One's Road to Remembrance

by Insane Dominator

For 4 years, a lone guy has been suffering from memory-loss, and can only remember his name: Craig Crius. The 4 years have been very unfriendly, and in turn has become rather desolate. With the help of Cana Alberona and from Fairy Tail, Craig will endure horrific hardships, take on dangerous tasks, and unleash power he never knew he had in order to understand who he was. OCxCana.

62. Prometheus

"You sure have a ways of picking a right time to show those faces of yours." Those were the first that left Craig's mouth as he looked over his shoulder to get a glimpse at the powerfully cloaked quintuple. He was pretty tired from all the fighting he's done before, but unfortunately, and much to his bittersweet chagrin, those were all warm-ups. The real fight was right now.

"We apologize for the inconvenience, Craig." Shinigami replied.

"We apologize, just not sorry." Monarch sassily said. She turned towards Gates. "Is there a difference?"

"Essentially, no." he answered.

Shinigami moved forward a step ahead of everyone. "At any rate, shall we get moving along?"

Craig kept his back turned, as if declining his invitation.

"What's the matter? Is it you wish to reschedule?"

"Nope. It's just that if you're through with your little guise at this point, I'd much be facing your actual selves. You still wanna hold onto those rags?" he responded in a snark.

Shinigami was caught surprised at the hard way Craig chose to say it, but it soon changed into a chuckle. "And here I thought you wanted to play this game a little while longer. Oh well, it was actually fun while it lasted." He started to reach for his tattered black cloak. "So you've actually figured us out, how perceptive of a human whose been to Asghar."

Back in the Domus Flau colosseum, everyone was looking up at the screen, their eyes starting to widen as they watched all the figures reach for their cloaks.

"No way! Are they seriously revealing themselves?!"

"I was wondering who was behind those hoods."

"Just who are they?"

Lola leered at the screen, his own heart racing. "Folks, it looks like we'll be seeing the real identities of who these mysterious guild members are. The time seems to have come for Fallen Prometheus to show us all just who they really are."

Yajima nodded. "Yes…"

Makarov and Fairy Tail looked up at the screen with growing worry. They were all showing signs of shock even as the hoods and the cloaks were beginning to become unbuttoned and loosened. The area – all of Crocus for that matter – was within a massive range of Magic Power that kept resonating from the group all throughout the competition.

The look on Craig's face dared not waver. He glared ahead at them as all their cloaks were finally coming off. His eyelids dulled a little as all of them undid their hoods to reveal their heads, the cloaks unfastened and dropping to their feet in unison.

What everybody saw was unadulterated shock. Everyone was looking at the monitors to make sure it was alright, because they were feeling an instant dread in their spines.

Navice revealed himself, being a person who had deeply paled skin with narrow eyes. His thin eyebrows had swirly, crooked black marking, like decrepit tree branched all over the forehead. His black hair was shoulder length and exceptionally scruffy, with locks down towards the front of the shoulders included. His tattered gray scarf covered his mouth and neck, going down the back into long strands that expanded to make makeshift folded wings almost. He had midnight colored pauldrons over the shoulders, with a deep black long-sleeve attire up towards the shadowcast gauntlets he had on. Is abdominal region sported deep-edged black plates over the black under-armor; the plates being heavily defined and in sections of maybe dozens, like the human spine down towards the midsection. The Fact he also sported lower body black armor with the same spinal and heavy edged design along the shins down towards the boots was an ensemble that made him as black at the incoming dusk itself. His eyes were so dull and with bags beneath it was almost like he was sleep deprived.

The next figure was Gates, who had a reason behind the dome-like cloak. His entire head was nothing but a huge glass dome. It was large and massive to where it was holding ten gallons of bizarre green liquid that illuminated its contents inside. Inside were three marbles in a triangle formation, green, red, and blue, all above what was literally a humungous brain. The brain had two lenses in front of it, allowing it to see. Holding up the humungous head to support the weight and bulk of it all was a large, armored body, but the way it was designed unlike Navice was instead of spiny plates to give you dread and shivers, it looked a lot like a outer skeletal armor, only it was thinner than it looked. He had boots, but the concealed feet had bony, silver armor on them.

Monarch was something else entirely. Unlike the two before that had black underneath, she had white. She was a dark-skinned, sultry female with golden eyes and orange eyeliner and lips. Over her dark eyebrows were three lines that go up towards the forehead into three orange circles. She had wavy brown hair that reached down to a deeper length than Navice, all the way to the mid region of her back. Her curvaceous form was covered in a white suit, which had tiger-like black stripes on the sides of her thighs, her hips, and all around the rib cage and ample buxom conceived by the white armor. All these stripes were ridged to act as armor, and she had on deep gauntlets that shimmered with everyone else. The most intricate part about her was her wings, for it was revealed they were massive monarch butterfly wings, only the sides were tattered.

Scythe looked very grim for a lack of better word. He had red eyes and a massive, wicked smirk, He had a head of deep blue hair with a bang going over his left eye. He sported golden armor that had a high collar with white segments acting like the bands to keep the membrane intact. He had shoulder armor that looked like silver fangs that made two open, monstrous mouths; both the shoulders and knees. He had on high-heels pointed golden boots, looking like they could stab with a kick. He had gauntlets as well, which happened to be golden with white undersides and palm. He held his massive axe over his shoulder with a sneer.

The last one, Shinigami, it turned out he had short but shaggy silver hair that had ragged bangs covering the forehead. He had dark eyes and spectacles, giving lenses that shimmered. His skin was a fair skin tone, and the most bewildering feature was something else entirely. His entire body, from top to bottom, was in nothing but golden armor. He adorned a red cape, which was tattered like Craig's until his was destroyed entirely before.

As all five stood in attention before Craig, they each gave off a golden light, which expelled into a bright gravity force throughout the area. The entire land and sky shook as their Magic Power once concealed was now released in a monstrous display. The land beneath Craig was actually shaking, and small pebbles were rolling away from the intense force.

Everyone in the Domus Flau was paling. Lucy gasped in deep fright, her heart stopping. Natsu's teeth gritted as he stood completely paralyzed by what he was feeling. It was beyond shocking for one thing, and this level of Magic Power was exactly what everybody felt on Day 4 when Scythe was facing Craig at that one moment. Only this time, that level was multiplied by five now. If the magic level was horrendous at that point, then people were unable to uphold themselves at this crippling sensation.

"What…I can't…" Makarov was having trouble breathing. His eyes were shaking profusely as he looked like he had seen a ghost, a really scary ghost.

Gildarts was staring up at the air, his eyes completely caught in growing worry. "The hell is this…? I can't even…" he looked down at his fingers of his prosthetic arm. They weren't budging. "Am I this seriously psyched out?"

Some of the contestants that have long since appeared back in the colosseum were falling over; some like Quatro Cerberus and several other weak-willed mages were falling to their knees. They were looking like they were about to scream at any given second, given they were sweating bullets. This magic in the air was making everything and everyone hard to stomach. Nothing was shaking, but the pressure was causing dizziness to the commentators.

"This…this magical pressure…" Yajima gasped.

"I-I can't even fathom this…I can't even speak right now…" Lola labored as the magic was making his spine tingle.

Mato had long since been silenced. He was gaping as Crocus was destroyed by Craig, but what made things worse was how now Fallen Prometheus had revealed their power, and now with this strength, even the likes of mighty mages weren't able to handle them.

Putting up a brave face, Craig looked around with heavy eyes. He's felt this level before, and his goosebumps were rising. This was truly a challenge yet to behold. He looked at each and every individual, from right to left, all of them having their own expressions to bear. Once gathering the individuals, he looked at the ringleader in the middle, Shinigami smirking with delight.

"Well ain't this a reunion." He nonchalantly said. "Where's the confetti and pizza?"

Shinigami chuckled. "You humans are entertaining with you and your festive banters."

Craig smirked. "Well at least you dressed up for the part, Shinigami." His eyes narrowed. "Or would you prefer Prometheus?"

Hearing his real name, Shinigami finally conceded with a nod. He again chuckled. "Well played. I never pegged you to been able to identify me like that."

"Well who else would name a guild after a god who has fallen from grace." Craig looked at Navice, giving him a half-grin. His situation was getting more tense.

"Navice, or rather Penthos, the god of grief and misfortune. Gates, but in reality you're Janus, god of doorways and sealing. Monarch, Aphrodite, goddess of beauty. Scythe, or Thanatos, god of death. And then there's you…Prometheus, the god who was responsible for all of this."

"Scythe", or now revealed as Thanatos, smirked. "Didn't think we'd survive Ragnarok, huh? Even you can't be that surprised."

"The misfortune on that day was beyond my imagination." Penthos admitted. "And yet…fortune smiled down on us five."

Aphrodite had a hand to her hip, raising a row at Craig. "Even after all this time, you still don't find this attractive?" She gestured to her body, flashing a wink to Craig.

Upon her wink, all men – and some cases women – were given hearts in their eyes. They awed before the goddess of beauty herself, working her magic. Not a single man was without hearts in their eyes; even Natsu, although he was on his knees and looking dumbly up.

"Natsu?" Erza waved her hand in front of him, but nothing worked.

Juvia looked over, her mouth gaping and eyes fully blue as Gray has hearts in his eyes. Her despair lowered her esteem as her "beloved as gaping with a potential nosebleed. "G-Gray…" she gawked before sulking further.

While all men were panting like dogs at the works of her godly powers, Craig, however, had arms folded and glared ahead. He shrugged.

"Seen better." He bluntly answered.

At her own shock, Aphrodite stopped her seduction, looking at him in disgust. "Excuse me?!" She exclaimed. Coincidentally, all hearts on the colosseum stopped, and everyone returned to normal.

"Uh, what was that?" Natsu blinked. "Why did my stomach feel so weird all of a sudden?"

"I don't know."

Gray rubbed his head. "Man, why is my face burning up all of a sudden…? And why are my feet so wet?" He looked down, realizing the responsible one. "Juvia?!"

"Gray…" she whimpered while holding onto his ankles for dear life.

Craig cocked a brow. "Lady, we've been over this. I'm immune."

"But why? Aren't I bodacious for your liking?" She stuck her rear out and bent forwards, her butterfly wings opening up just a little. She bit her lower lip, giving a sultry pose.

Once again, the men inside the colosseum were entranced with louds cheers and hearts in their eyes.

Craig's glare only served to intensify. "I haven't the patience to indulge you in what I know about my inability to be hypnotized. I'm not into the whole, mind-slave thing. I'm pretty sure you should've figured that out."

"Chorus aside, you're speaking on a simple note." Prometheus said. "I'm surprised that you remembered us all."

"Well it's hard to look over your personal elites now, especially when they have done so much."

"As I figured, gods and humans have our differences and similarities. But then you cast us out. Now look at us, our godly reign has been put to rest. How can you sleep at night, I wonder?"

"Believe me, I ask myself the same thing." Craig bluntly stated.

"You remember everything about us then?" Gates, or rather Janus, asked.

Craig looked towards them all, sharing a grim look. "You guys are just asking for a whole recap, are you…" Seeing how it was deliberate, he sighed. "Alright, guess since you've kept everyone in the dark, I may as well debrief you all."

Prometheus smirked. "This should be entertaining…"

"Almost a year and a half ago, the legend of Arthur's aftermath was discovered. There was a tale of thousands of years ago, he made three weapons in conjunction with their purposes. There was Carnwennan, Rhongomiant, and Excalibur. Carnwennan was made from the powers of spirits and ghosts, Rhongomiant for witches, and Excalibur for gods; all of them forged together with their respective sentients. They were all anti weapons, the ultimate slaying weapons. After Arthur defeated Prometheus when he tried to invade Asghar in the past, he used the weapon and shield to harm him. It was a mortal against immortal, and you were locked away after your defeat."

