Shadow Soul

by SoImAWriterSoWhat

[Dark Guild - SYOC CLOSED] - Dark Guilds. Over the years they have become less and less dangerous, except for the Balam Alliance, and with the emergence of new legal guilds and the strength of existing ones, the dark guilds have become an empty shell. It's time for the kingdom of Fiore to remember what it's like to be afraid of a dark guild and its power! The shadows are moving...

6. Shadows and Missions

"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 and Missions

[Shadow Soul's Headquarters/ 9th October X784]

"Vine Shot!"

Sylva nimbly dodged the attack with a side step before running towards Abilene and attempting to hit her with a kick in the belly, but the younger mage leapt back before creating two whips and using them to strike her opponent, however Sylva dissolved into fog and before Abilene could react, someone hit her legs from behind, knocking her to the ground.

"Draw Flame!" with a speed higher than normal, Lycorian drew three flames in a small notebook with his pen before letting go (the pen was still hanging on his wrist by string) and materialize the fireballs from his design, hurling them straight at Sylva, but as before, she vanished in a cloud of mist.

"Oh come on!" jumping to the side, Lycorian avoided a punch from Sylva but the young woman was immediately on him, however she had to give up when Abilene tried again to hit her with her whips.

"Thanks." he quickly walked to Abilene's side before staring at their opponent "Do you really have to use your magic?"

"Oh forgive me, I thought we dark wizards should be ready for anything and fighting against all kinds of magic. From now on I will only fight with my bare hands, so against the first vaguely capable wizard you will be able to react quickly to everything." Sylva said with so much sarcasm in her voice that even Abilene, a stranger to the concept of sarcasm, realized she was telling a lie.

Lycorian stared at her in silence "...point taken."

"Now, let's continue! Blind Spot!"

Dozens of white feathers materialized around Abilene and Lycorian, and it took them both an instant to lose sight of their opponent, forcing them to turn back to back. While the young sorceress immediately created two whips of vines, the boy continued to look around in hopes of seeing Sylva.

'Now I really think I hate illusions...I must try to dispel this magic.' Lycorian thought before he quickly started drawing but before he could complete his drawing, an agonizing pain paralyzed him in place as Sylva materialized in front of him as if in a mirage.

With her right foot between his legs, at the height of his groin.

With his skin growing pale, Lycorian let go of his pen and notebook before falling forward, as Sylva took a side step before crouching and avoiding Abilene's whip, then managing to grab her right wrist. Before Abilene could react, Sylva hit her with a knee in the stomach, causing her to bend forward in pain, before yanking her towards herself and throwing the younger mage over her shoulder, slamming her onto Lycorian.

Sylva sighed as the feathers around them finished dissolving into mist "Not good enough. Standing still in the midst of an illusion is a bad move; next time try to get closer to a wall that you know is real, at least you will have fewer corners to protect. Everything's clear?"

"Y-Y-Yes...m-ma'am..." whispered Lycorian while keeping his hands over his crushed jewels.

"Training...hurts..."

"Can't argue with you on that, Abi." smiled Sylva before looking on the side "But I must say that there are those who are worse off than you."

Looking with some difficulty in the same direction, Abilene and Lycorian saw sparks emanating from the never-ending clash of blades between Aki and Atonnis as the two fought on the other side of the large training room. The young swordswoman was much faster than her opponent yet Atonnis always managed to position himself optimally to block her blade using his war hammer or creating a weapon in his left hand that dissipated once the attack was blocked.

Taking a side step, Aki tried a lunge but Atonnis blocked her again with the head of his weapon, making her back off before aiming his left hand at her, creating a purple magic circle "Blade-Make: Lance."

A spear wrapped in a purple aura was hurled at Aki, who leapt backwards to avoid the weapon. Atonnis then grabbed the spear he had just created and spun it quickly in her fingers to block bubble-like bullets thrown at high speed by Bonnie, who was lying on her pillow several meters away. The spear vanished soon after but Atonnis paid no attention and looking back at Aki, he raised his hammer in time to block another swing from the swordsman.

"This weapon of yours is incredibly tough, blacksmith." said Aki through gritted teeth. In all her travels she had faced several physically strong opponents, but Atonnis was certainly among the strongest and that hammer was so resistant that it was not damaged by a demonic blade like her Kaimon.

"I have faith in my best creations."

Pushing her back with his physical strength, Atonnis then sensed magical power in Bonnie's direction and, turning to her, saw her open her mouth for a yawn, creating a large magic circle in front of her face "Roar of the Sleepy." before blowing a large amount of glittering mist towards him, however the huge wizard leapt back and avoided the attack.

"That's enough." he then said slamming the head of his weapon on the ground "It's been three hours. Now you have to rest."

"I can still fight." replied Aki while making her sword disappear in a red flash "I don't need to rest."

"Everyone must rest once in a while." Atonnis placed one hand on her head "Your skill is undeniable but your body can only hold up to a certain point."

"It is also always better not to overdo it, you never know when a mission might arrive." added Sylva while walking toward them with Lycorian and Abilene at her side "Now, a good bath is what you need."

"Grrrr!"

"Yes, you too Abi."

"I hate baths..."

Shaking her head, Sylva looked at Bonnie with a smile "How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy...zzz..."

"A hot bath wouldn't be bad..." Lycorian winced a bit with a hand still over his groin "At least this pain will pass..."

Atonnis looked at him and then at Sylva "That was a low blow."

Sylva shrugged with a small smirk before raising a hand, moving her fingers and releasing mist that formed floating letters: DARK MAGE.

Atonnis said nothing before heading for the exit, where Yellow gave them towels to wipe off the sweat on their skin. Deciding to go and eat something, taking advantage of the fact that Lorenzo was still in the guild, the group of six wizards headed towards the main hall, but after a few steps, Atonnis and Sylva quickly turned towards the front door, and so did many of those present.

"Uh? What's wrong?" Lycorian looked around, taking notice of their faces "Why are they so...tense?"

"A strong presence..." Abilene, Aki e Lycorian looked at Bonnie who, strangely enough, was staring at the door with both open eyes "It's coming closer..."

Not knowing how to react, the three of them also turned to the front door just in time to see it open from the outside with a heavy creak that echoed in the room now sunk in silence. Since it was almost noon, there was a strong light coming from outside which prevented them from clearly seeing the features of the two people standing at the door, although it was more than evident that one of them was a man almost as tall as Atonnis and physically muscular, while to his right was a girl shorter than him with long hair.

After a few seconds, the two newly arrived began to walk and as they moved away from the light behind them, the others could notice something more than their appearance, such as her golden hair and wide bright blue eyes or his messy black hair and narrow golden eyes; while they both had very light complexions, the man had a strange grin on his face, completely different from the girl's charming smile, which made her look almost like a princess when paired with what she was wearing: a deep red and gold ornamented dress top, a black and white bodice, a short black skirt, silver and golden armored boots, and lastly a golden ring with a topaz centerpiece. The man, on the other hand, was dressed quite simply with dark gray pants, a pair of black combat boots, black fingerless gloves, a form fitting black shirt, with the only flashy item of clothing that was a brilliant white coat that was lined with the fur of a silver wolf.

As the two newcomers got closer and closer, Abilene and the other three noticed how everyone present was looking confused at the blonde girl but when their gazes shifted to the man they became much more tense and intimidated.

Finally the man shifted his gaze to Lorenzo, who had just come out of a kitchen door, and his grin widened slightly "Well this is my lucky day. I came back just when you are there, Lorenzo. I will finally be able to eat something satisfying."

"Yes, almost absurd as a coincidence. If I didn't know you're not the espionage type, I'd almost say you were keeping an eye on me, Siegmund." replied Lorenzo with a calm voice before turning back "The usual?"

Without stopping, Siegmund nodded "Yes, a nice rare steak, with an ice cold beer."

Lorenzo then looked for a moment at the blonde girl "What about you?"

Oddly, it was Siegmund who answered for her "Make her something simple, she'll be fine with it anyway."

Lorenzo said nothing, merely observing the girl who nodded without losing the smile on her lips. Shrugging, he nodded to Atonnis and the others before returning to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Siegmund and the mysterious girl were getting closer and closer to the stairs leading to Reveeina's office, but then stopped when they saw the group just out of the training room, and Siegmund's gaze fell on two of them in particular.

"Faye, Atonnis, still around I see."

"It's been a long time, Siegmund. You haven't shown up for almost a year." said Sylva with a calm face while looking at him "Have you been busy?"

"You can say that." Siegmund then looked only at Atonnis "I'll need a complete check over my armors and weapons."

"Very well." Atonnis nodded before walking toward his room "Cory, with me."

"Uh? Why me?"

"You'll help at the forge with your fire."

'But my food...' sighing, Lycorian looked one last time at the duo before following his senior in the guild.

"I see there are some new faces around." Siegmund looked at Abilene, Bonnie and Aki "Mh...I hope you can make yourself useful around here. Some guild members are far too lazy or listless for my taste." and without waiting for an answer, he went up the stairs with the blonde girl. When they were out of sight, a faint chatter rose in the main hall.

"So that was another S-class mage?"

Sylva nodded "Siegmund Hildolfr, the Berserker. He's been a member of the guild for just ten years, but he's got a lot more experience than most of us. He only joined the guild because he failed to kill the mistress and she was interested in his strength. Among the S-class wizards he contends for second place with Acier. Despite being very strong, Reina is not up to them."

'It is not difficult to believe it.' thought Aki staring at the empty stairs 'I'm not very adept at perceiving magical power, but I know for a fact that the man is a monster. I don't even know how long I could hold out against him.'

"He stinks of blood..." noted Abilene with drops of sweat running down her forehead "Like a wild beast..."

Bonnie looked at the stairs as well before slowly closing her eyes "Lots of blood-lust...more than the pirates of my father's crew..."

"You are both correct...that man is like a wild beast if he lets himself go." Sylva shook her head "Grady wasn't kidding when he said that Naco and Asteria look like little angels in comparison. Now follow me. Eat something while I bring snacks to Atonnis and Lycorian."

Without further ado, the three sorceresses followed their provisional teacher to a table where Green took their orders before heading to the kitchen.

