A/N: English is not my first language، so excuse me for any typing mistakes.
'Cero.' thinking
"Cero." talking
"Cero." And 'cero.' Important talk.
cero. Memories of the past
"Cero." Techniques
«cero.» places
*cero.* sounds
[Cero.] Murciélago
"Cero." Scary voice / lacrima / strong Voice.
«Oak town, Phantom Lord Guildhall, Jose's Office»
"Well, even the devil of Magnolia couldn't do the job." Jose spoke softly.
Jose was standing directly in front of a large window while Hector was sitting lazily on the couch. There was no one else in this room, and the walls of this room are soundproofed; So there is no reason to worry about the curious.
"It's not as if his success will have an impact on our plan." Hector smiled before taking a sip from his cup of tea.
It was all going according to plan. Ulquiorra's failure to do the job was predictable; Although he had shown an impressive performance, defeating a powerful Guild like Fairy Tail was something impossible. Even God Serena wouldn't find it easy.
Quite simply, Ulquiorra was just a guinea pig who was included in the plan in order to get the necessary information before they started the war.
Although Jose was nearly driven mad when his spies told him that Ulquiorra had taken Makarov out of the hands of death, he was not oblivious to other details; Laxus has shown that he does not care about the fate of the guild which means that he will not participate in this war, there is no sign of Mystogan's presence, Mirajane is unable to use her magical powers, and Gildarts will never be present. Which means he only has to worry about Erza and Makarov.
"Everything seems to be going well. Except for Erza Scarlet and Makarov Deryar, you have no other obstacles." Hector smiled.
"You're right, but that doesn't mean I can start taking it easy." Jose spoke softly.
"Are you talking about potential threats?"
"Yes."
"Like Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster?"
"And Ulquiorra Schiffer. Whether he's dead or alive, it would still be a big deal." Jose spoke before closing his eyes. He hadn't forgotten his pact with Hector, but killing Ulquiorra and the consequences of that wouldn't be something the Phantom Lord could bear.
Ulquiorra may be loyal to the guild masters, but it is the laws of the Magic Council that take first place; The Magic Council wouldn't allow this war to happen, which meant Ulquiorra wouldn't allow it to happen either. Also, Ulquiorra's performance in the last mission proved that he was not one to underestimate.
"As for that man, I will deal with him." Hector spoke with a sly smile on his face. "I know that killing an employee of the Magic Council is a crime that the Council will not tolerate. If any one from Phantom Lord kills him, you will be to blame, but I am not one of the Phantom Lord. Do you understand what I mean?"
If Jose or one of his followers killed Ulquiorra, the punishment would be public execution; This is a result that is impossible to deny or change. But if Hector kills Ulquiorra, the eyes of the Magic Council will be on Hector only.
"Why do you want to kill him so much? What has he done to you?" Jose spoke with a little astonishment. Even though Hector knows about the harsh punishment, he still wants to kill Ulquiorra. Whatever kind of act Ulquiorra committed, he seemed to have done something unforgivable.
Hector did not answer, got up from the couch and began to undress and then take off his shirt, leaving the upper half of his body exposed. After a few seconds, thick steam appeared from his body, but the steam quickly disappeared, revealing something that made Jose feel shocked.
"What the hell..?" Jose muttered in disbelief.
Hector's body and face were full of scars, scars from fire. But the worst part was that some of his bones and internal organs were visible, plus his left cheek was ripped out so that Hector's teeth could be seen.
This is the punishment Hector received for causing zanar to lose his best men.
Without saying a word, Hector's body returned to its previous state, sure enough, he used special magic in order to hide those scars.
"Let's not touch this topic again." Hector spoke very calmly as he put on his clothes.
Although he had more questions, Jose didn't say anything, it was wiser not to say anything, as it seemed very personal to Hector.
Hector sighed before his smile returned to his face. "Anyway, I guess it's time to implement the plan, shall we?"
Jose was surprised by the sudden change in Hector's mood, but he soon smiled.
"Gajeel is ready."
