"We're dark mages!" - Talking
'We're dark mages!' - Thinking
"We're dark mages!" - Communication via Lacrima / Telepathy
"WE'RE DARK MAGES!" - Screaming
"Fairy Law!" - Spells
[ Here / Now ] - Place / Time
Chapter 4: Shadows, Knights and Thunders
[Tulip Town / 8th October X784]
"I have seen what you have done. Good shit, I want to be part of it too! Name's Lycorian Nightingale but you can call me Cory!"
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.
.
"Can we trade him for Bonnie?"
"No."
"It was worth a try."
Shirros ignored him to focus on the boy who had stopped them, and although he could sense magical power within him, the newcomer didn't seem like someone seemingly hostile. The only thing that really caught his eye were the countless faded tattoos covering his body, mostly visible due to his clothes which consisted of a short-sleeved, aqua and white striped tanktop, khaki cargo shorts and a pair of mud-brown flip-flops.
"I don't think you are aware of what you are asking." he pointed at the carnage behind him "A sane person would not ask to be a part of this."
Lycorian looked at the corpses and all the blood on the ground, suppressing a shiver "True, but I'm not exactly sane, or maybe it's better to say I'm not normal. My mom used to do business with dark guilds and dark mages a few years ago, and the company I used to hang out with wasn't exactly made of nice guys."
"You just suppressed a shiver after seeing the bodies." noted Lorenzo, now less pale than before "Do you suffer from haemophobia?"
"Only when there are puddles the size of elephants, as in this case." shrugged Lycorian "I went through several battles together with the gang I traveled with. A group of independent wizards, not a guild."
"I don't see any gang."
"Would you believe me if I told you that they are here, hidden and ready to intervene?"
"No."
"Nope."
"Zzz...zzz...zzz..."
"They ran away..." Lycorian scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed look "As soon as it started raining blood with lots of desperate screams."
Shirros and Lorenzo looked at each other for a few seconds before the masked wizard asked "And you didn't run away, deciding to stay instead. We are part of a dark guild, what makes you think this is not the norm for us?"
"As I said before, my mother worked with wizards like you and told me a few things about you and your guilds." Lycorian said with a slight smile on his lips "Dark guilds are all those who do not decide to submit to the rules of the Council but who also go beyond certain limits, such as killing; otherwise they would be just independent guilds. From what I have been able to see you have no problem killing, but you have a certain...style, which leads me to think that you are not unscrupulous killers, which is perfect for me!"
"The choice is yours Shirros." said Lorenzo looking at his guildmate. There was an unwritten rule within the guild regarding the recruitment of new members, where the final decision rested with Reveeina, but on the field it was the highest-ranking wizard who decided whether to bring possible recruits before the mistress, and since Shirros was an S-class mage and Lorenzo was not, the decision was up to him.
"Indeed, we need new members but be aware that this is not a guild like any other, our mistress will know immediately if you are up to something." said Shirros with a calm voice before looking away. After a few seconds, two columns of human bones rose from the ground and his energy portal was created in front of the group of four wizards. Without saying anything else, he crossed it with Bonnie, followed by Lorenzo, and finally by Lycorian who, before entering, took a deep breath.
It was time to turn his life around.
[Shadow Soul's Headquarters / 8th October X784]
Reveeina sat comfortably in her armchair, listening to Grady's report. He, along with the other four wizards, had recently returned thanks to one of their special portals scattered around Fiore (although Niidia had mumbled something about staying up late and not getting even a candy) and they had immediately gone to her office to explain what happened.
"...and after realizing where we had arrived, we reached the nearest portal to return here immediately."
Grady took a step back to stand beside the others and Reveeina watched them carefully one by one. For lack of kind words, all of them looked obscene, except for Sylva. Being more prone to stealth attacks or support actions, it was rare for someone like her to receive too many injuries, however against an opponent like Jellal she too had some beautiful bruises on her body, even if they were nothing compared to the others, especially Asteria and Aki; and speaking of the swordswoman...
"First of all I would like to thank you for helping them in their mission. You didn't have to do it and there was a risk that you would die from being hit by the Etherion." she gave the newcomer a small smile. Grady hadn't said that in his report, same thing for Naco and Sylva, but it was obvious that Asteria had convinced her to come here with the chance to join the guild "Would you like to join my guild, Aki? We would need a sword like yours, although I must remind you that we are a dark guild."
Aki shrugged "Dark or legal guild doesn't change much, plus you were taking action to stop Zeref's return. I'm not very used to magic, but even I know that the man is considered dangerous by practically all the magicians out there." she crossed her arms and then raised two fingers "I will join Shadow Soul, but I have two conditions: I want to fight strong opponents, so I don't want to be left out of missions where strong people can be faced. I don't pretend to be able to participate in all those missions, but I don't want to be excluded from all of them."
"Sounds good to me. And the second one?"
"If there are ever any missions involving the Tamashiro Family, I want to be part of that missions." said Aki with a cold voice "Also, I must warn you that it is my desire to destroy that family, so a mission where we have to ally with them could be downright counterproductive."
Chuckling in amusement, Asteria put her arm around Aki's shoulders "Isn't she perfect, mistress? She is also very strong!"
Reveeina nodded to Asteria "She has a grit that I really like. Unfortunately it is late and I would say that we are all tired, so go and take a bath to recover some energy and then go to sleep. When you wake up Aki, you will receive the guild mark, but already know that you are now a shadow like us." the woman then started to get up from her armchair when two columns of human bones rose from the floor to create a portal that was all too familiar to her, from which Shirros, Lorenzo and two people unknown to her emerged.
The two groups of people looked at each other for a few seconds in silence before Lorenzo bowed his head in greeting "Good morning mistress, everyone. It's been a while."
Lycorian greeted them all with a smile on his lips "Hello everyone, name's Lycorian but you can call me Cory! I'm here to join your guild!"
"Zzz...zzz...zzz..." Shirros nudged Bonnie's pillow lightly to wake her up and she pulled her head up, looking around with sleepy eyes "Breakfast...?"
"Gotta say Shirros, if she's a new recruit, you've been having a particular taste lately. First Abi and now a girl asleep on a big pillow?" chuckled Naco with Grady and Asteria joining him.
"You shouldn't laugh, Bonnie is extremely dangerous and terrifying." said Lorenzo while looking at the half asleep girl with worried eyes "She can use her magic to make you fall asleep."
"Obviously she is dangerous for you with such a magic." said Asteria while Shirros merely looked at the mistress, still with her hands on the armrests of the chair, about to get up.
With a shaky sigh, Reveeina sat down again. She was happy that Asteria and the others were back safe and sound, just as she was glad that Shirros was back with two possible recruits, but she wanted her bed damn it!
Bonnie's huge pillow was becoming far too inviting for her liking.
Gesturing with one hand at Shirros, Reveeina convinced herself to hold on a little longer "Explain..."