Prometheus frowned. Recalling Arthur did not bring back fond memories. Everyone else in the Domus Flau colosseum were at full attention for Craig's past tale.

"And after his past, he plunged the sword into a rock, where its powers would be at rest, until someone who has the fortitude and bravery as Arthur himself can unsheathe it and instead of save Asghar, it shall bring about the Ragnarok to bring all gods to rest. Arthur knew such a pedestal would be too high to obtain, so he knew to stop you and any other gods, he kept his sword in the mortal world, where a mortal would join forces with the enemies of god and avenge the wronged. And that's where I came in." Craig put his hands into his pocket, looking laid back as he got to the story. "I was at the rock. Pulled out Excalibur. Next thing I knew I was in Asghar, and the prophecy scared Odin to where he imprisoned me. There, I was all panicky and escaped, along with Maponus and Alator. When I was told of this, of course I panicked, but then I was at the mercy of gods, until I used Excalibur. It was one hell of a ride, and man did they not like unworthy mortals."

Prometheus smirked. "While at that same time, I was still imprisoned in hell, where I tricked Hades and gained passage to Helios for the Flames of Rebirth."

"Hades is a good guy once you get to know him." Craig said. "Well Maponus and Alator accompanied me to Hell to stop you and your rising army, we had to deal with Alator's ex-wife, Morrigan. Not a nice lady, bad tastes. They fought to the death, while I got help from the devils and demons and explained Ragnarok. They were more than willing, but I got more help from the gods and warriors who gave us all a way out, after you slammed the door on us. Do you seriously have any ideas on the creepy monsters and the heat I had to bear with while I was down there? Do you?!" Craig's voice arose in growing spite. "Well I nearly died about 23 different times, even against Hades! But boy was he willing to listen more than Odin, I can say to that."

"And that's where you were in the mortal realm next, just climbing the mountain to the gateway to Valhalla to fulfill the prophecy and plunge Excalibur into Yggdrasil, to activate Ragnarok. Yes, I remember that tale all very well." Prometheus finished. "Yes, and I remember that part well. You and all your little friends that you became buddy-buddy with just strolled on in and attacked. But really, I was pegging you to destroy me, not Valhalla. After all, isn't it a mortals' dream to become a god?"

"Becoming a god is a tremendous sin." Craig said. "Who would wanna become someone who looks down on mortals and uses them like putty?"

"Exactly my point!" Prometheus snapped. "…I was a benevolent god. I took fire to man to give them life, and Odin punished me for betrayal. I was inscribed to watch them, but who would want to watch suffering mean and women? It's like saying the rich can't share wealth because it makes them more equal with humans. Weren't we all human before picked by Odin to enter Valhalla?"

"Yeah." Craig answered. "Look, I agree with you, it was rather selfish but you did the right thing. You were a benevolent god who was wronged, yet what you did was even more wrong when you tried to take over Asghar and Valhalla. Arthur forced that anti-god weapon just for that occasion."

"And yet Odin still told Arthur to leave. Arthur was given nobility because of my defeat, and yet he was told to leave. Even in victory, mortals sought no place in Valhalla, and all because of that bearded troll, who stole golds from mortals."

"And I saw damn him too, okay?!" Craig snapped back. "Look, I get it! Odin was a prick! You had human in you, but was the real answer to all this being hostile?! There could've been a better compromise!"

Prometheus backed off, glaring at Craig. "Maybe…but it's the only resort that would get across everyone. You can't get anywhere without taking a stand in what you believe in, and what you wish to see come to reality. Okay, maybe I made a mistake in attempting to murder Odin, but why would a mortal try and defend such a malevolent god?"

"Why do the good trust the bad?" Craig rebuffed.

Prometheus stopped to think about this, his thoughts making him raise a brow. Once again, a sigh escaped his mouth. "You don't see the big picture here, do you? Odin was a slouch. Just statues and plays about all these great battles he has fought to make Asghard a place full of glory."

"And Alator fought in those fights too, and he was imprisoned just like you, and yet he wasn't chained nor damned? It's all about judgement, and I would rather like to know someone a little more personally before I try to stab them in the throat. And really, I sympathize with you buddy. I really do. Maybe the reason we mortals thought Asghard was heaven was because it housed all the legends and gold, a beacon. But you know what I learned in 3 years? That beauty always has ugliness. I learned that fast, and yet it took you how many years again?"

"Enough of this, I didn't ask for your pity!" Prometheus pointed a finger at him, defining him gradually. "Craig, my intentions were to melt Valhalla's gold and let it burn down to earth. I wanted to see mankind rekindle and start fresh after Odin was gone. Better to show no lies than no truth. You understand how that means, and I would leave that gold to see the men and women choose to live…I would watch them grow…and then that very pedestal was destroyed! All because of you!"

"It was Alator who plunged the sword and sacrificed himself. He was to nourish the people, and he carried out his name with dignity." Craig replied, recalling a good man as he glowed and held Excalibur, even when his hands were burning. He was intending to do more for Earth Land even after being imprisoned. The memory was still fresh to this day.

"You and those fools; a human enacted Ragnarok, and took away our godly land. You mortals, you humans. We plucked you up and gave those worthy of joining Valhalla, but what do we get?! They all sided with you…you turned their eyes to looking from paradise to disgust. And you were okay with that?"

"Some things are best left as they are. Maybe this was for the best."

"Well…at least there's something that differentiates us."

"Hey, we've played enough games already, alright! No mind games!" Craig retorted. "Yes, assholes love to fight. I like to fight, but I don't fight unless it's for a good reason or cause. And at least I know enough to put priorities above revenge and justice."

Prometheus gave a long and silent stare at Craig. He was getting to wit's end with him. "…then would you do the same thing as I would? Wouldn't you give to the poor and still suffer as I did."

Craig nodded. "Yeah, I would."

"Then why are you contradiction such a calamity?!"

"Because just taking over a madman's spot makes you no better than him!"

Prometheus stopped for a moment, gasping at the epiphany Craig rolled in.

"After regicide, what then? Were you going to give everyone yourself? Were you going to help us mortals, or would you worry about your own status as the new king? You're so caught up in giving so much to us that at some point, the Asghar people would consider you leeching from their prosperity. It was never a win-win to begin with! You'd lose either way how you see it! It was better to abdicate and admonish the throne entirely!"

"ENOUGH!" a booming voice echoed throughout the area, making the ground all around them shake and stir with a fearful magnitude. The voice left Craig surprised, but the 5 gods were staring calmly ahead, as if they gave no real damn either way.

A hand reached out behind Craig, the palms opening up. As it glowed purple, Craig's senses picked up. With a hitch in his breath, he avoided the explosion of ground and dirt that sprouted beneath him. "What the…?" he stared down, seeing where he once stood was now a crater. He looked up, seeing who was responsible for intercepting.

A foot stomped down, pressing with a cold, harsh glare from who white eyes. The man with balled fists had no heart in those eyes as he stepped forward, walking pass Craig with vigilance. "There is only one person who is befitted to destroy these insects." He snarked.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Lector shouted.

Recognizing who was standing up against them, Frosch was without words. All he and Sabertooth did was stare up in shock and confusion. They didn't see this coming as the familiar man confused the crowd.

"It's Master Jiemma of Sabertooth!" Lola announced. "But what is he doing out there?"

Yajima glared ahead, the situation starting to sink in. "His guild had just been eliminated from the competition. Even so, this is still a code violated."

"O-oh my, this ain't looking too good." Mato panicked.

"What is Sabertooth's Master doing?" a scared spectator asked.

"Is he trying to get himself killed?"

"Crap! Somebody get some help out there or something!"

Makarov was glaring up at the monitor with growing disbelief. "Jiemma? Just when did he leave the stadium?"

"Is he really that insane?" Lucy stammered.

"Against this Magic Power? Forget about that guy, just worry about Craig! He's in deep trouble if we don't do something to help him out." Bickslow said.

"Well, technically, the competition is still alive." Evergreen begrudgingly admitted.

"She's right. I'm afraid that if we help now, then it'll only hinder Craig's predicament." Freed said. "We'll be lucky if is all called off at all, after all this information that's been laid out on us."

"Are they really gods?" Happy's question had a break in its shaky tone. It was unbelievable.

"This isn't even a joke I take it." Carla showed worry. "What kinds of people would even have that level of magic to begin with? Are they really…?"

Craig stood to the side, watching with a quizzical stare as Jiemma balled his fists at the peril before him.

"You're all such feeble contenders." He mocked. "To think that even pity even goes to the weak, whereas the attention belongs to getting the power that you want so that it is you who shall be giving the pity to others."

Prometheus gave Jiemma a calm stare. "I'm sorry, who are you again? Oh. That's right, you're that one guild master, of Sabertooth, am I right?"

"Don't even speak of that name!" Jiemma's voice shuddered the land with angst. "What you did was made us look our strengths! That act alone is a challenge."

"A challenge, you say?"

Aphrodite raised a brow. "Sorry, but I think you're talking to the wrong persons here." She cocked her head towards Craig. "If you want to get technical, it's he who eliminated your whole guild from this competition."

"And if technicality serves right, you're not supposed to be here." Penthos reminded.

Jiemma swiped his arm in defiance. "MOLARCHY!" he held up his balled fist. "Whoever said this was a competition to begin with? This was nothing more than a display of the divine strength that we o Sabertooth were meant to stun the heavens themselves. That is our aim."

Thanatos snickered. "Heh, well you ain't stunnin' any heavens here pal, not when there's no heaven to begin with."

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Jiemma boomed.

"I believe this is the best time for you to be quiet." Janus wisely informed. "You aren't impressing anybody."

Jiemma stood his ground, his feet well apart and glaring cold, deep daggers at them all. His menacing glare was sickening to where he was confident. "…you all are weak." He said. "Weak! If you were strong, then you would've used your power and crushed everyone who opposed you! You don't even erase them from existence, when they don't even deserve the right to live!"

"You're not too far." Thanatos said. "But…who says you gotta kill the weak, when they're not even worth your time? Just. Like. You."

Jiemma's body was enveloped in Magic Power, his pressure beginning to make the ground shudder beneath him. All the energy from his rage was boiling as he was refusing to accept the fact he was taunted. His purple magic was making a bright aura around his body, and stones levitating off the ground.

Craig stared ahead with wide eyes and off to the side, teeth together. 'That idiot. Is he trying to get himself killed?'

Jiemma balled his fists so tight that the veins were shown. "Sabertooth is weak! It isn't even worth my attention anymore! I now see that the one strength lies in the individual, and that is the will of one and one alone." He then turned towards Craig, seeing him off towards the side and giving his own animalistic glare. The look was an indication of him saying no, but Jiemma scoffed and looked back at Fallen Prometheus. "If Sabertooth was weak to where one individual was able to beat them, then I shall make my strength the one above that. I refuse to accept weakness! It is unnecessary, and I'll use my power right here and now to take out the strongest and be the strongest!"

Prometheus' lips kept firm at a half-grin. "Impiety."

"This lunatic is out of his own league." Janus said. "Shall I seal him in his place?"

"No…I think this should be entertaining." Prometheus turned towards Thanatos. He nudged towards the battlefield. "Since you've been so anxious all day, why don't you deal with this enthusiastic human?"

Thanatos looked back at Jiemma, giving a great scoff. "Tch, great. Another weakling to just waste my time." He started to step forward, slowly getting in front of the fellow gods with prejudice. "Well, guess this should be an easy warm up."

Jiemma and Thanatos were meters apart, with Jiemma showing pure determination.

"You've got some nerve masking your true power. A real warrior never holds back his fullest in a fight." Jiemma scowled.

Thanatos snickered. "Well sorry to disappoint you, meathead, but I don't think you get the idea of fitting in."

