Hi everyone, thank you once more for your patience. We are entering the climax of the Devil Hand arc and let me tell you, this was a lot of fun to write! Up next is Tenrous Island, and I'm going to say this in advanced; Dante, Trish, Lady, and Modeus will all be going to Tenrous Island and each of them will have major rolls in the arc; I've been getting a lot of people who keep saying to have Dante and co stay off the island and wait seven years after the time skip. Sorry, but that's not gonna happen.
The Devil May Cry characters WILL be going to that island, I've got special plans for that arc. But before we go into that we have to finish this one up first, and Devil Hand has maybe two or three more chapters left after this. So without further delay let us get started.
Let's Welcome Chaos
Several explosions erupted all around the warzone that was the perimeter of Temen-ni-gru. While the wizards of Fairy Tail have started off strong against the demonic army, fatigue was starting to get to them, as it seemed there was no end to the hellish horde.
The Thunder Legion found themselves surrounded by at least three-dozen Hell Prides, Hell Lusts, and Bloodgoyles.
"Damn it! Just how many of these things are there?!" Bickslow questioned in frustration.
"I'm starting to think that we might not actually make it out of this!" Evergreen voiced in worry.
"We cannot give up now." Freed held his sword firmly. "We must stand tall! For our friends and family in Fairy Tail!" Despite his encouraging words however, he knew that he and the rest of his allies, not just in the Thunder Legion, were running low on both stamina and magic power. It wasn't looking good for any of them.
"Smoke Crush!"
"Purple Rain!"
"Sand Wave!"
The trio attack composed of purple fire, pink smoke, and sand shot out from all directions to take down several Hell Envy's and Hell Wraths as Wakaba, Macao, and Max did their best to protect Warren.
"Still no luck Warren?!" Macao questioned as he created a solid stream of purple flame to block the scythe-attack of a Hell Vanguard.
"No! I'm sorry but I still can't get through!" Warren exclaimed in frustration. It really sucked that all he could use was Telepathy; he was never really a hands-on-fighter.
"Yeah well if this keeps up, we might be the ones in need of rescuing!" Wakaba stated before a Fallen shot down toward him and slashed him in the back, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Wakaba! Hang on!" Max was about to run toward him, but he ended up being blasted back by a Hell Wrath who launched a bomb-attack at him.
Bisca gave a warrior's cry as she held two large magic machine guns in her hands and shot down a group of Fallen and Hell Sloths coming her way; but this left her vulnerable from an Arachne that crawled down a the side of a cliff and shot web down at her to completely ensnare her.
"Hey! Let me go!" Bisca struggled in the web as the spider-like demon tried to pull her in close.
"Bisca!" Alzack ran to her as fast as he could. "Guns Magic: Blast Bullet!" He shot one of his guns forward as multiple fire-bullets obliterated the Arachne and set Bisca free; but Alzack's victory was short lived as an Abyss demon suddenly leapt towards him and sliced its scythe at his abdomen to knock him back. As he rolled on the ground, he found himself surrounded by three more Abyss'.
However, Bisca came in to block a scythe-strike from one Abyss with one of her machine guns before tearing it to pieces with her second. "Stay the hell away from him!" She shouted as she stretched out both machine guns to tear down the remaining demons.
"Card Magic: Prayer's Foundation!" Cana slammed a blue card on the ground before it glowed and shot off multiple large streams of water in virtually every direction to knock back several Hell Greeds and Hell Gluttonys that surrounded her. She panted as she had exhausted much of her magic.
"Aw man, I seriously need a drink if we survive this." However, Cana didn't have time to rest as a Dullahan jumped down onto her and attempted to bite on her, but multiple vines shot out of the ground and entangled the metallic demon.
"Just in time." Droy had thrown is seeds on the ground a second before. The Dullahan was lifted into the air by the vines, leaving it open for Jet to come in and deliver a powerful kick to send it flying to parts unknown.
"Cana!" Levy was quick to run to her friend and pick her up. "Can you still stand?"
"Barley, which is more than I can say for everyone else." Cana replied as they looked to see the rest of their friends struggling against the many demons in the area.
"There's just so many of them." Levy breathed in fear. "I know what we said before, but… I don't really see a way out of this."
Cana growled. "I hate this! We came here to help our friends, but there's no way we can get through this in one piece! I hate how I'm always so weak!"
"Don't say that Cana, you're not weak!" Levy tried.
"Tell that to them!" She pointed to a Hell Vanguard leading a group of Hell Sloths looming over the two women.
"Hang on Levy, we're coming!" Jet and Droy both said at the same time; but an explosion from a Hell Wrath's bomb attack knocked them both back and blocked their path.
The Hell Vanguard and Hell Sloths each gave a moaning roar as they leapt into the air with their respective scythes ready to dice the women, who both closed their eyes and waited for the inevitable. However, it never came as a large burst of cyan energy shot throughout the air to freeze the demons solid before they fell to the ground and shattered, much to Cana and Levy's surprise.
"What the heck was that?!" Cana questioned.
"That was… Ice-Make magic." Levy's eyes widened in realization. "Gray!?"
"Oh please, I would prefer you not compare me to that novice."
They both looked behind to see a figure standing on the hilltop. A young man with bluish-silver spiky hair wearing a white jacket with white pants. Standing alongside him was a woman with dark pink hair wearing a light pink long dress, a man in a green suit with dark blue hair and extremely large eyebrows, and finally a man wearing only a pair of jeans with brown hair and a face that bore a resemblance to a dog.
"Looks like we made it in time." The man in green said.
"We can always leave it to this guild to get in trouble." The woman stated with a smug grin.
The dog-man gave a howl. "That looks like a lot of fun!"
Cana and Levy couldn't contain their surprise. "Hold on is that… that Lyon guy that Gray told us about?!" Cana questioned.
"So that means… they're all from Lamia Scale!" Levy exclaimed.
The many demons that surrounded the Thunder Legion were quickly covered by a red vapor-like substance, the moment it made contact with all the demons, they all screeched and howled in agony before they all fell down onto the ground in defeat.
"What just happened?" Bickslow questioned as a blue vapor covered himself and the rest of his teammates.
"Hey… I don't know why but… suddenly I feel a whole lot better." Evergreen said as she inhaled the blue vapor.
"Of course you do." The Thunder Legion turned to the side to see a short man with a white tuxedo and a rugged face with dark orange hair standing with two vials in his hands. "That is the effect of my own Pain-Killer Parfume; while I used my own Pain Parfume to neutralize those abominations surrounding you."
"Hope you don't mind if we cut in on the fun." A young man with brownish-blonde hair wearing a tuxedo asked as he stood with two other young men, one with dark brown skin and black hair, the other a short light-skinned teenager with blonde hair, each of their suits bearing a familiar guild symbol.
"I know that logo!" Freed recognized the symbol adorning their attire. "They're from Blue Pegasus!"