Shirros began to tell what had happened and over the course of twenty minutes explained everything, thanks to the occasional additions of Lorenzo and Bonnie, before finally arriving at her office. The guild master nodded satisfied with what she learned, certainly the loss of a gain could be a problem, but Shadow Soul was not short of jewels, and luckily they had also gained two possible wizards.
"Great job everyone. Like I told Faye and the others, it's late now but the newcomers will get the guild mark in the morning. Now go get yourself a bath to regain your strength and then go to sleep. For you three..." she looked at Aki, Lycorian and Bonnie "All three of you will have a guest room, they are very bland and unadorned rooms but they will serve their purpose. Tomorrow you will have your own room. Now you can go."
Without further ado, all present left Reveeina's office and she went down to the 'teleportation' room, where she found Niidia asleep on her large sofa. Smiling at the young lamia, the mistress approached her before picking her up and heading towards the guild quarters.
Now she could finally rest.
A long sigh of pleasure escaped Asteria's lips as she plunged into the huge bathtub, letting the special water wash away her fatigue. Her body ached, especially in the places where she had been hit hardest, but luckily Red and Green had taken care to patch up everyone properly, though she could still feel the pain in her side where she had been struck, not counting Jellal's various attacks.
"That maid was telling the truth, this water has magical properties." said Aki looking at her hands before throwing some water in her face "I have never experienced anything like this, not even in the Driver Family's thermal baths."
"Driver Family?" repeated Sylva while looking at the swordswoman "Isn't it that family of warriors that three years ago was absorbed by...oh...I see..." she leaned against the bathtub "Now I remember better where I heard your name, Kinslayer."
"Huh? What kind of title is that?" asked Asteria while keeping Bonnie's head out of the water.
"The Tamashiro and Driver families were two clans of warriors, famous throughout Fiore for many generations. While the Driver Family also used some form of magic, the Tamashiro Family saw magic as an aberration or a way to win without honor." Sylva explained keeping her gaze fixed on Aki, who didn't seem particularly interested in her story "Three years ago, according to official news, a radical group of Tamashiro warriors attacked the castle of the rival family, killing the head of the family at the time. The current Tamashiro householder, a man named Masaaki, claims he killed the traitors and then absorbed what was left of the rival family into his clan. He also announced to the authorities that the perpetrator of the assault was his niece, Aki."
"What? Aki?" Asteria looked at said girl with incredulous eyes "Is it the truth?"
Aki looked at her with calm eyes "What if I told you yes?"
"I'd tell you to stop talking bullshit." Asteria waved one hand in dismissal "Three years ago, you must have been about fifteen, and do you want to tell me that you have led some traitors of your family in an assault on your rivals? Yeah sure."
The swordswoman raised an eyebrow "Why shouldn't you believe me?"
"You don't have the eyes of a traitor." surprisingly it was Bonnie who answered her, watching Aki with sleepy eyes, despite the fact that the water in the tub was managing to keep her awake for a long time "I have seen many eyes when traveling by sea, including those of traitors. You don't have those eyes."
"What do you mean?"
"Zzz...zzz...zzz..."
"Aaaaaaand she's gone...I like her!" grinned Asteria before looking at Aki "As Sleeping Beauty was saying, you don't seem like that kind of person. I have been part of this guild for five years and believe me if I tell you that I have seen so many crazy people, in the first place I consider myself quite crazy; the point is, you don't seem like a girl at all to do something so...crude."
"Not to mention that earlier you said you wanted to destroy the Tamashiro Family, and a normal person might think it was a wish born from the fact that they didn't help you in your 'attack' but I know you were the adoptive daughter of the head of the Driver family, William Driver." said Sylva, surprising Aki "Maybe the Tamashiro family managed to hide all the evidence and bribe those who knew the truth, but finding out what happened was a breeze for me. The fact that they repudiate magic leads them not to be able to perceive the spells around them and my illusions were already at a high level three years ago."
"See? Three against one, you can make up all the lies you want, but we all know the truth." said Asteria with a grin "Also, you are very strong and I would hate to lose a possible opponent so soon."
"Opponent?"
Sylva sighed before dipping her shoulders in the water as well "Asteria usually faces someone from the guild on a regular basis, but the mistress has imposed some basic rules for her battles. The first person to fall to the ground loses."
"That's all?"
"The first time Asteria faced Naco as soon as he joined the guild and they destroyed the entire room where they fought. The second time she chose Shirros as an opponent and she alone destroyed half the hall, same story for the third and fourth time, always fighting Shirros." explained Sylva "If you're not too proud, he's a great opponent if you want to measure your progress. Being an S-class wizard and second in command, he is extremely strong."
"I'll think about it." said Aki before closing her eyes, enjoying the warm water around her body.
Asteria stretched her arms before standing up "Well, time for me to go. This bath is always relaxing but too hot for me. Come on, Sleeping Beauty." and with Red's help, she pulled Bonnie out of the bathtub, then moved on to a large bucket of ice-cold water. Meanwhile, Sylva moved to sit next to Aki, enjoying the bath with her eyes closed.
"If you ever want information about the Tamashiro Family or the survivors of the Driver Family, just let me know. I'll pass you all the information I can."
"...thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Draw Magic...?" asked Naco with a raised eyebrow "So can you draw things that come to life?"
"Yes, more or less. I can draw elemental attacks and more, but for example animals, people, machinery are off limits." Lycorian explained while enjoying the warmth of the bathtub, before raising his right arm and showing off some of the tattoos that covered his body "I am very quick to draw, but for now I still need my ink pen and something to draw on. The next step is to draw directly inside a magic circle."
Grady looked at him with his only good eye "It's a pretty versatile magic, not many people have spells suitable for everything. Naco is a clear example of this."
Normally someone would have expected a series of insults from the lightning wizard, but the aforementioned guy simply shrugged with a grin on his face "I don't need to be versatile if I can kill all my enemies quickly."
"Sure, because that's exactly how it went to the Tower of Paradise." replied Grady with a grin, earning himself a middle finger from the younger mage. His gaze then shifted to the fourth wizard in the tub "What about you, Lorenzo? Are you going to stay for a while this time?"
His was an honest question, given that Lorenzo was one of those guild members who participated more in external activities rather than the classic missions. As CEO of Lacrima Inc, albeit under the name of Willer Rovinor, Lorenzo had to devote a lot of time to the company's business. Obviously he could use the magic of his secretary, which allowed her to take on the features she wanted, to replace him and be able to carry out some missions for the guild, but due to the ever-changing market, he could not afford to be away for too long from deals, offers, sales and all that kind of things.
"I don't know...I think I'll have to leave again tomorrow. If what you told me is true and the Magic Council did indeed use Etherion, then they will want a shipment of large Lacrima as soon as possible, or there may be problems with the monthly deliveries due to their incompetence." Lorenzo sighed in exasperation before looking at Grady and Naco "Couldn't you have finished before they used that magic?"
