Chapter 49

Your Words

Willy's eyes slowly began to open as he began to regain consciousness. He slowly sat up, groaning a little from the pain while Gray and the others watched him.

"Hey, look! He's waking up!" said Lucy. "And he looks back to normal."

"Willy! Can you hear me?" asked Gray as he helped him to his feet. "You're gonna be OK. Just hang in there."

"That's good," said Jura. "I may have had some pressing concerns, but it seems that the worst is over."

Then he heard Natsu who was still lying on the ground a few feet away, causing him along with everyone else to look at him. He face was still pale as he tried his best not to puke.

"Nope... it's not..." he groaned. "Please, you guys... you gotta... stop this thing..."

"Oh, Natsu, you poor guy!" said a concerned Wendy. "Have you been poisoned too?"

Gray and Lucy could only shake their heads wryly.

"And what's your problem tomcat?" asked Carla who looked more annoyed than concerned at Happy's condition. "Don't tell me that you're too weak to stand."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Happy weakly.

"Goodness gracious, you're pathetic," Carla sighed.

Then suddenly, Willy leaped up into the air and landed just in front Gray and the others surprising them.

"Willy! What are you doing?" demanded Gray. "Why are-"

Then Gray's eyes widened. When Willy looked back towards them, everyone else could see that his eyes were still glowing an eerie green color.

"Look at his eyes..." murmured Wendy. "They look so creepy."

"They're still glowing green," said Lucy. "That must mean..."

"It's as I feared," said Jura grimly. "I'm afraid that the boy is still under the spell."

"I thought you said that he was free from the spell!" Carla spoke angrily at Gray.

"He should have been!" Gray said. "We gave it everything when we fought him!"

"Never mind that now!" said Jura. "We must be on guard!"

Willy carefully looked around at every person that was in the area before him, including Brain. He cloaked his hands with oil-covered water. Everyone braced themselves for another battle, but instead of attacking, Willy raised his hands and slammed them to the ground, making a geyser of water gushed out of the ground in front of him. When the water dispersed, Gray and the others then saw that Willy had disappeared.

"He's gone!" murmured Wendy.

"Damn it! Willy! Come back!" yelled Gray.

He was just about to run off to who knows where to find Willy, but Jura stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.

"Hold on Sir Gray. We can't worry about him right now," he said. "We must head to the top of the royal center to stop Nirvana."

"You're kidding me, right?! There's no way I can do that!" snapped Gray. "I finally get to see Willy after six years, and you expect me to forget about him?!"

"He's not saying that Gray," said Lucy gently. "He's saying that we should focus on taking down Nirvana first before we do anything else. I know you wanna help Willy, but right now have a mission to do. We'll find Willy once Nirvana's shut down, OK?"

Gray looked at Lucy and then towards the ground scowling in frustration. Then he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Alright then," he said. "Let's go."

Meanwhile, Richard and Midnight's fight was just about over as Midnight fell to the ground, battered and bruised.

"No... this can't be..." he grunted. "Me...? Defeated...? I thought... there was no way that you could beat me."

"He who possesses the stronger ideologies will always triumph," said Richard. "So says the Wizard Saint Jura. Oh yeah!"

"No... I can't lose..." said Midnight as he struggled to his feet. "I refuse to... if I do... Father will think of me as unworthy... and he'll abandon me... I will not lose here!"

He managed to get to his feet, and in a brilliant flash of light, he disappeared. Richard then closed his eyes, pointing them with his index and middle fingers with one hand and then snapped them open, making them glow in an amber color. From his point of view, everything around seemed to be like a thermal camera.

"Fleeing is futile! Oh yeah!" he said as he looked all around him from building to building. "Walls mean nothing to my Heaven's Gaze! It sees through all in its path!" Then he sensed Midnight was and then turned around raising his hand. "LIQUID GROUND!"

Sure enough, Midnight reappeared right behind Richard just as the ground liquefied threatening to swallow him up. He immediately teleported again, dashing around from place to place, hoping to throw Richard off of his trail. Eventually, Midnight made it to a staircase just behind some buildings. He struggled up the stairs, barely being able to stand.

"Damn it... all... Hoteye's stronger than I thought," he said to himself. "But... I have to prove... that I'm worthy to my father. If I don't... he'll cast me out... and he'll abandon me..."

