Okay, chapter 8 of Devil Tail. Deliora knows of Sparda, Nero gained a new ability, or has access to an ability he would otherwise need to use Devil Trigger to access. I do plan on having Nero practice with the Summoned Swords, but he won't be able to do anything like Vergil. Not in the near future anyway.
Also, someone asked why no one questioned why Deliora said Sparda when he/she saw Nero and no one asked about it. Well, it's because they were still focusing on the whole situation of the moon temple and they assumed they completed the quest when they didn't and so kinda brushed over it. But I will have a moment where Gray asks about that.
Also, my writing is not the best, nor is my typing skills, so if you see the name Ben, it's because I am typing on my phone most of the time and B and N are right next to each other. Then autocorrect takes over and...look my point is: I'm not the best writer and I doubt I'll ever be. So if wanna point our spelling mistakes or inaccuracies that's fine.
Okay mini rant over, moving on.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. And it's probably for the best I don't.
Devil Tail
Chapter 8: Galuna Island Part 5
Galuna Island
"Isn't there something you're all forgetting about?" Erza demanded, "You came to this island to help the villagers; the request was for you to return them to their original forms. This quest still isn't finished."
"Red's right," agreed Nero as he folded his arms, "jobs not over, till it's over."
"But I don't understand." Lucy said, "The curse should've been lifted now that Deliora is dead."
"Wrong," Erza replied, "This curse you keep talking about never had anything to do with the demon. The villagers have been affected by the intense magical energy from the Moon Drip spell. In other words, Deliora's death isn't going to change their situation whatsoever."
"W-What? Oh no," Lucy's eyes had widened in realization as she placed a hand over her mouth in shock.
"Well, we better go and change them back." Natsu exclaimed happily.
"Aye sir!" Happy agreed as both exchanged high-fives.
"Yeah, but we don't know how," Gray said. Then, his face lit up as he got an idea. He turned to Lyon, who was leaning against a boulder behind him. He had taken off his body armor, leaving him in a blue jacket, black pants, and steel boots, "Lyon, do you know?"
"To be quite honest, I don't have a clue," Lyon answered impassively.
Natsu and Happy looked at him incredulously.
"You don't know?" asked Natsu.
"What?" Happy added in disbelief.
"Something's off here," Stated Nero as he cupped his chin with Devil Bringer, tapping a finger against it, "The villagers said that the curse started around the same time you and your posse came here."
"When we first arrived here three years ago," Lyon explained, "we were aware that there was a village somewhere on this island. But we had absolutely no reason to communicate with the villagers, so we left them alone. They never came to the temple to see what we were up to."
"In three years, you've never once met?" Erza said disbelievingly.
"I don't understand. The light from the Moon Drip is so bright you can see it practically from any point on the island. It's kinda weird they saw it every night and never went to investigate," Lucy noted, bringing up a valid point, if the trouble started, why didn't the villagers try to investigate it for themselves.
"If you ask me, there something here that doesn't smell right," interjected Nero, pacing slightly before turning to look at Lyon, "you, what do you know about the spell and it's affects on humans?"
"The spell didn't transform the villagers." Lyon continued, "The Moon Drip has no effect on the human body."
"What?" Gray inquired dumbfounded.
"Yeah right," Natsu accused, "you're just saying that so you and your lackeys will be off the hook."
"No, he's right," cut in Nero, putting the pieces together rather quickly, but some things were still a mystery to him. Though, when he saw the incredulous and disbelieving looks from Natsu, Gray, and Happy, he decided to explain, "guys been exposed to drip for years, about as long as the villagers. And as far as I can see, he's perfectly fine."
"Yes, the hunter is correct," confirmed Lyon, "I've been exposed to it longer than they have and my appearance hasn't changed one bit."
"Oh yeah! That's true," Lucy realized, seeing the logic behind his and Nero's words.
"The villagers aren't telling us something," concluded Nero, and he was sure of it. Every time he's been around them, there was something off about them, like their energy was messed up.
"I agree with the Demon Slayer," concurred Lyon, "Those villagers are hiding something, but I'm sure you Guild wizards can handle it."
"I'm not a wizard or part of their guild," reminded Nero.
"We're not done with you," Natsu stated, not wanting to let Lyon off the hook so easily, "You destroyed the entire village and-."
The Dragon Slayer's ranting was stopped when Erza squished his cheeks together.
"That's quite enough, Natsu," Erza ordered.
The Queen of the Fairies retold Toby's explanation for why they agreed to help Lyon. It was revealed that Lyon's followers had lost their families, friends, and everything they owned to Deliora. He'd convinced them that if they helped him free it, he would kill it, and obtain revenge for all of them.
Nero and the rest of the team felt for them and could understand why they did it. Nevertheless, to Ben, that still didn't justify their actions in threatening the villagers only to get vengeance upon a demon that was already locked away in a huge chunk of ice.
"They were only doing what they believed to be right. So, there's no need to criticize them for it," Erza explained. She then let go of Natsu's face, "Now, let's go."
"But what are we going to do to lift the curse?" The pink haired wizard inquired.
"I have no idea," Erza replied.
"Oh great…," Lucy muttered.
Erza, Natsu, Nero, Lucy, and Happy walked away toward the storage area, leaving only Gray and Lyon behind. The former looked at his old friend with a sympathetic look.
Lyon simply glared at him, "What do you want?"
"I know you don't want to hear it, but you really should join a Guild. You'll make new friends, make new rivals, and maybe even find a new dream to live for," Gray answered.
Lyon's expression softened a bit, but he then turned away with an angry scowl. "Whatever," he grumbled, "just get out of here!"
Gray smiled slightly as he turned and walked away.
Shortly into their journey back to the village, Nero was currently walking beside Erza, his hands in his pockets while the Fairy Queen wanted to keep an eye on him. He did shot her, well, her sword anyway, but still, he came very close to actually shooting her. Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Lucy were walking just behind the pair.
As they continued towards the village, Gray remembered something. During the fight, Deliora spoke, which still shocks him, however, it's what the demon said that caught his attention.
Sparda.
"Hey, Nero?" Spoke up the Ice Wizard, speeding up slightly to walk beside the Demon Hunter.
"Mmm?" Hummed the demon hybrid as he glanced over to Gray out of the corner of his eye.
"During the fight, well execution Deliora," recalled Gray, "it looked right at you and called you Sparda."
Nero tensed ever so slightly, he should've figured this was coming around.
"Is that your last name?" Asked the Wizard.
"Yeah, Sparda's my last name," answered Nero, shifting awkwardly as they walked.
"How would it know your last?" Asked Lucy, having overheard the question and the Demon Hunter's subsequent answer.
"Because Deliora's a demon from my world," answered Nero.
"What!?" gaped Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Lucy.
"My uncle is a famous, or infamous depending on your point of view, demon hunter," began Nero, giving them a very cliff note explanation of his origin and how Deliora knew his name, "guys got more demon kills under his belt than any of us had hot meals."
"Wait, that doesn't explain how Deliora got here," spoke up Gray.
"Must've found a portal or cast a spell to get here," shrugged Nero, "and it's not like we can ask it anymore. Besides, the camp's up ahead."
True to his word, the storage area was up ahead. The had just made it back, the grounds that was serving as a temporary site for the villagers. However, something wasn't right. There wasn't a single soul present throughout the mass of tents. Only the sounds of an owl hooting or other forest animals could be heard.
"That's weird," Happy noted, "Where is everybody?"
"Are you sure they came here?" Natsu inquired skeptically.
"Yeah, this has been their camp," Lucy replied, though she too was confused about this dilemma, "I wonder where they could've gone."
"It's not like they've gone far," said Nero, looking around himself, though he would admit, this was strange, "rock's tiny."
"HELLO!" Happy called out, flying above the ground.
"Since we're here I'm gonna grab some bandages and some medicine," Gray stated as he went inside a tent. As he was doing that, Nero began to think more on what's happening and the situation they were in. The villagers somehow get cursed into being demons, but not by a demon, but by a specific spell. However, if they didn't know where the temple was, which is highly unlikely, then why wouldn't they go investigate, why call Wizards all of a sudden?
It made little sense, but something deeper was going on here. Devil Bringer began pulsing once more, causing Nero to look down at it. Why was it doing it again? Deliora was gone.
Suddenly, a male villager with green reptilian skin, black shorts, and a tail turned the corner of a tent.
"You made it back! There's something you need to see," He yelled with an enthusiastic tone, "Please just follow me to the village."
As he said that, Nero narrowed his eyes. Something was definitely wrong with this place.
Despite his own judgment, the demon hunter followed the mutated man, along with the wizards back to the village. However, when they arrived, something definitely changed, and by change, the entire village that had once been destroyed was now completely repaired. It looked as though it was never damaged, like how he and the others first arrived on the island. The villagers were walking around, clearly excited and perplexed how their home was suddenly fixed.
"What the hell?" muttered Nero, struck dumb.
"Are you kidding me?" an awestruck Lucy said.