"I really hope a wizard like Jellal decides to attack your company, so we'll see how you can quickly defeat him." said Grady while rolling his eye "I don't understand where the problem is, in the end you will earn a lot of jewels right?"
"I can see why you don't understand the gravity of the situation..." Lorenzo retorted with a grin, making Lycorian laugh at Grady's magic-related pun "Unlike carefree people like you, I have to manage a huge market and the Council is one of my toughest clients."
"You're selling stones, I don't understand how difficult that can be." groaned Naco before pointing at the black-haired man "In my opinion you would have been more successful as a cook or pastry chef. Your apple pie remains the best I've ever tasted."
"Glad to know someone appreciates my cooking." Lorenzo stood up to stretch "I'm going to sleep now, as I didn't need to regain much energy. I'll still be here in the morning, I could almost make you a decent breakfast. Do you have preferences?"
"Apple pie, of course." Naco answered without hesitation.
Grady shrugged "Something with chocolate maybe."
Lorenzo nodded before looking at the newcomer who after a few seconds told him that he would eat what he would find on the table; satisfied with the answer, the mage of fear made his way to the locker room before he could go to his personal room.
"Hey can I ask you something?" Lycorian looked at the other two "I saw that there were three waitresses to assist us, all alike but with different colored eyes and hair. Are they three sisters?"
"Everyone thinks that when they join the guild, but they are not real people, they are magical constructs." explained Grady with a small smirk, leaning against the bathtub "There is a sorceress who spends all her time inside her room and as absurd as it may seem, only the mistress knows her real name. She is the one who created Red, Blue and Green, but not only them, it's just that those three take care of the simple things like cleaning around, serving tables and things like that."
"Then there are Yellow, Orange and Pink who manage the training rooms, repairing damage and making them better in terms of safety, obstacle courses and other things." added Naco while keeping his eyes closed "Finally, there are Black and White, who possess above average magical power and are the mistress's bodyguards, although you never see them unless they decide to show up."
"The guild master needs bodyguards?"
"Not exactly, let's say that when she goes out on personal matters, Black and White deal with nuisances and people like that before they can bother the mistress, so as not to spoil her mood." Grady suppressed a shiver "Last time they weren't fast enough and Reveeina took her anger out on a dark guild we needed to close a deal with. I think they're still trying to identify some corpses."
Lycorian sweat-dropped "She seems to me a rather...difficult woman to manage."
The other two boys looked at each other for a few seconds before answering in unison.
"You have no idea."
Looking at the ceiling above her, she said nothing. It wasn't the first time she woke up under an unfamiliar ceiling, or one other than the one under which she had fallen asleep. Once she had even woken up in a kingdom other than the one she had fallen asleep in, and around her was full of soldiers from that realm who had tried to stop her for questioning. Even looking back, Bonnie couldn't even remember when it happened, perhaps in a dream.
"That's possible..." she said before going back to sleep, letting her huge pillow levitate towards the exit of that small room used for guests or wizards who were not yet members of the guild, as in her case. As the flying pillow bounced lightly against the closed door, Bonnie moved a hand to grab the handle, managing to touch it on her third try while she was still asleep. Opening it with no small effort, she finally managed to get out into the magical corridor where all the doors of the personal rooms were, however after a few meters she felt something colliding with her pillow, followed by something or someone falling to the ground.
Leaning slightly over the edge of her pillow, Bonnie opened one eye slightly and saw a barefoot girl with long dark brown hair looking around with sleepy eyes, until she looked up and saw Bonnie.
Or at least it looked like that, but all Abilene had seen was the huge flying pillow floating in the middle of the hall. She blinked before yawning "Still dreaming..." and without even hesitating for a second, she stood up before climbing onto Bonnie's pillow, lying down next to her before going back to sleep, regardless of the situation.
Bonnie looked at her silently with her eye still half closed. She had never met that girl (thanks to the fact that she had arrived at the guild in the middle of the night), however she had not reacted in any way, hostile or curious, to her presence, she had simply gone back to sleep.
No words, just sleep.
Bonnie could respect that.
Making a tremendous effort, for her at least, she raised an arm before patting Abilene's head a couple of times, and going back to sleep, letting her pillow carry them towards the main hall of the guild. Finding the only magical presence strong enough to be clearly perceived even in her dreams, as well as the only one with which she was an ounce of familiarity, Bonnie steered their flying means of transport to a table in the room, oblivious to the various perplexed glances that were directed in her direction.
"Well you were right Shirros, it really is a giant flying pillow."
Opening her eyes, Bonnie saw that she was next to a wooden table, where Shirros was sitting with a girl with dark indigo hair at his side, while in front of them stood a huge muscular man with his face covered by a black knight's helmet. On the table there were three empty ceramic cups and some biscuits remained inside a large plate, clear sign that they had just finished breakfast.
"Good morning, Abi." said the giant man before shifting his gaze to Bonnie "Good morning to you as well, my name's Atonnis."
"I'm Reina, welcome to our guild!" the indigo-haired girl said instead with a smile on her face "Do you want to have breakfast?"
"Breakfast...?" their gazes shifted to Abi, who was finally waking from her slumber. Looking around with sleepy eyes, she saw the familiar masked faces of Shirros and Atonnis and Reina's smile before spotting the remaining cookies on the plate. Her eyes seemed to shine like stars and without hesitation she extended an arm to take them, ending up falling off the pillow but Shirros and Atonnis were quick to grab her ankles with one hand each, before lowering her slowly to the ground.
Quickly rising to her feet, Abilene sat down next to Atonnis and in front of the masked wizard before eating a biscuit, handing another to Bonnie, who grabbed it with one hand, bringing it close to her mouth; it took her just fifteen seconds to do it.
Reina raised an eyebrow "I don't know if it's her magic or laziness, but she seems kind of...slow."
Bonnie looked at her with tired eyes "Both..."
"I see..."
As soon as Abilene had eaten the last cookie, a new plate was served on the table, this time full of donuts, each one different from the other.
"Only cookies and coffee will hurt you and your stomach. I figured a few donuts might be for you, especially the fruit filled ones, they have enough natural sugars, carbohydrates and proteins to make it to lunch." Lorenzo said in a calm voice, not at all uncomfortable with the kitchen apron he was wearing, before looking at Abilene "You are new here and they told me that Atonnis and Reina are your masters, so you need fast nutrients for your body to assimilate. Yellow flour donuts would be best avoided."
Abilene looked back at him with two small columns of smoke coming out of her ears. Slowly she took a donut and pointed to it "Sweet...?"
Ignoring Reina's giggle, Lorenzo took a deep breath before shaking his head, then looking at the ceiling "Yes...that's a sweet..."
"Sweet!" without waiting any longer, Abilene began to devour the donut, getting a disgusted look from Lorenzo.
"Please tell me that you are teaching her good manners..."
Atonnis looked at him "She is a good student, she will learn over time without rushing her."
"Can I join you?" they all turned to the source of the voice and saw Lycorian smiling at them, while waving at them.
