CH24: Into the Black
Zancrow tried to focus his vision on anything as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He was in a small bed which was surrounded on either side by similar ones all lined up against the wall. He sat up and saw Wendy to his left being tended to by Porlyusica while Gajeel and Natsu were recovering across from her on their own beds. Lucy was still unconscious and to her left was Gray and Juvia who somehow managed to sneak into his bed for cuddling purposes. He then saw Makarov, Mira, and Erza conversing with each other.
"You're absolutely certain he said Ankhseram?"
"Ferrous could not have said it clearer. He said that after a certain ritual, he would bring about the age of the gods."
"But why kidnap Laxus? It makes no sense." Mira had a couple of bandages around her pretty little frame and her head was stitched up as well. She was worried about her boyfriend and wanted to make sure they got him back safely.
"It actually makes perfect sense." Makarov said overlooking Wendy with worry. He must have been very angry when he was told about her assault. But all traces of anger vanished once he laid eyes upon her beaten up frame.
"Gods do not live among us. But they are always watching. The kidnapping of Laxus leads me to believe that Ankhseram will approach his ordeal the same way wizards utilize magic. Certain magics vary in form, and how they manifest themselves in wizards. But one thing is always consistent, all magic power has a source from which we draw it from. It can be the ethernano in the air, or from a divine deity itself. Think about it. Dragon Slayers get their magic inherently from dragons like Natsu and Gajeel. While Celestial Wizards gain their powers by relying on their allies in the spirit realm. Whatever the case may be, that said power source must have a wielder to manifest itself in our world."
"So what are you saying master?" Erza was also bandaged up. Her wounds varied from small cuts, to purple bruises where Ferrous clubbed her.
"I'm saying that if Ankhseram attempted to take over the world, he could not do so alone. He would need a host body, something to anchor his divine being to our dimension. But it can't be any human host. The said body would have to already have unimaginable power within him as well as being able to host an immortal being. If the body is not physically or magically strong enough, it will disintegrate the moment Ankhseram attempts to possess it."
"But why Laxus?" Zancrow was attempting to get out of his 'hospital bed' to no avail thanks to a certain scarlet wizard holding him down. "Woman I'll…"
Erza shot the God Slayer a death glare.
"…" Zancrow made himself comfortable in his bed for Titania was not going to let him walk anytime soon. "Ahem. I mean, old thunderhead is strong and all. But with a warrior like Ferrous on his side, why not just possess him? Or me for that matter. Why not possess the ones capable of taking down gods?"
"That I don't have the answer to my boy. But I do know this. If we allow Ferrous to complete this ritual, then no human alive on this earth will be safe. This is the God which cursed the black wizard Zeref himself. If Ankhseram were to unleash his judgement upon the world, we might as well have stayed dead on Tenrou."
Silence was all that was heard in the recovery room. Fairy Tail's top wizards were in no condition to battle and they were possibly facing the end of mankind.
…
After everyone was somewhat recovered and awake, master Makarov held a meeting which concerned the future of Earthland. He spoke to his children and get everyone up to speed with what had happened, and who they were up against.
"Ankhseram?" Cana looked puzzled. "I don't think I have ever heard of him until now."
"It does not surprise me since most of you are way too young to even know about dragons who went extinct ages ago. The only reason we have to believe otherwise are the walking miracles known as Dragon Slayers."
Makarov looked over to Natsu and Gajeel who looked vexed at their current condition. They were bandaged from head to toe and looked like mummies.
"As for the gods, well, even I know very little about them. It is believed that they are responsible for our very creation, and the ground we walk upon. They are regarded as the most powerful species in existence even surpassing the power dragons. However, no one has ever seen a god, much less survived an encounter with one and lived to tell about it. But, Ankhseram is one of the four gods that we know about. He is mostly known for cursing the famous black wizard Zeref."
"No way." Natsu looked stunned. He remembered his encounter with the black wizards back on Tenrou Island. Everything that even came near him would wither and die. His pulse of radiating power was enough to knock him, Elfman, and Evergreen back a good distance.
"Ferrous has kidnapped Laxus and threatened to bring about the age of the gods. He specifically said the one that he served was Ankhseram. And should the ritual be successful, and Ankhseram is able to walk among us, I fear no wizard on this earth could stop him."
Murmurs were heard amongst the ranks of the wizards. And fear consumed the room. After all, how do you give a pep talk when the one the guild would be up against would be an immortal being?
"So how do we stop him gramps?" Natsu asked.
"Stop him? We don't even know where Ferrous took Laxus to perform the ritual!" Gray replied annoyed at the Fire Dragon Slayer.
A small fight broke out between Gray and Natsu that was soon stopped by none other than Erza. Leave it to the peacemaker to settle things in a jiffy.
"I have spoken to the magic counsel about this matter. There are rumors, old folktales is you will, about shrines that were built to these gods millennia ago. If Ankhseram is trying to possess Laxus, no doubt he will host the ritual in the most fortified shrine to avoid being disturbed. The magic counsel has granted me permission to send a party of my most trusted wizards to seek out and prevent Ferrous from completing his mission."
Makarov looked over his family and realized he was quite possibly about to send them to their doom. With a heavy sigh, the old man announced the objectives.
"We have one mission but different goals we need to complete to obtain success. Therefore, there will be two teams deployed to this shrine. Team one will be the main excursion. They will infiltrate the shrine, find and defeat Ferrous, and rescue Laxus. But above all, they must make sure that the ritual does not even come close to being completed. Team two will have a more classic mission. Your aim is to keep whatever forces Ferrous has amassed for Ankhseram amused for the amount of time Team one takes to complete their mission. In other words, Team two will be the distraction. Keep the enemies' eyes on our outside forces so that the wizards on the inside can complete their objective in moderate peace."
The groups of fairies looked fired up and Zancrow was itching for some action. He wanted to get his rematch with Ferrous. And to do that he would need to be on team one.
"Team one is as follows. Cana, Zancrow, Gajeel, Natsu, Wendy, Lucy, Happy, Pantherlily, and Carla. The rest of the guild is Team two. You will be led by my S-class wizards Erza and Mirajane as well as the Thunder Legion. During the battle I will oversee operations. We will deploy as soon as nightfall hits. With the cover of darkness, we should be able to move without the enemy detecting our presence. This mission is not to be taken lightly. Should we fail to prevent the ritual, Ankhseram will surely destroy all of mankind."