"" – Speech
'' – Thought
[] – Sacred Gear
[] - Dragon
…
Merlin followed the two Kendo girls into the Student Council room, spotting that everyone else was there already as he closed the door behind him as Sona approached him while speaking "Ok Merlin-san. Today we are going to test how strong youare but first we need to see what you can do with your Sacred Gear as well"
"Alright… [Chaos Cannon]!" Merlin spoke, holding his left hand out to the side as a bright glow formed around his hand. The light faded to reveal the bulky hand-cannon like gun, metallic blue in colour, with a purple jewel set above the purple handgrip while his index finger rested near the trigger.
"So that's the [Chaos Cannon]?" Reina spoke intrigued as she approached him, Merlin nodding as he explained
"Able to create any type of bullet as long as the user has knowledge on it… or more specifically has the magical knowledge for the effects they want a bullet to produce"
"How long have you had access to it?" Sona asked curiously, Merlin shrugging unsure as Tiamat answered aloud
[About six years… His parents wanted to make sure Merlin was a strong Magician before letting him know about me]
"Well let's get onto testing you then, Merlin" Reina spoke, Merlin nodding in understanding.
…
Merlin rolled his shoulders as he stood in the open grounds near the Old School Building, having changed into his magician clothes which had been a surprise to his fellow Devils. Saji stood on the other side, his [Absorption Line] already activated as was Merlin's [Chaos Cannon] as the two males turned to regard Sona as she spoke "This will just a spar, no [Promotion] for either of you. Understand?"
"Yes Kaichou" Saji and Merlin replied, Yukari and Tsubaki creating a barrier around the two once Sona had moved to stand with the rest of her peerage. Reina was smirking as she waited for the signal to start to be given while the other girls of both peerages watched on curiously.
"Start!" Sona called, Saji jumping back as he pointed his Sacred Gear at Merlin as he called
"Stretch my line!" A semi-transparent purple tongue shot out from the cute black lizard head towards Merlin who hopped back to dodge as he spoke
"You need to use your Sacred Gear at times when you can surprise your opponent so you can attach the line onto them… firing it off at the start is just alerting your opponent of what you can do" Saji fumed slightly at being told how to use his own power as he gathered demonic power into his hands before firing several bullets of black energy at Merlin who stamped his foot onto the ground and forced a wall of stone to rise up and protect him from getting injured.
"Why aren't you using your Sacred Gear against me?" Saji shouted annoyed, Merlin glancing to the [Chaos Cannon] before shrugging as he replied
"I'm more use to only using it when the situation calls for it, Saji…"
Merlin waved his free hand before the stone wall, making it turn to sand and gather in the football sided sphere in his hand before throwing his hand forwards as he spoke "Earth Magic: Arrows of Stone!"
The sand in his hand changed into dozens of earth arrows as they all shot towards Saji, who balked and started to run and dodge the arrows until the sand had been used up as Merlin created a royal blue magic circle the same height as he was as he called out "Water Magic: Hydro Dragon!"
Appearing from out of the magic circle was a large serpent dragon make of water, Sona's eyes widening as it rose to its full five metre height while its body coiled around Merlin protectively while looking down at a gaping Saji who was unable to reply as Merlin silently gave it the order to attack. The water dragon dove towards Saji, missing as he jumped into the air and used his Devil wings to glide out of the way as the water dragon lost its form as it hit the ground.
"Hah! You missed me!" Saji spoke with a smirk as he landed on the water logged ground, Merlin smirking back as he pointed his [Chaos Cannon] at Saji as he retort in an amused tone
"Let's see you dodge this then… [Blaze Shot!]" A large fireball shot out from the hand cannon, Saji trying to run only for him to fall over and covering himself in mud before managing to fire a ball of demonic energy to destroy the fireball only for it to reveal the two extra fireballs behind it which collided with him before exploding.
The cloud faded to reveal Saji covering in a few burns while he coughed out smoke, Merlin relaxing as he walked forwards, dismissing his Sacred Gear as he spoke "Good spar, Saji"
"…Damn it… You're really strong" Saji grumbled as he was helped back to his feet by Merlin, who then handed him a vial of red liquid from his pocket dimension as he spoke
"Drink that, it'll get rid of your wounds" Saji frowned as he looked at the vial before looking at Merlin and downing the potion before spluttering as he groaned
"That tastes horrible"
"Medicine usually does and if it doesn't it's not working properly" Merlin countered as they came to a stop before the two peerages, Saji noticing that his strength was returning and his wounds were healing even as Momo and Ruruko rushed over to check on him as Reina spoke with a grin
"Very impressive… Don't you think so Sitri?" Sona nodded thoughtfully as she asked
"That was… Do you have any experience with other weapons or are you reliant on fighting at range?"
