Answers to reviews:

hellfire45: Thanks.

Perseus12: well, here it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry or Fairy Tail. I only own the OC Drake Redgrave.


"Why don't we just take out this stupid demon right now?" Natsu asked, approaching the frozen Deliora, "A little fire'll do the trick."

Something in Gray suddenly snapped as he punched Natsu in the jaw, sending him tumbling to the ground. Happy gaped at the ice wizard while Lucy put her hands to her mouth in shock while Drake raised an eyebrow. This wasn't the first time Gray's punched Natsu.

"What's the big idea, Gray!?" Natsu demanded, getting up.

The Dragon Slayer paused when he saw the dead serious look Gray was shooting him.

"I don't want you or your flames anywhere near it!" He shouted, and then lowered his voice dangerously, "If the ice melts and Deliora gets free, nothing will be able to stop it."

"Wanna bet?" Drake scoffed, really doubting that statement. Not to sound arrogant or cocky, but he did defeat the Demon king Mundus, a being that many demons feared due to his power and strength. Demons were notorious for being overly dramatic and arrogant. If what Gray had said, it likely came from the demon. He's fought things that gave demon's nightmares.

"Oh, come on," Natsu said, his tone serious, "You really think a chunk of ice that big would be easy to melt?"

Gray tried to retort but fell silent.

"Hey," spoke up Drake, "you know how your master stopped this thing the first time?"

The ice wizard nodded. "My master used a spell called Iced Shell to trap Deliora. It made a type of ice that can never be melted. It's so strong that even the most powerful fire spells have no effect on it. But if these people knew that the ice couldn't be melted, why would they bring it here?"

"Maybe it had something to do with that Moon Drip thing that they were talking about?" Lucy offered.

"You might be right," Gray said, "so if they're going to wait for the moon to come out, then we'll do the same."

"Been a while since I've done a stakeout," commented Drake.

"Argh," Natsu moaned, "It's the middle of the afternoon, I'll die of boredom!"

Five minutes later, the Dragon Slayer was sound asleep on the rocky floor.

"Well, that was fast," Lucy commented, used to her friend's ridiculous behavior by now.

"Aye," Happy agreed.

Moments later, Lucy was sitting on a rock a meter from the snoozing Dragon Slayer with her head resting on her left palm. "Must be nice," Lucy remarked, looking at Natsu, "he doesn't have to worry about anything but eating, fighting, and sleeping."

"Aye," Happy replied, "that's Natsu for yah."

"I gotta admit," conceded Lucy, "I'm a little bit jealous."

Lucy turned her attention to Gray, who was sitting on a rock in front of the frozen Deliora. He was staring at the ground with a brooding expression. In fact, the onyx-haired teen was recalling a memory of training with his Master Ur when he was a boy.

"Ugh…" Lucy moaned, "I know I agreed to wait, but this is so boring."

"Aye," Happy replied.

Drake was currently leaning against a rock, his arms folded across his chest, though he kept the iced up demon in his sights at all times. He'd been caught off guar a few times before by demons who looked dead or trapped, he wasn't taking any chances here with this one. He had opened his eyes upon hearing Lucy talk and now he spoke up. "So breaking the rules, going on an S-Class Quest, and finding out about demons isn't exciting enough? If I recall, didn't you try running when things got 'exciting'?"

"Oh, I know!" Lucy said excitedly, ignoring Drake's remark.

She pulled out a silver key from her key pouch and thrust it forward, "Open, Gate of the Harp Constellation: Lyra!"

In a puff of pink smoke, a young girl, with orange waist-length hair that curled at the end, appeared. She wore a long blue dress with yellow hearts printed by her waist, leather shoes, and had a pink bonnet on top of her head. She had round blush marks on her cheeks, and small white wings and a large harp on her back.

"Oh wow!" Lyra smiled brightly, waving her right hand in front of her. "I haven't seen you in forever, Lucy!"

"Hey, Lyra," Lucy greeted, smiling.

"Say," Lyra looked at the blond wizard in slight annoyance. "Why don't you call me anyone? It's not fair!" She pouted before smiling again. "I'd love to help you out, but you ignore me, meanie."

"Meanie, huh." Lucy gave the spirit a pointed look, "You're the one who told me you were only available three days a month."

Lyra gaped and looked at Lucy in slight shock, "Are you sure about that…?"