"You are Lycorian, right?" asked Reina smiling back at him "Sure, you can sit with us. Shirros has already told us something about you."
Lycorian thanked her before sitting down next to her "You can call me Cory!" he then took a donut, biting into it with pleasure "Ah, I was wondering when I will receive your guild mark. The others told me that the guild master is in charge of that 'ritual'."
"The mistress is still sleeping, but I'm sure she'll call you, Bonnie and Aki for your mark as soon as she has breakfast." explained Lorenzo while looking at the dining hall "Even though it is already late in the morning, I see few people present."
"With the announcement of our imminent 'debut', many are striving to get stronger or complete as many missions as possible." said Reina before passing a donut to Bonnie "In fact, I had half a mind to take on some interesting missions. Do you want to join me Shirros?"
The masked wizard stared at her for a few seconds before shrugging "That's okay with me, I have no assignments at the moment." he paused briefly, slightly raising his head "Although we will have to wait, someone seems to have business with this table."
Lycorian, Abilene and, albeit slightly, Bonnie looked at him with confused faces before a female voice attracted their attention to Lorenzo, who stepped aside to allow them to see Asteria, intent on observing Shirros and Reina with serious eyes.
"I killed Fukuro of Trinity Raven."
The reactions of those present at the table were immediate albeit varied: Lycorian and Bonnie looked at her without saying anything despite having recognized the name of the guild of assassins, while Abilene was more confused than before and decided to return to focus on donuts. Atonnis just nodded to her, out of respect, while Reina showed her a sad little smile, just as Lorenzo just crossed his arms over his chest, impressed by her achievement. Lastly, Shirros looked her straight in the eye "Now Rosen can rest in peace. You are definitely stronger than four years ago."
Asteria showed them a satisfied grin "Exactly! For this...!" she then looked at the huntress "Reina Kuunari, I challenge you to a Clash of Rank!"
All around, the chatter of the various tables seemed to be swallowed up by a surreal silence while the eyes of those present moved on Asteria and Reina, intent on observing each other in silence. Tension was palpable in the air and Lycorian didn't dare move a muscle, having the aforementioned sorceresses on either side.
"Munch...munch...munch..."
.
.
.
.
All the tension that arose was promptly demolished by the noise produced by Abilene's mouth as she ate her fourth donut and only after swallowing did she realize that everyone was staring at her. Looking around, she began to sweat noticing Asteria's annoyed look, so she raised an arm offering her the donut.
"Sweet...?"
Asteria was silent for a few more seconds before sighing "I really adore you Abi, but you should learn to recognize a serious situation from a serene one." she then looked at Reina "So...? Your answer?"
Reina smirked at her "Very well, I accept your challenge. What are you betting?"
"Half of all my mission rewards for the next month!"
The huntress thought for a few seconds before nodding "It suits me, and what if you win? What do you want?"
Asteria showed her a hungry grin "Of course I want only your S-class title!"
"Then it's settled, should we fight now?"
"Obviously!" Asteria looked at Red who was not far away "Go tell your sisters to set up a room for a fight!"
The waitress nodded and after a short bow walked away as the wizards present began to bet on the upcoming fight and Asteria quickly noticed that most of the bets were on her defeat. When everyone got up to head towards the arena prepared for the occasion, Lycorian approached Shirros, Lorenzo and Atonnis "May I know what a Clash of Rank is? From what I understand it seems to me a simple fight where they have bet something."
"It's internal to Shadow Soul, I don't think other dark guilds do that." said Lorenzo with a shrug before adding "Simply put, there is a limited number of S-class mages in our guild, as only the mistress decides when a mage can ascend to that rank. However, any of us can challenge the current S-class mages and, in case of victory, earn their rank. Reina defeated the previous holder of that rank, while Shirros became an S-class wizard when the mistress decided to add a member to that elite group."
Lycorian seemed particularly interested in the explanation "And therefore the challenger still has to bet something in case of defeat."
Lorenzo nodded "Yes, otherwise no one would accept the challenge without being able to get anything out of it. Asteria tried to become an S-class mage in this way for...Atonnis, how many times did she try?"
"Seven. Four against Shirros and three against Reina."
Before Lycorian could ask for more, they found themselves in one of the larger training rooms, where on one of the long sides there were stands that were promptly filled by the various members of the guild and the newcomer sat down next to Shirros and the others with whom he was at the table shortly before.
On the right side he saw Asteria stretch her arms while from the opposite side Reina looked at her with calm eyes and a slight smile on her face. After a few minutes, a waitress identical to Red but with yellow eyes and hair walked into the center of the arena.
"A Clash of Rank between Reina Kuunari and Asteria Nikos will now begin. The stakes are as follows: if Reina wins, she retains her S-class mage title and half the rewards of all of Asteria's missions for the next month; if Asteria wins, she will become the new S-class sorceress in place of Reina." Yellow looked at the two fighters "Do you both agree to the terms of the fight?" when they both nodded, the waitress raised an arm and a 'box' of yellow energy materialized around the arena, leaving only the stands outside, before vanishing into thin air.
"The time limit is thirty minutes. It is forbidden to kill the opponent; the fight will end when one of the two fighters can no longer fight or surrender." with a quick movement, she lowered her arm "BEGIN!"
"Meteor!"
Wasting no time, Asteria was the first to attack and immediately tried to hit Reina with a kick to the head, but the huntress leapt backwards equipping her twin chain scythes in the process. Moving her arms quickly, she threw both weapons at her opponent but Asteria used her speed to move to the right and then converged again on Reina, who moved the left arm towards her.
Asteria ducked to avoid the chain but when she was in front of Reina, the chain disappeared and in its place Reina now held a curved short sword, which had a brown leather-wrapped grip, in her left hand with which she slashed from above. Asteria stifled a curse before stopping, but was then reached by the chain of the other weapon, which wrapped tightly around her left leg, yet she did not give up and created swords of energy above her "Jiu Leixing!"
The nine swords darted towards Reina, but the huntress prepared her own sword, whose definite incisions on the blade began to glow "Null Blade!"
Just a touch of her blade was enough to dissolve all the swords of Asteria, who however took the opportunity to close the distance between them and try to overwhelm the huntress in the melee, however Reina proved to be much more agile than her and, after avoiding a punch to the face, hit Asteria in the left temple with an elbow, knocking her off balance before yanking the chain, causing her to fall to the ground.
Asteria was quick to get up but this time she took off wrapped in a golden aura before hurling balls of energy at her opponent. She knew those attacks would have no effect, but she took the opportunity to free her leg from the chain and move away a few meters. As expected, Reina blocked all attacks with her blade before looking at her opponent, causing her chain to disappear in the process and remaining armed only with her sword.
"You are definitely faster than the last time you challenged me, but you will have to try harder if you really want to defeat me." said Reina with a small smile before bending her knees and leaning forward "Now it's my turn. Mark of the Hunt."
