And here we are, part 4 of the Phantom Lord Arc. Okay, just to give some context, I originally considered Nero activating his Trigger during his fight with Aria, but then I remembered that Jose is crazy powerful, so, the Phantom Lord Master has the privilege of being the first human to have the crap beaten out of him by Nero going full trigger. Also, I fully intend on making some references to previous Devil May Cry games, cause, let's face it, Jose dresses the same way as Arkham does when he was pretending to be Jester. Another thing to note, I plan to give Nero the ability to fight with just his hands. Like how Trish has her own form of hand-to-hand combat in the form of Bare Fists. I do plan on making some unique moves for Nero, ones that involve Devil Bringer and Spectral Bringer.

Another thing to note, I plan on having Nero and Erza take on Jose in the end, but leave the final blow to Makarov, because the guy needs a little more screen time for this arc and letting Nero do the deed just seems predictable to me. In other news, I will be introducing other Buster moves in later chapters and a few Easter eggs later on.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; Devil May Cry is owned by Capcom and Fairy Tail is owned by whoever owns Fairy Tail.

As per my promise, kudos to Ultimate10 for inspiring me to write this story, you're an awesome writer and I wish I was half the writer you are.

Devil Tail

Chapter 13: Phantom Lord Part 4

Fairy Tail Guild

Things had been escalating without any signs of stopping. Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and several others were looking to defeat the last of the Element 4, unaware that Nero was already in the process of doing so, and was holding his own incredibly well. While Nero fueled Aria, outside in the Fairy Tail courtyard, the remaining wizards left standing to defend their Guild continued to fight the seemingly endless waves of phantom soldiers. For every group they wiped out, more popped up in their place. The fatigue on everyone was beginning to show, but none of them would dare falter now.

Erza, who had re-quipped into her Flame Empress armor, cocked back her flaming sword and delivered a fiery slash at a mass of phantoms. The light and intense heat instantly destroyed the Shade creations.

Without warning, the attention of the Guild and Magnolia citizens was captured by the huge magical seal being drawn slowly in front of the Giant. It appeared to be glowing. Nearly everyone in Magnolia and some of the Fairy Tail mages began to panic. Erza's own eyes widened in horror as she lightly gasped. That sign meant that there was almost enough accumulated power for the Abyss Break spell to be cast.

'Come on boys, what is taking so long?' Erza thought, 'You must hurry. Don't fail me now!'

Then, Erza felt another chilling sensation travel down her spine that made her shiver uncomfortably. She only got this feeling when something evil and powerful was nearby. What was going on in there?

Phantom Lord, The Giant, Inner hallway

Back inside The Giant, the fight between Fairy Tail's Demon Hunter and the final member of the Elemental 4 still standing we're going at with all they had, but it seemed that Nero had the edge in pretty much every category.

Nero leaped back, flipping around as he fired several rounds with Blue Rose at Aria, forcing the mage to shield himself with his airspace magic. When Nero landed, he continued firing, a look of anger on his face. This guy was really starting to piss him off.

The hunter only stopped firing when he saw smoky gusts of wind collected around Aria, the power around him growing ever stronger now that his blindfold had been removed. He could now unleash his full strength.

"Now demon-man," Aria said, moving his hands so that his right was oriented upwards and his left hand was facing down, "step into Zero, the airspace of death. It is capable of consuming all life in its path."

Nero growled angrily as his glare intensified. This guy was willing to take away life so easily? With no remorse for his actions? The hunter adjusted his grip on Red Queen; to him, Aria was no better than a monster. A demon.

"You'd take away life so easily with no remorse?!" Snarled the hunter, pointing Red Queen at him, "That makes you no better than the demons I hunt!"

Aria sneered, he cared little of what this Fairy Tail scum thought, "Think what you want, it doesn't matter," Smoky wind gathered around his hands, "Now, let's see how you handle this, cretin!" He then discharged a large, hazy whirlwind at Nero.

The hunter held his ground, crossing his arms across his chest, using Red Queen and Blue Rose to shield himself from the incoming gust of wind. Adjusting his stance, Nero was able to hold himself against the rush of wind, despite his own lightweight in contrast to the power of the wind. Instead, his boots began to slide back slightly.

Nero groaned as he could feel barrages or airspace attacks hit him from multiple angles. The magic, he could feel the magic trying to kill him, take away his life, but he wouldn't let it.

Nero finally stopped sliding back as he held his ground, an inhuman growl rumbled from the hunter. Looking up, the hunter could see Aria through the whirlwind. His eyes flashed red as the human-demon began to push through the barrage of airspace attacks and the power of the wind. His coat billowing behind him as he picked up the pace, pushing through the spell until he was in a full sprint.

Aria's gasped in shock at Nero being able to run through Zero's whirlwinds and airspace projectiles, "What?! No! This can't be!" he cried.

Nero continued to sprint forward, holstering Blue Rose as he took Red Queen and sheathed it across his back. Once he was close enough, the hunter leaped into the air, an enraged yell coming from him as he pulled back Devil Bringer, Spectral Bringer appeared alongside as he came down on the air mage. With the ethereal fist cocked back, Nero sent it full force right at Aria.

A powerful bang sounded as the fist collided with the mage's chest, sending the man flying back, however, his beating just began. Nero reached out with Devil Bringer and grabbed Aria by his ankle and pulled him back. The mage looked at the hunter in fear, catching a glimpse of the look of fury blazing in his glowing red eyes. The glimpse only lasted for a second before Nero smashed Devil Bringer directly into his face. The impact forced the mage right into the floor, leaving a shallow crater as the hunter grabbed him by his hair with his left hand and began mercilessly pummeling his face in.

The platinum blonde was crouched over the airspace mage, just punching his face. Blow after blow was dealt, even as blood began to splatter his hand. The mage's blood, not the hunter's. But after a few more punches, the hunter managed to catch himself, his breathing ragged as his rage began to dwindle.

Soon, the reality of the situation set in. Nero's face changed from anger to regret. In the shallow crater, Aria lay, beaten within an inch of his life. He was alive, but the numerous bruises, cuts, and injuries were testament enough that the fury of a Demon Hunter was dangerous.

A sigh escaped Nero as he stood up, his fist falling to his side as he released his grip on the mage's hair. Turning away from the scene, the hunter looked at his hands, especially Devil Bringer. The blood contrasting against the cyan blue glow.

He nearly lost it.

He nearly broke the one rule Dante would actually listen to and made sure all his friends also adhered to. But more importantly, he acted like him.

Nero clenched his eyes shut as he took Devil Bringer and gripped it by the wrist. However, resolved himself as he released his grip on his right arm. Letting it fall to his side. The hunter only glanced back when he heard Aria groan in pain, reassuring the hunter, to an extent, that despite the punishment, Aria was still alive.

"Using a spell to consume all life? Just how pathetic can you be?" Inquired Nero as he stepped towards Aria, the wizard looking at Nero with his right eye because it wasn't as bruised as his left, which was completely shut due to the pummeling, "You're not strong. You're not even in the same league as either me or Makarov. The only thing that will be associated with you, is that your a spineless, sobbing coward."

A waterfall of tears streamed down Aria's cut face, the tears had a slight red coloring as blood seemed down into them as they fell, his lips quivering, "That's…so sad," he sobbed before finally succumbing to unconsciousness.

"And for the record, I'm only part demon," Stated Nero as he looked down at the mage with no sympathy in his eyes at all, "but I'm a full-on Demon Hunter."

Fairy Tail Guild, Magnolia

The Fairy Tail wizards and Magnolia residents were all beginning to freak out as the golden magic circle in front of the Giant became brighter. All of a sudden, the light dimmed away as the magical seal disappeared. The Giant's crimson eyes faded into blackness.

When the giant mechanical robot's arms fell limply to its sides, the Fairy Tail mages all cheered. Erza let out a sigh of relief. They had cut it close, but the boys managed to prevent the Abyss Break spell from being cast.

"They did it!" Cana cheered, "They must've taken out the Element 4."

Erza smiled, 'Good work, boys,' Suddenly, Titania felt another cold feeling run through her body. However, this time, it felt even more disturbing than before. She had to wonder, what could possibly make her feel like this? out as the golden magic circle in front of the Giant became brighter. All of a sudden, the light dimmed away as the magical seal disappeared. The Giant's crimson eyes faded into blackness.

When the giant mechanical robot's arms fell limply to its sides, the Fairy Tail mages all cheered. Erza let out a sigh of relief. They had cut it close, but the boys managed to prevent the Abyss Break spell from being cast.

"They did it!" Cana cheered, "They must've taken out the Element 4."

Erza smiled, 'Good work, boys,' Suddenly, Titania felt another cold feeling run through her body. However, this time, it felt even more disturbing than before. She had to wonder, what could possibly make her feel like this?

Phantom Lord, The Giant, Control Center

Within The Giant, Inside a dark, stone room that served as the command center for the Giant, the master of Phantom Lord was furious.

"I don't believe it!" Jose yelled, "My strongest wizards, the Element 4, were defeated by those worthless Fairy Tail scum!"

"Guess that makes them even worse than scum, huh?" Gajeel commented.

"Gajeel," Jose turned and looked down from a high platform to see the Iron Dragon Slayer. Heaved over his right shoulder was Lucy, her clothes torn and shredded in places, and she herself looked beaten, "So I see you returned bearing a gift, have you?"

"Yeah, I picked up a little something while I was out." He replied as he dropped Lucy's unconscious form to the floor.

"Very impressive, but pray tell," Jose asked, "How were you able to track her down so quickly?"

"Never underestimate the nose of a Dragon Slayer," The black haired man answered.

"She is alive, right?" the Phantom Lord master inquired while frowning, "Without a pulse she's worthless to us."

Gajeel hummed as he held his chin in fake thought, "I was pretty rough with her. LET'S SEE!" Without warning, he kicked Lucy into a wall, denting it in the process.

Lucy awoke from unconsciousness, coughing up a little blood as her body was filled with pain.

"Yep! She's still alive and kicking!" Gajeel remarked smugly.

"Excellent work, Gajeel," Jose praised with a sinister smile, "I knew I could count on you!"

General Area

Everyone's attention, whether they were inside the Giant or in the courtyard, was grabbed by a ding in the Phantom Lord's PA system.

'Attention you pathetic Fairy Tail scum,' Jose said, 'listen carefully because I'll only say this once.'

Suddenly, a familiar feminine scream sounded through the speakers that made every single mage freeze in horror while Nero gritted his teeth in fury at what he heard.

'we have captured your precious Lucy Heartfilia, which means that our first order of business is now out of the way. And that means only one more thing, my favorite part, wiping you pathetic brats right off the face of Earthland.'

Phantom Lord, The Giant, Control Center

After giving the enemy his announcement, Jose walked to the door, but before he then stopped, "Keep an eye out on the girl," He ordered, "There are still some pests scuttling around in my Guild Hall."

"You talkin' about Salamander and that Demon-Slayer mage?" Gajeel asked.

"Yes, and their friends," He answered, "They've been lucky this far, but their luck is about to come to an end. I'm going to exterminate them myself," The aura around Jose became darker and deadlier, a violent, eerie light shining from his body.

With Natsu...

Natsu, who had been running down a long corridor, froze in his tracks as soon as Jose's proclamation came through on the speakers. He clenched his fists as his body shook in ferocity, rage plastered all over his face.

"Lucy," he said inaudibly, to himself, "They…they got her."

"Oh no," Happy added worriedly, "Natsu, what do we do?"

The Dragon Slayer didn't respond. His fists tightened as the rage and power coursing through his body began to intensify. Flames ignited all over his body as his strength increased, the strong emotions inside him boosting his powers to new heights.

Happy watched in awe, taking a small tentative step back, "N-Natsu?"

Suddenly, the flames on Natsu's body became bigger until they combusted upward, taking the shape of a dragon with wings and a horned head. His eyes were glowing bright gold as he let out a deafening yell that shook the building.

With Nero...

Nero growled in anger as he whipped out Blue Rose and shot the PA speaker in anger, after hearing what Jose had said, and what had been to Lucy if her cry of pain was any clue. In his anger, Nero unsheathed Red Queen, taking it in his right hand as he was about to start tearing the place to shreds to find Lucy and Jose to make him pay for what had been done.

He stomped off, raising his sword to smash a wall down, but stopped when he heard a familiar, yet faint yell coming through the stone walls.

"Guess I'm not the only one pissed off," said Nero, to himself as he recognized the yell as Natsu.

"NERO!" a feminine voice cried.

