May 16th, X524 (0:20 AM)
West Forest, West Region of Fairy Tail Kingdom
Outside, the black and gray clouds filled the dark sky, hiding the crescent moon behind them. Only a few twinkling stars were able to peek through the veil of the darkness.
"This is so creepy," a slightly angry voice that belonged to a brunette echoed the in surrounding. The said card mage rolled her eyes from side to side with annoyance, looking at the surrounding that was covered with nothing but darkness. At the distance in front of her was an ugly West Forest which was covered with spiky vines and poisonous fog.
"Cana dear, you can stay in the town if you're afraid of being here. Dad won't force you." Gildarts Clive, wearing his regular set of armor, comforted his daughter jokingly. He never forced his precious daughter to do what she didn't want.
"Answering with respect, father, I'm not afraid of this creepy forest. I can fight alone with you guys." Cana replied immediately. If one could focus on her answer, her voice was clearly mixed with slight irritation.
Cana sighed silently. Well, it was her father who always treated her like a baby girl. As a young lady of the Alber Clan, she wasn't a coward... she was one of the powerhouses in Three Clans. Yet, her father neither allowed her to work in the City Guard department, nor let her do dangerous missions. Of course, unless there were Bacchus, Freed, or others in their group who he demanded to protect her, she was not allowed to join the battles. She loved her father very much and admired him the most. But, sometimes, his over-protectiveness towards her was the only thing that bothered her. She just wanted his recognition of her capacity, just like Madam Irene counted on Erza.
"Gildarts, she is a warrior, too. Trust her. Got it?" The red-haired woman in her red armor dress said before taking a step forward.
"I know, but I can't help. I'm still worried for my baby daughter." Gildarts grinned as he hugged Cana who was standing beside him. Madam Irene and Freed said nothing but smiled at the scene, thinking the same thought, 'Gildarts/Lord Gildarts was the best father in the world.'
"Alright, time to action. Back off, guys," Irene said, before stretching her right hand to the side. "Disappear!" she chanted, a red X sign appeared from her palm before changing to a small red sphere. Controlling the area and range with her enchantment, several X patterns appeared on the branches of the spikes in the area in front of the group. The Xs shifted into a very enormous red sphere which then exploded with a loud bang sound. The spikes and vines of the affected area were cut into pieces.
• • • • •
The loud explosion alarmed the Oracion Seis disciples inside the dark castle.
"Report to the commander, intruders destroyed the west forest," these words from a dark guild member made a muscular man, who seemed like their leader, angry. He had long wavy flowing orange hair, and he was wearing a black cloak angry. "AT THIS TIME?" he roared, "HOW DARE THEY?" The man smacked the table as he rushed in the direction of the guild hall. He was Richard, codename Hoteye, commander in change after Guild master and elites were out for their mission.
"Get ready all members here," Hoteye commanded, "How many intruders are attacking us?"
"Report to the commander, five people are coming to the base," the member replied immediately, "Don't panic. Gather all members for defense."
The dark guild member nodded before rushing for their preparation. As the members of a powerful dark guild, Oracion Seis mages were not shaken by a sudden attack, not to mention that these invaders were only five in number. Within five minutes, all the members were fully prepared, standing in front of the castle in line, with confidence and arrogance on their faces, waiting for the enemies to arrive.
• • • • •
'This strong magic pressure,' Hoteye looked at the distance terrifyingly. 'The invaders are only five. But their magic power...' "Kill them!" he shouted with a slight tremble voice while hiding his fear. Even though the magic aura of their enemies was very intense, Oracion Seis still had advantages, which were 'powerful offenses' and 'full defense' at the same time. Ten members of power-specializing mages roared and rushed toward their opponents.
Gildarts smirked before he knelt to attempt the attack. His fist hit the ground, forming a powerful strike. The ground cracked, and the shattered stones and strong waves hit the approaching dark mages, crushing them. Immediately, the man's strong attacks followed, for close combat. Magic attacks coming to him were crushed into pieces, and the mages were smashed by his punches empowered with Crush. The orange-haired man looked like a dominant lion that attacked his prey, and the name 'Raging Lion' was given to him in his twenties, by his enemies of that time.
Seeing this scene, Irene couldn't help but think that these dark mages became vulnerable in front of her brotherly friend. Even though they stayed in Magnolia most of the time, not joining the dark guild hunts, they were no doubt still the best of the powerhouses in Fairy Tail.
The scarlet-haired woman's gaze changed from her friend to the surrounding after catching a glimpse of movement from other dark guild members.
Magic circles immediately appeared around Irene's surrounding, as well as Gildarts, Cana, Freed, and Bacchus. The magnetic forces attracted Fairy Tail mages; the more they resisted, the stronger the attraction. In three seconds of being under these spells, three youngsters could barely stay straight.
"Enough of child play," Irene let out an annoyed laugh before tapping the ground with her weapon. An intense red fog suddenly came off from her magic staff, instantly spreading outwards at a frightening speed to the adjacent areas, then clashing against the magnetic magic circles. The dark red radiance engulfed the surroundings, forming a dark red barrier which trapped the land, including both the Fairy Tail and Oracion Seis members inside, as well as the whole dark guild castle.