/ /
«Magnolia, in a restaurant»
The place was as quiet as a cemetery!
No one dared to make a sound.
Why?
Because Ulquiorra was dining there.
There was not enough food in his small apartment, in addition to that he did not want to waste most of his time in the kitchen, especially since when he was very hungry, he could eat an amount of food that ten men could not eat; Therefore, the most appropriate solution is to go to a restaurant. Although he did not intend to make everyone terrified due to his terrifying aura and notoriety, he had never complained about such calmness.
Ulquiorra's fame increased greatly after he managed to face one of the ten saint wizards, although there were many people who had some doubts about that battle, but they couldn't deny the fact that Ulquiorra emerged victorious.
Three days have passed since he made his last mission. He had spent the first two days lying on his bed resting and restoring his depleted energy, as converting a large amount of magic energy into spiritual energy was not an easy thing, especially since he used a large amount of spiritual energy; Plus, his injuries made matters worse. Also, using Gonzui is not the right choice, as it can cause death to some people.
Ulquiorra felt something vibrate inside his pocket. When Ulquiorra puts his hand in his pocket, it turns out that the object is Lacrima.
"Looks like your appetite is still the same."
Ulquiorra looked at the lacrima. "Garl Vinland."
Garl's appearance was completely different from what he had in the village; His hair is in a ponytail, and he wears a white sleeveless shirt with jeans. Well, everyone needs a break.
"They say that you fought a saint wizard. They also say that you were badly beaten." Garl smiled cheerfully.
"I admit it was stronger than I expected." Ulquiorra answered calmly.
"But I still find it hard to believe that he lost."
"He went into cardiac arrest during the fight, so it could be said that he lost. But…" Ulquiorra looked straight at Garl's face. "I don't think you came here to chat."
"It's Hector kadagra." Garl spoke softly and his cheerful expression changed to a serious expression. "I have some reliable information that Hector came to Magnolia on a regular basis."
"And do you know why he came to this town?"
"No. But whatever the cause, I'm sure something bad is about to happen. There's nowhere Hector hasn't been that catastrophe. Believe it."
"Is he really that dangerous?" Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow in astonishment.
"You have no idea. For four hundred years, the Golden Circle Council has tried to put an end to that man's actions, but to no avail. Except that he is capable of mastering all kinds of black magic, Hector is a very clever and cunning man. No matter how clever you are, he will prove You say he's smarter than you. And worst of all, he's unpredictable."
Ulquiorra remained silent. He had never met that man Hector, but he would be careful if he did, after all, this man had managed to outwit his enemies for four hundred years, of course there was a good reason for that.
"I'll keep that in mind." Ulquiorra finally answered.
"Great! Anyway, when are you coming to the village? The chiefs would like to meet you...and Rosemarie too..." Garl said the last sentence with a slight grumpiness, not seeming to welcome other men near his daughter.
"I will. But I have a few things to do first." Ulquiorra spoke softly before looking at the briefcase near his seat. Today he will go to pay the last installment of his debts and be free.
"May God protect you." Garl spoke before cutting the connection.
After a few minutes, Ulquiorra paid for the food and walked out of the restaurant. In order for Ulquiorra to pay his debts, he has to do the necessary procedures only with the people who gave him his position; Goldmine, bob, Makarov. But since Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus are far from Magnolia town, Ulquiorra will head to the nearest available location, Fairy Tail.
[Amigo, do you think it's a good idea?]
'Yes. All I have to do is hand over the money, sign some papers, and leave.' Think Ulquiorra.
[For a gloomy man like you, you are thinking in a very optimistic way. Did you forget what you did three days ago? What do you think would happen if I went to them? I wouldn't be surprised if they attacked you.]
'I did not forget. Maybe they will try to attack me, but Makarov will definitely stop them.'
[Why do you think he would side with you against his 'children'? If my memory serves me well, Makarov is the person who has been hurt the most because of you.]
'True, but he knows very well how many dire consequences await him if he takes a wrong step. He may be opposed to the actions of the Magic Council, but he is subject to their laws.'