Turning around, the hunter saw Mirajane, Gray, and Elfman sprinting into the room. The trio had cuts and bruises in various places on their bodies whilst their clothing was ripped in random areas. The three looked like they had gone through hell.

"Mira?" Said Nero, recognizing his friend, though extremely confused as to why she was here. From what he knows, although Mira used to be a Wizard, she retired to work at the bar in Fairy Tail. What was she doing here, "The hell are you doing? What happened?"

"Jose kidnapped me and was about to kill me when I tried to impersonate Lucy. Elfman saved me though by changing into a full body Take-Over," the white haired woman replied.

"Guess that explains what that yell was I heard earlier," Commented Nero, recalling the yell he heard, "you guys find the Abyss spells power source yet?"

"Yeah," Gray answered, "it turns out the power source is actually the Element 4. Once we defeated them, we stopped the spell from being cast."

"At least there's some good news," sighed Nero, relieved that his friends and the people were out of immediate danger. But his expression changed back to from seriousness as he focused on their new dilemma, "but now Jose has Lucy. Means we got to save her."

"Since Natsu's not here, I can imagine he's getting right on that," Gray replied.

Elfman looked behind Nero to see a beaten Aria lying in a pile of debris. "Whoa!" he said, his eyes growing wider from surprise, "That's Aria!"

"Woah," breathed Gray, when he saw the unconscious wizard, "You defeated him all by yourself?"

"Yeah," Replied Nero evenly, though he winced a little when Mira saw him. She let out a little gasp when she saw the injuries he suffered. Gray and Elfman both agreed that Nero went a little overboard.

"What did you do to him?" she asked, turning back to the hunter, seeing the regretful look on his face.

"Guy said and used some spells that reminded me of someone I knew," he answered, though deflected a direct answer.

"What happened?" Asked Mira, wanting to know what caused Nero to snap like this. She had gotten to know the hunter well since he first arrived here, and she could tell that, while he was rough around the edges, he was a good person at heart.

Before the hunter could try to deflect away, the room was suddenly filled with a dark haze.

The group froze as the black cloud created unpleasant, horrid sensations in their bodies. It felt as if death was coursing around them, trying to take away their souls.

"What the?" Gray mumbled.

"What is it?" Mirajane wondered.

"It's like death," Said Nero, narrowing his eyes, "I can feel it."

"I…I don't like this feeling." The ice mage stammered.

"Man," Elfman remarked, "I'm super manly and this is even giving me the creeps."

"Whatever it is, it's pure evil," said Mirajane.

Suddenly, ominous clapping echoed through the massive, silent room. The group turned around to see a man wearing blue pants, a blue coat with a yellow trim, and black boots. His hair was black and tied back in a ponytail. His mustache was cut clean and his lips were a sickly onyx. But what really caught their gaze was the purplish-black energy radiating off of his body.

To Nero, he looked quite similar to Jester, a persona Arkham has adopted when Dante and Lady first met. Arkham had been working with Vergil, trying to take the power Sparda had left behind when he sealed the Demon World away. Arkham double crossed Vergil and manipulated him, Dante, and Lady into fighting each other so that he could take the power for himself. Jester was the persona he used when he was manipulating Dante into doing what he wanted.

"Bravo. You are all quite keen. Very impressive, Fairy Tail wizards," the leader of Phantom Lord commended the group, "But never in my wildest dreams did I believe it would be this entertaining. Taking out my Jupiter Cannon, disposing of my elite Element 4, and you even managed to bring my Giant to its knees."

"So, you're Jose?" his tone unimpressed, as a way to annoy Jose, but Nero was no fool, he was very wary of the man in front of them, but he didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing the hunter uneasy. The darkness surrounding the man...it felt wrong. Not like a demon, but compared to most magic, it clearly was something dangerous.

Elfman, Gray, and Mirajane's expressions turned into shock and horror, "No way!" the former whispered.

"He's Phantom Lord's master?!" Gray yelled.

'Oh no,' Mirajane thought while holding a hand over her mouth, 'It's like a dark cloud is hanging over him. It makes me sick just being near him.'

"You've all entertained me so much I just have to return the favor," Jose stated.

Nero snorted, as he reached for Red Queen, stowing his fear while Elfman and Gray got over theirs and adopted looks of determination and defiance. The Demon Hunter unsheathed his sword and let the blade rest on the ground.

"Well, you guys waiting on me? Or are you ready?" asked Nero, flipping Red Queen around, planting the tip into the ground before revving it twice, letting the flames blaze out.

"Oh yeah," they both replied.

Jose smirked sinisterly, "I'll return it in full."

Gray took a stance, and chanted, "Ice Make: Saucer!"

Elfman held up his right arm, a magic circle appearing on top of it, "Beast arm!"

"WAIT!" Mirajane screamed; however, her protests were ignored as Elfman and Gray jumped at Jose.

All of a sudden, an amethyst circle appeared in front of Jose, and then a volley of purple jellyfish-like ghosts fired out from it. Gray and Elfman both shouted in agony as the ghosts blasted them backwards, where they crashed into the floor.

"Elfman! Gray!" Mirajane cried.

Nero growled in an anger before he turned to Jose. However, before the Hunter could even make a move, the darkness mage moved his hand in a swift arc pattern. As a result, a red explosion of magical energy sent the group, minus Nero who Table Hopped away at the last second. The trio hit the side of the room, striking the stone floor hard. That one attack put all of them out of the fight.

Nero's reflexes were the only thing that saved him from taking the full force, but he was still nicked a little as he stumbled across the ground but managed to roll to his feet. Nero grunted as pain laced his body, but he didn't care. The hunter charged, letting out a war cry as he charged, dragging the tip of Red Queen across the ground as he got ready to slice Jose to pieces.

The wielder of darkness magic smiled haughtily as he held out his hand. Remarkably, a tornado of purple and black energy fired from his hand and smacked into Nero, blowing him back. The whirlwind of dark magic reversed Nero's trajectory completely, but he managed to hold his footing and steady himself. Though he was being pushed back, the hunter managed to slow himself to where he stopped completely.

Using Devil Bringer to shield his face, Nero raised his head as he growled in anger and pain. Whatever the heck Jose was blasting him with, it definitely caused pain, but not to the extent which could've been felt by anyone else. Adjusting his grip on Red Queen, Nero held the sword tightly with his left hand and swung out, completely dispersing the whirlwind.

Jose raised an eyebrow in surprise, seeing his magic dissipated so easily by the Demon Slayer. Taking his surprise for an opening, Nero swung out Devil Bringer, creating six Summoned Swords, each one spun right towards Jose.

In response, the Master of Phantom Lord held out his hands horizontally, smaller violent beams shot out from his fingertips and intercepted all of the swords, shattering them between the two. As the pieces vanished, both the Son of the Dark Slayer and Phantom Lord Master stood tall, facing each other, the latter with a calm and superior look.

"Fascinating," Jose remarked, "You used some sort of weapon which overpowered the Jupiter Cannon and defeated my strongest mage singlehandedly."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've exceeded expectations, and nor is it the first time I've beaten people like you and I've dealt with worse," started Nero, the hunter narrowed his baby blue eyes as he locked his attention on the man before him, "Whatever you throw at me, I'll just find a way to beat it."

A wicked, malevolent smile took shape on Jose's onyx lips, "Powerful, arrogant, courageous, and overconfident…destroying you will fill me with unbelievable pleasure."

"I beg to differ," retorted Nero in anger as the two stared each other down. The tension between them was so thick, a person could cut it with a knife. One daring the other to make the first move, testing to see which had the greater resolve. And it seemed that Nero wanted to end this now as he suddenly lunged forward at full speed, charging right for Jose. The darkness mage simply grinned evilly as he held out his hand and fired an ethereal pillar at his opponent. The Demon Hunter raised Devil Bringer and threw out Spectral Bringer, the ethereal hand much larger than normal as all its fingers were stretched out and the open palm ready to snatch the master, but collided with the pillar.

As a result, an explosion of purple ghostly energy shrouded the room and even shook the building a bit. The battle between the Demon Hunter and the Phantom Lord Master was taking place.

Fairy Tail Guild, Magnolia

Erza, still in her Flame Empress Armor, was slashing her sword in the air and sending multiple fiery waves at the countless phantom Shades that were attacking them. All the Fairy Tail wizards were growing weaker and tired, but they still continued to fight.

"Geez, these things just keep coming," Cana said as she threw out a few cards on the ground underneath a group of phantoms. Suddenly, a bright light shone out from the cards and immediately destroyed the Shade creations.

"Indeed," Erza replied, "I'll change into a stronger suit of armor. Perhaps I can take a load of stress off of everyone-"

Suddenly, the bright scarlet-haired girl froze in midsentence. Her eyes widened whilst an expression of alarm was cast on her face. At that moment, she had felt an eerie, deathly feeling seep into her body. It made her absolutely sick. In response, Erza fell to a knee, clutching her stomach in pain.

"Erza!" Cana shouted. The card mage ran over to her comrade and kneeled by her.

Titania was lost in her thoughts. The source of the sickening disturbance was coming from Phantom's Guild Hall. As she looked up at the Giant, she felt her insides twist. Whatever was causing this disturbing sensation, Erza couldn't ignore it anymore. Her friends needed her.

"Cana, you and the others hold the fort here. I have to go," Erza commanded, standing right back up.

"What? Why?" Cana asked; confused as to why Erza was leaving.

"I am sensing something evil and very powerful coming from Phantom's headquarters. I can't ignore it anymore. I must assist my friends while I still can," She answered.

The brunette girl nodded in understanding, "Don't worry! We'll hold on for as long as we can."

Erza smiled and nodded. Her body was then shrouded by golden light. When the flash faded, she was attiring her Black Wing Armor. Titania crouched low and leaped into the air, flying at top speed towards the giant robot.

Phantom Lord, Control Center

Lucy cried out as she was thrown into the stone wall for the umpteenth time. Her clothes were torn and her body was beaten badly. From the middle of the room, Gajeel shifted his iron-club arm back to normal.

"C'mon," Gajeel taunted, "you gotta sing better than that."

Lucy whimpered slightly, the pain coursing through her body was intense.

"Too bad," the iron-eating mage sneered, "your heart's just not in it."

"Hey Gajeel, hasn't she had enough?" a Phantom mage implied, standing alongside a small group of other wizards, "Besides, the master said he doesn't want her getting hurt or nothing."

Gajeel lifted a brow, "But what else am I supposed to do?" He then turned away, his expression growing serious, "I can't believe he's doing this. He leaves me to watch over her while he has all the fun."

He shifted his left arm into an iron-club and stepped toward Lucy, who was still on the ground trembling.

"Anyways, I'm just playing with my new toy."

"Yeah…but if the master catches you doing this, we're all gonna be in trouble," The mage stated.

Gajeel frowned as he turned back and extended out his iron pillar, slamming it into the man's face. This shocked the other Phantom wizards in the room.

"Shut up!" Gajeel said, "I know master thinks she's important, but she's just another piece of Fairy scum to me. Hmph, even though she's a girl, she's still a wizard. She should've known what she was getting herself into when she joined that Guild."

"You're taking this too far, man. Let it go," A dark-skinned man wearing shades and a white jacket named Boze urged.

"Master's gonna lose it, isn't he?" added a dark-skinned girl named Sue.

"Well then, I'll just tell him that it was all your idea," Gajeel smirked before he began laughing.

Boze and Sue both sweat dropped in nervousness, "Please don't do that," they both said in unison.

Gajeel then turned back to Lucy, who was steadily picking herself up from the floor, "Aw, I kinda feel sorry for her. Her fellow guild members didn't even want her back until they found out that her old man's loaded."

To the iron mage's surprise, Lucy actually smirked and chuckled. As she shakily stood up, she said, "Geez, you're so dumb. I can barely even believe it. It's just sad. I actually feel sorry for you."

"What? Did she really just say that?" Boze asked in disbelief.

"Is this chick really talkin' smack to Gajeel?" Sue added.

Lucy looked straight at Gajeel, a confident smile on her bruised face, "Phantom Lord, huh? Ruler of the spirits? Oh please, you don't scare me at all."

Gajeel smiled sinisterly, "You shouldn't have said that."

Within a blink of an eye, the Iron Dragon Slayer extended an iron-club and slammed it into Lucy's abdomen, pinning her against the wall.

"You've got some nerve running your mouth like that in a situation like this, princess. I have to admit, you got guts." He then pulled back his arm, letting her fall to her knees in exhaustion and agony. "Make some noise! But not this trash talk act you're putting on, I want screams! And if I don't start getting what I want, you're gonna be sorry!"