Then before Midnight had a chance to react, the ground below him erupted in an explosion of mud and rock like a geyser sending him high into the air. Midnight screamed with agony as he was blasted falling to the ground in front of Richard in a heap, making a small crater.

"I'm afraid that the die has already been cast! Oh yeah!" said Richard. "As have the scattered petals of the Oración Seis, into the wind!"

It seemed that Richard was finally victorious having to have successfully defeated Midnight, but he couldn't have been more wrong. Midnight slowly arose, getting back to his feet.

"While I sleep... I have many dreams," he said as he looked at Richard. "And I know you have dreams too...and nightmares as well... at the stroke of midnight."

Then Richard felt an unknown attack rock throughout his body, making him scream in agony and causing him to stagger. He then happened to catch a glimpse at Midnight and was shocked to see that he now had no wounds what-so-ever. Not even a single scratch remained on his skin.

"Impossible! All of his wounds have disappeared!" he thought. "But how?!"

Midnight smiled evilly. "I'm sorry to say this, Hoteye, but your magic attacks won't affect me," he said. "Father may have been a skilled wizard, but my power far exceeds his. I'm the ultimate wizard. The strongest of the Oración Seis."

Richard was once again hit again by another invisible attack courtesy of Midnight making him let out another agonizing scream. This time he couldn't take it as he fell to his knees and then to the ground face first. As Richard began to slip away from conscious, he remembered back to when he was just a child, living happily with someone he longed to see for a very long time.

"My dear brother..." he thought. "My prayer... was to see your face... just one more time..."

He then blacked out, falling unconscious. Midnight stood above Richard's body, looking satisfied that he had dealt with the traitor that plagued his ranks. He then turned his heel and then walked away back on the hunt for the light guild wizards.

"Those fools thought that they could stop Nirvana just by defeating Brain?" he smirked evilly to himself. "What nonsense. As long as I'm still standing, Nirvana will never stop."

Brain was now all alone as he lied on the ground. He was battered and bruised, but he was conscious and far from out. As he lied there, he felt another twinge of pain, and he knew what it was. Sure enough, another black line disappeared from his cheek, leaving only one left.

"And so the fifth prayer and vanished and fallen," he said to himself. "Hear me, Midnight... you absolutely must not fall... That... is my prayer... And... to make sure that you stay alive..." He put two fingers to his head and then used telepathy magic to contact a certain someone who also still served him. "Shark. Shark, can you hear me?"

There was a pause of silence; then Brain heard his puppet's voice.

"Yes, I hear you, Master," he said.

"Good. It's a relief to know that you're still there," said Brain. "Can you still fight?"

"I've sustained some damage," Shark spoke. "But I'm awaiting your orders, Master."

"Good. Then Listen closely. You must go to Midnight," continued Brain. "He is the only prayer that remains now. Make sure that you protect him with your life and follow his every order. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master," said Shark. "Your wish is my command."

Brain then cut off his communication with Shark and then began concocting a plan to get back at the people who defeated him.

"You may have bested me," he said to himself. "But you fools will soon learn that your victory will come at a high price!"

Gray and others soon made it to the royal throne at the center of the city hoping to stop Nirvana. However, when they got there, they found that the top of the tower was empty. There was nothing to be seen anywhere. Not only that, but Nirvana was still moving.

"Man! What the heck is this?!" grumbled Gray. "There's nothing here! You would think that there would be some control panel up here."

"No joke, right?" said Lucy. "How are we supposed to stop this thing if there's nothing here to make it stop?"

"I don't know," said Gray. "Damn it this sucks! I thought for sure that once Brain was beaten, this lousy piece of junk would stop and Willy would be back to normal!"

"I thought so too, but we were naive," sighed Lucy. "And not only that, but Brain's out cold, so we can't even ask him anything about it."

Then a sickly groan interrupted their thoughts. Natsu was still feeling motion sick as Wendy, and Happy looked on worriedly. Wendy had just healed Happy from the poison and had now got around to Natsu. She could see how sick Natsu still was and felt worried.

"I don't think my stomach wants to be in me anymore..." Natsu squeaked. "I still don't feel so good..."

"What's the matter with him?" she asked. "I cast a spell on him to counteract the venom, but he's still sick."

"Don't worry Wendy," said Happy. "Natsu and vehicles just don't mix."

"That is just pathetic!" said Carla flatly.