"I have some experience with fighting with Tonfa and my hands but it is still reliant on using my magic to amplify my own abilities to keep up with a close ranged fighter and not my preferred fighting style" Merlin answered, drawing nods from the two [Kings] as Reina spoke
"Kazehana, how about you spar with him?"
"Alright Reina-sama" Kazehana spoke with a sultry smile as she winked at Merlin, making his cheeks redden as he moved near the middle of the area so he was standing a few feet away from his fellow [Bishop].
"Looks like we can start to get to know each other Merlin-kun" Kazehana spoke in a flirty tone as she took a moment to look over Merlin. Aya, Yukari, Kira and Madoka frowning at hearing that while Kanu chuckled softly before focusing on watching the fight as Merlin took a calming breathe before speaking
"Looks that way Kazehana-sempai"
"Oh there's no need for the sempai, Merlin-kun… I may even have to start calling you Sensei with your skill in magic" Kazehana spoke, making Merlin blush more as she flicked her hand towards him launching a invisible blast of wind magic only for Merlin to hold his hand out as he called
"Earth Magic: Iron Rock Wall!" A wall of stone shot out from the ground, blocking the wind slash which carved into the stone instead of Merlin.
The magician jumped back from the wall, a brown magic circle with a formula inside appearing on his left hand as he threw it towards Kazehana as he called "Seismic Fissure!"
The whole ground shook around them, Kazehana managing to jump to avoid losing her balance before the ground started to open up under where she had been standing, Sona frowning at the display while Reina's smile grew as the former called out
"Alright that's enough!" Merlin chuckled nervously as he stopped his spell, realising he may have gone too far as Kazehana smiled seductively as she watched him undo the damage he had done with a wave of his hand as she thought
'It looks like things will be getting interesting'
…
An hour or two had passed since Merlin had finished his sparring with some of his fellow devils, the time being taken up by getting introduced into his Student Council duties and paperwork by Sona.
'I hate paperwork…At least it's not as much as when I had to help Makarov-san' Merlin mentally grumbled as he sifted through what seemed like the thirtieth piece about some club asking for more funding or something as Tiamat spoke up
{Well you could always use Thought Projection magic?}
'And show I can be in two places at the same time? That's just asking for trouble from both Phenex-sama and Kaichou' Merlin thought back, glancing over to where Reina was sitting with Yukari opposite her as they were playing chess.
Sona was sitting at her desk deal with some paperwork while most of the Student Council were also either working on school paperwork or were out dealing with Devil Contracts.
"Do you need any help, Merlin-sempai?" Aya asked, Merlin offering her a smile as he shook his head as he replied
"No I should be fine I'm nearly done, Aya-san" Aya was sitting on the sofa next to Yukari, glancing over her shoulder back at Merlin as he organised the papers at the desk before using a small magic circle to transport them onto Sona's desk and getting her to look slightly annoyed at him as she asked
"Was it so difficult to put them here without magic?"
"Sorry, force of habit" Merlin replied with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head before getting up and stretching his arms about his head as he asked
"Anything else I need to do today or…?"
"No…" Sona spoke, looking over the paperwork he had finished before Reina nodding in agreement before turning back to her chess game with Yukari. Taking a moment to bid everyone a good night before he started to make his way home.
…
Merlin was entered his home, a bag of takeout in one hand while his schoolbag was over his shoulder. Closing the door behind him, he took the chance to Re-Quip out of his school clothes and into a comfy pair of jeans and a baggy purple top as he made his way down to his study as Tiamat spoke up [You should really learn how to cook and not eat just take out and ready meals]
"Well I didn't have time when I was younger and I've always been on the move since twelve…" Merlin replied with a shrug, entering the large room as he looked around.
The walls were covered in bookcases full of old books, most looking in good condition, if not a bit dusty, there was even stacks of book on several desks around the room. In the centre of the room was a large empty table easily big enough for someone to lie on it if needs be.
Setting down the bag on the large central table, Merlin took a moment to grab the chair before closing his eyes and making mental notes of what books he needed, a flick of his hand all he needed to do to have the particular books slowly pull themselves from their shelves or out of there stacks before gathering and landing on the central desk.
