Hi everyone, thanks again for your patience. We are now at the final battle of the Devil Hand arc. I know I've said it before, but this arc turned out better than I could have hopped, and I'm really pleased with how well it did. Thank you all for your support, there are at most two more chapters after this, one to serve as an epilogue/prologue for the next arc which is Tenrou Island. I've got BIG plans for that.
So, without further delay, let us begin.
Dawn of Light
It was a complete warzone outside Temen-ni-gru as the many wizards of Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus battled against the hordes of demons that poured out of the open portal just above the dreaded demonic tower. Despite the strength and will of all these wizards, the demons outnumbered them over thirty to one, and it showed little signs of slowing down.
"Guns Magic: Tornado Shot!"
"Requip Big Bazooka!"
"Card Magic: Explosive Flame!"
The trio of attacks from Alzack, Bisca, and Cana was able to obliterate a group of Enigma demons, but several Blades filled the gaps, much to their frustration.
"Damn it! There's no end to these guys!" Cana grunted as they readied themselves once more.
"Solid Script: Thunder!" Levy wrote the word 'thunder' out of yellow lightning, which exploded outward to zap several airborne Bloodgoyles, but even more Fallen were about to fly down toward her.
"Falcon Heavenward!" An airborne kick from Jet was able to knock down two Fallen, but three others still slashed at him with their light-blades to knock him down.
"Jet!" Levy quickly ran to try and help him as Droy jumped toward them to throw more magic seeds to the ground and create a plant wall to slow the demons down.
"Wave!" Yuka created a large blue wave to nullify the powers of several Plasma demons, all of which took the forms of Yuka, leaving them open for a combined attack.
"Purple Rain!"
"Smoke Crush!"
"Sand Wave!"
The trio attacks from Macao, Wakaba, and Max were able to blast all the Plasma demons away, but several more Blades and Frosts took their place.
"Are you kidding me?!" Wakaba exclaimed.
"Just how many of these things are there!?" Yuka also exclaimed.
Sherry's rock doll marched forward as the behemoth shot its fists down on the ground to pummel several Nobodies and Enigma demons. She had back up in the form of Eve, Ren, and Toby as the two Tri-men shot out their Air and Snow magic attacks respectively to blast back several more demons while Toby lashed his paralyzing claws out at the demons that came to close.
This group did their best to cover Warren and Hibiki as the later still used his Archive Magic to try and find any sort of structural weaknesses Temen-ni-gru might have.
"Anything yet?" Warren exclaimed. "I can't do much besides read minds! And I don't know how much longer we can hold out!"
"No such luck!" Hibiki replied. "I can't find anything that might bring that damn tower down!"
*SLASH!*
Freed used his sword to slash down two Bladed demons with his Dark Ecriture magic. "The longer that portal remains open, the greater the risk we are taking."
He and his Thunder Legion comrades along with the still muscular Ichiya stood their ground as they were surrounded by several Enigma and Frost demons.
"If it weren't for all these damn freaks, we'd turn that tower into rubble by now!" Bickslow exclaimed as he had his dolls shoot several more lasers to take down a few Frost demons.
"We'll simply have to keep fighting! For all our comrades!" Ichiya said as he dramatically punched an Enigma demon to send it flying.
"Well, all our comrades are about to be as dead as we are if we just keep this up!" Evergreen hovered in the air to unleash a magic bolt machine-gun like attack to take out several more demons.
Lyon ended up alone as several Arachne demons lunged toward him. "Ice Make: Snow Tiger!" He shot a large tiger made out of ice that lashed out its claws and teeth to tear the demons to shreds. He then suddenly gasped in pain as he felt a Bladed demon slash at his back and pounce onto him like a predator. It was about to bite down onto his throat until… a spear made out of ice shot forward and pierced its chest, killing it.
"Geeze look at you Lyon. And you called me the reckless one."
Lyon looked up in surprise to see Gray with a joking smile offering his fellow Ice-Make wizard a hand up.
"That's because you are the reckless one." Lyon smirked as he took the hand and was helped back up. However, it would seem that several Nobody and Enigma demons were about to get the drop on them, that is until they were pushed back by a large torrent of water.
"Water Nebula!" Juvia had blasted all the demons away before she stood in front of the two Ice-Make Wizards; while she still had Mammon and Satan imprisoned in her Water Lock.
"Nice one, Juvia." Gray gave a thumbs up, while Lyon had a dumbfounded expression.
"Oh well… thank you Gray." She blushed at the complement. However, she looked in surprise as Lyon slowly walked toward her, even Gray was a bit stunned.
"Uh… Lyon?"
"Can… Can I help you with something?" The Rain Woman asked Lyon as he continued to stare at her. She was so beautiful, honestly Lyon had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.
He smiled as he held her shoulders. "I've never believed in true love until now."
Once those words came out of Lyon's mouth; Juvia's face lost all focus and gave way to shock and comical disturbance, so much so that she lost her grip on the Water Lock that held Mammon and Satan as they fell to the ground.
"After facing demons for so long, a literal angel has come to my side." Lyon praised. "I can't think of any greater blessing."
Juvia's face was redder than a tomato as she had no idea what to say; but they were quickly brought back to reality as several Fallen demons began to descend toward them, only to be shot to pieces by an Ice-Make Lance attack from Gray.
"Hey! This is no time to get lost in fantasy land!" Gray exclaimed. "In case you didn't notice, we got demons to fight!"
Juvia shook her head and refocused herself. "You are right my Gray. This is no time for fooling around." Both her arms converted into water as she prepared for battle.
"Have no fear my dear Water Angel, your beloved knight in shining armor shall fight by your side as well." Lyon threw away his shirt to reveal his bare chest, much to Gray's embarrassment and Juvia's fluster.
Despite the awkward situation; the three heroes stood their ground admits the incoming horde of Bloodgoyles and Plasma demons.
"Ice-Make: Arrows!"
"Ice-Make: Eagle!"
"Water Slicer!"
The trio of ice and water attacks shot forward and rendered the demons in front of them to bloodied shreds.
Levy, Jet, Droy, Cana, Alzack, and Bisca stood their ground against several Nobody and Frost demons, but they would soon receive the help they would need as two figures were seen flying overhead.
"Iron Dragon Roar!" Gajeel shot his breath attack as Panther-Lily carried him in the air.
"Inferno Blast!" Lisanna shot a similar attack of fire from her mouth as she flew in her Dragon Soul form. Both attacks hit the demons as the fire from Lisanna's attack destroyed the Frost demons while Gajeel's attack obliterated the Nobodies.
"Gajeel! Lisanna! Lily!" Levy exclaimed as she and her comrades all smiled at the three of them landing in front of them ready to fight, including Panther-Lily who transformed back to his muscular appearance.
"Glad we made it when we did." Lisanna stated.
"Now who's ready to slay some demons?" Gajeel smirked.
"What are we waiting for then?" Lily stated as the trio leapt into battle.
"Take Over: Beast Soul!" Elfman transformed into his beast-like appearance as he lunged and punched a Blade demon so hard it was sent flying and crashing into a pile of other demons before grabbing an airborne Fallen by its leg and using it as a weapon to bash down several other demons with him.
Modeus slid by Elfman's backside with both his swords. "Demon Sword: Phantom Moon!" With a swing of both his blades, he sent several crescent-moon projectiles at several Arachne demons that were near him.
"Now that's what I call a cavalry." Macao smirked in relief along with the other wizards that were near him.
"Open Gate of the Lion: Loke!" With a swing of her key, Lucy had summoned Loke by her side. "Sorry to call you back so soon Loke."