Asteria felt a shiver run down her spine as Reina's golden eyes grew more animalistic, with slit-like pupils similar to those of a predator. This was the real huntress, the one who had defeated her five times and who had never let any of her prey escape on a mission. Every time she used that particular spell, it was as if a certain pressure began to be felt in the whole surrounding area and Asteria always found herself to fill the role of the prey.
But not anymore.
"Meteor!"
Getting even faster, she quickly circled around Reina before trying to hit her from behind with a punch but her opponent only tilted her head to the right to avoid the blow, before grabbing her wrist and throwing her forward. The impact with the ground created cracks and Asteria spat blood mixed with saliva, however she recovered immediately and tried to hit Reina with a kick to make her let go.
The huntress did just that before sprinting forward and attempting to hit her with several slashes, but Asteria avoided all attacks by backing away in the process, however during yet another slash, the sword vanished from Reina's hand and in its place appeared a spear made of metal with a long burgundy cloth tied just below the blade. The change of weapon caught Asteria unprepared and a long cut opened on her belly, spilling blood on the ground, but Reina's attack was not yet concluded because after having wounded Asteria she stuck the blade into the ground and, using it as a rod, she lunged forward to hit her opponent in the chest with a kick, but it was muffled by Asteria's crossed arms.
The spear vanished behind Reina who re-materialized her twin chain scythes and Asteria found herself avoiding both the chains and the blades; the wound in her belly was not deep but it hurt and she couldn't hope to get away without being injured further. Gritting her teeth, she realized she no longer had much chance of victory without drawing heavy artillery, yet her most powerful spells were not immediate and Reina would never allow her to prepare them.
After five interminable minutes of hand-to-hand combat, a chain was wrapped around her right arm and her left suffered the same fate soon after, then Reina kicked her to the side of the knee, causing her to lose the balance again. Moving faster than Asteria, the huntress moved behind her and pointed both scythes at her throat "Surrender."
Asteria did not answer immediately, looking for a way to free herself but she knew it was now impossible. Scoffing, she nodded reluctantly and Yellow, who had remained at the edge of the arena, quickly raised an arm "The match is over! The winner is Reina Kuunari!"
On the stands, the other guild members cheered even though there were some who seemed unhappy with the result (most likely those who had bet on Asteria's victory) and slowly began to leave the room, while Reina and Asteria approached Shirros and the others, with Yellow intent on healing Asteria's wound.
"That was one hell of a fight!" said Lycorian approaching them "I didn't know S-class wizards were that strong!"
"Nah, it's just that Asteria is still weak." Naco broke in with a grin, arriving with Grady, Aki and Sylva.
"Fuck you." growled Asteria after making sure the wound was completely gone "At least I try, unlike you who are still waiting for the mistress to decide to add an S-class seat!"
"If I'm not mistaken, you said that the fighting ended when one fell to the ground." noted Aki, while looking at Sylva who nodded at her.
"True, but a Clash of Rank is different, so the rules aren't the same."
"Mh..." Aki then looked at Shirros "So you're the other S-class mage?"
"Oh right." Lycorian snapped his fingers, attracting their attention "Now that I know about this rule, I wanted to know who the Shadow Soul S-class wizards are! Is it just the two of you by any chance?"
Shirros and Reina shook their heads and the huntress said "There are four currently, but Shirros and I are the ones who frequent the guild the most."
"Who others S-class?" asked Abilene looking at them with a bit of curiosity in her eyes.
"One is a battle freak called Siegmund, although many of us call him Berserker. If he's not here, he's sure to be out there fighting or on missions." explained Grady "Be careful when you go around with him. His madness during the battle is so great that Naco and Asteria look like two little angels in comparison."
Having seen both of them in action, Aki wondered what kind of monster that Siegmund was "And the other one?"
This time, however, most of those present began to chuckle, confusing the four newcomers.
"Trust me..." said Naco with a grin on his lips "You will never believe it."
[Caelum Kingdom's coast / 8th October X784]
On the way to the island that Jellal had used as a secret base to build the R-System, there were two large battleships of the Magic Council, each with at least one hundred Rune Knights on board. Standing on the bridge of one of the ships was a young, olive tan-skinned man with short, black hair combed back, except for one lock hanging down over the center of his forehead, intent on staring with his cold gray eyes at the island that was getting closer and closer.
His lean, slightly muscular body was covered by a dark gray, short sleeved shirt, a pair of tight black pants, a brown belt, and brown thigh high boots with a white rune knight coat slinging over his shoulders and a silver sword necklace, that swayed slightly with the sea breeze.
"Captain Acier, we are about to reach the island indicated by the Council."
Acier Grey, Head Captain of the First Custody Enforcement Unit, looked at the Rune Knight on his left with a bored gaze "You do not say. Thanks for confirming that my eyes still work."
The knight gulped loudly, frightened by that look and the right canine longer the other teeth, and after a short bow, he quickly went away; however loneliness eluded Acier once again as he felt someone approach him and, judging by the level of magical power, he could very well imagine who it was.
"Acier, intimidating the knights does not suit a captain." said the newcomer, a tall boy with a slim yet robust physique, light blue eyes and effeminate, bushy and messy white hair that barely reached his shoulders "He is just doing his duty to inform you of our imminent arrival."
Acier watched impassively the younger boy a little taller than him as he stopped to his right, observing in turn the ever closer island. He was wearing a long-sleeved, white trench coat with an open high collar and the magic council symbol on the sleeves over a black turtleneck, held closed by a large buckled belt, with dark metal shoulder pads, and a chest plate; the legs on the other hand were covered by a pair of black trousers, and white armored boots.
Winter Driver was the Head Captain of the Second Custody Enforcement Unit and, just as Acier was, descended from a somewhat noble and famous family, although the incident with the extremists of the Tamashiro Family was well known throughout the Kingdom of Fiore. He was very powerful, not surprisingly since he had become captain in a short time, but according to Acier he was too fixed with rules and justice.
"Strange, I thought the Rune Knights' job was to capture the dark wizards, not to say the obvious."
Winter shot him a warning look before looking back at the island, noticing something strange behind some large rocks to the right. Narrowing his gaze, he grabbed a spyglass from one of the sailors nearby and looked at that specific area, spotting what looked like the sails of a ship with a white flag hanging from the top of the mainmast, on which an intricate black symbol stood out.
"That symbol...it's the Cult of Zeref." growled Winter lowering the spyglass "Are they here to look for Jellal too?"
"I don't know and I don't care, at least this mission is less boring than expected." replied Acier without a care in the world "Intercept that ship, I'll take care of those already ashore."
Winter said nothing about being told what to do and simply ran to the side of the ship before jumping and landing on the deck of his battleship, starting to give directions on the route to follow to prevent the enemy ship from taking off.