"So he has motion sickness? In that case, I think I know just the thing to help," said Wendy. "I'll cast a spell to restore his sense of balance."

Her hands began to glow in a bright green color, and she placed them on the sides of Natsu's face.

"TROIA."

The green light from her hands then washed over Natsu's face eventually disappearing. Then Natsu sprang up in the air letting out a whoop of joy.

"Alright! I'm back!" he crowed now feeling his old self again hopping around like a child. "I feel a million times better! Thanks a bunch, Wendy! You gotta teach me that spell sometime! I don't feel like I'm riding on anything now!"

Wendy smiled shyly. "I'm glad that it worked, but it's Sky Magic. I'm afraid that you can't use it."

Natsu wasn't paying attention. He was so excited about not feeling sick anymore, that he immediately went up to Lucy. "Hey, Lucy! Summon one of your train or boat spirits for me!"

"First of all, I don't have any of those!" Lucy snapped angrily. "Secondly buddy, this isn't the time to be playing around! In case you haven't noticed, we're in deep trouble, so get a grip, would you?!"

"That may be so, but we have no idea how to stop this thing," said Gray. "There isn't exactly anything up here that can help us do that."

"I know. I still don't get it though," said Lucy. "I thought that this was where Hotey- I mean Richard said Brain was controlling it. You think that he lied to us?"

"He couldn't have been," said Jura. "I believe him to be a man of his word."

"I think that there might be a more important question that we should be asking right now," said Carla thoughtfully. "Or to put it in another way, a different way the question should be asked."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Natsu.

"Just take a look around and what's happened," said Carla. "Here we are at the Royal Throne empty with no control panel and even Brain the one who we assumed was piloting it has been defeated as well. The question that we should be asking ourselves is, 'Why is it still functioning the same as before?' "

"Hold on a second. You don't think that Brain put this thing on some kind of auto-pilot?!" Gray exclaimed realizing. "Then if that's the case, then this thing could be set to fire too!"

Wendy was now trembling with horror and grief as she clasped her hands over her mouth, beginning to cry. Nirvana was on a crash course heading towards hers and Carla's guild, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Our poor guild's in trouble," she sobbed.

"Don't worry. We'll find a way to save your guild," said Natsu, filled determination as he stared into the distance. "I won't let this thing hurt your friends. I owe it to you after all. I promise I will stop it."

"Don't forget about Willy," said Gray. "We're gonna save him too."

Wendy looked back at Natsu and Gray with tear-filled eyes, but she felt amazed and reassured by their words.

"But what are we gonna do?" asked Happy worriedly. "There isn't a pilot seat or a control panel to stop this thing."

"That's easy," said Natsu. "We'll just destroy it."

"Seriously? It all comes down to that?" asked Lucy flatly. "Leave it to us to demolish a city, right?"

"I hate to sound pessimistic, but that's a pretty tall order," said Gray. "I mean, even if we wanted to, how are we supposed to destroy a city this big?"

"Before that, we should see if Brain knows anything about stopping Nirvana," said Jura. "It seems to be our quickest option."

"I doubt that brute would share that kind of information with us," said Carla.

Wendy thought hard, trying to come up with an idea. Then she remembered someone who could help them.

"If he won't tell us anything," she thought. "Maybe Jellal would know."

Then she remembered Natsu's reaction when he saw Jellal making her gasp with worry causing everyone to look at her.

"Is everything OK, Wendy?" asked Lucy.

"Did you think of something that'll help us?" asked Gray.

"Well, I'm not quite sure, but I think I might have an idea," said Wendy trying to sound uncertain. "It may be the only one option that we have, so I'll try my best to find it."

She then ran towards the staircase that led down the stairs to the bottom of the tower.

"Wendy! Where are you going, child?! Carla asked she followed close behind in pursuit.

"Hey! Wait a minute...!" called Gray wanting to know as well, but it was no use. Wendy and Carla had already disappeared into the staircase, leaving him along with the other allies feeling confused with her.

"I wonder what's gotten into her?" wondered Lucy. "She sure sounded determined."

"Agreed," nodded Jura in agreement.

Then suddenly, a voice was heard in their minds via telepathy. "My friends, can you hear me? It is I, the wizard known as Hoteye."

"Does anyone else hear that too, or am I going crazy?" asked Lucy.

"I heard it too," said Natsu. "But who is this guy?"

