A/N: …... Does no one read the A/N at the end of the chapters? Or am I just going to have to ask people myself and be unfair that way? Cause I can if you all really want me to and I know the perfect person to ask if I can get a hold of them. In fact, only one person did send in an OC, so I'm going to use theirs and ask the person I'm talking about if they're interested. So the moral of the story is make sure you read the ending A/N, sometimes important things get put down there.
Anyways, now that I'm done being disappointed with people... Dreadburner94 here with chapter 13!
I'd like to thank WrittenWhim, WaterDragonMaverick, MyDearWatson, PrinceOfTheMatrix88, potentialauthor18, Joshua1277, SaiyaStyles, and Hikari for their reviews last chapter!
WrittenWhim- The maids were just too perfect for what's going on, so I just had to use them. Anyways, yes, Izaya Orihara was a major inspiration for Euclid, but Euclid takes things to extremes as the biggest difference in the two of them, and there are quite a few other things that differentiate them, but they also have similarities as well, such as the fascination with humans and being information brokers. But yeah, it might seem odd that a 5 member dark guild got two guilds to take it down, but you gotta remember that 6 member guild that got four guilds to take it down called Oracion Seis.
WaterDragonMaverick- Aspen is quite the fan of solving puzzles, so yeah she makes quite the investigator. I have to say that I think you're over-thinking your theory there though, the why and how are quite a bit simpler than that to be honest (although I shouldn't really expect anyone to fully understand the why and how except for one other person besides me). And nope, not too dark at all for a fic, or for Fairy Tail. And now that I think about, there will be someone else to fill the shadow-esque roll much later in the story (as in one of the last few arcs).
MyDearWatson- And you haven't even see everything Aspen can do with her magic yet, so there's more to come in the fight with Mindy... after some dialogue of course (or is it a monologue?). None shall know what goes on in Euclid's head! It is a very strange place in there, very dark and twisted, but it's a treasure trove of information. But seriously now, you won't be learning his true motives for a while. Aye, you'll just have to wait until Ladon's Historical Omake for that tid-bit.
PrinceOfTheMatrix88- Well I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, but you'll be waiting quite a while to learn anything substantial about Euclid. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
potentialauthor18- Creepy was what I shooting for there, so it's good to hear that it came out that way. But yeah, those maids weren't really worth Aspen's time at all and time will tell when it comes to Mindy. Yeah, the saying "Let sleeping dogs lie" exists for a reason, and it describes Ladon perfectly. And speaking of dogs, I once knew a dog named Toby, I called him Tobert though since I was one of the few people he took to instantly (from what I've heard he was quick to bite, but I never saw it since he liked me as soon as he met me). I have to admit, I was worried about how Ladon came out, but every line I wrote him speaking last chapter I felt like it was something he'd say, so it's good to hear that you could imagine him saying those things.
Joshua1277- Yeah, Aspen's Temperature Magic is pretty interesting, incredibly simple, yet that's what makes it interesting since there's so much that can be done with it. I'm glad that you thought it was cool to see Team Hughes in action. I have to say, out of all the teams, I think that they have some of the best teamwork in the guild. I hope you enjoy the conclusion of this round of missions!
SaiyaStyles- I had the exact same thought run through my head when I was writing that scene actually, but hey, kill or be killed right? But anyways, I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and in appreciation for your patience I figured that I should let you know that it'll be rewarded next round of missions. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Hikari- I'm happy that you liked the last chapter so much, and yes she (I assume you're talking about Aspen) can do that. But hey, if you can't review right away that's perfectly fine, real life happens unfortunately. And I'll be looking forward to seeing you review with a new account name!
Credits:
Rhiannon "Rhia" Yates- dreadburner94
Krieger- WaterDragonMaverick
Bradley Maes- WaterDragonMaverick
Salem Alphonse- WaterDragonMaverick
I don't own Fairy Tail!
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 13
"Madame Mindy Everlue," the woman announced as Aspen turned around.
Aspen looked at the young woman, she had pale skin and light brown hair that was cut at an angle so that the hair in the front was longer than it was in the back. She had light brown eyes and a slim build and small bust and waist. The young woman was wearing a light blue, tunic-like top that was sleeveless with black shorts, a white belt, and short black boots.
