"MIRA!" Ryker yelled over Mirajane's limp body, watching the blood trickle from the wound in her chest.
"Wendy!" Erza yelled, calling out to the Dragon Slayer. "Ryker take it easy! Wendy will heal her," she said in exasperation.
Ryker didn't care, he didn't listen to anyone, he just looked at the woman in his arms, bleeding and unconscious, not responding to his calls.
"Mira, don't do this to me!", he begged over her body. "Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone!" he hugged her and begged for her over and over again.
Wendy ran towards them as fast as she could, but Ryker was holding Mira without letting anyone near, totally stunned by the situation. Natsu grabbed him and lifted him off her so the young Dragon Slayer could work on healing her.
"Ryker calm down! Mira isn't dead yet. Let Wendy work", Erza held him and tried to calm him down.
"No, no, no! Everyone dies, always dies!", he began to despair and lose his temper, becoming very agitated and out of control.
"Wendy, hurry!" the red-haired mage yelled, seeing Ryker's predicament. The young mage was healing Mira with her magic as quickly as possible.
Ryker was desperate, panicked, scared, sad and feeling an anguish he had never felt before in his life. He was distracted and agitated, but out of the corner of his eye he saw something that caught his attention. Looking straight he saw Albert holding a gun, the gun that had wounded his precious Mira. In an instant, hatred took hold of him... A shock wave and a strong wind hit everyone, raising a cloud of dust in all directions. Everyone around them felt a pressure they had never felt before, it was a strong, dense, oppressive energy filled with hate and anger. They looked at Ryker and saw his energy surge to an unnaturally high level. The power he emanated was colossal and continued to increase.
" Ry ... Ryker!", Natsu said astonished, looking at him, enveloped in blue aura.
The blue aura emanating from Ryker danced around him and grew larger and larger, but the sensation it conveyed was tainted with the densest darkness. That growing force made the whole ground shake and the ground crack under Ryker's feet.
"W... what's going on!?", Erza asked herself, scared. The entire place shook violently with the power Ryker was emanating from. No Fairy Tail mage could say he understood what was happening.
Everyone in Fairy Tail looked at Ryker in fear and terror, as his blue aura began to change, being at first stained with a putrid black, taking up more and more area until his entire aura was black, like a dense, rotting darkness. .
It was so powerful and full of the worst in the world that many mages were sickened by its sinister, hostile presence. Inside the Makarov mansion he stopped and felt helpless, shivering and in a cold sweat.
"What is this?" he asked, startled.
"I…I'm not sure, but … but it's scary," Laxus said, feeling sick at the shadowy presence.
"Laxus!" Freed caught him before the Dragon Slayer fell to the ground in a daze.
Outside the mansion, Ryker was staring with murderous, bloodthirsty eyes at Albert, who was petrified with fear. "You, you killed her..." Ryker said darkly. "You tortured me, I didn't care. You could beat me, kill me, destroy my soul, but you shouldn't have messed with her!"
" Ry ... Ryker, take... take it easy", Erza tried to calm him down, but she couldn't move properly.
"YOU TAKE HER FROM ME!" Ryker yelled and started walking towards Albert, who was motionless. "Now, I'm gonna kill you," he said with unimaginable hate and coldness.
"Ryker stop! Don't do this," Lucy begged him to stop and calm down. "Mira still has salvation".
"There is no salvation from death. The only solution is revenge." Ryker didn't care about anything else or listen to anyone. He was pure hate and he was determined to get revenge, the only thing he seeks is revenge.
As he walked and his anger grew, his skin began to be smeared with dark, putrid tones, as if he was contaminated with some disease. His irises turned a blood red hue, with each step his power increased beyond Fairy Tail's comprehension. It was incredibly powerful and extremely oppressive and hostile.
"Don't do this!" Wendy yelled imploringly.