---

Reveeina set the cup of tea on her desk before smiling at her office door as it was opened by Siegmund, who entered without even asking permission. Despite being surprised by the girl who entered immediately after him, the guild master stood up before moving in front of the desk "Eleven months without ever returning. I'm pretty sure I gave you a few missions last time, but nothing that long-lived."

"I was busy." Siegmund crossed the arms over his chest.

"I don't doubt it." Reveeina the looked at the girl "And who would she be...?"

With a smile still on her lips, the young blonde performed an impeccable bow that would have made a great impression even in front of the king himself.

"Greetings, master of Shadow Soul, my name is Arseille Hildolfr." she looked up, noticing Reveeina's surprised look "It is a pleasure and honor to be able to meet you. My father has long prepared me for this moment; I'm here to apply to join your guild, use me as you see fit. I will not let you down."

The guild master blinked twice before asking "You have a daughter?!"

"She is adopted, but the fact remains that she is a perfectly suitable tool for the purpose." explained the man without missing a bit "She is a skilled sorceress and I have taught her everything there is to know about the underworld and the world of nobles. She's perfect as a spy."

"Now I understand your reasons for adopting her." the guild master looked at Arseille with calm eyes. Despite being used to manipulating people outside the guild, the idea of adopting someone to make him a simple tool was something she preferred to avoid, but she could not impose her mindset on others and it was evident that the girl was by now irremediably molded to the wishes of her adoptive father.

The only positive side was that Reveeina was certain that Siegmund had not taken advantage of her on a sentimental or physical level. He always thought about fighting and collecting weapons; sometimes she wondered if he really wasn't a virgin yet.

"So you really wish to join my guild?"

Arseille nodded "It's my father's wish, and mine too."

"Well, I can't change my mind so we might as well proceed with the ritual." returning behind the desk, she retrieved the magic disc necessary for the ritual and placed it on the flat surface together with a dagger "Now, please give me an item that you always carry with you and that you are particularly fond of. I'll give it back to you at the end of the ritual."

After sitting in front of her future mistress, Arseille removed the ring from her finger and gave it to Reveeina, who placed it on the black disc before picking up the dagger. As many times in the past, the guild master made a cut in the palm of Arseille's hand before equally injuring herself and shaking her hand, letting her magical aura envelop her.

"We are different, but in the dark we are the same..."

Arseille felt the magical power around her and her lips moved on their own.

"We are shadows, but in the dark we are one..."

"Your strength is mine, and my strength is yours..."

"I am your shadow, and you are my shadow..."

The blood that had dripped onto the ring began to turn black before evaporating, creating a thick dark aura.

"Forever united, forever together..."

"One Soul, One Shadow..."

The magical aura that enveloped them vanished immediately afterwards and Arseille felt something new within himself. Looking at her hand, she smiled with pleasure to see the Shadow Soul mark on the back of her hand before it faded.

"It can change shape, position on the body and become invisible. It will also help me locate you if you are in trouble." explained Reveeina with a smile of her own. After all, every time someone joined Shadow Soul, the guild grew stronger in one way or another and as a master it was imperative for her to make her guild stronger and stronger.

"Welcome to the family, Arseille."

Said girl bowed her head "Thank you very much, master."

"Now that you're in the guild, make sure you don't let me down." said Siegmund with a firm voice, staring at her daughter with narrowed eyes before shifting his gaze to his mistress "Where is Shirros? I want to spar a bit with him now that I'm here."

"I'm sorry to tell you, but he and Reina went on a mission together. They will probably come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." said Reveeina with a smirk "If you want, I can take his place."

"Heh, I refuse." Arseille looked with shocked eyes at her father. He was rejecting a fight?!

"With you there is never any fun in fighting, as we don't fight to kill each other. With Shirros at least I can always raise the bar a bit."

Reveeina grinned at him "Those are the rules of the guild. If you accepted them, you would find several wizards willing to fight with you every day."

"Bah, apart from Shirros and Acier I doubt there is anyone who knows how to make me enjoy a good fight." Siegmund shrugged before looking at his daughter "Remember what I told you."

"Yes, father."

Nodding, Siegmund turned to the office door to leave when the guild master's voice reached his ears.

"Wouldn't you be interested in enjoying a good festival? The Magnolia Harvest Festival will be held in a few days."

Siegmund snorted while opening the door "Wasting time watching those ridiculous fairies make a parade? No thanks, I have better things to do."

"A real shame, and to say that this year will be a festival like never before. There will be rides, food stalls, a possible Fairy Tail civil war..." said Reveeina using a sorry, if patently fake tone of voice, noting with amusement how Siegmund had stopped at the door of the room "With Laxus Dreyar coming back and plotting something behind his master's back I thought you might like it. Oh well, I'll ask someone else to go."

Moments of tense silence followed her words before strong pressure began to be felt in the office, slightly alarming Arseille, having felt it over the years with her father.

"Master, you had my curiosity..." turning slowly, Siegmund looked at her with a bloodthirsty grin and a crazy light in his eyes "...but now you have my attention!"

An amused grin formed on Reveeina's lips 'This year's festival is definitely going to be a lot of fun!'

---

[West of Hargeon/ 9th October X784]

A pair of golden eyes lazily watched the deserted road leading away from Hargeon as a light sea breeze swayed the trees. With a sigh, Reina picked up some berries she had placed on a cloth beside her and put them in her mouth, chewing them calmly while around her a dozen black skeletons, dressed in different types of dark armor, held the their arches pointed towards the street. After swallowing the bite, she looked down to where Shirros was sitting on the ground with his arms folded and his back resting against the stone Reina was sitting on.

Looking at the road again, Reina saw that there was still no trace of their target, so she began to move without making the slightest sound, until she was laying on her stomach on the stone, moving forward until she leaned down, letting her hair swing free just above Shirros' legs. Looking intently at the mask covering her guildmate's face, Reina noticed that he must have had his eyes closed as the classic purple glow in the two holes of the mask was missing.

Without saying anything, Reina slowly moved both arms until her hands were within inches of Shirros' mask and, with extreme delicacy, she began to remove it.

A ghostly skull of purple flame suddenly burst out of the mask, staring silently at her with its empty eye sockets.

Reina looked at it in silence before starting to giggle "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"What is it?" asked Shirros while putting back the mask with his hands before standing up while Reina went back to sitting on the stone "Are they here?"

"Not yet." Reina looked again at the road with a sigh "Do we really have to wait here any longer? It would have been quicker to intercept them once they were out of port."

"Is this the wisdom of the best huntress in the guild?"

Reina glared at him "That wisdom is only for real prey. Not for missions like this...and actually it's not even a mission, just a detour at your request."

"I have decided to accompany you on your mission without asking for a fee. The exchange seems honest to me."

"Smartass..." Reina shook her head before looking sharply at the road "They are coming."

Looking in the same direction, Shirros saw a caravan of three chariots on the horizon, escorted by at least thirty Rune Knights. From their position it was impossible to understand what was inside the wagons, as they were completely sealed, but it didn't matter, because they would soon be able to check inside them.

Reina stood up and then approached the skeleton archers posted among trees and bushes, materializing a recurve bow in her left hand, which seemed to be made of bone, with a bowstring made up of pure magical energy connecting the two ends and several prongs that stuck out and curve along the outside part of the bow. Pulling back the string, an arrow materialized ready to be fired and several details along the bow began to glow light gray as a small magic circle formed in front of the arrowhead.

Almost as if they had received an order, the skeletons around her, as well as those posted on the other side of the road, nocked their arrows and aimed at the convoy. As the three wagons got closer and closer, neither Shirros nor Reina said anything, until their targets were close to the first trees of that little wood.

"Shatter Shot!" shooting her arrow, Reina activated her spell and once it passed through the magic circle, the arrow split into three perfectly alike arrows that hissed in the air before hitting the three horses pulling the chariots between the eyes, killing them all on the spot. Around her, the skeleton archers released their arrows and screams of pain rose into the air as at least half of the Rune Knights perished under the sudden attack.

Moving quickly, Reina continued to pull back the bowstring of her bow, each time creating a new arrow that found its target in a soldier's throat or heart while the skeletons drew their secondary weapons such as swords or axes before charging towards the remaining Rune Knights, who took up their magical rods to try to defend themselves by erecting walls of magical energy. However, the tactic proved futile when spears came out of the ground under their feet, killing most of them, leaving only five alive, which were easily overwhelmed by the skeletons of Shirros, to which were added those who came out of the ground after having let go of their spears.

"You still use the same tactic." noted Reina walking toward the three chariots "Trick the enemy into thinking the attack is coming from one side and then use your skeletons from below."

"It works."

"Can't argue with you on that." conceded Reina while searching for the keys while Shirros used his magic to transform the corpses of the Rune Knights into other skeletons under his command. After a few minutes, they found the keys on one of the skeletons and used them to open the three wagons, where they found some notes and objects recovered from the island where Jellal had built the R-System.

However, the real reason for their presence was kept inside the third wagon, that is the corpses of the three members of Trinity Raven, still in good condition, which Shirros did not hesitate to transform into other skeletons before turning them all to dust.

"Attack the Rune Knights to retrieve corpses. Do you arrange such dates with other girls as well?" asked Reina with a grin while looking at the masked wizard who simply stared back before creating a purple magic circle on the ground from which came two large skeletal horses harnessed as if they were about to go to war, with purple flames in their sockets and black smoke coming out of their mouths with each breath.

Climbing onto one of the two horses, Shirros waited for Reina to get on the other before galloping west, where the objective of Reina's mission awaited them, even though the necromancer was doubtful that this was an assignment requested by Reveeina. He had known Reina for several years and the only times she asked others to accompany her was when there was a possibility that something was wrong or that she was in danger of overdoing it.

Preferring to keep her thoughts to herself, Shirros continued to gallop in silence with Reina for about three hours until, with the sun almost setting, they arrived near a large river where a three-story mansion surrounded by high walls was visible, not far from a small town.

"Let's go." growled Reina with her eyes firm on that building.

"You sure? There are several guards."

"We'll just kill them. They deserve to die anyway."

Shirros looked at her for a moment "Rei." she stopped without turning around "Do you really need help?"