"You're the one who treated my maids so poorly aren't you?" Mindy asked with a scowl.
"And I take it that you're the one behind all these kidnappings," Aspen retorted as she walked towards the wall of runes.
"An eye for an eye," the young lady said coldly, "The people of Shirotsume committed the first crime."
"What?"
"They didn't tell you? No, of course they wouldn't. Why would they?" Mindy asked rhetorically, "First they imprison my uncle with the help of Fairy Tail, but that wasn't enough..."
"Duke Everlue started all this!" the elderly man shouted from behind Aspen, "He started it when he imprisoned my father and forced him to write Daybreak!"
"Lies!" Mindy shrieked as her face contorted with anger, "My uncle would never do such a thing! And even if it was true... why did you imprison my parents!?"
Aspen looked back at the elderly man, who she assumed by his outburst that his name was Kaby Melon, and watched as his expression changed to one of shock, "The mayor had her parents arrested without just cause?" Aspen asked in an emotionless tone, to which Kaby nodded in response.
"The town feared her parents after Duke Everlue was taken away... they thought that they would try to take his place," Kaby explained with a guilty look on his face.
"See? There's your confession!" Mindy announced, "The people of Shirotsume are the criminals here."
Aspen looked back at Kaby and the other captives for a short while, before turning back to face Mindy, "That may be so, but I was hired to do a job and I'm going to complete it. Whether I'm in the right or not is secondary."
"Then you can rot here until my demands are met like the rest of them," Mindy said as her expression changed to one of disappointment, "The rules of my magic are absolute and no one can leave that room without my permission."
"Screw the rules!" Aspen shouted as placed her hands up against the wall of runes and clenched her teeth, "Magic Break!" she yelled as the rune wall began to slowly freeze over.
"Wh-what!?" Mindy muttered as her eyes went wide while she watched her magic freeze and crack, "That's impossible!" she yelled as Aspen pulled back her fist and punched through the frozen wall of magic before running through and giving Mindy's jaw a hard left uppercut, sending the woman flying up into the air for a little bit before she fell back down onto the hard metal floor, "I-ingrate!" Mindy gasped as she sat back up, clenching her blood soaked teeth, "You'll pay for that."
"You think so?" Aspen asked as she walked over to Mindy and grabbed her face, "Thermal Flux," she muttered as she heated Mindy's head till the woman lost consciousness.
"Are you all right?" Kaby Melon asked as he walked out of the room, "You don't look to well," he said when he saw that Aspen was sweating and gasping for air.
"I'm fine..." she answered, "Just... tired from using that spell earlier. I'm surprised that it even worked," Aspen admitted as she walked over to the wall and leaned up against it, "Do you all mind caring them back with us?"
"Not at all," Kaby answered as he and some of the adolescents and his wife began to pick up the unconscious Mindy and her maids, "It's the least we can do after you helped us," he said as they began following Aspen out of the mansion and back to the mayor's office.
"That took a lot longer than I thought it would," Aspen mumbled to herself when she noticed that the sun had risen since she first entered the mansion, "So long as the job got done I suppose," she said as she entered the mayor's office without knocking, Kaby and the others following her in.
"Oh!" the secretary gasped when she noticed Aspen enter, "May I help you?"
"The job's done, where's the mayor," Aspen responded coldly.
"M-Mayor Wordsmith is in his office," the secretary answered as Aspen walked over to the mayor's office.
"Drop them over there," Aspen ordered Kaby and the others while pointing to the opposite side of the room from the secretary, "The job's done," she announced as she barged into the mayor's office, startling the short man.
"S-so soon? Who was the culprit?" he asked as he stood up and walked around his desk.
"Mindy Everlue," Aspen answered quietly.
"Everlue..." Mayor Karl repeated as if it was a curse, "Of course it would've been her, I should've known," he added as he furrowed his brow in anger, "But you've solved the problem, so here's your pay, forty-five thousand Jewels as promised."
"There's something else," Aspen said as she took her pay from the man.