Despite the pain she was enduring, Lucy looked back up with a smirk, "Then why don't you just go ahead and finish me," She retorted with steel in her voice, "Then you're gonna be sorry. Just you wait."

"Oh yeah, who's gonna make me?!" Gajeel demanded, "I'm curious."

The other Phantom Lord mages could only watch the scene in front of them, but they had to concede, Lucy was either really brave or really stupid.

"Fairy Tail," she replied, "They'll never let you get away with this. And if I were you, I'd be watching my back from now on… because the world's strongest Guild will come for you!"

Gajeel's eyes narrowed at the blond haired girl, "So they're gonna come after me, huh?" Then, a wicked, delighted grin took shake on his face. He changed both of his arms into iron-clubs, crossing them in front of him, "Sounds like fun!"

Gajeel then leaped at Lucy, the heel of his boots aimed right for her face.

"Gajeel!" Boze shouted.

"STOP!" Sue yelled.

However, an instant before Gajeel's foot met the Celestial mage's, the floor beneath him erupted in flames. Suddenly, a wall of fire formed between Gajeel and Lucy. Without warning, a pissed off Natsu jumped out of the fire and delivered a wicked haymaker into the iron mage's face.

Gajeel went flying back, but he managed to flip midair and land on his feet. He looked up to see Natsu standing before him; his body was engulfed in flames that were taking the shape of a dragon. The Fire Dragon Slayer let out a long, mighty yell with his arms held up in a 'powered up' fashion.

The black, spiked hair wizard grinned, "So I was right. I knew I smelled him here."

Lucy, meanwhile, smiled in relief, "It's Natsu," She said softly.

"GRAAAHHH!" Natsu bellowed, "GAAAAAJEEEEELLLL!"

With Nero...

The hunter slid back as a result of the collision with Spectral Bringer and the incoming ethereal energy. Clenching his teeth tightly as he pulled back his right arm, seeing smoke come off the limb, and the pain that laced it; but that didn't mean he was out for the count. Far from it actually, as the hunter suddenly lunged forward, Red Queen humming as the Exceed was pushed to the max. Nero headed right for Jose, intending to use a Streak, but at the last second, the Master of Phantom Lord vanished into thin air, letting the hunter swing at nothing.

Looking around, Nero kept his guard up. So, this guy could teleport like Aria? As the Demon-Hybrid looked around, scanning every bit of the room he was in, Jose appeared on top of a piece of fallen debris, directly behind Nero. A malicious grin on his, the darkness master charged up, along with a dozen violet ghosts and shot a ghostly beam direct at Nero's back.

Nero, who had heard the beam at the last second, rolled to the side, but his shoulder got nicked and caused him to land on his chest, rolling across the floor as he held his left shoulder. Groaning in pain, the hunter was back on his feet. The magic he was using, the energy this guy was firing at him, it really packed a punch, but strangely, he felt it could've been much worse than what he got.

Jose started laughing maniacally as he held out his right hand, shooting a barrage of smaller amethyst blasts at Nero. The hunter, however, leaped into the air, letting the blasts strike the place where he previously had been. While he was still in the air, he fired a dozen shots at Jose, Summoned Swords accompanying the bullets.

The Phantom Lord master vanished within the blink of an eye again, but Nero was beginning to see a pattern forming. However, he was still figuring it out so he wasn't prepared for when Jose suddenly appeared in front of him, his fist wreathed in dark magic. Jose sent a monstrous right hook at Nero's face. The hunter took the blow, which knocked him clean off his feet where he flew across the room before landing on his back but managed to roll back to his feet.

Nero held his jaw, as he let out a hiss of pain. Shaking his head a little, the hunter felt a warm liquid in his mouth, before spitting it out, taking immediate notice of the blood that stained the ground. Pain laced his jaw, but it was numbing already; however, the fact still stands that whatever magic Jose was using against him, it was sapping away his strength. Jose, standing on the other side of the room, smirked at his adversary who was clearly in pain.

"Pity," Jose commented snidely, "I was expecting more of a challenge from you, dear Demon-Slayer mage. Do pray tell, why don't you simply use that power you have? I bet you could hold your own against me then."

"Like hell, I'd give you the satisfaction of that," snapped Nero, as he stood up, using Red Queen as a support to keep himself steady, "and I don't need Yamato to beat your sorry ass!"

"Strong words. I'm eager to see if you can back them up!" Jose roared, holding out his hand and firing another round of his Dark Beams.

"Okay," said Nero as he readied himself, as the small amethyst projectiles flew towards him, "Take your time!"

As Nero said that, he threw out his hands to both sides, Devil Bringer lit up brightly as the world adopted a negative effect. The projectiles from Jose slowed down, almost stopping entirely. Using the Quicksilver trick, Nero charged right towards Jose, dodging the slow-moving blasts until the hunter was right in front of the Phantom Lord Master.

Jumping into the air, Nero slammed both feet into Jose's face, throwing the man off his feet. While in Quicksilver, Nero retains all his speed while in normal time, he looks to be traveling faster than the mortal eye can see. As a result of the speed, the blow Jose took was so powerful that he was sent flying back where he smashed into the stone wall located directly behind him. The impact he suffered caused the wall to collapse onto the man, burying him under the rubble. As the Quicksilver's effects subsided, Nero kept his focus on the pile, waiting for Jose to get up, because he knows, that he will get up.

Then, from the pile of debris, deadly purple light illuminated in-between the cracks of the rubble. A short moment later, an explosion of dark amethyst energy blew the debris away. Standing there was Jose, though his entire form was consumed by purple, ghostly flames. The white in his eyes had turned pitch black while his pupils were little silver dots. A little trickle of blood was running out from Jose's nose, and his expression displayed pure rage.

"YOU'VE JUST MADE A BIG MISTAKE, YOU WORTHLESS BRAT!" the Phantom master bellowed.

"I've made plenty of mistakes," retorted Nero, resting Red Queen on his shoulder, keeping a neutral expression, "but kicking your ass, knocking you down a couple notches, isn't one of them."

In response, Jose growled savagely and swiped his hand in an arc motion. As a result, a wave of red energy was discharged at Nero; but his attack missed as the demon hunter skillfully dodged the wave, letting it pass by harmlessly. Snarling in rage, the master of Phantom Lord held out his hands and fired several Dark Beams at the Demon Hunter.

Nero easily dodged the attacks, ducking and dodging under blasts of energy projectiles, even sliding underneath multiple blasts to get right in close. Once in close, Nero began a savage attack with Red Queen. Jose, unprepared for the hunter to make this move, couldn't defend himself properly as Nero hacked and swung his sword at him, the blade slicing through his clothing and into his skin.

Each time the blade connected, Jose let out a pained yell as Nero pushed on. The power of the Exceed, coupled with Nero's own strength knocked the master back. The pummeling he received caused immense amounts of pain, and if it weren't for his incredible durability and magical strength, he would've been sliced in two, or bisected by Red Queen.

After a few more strikes, Nero performed a High Roller, using the full power of the Exceed system, performing three merciless slashes, dragging his sword through the ground before the last strike sent Jose flying back. The master rolled across the ground a few yards before coming to a stop on his stomach.

Pushing himself to his hands and feet, opened his eyes and glared at Nero who was stalking towards him. In a swift motion, he held out his hands and fired mauve, ghostly blasts out from his fingertips. Nero was blasted back by the barrage of Dark Beams but managed to use Red Queen and Devil Bringer to block the attack, but was still sent sliding back about four yards.

The Phantom master yelled as he shot out a purplish-black, ethereal tornado from his hands. Nero got caught in the hellish tornado, letting a cry of pain before he managed to use Hell Bound, sending Spectral Bringer at a piece of debris where its claws dug into the stone, to pull himself out and to safety. Once he was out of the tornado, Nero hit the floor but managed to roll with the impact to get back to his feet.

Nero knew that Jose was powerful from what he heard, but seriously, no wonder he was made one of the Ten Wizard Saints.

"At least I'm getting a workout from this," quipped Nero as he spits out some blood and pushed himself up, placing Red Queen on his back.

Jose lifted a brow, scrutinizing this Demon Hunter in disdain, but also, intrigue. Just how difficult was it to defeat one Demon-Slayer?

"You gonna stand there staring at me, or," taunted Nero, performing a few punches, like he was boxing to mock Jose, "are you going to save me the trouble of putting you through hell by surrendering?"

Jose sneered, a sickening grin spreading over his face, "What?! You think I would surrender to a freak like yourself? NEVER!" The master of Phantom Lord let out a war cry as he lunged at Nero, his fist wreathed with dark magic.

Nero smirked, dodging the punch that was aimed for his head by dashing backward, then grabbed Red Queen and performed his Shuffle move, slashing the sword across Jose's chest. The master went flying back and slammed into another wall.

The Phantom ruler quickly got up; the darkness magic around him erupting around his body as his power increased. He was through wasting time against this boy! He was one of the Ten Wizard Saints! He would not tolerate this insult!

"DIE YOU FAIRY SCUM!" He roared violently. He then held out his hands and fired countless darkness blasts at Nero.

Nero swung out Devil Bringer, summoning six Summoned Swords, but changed things up a little. Instead of having them shot at Jose, he maneuvered them so that they were spinning around him, creating a sort of barrier. The blades were spinning fast enough and provided enough cover to create a barrier against Jose's attacks. When Jose finally held off his Dark Beam, Nero used it as an opening and sent Spectral Bringer right at Jose. The ethereal hand grabbed the master by the face and Nero pulled himself in.

Once in close, he swung the ethereal appendage up and caught the wizard in a buster. Slamming him back down, Jose stumbled onto his feet, but Nero wasn't about to let him go. Nero sent a straight left to Jose's jaw, followed by a right uppercut. Spinning around, he performed a roundhouse kick, his heel slamming into the master's jaw. Without letting him go, Nero began to perform several brutal left and right hooks, staggering the Wizard Saint each time before jumping up slightly and slamming his boot directly into his stomach.

Jose was knocked back several yards where he slammed into another wall, cracking it in dozens of places before he fell to his stomach.

"You brought this on yourself, Jose," stated Nero as he made his way towards the Phantom Lord Master.

Jose got his hands underneath him and pushed himself up, his eyes locking onto the approaching demon hunter with a wrathful glare. He was in pain, the hunter was certain of that. The pain he felt from being struck so hard and fast was something in itself, but what he just endured was much, much stronger.

A second later, Jose tilted his head back, letting out a raged induced cry. an eerie purple energy coursed across his body for a second, before it became more intense and much stronger. Then, purple lighting discharged from Jose's body and went right at Nero. The Hunter raised Devil Bringer in the nick of time to block most of the blast, but other bolts of lightning hit him, causing the hunter to slide back as he grunted in pain.

Jose turned his wrathful glare at the demon hunter, "I've had enough of these games!" he shouted.

Without warning, purple, ghost shaped tendrils shot out from a dark amethyst magical circle in front of Jose's hand. Nero was taken off-guard, but barely dodged the first tendrils, but several other ghostly tentacles wrapped around his body. When the hunter tried to break free from the magic restraining him, the ethereal tendrils became tighter and gave the demon hunter a powerful dose of agony. Nero wasn't able to contain the need to let out a cry of pain, the agony he was enduring was almost unbearable. Keyword, almost.

The Phantom master smiled in wicked pleasure, "Yes. It hurts doesn't it, Sparda. This is my Shade Entangle. The more you struggle, the stronger the grip becomes, and the more pain you receive."

To show that was true, crimson lighting danced around the ghostly tentacles, electrifying Nero, causing even more pain.

Jose sneered as he tortured his victim; the screams were like music to his ears.

He tapped a finger to his chin in thought, studying the demon-hybrid, "Hmm, you, Nero Sparda, are powerful. I'd even say that you're even more powerful than Titania, Laxus, and Mystogan. I'm impressed," conceded the master of Phantom Lord, mockingly praising the hunter, "You're the first one who's ever lasted this long against me in battle, and you even made me feel pain. I won't lie, that, in itself is quite a feat."

Jose paused for a second, like he was contemplating what he was gonna say next, before he leveled his calm, smug expression at Nero's restrained and withering body, "But yah know what really burns me about Fairy Tail?" he asked rhetorically, "That powerful wizards like you align yourself to Makarov!"

Nero cried out in pain, the hold on his body tightening as his agony increased.

"Since you can't be tempted to join Phantom Lord, there's only one solution," Jose's black eyes widened in malign glee, "To kill you!"