"He's using mass telepathy to communicate," said Jura. "Sir Richard! Did you defeat Midnight?"

"I'm afraid not. I tried my best, but in the end, my magic wasn't strong enough to defeat him," said Hoteye. "However, you need not concern yourselves with my rescue. You all must focus on working together and defeating Midnight for good. If you succeed in defeating him, Nirvana's supply of magic power will be rendered dry, and the city itself will come to a stop."

"So we can stop Nirvana without destroying the thing just like that, huh?" said Gray thoughtfully. "It must run on some kind of body link magic." Then he suddenly remembered. "Hey! Hoteye or whatever you're called! There's something else we need to know! What about Willy? You know, the guy who Brain was calling Shark?"

"Oh, yes! That boy," said Richard. "He was placed under a powerful spell by Brain six years ago even before the Oración Seis was formed. Brain placed that evil curse on him so that he would obey his every command or request. However, there is a way to save your friend, and that way is the same as stopping Nirvana."

"Are you meaning to say that we have to beat that Midnight guy?" asked Lucy.

"Correct," said Richard. "Brain made it so that in order to break the spell on your friend, it would be by defeating every member of the Oración Seis. Midnight should be directly below you just outside of the Royal Throne," continued Richard. "However, his power is not to be underestimated, so please proceed with caution, my friends."

"Wait... directly below us?!" squeaked Lucy. "Seriously?!"

"All right! This mess just got a whole lot easier!" said Gray. "We get to kill two birds with one stone!"

"Alright!" smirked Natsu. "We also get to fight someone tough! You better watch out sleepy-head cause we're coming for you!"

"Natsu, need I remind you that our goal is to stop Nirvana and save this Willy guy?" said Happy. "Besides, you could come up with a better name than that."

"Only one of the six prayers remains on the battlefield now," continued Richard. "You have every ounce of my trust and faith in you, my friends! Defeat Midnight, stop Nirvana once and for all, and save that poor boy from his cruel fate! Oh yeah! I wish you the best of luck, my faithful comrades."

Then Richard let out a painful grunt as if he was in pain before the mass telepathy connection was lost.

"Sir Richard! Are you there?! Please respond!" said Jura with worry, but no one replied.

"Don't worry Jura," said Gray. "That guy just gave us a mission to do, and you better believe we're going to do it!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Lucy brimming with hope. "Let's go!"

"Yeah! I'm all fired up now!" said Natsu as he and the others headed right down the stairs towards the bottom of the Royal Throne. Soon they reached the bottom of the stairs where the two double doors were leading outside.

"There! That Midnight guy should just be through those doors!" said Gray.

"Then let's do it!" said Natsu. He jumped straight at them and then gave them two kicks trying to get them open. However, they wouldn't open. He grabbed the handles and managed to get the door open. "Alright, you napping freak!" he growled. "Time for you to take a long dirt nap!"

Then a bright light began shining through the doors giving everyone a sense of dread.

"Everybody, get down!" yelled Jura as he along with Team Natsu enveloped with by the light.

Erza and Jellal were still wandering around the city trying to find any signs of life. Then suddenly, an explosion was heard in the distance dozens of feet away from them. It was so powerful, that they could feel them from where they were standing.

"What was that explosion?!" exclaimed Erza.

"I don't know," said Jellal. "But it sounded like it came from the Royal Throne."

"Father can be so selfish sometimes," said a voice coming from behind them. "He took a big bite out of all my fun and now he's left me with these measly scraps."

Erza and Jellal turned around and saw the person who was walking towards them like a lion stalking his prey. Midnight.

"Oh well. Since you two are the last of my prey," continued Midnight. "Try to at least make this entertaining for me."

Erza scowled at this new foe and prepared to take action, but then Jellal barred her way.

"Stand back Erza," he said. "He's mine."

"Jellal, you can't," said Erza in a hushed whisper.

Jellal didn't listen. He immediately went on the attack unleashing a spell that was a blast of golden light. However, just as the explosion was about to hit Midnight, it veered out of the way blasting the ground behind him instead.

"How could I have missed him at such close range?!" he exclaimed, feeling stunned.

Then he felt a sting of pain on his chest, making him stumble, but he stood his ground and took a few steps toward Midnight not backing down.

"Stop this, Jellal!" said Erza. "You're in no condition to fight him! Let me-"

But Jellal interrupted her with a raise of his hand still insistent of keeping her out of it. Midnight looked at Jellal with a bored but amused expression on his face.