"Don't worry." He assured her with a smile. "I'm happy to help whenever you need me." His fists lit with golden energy. "Are you ready Lucy?"
She readied her personal whip, the Fleuve d'etoiles, and stood by her Spirit's side. "Whenever you are."
"I'm here to help to." Sorano held both the Luce and Ombre guns, given to her by Trish so she could defend herself. "Like I said, I'll do everything I can to make amends."
"You got a long way to go." Loke told her with a subtle glare
"I know." She nodded.
"Then let's get started." Lucy declared as they went on the attack.
Trish ran up the Rock-Doll Sherry was using and jumped over the group she was helping to protect as she thrusted both her hands forward to send several bolts of lightning at the demons surrounding them, turning them into a charred mess as she landed gracefully in front of the happy Warren and bewildered Tri-Mens and Toby.
"Talk about shocking, eh Trish." Warren joked with her.
"That joke is about as old Sparda." Trish commented but still smiled none the less.
Toby howled like a dog. "Now that is some power."
"Power befitting a beautiful woman." Hibiki complemented as he, Ren, and Eve surrounded her.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Trish." Eve said like a gentleman.
"I suppose we can let you help us." Ren tried to act all coy.
Trish wasn't impressed at all. "Let's save the flirting until after we make it out of this."
Sherry comically pouted. "Stupid blonde. I could have done that."
Mira walked almost gracefully as she stood by the side of the Thunder Legion as well as Ichiya. Despite her battered appearance, there was a look of clear determination across her face.
"Mira, are you sure you should be out here?" Freed asked with concern.
"Yeah, you must have been through a pretty rough fight." Evergreen agreed.
"It's not becoming if a lady to push herself too far." Ichiya said in a semi-perverted tone.
"Keep those kinds of thoughts to yourself buddy." Bickslow placed his hand on his mask in annoyance.
"So gross!" The Dolls all said.
"I'm sure." Mira said as she faced a small horde of Fallen, Arachne, and Enigma demons. "Adrian, I'm sorry I couldn't help you before, I wish I had. You had suffered for so long, and someone came into your life and made you suffer even more. Well I promise, I won't let anyone suffer the way you did! I hope you're watching Adrian! This is for you!"
"Take Over: Satan Soul!" Mira transformed into her titular demonic form and lunged right at the demonic horde to lay waste to every single one of them. Though none of them were Arkham, they were demons all at his command and she would destroy every single one of them.
"Come on! Let's not let her have all the fun!" Bickslow stated with a smile, having a renewed fighting spirit.
"I agree! For all our friends who suffered and continue to fight… Let us end this nightmare! Dark Ecriture: Darkness!" Having written a dark script on himself, Freed had transformed into a large demonic-like being with black furred skin with claws and long black hair. He also joined Mira, along with Evergreen, Bickslow, and Ichiya in the battle.
Gray, Juvia, and Lyon fired blasts of their respective magics at a group of frost demons, only for their attacks to have little-to-no effect at all.
"What the hell? There's not even a scratch on them!" Gray exclaimed.
"Seeing as they are some type of ice-demon, I am willing to wager that similar magic attacks will have little effect, if at all." Juvia reasoned.
"Meaning our magics are useless against this type of demon." Lyon growled.
They braced themselves as the Frost demons all roared and charged at them, however… "Gold Make: Liquid Smelter!" A wave of boiling hot liquid gold flew over the wizard trio and splashed all over the Frost demons, melting them in an instant. They looked in surprise to see Mammon standing behind them; and even greater surprise to see a Satan rush past them toward an incoming Nobody demon and punch it so hard it exploded in a flash of red light.
"What the…!? Mammon?!" Gray exclaimed in shock as he and Juvia were beyond surprised.
"That's my name." The Dark wizard replied.
"Who is this?" Lyon questioned.
"A member of Devil Hand, as well as the other one." Juvia answered, referring to Satan as he crushed a Blade demon with his bare hands. "Why did you save us?" She asked him.
"I heard your little mind-chit chat back in the tower, Satan to." Mammon explained. "Arkham used us, and that really pisses me off! I'm supposed to represent the Sin of Greed, right? The sin of wanting something more than anything? Well what I want more than anything right now… is to make Arkham pay!" He rushed past the surprised trio and readied another attack. "And if that means working with all you goody to shoes, then fine! "Gold-Make: Chain Spear!"
Mammon sent a large hail of golden chains with spears at the ends of them to impale and butcher several airborne Fallen demons.
"Got that right!" Satan exclaimed as he picked up a Nobody and ripped it half. "My Wrath is making my decisions for me right now! I'm so angry, and I know exactly where to direct it! Cerberus Fang!" Satan clapped his hands to send his red-dog-energy attack at a horde of demons nearby to destroy them in a bloody explosion.
Juvia, Gray, and even Lyon looked in surprise. "Well… this is unexpected." Lyon commented.
"Yes, but we could use their help, considering our current situation." Juvia told them.
Gray gritted his teeth slightly, but knew she was right. So, he and Mammon stood back-to-back. "Alright, you guys can help. But don't think for a second you're off the hook!"
"Whatever, I still wanna settle the score with you to, Ice-boy!" Mammon exclaimed as he and Gray shot off their respective gold and ice-make attacks together.
Wendy flew, thanks to Happy, alongside Sheeree, having copied Happy's Aera magic toward a large gathering of Bloodgoyles.
"This it, Sheeree, are you with me?" Wendy offered her friend her hand to her friend as Sheeree nodded and took it.
"I'm with you." She stated with determination. "Let's do this!"
"Aye sirs!" Happy exclaimed.
"Sky Dragon…."
"Sky Dragon…."
"…ROAR!" Wendy and Sheeree shot the same breath-attack, that combined into a single more powerful attack that blew away all the Bloodgoyles.
Sheeree almost couldn't believe it. She was actually fighting by her best friend's side, a member of Fairy Tail and her surrogate sister! However, as she looked up at the still open portal at the top of the dreaded demonic tower, a sense of anxiety grew in her.
"Do you… do you think they can beat him?"
"Yes, they absolutely can!" Wendy voiced with confidence.
"Aye! When Natsu and Dante work together, there's nothing they can't do!" Happy stated with a faithful smile. "Arkham doesn't stand a chance."
"I believe in both of them. They're going to pull through this, and we'll all go home together!" Wendy said.
"Home…" Sheeree thought before she to smiled. "Then I'll put my faith in them to. Let's do this Wendy!"
"Right!" Wendy nodded as Happy flew her, with Sheeree following back to the battlefield to help all their friends and comrades.
The Demon World
The aforementioned Devil Hunter and Dragon Slayer were currently duking it out with the grotesque and blob-like transformed Arkham in the demonic world, with Carla doing what she could to aid them. Despite being such a grotesque figure, Arkham's power was not to be taken lightly.
Dante ran and jumped from one stone pedestal to another, avoiding all the elongated arm strikes that slammed and destroyed each rock he was previously on as he pulled out both Ebony and Ivory and shot at Arkham, but this didn't seem to have any effect at all.
With Arkham focused on Dante, it seemed like he didn't notice Natsu coming in with a flaming fist. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" However right as he made contact, a large mouth formed on the blob-like body that bit down onto Natsu before throwing him high into the air, but Carla was able to catch him as she flew.
"Thanks Carla." Natsu smiled.
"You're welcome." The white Exceed replied.
Dante jumped above Arkham as he pulled out Rebellion and brought it down hard on him; but several arms shot out to push Dante back before the molded together in the form of a large and elongated fist that shot to Dante as he used his large blade to block it as the attack slid him back on his feet.
"Come on! Get me right up and close to his ugly face!" Natsu exclaimed to Carla.
