Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
Chapter Fourteen: A Desperate Search
Castle Molkihar
The demon in shining armor stood in the audience chamber, tapping his foot patiently as he waited for his fellow demon. The only sound in the quiet chamber was the soft snoring of Sloth, still asleep on his couch. Pride hoped that things would progress more smoothly now that their mission had taken more focus.
Still, it bothered him that their group was now two members down, and at the hands of the exact same people no less. 'Obviously something must be done about this Fairy Tail…' He'd heard the rumors and looked up at the sky through the holes in the ceiling before casting his gaze down at the tree emblazoned on his shield. 'If I could but find Yggdrasil. This Wizard guild would be dispatched with ease.'
The clinking off to the side snapped Pride out of his musings. He turned towards the shaman as he entered the room. "What news, Greed?"
Leaning on his bejeweled staff, the shaman smiled. "I've heard rumors. None of them good."
Pride wasn't perturbed by his friend's smile. Greed, ever the underdog, loved a challenge. "And what of Wrath? He has been gone too long and has not reported in."
"We must assume he has fallen like Envy and Lust. I suppose this is what we get for sending a brute to do a demon's job."
A sharp, boisterous voice roared from the front of the chamber. "Hold your tongue, Greed! Lest I cut it out for you!"
The two men watched as the hulking Wrath lumbered into the audience chamber. Pride noted the ruined armor on the man and his bloodied face. "Such wounds," he noted as the man neared him. "I take it you found a worthy opponent?"
Dragging a carcass behind him, Wrath rolled his shoulder, feeling bones pop. "He was adequate at first. But he soon bored me after I unleashed my full fury on him."
Walking around to see what Wrath was dragging, Greed poked the body with a stick. "How courteous, Wrath. You brought Gluttony a snack?"
"Wrong." Wrath grabbed Hibiki and held him up. Pride heard shallow breathing and knew the man was still alive. "I found something that might help us."
"Is this the young man you were referring to before you lost contact?" Pride questioned. "He seems more dead than alive."
Dropping Hibiki onto the floor, Wrath merely scoffed. "He might be a little bruised but he's still breathing. I saw that magic he was using. It allowed him to access an Archive of magic." He looked down at the man while he groaned and curled into a ball at his feet. "We can use him to find Tree of Life."
"I see," Greed noted, looking down at the boy as if he'd found a piece of gold. "Quite the catch. Well done, Wrath."
"Indeed, well done, my old friend." Crouching down, Pride gave the Blue Pegasus Wizard a gentle nudge. "Young man, wake up."
Coughing up blood, Hibiki blinked before he realized he was standing at the feet of not one, but three demons. "Where…where am I?"
"You're our guest," Greed grinned. "Welcome to Castle Molkihar."
"Castle…Molkihar?" Hibiki repeated, a flicker of recognition in his eyes.
A thin smile spread across Pride's lips. "Ah yes, I see you recognize this place." Standing up, he stretched his arm out and gestured to the ruined audience chamber. "Although you'll agree that its halcyon days are far into the past. This was once the home of a very wise and powerful lord." His eyes flicked up to the old, torn banner over the throne. "He was an honorable man but he had a single flaw: his mistress. A simple maid she was but her beauty captivated him. Of course," he turned back to Hibiki and his smile grew, although the Wizard could see the shadow of anger in his eyes, "you can deduce what happened when she was discovered by everyone, and with child no less. The man's dignity and honor at stake, he cast her out. Dejected and penniless, the maid died in childbirth. Her child, the lord's son, was given to the Order of Yggdrasil to be raised as a monk. Of course, when that boy became a man, and when that man became something far greater, he returned his birthplace to show his father that pride goes before the fall."
Hibiki, being a smart man, knew where this story was going. "That boy…was it-"
"Ah, but that's ancient history. You must excuse my distraction." Pride said, the evil look on his face all the answer Hibiki needed. "I keep my mind in the here and now, where it belongs. And what is here and now is you." He nodded at Greed and Wrath, the two stepping back. "I must ask that you cooperate, young man. Torture has never been my taste."
Hibiki knew what the man wanted. "I'll never help you!"
The evil smile on Pride's face grew. "We'll see. But I can't have you help us while you're beaten and bloodied." Pride reached into his satchel and pulled out an object.
"Might I offer you an apple?"
Hibiki stared at the red fruit before he clenched his teeth. "No!" He knew this was some sort of trick and he wasn't going to fall for it. He swatted the apple out of the demon's hand and glared at him.
Pride shook his head as he watched the apple roll onto the floor. "A pity. But if you insist…" he stood back up, "Sloth?"