Everyone else in Fairy Tail across the battlefield all looked in surprise as Ichiya and The Trimens, consisting of Hibiki, Ren, and Eve, from Blue Pegasus; as well as Lyon, Sherry, Toby, and Yuka from Lamia Scale have all arrived from different ends of the warzone.
"Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus?" Wakaba asked as he helped Macao up.
"But… why are you guys here…?" Macao wasn't sure how to respond to this.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Ren asked with a cocky grin. "Our guilds are allies after all."
"And it was pretty hard to ignore the giant tower appearing out of nowhere." Eve added.
Lyon and his guildmates began to walk forward as well. "We assumed it was likely trouble and knowing Fairy Tail, we also assumed you'd be caught in the middle. It would seem our assumptions were correct."
"Hope you guys don't mind the extra help, but only we get to show you up." Sherry said playfully.
"You guys…" Levy didn't know what to say, feeling greatly touched by all of this.
Cana, though beyond relieved, put on a joking grin. "Yeah, we'll let you guys tag in."
Lyon returned the smirk as he put on a serious face facing the horde of demons with his comrades. "Well then, shall we get started?" He was the first to charge forward.
"I'll show you fowl creatures how a true Ice-Make wizard fights! Ice-Make: Snow Dragon!" Lyon shot his hands forward as a massive serpentine-dragon made from ice shot forward to completely obliterate a large group of demons and tear them to pieces as his friends got to work as well.
A large amount of rocks gathered around Sherry as she readied her own spell. "Marionette Attack: Rock Doll!" In no time, she constructed a twenty-foot tall behemoth made of solid rock, with Sherry herself standing on its head. The Rock-Doll wasted no time as it slammed its massive fists onto the ground to knock away multiple demons surrounding her.
"Wave!" Yuka waved his arms forward to send multiple waves of blue energy at a large flock of incoming Bloodgoyles and Fallen in the air; the moment the waves past them, the demons all fell to the ground.
"My Wave Magic allows me to cancel out the opposing magic that it encompasses." Yuka explained. "Apparently it also works with demonic energy to."
"My turn!" Toby ran towards a group of Hell Prides and Hell Wraths as his nails began to glow green. "Taste my Mega-Jellyfish Paralyzing Claws!" He ran at high speeds, faster than the demons could anticipate and slashed every single one of them. He posed dramatically after finishing as all the demons were shocked with green energy and instantly paralyzed. However, this caused the Hell Wraths to drop their bombs, causing a large explosion that killed all the demons.
Toby looked in surprise. "Whoa! My Paralyzing Claws can cause people to explode to?! That's awesome!"
"No, those demons had bombs with them. And once they were paralyzed, they dropped the bombs and that caused the explosion." Yuka said with a sweat drop on his head, causing Toby to look comically shocked.
"Trimens attack!" Ren, Hibiki, and Eve all shouted at the same time as they jumped towards a large group of demons.
"Snow Magic: Total White Out!" Eve shot his hand forward as a cyan magic circle appeared and a huge blizzard engulfed a group of Enigma and Abyss demons before they were completely buried in snow.
"Air Magic: Aerial!" Ren shot his hand forward as a light blue magic circle appeared in his palm and a gathering of Hell Sloths and Hell Envys were encased in an air-tight dome that lowered the oxygen significantly; causing them intense pain as they all screeched in agony.
Ren gave an indifferent look. "So demons need oxygen to, who knew?"
As a Hell Vanguard was about to attack Warren with his scythe, Hibiki came in and shielded him an Archive Force Shield, he then followed through with an Archive Force Blast to knock the demon back.
"Hey, thanks man." Warren thanked him.
"No problem." Hibik nodded. "Hey, are you Warren Rocko? The Fairy Tail wizard who uses Telepathy?"
"Yeah?"
"Good, I see you've been having trouble trying to get through that tower. I think I have an idea on how we can solve that."
At the same time, several Hell Gluttonys and Hell Lusts surrounded Ichiya, but he kept his composure. "Such vile and ugly creatures. You do not deserve to live in the same world as my sweet honey!" He opened a vile as a purple vapor entered his nose.
"Power Parfume!" The moment his 'parfume' was inhaled, his muscles began to grow immensely, so much so that his clothes were torn as he was now three-times his own size. Using his newfound strength he punched and kicked every demon surrounding him so hard that they were all sent flying in multiple directions.
With that; the odds became much more even as the few but powerful members of Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus laid waste to the many demons across the battlefield. It allowed many of the injured Fairy Tail members time to recuperate and recover. During this time; Freed, Lyon, and Ichyia stood together facing another gathering of demons.
"I take it you know what that thing is?" Lyon asked, referring to Temen-ni-gru.
"Yes, it is known as Temen-ni-gru; a giant monolithic structure that serves as a conduit between Earthland and the Demon Realm." Freed explained. "It was released by the Dark Guild known as Devil Hand, and right now, several of our comrades are inside doing whatever they can to stop it. This includes Natsu, Gray, and Erza."
Lyon and Ichiya looked in surprise. "Gray is inside that thing?!" Lyon questioned.
"Yes, but do not fret. He has many strong friends, I'm sure they will succeed." Freed assured with a smile.
"I know they will." Ichiya nodded. "One of them is the lovely and amazing Erza Scarlet. But they won't have to wait too much longer; for once these creatures have been dealt with, I shall come in and assist you my sweet honey!" He called to the tower as he blew a kiss with his fingers.
Erza stopped in her tracks as she shivered; causing Wendy, Lady, Carla, and even Sheeree to look at her with concern as they walked down a long hallway.
"Erza, are you okay?" Wendy asked.
"Yes, but for some reason, I just felt a chill down my spine." Erza stated.
"Well we are in a massive demonic structure so it's to be expected." Carla said.
Lady was the first to get back to business. "Okay kid, how soon till we get to the basement."
"We shouldn't be too much further." Sheeree answered. "But… if Vergil is down there… I know that you're all strong but… honestly, I don't know anyone that's more terrifying than him."
It was no secret that Sheeree was scared, but Wendy gave her a smile as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Sheeree, I think you might be forgetting something. We've got a Son of Sparda on our side to! If anyone can take Vergil, it's Dante!"
Erza nodded with a smile herself. "And Dante won't be alone. We'll be there to assist him. And I'm quite certain that there might be several of our other comrades with him this very moment."
Sheeree's eyes slowly widened as she looked at them. "That's what's so special about Fairy Tail." Calra added as she smiled as well. "You're never alone, not in this guild."
"And once this is all over, you should come with us to Fairy Tail to." Wendy told Sheeree, who could not believe the words she just said.
"You… you would… accept me into your guild?" She asked with a shaky voice. "Even after all I've done?"
"Of course, you're like a sister to me, and I want to do everything I can to help you!" Wendy smiled as she took both Sheeree's hands. "Let's both be part of a family again, okay?"
Sheeree chocked up a bit as she rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "Okay."
"First things first though." Lady got right back to business as Sheeree nodded.