"Aye sir!" Carla shouted, only for her face to turn red just a second later. "Wait… why did I just say that?"
Despite that, Carla still flew Natsu close to Arkham where he had an attack all ready. "Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu blasted a huge burst of flame from his mouth which seemed to completely engulf Arkham.
"Keep him right there!" Dante shouted. "Agni! Rudra!" He quipped his fire and wind blades as he spun both in his hands to create wheels of flame and wind which he combined together and threw at Arkham to create flaming-tornado mixing with the force of Natsu's breath attack.
The flaming-twister lasted for about a minute before it exploded. When the smoke cleared; the Fairy Tail trio looked in surprise to see Arkham had completely vanished.
"What the… where'd he go?!" Natsu questioned.
"I doubt he was defeated so easily. Perhaps planning some form of sneak attack?" Carla assumed.
Dante looked around for any sign of Arkham. How does something that big and ugly just vanish into thin air? As he looked around, he didn't seem to notice something rising from the ground behind him. But Natsu did.
"Dante, behind you!"
Natsu's warning came just in time as a serpent-like creature shot out from the ground, pulsating the same color and power as Arkham's transformed appearance. Dante was quick to decapitate it with Rebellion. But as he did, several more came from the ground and shot towards Dante as he pulled out Ivory in one hand to take out those that were furthest away.
Several of these creatures shot towards Dante, but Carla had dropped Natsu right in front of them. "Fire Dragon Talon!" With a flaming round-house kick, Natsu had dispensed with the rest of the demons and came back-to-back with Dante as several more serpent-demons surrounded them.
Dante swung Rebellion as Natsu shot more flame-like whips from his arms to destroy all the surrounding creatures with little effort. However, this victory was short lived as the transformed Arkham shot out from the ground and shot the two up into the air. But while airborne, Carla was able to catch Dante as Dante himself caught Natsu's hand.
Arkham shot more elongated hands and tentacles towards them as Carla did her best to fly the two of them out of Arkham's reach, barley avoiding each strike. "I don't know how long I can fly like this! The two of you are so heavy, I can barely make any distance!" Carla stated as Natsu delivered a flaming punch toward an elongated arm to knock it back.
"Just get us up high into the air!" Dante told Carla. "I got an idea!"
"Right." Carla flew both of them up as high as she could, far from Arkham's reach as they were almost fifty feet into the air.
"Drop us." Dante told Carla. "Natsu, launch me at high speeds!"
"Got it." Natsu nodded.
"Are you certain?" Carla asked.
"Yes, just do it." Dante replied.
"Very well." Carla dropped both of them as they began to fall towards Arkham. Dante had flipped Natsu up with his hand as Natsu grabbed Dante's shoulders and planted both his feet on his back. With a roar, Natsu blasted a powerful burst of flame from his feet to shoot Dante straight at Arkham like a comet.
"Beowulf!" Dante quipped his newest Devil Arm as he pulled back his right gauntlet and delivered a punch with the momentum and force provided by the improvised combo-move he and Natsu just pulled. The contact to Arkham's body was a powerful impact, creating a shockwave that sent Arkham's massive and grotesque body flying and hurtling through several rocks, and quite a distance away it would have seemed.
Dante slid to a halt on the ground as he looked at the dust cloud. However, several elongated arms and tentacles shot out towards Dante, which he was able to provide due to the speed of Beowulf's grieves as he jumped back and punched each appendage back with his gauntlets.
Arkham's transformed body pulled itself out of the rubble as it seemed to focus all its attacks on Dante, but this seemed to leave him vulnerable for Natsu who still fell towards him.
"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Natsu had thrown a large fireball at Arkham, scoring a direct hit which did seem to injure Arkham, however it wasn't enough as an elongated hand shot out to grab Natsu and slam him into Dante, smacking them both into the ground as Arkham shot out an elongated tentacle, which sharpened itself like a blade. Dante was quick to act as he pushed Natsu out of the way to get impaled himself.
But this only seemed to annoy Dante even more as he used Rebellion to slice off the tentacle and stagger back as he felt his wound quickly being healed. Natsu himself tried to pull himself up as Arkham's body loomed over him before a face actually appeared on the lower portion of his body and was ready to bite down on him, but Carla swooped in and pulled him out of the way just in time and close to Dante as they gained some distance.
"Thanks again Carla." Natsu said.
"This is unbelievable." The white Exceed stated. "It doesn't seem like we're even slowing him down."
"He's definitely a persistent pain in the ass, I'll give him that." Dante glared.
"No use!" Arkham said. "Regardless of how strong the two of you are, one of you is nothing but a half-breed; and the other is a mere human, Dragon Slayer or not! You cannot defeat a pure demon! The real Sparda!"
Arkham lashed out again with another elongated arm, one larger than the last ones, but before it made contact…
*SLASH!*
The appendage was severed, catching all those present, including Arkham, off-guard. "What's this?!" They all looked up towards a large pedestal to see a certain blue-robed swordsman holding his katana out. "Damn you!"
"Vergil?!" Natsu questioned in surprise.
"What in the world is he doing here!?" Carla exclaimed.
Dante said nothing but he was clearly more surprised than anyone. He didn't expect his brother to be here, let alone to help. Somehow though, Dante doubted Vergil was here out of the kindness of his heart.
"I've come to retrieve my power." Vergil declared as he pointed Yamato in Arkham's direction. "You can't handle it."
He jumped and flipped off the pedestal before landing in between Natsu and Dante, pointing Yamato at his younger brother while also driving the sheath of his katana into Natsu's abdomen to knock him back slightly.
"Look at you." Dante scoffed. "Making a big dramatic entrance and stealing our spotlight."
"How are you even here?" Carla demanded.
"I followed you through the same portal." Vergil answered as he used Yamato to bat the severed hand back to Arkham, which he caught and reattached.
"Let us take care of Arkham, okay?! You stay out of this!" Natsu growled as he glared at the grotesque monster before them.
"No, I have my own score to settle with him as well." Vergil said as he looked at Arkham as well. "Judging from his appearance, it's obvious to assume that his body is physically incapable of handling the demonic power he is wielding."
"Yes, obviously." Carla noted. "But why are you here?"
"I said it before, I'm here to retrieve my power." Vergil replied. "But it's that same power that is proving to be a formidable obstacle. As out of control as it is now, it is too much for anyone to break through, I doubt even I can do it myself." This caused all three to look at Vergil in minor surprise as there was a look of disgust in Vergil's own eyes. "As much as I hate to admit it, the only way to defeat him would be for the three of us to work together."
"Excuse me?!" Carla looked at Vergil as if he had suddenly transformed into a cow. Even Dante never thought he'd hear those words from his brother's mouth.
Natsu was, of course, dead set against the very idea. "No way! We can handle this creep on our own! Besides I'd never team up with someone like you so stay out of it!"
"Natsu, Carla, he might be right." Dante said, getting both their attention. "I don't like the idea either but were dealing with my old man's power. The longer Arkham has it, the more out of control he is. And that chaos will spread over our whole world if he isn't stopped right here and now."
"In addition, the longer the portal remains open, the greater risk stronger and more powerful demons will enter Earthland." Vergil added. "If humanity is to be saved, then its best to use all the tools at your disposal to destroy our mutual enemy."
Carla knew that despite his obsession with power, Vergil was still a very intelligent man. If he believed the only to beat Arkham was for them to all work together, then maybe he was right.
Natsu looked questionably at Vergil. "Since when do you care what happens to humanity?"
"I hold no grudge towards the human race." Vergil said logically. "But I hold no affection for them either. I am simply pointing out facts that would concern you."