[As you wish, Amigo. But don't cry when that old man breaks your bones again.]
Ulquiorra shrugged his zanpakuto. When he approached his destination, there was a crowd of people, Ulquiorra giving it no heed. Perhaps it was one of the usual fights between all of the Fairy Tail members or a sparring match between two, after all, the Fairy Tail guild wasn't a quiet place.
But when Ulquiorra reached his destination, he knew his guess was wrong.
[What the hell?]
At first glance, Ulquiorra thought the building had been replaced by another building. The building appeared to be the same height as it usually was, but it seemed that many large objects giving a column-like appearance were sticking out of it, iron pillars. Furthermore, several large stretches of broken wood appeared from the points from which large objects were sticking out, giving the impression of some sort of attack.
Those iron pillars still contained some magic, Ulquiorra could easily tell the identity of the culprit, Gajeel Redfox!
Anyway, that's not his problem! He doesn't know the details very well, but he does know about the constant feud between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail, so these incidents will be a regular thing.
He only came to pay off his debts, and that's what he's going to do!
Ulquiorra walked through the destroyed front doors and heard some voices coming from the stairs leading downstairs. He didn't need to use his powers to find out who was there. When he went downstairs, he felt a lot of feelings of hostility and killing intent directed at him.
The place was as silent as a cemetery. Everyone was looking at Ulquiorra angrily and excitedly, they certainly hadn't forgotten what Ulquiorra had done. Ulquiorra would not say that he did not expect this, but he did not expect that he would not be attacked by one of them; Either because they know how it will end or because they are waiting for orders from their master.
Lucy was standing afar off watching the former Espada, for a moment she felt that Ulquiorra had come again to take her; Truth be told, what happened that day made her have nightmares every night.
Ulquiorra was a little surprised when he saw Makarov sitting on one of the wooden crates, drunk. Ulquiorra didn't expect Makarov to react like this, unlike the Fairy Tail members, Ulquiorra wasn't aware of Makarov's eccentricities.
"Good morning, boy!!" Makarov waved his hand and he had a cheerful smile on his face, his cheeks were red from the alcohol.
Ulquiorra remained standing. "Actually, it's midday." Ulquiorra spoke softly, though it was by no means his concern but a little curious. "Even though the building was destroyed, you are still calm. Do you understand the seriousness of the situation?"
"It's not like it's the end of the world." Makarov replied in a carefree tone. "If you ask me, what happened today proves how weak those phantom lords are, they attacked the guild when there was no one around."
"So he knows who did it." Think Ulquiorra. "Are you going to do something about it?"
"It's none of your business, emo!!" Natsu shouted angrily, he was barely able to stop himself from jumping on the former Espada and burning him alive.
"Maybe it was you!" shouted Elfman. On hearing this, some of the Fairy Tail members began to rise; For some, Ulquiorra was at the top of the suspect list.
A dark green aura appeared around Ulquiorra's body before he unleashed his reiatsu on them, causing almost everyone to fall on one knee.
"Makarov said it was the Phantom Lord who did this, not me." Ulquiorra spoke very coldly before looking at Elfman. "And if it was really me who did this, why would I do such a cowardly act when I could beat all of you and then demolish this place in front of your eyes?"
Although his words made them feel even more angry, he was right. Ulquiorra has proven he can stand them up, so why should he use cheap tricks? And most of all, why would he destroy the guildhall in the first place?
"Why are you here?" Erza spoke seriously, there were some bandages on her face and arms from the last battle.
Without saying a word, Ulquiorra put his bag and some papers on a wooden box, looked at Makarov before speaking..
"If your mental state is good enough, sign some papers."
/
«Oak town, Phantom Lord»
Ryos and Frosch were eating sweets and reading comics, but if you pay more attention, you will see that there is so much cotton in Ryos' ears that he can't hear anything except his own inner voice.
Why?
Because Gajeel sings.