"What is it?" he asked as he watched Aspen look away, before turning around completely.
"Nothing... Never mind, it's none of my business what you've done," she said quietly as she walked out of the mayor's office, confusing the short mayor.
. : + : .
"It can't be too much farther now!" Hughes yelled as they ran through the ruins.
"It better not be!" Ziv yelled back, "We've been running and fighting for about an hour now!"
"What's up with all these monsters!?" Zain shouted as he side-stepped a small group of goblins as he slashed through them with his sword, "They weren't violent like this before we fought that Minotaur!"
"It might be because the biggest monsters around are gone, but still, something has to be up, goblins only attack if they're threatened," Hughes explained as he summoned a wall of acid, "Acid Wave!" he shouted as the wall of acid raced forward and disintegrated an approaching group of goblins.
"Do you think we entered their nest?" Zain asked they continued running further into the ruins.
"No, goblins make their nests in trees, so they wouldn't have any reason to enter these ruins, especially this far in," Hughes responded as they turned a corner and kept running.
"Wait!" Ziv yelled out suddenly, "There's sunlight nearby!"
"We've been in here that long!?" her brother exclaimed in shock.
"Do you think that's where the treasure is?" Hughes asked.
"Yeah," Ziv nodded as she held up her hand, showing one her sun-shaped tattoos as a light started to trickle towards her from deeper into the ruins, "Follow me!" she yelled as she took off towards the source of the light, "Wait!" she hissed as she suddenly stopped next to a slightly opened door, "Looks like they beat us here," she whispered as she looked into the room to see Euclid sitting on a stone staircase with Aurora not far from him with a goblin with purple and red cat-like eyes sitting on her shoulder.
"So what happened to my cat?" Euclid asked what seemed to be the goblin.
"He's sleeping," the goblin answered in a deep voice, "But I should get back there since I only came to report that she's off on her next assignment finally."
"That woman's more trouble than she's worth," Euclid sighed, "But I suppose we've made enough use of your abilities today," he shrugged as the goblin's eyes changed back to normal as it hopped off of Aurora's shoulder and ran off.
"They're here Euclid," Aurora said quietly as she turned and looked straight at Ziv through the door.
"Shit!" Ziv cursed, "They know we're here."
"Then let's not keep them waiting!" Zain said loudly as he kicked in the door.
Euclid looked at the three of them with an entertained smile on his face, "Welcome," he said sullenly as he stood up and sighed, "What to do with you three?" he asked rhetorically, "I'd hoped to find what I was looking for here, but alas, it wasn't here!" he said dramatically as Aurora looked off to the side.
"My apologies Euclid."
"It's not your fault Aurora, it's the person who supplied you with the information's fault. So we'll have to find him after this," he explained in a blissful tone, "But what to do with all this treasure we don't need?" he asked as he looked at the three mages with a sinister look in his eyes, "You were hired to retrieve this weren't you? So I have a proposal for you three, I want to see what you all can do with my own eyes. Do you think you can handle that?"
"What do you guys think?" Hughes asked as he eyed down Euclid.
"We can take them!" Zain answered energetically, eager for a challenge.
"Those two are dangerous, I don't think this is a good idea," Ziv said quietly, "But we were hired to get that treasure so we don't have a choice do we?"
"I guess we have to take you up on your offer then!" Hughes answered Euclid for his team as the man's face lit up with an eager smile.
"Your move," he said quietly as he placed his hands in his pockets as the three mages rushed towards him.
"Moon God's Crescent Sword!" Zain yelled as he swung his magic enhanced sword horizontally at Euclid as the man bent over backwards and kicked the sword out of Zain's hands as he went into a handstand.
"Zain!" Ziv yelled as she jumped between him and Aurora who was coming in to attack her brother.
"Fall..." the girl muttered as she pulled back an open hand strike that was charged with electricity.
"I don't think so, Sun God's Fist of Light!" she yelled as she caught Aurora's strike and punched the girl's face with her free hand.
"Acid Punch!" Hughes yelled as he came down on Euclid with a fist coated in acid.