"I see you're still as cold as ever." Dante remarked to his brother. "So, you still wanna be the next Demon King?"
"Indeed, but Arkham is an obstacle that bars my way, just as he is for you as well." Vergil replied.
Natsu growled but knew that this was probably the best option. "Fine." The two turned to face Arkham. "But just so we're clear this is gonna be the only time I ever team up with you!"
"I'm not particularly fond of the idea either, but we'll settle the matter another time." Vergil acknowledged.
"So, we gonna do this or what?" Dante said with a smirk as he held Rebellion over his shoulder, Vergil swung and held out Yamato, while Natsu's fists were coated with flames that spread up his arms. The three of them walked towards Arkham, while Carla hovered by their side.
Arkham scoffed at this. "Do you really believe you could defeat me?! Defeat the power of your father?! The great Sparda?!"
"You should come to realize you cannot control the power of Sparda." Vergil replied.
"You're wasting your time, buddy." Dante said as well as he pointed Rebellion forward. "I think he needs to learn the hard way."
"Come on, time to end this bastard once and for all!" Natsu exclaimed as his flames grew even more intense.
"Yes, let's do this!" Carla shouted as she flew forward; while Dante, Natsu, and Vergil gave yells as they charged at Arkham together.
All three attacked at the same time. Natsu was the first to attack from the front with a powerful breath attack, which seemed to keep Arkham focused solely on him. This gave Dante and Vergil an opening for them to attack from the right and left sides respectively; swinging their respective swords and doing significant damage to Arkham's exposed areas.
However, Arkham still had some tricks up his sleeve as he shot multiple bladed tentacles from his body; forcing the two Sons of Sparda to jump back. Natsu wasn't quick enough to avoid them and got cut along his body, but Carla was able to pull him out of the way before any severe damage was dealt.
"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu shot a breath attack just as Vergil had actually jumped near the fire to add his own power to it.
"Summoned Swords!" Vergil shot his phantom-blades which seemed to mix with Natsu's fire to create a hail of flaming phantom swords which hit and struck Arkham all over and throughout the inside of his body, cutting and burning him at the same time.
"Quicksilver!" Dante's body became a blur as he shot at Arkham, at a speed invisible to the naked eye, dealing multiple blows all over. Arkham's own demonic senses manage to catch Dante moving and was able to lash out multiple attacks to force Dante back.
Vergil then ran forward to throw multiple slashes at Arkham with Yamato, slicing at him with each contact, including all the elongated arms he shot towards Dante. Arkham then summoned more of his serpent-demons from the ground as they surrounded Vergil, but he didn't seem intimidated at all.
"Pitiful." Vergil flashed Yamato to reduce the demons to literal shreds.
Carla had flown Natsu above Arkham as he shot down with flames from his feet and coated both his arms with fire. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Carla had flown Natsu at and above Arkham as his flaming-whip attack hit Arkham dead on. However, Arkham's body began to transform again as multiple face-like features appeared all over his body. Their mouths opened and shot dark purple beams outward.
"Whoa! Look out!" Natsu shouted as Carla screamed while barley avoiding each beam.
Dante used Rebellion to block whatever chaotic beam was shot his way as he tried to gain some distance. Vergil ran and swiftly dodged each attack before landing gracefully on a stone pedestal with Dante jumping and landing next to him as Carla hovered Natsu near them as well.
"We're still barley doing any significant damage." Carla stated. "It's as if all that chaotic power is being used as a shield to block our attacks while also lashing out randomly like a lightning storm."
"A notable observation." Vergil acknowledged. "Then we should stop playing around ourselves." Vergil closed his eyes as a dark blue whirlwind encircled him. His body was engulfed in a dark blue flash as he transformed into his Devil Trigger.
"Took the words out of my mouth, bro." Dante performed the same action as a red whirlwind blew around his body before he too made a flash that transformed his body into his own Devil Trigger.
"I ain't being left out of this!" Natsu tried to draw out as much of his own power as possible. Carla had put Natsu down on a rock below the transformed Sons of Sparda as they looked down at Natsu, even Arkham found himself looking at the increase in power he was suddenly showing.
Natsu couldn't explain it, but ever since he entered this realm, he could feel a surge of power flowing inside him. Similar to when he drew more from his reserves back from his fight against Faust in Edolas, when he said he was borrowing 'tomorrow's power', but this was different. Natsu's whole body was engulfed in large and powerful flames as his eyes turned a bright orange. Whatever was giving him a boost in power, he would use every bit he can to help kill this bastard after all he's done to his friends and family.
Dante, Carla, and even Vergil and Arkham looked in surprise to see scales forming over Natsu's body and the fire that swirled around him took the shape of a large dragon.
"This power…" Vergil thought. "I've felt it before."
"Is he… Natsu what are you…?" Dante almost found it hard to believe himself.
"It… it couldn't be…" Carla voiced aloud. "Dragon Force!"
"Impossible!" Arkham thought as well as Natsu had fully transformed into his Dragon Force state and gave a roar, Arkham could even see the image of the dragon Igneel standing above Natsu and roaring as well. "He is a human! Even if he were trained by a dragon, he should not be able to wield this kind of power!"
Natsu leapt at Arkham, at twice his normal speed, and delivered a powerful flaming punch to Arkham's body, strong enough that it created a shockwave that actually sent Arkham flying through multiple rocks.
Carla's eyes were widened beyond what she could have imagined. Dante however smirked. "Come on. Let's not let him have all the fun."
"Indeed." Vergil said as the two Devil Trigger brothers spread out their wings and shot at Arkham as well, even Carla flew right beside them.
Earthland – Outside Temen-ni-gru
Explosions continued to erupt around the perimeter of the dreadful tower. Despite the tenacity and strength of the Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and Lamia Scale wizards all present, even the quartet of reformed dark wizards; their enemy was just too far great in number. For every single demon that was killed, it felt like five more took its place. And all the human wizards had lost most of their stamina from the constant fighting without so much as a break, even the strongest among them including the Thunder Tribe, Mira, and even Modeus were all fatigued.
Eventually all of them; Wendy, Sheeree, Happy, Lucy, Loke, Lisanna (still in her Dragon Take Over), Modeus, Trish, Sorano, Juvia, Gray, Lyon, Gajeel, Panther-Lily, Levy, Jet, Droy, Mira and Elfman, still in their respective Take Overs, Macao, Wakaba, Cana, Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow, Alzack, Bisca, Ichiya, Ren, Eve, Hibiki, Warren, Max, Yuka, Sherry, and Toby, and even Mammon and Satan, all of them had been cornered and surrounded on all sides by the ever-constant demon horde.
"It's no use…" Freed breathed, still in his transformed state.
"There's just… too many of them…" Lyon said in-between breaths as well.
"Is this really how it all ends?" Gray questioned with frustration, but Juvia grabbed his hand.
"If this is indeed the end, then I am proud to do it beside you my beloved Gray, and the rest of our Fairy Tail family." The Rain Woman said proudly.
"Lucy, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Loke said.
"No, you did your best, but I'm glad that I made you one of my spirits. You were one of the best friends I could ever have." Lucy said sincerely. "And Sorano…" The white haired former Celestial Wizard turned to her. "I'm glad I got to know the real you."
Sorano smiled with tears in her eyes. "Yeah… me to."
"Lisanna… my little sister…" Mira stuttered. "I just…"
"Don't worry Mira, I know. But even if it was short, I'm glad I can be with you and Elfman again." Lisanna replied.
Elfman stepped forward. "If we're going out, then we're going out in the manliest way possible! As a family!"
"I have been honored to serve as a member of Fairy Tail." Freed stated as he and several of their comrades readied themselves.
