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Chapter 158

Will Neville

Back with the Fairy Tail members, everyone met up at the pub to discuss a strategy for defeating their enemies, while waiting for Lucy and Michelle to arrive. As they waited, they informed the other guild members of what went down during their failed mission.

"The Oracion Seis, huh?" Macao hummed. "There's a name I hoped never to hear again."

"And I reckon that's why the Magic Council summoned Old Makarov along with the other Ten Wizard Saints?" said Wakaba asked Erza.

"Correct. Our guild, along with the others involved in our alliance, was responsible for their arrests following the Nirvana incident," said Erza. "But now it seems that they've escaped from prison."

"And while we've been sleeping for the past seven years," said Gray. "They not only got stronger, but nastier, too."

"I have to agree with that one," sighed Carla as she sipped a cup of tea. "We were so utterly helpless against them not only that, but also because they had the Legion Platoon with them."

"I couldn't do anything to help!" Romeo berated at himself. "I'm too weak!"

"Come on, Romeo. Don't beat yourself up, kid," said Gray. "They kicked all of our butts. Believe me; this isn't over. Not by a long shot."

"I agree," nodded Erza. "Our top priority right now is to find the members as well as the Legion Platoon, and from there, recover the Infinity Clock."

"Then, let's get movin'!" said Natsu. "All we have to do is start looking everywhere we can think of, and we're bound to run into them eventually, right?"

"Don't be stupid, Natsu," sighed Gray. "We need to come up with a solid plan before we do anything."

Natsu felt insulted and got into Gray's face, scowling in anger. "Who are you callin' stupid?! All I'm sayin' is that if we want to find them, then we gotta get out there and look!" he snapped. "Sittin' around and thinkin' ain't gonna help us!"

"I called you stupid, flame-for-brains!" Gray snapped back. "Because only a moron would go running around bashing things with no strategy!"

The two then started to fight, slugging, and kicking at each other like they usually did, while everyone else ignored them.

"Everyone's really on edge today," commented Wendy.

"Naturally, and frankly, I don't blame them," said Carla. "We're practically sitting here, not sure of what to do."

"And we're still missing some of our members," said Max. "Gildarts and Laki still haven't come back from their mission yet, and then there's the fact of Willy going AWOL."

Lisanna and Elfman looked across to Mira, who silently stood at the bar, not saying a word.

"At times like these, we need strength from every single person in the guild," said Erza grimly. "Especially in our situation."

Just then, the doors of the tavern burst open, followed by a pair of familiar voices.

"Yo! What's going on, kids? The Thunder Legion has returned victorious!"

"Of course, it wasn't really much of a struggle for a team like ours. These jobs can be such pushovers; it's almost a crime."

Everyone looked up, to see Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen come parading in, jubilant for completing their mission. Needless to say, everyone was surprised to see them.

"Begging your pardon, but is there a problem here?" asked Freed, noticing the tension. "You all seem rather surprised to see us."

Everyone then gave Freed's group an update of what's been happening.

"So, let me get this straight," Bixlow spoke, after they finished. "There's this thing called the "Infinity Clock" that's counting down on the end of the world? I swear, we leave for only a few days, and things go downhill fast."

"Even I must admit, it's quite unfortunate timing," said Evergreen snootily. "If we had been there, I'm sure that we could've easily dispatched the Oración Seis without any hassle."

"Actually, now that you mention it, I've heard some things during our mission that might relate to this," said Freed. "I was out in the marketplace, buying ingredients for our meal. While I was there, I overheard some soldiers from the Council talking about the destruction of churches in Shirotsume. Two suspects were spotted fleeing the scene, a man with pointed ears and a scarred eye, and his accomplice that possessed incredible speed."

"I can think of two bad guys that fit that description," said Happy.

"Cobra and Racer," Natsu growled.

"From what I could gather, the attacks on the churches have suddenly grown more intense as of the past seven days," continued Freed. "And no one has any means of stopping them either."

Bixlow was surprised as well as indignant. "Hold on, if you knew about this, then why didn't you bother telling Evergreen or me about this?!"

"I told you over dinner that same night," sighed Freed. "I can only assume that you were too enraptured by my cooking to pay attention."

"But why would they target churches?" wondered Erza. "I honestly don't see a clear motive for it."