"What?"

"You see, those cloaks not only masked a grand del of our magic, but they also kept us from unleashing our strengths like this. We barely had 10% of our magic felt, when in reality, what you see right before you…" his eyes narrowed, showing a smug pair of red eyes. "Is but only 50% of what we actually are."

Jiemma's eyes dilated in strengthening rage. The pressure around him was starting to make the airspace shake again.

"Did…he just…" Lisanna was unable to finish due to shock.

She wasn't alone in the shock. Everyone who was listening on the tale told were in disbelief enough already, but now they were completely denying it. Half their full godly strength in such forms, and it was at levels even they could not comprehend. It was like an intense wave of pressure rendered them frozen. Their blood cells almost fell cold.

Jiemma stood one step forward, his glare so deep that it was almost like ignorance over confidence. "You expect me to be believe that?!"

"You can believe what you want. I'm picky, but I ain't a liar." Thanatos mused. "Gods or demons, we never tell a lie. That's another fallacy that separates humans from us."

Jiemma reached out. "Don't be ridiculous!" His palm glowed bright purple, his Magic Power expelling energy at Thanatos' feet. The god's feet were enveloped in a growing shroud of an eruption. The energy arose up his body, but he only looked down with an unemotional look.

"It doesn't matter if you're gods to me! I'll demolish gods myself if I must prove that no one can push me down! This became my domain the second Sabertooth was knocked out of the competition! THOSE WEAKLINGS HAVE NO PLACE!" He began to expel even more powerful eruptions over Thanatos. In his place, several eruptions of magical energy, erupting more and more without consequence. The explosions just kept piling to where not even smoke could form. It was one loud boom after another, and Jiemma was keeping an angered face, while all of Fallen Prometheus had straight faces.

As the background shook from Jiemma's rage, Craig stared on with a look that said Jiemma had a death wish. He shook his head in disappointment and angst. He was a damned moron, and he didn't accept that.

With one more burst of magic, Jiemma let up. His palm was smoking, and he watched as the area before him was nothing a smoke cloud. He glared downwards at the base of the cloud bellowing away, sheer dominance that spelled out for his name alone.

"Are you done yet?"

Jiemma's eyes shrunk at the sound.

The smoke cleared, revealing Thanatos standing in the exact same position as before, without even a single scratch on him. He was half-grinning with his own menacing leer at Jiemma. "C'mon, that all you got? Just face it, you're just not worth my time."

Jiemma's dumbfounded act didn't get him anywhere. He only fumed in purple energy as he pressed forward. He rushed ahead with an excessive shout, roaring as he closed the gap and rushed Thanatos dead in the face with the punch dead in the forehead. The impact made a shockwave that made went right pass his head, flowing into the Fallen Prometheus group, yet they were all unmoved. The winds bypassed them to nothing, and Jiemma's fist was stopped like a steel trap. He only glared in disbelief.

"How many times to I have to say it?" Thanatos growled, patience wearing thin. "It doesn't even come close to mattering who you are. You're not the strongest."

"BE QUIET!" Jiemma fumed. He began to bombard punches back to back into Thanatos' face. He bombarded one fist after another, pounding without the need to stop or hold back. "I am not the weak! Whatever it is, I will demand it, even if it is to be ripped from corpses! The strongest must be willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary; that includes their own sense of guilt and humanity! Anything not related to getting power and superiority, is just wasted breath!"

With one last punch to Thanatos' face, Jiemma made his point loud and clear. The last fist embedded with magic sent one last shockwave throughout the area behind Fallen Prometheus. The ground was withered away of its grains and debris, and all the dust blew into dissipating energy. As expected, Fallen Prometheus didn't move a muscle. They were all standing in place while Craig was a fair distance behind Jiemma, seeing the power-hungry man panting.

Jiemma removed his fist from Thanatos' head, revealing him without any harm. It was like he was untouched. The face the Sabertooth master showed was a sheer indication of his impasse.

"Im…possible…"

Thanatos frowned with discouragement. "Are you through?" Jiemma was silent to him, but his shaking pupils were an implication. "Good."

FWOOSH!

Everything was lit up in a bright display in dramatic fashion, The 8-shaped axe Thanatos carried swung around horizontally, if not casually. The swing went right through Jiemma's pectoral region, clean through. To everyone sheer horror and shock, some evn sunk to their knees as the guild master's heart and other organs were cleaved cleanly through. His entire chest region up was severed from his body, his eyes so wide in disbelief.

"Im…possible…"

As the limb bottom fell to the ground, Craig was standing in place, eyes completely wide at the sight of Jiemma cut in half ever so casually. His upper-half hit the ground, the blood seeping from his mouth and the underside. It was staining the ground where he laid, and he just looked so in shock.

"Pissant." Thanatos exasperated. The top opening of the ace started to generate a small hemisphere of magical energy. He raised it and aimed like a magnifying glass. It propelled the attack at the two limp corpses, generating a bright blast of sheer power. There was no explosion. No shockwave. Nothing but sheer, compressed power that created a large crater in less than a second's time. There was a short 'boom' to follow, but the dome dissipated to reveal a clean slate.

The audience was terrified beyond recognition. Some women watching were holding onto their significant others for comfort, while men were feeling sick at the sight. Fairy Tail had nothing to say as they saw pure, unadulterated death.

"M-M-Master Jiemma…" Lector's face was pale. He was scared out of his mind.

Frosch was shivering with his tail sticking straight up. He had tears of sheer fear in his eyes and had a gaping mouth. He looked like a frightened child.

As the crater laid bare, Thanatos lowered his weapon, staring ahead blankly. "Some people never learn." He huffed.

"Indeed." Prometheus agreed. "Just for good measure…Janus."

"Yes." The three beads inside the cylindrical bead flashed colors. Above the unconscious Minerva and Sting, two small ethereal orbs appeared. Craig looked back to see as they were teleported away in an instant.

"Them too?"

It wasn't just them. All over Crocus, the contestants that weren't picked up by authorities were teleporting away in a single whiff. Authorities, the king, royal folk from the damaged Mercurius, every single human being and mage that was not in Domus Flau. The colosseum began to pop with many people transported within its center, including Darton, a confused Arcadios, and Hisui. They were all transported, despite the magical barriers set up.

To make matters all the more terrifying, a small orb appeared above Domus Flau. It flashed like fireworks, unleashing arching streams that ran like bars all down the sides. The entire colosseum was in a panic as they all got up from their seats and looked up, seeing monitors that showed the bars smashing into the ground and imprisoning everyone.

"Wait! What the hell?!"

"We're trapped!"

"This is just like Fairy Tail! But why us now?!"

"How is this happening?!"

Lola and Yajima were completely speechless. Neither side could make sense of what was happening, nor was it even fathomable. All they knew was that whatever was happening, it was just like Fairy Tail, and it wasn't pretty.

Erza looked up, gasping. "I can hardly believe my eyes."

"Wait, you saying we're all trapped in here?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"This can't be right!" Gray exasperated.

Elfman flexed. "C'mon! There's gotta be a man to bust down these things!"

"But what about Natsu and the others?" Wendy reminded.

"Yeah, even their magic couldn't get through." Lucy warned.

Mirajane turned towards Makarov. "Master?"

The elderly man was folding his arms. He was standing on his two feet and glaring up with wide eyes. First Jiemma was slaughtered effortlessly, and now every single contestant defeated and authorities had also been transported and detained. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. And the worst part of it all was that this was still a competition…and Craig was all that stood between them all.

"The hell…?" Gildarts was at a complete loss for what was to be said about the situation. It was grim to say the least.

Beside him, Cana was looking down at her cards. They still spelled out DEATH in uneasy characters, and it was making her spine crawl. She always had a bad feeling about Fallen Prometheus ever since that night they forewarned this day, but she didn't think it'd go to these lengths. She watched Craig through whatever monitors were available, seeing them all focused on him. Her eyes began to dilate, her heart beginning to race at levels she couldn't control. "Cranky…"

Craig stood by himself, his feet spreading apart and looking like nothing happened. He glared daggers at Fallen Prometheus as a small wind was picking up again, shifting his clothing. The nighttime skies were blooming with cloud coverage, giving it an even more crestfallen appeal.

"Now that we've gotten the distractions out of the way, we can finally make this fair." Prometheus said.

"I forgot how Janus' powers worked there for a moment." Craig said. "Your power is sealing, is it not?"

Janus' lens dilated for a moment, the three beads flashing again. "Yes…I am god of doorways and sealing. I locked the door on all those who had no entry. I hone in on their individual magic signatures, and I can seal them in. It matters not where you hide, because the ethernano knows all, and it is either opened or locked at my command. Those cages everyone is in; no one gets in, and no one gets out. It is an anti-ethereal and magic presence. Touch it or unleash as you see fit. Freeze, burn, mold your body…but your body is sealed, and your energy is just fuel for the seal alone. Nullification magic itself is nothing. It is without permission on either side of the door."

Hearing this, Laxus' eyes narrowed. "So then that's how we got here. He traced our magic and sealed it."

"So he can just imprison anything? That's insane!" Gajeel stammered.

Erza's fists balled in frustration, there was a shadow over her eyes. "So we were damned right from the start…"

For the umpteenth time, Natsu banged against the wall, but it bounced off with a great sting to it. "Gnnngh!" he winced again in frustration. "Damnit! You cowards!" he roared.

"Your friends are weak. They cannot understand that no magic can hurt a true god." Penthos said.

Craig cocked his head. "You're not wrong. I wouldn't expect them too."

Prometheus chuckled. "Well isn't that bold to say about friends. Has your heart sunk after Maponus and Alator perished? I remember you being so bold and willing will fight with your friends and allies."

"Hey, if someone wants to fight, who says I stop them?" He brought a step forward, glaring at the adversaries. "And last I checked, you were the reason why we all enacted Ragnarok to begin with."

"…that's fair. But how will you fight us now? You don't have anti-god weapon like Excalibur. Just how do you intend to do harm?"

Craig cracked his neck by tilting it. He felt so much popping that it made his head dizzy. He shook it and looked refreshed. "You know…" He raised a fist. "Dumb luck."

Prometheus smirked. "You humans truly are entertaining…"

Thanatos stretched his arm out to the side. "Now hold on!" he barked.

"Thanatos?" Aphrodite questioned.

His axe pointed towards Craig. "This punk still owes me a rematch. We never settled our score the other day, did we?"

Craig flashed his own snicker. "Yeah, now that you mention it." He started to unsheathe his dark red blade. It whistled in the weak winds. "I was thinking the same thing. And I never like leaving business unfinished either."

"So then…we are in agreement?"

Craig took in a deep breath, cleansing his mind and easing his discomfort. "Interpret it as you'd like. I just intend to finish what I started."

Aphrodite gave a grieving sigh. "You idiot."

Thanatos glared at her. "Hey, watch it."

"But she is right, you know. You do intend to do this fair, you'll be hogging fortune." Penthos said.

Thanatos merely shrugged. "Don't be so dramatic. I'm just softening him up. Just let me get a few good swings in, that too much to ask?"

"But you can't-"

Prometheus sighed. "You've always were pessimistic at times when eager, Thanatos. If you get your wish, will that put your urges to rest?"

"Prometheus." Janus said.

Thanatos smirked. "It might. Only one way to find out." He faced Craig, holding up his axe with a snicker. "You feeling lucky, punk?!"

Craig smirked wide, his blood pumping as he was faced with abominable magical energy. The gravity in the atmosphere was making his body shudder. It has been a while since he had to face an opponent of this miraculous level. "I'm the luckiest of unlucky!"

Prometheus and the three other gods watched with a worthwhile gaze. They could feel the magic flow as they would wait a little while longer for Thanatos to get a few practice swings in. From message made, Prometheus made sure to leave some blood for him to spill.