The demon hybrid let out another agonized cry, the tendrils wrapping around his body even tighter, the pain increasing every second he was trapped in the spell. It hurt. It hurt so much, Nero was unable to properly focus his power to begin to free himself. He tried reaching for either Blue Rose or Red Queen, but his arms were pinned down to his sides.

Some seconds passed as the relentless pain continued across Nero's body. Stubbornly, he kept trying to reach for his weapons, putting as much strength as he could, but his arms wouldn't budge and, true to Jose's description of the spell, the more he tried to free himself, the more pain he would endure.

'Is this how it ends?' thought Nero, wondering if this was how he was going to die. Not by a demon, but by an arrogant wizard from another world? Guess some things are not as they seem.

Suddenly, the pain he was experiencing, the resistance he was facing when moving his arms, even the ghostly tendrils holding him vanished. The second they did, Nero fell to his hands and knees, coughing as he lost his concentration. Lifting his head up, he was surprised to see that Jose had somehow been blown back into a wall, smashing into it, causing debris to rain down on top of him.

"What the hell?" rasped Nero in confusion. What just happened? Did someone...

The demon hunter got his answer when he felt something land beside him. Turning around, he looked up and saw Erza, wearing her Black Wing Armor, sword grasped tightly in her hands.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what emotion Erza was predominantly experiencing, and that emotion was anger. Actually, scratch that, she was royaly pissed off. But her expression softened when she turned her gaze to Nero and knelt by him.

"Nero," she spoke, checking over him to see if there were any injuries he suffered, "are you alright."

Nero let out a groan as he stood up, rolling his shoulder as some wounds he had been dealt were steadily healing themselves, "Worse for wear," he answered before turning to Erza, "but still in the fight. Thanks by the way. But kinda wondering what you're doing here, though not to say I don't appreciate that you are."

"I got a very uneasy feeling that I couldn't ignore." She answered. Erza turned her sights to the pile of debris on top of Jose. "And it seems my gut was right."

All of a sudden, a brilliant explosion of darkness magic exploded out from the rubble. In its wake was a furious Jose. He turned his creepy, black eyes to Nero and then finally to Erza.

His onyx eyes narrowed in disdain, "Titania Erza. I was hoping you would join this little fight of ours. Now I get to wipe out two of Makarov's most powerful wizards at once!"

"Guy packs a punch...a really big punch," cautioned Nero as he and Erza took stances, ready to defend themselves and hold their ground, "Any ideas on how to beat him?"

Titania was silent as she contemplated on a possible strategy to fight Jose. She knew he was very powerful. Hell, he was on par with Makarov. Nonetheless, she knew that Nero and herself were both powerful as well, but not strong enough to take him on alone. There was only one option.

"He's just as powerful as Master Makarov," Erza said, "The only chance we have of defeating him is to fight him together."

"Right," nodded Nero, though he personally would've liked to fight Jose on his own, if it was out of pride or just because he didn't want anyone else to get hurt, he wasn't arrogant enough or stupid enough to turn down help. He knew damn well that if he fought Jose by himself, a lot of things could get broken or worse, one of his friends could end up getting killed in the crossfire. Besides, doubling up with Erza definitely had a higher chance of winning, "In that case, let's get to work."

"Killing you two will bring me so much pleasure!" Jose jeered manically as he lit up his hands with darkness magic and fired another ethereal tornado at the duo.

Nero immediately placed himself in front of Erza, bringing out six Summoned Swords and maneuvered them in front to act as a barrier. The whirlwind collided with the blades and was deflected. But the force of the attack pushed Nero back a couple yards.

As soon as Jose ceased his attack, an eyebrow lifted when he saw that a certain armor-shifting wizard was missing.

'Now where did Miss Titania go?' Jose mused.

Titania made her presence known when she flew at the darkness wizard and attempted to slash him. Master Jose, however, saw this coming and simply sidestepped the attack.

He grinned sinisterly, 'Ah…there she is.'

Erza slashed at him relentlessly, trying to land a blow, but Jose avoided them with ease. When she lunged at him, Jose grabbed Erza's forearm, spun around and threw her across the room. In midair, she corrected herself and landed on her feet.

Now that Erza was clear, Nero drew Blue Rose, channeling power from Devil Bringer into the firearm, he took aim at Jose and fired a very powerful shot. As soon as the gun went off, six Summoned Swords appeared and followed one after the other. The bullet struck Jose in the shoulder, causing the master to stagger and spin around to form a shield, blocking the sword which shattered when they collided.

"You're magic is-" whatever Jose wanted to say was cut off when the initial shot hit him suddenly exploded, blasting him away into the closest wall. The impact with the wall caused stones to fall and a debris cloud to form around the darkness mage, blocking Nero and Erza's sight of Jose.

Nero was anticipating for the mage to suddenly explode out of the smoke screen, thoroughly pissed and ready to murder them, but he never came. Instead, Nero was more or less taken off guard when the sadist suddenly appeared behind him. Nero had only seconds to react and bring up Devil Bringer to block the powerful punch laced with magic that was aimed at his head. Jose's fist collided with Nero's arm, but instead of the Hunter being knocked back, Jose was thrown away, slamming into a wall where he bounced off and landed in a heap on his stomach.

"What?!" demanded Jose, confused and enraged that his attack literally did nothing against the Fairy Tail brat. He looked at Nero's arm and saw that it looked...wrong. Disfigured, glowing, reptilian...demonic.

However, before Jose could contemplate any longer on Nero's physiology, he dodged what would've been a lethal swipe from Erza.

Titania then slashed vertically but Jose simply dodged that blow as well, a confident, smug grin on his face. This only enraged Erza more as she slashed countless times at Jose, in different patterns, all within a blink of an eye. Amazingly, their enemy evaded every attack.

Jose then went on the offensive, holding out his hand and flicking his finger at Erza. The result was a small but powerful projectile of violent energy smacking into her, which sent her flying backward and into a pile of rubble.

Nero growled as he charged at Erza, having seen her get blown back. Suffice to say, he was left shocked to see Jose had simply flicked her away like a bug. Nero glared at the darkness mage as he ran and threw out Devil Bringer, Spectral Bringer heading right towards the man.

However, Jose dodged the attack by leaping into the air, as he had done with Erza, but Nero was expecting that to happen. Leaping into the air himself, revving the Exceed to full, the hunter dashed in the air right at Jose to perform an EX Calibur. The blade of Red Queen slammed right into the man's chest, knocking him back. As Jose flew back, Nero sent out Spectral Bringer again, this time catching him by the face so that he could bring the master back into a Buster. While still in the air, Nero wrapped his arms around the Phantom Lord Master's midsection and performed an elevated suplex.

Not letting up, when Nero released him, he adjusted himself so that when Jose tried getting up, he took a dropkick to the face, courtesy of the hunter.

Phantom Lord's master got to his knees and scowled at his opponent. The darkness mage let out a fierce cry as he shot out an amethyst tendril of ghosts from his magical seal. Nero wasn't quick enough to avoid getting caught by a ghostly hand and was tossed into Erza, who was just getting back to her feet from the rubble.

Jose put his hands behind his back and smirked, "Hmph…you two are quite impressive, power-wise. But your methods of attacks are futile against me."

Titania and the Demon Hunter shakily got up and glared daggers at Jose. Both were keen enough to know that what they were doing wasn't going to work. They had to try something else.

"Guy's right, Erza," whispered Nero to Erza, "we're getting our asses kicked. We need to try something else. Something he would never expect."

Erza took a stance and held her sword ready for a possible attack from Jose, "I agree, but what? His powers are very strong."

Nero muttered something uninterpretable to himself as his mind began working. So far, he had noticed that most of Jose's offense was based on firing darkness magic whether in the form of twisters, lightning, bullets, or ghosts. The most fearful he had seen so far was that Shade Entangle. He knew that if he and Erza got caught in that, they were surely doomed.

Well, that is unless he...

'You know you can't win without it,' stated a raspy voice within Nero's mind, the hunter freezing for a fraction of a second, 'Power is everything. Without it, you can not protect anything-'

"Let alone yourself," muttered Nero, as he knew now what to do.

"Nero?" whispered Erza, giving the hunter a look of concern.

"Listen, I've got an idea," whispered the demon hybrid, as he rolled the wrist of Devil Bringer around. He knew he had to up his game, but what he was doing was stupid, reckless, dangerous, and insane. Which means that it was likely his best bet, "but whatever happens, I need you to trust me on this. No matter what."

"What are you saying?" asked Erza.

"Sharing final words with each other?" mocked Jose, cutting in on the two's conversation, "how touching."

"Oh, we weren't sharing final words, just talking about the pitiful excuse you call your guild," retorted Nero, standing up, rolling Devil Bringer around as it began to glow faintly.

"What!?" demanded Jose, losing his sense of humor in a nanosecond.

"Nero, what are you-," began Titania, but Nero continued like hadn't been interrupted.

"You make all these statements, about how Phantom Lord is so much more powerful than Fairy Tail, but let's do a quick recall; you attacked our guild when nobody was there, attacked three of our wizards in an ambush in contrast to us, assaulting your guild head on and would've won if it weren't for Aria," jeered the hunter, seeing that he was easily getting underneath Jose's skin, taunting his power and guild, "speaking of mister blowhard, how did feel to know that your supposedly strongest mage went down with barely a fight?"

Jose was glaring in total fury at Nero. How dare he mock him and his guild!

"I WILL END YOU!" bellowed Jose as he charged darkness magic into his fist, before lunging at Nero. Roaring in fury as he closed the distance between them in a second.

"Nero!" cried out Erza, trying to warn Nero to get out of the way, but then something happened. Something that shocked both her and Jose. Nero simply held out his right hand, Devil Bringer glowing brightly. Jose's fist collided with the open palm, resulting in a powerful shockwave, however, the Demon Hunter didn't budge a bit as he caught Phantom Lord master's fist with one hand.

Jose stared at Nero in shock. Completely confused as to how he was able to stop his attack so easily. However, his shock only amplified as he saw the demon hunter's appendage up close but specifically, how it glowed and...was absorbing his power!

"Word of advice, something I also gave Aria, but he didn't listen to it," mocked Nero as he absorbed enough of Jose's magic into Devil Bringer, though he would admit, it felt wrong, like some discomfort when it happened, but easily shoved Jose back, "magic isn't that effective against demons."

Jose got over his shock and his smile returned as he lifted a brow in interest, "So you're not human, are you? Well, guess that gives more of a reason to break you!"

The master of Phantom Lord held out his hand and discharged a huge, purple lightning bolt at Nero. Erza was about to warn him but was shocked yet again when Nero backhanded the blast and with Devil Bringer.

"Didn't I just tell you?" demanded Nero, raising an eyebrow, "magic isn't going to cut it with me."

Nero suddenly lunged forward faster than Jose could anticipate, summoning Spectral Bringer in the process and smashed the ethereal appendage directly into him. The force of which sent him careening back into a pile of fallen roof rubble.

Nero turned back to Erza, the redhead that was currently looking at him with a little awe, "I take him on directly while you attack when his back is turned. You got it?"

Usually, she would be the one giving the orders; however, she knew now was not the time. Besides, Nero was very capable of leadership and he had a good grasp of battle and fighting. From what he had told her during their free time before this Phantom Lord incident, he had defeated dozens of demons and taken on threats far larger than anything they had seen yet. Even now Erza still found that to be amazing.

When Jose arose from the rubble, his black, deathly eyes were locked onto the duo, "You're full of surprises, aren't you?! I'll admit I've never been in a fight this exciting before," A sadistic grin grew on his black lips, "After I finish you two off, I'll hang up your cadavers for all of your fellow guildmates to see. They'll have no choice but to surrender then!"

The demon hunter and armor switching knight looked away from each other to the Phantom Lord Master. Each sending their own glare at the Phantom Ruler.

"Our guild will never surrender to a despicable man like you!" Erza snarled.

"Like what the lady said," added Nero, unsheathing Red Queen, and revved the Exceed, "We'd sooner kill ourselves than lose to you."

"Action speaks louder than words!" Jose roared as he held out a hand and shot a barrage of Dark Beams at his opponents.

Erza grabbed Nero by his shoulders and took to the air to avoid the projectiles, knowing that Nero couldn't fly. Seeing them take off, Jose soon quickly followed them, Nero held out Devil Bringer, Spectral Bringer appeared in front of them, the ethereal hand completely stretch open and blocked the blasts.

"At least we agree on something," smirked the Demon Hunter in a sassy matter.

Taking out Blue Rose, Nero fired dozens of bullets at the darkness wizard. Though Jose was quick enough to elude the attacks but was taken off guard when Nero suddenly used Spectral Bringer to punch the dark wizard. Knocking him down to the ground.