"Well, one thing's for sure," said Gray. "Ever since the Oracion Seis and the Legion Platoon took the Infinity Clock, things have gotten a whole lot crazier."

"By the way, has anyone seen Willy yet?" asked Freed. "I forgot to mention that I happened to come across him over at Shirotsume as well."

Everyone immediately looked at Freed with wide eyes. Then, Natsu, Gray, and Elfman immediately shot over to Freed like a pack of wolves pelting him with questions, while slightly shaking him.

"Are you serious?!" Natsu exclaimed. "You saw Willy?!"

"Why did he say to you?!" demanded Gray. "Did he say anything important?!"

"Tell us everything you know!" barked Elfman. "How was he acting?! Is he all right?!"

Freed was so startled that he didn't know what to say, nor was he able to. Erza quickly stepped in and then gave the three a sharp bop onto each of their heads.

"Knock it off, you three!" Erza barked. "Don't go interrogating Freed when he doesn't even know anything about Willy!"

"What do you mean, Erza?" asked Freed. "Has something happened to him?"

Erza then told the Thunder Legion about Willy. Needless to say, the three were surprised.

"What?! You're saying Willy quit the guild and then just took off?!" exclaimed Bixlow. "Damn. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse."

"I had no idea," Freed spoke. "If I had known that something was the matter with him, I could have been more insistent of him to stay when I talked to him."

"Did Willy say anything significant when he talked to you?" asked Erza. "Anything explaining his recent behavior?"

Freed shook his head. "No, he did not. He told me that he was out on the job and was on his way back to Magnolia. I had no idea that he was out on his own."

"What I'd like to know is why on Earth would Willy quit Fairy Tail in the first place?" said Evergreen. "It just doesn't make any sense."

Mira once again didn't say a word, chewing her lip as she squeezed her hands.

"We're not really sure why he left either," said Wendy. "But one thing's for sure. It has something to do with that Silver Beard guy that was with the Oracion Seis. He was the one that was saying all those things Willy did, including how he killed his own Dad. There's no way that's true, is it?"

"Of course, it's not true!" Lisanna suddenly burst out. "Willy would never kill Finn! He's not the kind of person who would do that!"

"Take it easy, Lisanna. We all know that," said Gray. "But the question is, why would Willy admit to something like that? And why does that Silver Beard guy along with Midnight know so much about him?"

"Good question," said Erza. "I'd say he's likely looking for revenge against the Oracion Seis for controlling him, but given his hostile behavior towards Silver Beard, it seems there's a lot more to it than that. If only we knew where he was right now."

"We looked everywhere for him back in Shirotsume, but we didn't see him," said Romeo. "He could be anywhere in Fiore for all we know."

"Man, it's just our luck that we end up getting involved with things like this," sighed Macao. "At least things can't get any crazier."

Then, Mira quietly left the bar and walked outside, remaining as silent as a lamb as she left. As everyone else watched her leave, they couldn't help but feel a bit worried about her demeanor.

"What's wrong with Mira?" asked Evergreen. "I don't think I've ever seen her like this before. She's eerily quiet."

"There's no need to pry," said Erza. "I'll check on her."

Erza then left the pub as well, leaving everyone else watching as she left.

When Erza was outside, she looked around, trying to see where Mirajane had gone. Eventually, her eyes fell upon the girl in question, standing just outside of the archway. She then silently walked up to her until she stood just behind her.

"Mira, are you okay?" Erza asked quietly. "You've been quiet ever since we've got back, and given with everything that has happened; I can't help but worry about you."

Still, Mirajane was silent, not even looking towards Erza's direction. After waiting a few seconds for Mira to respond, Erza decided to give Mira some privacy, not wanting to make her upset.

"If you don't want to talk about, that's fine," said Erza. "But so that you know, you can trust me with whatever worries you have. I'm always ready to listen."

She was just about to go back inside, when Mirajane finally spoke up, in a quiet and trembling voice.

"I'm the worst."

Erza then stopped upon hearing this, and looked back. "What did you say?" she asked.

"I said I'm the worst," repeated Mira. "I'm the worst person that's ever lived."

"That's not true," said Erza. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because it's my fault," said Mira. "Willy's gone because of me. If I hadn't gone and said what I did, he would still be here."

"It was a moment of weakness, Mira," Erza spoke gently. "You couldn't help yourself, and given what we just found out, you had every right to be angry with Willy."