"Hey, listen, sorry we dragged the rest of you into this." Trish said to the wizards of Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus.
"Don't be ridiculous." Lyon said. "If this is how I die, then I'm glad I'm doing it with people I can at least tolerate."
"For real, you guys are awesome! It's been fun!" Toby smiled.
"Indeed, we share no regrets whatsoever." Ichiya said honestly. "Hibiki, Ren, Eve; it's been an honor to serve with you men."
"The honor is all ours, Master Ichiya." Hibiki nodded.
"Wendy, Happy, Sheeree, stay behind me." Modeus told them. "I'll protect you as long as I can. Be sure to fly and escape this place!"
"No!" Wendy exclaimed. "I'm going to stay with my home! I won't let Fairy Tail disappear from my life, not again!"
"Aye!" Happy shouted. "Natsu wouldn't give up, and neither will I!"
"I'll stay to." Sheeree said. "I wasn't there before Wendy; I'll be here with you now till the end."
Modeus hated the idea of those so young willing to die, but he was also moved by their resolve. "Very well, let us stand together." He readied both his blades.
Mammon glanced towards Satan; his only comrade left. "Hey big guy, been nice knowing ya." He smirked.
Satan smirked back. "You to. But if were going out, lets at least take as many of these bastards out with us!"
"Got that right." Mammon agreed.
Gajeel stood alongside Levy, Lily, and the rest of Team Shadowgear. "So… this is it…?" Levy seemed quite scared, terrified even.
"Looks that way." Gajeel however smirked. "But if I'm going out, I'm going out in a blaze of glory!"
"Even though it may have been only a week, I am honored to call myself a member of Fairy Tail. Thank you all for allowing me to be a part of it." Panther-Lily said sincerely.
Lucy looked up towards the open portal high above Temen-ni-gru. "Natsu… Dante… I'm sorry. I wish I had a chance to… see you one last time." It looked like she was about to cry, but she brushed her tears away and stood firmly, brandishing her Celestial-Whip. "But… I'm not going to cry. I'll keep on fighting to the end, cause that's what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard, right?"
All the surrounding demons roared as they flew, ran, or leapt to the surrounding Wizards, who all gave yells and warrior-cries, ready to lash out with whatever magic they had left when suddenly…
*BOOM!*
*CRASH!*
*BOOM!*
A large streak of rock-spikes suddenly shot out from the left side to knock back all the demons from that area as a the ground around the right side and behind exploded in a flurry of white power that obliterated all the demons present as bolts of gold energy shot out of the sky to blast away all the demons in the front.
Though this was a surprise, and there were still many demons left, all movement came to a halt as a gold light shinned on all the wizards. It felt comforting as some of their injuries even began to heal. The warmth light came as a surprise as all of them slowly looked upward toward a rising mound of rock with a brilliant golden light shining like the sun at the top.
Standing at the top of the rock were two large men. On the right was a bald and muscular man wearing a robe that seemed almost like that from an Aztec society. On the left was a middle-aged man with brown-red hair and a goatee wearing a brown robe over his body. But above them both was a short elderly man floating in the light with gray hair and a mustache wearing a white robe. These men were Jura Neekis, the Wizard Saint of Lamia Scale; Gildarts Clive, arguably the strongest wizard of the Fairy Tail guild; and Makarov Dreyar, also a Wizard Saint, and the guildmaster of Fairy Tail.
"To think, one would go to such lengths merely to acquire power." Jura uttered with contempt in his voice.
"Whoever came up with an idea like this should be beaten with a tendril." Gildarts remarked.
Makarov spoke with a tone of calm authority. "These creatures that stand before us have committed an unforgivable crime: shedding the blood of our children."
Pretty much every wizard present looked with wonder and joy at the appearance of the trio that stood above them.
"Master!" Mira exclaimed with joy as she, Elfman, Gray, Lucy, even Trish and Modeus, and many others all shed tears of joy and relief.
"Gildarts, he's here to." Lisanna voiced with a smile.
"Aye… I never thought I'd be so happy to see them." Happy nodded.
"Jura." Lyon uttered with relief.
"Man, you have no idea how good it is to see you guys." Hibiki uttered.
"Yo, who are the old guys?" Satan questioned.
"Didn't you listen to Vergil?" Mammon questioned him. "Two of these guys are the Wizard Saints, one of them is Fairy Tail's own master. The other guy is that guild's strongest member: Gildarts Clive! These guys are packing with magic power!"
Sorano to smiled with relief, and even Sheeree looked towards Wendy who smiled and nodded, telling her that hope has just arrived. Cana even found herself gazing toward Gildarts as a feeling of happiness and relief took over.
Gajeel smirked to his Exceed companion. "Don't take your eyes off this Lilly. You're gonna love this."
Jura used his Earth magic to create a stone ramp for him, Gildarts, and Makarov to walk down toward as they walked past all their comrades.
"You have all done well to hold these monsters back." Jura spoke, referring to the demons the wizards had fought. "But there is no further need for you to fight anymore."
"Good work to all you kids. We'll take it from here." Gildarts added as they came to a stop to face the demon army. Despite being significantly outnumbered with hundreds, bordering on thousands, of demons standing against them. They each began to bring out some of their magic power. Jura emanated a yellow-green aura, Gildarts' was white and black, while Makarov's was a bright gold. The very ground began to shake as some of the demons even began to back away, feeling a sense of fear as these powerful wizards showed off just a tiny percent of their magic power.
"You foul creatures listen up." Makarov spoke to the demons. "Your fight is with us! And I promise, not a single one of you will leave here alive!"
With a powerful shockwave of raw magic power; all the front-most demons on the ground and in the air were all blown back as the powerful trio were now on the attack.
"Iron Rock Spikes!" Jura shot out multiple rock-spikes from the ground that impaled multiple demons around him and skewered the rest. "Iron Rock Fist!" With a wave of his fingers, Jura created a massive stone-fist from the ground that shot at several air-born Fallen and Bloodgoyles before dragging them onto the ground to grind several Blades and Enigma demons to a bloodied mess upon the ground.
Gildarts delivered a punch to the ground and shot his Crush Magic through it that caused an earthquake before the whole ground exploded to kill over three dozen demons surrounding him. Over two dozen Fallen and Bloodgoyles shot toward him from the sky, but Gildarts threw his arm out and casted his magic. The next thing the demons knew; they were all cut into tiny square-shipped pieces before they all exploded in a blind flash of light.
Makarov hovered in the air as three golden magic circles surrounded him. He pressed his hands together and shot them forward to blast multiple golden beams toward the ground, each one creating a large explosion that killed at least five separate demons; and he shot so many blasts at rapid fire; that over a hundred demons were blown away in less than a minute. Makarov was then enveloped in a golden light as his body grew to enormous height; more than half the size of the Fairy Tail guildhall. He gave a titanic roar as he slammed both his fists into the ground to squash countless demons like the bugs they were before spreading his magic through the ground as the pure light slice and destroyed any demon that was near it.
Jura, Gildarts, and Makarov continued to unleash their magic and make the demon hordes look like insects by comparison as all the other wizards looked in awe or surprise.
"Holy shit." Trish breathed.
"You said it sweetheart." Mammon nodded.
"Leave it to Gramps and Gildarts to make us look bad." Gray cockily said with crossed arms, with a smile on his face.
"Jura has plenty of tricks up his sleeve himself." Lyon added.
Satan smirked excitedly. "I so wanna fight these guys later!"
"The Master…" Modeus looked in awe. "He is amazing… almost as amazing as Sparda himself."
"This is really… Fairy Tail's master…?" Sheeree couldn't believe it.