Ryker turned to her and glared at her with indescribable rage. "SHUT UP! DON'T MESS, YOU BITCH!" he yelled in a way that startled everyone. There was no longer a voice, it was as if two people were talking at the same time. The sum of Ryker's voice with a more sinister and dark one.
Wendy couldn't hold back the tears, which welled up in her eyes. Ryker didn't care about the little girl and the sadness and pain plastered on her face, he turned back to his target and continued walking towards him.
"We have to stop him," Erza said, forcing herself to get up.
"And how are you going to do that?" Gray asked, feeling all the pressure emanating from Ryker.
"Let's attack him all together," she replied. "Gray, Natsu, Gajeel come with me," she ordered. They obeyed her and ran towards Ryker.
They attacked Ryker, Natsu went from the left side, but the soldier's reflexes were far beyond their ability. Natsu punched him, his fist on fire, however Ryker easily caught his punch with his right hand and delivered a powerful elbow, with his left arm, causing the Fire Dragon Slayer to vomit blood and be thrown away.
Gajeel ran to the right, but Ryker dodged his attack, hitting the iron mage with a powerful knee to the face and kicking him away. Erza tried to hit him from behind with her sword, however Ryker turned around in a flash and held the blade with her bare hands, she was in shock. Seizing the moment, he cupped Titania's face with his other hand. He looked at her mercilessly and slammed her violently against the ground, shattering the entire place making Erza instantly lose consciousness. Then he picked her up and threw her away. Fairy Tail looked on in horror at the entire battle.
Gray tried to take him by surprise with his ice spears, but Ryker dodged his attack and hit him with an energy shot, causing a small explosion on impact, but strong enough to knock him unconscious. The other mages looked at the scene, disbelieving what they saw. Ryker defeated the strongest in the guild easily and effortlessly.
Wendy continued to heal Mira, crying in grief and despair. She noticed some movement under her hands, however. She looked down and saw Mira starting to stir and slowly opening her eyes.
"Mira-san. Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.
"W…what's going on?" Mira asked, feeling heavy energy.
"I don't know. Ryker has suddenly gone mad," the little Dragon Slayer explained. Quickly and worriedly, Mira turned her face away and saw her boyfriend gone mad.
"Not that!" she said in anguish and got up quickly, still feeling weak and sore. She ran to Ryker, even though she had trouble moving.
"Mira-san!", Wendy yelled, trying to stop her from going, but it was useless. "He doesn't recognize friend from foe!" but the white-haired mage didn't listen.
"Mira-san, wait!" Lucy and Levy tried to stop her too, as she ran past them.
Mirajane ran, staggered, and stumbled, but she made it across the entire field, until she reached Ryker. She didn't care about anything, she just wanted to calm him down and prevent something worse from happening and he regretting it in the future.
"STOP!" she yelled, grabbing one of Ryker's arms.
He turned furiously to the person who had meddled in his revenge. Realizing that it was Mira, his behavior changed radically. Ryker looked at her confused and mixed feelings washed over him.
"Mira!?", he couldn't believe she was there, alive, in front of him.
She lifted her hand and placed it gently on his face, caressing him gently. His appearance wasn't the same anymore, and he didn't even look like Ryker anymore. He looked more like a demon out of hell, but Mira didn't fear him. "It's me," she said affectionately. "Come back to me," she asked.
The guild couldn't believe it. Not even Wendy, who was so close to him, could stop him. But here was Mira, defeating what no one else can.
"Mira...", Ryker said kneeling down and being hugged by his girlfriend. "Are you alive?".
"I am, my love. Now you can rest", she caressed him affectionately.
Ryker breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly, his face starting to contort in pain, he pulled away from Mira, much to her surprise and concern. He dropped to all fours, one hand clutching his chest, which burned with pain. He groaned and screamed with the amplifying pain.
"Ryker!" Mirajane yelled in concern. "What's going on!?", she didn't understand what was happening. A few seconds ago he had been fine and now he was writhing in pain, she realized.