Mira then faced Erza, and the redhead could see that sadness and self-loathing filled her face.

"It doesn't matter, Erza," Mira spoke bitterly, her hands squeezing at their sides. "I still did the one thing that not even I didn't expect to do. I called him a traitor, and because of what I said, he quit the guild. There's no way he could ever forgive me. If anything, I wouldn't blame him if he hated me."

Erza went up and gently held Mira by her shoulders. "Mira, we all say some things that we regret whenever we're overwhelmed with anger," she said. "And those words we say will not be so easily forgotten. The only thing that you can do is to apologize and make up for what you said."

Mira chewed her lip and began to tremble. "But how can I apologize after what I said?" she said in a cracked voice. "How can I make amends for what I've done? There's no way I can face him after what I said. I'm a horrible person, and I don't deserve Willy's forgiveness."

Erza then wrapped her arms around Mirajane in a gentle hug. "Mirajane, please don't beat yourself up. You know all of that isn't true," she said. "You're one of the kindest souls I've ever met, and are a wonderful person, so please don't talk that way anymore. You're not the first person who said the wrong thing out of anger. After all, you're only human."

Erza then pulled away and stared directly into Mira's eyes.

"I know things look bad between you and Willy, but it will get better," the redhead went on. "You both are childhood friends, and you care about one another. A small argument isn't enough to break your bond with each other."

Mira's eyes began welling up with tears. "I, I was just so mad that he wouldn't talk to me," she choked out. "I told him that he could come to me if he had any problems. So, why did he lie and keep secrets from me? Why didn't he trust me?"

"I honestly don't know," replied Erza. "But if I had to guess, I'd say that he's hiding something traumatic that happened to him in the past, and doesn't want to get us involved. I know that feeling all too well. In a way, I'd see a lot of my past self in Willy, shutting up all of his feelings so no one can see his pain. But if it's one thing I learned, you can't do things alone if they're too much for you to handle, nor should you throw your life away to protect those you hold dear. That's something you need to tell him, Mira."

Mira looked at Erza as the redhead smiled at her.

"Don't worry. We'll find Willy and bring him back home, no matter what it takes," Erza continued. "After all, he's a part of our family. If he's suffering, then we can't sit idly with regret. Don't you agree?"

Mira looked at Erza, and then glanced away, pondering over her words. Then, while wiping her tears, a small spark of determination went through them.

"You're absolutely right," said Mira. "This isn't the time to being depressed. Right now, we need to focus on finding the Oracion Seis, and Willy."

Just then, the two S-Class wizards heard a familiar voice calling out to them.

"Hey, you guys! We've got more trouble!"

Erza and Mira looked up, and they saw Lucy and Michelle coming up the path, eventually stopping in front of them.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" asked Erza.

"It happened last night!" panted Lucy. "Someone broke into Willy's room!"

A few moments later, Lucy and Michelle told everyone what had happened the other night and also showed the vial that Michelle found on the floor.

"So, you and Michelle saw someone in Willy's room last night?" Gray wondered to Lucy. "Someone wearing black clothing and a white bird mask?"

"Yes, we tried not to let him get away, but whoever it was managed to get the drop on me," complained Lucy crossly. "And not only that, but that jerkwad pushed me into the canal! That punk! Does he have any idea how cold that water was and my reputation! If word got out that I fell into the canal, the whole town would never let me live it down!"

"Um, Lucy, I think we've got more important things to worry about," Happy pointed out.

"We couldn't tell who it was exactly, but whoever it was, left this behind," said Michelle as she showed the vial of black liquid.

Everyone else went over to her to inspect the vial. As Natsu inspected it, he couldn't help but sniff at it a couple of times. No sooner when he did, he stepped back a bit repulsed.

"Something smells wrong with that gunk!" Natsu said. "Definity wrong."

Gajeel then came over to inspect the vial as well. "Hold on a second. I think I've seen this stuff before," he said. "That chump from before had one of these."

"Yes, I remember seeing this as well," said Juvia. "Back when we were getting the clock pieces, our group faced an opponent that had the same vial."

"And now that I think about, that girl Mira was fighting had a ton of this stuff too!" said Elfman. "She had so much of it; she was practically a geyser."

"So, what do think this stuff is?" asked Romeo. "Some kind of magic enhancer?"