"Come on, we're almost there." She continued to lead the group as they ran down the hall, or fly in Carla's case.
As they ran however, all Lady could think about was getting to Arkham. She would personally beat the crap out of him for hurting so many people before putting a bullet in his skull and ending him once and for all. However, Erza noticed the look in Lady's eyes and recognized it as she had the same look once before.
Lair of Judgment
Dante used the flat part of Rebellion to block a Beowulf strike from Vergil, but this left him open for Vergil to quickly sweep his feet to knock Dante off his own feet, and while he was airborne, Vergil slammed his Beowulf fist into his gut to send him crashing into the wall.
"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!"
"Ice-Make: Ice-Cannon!"
Both Natsu and Gray launched their respective attacks on Vergil from behind; but using the speed in his Beowulf grieves, he was able to move in-between the attacks and slam both gauntlets into Natsu's and Gray's faces and send them crashing into the wall on the other side of the chamber.
Dante however shot right at Vergil with Rebellion, but Vergil quickly turned around and caught the blade in-between his gauntlets, however Dante smirked.
"Doppelganger!" Three shadows appeared around him and morphed into identical copies of Dante as they all slammed their heads on Vergil to disorient him, forcing him to let go of Rebellion as they began to run around him.
"Catch us if you can bro!" All four Dantes called to him. "Quicksilver!" Adding that to his Doppelganger style; Dante and his clones all moved around Vergil at light-speed to hit him with Rebellion-strikes all across his body at a pace that not even he could match. All this seemed to do however was frustrate him.
"Enough!" Vergil slammed both of his Beowulf gauntlets onto the ground to create a shockwave that not only destroyed his clones, but sent Dante back a bit before Vergil went on the offensive as Dante used Rebellion as a shield to block Vergil's attacks.
"Natsu! Gray!" Happy crawled toward them as they were now recovering.
"Damn it!" Gray struggled a bit as he tried to stand up, but Natsu was already on his feet.
"Hey man, you okay?" Natsu asked his friend.
"Yeah…" He held his side. "I'll live."
"You must have been through a big fight already." Happy guessed. "Your magic probably still haven't recovered yet."
Gray grumbled slightly as he knew Happy was right, he was still exhausted from his fight with Mammon, that Unison Raid he performed with Juvia took more out of him than he thought. "I'm not out of the game yet, but that fancy Devil Arm of his is really pissing me off!"
"So let's just get it off him." Natsu said as Happy and Gray turned to him in surprise. "I mean, if those fancy boots and gloves are making him stronger and faster, then let's just get rid of em."
The two honestly did not expect to hear that from Natsu. It seemed so simple, why didn't they think of it sooner? That however gave Gray an idea. "Okay, leave it to me. But I need you and Dante to make a big smokescreen."
"Got it." Natsu ran back to the fight as Dante swung Rebellion to create a red energy wave that flung towards Vergil which he was able to destroy with a sweep of his feet using the Beowulf greaves, but Dante was able to jump in the air as Vergil did and he swung his sword to his side; however Vergil quickly brought up his right gauntlet to block the sword-strike.
"Fire Dragon Talon!" Natsu delivered a flaming kick to Vergil's face to knock him back as Natsu jumped back. "Dante! We need a big firestorm!"
Dante nodded as he got the message right when Natsu unleashed another attack. "Fire Dragon Roar!"
"Agni! Rudra!" Dante had jumped into the air as he quipped his fire and wind swords before he used their respective elements to spin and propel himself directly towards Vergil like a missile just as Natsu's breath attack connected. Both attacks hit at the same time; causing a large explosion that flew Dante back as Natsu stood his ground.
Vergil had taken a direct hit and it did do some damage. It took a few seconds however for him to recover, and this was all Gray needed as he rushed through the smoke and grabbed Vergil; his right arm wrapped around Vergil's neck as his left arm grabbed his side.
"Freeze!"
A large cyan glow engulfed them both as Gray began to freeze Vergil's body as well as the ground below them to stick the Beowulf greaves to the ground and keep Vergil from moving from that spot. However, despite the intense cold, Vergil was still able to fiercely drive his elbow behind him into Gray's abs to knock him back before he delivered a backhand slap with a Beowulf gauntlet to knock Gray even further back and slamming hard against the wall.
"Gotcha!" Natsu was already on Vergil as he grabbed both gauntlets with his hands, catching Vergil completely by surprise as Natsu placed both his feet on Vergil's shoulders and blasted fire out of them to propel himself and pry the gauntlets off Vergil's arms, much to his surprise.
"Dante! Catch!" Natsu, while airborne, threw the gauntlets right towards Dante as he leapt into the air and stretched his arms so that they could slip into them. He then fell and pulled back a fist to punch Vergil across the face with his newly acquired weapon which actually sent Vergil flying; however, due to the ice that kept his feet pinned to the ground, Vergil actually flew out of the greaves, allowing Dante to land and slip his feet into them.
Vergil slammed against the wall, which cracked and nearly broke down as he fell to his knees. He looked in honest surprise to see Dante's body began to glow briefly as Beowulf now belonged to his younger brother. Dante was easily able to use Beowulf to break from the ice.
"Dante and Natsu's attack created a smokescreen, leaving me vulnerable for the Ice-Make wizard to pin me down. They used this to steal Beowulf from me and give it to Dante."
"Very clever." Vergil acknowledged as he stood up. "But futile, you will not stop me."
"Wanna bet?" Dante smirked as he used Beowulf to zoom right at Vergil and drove a powerful punch right to his gut, causing Vergil to hack up some blood from his mouth. Dante then delivered a spinning back-kick to Vergil's jaw to send him flying into the air, where Natsu met him.
"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" While in the air, Natsu threw multiple fire-whips at Vergil, which hit with explosive results and sent Vergil falling towards Gray.
"Ice-Make: Hammer!" Gray swung his ice-hammer at Vergil and sent him crashing into the wall where it collapsed on top of him.
"You got him!" Happy cheered. However; Dante, Gray, even Natsu didn't celebrate just yet as they knew it would take more than that to bring Vergil down. This would prove to be true in just two seconds.
"Summoned Swords!" From out of the ruble; shot a large hail of phantom-blades at the trio of heroes. Dante tried to punch and kick them away with Beowulf as Gray formed an ice-shield to protect himself, while Natsu could barley comically dodge each attack.
Once the attack cleared, they all looked up in surprise to see Vergil already above them in the air holding not Yamato, but the Devil Sword Sparda in his hands. Before either of them could respond, Vergil had already landed in between them. Dante was the first to be attacked as Vergil shot the blade rapidly at him like a machine gun to impale him multiple times and send him flying away, multiple drops of his blood spilt onto the ground as well. Vergil also swung the Sparda sword at Gray who tried to block it with his ice-shield, but the sword easily shattered it as the impact sent Gray flying as well.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu attempted to punch Vergil with a flaming fist, but he already used the flat edge of the Sparda to block the attack before Vergil outstretched the blade and spun it like a helicopter to blast Natsu back and send him rolling across the ground.