In the minutes that followed, Acier noticed that there were several people scattered along the rocky shore, all dressed alike, and it was clear that they were looking for something. It didn't take long for someone to notice the approaching ship and sound the alarm, but by now it was too late to try to escape, so Acier waited until he was near some rocks to jump on them and run to the beach, where the soldiers of the Cult of Zeref were already preparing to fight. Acier expected to be attacked with some high level of magic, but his expectations were shattered when he saw a group rushing towards him with spears and swords, as a dozen soldiers stayed behind to cast small lightning bolts or fireballs from the their magic sticks.
"Cannon fodder...all of you." Acier said without missing a beat before raising a hand, creating a gray magic circle "Silver Blades."
Seven metal swords were created by his magic before darting at his opponents, being used as lightning rods and to intercept the fireballs. Normally electricity and heat would get the better of his magic, but those spells were so low level that Acier didn't have to worry about a thing as he pointed his other hand at the nearest enemies "Silver Bullets."
A large sphere of liquid metal formed in front of him before firing dozens of drops that, like bullets, easily pierced the flesh and bones of the cultists; having aimed mostly downward, Acier knocked them all to the ground in pools of their own blood but heedless of their desperate screams and, leaping past them, fired another volley of drops at the last remaining wizards, hitting them in the arms and legs.
In a matter of seconds, all the enemies had been defeated and Acier could only look around with bored eyes. Identifying a soldier who only had his right leg injured, he approached him with the sphere of liquid metal still present and made part of it mold like a tentacle that went to wrap the man's neck before lifting him off the ground.
"Who are you?"
"Ngh! I won't tell you anything!"
Acier blinked slowly before touching the liquid metal sphere with a finger and shooting a drop into the man's right foot, amputating a finger and making him scream in pain.
"Who are you?"
"GAH! H-Henry Cannel!"
"Why are you here?"
Henry gritted his teeth while keeping his eyes closed. Another drop was shot, another finger was amputated.
"Why are you here?"
"GAAH! W-We...w-we are l-looking for s-survivors and Jellal-sama!"
Having already figured out the reason for their presence, Acier dropped the man to the ground before turning slightly to the newly arrived Rune Knights "Imprison them all and heal their wounds, but don't waste resources on lost causes." and without waiting for an answer, he headed for the spot where they had seen their ship just before.
"I'm Winter Driver, Head Captain of the Second Custody Enforcement Unit. Put down your weapons and no harm will be done to you. Resist, and I will personally make sure you are accountable for your actions!" Winter said as he watched the faithful of the Cult of Zeref from the top of his battleship. As soon as he separated from Acier, he quickly closed the escape route to the enemy ship, which was nearly empty, and now he and his knights had the advantage, but he was sure those fanatics would not give up that easily.
"You will never stop us! Kill the dog of the Council!" a soldier yelled before firing a crossbow, along with other cultists.
Without hesitating for a moment, Winter raised his left arm and there was a brief blue glow from under his sleeve before a spear materialized in his hand: it was a long spear consisting of a dark-blue shaft and a cross-shaped head with four diamonds adorning it, having three blades made from magic energy jutting out, while on the other end there was a similar diamond with a jewel embedded in it.
Jumping off the ship, Winter swung the spear in his hand with incredible skill, blocking all the crossbow bolts before landing and dashing towards the nearest enemies. For them, Winter was too fast and seemed like a mirage; some of them could not even reach for their weapons before being struck by the spear with surgical precision, falling unconscious to the ground.
Some of the cultists again tried to hit the captain with darts, while those equipped with magical catalysts tried to eliminate him with simple spells, however Winter vanished instantly from where he was and with quick slashes, destroyed the weapons of his opponents before hitting them in the pit of the stomach or behind the neck, knocking them all out.
"Council's dog!" growled an obese man wearing the same clothes as everyone else except for three black gems set in his cap "I won't let you stop us! We will find Jellal-sama and together with him we will bring the great Zeref back to life! Black Bullet!"
Dozens of all-black spheres were thrown from a magic circle in front of him, but Winter nimbly avoided them and then started running towards who must have been the leader of those cultists. The man adjusted his aim by shooting more orbs but Winter prepared his spear which was covered with frost before driving it into the ground.
"Cursed-Spear Style; Fifth Form: Valhalla!"
The ground beneath his feet was completely frozen before several ice spikes rose against the sky, protecting him from enemy attack. Within seconds, the entire area around him was covered in ice and with a single flick of the spear, the ice shattered, allowing him to see his opponent on the ground as he tried to crawl to his hat, which had fallen when he was caught off guard by Winter's attack. Having already sensed the magical power in the three black gems, Winter approached the hat quickly before crushing them under his heel, destroying them, and aiming his spear at the man's throat.
"Surrender."
The cultist gritted his teeth but looked down, giving up the fight, while not far from them Winter's Rune Knights were already handcuffing all the unconscious enemies before moving them to the battleship. Not far away, Winter saw Acier approaching with a calm step, evidently he had already finished on his side.
"Did you find out anything?"
"They are here for the same reason as us."
Winter nodded before looking at the man still on the ground "Besides Jellal Fernandes and Ultear Milkovich, are there other traitors in the Council?"
The cultist gulped under those cold eyes "I don't know...the only ones who might know are those in Jellal-sama's inner circle..."
"And who would be in this inner circle?" asked Acier in a tone of voice that didn't bode well.
"T-There was the assassination team called Trinity Raven, then some wizards who have always been with Jellal-sama: Simon, Millianna, Sho and Wally." he paused for a few seconds before adding "A girl also joined a few days ago, but I don't know if she was a member of his inner circle. She was called Aki Tamashiro or something like that and-GAH!"
Without giving him time to finish the sentence, Winter had removed the spear before grabbing him by the throat with one hand and easily lifting him off the ground, glaring at him with a furious look "What did you say?!"
"I-I-I d-don't-!"
"That name! The name of the girl! What was her name!"
Around them, the various Rune Knights seemed surprised by the anger evident in Winter's voice, while Acier remained impassive, watching the scene without saying anything.
"A-A-Aki! A-Aki Tamashiro!"
Winter's grip on the man's throat tightened until a Rune Knight caught his attention with a cough, however the soldier regretted his decision as Winter's icy gaze shifted to him.
"S-Sir, we have captured all the cultists present. S-Should we proceed with the search for Jellal Fernandes and his allies?"
Slowly closing his eyes, Winter took a deep breath before letting go of the man who fell back to the ground coughing and trying to catch his breath "Yes, split into teams and scour the whole island. Report anything that can be revealing: documents, tools, no matter if they are damaged or not. We have to recover everything."
"Yes sir!" the Rune Knight quickly bowed his head before walking away and following orders, while two others approached to handcuff the last cultist.
Without waiting any longer, Winter and Acier in turn began to search for Jellal's body all over the island, finding in the meantime what remained of the R-System along with some corpses, including those of Trinity Raven, however, after six hours of searching they had not found a single hair of Jellal.
"He is not here. If he is really dead, his body was destroyed in the magical explosion that destroyed the tower, but if he is still alive he is now far from here." said Winter with a frown while looking at the ruins of the R-System "I'm going to contact the Council and report on what happened here."