Some of the Phantom Lord's people were cheering and clapping, but it was obvious that they were just pretending, after all, if they showed any sign of disapproval the least they would get was a piercing punch from Gajeel's iron fist. Gajeel loved to sing, but he didn't seem to have the talent.
Ryos was the only one who dared to show his annoyance at Gajeel's horrible voice and asked him to stop doing this torture, especially since his sense of hearing is ten times stronger than the sense of hearing of an ordinary person, which means that if Gajeel decides to sing, there is real torment Ryos is waiting; But Ryos' audacity caused one thing to happen, a fight. Although Ryos was always losing in those fights, he hadn't changed his mind and wouldn't.
Although everyone admired Ryos' bravery, they knew that it wouldn't be wise to harass someone like Gajeel.
After he's had his fair share of losing battles, Ryos decides the best solution is to stop himself from hearing that noise pollution, and the best way to do that is with cotton balls.
After several minutes, Ryos realized Gajeel had finally stopped singing, so Ryos pulled the cotton from his ears.
"This nightmare is finally over." Ryos muttered softly.
"Oh! We heard you destroyed the Fairy Tail guildhall!" One of the Phantom Lord's people shouted.
Ryos stopped what he was doing and listened in on the conversation. He had lived in this place long enough to know that anything Gajeel did would not end well.
"Oh man, I wish I was able to see their sad faces!"
"Oh yeah, that would be priceless! I bet they're crying in the corner! Aren't they, Gajeel?!"
The aforementioned person was sitting on one of the chairs with a pile of iron objects next to him, as he was eating these things. But Gajeel soon stopped eating and smiled when he heard the question addressed to him.
"gihi, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy destroying that place. Too bad that old man wouldn't let me destroy more buildings." Gajeel smiled as he ate a piece of iron.
"Well, we shouldn't let Gajeel have all the fun..."
But before the man could finish speaking, the floor turned black like pitch darkness, as the people involved were unable to move.
"You are not going anywhere." Ryos spoke with an eerie calmness that was inappropriate for a child of his age. "I won't let you cause us any more trouble. Isn't what Gajeel doing enough for us?"
Nobody dared to say anything, Ryos is the most powerful mage after Gajeel and Element Four, so if they didn't want to taste Ryos' power, silence would be their best choice. Ryos may be a child, but he's had some experiences that make him think a little like an adult. In fact, no one in Phantom Lord knew anything about Ryos' past, but no one thought it was fun.
"Oi oi Ryos. Let them have a good time." Gajeel spoke boredly as he ate more minerals, he seemed unafraid of the young Dragon Slayer's power.
"Everyone should know that whatever they do will come back badly to all of us. If you can't understand that, I'll be happy to help you." Ryos spoke seriously. Although he respects the strength of the Iron Dragon Slayer, he despises Gajeel's careless and irresponsible behavior.
"Do you want a fight, snake Eye?" Gajeel spoke with an eerie coldness.
"Don't ask a question you know the answer to, screwface." Ryos replied coldly as shadows surrounded his body before he assumed a fighting stance.
Everyone felt a frightening surge in the amount of magic energy, so they retreated; Ryos will lose again, that's a given. Ryos has always had a bad habit of showing extreme disdain for people he doesn't like.
"Stop!"
Gajeel and Ryos both felt a terrifying pressure, they both looked towards the source of the sound, it was Jose standing with element four who stood behind him. Immediately, the shadows disappeared from Ryos's body who quickly bent down and some small drops of sweat appeared on his face as Gajeel looked annoyed at Jose.
"Ryos-kun, Gajeel-kun, may I know the reason for this quarrel?" Jose spoke softly, he had a small smile on his face but Ryos and Gajeel knew very well that they were not out of danger, Jose was a scary man.
"Gajeel did another foolish thing, and he wanted to make others do the same." Ryos didn't dare raise his head, if Gajeel was scary, then Jose was the real embodiment of fear.
"Is this correct?" Jose spoke softly as he looked at Gajeel.
"He's talking about Fairy Tail." Gajeel spoke indifferently.