Happy's eyes widened, not just from his friends falling, but for the weapon that Vergil had. "That's Trish's sword!"
"Incorrect." Vergil stated as he saw his opponents all begin to stand up. "The Devil Sword Sparda belonged to my father. A weakling demon who bares that face has no right to wield this weapon."
"Oh and you think you do?!" Gray questioned angrily as he was the last to fully stand up.
"You still don't get it, do you bro?" Dante began. "Just what the hell are you gonna do with all this power? You think it's going to change anything?"
"Power is the only thing that matters in this or any world." Vergil said. "All of you talk about bonds of friendship and family, but those are meaningless if you are weak. I will obtain the power sealed away by this tower, and once I do, I will do the one thing my father could not: I will kill Mundus. I will take the Demonic Realm for myself, to rule over all time."
"And then what?!" Natsu angrily questioned. "So you wanna become the King of Hell, what happens after that?! What good is all that power if you're just going to use it to sit on an oversized throne?! Sounds pretty boring if you ask me!"
Vergil glared as he held the Devil Sword Sparda in one hand, and pulled out Yamato in his second. "That's one thing I can never stand about your guild, brother." He spoke to Dante directly. "They are all unbearably naïve; and it seems their weakness has spread to you like an infection."
Dante however smirked with a scoff. "Bro, if Fairy Tail's so weak, then how come we've totaled your guild and got you on the ropes right now."
Natsu smirked along with Gray at that remark as even Happy, laughed, however Vergil was not amused.
"Did you come here to talk me out of this?" Vergil questioned.
"No." Dante quickly became serious as he put away Beowulf and took out Rebellion once more. "We're here to stop you. All of us."
"Got that right buddy!" Natsu's fists lit aflame once more.
"Time to end this once and for all!" Gray created a pair of ice-swords in his hands as they all circled Vergil who held both Yamato and Sparda at the ready.
With a mighty yell; Dante, Natsu, and Gray all soared at Vergil who awaited their attacks with a cold and icy glare. Happy meanwhile continued to sit as he watched. It really pained him when all he could do was just watch, but he still hadn't fully recovered all the magic he spent when he and Dante beat Iblis. All he cold do right now was just hope that his friends could win.
"Come on guys! Natsu, Gray, Dante, I know you can do it! I believe in you!"
Meanwhile; somewhere in the caverns beneath the ground of Temen-ni-gru, specifically the area known as the Subground Water Vein; Mira was helping the bandaged Elfman as he had an arm slung over her shoulder as they tried to walk and find a way to meet up with some of their friends.
"Really sis, I can walk fine." Elfman told her.
"It's fine, I don't mind. Besides, with those injuries you should be careful till you get them looked at." Mira said.
Elfman rolled his eyes with a slight smile. Mira always was overprotective, but that's what made her the best older sister anyone could ask for. Elfman however noticed the sad look in her eyes, no doubt she was still thinking about Adrian, that poor kid. He really didn't deserve what happened to him. Elfman's fists clenched as he thought about what Adrian said before he died. Arkham told him to come to Devil Hand, to do things that he absolutely hated to do. If Elfman ever saw Arkham, he'd kick his ass so hard that he'd never be able to walk again.
"I hope Lisanna's okay." Mira said aloud, cutting off Elfman's angry thoughts.
"I'm sure she's fine." Elfman tried to assure her. "She's probably with everyone else right now; plus she's got that new Dragon Soul of hers. She's more than capable of handling herself."
"I know, but I just can't help but worry…" Mira recalled how only recently Lisanna just came back into their lives after two years of being supposedly dead. If anything happened now, she would never forgive herself.
"Hey! I think I see someone!"
They both looked in surprise as they heard a voice calling out to them in the distance. They looked towards the other side of the cavern to see Juvia waving her arm toward them as she supported an injured Gajeel over her shoulder with Panther-Lily flying beside them. Right behind the pair of former Phantom Lord wizards and the black Exceed was a floating sphere of water with two unconscious figures inside.
"Mirajane! Elfman! Over here!" Juvia continued to call to them.
"It's Juvia! With Gajeel and Lily!" Mira exclaimed as they picked up the pace, though not much faster so Mira couldn't risk re-opening Elfman's injuries. In a short time span, the two groups met with each other.
"Mirajane, I'm glad to see you're alright." Juvia said with a smile.
"Thanks, and same to you." Mira replied.
"Yo Gajeel, what the heck happened to you? You look like you got the stuffing beaten out of you." Elfman joked.
The Iron Dragon Slayer stifled a chuckle. "You don't look so hot yourself." He said with a laugh before he coughed and held his injured body.
"Don't strain yourself." Lily told him. "He ended up receiving a great deal of pain from one of the Seven Sins, but we defeated him."
"Is that one of those men in there?" Mira asked pointing to the unconscious Mammon and Satan in Juvia's water sphere.
"Yes." Lily confirmed. "The one with the red skin calls himself Satan, and he represents the Sin of Wrath."
"Gray and I encountered the other one. He goes by the name Mammon and represents the Sin of Greed." Juvia added.
"Hey where is Gray?" Elfman asked. "And Natsu? I thought he was with you."
"I told him to go on ahead." Lily answered. "Truthfully, I don't know where he is right now."
"Probably with Vergil, along with Gray." Juvia assumed. "We ran into an individual named Jester and he told Gray where to find Vergil, I haven't seen him since."
Both Mira and Elfman looked in deep concern. "They're up against Vergil." Mira said, in a tone that indicated she was worried greatly.
"Yeah well…" Gajeel strained. "Pretty sure Dante's there to, knowing him. Between those three idiots, I think they'll be fine."
The Strauss siblings shared smiles. "You're right." Elfman said. "That's a trio of real men right there! If anyone can kick Vergil's ass, I bet it's them!"
The rest of the group shared confident smiles, placing their faith in their friends. "Come on, we should try to regroup with everyone else and find a way to escape this tower." Lily advised.
"Good idea." Mira nodded. The conjoined group then began to make their way out of the cavern as they hoped to find their friends soon.
A door opened along the stairway within the Chamber of Echoes to reveal Lucy, Lisanna, and Angel as they walked out; with Lisanna and Lucy supporting Angel, the former dark wizard having given pretty much all the magic she had to Lucy for her to defeat Asmodeua.
"Looks like we're back to where we started." Lucy noted.
"Yeah, but maybe we should rest a bit." Lisanna told her. "You've been through a lot Lucy, you shouldn't push yourself."
"Don't worry, I won't. And I honestly don't feel all that bad, well not as bad as Angel anyway, she practically gave me everything, which was still surprising." Lucy said.
"Well, it was either help you, or get stuck as that monster's little play thing for the rest of my life." Angel said. "And… I'm still surprised myself that you're helping me. It would have been easier for you both if you just left me there."