[Working on the spell book again] Tiamat asked knowingly, Merlin nodding as he moved to open up takeout so he could start eating while a large leather bound book appearing in front of where he sat as Tiamat continued
[Learning magic from the other Guilds has helped you in the long term]
'Yeah… I still think it was lucky that Lucy vouched for me when we first arrived at the Guild' Merlin thought with a small smile to himself as the memories came back
(Flashback)
"Everyone, I'd like to introduce Merlin" A blonde haired young woman spoke with a bright smile, Merlin's eyes glancing down to where she had a tight grip on his wrist as he looked around unsure at the numerous people as he thought
'This is not a good idea… What if the Khaos Brigade find out I'm around here'
[You'll be alright and you watched these mages fight with Phantom Lord and win so it should be fine] Tiamat replied with a smile, a pink haired young man scowling at him as he stomped forwards as he growled
"You smell familiar… Like that group of kidnappers that got Lucy before"
"Quit it, Natsu! Merlin saved me and loads of others from them" Lucy shouted annoyed, moving to stand before Merlin as Natsu frowned in thought as he looked over Merlin before Happy spoke from where he was flying above
"Hey wasn't the group talking about someone called Merlin when they attacked"
Merlin gulped nervously at hearing that, Lucy quick to explain before anyone got the wrong idea "Merlin didn't know they were kidnapping people while he was with them… It's why he saved me and the others"
"What!? He was working with them" Natsu shouted as he charged forwards with a flaming fist, Merlin pulling Lucy towards his side as he threw his free hand forwards to summon a large white magic circle to defend himself as Natsu slammed into it, unaware that Lucy was blushing slightly against his side as Merlin spoke
"Truthfully I didn't know they were going to kidnap magicians till I heard about what happened from some loud grunts…If I knew that was what the intentions of the group I joined I never would have"
"I believe you child… Natsu stop trying to hurt the boy" The old voice of Makarov called out, Natsu frowning as he looked at the undamaged magic circle he'd been trying to break before slumping off. The short wizard looked intrigued at the magic circle before chuckling at Lucy's reaction as Merlin let go of her and dismissed his magic.
"So you're here to join Fairy Tail now?" Makarov asked, Merlin shaking his head much to Lucy's disappointment as he explained
"Lucy-san wanted to introduce me to her friends… It would be too dangerous for me to join, if you'll allow me to explain in private" Makarov nodded before leading Merlin into his office, where the younger Magician explained everything to the Guild Master.
(Flashback End)
[Makarov was shocked to say the least, when we explained about what the Khaos Brigade was up to… Kidnapping and experimenting on Sacred Gear wielders and Magicians. Hell, they were even working with the Phantom Lord guild to build that robot base] Tiamat spoke with a frown, Merlin smirking slightly as he tucked into the Chinese food he was eating while sparing a glance as he flickered through the pages of his spell book as he thought back
'He was glad that I saved them and helped with the spirits Jose was using…even if I wasn't in view of anyone. He really does act like a grandfather to them all.'
A soft chime of a bell drew Merlin's attention as he finished off his food and used some magic to clean up his mess as he went upstairs. The chime was linked to his magic circle to the Fairy Tail Guildhall along with a few other places and would alert him to someone coming through that was allowed.
'I wonder whose calling at this time…?' Merlin thought as he finally reached the hallway to see a crimson haired young woman wearing silver knight armour, her brown eyes turning to him with a scowl as he smiled nervously and held his hands up as he spoke
"H-Hey Erza… What brought you here today, not needing one of your armours repaired right?"
[She knows…] Tiamat spoke amused as Erza cracked her knuckles as she started walking towards him as she spoke seriously
"Why…?" Merlin gulped as she gripped the front of his clothes as Erza shouted
"Why do you have to be a damn heroic idiot?!" Erza punched Merlin square on the face, knocking him back against the wall as he groaned as wiped blood from his mouth as Erza shouted
"Why didn't you call for help!? DO you know what would happen to Lucy, Lisanna, me, Wendy and everyone if you actually died then?!"
"It… It wasn't your fight, Erza… nor the guild's. If I had called for help, they would've known you had helped me hide and would have targeted the guild next to flush me out. The guy I was fighting could've just shrugged off Natsu or Gray's magic due to his high level of magic resistance…" Merlin replied, his eyes hidden under his hair as Erza shook with rage as she glared at him even as tears welled up in her eyes, pulling her fist back to punch Merlin again as he continued
"Do you think I wanted to put any of you into danger…? Just to save me, who would have been still part of that group if I hadn't heard about Lucy and other mages being kidnapped by some grunts? I-I don't deserve being accepted by your fam… guild" Merlin lifted his head enough so his teary eyes could focus on Erza's, large cracks running along the lenses of his glasses.