Thanatos and Craig pulled their respective weapons away from each other, crouching and started running for the other. Each shared a domestic howl so loud that it reverberated through the atmosphere.

As they closed in, their excited faces were fading into white…

---

The gray skies of the normally serenity-filled Asghar were in a maelstrom. Lightning flashed constantly across the sky as the Yakuma Wargods were walking around, stumbling as many of flying demons and majestic creatures of both worlds fired blasts of magical energy, some equipped in fire. With some shots aimed around the head, it was no wonder why so many of the enormous gods were staggering.

While they were distracted, Craig let out a battle cry as he bypassed an ankle, cleaving clean through horizontally with his Excalibur, time slowing down as he continued to forward into the crumbled castle. He ignored the heartbeats he heard, as that was all that was within the background. Heartbeats, followed by the soaring of arrows, the clashing of claws and blades, and the muffled wails of the valiant. Not far behind him, Alator and Maponus followed in slow motion as well; the latter holding his bagpipes in his burly arms.

All three were darting towards the decrepit tower's courtyard, where Prometheus and many of the henchmen he enlisted were doing their works in liberating the sanctum.

Seeing Craig advance, the fallen god saw the determined look of the mortal. It left him stinging inside. "Aphrodite." He sniped.

Aphrodite entered the air, but her form was completely different. Her body had lost the suit and the ridges that came with it, leaving instead her slender, sultry dark skin to be replaced by an orange hakama with tiger stripes all along it. The slender waist had nothing but three orange stripes below the ribs but above the waist. The upper half was comprised of a low-cut tunic with loose half-long sleeves that opened towards the arms. All along were tiger symbols, but along the low cut to her bodacious ample figure, there was yellow pointed edging, like in rectangular versions of sun rays. Her hair was now slick, and went down to her back waist, leaving her forehead to show a single orange dot in place of the three above the eyelids. Her eyes were far more lustrous, as was her wings, for they were slightly larger, with what looked like dark edging going into yellow accents that flowed into orange ones, with bright yellow as the main background. The accents flowed around two large orange hearts; one for each side of the wings.

The bodacious goddess took to the air and smirked at the incoming Craig and the demons. "With pleasure." She flexed her wings, and the hearts on said wings began to glow red. As if by magic, many of people, from both sides for that matter, began to draw themselves away from their fights all over the courtyard, and turned towards Aphrodite. She gave them a single wink, and that's all that it took for the many to submit to their knees and stare dreamily towards her.

In spite of it even working on Maponus and Alator, Craig was immune, mostly thanks to the mutation back in the island last year that he blew up. No dark nor light will would harm his being, for he was to move on.

He charged ahead, coming to a pickup in pace. He screamed as he drove Excalibur into the ground forward, plunging its tip in. A shockwave of pure rock went in a straight line forward rather than all directions, targeted solemnly for Prometheus.

"You think so…" the vengeful god let his hand fall forward, unleashing rainbow flames. The compressed rainbow blast seared in a straight line into the shockwaves of Craig's attack, the two meeting in the dead center.

At the instance of impact, a bright flash enveloped the whole atmosphere, sending a pulsing, omnidirectional shockwave over the ground and through the area. All of the soldiers in and near the area were blown away like pebbles in an explosion. The shockwaves were like a maelstrom that went towards Craig. Knowing he'd be blown away, he dropped to a knee and put out the shield that came with Excalibur, which was latched onto his arm. The makeshift bunker protected Craig from being blown about, while the bright flash and winds knocked Maponus and Alator onto their backs as well.

The shockwave's dissipation ran out towards the outer banks of the courtyard, where many fell over. They were the ones far out of range, but they were still able to fight. The ones lying around the crater where the two attacks collided were either lying limp or had their armor chunked off, revealing severe bloody wounds.

Craig removed the shield from up front, standing on his two feet as Alataor and Maponus came about.

"Brrrr!" Maponus shook his head angrily and raised a fist at Aphrodite. "Aye, wee lady, you stop doin' that! It's be drivin' me crazy!"

Aphrodite bared no care as she gently lowered towards the ground. "Such repulse." She scoffed.

Maponus inhaled greatly before he blew into his bagpipes. The Celtic god's fingers went wild on the flute part and began to generate a powerful theme throughout the atmosphere. The epic tune was ringing inside Craig and Alator's ears, their muscles starting to get blood surges as they charged with loud shouts and swords pointed dead ahead.

"Janus." Prometheus called forth his faithful ally.

As Craig and Alator advanced, they charged with such vigorous energy, readying to close the gap, until an ethereal shield appeared. To their shock, Alator almost ran into it, but the side cloth on his waist was recoiled forward given momentum. It grazed the ethereal shield, and it started dissipating like it were lit by invisible flames.

Craig, however, raised his shield before him and completely bounced off. He went flying and fell hard on his back, the impact leaving him gawking from the force. "Gah!"

"We lad!" Maponus exclaimed. Suddenly, a transparent purple veil appeared around him, encasing him in a dome. He looked around surprised at the veil that appeared literally out of thin air. "What the…?"

In a flash, something bizarre appeared beside Prometheus. He was levitating in midair, but he had a very large body. It was a midnight purple figure that looked a lot like armor, only it was more bulbous if not edged. It sported what looked like a shimmering silver generator in its center, with a bright purple light exemplifying its core. Its facial mask was the same dark shade, but the visor was a Y-shape. There were three beads around the ends of the Y, which were green, blue, and red. White lines traveled from the core up the chest and down the middle of the legs and arms, like veins. The arms and legs themselves were mild but not bulky. There was a deep red cloak on the back to exemplify his mystery.

The figure's core shined once, then the beads started to flash consecutively, as though it tried to communicate.

Rolling onto his front and shield, Craig got to a knee and grimaced. "Man, did someone get the number of that…?" he looked up, gasping when Maponus was inside the dome. "Maponus!"

"Aye! Me alright!" The Celtic got informed. "But look out!" He pointed behind Craig, getting him to look and see what was coming his way.

Aphrodite's hearts in her wings shined, unleashing two monstrous lasers that blitzed through the air at massive force. Suddenly, the lasers diverged from her wings, going in various directions, like light waves would. Everything that the rays of light touched, it was being churned over. Unlucky soldiers that looked up at the light saw the hearts, and just by looking made them go blind. Their eyes seared and smoked, some kneeling and holding their heads in crying pain. Some, who were hit directly by the rays of beauty were vaporized on the spot. Soldiers and demons alike were losing body parts as they closed in, but they all tumbled over out of going blind, and then fall into the compressed laser lights.

Unwilling to look, Maponus covered up inside the barrier he was trapped in, and Alator while still down was shielded by Craig as he got his shield of anti-god power. The light rays hitting the shield were deflected completely like a mirror, bolting in different directions.

Prometheus reached his arm out in an arch, a whole line of rainbow flames following in its path. It flowed between them and the light ways bounced back, creating a bright swirling maelstrom that spiraled out of control for a short while between until dissipating.

As the flames now vanished, Craig got up and winced. He ignored the stinging he felt in some parts of him and followed through with his swipe with the big blade. It came down on Maponus' veil, splitting through the magical energy it had. He withdrew and allowed Maponus to get out. All three shot glares at them, while Prometheus' side was looking rather excited.

"This bites." Craig scoffed.

"Agreed." Alator said. "We can't get to Yggdrasil without the Excalibur."

"I know, but we need an opening."

Maponus took a deep breath and breathed once more into his bagpipes. They unleashed a powerful sound, once much less controlled than the other tune he played before. It was loud, obnoxious, and it echoed loudly to break sound barriers.

"What a vulgar…sound!" Aphrodite lost her focus and descended towards the ground, covering her ears in her riling pain.

"So intrusive!" Prometheus strained.

Alator was covering his own ears as he was looking over at Craig, who was covering like he was. He saw him nudge his head, and that was the signal made. Craig knew this was his chance. He looked ahead and bolted onwards, hurrying past the Prometheus followers so long as Maponus' tune was making good time.

As he felt a pair of footsteps bypass him, Prometheus opened his eyes and glared back. He saw Craig take off, but his eyes turned to rainbow colors.

As Craig hurried on, a huge, long wall of rainbow fire erupted. The flames burned with thick heaviness inside of them, and that's what made him stop dead in his tracks. With a gasp, he looked back at Prometheus with wide eyes. He covered up just in time before a straight beam of rainbow fire went surging forward. He bent down and got his circular shield up in time as the blast came forth. It applied a heated pressure, but like before, it deflected and protected Craig.

"Don't let him get in there!" Prometheus demanded.

Janus' three beads around the visor shined, making another one of his immense walls. The defense got above Craig and expanded over him into a thin veil. It slowly started to compress on him, making him run out of time.

'Gotta make a wedge!' He nimbly thought ahead for a brief moment, but that moment saved him as the arm went up. With the shield turned sideways, it left enough room to stop it, leaving a thin funnel for Craig to be in. He stabbed his sword forward, the very Excalibur blade piercing through untamed defense like glass. "Hmgh!" Craig somersaulted out of the shattered funnel, landing on a knee and looking down.

"Hey, uglies!" Maponus shouted. "Get a load of this!" Once again, he took in a deep breath to start another one of his powerful tines of war, but suddenly a black talon dropped from the sky, grabbing his shoulder and hoisting him up.

Alator looked out, eyes wide and backing away at the sight.

In the sky was what looked like a large, black crow. Actually, it was more of an armored crow. Instead of feathers, there looked like two scaled wings, and they looked equally as sharp as the gauntlets, which had thick, red accents on the wrist guards. Red was also on the vails of the hands and talons, which were sharp and a little curbed. The man had red accents on the scaled calves and on the shoulders, and adorned a powerful, gray brace around the forehead, bordering the massive, shaggy black hair that was beyond messy and looked like a coat. The bodily armor was instead replaced by black scales, with red lining forming a 2D avian with one red eye.

"Hey! What'ya-AH!" Maponus was clutched tighter by the talons of the man, who cawed down.

As he hoisted Maponus higher up, the wings he was making were making the few soldiers nearby the courtyard feel a chill. Unknowingly, many soldiers from either side were either slipping and falling onto dead bodies, or even their own swords. Golden arches crumbled in the distance from just a whiff of these winds, shattering and crushing those beneath them. This was the great work of misfortune itself.

Though morally shocked, Craig found the opportunity to get away. He swiped Excalibur horizontally once again, unleashing a blistering shockwave if its anti-god power. The invisible shockwave was met at the last second my Promethetus. He turned and looked behind just as the shockwave reached all their feet, generating a massive blast wave that caused earth and rock to explode like dynamite in an equally long line as the dissipating wall of fire was.

He turned away from the roaring dust waves and rushed for what was left of the stairs. He charged up the cracked, golden casing, and worked his way towards the hall, where there wasn't even a ceiling. As he looked up and went towards the center hall, lightning in the sky continued to flash.

Looking up, his eyes widened and almost slipped upon seeing something that looked like a four-armed reaper with devil horns. Its silhouette roared loudly as it came down on Craig from a corner of a roof ledge, slashing all four of its deep, accented blades…

---

CLANG!

Sparks flared as a shockwave was produced upon impact. Immense Magic Power was released from bitter impact, and yet Craig was the only one who slid back from it. Losing several footing from the massive pulse, he leered ahead wickedly as Thanatos swiped his axe to the side and sprung ahead.

"GRAAH~!"

CLANG!

This time with his full weight into this downwards swing, Craig's sword swung deep into the oncoming axe. Usually mortal weaponry was nothing to the likes of gods, but Craig's brute strength against the 50% form of Thanatos was making for a sharp parry. This time, the two held the stalemate while a voluminous shockwave split apart the ground between them to thin slits. The attack missed Craig thanks to the sword's deflection. They held their stalemate for a while, each of them smirking maliciously, with fangs bared to indicate their willingness to destroy and rip throats if anyone came between them.

