Chapter 12

Shouting, as he put his hands on his skull, Natsu let himself fall on his back, before Akame pulled Spectator from his forehead.

"What a mess!" Natsu roared, staring at the teigu with anger.

"You're not compatible with it either." Najenda understood, while watching Tatsumi and Gajeel, who had tried teigu before him. "In that case, I'll send him to headquarters so he can find a compatible carrier."

"So, you collect teigus to increase the strength of your army." Lily understood. "That's pretty good thinking considering the fact that a teigu can very well equalize the strength of a battalion of soldiers."

"These are priceless objects." Lubbock approved. "Besides, a weapon in our possession is a weapon that the imperial army can't have."

"In that case, why your boss has no teigu ?" Wanted to know Natsu. "Is she weaker than we think?"

Two seconds later his head was stuck in the floor, while Najenda said.

"Strength isn't a condition for having a teigu ! Teigus have a mind like ours and they only give their powers to people who are on the same wavelength as them! More the compatibility is stronger, more powerful will be the teigu."

"And which teigu is the most powerful?" Tatsumi wanted to know.

Sitting down again, Najenda seemed thoughtful, before answering.

"The teigu that controls the ice."

Natsu wondered, pulling his head out of the floor.

"Grey's power?"

"Grey?"

"He's one of the mages of our guild." Explained Happy. "He masters the ice's magic."

"In our world, a woman has that power! And she's busy right now conquering the northern tribes."

"Is she so strong?" Gajeel wanted to know.

"If she's like Grey, Natsu should have the same power than her." Remarked Happy.

"Huh? I'm stronger than this loser."

"Yes, I believe you." Said Happy, sarcastically.

"What are you implying? I could beat Grey and that woman with my eyes closed."

Suddenly hitting the armrest of her seat, Najenda caught everyone's attention, while her face showed anger.

"I forbid you to underestimate her! To take her strength lightly is tantamount to being killed! This woman... she's a real monster! By comparison, captain Ogre's strength barely equals one percent of her strength."

"What?" Tatsumi's panicking. "Are you kidding me?"

"And unfortunately, there's another general of the same caliber as her." Remarked Bulat. "General Budo! With them, it's impossible to attack the Empire without a plan! The worst scenario for us would be to fight them, both of them, head-on! That's why we must collect as many teigus as possible."

Thinking suddenly, Tatsumi wanted to know.

"If I understood correctly, the teigus have different powers."

"Yes! And there may be several of them that have not yet been discovered."

"But in that case, there must be a teigu that can bring the dead back to life! And if there is, I could bring Sayo back to life."

"Impossible!" Akame replied. "If such a teigu existed, the emperor who created them would never have died! He would have used it to be immortal."

Hearing this, Tatsumi walked out of the room with his eyes downcast.

Looking up at the stars, Tatsumi then remained on the ground, while remaining silent. Nevertheless, he finally asked.

"I would have given anything to bring my friend back to life."

"I know that." Natsu said, moving towards him.

Sitting next to him, the boy said.

"I shouldn't be telling you this! It would only give you false hope! Nevertheless, don't give up the idea of seeing your friend again."

"Huh?" Tatsumi wondered, looking at him.

"In fact, when I was younger, I lost a friend who was dear to me! Her name was Lisanna! She had been killed during a mission."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be! Lisanna's still alive and well."

"What?"

"By a miracle, Lisanna survived her injuries and I was able to see her again and bring her back to Fairy Tail." Natsu explained to him. "Anyway, all this to tell you..."

Giving him a friendly shoulder bulge, he affirmed, with a confident smile.

"You don't know what life has in store for you! But be sure of one thing! It's by continuing to believe in your dreams that they have the best chance of coming true! So, don't lose hope, buddy!"

Sobbing then, Tatsumi could only nod his head and whisper.

"Yes! I'll keep hope alive! Anyway, I have nothing to lose."

With her arms stretched out to the sides, Seryu whistled cheerfully, while having fun walking on the curb, trying not to fall. Once again, the capital was perfectly calm and no criminals were in sight.

"It's really lively." Remarked Wendy, while the whole town seemed to be meeting outside, looking for a tavern or a market. "It reminds me a little of home."

"Really ? And where are you from, Wendy?"

"Magnolia!"

"I don't know this city." Seryu confessed. "Anyway, I hope people live in peace there."

"Of course! We, the Fairy Tail people, are in charge of protecting her."

"Fairy Tail?" Seryu wondered. "Ah, now that I think about it, your friend Natsu said something like that! They say you're magicians."

"We can say that." Wendy agreed, while not wanting to go too deep into the subject.

Stopping then, Seryu started thinking about something.

"What is it?" Wendy asked her.

"Fairy Tail... That's a strange name! Since when do fairies have tails?"

Smiling when she heard that question, Wendy taught her.

