Chapter 77: The Final Piece
"Master! We got some bad news!" He screamed as he and Droy kicked the door open. "Hm? What happened? And where's Levy?" Makarov asked, turning towards the duo. "She went off on her own, but Master!—"
"Weren't you guys in Era?" Makarov asked. Droy then waved frantically. "That's what we're trying to tell you! The council building! It's been destroyed!"
Makarov's eyes lit up. "What was that?! The council members?!"
"All nine head figures of the council..." Jet hesitated. "They're all dead...that Lahar guy too.. he's gone as well."
"Doranbolt..." Makarov whispered to himself, for some reason more worried about him. He then spoke out loud, thinking. "But why the council? I'm guessing it was Tartarus, of course. But why would they attack them? It's not like they're afraid of the law. They aren't even afraid of humans. Tch! He was supposed to be keeping an eye on them! What happened!?"
Right on cue it seemed, as the lacrima behind the bar began to go off, glowing as if waiting for a reaction from its side. "Huh? Well what do you know!" He said, running over with Jet and Droy curiously behind him. Pressing his hand to the large lacrima, a picture of Gajeel then showed up. "Master! Old man are you there!?"
"GAJEEL!?" Jet and Droy both shouted in comic disbelief. "Gajeel! I told you the second they made a move to contact me! Now the council is dead."
"Oi! I got away to contact you as fast as I could alright!?" Makarov didn't question it, but the way Gajeel snapped back at him seemed to be filled with a lot of emotion. More than usual when it came for the mourning of those he didn't know. "Anyways, Master! You need to find the council members. Present and former! Tell everyone, because that's Tartarus's targets! I'm supposed to be heading for one alone, so you can mark Kemuri off the list! But everyone else!"
"I'm on it, Gajeel! And good work."
"GOOD WORK!?" The duo shouted, pushing Makarov out of the way. "Hey Gajeel! You're alive!?" Jet asked, his face smushed with Droy's as the glared into the lacrima. Sweatdrop, he leaned away from his lacrima with a guilty face. "Oi, you idiots. Now isn't the time.."
"Nows the perfect time!" Droy yelled. "Yeah!" Jet followed. "Do you know how much we've done for you over this time!? We kept a promise for you, and now Levy won't even talk to us at all!" Gajeel turned back to the lacrima, unknowing of their situation, and now actually feeling guilty once he heard. "That doesn't sound like shrimp.." "Well guess what? It's happening! Ever since that day, she's stopped talking to us! She won't even acknowledge us, and when we try to speak to her, she won't say a thing or she'll yell at us to leave her alone! All because she believes we let you die Gajeel!"
"Alright alight! I'll fix it! We're all going to have to meet up eventually! So I'll tell her!"
"Yeah you better!" Jet replied with a choked up voice. "Because we're her friends you know!"
"Let's focus on Tartarus right now!" Makarov said, back in the scene as he pushed Jet and Droy out of the way. "Gajeel! I'm sending Jet And Droy out to one of the targets now! Meet up with them while I contact the others to do the same!"
"Yeah!" The Iron Dragon shouted. "Hang on shrimp. I didn't know it was that bad, but I'll make everything up to you, promise."
"Now get going!"
"Hai!"
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As Crow rested upon the hillside, a portal flung open. From it, out walked Kiora and Daityas, both with grinning expressions as they looked upon the mansion before them. "They've already infiltrated, but by the lack of signs, it seems like the humans and Arcturus are in stealth mode instead of barging right through." Daityas didn't hesitate, asking his comrades just before they made their move. "You guys ready?" Kiora grinned widely, creating her patented scythe and swinging it about before pointing towards the mansion. "I'm set. Let's go get her." Crow then stood up, glowing yellow eyes matched the malice filled smirk upon his extremely pale features. "Crow is ready. Let's knock them down and take back our demoness."
Daityas then took a single step forward, Kiora and Crow following right beside him. "Alright, you know the rules in a hunt. Take no prisoners!"