"What happened?", "What is this red sphere?", "Why is my magic stop working?" Complaints and curses from the dark guild members were heard.
The spell the woman cast seemed very simple, yet its effect was very scary. No one had seen this powerful area-spell that completely overwhelmed other spells. Hoteye gasped, 'Without a doubt, it is a self-created spell,' he thought, wondering who in the world was capable to do.
Irene glared at the dark guild members, "Blood Area Dome... A self-created area-controlling spell. Inside it, every other area spell and spatial magic are... USELESS." Despite the distance several meters apart between them, Oracion Seis members could feel the murderous killing glare from the woman the moment she emphasized the word 'Useless.'
"Could she be... the Scarlet Despair?" a middle-aged dark guild member said with a shaking voice.
"Red hair... red armor... she is the Scarlet Despair," another senior member looked at the woman in fear. His gaze was swift to the brown-haired man who punched his twelfth opponent and defeated him... "And the Raging Lion."
Who else wasn't afraid of them? Scarlet Despair, Raging Lion, and Ice Devil... these three names were the worst nightmare to many dark guilds. Possessing monstrous magic power since their young age, and eliminating hundreds of dark guilds in nearly two decades of their youth, these three existences terrified all dark guild members of their age and their generation above.
However, this trio of dark-guild hunters had been staying in Magnolia for several years to work under King Makarov. Thus, the young dark mages only heard of their name from the elder members, but these names still gave them mental collapse.
"Scarlet Despair... Raging Lion.." Hoteye gasped but didn't show his weak side. Deep inside, he was very scared at the question if Oracion Seis could defeat them. Since the start, he did know what his guild master was planning. His master and other elites were after Fairy Tail, and based on Fairy Tail's affairs, they didn't have enough people to attack the guild base. And now, with Scarlet Despair and Raging Lion here to destroy their base, of course, Fairy Tail didn't need too many people. The advantages of them outnumbering those five mages had already gone. It was what the commander of the dark guild realized too late, "Master, I'm sorry."
• • • • •
"Dad, you seem very energetic," Cana laughed, murmuring herself, "So am I... Card Magic!" Moments later, a bright light surrounded her hand. Five cards appeared in her hand as the light faded away. She threw the cards at some mages who were unaware of her sudden attack. These thrown cards which possessed cutting power hit five dark mages, leaving some cuts on their hands or bodies. Cana didn't show pity on battling, as she summoned more cards with her other hand, and immediately cast a card with enhancing spell before throwing towards the injured mages in arch formation. The deflected cards hit the ground, showing explosive power.
"Haha, Cana, let's bet how many enemies we will defeat," Bacchus shouted, hoping that she could hear him. Gathering his Magic Power in the palm of his hands, he entered the battlefield and attacked the casters suddenly. His focused magic power boosted the strength of his attacks, and, together with the high level of agility and reflexes, allowed him to strike targets with great force through simple one-palm offense. Possessing immerse speed and an outrageous amount of physical strength, and also a master in hand-in-hand combat, Bacchus was no doubt the best disciple under Lord Gildarts. The casters who cast the area spells previously became the prey in front of their predators, and were easily defeated. Seeing their comrades defeated by a wild young man, some dark guild members specializing in elemental magics rushed forwards to attack him.
However, the dark mages were stopped by a young man with long green hair, wearing a dark red knee-length coat attached to a belt, and a pair of light-brown pants, tucked inside simple knee-height boots. Attached to his belt was a sword that closely resembled a rapier... He was Freed Justine.
"Eliminate this seaweed first," one mage shouted. Other members didn't hesitate to throw the spells, such as "Fire Blast!", "Wind Tornado!", "Earth Power: Tomb!", "Wave crash!", and several other spells were released toward the Fairy Tail knight.
Freed unsheathed his sword, "Dark Écriture," he cast, drawing purple runes on him with his sword, "Wings!" The runes started spiraling around him, as these gathered behind him, forming dark purple magical wings on his back. He dodged the coming attacks by flying. "Dark Écriture: Pain!" he inscribed runes onto his opponents while flying. As the name indicated, these runes inflicted immense pain upon them. As his opponents were unable to cast other spells due to severe pain, the green-haired man slashed the enemy many times in rapid succession, defeating his enemies easily.
Behind the battling Fairy Tail mages was the scarlet-haired woman standing proudly at their back. Waving the staff in her hands, she launched at once twelve bursting red fireballs scattering all around, aiming for the most crowded areas. Those red fireballs were like red bombs, their explosion caused instant deflagration around the dark mages.
As the battle continued, the Oracion Seis guild was at a disadvantage, its guild members became more and more furious. There were only five people in the opposite party, so 'Why were they still standing after fighting crazily or using several strong spells?' Oracion Seis had only one strategy... which was to sacrifice half of their guild members while waiting for the time when their enemies ran out of their magic. However, in reality, Fairy Tail mages not only could still attack but also their offenses became more fierce.