"Who knows? To answer this question, one would still have to know if fairies really exist! But nobody knows! An eternal enigma is a constant source of adventure! That's part of the reason for my guild's name."

"It sounds like a lot of fun." Seryu said. "Fighting for justice while making tons of friends! This is the life I've always dreamed of."

She was about to approve the same thing, Wendy was suddenly cut off by a woman's scream. Leaving a bakery, three men ran away with several loaves of bread in their hands, and when they saw their outfits, it was obvious that they didn't have the money to pay for them. They were just three poor men simply looking for food.

"It's understandable." Remarked Wendy. "Since wealth belongs only to the nobles, it is difficult for the poor to feed themselves without stealing."

"Koro ... " Seryu suddenly mumbled. "A crime has just been committed."

Raising her eyes, only to show anger, she said.

"We're going to eliminate them right now."

"To what?" Wendy horrified herself.

Ignoring her, Seryu began to chase the three thieves.

"She wants... to kill them?"

Stopping running, one of the three thieves delicately placed his loot in a wooden crate and was soon imitated by his comrades.

"I don't believe it! Did you see what we stoled ? With this, our families will have enough to eat for several days."

"My children will finally have something to eat besides moldy stuff."

Less optimistic than the others two thiefs, the third man kept looking behind him, before finally asking.

"Don't you think we're going to get arrested for this?"

"No chance!" Said one of his companions, grabbing a piece of bread and pretending to eat it. "We didn't hurt or kill anyone! We just stole bread and we weren't even armed! In an hour, the guards will have forgotten this story and nobody will talk about this robbery anymore."

"Really ?" A voice said surprised.

The thief dropped his piece of bread and fell on his buttocks, trembling, while his two comrades retreated, stuttering.

"Y... Y... You?"

"Oh, do you know me?" Seryu wondered, as she was staring at them from a roof. "Therefore, I think it's useless for me to introduce myself."

"She's the psychopath of death!" One of the men horrified, before pretending to run away.

Landing then with force, Koro stood in front of him, cutting him off.

"AHHHHHHHHHH ! Her monster is here."

"You've just committed robbery." Seryu remarked. "So, you're criminals! For the sake of this town's justice, I'll get rid of you!"

"Wait! Wait! All we did was steal a few loaves of bread! That's all we did."

"Koro!" Just pronounced Seryu.

Shouting in terror, the trio of thieves saw Koro's mouth open and close on them.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"SKY DRAGON'S CLAWS!"

Feeling a violent kick hit him above the skull, Koro's head finally hit the ground and cracked it.

"What...?" Seryu wondered.

Landing in front of the thieves, Wendy gave her an angry look, while asking her.

"What were you going to do? Have you gone crazy or what?"

"Huh? But didn't you see that those scoundrels stole that bread? They're bad people."

"They just don't have any food." Wendy said. "Look at them! You can tell they're starving! They don't even have a gun on them! Which shows that they only wanted food and not to hurt anyone."

"If they wanted food, all they had to do was ask good peoples for money!"

Suddenly clenching his teeth, one of the thieves roared.

"Are you kidding us or what? Do you think there are good people here who would give us money? The nobles only think about their little person! As for you guards..."

Clenching his fist, he raged.

"All you're doing is kicking us when you see us begging! Or you come in the middle of the night to the slums to rape women who are all alone."

"Huh?" Seryu said, with a look showing only frustration. "What are you insinuating? That we, the imperial guard who represent justice, are not doing our job well?"

"Justice? What justice? We know you well! You're a filthy murderer who pretends to do justice! You think you're a vigilante but you're nothing but a monster."

That's all it took for Seryu to point her pistols at him and start shooting him.

"DIE!"

Deflecting the bullets, a violent draught protected the thief while Wendy moved between him and Seryu.

"Stop it, right now, Seryu!"

"I'm only enforcing justice."

"What justice?" Wanted to know Wendy. "Don't you understand how these people feel? You know the city by heart, don't you? So, you must have noticed the difference between the neighborhoods where the rich live and this people live! They have nothing, and yet it's their taxes that enrich those who already have enough money to live for decades without working."

"Poverty doesn't justify theft." Seryu replied, rushing at her. "If you're part of the justice system, you should know that."

Seeing her pretending to punch her, Wendy brandished her own fist towards her and covered it with wind. Meeting each other, the two punches ended up making the two girls back up, while Seryu found herself in front of Wendy.

"I'm your superior, Wendy! So, you have to obey me."

"I don't obey at a blind and stupid person." Replied the child. "These people must have families that are starving! I'm not saying that stealing is good! I'm just saying that it will allow many people to live! Isn't that the purpose of justice?"

"Huh?"

"Justice is so people can live as equals! The nobles in this town don't respect that and steal money from the poor! The proof, if it weren't for you, who would be there to help the children in the church just now ?"