"We're Fairy Tail wizards, that's not what we do." Lisanna said. "We don't abandon anyone in need."
"You did a lot of bad stuff, including to me and many of my spirits." Lucy admitted. "But I can tell you're not the same person you were back then, you really have changed."
Angel looked away slightly. "At first, all I wanted was power. Don't know why; guess I was just angry. Angry at the world and I wanted everyone to hurt the way I did… but now, I don't know what to do. I don't have any friends, or family anymore, I… I'm just… empty."
Lisanna and even Lucy looked to her in sympathy. "Well, maybe we can help." Lisanna offered. "Once this whole mess is done, maybe we can find a way to help you. I know what it's like for your whole world to just go crumbling down." She remembered when she was forcibly dragged into Edolas and felt like she was leaving behind her family and friends in Earthland. "But it doesn't have to be the end; it could be a new beginning. The start of a new life; a happier life."
Angel's eyes widened slowly as she didn't expect that at all. "The start of a new life?" Could she really have a better life? Maybe she could be free after all. Maybe she could even find her sister and find a way to start over with her. They could be a family again.
Lucy looked to Lisanna with a smile; it was easy to understand why Natsu liked her so much. Even if Angel was an enemy at one time, no one deserves to go through what she did in her life.
Their thoughts were interrupted however when the door on the other side opened to see Trish and Modeus walking out; both looked greatly injured as they struggled to support each other.
"Trish! Modeus!" Lucy called to them as they turned around in surprise.
"Lucy? Lisanna? And is that… Angel?!" Modeus voiced in surprise.
"Hang on, we'll meet you guys down!" Lisanna said as she, Lucy, and Angel walked down the flight of stairs; while Trish and Modeus did the same. They both met up on the ground floor.
"Are you guys okay?!" Lucy asked urgently as it looked like they needed medical attention really badly.
"We'll live." Trish said. "We're demons, we can take the pain."
"Wait… you're demons?!" Angel questioned, feeling very alarmed right now.
"Yeah, but they're good demons." Lisanna assured her. "Besides Dante's half demon to, and he's about as good as they come."
"Dante?" Angel's eyes widened. "Is he here?"
"Oh yeah, probably laying the smack down right now." Lucy said with a smirk before addressing her injured friends. "But what happened to you guys?"
"Vergil happened." Modeus answered, causing the three girls to look in shock. "We defeated one of the Seven Sins; but Vergil ambushed us."
"He took my sword with him." Trish added. "And he probably has both his and Dante's amulets. With them he can fully activate this tower, and open a portal to the Demon World."
While both Lucy and Lisanna looked in worry, Angel thought of something. "Well shouldn't something be happening then?" She asked, getting their attention. "I mean, if he has what he needs; they shouldn't this place be glowing or something?"
"The tower hasn't been fully activated yet." Modeus said. "If it was, we would have known."
"Vergil's not the kind of guy who likes waste time." Trish added. "Probably ran into some trouble that's keeping him busy."
"Dante. It's gotta be!" Lucy stated.
"Natsu might be there to." Lisanna also guessed. "Shouldn't we be helping them then?"
"We'd only get in the way." Trish shook her head. "With the sorry state the two of us are in; plus you girls are strong, but you're match for Vergil."
"So what can we do then?" Lucy asked.
"For now, I think it is best we try to find our friends." Modeus said. "This is where we all started before we were separated; so if we find our friends, we can guide them back here and leave this horrible place."
"Sounds like a good idea." Lisanna nodded. "But we got no idea where to find them; and this place is huge!"
The group looked in frustration as they found themselves caught between a rock and hard place. With a tower as big as this, it would take hours before they found any of their comrades; not to mention this group currently needed some rest right now. They really didn't know what to do; except for Angel, she knew what she could do right now: pray that Dante succeeds. It's strange, but ever since she met him, she could feel a new warm feeling inside her; it wasn't love, that was certain, but just hearing his name made her feel that everything was going to turn out alright. Is this what hope feels like?
Sheeree had turned a corner with Erza, Wendy, Carla, and Lady following close behind her. "We're almost there. We should be just…"
However, once she entered the hallway just beyond the door she gave an audible gasp at what she saw. Arkham's body, lying in a pool of blood. Wendy came out next and gasped at the sight while covering her mouth with both her hands; Erza looked in surprise as did Carla. Arkham appeared dead in front of them. All eyes turned behind them as they saw Lady had an unreadable expression on her face.
Lady slowly walked past them, towards the body, saying nothing as her friends looked to her in concern; not knowing what was going to happen next.
"Lady…?" Wendy tried to find the right words. "Are you… okay…?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Lady said, with no emotion in her voice. "He deserved this." However, as she spoke her voice began to slowly rise to one of anger. "He was obsessed with becoming the Devil… so much he killed his own wife!" Her fists clenched in frustration. "For that he butchered innocent people to!" She then yelled as she pulled out a pistol and shot up into the ceiling in anger; an action that caused both Wendy and Sheeree to look in shock, even Carla was taken aback. "He's the most vile kind of creature!" Erza however slowly walked toward her and as Lady threw away her gun in frustration and pounded her fist onto the wall in rage as she screamed. Erza put a hand on her shoulder, but once she made contact, Lady turned her anger-filled face toward Erza.
"To top it off… that filthy scum is my father! My family! This was all supposed to end by my hand!" Lady stated as tears of resentment filled her eyes, but she was caught by surprise as Erza pulled her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry." Erza spoke as she continued to hold her. "Lady I am so sorry. I know how it feels. To have that one person who feels so close and yet you hate him so much. How you must be the one to beat him. I know just how strong that desire is, and how much it hurts just to think about it."
Lady said nothing as Wendy and Carla looked toward her with sympathetic expressions. Sheeree was completely speechless, feeling like the odd one out. She knew that Lady was Arkham's daughter, but to have a father who did stuff like all that, including killing one's own mother… she honestly didn't know what to say.
Erza pulled Lady away as she looked her in the eyes. "I know exactly how you feel right now, so believe me when I say that you are not alone in this. You don't have to guard your heart; you're a part of Fairy Tail, not just a guild, but also a family. Let us be here for you, and I promise, you'll never have to feel like this again."
Lady couldn't think of a response, even more so when Wendy and Carla all came toward her. Wendy held her hand and spoke first.
"I really am sorry for all of this, Lady. But, Erza's right; you don't have to be alone. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you, with him as your father or all he did to you, it sounds so terrible. But, I want to be here for you, I want to help you. Please, let me be your friend, so you don't have to be alone anymore."
"I can understand a bit of what you are going through, to." Carla said. "I know how it feels to be stuck, how to come from a horrible place. When I first arrived in Edolas, I believed that my home, the Exceeds, they were all horrible and I was being controlled; manipulated for their own purposes. That all proved to be wrong but… I can understand how you feel right now."