Once again, they parted on equal footing. Craig stayed still while Thanatos crouched and went for another attack. His axe swung downwards at an angle, but Craig reached back and flicked out his second blade. The one blade was used to parry the 8-shapes tool, generating sparks. While Craig fended, his spare arm and sword were on the side, being swung upwards in an arch like a softball player. It struck Thanatos, but the blade instead made sparks and deflected off, causing both warriors to recoil.

As Craig recoiled, Thanatos smirked. "Seems as though you aren't catching on. Maybe you'd better remember this, but I'm the god of death. The only way you can even beat death is by cheating me." He raised his axe like a bat. "And lookey here, no anti-god weapons on you now, is there? Too bad, because no other magic works on me. So if you wanna cut me, you better find another way. Only the dead can touch me!"

Another pulse of magic was surging through the atmosphere. The gravity began to sink in, managing to startle many of the scared patrons and mages inside the stadium. However, Craig opposed with a bizarre grin.

"Well, you look happy for someone who's about to die." Thanatos chimed.

Craig's teeth showed. "Let's hope you can try and kill me, shall we?"

Caught surprised by Craig's wording, Thanatos went wide-eyed. Everyone else hearing his words like he was insane. Cana especially showed a confused anguish in her eyes.

"Well isn't this…what do they say? A hoot…?" Janus questioned.

"More or less, but it seems this is more entertaining than we thought." Penthos said.

Aphrodite shrugged. "I don't suppose now we pitch in."

Prometheus just smirked along, finding the look on Craig's face intriguing, yet entertaining. He never saw him so eager before. Not even in Valhalla. Clearly the time over the near-2 years have been fruitful, whatever twisted sense Craig had developed of course.

Craig roared viciously as he raised both swords in an X formation. He leaned forward and slashed, getting sharp pressure to kick dust up beside him. He lunged ahead, taking one swift raptor-like stride after another. The huge strides were taken so straightforward, much to Thanatos' surprise. He brought his axe forward in a straight jab, but with one sword, Craig arose it at the last second, and plunged it through the nearest loop of the axe. The jab didn't reach Craig by any less than a mere centimeter, because it was stopped by the sharp edge of his blood red sword plunged into the ground.

His brow furrowed. "You twit…"

With a now serious demeanor, Craig swiped his other blade in the same upper arch formation as before. The blade brushed the axe off the sword, and left Thanatos to stammer backwards a foot.

"Smash!"

Craig brought his sword around and held like a knife to the side. He brought his knuckles back and readied a punch. As he reeled forward, Thanatos narrowed his own vision and got a foot behind him, gaining balance. With the support, he took Craig's punch to the chest, but the attack only bounced off.

Craig retracted his knuckles, which were badly bruised from the punch, but the look on his face didn't seem to show pain. In fact, he was smirking wider than ever.

"You seem awfully glad you hurt yourself there." Thanatos mused. "You okay?"

Craig looked up towards him, his sharp teeth showing. "Maybe it's the adrenaline talking, or the fact that I'm just tired from all these annoying fights going on, but you know, you never feel so alive when you're so close to death itself…"

Thanatos stared down at Craig for a solid moment before giving a deadpanned expression. "Well, guess you aren't wrong there…you are tired from all the fights. HRAH!" He plunged his axe down is a slanted jab, brimming with all the insidious power to boot. Craig crossed both swords and blocked the downward strike. He used whatever muscle he could've possibly surmised and gave another bloodthirsty growl. He crossed his swords to get the axe off, once again throwing Thanatos off balance.

Realizing it, the god's brow furrowed and he leaned forward. With one shout, his foot pressed forward, generated with great magical power. Menacing, wailing shockwaves spilled from the ground, unleashing in torrential and monstrous dust waves that rippled out like water. Waves of rock and ust went flying straight ahead, going nonstop.

Inside the raging storm of rock and dust, Craig was on a knee, holding his bare ground as a sword was plunged into the deep earth. It was so deep that he looked like he was kneeling before the tidal wave of dust; and doing so with eyes closed. As far as the shockwaves reached out, they went all over the destroyed parts of Crocus, where the closer debris fragments were blown away; some sturdier strongholds unhinged. The energy eventually dissipated though, leaving but clouds of upscaled dust to cover the area before Craig. Thanatos' position was far from moved as the land before him was but a few feet deeper, sloping down from his foot pressed out.

"You like that?" he rhetorically asked the dust.

There was a second of silence, before the winds dissipated. A brief silhouette was seen inside the dust before a swift sword punctured it, revealing Craig with both swords. He was incredulously dirty from those shockwaves, but that didn't matter. What mattered was crushing his opponent beneath him and saving the human race…again. He bellowed out as he pounced for Thanatos, slashing, but with one fell swing, the slash of his axe stopped Craig's attack cold. The force from the swing went as far as sent another pulse wave skyward, sending Craig towards the air as well. The impact even made a few slight tears in his shirt, revealing slightly more than his stomach, where Sting's punch got him before. He landed unsteadily before staggering back, almost falling over.

"Craig…" Levy muttered.

"By the gods, he's facing that much magic against just one individual?" Makarov questioned with widened eyes.

He wasn't the only one who was baffled. While Rune Knights and all the people inside the stadium were doing what they could to help heal the fighters eliminated by Craig, the ones able-bodied were still stiff to their bone marrow. They still couldn't fathom what on earth they were watching, nor what they were feeling. They knew it was fear, but they didn't know which was scarier, the magic energy or the people behind it all. Cana was one of the shocked individuals, and Gildarts was another one completely surprised. He was having no words to describe what he was seeing before him, and his daughter was looking down at her cards and back at Craig, her brow furrowing with nervousness.

Craig and Thanatos were in it bad. With one parry after another, Craig was getting nimble as he twisted with the wind, dodging necessary strikes. Him and Thanatos were having a dance on air, their feet hardly touching the ground. Their own blades had their own individual dance included, sparks igniting with every blow taken, received, and carried along. They were unwilling. Unyielding. This was one corrupted life against death itself. The blades of red shades that were of burning fury and strife, courage and relentless, alongside the darker shade of red, of blood, death, darkness, but power through the toughest times. Both going against the weapon of choice by the reaper himself.

"HRAH!" Craig jumped at the last second to avoid a massive swing long the side. To Thanatos' shock, Craig's timing was so dead on that his feet landed on the blade as the swing followed. Once pulling through at the end, Thanatos looked over his shoulder up at Craig, only to be met with a stamp to the face. The impact felt like a beachball to the god, but that was enough of a flinch to give Craig a chance to jump off the axe and grab his face. The fingers gripped tightly to the forehead, anchoring while coming down and slamming Thanatos into the ground, his weapon falling to the ground.

The dust was picked up, but only enough to give way for a few seconds. Once cleared, Craig was seen with his knee pressed against the chest, his one arm clutching the god's face, and the other drawn back with the blade poised to strike.

"Well that's compromising." Aphrodite scoffed.

"But will it be enough t hold down Thanatos?" Penthos inquired. "It'd most…unfortunate if it did not."

As if the irony was richer than a hundred billion jewels, Thanatos glared up at Craig with the leer of someone with no emotion. His eyes widened, gradually releasing a tremendous shockwave of darkness from his body. Craig went wide-eyed as the attack began to close in on him, his shocked expression at hiw cold it felt upon its dry vapor reaching his skin.

As the shockwave of death-like energy flowed through the atmosphere, Janus' three beads above the brain began to flicker and gleam again. An ethereal cage began to materialize from thin air around the group, and together, they were all entrapped as the shockwave of dark energy spouted like a dome.

The black darkness spouted like a raging, rampaging monster. It howled and shook the land with intense magical pressure that sent some beams of it up from cracks in the ground even. The dome took up a massive perimeter and had several ripples of darkness bellow skywards, in turn making the clouded night sky open in a small hole to reveal the shockwave effects. All who were watching from the caged Domus Flau had no words to speak of the calamity, but instead they gasped in fright over what they were seeing.

"Aaaah…!" Lola and Yajima were completely stiff at the cataclysm, their trained eyes almost as dull as golf balls.

Within the darkness' epicenter, the magnitude palpitated with pressure around Thanatos, his smirk showing his glee. "Heh, hope you're still not too badly hurt by that!" He chimed sarcastically through the explosive roars. He got up onto his feet through the darkness, staring up at the black and dark red energy. 'Maybe I overdid my part a little there.'

A sound of a sword shimmered through the darkness, making Thanatos' breath hitch.

"What…?"

The darkness that the god unleashed started to dissipate, but the energy concentrated above him was compressing, but at the same time, molding. It was like it was flowing into some estrange formation like water around Craig's blades as he moved them about in an enchanting manner in midair. He looked like he was being so mythical, yet it was so bizarre for character, at least to the proverbial spectrum.

'I don't believe it!' Thanatos exclaimed to himself through the dissipating dark winds. 'I just leveled the entire land around here, yet he still is in one piece? That enough power should've vaporized any elements no problem…no, that can't be. He's just molded it! And with his hands too!'

Within the thoughts that went about, Craig's molding also transferred into the movements made into his unsheathing of the mouth sword. With it lodged between his fangs, he bit it and began to spin, molding the chi still around his swords as he went downwards.

"Devil's Cross!"

Upon landing in a crouched position underneath Thanatos' chin, Craig's mouth blade was vertical with his neck craned. He crossed his arms and tilted up, slashing in a cross shape. The attack embedded with the chi was enough to create a powerful burst of black grazes in that same line on his chest, sending Thanatos stumbling backwards with blood seeping painfully.

"You bastard!" he exclaimed.

In the last bit of chi still prominent, Craig kept his movements flowing with his swords and swerved around. He slashed through the dissipating energy and enacted a jab forward. The jab with chi made a small pierce just above the stomach, but not as deep as intended. "Humming Pointer." He growled.

Thanatos grunted in pain, his body actually being cut. "Damnit…"

His comrades looked on with shock. They were completely surprised with what they were seeing before them. Usually it'd take a miracle to break through his body without the use of Excalibur, but here he was, sliced by some unknown force by nature itself, it was unbelievable at best.

"Well this went in a different direction than expected." Prometheus frowned. He observed carefully as Craig's sword's tip was still lodged in Thanatos' midsection. He knew something about this was off, but he couldn't see exactly why. Gods were like steel to even Crush Magic users like Gildarts. So how did a sword reverse attacks on him?

Thanatos was gritting his teeth hard, grunting even more as he leered at Craig. Still holding his two feet up, he hunched over. "Man, you sure do pack a punch." He teased.

"The feeling's mutual here." Craig said in a serious tone.

"I gotta ask ya, just how the hell did you do that? It's not everyday you get to get pierced and slashed by your own magic. In fact, no magic can get through me, unless involved with death. Are you dead even?"

"Gee, and here you call me the moron." Craig pushed harder. "I've been to hell before, so I'm technically dead. Whether it's your magic turned against you or the fact that I'm 'dead' doesn't make much of a difference to the fact that you can still be hurt by a mortal."

Thanatos' eyes narrowed. "So it would seem. Guess that explains why I was shoved back those few times." He then smirked. "But you know…"

Craig's eyes narrowed as well.

"I would really appreciate it, that if you died again!" With that sentence, Thanatos yanked his arm around, prompting the claws of his gauntlet to swipe forward, dragging the chain in the process. Much to Craig's own shock, he ducked at the gauntlets, but the chain itself kept going, pulling the 8-shaped axe on Craig's right. Glancing over, Craig saw it coming, and he turned his mouth blade and head to block the axe.

Of course the head turn was just what was needed. Craig's eyes widened at the realization. 'Crap!'