"You idiot… Merlin…" Erza spoke as she tightly hugged him, a loud crack heard as he groaned in pain as his ribs cracked as she found herself staring at Merlin's eyes. Neither noticed as their faces drew closer to one another until a loud blaring alarm broke them from their trance, Erza's hands covering her ears as she shouted
"What's that for?"
"Someone must have tried to teleport in without clearance…" Merlin mused, giving a quick flick of his fingers to stop it as he walked towards the front door and added
"It's set up to drop whoever it is at the front door… you might want to lose the armour, this place doesn't see wearing that sort of thing normal unless you're on a battlefield"
"Fine" Erza grumbled, Ex-quipping her armour as Merlin quickly repaired his glasses as he opened the door to see Aya and Tsubasa laying atop of each other with their suitcases either side of them. A look of annoyance formed on Erza's face at seeing the two young women as Merlin asked
"Aya-san, Tsubasa-san what are you doing here? Never mind that now, come on inside"
Aya and Tsubasa looked slightly annoyed and confused over what had happened to them as they stepped inside, growing more confused at seeing Erza before Merlin closed the door as he muttered to himself "I knew I had forgot something…"
Placing his hand against the closed front door, a gold magic circle formed before a rectangular magic display and keyboard appeared as Erza muttered "[Archive Magic]…? You put [Archive Magic] into your defences"
"Well it lets me control the magical wards and barriers created to protect the house… I just need to add in the Sitri and Phenex magic circles and that should allow free access to them." Merlin replied as he tapped away at the keyboard and making images of the two Clan circles appear while Merlin asked back to Aya and Tsubasa
"What brought you two here then?"
"Kaichou/ Reina-sama wanted me to make sure no one would attack you again" Tsubasa and Aya replied together looking annoyed at each other.
"Both of you? Isn't that a bit much" Erza asked, glancing to see Merlin finish up as he shrugged as he replied
"If you'd see the crater that was left over from the fight you'd have though me and Natsu had just started to spar"
"That bad huh?" Erza replied surprised, drawing the two she-devils' attention as Merlin realised he hadn't introduced them to each other as he spoke
"Aya Natsumi, Tsubasa Yura meet Erza Scarlett, she's a friend from when I was travelling around before"
"Nice to meet you both" Erza spoke with a nod, Merlin noticing Aya and Tsubasa sizing her up as he asked
"So you two are going to move in with me because Kaichou and Phenex-sama want to watch out for me?"
"Well you are the new devil, Merlin-kun" Tsubasa spoke seriously, Merlin rolling his eyes as he sighed
"Alright, I best show you to the spare rooms then…Unless you were both expecting to share my bed seeing as it looks like a bungalow from outside" Aya and Tsubasa blushed at hearing that, Merlin noticed Erza frowning as the pair headed down the stairway to the first underground floor as she spoke quietly
"You better not try anything with them otherwise you'll hurt Lucy and Lisanna…"
"I know but I'm not in a relationship with anyone… I can't anyway…" Merlin replied, mumbling the latter part as an afterthought Erza sighing as she knew he was right.
{I know she left a big mark on your heart but you need to get past that} Tiamat spoke in a caring tone, Merlin mentally shaking his head as he thought back
'It's not just her though, Tiamat… The Khaos Brigade tried to use my research and skills to their advantage without even me knowing as well… I trust Fairy Tail and its members but I can't let anyone get that close yet'
"Amazing" Aya and Tsubasa spoke shocked, looking around the corridor and the numerous balls of light lit the place as Merlin turned to face them and pointed at the two doors at the end of the corridor as he spoke
"Those two rooms at the back are free, the others have… let's say on-off residents, one of them being Erza. If you respect your privacy then don't enter the other rooms. There are two floors below this and each has its own basic bathroom including the ground floor and this one… the floor below has my study room/ library/ laboratory area, don't enter there unless I'm with you so you don't touch anything you shouldn't. Also there's a large empty room for training and a third room which is a cinema and games room."
Aya and Tsubasa could only gape as he paused, Erza smirking as she remembered when Lucy and Lisanna had come over and managed to talk him into adding the cinema/ gaming room as well as the large pool, sauna and bathing area on the third floor.