"Well? I'm waiting," he said.

Then after his magic seal appeared, Jellal then unleashed multiple blasts of golden light at Midnight hoping to hit him for sure and quickly. The attack this time seemed to have struck him, causing a cloud of dust due to the explosion. Then due to Jellal's weakened state, he couldn't help but once again feel pain shoot through his chest causing him to stumble much to the worry of Erza once again, but he managed to remain standing.

To make things even worse, Jellal then saw that his attack didn't do anything at all, for when the dust cleared, Midnight was still standing completely unharmed. Not even a single scratch was on him. Midnight then went on the attack. With a wave of his hand, Jellal was sent flying into the air enveloped by a strange spiral of red waves of his magic power. Erza could only watch with a stunned and horrified expression on her face as Jellal fell hard to the ground just behind Midnight.

"This is boring," sighed Midnight giving Jellal a sideways glance. "This is the fearsome Jellal that I've heard so much about? More like a waste of time. What, did you not forget not only your memories but how to use magic too? Talk about pathetic."

Erza could only stare at Jellal lying on the ground still feeling horrified, but now feeling more confused.

"How could Jellal be so easily defeated?" she thought. "Memory loss or not, he shouldn't have gone down so easily. He must have used more magic energy than he expected when he placed that self-destruction magic circle on himself."

Midnight then turned his attention towards Erza and started to make his way towards her, but then he heard Jellal grunt as he tried to get back on his feet causing him to stop and look back at him.

"Oh? You're still alive, are you?" he asked with an evil grin. "I'll give you this much; you've got determination. It's actually quite a surprise because now... I'm curious to see how much pain you can endure."

At that moment, Erza immediately sprang towards Midnight summoning a sword in her hand. With a mighty yell, she swung her sword with all of her strength hoping chop off Midnight's head, but to her surprise just like with Jellal's attacks, his attack somehow curved around him missing him entirely.

"Time for the main course already? Very well then," said Midnight with interest. "If Erza Scarlet's that eager to have her turn, then who am I to keep her waiting?"

Erza immediately back-pedaled a few steps. "My sword curved around him?! How did he do that?!"

"Erza! You have to get away from him!" yelled Jellal. "He's dangerous!"

But Erza didn't listen and attacked again. With a bright flash from her magic seal, she summoned another sword and struck Midnight again, but once again, the attack curved around Midnight rendering it ineffective. Midnight then retaliated using his strange waves of magic power to force Erza back. Just then, something weird began to happen to Erza's armor. It twisted and bent wrapping around her chest and neck and binding her arms.

"What is this?!" cried Erza as the metal tightened beginning to strangle her.

"Let Erza go!" yelled Jellal.

But Midnight ignored Jellal as the metal around Erza tighter and tighter. Then utilizing her magic and using her strength, Erza broke free from metal binding her surprising Midnight. She then re-quipped to her Heaven's Wheel Armor.

"Now I get it," she said. "You use Reflector Magic."

"Very good Erza," said Midnight. "My Reflector Magic can bend and warp anything. It doesn't matter what kind of attack you throw at me; I'll just twist and manipulate it to my will. It can also not only reflect spells as a good defense, but it also allows me to dominate my opponent. Even light itself bends to my will."

"Every opponent has their flaws, you're no different!" said a not intimidated Erza. "I will be your end!"

She readied her swords and then came straight at Midnight once again.

"That's it- rush towards your doom," said Midnight now having a look of pure insanely evil on his face. "I can't wait to see your face as I twist your body apart!"

Then suddenly someone dropped down from the sky and landed right in between them slamming their fist from the ground, causing a geyser of water erupted in between of them making Erza step back.

"What is this?!" she exclaimed. "A geyser?!"

The geyser of water then dissipated, revealing the person who interfered. A certain young boy with tattered clothes, his body littered in cuts and scrapes, and he had a large bruise on his midsection. His eyes were glowing bright green as he walked up beside Midnight as he glared at the boy appearing to be annoyed.

"And what are you doing here, Shark?" he asked hotly. "How dare you interfere with my fight?"

"I'm sorry for intruding Midnight," said the boy. "But my master gave me strict orders to come to you right away. He told me that I am to obey and assist you in any way possible."

"How bothersome," grumbled Midnight. "Never imagined Father being the overprotective type."

