Chapter 8: A Bolt of Judgment Strikes the Earth

"Natsu… thank you for saving my life," Freed said to the Fire Dragon Slayer.

Natsu reached out to Freed, a big grin forming on his face. Freed grasped his left hand and Natsu pulled him up, with Happy watching in delight.

Now that is what true Fairy Tail wizards do: helping other Fairies in need! he thought.

Just then, the blue Exceed spotted Freed's gas mask lying on the grass and he sauntered over to it. His eyes were scanning the details as they widened with curiosity, and with each and every minuscule characteristic, Happy was impressed by how well it was made. That said, he had to return it to its rightful owner as soon as possible.

"I think this mask must belong to Freed," he said, picking it up by his feet. "I'll have to give it back to him since he might need it. I think he could make a great ninja in it!"

A vision cloud of Freed dressed as a ninja while bearing the mask popped up above Happy's head, as cherry blossom petals were blowing in the breeze.

Perhaps the ninja could make a good costume idea for Freed to wear on Halloween, he thought, a mischievous smile forming on his face.

Though he was grateful to be rescued by Natsu, the Runes Mage had something else to say, since he was wondering about Natsu showing up.

"Tell me, Natsu… How did you get here?" he asked, whilst brushing the dust off of his burgundy coat.

"Happy flew me over to Shirotsume, and we were lucky to find the Medusa's Gorgon guild hall," Natsu answered him.

"Aye!" Happy added, as he had finally returned with the gas mask. "Though he was told to stay put, he didn't listen to them. And I had to reluctantly tag along with him, so that's why…. we're here…"

Freed was shocked by Natsu and Happy's answers, his jaw dropping and the pupils in his eyes widening greatly. He couldn't believe that the Dragon Slayer would deliberately disobey the order of staying behind in the guild. That obstinate pyromaniac just wouldn't listen to anyone, no matter how many times he would be told what to do!

"You did WHAT?!" the green-haired exclaimed crossly, startling them both. "Laxus will be infuriated if he discovers your presence in our mission! You dare set foot into a job request that only he and my team took on!? How disgraceful of you, Natsu Dragneel!"

With a red vein popping up on his head, Natsu decided to get even, by shouting right back at Freed with fire in his eyes:

"I don't give a crap what Laxus thinks! I'm just here to help you, for Ari's sake! After all, that blue-haired creep is the one who poisoned her!"

"I know that, but it is my sole duty to avenge her, not yours!"

"Yeah, but you were getting pummeled by him! You could've had inhaled that poison mist of his if I didn't save ya in time!"

"He's right. Right now, Ari is dying and you would've ended up like her," Happy solemnly reminded Freed.

The moment he heard Happy's grim reminder, the green-haired's eyes glanced at him with melancholy. He was correct; Natsu had spared him from suffering the same fate as Ari and he was fortunate to be alive and well. At the same time, however, his worries for her had gotten stronger than his determination to defeat Fang.

Ariella…, Freed thought of her. She's inching closer to death with each passing minute, as Fang's poison continues to extend throughout her body. I should not waste my time protesting him, and as unlikely as it seems… I'll have to team up with him!

His eyes fixated on Natsu, who would seem like a zestful ally who would normally charge recklessly at his opponents without thinking. In spite of his short attention span and his constant cause of property damage, though, Natsu had a pure heart and he would never turn his back on his friends, as they needed him the most. And to Freed, he would need the Fire Dragon's assistance in this situation.

"Oh, and Freed… I think this is yours," Happy said, holding up the golden mask.

"My gas mask! Thank you, Happy," Freed said, as he took it from the Exceed. "I'll make sure to put it on whenever Fang uses the Poison God Mephistis again."

"Poison God… what?" Natsu questioned, tilting his head with question marks above his head.

"Poison God Mephistis: a poisonous purple mist that can kill anyone inhaling it in large amounts," Freed explained to Natsu. "Ariella was affected by it during her battle with Fang, and when we found her in the forest, she had a purple tint across her face and her body was sweating. She also had weakened breathing as a result of inhaling the mist."