"Erza drop me!" ordered Nero.

Without arguing, Titania did just that, letting the demon hunter fall back to the ground. Once back on the ground, Nero holstered Blue Rose and unsheathed Red Queen. He then charged right towards Jose, slashing at him. Though Jose was quick enough to elude the attacks, he was distracted long enough for Titania to soar toward him and deliver a nice swipe diagonally across Jose's chest. Phantom's master cried out in pain as he slid back a few meters. A big gash went diagonally across Jose's blue coat and into his skin, a little blood was trickling from his injury.

His black eyes widened. She'd actually landed a blow on him? He clenched his teeth, his anger reaching the boiling point. He aimed a fierce glare at Titania and Nero, who were both either flying or charging towards him. Suddenly, a dark amethyst circle appeared in front of Jose. Out from the seal, several purple, jellyfish-like ghosts shot out and hit the duo before they realized it. Both crashed into the wall and landed on their feet, grunting as they did so.

They looked up and were a bit startled to see purplish-black energy coursing all around his body, but this time it looked far more intense. His dark, sickening eyes were honed in on them. Nevertheless, Nero and Erza took battle stances besides each other, ready to engage Jose once more.

Phantom Lord Headquarters, Command Center

Back in the command center, a group of Phantom Lord wizards all looked on in shock at the two Dragon Slayers staring at each other, their main focus being on Natsu who was shrouded in flames.

Gajeel chuckled, "Guess it's not too hard to catch a Salamander if you use the right bait."

"Unlike you Phantom creeps, I watch out for my friends!" Natsu retorted angrily, "I won't let you lay a hand on her!"

Lucy smiled warmly, touched by her friend's declaration. "Natsu," she whispered.

Without looking back, Natsu warned, "Stay back. This could get ugly."

"Uh…Gajeel?" Boze said warily.

"This one's mine," With a wicked grin, Gajeel leaped at Natsu and turned his arm into an iron-club, extending it out to attack Natsu.

"OH YEAH!" Natsu yelled as he caught Gajeel's club, spun around, and threw him into a wall.

Gajeel made sure to hit the wall with his feet, and held up his arm in time to block a powerful, flaming punch from Natsu. The blow was so strong that the stone walls tumbled apart behind Gajeel as a cloud of ash expanded through the room.

The Phantom mages cried out in fear as they ran away from the falling debris, "WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!" a terrified Phantom wizard cried.

Gajeel and Natsu both jumped out of the ash cloud, the latter's fist engulfed in flames. The Iron Dragon Slayer was unprepared as Natsu delivered a nasty right hook into his face. Phantom Lord's Dragon Slayer went flying back until he crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

The wall had dented inward, Gajeel lying in the center. He rubbed his chin and frowned. He was inwardly impressed and surprised that Salamander had managed to hurt him. Gajeel looked up in time to see Natsu jumping at him; his feet covered in fire.

"Fire Dragon Talon!" Natsu roared.

Gajeel brought up his iron-club arm to block the attack. This resulted in an outburst of smoke and fire that sent Natsu careening backward.

Lucy, meanwhile, watched the battle with concern and surprise. She couldn't believe how violent Natsu was against Gajeel. The Celestial wizard was brought out of her musings when Happy walked up to her in worry.

"Hey, are you alright?" the blue cat asked.

Lucy turned to him and smiled, "Happy," She then turned her attention back to Natsu, who was walking out of a dust cloud, an enraged scowl on his face. This startled her slightly, for she had never seen Natsu this angry before, "I've never seen Natsu like this."

"Aye," Happy replied, "He's really fired up now. I wouldn't wanna be that other guy."

The blond mage gulped and nodded her head in agreement.

Gajeel popped his neck and smirked, "For being Fairy scum you sure are cocky."

"You're the scum here, buddy!" countered Natsu, "As payback for what you did to Lucy, I'm gonna use my firepower to melt your ugly iron face!"

The iron mage chuckled, a sadistic smile on his face, "Sounds like fun. So give it a shot!"

The two Dragon Slayers yelled as they charged at one another. Gajeel's right arm was morphed into an iron-club whilst Natsu's hands were still covered in flames. They sent right hooks at one another; however, both were able to dodge them. Gajeel quickly turned around and extended his club at Natsu's feet. He was able to jump over the attack and lunge himself back at his opponent.

However, Gajeel swiftly changed his iron-club into a long, sharp black blade and swiped it at Natsu, forcing him to jump back. Natsu wiped his mouth of blood as he glared back at the other Dragon Slayer.

"That's a pretty gnarly toy you got there," Natsu commented.

Suddenly, spikes began to grow out from the edges of the blade, which gave it the appearance of deadly looking saw blade.

"This is the Iron Dragon Sword. Anything it touches is cut to shreds!" Gajeel responded. Without warning, the spikes started to spin around the blade much like a chainsaw, "I thought I'd give you an up close and personal demonstration!"

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" Natsu retorted, unafraid of Gajeel's chainsaw-like sword.

Lucy and Happy, however, were both startled to see Gajeel's lethal weapon, "How is he doing that?!" the former screamed.

"It's Iron Dragon Slayer magic!" Happy answered fearfully.

The Black Steel laughed manically as he leaped high toward Natsu, his sword reared back to its zenith. Natsu jumped back as Gajeel's blade struck the floor. The force of the blade created a large crevice in the floor, knocking over various Phantom mages in the process. Gajeel swiped his blade at the floor again, only for Natsu to dodge the attack once more.

"Not so cocky now! Are yah kid!?" Gajeel mocked as he swiped at Natsu, but the fire mage managed to evade each attack, "I think you're scared!"

The Iron Dragon Slayer slashed left and right and then vertical, forcing Natsu to jump back as he slid across the floor.

"I'll give you credit for being such a nimble little Fairy," remarked Gajeel.

"You're no slouch yourself," Natsu growled.

Gajeel converted his sword back into his normal arm, grinning wickedly at his adversary, "But we still gotta score to settle from the other day; no time like the present, wouldn't you agree?"

Natsu wiped his mouth and scowled. "Let's go, rivet face! I'm all fired up now!"

All of a sudden, a bright mint green magical seal appeared under Gajeel's feet; however, it was the next development that really shocked the wizards watching the fight. Gajeel's entire body was suddenly coated in thick, iron reptilian scales, sharp talons grew from his fingertips and toes, and his teeth became more serrated.

"Are ya ready, Fairy?" Gajeel quickly jumped at Natsu with his fist reared back, "Iron Dragon Hard Fist!"

Natsu held up his forearm to block the blow, but the strength behind the punch sent Natsu flying back and he crashed into a wall. Gajeel's eyes glowed red as he chuckled maliciously, "Hearing you hit that wall was like music to my ears."

Natsu was on a knee, cringing in pain as he held his injured left arm where Gajeel had left a nasty blue and purple bruise.

Lucy placed her hands over her mouth, looking on in worry and fear for Natsu, "He took Natsu down with just one hit," She mumbled.

"That's because those scales on his body are as hard as steel," Happy explained.

Gajeel hit Natsu with an uppercut and then launched a powerful right hook that sent him careening back. Natsu got back up and charged at the iron mage once more. However, Gajeel lifted up his leg to kick Natsu, but the fire wizard managed to duck under the attack. Nevertheless, the strength behind his kick created a shockwave that formed a crevice in the floor and a strong gale in addition.

Lucy's hair went flying back as Happy held onto her shoulders to keep from being blown back, "Is there really that much wind coming from his kick?"

"He's twice as strong now that he's covered in those dragon scales!" Happy cried.

Natsu ignited his fist and punched Gajeel in the chin. Shockingly, the iron wizard was unaffected by the blow as he smirked at Natsu.

"Aw…poor little Fairy. That had to hurt, huh?" The Iron Dragon Slayer jeered, "Hate to break it to yah but your puny hand can't scratch this steel!"

Natsu clenched his teeth while his eyes widened. But the Fire Dragon Slayer finally staggered back and let out a loud, pain-filled yell.

"He's got indestructible armor!" Lucy exclaimed in shock.

"Natsu!" Happy cried.

Natsu was rolling back and forth across the floor, yelling and holding his injured hand, "Oh, I'm fine! This doesn't hurt at all! Nope! Not at all!" he lied.

Lucy sweatdropped, "Yeah…(right.)"

"Aye," Happy agreed.

"CUT THE ACT, PUNK!" Gajeel yelled as he head-butted Natsu, which slammed him into the ground, "You just don't want your friends to see you cry like a baby!" He then punched the floor, and the force from the attack sent Natsu flying back.

Natsu, although, managed to correct himself in midair, landing on his feet and sliding back a few meters, "Alright, you walking garbage can, time to blow you away!"

He slammed his fists together, which ignited his flames and summoned a fiery magic circle with the head of a horned dragon in the center. Suddenly, Natsu took a deep breath as his cheeks puffed out wide, "Fire Dragon…"

Gajeel inhaled deeply as well, letting his cheeks expand, "Iron Dragon…"

Both Dragon Slayers put both hands over their mouths like trumpeters as they shouted simultaneously, "ROAR!"

A blast of iron particles shot out from Gajeel's mouth whilst a torrent of flames shot out from Natsu's. When the two breath attacks met, the result was a torrent of wind that sent the Phantom mages, Lucy, and Happy flying back. After a moment, the outburst of magical energy caused a section of wall to explode.

When the commotion ceased, the room was left in ruin as dust clouded the air. Gajeel and Natsu were both standing in the large gaping hole that their attacks had made.

"Looks like there are some pretty big differences between Iron and Fire Dragon Slayers, huh Salamander?" Gajeel smiled sadistically. The front of his tunic was shredded, revealing his hard iron abs, "You can shower me with flames until you run out of hot air, but it's not gonna crack my armor. On the other hand, my iron breath attacks will cut you to shreds!"

Lucy, who was leaning against a wall, whispered, "Natsu"

"C'mon! Take him!" Happy encouraged his partner.

Natsu lifted his head, his gray eyes honed in on the iron mage. But to Gajeel's confusion, a smirk appeared on Natsu's face, "I can't crack your armor, huh? You sure you're not feeling a draft, buddy?"

Suddenly, the iron scales on the left side of Gajeel's face cracked, which made the iron wizard's eyes widen in shock.

"He did it." Lucy smiled.

"Look, I don't just breathe regular old fire. My Fire Dragon Roar can destroy anything it touches!" Natsu took off his black and gold vest and tossed it aside, showing off his well-toned upper body. Suddenly, a fiery magical circle appeared under Natsu's feet as his body was engulfed in an inferno, "I think it's time we stop playing around! It's time to get to the real fight! I'm gonna shatter you into a million pieces!"

Gajeel's body was shrouded in a mint green light as he cackled maniacally, "LET'S GO!"

"Black Steel, I'm ready when you are." Natsu snarled.

"Sky's not big enough for two dragons, kid." Gajeel grinned. "So I'm just gonna have to take you down, Salamander!"

Lucy held her hand that had the Fairy Tail mark stamped on it over her chest, lightly trembling in nervousness, "Natsu."

Fairy Tail Guild, Courtyard

As all this was happening, back at the Fairy Tail Courtyard, all the Phantom soldiers began to gather above the Fairy Tail wizards. They swirled together to form a humungous black and purple ball with two blood red eyes and eight long black arms with large hands.

"That thing's got creepy hands," Laki commented.

"That's the least of our worries!" Wakaba replied.

"Yeah, this is bad," Macao added.

The gigantic onyx ball hovered closer to the Guild Hall, lifted up its arms, and then smashed them into the roof. The Fairy Tail mages could only watch in horror as the monster-sphere continued punching the building.

"That thing's trying to tear down our Guild Hall!" Cana exclaimed in panic.

"But Nero just fixed it!" Nab remarked.

The mages directed their attacks at the large black ball; however, they could do nothing to stop their enemy as it tore down the Guild Hall.

Phantom Lord Headquarters, Command Center

Natsu and Gajeel let out battle cries as they punched each other in the face. An explosion of iron particles, fire, and dust shook the room. The roof collapsed as both Dragon Slayers flew out of the building and high into the sky. After getting a hundred feet over the Giant, Natsu and Gajeel stopped and floated in midair. The Phantom mages, Lucy, and Happy were shocked to see that they were flying.

The iron and fire wizards traded punch after punch. Each time one struck the other, it created an energy outburst similar to fireworks. A moment later, the two descended back down and landed on the opposite end of the Giant's horned head. Crouching low, both Dragon Slayers leaped at one another until their foreheads collided with a loud smack; however, neither appeared to be injured.