Lady was still completely speechless. She had every right to hate her father, and it felt unfair that she wasn't the one to put an end to his evil; but here she had people who were willing to help her and offer to have her become a part of a family again.
"Hey uh…. I know this is all pretty heavy stuff right now, but I think we should go." Sheeree said, getting everyone's attention. "I'm sorry about all this, really I am, but while you weren't the one to beat Arkham, you can still stop his plan. If you stop Temen-ni-gru, what he's been trying to do with it; that would still count for something. Right?"
Despite the awkward phrasing, they knew Sheeree was right. Temen-ni-gru was still a very real threat and it had to be stopped as soon as possible.
"But… who did it?" Wendy asked, looking towards Arkham's body.
Erza kneeled down to inspect it. "Judging by the size of the mark; it was definitely with a blade, but not Dante's. Something much smaller; and it was precise to, piercing the heart."
It didn't take a genius to figure it out. "Vergil." Lady voiced with contempt.
Wendy took a few whiffs before her eyes widened. "He's just up ahead. Vergil's not far from here! And he's with Dante, Natsu, Happy… even Gray! They're all just down the hall!"
"Then we have no time to loose!" Carla sprouted her wings. "We must hurry and put a stop to this nightmare!"
"Then let's go!" Erza stated as the group ran into the doorway. As they ran, a look of rage filled Lady's eyes. She may not be the one to kill Arkham, but she can still get the one who stole her vengeance from her.
However, Wendy heard something with her enhanced Dragon Slayer senses that caused her to stop. She turned around to look at Arkham's still body. That was strange, for a second, she thought she heard a heartbeat. But that couldn't be. His heart was pierced; wasn't it?
"Wendy! Come on!" Sheeree called to her.
"Right… I'm coming!" Wendy ran to catch up with them.
However, as they ran and were far enough away, Arkham's hands twitched as his fists clenched, and his eyes shot open.
Lair of Judgment
Dante clashed Rebellion against both Yamato and the Sparda sword wielded by Vergil as they slashed at each other relentlessly; both managing to cut each other as more blood continued to spill across the ground. However, Dante ended jumping back to avoid a large trail of ice-spikes shooting up from the ground toward Vergil; courtesy of Gray as he placed both his hands on the ground.
Vergil ended up jumping back to avoid the attack; but this left him open for Natsu who was able to propel himself right at Vergil with flames from his feet. Vergil swung the Sparda sword at him, but Natsu bent his body underneath it.
"Fire Dragon Flame Elbow!" Shooting flames from both his elbows, Natsu propelled himself into the air slamming both his fists and then his feet up Vergil's jaw to knock him into the air where Gray met him as he jumped; having an ice-blade on his right hand and one on his left elbow.
"Ice Blade: Seven Strike Dance!" With a twirl of his body, Gray slashed Vergil seven times before finishing with an x-shaped strike that broke both his ice-blades. Vergil however landed on his feet, albeit shakily; leaving him open for Dante to come in as they clashed swords yet again.
As the dance of blades continued, Natsu ran towards Vergil again. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" However, Vergil used the flat surface of the Sparda sword to block Natsu's fist, right as he held Yamato to block Rebellion and keep Dante back. Both Dante and Natsu pressed forward as Vergil continued to hold them back; but holding two swords and forcing back two opponents at the same time was no easy task, even for him.
"Sky Dragon Roar!"
Before Vergil even knew what had happened, a powerful breath attack had hit him in the back and propelled him to the other end of the chamber. Dante, Natsu, and Gray looked in surprise to see who was responsible for that.
"I hit him that time." Wendy stood tall with a determined look on her face.
"Wendy?!" Natsu questioned.
"What are you doing here?!" Dante questioned as well.
Gray however glanced back to see Vergil already on his feet and shot himself toward the young girl. "Wendy, look out!"
Unfortunately, the warning came too late, as Vergil was already in the air ready to bring down the Sparda sword onto her; but before he could….
*CLASH!*
Erza had leapt into the air, now adorned her Black Wing armor as she clashed her blade against Vergil's attack before giving a roundhouse kick to knock Vergil back. She wouldn't give him a chance to recover as Erza equipped two swords in her hand, still donning her Black Wing armor, as she flew toward him and struck her dual blades against Vergil's.
"Erza." Gray voiced in surprise.
"Is everyone alright?" Carla flew onto the scene as well.
"Carla!" Happy called out in happiness as he tried to stand up. The white female Exceed noticed his presence and current state and immediately flew toward him.
"For goodness sake Happy, I cannot leave you alone for five minutes. Can I?" Carla scolded a bit as she tried to help the weakened exceed; but at the same time, she was very relieved to find him still in one piece.
"Yeah, what would I do without you." Happy said.
At the same time; when Dante, Natsu, and Gray turned to ask Wendy how she got here, they noticed someone else with her.
"Wendy get back!" Gray readied an attack. "It's that girl again!"
"What girl?" Natsu asked, never having seen her before.
Sheeree looked in fear and surprise, but Wendy quickly spread her arms out to shield her. "Guys no, it's okay! She's with us!"
"What? But she attacked you!" Gray stated. Even Dante looked in surprise with a raised eyebrow
"I know but we talked it over! I promise she's on our side now!" Wendy defended her. "I'll explain everything later, please just trust me!"
"It's true." Carla added as she helped up Happy. "Sheeree is helping us, and I promise to explain everything once this is all over, but for now, we must stop Vergil!"
There was no argument there as everyone else turned his or her eyes to Erza and Vergil's clash. They seemed pretty evenly matched in their sword-duel; that is until Vergil shot the Sparda sword out as it curved and spun like a helicopter blade to shatter Erza's swords and break apart much of her armor, while also sending her back and skidding across the ground. However, he didn't have time to recover as he heard a blasting sound and instinctively swung Yamato towards an incoming rocket, slicing it in half as both shot past him and exploded along the wall.
The culprit was none other than Lady herself.
"Lady?" Natsu voiced in surprise. "You're here to?"
"Shut up!" She said before shooting at Vergil again as he used the Sparda to slice the rocket, while she charged at him, but he batted her away with the Yamato; but Gray shot a hail of ice-lances at Vergil, forcing him to jump in the air where Dante and Erza tried to slash their swords at him, but Vergil blocked them while he flipped as he tried to bring Yamato down on Lady, who blocked it with her rocket.
"You took it away from me!" She voiced in anger and resentment toward him.
"Is that what you think? Foolish girl." He shook his head before immediately spinning the Sparda blade like a helicopter to block the breath attack from Natsu as he did a roundhouse to kick Lady back.
As Lady stumbled back; she aimed her rocket only to see Vergil clashing with both Dante and Erza once more. Gray and Natsu both charged in with ice and fire respectively; which put Vergil on the defensive. As she aimed her rocket, the more she realized just how much she was in the way right now. Wendy and Sheeree, as well as Happy and Carla moved closer towards her as they all kept their eyes on the battle.