"Floor below that has a large swimming pool, sauna and bathing area… feel free to use that when you want just don't screw anything up it took a while for me to actually set it all up by magic alone." Merlin added
"A swimming pool down here!?" Tsubasa and Aya shouted shocked, Erza chuckling at their reactions as Merlin smirked and nodded, waving them off as he smirked
"Go on… enjoy yourselves" With that the two girls rushed off towards the empty rooms, Merlin sighing to himself as he ran a hand through his hair and grumbled
"I'm going to have to expand again… especially when the others find out about this"
"You know Lucy and Lisanna will be jealous when they find out about your new houseguests" Erza spoke with a smirk, Merlin nodding as he replied
"Well it was there idea to put in the stuff on the third floor and even making the cinema room and you know I can't win an argument with them" Erza smiled at hearing that, Merlin cleaning his glasses with his top before adding
"I best explain about the two groups I'm a part of…"
…
Merlin yawned the next morning as he stumbled out of his bed, his body still not use to its new weakness to the sun, having weakened the barrier he had been using the previous day, and having spent till late last night working on his spell book in between having to answer questions from Aya and Tsubasa about his home after they had enjoyed the swimming pool. Erza had listened intently as he explained about the two groups and what he knew about them both.
"Maybe I should try and find out how good the rest of Kaichou and Phenex's peerage are at magic? Could definitely teach them some [Re-Quip Magic] at least" He mumbled to himself, thinking that the amount of spell books he had within his library that would help him teach his fellow devils as he grabbed a towel and headed towards the bathroom.
Opening the door, Merlin didn't notice the shower running until his eyes settled onto the brown eyes of one nude Aya who looked at him in shock from under the spray of water, behind the frosted glass. Merlin's senses jumped to full alert at that moment as he looked over her figure for a second time before realising what was going on, turning red and bolting out of the bathroom and leaning against the closed door as he shouted
"Why the hell did you not lock the door, Aya-san?" Merlin put his hand over his pounding heart, finding his eyes replaying the incident before his eyes as he mentally cursed the she-devil forgetting to lock the door as he mentally shouted
'Tiamat, why didn't you warn me!?'
[Hmm... Oh, I didn't notice] Tiamat answered with an innocent smile, Merlin frowning in response, well aware that Tiamat enjoyed keeping him on his toes at the oddest of times as he mentally retort
'Seriously? Last time you let that happened I nearly got kicked in the face by Lucy if I hadn't sensed for magic before I even touched the door'
[She wouldn't have minded that much especially since she was showering here after crashing the night cause of Natsu and the others crashing at her place] Tiamat replied with a shrug, Merlin sighing as he rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses and spread his senses before teleporting himself into the spare bathroom on the third floor which was empty.
…
Merlin couldn't help but feel something was off as Aya smiled and hugged his arm while they walked to school, Tsubasa looking slightly jealous of first year as she walked on his other side as Merlin asked "What's the reason for this sudden affection, Aya-san?"
Aya blushed as she realised she would have to explain about her family tradition to Merlin as she started speaking "In my family there's a tradition that the first man to see a female member naked is to become there future husband"
"Future Husband!?" Tsubasa shouted shocked, drawing the looks of several other students as Merlin replied, hopeful of getting out of the situation
"That was just an accident, Aya-san… so I don't think it counts. Plus there was frosted glass so it's not like I saw you completely"
"It was fate then, even with the frosted glass" Aya replied resolutely, Merlin sighing as he mentally shouted
'Damn it Tiamat! If you had warned me I wouldn't have to deal with this weird tradition now!' Tiamat for her part had started laughing the moment Aya had finished explaining, not helping Merlin's annoyance as he put a hand over his face as he grumbled to himself
"I don't believe in fate…" Aya didn't hear as she tightened her hold on his arm as they continued to walk to school.
…
The day had been rather odd for Merlin as he sat in the Student Council room with Aya firmly latched onto his right arm, Sona and Reina was looking slightly annoyed at the [Rook] intentions while Yukari shared jealous look and Kanu was looking on slightly amused.
"Why didn't you tell me about Aya-san and Tsubasa-san moving in?" Merlin asked with a frown, Reina first to explain the reason behind it
"We just don't know if the one who killed you will come back after you to make sure… Aya and Tsubasa are only there to make sure you don't get yourself in more trouble."
"Alright… I guess that makes sense… could have warned me about it but luckily I had spare rooms" Merlin replied with an annoyed tone as he added to himself
"I'll probably have to expand in case of other guests"
"Yes, Tsubasa told me about the underground floors at your home" Sona spoke curiously, part of her wondering how the Magician would go about expanding his home as Merlin asked curiously
"What am I doing today then, Kaichou, Phenex-sama?"