"Ohh, so that's the mist that Fang almost killed you with!" Natsu exclaimed, now realizing what Freed was talking about.

"Well, I didn't inhale it, thanks to you."

Without hesitating any further, a confident smile formed on Freed's face as he asked the pinkette:

"Now… shall we forge an alliance, even though we are on two separate teams?"

"Sounds good to me! I'm all fired up for teaming up with someone like ya!" Natsu answered, slamming his right fist into his left hand. "Let's fight together, for Ari!"

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

"Oooh. Two Fairies teaming up against me?" Fang said, as a Cheshire Cat-like smile formed across his face. "This is gonna be fun."

He held out his right hand and the purple magic circle appeared in the palm once again, as the mist began emitting from it. The two Fairy Tail mages were on edge, ready to make their move.

"You're gonna pay for disrupting my attempt to poison her lover, Fire Fairy. Let's try that again, shall we?"

It's that mist again! Freed thought, clenching onto his gas mask. Now is the time for me to put it on.

"Get ready!" Natsu shouted.

"Poison God Mephistis!"

The purple mist headed straight for the two Fairy Tail wizards, to Happy's horror. He had to act fast, before it would be too late for the little blue cat!

"Natsu!" he cried, rushing over to his best friend.

As Natsu turned to Happy and Freed was about to secure the gas mask onto him, the mist seemingly engulfed them both. Fang believed that his move had worked this time around, and a sinister smile formed across his face as a deep chuckle emitted from his mouth.

"Hahaha! Taste my poison, fools!" he boasted wickedly, his chuckle soon shifting into laughter.

All of a sudden, Fang's eyes widened in shock at the sight of Freed, still standing tall and not feeling even a small amount of his mist inside of his body.

"What's this?!" he shouted. "Why isn't he affected by my mist?!"

As the mist evaporated, it was revealed that Freed had secured the gas mask onto his mouth and nose, just before the poison was about to reach him.

A gas mask?! Fang thought, glaring angrily at him. That can't be possible. I didn't even realize he had it with him!

Since Freed was thankfully unaffected due to his gas mask, Natsu would be the only one left. Fang searched the field in sight of the Fire Dragon Slayer, who was nowhere to be found when the mist had finally cleared up.

"Now where's the other one?" he snarled.

"Up here…," Natsu's voice teased, further enraging the Poison God Slayer.

He glanced upward to see Natsu and Happy floating above him in the air, and the blue Exceed blew a raspberry at him teasingly.

"Happy lifted me up in the air, just before the mist could touch us," the Fire Dragon Slayer explained to him. "Nice try, Fang!"

All Fang could do was snarl crossly at the two Fairy Tail mages. His best move had failed him twice, although he refused to go down without a fight. The two-against-one battle had only just begun…

Back inside the Medusa's Gorgon guild hall, Laxus was swinging his fists at Brutus, who kept evading each of his electric punches the Dragon Slayer threw. With one more electrifying punch being thrown by Laxus, Brutus slammed his left hand into it, blocking his opponent.

Damn it…, the Lightning Dragon Slayer thought, glaring frustratedly at Brutus. He blocked my punch, though I'll try the other one and see if it'll work.

Sparks of electricity began to flow from his left hand, and Laxus aimed it at Brutus's strongly structured face. The moment he was about to hit him, Brutus's right hand intercepted it in the nick of time.

In the midst of the two men struggling, the Palms of Gaia squeezed Evergreen even firmer, causing her to flinch and grunt in pain from the restricting tightness.

"Evergreen!" Laxus called out to her.

His voice soon toned down into his normal tone as he added: "Hang in there just a little longer…"

"She won't last much longer if you don't crush him quickly, boss!" Bickslow exclaimed.

"Why don't you just concede already?" Brutus taunted him. "Your Fairy woman will be inching closer to her demise the longer you stay and fight."

"I told you, Brutus… I refuse to quit!" Laxus snapped, as he was finally able to push forward and slammed his right fist into Brutus's face. The powerful force sent the Earth Make Mage sliding across the guild hall, even though he was still standing tall.