Happy sweatdropped, "Great…another weirdo,"

"So, what would you like to hear me sing?" Lyra asked animatedly, "any requests?"

"Nope. Whatever you want," Lucy replied.

"You know any songs about fish?" Happy asked eagerly.

"How about something less 'you'?" commented Drake from where he laid.

"Okay!" Lyra beamed, giving a thumbs-up. "I've got a song I think you're going to love, Lucy!"

"Lyra has the most beautiful singing voice." the Celestial wizard said.

"Well, Mira's a singer too, yah know." Happy retorted. "And she sings songs about fish for me."

Lyra sat down and removed her harp from her back, setting it down in front of her. She ran her hands across the harp's strings, creating a calm, lovely sound.

Happy gasped in surprise from the beautiful melody before a peaceful smile crossed his face.

Drake watched the Spirit in silence. He hadn't listened to music in a while now, but Lyra's song placed him at a sense of ease and peace.

But there was one person that the song didn't bring peace to. Off in the corner of the cave, Gray clenched his teeth as his body started to tremble slightly. He had started to remember when Ur was teaching him how to perform 'Ice-Make: Shield.' He fought back the tears, but he began to sob. Tears openly falling from his eyes as a result of the music.

Thanks to Drake's hearing, he hears his crying before the music ends. That's when Lucy and Happy heard him. "Gray? What's wrong?" asked the blond with a look of concern.

"Nothing…" Gray choked. "I'm fine."

"You seem upset." Happy pointed out.

"Well, one of Lyra's talents is singing songs that relate to what her audience is feeling," Lucy said calmly.

"Did her song make you cry?" asked Happy.

"I…I wasn't crying," Gray denied; although, it didn't take a genius to know that he was lying.

"Maybe you should sing something a little more upbeat?" Lucy suggested to the harp spirit.

"You should've just said that in the first place," Lyra retorted.

A moment of silence passed before Gray replied, "I think we should skip the song. We need to stay quiet. We don't wanna be found out."

Drake closed his eyes, ready to sleep when his nose sniffed. His eyes snapped open, and he sprang back up. Surprising the others that were around him.

"Drake, what's…" Happy began, only to be cut off when Drake closed his mouth with his hand. His body tense.

"I can smell and sense something." Drake said as he narrowed his eyes, looking around. "It smells and feels like...magic?"

Suddenly the cavern began to shake all around them.

"What the?!" Drake asked as he looked around.

A magical seal appeared on the cavern ceiling, appearing directly on top of the large ice prison. A purple light flowed downward, covering the frozen form of Deliora.

"It's a beam of light!" Lucy shouted, wide-eyed.

"Shining down from the ceiling," Natsu concluded, equally shocked.

Drake narrowed his eyes at the purple light, growling like an animal. Whatever the light was, it was bad news. "There's no way that's a coincidence. C'mon!" He shouted, turning and making his way out of the cavern.

The Fairy Tail mages ran through the cave network and several stairs before they eventually found themselves coming up to the surface. They were now in a large open room of the temple, and Drake's eyes widened when he saw another large magic circle feeding more moonlight onto the floor, which was right above Deliora.

"Why would someone cast a magic circle inside this old temple?" Gray asked, confused.

"Let's find out!" Drake said, jumping over to a flight of stairs that led to the exit on top of the temple. The others quickly followed after him.

Once they were at the top of the temple, they were surprised by their finding.

Underneath a large half-moon stone structure was a circle of people that had their features concealed by rodes and masks. They were chanting together some strange, ritualistic words as they stood around the magic circle. The same one that was bringing down the light of the moon into a column. They gave off a dark cult's vibe, but that just opened up more questions that need to be answered.

The group hid behind a nearby stone wall. "What are they doing?" Natsu asked.

"The moon…," Gray said.

"It looks like those robed freaks are chanting some weird spell to collect the moonlight," Natsu deduced.

"And shine it on Deliora," Lucy concluded.

"It's an ancient spell called Moon Drip." said Lyra, who was still with them and had not gone back to the Spirit World.

"What are you still doing here?" Lucy whispered crossly.

"You know what that spell is?" Drake asked the musical spirit, nodding to the column of moonlight. "Then can you tell us what it's used for?"

"Yes. They're using the Moon Drip spell to melt the ice surrounding that demon underground so they can resurrect it."

Drake's eyes widened before glaring at the cultists as they continued to cast their spell. "I was afraid that was going to be the answer," he said, as there was no other reason to shine anything on Deliora.