"You'll be delivering leaflets… normally this is the job of the familiar but seeing as you haven't got one yet" Sona started, pausing in case Merlin would surprise her before continuing
"Well, you will be doing that duty till we can travel to the familiar forest and hopefully find you something"
"Aya, you've got a contract coming in now so you should let go of Merlin" Reina added, having spared a look at a piece of paper that had appeared before her. Aya sighed annoyed before getting up as she spoke
"Yes Reina-sama" With that she disappeared into an orange magic circle, Merlin mentally sighing in relief as he stood up and looked around
"Alright then… Where's these leaflets I have to deliver?"
…
Merlin stretched his arms over his head as he walked, glancing to Kanu next to him before towards the half full bag of leaflets hanging off his right shoulder as he asked "So how long have you been part of Phenex-sama's peerage?"
"A couple of years… She's a good person but a bit too arrogant of her abilities" Kanu replied with a smile, Merlin looking at her curious as he asked
"Really…?"
"Well at least she's somewhat better than her brother." Kanu replied with a frown as she explained
"He's a pervert who enjoys feeling up his peerage of girls… even tried to make a move of Kazehana and myself once only for Reina-sama to punch him in the face, though it didn't do much more then annoy him"
"I hate people like that... even the perverted trio riles me up with how they act" Merlin replied with a scowl as he scrunched his hands up, Kanu smiling as she regarded her fellow servant, knowing she would like her new ally as she spoke
"Kira and Madoka seem to enjoy beating them up…" Merlin chuckled at hearing that, remembering having seen the Kendo club beating up the trio as Tiamat spoke up
[You have noticed that she has a Sacred Gear, right?]
'Of course, Tiamat…I've been around enough Sacred Gear users to pick one up by aura by now' Merlin mentally replied, noticing Kanu looking him over from out of the corner of his eyes as he asked
"Kanu-sempai… Can I ask what you're Sacred Gear is?"
Kanu arched an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting that sort of question from him as she glanced around to ensure no one was about before holding out a hand and creating a simpler spear as she answered "My Sacred Gear is called [Spear Smith]. It allows me to make spears with various abilities…"
"So like [Sword Birth] and [Blade Blacksmith] but for spears" Merlin spoke to himself, Kanu nodding as she dismissed the weapon and replied
"Yeah… You've got a lot of experience with Sacred Gears then aside from your own?"
"Yeah… I ended up running into a lot during my travels" Merlin answered, frowning as he found himself thinking back to his time with the Hero Faction as they continued with delivering leaflets.
…
Once the pair got back to the clubroom after delivering the leaflets, they had found out that Reina had gotten orders to take out a Stray Devil that were hiding on the outskirts of town.
Currently Reina was leading her peerage towards an abandoned amusement park which was supposed to be the Stray Devils' base. Kanu was already holding a spear she had created while Aya had martial artist gloves on her hands, Kira and Madoka had a katana sheathed on their hips and Yukari was holding a bow with a quiver of arrows on her back.
"Alright Merlin, this will be your first time fighting with us… I'd like for you to mostly pay attention to how we fight." Reina spoke seriously, Merlin nodding in agreement as she then turned to the rest of her peerage as she spoke
"Alright then, let's find this Stray Devils, Alun, Barth and Chris, I believe their names are. Madoka, Kira you've both got permission to [Promote] if you need to. Now spread out in pairs, first person to find one of them draw them back to the open ground"
"Right!" The rest of the group spoke with a serious nod, Aya and Madoka heading towards a circus tent while Kanu and Kazehana headed towards an abandoned rollercoaster. Kira and Yukari headed towards a series of small prize stalls.
Looking around, Merlin frowned as he spread his senses while looking around noticing that Reina was moving towards some abandoned caravans on her own before he hurried after her as he asked "Should you really be going off on your own?"
"I am a Phenex, Merlin. I can regenerate from any wound…" Reina replied slightly arrogant, Merlin frowning as he thought
'A bit too sure in her abilities like Kanu-sempai said.'
"…Plus with your magic skill, we should be fine if we run into this any of these three Strays" Reina added, Merlin shaking his head as Tiamat retort amused
[So from observer to body guard within minutes]
…
Aya lead the way as she and Madoka walked towards the circus tent, the former's [Rook] defence making her more protected then the [Pawn] who drew her sword to be ready.