"That seems to be the most likely answer," said Erza. "Back when we found our part of the Infinity Clock, we encountered one of the Caeli twins known as Vali. When I fought him, he wasn't much of a challenge, but then he took out one of those vials and injected its contents into his body. When he did, his magical abilities, as well as his physical, grew significantly stronger."

"The same with us," said Gray. "Our group ended up fighting the other one. Amon, I think his name was. The three of us were able to get the upper hand on him, despite him having more power, but then he took that vial, and he got crazy strong too."

"Not just that, but as soon as they used the vial, their magic changed color," added Juvia. "It was as if the substance inside of the vial made their magic corrupted."

Then, a flashback of Willy going berserk during his fight with Azuma went through Lisanna's mind. Mira also thought about when she saw Willy back at the tombs when Silver Beard enraged him. The two looked at each other and realized that these two incidents had to be connected.

"Hey guys, I think this stuff has to be connected to Willy, too," said Mira. "Back in the tombs, his magic changed the same way the others did."

"And when he was fighting Azuma back on Tenrou Island, his magic changed back then, too," said Lisanna. "He was so overwhelmed with anger, he... well, you know."

Lisanna held her side, remembering how Willy attacked her, but Mira and Elfman comforted her, both squeezing her shoulders.

"Then, if that's the case, then is Willy taking the drug, too?" asked Wakaba. "It would make sense to all of this craziness."

"Doubt that," scoffed Gajeel. "I'll admit Water Boy's a bit of a strange guy, but there's no way he'd be stupid enough to take a lousy drug. So either it's some wacky coincidence or that junk was inside of him from the start."

"You mean someone put this stuff inside of Willy?!" Lucy gulped, feeling a bit fearful. "Are you trying to freak me out?"

"It's a bit farfetched, but Gajeel brings up an interesting theory," said Erza. "But now adds to the many questions that have yet to be answered. And then there's the fact of this mysterious masked person in Willy's room the other night."

Just then, there was the sound of footsteps that came from up the stairs, catching everyone's attention. Coming down those steps was Kinana, who had a strange and vacant look on her face.

"Hey, Kinana! You should be in bed, resting," Wakaba chided. "You're in no shape to be walking right now."

Kinana didn't answer as she continued down the steps until she came to a table picking up a fork.

"Do you need something?" asked Lucy. "Do you need some help?"

Then, Michelle whispered to Lucy. "Something wrong, Big Sister. Kinana's got a strange look in her eye."

Kinana then came up the wall getting on her knees, and using her fork, began to write on it, while mumbling in a quiet voice.

"We've wasted too much time already... Let's move... Power from misery. The sorrow that consumes my soul... is the only thing driving me forward. Until the world ends... the pain... will never stop..."

"Kinana, what are you doing?!" exclaimed Levy.

"Please stop," said Lucy. "You're acting strange!"

But Kinana didn't stop, continuing to write and mumble on the wall until she had carved a whole paragraph of strange symbols on it. When she was finished, Kinana slumped over and fell to the floor, appearing to sleep, still mumbling. Mira and Elfman rushed over to help her up, and while Elfman carried her away, everyone else inspected the writing.

"What the heck is this?" Max wondered. "Can anyone make heads or tails of it?"

"I'm not sure," said Carla. "And as far as Kinana's mumblings go, they do strike me as particularly ominous, but also have no idea."

"Do you think that she remembers something from her past?" wondered Lucy. "I'm told that before she came to Fairy Tail, she was suffering from some kind of a curse, which in turn caused her to have amnesia."

"Now that you mention it, that could be it," said Max. "It seemed that it was bothering her a lot lately."

Then, Levy spoke up, after taking a glance at the wall. "Hey, you guys. This writing is in ancient Potalmelian!"

"Hold on. Isn't that the writing that was on the clock hand?" asked Macao.

Freed also came to inspect. "Not only that, but it appears to be a description of a man named Will Neville," he said.

"That's the name of the author of Key of the Starry Heavens," said Erza. "Can you tell us what it says, Levy?"

Levy then gave the writing a quick read. "Let's see... It says, "Will Neville was once a great wizard who made contracts with and was incredibly skilled with Celestial Spirits."

"Contracts with Celestial Spirits?" repeated Happy in amazement. "Does that mean...?"