He laid his head on the floor, drooling and roaring with the pain he was feeling. Then, suddenly, a light formed in his chest and a magic circle appeared in him. Ryker lifted his torso and screamed in pain, louder and with more anguish than anything before.
Mira watched, frightened and helpless in the face of his suffering. She shed tears, feeling there was nothing she could do to ease his pain.
Fairy Tail looked at him without understanding what was happening and they were scared of what was happening. Wendy put her hands over her mouth, desperate and scared, seeing the suffering of the person she considered a 'brother'.
Ryker was howling in pain and the magic circle in his chest glowed brightly, dazzling everyone around him. When the light stopped and the circle disappeared, Ryker was lying on the floor passed out.
"Ryker!" Mira yelled and picked him up. "Ryker! Ryker!" she tried to wake him up, but there was no response. Mira looked to the side and saw Albert. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?", she glared at him, letting her demonic side take over.
" Mira-nee , calm down!", Lisanna said coming close to her and kneeling down to the same height.
Mirajane turned her attention to her boyfriend. "Ryker! Wake up Love!" she pleaded, but he remained still.
Somewhere in Fiore...
"Are you back yet?", a man of medium height, short black hair and an imposing presence, seated in an armchair, told the other that he had just entered a large room. It was full of books and there was a big window with a wide balcony.
"Yes, my Sir. Everything resolved with Valentin and the others, as you requested", said the man of medium height and orange hair with a small ponytail and well built.
"We are past that stage. You can call me by the name Ivan."
"As you wish, Lord Karan," Ivan said bowing.
"That's better," Karan smiled with satisfaction. "I hope our friends got the reward they deserved," he said, glancing sideways at Ivan.
"Those idiots were very reckless. They could have ruined everything", Ivan spoke angrily and looked back at Karan. "Don't worry, I took care of them before they could say anything compromising."
"Fine," Karan smiled.
"Yes, but the good news is that the data they collected is promising and is already being analyzed properly. Soon we will be able to refine our plan", Ivan commented.
Karan smiled in satisfaction. "Great! Soon this country will no longer have Fairy Tail or any other guilds." The two laughed, hopeful of a future free of guild mages and a world subject to their command.
They heard a few knocks on the door, stopping their laughter. A servant opened it and bowed before them. "My lord, Bora of Prominence is here," he said and gave way to a tall man with blue hair and a mark over his right eye.
"Come on, what brings you here?", Karan asked indifferently.
Bora walked in smiling and looking superb. "I came to bring the last shipment of girls you ordered. And, of course, take my pay."
"Oh, of course… the payment," Karan said, remembering the fortune he'd pledged months ago for the hundreds of women he'd commissioned as Bora. "As I recall, it's a small fortune, isn't it?"
"I'm looking forward to it. You know, dealing all these girls gets a lot of attention, I'll need to disappear for a while", Bora said looking around the room.
"Haven't you stopped this life?", Ivan asked, reminding him of his past.
Bora shrugged, smiling sarcastically. "What can I do? This branch is profitable."
"Let it go, Ivan," Karan said. "Bora is a friend and should get what he deserves for his services. Please wait on the balcony while Ivan collects his payment. Enjoy the view," Karan said gently.
Bora waved and headed for the balcony, leaning on the railing when he arrived, distracting himself with the beautiful landscape in front of him.
Karan looked at Ivan, who got the message and smiled, showing all his teeth. Bora heard footsteps approaching behind him. "I am very happy to do business with you. I look forward to continuing our partnership."
"We hope too," Ivan replied.
Bora, who was distracted by the landscape, barely noticed Ivan's murderous intent. When he didn't expect it, the ring mage felt something sharp go through his chest, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Bora, startled, looked down and saw a luminous sword, made of magic, pierced through his body, causing him to bleed heavily. He turned his face back in fear and saw Ivan's sadistic face.