Seeing that there was another member of the Oración Seis, Jellal was now more worried about Erza more than ever. He was just about to tell her to be careful, but then he saw the look on Erza's face. She had a look of utter shock and disbelief upon looking at the boy. She was even trembling slightly.

"Erza! What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, hoping to get her attention.

"No... it can't be..." she murmured her eyes about to tear up. "Willy... is that you? Y-you're... alive?"

Jellal was surprised to see Erza in such a state. He had never seen her so shocked like this. "Does she know this boy?" he thought. "He must be a close friend of hers or something."

"Willy! Is that you?! What are you doing here, and where have you been all these years?" demanded Erza.

Willy didn't reply. He only stared at Erza with a blank expression on his face.

"Answer me!" Erza tried again. "Why are you here?!"

"Ah. It would appear that you're acquainted with Father's bodyguard," said Midnight. "Or in this case, my bodyguard now. Sorry, but Shark's not the talking type of man. He's been that way for the past six years."

Erza then glared daggers right at Midnight. "Tell me. What did you and your monster of a guild do to him?!" she said coldly. "And what do you mean by the past six years?"

"You really want to know?" asked Midnight coolly. "If you're that curious to know about Shark here, then maybe you should try to force me to."

Erza now felt angrier, but she remembered to keep her composure and calmed herself down. "Very well then, I will," she said. "And for the record, his name is not Shark! It's Willy Falconer! Now, dance my swords!"

At her command, with a wave of her sword, and using her re-quipping magic, Erza unleashed a wave of many swords sending them flying at Midnight, but Midnight using his Reflector Magic stood there as the swords curved around him not even inflicting a scratch on him.

"I already told you," he said, smirking with confidence. "You could even have a thousand swords, but they still won't hit me."

"Midnight. Shall I assist you?" asked Willy.

"No. Stay right where you are Shark," replied Midnight. "Besides, she's my prey and mine alone."

Then Midnight reflected the swords right back at her and using the two swords in her hands, Erza blocked the flying blades one after another.

"I did tell you that I can reflect spells," said Midnight. "So how does it feel to fend off one of your own attacks?"

Soon enough, the attack stopped, and Erza had managed to deflect every last one of the swords that were reflected at her. However, that didn't stop Midnight from attacking her. With a wave of his hand, the armor once more began to bend and twist around Erza's upper body binding and tightening around her hard, making a scream of pain escape her lips.

"That's it... give me more!" said Midnight with a predatory grin licking his lips. "Soothe me with a lullaby of torment and agony! Nothing whets my appetite more than tortured screams!"

Erza glared defiantly at him and with one of her swords still in her hand, she threw it at him aiming right for his head. But Midnight seeing the sword coming, tilted his head to the side making the sword fly past him harmlessly piercing a stone behind him.

"Very impressive, but futile," said Midnight as he waved his hand in front of him with his index finger pointed. "SPIRAL PAIN!"

A large spiral of distorted air then whipped around Erza, causing her to scream in agony and pain causing damage to her. The spell even was able to shatter her Heaven's Wheel Armor. Jellal could only look on with horror as the air dispersed and Erza fell to the ground battered and bruised seeming to be defeated.

"No, Erza!" Jellal cried, seeing the fallen Titania. He then glared at Midnight as he managed to sit up on his knees. "Curse you, you bastard!"

"Finished already, Erza?" asked Midnight as he stood above her. "Come on now; you can't die on me just yet. I need you to play and entertain me, at least until we reach Cait Shelter."

"Cait Shelter? What are you talking about?" asked Jellal.

"It's our first target," answered Midnight.

"And why them in particular?" Jellal asked again.

"An excellent question," said Midnight looking back at Jellal. "Allow me to explain. Long ago, a peaceful tribe called the Nirvits created Nirvana with the hopes of stopping a cataclysmic war. However, the spell they created proved to be far more dangerous than the war they sought to stop. So, they sealed it away keeping watch over it for centuries hoping that it would never be used again. They were so afraid of it; they swore to keep watch over the site where it was buried. Their descendants have even taken up that task throughout the ages even making up a guild comprised of those descendants- Cait Shelter. Which stands to reason that they are the only people left that have the power to reseal Nirvana. Therefore, Cait Shelter has to be destroyed."

He then turned around facing Jellal looking elated with joy and slight insanity.