"They can't!" Gray countered, using a voice that would have gotten them all caught if the cultist weren't focused on their spell. "The ice in an Iced Shell can't be melted!"

"I hate to say it, but that's not entirely true," Lyra explained, causing Gray's eyes to widen. "While the Iced Shell is strong, it can be melted by the Moon Drip; focused moon-energy can break any spell."

"Those idiots!" Gray exclaimed. They've never witnessed the wraith of Deliora!"

"It's possible that what happened to the islanders is actually just a byproduct of this spell." Lyra continued, "They might not have been targeted intentionally."

"Let's make 'em pay." Natsu said, pounding his fists together. he went to attack but Drake yanked him back.

"Someone's coming." Drake muttered as he spotted a figure approaching.

Sure enough, another man was approaching the circle of chanters. His outfit was designed to both impose and hid his identity. Sporting a large white cape, with a wide collar, golden edges and fur trimmings over the shoulders, held closed by belt, adorned by a stylized snake with rectangular coils, and its corresponding buckle, with more belts and buckles, placed a few centimeters away from one another and below the first, being left untied. The man wore a blue, high-collared tunic below this cape with golden edges, reaching down below his knees, with the part coming down from below the simple belt tied around his waist having an opening in the front. The tunic sported a large, dark cross-like design on the back and was worn over a dark shirt. His outfit also included baggy dark pants tucked inside armored greaves, composed of different plates and sporting knee caps, and an ornamental helmet obscuring most of his face. Bearing a resemblance to a skull, this helmet sported a front part which covered the man's upper face, revealing his mouth and nose, with a line of sharp teeth beneath it, and the man's eyes not being visible from the eye slits of the mask, which was adorned by a spiraling motif. The helmet also came equipped with striped horns pointing frontwards and with a large crest made of spiky fur, falling on the man's back.

Following behind were Yuka, Toby, and Sherry, though they kept a respectful distance. Drake's glaring eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the armored man. Judging by his authoritative posture and how the others followed behind, the Demon Hunter had a fair hunch that this was the 'Cold Emperor' they heard able.

"What a waste," said Yuka in a bit of a melancholic tone. "I lost so much sleep, and all for nothing. We searched all day for the intruders and didn't find anything."

"Maybe there wasn't any!" Toby yelled.

The man stopped, and Sherry walked over to his side. "I'm afraid I have some sad news, Cold Emperor," she to the masked man. Drake's glaring eyes narrowed again at the man that was responsible for everything happening on this island. "We thought we had intruders earlier today, but they seemed to have gotten away. We cannot speak of love in this kind of situation."

"Intruders?" The Cold Emperor questioned with an irritated tone.

Hearing the man's voice, Gray's breath hitched a soft gasp.

"Has Deliora been awakened yet?" The Cold Emperor questioned his subordinates.

"It should be later tonight or tomorrow, sir," Sherry said.

"Which one, girl?!" Toby asked impatiently.

There was a moment of silence from the Cold Emperor before he said, "The time has come. If you see the intruders again, kill them. I don't want anyone getting in my way."

"They must have been villagers. They're the only other people on this island," Sherry reasoned.

"Then destroy the village," he said in an annoyed tone, having no time for anyone, not even innocent people getting his way.

"Yes, sir!"

Drake's hands clenched into fists at the man's uncaring response. There were innocent people in that village who didn't do anything nor did they have anything to do with whatever this cult thing is. And they were going to be wiped out so that this cult group could possibly bring back a frozen monster? They had to be stopped.

The Cold Emperor smirked. "It's a shame there has to be bloodshed."

Gray could only stare at the masked villain in disbelief. "That voice…" he murmured. "No...It can't be…"

"Screw this." Drake said as he stood on top of the boulder, everyone turning to see him as he grabbed Ebony, pointed it to the sky and...

BANG!

A powerful gunshot cracked across the area and through the night air, shattering the chanting and drawing the attention of everyone.

"I hear you assholes are looking for me?" Drake said as he holstered his gun and unsheathed Rebellion. "I'll save you the trouble of heading down to the village."

"I'm with him," stated Natsu as he joined Drake on top of the boulder he was previously hiding behind. Natsu's cheeks swelled up far larger than any normal humans before he looked up and exhaled a powerful torrent of fire into the air. "IT'S NOT THE VILLAGERS! WE'RE THE INTRUDERS YOU'RE AFTER!"