"A little too slow," Euclid taunted as he hopped out of the way and pulled out a red gem, "Fueur Zwei!" he yelled as he threw the gem towards Hughes as it released a large explosion, sending the young man flying across the room, "Wasser Drei!" he yelled as he pulled out a blue gem that released a powerful stream of water towards Hughes.
"Shit!" Hughes cursed, "Acid Shield!" he shouted as a shield of acid rose in front of him just in time to block the powerful stream of water.
"Spirit Tracker Magic: Soul Resonance," Aurora muttered as she raised her head back up to face Ziv as she locked eyes with her, "Fall... into the depths of Hell," she said coldly as Ziv grabbed her head in pain and began screaming out in fear.
"Ziv!" Zain screamed as she fell down, trembling, "What did you do?"
"She's experiencing the torment of Hell," Aurora explained coldly as she raised her hand, crackling with electricity, "Do you wish to join her?"
Zain's face contorted with anger as he grit his teeth, "You...! Moon God's Waxing Crescent!" he yelled as he swung his arms around, sending a powerful wave of magic towards Aurora.
"Reverse Polarity!" Aurora announced as she floated up to the ceiling with the unconscious Ziv and out of the range of the spell, allowing herself and Ziv to fall back down when the wave of magic had passed.
"Ziv!" Zain yelled as he ran to catch his older sister as she fell, catching her just before she hit the ground, "Just in time," he sighed as Aurora appeared next to him.
"Rail Strike," she said quietly as she struck him the side with an electricity enhanced open palm strike, sending the siblings across the room with a burst of static electricity.
"Absorbieren!" Euclid yelled as he held out a gem and absorbed Hughes' shield, turning the gem a yellowish green, "Artillery Shot!" he shouted as his magic pistol appeared in his hand and shot the defenseless Hughes at point-blank range, sending him flying across the room and into a wall.
"Gauhg...! Th-this guy... is outta my league," Hughes gasped as he brought his hand up to the burn mark on his chest, "Should I use... that spell?" he wondered as he watched Ziv and Zain fly across the room, "Ziv! Zain!"
"Oh? Sorry about that," Euclid apologized, "Aurora doesn't know how to hold back, but I think this match is settled," he added with a small chuckle, "Aurora! We're finished here!" he called out, causing the girl to stop her assault on the siblings.
"She'll wake up soon," she told Zain in a dull tone before she walked away, back to Euclid's side.
"Well this should help you all recover," Euclid said as he set a small vial down on the ground, "You should appreciate it, healing potions are difficult to come by unless you know a talented alchemist," he explained while Hughes gave him a hard stare, "It's not a trick or anything, after all, if I wanted you dead I would've killed you by now."
"Tch, whatever," Hughes muttered as he took the small vial.
"You three can keep the treasure," Euclid said suddenly as he turned around and began walking with Aurora following him, "What I was looking for wasn't here so I don't need any of it. I'll definitely see you all later, you and your guild," he added as he and his partner began leaving the ruin.
. : + : .
"Of all the boring assignments," Rhiannon Yates sighed as she sat on a cliff overlooking the guildhall of Demon Skull, "Reconnaissance? Really?" she continued to grumble as she watched the guildhall with her binoculars, "Shouldn't the 'All Knowing Euclid' already know the results?" she asked sarcastically.
Rhiannon Yates stood at about 5'6" with pale skin and a slim build with an ample bust and curves. She had shoulder length, light brown hair that fell all around her head in thick, stringy locks with her bangs tucked behind her long, pointy ears. She had silver colored eyes that seemed to lack any life in them and her canines where elongated and sharp. Rhia wore a form-fitting black jumpsuit that was unzipped enough to show some cleavage with black boots, black gloves, and she had a pair of goggles around her neck.
"Stupid cat... horse... goblin... vulcan... wyvern... human... disembodied voice thing!" Rhia screamed as she threw her binoculars off the cliff, "I don't get why I have to do assignments when Euclid pays me even if I don't do anything useful..." she groaned as she fell onto her back and pouted like a small child, "Maybe I should find a new employer?" She said as she thought about the man in the beanie that had sought her out, "No... I guess I kinda already found one, but I have to stay with Euclid and... Proclus," she groaned in agitation when she thought about the disembodied voice, "So annoying!" she moaned as a new set of binoculars appeared in her hands as she sat up and resumed her watch on the situation.