Happy flew by Lucy, he too was amazed, "Yesterday it was a total mess but now it looks perfect."
"What's going on here?!" Natsu demanded, knocking his fists against a building wall, "Everything looks the same. It's like the village went back in time!"
"Now that it's fixed you probably shouldn't touch anything, okay Natsu?" Lucy suggested half-heartedly.
"Are you saying I destroy everything I touch!?" Natsu yelled.
"Well…kinda," Lucy sighed.
Natsu's angry expression shifted into one of thought, "Back in time," he muttered. He then remembered Zalty and his time powers. Nero, however, overheard Natsu and he too came to the same conclusion as the Dragon Slayer.
"You thinking he did all this?" inquired Nero, giving Natsu a neutral look.
"Nah, couldn't be," Natsu whispered, placing a hand to his chin in contemplation. "Unless he had a change of heart,"
"Wouldn't put it past me," shrugged the silver-haired hunter, "but it's the only explanation we got."
"What are you two whispering about?" Lucy asked.
Nero and Natsu both turned to the blonde mage, the Slayer looking sheepish while Nero ket a blank look.
"Nunya," said Nero.
"What?" asked Lucy.
"None of yah business," elaborated the hunter, getting a scowl from the blonde which had him chuckling.
"Besides, who cares, right?" Natsu followed up.
"Not me," Happy said.
The trio then walked off, but in Happy's case, he flew behind them, leaving an utterly confused Lucy, "What are you two talking about?" she asked.
"Oh," Lucy gasped, a thought entering her head, "I forgot about our stuff."
The Celestial mage ran off to their tent, along the way, she encountered the village chief, Moka kneeling by his son's grave.
'Bobo's grave is back,' Lucy thought, 'That's good. I'm sure the chief must be relieved.'
Lucy stood behind him, not saying a word. A moment later, Moka glanced back at her, "You and your wizard friends used magic to restore our village, didn't you?"
"W-well…I…uh…," Lucy stuttered. She had no idea how the village was restored and didn't know how to tell the chief that she and her friends were not responsible.
The village chief pulled up on his staff and stood up, turning to face Lucy, "Hmph, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. However, I must know…," his look became more intense, "…when are you wizards finally going to destroy the moon for us?! Well!?"
Lucy started shaking in fear under the chief's glare, but she was quickly saved when Erza approached them.
"Destroying the moon is a simple task, sir," Erza answered casually.
"What?" Lucy, Happy, and Gray remarked in shock.
"You're not serious, Erza," stated Nero bluntly.
"Don't know, but it did look like she said it with a straight face," Gray muttered.
"Aye," Happy added, "maybe she's gone crazy?"
"But before I do that I have to ask you all a few questions," Erza stated, "Would you mind calling in everybody for a meeting?"
A few moments later, having gathered all the villagers at the front of the main gate, Erza and the team stood before them.
"Let me get my facts straight, the first time everyone began to take these demonic forms is when the moon turned purple, am I correct?" Erza asked.
"Yes," answered Moka, "during the day we are fine but when the moon comes out we transform into what you see now."
"And the moon first turned purple three years ago, right?" Titania inquired, pacing side-to-side with her hands behind her back.
"Wow…has it really been that long?" a villager asked.
"Yeah," one replied, though he too sounded stunned.
"We've learned that the Moon Drip ceremony has been performed on this island every night for the last three years, and each night it produced a beam of light so brilliant that you couldn't have possibly missed it," Erza explained.
Suddenly, with a shriek, Erza stepped onto a pile of leaves and fell into a hole, which startled everyone.
"Watch your step, Erza," teased Nero as he looked down into the hole.
"Whoa…even Lucy's lame trap is back," Happy said.
"She screamed…like a girl?" Natsu whispered in awe.
"Yeah…and it was kinda cute," Gray added.
"But glad to know I wasn't the only one to fall for it," commented Nero, feeling better about himself, "be really embarrassing if it was just me."
"I AM SO GONNA BE DEAD MEAT WHEN SHE GETS OUT!" Lucy screamed hysterically.
Erza climbed out of the hole and stood back up, acting as if nothing ever happened. She crossed her arms over his chest armor. "Seriously, didn't you ever wonder where that light came from?" The scarlet-haired wizard asked the villagers.
The villagers, however, weren't really focused on her question, rather how she had gotten out the hole in a nonchalant matter. Some even had drops of sweat running down their heads.
"She got up like nothing ever happened?" one whispered.
"Yeah, she must be pretty tough." Another added.
"I don't understand," continued Erza, "why didn't anyone investigate?"
The villagers looked at each other and talked, however, it sounded as if they had no answer for her question. Confirming Nero's earlier suspicion.
'Guess I wasn't the only one. Doesn't explain why the didn't go look themselves. But why are they so confused?' thought the Demon Hunter as he noticed the confused expressions on the villager's face.
"Well…" Moka responded, "We would've looked into it but according to village lore we are forbidden to ever go near that temple."
"Who cares about village lore when your people are dying?" Lucy countered, looking at the chief incredulously, "You obviously knew there was a problem, which is why you contacted the magical guilds."
"Um…well," the chief trailed off.
Erza had her attention directed to Moka, and asked, "Why don't you tell us what's really going on here?"
"Well…to be honest, we don't even know that ourselves." The village chief confessed. "Allow me to explain, we tried to investigate the light many times. We took up weapons we never had to use, I trimmed and stylized my side-burns, and then we ventured into the jungle to the temple many times. But we could never get near it. We could see it through the trees, and then suddenly we'd find ourselves back at the village gates."
"But…how's that possible?" Lucy asked confused, "It doesn't make any sense."
"A lot of things about this place don't make sense," interjected Nero, as he strolled off to the side slightly, "But I gotta agree, how is it that you never got close when we made it all the way to the temple without so much as a problem on our first try? Plus, the only obstacle we ran into was the giant rat. Something's definitely wrong here."
"Yeah," Natsu said.
"Aye," Happy agreed.
"We didn't say anything to you earlier because we were worried you wouldn't believe us," A villager said.
"We're telling you the truth," Another villager explained, "We've tried to go back to the temple many times."
"But not even a single villager has ever managed to get inside," A third villager concluded.
Erza stood there, absorbing this information, "I get it…yes." She whispered.
Lucy lightly gasped while Natsu, Nero, Gray, and Happy looked at the redhead with puzzled expressions. Erza stepped away, heading to the village tower that stood along the wooden wall that surrounded the settlement.
Suddenly, her entire form was shrouded by yellowish-white light. When it faded, her previous wear had disappeared, and was replaced by armor that was primarily yellow with blue highlights, had a blue cross on the torso plate, arched shoulder plates, and a white fur trim on the bottom of her shoulder plates.
'Huh, kinda like Pandora,' mused Nero whilst also letting out an impressed whistle.
"Natsu, come with me. I'll need your help to destroy the moon." Erza said offhandedly.
"Really?!" Natsu exclaimed with a large, bright grin on his face.
"Oh this I gotta see," mused Nero once more as he folded his arms, fully expecting them to fail catastrophically.
Gray, Lucy, and Happy had similar reactions as they grew paler. Their jaws had dropped and their eyes grew wider than dinner plates whilst they stuttered incoherently. Even the villagers all stood motionless in shock.
"It's the only way to return the villagers to their human forms." Titania continued.
Their shock immediately evaporated and was replaced by happiness as they cheered in excitement.
"They're really going to do it!" a villager said, "And we get to watch it happen!"
"Right," another one agreed, "and we'll all get to be human again."
Natsu approached Erza, a big grin still present on his face, "Where do you think we should go? The temple? It's a lot higher up there."
"We'll do it from here," Erza replied impassively, "The villagers can't go near the temple and they need to witness this."
Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Nero all stood off to the side. Nero and Gray glanced at each other, both thinking the pair were insane, Lucy was still shocked, and as for Happy, well, he looked excited.
"I don't know what she's thinking," Gray muttered, "I mean, she can do some amazing things…but still."
"I'll take your word for it," agreed Nero, "as strong as some demons are, I doubt they'd be able to level a moon."
'Though, when the old man did fight Mundus, he was insanely powerful, and who's to say he couldn't destroy the moon?' thought the demon hunter, recalling the story Dante told him. At first, Nero thought the son of Sparda was screwing with him, but when he heard it from Trish, well, safe to say that Nero kept a careful watch on him.
"What do you think she's going to do to it?" Lucy asked, her voice slightly quivering in fear.
"This is exciting, huh?" Happy said.
"More like terrifying," Lucy deadpanned.
The village chief eyed Erza's new armor with a neutral expression while his people were cheering behind him.
"This is Giant Armor," the redhead wizard explained, "It increases my strength and allows me to throw farther. And this…," Erza held out her right hand, and then a red magic circle appeared. After a flash of red, in her hand was a seven-foot-tall spear with a blue shaft, yellow armored base, and a cross-shaped, yellow spear at the top, "…this is the Spear of Ha-Ja, it repels darkness."
The villagers 'oohed' and 'awed' in wonder at the armor and weapon, even Nero found himself impressed by Erza's abilities.
