her arm, the mark still there. She panted heavily and fell to her knees, her eyes half-open.

Suddenly, she felt her throat being squeezed by something, as her immobile body was lifted off the ground. Its culprit was revealed to be Bluenote, who walked out of the dust cloud, severely injured, but still on his feet.

"How dare you scare me like that?" he asked in a merciless tone and smashed her into the ground, causing her to cry out in pain.

My magic...was it not enough?! Did I use too much before casting it?! She panicked in her thoughts.

"Even the most powerful spells are worth shit in the hands of an incompetent piece of filth like you. Now, tell me, where did you get it? Did you steal it off Mavis' grave? I refuse to believe garbage like you learned it on her own." asked her Bluenote and relaxes the pressure on her throat, but kept her in the air. In the meantime, Natsu started to silently melt the rocks that were trapping him.

"As if...I'd tell you..." gasped Cana.

"You know, every single spell in this world can be tracked down to the very same spell. All magic comes from one spell, the very first magic in this world." explained Bluenote.

Lucy's eyes widened upon hearing this. Where did I hear this...Mom?

"Which means, that even if you do not tell me, if I dig long enough. I will find it sooner or later." continued Bluenote. "Or, I could simply kill you and rip your arm off, taking it with me. Magic can be harvested even after death."

Cana shook in fear. Neither his face or voice told her that he's kidding – she was about to die.

Just when Bluenote was about to squeeze his hand and end Cana's life, Natsu ripped his right hand out of his prison and aimed it at the man.

FIRE DRAGON'S PURGATORY!

A powerful wave of flames launched itself at Bluenote, who raised his left hand and blocked the flames best to his ability. This caused him to release the grip he had on Cana, who started to cough, gasping for air.

"Zancrow's attack, huh?" muttered Bluenote and dispelled the flames to the sides. In the meantime, Natsu freed himself off the rocks and dashed at Bluenote, He slipped past the man's magic and kicked him in the liver, before pushing him back. Cana was released by gravity and fell right into Natsu's arm, who caught her. He picked her up bridal style and jumped back from Bluenote, who was already back on his feet.

"I will slaughter you all." he growled.

Natsu bared his fangs, but not for long. His glare softened and gave in to shock, before turning into a full blown sinister grin, all of his teeth exposed. This threw Bluenote off guard.

"The hell you smirking for?" he asked, a vein popping on his forehead.

Natsu continued to grin and relaxed his body, with Cana looking at him, also surprised.

"Why don't you look behind you?" asked the Dragon Slayer and motioned with his head behind himself.

Bluenote blinked in confusion, but soon felt a presence behind his figure. He slowly turned around, only to be nailed in the face by a powerful right straight that blew his head backwards and created a cloud of blood above him in the air.

Cana's eyes widened at the sight, while Natsu continued to grin.

"Y...you..."

"Can you move?" asked Meredy and pointed at Juvia's legs with her chin.

The rain woman tried to move, but soon hissed in pain. "Not yet. I think I need a minute or two."

"Right."

Both of them remained where they fell after their battle, neither willing to leave just yet, both of them lost in thoughts.

"May I ask you something?" Juvia broke the silence after a while.

"What is it?"

"How old are you?"

Meredy blinked in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing. It's just...as of late, people I fight are getting younger." Truth to be told, I'd like that to not become a trend."

Meredy blinked slowly. "Is that person the one who made you this eager to help me?"

Juvia nodded.

"I see." muttered Meredy. "I'm fourteen." she added after a longer while. Juvia merely smirked.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Both women jumped in their spots at the sound of the unknown voice. It turned out to belong to Zancrow, who walked out from behind a tree, frowning. "Meredy, what the hell is this supposed to be? Why are you chatting with this filth?"

The girl gulped in fear. "Zancrow, I..."

"Shut up." he growled. "You better not be acting friendly with these people. Or is it that you've lost to her? Becuase if you did...then we might have a problem."

Juvia tried to stand up, which came with great difficulty. The man's piercing red eyes were focused on her, ready to attack at any moment.

"This woman is my hostage. I am planning on using her against Fairy Tail." lied Meredy.

Zancrow shifted his eyes at the girl and narrowed them. "That true?" He received a nod in response. "All right."

Before she could react, Meredy was swept away by flames, which burned her, causing her to scream out in agony.

"Meredy!" yelled Juvia and attacked the God Slayer with her magic, only to be completely countered by the purging flames. She got blown back, her back smashing against a tree.

"Unfortunately for you, I've heard everything. How dare you lose to this trash? You no longer have a place in our guild." growled Zancrow and kicked Juvia in the ribs, making her gasp in pain.

"Leave her be!" roared Meredy.

"You shut your bitch mouth! Once I'm done with her, I will get rid of you! Patience, filth!" he yelled back.