With an insidious smirk, the gauntlet on Thanatos' right arm raked across Craig's chest. Deep, streaking gashes appeared and Craig's shock surmounted. His blood spilled from the deep diagonal rake across the pectoral. He stumbled back a foot as his blood dripped from his short.

The smirk on the vengeful god's face widened.

Audience members watched in deep shock over the circumstances. Some covered up from seeing that attack, but Fairy Tail's Cana was gritting her teeth in growing frustration.

Despite the wound inflicted, Craig kept one eye opened, frowning as he clutched his mouth blade tighter between his fangs. "Tch, some move." He mocked.

Thanatos repositioned himself, getting his axe up. "Funny, most mortals that I strike with my claws even, if I taste their blood, they die." He drew his tongue towards Craig's blood, looking so joyful.

"You wouldn't want my blood, pal." Craig reasoned. "Besides…I'm a little…poisoned."

Thanatos' eyes narrowed. "…what?" He turned towards Craig's blood in his claws. Quizzically taking a bold chance, he stuck the tip of his tongue into the blood. The second his blood touched the taste buds, his eyes widened at the taste.

"BLEH!" He spit out the bit o blood, his spit getting on the ground. There was so many things wrong with the flavor, and the god clutched his throat and gagged as he tried to get the poisonous blood out. "Grief *cough* the hell?!" He coughed as he looked towards Craig. "The hell…you do?!"

Craig's eyes narrowed. His vision was rather hazy, but that was given circumstances. If he swallowed the blood, he'd be dead by now. 'Looks like I got off lucky with all those antibodies and mutation cells again. Never thought he'd also dislike the antibodies to instant-kill poison.' He personally did not want to think about those few times he had to face poisonous monsters. It took him some hours to get an antidote up after hunting again, and he was barely lucky to have survived poisonous enzymes injected by cobras and black mambas, but only due to the "accidental" drinks he had in a village. Of course more was to come from then on, but despite blacking out, he was still alive, maybe dizzy after, but things could've been worse.

"Well isn't this fortunate." Penthos chimed. "Seems as though Craig has hidden yet another loose card up his sleeve for us."

"Tainted and pure blood mixed. Demon blood. Animal pheromones…what a very bland taste." Aphrodite said. "I like it."

"You prick!" Thanatos snapped. "The hell is wrong with-" The god was cut off when Craig went to attack by swiping his mouth blade. The blade swept from the side, making him catch his own axe up to defend. The two conflicting forces collided against the other, causing grinding sparks that flared without end. The god and the attacker remained steadfast, but with him still off by a few good weapons, he didn't take into account Craig's chi.

With the stalemate still, Craig closed his eyes and took a deep cleansing breath. Twirling a sword to make the guard face ahead, he pointed two fingers and concentrated chi into the tips.

"HRAH!"

With a mighty jab, the two fingers jabbed forward. Though by a simple touch, the chi packed the most force, sending a terrible shock through Thanatos' gut. The god went wide-eyed and leaned over, clutching his abdomen. Craig thus did an uppercut with the sword included for an extra edge, scoring another blow, and this time the pain was dulled due to the knuckles already bruised.

Thanatos caught himself, grunting in pain. He looked back at Craig, the corner of his lip forming a smirk. "Pulling punches I see."

"Well I don't exactly play nice with others." Craig chirped. He was about to say more before the wounds he was inflicted with started to sting. His teeth gritted in agony as his chest, shoulders, and parts of his bruised and dirty face was aching profusely.

Seeing him faltering, Thanatos smirked. "What's wrong? You look like you're about to pass out on me."

Craig stomped on the ground, shaking his head profusely. With a hunched disposition, yet with the many blades still in his grasps. He shot an abundance of leers at the god. "Looks can be deceiving, pal." He muffled again.

"Heh, some smack talk coming from someone who uses trash cans as sleds." Thanatos mocked knowingly and proceeded to advance, but when he leaned forward to prepare another strike, his senses picked up.

Moments later, an ethereal jail-like bars bordered him and Craig, intercepting the two from any congregation.

"What the hell…?" Thanatos looked over towards his allies, seeing Janus having no qualms with what he was doing. "Janus. I was busy."

"Sorry, my friend, but it seems that you have taken up your entirety of the deal you have made." He reminded.

"What?!"

Aphrodite sighed. "You aren't the best with remembering these things, are you?"

"Don't overlook the fortune that you have been blessed with, it shall turn to karma." Penthos reminded.

Thanatos was gritting his teeth in frustration, the grip he had for his axe and chain tightening out of frustration. It was disappointing knowing he was having only so many strikes against Craig, but as a god, he was true to what he said. As much as it annoyed him, he was better off sharing this time around.

He started backing away from the ethereal bars. "Alright, fine. I softened him up for ya."

"Much appreciated." Prometheus grinned. "Now-"

A shimmering slash sound came from in front of the bars. Fallen Prometheus looked ahead as the ethereal jail bars between Craig and Fallen Prometheus had been sliced horizontally. The sheer shock went deep, the shockwaves of the chi-enforced slash by all three weapons getting at Thanatos. The god, with his guard down, looked with wide eyes and was struck by the slashing chi shockwaves.

"GAH!" He went screaming and flying onto his back with a tumble. He doubled over and used his axe to bunker his foothold. He glared ahead, distraught as he slowly raised a gauntlet to the side of his face. He felt his face and looked down at his gauntlet claws, seeing offending red of his own.

"Ahead of you!" Penthos alarmed.

Thanatos looked ahead, eyes wide as the appearance of Craig with his three blades enveloped in the familiar energy of the ethereal jail was like a flash. He closed in, but that speed wasn't enough to blindside Thanatos for long. Raising his axe to defend, he intercepted all three attacks at once. His godly force upon said touch of the blades emanated a strong current of magical force, propelling Craig backwards once again. He shot on his heels, teeth gritting at the sheer friction the underside of his boots were receiving. He plunged one sword into the ground, reducing the drag necessary to where he could stop.

Once at the end of the drag, he looked back ahead, seeing a fast-moving axe and chain shot at him. With timing limited, he ducked rather than defended. As the chain continued on ahead, he sheathed one sword reached up and yanked on it. Grabbing a firm hold on the contraption, he got the grip needed to get the god to lean forward.

"Tch, you mortal scum!" Thanatos yanked on his chain – literally – to reel the whole axe back, along with Craig. He went gliding off the ground towards Thanatos, feet stretched outwards to unleash a powerful kick to the midsection, but was blocked by a forearm and bounced off. Craig went tumbling away once again, landing onto his side like a tired dog.

The axe handle landed in Thanatos' claw, lowered, yet had a maintained guard. "Seems you still got quite a bite left to unleash, huh?"

As tired as his muscles were, Craig kept a quelled mind. As he rolled over to get up, his breathing was raspy, and his vision was hazy. He could see a golden individual but that was it. It was like looking through fog, and he could see it was no use trying to clear his vision. He instead chose to close his eyes and catch up on his breathing.

"Suite yourself, fool." Thanatos raised his axe into the air. "I wasn't intending on draggin' it out this long, but if you insist! I'll just erase only a fraction of you!" He pointed the weapon ahead, the top inner circle of the 8 making another generated force of compressed magical energy. The sphere was unleashed in a prolonged laser blast, one that beamed with intense, if not smaller than large canon, proficiency. The dense blast of raw magic went at Craig, igniting everything in a dark light.

"Oh crap!" Jet panicked.

"Look out man!" Droy exclaimed.

Unable to hear their pleas, Craig reached back and sheathed his other swords. The blades clanged loudly, just enough to be heard only by him. Once inserted, his eyes opened, seeing the network if chi heading right for him. He did what he did best, and that was control; he reached out with both hands, beginning to mold the energy that would've otherwise vaporized him. The magic that was molding into his arms was like dense water, but the pressure was like it was being constricted alive to where blood was starting to stop circulating. He did his very best to just focus on the breathing and flowing the energy that would have created a gargantuan eruption of darkness through the movements of his arms.

As the land beneath him rumbled in sheer force and cracked apart, Craig kept his ground, if not began to slide back several feet. He was molding a massive amount of chi. The largest amount unleashed, if not compressed as such. This was more than Minerva and Sting's together in that instance, and he was prolonging his flow of chi through his rugged form. The spiritual energy was as high as the kinetic energy that was building up, eventually making way finally through the dissipating blast.

Thanatos and the other gods looked ahead with deep shock, seeing Craig molding the attack that was having consequences on his arms. His entire body was aligned with the energy that comprised of him, it was startling to say the least. "No way…" Thanatos murmured.

Glaring ahead, Craig had a malicious smirk fixed onto Thanatos. His two arms molded the chi in their area into prolonged chi blades once more. He went darting for Thanatos, crossing them.

Prometheus was beginning to show some signs of shock. He wasn't liking how this was all turning out. "Janus!"

"Understood." The quiet but tall cylindrical head spoke, making the beads on his head shimmer and shine about. Once the beads had glistened, it was directed towards Craig, enveloping him in the energy jail with bars.

Craig gave a loud shout and slashed. However, the molded magical energy was vaporized upon impact with the jail. The jail itself flashed as Craig was taking in that single blow. He faltered back into the center of the jail, slowly moving his body and keeping his glare moving with the body from Thanatos to the other gods along the side. He had but little room to work off of now.

"Seems you have forgotten something, young Crius." Prometheus said. "Even if you molded magic to turn against us, any and all magic, even the likes of gods themselves, can never truly escape the cage made by the god of sealing. It has sealed your own identity."

A problem indeed, but Craig knew better than to get out of it now. He only got through the shield before because he used raw chi, not chi embedded into magic attacks like he molded. Realizing this, he took a cleansing breath, instead taking the chi and reversing it, he slowly eased the pressure, allowing it to dissipate around his body. His skin and the cells were taking the chi energy through his slow but dense breaths, and that was something that went wrong.

Once again, as he absorbed and integrated with the chi, a brief flash of a growling Slayos was in his mind. He opened his eyes again, showing the same off slits and black lining around the eyes.

Outside the barrier, the gods felt something tingly, but it wasn't normal. It wasn't like human business, but something foreign.

"You feel that?" Prometheus questioned.

"Yes, I do." Penthos said. "Where is it coming from?"

"Don't know." Aphrodite questioned.

The gods were in question while Craig's chi was brimming with sheer intensity. It didn't last long, but the chi energy faded, the odd look and pressure he gave off fading once again. He stood still for a moment, staying focused dead ahead. 'What was that just now? Was that…?'

Though shaken up by this bizarre feeling, Thanatos shook his head and growled. "Grrr…Janus! Open the shield! I had all that I can take!"

"At ease, brethren." Janus insisted. "You're getting carried away."

"I don't care! I've waited too long! Craig Crius…" he raised his axe once more, generating more power. The energy he was building up was starting to have an effect on everything else around. Not only was gravity beginning to churn and intensify, but something else was going wrong. The Magic Power was not only sensed from Domus Flau, but everyone inside were looking, seeing the cloud formations starting to swirl.

The residence were all looking up in deep shock, even Fairy Tail was without say at the magical pressure that was being unleashed. They all looked to see that the clouds were starting to create currents, as if swirling into a wormhole.

"What the heck?" Natsu wondered. "Does anyone else feel that?"

"You mean other than the smell or raw magic getting worse?" Gajeel clarified.

Cana looked up towards the sky, seeing the dark clouds shifting and molding into a black funnel. It began to create an eye just above Crocus, and everyone was just on the bitter edge of it all. Winds were starting to pick up, but the ethereal prison made it impossible to feel. All that was felt was nothing more than the pressure of magic that was making wills wane.

Craig looked up at the jail he was in, glaring up at the increase of magic. His skin was starting to tingle with goosebumps, but not out of adrenaline, no, far from it. This was the work of growing anxiety, but he just looked down from the open sky to see Thanatos raising his axe high.