"Whoa!" Natsu exclaimed, his toothy grin growing bigger, "I see what you're up to now! You're going to use that spear to knock the moon out of the sky!"
Gray, Lucy and Happy looked at Natsu ridiculously.
"I call bullshit," muttered Nero to himself, "took humans days to reach the moon, how does she expect to do this?"
"That's right," Erza replied, "But I'm afraid I'll need more strength than this armor can give me." She turned to face Natsu, "So Natsu, I'm going to need your fire powers as a boost. Whenever I begin to throw the spear, I want you to hit the back of it with your flames. Now we'll have to plan our attack perfectly, but I think you should give me enough power to do the job."
"Sounds like a killer plan to me!" Natsu smiled.
"Then let's do it," Erza said.
She and Natsu headed toward the village tower that stood by the wooden walls. Meanwhile, their other teammates stared at them as if they both had gone insane.
"Yep, they've gone insane. There's no way they'll be able to do this," muttered Nero, having lost any and all respect for the two.
"Whatever it is, I think they went off the deep end this time." Lucy said.
"Aye," Happy agreed.
Moments later, Erza and Natsu were standing on top of the look-out tower, the former staring at the moon with determination. The villagers and the rest of the team watched the duo from below. The scarlet haired wizard reared back her spear and held it there. A yellow gem on her throwing arm was glowing brighter, gathering up strength and power.
"NOW!" yelled Erza.
Natsu's grin grew brighter than his hands. As Erza reared back the spear to its zenith, Natsu delivered a flaming punch into the back. As a result, the straw top of the tower blew apart, the spear shooting high into the sky like a rocket.
"They did it!" Happy cheered.
"What are they thinking?!" Lucy shrieked.
The Spear of Ha-Ja soared higher and higher into the sky, until the island below was nothing more than a dark spot in a vast blue ocean.
"Almost there!" Erza screamed.
"You're both crazy," commented Nero, having crossed his arms and shook his head, "Don't care how powerful you are, there's no way you'll be able-"
His sentence was cut off when a resounding bomb from above broke through the cheering, which returned Nero's gaze to the sky. Shockingly, cracks began to spread over the purple, cratered orb. The villagers began to cheer louder at the sight of the cracking moon.
"NO WAY!" Lucy and Gray screamed simultaneously.
Nero's expression went from annoyed and exasperated to total deer-in-headlights in a flash. His jaw fell as his eyes widened in shock, all the while he continued to look at the spectacle in total disbelief.
"Nothing makes sense anymore," groaned Nero as he covered his eyes with his hands, trying to process what was happening.
However, everyone's shock was replaced by confusion as the cracks spread out from the moon…and into the sky? It was true. The night sky around the violet glowing moon was starting to crack away. Without warning, like glass, the purple moon and the sky shattered into thousands of pieces, revealing a normal blue glowing moon in its wake.
"The moon?" Natsu trailed off.
"It's still there?!" Moka shouted.
Nero's disbelief vanished as quickly as did his skepticism did, as the pieces suddenly began coming together. The moon wasn't destroyed, rather the sky. More pieces of the darker colored sky were breaking away, but the pace of its destruction was slowing down. Finally, all the puzzle pieces came together.
"So that's it," commented Nero.
Running away from the group, causing all the villagers to look at him in confusion, they suddenly gasped in awe as Nero leaped into the air. Rising above the trees and up to at least seventy to eighty feet in the air. He needed to put a good distance between him and the villagers, as well as his friends cause he didn't want them to see this.
Devil Bringer began glowing brightly, as he focused its power. Whipping out Red Queen, Nero throttled the exceed to full, causing flammable liquid to burst out causing him to spin. As he was spinning, he began firing Summoned Swords out from his arm. Dozens upon dozens of ethereal swords spun out and embedded themselves into the dark dome at multiple points.
With the dome already weakened, Nero knew exactly how to finish this. Letting up on the throttle, he slowed his spin and quickly sheathed Red Queen. He then began to fall back to the ground, but Devil Bringer never lost its glow. In fact, it began glowing more intensely, changing from a light blue to a blood red.
Taking hold of Blue Rose, Nero fired right at the top of the dome and what followed was the bullet exploding on impact. The result was thousands of cracks spreading throughout the dome in seconds, the Summoned Swords having weakened it significantly. The dark dome resumed its destruction as it finally shattered away into nothingness. The sky, stars, and moon above were back to their normal colors instead of being ominously darker.
Nero landed gracefully back on the ground, Devil Bringer completely missing the glow so he doubted anyone would be the wiser. Straightening himself out, he twirled Blue Rose on his finger before holstering it and making his way back to the crowd.
"It wasn't the moon that shattered," Lucy gaped, staring at the crystalline particles that rained around the island. "It was the sky."
From atop the tower, Natsu leaned over the railing, confused by this development. "What the heck is going on here?"
"As a result of the Moon Drip spell," Erza explained with a smile, "a nauseous membrane was covering the island."
"What?" asked Natsu.
"The Moon Drip released evil energy in the form of a gas." The scarlet haired beauty answered. "That gas crystalized and formed an invisible shell in the sky that covered the island. That's why the moon looked purple here."
Suddenly, the villagers became startled as a brilliant light illuminated under their feet.
"Now that the shell is broken," Erza explained, "everything will go back to the way it was three years ago."
Then, the light vanished; however, nothing was changed. The villagers were still in their demonic forms.
"What happened? They're not transforming," Gray asked confused.
"Oh no," Happy muttered worriedly.
"That's because these are their true forms," Erza replied as she walked toward them, back in her normal armor after another flash of light, "The Moon Drip never had any effect on their appearance. However, it seems to have altered their memories."
"W-wait…what do you mean?" Lucy asked nervously.
"They think they're humans who have been transformed into demons, but it's the other way around." The redhead answered with a sly smile.
"So, wait, you're saying…they're really…" the blonde mage trailed off, the anxiety in her voice growing.
"Yep, you got it," Erza smiled.
Both Lucy and Happy screamed in shock while Natsu's and Gray's jaw's dropped. Nero himself, well, he didn't take it that well as his left hand went to go rest on Blue Rose as he realized what the situation was.
"The villagers have always been demons," Titania continued, which caused Lucy to scream even more as she fell to her knees, holding each side of her head.
"Hey is that true?!" Gray demanded, getting in the face of a villager.
"Well…maybe," the villager stuttered, "my memory's still a little hazy. We all looked pretty human when y'all met us, didn't we?"
"Yes," Erza enlightened, "because you all possess the ability to take on human forms. Your false memories led you all to believe that your temporary states were actually your true forms. In reality, you were actually victims of the Moon Drip's side-effects."
"Why weren't Lyon and his cronies affected by it?" demanded Nero, keeping his hand on Blue Rose.
Erza turned to him, "I assume it's because they're human. As far as I can tell demons were the only ones susceptible to the memory loss. I knew what was going on as soon as the villagers said that they couldn't go near the temple. The moon's light was sacred; thus, preachers of darkness couldn't go anywhere near it."
Nero couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly. He didn't remove his hand from Blue Rose.
"I got to admit Titania," commented a demon, "you're quite the detective. I knew I could trust you and your friends. Thanks wizards, I owe you one."
The group turned to the source and was stunned by who they saw. Lucy and Happy hugged each other tightly as they shrieked girlishly. Gray and Natsu their jaws drop again and Nero kept his hold on Blue Rose, even going so far as to pull the hammer back, from the sight of the purple-skinned demon that had appeared out of nowhere.
"It's the guy from the boat!" Gray exclaimed.
Moka felt his eyes tear up and his lips quiver from the sight of his son that he had presumed dead, "Bobo," he mumbled.
"Huh," a confused villager said, "but we thought you were dead!"
Bobo chuckled a little, "Getting stabbed in the chest hurt pretty bad, but you got to do more than that to kill a demon."
"But…on the boat…you just vanished into thin air," Gray mentioned, still flabbergasted from this new development.
All of a sudden, a pair of black, bat-like wings folded out from behind Bobo's shirt as he leaped into the air, hovering above them with his arms crossed.
"I sure hope you kids can forgive me for not telling you sooner," Bobo said.
"Whoa," Gray muttered, "he can fly?"
Nero only grumbled as he continued to analyze the situation. They were demons, and he was a demon hunter, however to say all demons were evil would be wrong. Sparda and Trish were both examples of that, but that still didn't mean these demons were anything like them.
"I was the only one who didn't have any memory loss," Bobo explained, "I had to leave because everyone went nuts! I knew I was a demon, but everyone else thought that they were cursed humans." He then started laughing.
Finally, Moka couldn't take it anymore, "B-Bobo," he said. Then, a pair of wings folded out from behind his shirt as he soared into the air and wrapped his son up in a tight hug, tears rolling down his blue-skinned face.
Bobo hugged his father back, and said excitedly, "I'm so glad you snapped out of it, Pawps!"