Acier nodded before watching him go towards his battleship, after all a Head Captain was more than enough for such a report. When Winter vanished on the deck of the ship, Acier walked towards the ruins and found a secluded spot, away from everyone. Remaining standing, he slowly closed his eyes and a magic circle appeared below him.
Winter could report to the Magic Council as much as he wanted.
He had to report to someone much more important.
[Shadow Soul's Headquarters / 8th October X784]
Reveeina gently put down a pen after signing a series of documents. Despite being an independent dark guild, she always had work to do in her office, mostly due to all her contacts and business activities in Shadow Soul's paycheck. Luckily she was able to do her job efficiently so she could focus on her guild as well and now it was time to think about the first mission for Aki, Lycorian and Bonnie, now that they were officially guild members.
"Sending them to face Roderis might be a good idea but Aki and Bonnie certainly have more experience than Abi, same story for Lycorian." Reveeina looked at the ceiling with focused eyes "Maybe we need to prepare a special mission for all of them?"
Suddenly, he felt a magical presence in his office and, looking down, he saw a Rune Knight standing in the center of the room. A thin grin formed on her lips "Acier, it's been a while! You usually send me written reports, it's rare to see you use Thought Projection."
Acier nodded "I was tasked with retrieving Jellal Fernandes' body from the island where he had built the R-System, however we couldn't find anything."
Reveeina narrowed his eyes "Did he survive?"
"Hard to say. We met and captured members of the Cult of Zeref; they too were looking for him but to no avail."
The master of Shadow Soul closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again "I will notify our informants of this, if I find anything I will let you know. Catching the traitor could be a great addition to your hit list." she then grinned "Incidentally, now that Jose and Jellal are out of the game, the Council will need two new Wizard Saints."
Acier said nothing, although he was interested in the subject. Being that his time was not long, he decided to expose the other reason why he had contacted his mistress right away "I read your short report on newcomers to the guild. Is it true that there is a girl named Aki Tamashiro among the recruits?"
"Yes, why? Do you know her?"
Acier shook his head "Not really, but one of the Head Captains is Winter Driver and we know what that means. One of the prisoners said he saw Aki among Jellal's allies and Winter lost his temper. It is clear that his purpose is to capture or kill her, either out of revenge or his needless obsession with justice."
"I see...I'll keep my eyes open, the last thing I want is to lose a girl like her."
Without further ado, Acier bowed his head and vanished into thin air, leaving Reveeina alone, who began to chuckle. Those idiots of the Council were blind as moles; not only had they allowed two dark mages to sneak between them, but one of their most powerful Rune Knights was one of her own wizards.
"The fact that he is an S-class mage is just the icing on the cake!"
[Ghoul Spirit's Headquarters / 8th October X784]
To the northwest of the city of Shirotsume was a large cemetery used by the dark guild Ghoul Spirit as a secret base, but that place was not so secret judging by the terrified screams that came from the large building built in the center of the cemetery.
"You laughed at us just now, yes?" asked a male voice as three figures entered through what was left of the destroyed door "You utter fools."
"It's a fight you want, is it!? You bastards!"
"You're not getting out of here alive!"
"Oh dear me...a guild that lurks in the shadows trying to stand up to an upstanding legal guild?" the only woman of the trio put a hand to her glasses, lifting them slightly "What is the world coming to?"
A small group of dark wizards were transformed into stone statues in an instant, shocking their comrades, but after a few seconds the remaining ones tried to drive out the three invaders again, however five strange little wooden dolls started bombarding them from above with energy lasers, destroying much of the main hall.
"That's enough, Bickslow." said the green-haired man, with a calm voice.
"What?" the masked man named Bickslow looked around with evident disappointment in his voice "It's over already?"
"I'm amazed they even managed to form a guild, being this weak..."
The woman waved her fan "It's because they are so weak that they resorted to illegal activities, Fried."
"This ain't enough! My babies need to have more fun than that!" shouted Bickslow while searching for new opponents.
"Well, I may have the perfect thing for you."
"Oh...you mean Laxus? So the time has come, has it?"
"OOH! I've been waiting one hell of a long time for this! My babies and I can't wait to fight everyone else!" shouted Bickslow before losing his grin and looking around carefully.
"Bickslow?" Fried looked at him with a raised eyebrow "Is something wrong?"
"I don't know...but maybe there is something here..."
"I don't see anything, you are probably simply euphoric. Now let's go, the Magnolia Harvest Festival is next week and we need to be ready!" and without waiting any longer, the woman left, ignoring the dark wizards fainted on the ground, and was then followed by her two teammates.
However, if Bickslow had turned once more, he would have been able to see the figure of a petite, young girl with a light skin tone and pale purple, wavy hair floating in the middle of the room with a calm smile on her lips, with some bangs framing her face. None of the still conscious dark wizards seemed to have noticed her, as her puppy-like gray eyes watched the three Fairy Tail wizards walk away.
"Mmm...so they are the Thunder God Tribe." she said with a nod "Apparently they have something in store for Fairy Tail..."
Poppea Donnelly, a proud member of Shadow Soul, considered herself lucky that Bickslow hadn't seen her. She had neither the inclination nor the time to face those three wizards all together, especially when one of them could actually see her.
"I should warn the mistress, but first..."
Floating in the air as if swimming, she headed for a closed door and passed through it without any problem, still being ignored by the other wizards, who were shivering for some strange reason. Despite being in mid-air, the yellow blouse and black shorts she was wearing, paired with simple sandals, didn't seem to move in accord with gravity, as if she were above that invisible force.
"Now, where is he...?" floating to the end of the corridor, she entered what appeared to be an empty office but it was evident from the chair on the ground and some books scattered on the floor that someone had run off. Tilting her head slightly, she moved toward the wall behind the desk before stepping into it to her waist "Ah, found it!"
A long secret corridor lay behind the wall and the young girl could distinctly hear the sound of someone running, moving further and further away. Moving quickly, she floated down the hall until she saw a small group of men running at breakneck speed, and judging by the level of magical power she felt in the man at the head of the group, it must have been the guild master. Already knowing what to do, the young girl accumulated some magical power in her hands before passing through the chest of all those men, causing them to wince and slow to a halt with their bodies shaking with severe tremors.
"W-W-What's happening!?"
"I-I-I don't k-k-know!"
"Ma-Magic! Damn it! Th-They are after us!" said the guild master, a bald man with a skeleton painted on his face "W-We must hurry!"
Behind them, the girl had already disappeared into the corridor ceiling and, after a few seconds, she emerged to the surface. Looking around her, she finally realized which direction to go and flew through the trees and graves of that cemetery, before finally finding a small clearing where there were three people, one of whom was perfectly identical to her. Without hesitation, he approached the body and entered inside it; after only a second, she opened her eyes, stretching her arms.
"Did you find them, Poppy?" asked a young, light skinned man standing just over six feet tall with short, slicked back red hair, and sharp black eyes. He was wearing a black tank top with red claw pattern, a pair of tan cargo shorts and black sandals, which allowed to see the tight muscles littered with blade scars.