"Geez…" Lucy groaned, standing up, "Guess there's no turning back now, huh?"

"Aye," Happy agreed.

"Ooh, I want to help out too," Lyra requested nicely, standing behind Lucy, "Want me to sing?"

"No," a vein throbbed on Lucy's head, "I want you to go back." She deadpanned.

"Ahh…you're no fun…," Lyra said, holding her cheeks. In a puff of pink smoke, she vanished and returned to the Spirit World.

As the villains eyed their now-revealed enemies, Sherry spotted Natsu's guild mark.

"I know that mark," she said to her comrades, "They're from Fairy Tail!"

"Interesting, those villagers must've gone to the magical guilds for help," Yuka commented, crossing his hands behind his back.

"Don't worry about them," the armored man replied calmly. "Go eradicate the village."

"What?!" Lucy gasped.

"But why?" Natsu asked, equally surprised.

"Anyone who stands in my way either deliberately or not is my enemy." The masked villain stated, clenching his right fist for emphasis.

"Say WHAT?!" Natsu shouted, appalled by the order. Did he seriously just order these guys to go kill the villagers?! They didn't even pose a threat to him, but he was going to kill them just because they got in his way?!

"Wow, you're an asshole." Drake remarked with a growl. With no more words, Drake leaped down from the rock and charged right towards the gathered chanters, the Cold Emperor, and his lackeys. An enraged scream coming from him as he charged. Natsu joined him and ran alongside the Demon Hunter while Gray leaped into the air.

"Stop this crazy ceremony right now!" Gray cried. As he landed, he slammed his hands into the ground and created a shockwave of ice that forced the Emperor's lackeys to jump out of the way.

The Emperor, however, summoned an icy-blue magical circle in his right hand. When he landed, he slammed his right palm against the stone ground, creating a wave of his own that was equally as powerful as Gray's. The two ice-walls met head-on and canceled each other out before shattering into tiny fragments.

"He's an ice wizard too?!" Happy shouted, shocked.

Gray stepped back as glared daggers at the masked villains, "Lyon," he growled dangerously.

Natsu and Lucy both gasped while Drake stopped where he was for a second. So he did know who this was. Or at the very least, suspected.

"Lyon?" parroted Lucy, not exactly certain who this was.

"Mind filling us in, Gray?" asked Drake, a little annoyed.

"Lyon," Gray continued; his voice hoarse with frustration and anger, "how could you? Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

"Oh, Gray," the Cold Emperor, now identified as Lyon, said nonchalantly, "It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

Lucy and Happy both gasped, surprised that Gray and Lyon actually knew each other.

"Why would you revive Deliora!?" Gray demanded.

"To think that you were one of the wizards called to this island to help those poor villagers," Lyon said, ignoring Gray's question, "Did you come knowing that you would find me? Or is this just mere coincidence? Not that it makes any difference to me."

"An acquaintance of yours, Cold Emperor?" Yuka asked.

"Do as you were ordered," Lyon replied, though Drake noted that he didn't answer the question either, "I'll handle the intruders on my own."

"Yes, sir!" all three shouted, before dashing off in different directions.

"Hey, come back here!" Natsu shouted, running around Lyon.

"No! Natsu, don't get near him!" Gray had a panicked look in his eye again.

Lyon didn't even glance at Natsu. He merely held out his hand, and a sphere of spiked ice engulfed the Dragon Slayer's torso, upper arms, and thighs.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out.

"Happy, get Lucy out of here!" Gray yelled.

"Aye!" the blue cat sprouted his wings and grabbed Lucy by the back of her shirt, lifting her into the air, despite her protests.

Gray held out his arms and fired a wave of ice at Lyon. The masked wizard simply held out his right arm and created a domed shield, which blocked Gray's attack.

As Gray battled against Lyon with a wave of ice that was blocked by a dome of ice, Drake turned to the others and called out, "We'll deal with this guy! Get back to the village and protect it!"

"Aye!" Happy shouted, and then flew off toward the village.

"Be careful!" Lucy yelled before they disappeared in the distance.

Drake ran at Lyon and leaped at him but Lyon didn't even bat an eye as he shot another Ice blast at him that Drake had to quickly dodge while in midair but the hand holding rebellion was caught and frozen along with the sword.

"Even if you are a demon slayer," stated Lyon, his tone still devoid of any emotion, "nothing can get out of my ice."