Laxus inhaled greatly, then exhaled a breath of lightning from his mouth that headed straight toward his opponent.

"Lightning Dragon Roar!"

Brutus immediately slammed his hands into the ground, a yellow magic circle forming beneath them.

"Earth-Make: Wall!"

The wall of earth rose up from the ground, and it took a direct hit from the Lightning Dragon Roar, shielding Brutus. It crumbled into tiny pieces, falling down onto the ground like pebbles into the water.

"Didn't you forget that my lightning can crush your earth wall so easily?" Laxus asked, a smug smirk forming on his face.

"Of course I didn't!" Brutus retorted. "Haven't you forgotten that your friends are trapped by my Earth Cage and Palms of Gaia? They're unable to help you, remember?!"

"I do remember that, and you will pay for harming them!"

"How exactly will you do that?" Brutus asked, a malevolent smile forming on his face. "Time is running out for the Fairy Woman, and she should have more potential as a wizard if she were to survive. All she ever cares about is being a fairy, and she shouldn't be even playing dress-up all of the time! As for your annoying friend with these foolish dolls, he should rather take on any jobs than spend time playing with them!"

Bickslow snarled lowly at Brutus, as he tightened the grasps on the bars of the cage. No one would dare insult him and his babies that way!

"And regarding your other friend, he may seem powerful, but I don't think he has the guts to face Fang," Brutus added, talking cruelly of Freed. "All he cares about are you and the girl that Fang poisoned. And what kind of magic does he use? He'll never win with that!"

Angered by Brutus' taunts about his friends, Laxus clenched his fists tightly, a shadow clouding his eyes and his teeth gritting. The cruel comments from the Earth-Make Mage were disgraceful to him, and that had finally made him reach his boiling point.

"I'll tell you how I will make you pay…," he finally spoke up, sounding cross.

"Hm?" Brutus said, raising a brow.

His face soon lifted from the ground, his eyes glaring at Brutus with rage and an electrifying yellow aura shrouding the Lightning Dragon Slayer as he roared:

"BY SMASHING YOU INTO PIECES!"

The sparks of lightning were flowing continuously from his arms, and with a strident battle cry, he slammed his right fist into Brutus's face, causing him to spit up blood. Now he had truly crossed the line, by making such harsh remarks about Laxus' three close bodyguards!

"You dare talk lowly of the three people who mean the most to me?! You should know better than to judge them based on their powers and appearances! And you know why? It's because you'll only judge yourself!"

Brutus continued to receive assaults from Laxus, one after another. It was a price he had to pay for the insults he made about the Thunder Legion, as well as torturing Evergreen and trapping Bickslow. From nearby, the Human Possession Mage was smiling with delight, as his babies cheered and hovered jovially around their master.

"Your friend harmed one of our own Fairies, and I will make sure your guild will pay the price… for HARMING FAIRY TAIL!"

With a vigorous force, Laxus slammed Brutus into the ground, his face being smeared against the floor. The Lightning Dragon Slayer brought his hands together, lightning sparks flowing through them as he swung them onto Brutus.

"LIGHTNING DRAGON JAW!"

Brutus let out one last cry of defeat, his body no longer handling the brutal power from Laxus. His right arm twitched and his fingers feebly scraped the ground, as Laxus panted in exhaustion from the magic power he used up. In the end, it was worth it for him to use that much just to teach Brutus a lesson.

"Yahoo! Way to go, Boss!" Bickslow cheered.

"No! Brutus!" Viper exclaimed, shocked by the sight of his best mage's defeat. Now all he had to worry about was his son, who was busy in his ongoing battle with Freed and Natsu.

With Brutus defeated at long last, that meant the end of his Earth Cage and his Palms of Gaia. The cage magically vanished, to the delight of the Human Possession Mage.

"Alright! I'm finally free!" he cheered, prancing around.

"Free! Free! Free!" his babies parroted, hovering excitedly around their owner.

The earthy hands were the last to vanish, as they disappeared into thin air. Evergreen's body landed on the ground, and she had been rendered unconscious by the binding grasp of the colossal earth hands.

Bickslow paused his celebratory dance the moment his eyes fixated on Evergreen finally free from Brutus's captivity. Though he was relieved to see her no longer inching closer to death, he was concerned about her.

"Ever!" he cried.

The two male mages rushed over to her, as Laxus knelt beside her and Bickslow carefully scooped her in his arms. The Fairy Mage groaned as she opened up her brown eyes, and her vision blurred until it ultimately cleared up to reveal her two friends in view.

"Thank Mavis you're okay!" Bickslow exclaimed, sighing in relief. "We were so worried about ya!"

"I crushed that oversized rock-head for ya, Ever," Laxus said to her. "He's gonna regret insulting you, Bickslow and Freed in front of me."

"Thank you, Laxus…," Evergreen said to him, a small smile forming on her face. "…for saving me."

Laxus nodded to her, as Bickslow helped her up from the ground and placed an arm around her to carefully guide her. With Brutus finally out of the way, their priority now was to obtain information on the merchandise the guild purloined from Oak Town.

"Now the only one who's left is the master, and he better have some answers regarding the stolen items," Laxus said, eyeing at Viper.

The dark guild master smirked at the three Fairy Tail Mages, as he rose up from his throne. Now it was his turn to show them his true power, as he had been keeping it away from them since the beginning…


In the East Forest, Juno and Lisanna were standing face to face with a colossal Vulcan, the creature that attacked them earlier. Lisanna was in her Animal Soul: Cat, and from the looks of their minor injuries and usage of their magic powers they could tell that the Vulcan was going to be a tough opponent for them to face. They had tried every attack they could use up in an attempt to take him down, but to no avail.

"What do we do?" Lisanna asked her. "That Vulcan has evaded and blocked nearly all of our attacks!"

"We can't just stand around and do nothing!" Juno protested. "Ari is my big sister, and she's counting on me to bring the ingredients to Gran! They're needed for her antidote and I have to carry out my mission before she dies!"

"We know, Juno," Lisanna said to her. "However, the Vulcan is standing in our way and we're running out of magic power. You have to think of something, and fast!"

But Ari is dying…, Juno thought, thinking of her ailing sister. She's getting closer and closer to death with every minute passing by and we're not supposed to dilly-dally! Porlyusica's counting on us to get the ingredients back to her, and we can't let that Vulcan stand in our way.

Juno analyzed the moonlit forest, eyeing on the Vulcan first. She and Lisanna were aware of its remarkable strength and its ability to use Take-Over on its victims, and they were doing all they could to avoid ending up being possessed by it. But with the time running out, Juno knew she shouldn't be thinking too long and get back to the guild. Just then, she spun around to see a path right behind them. A light bulb popped up on the top of her head, indicating that she had an idea.

The Nature Mage glanced back at her best friend and said to her:

"Lis, you hold off that ugly Vulcan. I'll deliver the ingredients myself."

The Animal Soul Mage was left astonished by Juno's decision. She had never fought a Vulcan on her own before, and the fact that she would have no one to help her was frightening.

"Are you sure, Juno? The Vulcan's quite strong and I don't know if my Animal Soul will be enough for me to defeat it!" she exclaimed worriedly.

"Just trust me! I know you can do it!" Juno assumed, grasping her best friend's hands.

Though she hesitated for a moment, Lisanna realized that she had to have faith in her best friend and do all she can to hold off the Vulcan, even if he was stronger than her Animal Soul.

"O-Okay! I'll try my best to distract him! Now get going, and be careful!"

"I will. Don't worry about me, Lissy."

Juno immediately took off with the bag of the ingredients on hand, leaving Lisanna all alone in the East Forest. Though she had hopes that her best friend would take him down, she was more concerned about her older sister's condition and she had to race against time to return to the guild.

Hang in there, Ari! she thought of her sister. I'm gonna save you, by delivering the ingredients to Gran!

Porlyusica was staring out the window of the infirmary, waiting for Juno's return. Time was ticking for Ariella, and with each minute, she was inching closer and closer to death.

Natsu emitted a valiant battle cry as he charged at Fang, his right fist lit up with fire. Each time he took a swing with his flaming fist, Fang evaded it.

"You're gonna regret hurting Ari! She's done nothing to ya, Fang!" he roared at him.

"I have no regrets, you fool," Fang retorted. "She deserved to suffer from my Poison God Mephistis and I'll be pleased to see her die!"

"And I'll be pleased to see you get burned!"

Though Natsu was able to pummel him in the chest with his Fire Dragon Iron Fist, the Poison God Slayer was still standing. It showed that he wasn't going to go down that easily.

"Heh… You're one to talk," he said to him lowly. "As for her lover boy, I'll make sure to send him to hell along with her, since he loves her so much!"

"Not gonna happen!" Natsu snarled. He glanced over at Freed, who had removed his gas mask shortly after the poison mist cleared up. He would intend to wear it again in case Fang would use Poison God Mephistis once more.

"Hey, Freed. I'll make sure to leave the final blow to ya. In the meantime, help me out here!"

"Will do," Freed replied with a nod.

He aimed his sword at Fang, indicating he was planning to use Dark Ecriture: Slice. His Pain spell was out of the question since it would require him to get his opponent still in order for it to work successfully.

"Dark Ecriture: Slice!"

With a swift swing of his sword, Freed was able to slash Fang in his right arm, having noticed that the Poison God Slayer was merely guarding himself.

"Again, merely a scratch…," Fang said to him darkly. "You have to do more than that!"

Just you wait, Fang. I'll punish you with my final move soon enough! Freed thought, leering his eyes at Fang's yellow orbs. I will carry it out for Ariella, just as I have promised her.

"Let's talk, Fang," Natsu said to him, his onyx eyes leering at him. "Tell me why you would intend to kill female wizards. Were you wronged by them in the past? Did you experience a broken heart?"

"It was because of my mother, who abandoned me a long time ago," Fang answered him. "All she cared about was taking on solo jobs to become a more powerful wizard, and she was too busy for me and my father. She would be absent for days on end, and I never received the love a mother would give to her child. When my father confronted her one day, she decided that she couldn't handle it any longer, she quit Medusa's Gorgon and left us."

He had a mother? Freed thought.

"Since then, my father made Medusa's Gorgon a male-only guild and would reject females who wanted to join. With the rise of female wizards in the magic world, it reminded us more and more of my mother, and it was what led me to developing hate towards them. And to this day, I have massacred dozens of female wizards with help from my friend, Brutus. We would obtain information on them, travel to where they were, lure them, and carry out the act of taking their lives. Ah, it feels so good to hear a woman scream in agony from our torture!"

Hearing Fang's malicious laughter made the two males sick to their stomachs. They could no longer take his wickedness and arrogance, and his intentions to murder female wizards were absolutely horrendous to them. Ariella did fight him to avenge them before; now it would be their turn to do the same for the six victims.

"You sicken me," the Fire Dragon Slayer snarled. "Killing women simply because they exist… that makes you a cruel man, Fang. And look what you've did to Ari. She's suffering from your poison and her blood will be on your hands if she dies from it. That's why Freed went here, and he promised her that he will defeat you… as long as I'm here to help him!"

"I told you, that girl deserved the taste of my Poison God Mephistis," Fang reminded the two men. "She snatched my necklace, intending to use it as evidence against me!"

"And it was the right thing for her to do," Freed said to him. "Your guild will be taken into custody when the Magic Council sees the evidence that we've gathered in Oak Town, and you will be among them, as the killer of the six female wizards!"

"Heh… Do your worst, foolish Fairies!" Fang boasted, his tongue hanging out and his eyes bulging crazily at them. "You think your magic forces will stop me, the great Sharptooth of Medusa's Gorgon?! I have an incredible magic power thanks to the God I slain, and I will use it to reduce you two into piles of ash!"

All Natsu and Freed could do was glare at him crossly. The two Fairy Tail mages understood how pompous Fang was, and with them working together, they would prove to him that no one would ever mess with their guild!


Laxus reigns triumphant over Brutus, and now he will face Viper next. And as for Natsu and Freed, will they be victorious over Fang? Find out in the next chapter!

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