Jack was seen wandering through the hallways of the mansion without a care in the world. What seemed odd to do since he was trespassing, was actually a strategy only Jack Royal could pull off since well...he was drunk. Just like Bacchus Groh of Quatro Cerberus, Jack Royal of White Eclipse gained a heightened skillset once inebriated. One of those skills, was ironically, stealth. From Sidney's point of view, Jack was out in the open, plain as day, but as he passed a patrolling man in a suit, Jack would "accidentally" slip by him without the man ever seeing him. He would even manage to "fall" behind a wall or a pillar out of sight of anyone who was patrolling, not only remaining unseen by them, but creating a path for Sidney to take without being seen as well. The ace remained right behind him every drunken step of the way too. "This is always unsettling, no matter how many times I see him do it." Sidney murmured to himself. Ironic coming from the Ghost Mage as he moved along the path created, turning invisible for the times where it seemed impossible to avoid eyesight.
Their target lied at the back of the mansion, as the two now stood before an older male sitting at the end of a very long table. He resembled the younger blonde, just with older features, a dusty yellow instead of the vibrant blonde haired the younger one possessed, and cold yellow eyes. Still, he smiled and acted as if still youthful, laughing as he ate before the two. "You really like her, huh junior!?" The older one asked. He then pointed a fork towards him. "But son, do you think she's material? Is she boss lady material? We're a mafia family with a giant empire, Junior! Does she have what it takes to keep up that persona? How has she been with your 'family' hm?"
The female, Maggie, folded her arms over her chest, glaring towards the old man past her white hair. "I'm right here. You don't have to speak to me as if I'm a test subject that's not even in the room. Kemuri, tell him?" The younger blonde waved his hands softly in surrender. "Relax, Amelia. He's old fashioned." He then turned back to the older male. "I'm very sure, pops. She's the type to step right in once it's time. I know Mom did a lot for ya, and she's going to do the same once ya step down and hand me the family."
"HAAA! I love it kiddo! But again, you ain't answer my question. How is she with your family! You know, Crisdelin, Arlen, Xavi, X, my lovely grand daughter Penelope! Who am I missing? Ryoko, Kazumi..."
"Yes, yes pops. They've fit in just fine with her and vice versa. Anything else? This sloppy meeting is making me feel like a child in front of Amelia." Kemuri senior and junior both stared at each other, but it was the senior that broke first, laughing as he stabbed his fork into his plate and stood up from his seat. "Alright, say no more. At first I thought it was insane to take in a homeless, out of the blue woman as your wife, but ya both showed me that this is something that works. Just like how I had to show my old man the same with ya mother. Ya both have my blessing!"
He smirked, genuinely happy as he turned to Amelia with his arms out. "Hear that, princess?" He went to hug her, but she stopped him with a single hand. "Not in front of your father."
The old man laughed again. "I gotta say, I don't know why I was so hesitant! I like her! Now, get outta my house and back to your own. I'm tryna eat here!"
They both bowed and then left, exiting out the back of the mansion while being escorted by a large male with a scar on his face. They followed a path which led to another mansion just as big as the main one. On their walk their, Kemuri cleared his throat. "Well, what do you think?" The young Kemuri asked, pulling a cigar from his pocket and placing it between his lips. "You have his blessing, so we're all in the clear now, love."
She rolled her eyes, more at the nickname than anything as she sarcastically replied. "Oh goody. You did a great job too, making sure he spoke to and about me like a human."
"You're not a human though. You're my goddess." He added with a cheeky grin, and internally, she gagged. But keeping the facade, Amelia tangled her left hand into his blonde locks, smiling towards him as he smiled back. "Cute." She simply said before releasing his hair. She then turned to the other male, scowling. "Tiny. You wouldn't talk down to me the way his father does, would you?"
"The same way I wouldn't want you to talk ill about him either, princess. It works both ways ya know." He replied, grinning as they came to the door of Kemuri's home.
"Besides, with that attitude of yours? Put it to good use and turn this scrawny runt into a real cold blooded mafia boss for us. It's about his time." Halting, Kemuri gave Tiny a look, trying to signal that the two wanted to be alone from here on out. Tiny then nodded, but as he turned around, a loud explosion was heard from the main mansion in front of them. The theatrics weren't short of visuals either as smoke was seen flying from the building as well. Suddenly, the mansion was up in flames. "What the hell? Pops!" Kemuri shouted. Tiny held him back, then began running towards the mansion. "I'll find out what happened! You two stay here!"
"Like hell!" Kemuri shouted, right behind Tiny. "Amelia! We'll be right back!"
"No!" Tiny shouted, halting Kemuri in his tracks. "Keep your woman safe! I'll handle this! Stay, here!"