"Incredible." Panther-Lily breathed.
"Toldya." Gajeel smiled.
"Yeah! Now that is so freaking manly!" Elfman cheered.
All of them looked in joy as they simply watched the show. While a few others; particularly Lisanna, Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Trish, all looked up towards the portal at the top of Temen-ni-gru, praying that Dante, Natsu, and Carla would make it out okay.
Demon Realm
The combined powers of Natsu in Dragon Force, as well as Dante and Vergil, both in their Devil Triggers, seemed too much for even the transformed Arkham to handle as they lashed out with everything they had. They all flew around Arkham, with Carla providing Natsu with flight, and lashed out every attack they could think of. Natsu delivered earth-shattering fire-fists while Dante and Vergil hacked and slashed with the black Rebellion and black Yamato respectively.
Arkham tried to lash out his multiple mouth-lasers again to blast them back, but Dante blocked each laser strike with his enhanced speed, leaving him open for Vergil to come in with a slash of Yamato, slicing past Arkham as it felt like his whole body had been sliced in half, but it slowly began to heal itself. However, Natsu didn't give him any sort of breathing room as he roared and unleashed a breath attack three times more powerful than his normal one that engulfed the recovering Arkham in a searing flame that caused him to scream in agony.
Getting desperate; Arkham shot more bladed tentacles at Natsu, but Carla pulled him away as quick as she could. As his appendages tried to follow them, a slash from Vergil was able to sever them before Dante flew in and landed both his feet onto Arkham's side, the force was enough to send him crashing through multiple rocks. Arkham tried to stabilize himself by growing multiple feet to pierce into the ground, but Vergil wouldn't have it as he sliced through the feet to knock him off balance before he held out Yamato, creating a massive blue-phantom-katana stretching from his blade before he gave a horizontal slice at Arkham, creating a large explosion to knock Arkham further back.
Natsu roared once more, his fists coated in flames, as Carla flew him at Arkham like a missile. "Flame Lotus: Fire Dragon Fist!" Natsu punched all over Arkham's grotesque body at a rate similar to that of a machine gun. "Lisanna! Angel! Mira! Lucy! Sheeree! Dante! AND LADY!" Natsu delivered another powerful punch to knock Arkham into the air as Carla flew Natsu into the air to meet him. "THIS IS FOR ATTACKING THEM! AND MANIPULATING THEM! EVEN YOUR OWN GUYS!" Natsu pulled both his fists back as they generated a large fire ball. "Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" He shot the ball, which exploded on contact to blast Arkham back down to the ground.
Dante was next to attack as he shot Rebellion forward with his Million-Stab-Technique, further enhanced by his Devil Trigger, sending millions of red energy bolts hitting with lightning speed, piercing all over Arkham's blob-like form. "AND THIS IS FOR RIPPING OFF MY OLD MAN YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Dante yelled as he continued the attack.
Dante finished his attack as he flew forward and plunged the black Rebellion into his right side as the Devil Trigger Vergil plunged Yamato into Arkham's left side. Arkham groaned in agony as he quickly generated elongated hands to try and slap Dante and Vergil back, which he did, but both their blades were still stuck in Arkham's sides, with a white ooze pouring from the wounds. He suddenly screeched in pain as Natsu landed hard on Arkham with a double-flaming-fist strike to bend and curve Arkham's blob-body.
Using this opportunity, Dante delivered a kick to Rebellion's hilt as Vergil gave a palm strike to Yamato's handle; sending both blades flying through Arkham's body and out the other end. The Devil Trigger Dante caught the black Yamato and began to slice and cut immediately, while the Devil Trigger Vergil caught the black Rebellion and hacked and slashed right as well. The Dragon Force Natsu also delivered multiple flaming fist strikes along Arkham's top.
After delivering multiple devastating blows; Natsu propelled himself back up into the air with flames from his feet as Carla caught him and flew him high, straight up into the air as Dante flew backwards, still holding Yamato, and Vergil did the same on the other end with Rebellion. The three of them were equal distance away from Arkham as they readied one final attack.
"We're done playing games with you pal!" Natsu exclaimed as his whole body was surrounded in a bright and powerful flame; while Dante and Vergil each glowed a dark red and blue aura respectively, preparing for the same thing.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Flame Lotus Phoenix Sword!" Natsu shot downward with Carla providing an extra-boost. She mixed as much of her own Aera magic with Natsu's own flames; they mixed and formed a bright orange spear made of flames that shot down at Arkham. At the same time; Dante shot at Arkham himself, Yamato pointing forward as his whole body was engulfed in a red glow. Vergil did the same thing, pointing Rebellion forward as he flew at Arkham from the other end. All four of them roared as all three attacks connected at the exact same time…
*BOOM!*
A massive explosion of red, blue, and orange fire erupted, shaking up the entire area for miles around as all remaining rocks were shattered from the shockwave, reduced to dust.
Arkham's grotesque body was still somehow intact, but it looked just about done as Natsu, Dante, and Vergil landed gracefully together on the ground in front of Arkham. Carla, staggered for a bit, having spent pretty much all her magic, but steadied herself on her feet. Red and Blue vapor escaped from Dante and Vergil's bodies as they transformed back from their Devil Trigger forms to their human appearances, and even the scales faded from Natsu's body as he returned to normal as well.
Akrham looked in shock and almost horror as he looked at the Son of Igneel and the two Sons of Sparda. For a brief moment, he thought he saw Igneel and Sparda themselves standing above their sons and glaring at the villain, just as Dante and Vergil tossed their respective swords back toward each other.
"It cannot be… it… it cannot…" Arkham stuttered as Dante pulled out Ebony and Ivory. "DIE!" Arkham desperately slashed out a small tentacle to knock Ebony out of Dante's hands, but Vergil caught it and pointed it at Arkham.
"I'll try it your way for once." Vergil said to his brother.
Natsu made a finger-gun with his right hand, a small but powerful flame, at his fingertips. "I'll give it a try to."
Dante smirked. "Hey, remember what we used to say, bro?" Vergil gave a subtle smile himself.
Natsu glared at their enemy. "You're finished, Arkham."
"Don't do it!"
All three pointed their guns, or finger gun, at him and said one single word. "Jackpot!"
*BANG!*
A red, blue, and fire, energy bullet all twirled around each other before they hit Arkham and delft the finishing blow.
"I HAVE THE TRUE POWER OF SPARDA!"
"Not very classy for someone's dying words." Vergil commented as he tossed Ebony back to his brother. All looked in surprise to see as Arkham's body fade and sink into the ground, the Devil Sword Sparda, as well as both halves of the Perfect Amulet hovering in the air.
Vergil was the first to make a run for the artifacts, but Natsu grabbed his coat to pull him back as he and Dante ran forward, even Carla flew in as well. Natsu quickly grabbed the Sparda sword just as Dante caught his silver amulet and Carla the gold one before all three of them pulled back with Vergil in the middle; Dante on his right, Natsu on his left, and Carla above him.
"Give them to me, now." Vergil demanded.
"Not happening, jerk." Natsu glared.
"I was not asking." Vergil insisted.
"After all you've done, you don't deserve any of this." Carla stated. "You may have been used by Arkham as well, but you are every bit as responsible as he is."
"Carla, give him his amulet." Dante told her, catching both Carla and Natsu by surprise.
"Say what?" Natsu questioned.
"No. Absolutely not!" Carla exclaimed.
"It's the only thing left from our mom." Dante said calmly. "At the very least, he deserves that." Carla's expression softened at that, but she kept a hardened glare focused on Vergil as she tossed his amulet back at him, which he caught in his hand.