"Now…COME! MY FULL IMPERIAL WRATH!" he roared maniacally. "TIME TO UNLEASH…100% POWER!"

The center of the two holes of the axe began to glow with two large, golden light spheres inside. The magical pressure began to rise in a single instant. Dust waves started to expel in horrendous winds that spread profusely throughout the area. A strong and dense light started to erode from the center of Thanatos, unleashed in a brilliant and yet terrifying array of spirals and currents of black and gold. The black streamed out while the gold was more towards the center of the bright light. The entire land, sky, and even the mountains beyond Crocus were beginning to shudder. The land beneath the prison of Domus Flau was thumping from this massive release of power, and the Princess Hisui was held up by Arcadios. The atmosphere was making it so that the massive roar would pulsate for miles on end. In fact, from mountains, if people were traveling within its valleys, they could stop to feel a dense magnitude flow beneath their feet. Their hearts would've raised upon looking in the direction where a bright golden light was like a beacon of death.

With nowhere to go even, the jail around Craig dissipated, and Craig was hit by a strong wave of swirling dust and magic flying over his head. However, he held his ground, looking at Fallen Prometheus to see their unamused expressions. Their ally had set off the red flag, and Craig walked right into it. Looking at the bright light of gravity, the Magic Power transforming did nothing more than make his bones stiffen.

After a long minute, the dark clouds swirling around the huge eye of its opening began to stop. The sky was looking frozen, even the stars looked stiff. The atmosphere spiked with such a force that it was unreal. As a cloud of dust and golden energy waved away, dissipating slowly, Craig stared ahead, his eyes beginning to widen out of shock and bittersweet horror.

His heart raced upon seeing the unholy sight before him.

The dust cleared away to show four huge, long scythes. The 8-shaped axe he once held had been completely transformed into a severed weaponized melee destructive toy. The scythes were silver, with gold edging along the curves. Nesting along the blades' connection to the staffs were golden accented, dense guards and hilts, leading down to black staves; handheld by golden gauntlets with black palms. In fact, the arms had golden armor, and there were four arms. The body's midsection and upper half was comprised of golden, deeply accented armor, with accents being a deep black, His pectorals had two fangs on the underside, with the waist having the same, as if the abs section itself was like an open mouth. He adorned a pitch-black cape with a sleek streak to it. The heels and boots were heavily gold as well, with black accents like the top, only having ridges along the dense boots rather than fangs on the knee caps. His eyepatch was gone to reveal his left eye, a pure red eye with a purple sclera and white dot for its center. The blue hair was shockingly longer and slicked back, adorned by an eccentric crown of silver jewels and a pair of golden devil horns.

The wicked smirk on Thanatos' transformed face only served to show his adrenaline boiling. The power he was giving off may have visibly dissipated, but the magic he gave off was doubled to full power. Everything within the air was almost brought to its knees, the people in the stadium especially. The scared patrons were gawking at the makeshift devil himself, and Makarov's face spelled a grim disaster.

"I don't believe it…" He looked down at his hand resting beside him. His eyes were massive still as he saw his elderly arm shaking out of pure fear. 'This magic…'

"I've ever felt such a level of magic in my entire life before…" Erza admitted. She thought it was bad before, but now she could barely breath. The air and gravity given off by Thanatos alone was making her own body shudder.

Natsu was no different. His fists were clutched tightly as his very teeth gritted. He looked up at the monitor to see the reason why his heart was fixated on running, but he couldn't process it. He was looking back at Gildarts, who was looking up with a look no different from Natsu. A bead of sweat went down his face, and that was all Natsu needed to know. When he looked back to see the reaper, he could feel his veins pop out of his fists, blood starting to cease circulating.

"No way…"

Everybody else thought the same thing. There wasn't one person who wasn't scared, not fathoming what was going down. All this magic was pulsing through the air, and yet in the dead epicenter of it all, Craig was square in the midst of it. A barely conscious Jura lying down while medics were tending to him was gritting his teeth, shuddering and profuse in sweat over the immense level of magical pressure through the atmosphere.

Craig had no words as he stared ahead at Thanatos. He was at a loss for what had to be said, or what could be said.

The smirk on the death god arose. "So what do you think? It's been a while, hasn't it? You think Ankhseram was a stickler to life and death, well I got news for you…" the scythes all stood up on their staves. "He was a puissant that just needed to lose a few good legs is all. Let's see him judge and bend mortals now."

Craig was still silent. His heart was racing at levels he couldn't recall well. He's felt this sheer adrenaline rush before, and it always made him feel something that either got him laughing or running, or even slashing wildly. The instance was driven back into his skull, and he wasn't liking the recollection.

---

Thanatos clashed his insidious blades against Craig's shield, making nothing seemingly happen for a brief moment. Seconds later, the wall and ground beneath shattered and broke into diced chunks. The attack left the front walls of the building entrance to crumble to pieces, making a cloud of dust behind Craig.

Craig nudged the shield forward, prompting Thanatos to shove off him. The god landed on his two feet and looked at Craig with a wicked smirk. The next attack was involving all four blades crossing, their edges making a frame in the center. In it, a compressed blast of magical energy started to surge. The insidious blast came next, unleashing a monstrous laser of black and gold at Craig, the size of what many could best say be a Jupiter Cannon, but 50,000-fold compressed. The laser that would've vaporized was blocked by Craig's shield, which deflected the laser's profuse shots wildly throughout the atmosphere. Explosions went off all around him, many of pillars and walls that were still intact with portraits and battle trophies being vaporized by a horrendous wave of magical energy. The entire hall of Valhalla was crumbling into nothing as Thanatos lunged at Craig, who was still recoiling from the blast wave he blocked.

"HRAH!" A roundhouse kick from the side struck Craig's armored shoulder. He grunted as he went tumbling into a nearby dust cloud, fading into it like a ghost.

Thanatos was looking inside, smirking with excellence. He heard the sound of a growing wail from above, looking above to find that a burly man with bagpipes fell into the dust cloud with a loud crashing sound. This didn't seem to surprise him much as he looked at the huge qrow-like beast.

"Heh, about damn time." He mused.

The massive armored crow landed, revealing himself to be the true form of Penthos. He said nothing while the other gods were reappearing out of thin air beside Thantos. With main gods of the reign altogether, they looked towards the dust cloud, waiting for it to disperse.

The dispersion revealed Craig, groaning as he laid at the base of debris, while on a broken pillar, Maponus was cushioned by his bagpipes. They still made a wheezing sound as the wind was forced out like a whoopy cushion.

"Well wasn't this fun." Prometheus held his arm out, tossing Alator towards Craig. The three weakened warriors were of no avail against them. "Bravo, gentlemen. Very much bravo. That was quite a show you've put off there."

Craig tried to get up, but the best he could do was roll over.

"I can't believe that Arthur actually foresaw this. To think he was lucky enough to have that blade and shield to be in the hands of another mortal who dares to defy gods…but you know, I think there was a twist to all this, isn't there?" He watched as Craig and his allies were starting to come around lazily. They staggered to their feet, balancing. There was a frown starting to form. "Is there some form of justice to this that I'm not seeing, or are you mortals so warped in wanting to achieve this immortality that we gods have?"

Craig shook his head to keep himself stable. "Brrr! Maybe some…but I don't see it that way."

"Oh." Snapping his fingers, Penthos took off after Craig, diving like a huge, black bullet that zipped pass him. Even though there was no contact, Craig doubled over onto his stomach, as if slipping on a banana peel.

"Then enlighten me." He continued. "Why are you so intent on stopping me? Aren't we after the same thing, to help mortals from unruly gods?"

Craig got up to a knee, his head still dizzy from the last recoil. He still processed the words as he staggered back up. "It's not like…you'd get it either…" he struggled. Penthos flew over his head again, making a random piece of round debris the size of a handheld rubber ball roll to Craig's side. He moved to get better adjusted, only to move onto the debris sphere. He slipped onto his armored knee harshly, grunting in the shock. He snapped an eye open, showing his pain. "Yeah, I know what this is, but what you call retribution, it's nothing but a civil war!"

Aphrodite raised a brow. "War, you say?"

Craig slouched back up. "That's right. You call killing other malevolent gods looking down upon mortals like it's some sort of crime. So then you tell me why you don't go killing kings and queen down on Earth Land. Do they offend you when they oppress and look down on their subjects for nothing but their taxes and womanizing? If they did, then why didn't you kill them?" Penthos swooped horizontally across, causing another misfortune. Craig raised his shield behind without looking, blocking a piece of rock that was falling from the debris mound, crumbling upon connecting with the shield. "If anything, that's what makes you and us alike. We're nothing but abjuratory guys who are just looking for a free realm is all…but what's freedom if it isn't free to begin with?"

Prometheus' eyes narrowed, his interests in what he was saying boiling over.

"If you've been thinking about this for a thousand years, then maybe you could have used that time to consider pros and cons of killing that bastard to begin with. Yeah, I'd say off with his head too after what he did to make Valhalla cover up its dirt, but maybe it's better to piece together homicide and regicide in this. At this point, there's no difference between them because you want to take the throne, right?"

Prometheus' leer fixated intensely. "This isn't about revenge, Craig. This is about doing what is best for the gods and goddesses of this world."

"Oh shut up!" he snapped. "What's best for you guys, you say. Is it really that, or just for yourself. You're risking your own men in this, how do you think that feels to them, and the ones that died getting what you wanted?"

"What do you know, Craig Crius?!" The god reached his arm out, unleashing a wave of rainbow flames that seared across the ground. They surged with angelic yet incinerating strength. The attack was blocked by Craig's shield again. "Who said I recruited them?! We came here for the same thing, didn't we?! We all wanted this, so you have no place to talk to a god like he's some sort of child! I'm giving your gold back, isn't that enough?!"

Craig grunted as he tried holding his ground, but it was easier said then done through the rainbow roar. "Gnnngh…maybe some people may want the gold, but then what?! You'd be looking down from an ugly fortress, and when people picture heaven, they'll only imagine hell! You'll only rip away the innocence of the other mortals. Take that away, and this place will never have another mortal become a god! YOU'LL BE EXTINCT ANYWAY!"

Prometheus' eyes widened at the sound of Craig's words. He watched in awe as Craig swung Excalibur downwards, sending a straight shockwave clean through the fire blazing ahead. The attack blazed into Prometheus alone, sending him flying across the Valhalla golden ground, doubling over on his silver cape.

Craig was able to stand once more, his armor dented but still in one piece. Maponus and Alator were starting to come around as well. He pointed Excalibur at the other remaining gods. "Go ahead, act like the real bad guys here. Good. Bad. Who cares? At this point, you're only making the good itself look like bad. There's a façade to a lot of things, people included, but is it really better to give people the reality of heaven? This isn't even true heaven, and you know that. That's why…" he thought briefly about the many people who died for him; for the good guys, and for the animals that ventured with him. "When people pass on to a new life, they can be free from thinking such a place like this exists. Better to have no Valhalla, then a version of Hell."

Prometheus got to a knee, staggering back up. "So then, you want to destroy Valhalla completely, instead of rebuild?"

Craig nodded.

"I see…then it seems we're still nothing alike then. You cast your views to the underworld instead."

"At least the underworld has balls enough to not lie about its home."

Prometheus' glare hardened. "You're just asking for death in all the wrong places."

"Funny, because aren't we already dead?"

Knowing this wasn't going to get anywhere, Prometheus reached his arm out. "Then let us make sure you stay that way!" With his arm swiping, the signal was set off, and the first to act was Penthos as he soared in a nosedive from above and shot dead at Craig. Alongside him, Thanatos ran with all four scythes, darting right at Craig. Craig returned the cry of battle as he went after the god of death himself.

