Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail
Contrary to what the Fairy Tail wizards believed, Alvarez was aware of their emperor's vanishing act the moment it occurred. Invel had been trapped in a battle with some foolish ice wizard when it happened. The ice-make wizard had been claiming he had the ability to stand against one who controlled all of winter when Invel froze, his eyes widening fractionally as the constant presence of Emperor Spriggan's magical aura vanished entirely. Something had gone terribly wrong, and in the case of an emergency, battles such as this were pointless.
"I apologize, but I do believe something else has come up. We will continue this battle another time…but I do hope that you can surpass that boy soon and destroy him before it is too late." After all, this demon slaying magic was ideal to finish off END and protect his majesty from the threat of his most powerful creation. Yet, the ice wizard before him only glared and charged at Invel's words.
"What the hell? I'm not finished with you yet!" Invel only sighed, dodging the ice swords made from the boy's magic and vanishing into the white blizzard around him. Really, snow served his purposes well for hiding his presence. So, with the boy blinded and unaware of where Invel was, the winter general left the battle and ignored the boy.
Traveling towards the obvious aura of August, Invel could see other battles stopping in a similar fashion. The actual army itself continued attacking, but members of the Spriggan Twelve all knew what must have occurred. Either his majesty was dead, or someone had managed to banish him from this country. Given his immortal status, Invel found it highly unlikely for Emperor Spriggan to be dead. Yet, what power could force him to flee? Invel only scowled, confident that END was to blame. His majesty's brother was an annoyance that needed to be dealt with soon, just like the rest of these foolish guild wizards here.
By the time Invel had gathered around August, he found that others had beat him to the elderly man's location. Irene was there first, likely due to use of her enchantments to make her travel quicker, and Bloodman and Dimaria were also ready to speak. August looked grave, his expression serious as he gazed out into the distance. "Larcade is still trapped in battle. We will begin with who we have now to discuss our next actions."
"His majesty ordered that we continue this war at all costs." Invel looked towards August, narrowing his eyes. "Despite our loss of leadership, his deepest wish would be for us to press forward and obtain Fairy Heart in his name. Once in our possession, we can return to Alvarez and await his return."
"Ah, but we must consider the fact that his majesty might have truly perished in battle. After all, the enemy did have END on their side." Irene smiled faintly, as if amused by the idea.
Glaring at her, August shook his head. "No. I felt the magic around him at the time of his disappearance. There were no offensive spells cast…nothing of a nature that would be deadly for one such as him." He frowned, tilting his head. "Yet…I did not recognize the spell that was utilized before he vanished. Odd, that I have found a magic I still do not know in a place such as this."
"Well, sounds like we've gotta find and capture this wizard then." Dimaria grinned, looking eager for such an action. "I'll bring him back here so we can play with him all we want before getting our answers."
"But that would give you all the fun!" Bloodman grinned at her, chuckling slightly. "I've been dying for a true challenge in this war. You just interrupted my best chance at that with this little required meeting upon the disappearance of his majesty, so I think I have the right to torture the prisoner."
"Is it settled then?" August glanced towards Invel, one of the strongest strategists among the twelve. Frowning, Invel debated their chances of success in either path. Simply going after Fairy Heart, they would succeed, but his majesty would be lost. They needed to know where Zeref had gone, and how to retrieve him in order for their war to have any meaning. Going after a singular wizard, with all of them taking on the guild as one, would be the simplest approach to decimate the enemy's forces and capture their target.
Looking towards August, Invel nodded, folding his arms behind his back. "I believe it is. We will march for Fairy Tail at once…where his majesty was last known to be, and where this mysterious wizard exists. August, you are in charge of observing any spells he utilizes against us. Learn his magic…and perhaps then we can use it against him to return Emperor Spriggan to this world."
The others looked eager at his words, standing by his side as he began to hide their trail with a sea of snow. However, the closer he got to the guild, the closer Larcade's presence seemed to grow. Eventually, Invel heard the man's voice, shouting at someone in anger. "I said to leave me be! I'm done giving you the pleasures of this world, and have better things to do with my time, foolish dragon slayer!"