Natsu was able to deliver a flaming kick to knock the Sparda sword out of Vergil's hands, leaving him open as Grey shot another ice-attack at him; which he blocked by twirling Yamato, only to get hacked and slashed along the right and elft sides by Dante and Erza respectively, as he instinctively swung at them and managed to get successful cuts before all three fell to their knees in exhaustion. Even Natsu and Gray took a moment to catch their breath as well as they were each beyond exhausted, especially Gray having spent the most amount of energy amongst the group throughout the tower thus far.
It was silent for a moment before a series of claps were heard. Everyone turned to see an applauding Jester walk toward the center of the chamber.
"Bravo! Bravo! I never dreamed that things will go so smoothly! Well done everyone! Well done!"
"You." Dante glared at him while Gray and Erza both gave silent glares
"It's that stupid clown again!" Natsu growled.
"Jester?!" Wendy voiced in surprise.
"Who… who is that…?!" Sheeree questioned; causing Wendy, Happy, and Carla to look at her in surprise.
"Wait, you've never seen him before?" Carla questioned, as the still-shocked Sheeree to shake her head.
"So…. Why is he here?" Wendy asked aloud.
Jester turned his eyes towards to the former member of the Seven Sins. "Oh looky. Little Leviatha has turned to the good side! Who'da thunk it?"
Lady immediately pointed her rocket-launcher toward him, only for him to quickly swerve toward her and grab her weapon as he licked his lips. "Don't be a bad girl Mary." He said before flipping her with her own weapon causing her to land hard on Gray.
"Hey!" Natsu ran toward him, but Jester spun the rocket-launcher in his hands as the back end smacked Natsu in the face to knock him down before he looked towards Lady again.
"Or you can expect a spanking from Daddy later! Jester's gonna spank your butt! Spank you on the…"
"Insane buffoon!" Vergil exclaimed toward Jester as he stood up. "I don't know where you came from but you don't belong here." He said as Jester dropped the rocket launcher. "Now leave!" He charged at him and swung Yamato down toward his head, only for Jester to clap his hands and catch the katana.
That action caught everyone by surprise. Natsu, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Gray, Sheeree, even Erza and Dante couldn't believe it. This guy just stopped Vergil's attack with his bare hands!
"Zowie that was close!" Jester said. "But you've taken quite a trouncing today, haven't you Vergil?" Jester slowly lowered Yamato as Vergil glared at him. "You could have chopped me into confetti by now if you were in tip-top condition."
"Damn you!"
"You have lost." However, that wasn't the voice of Jester that spoke. Vergil looked in surprise, which left him unprepared for Jester to toss him to the side as he skidded across the ground. When Vergil got up, he, and everyone else, looked in surprise to see Arkham standing in his place.
"What?!" Erza's pupils shrank. Even Dante didn't see that coming.
"No way!" Sheeree backed away in fear.
"Who the heck is that?" Natsu questioned as he tried to get up, never seen his face before.
"That's Arkham!" Gray grunted as Lady tried to get herself off him.
"But that… that shouldn't be possible…" Carla's eyes shook as Wendy backed away in fear, her own eyes wavering as well.
"He… he was dead…" Happy couldn't believe it either.
"…Because you underestimated humans." Arkham finished his statement towards Vergil.
"Wha… what's going on?" Lady voiced aloud as she recovered.
"Good girl." Arkahm turned to his daughter. "Pure and innocent. Just like your mother."
Upon realizing she had been tricked, Lady pulled out her pistol." You bastard!" She didn't get a chance to shoot however as Arkham took the form of Jester again and quickly grabbed Lady by the back of the head.
"It's time for your spanking my dear!" Jester slowly raised her head and slammed her face down onto the ground.
"Lady!" Wendy tried to run and help her, but Jester quickly appeared behind her and picked her up by the back of her neck.
"Wendy!" Sheeree called to her as she and Carla tried to help.
"Unhand her!" Carla exclaimed; only for Jester to throw Wendy at both of them, causing all three to smack into a wall at the far end of the chamber; angering Dante, Natsu, Gray, and Erza, even further.
"You want to know why the spell didn't break, hmm Vergil?" Jester mused to the recovering blue-clad half-demon. "You have the two amulets, and Sparda's blood, even his sword for good measure. You had everything you needed to unleash the evil…!"
"I told you before." Dante stood up. "I don't like anybody who has a bigger mouth than mine!" Jester comically clasped his hands over his mouth as Dante shot Ebony and Ivory at him, even Gray placed his hands on the ground to blast a streak of ice-spikes across the floor, but Jester jumped up and danced along the ice-spikes.
"You are all wounded and weak." Jester said as he also ducked and danced around a sword-strike from Erza and a flaming fist from Natsu before grabbing them both by the wrist. "Even I can do…" He jumped up to the ceiling with both of them and threw them away; Natsu smacking on the wall close the recovering Wendy, Sheree, and Carla, near Happy, as well as the Sparda sword, and Erza onto Gray while Jester landed both his feet on Dante to knock him down. "…This to you!" He said with a laugh before transforming back into Arkham.
"Everything I told you before Vergil was true." Arkham began. "In order to free Temen-ni-gru itself from it's imprisonment; you needed those whose souls were compatible with the Seven Deadly Sins of man, as well as the blood of the priestess whom your father sacrificed to seal it away; of whom Angel and the Strauss siblings are descended from." He began to walk towards Lady as he continued. "However, to activate the tower's full power…. Two amulets, a set of Sparda's blood, now I need one more key." He picked up Lady's downed rocket launcher. "You see Vergil, there were actually two priestesses whom Sparda sacrificed. The ancestor of the Strauss' to seal the tower itself, the second to seal the tower's unholy power." He was right above Lady as he lifted up the weapon and pierced the rocket's blade right into her leg, causing her to gasp in pain as everyone looked in shock.
"I needed you." Arkham spoke to his daughter as her blood began to flow on the floor and into the seal. "In whose body flows the same blood as the other sacrificed woman. His spell cannot be undone without your blood." He then transformed into Jester again.
"It was quite a ride you know." Jester painfully pulled the rocket-launcher out of Lady's leg as he spoke to everyone. "If any of you died before getting here, our little plan would have gone to waste." He began to tap dance. "You see, I've been wanting Sparda's power for some time; but I needed a blood descendant to get it, fortunately for me, both his sons had the amulets. It wasn't too hard to start this game, considering Dante and Vergil have been at each other's throats forever. But I had a slight hiccup: Fairy Tail. Goody-to-shoes Dante found himself a sweet new family; so I had to even the playing field a little bit. Big bad Vergil may have been the leader of Devil Hand, but I was the one who formed it! I gathered not just demons, but seven powerful wizards, not just to fill the roll of the Seven Deadly Sins and unlock the tower, but wizards who we're powerful enough to rival Fairy Tail's elite! Therefore, my job was to make Fairy Tail and Devil Hand battle each other in order to weaken you. But at the same time, I had to guide you all here and make sure a certain number of you were kept alive. I even went so far as dressing like a complete idiot!" He finished with a laugh.