After trading a few punches, they simultaneously kicked one another in the leg. The force from the blow caused the horn on the Giant's head to break off and fall into the command center. Lucy and Happy cried out as they dived to the floor.

"Now we gotta get outta here!" Lucy screamed.

As the dust settled once more, standing by the giant horn in the middle of the room was Gajeel and Natsu. Both of them were a few meters apart, both panting crazily. A few sweat drops streamed down Natsu's face as he took a moment to catch his breath.

However, he was caught off guard when Gajeel picked up a few pieces of iron and began to eat them, "What? HEY, THAT'S NOT FAIR, MAN! YOU'RE EATING?"

Gajeel shrugged nonchalantly, and with a full mouth, he said, "So what?"

"I can't believe he actually eats iron!" Lucy commented.

"I wonder if it tastes any good," Happy wondered with a thoughtful expression.

After swallowing the iron fragments, Gajeel smiled widely, "Now I gotta fire in my belly."

"HEY! That's my line, pal!" yelled Natsu.

Without warning, Gajeel let out a long, prolonged yell as his body flared with a brilliant mint green light. The power around him was increasing exponentially.

"Hang on! Where's all that energy coming from?" Lucy inquired apprehensively.

"It's because he ate all that iron," Happy answered, "When Dragon Slayers eat their element they replenish their magical energy and increase their power."

Lucy then became more serious, "So Natsu needs to eat fire." She realized.

"That would help but he can't eat his own fire. It needs to come from an outside source." Happy mentioned.

"Yeah, that's right. But how can we make that happen?" the Celestial mage asked.

"Say goodnight Fairy!" Gajeel summoned a magical circle as he straightened out his arm and aimed it at Natsu, "Iron Dragon Lance…Demon Claw!"

Suddenly, a volley of sharp iron projectiles fired from Gajeel's magic seal and bombarded Natsu. Natsu cried out in agony as the iron lances struck his body.

Lucy quickly dug around in her skirt pockets, frantically searching for her keys. "C'mon fire, fire, fire! Do I have any kind of fire spirit?" Her brown eyes went wide when she remembered getting attacked by Juvia and Sol, "Oh yeah, that's right. I lost my keys when I was attacked."

Lucy paused when she saw Natsu get blown back and hit the floor hard. She then pulled out a golden key with a green anchor emblem, "The only key I have is Sagittarius, but we haven't worked out a contract yet."

After seeing her pink haired friend get hit again, her determination grew, "But I don't care! This is the only chance we've got right now."

Fairy Tail Guild, Courtyard

The wizards of Fairy Tail continued attacking the giant ball monster; nevertheless, it was to no avail. It seemed that the phantom sphere was immune to their magical attacks. It continued punching the Guild Hall with its multiple arms, destroying it further with each hit.

Cana cried out, wanting to charge at the monster; however, Macao was holding her back, "No! Let me go!" she yelled desperately.

"There's nothing you can do!" Macao stated.

"Erza trusted me to protect the Guild Hall. I can't sit by and let it get destroyed!" Cana protested.

Nonetheless, Macao still held her tight and prevented her from charging in blindly.

Phantom Lord Head Quarters, Control Center

Natsu weakly stood back up. His energy levels were very low whilst Gajeel's was still high after consuming that iron. Natsu, who at first was giving Gajeel a fair fight, was now getting his butt whooped.

Lucy held out her key and chanted, "I call upon thee in the World of the Celestial Spirits! I beckon you to my side at once! Pass through the Gate!" All of a sudden, a golden light flared from beneath the blond mage's feet. "Open, Gate of the Archer: Sagittarius!"

With a sound similar to a bell, a tall man in a brown, anthropomorphic horse costume appeared. He held a bow and had a quill full of arrows strapped to his back. He also wore a white shirt, a green vest over it, and red and white striped pants.

"Well howdy do, my lady." Sagittarius greeted, saluting Lucy while doing so.

"Whoa!" Lucy exclaimed. "That really worked!"

"What's with the horse costume?!" Happy asked.

"Look I'll explain later, but can you shoot fire?" Lucy demanded.

"No, but I do have a profession in archery. Yes, indeed." The horse-man replied as he saluted the air.

Lucy and Happy's expressions fell. "Oh great…" she mumbled.

"Who does he think he's saluting over there?" Happy inquired.

They were brought out of their conversation as Natsu cautioned, "Lucy, you guys better stay out of the way."

Digging deep into his reserves, Natsu's body was again covered in fire. He crouched low and launched himself at Gajeel, hitting him in the abdomen with his head. "Fire Dragon Sword Horn!"

The attack made Gajeel slide back a couple meters; unfortunately for Natsu, his opponent was unharmed. Gajeel sneered. "I gotta fire in my belly, but where's yours?"

He pulled back his arms and struck Natsu in the back with his forearms, promptly slamming him into the floor. Gajeel then grabbed Natsu's head and extended his arm, which dragged Natsu's face across the ground. "Why don't yah eat some iron!"

Lucy covered her mouth, watching the spectacle in horror. Gajeel then threw Natsu across the room, his body landing near the giant hole in the wall.

"I think I've had my fun with you. So get lost, scumbag!" Gajeel yelled.

"He's down," Lucy said in disbelief.

Natsu remained laying on his front side, almost motionless.

"No," the Celestial mage breathed, "Natsu can't lose. Get up."

Gajeel then looked through the hole in the wall to see the giant ball monster in the distance tearing down the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. He smirked in satisfaction.

"Hey, take a look at your Guild Hall. We're doing some redecorating!" mocked Gajeel.

Natsu weakly opened an eye. It soon opened wide in alarm and shock when he witnessed the Guild Hall finally collapse on itself and fall apart. Now, it was nothing more than a pile of broken wood, stone, and roofing materials.

Gajeel tilted back his head and let out a loud, maniac-like cackle.

Like a floodgate being opened, memories of first coming to Fairy Tail, his first encounter with Gray and Erza, Erza teaching him to read and write, and his experiences with Lisanna replayed in Natsu's mind. After that, recent memories of meeting Lucy and then Makarov having his powers drained played through his head.

Amazingly, Natsu steadily got back to his feet, his face etched with stone hard determination. He turned around and, with his arms hanging limply by his sides, he slowly made his way back to Gajeel.

"Natsu," Lucy whimpered, tears trailing down her face, "don't do this. Maybe if I just let them take me, they'll leave you alone."

"Lucy," the blonde mage looked down to see a crying Happy clutching her boot. "You know there's no way he'd let that happen."

The Celestial wizard cried a little before perking up, a determined look cast on her face.

"Your Guild Hall is in shambles. How does it feel to lose?" Gajeel taunted.

Gajeel reared back his arm and struck Natsu with his forearm. As a result, Natsu went careening back until he collided with a large metal contraption. He fell to his knees before collapsing to the floor with a painful groan.

"I'd stay down if I were you," Gajeel advised, though he didn't mean it, "I'm getting really sick of this holding back garbage. And it's not gonna look good for you."

Happy sobbed as he watched his best friend get beaten to a pulp, "Natsu took down Jupiter and he fought a member of the Element 4. He's used up too much magical power. If he could just eat some fire he'd be strong enough to beat this guy!"

Gajeel lifted a weak, beaten Natsu off the floor by his scarf, "So long kid. This is the end of the line," He then shifted his arm into his Iron Dragon Sword.

"Just a moment," Sagittarius intervened. The horse-man pulled an arrow out from his quill and placed it in his bow, preparing to shoot it, "It seems I didn't quite understand what you were asking me earlier. When I arrived you inquired if I could shoot fire. I answered that I did not have the power to do so. However, now I see it's the fire itself that is important. It doesn't matter that I can't produce it myself, just as long as it's produced."

"THIS IS IT SALAMANDER! THIS IS THE END!" Gajeel roared in sinister glee.

Suddenly, bright blue light shined from beneath Sagittarius as he shot a few azure beams of light. The light materialized into arrows and struck the metal machinery behind Natsu and Gajeel. A second later, the contraption ignited into a fireball and consumed the two Dragon Slayers.

"Nice shot!" Happy commended.

"You found a way to create fire," Lucy noted incredulously.

"Depending on the force one applies when shooting an arrow and the trajectory that arrow follows, it's possible to pierce or shatter steel," Sagittarius explained.

Gajeel stepped out of the smoke and conflagration, scowling at Lucy and the others. "That man horse thing is getting in my way!" He yelled.

"Wow! You're like an archery genius, Sagittarius," Lucy smiled as she praised her horse-man spirit.

Sagittarius saluted nothing as he replied, "Well, I aim to please."

"If you wanna salute her, she's over here," Happy deadpanned.

Without warning, the inferno in the room was pulled away and sucked into Natsu's mouth. After inhaling all the flames, Natsu burped a little. He looked back up with a cheeky grin. Now his strength and stamina were revived.

"Just what I needed," He gave Lucy a thumbs-up, "Thanks a million, Lucy."

Lucy smiled in return and gave him a thumbs-up of her own.

Gajeel snarled in rage as he charged at Natsu, "Eat all the fire you want, but you're still not gonna beat me!"

As Gajeel encroached closer with his iron fist, Natsu turned around at the last moment and sent a wicked, flaming uppercut into Gajeel's chin. The blast sent the iron mage careening back until he crashed into the Giant's horn in the middle of the room. The impact cracked the metal in the process.

Natsu clenched his fist, feeling the anger within him boil high, "Levy, Droy, Jet, Lucy, Gramps, all my friends, my guild, Fairy Tail."

Gajeel jumped to the ground as he quickly recovered, "Iron Dragon Roar!"

A twister of iron particles fired from Gajeel's mouth and toward Natsu. Growling, Natsu held out the palms of his hands and deflected the breath attack. Gajeel's mouth dropped in shock and astonishment.

"He deflected my breath attack, and he did it with his bare hands!" he shouted.

Natsu glared at the Iron Dragon Slayer, his eyes glowing red, "I don't know how many more people you need to hurt before you're satisfied, but it ends now!"

"No," Gajeel muttered in disbelief, "this can't be. He's nothing but Fairy scum."

The veins on Natsu's head showed as he bared his sharp teeth in ferocity. "I'm gonna make you pay for hurting my friends. Messing with Fairy Tail is the biggest mistake you've ever made!"

Gajeel glowered back at Natsu, "The only mistake I made was not killing you sooner!"

Mint green light glowed from Gajeel's body as he charged up his powers. He then leaped at his enemy, his fist cocked back to its zenith, "Iron Dragon Hard Fist!"

In response, Natsu reared back his own arm and punched Gajeel's fist. For a second, nothing happened until the flames and emerald energy shrouding Natsu and Gajeel's forms increased. Remarkably, the iron scales on Gajeel's arm began to crack. The cracks worked their way up his arm and to his face.

Gajeel's eyes went wide in shock and horror, "No…I'm the strongest!" he yelled out in distraught.

"You're finished, Black Steel!" The fire covering Natsu's body became hotter and more intense as his eyes shined a bright gold, "Flame Lotus, Fire Dragon Fist!"

Shockingly, Natsu punched Gajeel in various places at incredible speed, "This is for Levy…Droy…Jet…Nab…Macao…Gramps…Nero….and LUCY!" He punched in-between each pause.

He delivered a powerful uppercut that sent a stunned Gajeel flying back. Natsu held out his arms in a 'power up' fashion as he let out a long, violent yell. However, Natsu didn't let up his onslaught, delivering another attack of flaming hot punches.

"THIS IS FOR ATTACKING THEM AND DESTROYING OUR GUILD HALL!" bellowed Natsu.

The last punch was so powerful it shook the entire Giant, ripped apart the walls of the command center in an explosion that could be seen from the courtyard, and caused the Giant's head to break off from its body, allowing it to fall into the ocean.

To avoid being crushed under tons of rubble, Happy and Lucy were in the air, the former carrying the latter. They looked around the ruined building, searching for their fellow guildmate.

"Where is he?" Lucy asked with concern.

Both Lucy and Happy called out for Natsu before they found him standing on the edge of the Giant. Below him, on the floor beneath, was a badly bruised and thoroughly beaten Gajeel Redfox.

"Alright! It looks like he won!" Happy said excitingly.

Lying in the crushed building debris, Gajeel mumbled painfully, "You…can't…defeat me."

"Oh yeah? Well, I think I just did." Natsu countered.

Finally, exhaustion caught up with the Fire Dragon Slayer as he fell backward in a limp heap. His body was aching hard in pain from fatigue and the injuries he'd sustained thanks to Gajeel. Many cuts and bruises were littered across his body while his pants were torn in places.