However, to Lyon and Gray's shock, cracks appeared in the ice before it shattered as Drake checked his arm before he turned his fierce gaze to Lyon. "You sure about that?" The son of Sparda asked with a deadly smirk.

Drake then leaped at Natsu and smashed his fist into the ice enough to break it and free the Dragon Slayer.

"Interesting." Lyon muttered as he eyed Drake. "Perhaps there's more to you than it seems."

Drake pointed Rebellion at him. "I get that a lot. So why don't you do me a favour and quit trying to summon a demon and go get a normal hobby? If you weren't human or had any humanity within you... I'd call you a demon and kill you without a moment's hesitation."

"Don't underestimate the power of Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted, "Come on, we'll take you on!"

"Not us, Natsu," Gray retorted, not looking away from Lyon, "Just me! You and Drake, go after the other three."

"Oh, come on!" growled Natsu, but a strong grip caught his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Drake holding his shoulder.

"People's lives are on the line, Natsu. And we're wasting time," stated Drake, "the longer we wait here, the more likely someone's gonna lose their life." With that said, he began to leave, not before stopping beside Gray and glancing over his shoulder, "Think you can handle this guy?"

Gray nodded, "At the very least, I can fight him to a draw."

Drake nodded, before he and Natsu sprinted into the forest, but just before entering, the salmon-haired wizard stopped where he was, "Just don't die," requested Natsu in a serious tone before sprinting again to catch up with Drake.

As his guildmates left the mountain, Gray turned back to Lyon. "Your friend with the sword is interesting… but even so, he will not be able to defend the village," Lyon stated matter-of-factly.

"I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you. And don't underestimate me either, Lyon! I'm taking you done!" Gray shouted, glaring at him as the man chuckled humorlessly.

"You think that you can beat me? That's not just reckless; it's also arrogant, Gray."

"I don't understand why you're pulling this superior act with me, Lyon. You're not!" Gray exclaimed furiously. "We're not Ur's students anymore!"

"I'm well aware that you're not Ur's students," Lyon replied. He then removed his mask to reveal his face.

Showing that he had bluish silver hair, most of which are spiky strands that jut upwards on top of his head, except for some which are kept pointing down and partially cover the upper left part of his face. Lyon's eyes are slanted, with dark round pupils and surrounded by similarly dark lines. He had small, linear, dark eyebrows. He donned a small, light-colored earring on his left earlobe, which was shaped like a stylized snowflake.

"After all, our beloved teacher is no longer among the living."

"Her final act was sealing that monster away. Are you really so callous that you would destroy our master's legacy?" Gray accused.

"Don't delude yourself," Lyon countered, "We both know that you're the one that killed Ur."

Gray's eyes widened, and his mouth twisted into a snarl.

"But you don't seem to have any guilt over that. How cruel."


Nearby the river, Drake and Natsu suddenly felt a chill going up their spines and they looked back at the temple. You sensed it too?" Drake asked.

"Yeah," Natsu said. "I have this bad feeling about Gray... I've got to go back for him."

Drake looked at him for a moment. He could sense that Gray had been defeated, and was going to need help. So he then gave his friend a nod. "Do it."

"Are you sure?" Natsu asked, uncertain.

"I'll go back and help defend the village. You help Gray, that way both aren't defenceless against the enemy." Drake pointed out.

Natsu grinned and gave the Demon Hunter a thumbs-up. "Thanks, man."

He then dashed off back to the temple. Drake watched him for a moment before turning towards the direction of the village and he ran towards it. Determined to stop Lyon's minions before it was too late.


Drake was able to make it to the village fast enough and was happy to see the village hadn't been attacked yet. Leaping over the wall's gate, Drake landed on the ground and saw the place looked intact so that was a plus in his book.

He found Lucy and Happy talking to the transformed villagers. Virgo was summoned too and was standing with her master.

"Hey, Lucy," Drake called out as he walked over. "Is everything okay?"

"Drake?" Lucy said in surprise as she thought he was back with Gray and Natsu. However, she noticed the direction where Drake was headed, "Drake wait! Don't come any closer! STOP!"

"What?" asked Drake as he slowed down, however as he came to a stop, he did so on top of a pile of leaves, which immediately gave way. This caused him to fall into a large hole. Crashing into the ground as it kicked up a large amount of dust and debris.

"Ow…"

"Wow, that trap actually worked," one of the villagers commented.