. : + : .
Yune ran up the stars of the tower, Sherry not far behind her as they ascended.
"How far up do these stairs go?" Yune asked, "We've been climbing stairs longer than it took to get to the guildhall."
"These stairs must have been built with the power... of love," Sherry responded in her dramatic fashion.
"I don't think that's the case," Yune sighed, "Dark Mages aren't known for their love," she added as they began to near the top, "Look the end of the stairs!" she exclaimed as they picked up their pace in excitement.
"We should... catch our breath... first," Sherry gasped as they came to a stop at the top of the stairs.
"Okay, let's hurry and beat this guy so we can go back up Reginald," Yune said after a few minutes of rest.
"Yes, our love will overpower the enemy, no matter how strong they might be," Sherry announced as they began walking down the hallway towards a door at the other end of it.
"I told you we're not in love!" Yune shouted as a heavy blush crept across her face again, "Now let's get going," she said as the door at the end of the hallway quickly opened as a blur of yellow rushed out of it and sent Yune and Sherry flying back down the stairwell.
"Doll Attack: Carpet Doll!" Sherry yelled as the carpet on the stairs came to life and caught them, "The enemy," she said seriously as the carpet set them back down on the stairs.
"The name's Krieger," a voice said from the top of the stair case, revealing a man that stood at about 6'4" with a lean build and pale skin. He had shoulder length gray hair that was tied into a braid and green eyes. The man was wearing an open yellow jacket, a red long-sleeved shirt, black sweatpants, black running shoes, and a pair of gloves, "You ladies are pretty good to still be alive, either of you single?" Krieger asked flirtatiously.
"N-n-n-n-no!" Yune stammered with a heavy blush, "Well... I am single... but..." she said quietly as she poked her index fingers together.
"I only have one true love," Sherry sighed dreamily, "My fiance, Ren Akatsuki."
"You're engaged?" Yune asked in a surprised tone as Sherry continued sighing, "B-but all that 'love' talk!"
"Eh, doesn't matter either way to me really," Krieger stated, getting the two woman's attention again, "I'll just take what I want in the end anyways!" he shouted as he took off at a high speed ramming Sherry into the wall and began choking her until she passed out, but just passing straight through Yune, "Where'd the other one go?"
"Lumire: Illusionaire!" Yune announced as several copies of her appeared throughout the stairwell, each one holding a silver dagger in their hand.
"Heh, this'll be fun," Krieger smirked as he dropped the unconscious Sherry on the stairs, "Quicksilver Magic: Crimson Streak!" he announced as he took off at high speeds again as a switchblade came out of each of his gloves, "Now where's the real one!" he yelled as he began slashing through the many of illusions of Yune before they could react, "Mach Edge!" he screamed as his pace increased drastically as he charged down the stairs.
"Lumire: Artemis Arrow!" he heard Yune call out from above him just in time to see a bolt of magic fly down straight towards him and explode, destroying a large section of the stairs and wall, "Did I get him?" Yune quietly asked herself.
"Not quite," she heard Krieger taunt from behind her, "Friction Palm!" he shouted as Yune turned around to face him as he grabbed her left arm, his hand vibrating fast enough to burn her and crack the bone, causing her to scream out in pain.
"R-Reverie!" she screamed as she locked Krieger in a trance, forcing him to watch his worst nightmare.
"M-my legs!" he gasped as he fell forward and up against the crumbling railing of the staircase, "Wh-what happened to my legs!" he screamed as the stone crumbled away completely under his weight, dropping Krieger down the middle of the spiral stairwell.
"Forgive me..." Yuuna whispered quietly as she heard the man's painful impact on the ground, "Sherry!" she shouted as she remembered her unconscious companion.
. : + : .
Wilhelm walked down the hall towards the chamber at the end, eager to reach his objective so that he could rendezvous with Ladon and take on the guild master.