"Someone has to stop me at some point, right?" Reina asked back while walking toward the mansion with the bow already in her hand.

Shirros followed her without saying anything else, but when they were close to the building and two guards had already seen them, he raised both hands creating a large magic circle "Arise, my undead army. Dead Legion." and around him, dozens if not hundreds of black skeletons materialized, all wearing various armors and uniforms, armed with magical and normal weapons. Without receiving any orders, the skeletal army began to run towards the walls while the few soldiers outside immediately took refuge inside before closing the large wooden door.

That weak defense was promptly destroyed by some skeletons who hurled fireballs and lightning bolts from their magic sticks while wearing the uniform of the Rune Knights. Screams of panic and fear rose in the sky as the soldiers perished one after the other under the mass of skeletons that had now surrounded the mansion as Shirros and Reina walked through that sea of bones as if nothing had happened. Once inside the large courtyard, Reina looked around for someone as the last of the soldiers perished at the hands of some skeletons armed with large axes. Not far away, some skeletons had captured servants before dragging them towards her, but she gave them only a brief glance before pointing to what appeared to be a large dining room; the skeletons said nothing and dragged the prisoners in that direction, ignoring their pleas for mercy.

"ARVEN!" Reina's furious voice echoed in the air "I know you are here! Get out and face your end!"

His response was a few sounds coming from inside the mansion on the upper floors and Shirros looked at a window "Someone is fighting my soldiers. Three guards in front of a closed door. Third story."

Wasting no time, Reina ran to the inner stairs along with the rest of the skeletons and after a few seconds she saw three men dressed in golden cloth and red armor destroy some of Shirros' skeletons with swords that glowed white. Quickly firing three arrows, she struck one of them in the right shoulder but the other two managed to deflect the bullets before focusing on her, but Reina materialized her sword in her right hand and, after a side step, amputated the hands of one of the two men and then ran towards the other and slipped under his legs. The only soldier left, seeing that the other two had fallen prey to the skeletons, turned around to try to hit her, but Reina thrust the sword into his heart up to the hilt, killing him.

Without even watching him fall to the ground, Reina approached the door that the three soldiers were trying to defend and kicked it open. This was a large bedroom, with a large bed in the center and expensive furniture all around it, but her eyes were focused on the bald man standing in the corner by the window, holding a dagger adorned with precious stones. The sight of that dagger made her mount a rage inside her and with an inhuman scream she hurled herself at him, materializing once again her short sword before making a very fast slash, amputating the fingers of his left hand.

With a scream of pain, the man fell backwards clutching his injured hand as Reina stood before him, towering over her like a beast ready to kill its prey.

"You..." hissed Reina while gripping her weapon "Do you remember me!?"

Arven looked up in terror and nearly fainted as he saw her golden eyes glow in the dark "I-I d-don't-!"

"DAMN YOU!" she kicked him in the face, making him spit blood and saliva "You took away everything I had and you have the courage to say you don't remember me!?"

The man looked at her again with tears in his eyes but she took the jeweled knife in her hand and placed it close to her face "Seventeen years ago! Kingdom of Bosco! You and all those other bastards attacked and killed my clan! You pretended to be a passed out traveler!"

Slowly, fear and realization became more and more evident in his black eyes as the image of a young indigo-haired girl came to mind, just before he threw her to the ground and began killing the other inhabitants of that forest.

"Y-Y-You a-are...!"

"I see you finally remember..." growling, Reina showed him the dagger "These gems...are the ones you stole from my clan! I've waited seventeen long years for this moment, now tell me where everyone else is! Where are your accomplices!?"

"I-I don't know! T-They-!"

"LIAR!" with a kick in the stomach she made him vomit more blood before grabbing the collar of the nightgown he was wearing and forcing him into a sitting position "I know you are still in contact with them! You bought this mansion with my family's blood and I'm sure they're enjoying the booty too! Tell me where are they!"

"I swear! I don't know!" shouted Arven, blood dripping from his mouth "Really! I don't-!"

"You have a family, right?" Reina asked in a much calmer voice and with a sinister grin on her lips as Arven paled more and more; a few seconds later, some skeletons entered the room dragging a blond-haired woman and two children of just ten years, intent on crying and asking for help "Are you really sure you don't know where those bastards are?"

Arven watched in panic as his family was made to kneel behind Reina and the girl materialized a bow made of bones in her hands. His wife and children looked at him with pleading eyes without being able to do anything.

"I-I can't tell! T-They are no longer here!"

"So you don't care about your family..." Reina turned to them and nocked an arrow "So much better for me."

"Wait!" Arven shouted while raising his arms "Please! P-Please don't kill them! They did nothing wrong! I beg you, don't kill them!"

"Beg...you're begging me...?" whispered Reina while letting her arrow fall to the ground as she turned back to him with a look of disbelief. However, her disbelief was quickly supplanted by hatred and anger and with another scream, she grabbed one end of the bow before using it as a sledgehammer to hit Arven in the face, causing some teeth to fly out of his mouth.

"You dare to beg me!? Didn't my family plead as you slaughtered them like beasts!? Didn't they beg you to stop!? Haven't they begged you not to kill them?!" with each question, she hit him without even aiming at a specific part of his body "ANSWER ME!"

"Y-Y-Yes..." he cried while covering his head with both hands "T-They did...!"

"And yet...AND YET YOU KILLED THEM! YOU KILLED MY FAMILY!" she pointed at the terrified family behind her "So why shouldn't I kill them!?"

"P-Please...I-I will tell you everything!"

Crouching beside him, Reina forced him to look her in the face "Start talking."

"S-S-Some of us went overseas t-ten years ago, I don't know anything about them a-anymore! The others moved north and founded a d-dark guild..." said Arven before adding "The guild is c-called Carbuncle!"

"Carbuncle..." hissed Reina while standing up "I want names."

Instead of answering her, Arven pointed to a cabinet by the window "T-There are d-documents in the top drawer, those papers are all I have o-on them."

Reina approached the aforementioned cabinet and opened the drawer indicated before grabbing the only documents present, taking a quick look at the first sheets, observing with hatred the images of the killers of her clan. Using her Requip magic, she dematerialized the documents before turning to Arven who began to sweat at the sight of her angry gaze.

"I-I don't know anything else, I swear!"

Properly wielding her bow, Reina shifted her gaze to her target's family "You told me what I wanted, that's why your family doesn't deserve to suffer."

A wave of relief washed over them, believing they were finally safe, but that idea was quickly crushed when gray symbols began to glow on Reina's bow as she nocked an arrow and aimed it at Arven's family.

"Wai-!"

"Shatter Shot."

In the blink of an eye, three arrows struck between the eyes of Arven's wife and children, killing all three of them instantly. Their bodies were left to fall with their eyes and mouths wide open in a silent cry of pain as the man on the ground desperately screamed the name of his loved ones. Disappearing her bow, Reina drew two throwing knives from her bandolier and turned back to Arven before kicking him in the face, breaking his nose.

"They didn't suffer, but you won't be so lucky."

Letting herself go into a blind fury, Reina began hitting Arven all over the body with slashes, thrusts, kicks and punches, regardless of what was happening around her.

"My brother was only six when you killed him!"

A blade sank into his side.

"There were pregnant women and you had no mercy!"

A knee to the face caused him to lose more teeth.

"You are just beasts that deserve to be slaughtered!"

A stomp broke his ankle.

"Rei." Shirros' voice came like a bolt from the blue as the masked wizard held her wrist, ready to strike again "Enough."

"Why!?" she growled at him "He deserves to suffer!"

"Difficult to make him suffer if he is dead."

Reina blinked a couple of times before looking back at Arven and only then did she notice that the man was long dead. Countless wounds and bruises covered his body as a large puddle of blood spread wider and wider on the wooden floor; her own clothes, as well as her hands and face were covered in blood. Looking down at her free hand, she noticed that the blade of her knife had snapped, so she dropped it to the ground as her fingers began to shake and the adrenaline rush ended, making her feel immense fatigue.

"Plus, you need a bath."

A faint laugh escaped Reina's lips as she used Shirros' grip to stay on her feet. After a few seconds, she nodded and took a few steps back "I told you someone had to stop me."

"Feel better?"

"I killed one of those damn bastards, of course I'm feeling better! And now I also know where to look for the next ones..." taking a deep breath she looked at her guildmate "We can go home now."

Without saying a word, Shirros looked behind her creating his magical portal that illuminated the entire room and the slaughter just accomplished, while below them resounded the agonizing screams of the servants as they were killed by the necromancer's skeletons; after that it was better not to leave witnesses.

Turning to the portal, Reina made to cross it before turning to Shirros "Thank you."

"Save your breath. You will be the one to explain to the mistress why there will be bloodstains on her expensive carpet."

Reina laughed at his words "Fair enough."

---

[Mountains north of Shirotsume Town/ 10th October X784]

Arseille didn't know what to think at that precise moment, while walking along a deserted road in the middle of a forest in the mountains. Just the day before she had finally joined Shadow Soul where she could finally be useful to her father and Reveeina. Today, however, after waking up and discovering that her father had already left for Magnolia, the guild master approached Arseille to tell her that she would go on a mission with her. At first, Arseille was thrilled to be able to make herself useful right away and show Reveeina how reliable she was, but she hadn't taken into consideration the idea that it wouldn't be just the two of them.

Looking ahead, she saw the guild master walking with a calm step and at her side was Lorenzo, intent on looking around with an attentive eye; a clear contrast to the relaxed and friendly attitude he had before entering that forest. Now, he acted as if he were perpetually on guard.

Hearing a rustle to her right, Arseille looked in that direction only to see Abilene leap out of a bush before climbing a tree and then leaping into the branches of another tree across the street. That girl was a savage, from Arseille's point of view, devoid of any grace and with the attitude of a child. It was no coincidence that the young girl with the long, unkempt hair had started moving like that as soon as they entered the forest, ignoring any low-key ideas.

With a quick glance back, Arseille looked at the latest members of that mission: Aki, Lycorian, and Bonnie. The first was walking looking ahead with no sign of tension; Arseille had deduced in a brief conversation with Aki that the swordswoman was somehow of noble origin, however it would make no sense to ask her directly.