"Yeah, sorry we doubted you," another villager said to Lucy with a dumbfounded expression. But the blond ran a hand down her face.

Drake climbed out of the hole. He shook off the dirt from his coat and looked at everyone. "Anyone mind telling me why there was a hole in my way?"

"I was trying to make a trap for Lyon's guys." Lucy said, embarrassed.

"Wait, where's Natsu and Gray?" Happy asked worriedly. Just then, the river gate lifted, and a single rowboat sailed into the village. They looked and saw Natsu, looking motion-sink as ever, and a very injured Gray.

After Drake pulled the boat back to the village's shore, Natsu was back to normal and placed Gray gently down on the ground. He told the others that he found him in this condition when he went back to the temple, while the village people began to apply first aid to Gray's injuries.

"Gray…" Lucy said in a concerned tone.

Drake scanned over the village for any sign of damage. "So those wizards haven't come just yet?"

H-hey!" one of the villagers began pointing at the sky, "Look over there!"

Everyone looked in the direction the man was pointing and, to their shock, saw the giant rat flying in the air, using its tail as a propeller and holding a giant bucket. Yuka, Toby, and Sherry could be seen on the rat's back.

"A flying rat... wow." Drake deadpanned.

"What?!" Lucy raged, "Now my pitfall trap is totally pointless!"

"A rat can fly and you're getting upset that your hole won't work?" demanded Drake, giving an incredulous look to the busty blonde.

"What's it got in the bucket?" Natsu asked, deciding to ignore what Drake just asked. However, what got everyone's attention was the answer to his question when a glob of slime, about the size of a fist flew out of the bucket, heading right towards Lucy. The girl just stared at it.

"Jelly?" she wondered aloud, even as it closed in on her.

"Look out!" Natsu shouted, tackling her out of the way. Instead of hitting her, the jelly hit a plant that had been at her feet. When it made contact, both the plant and a few inches of earth beneath it sizzled and dissolved into nothingness.

"Jelly that's acid," stated Drake, watching as the acid and ground vanished, "and here I thought they were being nice."

"I knew it smelled deadly," Natsu growled, helping Lucy to her feet.

"T-that rat has a whole bucket of that stuff!" a villager cried, "It's gonna drop it on the village!"

Above them, the rat Angelica threw the bucket over the village, releasing a wave of jelly large enough to cover the village and everyone in it.

"How do we stop that!?" Lucy screamed.

"Yamato!" Drake shouted and the sheathed katana appeared in his right hand. In the blink of an eye, Drake had it unsheathed and channelled his demonic power into the sword before he spun, leaped and sent a blue crescent wave from the katana that slammed into the rat. Yuka, Toby, and Sherry screamed as the powerful attack threw them off the rat, and the bucket was thrown towards the river outside of the walls. The villains and Angelica splashed into the river, but inside the walls of the village.

The acid dissolved in the water, and the village was saved.

Drake and the others were crowded by the villagers who wanted to express their thanks and gratitude for saving their lives. However, that changed when Drake heard the sound of footsteps something out of the water behind them.

"The Cold Emperor has commanded us to eradicate the village and it's people," Sherry said coldly, as she made her way towards the villagers. Yuka and Toby were with her, Angelica right behind them. All of them soaked in water. Drake's gaze darkened as they glared at them. "We were trying to show mercy by making your deaths quick and painless. But since that didn't work, we'll have to resort to bloodshed."

Though the words of the three had angered the Fairy Tail members a great degree, it was nothing compared to the fury of one.

A large wave of power began to surge around the area, and the full force of it's pressure was directed at the lackeys of the Cold Emperor. And it was all coming from the Demon Hunter. Drake was breathing heavily as he felt his power build, the demonic power within him surging and his eyes changed from icy blue to a demonic red in response as they glared at the wizards.

"W-What is this?" Sherry exclaimed worriedly, sweat dripping from her brow as she stared at the son of Sparda.

"I think he's angry." Happy said to Lucy and Natsu who nodded. Natsu and Happy knew from experience... an angry Drake was not a good thing.

"Oh I'm not angry..." Drake said, hearing Happy. "I'm just MAD!"

"Well, they are screwed." Lucy said, knowing that it's a bad idea to piss off Drake or make him very angry. Natsu and Happy nodded in agreement.

Drake gripped Yamato in hand as the sword was responding to the demonic power of it's master. Drake spun the sword in a circle, creating a spectral blue circle in the process. Drake then thrusted Yamato through the circle, sending it flying straight towards Lyon's lackeys.