She would fold her arms over her chest, watching Tiny run off. "Tch... I would have been more help than both of you.. but anyways..." She said, turning back to the mansion while subconsciously rubbing her right temple. "...Those flames look really familiar. It's like I've seen them before..."
Jack and Sidney were both hidden behind a counter as Daityas and Kiora stood in the midst of the heat, toying with the lackeys that dared charged them, al for the sake of their bossman, Kemuri. Each one that ran towards Daityas would simply burn in Hell's Flames, or succumb to a powerful one hit-life ending blow. Any that raced towards Kiora found themselves in pieces by her scythe, or swallowed by darkness, or her two favorite pets Ouroboros and Cerberus. Daityas then walked over towards the injured male, grabbing him by his collar and lifting him off the ground disgracefully. "Before I kill you too, can you tell me...have you seen a young woman with white hair? Sassy attitude and uses lava as her...we'll just say magic to not confuse you human."
His eyes lit up at the description. Amelia! His mind was racing, but he had quickly come to a conclusion. To play dumb, and not say a word on the matter of her presence. "No...No one like t-that lives here..."
Daityas laughed. "I already know she's here. I just wanted to test your fortitude. See if you would beg for you life or something. You're a strong man, but that's nothing to a demon like me. You're all flies to me. I don't need you to tell me where she is, I already know, since she's now close." He continued laughing, raising Kemuri higher and higher until he held him above his own dominating height. "Burn him alive and let's go get Maggie already!" Kiora shouted in anticipation, fingers wiggling like a kid that couldn't sit still.
Without a moment's hesitation, Tiny would burst through the door, screaming "HANDS OFF" as he fired an ever-growing fist towards Daityas himself. The demon didn't even budge nor look away from his current prey. Instead, Crow appeared between the two, simply holding out a hand that turned solid earth, stopping Tiny's fist in its tracks. Crow, who always was looking in a different direction than Tiny's position, then spoke. "Despair is such a hassle, isn't it? Just that in the moment feeling of helplessness? You ran all the way here, just to find out so quickly that you're no help to your own boss. I'm thankful to never know the feeling."
At the end of his little speech, the solid earth that covered Crow's hand began to cover Tiny's as well. As it did, the Titan Mage could be heard screaming in agony, for the earth that was now shelling over him was anything but a simple cover. Within a matter of seconds, Tiny became a complete shell of earth, and as Crow slid his hands into his pockets, he raised a single leg, coiling it to his own chest. "No..." Kemuri pleaded weakly, reaching out for his right hand man. That's when Crow turned to him, repeating what he said earlier. "Despair is such a hassle, isn't it?" Slam...Crow shattered Tiny into pieces with a single kick.
"Kch...!" Jack was livid. He was trying his best to hold in his temper while hidden behind that counter, and if it was for Sidney holding him back with a hand on his shoulder, he'd be in the fight of his life right now. "Calm down. We failed our mission here." Sidney whispered. "That's another one down! Are you going to come out now, or will this one die too?" Daityas shouted, and the Ace of White Eclipse knew instantly that he was talking to him. He didn't answer, for the sake of himself and Jack. "Well!? I know you're here, Ghost Mage! You're here to kill Maggie, right? You're here to take her down before we get to her, right!? Well she's just at the back of this house, so what are you and Arcturus waiting for!?"
As he shouted, Kiora swung her scythe towards the counter, splitting it in half. As she did, two figures would quickly lunge away in opposite directions, revealing themselves as both Sidney Castle and Jack Royal. "Wait, you're not Arcturus!" Daityas shouted. Sidney, who was now holding his ground while being surrounded by the deadly three demons, replied. "You didn't really think both trump cards would waste time together when we could cover more space separately, did you?"
"So he's...?" Daityas asked and then answered his own question, throwing Kemuri down as he caught his breath, holding onto his neck. "I'm alive..." He panted out. That's when Crow crouched down to this ground, hovering just over him. "You pleaded for that man's life, so now...I'll grant your wish for him to remain by your side."
Reaching out towards him, Crow grabbed Kemuri, and with his Elemental Curse power, Crow would cause his entire body to burst into flames. The blood curdling screams covered the entire room, but Sidney and Jack didn't make a single move to help him, though Jack was dying too. "You damn monsters...!"