Narrowing his eyes, Invel turned towards the sound where he spotted a slight flash of blond hair. Suddenly, white filled the area as an attack was unleashed upon Larcade from the dragon slayer. "And I'm not letting you get away! We've come too far to lose now, and I'm not going to sit back and be a useless fool again. I'm Sabertooth's guild master, and we're going to stop you and this war once and for all."
"And that would be foolish of you to even consider doing." Invel grabbed Larcade, pulling him out of the range of the dragon slayer's attack. Blinking, the blond haired boy gazed at Invel, noticing the other members of the twelve behind him. The dragon slayer became pale, stumbling back slightly and trembling at the sight. "Our plans have changed. If you continue to interfere…you will perish here and now. No one can stand against the twelve alone and succeed…perhaps you had some chance of success against Larcade alone, but we stand united now."
"Invel?" Larcade blinked at him, inhaling sharply. "Then…have you discovered what happened?" It was vague enough, but Invel still scowled at his words and slapped Larcade's cheek.
"Silence. Speaking of our plans now is foolish, Larcade. You will be informed of the details at another time."
"Want me to help you take care of this little fool, Invel?" Dimaria eagerly offered assistance, but Invel shook his head. The boy was too frightened to even move, much less attack.
"That would be a waste of our time. Let's keep moving. We have work to do."
"Wait!" The dragon slayer's voice was shaky, but he did manage to reach out and grab the bottom edge of Invel's coat. "Why? Why…are you even doing this? Fairy Tail did nothing to you! Maybe they have some spell you want, but that doesn't justify this kind of…this kind of blind murder."
"Because this is his majesty's wish, and we will be the ones to grant him his desires." Invel met the boy's eyes, seeing him still too wary to attack. "Now, leave us be—"
"So this isn't even what you want?" The question made Invel frown, tilting his head slightly. What Emperor Spriggan desired was what he desired. As his general, as one raised in the army, that was all he ever knew. Invel did not know another life beyond his service to Emperor Spriggan, and he did not wish to know anything else. "You guys…you are all insane. This kind of power isn't meant to be used like this. It isn't a game, and wars aren't meant to be fun. Yet, somehow…whenever I fought anyone from your empire, you all seemed to enjoy it like it was. Like a game…like we were nothing but little toys for you to destroy, or roadblocks in your way."
"That is exactly what you are." Irene spoke, smiling faintly. "In the presence of those like us, you are less than insects. You can't possibly hope to be a threat…and as such, it would be a waste of energy to take you seriously."
"Oh yes. However…I do love to hear you begging…" Dimaria smiled, tilting her head and moving closer. "Please, let me just hear that voice of yours more…keeping us here longer will only make me more motivated to paint Invel's snow red, after all."
"All of you, stop with this foolishness." August slammed his staff down on the ground, glaring at the members of the twelve. "Whether he knows the truth or not is unimportant. Our goals remain clear - we will retrieve his majesty from whatever place Fairy Tail has sent him to. Do not lose sight of that, and do not waste efforts even on simple conversations with one such as him. Afterwords, we can resume these battles and finish this bloody war."
"Find…wait, Zeref is gone?" The dragon slayer looked stunned, but Invel now ignored him. "Then we actually have a chance…" He chuckled, lying back down on the ground. "Natsu, I leave the rest to you then. You'll be able to stop them, now that he's—"
"Natsu is gone as well." August spoke, his voice calm and steady. Blinking, Invel froze. That couldn't be true. However, as he sensed for the energy of that demon anywhere within the battlefield, he discovered it was nonexistent. Invel's pulse quickened, realizing the danger immediately. END was trapped with Zeref. END was created to destroy Zeref. It wouldn't take long for that destiny to be realized, given the situation. "Placing hopes on a single man is foolish anyway. Fairy Tail will fall, and you will only be around to see the aftermath if you surrender now and leave us be."
The Spriggan Twelve continued their march towards the guild with that. Invel's mind kept spinning, lingering on the worry over what might happen between his emperor and Natsu. Why had his plans to kill that demon failed? He had been so close with that demon slayer, so close to pushing him over the edge and turning him into something strong enough to stop END. Yet, END was beyond their reach, just like his majesty.
This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but the next one will be longer. I have classes starting up again soon, so updates will probably slow down again for a few months. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!