Carla had pretty much lost her balance, and almost fell, but Natsu was able to catch her, still keeping his eyes on Vergil and a firm grip on the Sparda sword. "You okay Carla?"
"Yes but… I'm completely drained… I barley have enough magic left." Carla said in-between breaths of exhaustion.
"You and me both, and way to pull your weight out there." Natsu gave his titular smile. "You really are a Fairy Tail wizard." Carla couldn't help but smile at those words.
"A premature celebration." Vergil commented. "With both halves of the amulet separated, the portal will begin to close shortly."
"Then we better get going." Dante said to his brother.
Vergil pointed Yamato toward him. "You can go with you wish; I'm staying."
"No way!" Natsu exclaimed. "You still a lot of crap to answer for and you ain't getting a free pass out of this!"
"Can you really stop me with what little power you have left?" Vergil questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Speak for yourself, bro. You're barley standing to." Dante noted. It was indeed true, pretty much all of them had spent whatever energy they had left in that battle; there was no way they could fight anymore with risking their lives.
"Well, then it would seem we have reached an impasse." Vergil said.
Earthland – Summit of Temen-ni-gru
The portal continued to remain open, but it wouldn't hold for much longer. However, something soon fell out. Arkham screamed as he fell over a hundred feet and landed face-first on the hard and unforgiving ground. His body had turned back to normal and was covered in several massive bleeding cuts and third-degree burns; and nearly every bone in his body was broken if not shattered.
Despite the enormous pain he was feeling right now, Arkham twitched as he tried to pull himself together. "Why… how could I…" He groaned in agony but wasn't about to give up yet. "I shall become a god…" He slowly tried to crawl away. "No one here can stop me…"
He tried to crawl, leaving a trail of blood behind, but was halted as he felt a sharp pain pierce into his leg, causing him to yell in agony. He slowly glanced up and behind to see Erza, having stabbed his leg with her sword, the same place he stabbed his daughter in before. She glared at Arkham with all the hate she could muster.
"You are not going anywhere." Erza declared.
Arkham turned to see someone else standing in front of him. "What a surprise." He looked up to see his daughter pointing a pistol right at his head, with a cold and emotionless expression on her face. "Here I was looking for you, and low-and-behold, you come to me."
"Mary…"
"Don't ever call me that again. My mother was the only one who could say my name."
"Wait…" Arkham begged. "Please. Do you really want to shoot me? Can you shoot me? Your own father?" Lady's expression didn't change. "What have I done wrong?!" He demanded to know. "Even the heroic Sparda sacrificed two women so that he could become a legend! I wish to be a god! And I sacrificed one miserable human for that reason, that is all. Was that really so awful…?" Arkham groaned in pain as Erza twisted the blade deeper into his leg.
"You don't know anything!" Erza seethed. "Even if Sparda did make a sacrifice like that, he didn't do it solely to become a legend! He did it to protect this world. He may not have been perfect, but he was a caring and noble being who did everything he could to protect others. Everything you've done has been all for yourself. You've schemed, lied, and manipulated so many people to get here. You are no Sparda and you never will be, all you are is nothing more than a heartless monster!"
"What do you know?" Arkham glared towards Erza. "You are a mere human, an insect!" He turned toward his daughter, trying to look as pleading as possible. "My child, my strong and noble flesh and blood… I have some unfinished business to take care of. Help me Mary."
Erza looked towards Lady as she didn't bat an eye. "Mary died a long time ago. My name, is Lady." She held her pistol. "Goodbye Father."
Arkham gasped. "NO…"
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
Even after running out, Lady continued to pull the trigger, resulting in empty clicks. She walked backwards and almost fell over, but Erza quickly ran and caught her before lowering her to the ground. Neither said anything as Erza looked at Arkham's corpse. He was dead, for good this time.
Lady soon chuckled before it erupted into a full-blown laughter. But after a minute, her laughs turned into sobs as tears trailed down her cheeks. The moment that happened, Erza pulled Lady into a warm hug, stroking her back as Lady continued to cry.
"It's okay Lady. It's okay." Erza consoled. "I promise, you're not alone. Not now, not ever."
Lady continued to shed tears, some of these were tears of joy. "Here I thought I wasn't gonna cry." Erza chuckled slightly as she continued to hold her sobbing friend and comforted her as best as she could.
Several more explosions of light, rock, and raw magic power occurred all over the ground around Temen-ni-gru as Makarov, Gildarts, and Jura had dispensed with pretty much the entire demonic army in record time. It wasn't a fight, more akin to a one-sided massacre; the demons didn't stand even a remote of a chance against this trio of powerful wizards; two of which were Wizard Saints, and the other was Fairy Tail's strongest master aside from the guild's master himself.
All the other members of Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, even the four reformed dark wizards all looked in awe, amazement, confidence, or just plain shock. Not a single one of them had the words to describe what they just saw.
"Well, that should be the last of them." Gildarts said as he disintegrated one final Nobody demon.
"For now." Jura replied as he looked upwards towards the still-open portal. "But as long as that portal remains, more will come. Maybe even more powerful than the ones we have seen thus far."
Makarov glared at the dreaded tower that was Temen-ni-gru. This was a place of evil, made to connect Earthland to the Demonic World. It had to be destroyed and there was only one way to do it. Makarov then clasped his hands together as a small, but powerful, sphere of golden magic began to form in-between his palms.
This action surprised several of the wizards present, including Jura and Gildarts. "Whoa… master, are you…?" Gildarts voiced in surprise.
"What is that?" Modeus wondered. "So much raw magic power…"
Mira's eyes widened. "That's…. that's the Master's ultimate spell. Fairy Law!"
Everyone looked in utter surprise at the very name of that sacred and powerful spell. No one dared to say anything as Makarov harnessed as much magic power as he could into it.
"The spell that destroys any and all the caster sees as their enemy with sacred light." Makarov thought to himself. "In this case, my enemy is Temen-ni-gru itself! This unholy abomination!"
"Master wait!" Lisanna called to him. "Natsu and Dante are still there!"
"Carla, Erza, and Lady are all in there to!" Wendy called out. "We should at least wait for them!"
"The longer we wait, the greater the risk of powerful demons escaping." Trish grunted as she clenched her fists tightly.
"They'll pull through." Makarov spoke to them, concentrating on his spell as it began to increase in power. The very ground began to shake as streams of light began to emanate from the spell. "They are my children. I have faith they will make it out! And so, you should have faith in them as well!"
"They'll be back." Happy shook, his eyes watering as he held a determined face. "I know they'll make it out in time… BECAUSE THEY ARE TRUE WIZARDS OF FAIRY TAIL!"
Makarov then clashed his hands together. "Fairy Law!" His eyes shot open as a golden magic seal formed in both of them.
With the surge of bright golden light from the ground; a massive magic circle made out of pure gold light shinned at the top of Temen-ni-gru, with the Fairy Tail emblem in the center. The light shinned down on the whole tower; easily catching the attention of Erza and Lady.
"What the hell is that?!" Lady exclaimed.
"It's Fairy Law…" Erza breathed in awe. "A sacred spell that destroys all darkness with holy light. It only affects those the caster sees as their enemy." A warm smile formed on her face. "Master."
The light shinned all over the tower as all the demonic energy inside began to die out. The light destroyed all the dreaded and unholy power like a cleanser, wiping away every last trace of demonic power throughout the monolithic abomination. Even Arkham's corpse was evaporated, the light of Fairy Law destroying the demonic-imbued body his forsaken life once inhabited. Some of the light even shinned through the portal.
The Demonic Realm.
As Dante, Natsu, and Carla continued their stand-off against Vergil, a bright light shinned through the ground to get all their attention.