"Why's that?" Crow asked without turning away from the burning body. "Because we kill? Didn't you come here to kill Maggie? So wouldn't that make you a monster too? Or are we just the same on opposite spectrums? You're presumptuous logic rattles my brain."
"You rattle my brain, Crow." Kiora added with a sigh. She then pointed her scythe towards Sidney, grinning towards the Ghost Mage with malicious intent. "But I do know one thing. I've been dying for a challenge, so I'm taking him!"
"That's fine. A challenge right now would be too much of a pain." Crow added as he rose to his feet. "We don't have long, until Daityas grabs Maggie so maybe a minute tops."
"Like it'll be that easy— he's gone!?" Jack looked around, hiccuping once as he realized that Daityas was no longer around. "Shit! Arc!"
"He'll be fine. Let's find a way out of here before he gets back. Handling these two wouldn't be a problem, but they have—
"Oh? I'm not a problem?" Kiora asked, a bit irritated at Sidney's assumption. She then swung the scythe in her hands multiple times before sliding into a readied stance with her favorite weapon tucked under her arm. "Then show me just how much of a waste of time I really am, oh so powerful Ghost Mage!"
It was almost like Deja vu the way Arcturus had a hand gripped around the throat of the younger Kemuri. The demon with the bandaged eyes held him up high, grinning maliciously as he spoke. "This woman isn't for you." He said, turning back to Amelia who was now sitting before him, curled up into a ball and holding her head in dire pain. "A...Amelia..! Run!" Kemuri exclaimed through his breathless throat. "I'm...I'm not Amelia..." She responded, causing Kemuri to widen his eyes. "What did...you do to her..?"
"She knows who I am, and it's triggering her memories." Arcturus answered. "Her actual memories...this woman isn't who you think she is. She's a demon of Tartarus." Maggie began writhing in pain at Arc's simple sentence, grasping her head tighter as she fell to the ground completely. Arc then tossed Kemuri to the side, a loud thud her off to the dosed as he stalked towards Maggie. "Maggie Solfatara. The lava demon of Tartarus." Arcturus then raised a right hand, darkness curse power swirling around it as he towered over her. She reached out for him, desperate for any type of aid at this point. She just wanted the pain to stop. Arc had plans to do just that as Kemuri also reached out for her. "Amelia..." He begged once more before passing out.
With no emotional attachment to anything, Arcturus was easily able to ignore Kemuri's cries. But, as he prepared to deliver the final blow, a line of Hell's Flames separated him from killing Maggie. The flames shot to the sky, causing Arc to back away. "Tch! He got away? Sidney, Jack?"
"Kiora and Crow are handling them." Daityas said, walking through his own flames with Maggie in his arms, carried bridal style. Daityas kept his sights on her. "I was trying to get to her, because I knew how painful it would have been for her, all the memories she has...being one of the first he created along with me. But you put her through all of that, Arcturus."
"Don't speak to me like you have an ounce of care in your body, Daityas."
"Well, neither do you." He chuckled, turning a glare his way as his flames then surrounded his own frame. "But I won't let this go unpunished. We're whole again. We're going to finish off Mard and his camp, and after that...you and Taya and the humans are next. Then finally, Zeref himself."
"Zeref..."
"Don't act surprised. You know he wasn't killed in that war." Daityas added. But as his flames died down, so did his appearance, all until nothing but a voice was left. "I'll see you soon, traitor."
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8 island restaurant was in shambles, destroyed by a mighty black wind that caused it to collapse instantly. The culprit wore a hood over his person, making him unidentifiable, and as he held the former council member Yajima by his neck, winds around that arm began to form, threatening his very life. "One stop closer." The hooded one said as Yajima pleaded for his life. "Please! Anyone! Please!"
Just before the final blow was struck, a bolt of lightning struck down upon the hooded one's hand, causing separation between the two. As he backed away, he found his feet stuck in a casing of diamonds. A figure then came running in from behind, catching his attention, but it was too late as Selene Marquise, The Diamond Dragon Slayer appeared with a knee to the hooded man's chin. The knee was powerful, sending him flying into the already ruined 8 island shop as the two stood next to each other (unwillingly).
"Sorry we took so long." Laxus started.
"Yeah, one of us led the other in the wrong direction."
Laxus sucked his teeth as the culprit rose from the debris, ready for round two. "But when it comes to kicking your ass, I know I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