The villagers all looked at each other and smiled widely, their memories finally returning. Similar bat-like wings appeared from their backs as they flew into the sky around Bobo and Moka, cheering in celebration of the returned Bobo.
While the mages looked at them with happy smiles, Nero kept his impassive, until he felt an armored hand on his shoulder. Glancing back, he saw Erza giving him a reassuring look.
"They may be demons, but they aren't the demons you're familiar with," assured the scarlet-haired wizard.
"I'll hold you to that," commented Nero as he let go of Blue Rose, but kept his hand close to it.
With everything said and done, all the villagers returned to the village, even throwing a massive feast to rejoice that everyone had regained their former identities as demons. Nero and the Fairy Tail mages were guests of honor for helping them. Nero, Lucy, Erza, and Happy were at the large table along with the other villagers, eating what was surprisingly incredible food. Natsu was to the side devouring the fire on torches, which.
Nero poked his meal of a beef steak before glancing up to find Gray sitting close to a hut, a clique of villager girls swooning around him with hearts in their eyes. The ice mage, meanwhile, sat there with flushed cheeks and a sheepish grin on his face. They eventually pulled Gray to his feet and were tugging him to what appeared to be a dance area.
Nero chuckled as he leaned back, gazing at the sight, 'Guess they really aren't like the demons back home,' thought the hunter, however, his grin vanished as a new thought came in, 'If they remember who they are now, are they from this world or my world?'
Lucy, Erza, and Happy eventually saw this too and couldn't help but smile as well, "Looks like someone's getting some attention from the ladies," Lucy teased.
"They'll scare him off eventually," Happy noted.
"Probably," commented Nero, snorting in amusement at what Happy said.
"Well…I have to admit I was wrong about humans," Moka said. The group turned to the village chief, who was sitting close to Nero along with Bobo, "All of these years we have chosen to hide from the outside world, afraid that they would judge us by our appearance."
"You know the curse," Bobo added, "that was actually a rumor we started so nobody would come to the island and bother us."
"Well congrats cause none of the sailors at the dock wanted to come near this place, let alone talk about it," commented the demon hunter.
"I know. It's a shame," Moka conceded, "But thanks to you, we have changed our minds. You have restored our faith in humans and we are not afraid. We are ready to go out and make friends with people from other lands."
"That's good," Erza smiled, "Friendship is a beautiful thing. It's an emotional bond that transcends one's physical appearance."
"All this talk about friendship is making me gag," muttered Nero quietly, though he couldn't help but agree with Erza, which is hypocritical of him considering how anti-social he was growing up. Though the friendships he did have, with Patty, her mother, Lady, Trish, and Dante, he'd treasure those with all they were.
The villagers continued their celebration; however, their party came to a screeching halt when three figures strolled into the village. The cheering and talking instantly stopped, some even gasped, when they saw who three people were, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby.
The girls huddled around a shirtless Gray were obviously scared, "What should we do?" one whispered.
"I'll take care of this," Gray said steely, standing up.
Nero, as well as the other wizards, halted what they were doing and turned to gaze hard at the three former thugs. Nero was the first to get up from his spot at the table, Erza following shortly behind. Both the Queen of the Fairies and the Prodigal Son of the Darkslayer glared at the approaching trio.
"You got a reason for crashing our party?" asked Nero sardonically as he took out Blue Rose and took aim at Toby.
"You, Demon Slayer wizard, and your friends from Fairy Tail are tough," Yuka commented, a smug grin on his face, "The Cold Emperor was so banged up he couldn't make it down here."
"That's why we've come to pay you a visit in his place," Sherry added coldly.
Toby only barked in agreement.
"Wait just a minute!" Lucy yelled, getting to her feet, "I thought we were cool. Didn't Lyon tell you what happened?!"
"Yes," Yuka answered, "but that doesn't matter to us."
"We wanted to settle things with you ourselves," Sherry said.
"By the way," interjected Toby, directing his gaze right at Nero, "I'm still pissed about you using my claw to paralyze me!"
Erza's brown eyes narrowed at the three, 'Surely they didn't come here to fight' she thought.
Natsu stepped forward, an eager grin plastered across his face, "Alright," he let up his right fist with fire, "Show me what you got!"
"Night's still young," agreed Nero as he spun Blue Rose sideways, "been looking forward to burning some calories after a big meal."
"Natsu, Nero, wait!" Bobo called, gaining their attention, "As much as we appreciate it, we can't keep letting you fight our battles. We'll take care of this."
"Yeah," a villager behind Chief Moka and Bob cried, "Let us handle these clowns."
"Normally I'd agree with you, gentlemen," Erza said, "But I believe it's best if I handle this one."
The scarlet-haired wizard sauntered toward Sherry, Yuka, and Toby, stopping a fair distance in front of them.
"We meet again, Titania of Fairy Tail," Sherry said, "You gave poor Angelica a pretty good beating earlier."
"She seems like a formidable opponent," Yuka sneered smugly.
Toby didn't say anything, he only grinned.
Erza said nothing; she only stared hard at the three minions of Lyon.
"Watch out for that creepy chick!" Lucy warned, "She can control inanimate objects."
"And don't even bother using your magic on, Mega-Brows," Natsu added offhandedly.
"Dog-boy isn't much of a threat," added Nero as he holstered Blue Rose, "just need to get one of his claws then the rest is easy."
"Hey!" Toby shouted indignantly.
"I see," Erza replied calmly, "In that case," the redhead broke off into a sprint straight toward the trio, "I'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way!"
Erza ran up and delivered a forceful kick into a surprised Sherry, sending her flying back. She quickly spun and connected her left elbow with Yuka's face, forcing him to the ground with a thud. She turned to face Toby, who was backing up with wide eyes and sweat forming around his brows. Before the dog-man could react, Erza sent a wicked haymaker into Toby's face that sent him crashing to the ground right by Sherry and Yuka.
With her opponents subdued, the villagers, Nero, and other Fairy Tail members looked on in awe and shock from the quick spectacle.
Nero let out a whistle, very impressed by what he had witnessed. He'd admit, she'd give Dante a run for his money, and him too. In a way, she was like Trish.
"Wow! She beat them without having to use magic," Lucy gaped.
"That's the mighty Erza for yah," Happy chimed.
"Would you cut that out already?" The annoyed blonde girl requested.
With pain-filled grunts, the trio slowly got back to their feet. Shockingly, Sherry smiled as she steadily got up, "You're truly an amazing warrior," She complimented.
As Yuka stood up, he wiped a trickle of blood off his mouth, "No kidding. We're no match for you," He added.
When Toby arose, his eyes were still spinning, "Roooooah…ain't that the truth."
Everyone eyed the trio conspicuously, shocked that they weren't fighting back.
"W-wait," Lucy stuttered, "you're not here to fight?"
Surprisingly, the three wizards looked to the ground with albeit shameful expressions.
"I doubt this is going to make up for all the bad things we did…but we wanted to apologize in person," Yuka confessed sincerely.
"Ooooh…so you came here to settle things in a good way," Happy realized.
"The Cold Emperor told us everything," Sherry said, "Thanks to you, we can finally let go of the pain that Deliora caused us so many years ago."
"You mean…" Gray paused, "you were victims of Deliora too?"
"When we were children a monster ravaged our village. We watched it murder all our friends and family," Yuka explained.
"The Cold Emperor had a plan to kill the demon once for all," Toby continued, "That's why we followed him."
"You see," Yuka said, "we wanted revenge. And we were so focused on getting it, we didn't realize we were hurting innocent people."
"We were so blinded by our hatred that we didn't act any better than the demon itself. For now on, we'll treat other people with respect…and love," Sherry said.
Nero kept an impassive expression, he didn't forgive easily, but he could tell they were being genuine. While he didn't feel as bad for them as the others, he knew that losing friends and family is not easy in the slightest to deal with, especially as a child. He would know. It went without saying that if the same happened to Nero, he'd likely be out for revenge, and to an extent, it did happen. The demon hunter paused for a second, recalling an old memory, one that he'd hope he didn't have to relive.
'Can't get caught up in that,' thought Nero, as he gripped Devil Bringer by the wrist, 'What's done is done. Can't change what happened. Just need to focus on the now.'
"Alright then!" Natsu exclaimed happily. The pink haired mage appeared behind the trio, laying a hand on Sherry's and Toby's shoulders and bringing them in closer until they squished Yuka in the middle, "You guys should stick around and join in on the feast, eh?"
"But…we were enemies a second ago," Yuka mentioned, startled by this sudden change of attitude.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea because I'm trying to watch my figure and…"
Sherry's rant was cut short as Natsu squeezed them together closer, "Enough of the excuses, live a little will yah?!"
Seconds later, Natsu dragged them until they were seated at a table. They held their drinks in fear, the demons around them all staring at the trio.
"Alright! Now we're ready to party!" Natsu shouted.
"This place is nuts," muttered Nero as he returned to his seat and leaned back and kicked his feet up, "but just the right kind of crazy that I can like."
Outside the village not too far away, perched in a tree was a short man with long, shaggy green hair and wore a demon-like mask that concealed the upper half of his face. Floating beside him was a bluish-purple orb.
Zalty grinned wickedly. He had witnessed everything that had taken place in the village. Without looking at the orb, the man asked, "Were you able to see all that, sir?"
"Yes. Why did you restore the village?" a smooth male voice came from the orb.
The green-haired man turned and gave the orb a 'thumbs up', still smiling, "Cause I'm nice."
"Hmm…some might say too nice. You better leave before they find you. Those Fairy Tail wizards and the Demon Slayer wizard that was with them could pose a threat if they get in our way."
Zalty grinned. He reached up for his mask and pulled it off, revealing a young man with spiky black hair. However, his form was then shrouded by bright white light. When the light faded, in the place of the man…was a woman. She had long raven hair and wore a white dress.
She stood up, still gazing at the village, "That is true," She replied.
The following morning, Nero stretched as he clambered out of sleeping bag, rubbing his eyes. A yawn followed before he stood up and got everything he needed. With Blue Rose holstered and Red Queen safely sheathed across his back, the demon hunter was about to leave his tent before he caught himself. Looking down at his right arm, he saw that Devil Bringer was slightly visible, however, it wasn't bad.
He knew that he'd likely need to get his coat fixed and a new glove, but from how things went last night, it was likely the others wouldn't notice. Even still, he stuck the demonic appendage into his pocket and exited the tent. From the position of the sun, it looked to be mid-morning. Nero usually didn't sleep this late, well not for a while, but all the fighting and partying that took place yesterday had worn out the demon hunter for hire.
'Think that's the first time I've been to a party like that,' thought Nero, as he began a short stroll, looking for his friends, 'Still not sure about the three musketeers, but I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.'
Strolling through the village for a couple of minutes, he found Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Happy by a hut. As Nero sauntered closer, he could see that Lucy was examining a faint scar on Gray's forehead; however, most of it was covered up by the ice mage's long hair. Natsu, meanwhile, had flaming torches in both hands and was consuming them like cotton candy. This still shocked and amused the demon hybrid to an extent whenever he saw the Dragon Slayer do that.
"Nice meeting you guys," greeted Nero as he approached the group.
"Hey Nero," Lucy, Gray, and Happy said in unison while Natsu just nodded, his mouth still full of fire.
"Any sign of the three party crashers?" asked Nero, calling them that cause he was still not certain and he only really used first names with people he respected.
"Like typical party guests they stuffed their faces and took off," Happy replied.
Lucy continued looking at the cut on Gray's forehead, "Hmm…I think it's gonna leave a scar."
Gray shrugged nonchalantly, "Whatever, it doesn't matter to me."
"On your face?!" Lucy gasped.
Gray smirked and chuckled a bit, "I don't mind having a few scars as long as I can see them. It's the ones you can't see that sting."
"Well, aren't you a smooth talker," The blonde mage smiled.
Natsu, who was still in the midst of eating the flames on the torches, growled in response, "You got a problem, Natsu?" asked Nero, arching an eyebrow as he looked at the Dragon Slayer.
"So you've got invisible scars?" Natsu mocked.
"SHUT UP NATSU!" Gray yelled, "Every time I say something cool you've got to ruin it!"
"How was that cool?" Natsu said.
"It never ends," sighed Nero as he shook his head.
Later, the afternoon had arrived and it was time for Nero and the Fairy Tail wizards to head back to Magnolia. The group was at the main gates, standing before Chief Moka, Bobo, and the villagers.
Nero, Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Happy were standing by Erza's wagon, which was packed full of suitcases. How the scarlet-haired wizard got them on the island or carried them around was beyond the demon hunter. Meanwhile, the Ice-Make wizard and Dragon Slayer were pulling on one another's cheek for some reason.
"What?" Moka said speechless, "But Miss, you deserve the reward so take it. Please,"
"Thank you," Erza replied, "but your gratitude is payment enough."
"That's nice and all, but you really should take the money," The Chief argued.
"I'm afraid I can't since your request wasn't officially accepted by the guild," She said, "It fell into the hands of foolish wizards trying to prove themselves. Nero, who was a guest of our guild, got caught up with them."
Moka laughed, "Foolish as they may be if it weren't for them we wouldn't have been saved," He continued, "What if I give you the money not as a reward but as a 'Thank You' gift? It's the least I can do after everything you've done for our village."
The group heard this and immediately turned their attention to the conversation, even Natsu and Gray had momentarily ceased their quarreling to listen in.
Erza was silent for a moment, a smile on her face, "Well…when you put it that way…you make it hard to say no."
Lucy, Gray, and Natsu smiled happily, the later breathing out flames of excitement. Even the villagers looked pleased to hear that Erza would accept their reward. Ben, meanwhile, only stood by with arms crossed, smirking from his friends' enthusiasm.
"We're rich!" Lucy squealed happily.
However, the anticipation for a big payday instantly evaporated when Erza continued, "But I'm sorry. Accepting your reward would be contrary to our guild's principles. However, we would be happy to take the Gate Key that you offered along with it."
"GATE KEY?!" Natsu and Gray shouted simultaneously, both furious.
Lucy, however, was super elated, "Come to momma!"
"Well…at least let me take you back to Hargeon," Bobo offered.
"Thank you, sir," Titania then glanced behind her to the shoreline, "but I have a boat waiting for me."
Along the shoreline of Galuna Island, a ship bearing a pirate symbol on its sails was anchored off shore. Nero, the Fairy Tail wizards, and the villagers were all on the sandy beaches with a dumbfounded expression, excluding Erza who was only smirking.
"A pirate ship?!" Gray exclaimed in shock.
"You kidding me?!" Lucy yelled. "Did she hijack it?"
"This is awesome." Happy said.
Suddenly, a horn sounded from the ship. Onboard, the pirate captain and his crew were all cheering 'Ahoy me Beauty' toward a certain redhead.
"'Ahoy my beauty'?" asked Nero, glancing at Erza with a sly grin.
"That's right. They've grown quite fond of me," she replied.
Happy jumped in the air, "That's the great Erza for yah!"
"Kissass," muttered Nero under his breath, his smile falling.
"Ahoy," the captain shouted, "come aboard my ship, mates!"
"Mates?" Gray repeated.
"I don't wanna!" the celestial mage complained, "I'm not riding that creepy boat."
"Demon's breath is scarier than this," commented Nero, shrugging nonchalantly.
"If you wanna swim I'll join yah." Natsu offered; a bright grin on his face.
"Are you insane!?" Lucy accused.
The demon hunter and Guild wizards all got onboard. The ship deployed its black sails, setting out for sea. The villagers all applauded as the vessel sailed farther away. Along the way, Nero was leaning against the railing, a good distance away from Natsu who was bending over the side with motion sickness.
As the hunter leaned against the railing, he began recalling what happened on their trip, a proud grin forming on his face. With the help of his new magic-user friends, they'd successfully lifted a curse of amnesia for a village of peaceful demons. It was hard for him to actually accept that reality, but after hanging around them for a while, he realized they weren't like the demons he fought, they were their own people.
Also, he had new access to his Summoned Swords, something that he was actually a little excited about. However, the excitement vanished as he remembered why he had these swords. It didn't help that he knew he'd likely be leaving this universe and be heading back to his own. While Yamato was a definite option, being able to slice through anything, including the fabric of reality, he knew that he was nowhere skilled enough to open portals. The new friends that he had made, who were crazy but still enjoyable to be around, he would have to leave them soon.
Reality, most of the time though, has different plans.
ERA was a large, castle-like building that looked quite lavish on the inside and out. A young, raven-haired woman in a white dress was in the office of Siegrain, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. He was a young man with blue hair, a red tattoo under and above his right eye, and wore a white shirt and pants with black trim.
"It's a shame Deliora didn't work out." the woman said.
Siegrain smiled. "Yes, it is rather unfortunate," He then closed a green book and used his magic to telekinetically lift it up and place it back on the enormous shelf of books at the end of his office, "But we had no way of knowing the demon was already dead. It's a minor setback; I'll be more thorough next time."
The woman stepped forward, "Forgive me, Siegrain, sir. I had no idea that wench's magic was so powerful."
"You shouldn't speak of your mother that way," Siegrain chimed half-heartedly. "Don't cause Ur to shed another tear. She was a magnificent wizard who was greatly admired; in fact, if she were alive today I believe she would be counted amongst the Ten Wizard Saints."
The woman scoffed, "You give her far too much credit. My mother loved her magic and nothing else. It's no wonder why my father abandoned the wretch."
"They say the greater the loss a person suffers, the stronger they must become to triumph over it," Siegrain stated.
"I highly doubt my mother considered me a great loss." The daughter of Ur replied.
"Hmph, you never know. Perhaps she took on those students to fill the void that you left behind."
Before Siegrain could continue, the woman placed a finger over his mouth to silence him.
"Can we please change the subject?" she demanded rather than requested, "I think it's time to move on to the next stage."
Siegrain was about to respond until he noticed something, "Ultear, your face? What happened?"
All of a sudden, her left cheek began to redden as it swelled up into a big bump.
"THAT IDIOT NATSU PUNCHED ME!" Ultear screamed painfully.
Siegrain laughed in amusement.
"That certainly is a delayed reaction," He joked. With all jokes aside, the blue haired mage became serious once more, "So, how was he? Did you find him to be a worthy opponent?"
Still holding her swollen cheek, Ultear replied, "I never had to use half of my power against him, but I was still impressed. It seems he is getting stronger every day."
Siegrain looked away, his smile turning into a frown, "I'm not surprised. He is Igneel's son. To realize my dream, he must continue burning brightly."
"However," Ultear continued, "it was really the Demon-Slayer wizard that caught my eye. Not only does he possess incredible skill in sword combat, as well as an extremely powerful firearm, I suspect he's hiding even more power if he was able to stop time after absorbing a portion of my power, but he is also not affiliated with any guild. What's even stranger, I never witnessed any magical circles appear around him whenever he summoned an ethereal hand."
Siegrain looked back at the raven-haired woman. "Yes…from all accounts this Demon-Slayer wizard's power is peculiar. But's that's not the most interesting development to pop up. Apparently, it's come to my attention that Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Master Makarov, had sent a request to our archives a few days ago, requesting any information of a magical spell that can open gateways into alternate realities."
Ultear's eyes widened slightly as she connected the dots, "Are you implying that…"
"Yes. It would seem this so-called Demon-Slayer wizard," Siegrain said, "is really from another universe. Though this is quite unprecedented, it is not impossible."
"Just to sate curiosity, did they even find a way?" Ultear asked curiously.
"Indeed. They did uncover one method," Siegrain answered, a smirk with hidden malice growing on his lips.
It was around evening when Nero and Fairy Tail's strongest team had just arrived back in the Town of Magnolia, a clean, beautiful city that strongly resembled an old European-like town. They were walking down a stone street; Erza was pulling her wagon jam-packed with cases while the others walked ahead over her.
"We're home!" Natsu shouted exuberantly.
"Aye, sir!" Happy said, flying beside him.
"I'm bummed," Gray muttered, "All that hard work for some lousy Gate Key,"
"Yeah," Happy agreed, "and that S-Class quest was some big-time money."
"Well, I'm sorry but it wasn't an official job," Erza replied, "Just be glad you got something."
"I wouldn't call it a total failure," added Nero, "we did put an end to a powerful demon, got the villagers' memories back."
Erza looked at Nero and smiled, "I couldn't agree more."
"But the demon was running on fumes, so being blunt, we really didn't do much about that," added Nero to himself.
"Exactly," Lucy said with a bright grin. "So, quit your complaining."
Happy glanced back, "That's pretty easy for you to say. You got a reward," Then an idea popped up in the cat's head, "Can we sell it?!"
Lucy's jaw dropped in shock, "How could you say that?! You guys just don't get it. Zodiac keys are hard to come by. Sure, there are lots of silver keys out there, but there are only twelve golden Zodiac keys, and I'm lucky enough to have five."
Natsu looked back, smirking. "It's too bad they're all crazy."
"You had better watch it, punk!" Lucy shouted, "Me and my Celestial Spirits are gonna be stronger than you someday!"
"Natsu, you can be a lot of things, but sane isn't really one of them," interjected Nero, using his sarcastic tone, "Case in point, you did pick a fight with me just to see which one of us was stronger."
Natsu looked forward, grumbling. The memory of Nero spinning him at incredible speeds was still fresh on his mind. It was definitely something he didn't want to experience again.
"So, what Zodiac key did you wind up getting?" Gray inquired.
Lucy beamed brightly, "It's Sagittarius the Centaur."
"Half man-half horse?" guessed Nero.
"Yep," Lucy answered.
Suddenly, Erza stopped walking, her smile turning into a frown, "You're all so carefree. It's almost as if you forgot that you're supposed to face punishment when we get back to the Guild."
At that statement, Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Happy all looked back at the redheaded mage with horrified expressions.
"But why?" Natsu asked weakly.
"Everything worked out in the end!" Lucy added frantically, "Can't we just forget about the whole punishment thing?!"
"You're right. Everything did work out, but only because I came here to finish the job none of you were qualified to do," Erza replied sternly, "Stealing an S-Class request is a serious offense."
The four gasped in fear. Nero was the polar opposite as he stared at the Queen of the Fairies fearlessly.
"I get that they broke the rules, I've broken rules in the past, but cut them a little slack?" requested Nero, "Village was saved, the memories of the demons were restored, and Deliora was put down. Besides, they already said they were sorry."
Erza eyed Nero austerely, "It isn't my choice to make. Although, if you all promise to never do this again, I don't believe you need to be penalized by the guild. But your fates lie in Master Makarov's hands so I'm sure you will be facing punishment. As for you, Nero, you are not a member of Fairy Tail, thus you cannot be punished for your actions."
"Why doesn't that fill me with joy?" asked Nero condescendingly.
"Now I'm really scared." Happy was holding his face, which plastered a fearful mien. "Do you think he's gonna make us do that?"
Gray's face paled considerably. He suddenly crouched low to the ground, holding his head frantically. "JUST KILL ME NOW! I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN LIVE THROUGH THAT AGAIN!"
"You guys are freaking me out!" Lucy squealed.
Natsu, however, was smiling confidently. "Don't let 'em scare yah." He reassured, patting her shoulder. "I'll talk the old man out of punishing us. That guy loves me."
"I don't know if you should do the talking." The blonde mage deadpanned.
"Natsu, you can't talk your way out of this one. Good luck with that." Erza grinned, and then she began to laugh.
The Dragon Slayer was still smiling, but his confident demeanor exploded as sweat poured down his face. Suddenly, Erza grabbed him by the bag on his back and dragged him across the ground.
"DON'T TAKE ME!" He screamed.
As Titania dragged Natsu away, Lucy remained in her spot shaking in fear. She finally couldn't hold back anymore as she shrieked, "Will someone please tell me what THAT is?! I'm totally freaking out!"
"You're crazy," Commented Nero as he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, "but I'll admit, you're growing on me."
In the Fairy Tail guild hall, everyone was relieved and excited that the team had come back unharmed and apparently victorious. Though Master Makarov was impressed that they pulled off an S-Class quest that still didn't damper his anger with them. The group was now standing before the short old man, who was standing atop the bar countertop.
He was wearing his usual orange and blue striped attire, his cane lying by his side. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes fixed hard on the group.
Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy were all shuddering from the hard stare. But Nero, wasn't, if anything, he had a laid back stance, not worried in the slightest. His expression calm and collected.
"Though I'm happy you all came back safe," Makarov admitted, "I'm still very disappointed with you four. Mark my words you will be facing that kind of punishment."
Natsu and Gray held onto each other, shaking in trepidation. Lucy looked like she was fixing to scream at any moment.
"However, that will have to wait," Makarov turned his gaze to the present Demon Hunter, "Nero, may I have a word with you…alone?"
The group looked at Nero curiously. What could the master want with him that would require them to be alone?
Nero's brow lifted in confusion, and intrigue, "Sure," he replied.
Makarov turned to Erza, "Erza, make sure that these four troublemakers don't go anywhere, please."
The scarlet haired wizard nodded.
Nero shoved his hands into his pockets before following the short man into a storage area. It was dimly lit and had a few pieces of materials lying around as well as a some crates. Once the door shut, Makarov made his way over to one crate and jumped onto it, in his hand was a manila folder. Nero sat down on a barrel and kicked his legs up onto the crate Makarov was standing on. It was quiet for a moment as the aging man was making sure nobody was listening in from the outside. Certain that nobody wasn't, he gazed hard at the silver-haired hunter, the latter returning the stare.
"Nero, remember when I said I sent a message to my colleagues asking if any type of magic that can send someone to another universe existed?" Makarov asked.
"If you're bringing it up, does that mean you found something?" Asked Nero sardonically, shifting slightly so he was leaning forward and brought his feet down.
"Well…I just received a response…and there is one way. In fact, this is the only way as far as anyone is aware of," answered Makarov, though his tone was grim.
For a moment, Nero thought he finally had a way home, with the disc as good as garden rubble, and he wouldn't dare use Yamato. In the event he could open portals, there was the terrifying prospect that he could open a portal to the Demon World. Even though he's never seen it, he's heard what it looked like from Dante when he helped this artificial demon named Lucia and was trapped there for a while. What was in there, he'd never expose this world to the power of the demons that lived there.
With two options for a way home out the question, Nero actually he was going to be trapped here, not to say he didn't enjoy his time here. He actually liked what happened, and he was grateful for what Makarov, Natsu, and the others did for him, even though they literally met a few days ago. So he wouldn't lie that he didn't feel a little bad about leaving them all of a sudden. They had grown on him, and he knew that he didn't warm up to people he just met, being very antisocial growing up. But it went without saying that he didn't belong here, and what usually followed, being a descendant of Sparda, he didn't want to expose them to that.
Besides, Patty and her mother would be hounding Dante to find him, and the old man would find some way to make it his fault. But he, Trish, Lady, Patty, Nina, and Morrison were his family so to speak.
However, Nero took notice of Makarov's expression and his tone, his head bowed so that he was looking at the floor. Also, if he knew his luck, he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear.
"That's all well and good, but why is it that I get the notion there's a big 'But' coming along?" Inquired Nero as he leaned back.
Makarov looked back up at the demon hunter, "There is one magical spell that is powerful enough to rip a hole in the space-time barrier; however…it is…a diabolic ritual."
"That being?" Asked Nero, knowing where this was going.
The old man sighed deeply, "Allow me to explain. Roughly twenty years ago, an unknown man appeared in Fiore. We didn't know his name nor where he came from, but it was clear by his actions that he was determined to cause destruction across the kingdom and quite possibly the entire world for whatever reasons."
Makarov took a breath before continuing, "Several S-Class wizards from different guilds across the kingdom were sent to arrest him. However, when they fought the man, he killed many them without pity or mercy, with a power far beyond anything we've encountered. His power was incredible, but was incredibly dark, demonic. The closest thing we could find to that magic he used was Devil Slayer Magic, a Lost form of magic, but this, this made that look tame. It was clear that this man, whoever, he was, was a threat and the Wizards attempted to stop him permanently. The remaining wizards fought the man, injuring him great and costing him some of his power, however, he escaped, using one of the rarest known Lost Magics, Sanguis Porta, a forbidden spell. To power it, the man used the Wizards he killed as bodily sacrifices as well as the villagers."
Nero narrowed his eyes into deadly skits, "So you're saying that this guy used human sacrifices to escape to another world?"
Makarov nodded solemnly. "Yes, unfortunately. Everyone in the small village of Gardenia was killed by that spell and as were the wizards that survived up until that point. Roughly a thousand villagers were killed and seventy five S-Class Wizards as well. No trace of them was left behind..."
Nero growled before standing up and began to pace back and forth, fighting to keep his temper in check. Whoever this guy was, it was clear that he was more than willing to go to the same lengths as some demons. That didn't make him any better, in fact, in his opinion, it made him a Demon to Nero. Whoever he was, murdered nearly a thousand innocent lives to escape justice.
"You have any idea who this was?" Demanded Nero, having stopped pacing and took a breath before making the demand.
was holding. It was a photo. He held it out to Nero who took it.
"We only have this photo." He continued, "he didn't steal anything of value, but he a Wizard that managed to survive the attack heard him say 'This world shall fall to my rule'. After that he vanished, only he never returned like he swore to do so, which really confused most of us."
As Makarov continued with his explanation, Nero looked down at the photo. As soon as he saw the man in the photograph, his eyes bulged in shock while his breath caught in his throat. Though it was faded, there was no mistake... despite the human appearance, there was only one being that had that pattern on his head.
"Mundus," Snarled Nero, knowing that pattern from Dante's descriptions and old legends told at Fortuna.
Makarov stopped and looked up to the platnim blond in shock, "You…know him?"
"Yeah, except he isn't a man, he's a demon," Stated Nero angrily, keeping his attention on the photo, "Mundus was a demon from my world, actually the ruler of the demon world. He's been trying to take over the human world for centuries, but couldn't break through due to a spell that was put into affect to keep him in the Demon World. My uncle fought Mundus and killed him about a decade ago, ending his threat to the human world."
Nero glanced at Makarov for a second, "What did he want here?"
Makarov shrugged, "I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. Though from his last words, it looked like he tried to conquer this world."
"Aside from the usual 'Demon attempts to conquer all', let me get this straight," picked up Nero, going back to the reason why they were having this conversation, "the only ticket I have of getting home is with the Sanguis Porta spell? And that is my best and likely only bet of getting home?"
The old man nodded somberly, "Yes. As far as we know, it is."
Silence followed.
Dead silence.
Guess he had Murphy's law to thank, as well as his own bad luck.
Nero's biggest concern had come about. It was official he was stuck in this universe with his only ticket being a sword that he hasn't mastered that can open portals, most likely to the Demon World. Killing a thousand people to open a portal, completely out of the question. And if he heard Makarov correctly, that spell also had a high chance of sending him to the Demon World. If he did try to use the spell, he couldn't, he wasn't a wizard, so that spell was practically worthless.
Nero tossed the picture back onto the crate next to Makarov, a passive expression on his face as he closed his eyes and folded his arms. He knew there were other ways to travel between worlds, one he had on his person, but he wouldn't use it because he wasn't skilled enough and the risk was way too high.
While he knew his world was is in relative peace and under good care of Dante, Trish, and the others, that didn't exactly make him feel any better. Why was even here in the first place? While he only believed in a person's choice is certain not so much fate, but still: Why was he here? What was the purpose of bringing him, a demon hunter with a weird arm and magic sword, here then leaving him stranded in this magic world when he wasn't even a wizard? He didn't belong here.
Master Makarov looked at him with sympathy. He could tell Nero had a storm of thoughts racing through his head all at once. There was a lot of information for him to suddenly process.
"Well, thanks for what you did, Makarov, for all the good it did," thanked Nero, if a little harshly, before he turned on his heel and began to leave.
"Where are you going?" Asked the old man.
"To think about everything that happened and what you told me," answered Nero sharply as he continued walking before turning back, "alone."
The old mage nodded, "I understand," he said softly.
Nodding, Nero walked towards the door and opened it roughly, before closing it, harder than he probably should have. Once he had it closed, Nero just needed some time to think, so he walked away, hands in his pockets before breaking into a rapid sprint.
Back the guild hall, everyone was talking with one another, having a great time. Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy were all sitting by the bar, waiting for Makarov to return. Erza stood close by to destroy any attempts at escape.
Jet was getting up front his table, intending on getting another drink; when a sudden blue sped right past, him, causing him to spin in place. The blur went out the front doors and zoomed down the streets of Magnolia. Any citizens that were nearby only caught a short glimpse of the blur but could feel the wind in its wake.
Back at the guild hall, Jet had finally stopped spinning, but was left very dizzy. That much was certain if the spinning circles in his eyes were any indicator. As for anyone else, they were very confused as to what just happened.
"Whoa," Gray breathed, "what was that?"
"You think it was Nero?" Lucy asked.
"If it was, why would he be in such a rush to leave?" Happy wondered.
As Jet returned to his feet, Levy smirked at him, "Told yah he could move faster than you."
The speed-mage moaned as he slumped in disappointment.
As the Guild members pondered on why Nero left in a blur, nobody noticed Master Makarov walking out of a storage room. His eyes were closed and his head held down. He jumped up to sit on the bar countertop, crossing his legs as he did so.
Mirajane came over and asked, "Master, did you tell him?"
Makarov nodded, "I did."
"How'd he take it?" she inquired.
The guild master was silent for a moment, "Better than I thought he would, but…it's still a lot for anyone to process. It can't be easy on him."
"What can't be easy on him?"
Makarov and Mirajane glanced to the side to see several wizards looking at the duo, who apparently had overheard their conversation.
"What'd you tell Nero, gramps?" Natsu asked calmly.
Makarov sighed. He could tell them nothing; however, he knew from the way that they were all staring at him that they were determined for answers.
"You kids might want to take a seat…this is going to be a long story," Makarov sighed.
Night was steadily approaching over Magnolia. The sun was over the horizon as the sky became an assortment of red, orange, and yellow. Outside of Magnolia, along a mountain range, a figure was scaling the side of the mountain, ignoring the road that was formed.
Nero used Hell Bound to make his way up the side. The claws of Spectral Bringer digging into the side of the mountain with ease.
After yanking himself up one final time, Nero landed on the top of the mountain. Turning around to look out over the cliff he scaled up.
Magnolia and the large lake could be seen in the distance. The sun and the warm colored sky gave the scene a beautiful, serene feel; however, a certain hunter was feeling far from serene at the moment.
Nero stood at the edge of the cliff, his coat flapping in the breeze as he folded his arms. Someone like him, who had the power of a demon, needed little to worry about.
Nero scoffed as he bowed his head, not discouraged, but of dislike for his luck.
A few minutes of silence passed by as he reviewed everything Makarov had told him earlier.
The platinum blond should've figured he'd be in a position like this, a rock and a hard place. He had a means home, in the form of a sword Sparda used to seal the Demon World from the Human world, but required tremendous skill to use. Skill that he doesn't have, and on the event he does manage to open a portal, he could end up doing so right to the Demon World. He could stay and try to master Yamato, like his father did, but that would take years to do. His only other options were these: use magic and commit mass murder in order to get home. Both of which he'd die before doing.
"Why do even act surprised?" said Nero to himself, "anyone who's come into contact with Dante has something god awful happen to them."
Nero sighed as he turned away from the cliff and walked towards a tree that was on the mountain top. He stopped beside the tree and reached to rest his right hand against it.
"Looks like I'm stuck here," said the hunter.
The hunter's thoughts then shifted to the demon from the photograph: Mundus. He had come to this world nearly twenty years ago with the intent to conquer it, from what Makarov had said, and left when things got tough. Why he came here, was beyond Nero, but it didn't matter anymore because the demon was dead. However this still didn't fix his situation.
Nero gritted his teeth as he smashed Devil Bringer into
the side of the tree, in an act of anger. The tree snapped in two before collapsing.
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Nero attempted to calm himself. Getting angry wasn't going to help him now. Sighing, he sat on the truck of the fallen tree, and gazed into the distance. Watching the orange sun set along the horizon as the warm colors in the sky reflected off the big lake. Nero stared at the scenery longer, feeling all the traces of anger within him shift into calmness.
"Can't do anything to get home, and mastering Yamato seems like my best bet," said Nero to himself, "but could take years to do..."
He then shifted his gaze to Magnolia where he could see the small buildings, the Cathedral, and the Fairy Tail Guild Hall in the distance. Nero focused primarily on the guild. He was recalling what Master Makarov had offered him on the first night he came to the guild hall.
'I am offering you a chance,' Makarov said, 'I have sent out messages to some colleagues of mine to look into any type of magic that can send you home. If, however, there isn't any, I will offer you a place here for as long as you wish to stay.'
Nero still felt a little honored from the old man's offer to become a part of his guild and his 'family'. He looked back on the events that had transpired on Galuna Island. He remembered fighting Angelica, Lyon, his minions, Zalty, and then nearly getting killed by Deliora. It was only because of Natsu and Gray he was still alive.
Nero smirked. He had to admit that he, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy made a good team. He never got to fight alongside Erza but from what Nero had heard, she was a very skilled warrior. Plus, he did witness the scarlet-haired mage change into a suit of armor and destroy that giant 'lens'over Galuna. That was pretty cool to witness and his gut told him that was only a taste of her power.
He continued to stare at the pagoda-shaped building that was the Fairy Tail guild hall. Inside of which resided wizards with a variety of powers and people willing to bring him into their 'family'. Though nearly everyone in there was crazy in their own way, they still used their magic powers for good and protected others. In addition, they had grown to become good friends to him, even in the short amount of time he had known them and his own antisocial behavior.
"Gramps did offer me a place at the Guild, and it's not like I have anywhere else to go," said Nero to himself, "If I'm gonna be here for a while, might as well make the most out of the situation. And be around good people while I'm at it."
Suddenly an old memory surfaced, one he was fond of, so much so that he reached up to his shirt, under his coat, and took out a necklace. It was the same necklace from the photograph, the one depicting four angel wings, with two surrounding a red crystal.
It was Kyrie's necklace.
*Flashback*
"Thank you, Ms. Kyrie!"
Nero smiled as Kyrie handed a bouquet of flowers to the little girl. Kyrie had requested that Nero go with her as she went to go pick up flowers for the city hospital. She planned to give a bouquet to each patient, hoping that the flowers would keep their spirits up, and encourage them to not give up on the hope of recovery. They were just about to head for the hospital, when a little girl, one that Kyrie had watched over before, had approached them asking for a bouquet. Apparently, the hospital announced the arrival of the flowers, and the girl wanted to be the one to give her ailing mother the flowers personally.
With a story like that, Nero had to admit that even he would have given her a bouquet.
Kyrie smiled as the girl waved good-bye. She then turned towards Nero, but was surprised by his amused expression, "What is it?" she asked shyly as she met his gaze.
Nero chuckled, "Nothin'. Just watching you be your usual, charitable self, is all," He then gave her a genuine smile, "You did good."
Kyrie returned the smile, "I'd like to think so..."
Grinning, Nero playfully shoved her, "Well, c'mon. Don't we have to go deliver these flowers?"
The young girl giggled, before pushing the cart to the hospital, with Nero by her side.
End Flashback*
"Besides," said the hunter to himself as e looked down at the necklace, "she'd want me to help everyone I can."
With his mind made up, a smile adorned the platinum blond's face. Standing up from the Fallen tree, Nero made his way to the edge of the cliff. Taking a few steps back, he dashed full speed right towards it before leaping off. Any person who saw this would think Nero was committing suicide; however, it was so far from the truth. The demon hunter unsheathed Red Queen and stabbed the sword into the side of the cliff, slowing him down. Reaching a suitable height, he pushed off the cliff and sailed right towards Magnolia, one specific building as his destination.
Master Makarov spent at least half an hour explaining what Sanguis Porta was to his "children". They were all mortified that such a spell even existed, but they were mostly empathetic for Nero. He was far away from his home and the only way back was to do something that he could never do.
"Oh man…this is gotta be tough for him," Gray muttered, referring to Nero.
"And horrible," Lucy added, feeling sympathy for the demon hunter.
"You think he'll come back?" Natsu asked, genuinely worried.
Everyone looked at him with unsure expressions. Nobody had an answer to that. Trying to picture yourself stranded in another universe and murdering people in the quadruple digits being the only alternative back was not easy to fathom.
Makarov shrugged, still with his eyes shut, "No one can say, but…I fear Nero may believe there is no point in coming back."
Erza sat at the bar, staring at the countertop with a neutral expression, but her mind was somewhere else. She was still processing what Makarov had told them about Nero's situation. She felt for him and she wondered if he would come back. She knew little about this Demon Slayer mage but, even in the short time they interacted, she knew he was strong and possessed a good heart.
She then recalled the two incidents when she had her sword at Nero's throat. Unlike everyone else, he did not cower in fear or beg for forgiveness…Nero actually responded by drawing his own weapon and firing at her. And in that time, he was calm, unafraid, and deadly serious. Erza knew that everyone in the guild feared her and acted at their best around her, but Nero…he didn't seem fazed by her at all.
All of a sudden, Erza's musings were interrupted when the doors to the hall were swung open. And Nero strolled calmly in, a cocky smirk on his face.
"Nero!" Greeted Happy flying over to the approaching hunter, "You're back!"
"Course I'm back," he responded, casually as he made his way to the bar and in front of the wizards. As he was approaching, the wizards noticed the way Nero carried himself: standing tall with a smirk on his face, like he was ready to take on the world, which bewildered everyone. Earlier Nero had rushed out seemingly upset, but now he seemed…happy?
"Where else would I go?" He asked as he stopped in front of the wizards and sat down at the bar, "besides, would be a waste of time to go to all that effort of putting together a room and then not use it."
"Master Makarov told us about that spell," Gray mentioned in a grave tone.
"Figured he would," said the hunter, his smirk faltering for a split second, "but no use crying over it."
This made a few mages blink in confusion. Most people would be devastated if they were put in Nero's current predicament, but instead he was carefree and cherry despite his ordeal.
"W-wait…so…you're not sad about not being able to go home?" Lucy asked.
"More like upset," clarifies Nero, "sucks that I won't be able to see my friends or family for a while, or if ever," Nero paused, looking away for a moment, "but if I know them, they'd be on my case, telling me to stop sulking, whining about a situation I have no control over, and get out there and live my life."
The wizards gathered were shocked from his inner strength. Though he probably would never see his family and friends again, he decided to look at what he did have that was good and focused on that.
"And speaking of which," continued Nero as he glanced over at Makarov out of the corner of his eye, "Makarov, you remember that offer you gave me a while back?"
The old man looked at him and blinked, "Yes, why?"
"Was it a limited time offer, or can I still take you up on that?" Asked Nero casually.
Makarov's eyes widened, his jaw almost falling to the floor, "W-what? You mean…you…"
"Your hearing failing or something?" Teased Nero, "I want to join Fairy Tail and become a member."
That was the real shocker. Nearly everyone's eyes bulged wider than saucers and their mouths almost fell off their faces. However, the shock quickly faded and was replaced by joy.
"No way, dude, are you serious?" Gray almost shouted.
"If you know me then you should know that I mean what I say," answered Nero, before turning to the master, "So, is the offer still up?"
Everyone looked at the orange and blue attired old man. The guild master gave Nero a hard stare as if he were scanning his well-being. Finally, after a short tense moment, he held out his small hand, which Nero took and shook.
Makarov laughed, "Of course it does. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like. Welcome to Fairy Tail, Nero."
All the wizards present cheered in excitement for Nero, for he was now the newest member of the Fairy Tail guild and family.
"ALRIGHT!" Natsu yelled as he patted Nero on the back, "Welcome to our guild, buddy!"
"Aye," Happy agreed, flying over the demon hunter.
Gray came to Nero's other side and added, "Yeah, you're really gonna like it here, man."
"Something tells me you're probably right," chuckles Nero.
Everyone cheered for their newest soon to-be member. Not only would they have another friend and ally, but a very powerful one at that. Erza watched the group of wizards crowding around the teen hero. She smiled, feeling happy for the demon hunter. Though he could never go home, he was still able to move forward with his head held high.
A sudden realization came to Erza, causing her to smirk, 'At least now if he defies a guild rule, I can punish him for it.'
To Be Continued...