"He was not only an author, but also a Celestial Wizard too," said Gray. "That sounds interesting."

"And there more," said Freed, who also inspected the writing. "It goes to say that Will Neville had numerous followers, but after he fell into his eternal slumber, his students have all scattered in all directions to places unknown."

Lucy then gasped, remembering something. She then rushed over to the bookshelf and took out a book bearing the title, Biographical Dictionary, placing it on the table. Lucy then opened the book, and quickly turned through the pages, trying to find a particular page.

"Whatcha doing, Lucy?" asked Natsu.

"Looking something up," replied Lucy. "Give me a sec, okay?"

The blonde soon came to the page she was looking for, which was a page describing the life of Will Neville.

"Here we go," said Lucy. "Will Neville... an author, and was also... a cardinal of Zentopia?"

"So wait, he was a bird?" puzzled Natsu. "I thought this guy was a person."

"A cardinal is a high-ranking church official," explained Erza.

"And according to this, Will Neville was also an important and dedicated member of the church," said Lucy. "He was also an extensive researcher on the history of Zentopia. That is until the day that he suddenly left the church, has been missing for a long time."

"Does it explain the reason why he left?" asked Evergreen.

Lucy shook her head. "No, it doesn't, but after several years of his disappearance, he reemerged to the world as Willy Neville, author of children's literature. However, this book doesn't say anything about him being a Celestial Wizard or that he had any followers for that matter."

"Okay. This is starting to freak me out," Max said tentatively. "If that's true, then how does Kinana know all of this stuff?"

"And how to write in that weird ancient language?" added Happy.

"I remember Byro of the Legion Platoon saying that the Infinity Clock was under the property of Zentopia," said Carla.

"And a prominent former member of church also wrote Key of the Starry Heavens," cut in Michelle. "Which was also the book that your father used to pass on his message on how to find the clock pieces."

Natsu then let out a scream of annoyance, feeling confused. "I've had enough of this! What the heck are we going to do about all of this?!" he yelled. "I saw we leave right now, find this Milk Devil guy, and beat the snot out of him!"

"Will Neville has been long dead, you idiot!" Gray snapped. "If you can't pay attention, then shut up and leave the thinking to the grown-ups!"

Natsu and Gray then started duking it out with each other once again, while everyone else ignored them.

"Well, for the time being, we have to figure out where the Oracion Seis were going to strike next, and find Willy," said Max. "If we can do that, then we'd be able to set up an ambush, and stop Willy from doing something reckless."

Then, there was the sound of a small yawn that came from the bar, which came from Cana, who turned out to be asleep throughout the discussion.

"Could you guys keep it down?" Cana complained. "Can't a girl get her beauty sleep around here?"

"Don't you think it's a bit late in the afternoon for a nap, Cana?" asked Wakaba. "You've been sleeping all day."

"Yeah, but lately, haven't been able to stay awake for some reason," said Cana, as she got up and stretched. "Now then, you guys want to find the Oracion Seis? I can help with that."

"That's right! Cana can use her fortunetelling!" realized Mira. "Do you think that you can use your cards to find Willy, too?"

"You bet I can," Cana smiled with a wink. "All I need is a map of Fiore."

So, everyone found a map for Cana while she conjured some cards with pictures of the wizards.

"Now, I'll be able to divine where the Oracion Seis will attack next, and which ones of us will go to give them a little surprise," said Cana with a wink.

"But what about Willy?" asked Elfman. "Will your cards be able to find him too?"

"I wouldn't be worried about that," said Mira. "If I know Willy, and given the situation, he's most likely going to be wherever the Oracion Seis are, which is perfect because it'd be killing two birds with one stone."

Cana then held the deck of cards up to her face, concentrating hard. Then, her eyes snapped open, and like a bunch of darts, she threw the cards onto the map, all of them scattering across it into bunches of twos, threes, and fours.

"There we go," said Cana. "If we send these teams to these specific locations, we'll be able to stop the attacks, and hopefully find Willy, too."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Natsu roared eagerly. "So tell us who's working with who, and where we're going!"

As Macao began announcing the teams, Mira not only felt a lot more confident, but she was filled with determination.

"Don't worry, Willy," Mira said to herself. "If you're out there, we're going to find you, and bring you home to Fairy Tail. I promise that I'll do whatever it takes to save you!"

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