"What do you think of Merlin-sempai?" Aya asked with a light blush, Madoka blinking in surprise as she glanced to her fellow Devil and asked
"What brought this on, Aya-chan?"
"W-Well…" Aya stammered, her blush darkening as Madoka continued wistfully
"Merlin-kun is a good guy. He's helpful, handsome and really smart…"
Entering the building the pair were brought back to the mission by a clatter of something hitting the ground, looking around to see a hula hoop coming to a stop on the ground.
"[Water Mark!]" Madoka called, activating her own Sacred Gear as a blue magic tattoo flared to life on the back of her left hand, the kanji for water sitting in the centre of it. Soon water enveloped her katana blade as she took a ready stance while looking around. [Water Mark] allowed Madoka to create and manipulate water magic and allowed her to boost her already high affinity with the element even if it was a common level Sacred Gear.
"Well look what the cat dragged in… A couple of Devils have entered my territory" A deep male voice spoke up, Aya and Madoka looking around before hearing heavy padding of feet as a six foot tall pale lion padded out with blood soaked fangs.
"[Promotion: Knight]" Madoka called, feeling her [Pawn] changing within her as she got ready to fight.
…
Kanu and Kazehana walked towards the abandoned rollercoaster at a relaxed pace, the latter pouting as she spoke "Shame I couldn't go with Merlin-kun but at least it's nice to have a guy finally on the peerage"
"Yeah, at least he's not a pervert either" Kanu spoke with a smirk, absentmindedly tightening her hold on her spear as Kazehana added with an oddly serious tone
"Way better than Riser… He's got a cute butt as well" The latter comment broke the tension between them, Kanu chuckling as she shook her head as she retort
"I didn't think you would focus on that part-"
The both froze as they felt killing intent directed at them, looking up at the looming structure of the rollercoaster and noticing a pair of blood red eyes focus on them as a high pitched voice spoke "Well, Well, Well… What do we have here? A pair of Devils coming to hunt me?"
A break in the clouds allowed the pair to see the giant humanoid bat shaped Devil that was clinging to steel structure, looking down on them hungrily.
…
Kira and Yukari walked between two rows of empty stalls, the pink haired sword user leading while Yukari notched an arrow into her bow in preparation as they looked for any sign of the Stray they were trying to find.
"Yukari-sempai…" Kira started, drawing the brunette's attention as she continued
"…Do you think Merlin-kun is going to be alright juggling Kaichou's work and Reina-sama's?"
Yukari paused at that, it was true that Merlin was going to have to do double duties between both peerages and the Sona's peerage and Reina's would have to be in constant contact so they could work out which peerage Merlin would be seen with at times. Luckily his foreknowledge of the supernatural saved them from having to overwhelm him with information and explanations about the relationships amongst factions.
"I'm not sure… I'll ask Reina-sama about slowing things down for him but I think it'll only last a short while till he's got a familiar to help with the leaflets and only has to work with contracts" Yukari spoke concerned, Kira nodding in understanding as the pair turned to continue down between the stalls.
The sound of something shattering behind them forced the pair to turn and frown at seeing nothing before Kira spoke "[Static Stamp]"
A yellow magic circle formed on the back of Kira's right hand, the kanji for 'Thunder' set in the centre of it before she willed yellow lightning to cover her katana. [Static Stamp] was identical to [Water Mark] except it worked with Thunder magic then Water magic.
Yukari raised her bow to eye level as she took slow sweeping glances over the area, an icy blue magic circle coming to life around the tip of her arrow before the arrowhead was turned an icy blue colour, the projectile infused with Ice magic.
"Come out Stray!" Yukari called out seriously as she heard another crash from a stall a few metres away before an explosion of wood that consisted of the roof flew away as a scorpion's tail burst out.
"You think you two mere girls can handle me!" A raspy voice spoke, two large pincers bursting out before the rest of the stall exploded to reveal the rest of the bright red giant scorpion that started to scuttle towards them.
…
"Looks like the others found them" Reina spoke as she listened to the orange magic circle that was by her ear, Merlin looking around to her as he spoke
"We best head back to help them then…"
"Not so fast" A voice growled, the pair turning back to see a two metre tall black bear with clawed gauntlets on its hands. Reina rolled her eyes at the Stray Devil before shooting back as she walked forwards
"You Strays are all the same…Thinking you're the strongest just cause you managed to kill your allies and master"
"[Chaos Cannon]" Merlin spoke, summoning his Sacred Gear and pointing it at the Bear Stray as Reina continued
"I bet you can't even put a scratch on me"
"You bitch!" The Bear roared, bringing one of his claws through Reina's chest before cackling until Merlin sighed as he spoke
"You really need to pay attention… Phenex-sama why are you wasting time with this one when the others have found the three Strays we were after."