"He's down!" Lucy cried.

Despite the agony he was in, Natsu looked up to Lucy and Happy and grinned brightly, "Well, that was fun but I think I'm gonna rest a bit," He admitted.

The Celestial mage and flying cat laughed in response, happy that their friend had won and was alright.

With Nero...

The battle between the two Fairy Tail Guild members and the Phantom Lord Master had been harsh. However, things turned for the worse when Jose suddenly lifted up into the air. Nero and Erza looked up and were a bit startled to see purplish-black energy coursing all around his body, but this time it looked far more intense. His dark, sickening eyes were honed in on them. Nevertheless, Nero and Erza took battle stances besides each other, ready to engage Jose once more.

But, neither Nero or Erza could make a move when the building suddenly began to shake. The shaking was so violent that pieces of the roof began to break off, falling to the floor as cracks began to form all around the room. It didn't take the trio to figure out that the reason for the shaking was Natsu and Gajeel duking it out.

Jose closed his eyes and smiled smugly, "My, my, what an unruly dragon you have."

Erza panted heavily for a short moment before retorting, "He may be unruly, but he's an extremely powerful wizard."

"In a way, he's like us; strong and refuses to just give up," agreed Nero, planting Red Queen into the floor.

Erza glanced at the hunter and smiled, sending him a quick appreciative nod, which he returned.

"Hmph," Jose scoffed, "there's no need to be modest, you two. You, Titania Erza, your magic is just as spectacular as Salamander's." He then turned his gaze to Nero, "And you, Nero Sparda, while you are a demon and your magic is unfamiliar to me, I must admit, its stronger than anything I've seen before, and I suspect there is more within you. But the fact stands, you two are the first to last this long in battle against me. However, as fun as this has been, it's time I finish this," Jose stated.

The Phantom master held out his hand, summoning a dark violet magical seal. Three ghost-like tendrils expelled from the circle and flew towards the duo. Nero immediately recognized the attack. All too familiar with the Shade Entangle.

Reacting on instinct, Nero leaped in front of Erza, firing a size Summoned Swords at the incoming tendrils, slicing them to pieces. Rolling to the side, he drew Blue Rose with his right hand and fired at Jose, but the darkness mage was able to dodge each attack with his amazing reflexes. Jose looked back at Nero and glared at him.

"You're really beginning to annoy me!" he shouted.

"It's part of my charm," snarked Nero.

"And mine!" Erza added as she flew straight for Jose, Nero charging right behind her. Jose held out his hands and discharged countless darkness blasts at the duo, Nero held out Devil Bringer, the limb blocking the energy projectiles before sending Spectral Bringer at the master. The giant hand grabbed hold of Jose and smashed him into the ground with enough force to create a cloud of dust, blinding the mage.

Erza used this golden opportunity to her advantage as she soared into the dust cloud and slashed Jose across his chest again, leaving another diagonal wound.

Nero capitalized on her attack by dashing in with Red Queen fully revved up and slashed several times at the stunned Jose, leaving several cuts in the man. The master was sent sliding back a few yards. Raising his head, Jose was too slow to act as Erza and Nero both slugged him in the face, the hunter adding a little more power to it by adding Spectral Bringer. A loud smack echoed through the battered room as Jose went careening back until he crashed into a wall for the umpteenth time.

The armor shifting wizard landed beside Nero as he strode up, ready to continue the fight because it would. Like other previous times, Jose leaped out of the wall again, deadly purple energy radiating off of his body. Running at impressive speeds, he charged at his closest opponent, Nero, his fists charged up with darkness magic. The demon hunter also charged to meet Jose, cocking back Devil Bringer which was shinning a cyan blue.

When their fists met, the result was an explosion of energy that sent both flying back to opposite sides of the room. As Phantom Lord's master collided with the wall once again, Erza seized the opportunity and jumped at him, her sword reared back to its zenith.

Jose, however, sidestepped Titania's attack and grabbed Erza by her wrist. He slammed her into the floor from his right side to his left for a moment. He then tossed her across the room where she slammed into Nero who was just able to catch the wizard rather than let her slam into him again. But like last time, they still collided.

The darkness mage grinned widely, "Hearing you two crash into one another was so enjoyable. But I'll be even more overjoyed when I hear your screams as I tear you both apart!"

"Ow," muttered Nero as he and Erza both got up back to their feet, "This is getting really old."

Erza's right eye had swollen closed from the impact with Nero. Nevertheless, that didn't take away from the glare she was sending Jose's way.

"Even though you're blocking his energy attacks, he's still very strong and fast," Erza pointed out.

"True," agreed Nero, knowing that he couldn't hold out on this anymore, "but there's a way to even the playing field."

Erza glanced at her ally while raising an eyebrow, curious as to what Nero had planned.

The purplish-black, hazy energy surrounding Jose grew more intense as he stepped forward. A deadly, baleful smile took shape on his black lips as he stared at the two powerhouses in malevolent glee.

"What's the holdup you two? Aren't you going to attack me?" Jose mocked, "Where's that determination from before? Don't tell me you're getting scared!"

"On my trigger, got it?" explained Nero, finished telling Erza his plan.

Erza nodded in understanding.

"Don't flatter yourself, Jose," said Nero, addressing the Phantom Lord, "In all honesty, you should be the one who's afraid."

Nero leaped up into the air, Spectral Bringer appearing as he cocked back Devil Bringer. Nero sent the ethereal fist directly towards Jose's feet, however, the wizard easily dodged the attack, and the resulting dust cloud was left worthless. Instead, the Master used this to his advantage as he charged right towards Nero.

The hunter was taken by surprise and couldn't react in time when the Phantom Lord blasted him point blank in the chest.

"Nero!" cried out Erza in worry.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you!" laughed Jose as he turned to Titania, releasing another blast at her.

The Fairy Queen was knocked back, where she tumbled across the floor. Nero was just pushing himself to his hands and feet when he was struck by another magical spell. However, this was one he previously tried to avoid: Shade Entangle.

Pain ran across Nero's body as the spell took its effects. The hunter struggled against the tendrils wrapped around him, but the more he did, the more pain he experienced.

"Is your plan working out like you intended?" requested Jose mockingly.

"Jose!" yelled Erza as she flew at the mage, intending to free Nero, but was knocked back down, by the Phantom Lord, who used his darkness magic to pin her down.

"Fairy Tail is pathetic!" stated Jose, "You're pathetic! Despite all your power, you are all weak! Your master is weak! And I will end this guild once and for all! Might is everything! Without strength, you cannot protect anything! Let alone yourself!"

Nero had heard that sentence before. His eyes flared red. He wasn't about to lose anything else. Not anymore.

'He wants power,' thought Nero, as he dug into himself, finding whatever bit of energy he had left, 'Fine, I'll give him power!'

Energy began to flicker around the demon hunter, his eyes glowing brighter red as cyan blue energy spread across his body. Jose locked his attention on Nero with intrigue. The hunter's breathing was becoming harsher, more forced, as his right arm began to glow.

"What are you-," demanded Jose, but was cut off when Nero let out a scream as the energy around him blasted out.

The blast knocked both Jose and Erza away from the demon hunter. Tumbling across the floor before stopping. Debris had fallen onto Nero in the process, burying him underneath it.

"Nero!" shouted Erza, but was blasted by Jose who was back on his feet.

"Keep your focus, Miss Titania!" mocked the Phantom Lord, "But don't worry, you'll be joining him soon!"

The pile of debris began to as the sound of stone grinding against stone filled Jose's ears, only to fall silent. The Phantom Lord brushed it off as nothing more than remains settling.

The pile of wreckage that once had had dozens of stones and some supports pilled on top suddenly erupted and sent pieces flying everywhere, as if a bomb had been set off. A blue glow following shortly as dust filled the air, but not the glow. Jose and Erza both turned to look at the pile.

The Phantom Lord took a step back as a figure emerged from the smoke. The air around the being became distorted slightly, before a terrifying roar mixed in with a yell shattered the momentary silence. The scream was not like that of a human, but that of a monster. A demon.

Stepping out of the smoke was Nero, but not him at the same time. To Jose, this was a monster.

Behind the demon hunter was the Specter. Red Queen was sheathed across his back while Yamato was gripped tightly in the claws of Devil Bringer.

"Where's your confidence, Jose?" Demanded Nero in his Devil Trigger form, his eyes burning blood red as energy danced across his body, "What happened to destroying Fairy Tail? Destroying us?"

"Y-you think you scare me?!" demanded Jose as he took a step back as Nero drew closer. Ezra was silently watching as the hybrid demon came closer.

"I don't care what you think," snapped the Demon Hunter harshly, actually causing Jose to flinch slightly, "But what I do care about is the fact that you attacked my family. And that pissed me off."

In a move of desperation, Jose gathered a ball of violent energy into his hands before throwing it straight at Nero. But the Hunter raised Yamato and sliced it in two like it was nothing. Letting the darkness magic explode harmlessly behind him.

"You should've just given up like we told you, Jose," advised Nero as he drew even closer to Jose, the Phantom Lord master looked at him with complete fear, "Because right now, this demon is fresh out of mercy!"

Nero then charged right at the Phantom Lord Master, viciously slashing Yamato at him, the Specter mimicking his movements. Jose had been too afraid to move and was thus unable to defend himself. The hunter slashed with ferocity, but he had no intention of killing Jose. After several more slashes, Nero pulled out Red Queen and began to dual wield, landing five more swings before he finished with a dual slash that knocked Jose back several yards.

"Now, Erza!" shouted Nero.

"On it!" She responded.

Without warning, her body was shrouded in a bright golden light as she re-quipped into her Giant Armor. A red magic circle appeared in front of her hand as she summoned the Spear of Ha-Ja.

With her new enhanced strength, Erza crouched low and leaped at Jose. In midair, she twirled the spear around to gain momentum. She let out a mighty yell as she struck Jose in the face with her spear while he was still suspended in the air. She hit him again three more times. The third and final time was strong enough to Nero who threw out Devil Bringer, the Specter mimicking this, but the arm stretched out and caught Jose by the face and proceeded to pull him into a brutal uppercut.

While the Phantom Lord was still in the air, Nero pulled back Devil Bringer, the Specter mimicking this, but began to grow in size. Once the Specter was three times the size of its original form, Nero threw a humongous punch that smashed Jose into the floor, creating a massive crater.

Nero and Titania both gathered by the crater's rim, looking down into it. As the dust cleared, Jose was lying on his back. His clothes were tattered and his body was covered in cuts and bruises ranging in various sizes, some of them bleeding profusely. However, to their amazement, Jose rolled over and weakly returned to his feet.

Even after being punched with could arguably be around 720 million newtons of force and a spear several times, not to mention being slashed dozens of times by two swords. And yet he was still able to get right back up.

He glowered at two highly-adaptive warriors before him. A bit of blood was trickling down his face. The anger and hate he was feeling towards Nero and Erza was extreme.

"Ready for another round?" asked Nero, his voice distorted heavily.

Before Jose could respond, the demon hunter suddenly let out a gasp as he fell to his knees. The Specter vanished as his Devil Trigger shut down due to lack of power. Yamato vanished as well as Nero felt exhaustion take over.

"No," whispered Nero to himself, not understanding how he ran out of power.

Erza's brown eyes had widened in alarm and apprehension. Nero was out of power, thus making their situation take a dire turn for the worse. The advantage that they had gained over Jose had now vanished.

A malicious smile grew on Jose's ebony lips as he honed in on Nero with sinister glee. He cackled madly before he said, "It seems you've used up all your power! This is the part where you die!"

Jose gathered a ball of violent energy into his hands before throwing it straight at the demon hunter.

"Nero! NO!" cried Erza.

The orb shot towards Nero at a speed that he couldn't dodge, not that he was even able to with his exhaustion taking over. Nero just watched the orb approach him, just waiting for it to happen. However, instead of feeling knocked out or killed like he expected, nothing happened. He was taken by surprise when Jose's darkness magic was enveloped by a larger, brilliant white ball before they both disappeared.

"What in the...," rasped Nero, looking at the source in confusion. But when he did so, he couldn't help but gawk at the one responsible. Erza followed his gaze and she too shared Nero's expression.

Levitating on top of a tall pile of debris was Master Makarov. His arms were folded over his chest and his eyes were closed while he slowly descended to the top of the rubble pile. He was still wearing his white coat with the Ten Wizard Saints symbol on the back, blue trousers, and black leather boots.