"Why…why?" he said with difficulty and sneezing blood from his mouth.
"Not happy with your pay? Claim it", Ivan laughed sadistically and pulled up the magic blade, splitting Bora's body in two, which dissolved in blood and viscera. Ivan kicked the dismembered body off the balcony, plummeting hundreds of feet until it hit the ground, exploding with shock. He smiled at his handiwork, licking his lips and tasting the blood that had splashed on his face. Ivan turned and walked into the room again.
" Sometimes I think you exaggerate a little," Karan said nonchalantly .
Ivan shrugged. "What can I do? I'm like that," he chuckled. "Now, why get rid of that garbage?" he asked intrigued.
Karan glanced at him sideways. "Like you said, he's a piece of shit," he smiled faintly. "Do you know where I came from, Ivan?", he asked and Ivan denied it.
"I was part of Grimore Heart, of the old Balam Alliance," Karan began to tell his story.
"The old alliance of dark guilds, isn't it?"
"Exactly. I was never a great mage, but those guilds always bothered me. Their pettiness was irritating. I had to fight Fairy Tail in Tenrou Island and for what? Fetch Zeref?" Karan screwed up his face at the memory. " Oracion Seis, Grimore Heart, Taratros and all the dark guilds had only a short and narrow view of reality and its potentials. Zeref, Acnologia... they could have it all, but they got nothing, even with the absurd power they possessed", Karan looked at Ivan seriously. "Selfish goals disgust me."
"After we were destroyed in Tenrou Island , I looked around, seeing the poverty of ideas and higher goals of guilds and mages. I studied and realized that I could do more, that I wanted more, and I saw a purpose in it all," Karan explained. "The war against Alvarez and the end of Acnologia was the starting point for what we have now. The mages were lost, so I showed a way."
"I agree with you, but those idiots down there aren't like us. They just want to fight and steal or do a job ordered by someone who doesn't have the guts to do it with their own hands. Nothing more comes of what is in front of them", Ivan commented.
Karan smiled darkly. "I know, they're disposable. Pawns that I manipulate with the promise of ending Fairy Tail and the other guilds, giving them the freedom to loot and barbarize as much as they want. But after I fulfill my goals… I will kill them." He looked seriously at Ivan. "There is no loyalty between demons. I don't expect them to be loyal to me and it's obvious that when it's all over they will betray me."
"But you've already got ahead of yourself, haven't you?" Karan smiled in response.
"After this is all over, I will take control of this nation. No mages and no guilds will be easy. I will kill that useless little princess and create a strong government under my hands." Karan looked up contemplatively. "Of course I expect revolts, but some massacres to serve as an example, promoting and allying with the right people, in a short time the people will succumb to my will", he turned his face towards Ivan. "Human beings have an incredible ability to adapt. Soon they got used to it and thought they've always lived like this, it will be the new normal."
"Right people?", Ivan asked in disbelief.
"People thirsty for power and money are the easiest to buy," Karan replied.
"What about neighboring nations? I don't think they'll appreciate any instability on their borders," Ivan asked sagely.
"You know things," Karan commented.
"I was born into a wealthy and noble family in the South. But that was no life for me, so I killed them all and became a hired assassin," Ivan replied.
"That's why I like you. You are honest and understand how things are. He's not just any idealist. I think I can put you as executioner in my government." Karan looked and laughed at Ivan. "As for our neighbors, a little diplomacy, and some proper propaganda, with the right content, in the right measure, can turn a coup into a fight for freedom and against tyranny," he chuckled sarcastically.
"Looks like you've got it all figured out," Ivan commented.
"In short, that's it," Karan said. "Give the women to the men. The battle is approaching, let them have fun while they can," he grinned devilishly.
"Yes, my lord", Ivan bowed and left the room.
Some time later screams of despair and fear were heard everywhere, women begging him not to hurt them.
Karan, with a glass of wine in his hand, smiled, listening to the sounds of despair of those women. "Long live me".