Little did they know, the reason why Fairy Tail mages could stand even after a long fight was because of the powerful enchantment spells of the Scarlet Despair that healed them and boosted their attacks.
Realizing that a new strategy might be a key to their victory, Hoteye ordered the remaining dark members to attack five mages at the same time. He liquefied the ground and merged his body into liquid form.
''Dark Écriture: Destruction!" Jumping down from the height, Freed slashed the enemies who were rushing towards him. Purple-sword slashes went in multiple directions to strike a certain amount of dark mages, thus causing great damage to them.
"Chop Hanging Palm: Under Moonlight!" Bacchus rotated his body for mobility and used a great blunt force against his enemies, sending them flying several meters away as his technique targeted the limited people. "Why are they attacking us at the same time?" He whispered quietly.
After firing a burst of energy at the opponents, Gildarts searched for his daughter in the battlefield. "Cana!" he shouted. A few meters away, he saw his daughter standing shakingly on the ground, "CANA, WATCH OUT!"
• • • • •
The ground beneath Cana was shaken violently as Hoteye emerged from a distance away from her, "Liquid Ground!"
The Oracion Seis commander ordered the dark mages who were facing Cana to reinforce others who were attacking the four.
The ground became softened and liquefied within a split second, as the liquid ground subsequently raised to envelop the card mage. The latter couldn't escape as she sank.
The brunette realized immediately, that the enemy leader was aiming to catch her to blackmail her father and Aunt Irene. "Good. I'll deal with you. Card Magic: Prayer's Fountain," she shouted while throwing a blue card with a fountain-like design printed on it to the front, summoning seven beams of water that spread in all directions. Water started eroding the liquefied ground. As soon as she jumped out of the trap, she threw five cards with her photo on them, "Cana Clones!" Four 'Cana' launched fire, water, and lightning attacks by using the cards toward their target as they giggled evilly.
Hoteye cast a liquid brown wall immediately to block the attacks. Cursing, he created a giant liquid ground wave and threw them out. He smirked in victory. Among the invaders, this girl seemed the weakest, so he chose to defeat her first. When he got her, he would demand other enemies to surrender. Wasn't it a good plan? His guess was right; this brunette cheated and summoned doppelgangers to counterattack him. Even their combined attacks were not strong enough to defeat him.
Again the Oracion Seis commander planned to use the liquid body for a one-strike offense. However, just before he transformed, he was stuck in his place. He spotted several cards that surrounded him and trapped him inside, "WHAT!" Looking at the front angrily and saw that the card mage was waving at him. He clenched his teeth, "What the fuck."
It was Cana's last clone, under Cana's instruction, that drew the card runes around Hoteye to prevent him from transforming into liquid.
Behind the grinning clone girl was the real Cana who was standing without moving.. with a smirk on her face. A bright light was emitted around her right arm. A dark tattoo in a sharp arrowhead shape was shining on her right forearm.
She wasn't as strong as her father, or Aunt Irene. But she still had her powerful secret weapon... 'Fairy Glitter, one of the most powerful spells in Fairy Tail Royalties.' Being Lord Clive's daughter the future heiress of the clan and also Laxus-sama's close friend, His Majesty was very kind to give her Fairy Glitter spell book. As the spell needed more time to gather magic power and chant time, she played a small trick to buy some time.
Cana extended her right arm upward, and chanted calmly, "Gather! O river of light that guides the fairies! Shine! In order to perish the fangs of evil! Fairy Glitter!"
The bright pillar of golden light protruded into the dark sky, causing people to dazzle their sights. A moment afterward, a large bright halo of light descended from the sky, and surrounded Hoteye, rapidly constricting him. The Oracion Seis mage screamed, unable to resist the powerful light source that pressured him.
"How dare you ambush my Cana?" the angry voice echoed the surrounding, as the brown-haired man rushed to Hoteye and punched him twice to knock him out.
Cana giggled, even though her father landed a final blow, she was the one who defeated the commander of Oracion Seis. She did feel proud of herself.
It was a clear victory for Fairy Tail mafs. The remaining dark guild members couldn't manage to escape... all of them were defeated... Some didn't survive the mercy of powerful spells cast by Scarlet Despair. The majority of them were lying on the ground with heavy injuries.
"Oracion Seis leader Brain is killed by my disciples," the icy voice said, "Oracion Seis elites are also captured. I'll spare your lives this time. However, someday, if I heard something about 'Oracion Seis is recruiting new members', then, don't expect any mercy, got it?" Her warning of 'I'll kill you if you don't behave,' was mixed with a scary aura.
As they walked away, the dark red sphere gradually dispersed and cleared the way. The battlefield turned red-colored to the darkness of the night. The sphere surrounded the base castle, completely engulfing it. The red-haired woman waved her magic staff. Behind them, the red sphere, together with the grand castle, vanished into thin air.
"Mission accomplished!" A smirk crept on the lips of the red-haired woman.