"What… what in the world…?" Carla voiced.
"That's… that's Gramps' magic!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Say what?!" Dante voiced in surprise.
"This must be Fairy Law." Vergil thought to himself. "Only Fairy Tail's master could cast a spell this powerful, but for it to even reach the Demonic Realm from Earthland, even with an open portal…"
Dante noticed his elder brother deep in thought and used this as he quickly ran toward Vergil, before the oldest Son of Sparda could even react, Dante delivered a punch to Vergil's gut, apparently knocking him out.
"Dante!" Natsu voiced in surprise.
"Come on, let's book!" Dante said as he flung Vergil's unconscious body over his shoulder. It was time to leave.
Earthland
By the time the spell had finished casting, the light and the magic circle that it generated from all vanished. The clouds all cleared as dawn slowly approached, the sky turning a greyish blue. Everyone present had been rendered silent as they gazed at Temen-ni-gru. The immense demonic power they all felt from it had vanished completely. The red light was gone, and Temen-ni-gru seemed nothing more than a husk now.
Even Gildarts and Jura stood in surprise as Makarov himself fell to his hands and knees to catch his breath. It took pretty much all the stamina he had to make a Fairy Law spell powerful enough to destroy all the demonic energy Temen-ni-gru was radiating. But with its power source now destroyed, the tower was nothing now.
Back at the summit of the tower; Lady could hardly believe it. "I... wow… that's just… wow."
Erza smiled as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "That's the master, nothing short of amazing, just like the rest of our family."
Lady looked towards Erza and smiled back. But both their smiles vanished as they felt the tower beginning to shake and rumble. Even the red portal above them began to fluctuate and surge uncontrollably with red lightning.
"Great, now what's happening!?" Lady exclaimed irritably.
"Without the demonic energy to power it, Temen-ni-gru is collapsing!" Erza answered.
"But wait… what about…?" Lady looked up towards the red portal that was already becoming unstable and even starting to close. However, before either of them could even think about their friends; they saw someone flying out of the portal just before it closed.
Dante flew out in his Devil Trigger form, holding Vergil who seemed unconscious over his shoulder, while Carla held Natsu. Just as they flew out, the roof gave way and began to collapse inward, but Erza quickly grabbed Lady and quipped into her Black Wing armor to take flight as well.
The upper most part of the tower was the first to begin to crumble and collapse. Dante barley maintained his airborne status as he seemed to be struggling a lot.
"Hey man, are you okay?" Natsu asked, seeing his friend's struggle.
"That fight… took everything I had…" Dante grunted. "I can barely hold my… Devil Trigger…" Suddenly, Vergil's eyes shot open as he delivered a kick to Dante's head, forcing him to let go as Vergil fell toward the collapsing tower.
"Vergil!" Dante exclaimed.
"Dante, forget him! We have to go!" Carla warned, but it was too late. Dante had lost whatever power he had left and began to fall, fortunately he didn't' fall too far as Lady reached her hand to grab his, with Erza still holding Lady.
"I've got you!" Lady shouted.
"We must leave now!" Erza exclaimed as they flew as far away as they could.
Back on the ground; all the wizards ran as far away from the collapsing tower as fast as they could. Those that were greatly injured were being helped up, no one would be left behind here. Elfman struggled to carry both his sisters despite his injuries but pushed through the pain. Even Modeus helped to carry Wendy, Sheeree, and Happy.
"Come on! Everybody run!" Gray exclaimed.
"Yeah no shit Ice boy!" Mammon shouted back to him.
They all managed to get away to at least a minimum safe distance as Temen-ni-gru fell apart completely; leaving it as nothing more than a massive pile of rubble, it was completely destroyed and could not be repaired again. It was over.
"Is everyone alright?" Gildarts asked. Everyone sounded off to show that everybody present was still accounted for, no casualties.
Lucy looked around and still saw some of their friends were missing. "But wait… where are…?"
However, her worry wouldn't last as they all heard a pair of incoming screams. Carla had struggled, but given out, having exhausted her magic, forcing her to drop Natsu as he skidded along the ground face-first. Dante even fell and landed shakily on his hands and knees. Even Erza had a shaky landing, along with Lady.
Everyone gasped joyfully at the sight of their friends. Gray smirked amusingly. "There are they are, always with the dramatic entrance."
Natsu groaned a bit as he tried to pull himself up but felt a sudden embrace as Lisanna ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Natsu!" She shouted joyfully, crying tears of happiness as she hugged him. Lucy was next to run up and hug him, followed by Happy, all three of them shedding tears of joy, happy he made it out alright.
"Dante!" Trish was quick to help him back on his feet before pulling him into a quick hug herself. "Glad you didn't die."
"Yeah, me to." Dante smiled honestly before Mira, Elfman, Gray, Cana, Modeus, even Gajeel, and many other Fairy Tail members surrounded him for pats on the back or even welcoming embraces to show they were happy to see him as well. Sorano even looked toward him with a smile, Dante smiled back and nodded in her direction.
"Carla!" Wendy embraced her Exceed companion who didn't hesitate to hug her back. "I'm so glad you, Dante, and Natsu made it out of there!"
"As am I, Wendy." Carla smiled.
Sheeree shyly walked up to the pair. "Carla I… I'm glad you made it out okay." Sheeree was suddenly pulled into a hug by Wendy and was embraced with Carla as well.
"I'm glad to see you as well Sheeree." The white Exceed said honestly. Sheeree immediately hugged both her and Wendy in response, feeling true happiness flow through her whole body.
Lady looked towards all of this with a small smile but was surprised to see so many other Fairy Tail members, one of which being Panther-Lily approach her and ask if she was okay.
"Lady…" She turned to Erza who had a gentle smile. "This is what it means to be a part of a real family. To have those who care and love you unconditionally, even if we're not related by blood. I've said it before, Fairy Tail is a family, and you're a part of that family to."
Lady's expression was filled with so many emotions that she covered her mouth and even began to cry. It was true, she was part of a family, a real family that had nothing but love for her. And she wouldn't have it any other way. All the wizards present, including those from Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus, all greeted their comrades and celebrated their victory with roars and cheers, or even just simple smiles. Makaraov smiled proudly at all his children the same.
All but the exceptions of Mammon and Satan as they stood away, not trying to make a run for it, but only because they didn't quite feel like part of this.
"Yo Dante!" Natsu called to him as he smiled and held out his hand. Dante smiled back as they shared a high-five, just as dawn broke and the bright sunlight shinned on all of them.
Done.
Once again, thank you all for your support and patience. This was a great and epic chapter. The war against Devil Hand has now come to an end as Temen-ni-gru is destroyed. Arkham is dead, and it would seem Vergil is MIA.
However, Vergil was not left behind in the Demon Realm like he was in the cannon DMC3 game. I've got special plans for him. I'm sure you're all wondering where this leads to the events of DMC4 with Nero and the Order of the Sword, don't worry, I've already got plans for that. But don't expect to see anything until after Tenrou Island.
There are only two chapters left of this arc. The next one will deal with the surviving dark wizards from Devil Hand, as well as what the Magic Council might have to say about all of this. The one after is an epilogue chapter that connects to Tenrou Island as we are introduced to a certain black-haired wizard with very dangerous magic power. (Hint, hint).
Oh, one small thing, Natsu accessed Dragon Force when he was in the Demonic Realm. Why is that? He had something similar after he consumed demonic fire during his battle against Vergil a couple arcs back. This may be connected to his own demonic nature (unknown to everyone present). That'll be explained much later, however.
Anyway, thanks again for waiting. I hope you enjoyed reading this story. I'll be back soon with the next chapter. See ya!