"Welcome," a smooth voice called out as Wilhelm opened the door and entered the large chamber, which was decorated with many skeletal statues and carvings all up and down the walls, "My name is Bradley Maes and you have intruded into my home," the man said as if he was hurt. Wilhelm looked at the man, he appeared to be about 5'7" with a lean build and lightly tanned skin. He had brown eyes and black stubbly beard and crew cut. Bradley wore a dark green dress shirt, brown slacks, black combat boots, and he wore a pair of glasses and was currently putting out his cigarette and tossing it aside, "Might I have your name before I show you the door?"
"Wilhelm," he answered coldly as he pulled his scimitar off his back and pointed it at the man in the center of the chamber, who was putting on a pair of spiked, steel gauntlets.
"Well then, Wilhelm, allow me to show you the way out," he said as he brought his hand up to his glasses, "Light Magic: Lens Flare," he shouted as a blinding light came off of his glasses, forcing Wilhelm to look away as Bradley charged in and punched him through the door and wall behind him.
"Light Magic... shit," Wilhelm cursed as he caught himself and slid to a stop, "Darkness Magic: Ghastly Fireworks!" he yelled as several ghosts made of darkness magic flew from his left, outstretched hand towards Bradley before exploding upon impact.
"Not bad," Bradley stated as the smoke cleared, showing him standing behind a shield of Light Magic, "But your magic is weak against mine, so this battle was decided the moment you chose to come to my tower! Laser Dagger!" he shouted as threw several blades of light towards Wilhelm.
"If I can't count on my magic!" he shouted as he side-stepped a blade of magic and cut down the rest with his sword, "Then I'm just going to have to beat you the old-fashioned way!" he continued as he brandished his blade and charged.
"You're brave, I'll give you that," the middle age-man sighed as he dodged Wilhelm's first attack, "But I'm not the second in command of Demon Skull for nothing!" he shouted as he parried Wilhelm's next slash with his gauntlets and sent a quick jab that Wilhelm narrowly managed to avoid as he spun around cut Bradley's glasses off of his face, leaving a bloody cut crossing it, "Teleport Magic: Jump," the man said coldly as he warped behind Wilhelm and sent him flying back towards the chamber with a hard punch.
"Tch, dammit," Wilhelm cursed, "He can teleport too, that makes this even harder than it already was. Guess all I can do is stall for time."
"Warp Array!" he heard Bradley call out from the hall as several copies of the man began to appear and disappear throughout the chamber.
"If I can't figure out which one you really are then I'll just have to hit them all! Dark Ball Barrage!" Wilhelm yelled as an orb of darkness magic appeared above him before shooting off several, smaller orbs that exploded upon contact with the walls, leaving the room smoking and ruined except for a small area around Wilhelm.
"Gah!" he heard Bradley gasp as the smoke cleared, revealing the man leaning up against the ruined wall, holding his blood-soaked left hand up to where his right arm used to be, "How did this happen?" the man asked, "How did I get beat by a Darkness Mage of all people?" he gasped as Wilhelm walked towards him, "Fine... you when this round, Wilhelm," he muttered as he teleported away.
. : + : .
Ladon walked through the dark halls, the only source of light was a strange red glow coming from further within the guild, from the guild master's chamber he assumed. Whatever was going on in that chamber was giving him a bad feeling, but he couldn't let that stop him from advancing.
"All or nothing I suppose," Ladon sighed as he opened the large, double doors and entered an extravagant chamber that had a large, red lachrima illuminating the chamber and a throne made of skulls that a dark skinned man was sitting on, "You're the guild master I assume?"
The man looked down on Ladon, trying to determine if he was worth his time, "You seem familiar," the man finally said after staring Ladon down for a few minutes. The man stood at about 6'4" with a muscular build and red eyes. He had shaggy white hair that was red at the tips and his guild mark, a skull with two bull horn-like shapes crossing it, was in gold on his forehead. The man wore a black coat with red clouds decorating it over a white undershirt, black slacks, and brown sandals. He also had a pair of silver demon skull earrings.
"I can assure you, we've never met before," Ladon answered coldly as he let his sleeping bag slide off his shoulders, "But you might've met someone I knew."