"I mean, come on. It'd be a terrible waste to let a power like that go to waste, don't you think?" Midnight continued. "We'll utilize that power to send the world screaming down that the path of sweet chaos by making an example out of Cait Shelter. Those Nirvits wanted to stay neutral? We'll make them fight each other using Nirvana! It'll turn all of their hearts the darkest black imaginable as they slaughter each other, forcing them into bloody war! Oh, what a lullaby it'll be!"

"You're despicable!" growled Jellal.

Midnight then looked at Jellal and then took a few steps towards him.

"Oh stop with the goody-goody act," he sneered as he looked at Jellal with a mocking and evil intent. "It makes you sound like a hypocrite. Besides, Shark's more like a tool rather than a monster. After all, that's how Father wanted him to be."

"What do you mean?" asked Jellal. "Isn't he on your side?"

"You could say that, but at the same time he isn't," said Midnight. "It was around six years ago before the Seis was formed. Father was searching for destructive spells for research when he came across a demon that was sealed away in a village. Thinking that it would be of use to him, he unsealed it hoping to use its powers, but in the end, he decided to let it run rampant.

The demon terrorized the village, and no one had a chance of stopping it until a young boy stepped in and fought the demon himself and somehow defeated it. However, the battle took its toll on the boy, and he became ill. Seeing the boy's power first hand and wanting the boy's power for his cause, Father then had one of his followers disguise himself as a doctor and arranged for the boy to be taken to him. Father then experimented him and placed a spell to be his mindless soldier, and now here he is standing before you now as a loyal member of the Oración Seis."

"You monster!" growled Jellal. "You kidnapped an innocent boy to make him your slave?! Just how heartless can you people be?!"

"Oh quit pretending to be good," scoffed Midnight. "After all, your heart's so black it puts mine to shame. In fact, you're practically the very embodiment of darkness."

Jellal's eyes widened at this. "That's a lie!" he snapped. "What do you know about me?!"

"Everything," smiled Midnight darkly now looking more evil than before. "You forced children into slave labor, murdered your dear friend Simon, and even tried to kill your beloved Erza on your quest for power. And do you have any idea how many people you've brought sorrow upon? They feared you, trembled at the mention of your name. An entire ocean of tears was shed because of the suffering you caused.

Jellal looked down at the ground, unable to respond to Midnight's words. Had he truly caused all of those terrible things? The thought alone made him feel guilty and ashamed. Then Midnight held out his hand at Jellal, causing him to look up at him.

"You should join us Jellal," he spoke, with an evil smile. "You inspire me so much. I think you're fit to be one of Oración Seis. It is your destiny."

Jellal looked at Midnight then at his hand, unsure how to respond. Then Erza began to get up on her feet having to have heard everything Midnight said, causing him and Midnight to look at her with surprise. Erza staggered still feeling pain from Midnight's sudden attack, but she managed to get on her feet. And in a bright flash of light, she re-quipped to one of her armors which comprised of a short purple tunic and revealing on the sides and chest held by a black obi with a red rope around it. She also had a long cloth covering the groin area, bandages covering her forearms and wrists, pink stockings going up to her thighs, and simple sandals. She also was wielding a pole with a blade on the end called a bisentō.

"Wow. I'm impressed that you're still able to stand," said Midnight.

Erza ignored Midnight and spoke to Jellal. "Don't you dare listen to him," she said. "I know that you have a light inside your heart Jellal, and it's shining brighter than ever before!"

Jellal stared at Erza, seeing this girl filled with courage, then he remembered back to when Erza was scolding him before.

We'll never give up and will keep hope alive in our hearts. That hope only will be enough to guide you.

That thought alone made Jellal smile. "Erza... your words alone are the light," he thought to himself. "A light that gives me courage."

"Well, what do you know Erza," said Midnight as he faced Erza. "The rumors about you were true after all." He then had that same look of predatory insanity in his eyes. "Destroying you will be a treat!"

"Are you sure that you don't need any assistance, Midnight?" asked Willy.

"No need Shark," said Midnight with an evil glint in his eye. "Stay out of this. She's all mine. I don't want your help, nor will I need it."

Erza twirled her blade and pointed it right at Midnight, not backing down.

"I swear upon this sacred blade I wield," she said. "I will end this chaos, the spell you placed over my friend, and most of all, your life!"

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Dragoman out!