Yuka quickly got in front of his comrades and stretched out his hands.

Time slowed down as Yuka conjured a barrier of sorts, just before the spectral circle connected.

The beam of energy slammed into the barrier, though it moved around the force field, protecting them. However, it did create a large explosion that rocked some of the villagers and the Fairy Tail wizards.

When the dust settled, the blue-haired man stared at the Demon Hunter with a look of shock and worry. His two comrades were much the say way, equally shocked that such an attack was even possible. It and the explosion ripped apart the barrier, but they were still alive and standing by some miracle. The ground around them was burnt, and some of the sand looked like it was turning to glass.

"You guys are resilient." Drake growled. "And it's beginning to piss me off."

"We won't stop until everyone in this village is dead!" Sherry said, her eyes narrowing at the fleeing villagers. She turned to the massive mouse behind her. "Right, Angelica?"

The rat hissed maliciously and then spun her tail, taking off right after scooping Sherry up in her arms and flying after the villagers.

"I'm not going to let you get away with this!" Lucy yelled, leaping at the rat and grabbing one of its claws. The second after she realized what she had done, she started screaming and holding on for dear life.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Drake muttered with a head shake.

"Yep, she's stupid," Happy commented.

"Or insane!" Natsu added.

Lucy, deciding to make the best of the situation, was doing what she could to stop Sherry and her rat; of course, the only thing she could do was punch ineffectually at the claw she held onto. When that didn't work, she tried tickling the rat's foot; to everyone's shock, not only was Angelica ticklish, but she was so much so that she lost control and crashed in the distance!

"Wow," Yuka commented, "she's going to be ticked."

"I don't have any ticks!" Toby yelled.

"I wasn't talking to you," Yuka replied, exasperated.

"She'll be fine," assured Drake, but he was concerned about Lucy.

"I'll go check on her," Happy replied, sprouting his wings and flying off.

"You ready to kick some ass, Drake?" Natsu asked, cracking his knuckles as he did so.

Drake smirked as he gripped Yamato tightly. "Like you had to ask."

Natsu was the first to attack. Lunging towards the two wizards as Drake sent another energy wave from Yamato. Hitting Toby in the gut with the energy beam, sending him flying back. Natsu hopped over Yuka's head and shot a breath of fire at him, to which the short man barely blocked it with a blue barrier.

"A wizard that breathes fire?" Yuka asked, "Don't tell me that you're the Salamander of Fairy Tail I've heard so much about."

Drake suddenly rushed towards the short wizards and went for a dropkick. However, Yuka blocked the attack with another one of his barriers. But the dropkick was followed up with the Demon Hunter going for a punch to the head, but Yuka jumped back. Landing a few feet away from Natsu and Drake.

"I'm alright!" Toby hopped to his feet with a cocky smile.

"You know," Yuka said contentedly, drawing the attention of Drake and Natsu. "We used to be in a famous guild ourselves, so neither of you should blow us off. In fact, the famous Iron Rock Jura is from the same guild. Surely you've heard of the Lamia Scale."

Drake glared at him. "No," he said, causing Toby's jaw to drop, and Natsu shot another blast of fire. Yuka just called forth another barrier and received no damage. Drake slashed Yamato into the barrier, but Toby was hit with the flames and was charred to a good degree.

"Hey, cut it out!" Yuka shouted, severely annoyed. "Listen when I'm talking to you!"

"There is nothing to talk about," Drake stated as he twirled Yamato around before pointing it at them. "Do you really believe that who you are and what guild you used to be in matters to us? I'll let you in on a little secret; it doesn't. All that matters is that you're threatening the lives of the villagers."

"Which makes you Fairy Tail's enemy, and that's more than enough reason for us to kick your ass!" Natsu added.

"Toby, take out the Demon Slayer. I'll handle the Salamander," Yuka said calmly.

Toby growled and leaped at Drake. He tried to punch him, but Drake caught his fist, gave him a headbutt then delivered a spinning heel kick into Toby's stomach which sent him flying back and rolling across the ground.

"And for the record," Drake added, "I'm a Demon Hunter!"

Toby quickly got back up to his feet and rushed at Drake. Drake dodged him by stepping out of the way before Toby could grab him, raised his fists in the air, before slamming them down on Toby's back with great strength. Toby yelled in pain as he was slammed into the ground, cracking the dirt. The Demon Hunter reached down and grabbed his ankle, before swinging his body far away.