"MIRA!" Ryker yelled, getting up from the bed. He breathed heavily and looked to the side, seeing the white haired mage looking at him with teary eyes.
He saw her and remembered the shot to her chest, as she was wearing a strapless dress, it wasn't difficult for Ryker to pull her dress down. She was taken aback when he did so, lowering her chest to reveal it. Despite the beautiful view, he was more concerned about her injury than anything else, and there was no sign of injury, Ryker breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at her and noticed how flushed and embarrassed she was and realized what he had done, on impulse. "SORRY!", he yelled in embarrassment and immediately put her dress back in place.
"It's…it's okay," she replied awkwardly. Mira looked at him and immediately hugged him tight. "I'm glad you woke up."
"How long was I sleeping?" he asked.
"Two days. I was so worried."
"Where are we? You stayed here the whole time!?", he asked looking around that place he didn't know.
They break away from the embrace and she looks at him tenderly. "Of course, I couldn't stay anywhere else, knowing you weren't well," she put a hand on his face, gently caressing him. "We're in the guild's infirmary. We brought you in after you passed out."
Ryker relaxed into her touch and looked at her in relief. "Glad you're okay, too. I can't even imagine...", he was silenced with a kiss on the lips.
They kissed for a while until they needed to breathe.
"Can you explain to me what happened?" she asked.
Ryker sighed and looked at her seriously. "I lost control again when I saw you shot. I thought you were dead, I went way beyond when it happened to Balor."
"You were turning into the devil, weren't you?" she asked with some anguish, remembering what he'd told her after their first mission.
"Yes, but there was still a little to go. I still had some conscience, so I didn't kill my comrades," he recalled fighting some Fairy Tail members who tried to stop him.
"And that glow on your chest? What was that?" Mira asked.
Ryker sighed heavily. "That is a blockade. All we have. To transform ourselves, we need to suffer very strong emotions, this block turns on and inhibits when we reach a certain emotional level. It throws us into a basal state, shutting us down temporarily, but it causes a lot of pain. Months after we went into training it was implanted, it hurt a lot because it attaches to the brain and all the nerves in our body," Ryker explained.
Mira trembled listening to the explanation, she felt angry. Ryker saw her and worried about her condition.
"Mira, are you okay?" he said worriedly.
"I hate, I hate your world for everything it's put you through," she said angrily.
Ryker looked at her tenderly and pulled her into a warm, tight hug. "Forget it, Mira. I'm with you now, that's all I need, that's all that matters. What's in the past, leave it in the past," he whispered in her ear.
Mira wraps her arms around him, closing in a hug and Ryker whispers in her ear again. "You always save me."
"I won't let anything happen to you," she replied.
Erza, Lucy and Wendy walked through the guild heading towards the infirmary to visit Ryker.
"How is Mira-san doing. She's been with him the whole time," Wendy commented worriedly.
"She is fine. Mira is tougher and stronger than she looks," Erza soothes the little Dragon Slayer.
"I wonder what happened. Will Ryker wake up and tell us what happened?" Lucy said thoughtfully.
Erza looked thoughtful. "That's not something that needs to go unanswered, that's for sure."
"I think Mira-san must know what that was," Wendy said. The two other mages look at her in surprise.
"What do you mean?", Lucy asked her.
"When Mira-san woke up, she seemed to know what was happening to Ryker. It was as if she had seen him like that before," the little girl replied.
"I see," Erza says thoughtfully.
They keep walking and enter the infirmary, only to blush slightly at the scene in Ryker's bed.
"I think we'd better come back another time," Lucy said.
"I agree", says Erza and the three of them turn around and leave the infirmary, closing the door behind them.
Mira and Ryker were lying snuggled across from each other sleeping, with her hugging him protectively, not allowing anyone to get close to him right now. Ryker had definitely become hers and no one would dare mess with what belongs to Mirajane Strauss.