"I need this woman, for Ultear's sake! Please, just listen to me!" pleaded the younger Kin.

"Huh?! Ultear's sake?!" repeated the Slayer. "You know, this is actually pretty convenient. I've got something interesting to tell ya."

Zancrow removed his foot from Juvia's chest and looked at Meredy. "I gotta say, it was pretty amusing for all those years, but now it's simply annoying. Do you know why we took you in? Why Ultear gives a shit about you?"

The girl did not reply, but listened nonetheless.

"It's because she sensed you've got potential. That's all. Because, let's be honest, why would she take a kid that she herself has orphaned?"

Meredy's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

Zancrow grinned. "Ultear was the one who destroyed your town and killed your family. She simply overlooked you, and when you crawled out, she noticed your magic and took you in. That's the whole story."

"You're lying." denied the girl.

"Kain and Rusty were with her. I was there too. You can ask them later if you want."

Meredy dropped to her knees, her eyes empty. She could not believe it.

"Why...are you doing this?" asked hatefully Juvia and grabbed Zancrow's leg with her hand. The man looked down in disgust and kicked her in the face, turning her over.

"Do not touch me. Using my magic on you alone is making me puke." he whispered and set his hand ablaze.

"Looks like we've got something in common."

Before he could react, Zancrow was struck in the back of his head and crashed into the ground, before being kicked in the ribs. The kick raised him from under the water and suspended him in the air, as he coughed out blood. He was then blasted away by a spell and crashed into the tree, breaking it in the process.

Juvia raised her head and opened her eyes, her vision blurry. She then felt them widening at the familiar sight of a black coat and yellow lightning.

"I've been wondering why the flare was used, but it looks like there's some trash on the island." said Laxus, lightning crackling around his right fist.

"Laxus..." gasped Juvia in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"We saw the signal from the ship. Took us a while to get back, though." he explained.

Meredy simply stared at the man, not responding. From behind him, Juvia signalised her to run away, making sure he didn't notice. Unsure of what to do, she stood up and ran off into the wilds.

Zancrow used his flames to free himself of the wood and emerged from the tree, furious. "You've got some guts, punk."

Laxus cracked his right fist by clenching it, his lightning aura starting to surround his body. "That's my line, trash."

Levy wiped her forehead and put the needle down, examining her work. Gajeel's wounds were now sealed, but only on the surface. His insides were still in bad shape.

He looked at it and touched it with his fingers, hissing from pain. Still, he was satisfied with the results and patted the girl on the back, causing her to almost fall to her face. "See? I told you you could do it!" he smirked and stood up, warming his sore right arm up by moving it in circles.

"Don't even think about going out there! You still need rest!" scolded him Levy.

Gajeel grumbled something to himself and suddenly stopped moving, his expression growing serious. "Look like I won't have to go anywhere."

A figure emerged from the bushes, revealing itself to belong to Rustyrose. The man looked at the destroyed camp with amusement, before spotting fallen Elfman and Evergreen, who were now sleeping beside Mira, bandaged up.

"Ah, I've been wondering where this trash ran off to." sighed the Kin. "Looks like they lead me to even more trash. How truly unsightly." he shook his head and sighed sarcastically.

"Say that again." threatened Gajeel and made a step forward.

"Gajeel..." whimpered Levy and clutched his arm, afraid. None of them was in any condition to fight.

"And I was told Dragon Slayers had good ears." smirked Rusty sarcastically "Well, no matter. I will finish you all right here, right now."

"You sure about that?" asked a voice behind him.

The Kin quickly jumped away, just in time to avoid a sword thrust aimed at his back. "Attacking from behind...fitting of garbage such as your guild."

Gajeel scoffed in annoyance at the sight of the newcomers. "I thought they were further...Stole my moment."

Freed swung his sword to the side, Bickslow standing right beside him. "By the looks of it, you've had your chance already. You're in no position to complain." he said.

Gajeel grinned. "Fair enough."

"No matter how many of you gather around, you're still no match for my ultimate magic!" boasted Rustyrose and adjusted his glasses.

"It's a shame we'll never find that out." said Freed, confusing the Kin. "Before revealing myself, I've drawn runes all around the camp. I've put one single rule on them, but it's a very effective one. Those, who walk inside of their range, will be unable to use their magic. Unless they wear the mark of Fairy Tail, that is."

Rusty looked like someone slapped him across the face. Not believing a single word, he tried to create a coin, only to realise he was unable to use magic. At all.

"You're screwed, buddy." smirked Bickslow and readied his dolls, with Freed and Gajeel standing on both of his sides respectively.

This moment marked the first time Rustyrose had felt fear.

Gray froze all of the orbs coming his way and shattered them into pieces. Ultear merely smirked and summoned more of them.

"You do not stand a chance." she taunted. He simply scoffed and punched his palm.

ICE MAKE: LANCE!

Multiple lances rose from the ground and charged at Ultear, who simply swung her arm to the side and smirked. A second later, the weapons turned into steam, their time accelerated.

"You cannot beat me with ice." she declared and attacked with her orbs once again.

Gray ducked under them and dashed at Ultear, punching his hand one more time. This time he created swords, which he used to slash at the women. Before they could slice her, however, they turned back into steam, and soon later Gray found himself being defenseless. Ultear used this chance to kick him in the stomach with her right leg, and then in the face with her left.

Gray staggered on his feet and grimaced in pain. He was then attacked by multiple orbs, which banged him pretty badly.

Fed up, he expanded his magic around his body and froze the orbs, before creating a massive hammer and dropping it on Ultear, who accelerated it once again.

"Keep trying, seeing you despair fills me with joy." mocked Ultear. "I've been itching to kill you ever since our eyes met, Ur's disciple."

Gray's eyes narrowed. "You hate your mother." he declared.

"What gave it away?" she asked rhetorically and attacked with orbs one more time, all of them dodged.

"Do you even know how much you meant to her?!" he snapped and created another set of lances, all of them turned into steam.

"Never had the pleasure." she replied and caught him in a formation of orbs, rendering him unable to escape. Shortly after, she started to attack him orb by orb, accelerating their speed to the point where dodging them was impossible. Gray cried out in pain with each hit, and after a dozen of them fell to his knees. This caused Ultear to release the formation and walk up to him.

"I've learned this magic just for the purpose of canceling hers. You may not be her, but killing you will be just as pleasant. A disciple of trash is trash himself." the taunted him openly.

Gray snapped. He raised his right hand and froze the raindrops falling onto both of them, turning them into tiny, sharp blades.

Ultear's throat and chest were now surrounded by blades of ice, ready to impale themselves into her at any moment. Shocked, she looked him in the eyes, his pupils small and rid of mercy.

"Move even a finger, and all of those will find their way into your body." he threatened.

Ultear smirked. "Go on, do it. You do not have what it takes to take a life, that's not something she'd teach you."

Gray's eyes widened a little, and one of the blades pinched skin on her neck, drawing a drop of blood. "No, it's not. But it's something I've learned myself not so long ago."

Ultear gulped, her confidence oozing out like from an untied balloon. "Jolene..." she muttered quietly.

"There's only one thing I simply cannot understand." said Gray. "How could someone like Ur's daughter turn out to be this much of a garbage human being? Did you get nothing from her, except looks?"

"Unfortunately, she abandoned me before I could learn anything from her." replied Ultear with a low growl.

Gray's expression softened. "What?"

"She left me when I was small. Took me to a research facility and left to live my life as a lab rat. At first, I thought it was only temporary, but it lasted a year. And when I was finally able to run away and return home, I saw her laughing with two unknown to me brats, all three of them as carefree as they could get." continued the woman.

"Me and Lyon..." deduced Gray.

"By that point, I've seen enough. She got rid of me and replaced me with someone better. So I've decided to dedicate my life and destroy her, but unfortunately, she died before I got the chance."

Gray scoffed and released Ultear from his magic, much to her surprise. "There's also a lot that you haven't seen as well." he whispered, bangs covering his eyes.

Ultear's eyes narrowed. "Don't even try to feed me lies. I know what I saw."

"Did you also see her during the night? What her usual routine was?" he asked her, his voice breaking. Receiving no response, he continued. "I can't even count how many times me and Lyon have seen it. Her, kneeling in her room, the very same dress in her hands, as she hugged it to her chest, her tears falling onto it. For the two years I've spent with her, there hasn't been a night where I haven't heard her not cry."

"Are you trying to soothe me? Because you're simply wasting your time." Ultear hissed dangerously. "She abandoned me, that's the fact!"

"Do you really expect me to believe that after seeing all this? After seeing the pain in her eyes?!" he roared, no longer able to hold his feelings. "And now, after all these years, I find out her daughter, the one person she loved more than anyone in the world has turned out like...this. Deceiving, cunning, manipulative, cruel. How is this fair?!"

Ultear did not say anything. Instead, she frowned and focused on dwelling this weird sensation forming in her heart. Was it doubt? No, definitely not. She knew the truth, and only the truth.

"Ur is dead. That is a fact." proclaimed Gray and took off his shirt. "But I'm not, and neither are you. As her disciple, I feel that it's my responsibility now."

The Kin smirked sarcastically. "And what would that be?"

Gray's hair stood up, along with his magic. An icy, misty aura started to surround his body, the air becoming unpleasantly cold. "I will discipline you in her stead, and make you see the truth. I shall be your salvation."

Ultear licked her lips and summoned more orbs. "Be my guest."