---

"Didn't peg us to be as stubborn as you humans I take it? Well you would know." Thanatos scoffed. "Odin had what came to him. If it were up to me, I would've done the same thing as Prometheus. That's what we call a collaboration, that another thing that you humans do when you work towards a certain goal?"

Craig was glaring daggers at Thanatos, his logic was twisting his insides like putty, not to mention the abominable magical power that he was faced with as well. It was a lot to stomach. He looked down at his hand. It was shaking; trembling. But what was he feeling? It wasn't fear, it would be though if he was seeing fear itself.

"What's wrong? You left without words? Anything?" Thanatos' patience was wearing thin, he was expecting Craig to say something, how he felt or anything. "Well?!"

There was a long moment of silence. The look on Craig's face still spelled shock in a lot of ways, but his wide eyes dared not shudder, nor did he even move at all. His trembling hand fell to the side, the frown on his face starting to curve up. Slowly, it reached his cheeks, making a large, toothy, sharp smirk. "This is some Magic Power alright."

Thanatos and the audience were looking at Craig like he was stupid.

"I've fought a couple of opponents who had this crazy level of magic, and some weren't even human. That was just one part people tend to exaggerate." He looked down at his hand again, seeing his whole arm unsteady. "My body…it's trembling with adrenaline." He shot a look up at Thanatos again. "When you get adrenaline rushes like these in the heat of battle, it's a good way of telling yourself you might actually die."

Thanatos' expression did not waver. "Is that so?"

"Obvious or not, I don't always feel like this…not when it's a fight that isn't kill or be killed anyway."

Gildarts heard him well. He recalled well of the varied expressions Craig gave when he fought him before. He wasn't having wily brawls like he did against Thanatos in the 4th Day, no, the fight he had against him wasn't something accustomed to, but even so, refused to lose. Losing battles and getting killed were two different things after all; you try a lot harder to stay alive when stakes are that much higher.

"So…" Taking a cleansing breath in silence, the smirk on Craig's face showed his passion for combat. "Wanna go?"

Taking the mortals' challenge, Thanatos' eyes narrowed. "You're just asking or hell now!" He lunged at him, making a crater erupt from where he once stood. "You're gonna be chopped to pieces all by myself, idiot!"

Craig held his ground, at least or the last minute available. He used his observation of the chi in the atmosphere and could feel the capacity in which they were all coming from and handling. At the last second, he dodged one fell scythe swing, and then another, and when one close din, he ducked. He raised his head as he backed away, avoiding the slash once again. The slashes that kept missing went out towards the atmosphere, becoming distorted crescents that expanded out to space.

"HRAH!" Thanatos swung.

'Now!' Finding precise timing, Craig pivoted and unsheathed all his blades in one spin. He met the four blades at once, blocking all the angles. Craig managed to hold on, but the blades and his arms were struggling profusely. They were shaking quite drastically, showing the muscle he was pouring into it.

Thanatos' eyes narrowed. "That all?"

Craig gasped in shock. The shockwaves this time caught up and picked him up in its wake. The 18-year-old shouted aloud as he went bolting through the air at high speeds, his body earning a few thin cuts along the knuckles and neck.

"No way!" Max exclaimed.

"He didn't even hold his ground that time!" Laki gasped.

Craig landed on his side, thudding hard and tumbling sporadically. With his blades still in hand, he again tried to anchor his hold by using his mouth blade's side. The shockwaves kept flowing, trying hard to force itself onto him like an oceanic current. 'Gnnngh…my body, it's betting cold…!' He stopped thinking in his tracks when a black shadow appeared in front of him, showing a grim eye.

"You feel that?" Thanatos snarked. "That right there is fear. Your body is as cold as ice, everybody's is when facing the reaper. They're afraid of death, and so will you!" His upper right arm slashed diagonally, but the sheer force was deflected by Craig's dark red sword. The blades grinded as Craig brushed it away, he then deflected another slash, and then another, losing his ground and his thrill-filled expression. That was what Thanatos wanted, and something he wanted all to himself. He knew he was getting carried away, but he wanted to face strong opponents. That was his prime. That was his will. This, and the many battles against those who pushed him to these limits were the reasons why warriors were made. Those who sought battle, to kill; to survive in a decrepit, morbid realm. Only the strong survive, and that was Thanatos' ambition. That's the drive of all desperation.

Thanatos raised his upper left arm to slash. He had a wicked smirk on his face to show his satisfaction, but despite the setback, Craig wasn't going to suffer like this. He saw an opening in the arm, and that's when he smirked as well.

With a bloodlust howl, Craig lunged up for Thanatos. He turned his head and prodded into the arm's tricep. It wasn't enough to pierce, but it made the falling impact a second slower, a second that Craig used to duck under and roll. As he curled up into the roll, his blades went to the side, becoming long spikes that snared the boot armor. It created sparks that Thanatos followed in, making him turn around and swipe, but missed as Craig was too low. He stayed hunched over and back-kicked Thanatos in the ribs, just enough force as he was off balance. The god stumbled to the side, catching himself on a knee. "You little…" He turned his head to look forward, but was blindsided when Craig ferociously roared and came at him with all four blades again. Thanatos twisted his wrists, curving all his scythes to make the staves take the blunt of his attack. He could see that Craig was having another serious, yet thrilled face again as he struggled to hold his ground, but he dared not waver.

"Idiot…!" Thanatos growled. He launched a hard kick from the side, the force befalling Craig's left knee. He faltered forward in a loud grunt, eyes showing flinching. The god brought his lower right arm around to swing the scythe again, aiming for the head. "This time I won't miss!"

Craig looked up seeing the attack aligned right for his neck.

Thanatos again let out a menacing cry, swiping with so much force. His sheer slash went at measurable speeds, but Craig knew he couldn't block. At the last nanosecond, he ducked his head and got into a turtle shell position. He barely missed the compressed, angular slash as its shockwave went on pass him. The ground was aligned in a bright light wave that traveled endlessly throughout the bare battlefield. It continued on towards the walls of Mercurius' walls. The line eventually dissipated, revealing a deep trench that went on for miles on end, splitting everything apart up to the castle walls, where they split completely in half, leaving Mercurius without any good defense.

The princess and Mato gasped in shock, everyone so shocked at the attack's deep density. They couldn't even see the bottom of the domain as it went on for miles.

"You dodged." Thanatos sniped.

Craig flipped back up, glaring at Thanatos. "I'd rather keep my head, thank you very much."

"Why? Because it's your money-maker, or is it what's beneath the belt, because I'll be more than happy to get rid of that for you."

"Don't flatter yourself, pal." He stood straight up, glaring daggers at the god. He knew that his human strength wouldn't do all that much against him, but if Thanatos went for him, the brute force of the god could send him packing like before. If he was to have a chance, he had to wear him down.

"Let's go!" Thanatos lunged ahead and proceeded. He followed a repetition of slashes that were by all four of his deadly arms. Each swing packed force strong enough to make one big slash after the others. Every time Craig backed away and deflected by swinging his blades, the force only grazed the hairs on his arms before. Craig kept up the backing and the deflecting for a prolonged period, despite how it was costing him his arm hair, and hos his short and clothing was getting worn down. His shirt was getting tattered, and cuts were ere every now and again, but only superficial ones. They all stung, but Craig kept up deflection by moving at lightning-fast trajectory.

When Thanatos brought all his blades back for a full-on swing, Craig found a chance. 'Now!'

SWOOSH!

In a quick reflex, he leaned his and closed the gap. He used both forearms that were shielded by the swords he held and locked them into the upper wrists, while the swords' edges held off the lower arms' wrists. It was a few seconds of a blockade, but Thanatos couldn't swing forward, and that's all Craig needed to do. He angled his mouth blade and slashed with all his might. He grazed across Thanatos' nose, making a small but noticeable cut evident on his face. The god winced as his blood was seeping from his nose, and Craig held his position firm.

"How'd you like that?"

Thanatos opened his demonic eye, giving Craig a leery look. He smirked in what looked like delight.

BLOOSH!

Craig's eyes widened when something shook inside of him. His whole body lurched for an instant, his sharp eyes shrunk to sizes of marbles.

Everyone watching gasped in vivid horror at what they saw. Many had covered their eyes, while other mages were gaping and showing disbelief. The now conscious group of mages from the guilds had nothing to say at the sight.

Thanatos' smirk only served to widen. "Was it worth it? Now you tell me that very same question."

Craig had trouble troubling, but he didn't know why. He was lowering his head and looking down, his vision beginning to grow hazy as he saw what it was. Blood started to seep from two curved ends protruding from got sides of his gut, right and left. They were dripping and seeped in red. His very blood seeping out. A look down below were his thighs, as they were also having deep, pointed projections from the rear sticking up.

The realization came clear. It came from the hands of Thanatos, the wrists were incapable of moving thanks to Craig, but the bottom two fingers still levered the scythes around. That was the flaw, and how Craig earned two large scythes stabbing him from behind, and two on the back of the thighs – clean through his skin, guts, and all.

Cana's eyes dilated hard. Her lips were parted as she saw the unthinkable. "No way…"

"You idiot." Thanatos snarked. "I gotta give you props on using a defense like that, it'd be nice if you actually had prolonged elbows to block, but the reality is this…" He yanked hard on his blades, pulling them out of Craig's back and allowing him to shudder in place. "But my coordination with my scythes is what will finish you! Just like it finished those idiot Valkyrie soldiers and gods. You're finished."

Craig's eyes were hazy. He was pierced dead through the body, and two thin but ovular holes were on either side of the abdominal region. His mouth began to open slightly, his shuddering teeth unable to contain the mouth blade. It fell to the ground with a few loud clangs, and then ropes of red started to fall onto its golden scabbard. The blood was coming from Craig's open mouth as he gagged. The taste was profound and revolting, and it only made it that much harder to stand.

Time began to slow down as he slowly sunk to a knee, his body shuddering as red was bleeding from his engraved wounds. A shadow masked over his eyes as his fangs closed mouth, his breathing uncontrolled, unlike always.

Cana looked down at the cards that were still lying on the ground, the words starting to fade away. The fortune had come and gone, and the brunette's attention drew back up towards Craig, her teeth gritting and her purple eyes beginning to mist.

As Craig hung his head and stayed on a knee, bleeding in silence, Thanatos began to darkly snicker, before exploding to a loud but cackling laughter. All his blades were raised high, his arms signifying victory for the gods as Craig was at their mercy already.

Prometheus watched with a delighted smirk, him and the others seeing Craig's blood bathing the ground beneath him.

All were petrified in the terror that was the game of life and death. This wasn't the Grand Magic Games anymore; this was life an death battle.

"Craig…" Cana whispered.

Inside the magma-like void that was the realm of the chi waves flowing through the world, Slayos' silhouette began to churn and stir. His scales crackled like tissue paper, his teeth chattering as his demonic red eyes were focused dead-on ahead. He could feel something was wrong, and yet, all he did was glare ahead in silence. "Hmph."

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Happy Valentine's Day to all my wonderful peeps out there! Here's a little gift from me to you all, a new chapter! I know it was long overdue by a few days, but my shifts on the weekend killed me. This chapter took me a whole week, which isn't all that common for my liking. But better today than another I guess. So consider this my gift to all who love my stories!

As you have seen or may have figured out, Prometheus and the other gods are based off of actual gods that I looked up, so a little godly mythology for you all. Also, with the flashback fights, you have a good idea of the powers the gods and Aphrodite have, as well as their true forms. Since you already have a good idea of each of their powers and forms, that will be easy for me later on when next chapter comes around. If by that time does happen, I'm hoping another week at most, since I got a lot of the backstory done already in this one.

So, as I always say to you guys, thanks again for reading another lovely chapter, and hope you stick around for the final 2 chapters!