"I see... I am Salem Alphonse, Guild Master of Demon Skull. And you are very foolish to have come and challenged me alone." he stated in a stoic manner as he stood from his throne and took a small red crystal from his mouth, "Now perish, Philosopher's Stone: Salamander!" he called out as a stream of explosions rushed towards Ladon.
"Dammit," Ladon cursed as he ran to the side to avoid the explosions, only to watch his sleeping bag get incinerated, "If you wanted to get on my bad side, there's no better way to do it. Stealth Fang!" he called out as he ran his hand against the wall as he continued to run from the continuous explosions, the serpents he released running through the wall and ground to approach the throne, "Now!" he yelled as his black eyes glowed red, causing the magic serpents to erupt from the ground around Alphonse and wrap around him, holding him in place and stopping the explosions, "Devour!" he shouted as he released a large serpent made of magic that rushed towards the Dark Mage and enveloped him before detonating, releasing a destructive explosion.
"You are... talented," Ladon heard Alphonse state from the smoke as it cleared, showing that he was covered in scrapes and his coat was in tatters as he took it off, "It looks like I'll have to take you a bit more seriously," he announced as he leapt from his ruined throne towards Ladon and smashed him into the wall with his elbow, causing him to cough up blood from the force of the blow, "Undine!" the man called out as he began to manipulate the water in the air.
"Bed of Coils!" Ladon yelled as several spikes of ice impaled themselves into the several snakes that came and surrounded Ladon, "Did you say 'Undine'?" he asked from beneath the serpents, "You've no idea what an Undine can do, do you?"
"An Undine is a water elemental and is often used to manipulate the element of water during the process of alchemy," Salem answered.
"No... I think I'll need to show you what an Undine can really do! Serpent King!" Ladon shouted as every snake that he had created to protect him fused into one, large snake, a Ladon, with Reginald comfortably reclined along it's back, "You've insulted a member of the mage's guild, Undine's Cove. I hope you're ready to find out what happens to people that make me angry. Devour!" he yelled as the Serpent King rushed towards Alphonse before clamping down on him and releasing a massive explosion of darkness magic, sending the Dark Mage flying across the ruined room, covered in terrible burns.
Ladon stared at the unconscious guild master from across the room until a one armed man appeared, "Master Alphonse!?" he gasped when he saw his defeated guild master, "So they've gotten to you as well? Jump!" he shouted as he grabbed the man and teleported away.
"I guess there wasn't anything I could do about that," Ladon sighed as he walked over to the ruined skull throne and reclined in it, letting sleep take him over until Lyon arrived.
"Where's the guild master?" he shouted as he ran into the room, seeing Ladon asleep in the ruined throne.
Ladon opened one of his eyes, "One of his mages showed and ran away with him using Teleportation Magic," he explained before letting out a long yawn, "So I guess everything's settled for now," he mumbled before going back to sleep in the throne.
. : + : .
"I guess you all want to know why I called you all here?" Salina asked her five S-Class mages, Jezabelle, Alistar, Horace, Arashi, and Kiyeda.
"Yes, it's not very common for you to call a meeting with us," Horace replied while Kiyeda nodded next to him.
"Did something happen?" Alistar asked.
"In a manner of speaking," Salina responded, "There's a man I want you all to look into when you're out on missions, he goes by Euclid and he's an information broker that's been causing problems all across Fiore, so I'm worried that he may be trouble for us in the future."
"Is there anything else that we know about him?" Jezabelle asked while trying to remember if she'd heard anything.
"No, that's all the knowledge that we have of him," Salina admitted, "But I don't think it's wise to ignore him, so I want you to look for information on him, as well as for the man behind Rayner's curse."
"Well you can leave it to us!" Kiyeda announced proudly.
"I might know some people who would know something, so I'll see if I can get a hold of them," Arashi stated.
"Good, I'm counting on you five," Salina said proudly as her S-Class mages left her office.
A/N: And there it is! Chapter 13! My longest chapter to date I think.
I hope you all enjoyed it and please remember to leave a review!
Your host,
dreadburner94.