Lycorian had a notebook in his hand and was drawing some things that caught his attention and mostly remained silent, only answering a few questions when asked. Of the whole team he was probably the most tolerable, even if two puns were enough for Arseille to make her understand to avoid him. Puns were the things most frowned upon in the world of the nobles.

Finally Bonnie was...lazy. There were no other terms for Arseille to describe her, as she had spent all her time sleeping on that huge pillow. At first, Abilene had stayed by her side to sleep too, but when she got off the pillow, Bonnie had asked the other girl to turn her around so that she would lie on her back. That girl was laziness embodied.

Preferring to focus on the upcoming mission, Arseille hastened her pace to join the guild master "Can I ask you something, mistress?"

Reveeina looked at her with a small grin "Sure, ask what you want."

"You asked me and the others for a mission out of the blue, but you haven't told us what this mission is yet." Arseille said, drawing the attention of Aki and Lycorian, who were wondering the same thing.

"True, I didn't tell you anything...oh well, in a nutshell we're going to make sure the Death's Head Caucus guild ceases to exist permanently." explained Reveeina looking ahead "It was only a matter of time before we started hunting them down, and with the death of their strongest team, it was time to close this loose end."

"Have you met this guild before?" asked Arseille with a raised eyebrow. Thanks to years of studying to become the perfect tool for her father, Arseille had become acquainted with many dark guilds and the Death's Head Caucus guild was one of the most famous, but she did not imagine it had a past intertwined with Shadow Soul.

"Yes, during the Cabria War, we had been hired by the western army and they by the eastern army. I sent several wizards on that mission and three did not return, while we killed four of them." Reveeina now had a melancholy look on her face "Also, the current guild master is an old guild mate of mine."

Everyone, including Lorenzo, looked at her with varying levels of surprise, until Lycorian asked "He was a member of Shadow Soul?"

"No, nothing of the kind. He and I were just a part of a now defunct dark guild specializing in assassination just like Death's Head Caucus. I was young when I joined that guild but over the months I became more and more disinterested in their 'internal politics' and during a mission I met the then master of Shadow Soul." Reveeina chuckled at a particular memory "That woman slaughtered me without restraint, but she saw something in my eyes and asked me to join her guild, as long as I broke all ties with my guild. After recovering from my injuries, I went back to my guildmates and told them I was leaving, they didn't take it well and I ended up killing over fifty wizards, including the guild master."

"So is Death's Head Caucus' guild master one of the survivors?" asked Aki.

Reveeina nodded "His name is Rollost and he was a very good killer. As far as I know, when our old guild was nearly extinct, he rallied the survivors and created Death's Head Caucus."

After a few seconds of silence, it was Lorenzo who spoke first "How should we proceed?"

"It's very simple. Abi, come here!"

Hearing the call of the mistress, Abilene stopped chasing a squirrel in the branches of a tree and jumped down, then approached her, stopping a few steps away. Turning so she could see all the wizards, Reveeina pointed behind her "At the end of this forest is Death's Head Caucus' base, built inside the mountain. The mission is simple: to kill all guild members, but there are rules to follow as I want to make sure you know your stuff." she began to raise the fingers of her right hand "First, neither Lorenzo nor I will help you in any way against your enemies; second, I will continue to walk without ever stopping and you will have to make sure that no one can hit me; third, you have to leave the guild master to me and Lorenzo. Do you understand?"

The five wizards who would carry out the mission nodded and Reveeina resumed walking with Lorenzo at her side. Arseille started walking too but then she saw Aki start running towards the end of the road without saying anything while Abilene started moving again among the branches of the trees, following the swordswoman.

"Ah clever!" said Lycorian closing his notebook "If the mistress won't stop walking we need to make sure that at least the guild doors are open." and without waiting any longer, he started running to catch up with Aki and Abilene, while Bonnie made her pillow fly faster. Not wanting to be left behind just during her first mission, Arseille hurried after them.

"So? What do you think about them?"

"They have potential." said Lorenzo with a calm voice "They shouldn't have any problems despite the pressure of your rules, plus you never said I can't defend you, so you wouldn't be defenseless even if you wanted to."

Reveeina laughed for a few seconds as she continued walking without any rush "Most likely they understood it too but it makes no difference. Now let's see how these new shadows behave!"

---

"So? Any idea?" asked Lycorian from behind some bushes.

A few minutes ago they had come close to what they believed to be the entrance to the enemy guild. The road, just before a large rock face that was part of a mountain, turned left away from the aforementioned mountain, but there were two armed men sitting on two rocks intent on talking while they ate something. Normally anyone would have thought of them as mere bandits, however for wizards like them it was easy to sense the magical power in the rock face, as well as that of the two men.

"It must be a hidden door, however I can't tell if it's illusions or something else." said Aki with a frown, mentally complaining of her shortcomings in the field of magic.

"The mistress is on her way and we can't stand here wasting time like rough peasants." Arseille shook her head before looking at them with narrowed eyes "Bonnie was it? Your magic can put people to sleep, can't it? Can you get those two to sleep?"

Bonnie didn't answer, opening one eye slightly to look at the two alleged dark wizards before closing it again and moving a hand towards them, very calmly. The two men suddenly stopped eating, starting shaking their heads and rubbing the eyes with their hands, yawning over and over. One of them got up and started walking towards the rock face but fell to the ground after a few steps, while the other fell asleep sitting on the rock.

"Done...zzz...zzz..."

Aki moved a bit closer to the road "Abi, take them."

Doing as requested, Abilene quickly created vines from her hands which she wrapped around the two men before dragging them towards them with the help of Aki and Lycorian. Wasting no time, they tied them to two trees before waking them up with hard slaps after Bonnie stopped working her magic on them.

"H-Huh!? W-What the-!"

Aki didn't think twice before pointing the tip of her katana at the base of his throat "You are part of Death's Head Caucus, correct? How do we open your guild door?"

"Who the hell are you!?" the larger of the two tried to free himself from the vines that held him still but Abilene increased the dose around his body and Lycorian, after drawing a dagger, took it to the throat of the man who had spoken, making him shut up.

"That doesn't matter." said Aki looking at him before shifting her gaze to the man in front of her "Answer my question."

The dark mage grinned at her "You are really stupid if you think I'll tell you how to get in! Do you want to kill me? Go ahead! As soon as they notice our absence you will all be dead!"

"This will get us nowhere." groaned Arseille "I would propose some healthy torture but we don't have time, and getting that information without torturing them would take a long time."

"Can I hurt them?" asked Abilene with a smirk on her face while looking at the second prisoner.

"Just shut their mouths, we don't want the others to hear them scream...wait no, maybe that could help us."

Lycorian raised an eyebrow "How so?"

Telling Aki and Bonnie to hold one of them still, Arseille then ordered Abilene and Lycorian to take the other prisoner to the front of their guild's entrance. After a few seconds, when nothing happened, the young sorceress looked at Abilene "Hit him and make him scream in pain."

Her guildmate didn't hesitate for a moment and, after creating two whips of vines, began to whip their enemy on the legs, arms and face, however she only got grunts of pain but nothing vaguely loud. Narrowing her gaze, bored by the prisoner's resistance, she shifted her gaze to Lycorian "Do you have anything that could make him scream?"

Lycorian scratched the back of his head "I don't have much experience torturing people, but I can try to make something up." and taking up his notebook he prepared to draw something, when the sound of pierced flesh and a dying rattle reached his ears. Turning to the source of the sound, he, Abilene and Arseille saw Aki advancing towards them with her katana clutched in her right hand from which blood was dripping, while behind her Bonnie hovered over the prisoner's corpse.

"Enough of this. We have no time to waste and they are not toys. The guild master is on her way and we have yet to enter." ignoring Arseille's annoyed gaze, Aki walked over to the dark guild's entrance before gripping her weapon with both hands, lifting it above her head "Cursed-Sword Style; Third Form: Tartarus!"

Bringing his weapon down, Aki unleashed a powerful slash of energy flanked by other blades of magic that slammed into the rocky surface, successfully destroying the dark guild's entrance. While from within rose screams of surprise and pain mixed with cursing, Aki turned briefly to the others "Kill him, he doesn't need to suffer."

While Bonnie and Abilene quickly followed the swordswoman as she lent herself to the shattered entrance, Arseille snorted for a moment before lifting her right armored foot and using it to forcefully crush the bounded man's Adam's apple, causing him to choke without no chance to survive.

"Muscles before brain...I note with regret that she can only think with her sword."

Without even waiting for their enemy to die, Arseille walked behind the other sorceresses while Lycorian stayed behind for a few seconds 'Geez...I hope I will never be alone with those two.'

Quickly reaching his guildmates, the young boy saw the cloud of dust raised by Aki's attack clearing, allowing them to observe the huge circular hall completely carved out of stone. Dozens of candelabra hung from the ceiling and walls, illuminating the entire room while in the center, a strange obelisk rose from the floor on top of which was a skull made of stone. All around were tables and chairs with Death's Head Caucus' members watching them in surprise.

"Who the fuck are you!?" roared a man in front of the others while pointing his ax at them.

"We are part of Shadow Soul, and we are here to kill all of you." replied Aki while staring at them, trying to identify the strongest wizards to avoid nasty surprises.

"SHADOW SOUL!?"

All the wizards winced due to a sudden yell from the other side of the room where, in front of the entrance to a corridor, there was a large dark-skinned man with the left side of his face engulfed in flames, making the black bones visible. His red tunic was covered with soot on the left side of the body, while his right arm was protected by thick silver armor. His one brown eye was focused on Aki and the others and it was filled with hatred and anger.

"You are part of that filthy guild!? After ruining my life, Reveeina doesn't even have the balls to come here and finish the job? Never mind, once I throw your dead, cold bodies at her feet, I'll take care of her!" he looked at his mages "What are you waiting for!? KILL THEM!"

All of Death's Head Caucus' wizards screamed in approval before running towards the five invading mages, however after not even a second, the wizard with an ax was beheaded by a lightning strike from Aki, who took advantage of the momentary surprise of the two closest wizards to behead them soon after.

"Dream Knock..."

"Draw Flame!"

Dozens of bubble-like bullets and three balls of fire darted past her, hitting the closest opponents and, while those struck by the flames fell to the ground screaming in pain, the others slowed down their run, shaking their heads and some of them fell asleep to the ground. Mentally thanking Bonnie and Lycorian, Aki began to move from opponent to opponent, hitting them all with quick and deadly blows that knocked his victims to the ground, when suddenly from her right appeared a man with his right arm engulfed in black flames ready to strike her.

"Vine Shot!" with alarming speed, vines pierced the side of the man making him vomit a lot of blood and immediately after Abilene was on him making him fall to the ground with a kick before turning towards three enemies and pointing her hands towards them "Vine Cocoon!"

Long vines grew out of her hands and began to envelop her opponents, but one of them created a blue magic circle in his right hand from which a strong icy wind blew that froze the vines before destroying them. Abilene barely had time to jump back before that wizard hit her with an ice greatsword, while the other two were still trying to free themselves from the vines, however more sleep bubbles rained down from the sky which put all three to sleep, and Abilene didn't miss the opportunity before killing the ice mage with her vines, using a whip around his neck to choke him and snap his neck.

Looking up, Abilene was about to thank Bonnie when she saw two dark wizards ready to strike her friend from behind. One of them was literally running on all fours on the wall before jumping on Bonnie while the other was soaring with little tornadoes around her arms; however the two did not have time to get close to Bonnie that the pillow she was lying on quickly turned 180 degrees and a magical seal had already appeared in front of her mouth "Roar of the Sleepy..."

A cone of glittering mist burst from her mouth, hitting the two opponents and instantly making them fall asleep; they had no way of protecting themselves from the fall, and in the midst of the screams and noises of the various fights, the sound of their necks breaking upon the impact with the floor seemed to overwhelm the other noises. Ignoring her most recent victims, Bonnie yawned slightly opening one eye before firing more bubbles that hit enemies close to Aki and Abilene, allowing them to quickly defeat them, while below her Lycorian nimbly dodged the jaws of a wizard whose head had become that of a crocodile and, with enviable speed, drew a lightning bolt in his notebook.

"Draw Lightning!"

A strong blast of electricity permeated his hands before moving into his opponent's body, electrocuting the mage and causing him to scream in pain before falling to the ground lifeless. Taking a deep breath, he leapt backward and landed on a wooden table as two wizards tried to hit him with a spiral of purple energy and a spear of green energy respectively, but the boy jumped to the side while drawing balls of fire that he launched even before touching the ground, hitting the two opponents in the face and killing them.

"I must remember to thank Faye. Her training is hellish but it sure does help." looking around, he saw not far from him Arseille as she gracefully avoided a shadow tentacle that had emerged from the ground before wounding the enemy wizard in the arm with a dagger whose blade was crossed by green veins. Despite being a light wound, dark veins quickly became visible on the man's arm who began to foam from his mouth before falling to the ground vomiting blood and bile.

"A poisoned dagger?" wondered Lycorian moving closer to her just in time to spot two huge men covered in rocks running toward her. Moving quickly, Lycorian stepped in front of Arseille hoping that his fireballs could somehow slow down the two thugs, however before he could finish his drawing, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"You're in my way." hissed Arseille while moving him to the side before taking a deep breath and scream "Banshee's Shriek!"

Lycorian's eyes widened in surprise as he clapped the hands over his ears when an ultra-high frequency shout echoed through the air destroying everything in front of them, tearing apart the rock armor of the two opponents as if they were made of paper; the two men fell to the ground dead with blood dripping from their mouths, eyes and ears, and the same happened to a dozen of wizards who had remained behind them. Lycorian stared in amazement before moving his gaze to Arseille, who was rubbing her throat.

"Sound Magic. My variant is based on the voice, but it can cause throat discomfort." explained Arseille before looking at him with an annoyed glare "Now stop staring at me and do something. We aren't done here!"

Lycorian preferred not to answer, merely chuckling before going back to drawing, targeting the closest opponents.

As various fights followed one another in Death's Head Caucus' main hall, the guild master was watching everything with increasing anger in his body. Five wizards, no...five children! His guild was being defeated by five miserable children! It was already bad to have lost the Trinity Raven team, but to think that his guild was so weak was unacceptable!

"What the hell are you doing!? There are five of them and you are more than fifty! Is it really that hard to kill them!? Do I have to take care of them by myself!?"

"Or don't be so hard on them, Rollost. My kids are simply more motivated than yours."

All surrounding sounds seemed to fade away until they disappeared completely. The various fights between mages around him were utterly silent as his only eye rested on a woman who had just arrived at the entrance to his guild, her dark eyes fixed on him and an amused grin on her lips.

"R-Reveeina..." the flames on the left side of his face seemed to stir as a trickle of sweat trickled down his cheek "So you really decided to wipe out my guild..."

"It was only a matter of time now, old friend." replied Reveeina, walking without a care with Lorenzo at her side, while Aki and the other were still fighting "Now, are you going to run away or are you going to face me and die like a real man?"

Gritting his teeth, Rollost raised his right hand before slamming it to the ground, creating three magical red circles on the floor "I have no time to waste with you, not now that I'm so close to my goal! Hel, Inferno, Ade! Kill them all, don't leave anyone alive!" and as black metal cages began to rise from the three magic circles, he ran off down the corridor behind him, vanishing after a few seconds.

"Like a coward it is then." said Reveeina, looking with interest at the cages. Inside each of them was a person, and it was evident that they were also quite capable wizards judging by their level of magical power.

To the left was a long, red-haired woman with a slender physique covered only by strips of reddish leather, while the visible skin was crisscrossed with innumerable scars. When the cage had fully emerged, it dissolved leaving only the woman, who opened her eyes completely red as a cold smile opened on her lips covered in red lipstick.

In the middle there was a young man with short black hair and a finely groomed goatee, pale complexion and body covered in a large black tunic embroidered with purple symbols. When his cage vanished, he opened his eyes to look around him and while his right was purple with black sclera, the left one was black with purple sclera.

Finally on the right was a man so large that he was almost crushed inside the cage, his body almost entirely covered in a black spandex uniform, including the head whose mouth was covered by a zipper. When the cage was gone, he stood up showing how tall and muscular he was, while his crazy golden eyes began to look quickly around him, until they stopped on Reveeina.

"Ooooh! Are you here to be bounded by me!?" asked the huge man while taking a step forward "I will be sure to enjoy your screams as you are dragged to hell!" and after summoning what looked like an executioner's greatsword in his right hand, he charged at Reveeina but after a few steps Aki appeared in front of the new opponent and slashed at him aiming at the legs, however the huge man was able to block the attack, observing her with interest.

"Another poor soul who needs to be bounded!? OH JOY~!" Aki jumped backwards to avoid the sword of the man who, completely ignoring Lorenzo and Reveeina, began to chase the swordswoman, slashing at her without ever stopping.

"The master said we must kill them all." said the man with the goatee, looking at the hall.

"You kill them, I have already found my new toys." replied the woman with her eyes firm on Lycorian and Arseille while licking her lips. Without even waiting for an answer, she walked towards them, with two scarlet magic seals appearing on her hands.

"Mmm..." the man looked at Reveeina who walking toward him without a care in the world "You won't stop, right?"

The mistress of Shadow Soul grinned "Nice to see that Rollost has some clever wizards in his ranks."

"In that case I've to stop you right now." raising both hands he created two purple magic circles but was forced to give up when several vines tried to block him, followed by bubbles but he avoided all attacks by jumping away before landing nearby, with Abilene and Bonnie in front of him "Mh...maybe I should kill you first..."

"Vine Shot!"

This time the man quickly created a purple magic circle from which a floating black sphere emerged and Abilene's vines were drawn towards that sphere, unable to move anymore. Looking to his right for a moment, he saw Reveeina and Lorenzo vanish into the corridor where his guild master had run.

"Guess they are now out of my hands." he looked at the two girls "I am Ade, leader of Team Cerberus. You are...?"

"Abi!"

"Zzz...zzz...zzz...Bonnie..."

Ade blinked slowly "A pleasure to meet you, now please...die."

Not far from them, Aki dodged another swing from his opponent before assuming a defensive stance again and noticing with disgust that the man was panting heavily but not from exhaustion; he was almost like he was on the verge of an orgasm.

"Yes...yes...yes! Squirm and run! My chains can't wait to lick your skin and drag you to hell!" he shouted before slamming his left fist on the ground. From behind him, a thin line of flames stretches left and right before turning to Aki, passing to her side and reuniting just behind her, creating a perfect square of flames in the rocky floor.

"This is my Bound Field! This is your prison and my playground! I'm Team Cerberus's Inferno!"

"Aki Tamashiro." replied the swordswoman with her brown eyes still on him "When you die, give my regards to Ikaruga."

"Ikaruga? You killed Ikaruga!? OH JOY!" definitely an orgasm "I will put even more effort into binding you and making you suffer! NOW SCREAM~!"

"You first." was the only reply before their blades collided again.

Seeing a girl like her blocking a man twice her size would have been incredible to see, however Lycorian was too busy avoiding a jet of boiling blood to observe his surroundings. After avoiding the attack, he looked worriedly at the floor but especially at the corpses of Death's Head Caucus' wizards as they were dissolved by that liquid.

"Mmm~young and agile~! I really like you!" grinned the woman, who introduced herself as Hel from Team Cerberus, before opening both hands "Hell Blood!"

Two jets of blood were again hurled at him, but Lycorian managed to avoid them before throwing three fireballs at his opponent, however Hel created a swirling shield of blood that nullified his attack.

'That shield will be a problem...maybe I should try with lightning but I still have to get close and it doesn't mean she doesn't have other spells to defend herself.'

Hel looked at him for a few moments before moving her gaze to Arseille, who was a few meters behind Lycorian "Don't worry little mouse, once I'm done with him you will be all mine and I will make you feel any form of pleasure and pain~!"

Arseille narrowed her eyes "Please, don't talk to me like that. It's disgusting."

"What a grumpy attitude...but don't worry, as soon as I get my hands on you I will become your only mistress." chuckled the mage of Death's Head Caucus while creating two whips of boiling blood.

"Sorry, but my father spent a lot of time and money to prepare me and my purpose now is to make myself useful to my mistress, the guild master of Shadow Soul." Arseille prepared her dagger while moving closer to Lycorian "And for that to happen, you have to die."

"Oooooh feel free to try, little mouse..." Hel showed them a crazy smile while moving her whips "Now, dance for me!"

---

Pausing for a moment in front of the last door of the corridor, Reveeina could distinctly perceive the magical power of her old friend and, without further ado, smashed the door with a fist and she was immediately rewarded with a large ball of fire which caused a violent explosion that lit up the entire corridor for an instant.

Rollost watched intently at the cloud of black smoke born from his attack with the left arm still pointed toward the door, but he was not so naive as to think that such an attack could have defeated her; he knew her all too well.

"No time to go in and you're already trying to kick me out of your office. I remember you were once more polite than that." came the amused voice of Reveeina from inside the smoke but after a few seconds what surprised Rollost was not seeing her without even a small burn, but the fact that Lorenzo was in front of her with a katana of scarlet magic clutched in his hands, with which he had most likely blocked his attack.

"A traitor like you does not deserve any form of manners or respect; you should just burn in hell for what you did!" growled Rollost while Lorenzo walked inside the office with Reveeina, without letting go of his weapon.

"You are still living in the past. If you remember correctly, I announced that I wanted to leave without any repercussions, but it was all of you who forced my hand. If that idiot of a guild master had let me go, he'd still be alive." Reveeina then lightly stomped her right foot on the floor, creating a dark purple magic circle and, in the blink of an eye, the floor along with the walls were covered in a thick layer of shadows.

Rollost looked around for a moment, considering what to do. That spell must have been some form of prison; he could still see the corridor behind Reveeina even if he could barely, and he was sure she was planning something.

"So you're here to do what you didn't dare to do that time, kill me."

"I was in a hurry, and besides, you're not the only survivor although I know that some of those spared by me were killed in other ways, and a while ago I saw the corpses of three of them in the main hall." she grinned at him before starting to walk in circle, with Lorenzo always at her side, while Rollost mimicked her until she was at his desk and he was with the corridor behind him.

Reaching for it with his left hand, he could feel a solid, smooth and cold surface. So the hypothesis of a confinement spell was correct and he doubted that she would give him time to destroy that barrier.

"However, I am ready to give you a chance to survive and start all over again." continued the guild master of Shadow Soul while sitting on Rollost's armchair; looking for the right position she seemed to give it up after a few seconds "My armchair is better."

"What's the catch...?" he looked at her with suspicion, waiting for a possible surprise attack.

"It's very simple. You have to defeat Lorenzo..." she gestured to the black-red haired boy "...and I'll let you go. If you loose, you're dead. Simple, right?"

Rollost looked at Lorenzo "So I need to kill this brat?"

"If you can~"

The master of Death's Head Caucus growled at her before raising his left arm toward Lorenzo "Scarlet Flare!"

A streak of fire sprang from a magic circle completely enveloping the boy before he could react, but when he looked at Reveeina, Rollost couldn't help but get nervous at the life of her smug grin.

"If I were you I would not underestimate Lorenzo so much. After all..."

Only thanks to his instinct Rollost raised his right arm, using his armor to block Lorenzo's katana, who stared at him with his cold blue eyes; not a piece of skin had been touched by the flames and Rollost could feel the magical power build up in his opponent's body. At that moment, Reveeina's last words reached his ears.

"...he is the primary candidate for the position of Shadow Soul's fifth S-class mage."

---

After blocking another shot from Inferno's greatsword, Aki skidded across the floor before stopping after a few meters, starting to breathe more heavily. The two had been fighting for a few minutes, yet she was already starting to sweat and feel fatigue, something that would not have been possible given her intense training started well before joining Shadow Soul. So why was she so tired?

'These chains are a real pain...' she thought as she shifted her gaze to the orange, semi-transparent chains that were occasionally visible around her arms and legs. Although she realized it almost immediately, she had not been able to destroy them, as if they were intangible and she had then noticed over the seconds that those chains were connected to the flames of the spell of Inferno, and that they were sucking away her energies, making her weaker and slower. Obviously she was faster than Inferno, but the huge opponent still managed to injure her right leg and left arm, albeit with a graze.

"Can you feel that!? My chains are dragging you to the bottom of hell and you can never free yourself again!" shouted Inferno before bringing down his weapon, however instead of parrying him, Aki took a side step before jumping and hitting him with a spinning kick in the face, at the cheekbone. The bones of his skull fractured with that blow, but the man did not falter and hit Aki with a powerful shoulder tackle, causing her to crash into a table that shattered upon impact.

"Oooooooh~! So much energy to take! OH JOY!"

Spitting some blood, Aki stood up, gripping Kaimon with both hands "Cursed-Sword Style; Third Form: Tartarus!"

Bringing her weapon down, Aki unleashed the same attack that had destroyed the entrance to the enemy guild, however Inferno created an orange magic circle in his left hand aiming it at the incoming blades of energy "Binding Chains!"

Dozens of orange energy chains darted out of the flames surrounding the two fighters and twisted around Aki's attack before destroying it, then dissolving into the air. Aki felt another attack coming from behind her and, with lightning-fast reflexes, turned to sever the chains that otherwise would have blocked her legs. Inferno took advantage of it to run towards her, but the swordswoman blocked his weapon before taking a side jump and putting a few meters back between them.

'I must be weaker than expected if those chains managed to block my attack, and I can't afford the luxury of trying again and again. I'm almost at my limit...' thought Aki, having understood by now that she had to use the few reserves of magical power she had to end the fight before having to bet everything on her physical abilities.

Inferno screamed something before trying to hit her again, but each time Aki managed to block or deflect his sword without being able to counterattack also due to their difference in stature. With a final attack, Inferno grabbed the greatsword with both hands and made a violent side slash that was blocked by Aki, however causing her to crawl back to the edge of their 'ring'.

"Ooooooh you're so strong~! I just to bind you now!"

"No, I'm not that strong, it is you who are weak." replied Aki, without missing a bit "Atonnis is much stronger than you."

"I don't know any Atonnis! But I'll make sure he too gets dragged into the depths of hell!"

"Hard to do when you're dead, don't you think?" asked Aki before dashing at him with all her speed, surprising him. She managed to injure his legs before having to avoid Inferno's greatsword, who then waited for her new attack to use his magic again.

"Now you can't escape anymore! Binding Chains!"

"Don't need to." stopping exactly in front of him, a strong wind began to swirl around her "Cursed-Sword Style; Third Form: Tartarus!"

Moving her blade with superhuman speed, Aki generated a whirlwind of blades of wind that tore apart all the chains, opening several gashes on the body of Inferno, shedding blood all around, but when the man managed to recover from the attack suffered, Aki was already taking aim with her sword pointed at his heart, with water rapidly condensing around the tip of the blade.

"Cursed-Sword Style; Fourth Form: Yomi!"

Faster than before, Aki plunged her sword into Inferno's chest and a powerful jet of water burst from her blade, opening a large hole in her opponent's body, completely obliterating his ribcage. The two stood motionless for a few moments before Inferno's greatsword fell to the ground and the man vomited a large amount of blood through his mask, before starting to fall forward.

"Ooh...j...oy~"

Aki simply took a side step, letting her opponent's corpse fall to the ground and the flames around them dissipate along with the chains that were sucking her energy away. Taking a deep breath, the swordswoman looked around to assess the situation but immediately had to raise her sword to protect herself from steel feathers thrown by a nearby wizard, who tried to attack her again along with some of his guildmates, the few that remained. Preparing for more fights, Aki could only hope that the others were also having success in their fights.

However, her focus on new opponents prevented her from seeing Abilene being thrown across three tables before coming to a stop against the fourth, spewing out a lot of blood with several minor injuries all over her body.

"Mmm...I thought you'd have a few more tricks than just vines. Obviously I was wrong." Ade said in a calm voice as two completely black spheres, the size of himself, floated around him.

"Dream Knock."

With a single movement of his hand, one of the spheres moved beside him and the bubble-like bullets were attracted towards the sphere, before bursting against it without causing any damage. Without any rush, Ade looked up at Bonnie, who was lying on her pillow and levitating several meters away.

"My gravity magic can easily outweigh your tricks, it would be better if you just let yourself be killed."

"Vine Shot!"

Moving his hand again, the second sphere stood in defense of Ade, and Abilene's vines were pressed against it before being dropped to the ground once their kinetic thrust was exhausted. The young sorceress growled at him but the Cerberus wizard didn't even blink; grabbing some pieces of wood and tools on the ground, she threw them at her opponent before running at him making sure they had that black orb between them so as to block his view.

"An effective albeit trivial tactic; you will have to do better." said Ade and then a purple aura surrounded the sphere; before Abilene could react, she was drawn against it before being thrown in the opposite direction, bouncing a few times on the floor before stopping.

"Roar of the Sleepy."

This time, Ade dodged the attack by leaping backwards, shifting his gaze back to Bonnie, but her eyes were closed therefore he couldn't tell if she was watching him or not.

'Is she feeling my magical power to aim her attacks? Also, that last attack is not bound by my gravity. I had imagined it but now I'm sure I have to kill her first.' thought Ade before moving one of the two spheres toward her. Thanks to its speed, he was able to move it over Bonnie before she could move and while keeping his hand in a claw-like gesture, he intoned his spell "Gravi-Attraction."

Bonnie's eyes widened in surprise as she was lifted from her pillow and pressed against the ball of energy, unable to move, and she could feel her bones and muscles as they were slowly crushed by gravity.

"Now stand there and die while I take care of your friend." said Ade before moving his other sphere over Abilene who was again trying to get closer to him "Gravi-Press."

Abilene was only able to take one step before she was crushed to the ground, cracking the rocky floor. The girl tried to get up but couldn't move a single muscle, much less use her magic. It was like when she had first met Shirros, but that feeling was caused by the presence of the masked wizard, while now it was her opponent's magic.

"My gravity will kill you in minutes. Unfortunately I can not help but wait, then I will devote myself to others." said Ade before looking to the side "Oh, seems like Inferno is dead...guess I'll go and kill that swordswoman."

Abilene gritted her teeth trying to get up, but the gravity was too strong and she had already used a lot of her energy before facing Ade, so there wasn't much she could do.

"Abi..."

Despite having crashed to the ground, Abilene was able to slightly rotate her head so that she could see Bonnie, still locked against Hades's gravitational sphere. Although she was under the effect of a spell and she was probably taking damage every second, the sleep sorceress didn't seem at all intimidated by her situation.

"Do you...trust me...?"

"Mh? Do you still have breath to speak? Maybe I should increase my magic output..." said Ade before adding more power into his spells, crushing Abilene even more; however despite that, she still managed to nod at Bonnie.

"Good." she slowly yawned toward her fellow mage "Roar of the Sleepy."

That move shocked both Abilene and Hades; her because she would not have expected to be attacked by her guildmate, even though her surprise was short-lived as Abilene fell into a deep sleep, and he because he had imagined that Bonnie was now on the edge of passing out, yet she could still attack freely.

Hades stroked his goatee "You really surprised me. I didn't think you still had the energy to attack...but put your ally to sleep? Do you want to make her die without pain?"

His attention, however, was soon captured by a magic circle that was created under Abilene, however it was Bonnie who uttered the spell.

"Rage of the Sleepy..."

In the next instant, Abilene lifted her head, her eyes completely white, her teeth showing like a feral beast and pulsating veins on her forehead and cheeks. Under the shocked gaze of Ade, Abilene began to stand up despite the gravity that was crushing her, but when he moved to further increase the power of his magic, his vision faltered and he felt incredibly tired.

'What...?' Ade blinked to clear his vision 'Why am I feeling tired? I was never hit!'

Looking up, his eyes met Bonnie's dark, blood red ones, fully open and focused on him.

"My magic doesn't need spells to make you sleep." explained Bonnie without blinking once "Thanks to your gravity and the pain you are causing me, I am now perfectly awake. Now, sleep."

Feeling about to collapse, Ade raised both hands to move the second sphere as well and crush Bonnie with both his spells. It took him a second to realize the very serious mistake he had just made, but that second was more than enough for Abilene to leap at him like a wild beast. Before he could react, she was on him, with her right arm completely wrapped in thorny vines, and hit him with a violent punch in the face, breaking his nose; the force of the blow was such as to crush Hades to the ground and open large cracks under him. The impact helped Ade stay awake for a few moments, just enough for him to notice that Bonnie had closed her eyes to go back to sleep as Abilene raised both arms to hit him again.

'Ah...I was right...' his eyes began to slowly close 'I should have killed you first...'

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Like a savage fury, Abilene began to punch his head and put all her strength into her fists without even realizing that, after the sixth or seventh punch, there was nothing left of Ade's skull but blood and gray matter scattered on the floor.

"M-Monster!"

Abilene stopped suddenly and snapped her head towards two enemies not far from her. With the thorny vines almost claw-like around her hands, she lunged at them, grabbing one by the throat before biting off his ear, however that poor unfortunate soul could not even scream because of the brambles that had pierced his throat, causing him to die suffocated in his own blood. His partner didn't last much longer because Abilene jumped at him before slashing his throat with her claws.

"Hibernation."

Slowly, Abilene stopped pounding on the two corpses before lying on the ground and starting to sleep peacefully, with a pulsating green stigma on her chest, while Bonnie floated above her with her pillow.

"Sleep well Abi." said Bonnie before yawning after making sure there were no more enemies around "I will stay here with you..." and before going back to sleep, she took a last look at the latest confrontation taking place on the other side of the hall, just in time to see Arseille and Lycorian avoid a whip of boiling blood.

"Dance little mouse, dance!" shouted Hel while aiming both whips at Arseille who managed to dodge them with grace while keeping her distance. Using her momentary distraction, Lycorian was quick to draw three balls of flame before hurling them at Hel, however the whip in her left hand became a swirling shield that defended her from his attack.

"By now you should have realized that that attack has no effect on me, little mouse." grinned Hel, then noting that Lycorian had drawn something different before a short bow appeared in his hands, along with a quiver with 30 arrows on his back "Really now? Bow and arrows?"

Without responding to her words, Lycorian fired the first arrow which was promptly blocked by Hel, before starting to run around her, firing five more arrows but all were blocked by the woman's blood shield, but she was then forced to redirect her attention to the other side to block some throwing knives thrown by Arseille, who took others from a sling recovered from a dead mage.

"Not going to use your magic, little mouse?" asked Hel with the grin still on her face. Since she had recently been 'summoned', she had not had the opportunity to see Arseille's magic and therefore had imagined that the young blonde did not possess a magic suitable for combat, hence the reason she was recovering makeshift weapons from the corpses around there.

"I'm still here!" shouted Lycorian before shooting another arrow. Hel huffed before blocking that arrow with her shield as well, but then noticed that the boy was grinning, as if he had already won.

'What are you thinking, little mouse...? Your magic can't hurt me and the other one is too far away...' she then quickly looked up in time to see a bomb falling in front of her, just before exploding in a dense smoke screen. Coughing from the explosion, Hel looked around but could not see anything 'He can also draw explosives? Why hasn't he done it before? To catch me off guard...?'

"Coff! Coff! What the hell is this smoke!?"

"Gah! I can't see anything!"

"Stop screaming, you morons! We need to get out of here!"

Listening to the voices of her allies behind her, Hel sensed that the smokescreen had to be larger than expected, however if she could not see her opponents, the same was true for them, however the arrow that grazed her face, opening a the cut on her right cheek, immediately changed her mind.

'I need to move! They know where I was when the bomb went off.'

She began to move through the smoke with the shield of blood still in her left hand, occasionally hearing voices on her right. So Death's Head Caucus' remaining wizards were in the direction of the blonde girl, which means she would have to pass by them before she got to Hel, thus allowing the woman to focus on Lycorian.

'And judging by these footsteps...!' she quickly looked at her left and saw Lycorian leap out of the wall of smoke with his pen already intent on preparing something in his notebook 'Too close for attacking him, but once his attack is repelled with my shield, I will shower him with my blood!'

"Draw Confetti!"

Hel blinked at him "...eh?"

Confusion and surprise altered on her face as a shower of colored confetti exploded from Lycorian's notebook, so much so that she didn't even use the shield to 'protect herself'. But her face became a mask of shock and pain as a blade pierced her lower abdomen and, looking behind her, she saw Arseille with a small grin on her lips.

"What...? How can you-!?"

"Don't tell me you're surprised...by any chance you were hoping your allies would stop me?" asked Arseille shocking the woman since the young girl was not using her own voice, instead she was speaking in the voice of one of the men Hel had heard a while ago in the smoke.

"There was no one but me, myself and yours truly." added Arseille changing again her voice.

"You little-!" quickly moving her left arm after dissolving the shield, she managed to scratch Arseille on the cheek with her fingernails, knocking her back, before pulling the dagger out of her flesh. However, after a few moments she immediately felt a wave of nausea pervade her body "This feeling...poison? I'm sorry but that won't work with me!"

Bringing her right hand to the wound, she let out more blood than expected along with the poison until it was completely removed and then, noticing that Arseille was still on the ground, she turned to Lycorian to kill him using his ally's dagger. Strangely though, the boy hadn't stayed close to Hel to try to hit and kill her, but had jumped back with both hands to his ears.

"What is he-?" with her eyes widening in shock, Hel quickly looked back at Arseille only to see the blonde staring right back to her, ready to exhale "You-!"

"Banshee's Shriek!"

Just as before, a very violent acoustic shock-wave swept away everything around Arseille, opening cracks in the ground, destroying the remaining furniture and causing an untold number of injuries to Hel who screamed in pain before her head literally exploded due to the attack, spraying blood all around, including on Arseille.

"Damn it, this is one of my favorite dresses." growled Arseille while getting on her feet. Shaking her head, she rubbed her throat with one hand as she retrieved her weapon with the other, only to notice Lycorian a few feet away from her, miraculously unharmed even though the way he looked at her was decidedly odd.

"What are you looking at?"

"Eh?!" he said while moving a hand to his ear.

Arseille raised an eyebrow "Ah...you were far enough away not to take physical damage, but not far enough away to keep me from deafening you."

"What!?"

Sighing, the young girl waved one hand "It's nothing..."

"WHAT!?"

"I SAID IT'S NOTHING!"

"WHAT!?"

She couldn't help but rub her temples.

Her father had prepared her for a lot of things but not for idiots like that.

---

Sparks and flames sprang from the collision between Lorenzo's katana and a dark metal shaft evoked by Rollost, before the two leapt backwards. The fight had been going on for several minutes and in all that time Rollost had still not managed to hurt his opponent, and it was making him more and more nervous.

'He's just a brat! How is it possible that I haven't defeated him yet!?' raising his right hand, he slammed it on the floor creating a red magic circle "Demon Lances!"

Dozens of spears engulfed in flames sprouted from the ground but Lorenzo avoided them all, destroying the closest ones with his katana before zeroing in on his target and attempting a lunge, only that Rollost avoided it and then summoned a wall of flames. Creating a large sphere of scarlet flame in his left hand, he then hurled it at Lorenzo, but the wizard of Shadow Soul cut it in half with his katana.

'This is getting me nowhere.' thought Lorenzo, as his eyes changed, resulting in a black spiral pattern with red glow all around "Fear Eyes."

Looking straight into Rollost's eyes, Lorenzo was able in an instant to see all his fears including his biggest and deepest, and strangely he was not surprised to see that Rollost's greatest fear was Reveeina herself, still remembering how she had looked the day she killed their guild master as well as several guildmates. However, his second biggest fear was their previous guild master.

"That will do." said Lorenzo with his returning to normal before changing color from storm blue to blood red "Fear Make Reality."

Under Rollost's shocked gaze, a thick red aura detached from Lorenzo before taking on a humanoid shape and as the seconds passed more and more details were formed, so as to create an elderly man with long gray hair, black eyes and a slender physique wrapped in a black kimono. The man remained silent at Lorenzo's side, glaring at the enemy guild master as he retreated in terror.

"Well I'll be...old man Kyoro! It's been a long time!" exclaimed Reveeina with a grin, not at all disturbed when the man did not answer her. She then looked at her former guildmate "So you were afraid of the master! Ah! I always knew you were afraid of people stronger than you!"

"M-Master Kyoro, you-!"

"Silence! You are a disgrace!" shouted the old man before jumping at him "You are unworthy of being a member of my guild!"

"B-But master...! Reveeina betrayed you! She betrayed the guild!" replied Rollost while avoiding the fists of his former guild master, whose hands where covered in iron scales "I'm not the unworthy one!"

"Silence! You shall die for you insolence!"

Rollost just had time to avoid another punch that had to turn and block Lorenzo's katana, looking at the wizard of Shadow Soul with pure hatred "What have you done!?"

"I just used my magic to the fullest." replied Lorenzo before kicking him in the chest, sending Rollost against Kyoro who then punched him in the face before starting to rage on him with heavier and heavier punches.

"Disgrace! You are an absolute disgrace in my eyes!"

"M-Master I...I..." Rollost right eye suddenly was consumed by flames, causing a violent explosion that send Lorenzo flying against the wall. Spitting out some saliva mixed with blood, Lorenzo immediately got up and saw the left half of a large fiery skeleton towering over Rollost, while on the other side of the room stood Kyoro with his right arm destroyed.

"I'M NoT a DiSgRaCe!" howled Rollost with his head being slowly consumed by his own flames "I'm ThE mAsTeR nOw! HELL GUARDIAN!"

With an inhuman roar, the skeleton lunged forward and grabbed Kyoro with its only hand before crushing him, causing the old man to explode in a cloud of red magical particles.

'I guess the Kyoro in Rollost's fears was actually weaker than him. I never know what to expect from the fears I evoke.' thought Lorenzo before jumping away to avoid the giant skeleton's hand. He tried to it the bones but his katana couldn't cut them and so he was forced back against a wall.

"YoU! I wIlL kIlL yOu!" screamed Rollost and only in that moment Lorenzo realized that, as the body of Rollost was consumed by its flames, the more the giant skeleton was created.

'That monster is already strong with only one arm. I need to finish this now!' with his left fist wrapped in a red aura he struck himself in the face, surprising Rollost, before grabbing his weapon with both hands, and then Lorenzo bent his knees slightly "Fear Adrenaline!"

In a blur, he was gone.

Rollost could barely follow his movements, now much faster and more precise than before, using his guardian to try to hit him but Lorenzo jumped on a wall then on the ceiling and when the skeleton tried to grab him, Lorenzo did a somersault in mid-air and then landed on its wrist before running up its arm, arriving then at the height of the neck where he decapitated the huge construct of flames with a powerful two-handed slash.

"ImPoSsIbLe!"

Jumping off the skeleton as it crumbled, Lorenzo prepared a slash from above but Rollost raised his shaft holding it horizontally with both hands. He could still win! Lorenzo would have been unbalanced by the backlash and then he would have been an easy victim of Rollost's flames!

Unfortunately for the guild master, his plan was shattered when Lorenzo's blade passed through his weapon without even damaging it and then plunged into his skull down to his groin.

As the skeleton dissolved into burning ash, Rollost stood motionless for a few seconds before falling to the ground screaming like a madman, bringing both hands to his face "NO NO NO! I cAn'T dIe LiKe ThIs! S-StOp ThE bLoOd!"

Anyone who had been present to observe the scene would have wondered what blood Rollost was talking about since there was no wound on him caused by Lorenzo's katana, but the two wizards of Shadow Soul knew very well about the effects of his spell and the fact that it could pass through its targets without causing physical damage, while giving the illusion that the damage suffered was extensive as well as painful. Taking a deep breath, Lorenzo then used his katana in the traditional manner and pierced Rollost in the knees and shoulders, thus blocking the use of his limbs before dissolving his sword.

Brother...

Lorenzo stiffened and his gaze moved to the floor, where waiting for him he found a boy very similar to him except for the darker eyes and a slight smile on his face while his body was missing from the chest down as if it had been cut by a large blade.

I'm sorry, little brother...

"Alain..." a hand went to rest on his shoulder. Turning quickly, he saw Reveeina's reassuring smile, and when he looked at the floor again, there was no one there.

"That was a good fight, Lorenzo." said Reveeina before unleashing a pulse of dark magic to cancel her cage and the effect of Lorenzo's magic on Rollost body. The guild master screamed for a few more seconds before looking around in confusion "Looks like it's Lorenzo's win, old friend. You know what that means."

"N-No! You can't! Don't kill me! Please!"

Reveeina shook her head before grabbing him by the collar of his tunic and dragging him out of the office, with Lorenzo right behind them. After a few minutes, they arrived in the main hall where she raised him in the air to allow him to observe the view and what he saw left him terrified. All his wizards were dead. Everyone, no one excluded. The Cerberus team, which was on par with the Trinity Raven team, had also been defeated and the bodies of the three wizards were clearly visible to him.

"Good job guys!" said Reveeina with a smile "Mission complete!"

While Lycorian, Aki and Arseille nodded, satisfied with the outcome of the mission, Bonnie and Abilene continued to sleep on the huge pillow, too tired to join them. Lorenzo then went to sit on one of the few wooden benches that remained intact and let himself go to a deep sigh, starting to feel the fatigue from his fight with Rollost.

Putting the aforementioned guild master to his knees, Reveeina slowly raised her right hand "Farewell, old friend." before piercing his skull from above with just a finger, killing him instantly. After a few seconds, she pulled her finger from his head and with one quick movement, all the blood vanished from her hand.

"As I said, mission accomplished! Now we can go home!" Reveeina said before grabbing Rollost's corpse by the ankle and dragging him to the guild exit.

"Um...mistress?" she looked at Lycorian as he gestured toward the dead body "Are you really going to take a body away like that?"

The guild master of Shadow Soul looked at him with confused eyes "Of course I am! Shirros will love this gift! Now, let's move out!" and without waiting for an answer, she walked away.

"Just roll with the punches..." said Lorenzo catching their attention as he followed the mistress "It will make it easier for you to stay in the guild."

Aki, Lycorian and Arseille exchanged a long glance before shrugging and following their mistress, along with Abilene, Bonnie and her ever-present pillow.

They had accomplished their first real mission for the guild and Reveeina was satisfied.

It was a good day.

---

[Magnolia/ 15th October X784]

"It's the festival! Aye!"

"I'm gonna eat delicious food until I'm full!"

"Until I'm full!"

"He doesn't look good. Is he alright?"

"Let him be."

The group of Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Juvia and Happy were strolling the streets of Magnolia watching the festivities all around. Since they had returned from Akane Beach, things had improved especially when Erza had returned safe and sound to them. Despite the thousand questions they had asked her, she had not been able to answer all of them, including the one concerning Jellal's fate.

After a few days they had simply decided to move on with their lives, even though Natsu was still annoyed by the notion that he hadn't been able to fight Erza's kidnappers.

"By the way Lucy, didn't you say you were going to enter a contest?"

Lucy looked at Natsu for several seconds before running away "Miss Fairy Tail is going to start! My rent!"

"Juvia won't lose to Lucy..." hissed the water mage before following the blonde, with the other two right behind her.

However, if they had been paying particular attention to their surroundings they would have noticed a trio of people sitting at a nearby bar intent on observing them.

"I have to say this festival is really fun! The food is great!"

[ Very good sweets. ]

"You two, focus. We are in Fairy Tail's turf right now." growled Asher while glaring at his teammates. He hated crowded places and a festival was in the top three of the most crowded places. The fact that Poppea and Kazumi were spending their time having fun didn't make his mood any better.

"You should try to relax, Asher. We can't do anything until reinforcements arrive." said Poppea with the calm smile on her face as always "We also can't leave until we confirm Laxus's plans."

[ Very good sweets. Try them! ]

"I hate sweets."

"We'll find you something seafood later." giggled Poppea before looking behind him "Oh, here they are!"

As Poppea and Kazumi waved to the new arrivals, Asher turned to see who had come and nearly choked on his own saliva 'What the hell was the mistress thinking to send them!?'

"Yo!"

"Any apple pie here?"

"Where is the fun? I'm here for a good fight, not for a festival."

Asteria, Naco and Siegmund sat at the same table as the other wizards and Poppea was more than happy to give him a quick report "Apparently, with a few exceptions, all the Fairy Tail wizards are in town and the Miss Fairy Tail contest will start shortly, however I have not been able to find Laxus due to one of his bodyguards, who can also see me while using my magic."

"Why are you here?" asked Asher looking at Asteria and Naco "Haven't you recently returned from that mission at sea?"

"Yes, but we have yet to close the whole Phantom Lord fiasco and it happens that Juvia Lockser and Gajeel Redfox are currently Fairy Tail wizards!" explained Naco with a grin.

Asteria nodded as well "So if you see them, leave them to us!"

Siegmund was silent for a few seconds before turning his gaze in the direction of Fairy Tail's main building "Why don't we go to Fairy Tail? Looking at some pretty girls might be a good way to pass the time."

The others looked at him curiously before Naco asked "Is there another reason you want to go in that direction?"

"Intuition. I have the impression that something will happen during that contest."

The S-class mage stood up showing a feral grin.

"And then the real festival will begin!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

---

Hello everyone! Here we are with a new chapter of Shadow Soul! I hope you liked it and I'm very sorry for the delay but between work and video games (Totalwar Warhammer 3 and Elden Ring!) I had very little time to write!

As said I hope you enjoyed this and before leaving I just want to write down a few things!

I will most likely not cover 100% of Fairy Tail movies, so the Carbuncle guild will be used for secondary purposes (in this case, a link to Reina's past)!

I also just wanted to warn you of a detail that may bother some readers, and which I only became aware of while writing this chapter. In order to be as faithful to Fairy Tail's canon as possible, I am re-reading the manga as I write this story and, at this point, I noticed that the Harvest Festival takes place on October 15th in the manga, but that would indicate two months away from when this story is set. Since I had not taken into account the off-screen time-skips (stupid mistake, I realize) I have changed all the dates currently published in the chapters of this story. From now on I'll keep certain things in mind.

Some of you may be wondering why I'm messing around with something like dates, and the answer is that I'm pretty fussy about certain things!

Again sorry for the inconvenience!

With that said, I'll wait for your reviews!

Until next time!