When Makarov's feet finally set foot on the debris, he spoke with venom in his voice, "You have shed the blood of our children, and that is unforgivable! They have been made to suffer because of the incompetence of their parents. We are both to blame, Jose."

Nero and Erza both smiled, happy and relieved to see Makarov. The latter almost shed a tear from the sight of him. His skin was no longer a sickly green and he didn't appear to be on the verge of dying anytime soon. Even Nero, who wasn't a wizard, could tell that the master had regained his immense magical power.

"This war between us has gone on long enough," Makarov opened his eyes, casting a dark glare at Jose, "Let's end this here and now!"

Titania wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at Makarov, "Master."

"Good to see him back in the land of the living," commented Nero as he stumbled slightly as he stood up, "Guy knows how to make an entrance as well as Dante."

Jose was silent for a moment, but the smug grin on his creepy face spoke in volumes. He closed his eyes and then reopened them, only the white had changed to black and his pupils had turned to silver…like from earlier when Nero and Jose were fighting. The power around him began to increase as small pebbles floated off the floor around him.

"If we fight it could cause a catastrophe." Jose smiled spitefully.

Growling, Makarov narrowed his eyes in contempt. The power around the dwarf-sized wizard began to fluctuate as well. A golden ball of energy appeared at the end of his left index finger.

"In order to save my guild I will gladly take that risk!" Makarov countered.

Makarov and Jose stared at one another, vast amounts of magic coursing through them. At that moment, Gray, who was lying off on the other side of the room, was beginning to return to consciousness.

"W-what?" he mumbled, using his elbows to lift himself up from the cold floor. "For some reason, this warm light reminds me of the master."

When he turned his gaze to the source of the light, his dark eyes widened in awe and shock.

Jose let out a yell as he held out his hand, firing a few ghostly tendrils. Makarov responded by summoning a group of small, golden magic circles to intercept Jose's attacks.

"You kids need to get out of here now!" Makarov warned.

Gray found the strength to rise back to his feet as did Elfman, who too had arisen from unconsciousness.

"Gramps!" Gray cried.

"We'll stay with you!" Elfman added.

Nero and Erza turned to them, "No! We have to do what he says!" the latter ordered.

They ran to Gray, Elfman, and Mirajane, the latter of whom was just waking up.

"C'mon, we have to leave!" Erza yelled, "If we stay here, we're only going to get in his way."

"You sure that's a good idea? Guy just came back from the dead," asked Nero as he turned to her, "Just give me a minute and I'll be back in the fight."

Erza glanced at Makarov, and smiled, "That's unnecessary. He'll be alright this time. I have faith in our master."

"If you're sure," conceded Nero, nodding before turning and sprinted out of the room with the others, putting some distance between them and the showdown between two of the most powerful wizards in Fiore. He didn't like leaving a fight unfinished, but he wasn't in any state to pick a fight with Jose again.

Meanwhile, with Makarov and Jose, the wielder of darkness magic smiled in a complacent manner, "It's been six years since we both came face-to-face, when Phantom was number one and no one knew how large Fairy Tail would become," He chuckled before continuing, "But now it's been reduced to rubble!"

Makarov's glare intensified as he created a few golden orbs in the air connected by a white line, the whole thing laid out in a zigzag pattern.

"Our Guild Hall may have been destroyed, but we're strong as ever!" Makarov retorted angrily.

"I must admit I'm looking forward to this," Jose said, "Although it's frowned upon by the Council I can't wait to see who is the superior Wizard Saint."

All of a sudden, bright golden light began to shine from underneath Makarov's feet whilst ethereal purple light emerged from underneath Jose's. The two Wizard Saints were charging up their powers for the imminent battle to come.

"I couldn't have done this without you, my children. Bless you, all. Be proud that you are all members of Fairy Tail!" bellowed Makarov.

Astonishingly, dark storm clouds swirled high above the broken Giant; in addition, a sphere-shaped force field formed around the robot that pushed away the ocean waters. Lightning came down from the sky and struck near the Giant. The magical energy being manipulated was on an immense scale.

Meanwhile, Makarov and Jose were both pushing against each other with dome-shaped energy barriers. The former's was composed of a brilliant golden-white energy whilst the latter's was purplish-black. As he kept up the shield, Makarov yelled as he fired a white energy tendril from his left hand.

Jose countered the attack by shooting his own violent version of a tendril. When the two tendrils met, the result was an outburst of energy that sent both mages careening back a short distance before they regained control.

Phantom's master recovered quickly as a purple energy sphere with swirling tendrils extending out of it gathered in Jose's right hand, "Dead Wave!" he chanted.

Suddenly, an incredibly powerful pillar of darkness magic fired from Jose's hand. The blast was so strong it created a tidal wave outside the building and strong gusts of wind.

After a moment, when the dust settled, Makarov was still levitating off the floor and he was relatively unharmed. He summoned three magic circles, one under his feet and two on his right and left side. Once he accumulated enough energy, he cried out as he discharged a powerful beam of white light at Jose.

The building shook even more, causing more damage throughout the structure and more debris to collapse. Makarov landed on top of a debris pile once again whilst Jose stood on the floor beneath. He too had avoided Makarov's attack, just as Fairy Tail's master had evaded his before.

"I'm impressed," Makarov admitted, "You have so much power at your demand. I can see why the Council made you one of the Ten Wizard Saints."

Jose only smiled haughtily as he honed in on the dwarf-sized man.

"However, you're misusing that power for your own personal gain. You could've become a role model for the younger generation; instead, you've become a lesson in what not to do!" Makarov reprimanded.

Jose huffed, "What is this? A lecture?"

"I have a rule that seems to work well for my Fairy Tail kids. I'll give you to the count of three to do exactly what I say," Makarov declared.

Jose's smile turned into a savage frown as he glared deeply at Makarov. It only became worse when Makarov demanded, "Kneel to me."

A short moment passed before Phantom's leader raised a brow, and asked, "WHAT?"

Makarov ignored Jose's confusion as he began the countdown, "One"

"So you want me to concede and kneel before you? NO WAY IN HELL!" shouted Jose.

"Two," Makarov's eyes had already turned to white. Then, he began to form a brilliant white energy sphere in-between the palms of his hands.

"Why would the master of the most powerful Guild in this kingdom ever stoop so low as to kneel before you!?" Jose yelled; forming ghost shaped tendrils in his hands, "Technically, we are equally powerful, but my ability to be heartless makes me even stronger!"

"Three," Makarov said, his voice becoming stronger as was the sphere between his hands.

"You should be the one kneeling before me! Now, you and your precious Fairy Tail children are going to die!" roared Jose.

"Time's up."

"THIS IS IT! AWWWWW!" Jose fired two dense darkness tendrils at Makarov.

However, as soon as Makarov clasped his hands together, bright white light consumed his form and the sound of a large bell could be heard. The brilliant light immediately vaporized the darkness and filled the whole room. It was just as bright as a star.

From within the light, Makarov said, "I invoke…Fairy Law!"

Suddenly, a giant golden magical seal appeared above the nearly destroyed Giant. Then, without warning, a flash of gold and white was cast out from the stone robot and across the land. The wizards of Fairy Tail and citizens of Magnolia were all forced to look away from the intensity of the brightness.

Just on the shoreline by the demolished guild hall, Nero, Erza, Gray, Elfman, and Mirajane all turned to the dazzling light coming from Phantom's headquarters. The Demon Hunter looked on in awe from the display, completely blown away by the power, but was also curious as to what was creating it.

"Someone mind explaining what the hell that is?" asked Nero glancing at Erza for a second.

Erza, who had re-quipped back into her Heart Kreuz armor, stared at the phenomenon in wonder, a smile on her pretty face, "It's Fairy Law, a spell that vanquishes darkness with sacred light. It only affects those the caster sees as their enemy," She paused as she admired the view, "Incredible, isn't it?"

"Yeah," agreed Nero, as he folded his arms and a smirk formed on his lips, hearing what Erza just told him really impressed the demon. From what Erza had told him, this Fairy Law was very powerful. Though he had seen many powerful things in his tenure as a demon hunter, the most powerful being the Savior followed by another, Fairy Law definitely took a place in the top three.

"It's one of the most legendary spells in existence," Erza continued.

"I can see why," Gray remarked.

The brilliant light shined for another minute before it finally died away. The storms clouds dissipated, the lightning stopped, and the tidal waves weakened. Everything returned to normal. However, within the building, there was one person who was far from normal.

Jose stood in a petrified position, his body trembling slightly. His arms were fixed in a position that shielded his face. The most notable change though was the color of his hair; it had turned from black to grayish-white. His skin was wrinkled and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Absolute trepidation was etched into his entire body.

Master Jose of the Phantom Lord guild had been defeated.

Makarov scowled at his rival, "You will never bother Fairy Tail again. Understand?" He then turned away, "I'm sure the Magic Council will be watching us after all the chaos we caused. You better be on your best behavior for now on. I know I will."

As Master Makarov began to walk away, a hazy humanoid figure appeared out of thin air. Aria, who had just recovered from the beating Nero gave him, floated silently behind Makarov. His eyes and mouth were wide in exhilaration.

'Our master has fallen. How sad. The old man has left himself wide open again. THIS IS MY CHANCE!' Aria shouted inwardly.

Before the air mage could cast his Airspace: Drain spell again, Makarov's fist extended out and punched him in the face. The force from the blow sent the big man hurtling into a rocky pillar, instantaneously sending him back into unconsciousness.

"The war is over. There is no need to fight," Makarov proclaimed, "But if you push me to the point of anger, I'll wipe out your entire Guild without hesitation," He then turned around with a happy, perked up expression, "Now you kids get out of here, and take Jose with you."

Fairy Tail Guild Ruins, Courtyard

Later on, Nero and the others had met up with the rest of Fairy Tail in the courtyard. Everyone was cheering and elated that they had won the war against Phantom Lord. Even the demon was stoked that they had won, taking Phantom Lord and its wizards down several pegs, which they so righteously deserved. But more importantly, it looked as though criminals and other bad guys across Magnolia would take Fairy Tail a bit more seriously now.

Master Makarov stood upon a fallen ledge from Phantom's headquarters where he could see all of the wizards of Fairy Tail and close enough to be heard. All of Fairy Tail turned their full attention to the dwarf-sized master.

"We are victorious!" He yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, "But I had very little to do with it. This victory…is yours my children!"

Everyone cheered loudly in response. While Nero, he just smirked and shook his while he hooked his thumbs into his belt.

'I might be growing or something, but I disagree,' thought the demon hunter, 'You finished what we started.'

Elsewhere

As the sun was setting across the horizon, sending a multitude of colors, ranging from red, orange, and yellow across the sky as the night fell ever closer. The ocean closest to the west reflected the warm colored light of the setting sun while the waters to the east began to turn blackish-blue. A few stars twinkled from above, but the moon was not out tonight.

Standing on a rocky ledge on a mountain, a figure was looking down at Magnolia. The figure could see the many small buildings and the grand Cathedral in the center of town. However, the character's main focus was drawn to Fairy Tail's Guild Hall, which was lying in shambles.

The figure had a strong build and broad shoulders, suggesting he was a male. However, very little could be determined about his other features, mainly his face as it was wreathed in the shadow of a tree. He wore a deep purple coat, finely made. A scarf was wrapped around his neck and tucked in. Fine dress pants clothed his legs while unique boots adorned his feet. What stood out most was the red ruby that was pinned to the top of the scarf. He held his hands behind his back. His entire demeanor held a regal feeling.

However, he stood silently, almost like a statue in the darkness, dark orange irises, surrounded by pitch black sclera peered down onto the remains of the hall and the wizards and people gathered there. However, his main focus was on one single person. A platinum blond young adult, with a demonic appendage, that held within the sword Sparda used to seal away the Demon World.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, if it was in contempt, or interest it wasn't clear. After his last attempt for power failed, he had been cast here because of that failure. It proved to be a beneficial consequence as this world was ripe with energy and power. He now understood why Mundus was so transfixed by this place, as well as the human world.

But he has grown stronger the last time he fought the boy. But it was clear he had not yet mastered or discovered his true potential. And that was all he needed to ensure his victory. He would gain more power, hone what he had learned from this place, and then take back what belongs to him. But not now, no. He must wait and recruit followers to ensure his plans would flourish.

Patience is a virtue. And he was willing to wait years to get what belongs to him.

"While you have grown the last time we crossed blades, you will not achieve victory," stated the figure in a low, almost sarcastic voice, "you have not realized your potential," his tone then shifted, "you do not have the strength to defend yourself from what is to come."

With that, the man turned on his heel and disappeared into the forest.

To be continued...

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