Everyone heard all this and had feelings of anger, resentment, and shock. Natsu, Dante, Gray, Erza, and Carla all clenched their fists and glared at him. This man manipulated his daughter and started a war to kidnap several of their friends in order to lure them here and fooled them all. Happy was shocked that he and his friends were tricked so easily. Wendy couldn't believe it as her childhood friend was manipulated into becoming a pawn in his scheme, he took advantage of her suffering and made her do what he wanted; the same thing for Lady, his own daughter!
Sheeree couldn't believe it either; not just for her being tricked, but several of the other Seven Sins as well. True, she had no feelings or empathy towards most of them, but she heard about the scenario surrounding Adrian, formerly known as Beelzebub, and how he was cursed with the Wendigo. She even saw him begging Vergil to kill him before this whole mess started in order to atone for killing his own family. Up until now however, she never realized just how much he suffered to, even more so than her. Yet for all his suffering, he was just as much Arkham's pawn as her. Sheeree's heart filled with regret, as she wanted to go back and help him; maybe take him to Fairy Tail so that Wendy and everyone else could help both of them. But now it was too late.
Vergil however had rage booming inside him. He was nobody's pawn! How could he have been tricked so easily?! He was angry at himself for allowing such a mistake, but even more so at Arkham for humiliating him like this.
Lady's rage couldn't be described with mere words. This man was rotten through-and-through. Just the thought of her sharing the same blood as him made her sick to her stomach.
"Its time for bed Mary." Jester spoke to her. "You can visit your dear mother! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!"
"SHUT UP!" Natsu's rage-filled yell silenced Jester as he quickly picked up the downed Sparda-sword and rushed him; while also giving Lady an opening to flip and kick the rocket-launcher out of his hands and into hers as she pointed it at him, blade first, with Natsu pointing the Sparda-sword at his face right next to her.
"Try me." She said with a controlled tone, but hate-filled eyes.
Natsu looked ready to tear Arkham to pieces like a wild anima. "You rotten piece of crap!"
The others came in as well. Dante and Vergil crossed Rebellion and Yamato respectively as they stood behind Arkham, their blades at his neck. While Erza with one of her swords, and Gray with an ice-blade, we're at his sides. Erza on the left, Gray on the right, the tips of their own weapons less than a centimeter from his neck.
"You're done, bastard." Gray growled.
"You will not get away with this" Erza stated with a fiery glare.
"It's time for the clown to bow-out Arkham." Vergil said with an icy-cold warning tone.
"Dude, the show's over!" Dante finished.
Wendy and Sheeree stood up, along with Happy and Carla as they saw Jester transform back into Arkham upon being completely surrounded.
"Impressive. I expected nothing less from the Devil's descendants; as well as the likes of Natsu Dragneel, Erza Scarlet, and Gray Fullbuster." Each of them kept their eyes trained solely on Arkham, not about to give him even an inch. "But aren't you forgetting something Vergil? The spell is broken. What do you think will happen next?"
Wendy looked past Arkham to see a small pillar rise from the center of the platform, causing her to look in confusion.
"Let's welcome chaos." Arkham lulled as the ceiling began to open. The platform began to glow a bright red color as it began to shake and steadily but quickly rise from the ground. Wendy, Carla, Happy, and Sheeree instinctively backed away just as everyone on the platform lost his or her footing for a brief second. Using this, Arkham quickly ducked as Natsu, Lady, Dante, Erza, Gray, and Vergil tried to bring their blades down, only to miss just as Arkham did a 360 roundhouse sweep of the leg to swipe all six of them off their feet, before, in one fluid motion, standing on one hand and sticking his right leg out, spun around to catch Vergil followed by Dante, Erza, Natsu, Lady, and Gray and flinging them off the rising platform as many hit the walls and fell to the ground. Arkham also managed to catch the Devil Sword Sparda that Natsu dropped.
Wendy and Happy immediately ran to Natsu who was closest to them and tried to help him up as Gray and Erza each picked themselves up from their respective spots, along with Lady as all of them, including Sheeree, Happy, and Carla could only look up in shock and terror as the glowing red pillar continued to ascend.
"Just sit and wait." Arkham said to them. "Wait for the birth of a new god! I...shall take over the Power of SPARDA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!"
Arkham's malevolent laugh echoed throughout the entire chamber as the floor began to crack and fall apart. Vergil's unconscious body fell down one hole. Lady almost fell down into a pit herself, but Dante quickly caught her. However, despite still being alive, it did little to comfort the fact that despite beating pretty much everyone in Devil Hand, Fair Tail had failed. They lost, and Arkham had won.
Done.
Wow. Well that could have gone better.
So let me explain Arkham's plan. I already said how in my timeline; Sparda had sacrificed two priestess in order to fully seal away Temen-ni-gru. In order to close the portal and seal off the tower's power source; he sacrificed a portion of his own blood, as well as the blood of Lady's maternal ancestor; breaking the Perfect Amulet in half as well. In order to seal the whole tower itself; he confiscated the names of seven demons/fallen angels, each one representing one of the Seven Deadly Sins and made another blood sacrifice with a second priestess, whom Angel, Lisanna, Elfman, and Mira are all descended from.
So in order to get what he needed; Arkham needed seven souls that were compatible with the Seven Deadly Sins; so he brought in Iblis, Satan, Mammon, Belphegor, Asmodeua, Leviatha (Sheeree), and Beelzebub (Adrian). He had to manipulate both Sheeree and Adrian in the process as well; take advantage of both their suffering for his advantage, the scumbag that he is. He also needed to get the blood of virgin females of the descendants of the priestesses that were sacrificed, as well as the blood of Sparda, and both halves of the Perfect Amulet. So he needed Dante, Vergil, Lady, Lisanna, and/or Mira. Arkham not only created Devil Hand to unlock Temen-ni-gru and bring him his intended targets, but he also formed the dark guild in order to combat Fairy Tail who would be there with Dante to fight as well. Arkham played both sides of the guildwar in order to get what he needed, and it worked. Now he is ready to get the power he sought for so long, he even has the Devil Sword Sparda now for good measure.
Yep, we are nearing the climax as our heroes recover and will launch an all-or-nothing attack on Arkham to bring the madman down once and for all and save all of Earthland.
We even have Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus along for the ride. (For those of you who want to see Jura, I plan to introduce him in the next chapter or two to the battle; as well as a few other big shots. Trust me, the heroes will need the extra power.)
(Oh, and Dante has Beowulf now. Also, I am NOT shipping Dante with Angel, he was just the one who was able to help give her the hope to live again).
I hope that all makes sense to you. If any of you have trouble understanding this, feel free to PM me and I'll try to clarify it for you as best I can. We are entering the climax of the Devil Hand arc as we have only two maybe three chapters left. Thank you all for your support and I will see you with the next chapter! :)