The dog-like man crashed into the side of a hut. He got back up and growled at the young man.

"You know, your friend over there is lucky. Yuka is tough, but I'm even stronger!" He asked with a cocky grin.

"Then why are you getting your ass kicked by me?" Drake said with a smug smirk.

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M WEAK?!" Toby yelled furiously, before crossing his arms with another grin spreading across his face. His nails started turning green and elongating several inches. "Let's see how smug you are when you can't figure out what my Paralysis Claw: Mega Jellyfish can do! Come on! I dare you to guess what they do!"

Drake dropped his combat stance and raised an eyebrow, surprised he was stupider than Natsu and Happy.

"...Um...paralyze people?"

Toby's jaw dropped in shock. "How did you know that?!" He exclaimed in disbelief. "Are you a psychic or something?"

"No, you're just an idiot," Drake retorted.

"No one talks to me like that!" Toby roared as he lunged at Drake. The Demon Hunter quickly sidestepped Toby's attack out of reflex. "With one swipe from my claws, you'll be frozen, just waiting to die!" Spinning around, Toby took another swing at Drake. The Demon Hunter dodged once again. Letting out an enraged roar, Toby began to furiously and uncontrollably slash at Drake.

"HOLD STILL, DAMN IT!" Toby yelled angrily.

But when he tried to claw him again, Drake ducked it before he delivered a uppercut into Tobey's jaw but the son of Sparda wasn't done with him yet. Drake whirled around and swiped Toby off his feet, before jumping up and punching him down to the ground with a fist to the stomach. Smashing him hard into the ground, before grabbing a hold of the dog-looking man's wrist.

"Taste of your own medicine?" Drake asked with a smirk before he forced the dog-man to stab himself with his own claws.

Toby screamed in pain as electricity coursed through his body, before Drake pulled his nails out of his body. Toby just laid there on the ground, paralyzed.

"Well, that was easy," Drake thought aloud.

He then looked over at Natsu and saw him walking up to him with a grin. Having noticed that his friend had won his fight. Behind him was the unconscious and defeated form of Yuka.

"Nice job, Drake! How'd you beat that dog guy?" Natsu asked.

Drake shrugged his shoulders. "All I did was use his own magic against him."

"Ha! That's hilarious; I wish I'd seen that!"

"Maybe another time," Drake said with a smile. He then turned towards the mountain that the temple was on top of, and his expression turned serious again. "We need to end this before Deliora is free. Natsu, think you can handle Lyon while I go check on Happy and Lucy?"

Natsu nodded. "Yeah. Besides, I've got an idea about what to do with that frozen demon."

"Why do I get the feeling that your plan involves punching it?" asked Drake, narrowing his eyes, not entirely believing the Dragon Slayer had a plan that ranged beyond punching the daylights out of an object. So far, that detail was quite prevailent from what he's seen from Natsu.

"I have an actual plan, alright!" Natsu yelled indignantly, "Now go help Happy and Lucy!"

"Whatever you say, pyro," replied Drake as he turned and began to run in the direction he saw Angelica fall, "Don't make me have to come back and save your ass."

"You won't!" answered Natsu as he watched the demon hunter sprint into the forest. With Drake gone, he then looked around the area, "Now, which way was the temple, again?"


Drake ran through the forest, using his parkour skills to make him go faster. He could just turn into his Devil Trigger and fly to where Lucy was but... nobody knew he was half demon and he still didn't know whether he should tell everyone what he really was and his family's history.

Drake's troubled thoughts were filed away for later as the son of Sparda arrived at his destination, finding that the giant rat had pulled itself out of the crater if made when it crashed; thankfully, it had left large tracks for him to follow. He eventually made his way to the beach, where he found Angelica unconscious, lying next to Sherry, who was also out cold.

Drake narrowed his eyes, "Did Lucy do this?"

"Drake!" he heard Happy yell. "Run for your life!"

Drake raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what the flying cat meant when he tensed, his reflexes and instincts reacting at the sound of something behind him and he whirled around, Ebony and Ivory in hand, and he found a sword lined up with his neck.

"Crap." Drake muttered when he saw who it was. "You know, Erza, it's a really bad idea to try and sneak up on a Demon Hunter with guns."

Erza Scarlet merely gave him a cold glare as he raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk...


And that's it for this chapter.