Seeing Seryu keep silent, Wendy continued.

"You're the only person who helps them! If you weren't there, father Mory couldn't take care of them! The nobles could do it, and yet they do nothing! Why don't they? Because they're selfish! So, it's up to us, the imperial guard, to look after the starving people! And even if the robbery is wrong, why is it worth killing them? How is killing them going to change anything?"

"Killing them will remove the evil from this city."

"Are you an idiot or what?" Wendy asked her. "Seeing that you protect his small interests, the rich will continue to exploit the poor! And that's wrong! Isn't justice made to defend the poor against the rich? Isn't justice made so that everyone has something to eat and a real roof over their heads? Isn't justice made to forgive people their sins?"

At that moment, getting up then, Koro seemed confused by what had just happened. Nevertheless, remembering Seryu's last order, he opened his mouth again, towards the thieves. Yet, someone stopped him again.

"Koro, stop!"

Stopping at once, Koro looked at Seryu with surprise, while Seryu turned around and walked away.

"Seryu?" Wendy wondered.

Finally stopping, Seryu glanced behind her before saying.

"We'll pretend we didn't see anything! Nevertheless, if I see you flying again, you won't do so well! Leave, now!"

Looking at each other with surprise, the trio of thieves only prayed and fled with their loot. However, finally stopping, one of the men knelt on the ground before shouting.

"Thank you very much! My family will be able to eat tonight! Thank you very much!"

As Seryu heard him leave, she had the impression that she could hear Ogre in her head, shouting to her.

"What are you doing, Seryu? That's not the justice I taught you! You must kill all the bandits in this town.''

Turning around immediately, Seryu went to give an order to Koro, when she saw Wendy approaching her before overtaking her, while saying to her.

"You see you can do good."

"Tsss!" Seryu whistled. "We became accomplices in their crime."

"In that case, we'll just have to be punished." Said Wendy, while keeping a smile on her face. "Since we let them steal food, we won't eat today! This will make up for it! We don't need to be killed for so little! It's even ridiculous!"

"You're saying my justice is ridiculous, aren't you?" Seryu got angry.

"You're taking justice too far." Wendy told her. "The fact that you're protecting the people is a good thing! However, the fact that you think people's souls are white or black is silly!"

"Why?"

"Take this example! If a rich man steals from a poor man when he already has a lot of money, is that good or bad?"

"It's wrong, of course! I don't even see why the rich man would do that."

"And yet, it is the case." Said Wendy. "Otherwise, where else would the rich get their money? Well, as a second example, if a poor man steals from a rich man and then distributes his booty to people who are starving and have no money, is that good or bad?"

"According to justice, it is..."

"I'm not asking you to answer me in the name of justice." Wendy replied. "Answer according to your own opinion! Is stealing to feed hungry children good or bad?"

Keeping silent, Seryu thought of only one thing.

"It's wrong! It's wrong! It's wrong!"

Yet it was with a simple whisper that she said.

"I don't know."

"Me too." Said Wendy.

"Huh?" Seryu wondered.

"Whatever the reason, stealing is never a good thing." Wendy explained to her. "Nevertheless, if we capture the rich and the poor, and ask them for what reasons they stole, who are you going to be the angriest with?"

For that question Seryu kept silent.

"The rich will have stolen from the poor for a selfish reason." Inform Wendy. "He didn't have to! Yet his thirst for wealth ordered him to steal more! As for the poor, he will steal to give to the needy! This is far from being an evil in itself, and I think I could easily forgive him! The reason for a theft is what defines whether it is right or wrong! That's my own way of thinking."

"For me, it's ridiculous." Seryu retorted. "If people think that way, they will steal under the pretext of wanting to give everything to the poor."

"In that case, we have to make the rich to stop stealing the poor's money." Wendy said. "If everyone had the same wealth, no theft would be committed."

Resuming her walk, Wendy left Seryu lost in her thoughts, while her different emotions prevented her from thinking without having a migraine.

"At least she takes my words somewhat seriously." Wendy remarked.

A squeak was suddenly heard. Lowering her gaze, Wendy saw Koro, having regained his small size, staring at her, while staying away from her.

"Are you afraid of me?" Wendy wondered, crouching near him. "Did my kick hurt you? Sorry for that! If you want, later on, I'll buy you something to eat to make up for it."

Seeing her teigu gesticulating with joy, Seryu think.

"Koro never allowed Captain Ogre near him! And if he tried to touch him, Koro pretended to bite him! Yet..."

Seeing Wendy caressing Koro's head, Seryu seemed surprised to see the teigu not moving an eyelash.

"Wendy has just hit him and he acts as if nothing happened! Since he's reacting to my justice, does he respect Wendy's justice more than Ogre-sama's?"