On the couch, the lanky man in prison garbs opened in eye. "Hmm?"
"Perhaps you can make our guest more cooperative?" he suggested.
Hibiki watched as the demon lazily got to his feet, his blank, unfocused eyes staring at the Blue Pegasus Wizard. "St-stay away!" Hibiki shouted, trying to crawl away, only for his path to be barred by Wrath. He turned and saw Sloth standing over him. His scared eyes turned to the multiple needles in his hands. "No!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Meanwhile…
Gajeel sniffed the air, looking around. "This way."
Behind him walked the group that had gone to save Hibiki. After figuring out that the demons wanted to use his Archive magic, they set off to save their friend. It was decided that Natsu, Erza, Kagura, Sting, Rogue, Gajeel and Gray would go find him, Lucy still recovering and Elfman and the others remaining behind to defend the guild. The group had linked up with Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe, who'd been searching for the demons since Envy's attack. Wendy would have gone with them but she was needed to help heal the wounded Blue Pegasus members and Jura.
Returning to the scene of Jura's fight with Wrath. Finding a piece of Hibiki's clothing, Gajeel used his sensed his smell to track him, guiding the group towards the location where he'd been taken.
"Any idea where we are?" Sting asked as Erza cut through the foliage in front of them. Their journey took them to a dense forest, untamed by man in years.
"If I remember right," Erza said as she cut through more vines, "There's a ruined castle in these parts. If the Sins wanted to hide somewhere, it'd be the perfect place to hide."
As Erza cut through the last of the vines barring their way, they entered a large clearing. In the distance was a castle, sticking out of the mountainside like a rotting wound. "That must be it," Sting said as they looked at it. "It's certainly as ominous as you can get for a demon hangout."
Kagura turned to Erza. "What's the plan?"
"Our main focus is finding Hibiki. With his Archive magic, it's possible that the demons could gain access to knowledge pertaining to the Tree of Life. Fighting the remaining five demons can wait. Right now, saving Hibiki is our goal."
Gajeel scowled. He sniffed the air and his expression hardened. "They might have already broken that soft idiot." He cocked his head towards his fellow Dragon Slayers. "You smell it too, don't you?"
"Smell what?" Gray asked.
Rogue bristled as he and Sting stared at the castle. "Blood. I can smell it, even from here."
"Then we don't have a lot of time. Let's go."
The group met no obstruction on the way to Castle Molkihar. Entering the ruined courtyard, they saw numerous skeletons littering the place, some with rusted, decayed armor. "This was a slaughter," Kagura noted as she leaned down to examine one of the skeletons. "Whoever did this was good." Even though it was old, she could still see the wounds on it.
"What do you mean?" Natsu asked, poking one of the skulls with a finger.
"This was all done by one man."
"You're sure?" Erza asked.
"Positive," the Mermaid Heel said after she examined several of the slash marks on the armored skeletons.
Gajeel stormed past them, stomping on several skulls in his path. "Whoever did this isn't important right now. We got a job to do, and I'm itching to make those assholes pay!" He reached the huge doors to the castle and cracked his knuckles. "Nothing says hello like knocking down a door."
WHAM!
The doors yielded easily to the Iron Dragon Slayer. The group entered the castle, keeping their guard up. Natsu lit up his hand with flame to light their path through the dark corridor. The came across an audience chamber with several staircases leading in different directions off to the side. "We'll split up," Erza decided. "We'll cover more ground this way." She turned to the others. "Sting and Rogue, you check out the audience chamber. Natsu, Gray and Gajeel, you three go downstairs. Kagura and I will check the upper floors. Laxus, you and the Thunder God Tribe search the grounds."
Nodding, the group slit up in four directions. Kagura followed Erza up the staircase, entering the second floor. They started searching rooms one by one but found no sign of Hibiki or the Sins. "I don't like this," Erza said as they searched the top floor. "There's no sign of anyone."
As they entered a room at the top of the tallest tower, Kagura spoke her mind. "This feels like a trap. They must have known we'd come after Hibiki. So what are they planning?"
Erza gave no answer. She searched the room for any clues about the sins. She noted how extravagant the room was and figured that it must have belonged to the lord who lived here. When she passed by a portrait hanging on the wall, her eyes lit up with recognition. "Wait a minute, that's-"
"Urgh!"
Whirling around, the redhead gasped when she saw a dark shadow looming over her. Clad in reforged black armor, Wrath gripped Kagura by the throat tightly as he stared at the Armored Wizard.
"Finally," Wrath grinned from beneath his cowl. "Worthy opponents."
To be continued