"Hello to you too, Asher." said Poppea with the calm smile still on her face before pointing in a certain direction "They are underground, the exit should be in that way."
Asher nodded before drawing a curved sword with a partial serrated edge from his back, under his tank top, and moving in that direction as the third figure approached Poppy to help her.
He was a slender young man a bit shorter than Asher with medium tanned skin and a lithe and slim body; his deep royal purple, nearly black, hair was kept moderately short, buzzed on the back and sides in an undercut, though the top was longer and wildly curly, while his eyes were sharp and sly, of a soft, desaturated brown, almost an almond shade, with dark circles beneath them and a splattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks.
With a smile on his lips, she helped Poppea to get up, and said girl, rising slightly on tiptoe, embraced him with all her strength. Returning the hug, the young man patted her on the head and, even though it was summer, Poppea couldn't help but adore the feeling of warmth coming from the black sweater he was wearing, combined with blue jeans and a pair of black sneakers.
"Hello, Kaz!"
Kazumi Chihaya, a fellow member of Shadow Soul, hugged her for a few more seconds before letting go, moving his hands quickly with the smile still on his face [ Hello to you too. We better move. Help Asher. ]
(A.N: the dialogues between " [ " and " ] " are 'spoken' through the language of signs.)
Nodding, Poppea jumped on his back, encircling his neck with her arms, and the boy sprinted in the direction where Asher had disappeared a few seconds before, managing to reach him in a short time. After a few minutes, they reached what looked like a wooden door set within a small hill and, upon their arrival, the door opened, allowing them to see the guild master along with four other wizards.
The guild master immediately noticed them and threw himself aside as he sensed the magical power accumulating in Asher and Kazumi, with the latter watching intently the four remaining wizards, before saying "STOP!"
Much to their own shock, the four wizards found themselves stuck and unable to move, but that was the least of their problems, as now it was Asher's time to attack "Blink."
As a description perfectly pertinent to the effect of his spell, Asher vanished in a blink before reappearing among the four wizards immobilized by Kazumi and decapitating them all with his blade, letting them fall to the ground without even deigning a glance. Turning to the guild master, he vanished again to reappear behind him and kill him, but spikes of rotting bone and flesh sprouted from the ground, forcing him to use his magic again and reappear alongside Poppea and Kazumi.
"Who the hell are you three!?" growled the man while glaring at them "First those damned Fairy Tail wizards and now some assassins!?"
"We are here for your head." confirmed Asher with a cold tone of voice "The mistress considered your existence useless, now you will die." and in a blink, he was gone.
"STOP!"
The guild master found himself as stuck as his underlings, but the spikes of bone and flesh defended him again and this time two dozen zombies and skeletons also emerged from nearby graves "Don't underestimate me, you brats! I am Denor, the most powerful necromancer in all of Fiore! Golem of Death!"
The zombies and skeletons merged together in a gruesome concert of broken bones, torn flesh and other sounds to create a large, four-meter-tall humanoid golem with a large bony sword that he didn't hesitate to use to strike Kazumi, who, however, did not bat an eye.
"MOVE RIGHT!"
The sword immediately changed trajectory and struck to the right, missing both Kazumi and Poppea, allowing them to back off a few paces while Asher was still trying to kill the guild master.
"Stan still!" shouted the man creating more bones from the ground, missing each and every time "I'll kill you!"
"MOVE BACK!"
The shaking of the ground caused him to turn around just in time to see his golem retreat, risking crushing him. Gritting his teeth, Denor moved quickly to avoid his own creation but a sudden wave of fear caused him to freeze in place, and his efforts to look around were of no avail, as he was unable to see Poppea's astral form while he used his magic.
"Now, you die. Blink."
Denor felt nothing as Asher thrust his blade into his enemy's skull from above, down to the hilt, killing him instantly. The man had remained confident until the end of his automatic defense, but with each new attack, Asher had realized that those spikes of bone and flesh protected him from attacks that came from the sides, but not from above. Removing the blade, he then used it to decapitate his target, placing the head inside a bag of hide that Kazumi had handed him.
"Mission complete." said Poppea with a smile before hugging her best friend, who hugged her back.
"Please." they looked at Asher who was staring at them "Get a room."
A soft giggle escaped Poppea lips before something seemed to click into her mind "Wait...he said he was a necromancer! A shame Shirros wasn't here." she then looked at Kazumi "Can you pass me the Lacrima?"
After receiving the crystal from the young man, Poppea activated it and after a few seconds Reveeina's face appeared inside the Lacrima "Ah good to see you! How are you doing?"
"The mission was a success." said Asher while lifting the bag with the head inside "The guild master is dead."
"Good, very good! Now the Oración Seis have one less guild to rely on."
"The Thunder God Tribe of Fairy Tail attacked the guild before us." said Poppea with the calm smile on her face "They talked about Laxus and the fact that he has something in mind for the Magnolia Harvest Festival."
Reveeina arched an eyebrow "Really?"
The young girl nodded "One of them said he was looking forward to fighting the others."
"Interesting...Laxus is a wild card and this could be something big..." Reveeina nodded after a couple of seconds "New plan guys, you have to go to Magnolia and understand what Laxus has in mind. I'll send you some support, as that's the city where the Fairy Tail guild is located anyway."
[ Do we stay in the shadows? ]
Reveeina nodded "As always Kazumi, but you are all three relatively unknown, so you can also enjoy the city air for a while. If there are any problems, please contact me."
Closing the communication, Kazumi put away the Lacrima before walking out of that cemetery with his guildmates, until Poppea asked him "Do you think we will be able to see some fireworks before we go home?"
Kazumi nodded [ See fireworks and eat sweets. ]
Poppea giggled before moving her own hands [ Nice plan, we may find you a boyfriend there! ]
[ It would be nice. ]
At their side, Asher could only roll his eyes.
"I'm going to puke."
Damn him and when he learned sign language...
TO BE CONTINUED...
Hello everyone, happy new year! I start this year by making you my sincere apologies for this huge delay, but this is the third time I rewrite the chapter! THIRD! The first time I had corrupted the file, while the second time it abandoned my computer, and between work and holidays I didn't have much time to write...
However, I hope you enjoyed the chapter (for those few who still follow the story) and I can't wait to read your reviews!
In this chapter we learned several things, including the fact that the S-class title can be usurped by other wizards (it seemed like an interesting and nice mechanic to add) and that one of these wizards is a spy within the Rune Knights! While another Rune Knight has some unfinished business with Aki!
The next story arc will be the one that will mostly follow the events of Laxus vs Fairy Tail, and obviously Shadow Soul will be present (obviously other situations outside this arc will also be shown)!
In the next few days I will update the story in my bio, but until then, happy new year and see you next time!
A.N: The change I applied concerns the relationship between Poppea and Kazumi, they are not engaged but best friends.