The Bear Stray's eyes widened as Reina lifted her head up from where the claw was lodged in her body, flames bursting from her wound and melting the weapon in moments as her injuries healed up as she spoke
"I suppose you are right, Merlin…"
"A Phenex?!" The Stray shouted in shock and fear, fire dancing along Reina's right hand as she pointed it at the Stray devil and incinerated it within moment before blowing the flames on her hand out.
"Shame… that was rather easy" Reina spoke to herself as she and Merlin started to walk back to where the others were supposed to lead the Strays to. Reina's eyes widening as she listened to the communication Magic circle that had appeared by her ear before she spoke aloud
"The three combined into a chimera?"
Merlin arched an eyebrow in surprise at hearing that, hoping that the girls would be able to handle it until he could help out.
When the pair got back to the clearing they saw the other girls moving around to dodge the combined Stray Devil. Its body was that of a giant lion with large bat wings on its back, which had large cuts running through them, and a red scorpion tail replacing its normal tail, large red scorpion claws came from out of its shoulders.
Aya was holding one of the large claws while Kanu was diving with her Devil wings spread and a large menacing looking lance in her hands to cut through the tough armour, the other claw being kept glued to the ground by thick ice which also was covering its four legs, Yukari was growing them by firing her arrows at the limb. Madoka and Kira was combining their elements so they could take off one of the trapped claw while Kazehana was deflecting acid being fired from the scorpion tail.
"Girls do it!" Yukari called, Madoka and Kira sharing a nod before swinging there katanas at the large claw as they shouted
"Hydro Cut!"
"Electro Cut!" The two slashes cut into the shoulder joint of the claw arm, the Chimera roaring in pain before Kazehana added her own attack to the injured arm
"Wind Slicer!" The Scorpion arm dropped down to the side, blood spurting from the wound as Reina spoke up
"Good job girls… Madoka, Kira, help Kanu with cutting off the other arm. Yukari keep its legs frozen to the ground and Kazehana try and cut that tail off."
"Hai"
"I'll help Kazehana-sempai with the tail" Merlin spoke as he stepped forwards, pointing the [Chaos Cannon] at it as he declared
"[Stun Shot!]" The pale yellow magic bullet hit its mark, the whole tail getting covered in pale yellow magic circles that stopped its movement instantly as Kazehana gave him a thankful nod before unleashing a barrage of wind slicers to cut the tail into shreds.
"GAAHH! Damn you!" The Chimera roared as Kanu, Madoka and Kira got the other Scorpion arm cut off, Aya using the limb like a giant club and bringing it down on the head as she spoke "Down boy!"
Bringing the makeshift club down on the Chimera's head a few more times, Aya continued to hit it until the Chimera was dazed and laying on the ground before discarding the giant limb.
"Do you have any last words?" Reina spoke as she approached the Stray Devil, Yukari and Merlin both aiming with their weapons in case the Stray tried to attack while Kanu, Madoka, Kira, Aya and Kazehana moved to be standing behind their [King].
"Urk… Just kill me" The Stray grumbled out, Reina igniting her hand with flames as she spoke
"Very well" With that Reina incinerated the Stray devil Chimera within moments till there was nothing but ash left over, everyone relaxing when Reina extinguished her flames and turned to them all with a smile as she spoke
"Mission Accomplished. Good job everyone. Let's head home"
…
Author's Note
Sorry for the long delay before updating this but here's the next chapter. I do intend to try and include more flashbacks or links to how Merlin got involved with Fairy Tail and what he did with the Hero Faction as and when I think I can fit things in. Also hope I have got the characters of Reina's peerage in character and that their fighting styles make sense, especially Katase and Murayama's Sacred Gears. The Chaos Cannon is based appearance wise on Cross Marian's Judgement Innocence from D Gray man.
As for the harem this is what I have settled on at the moment and I won't be taking any from Issei's group either.
Merlin's Harem: Sona, Reina, Tsubasa, Yukari Takeba [Persona], Kazehana [Sekirei], Aya Natsume [Tenjo Tenge], Kanu Unchou[Ikkitousen], Kira Katase, Madoka Murayama, Serafall, Erza Scarlett, Lucy Heartfilia, Lisanna Strauss
I haven't put in anyone I intend to have join Reina's peerage later on or characters who haven't been mentioned.
Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter.