Hello everyone, thanks again for your patience. And with this chapter, the war between Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart officially begins as the dark guild looks for Zeref, believing he is the key to Mundus' return and the Grand Magic World. We'll see more details of that in this chapter as these forces clash on Fairy Tail's sacred ground. Who will prevail in this war? Find out right now.

Clash of Light and Darkness

Erza and Juvia ran as fast as they could to try and find and regroup with many of their comrades, knowing the horrifying danger that is right at their doorstep; not only is Grimoire Heart, arguably the deadliest dark guild in the world on its way toward their own sacred island, but the Black Wizard of legend himself is even here, and apparently he's only the herald of an even greater evil.

"Unbelievable." Erza voiced. "I never imagined that Zeref would still be alive… and what's worse, he's apparently a dark messiah for Mundus!"

"As much as that terrifies me… I'm more concerned that Grimoire Heart's fighting force is on their way." Juvia said.

"That scout Gajeel defeated told us they were the Eight Kin of Purgatory, correct?" Erza recalled.

"Yes, and apparently one of them is already lurking on the island." Juvia replied.

"Come on Juvia, let's hurry!" Erza stated. "We need to find Wendy and Mest and regroup at the camp as soon as possible!"

Mest had a surprised and startled look on his face as Panther-Lily's fist was still in the rock, less than an inch from Mest's own face. The large Exceed kept his eyes firmly fixed on Mest, as did Carla who stood close to the shocked and surprised Wendy.

"Stop it! What's gotten into the two of you?!" Wendy questioned.

"This man is not who he says he is, Wendy!" Carla told her. "He is not part of our guild!"

"What…?" Wendy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Tell me who you really are." Lily demanded to the imposter.

"…What do you mean…?" Mest tried to save face.

"It's my belief, the magic you wield allows you the ability to manipulate people's memories." Panther-Lily explained. "If I'm correct, you've been using that magic to mascaraed as a member of Fairy Tail since before the trial." Mest's eyes widened slightly as Lily continued. "Too many things don't add up, including your story about being Mystogen's pupil. From what I've seen, nobody has any real connection with you. And just now, you had no idea what the guild's emergency flare signified. There's no talking your way out of that."

Mest's eyes were covered in shadows as he couldn't find a proper excuse. However, he felt another presence in this area, one that didn't belong to a member of Fairy Tail. Suddenly, he vanished, catching Lily off guard.

"He disappeared!" Carla exclaimed.

'No… Teleportation magic?' Lily thought in surprise just as Mest reappeared in front of the surprised Wendy.

'What's going on…?' Wendy didn't have time to collect her thoughts as Mest grabbed her. Carla and Lily tried to rush in and help her.

"WENDY! NO!"

However, Mest wasn't the one they should be worried about. "GET DOWN! NOW!" Mest exclaimed as an explosion shook up the whole cliffside. Fortunately, Mest and quickly moved Wendy out of the way just in time toward another cliffside, as Lily shot into the air with his wings as he grabbed Carla.

'An attack?!' Panther Lily was even more surprised to know that Mest wasn't the one who initiated the attack. He flew down to meet with them along with Carla. "What's going on here?!"

Suddenly, multiple explosions erupted all across the ground as the four of them tried to avoid the worst of the surprise attack, but Carla was even more surprised at what Mest had just did.

'He protected her? But why?'

"Who are you!?" Mest exclaimed to their invisible attacker. "Show yourself!"

All four of them directed their sight towards the only spot their assailant could possibly hide, a medium-sized tree at the very edge of the cliffside facing the ocean. However, rather than appear behind the tree, the attacker's face actually appeared on the surface of the tree itself.

"Impressive, your senses are quite sharp."

They all looked in surprise. 'I couldn't even sense his presence with my dragon senses?' Wendy thought in shock.

"The tree attacked us?" Carla voiced in surprise.

"Out! Come and face us!" Lily demanded.

"I'm from Grimoire Heart, name's Azuma. I'm one of the Eight Kin of Purgatory."

Wendy looked in even further surprise. "Grimoire Heart?"

"A dark guild." Carla's eyes narrowed.

"So that's what the flare was." Mest realized. "Someone must have run into more of these freaks."

The man apparently named Azuma pulled himself mostly out of the tree to reveal his body. He was a very tall, well-built, man with tan skin and thick brown hair with sideburns and a goatee. He had a vertical black streak on his face, running past his left eye. He wore a light green shirt with leather armored dark green shoulder pads, with the Grimoire Heart emblem on his left shoulder, with orange undersleeves and pants. From one's perspective, he actually appeared to stand completely straight on the tree's vertical surface.

"A bit late to be worrying about your friends." Azuma said in a chuckle.

"How dare you!" Lily exclaimed. "What exactly is going on here?!"

An ambitious smile appeared on Mest's face. "I thought if I was ever going to find dirt on the Fairy Tail guild, the most logical place to start would be here, it's sacred burial ground." Lily narrowed his eyes at Mest as Carla and Wendy looked in surprise. "But to find Zeref and Grimoire Heart as well, talk about hitting the jackpot. Must be my lucky day."

'Zeref?' Wendy did not expect to hear that name.

"Just who are you?!" Carla demanded.

Mest turned his ambitious grin toward the Fairy Tail members as he revealed his true colors. "Come on, isn't it obvious? I work for the Magic Council. I infiltrated your ranks to gather intel that'll bring you down once and for all."

"You're a spy?!" Carla exclaimed.

"But… Mest…" Wendy felt truly betrayed. She trusted Mest and considered him a friend, but to hear that he was really a spy, it felt as though she had been stabbed in the back.

An amused smile fell on Azuma's face. "Very interesting."

"But I've caught a much bigger fish now." Mest continued. "To think the ever-elusive Grimoire Heart would just fall into my lap out of nowhere…" He said in between laughs. "If I take them out my career is as good as made. I even have the Council's Custody Enforcement Unit's battleships on standby. Once the dark guild makes landfall, it'll be game over for them."

Almost on que, those present on the cliffside could see half a dozen battleships, each one brandishing the symbol of the Magic Council on their sails off the coast on this side of the island. Each one was likely filled with a hundred mages working for the Council and were ready to act when the word was given.

"This is a crackdown! Today the Devil's heart stops beating for good!" Mest declared.

However, Azuma wasn't the least bit intimidated. "Those battleships… they look so fragile from here."

*BOOM!*

Suddenly, every single one of the battleships were engulfed in a large explosion that completely obliterated them all, and there would be no survivors. Mest's jaw dropped as his pupils shrunk in horror. Even Wendy and Carla looked in horror while Panther-Lily glared at Azuma.

"No… all of those people…!" Wendy couldn't believe how easily this man just killed so many people.

'How could he have destroyed all of them all the way from here? And so quickly?' Panther-Lily thought in surprise.

Azuma emerged from the tree and casually stretched his limbs. "If you're done talking, I'd like to get to work destroying everyone here, right now." He didn't even seem to pay mind to the hundreds of people he just massacred.

"Everyone stand back!" Panther-Lily stood in front of the group to face Azuma directly.

Meanwhile, at Mavis' grave, Makarov faced the large headstone of the first master of this guild he called his home with a look of shame on his face.

"A red flare… the signal of an enemy raid…" He spoke in a grave tone. "I never thought it would happen here, and on my watch no less. Mavis… did you ever find yourself in this situation? Because I wonder how you would have handled it. I'll bet your so angry with me, your spinning in your grave right now. I've allowed the enemy to tread upon our guild's sacred ground, I assume full responsibility, and I will pay the price, rest assured of that." He clenched his fists. "However… I ask this of you: please keep them safe."

Dante stopped in his tracks, along with Lady as they heard the rumble in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" The red-clad Devil Hunter asked.

"Yeah… sounded like some kind of explosion." Lady responded. "Looks like the fighting's started."

"It came from the other side of the island." Dante deduced. "I got a feeling that things are about to get crazy real fast, come on."

Lady nodded as she followed Dante toward the source of the explosion. Though at the pace they were going, it would be sometime before they reached that area, but as they ran towards that, they had a feeling they'd encounter the enemy along the way, and maybe some of their friends as Dante knew a certain fire-breather would be heading directly toward the action as well.

Natsu himself was able to hear the explosion as well, not just from his own Dragon Slayer senses, but he and Happy were the closest to that area. "Is it just me, or did that sound like some trouble went down over there?" Natsu asked in a serious tone of voice.

"Yeah…" Happy responded in a similar tone. "Do you think the enemy is already here?"

"One way to find out." Natsu ran in the direction he heard the explosion from, with Happy following him.

Meanwhile; Wendy, Lily, Carla, and Mest continued to face Azuma as neither side even attacked yet, but that was about to change.

"No… how could you do that…?" Wendy questioned, still reeling over Azuma's destruction of the Magic Council ships.

"Those ships were full of innocent people!" Carla exclaimed.

Azuma scoffed with a grin. "'Innocent'? The Magic Council is nothing more than weak bureaucrats If you ask me, they deserved what they got."

"How can one man have such power…?" Mest questioned in a frightened tone. "It's impossible!"

Azuma's eyes narrowed, but Panther-Lily wasn't about to give him another opportunity to attack as he charged against the enemy wizard.

"Lily, wait!" Wendy had a bad feeling about this, and her instincts proved to be correct.

"Bleve." Azuma held out his hand, as Lily was suddenly completely engulfed in an explosion that erupted from Azuma's palm. However, Lily stood his ground and took Azuma by surprise, clearly not expecting Azuma to be so durable, giving Lily an opportunity to deliver an upper cut to Azuma's face and knock him back. However, a few more spars formed around Lily as he was engulfed in yet another explosion.

The shockwave of the second explosion knocked back Mest, Wendy, and Carla; but Lily still stood his ground, though he was in some pretty intense pain. 'He packs the same sort of power Satan had back in Temen-ni-gru. If only I had a sword.'

Wendy however was quick to get back on her feet and provide all the support she can. "Don't worry! You're not in this alone!" She cast support magic as a Sky Dragon Slayer magic circle formed under Lily's feet. "Vernier! Arms!"

Lily's body was engulfed in a cyan glow. "My body suddenly feels lighter…. And my strength has been enhanced! So, this is the power of support magic." He smirked as he extended his wings and shot to Azuma at blinding speed. Azuma shot out a few fingers to blast out more explosions around Lily, but his enhanced speed made it easy for him to dodge the attacks.

'In this state, dodging these explosion spells is child's play.'

'Good, he's focused on Lily.' Wendy saw an opening, but she needed to get close enough and only one person could help her with that.

"Listen up Mest, I think I know how to take this guy down." Wendy spoke to the Magic Council infiltrator. "But I'll need your help to do it."

Lily went on the attack and shot a kick at Azuma, which he could just barley avoid.

"No, weren't you listening before?!" Mest questioned to Wendy. "I'm not your ally, I'm with the Council!"

"Do you think who you work for matters to me right now?!" Wendy exclaimed. "We have a member of a dark guild right in front of us! All that matters to me is taking him down and protecting Fairy Tail! Please help me do that!"

"I only came to this island so I could destroy Fairy Tail and further my career!" Mest argued.

"And you'll fail!" Wendy exclaimed without even a hint of hesitation or doubt in her voice. "There's no one in existence who can take us down!"

Mest's eyes widened as his initial thoughts of Wendy were that of a naïve girl who can easily be manipulated, but clearly that was not the case. Her resolve was iron-clad.

Lily, still under Wendy's support spells, ducked under another series of explosions and swept his feet for a roundhouse to Azuma's chest and knock him back, though he slid back, Azuma remained on his feet.

"Lily, go up!" Carla told him, and Panther-Lily did as requested as he shot to the sky, but Azuma wasn't impressed.

"It doesn't matter where you run, my explosions always hit their mark." Azuma prepared to unleash another attack, apparently not noticing Mest and Wendy appearing behind him.

'This is it.' Wendy thought. 'I'll hit him with everything I got.'

'Eliminating this guy takes priority for now.' Mest thought.

Lily smirked. 'Got him.'

Wendy prepared to unleash a powerful breath attack; however, Azuma had actually expected this. "You pathetic fools."

All four looked in surprise at how Azuma saw right through their strategy. He outstretched his arms and attacked. "Tower Burst!"

An enormous tower of flame erupted from Azuma's body and shot into the sky as it completely engulfed Wendy, Mest, Carla, and even the airborne Panther-Lily.

The tower of flame could be seen from the entire side of the island, and the ones being closest to it were none other than Natsu and Happy.

"What is that?" Natsu asked as he ran toward it.

"It's a tower of fire." Happy flew by his side. "There's nobody in Fairy Tail who uses magic like that."

"Guess we know where the enemy is then." Natsu's face hardened as he also picked up Wendy's scent in that area, as well as Carla's, Lily's, and even Mest's. That gave him all the more motivation to hurry faster.

"Where the hell did that come from?!" Trish questioned as she and Lisanna saw the tower of fire as well from their location. "Think that pink-haired pyro is fighting someone?"

"No." Lisanna shook her head. "Natsu's strong, but that's definitely not one of his attacks. But knowing Natsu, he's probably on his way there right now."

"Then you should get going." Trish told her, surprising Lisanna. "Go help your boyfriend and which of our friends are there to. I'll try and find Dante and meet up with you."

"Shouldn't we stick together though?" Lisanna asked.

"We'll have better progress as we split up." Trish explained. "We have to be close to at least some of our friends, and you can fly and get there faster. I promise we'll meet up later, but you should go now."

Lisanna didn't like the idea of leaving a friend here all alone when an enemy is approaching the island, but she knew Trish could handle herself and she made a few good points. "Okay but be careful."

"Same to you, see you soon kid." Trish said as she and Lisanna ran in separate directions.

Azuma stood on the cliffside, glaring down at his defeated adversaries as the explosion had actually knocked them off the ridge and onto another one down below. Lily's muscular form vanished as he turned small again while he, Carla, Wendy, and Mest laid bruised and battered; though they were alive, they weren't getting back up any time soon.

Mest looked up with a frightened look on his face toward Azuma. 'I never imagined… the Eight Kin of Purgatory would possess such power…'

Azuma scoffed in disappointment. "This guild… are cats and children it's only defense? I had hoped at least a Dragon Slayer would present a challenge, but apparently not." He turned around and proceeded to walk away. "Let's hope Sparda's son or apprentice can put more of a fight than these weaklings."

'There are seven more of these guys…?' Mest thought as pure terror sank into his very soul. 'We're all doomed! Fairy Tail doesn't stand a chance!'

Meanwhile; the group consisting of Lucy, Gray, Cana, and Loke continued to run as they made their way to a set of ruins that likely belonged to a lost civilization that once lived on this island.

"Come on! Where the heck is this stupid meeting place?!" Lucy questioned.

"It's back at the base-camp!" Gray answered. "Didn't anybody tell you?"

"We'll get there quicker if we pass through these ruins!" Loke added. "Just keep running!"

"How did the search for a grave turn into an ordeal like this!?" Lucy exclaimed.

"I don't get it!" Cana stated. "Can you think of any reason we'd be attacked right now?!"

"No…" Lucy seemed to agree as an attack like this seemed right out of the blue, not to mention they had no clue who was even attacking them.

At the same time, Modeus carried the unconscious Gajeel over his shoulder as he and Levy ran through the forest, close to the camp as well.

"We should be there soon." Modeus said.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Levy asked as he saw the bad shape Gajeel was in.

"His arm is especially bad, but his injuries aren't fatal. Still he needs medical attention quickly." Modeus claimed. "And you said the ones who attacked you were merely scouts?"

"Yeah… but that means… Grimoire Heart's got some heavy hitters who are way more powerful." Dread swept through Levy like a tide.

Modeus' eyes narrowed. 'This is bad. With our entire guild separated like this… they could easily pick us off one-by-one. Wendy… Please be safe.'

Grimoire Heart Airship

The massive vessel that served as the mobile base for the powerful and dangerous dark guild continued to soar through the clouds as it made its way closer toward its destination, with the seven of the Eight Kin of Purgatory, several lower mages, and Hades himself waiting patiently on the main deck of the ship. Ultear meanwhile had changed from her purple dress to white and black battle-armor.

"Nice outfit." Zancrow complemented Ultear. "Gets me fired up and ready to cut loose."

"Zancrow, keep your perverted and blood-thirsty thoughts to yourself." Job said in a straightforward face.

"Give me a break, you wannabe-priest." Zancrow rolled his eyes. "You can't tell me you're not excited!"

"I am in ecstasy." Job said, despite appearing as clam and emotionless as one can get. "Our crusade is about to begin, but we must place our mission over our own personal desires, such is the folly of humanity."

"Indeed." Caprico agreed. "We must take this battle seriously."

"Tonight, the souls of our foes dine in the city of woo." Rustyrose voiced poetically.

"Poetry… and stuff…" Hikaru stuttered. "I'm also ready to fight and… uh…"

Meredy saw something through the window. "Ur, look!"

Ultear shot a frightening glare at the younger girl. "Never refer to me by that name."

The pink-haired girl instantly regretted that, not just for making Ultear angry but also knowing how much she hated that name. "Please forgive me."

"Aw come on, don't be so nervous all the time." Zancrow said as he walked up to Meredy. "Alright, so what's up?" He asked, referring to what Meredy was pointing toward.

"It's in view now." Meredy said as Zancrow, and the rest of the Kin set their eyes upon their destination.

"Tenrou Island." Job said. "An island falsely revered by a guild of heretics that praise the being that imprisoned our lord. But today, we shall liberate the chosen one, Zeref and bring blessed darkness to this world that has been blinded with such vile light."

However, all the present members of the Eight Kin of Purgatory looked in alarm at the sudden appearance of a massive giant that grew and bared their path. This was Makarov taking his giant form to its absolute maximum; though he wasn't as big as the massive tree on Tenrou Island, it looked as if he could topple it with his bare hands.

"What in the hell is that…?" Zancrow questioned.

Even Hades' pupils shrunk as he had not anticipated Makarov would become so powerful, nor would he be the first opponent they'd be facing. Makarov was so big, he looked like he could easily crush the Grimoire Heart like a tin can, and that was likely his intent as well.

"A giant…?" Ultear voiced in surprise.

"A foolish giant that bards our way." Job responded.

"Uh… wha…" Hikaru's jaw almost fell to the ground.

"That sucks." Zancrow said.

"Who is that…?" Meredy asked.

Hades' surprised look turned into one of amusement as a devilish smile formed on his face. "Makarov."

"Begone." Makarov spoke as his voice became somewhat distorted and echoed throughout his enormous body. "Turn back or suffer the wrath of Fairy Tail!" As a warning shot, Makarov shot a punch to completely obliterate the entire vessel's starboard engine.

Everyone on the ship was rocked and knocked off their feet, including the Kin of Purgatory as the ship reeled from the impact, and the pilot mages did their best just to keep the ship afloat and stabilize it.

"Heavy damaged sustained!" One grunt reported.

"He punched right through our reinforced armor!" Another grunt panicked.

"Game over man, game over!" A third grunt had already pissed his pants.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Hades ordered as the vessel just barley dodged the second punch from the giant Makarov. "Prepare the Focus-Magic-Cannon, Jupiter!"

A massive cannon appeared at the top part of the ship and aimed at the giant Makarov before firing a massive blast of raw magic directly at him. Makarov couldn't avoid it in his giant state, so he braced himself with his right arm. He grunted as he felt the pain, but still endured. After the Jupiter cannon's attack stopped, the only injury Makarov appeared to have obtained was a first-degree burn on his arm.

Makarov retaliated with a devastating kick to the ship's underbelly. That attack looked as though it tore the ship in half, and it would have been the end of Grimoire Heart right then and there, but admits the panicking mages, Hades had a contingency plan in place.

"Now Ultear!"

The aforementioned female wizard already had the right spell ready. "Arc of Time: Restore!" A clock formed in both her eyes that began to glow red as a light violet aura formed around what was left of the ship. She used her magic to rewind the time around the airship to the point where it had yet to receive any damage at all. By the time she was finished, and in just a matter of seconds, the Grimoire Heart airship had been completely restored, without so much as a scratch on the haul.

"Caprico, get all of our forces onto the island." Hades ordered.

"What about you, sir?" The humanoid goat asked his master.

"I'll remain here and deal with Makarov myself." Hades replied.

"As you wish." Caprico merely clapped his hands and all the wizards throughout the air ship, including the remaining Kin of Purgatory, all vanished. Caprico then quipped a magic jetpack and flew out of the ship, past the giant Makarov and straight towards Tenrou Island.

"Run if you like, but there is no escape!" He faced the ship directly as it still undoubtedly had the guildmaster inside. He brought his hands together and a bright light formed in-between his palms as he prepared his ultimate spell. "I'm going to give you till the count of three to get out of my sight, otherwise you and your comrades will see the other side of oblivion!"

Hades stood up from his throne as he recognized the spell. "The ultimate magic spell that vanquishes everyone whom the caster deems to be a foe. Such a spell was strong enough to even bring down Temen-ni-gru. Impressive."

"One…"

"Let's see your Fairy Law in action."

"Two…"

Lisanna had flown in her Harpy Take Over toward the cliffside where she previously saw the massive tower of flames. However, as she flew past the tree-tops, she spotted a certain blue-exceed carrying a rather familiar pink-haired Dragon Slayer.

"Natsu! Happy!"

They halted their own approach as they saw the white-haired girl fly towards them. "Lisanna? What are you doing here?" Natsu asked.

"And where's Trish? Wasn't she with you?" Happy also asked.

"We decided to split up." Lisanna answered. "I saw the huge tower of flames and thought I'd meet up with you, while she went to look for Dante or anyone else that was close by." Lisanna's eyes widened however as she saw the blackened scar around Natsu's neck. "Natsu, what happened to your scarf?!"

An angry look formed on his face as he clenched his precious scarf. "Some freak with crazy black magic turned it like this!" Natsu growled. "When I see that bastard, I'm gonna…" As he looked toward the cliffside, Natsu's eyes widened as he saw Wendy, Carla, and Lily down. "Happy, put me down! Now!"

Happy saw what Natsu was looking at and quickly flew him toward the top of the cliffside with Lisanna flying in close behind. Once they landed, Lisanna turned back to normal as Natsu immediately ran to Wendy and picked her up in his arms.

"Wendy! Wake up!" He tried to shake her awake, while also being gentle about it.

"Carla! Lily!" Happy exclaimed as Lisanna was quick to tend to the two unconscious Exceeds. "Please be okay!"

"They're breathing, so they're alive." Lisanna said. "But they probably took the full force of that blast we saw."

Wendy's eyes slowly began to open. "Na… Natsu…?" She weakly said as she saw his face.

"Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?" Natsu asked but was caught a bit off-guard as she quickly hugged him.

"Big brother…!" She was obviously in shock over what had just happened, Natsu figured someone roughed them up pretty bad.

Natsu's eyes then set upon the semi-conscious Mest. He gently set Wendy down as he grabbed Mest by the collar and pulled him to his face.

"Hey, did you do this?!" Natsu growled at him as Mest's eyes opened.

"Mest?" Lisanna looked in surprise. "But why…"

"Lisanna, this guy's not a part of Fairy Tail!" Happy revealed, much to Lisanna's surpise.

"Dante was the first to figure it out, and what he told me made sense." Natsu continued to glare at Mest. "If you really were with Mystogen, you would have been with us in Edolas, but you weren't! Plus, your scent gives you away. I never forget a scent, and I know I haven't smelled you before! So cut the act and tell us who you are pal! Did you do this?!" Natsu looked more than ready to beat the crap out of Mest.

Mest himself looked in surprise, he had originally thought his memory manipulation spell had worn off, and it likely did with the other Fairy Tail members, but it seems Dante and Natsu were among those to put the pieces together first and realize he was actually a spy.

"Don't… Mest is a member of the Magic Council, Natsu!" Wendy told him as she tried to pick herself up.

Natsu's eyes widened in surprise as he instinctively let Mest go. "Magic Council…? Those guys again?!"

"Wait… are you serious?! Is he a spy from the Council?!" Lisanna exclaimed in surprise as well.

"Hold on… that red flare meant an enemy was attacking…" A panicked look formed on Happy's face as he comically screamed. "IS THE MAGIC COUNCIL DECLARING WAR ON US?!"

"You're wrong…" Carla had regained consciousness along with Lily as they picked themselves up. "The enemy is Grimoire Heart…"

Lisanna's look of surprise turned into one of visible fear with that revelation. "As in… one of the top tiers in the Baram Alliance…?"

"Like the Oracion Seis…?!" Natsu was about as surprised as everyone else.

"You mean they're on the island?!" Happy exclaimed with an equal amount of worry. "How are we supposed to fend off their entire guild on our own!? What are we gonna do?!"

"We should find the rest of our friends!" Lisanna tried to come up with a plan. "We could be attacked at any minute!"

Lily gazed upward and looked in surprise. "What's that…? Up there?"

Everyone looked up to see Caprico on his jetpack flying over the island. "Too late…" Lisanna gulped. "They're here…"

As Caprico flew over the island, he released multiple orange spheres and they all fell all across the entire island like how a bomber plane would drop multiple bombs. The spheres rained all over the island, and as they fell, they grew larger as it was revealed that each one carried a single member of Grimoire Heart, and already hundreds had fallen over the island.

A large group fell around Dante and Lady, and it looked like one was about to land right on top of Lady, but Dante quickly pulled her out of the way just in time and drew Rebellion just as the sphere dissipated and a member of the Grimoire Heart drew his own sword, which Dante blocked with Rebellion.

More than two dozen Grimoire Heart grunts appeared all around Dante and Lady as they each brandished their weapons from swords to massive hammers, and some even prepared magic spells. Dante kicked the first wizard he locked swords with back as he and Lady came back-to-back.

"Looks like the enemy is here." Dante observed.

Lady saw the emblem on the masks of each of the wizards present and recognized it. "Dante, these guys are from Grimoire Heart. Their one of the top three in the Baram Alliance, these guys are bad news!"

"Yeah, so are we." Dante stated as he held Rebellion in one hand and drew Ivory in his other one.

As the enemy surrounded the pair, a few of the grunts recognized Dante.

"Hey, look at the guy with the sword!"

"That's Sparda's son!"

"I think his name is Dante!"

"Looks like we hit the jackpot. If we kill him, we'll become legends!"

"That lady he's with his is really hot. She'd make a good sex slave."

Lady growled as she drew her bladed rocket launcher. "Try it, bastards. I dare you."

Dante looked at the surrounding wizards. "Listen up! Before I joined Fairy Tail, I made a rule for myself about only killing demons. But after seeing how some people act no different from demons, I decided to throw that rule out the window. So, you really should reconsider picking a fight with us, because we will kill you."

This got some of the wizards to look a bit nervous, but a few of them actually looked more daring.

"You sure talk a big game, don't ya! GET HIM!"

All of the wizards charged in with their weapons or spells as Dante and Lady readied themselves.

"Alright but remember, I warned ya!" Dante exclaimed as he and Lady charged back at the enemy.

The situation was also very similar to Lucy, Loke, Gray, and Cana's group at the ruins as countless Grimoire Heart members all rained down on them as well.

"It's raining masked men!" Loke exclaimed.

"I'd say 'hallelujah', but they don't look friendly!" Lucy tried to put in a little bit of humor despite the fear evident in her voice.

"Crap!" Cana exclaimed as they were completely surrounded.

"That's crazy! There's tons of them!" Gray exclaimed as well.

It happened all across the island as well as multiple Grimoire Heart grunts invaded Fairy Tail's camp as Mira stood her ground. Though she was alone, she was more than willing to stand up and fight against these people.

Modeus still held the unconscious Gajeel as Levy hid behind him as their path was barred by more than a dozen Grimoire Heart grunts as well.

"Uh oh… we're too late…" Levy gulped as a serious look formed on Modeus' face.

"Levy, take Gajeel." He handed the unconscious Iron Dragon Slayer to her as she held his uninjured arm over her shoulder.

Modeus walked forward slightly toward the enemy as he extended both his arms, and two black swords emerged from the ground into his hands. "Listen carefully, I have no desire to harm anyone. I am going to give you all one chance to leave now; if any of you have families or loved ones, then go home. But if you insist on facing us…" He crossed both his blades as a white glow began to emanate from them. "I will not hesitate to bring you down!"

"I'll take all of you on!" Elfman exclaimed as he and Evergreen were also surrounded by multiple enemy soldiers. "Who's gonna arm-wrestle me first!"

"Don't know what's more annoying." Evergreen said in a mentally exhausted sigh. "You or the goon squad."

"Look at this blonde bimbo." One Grimoire Heart grunt said as multiple enemies surrounded Trish who stood alone.

"She thinks she can take us on all by herself?"

"That kind of cockiness will get her killed."

"Oh? Is that so?" Trish had a daring grin on her face as she held the Sparda sword in one hand and crackled a bit of electricity into her other hand. "You boys want this? Try me."

Erza had drawn a single sword as she was back-to-back with Juvia in a swamp-like area as they were also surrounded by many enemy wizards.

"How did the overrun us so quickly?" Erza questioned.

"Not sure, but I'm afraid more are coming." Juvia said with a serious look on her face.

Back at the cliffside, Natsu, Lisanna, and Wendy stood along with Mest, Lily, Happy, and Carla as multiple Grimoire Heart wizards began to try and surround them as well.

"So much for regrouping with everyone else." Lisanna muttered.

"Guess we got no choice but to fight." Natsu said as one of his fists lit on fire.

Caprico continued to fly through the skies had he finished deploying the last of the Grimoire Heart wizards, including the remainder of the Eight Kin of Purgatory as he tried to find a landing spot as well. He also happened to fly past Azuma as well.

"Well, well." Azuma said as he noticed Caprico. "The rowdy ones will finally be joining me in battle."

Zancrow gave a maniacal laugh as he fell toward the island. "YAHOO!"

Rustyrose adjusted his glasses. "The underworld will run red with our sacrifices tonight."

Job had landed gracefully on his feet as he held his hands together in a prayer-like fashion. "At long last, my lord Mundus. Our mission begins, may our prayers and actions appease you."

Meredy had also made landfall as well. "Operation is underway."

Ultear walked through the forest with a blush on her cheeks. "At last I am near him… Lord Zeref."

Kain Hikaru landed face-first on the rocky ground but was able to pick himself up as he began to run through the forest.

"We landed…" He spoke to himself with a stutter. "On this freaky-looky island… to carry out three critical missions for our master. The first one is to capture the Legendary Black Wizard, Zeref, alive and unharmed…. The next, is to find Sparda's son, Dante. And we kill him and bring him back to Master Hades… or wait… we bring him to Master Hades then kill him…" He held his head. "Ugh, I'm so confused. But… what's the third mission? I can't remember…" He looked around. "What about you guys? Oh right, I'm all alone on this place. Where did everyone go?"

His eyes widened. "I think… I'm lost!"

Zeref continued to sit underneath the tree as a saddened look fell on his face, he could feel all the hostility and fighting taking place all over the island.

"So much conflict… will it never end?" He spoke to himself. "Sparda… what would you do?"

Meanwhile; the giant Makarov continued his stand-off with Hades in the Grimoire Heart airship as he was ready to unleash his strongest and deadliest spell, which continued to glow and shine like the sun with bright yellow light.

"…And that's three! Time's up!" Makarov clapped his enormous hands together as the light shinned even brighter. "Fairy Law!"

Hades had walked outside and onto the top of his ship to face Makarov directly. "Don't be so hasty!" He said as he mimicked Makarov's previous hand gestures with his own and a black magic sphere formed in-between his palms with a dark purple aura surrounding it. This spell seemed almost like a dark and twisted version of the one Makarov was using; as opposed to one that was bright and purifying. Just as Fairy Law was like the sun, this spell was like a black hole.

"Grimoire Law!"

Makarov's eyes widened as he saw this spell being casted. The magic that it had was on equal par to that of Fairy Law and could likely achieve the same result if unleashed. Just as Fairy Law could likely obliterate all of Grimoire Heart in one fell swoop, Grimoire Law would all but destroy the entire Fairy Tail guild as well.

"These spells serve their intended purpose; lesser men would be deterred by them." Hades said to Makarov directly. "But unless one of us backs down from this duel, the destruction that follows would leave a scar on this world with cataclysmic proportions!"

Makarov immediately stopped his Fairy Law spell. "What… impossible!" It couldn't be! How can anyone make a dark copy of the Fairy Law spell! Only a select few people in existence even knew the properties of this spell, let alone how to effectively cast it! The only one who can possibly achieve something like this was… "No… No it can't be!"

Hades ceased his own Grimoire Law spell as well, allowing Makarov to see his face. "Hello, boy. You're looking well."

Makarov's face had completely lost all its color, his pupils shrunk as he saw the face of his predecessor, Fairy Tail's second guildmaster stand before him. "It is you… Master Precht!"

Flashback – Fairy Tail guildhall – 48 Years ago

Makarov, a short, middle-aged man had a grumpy look on his face as he sat at the bar of the guildhall. But it wasn't long before he let his temper get the better of him.

"Damn it! Who do those Council low-lives think they are?!" He ranted with multiple anger-marks all over his body. "I have half-a-mind to squash them!"

"Calm down Makarov…" One guild member tried to calm him down, only for the angry Makarov to seize him by the shirt.

"Oh?! You want me to calm down?! Maybe I'll use you to vent these pent-up frustrations!"

"Wait! Let's talk about this!" The guild member comically pleaded.

"That's enough, boy. Let him go."

At the sound of that calm, yet authoritative voice, Makarov let the guild member go as he turned to the source of that voice. An elderly man with a long beard, an eye-patch over his right-eye. He had a purple shirt and brown pants with a long white coat/robe with the Fairy Tail emblem on its back. He also carried a wooden staff with a three-dimensional Fairy Tail emblem at the tip.

"Oh uh… Master!" Makarov straightened himself out in the presence of Precht. "I didn't realize you were back!"

"Do you revel in making trouble when you go out on a job?" Precht lightly scolded.

The two then proceed to walk outside to continue their talk. Makarov continued to sulk and scowl. "So, I roughed up some has-been bandits who were talking smack about our guild, I don't see what the problem is."

"There is nothing wrong with feeling the need to defend something you hold so dear." Precht began. "But violence, ultimately begets more violence."

"Was I supposed to just let them get away with it?" Makarov questioned.

"Harmony is key." Precht explained. "Forgiveness can be a powerful thing, just like violence. Whether you forgive or seek revenge is up to you but know the consequences."

Makarov sulked even further. "You ever get tired of saying that?"

Something of a playful smirk fell onto Precht's face. "I'll keep saying it until it sinks into your thick skull, boy."

"Seriously, stop calling me 'boy'! I'm forty years old, ya know!" Makarov protested.

"Then act your age." Precht told him. "Otherwise, you'll never be this guild's new master."

That took Makarov by surprise. "Wait…! Either I'm going senile or you just said I'm Fairy Tail's next master!"

"That's correct." Precht confirmed with a nod. "I've been thinking long and hard about this. I'm going to be going on a long journey, and I need someone to take my place."

"Find someone else! I can't!" Makarov said immediately.

"You can and you will, Makarov." Precht began with a warm and understanding smile. "I realize you have doubts at the moment; but you have the ability to love and trust your fellow man. I'm certain you will lead Fairy Tail to greatness. Just as Mavis, our first master, passed this heavy mantle onto my shoulders, I know pass Fairy Tail's spirit onto you. Please handle it, with care."

End Flashback

The giant Makarov's eyes shook as he saw the face of his former guildmaster standing with the garb as the guildmaster of one of the most evil guilds in the entire world. How is this possible?! He looked up to Precht like a father-figure and he considered him to be the best of humanity, and yet… here he was as an enemy, invading the sacred ground of the guild he once founded and led!

"Master…. It's really you…" Makarov stuttered. "Why?! Is this some kind of sick joke?!"

Hades offered no response as he extended his hand, and a dark purple magic circle formed in front of him with a demonic skull in the center. Two magic chains shot out of the magic circle and pierced Makarov's shoulders, sending the giant crashing into the island, but Hades wasn't done yet. He pulled on the chains and heaved the giant Makarov as though he were a mere ragdoll and flung him into the island, sending him skidding and crashing throughout the woods.

Makarov's body shrunk to his natural size as he skidded before he leapt and landed on his feet and a single hand. He quipped into his Wizard Saint's outfit just as Hades had leapt from his ship and landed gracefully in front of Makarov as they glared at one another.

"I see you've traded in your ideals for a darker robe." Makarov stated.

"After all these years, you still view the world in black and white." Hades said. "I hoped becoming guildmaster would broaden that narrow view of yours."

"Forgive me if I don't give a damn!" Makarov replied. "I may have a narrow field-of-vision, but I see my enemies clearly!" He stood up straight to face his former master.

Hades laughed. "At least you learned to talk the talk while I'd been away, boy."

"I always hated that nickname. In fact, I wanted to deck you every time you used it." Makarov said as he clenched his fists, an inner conflict still boiling inside him. "But I have no desire to fight you now! Leave before we do something drastic!"

"Tell me something boy; is it true that Sparda's youngest son is a recent addition to Fairy Tail?" Hades asked.

"What of it?" Makarov questioned.

"It's certainly comes as a surprise that a devil would find a place amongst the fairies, even though he's only a half-breed." Hades said. "I wonder if he feels truly at home with Fairy Tail. If not, I'm sure my guild may suit him better."

Makarov's eyes narrowed as a bright yellow aura shined from his body. "Before you even lay so much as a finger on him, you'll have to go through me!"

Hades mirrored his actions as an ominous dark purple aura shined around his body as well. "If you wish to throw your life away boy, then so be it!"

Their magic auras shined as polar opposites, light and darkness, as the wind blew around both of them and even the ground shook at a mere gesture of their opposing powers. Sparks lit in between as their auras clashed, and this was even before the actual fight had even started. Their auras died down however as their duel began.

Makarov and Hades made multipipe magic sigils with finger gestures before Makarov attacked first. "Purge the Darkness with a Rain of Light!" A golden magic circle formed in front of Makarov as he shot multiple light-magic beams straight at Hades who was prepared just for this.

"That won't be enough, Makarov." Hades threw up a shield of dark magic above him which drew the light-magic attack in like a black hole. "Swallow the Light! Shadow of Terror's Darkness!" A blast of dark magic shot at Makarov, which he jumped to avoid.

"In that case…" Makarov created two rotating magic circles around his body as Hades performed a similar spell with a type of magic that made Makarov look in shock. "What?! He cast an Amaterasu Formula 28 Circle…! As if it were nothing!"

"Understand what you're up against now?" Hades said as the magic circles around his hand closed together and created a powerful explosion, shaking the whole area as a tower of dark magic shot into the air. However, Makarov was quick enough to form a light magic shield around his body to protect himself from the worst of the attack, though the shockwave still rattled his body, he even felt his bones vibrate a bit.

Hades wasn't done yet however as he shot out two more magic chains, which caught onto Makarov's shoulders. Hades pulled on the chains and dragged Makarov painfully across the ground and multiple trees in the area before slamming him hard onto the ground. Makarov's eyes widened slightly as he felt an odd feeling in Hades' aura.

'This power… it's not just dark magic…' The Wizard Saint's pupils shrunk. 'No! Don't tell me!'

"I see you noticed." Hades read the expression on Makarov's face. "I live and breathe the dark arts, but it's not just dark magic that I've mastered. Demonic power itself flows through my very veins!"

'Demonic… power….?' Makarov tried to pull himself on his feet. 'How…? I can tell his physical body is still human so… how can he…?' Suddenly Makarov was completely surrounded by multiple Amaterasu circles; one below, one above, three on his left and three on his right.

"But I don't wield just any demonic power." Hades continued. "This isn't from your average, run-of-the-mill demons. No, the power I wield… was granted to me by the Demon Emperor himself! Mundus!"

Makarov's face went pale as he instinctively and desperately tried to put up a defense. "Maximum Defense Magic Circle: Three Pillar Gods!" Three large pillars shot out of the ground to surround Makarov and protect him, but it wouldn't be enough.

"Amaterasu Formula 100!"

*BOOM!*

A massive and gargantuan explosion of dark magic and demonic power shook the entire island as this corner of the island was engulfed in a sphere of dark purple energy; which blew away much of the tree and landscapes in the area.

Dante had cut down one Grimoire Heart grunt with Rebellion as his eyes widened and even Lady was shaken as she felt the ground shake.

"What the hell was that?! Another explosion?!" Lady questioned as she used her rocket to block one sword strike from an enemy grunt before taking out her pistol and shooting him in the face.

"That was demonic energy." Dante said with a serious tone of voice, catching Lady by surprise.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, but not just any. Whatever that stuff was, it was some pretty serious shit." Dante stated. "We don't got time to deal with these grunts so let's finish them off quickly!" Dante leapt into the air as he pulled out Ebony and Ivory and opened fire, shooting and blasting back a dozen enemies all at once.

Lady had also blown away a group with a blast from her rocket launcher as she noticed the tone in Dante's voice and the look in his eyes. 'I've rarely seen him this serious before, only whenever Vergil or someone like Arkham was involved. The fact he's not making jokes or wisecracks says something really bad is going on here.'

Natsu had punched back three Grimoire Heart grunts as he heard the explosion as well. "I didn't like the sound of that."

"Me either." Happy said as he stood close to Natsu. "I hope one of our guys cast that thing!"

"Take Over: She-Cat!" Lisanna shot past multiple grunts in her she-cat form and knocked down five of them with rapid claw strikes as she skidded near Natsu. "How many of these guys are there?! We took down a dozen already and they've still got plenty to spare! What do they even want?!"

"I don't know, and I really don't care!" Natsu growled as both his fists lit on fire. "I'm gonna burn every last one of these pricks!"

"Sky Dragon Roar!" Wendy shot a breath attack that blew away several grunts herself, but almost feel to her knees in exhaustion.

"Wendy don't push yourself!" Carla told her. "You still haven't fully recovered!"

"I can still stand." Wendy grunted as she pushed herself up. "So long as I can, I can still fight!"

Natsu cast a glancing smile in Wendy's direction. 'That's my little sis.' He thought to himself before attacking again.

Wendy stood in front of the weakened Carla and Lily as she tried to think of why Grimoire Heart was even here. 'Mest mentioned something about the Legendary Black Wizard before… could it be… Grimoire Heart's goal… is to find Zeref?'

"You're getting in my way!" Cana angrily threw a card-attack. "Wind-Blade!" Three enemy grunts were blown away by a gust of wind.

Loke and Gray were back-to-back as they prepared their respective magics. "Holy crap." Loke had a nervous smile as he saw Cana work. "She's pissed. She destroyed those guys."

"Too bad! It's their fault! They shouldn't be trespassing on sacred ground!" Gray exclaimed as he attacked next. "Ice-Make: Hammer!" He smashed his large ice-hammer down to crush five grunts at once.

Three more grunts, two with swords and one with a mallet were about to get the jump on Cana from behind, but Lucy saved her as she snapped her Fleuve d'etoiles whip to knock all three of them back.

"Cana, stay focused!" She scolded her friend for being so care-less as Cana gave an apologetic yet grateful smile.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Thanks Lucy." Cana replied.

Seven more grunts roared as they tried to charge the group, only for a blast of lighting to shoot past them as Trish suddenly appeared in front of them before leaping into the air and pulling out her Luce and Ombra pistols and blasting them all with electrified bullets before landing past Gray and Loke as she sent out the Devil Sword Sparda like a frisbee to slice and dice five more grunts before the massive sword returned to her.

"Whoa Trish!" Gray exclaimed in surprise, not expecting to see her.

"Hey guys, need some help." The lightning she-devil smirked slightly.

"Yeah, thanks for the assist." Loke smiled back.

While Lucy was also glad to see Trish, she noticed that she came alone. "Hey, where's Lisanna? Wasn't she with you?"

"We decided to split up to try and find more of our friends." Trish explained. "I was passing by when I saw the fight."

All five of them circled up as they were still surrounded by countless Grimoire Heart grunts, much to their frustration.

"Come on, there's no end to them! They crawling out of the ground to?!" Gray exclaimed.

"They're all over the island!" Trish stated. "I had to fight through dozens of these guys to get here!"

"There may be a lot, but they're pretty weak overall." Loke observed.

"That doesn't help since the attacks never stop coming." Lucy commented.

"She's right." Cana agreed. "We can't keep this up indefinitely! With these numbers, they'll wear us out in no time!"

"It's probably the same for everyone else here. All our friends are probably going through the same ordeal." Trish commented.

"If I summon Taurus or Sagittarius, we might even the odds." Lucy reached for her keys.

"That's too much of a gamble!" Loke said immediately.

"He's right, these guys are just expendable grunts." Trish agreed. "The heavy hitters are probably somewhere on this island; we should save our energy for when we meet them."

"Now I'm mad!" Gray exclaimed. "And if they think they can take us down with a bunch of mask-wearing clowns, they're dead wrong!"

Erza leapt through the swamp with three sword-wielding grunts in pursuit. She stopped to block their attack with her own sword before knocking them back with her own superior strength added to her sword-swing.

"Water Lock!" Juvia had sealed seven grunts in her water prison, but several more took their place as the two women came back-to-back as they were surrounded once more.

"Not good! Their numbers don't seem to be decreasing at all, do they?" Erza observed.

"That explosion…" Juvia began. "That wasn't just magic… I think there was also demonic energy in there to."

"Are you certain?" Erza asked seriously.

"Yes." Juvia confirmed. "It felt similar to the kind of energy I felt before when we were in Temen-ni-gru… only much more powerful."

Erza narrowed her eyes. "It would seem Grimoire Heart is likely associated with Mundus if that's the case."

Elfman grabbed a grunt by the face as he threw him at a group of enemy wizards and knocked them down like bowling pins. "Manly Strike!" He turned to his partner. "Evergreen, time to do your thing!"

"I'll say this again." Evergreen said as she took off her glasses. "When I need a big oaf to order me around, you'll be the first to know!" She opened her eyes to activate her magic. All the Grimoire Heart grunts in the immediate area that made the mistake of looking into her eyes had turned into stone.

"Well, normally I wouldn't resort to such cheap tactics, but if it gets the job done, I guess it's manly." Elfman said.

"What do you mean by cheap?!" Evergreen comically ranted with anger anime marks all over her head.

"Dream Knock!" Mira threw out multiple bubbles towards three charging grunts to put them to sleep; but she was still surrounded by multiple Grimoire Heart grunts. However, it would appear she wouldn't have to deal with all of them alone.

"Demon Sword: Residual Moon!" Modeus slid past a group of ten grunts before a crescent-moon glow appeared on the ground below them, causing it to explode and sending them flying. Modeus then rush past Mira with inhumane speeds to slice and knock down all the grunts he saw with his swordsman ship.

"Solid Script: Fire!" Levy, while still holding the unconscious Gajeel, created the word 'fire' out of flames with her solid-script magic which she sent to blast away three more grunts.

"Levy! Modeus!" Mira exclaimed in surprise, not expecting to see them here.

"Mira, stay back!" Modeus told her as he faced the last group of grunts, consisting of at least fifteen as he prepared a special attack. "Demon Sword: Chaotic Moon!" With a wave of both his blades, he sent a large red moon projectile right at the group, which exploded with chaotic energy to blast them all away. "I believe that is all of them, at least for this area."

Mira would have thanked them for their help, had she not noticed Gajeel's condition. "Oh my gosh! Levy what happened?!"

"We were attacked by guys from Grimoire Heart." Levy informed her. "Gajeel beat them, but he needs some serious help!"

"Get him inside the tent. I'll get the first-aid kit." Mira instructed as she helped Levy set Gajeel down on a mat inside a large tent.

"I'll watch the perimeter if any more show up." Modeus told them.

"Thank you Modeus." Mira nodded as she proceeded to help with Gajeel's injuries.

Modeus meanwhile looked up toward the sky as his hands shook slightly. 'That explosion… a wizard caused it but… the energy it carried… it… it felt like…. Mundus' power. I can only pray that I'm wrong.'

Elsewhere, Zeref continued to feel the fights that were happening all over the island and it only made him all the more distraught.

'The fighting never ends… nothing ever changes. Even your son is pulled into this perpetual cycle… Sparda.' A sorrowful look fell on his face. 'Is it impossible for existence to move forward without violence? It's not just humans… dragons… demons… they all fight. Sparda, was the future you sought…? Was it a fool's errand…?'

Hades walked through the dust of the crater to see Makarov still standing in the center, albeit shakily. And even as he coughed up some blood onto the ground, Makarov refused to fall. Hades actually looked impressed.

"I'd expect no less from my successor." Hades said amusingly. "It's no surprise you've held the guild together for forty-eight years."

Before Makarov could even think of a response, a sharp pain hit his chest as he felt his heart. It looked as though he was having a heart-attack as he crouched over in pain.

"Hmmm? What is it, boy?" Hades asked mockingly. "Are you not feeling well? I guess the years are catching up with you. Nearly half a century has passed since we parted ways. Does fate intend to bring us full circle on this lowly and venerated ground?"

Makarov stuttered a bit before he spoke. "You've… you've allied yourself… with Mundus…? I don't understand why you'd do that… you were an amazing guildmaster, Precht. You always spoke of harmony… and did your best to lead us down a path of righteousness! Did you change your mind… or was it all a lie…"

Hades looked at Makarov for a moment before he spoke. "I do suppose I at least owe you an answer to that." He began. "What I told you back then was true, or rather I thought it was true. But the truth is, what I tried to teach you were the false teachings of my own mentor." He chuckled slightly. "You know… It almost feels like fate that our young Dante joined Fairy Tail… considering his father was a founding member of the guild."

Makarov looked in surprise as he didn't expect that. "What…?"

"It's true." Hades confirmed. "Sparda did indeed help to found Fairy Tail. I worked alongside him, Mavis, and many others to create the guild. In fact, Sparda himself was originally intended to be the first master, but he chose to pass that duty onto Mavis. He felt that if the forces of the Underworld were to discover his presence, they would attack Fairy Tail out of spite. So, he left after the guild's founding to protect us, though he would occasionally come to visit."

Makarov looked in a state of shock. Sparda was a founding member of Fairy Tail?! And the original candidate as its first guildmaster?!

"I looked up to Sparda in admiration, I even considered him a friend." Hades continued. "Only to later learn that his teachings and everything he fought for was nothing more than a lie. After I left Fairy Tail, I began research to see if I could find the source of all magic. However, no matter how deep I dug in my research, I found that it had always led back to Zeref." Makarov looked in shock at the mention of the Black Wizard's name as Hades continued. "At first, I was denial. How could the most malevolent wizard in history be the source of all magic? However, I soon learned that while Zeref was the first to master magic in its most pure form… he wasn't the beginning of magic. No, the true source of magic… was none other than Mundus himself."

Makarov coughed up some more blood as he fell to his knees as Hades continued.

"Yes Makarov, I meet the Demon Emperor and he shared with me the truth." The dark guildmaster spoke. "This world of light and peace we live in was a lie, and Sparda was the biggest liar of all. Mundus is the creator and the destroyer; the alpha and the omega; he is the absolute god of all darkness and magic. He is everything! And Zeref, is his herald, his messiah, his 'son' if you will, and he is here on this island."

At this point, Makarov wasn't even surprised.

"I will find Zeref, and I will awaken his true nature. Once he has been fully revived, we'll work together to free Mundus from his imprisonment!" Hades declared

"Have you completely lost your mind?!" Makarov exclaimed. "Mundus is pure evil! He will destroy everything!"

In direct response, Hades blasted Makarov deeper into the ground, seemingly defeating him.

"That's exactly why I must free him." Hades said as he began to walk away. "This world is a lie, and I have every intention of shattering it. Sleep, boy. Fairy Tail shall rest here… with Mavis.

However, Makarov wasn't done. In one last ditch effort, he leapt from the ground to try and catch Hades off guard and lash out with all the magic he could muster. But, while Hades was slightly surprised, he was quick to respond with a beam of white light to pierce through Makarov's chest before blood exploded out and Makarov fell to the ground, the color in his eyes gone.

Meanwhile, in a random desert, a single man with a robe walked across the sand as a feeling of dread suddenly hit him, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"I feel like… someone just walked over my grave…" Laxus said with a concerned expression in his eyes.

Natsu roared as he slammed both his fiery fists down onto the ground to blast back several enemy grunts. Lisanna, still in her she-cat form, slammed both her clawed hands onto the face of one enemy and shoved his body onto the ground while performing an upside-down split-kick into the faces of two more approaching grunts before standing back up to brandish her claws.

"You're never gonna catch me!" Happy teased as he flew with four Grimoire Heart grunts chasing after him. They appeared to catch him, however. "Ah! Whatever will I do!?" But he smirked as he had led them off a cliff. "You totally fell for it!" The grunts screamed as they fell and landed in the ocean below.

Panther-Lily punched down three more grunts in his muscular form, only to turn back into his smaller form a second later. One grunt was about to ambush him, but Wendy suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Sky Dragon Claw!" She swept her feet to send a gust of wind to blast that one grunt into a group of others. However, she fell to her knees as she was exhausted on most of her magic already.

"Wendy, Lily, don't overdo it! Both of you, save your strength!" Carla told them both.

"Damn…" Lily grunted as he tried to push himself up. "If I had more magic power… I could help fight them off…"

"You have to sit this one out." Carla said. "Wendy's magic can heal injuries, but she can't restore your power. The same goes for you Wendy, you know you still haven't recovered."

"But… I can still…" Wendy wanted to help fight, but she couldn't deny her own injuries or the fact she was running low on magic power. "Hey, where's Mest? I haven't seen him since the fighting started."

"Forget about him for now. You just worry about staying safe." Carla told her.

"You guys really should hide!" Happy told them as he flew above the group. "Don't worry. Natsu, Lisanna, and I can handle these guys, no problem."

"Very well. Can't be helped, so we'll leave it to you. Best of luck." Carla told him.

"Your serious?" Wendy hated not being able to help.

Lily crossed his arms and looked down. "As much as I hate to admit it, in our current condition we are a liability and would only be a burden on the battlefield."

An arrogant smirk fell on Happy's face. "Don't feel bad, you can kick back and take a load off. Leave the work to the real heroes of the story."

Wendy, Carla, and Lily all had sweatdrops on their heads. "I got enough energy to slap him around a bit." Lily said in annoyed tone.

"Lily now is not the time. You can give him a good smack once were home." Carla said, despite being just as annoyed by Happy's arrogance as well.

Natsu appeared to have dealt with the last of them with a single punch, but he didn't seem done himself yet. "Aw come on! Don't tell me you're done already!" He clenched his blackened scarf. "Invading our island is bad enough, but my precious scarf turning black has me burning up with anger! Let me kick your teeth in a bit more!"

Lisanna chuckled nervously as a sweatdrop appeared on her head. "I don't think they're gonna be too happy about that, Natsu." Her statement proved to be true as all the injured grunts looked in disbelief.

"What!? You're just venting on us!?"

"What a jerk!"

"We didn't touch your scarf!"

One single grunt landed behind Natsu. "I'll do more than burn it black! I'll turn it to ash! Fire Bullet!" He shot a large blast of flame at Natsu, but he actually smirked at the attack.

"Come to papa!" He said before he was engulfed in the flames.

All the Grimoire Heart grunts cheered, believing they defeated him. However, Happy and Lisanna both shared smirks as they knew the truth.

"Hey Happy, do you wanna tell them or should I?" Lisanna asked with a knowing smirk.

"Nah, I wanna see the looks on their faces." Happy replied with a similar smirk as well.

The same grunt who shot the attack laughed. "My Fire Bullets are hot enough to melt solid rock! I don't care if he was a fire wizard, he couldn't have survived… WHAT THE HELL!?" He and every single enemy grunt looked in shock and borderline horror as they saw Natsu devouring the flames.

"What is this guy?!"

"He's eating fire?!"

"Impossible!"

"Wait… is he… the one everyone talks about…?"

Natsu rubbed his mouth with a smirk. "Thanks for the snack, now I got a fire in my belly!"

"The Dragon Slayer…?" One grunt backed away. "Natsu the Salamander?!"

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Natsu charged into the grunts as he threw his arms out to create multiple waves of flame, which exploded to blast all the grunts away as they were beyond terrified now.

"He's too much for us!"

"Yeah, we should get out of here!"

"No matter what we throw at this monster we can't even touch him!"

Natsu gave them all a death-glare. "Who are you calling a monster?!"

To say the grunts were nervous would be an understatement, however before anyone else could move, someone else had made his appearance.

"Enough already! I can't watch anymore!"

All the Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart members looked up on a ledge to see the crazed blonde of the Eight Kin of Purgatory making his appearance with a maniacal and bloodthirsty smile.

"It's Zancrow!"

Natsu had a serious expression on his face, while Lisanna backed closer towards Wendy and the Exceeds, having a bad feeling about this guy.

"Leave them to me. I was hopping I'd run into Sparda's kid, figuring he'd give me a proper challenge, but I guess these kids will have to do." Zancrow told the grunts. "I'll pound these brats into the dirt while you go look for Zeref. Judging from what I've seen so far, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"Zeref…?" Natsu voiced in confusion.

"Did he just say… Zeref…? As in… the legendary Black Wizard?" Lisanna stuttered, not expecting to hear that name. "I thought he was just a myth!"

"No, I heard Mest mention Zeref before the fighting started." Wendy said. "It looks like that is Grimoire Heart's goal."

"And we're just caught in the middle." Lily added.

"Why are things always so complicated?" Carla questioned in annoyance.

The grunts proceeded to pick themselves up and limp away.

"Thanks a lot, Zancrow."

"We owe you one."

"I didn't think they had anyone that strong."

"He definitely lives up this rep."

"Those two girls weren't slouches either."

Zancrow's smile turned into a look of rage as he heard all that. "Hold it right there!" The grunts all turned around in fright as they saw Zancrow's angry expression. "They're strong…?! This Fairy Tail pansy and his little bitches scare you?!"

"Um… well…" The grunts were becoming more than a little nervous.

"It was a slip of the tongue!"

"Please forgive us!"

However, Zancrow had no forgiveness to give. "There's no guild in this world who can come close to the strength of Grimoire Heart! Understand?!" Black fire began to surge around Zancrow's body. "If you think he's stronger than us, then you don't belong here!"

"Black flames…?" Natsu had never seen a fire like that before.

"Do you feel that power…?" Carla asked the rest of the group.

"I don't like the looks of this." Happy noted.

"Wendy, stay close." Lisanna told the younger girl.

"And as of now, you're all fired!" Zancrow told the grunts as black fire engulfed all of them. They all screamed in agony as they were completely burnt alive.

Wendy's pupils shrank as she covered her mouth with both her hands in pure horror, with Lisanna having a similar expression. Even Happy, Carla, and Lily were horrified themselves.

"No way… he just slaughtered his own men!" Lily exclaimed as Zancrow gave a maniacal laugh.

The flames vanished as Natsu looked in shock himself, there weren't even bones or ashes left of the people Zancrow just killed.

"You bastard!" Natsu exclaimed to Zancrow. "How could you do that to your friends?!"

"They weren't my friends." Zancrow scoffed without even a hint of remorse in his voice. "It's not your business anyway. And if I were as weak as you, I'd be careful who'd I run my mouth to." A black magic circle appeared in front of Zancrow as he sent a torrent of black flames right at Natsu.

"What a joke! Don't you know your fire ain't gonna hurt me?!" Natsu was ready to devour the flames.

"Natsu, stay back!" Wendy tried to warn him. "Those flames are bad news! Don't let them touch you!"

It was too late however as Natsu was suddenly engulfed in the black fire. He tried to eat it like normal, but he couldn't. Whenever he opened his mouth, he felt a burning sensation in his throat. Lisanna quickly transformed her right-arm into a serpent, which she stretched out to grab Natsu and pull him out of the flames.

"Natsu, are you alright?!" She asked urgently, but looked in shock to see several burn marks on his skin, even her own serpent-arm was bunt. She quickly dethatched the snake arm and transformed back to normal to avoid the spreading burns herself

"What… what the hell…?" Natsu saw the burns on his body and looked in shock, even fear. Everyone else had similar expressions. They'd all seen Natsu consume all types of flames before, even lava, heck they'd even seen him eat demonic fire before but… a fire that Natsu couldn't eat?! One that actually burned him?!

"That's what you get for being so cocky." Zancrow smirked as he slid down to stand on equal level of Natsu and the others.

"Who are you?! What kind of magic is that?!" Lisanna questioned.

"Glad you asked. My name is Zancrow, I'm one of the Eight Kin of Purgatory, Grimoire Heart's elite!" He then turned back to Natsu. "So, tell me you lowly dragon hunter, how did my divine flames taste?"

"What do you mean divine flames?" Natsu questioned.

"Exactly what it sounds like!" Zancrow mocked. "My magic is way out of your league! You're up against a God Slayer. Make peace with your own fast!"

Natsu's eyes widened; as Wendy, Lisanna, Happy, Carla and Lily looked in shock, even fear.

"A… God Slayer…?" Wendy stuttered.

"He can't be serious…. Can he?" Lisanna stuttered. "God Slayer Magic…? Does something like that that even exist?!"

Nearly every Grimoire Heat grunt laid dead around Dante and Lady, with only three or four being alive, but suffering some pretty serious injuries. Dante picked up one of the ones who was still alive by his collar and pinned him to a tree.

"Alright, start talking! What does a dark guild want with this place?! Why are you here?!" Dante questioned, clearly in no mood for games.

"Wait! Please have mercy, oh-mighty Son of Sparda!" The grunt exclaimed in fear.

"Did you hear me?! Answer the damn question, or you're dead!" Dante exclaimed, terrifying the grunt.

"Okay! I'll tell you everything! Just don't kill me!"

However, before anyone else could even speak, the grunt was engulfed in a bright yellow light with a red aura surrounding it before he was completely vaporized, much to Dante's shock. It happened to all the other grunts in the area as well, those alive or those already dead were completely obliterated by this burning light, and not even ashes remain.

"What the hell was that?!" Lady questioned.

"Fools."

Both Dante and Lady turned around to see Job walking past a set of trees and into the clearing to face the two Devil Hunters.

"Their weakness alone is one thing, but to betray our lord's mission… that is unforgivable. May their souls burn in the underworld for their failure and treachery." Job said in a straight-forward tone of voice.

"You killed you own guys?" Dante scoffed disapprovingly. "Guess dark guilds aren't big on friendship, eh padre?" He noted in regard to Job's appearance as a priest.

"So, who are you?" Lady questioned. "You a priest or something?"

"My name is Job, I am of the Eight Kin of Purgatory, the elite in Grimoire Heart who answer directly to Master Hades." He introduced. "And you are Dante, the youngest son of Sparda."

"Yeah, that's me." Dante confirmed, keeping his eyes on the new enemy.

"I am here to bring you back to our master." Job began. "He wishes to extend an invitation for you to join our guild…"

"Tell him he can suck my fat one!" Dante interrupted. "I'm not gonna…" However, Dante was also interrupted as a beam of yellow and red light pierced his right shoulder, causing him to scream in pain as he was brought to his knees.

"Dante!" Lady exclaimed as she shot a rocket at Job, but he merely waved his hand to create w wave of the same kind of light that blocked and vaporized the rocket without even exploding it. She kneeled down to help him as he held his shoulder, which was already bleeding quite a bit. "Are you alright?!"

"It… it burns…" Dante grunted as his eyes widened in surprise. "It's… it's not healing!"

"What…?" Lady looked in shock. Normally Dante's injuries heal in seconds, except for when he's exhausted and it takes longer, but he wasn't even tired yet.

"You are half-demon." Job began. "As such, my magic is rather toxic to your kind, for I am a Devil Slayer."

Dante's eyes were almost circular and even Lady looked quite stunned by this revelation as well.

"A… Devil Slayer…?" Lady questioned.

Meanwhile; Trish, Gray, Loke, Cana, and Lucy were still surrounded by only a handful of Grimoire Heart grunts, but they were looking pretty tired, even Trish was starting to sweat a bit.

"This is turning into more of a workout than I thought…" Trish said.

"Not good… I'm almost completely out of power…" Gray said in between breaths.

"Same here…" Loke added. "But I think we put most of them down."

"Alright, let's take out the rest of them and go look for the others." Cana said.

"But what if they're fighting these guys to? We won't be of any help!" Lucy stated.

"I've still got some power left but… We might also run into some big guns along the way." Trish voiced. "Crap, feels like were caught between a rock and a hard place right now."

"Wait!" Loke stopped everyone from doing anything. "I sense something…"

Suddenly, all the grunts, those standing and even those all defeated completely vanished, much to everyone's surprise.

"What the hell…?" Trish questioned.

"Where'd they go?!" Lucy questioned as well.

"Are they turning invisible on us?!" Gray exclaimed.

"Maybe they were just supposed to distract us." Cana guessed. "And they succeeded."

Loke felt a familiar presence as he glanced upward toward the tallest ruins to see the one responsible. "Or they all left because of him."

Trish, Lucy, Gray, and Cana looked up in surprise to see none other than Caprico glaring down at them.

"They're incapable of defeating you, so there is no need for them to continue fighting." Caprico told five members of Fairy Tail. "But your fight is far from over. Prepare for battle."

"That's…" Lucy didn't quite know what to make of this guy's appearance.

"A goat… wearing a suit…?" Cana had a similarly confused expression.

"What is this guy a goat-demon or something?" Gray questioned.

"No, he's no demon." Trish replied. "But… something about him just feels… off."

Loke narrowed his eyes as he recognized him. "Keep you guard up guys. He's on a whole nother level than those flunkies. We're in for one hell of a fight."

Erza and Juvia had finished dispensing with the Grimoire Heart grunts in their area as they continued to run through the swamp-like terrain.

"Hopefully that was the worst of it." Juvia hopped.

"I wouldn't count on it." Erza advised, but she suddenly sensed an unfamiliar presence nearby, causing her to stop. "Who goes there?!"

She and Juvia turned around to see the girl Meredy facing them. "I have encountered the enemy during the mission." Meredy said to herself robotically. "I will destroy them immediately. Ending their lives is now my highest priority. Commencing combat operations."

Juvia looked in surprise as this girl didn't seem all that much older than Wendy. "A child…?"

"Don't let your guard down." Erza told her comrade. "There's something very strange about this girl."

Elfman and Evergreen looked confused at Rustyrose as he took a dramatic pose while holding a flower in his hands with sparkles around him.

"That a bad guy or a flower arrangement?" Elfman questioned.

"Whatever he is, he took a bath in cologne." Evergreen commented.

Rustyrose sighed. "In a desolate forest on a lonely island, the devils and fairies danced a tango of death."

"Uh…" Evergreen only looked more confused and perplexed.

"I ain't dancing." Elfman muttered.

Rustyrose took another dramatic pose. "May these stones and moss serve as a ballroom for our soiree."

Both Elfman and Evergreen had annoyed sweatdrops on their heads. "Can I punch him now?" Elfman asked.

"If it'll shut him up, be my guest." Evergreen said.

Mira had finished tending to Gajeel's wounds as his injured arm and chest were wrapped up in bandages, though he still remained unconscious.

"Okay, I've stopped the bleeding, but he needs plenty of rest and some more advanced healing magic." Mira addressed.

"Thanks, Mira." Levy thanked.

Modeus was relieved to hear that Gajeel should recover, but his eyes widened as he sensed an unusual presence in the area. "Mirajane, Levy, be read! Someone is here!" He held both his swords as Mira and Levy both stood up.

"What… an enemy is here already…?" Levy was more nervous now as they had only recently dealt with the enemy grunts at the camp.

Mira ran to join Modeus as they both glared at the tree, both of them sensing the enemy hiding inside it. "Whoever you are, come out!" Mira exclaimed.

"Impressive." Azuma spoke up as he stepped out of the tree. "You have a sharp intuition, but I expect no less from a demon trained by the Dark Knight himself."

Modeus narrowed his eyes as he took a combat stance, while Mira readied herself as well. "Levy stay with Gajeel, this guy's trouble." Mira told her.

"Yeah, be careful guys." Levy nodded nervously.

Kain Hikaru screamed as he was now completely lost and threw a child-like tantrum. "I've been out here for hours! Why can't I find anyone in this forest?! I'm sweating! I'm hungry! And I want someone to rub my belly!"

Ultear continued to trek through the forest as she continued to look for the one who could bring her great happiness, the one she admired so dearly.

"My lord Zeref… I'll be with you soon."

Hades stood on the beach of Tenrou Island, just outside the parked airship as he planted the flag bearing the Grimoire Heart emblem on the sand, as though he was clamming the sacred land in the name of his dark guild.

"My lord Mundus… oh mighty god of darkness… our mission is underway." Hades spoke as he looked up toward the sky. "Fairy Tail doesn't stand a chance against the Eight Kin of Purgatory, not even the son of your mortal enemy can withstand our might! I've spent years crafting them into sorcerers of unparalleled power! Each one of them is a master of an art that was born from you… from the source of all wizardry! Forbidden lost magic! Fairy Tail's finest, your greatest obstacle, will crumble like dead leaves under the kin's overwhelming might! The Grand Magic World you have longed for so long shall begin here!"

Hades' maddened and evil laugh echoed throughout the sky as the bloodbath that is the war between Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart had begun.

Done.

Wow, that was longer than I thought; but now it looks as though the war is now in full swing as the groups in Fairy Tail have made contact with one of the Eight Kin of Purgatory.

*Natsu, Lisanna, Wendy, and the Exceed trio are up against Zancrow

*Dante and Lady are now facing Job

*Lucy, Trish, Gray, Cana, and Loke have met Caprico

*Modeus, Mira, and Levy are up against Azuma

*Erza and Juvia have crossed paths with Meredy

*Elfman and Evergreen are facing Rustyrose

*Ultear continues her search for Zeref

*Kain Hikaru is just lost LOL (I can't take that guy seriously)

And even Makarov has fallen at the hands of Hades, who is actually his predecessor as Fairy Tail's second guildmaster formerly known as Precht. And it seems Mundus is the one who granted him his overwhelming dark power.

PLOT TWIST: Sparda was a founding member of Fairy Tail! He was originally supposed to be its first guildmaster but chose to pass that honor onto Mavis. I bet you guys didn't see THAT coming, did ya? (Not even Makarov knew that) And even Precht knew him personally.
We'll get into more details with that in not just this arc, but future arcs as well.

Also, a small side note (and possible spoiler), for those of you who are familiar with what happens next in the Fairy Tail storyline, I am well aware that Mest/Doranbolt is actually a member of Fairy Tail that used his own magic to infiltrate the Magic Council, but in all honesty, that plot-twist (which is later revealed in the Tartaros arc) is pretty lame and it has little development with Mest's character. I mean, he even altered his own memories just to "dive in head-first" and that was pretty stupid plot-wise. So, I'm just going to change it and have it so that Doranbolt has ALWAYS been a part of the Magic Council but will soon experience a change of heart.

So, with the war in full swing, who will live and who will die in this epic confrontation between these two opposing guilds? Find out in the next chapter as Natsu and his friends clash with Zancrow the Fire God Slayer, but Dante and Lady duke it out with Job the Holy Devil Slayer! See you soon!