Bluenote flipped in the air and landed on his feet, his lips cut. He wiped them off and stared at the newcomer, whose rugged cloak flowed with the wind like a flag.

Cana looked at him from Natsu's arms, a warm sensation of security and peace, as well as nostalgia filling her heart. "Father..."

Gildarts stared at Bluenote with narrowed pupils, a vein pulsing on his forehead. One thing was certain: he was livid.

"Trying to crush Master, and the kids...you sure have balls, punk." he growled.

"So you're Gildarts, eh?" asked Bluenote and cracked his sore neck. "You sure pack a punch." as soon as he said that, Gildarts was right by his face and nailed him with yet another punch, one that smashed him into the ground. He then lifted his right leg and put it on the merc's head, grinding it into the ground.

"All of you, get out of here. Take Master to safety." he ordered.

Natsu nodded and walked back to the hole, Cana still in his arms. Lucy and the others, who were no longer being trapped by gravity exchanged smiles between themselves and greeted Natsu back.

"One hell of a fight out there." praised him Lily.

"Thanks." said the Dragon Slayer, slightly thrown off by the compliment.

"Cana, how are you?" asked concerned Lucy.

"Fine, just tired." smiled weakly the brunette. "You can put me down now, you know. At least buy me a drink before carrying me like that." she teased Natsu, who quickly put her down while muttering a "sorry"."

"Let's get out of here. Gildarts will take care of that guy." said Carla, while Natsu took Makarov from Wendy.

The group emerged from the hole and started to walk away from the scene. Cana looked at Gildarts one more time, who was still pinning Bluenote down.

"Natsu." called out the man. The Dragon Slayer stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at him. "You did well." praised him Gildarts.

With a weird feeling in his chest, Natsu nodded awkwardly and walked into the wilds along with the others. He wasn't too familiar with emotions, but for a moment, it sounded like Gildarts' voice expressed...pride. Something he's heard only once before, from someone who's been on his mind for a while now.

Erza ran through the island, a sword in her right hand. She used it to cut down any vines, branches, and trees in her way. Suddenly, she heard something weird and jumped back, just in time to avoid being impaled by sharpened branches.

"As expected of someone of your caliber. I've been waiting for you." said a male voice.

Erza sharpened her senses, awaiting another attack. "Show yourself!"

A figure started to emerge from the tallest, thickest tree that way before her, with a man with messy brown hair standing in her way.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Azuma, one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory." introduced himself the man.

"Erza Scarlet, of Fairy Tail."

"I know. I have been searching for you. So far, I've only had the pleasure of fighting cats and women. though my hunger was satisfied for a bit, not so long ago." said Azuma.

Erza's eyes narrowed. "Cats and women? What did you do?"

"I have eliminated them all, of course." he said, much to her shock. "Right now my comrades should be finishing off your guildmates as we speak."

"Finshing them off? Don't be absurd! We have Mirajane, Laxus and Salamander on our side!" yelled outraged Erza.

"I do not know anything about this Laxus person, but Demon Mirajane, I have defeated myself." stated calmly Azuma.

Erza's eyes widened in shock. Mira was down?

"As for Salamander..." continued the man, dragging the sentence out, as if curious of her reaction. "...he was one of the first to perish."

Erza's eyes widened. True, she's yet to sense, hear, or meet him, but…

"Impossible." muttered Erza, her voice barely above whisper.

"I assume he was close to you?" questioned Azuma. "It appears that he was. Although giving you my condolences would be out of place, I understand your pain. However, this is war. He fell under the hand of my comrade. I have witnessed it firsthand."

Erza remained silent. She Requipped out of her Heart Kreuz Armor and dosed her Black Wing Armor, hair covering her face.

"Perhaps you think I'm lying?" asked Azuma.

Erza lifted her head, and as soon as her eyes met his, for a split second, Azuma was paralysed with fear. He was no longer looking at Erza. It was...someone else.

"No." she replied, her voice too calm to match her flaming eyes. "I will test your words with my sword, and figure out the truth on my own."

Azuma inhaled through his nose and prepared himself. The thrill of the upcoming battle was almost unbearable.

End of Chapter 27. To be continued in Chapter 28: Titania.

That feeling when I meet my schedule for the first time in...months. Huh...

Changes:

- Natsu held his own against Bluenote in battle. I never intended to have him win, or lose it, it was simply to showcase his strength, as well as give you guys something fun to read.

- Cana did hit Bluenote with Fairy Glitter, but it was simply not enough in her current state. In the mange, Bluenote canceled it, here he was at her mercy, hence his reaction

- Gray used more talk no jutsu than in the manga

- Laxus vs Zancrow

- Rustyrose stepped into poo

- some chronological changes

I hope you liked the chapter, it was really tough to write it (mostly because I wrote it within 30 hours). Make sure to review and see you next time!