"Oh, so then." Jose looked at Ryos. "No Ryos-kun, Gajeel-kun destroyed the Fairy Tail guild building because I told him to do so." Gajeel smiled when he saw the fear in Ryos' face. "But that doesn't mean Gagel isn't wrong." Jose's smile quickly turned into a frown as he looked back at Gajeel.
This time, it was Ryos' turn to smile when he saw Gajeel's confused look.
"I did not ask you to make your comrades attack Fairy Tail without my permission. You should be grateful that Ryos saved you from the punishment that would have befallen you." Jose spoke.
"Jose-sama, may I know why we are attacking Fairy Tail?" Ryos raised his head slightly to look at Jose.
Soon, the smile returned to Jose's face and he said the word that would shock almost everyone. "war."
"War with Fairy Tail?"
"Is he serious?"
"This is excessive if you ask me."
Some were whispering among themselves, but those whispers soon stopped when Jose clapped twice.
Jose closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly. "Ladies and gentlemen, all those quarrels we had with Fairy Tail were mere trifles." Jose's smile disappeared before a serious look appeared on his face. Some were about to inquire but Jose kept talking. "We've been fighting constantly to prove our superiority over the other, we've trained and trained to reach the limits of our strength! Now, on this day, our power will be tested, and we'll show those bugs what we can do! We'll stand together! We'll unite! And I promise! That I will end this plague and make Makarov eat dirt! Phantom Lord will prevail!" Jose shouted firmly.
Everyone let out a battle cry and started cheering! It was clear that they had no love for Fairy Tail, as they wanted this feud that had lasted for six years to end. Totomaru closed his eyes and lowered his head in dissatisfaction, while Ryos looked uncomfortable.
While everyone was celebrating, Ryos quietly walked towards Totomaru.
"Totomaru-senpai." Ryos spoke with a little nervousness.
"Hmmm, what's up, Ryos?" Totomaru asked softly.
"Sorry but.. I want to know why we are doing this?"
"Maybe you should be more explicit."
"I know we're not on good terms with Fairy Tail, but don't you think Jose-Ojii-san has gone too far?"
"What do you mean?" Totomaru narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Regardless of the reasons, is it really worth doing this war? Win or lose, we will have to pay for it."
Totomaru was unable to reply. 'Even you saw what Jose-sama didn't. Hmph, it seems I'm not the only one who has some insight.' Totomaru sighed before getting down on one knee and placing his hand on Ryos' shoulder. "When you grow up, you will understand." Totomaru was trying to evade, he also didn't know the answer. Totomaru got up and walked away. 'I can't blame you, even I don't know.'
Meanwhile, Jose and Gajeel were talking privately.
"I must commend you for your excellent work, Gajeel-kun." Jose spoke with a calm smile.
"I did what you told me to do, but that old man didn't seem to take the bait."
"I know. I asked you to destroy the guild just to see Makarov helpless in response. Makarov isn't the type to be seduced by something like a shattered guild hall, so we need to give him a little extra nudge that will definitely catch his attention."
"What do you suggest I do this time?"
A dark smile appeared on Jose's face.
/ /
«???»
Hector was roaming the streets for a reason no one else knew.
"Nahash-sama, I have a question." Hector made mental contact with Nahash.
"What?"
'When Ulquiorra killed lich, you ordered all the guilds of the Triple Six Alliance not to take any aggressive action towards him. But you suddenly decide we have to take him out once and for all. I find this suspicious if you ask me.' Hector wasn't complaining about his master's decision, after all, he would be able to enjoy seeing blood and destruction. But he wants to understand Nahash's way of thinking. As a scientist, ignorance is not desirable in any way.
But Hector appears to be something small yet potentially deadly. Knowledge has different prices, sometimes the price is reasonable or even easy, and sometimes the price is so high that one may lose everything..
Including his life!
"This is none of your business!!!!"
Hector fell to one knee and began to cough up some blood, his left eye was slit out and some of his ribs were broken, but he did not cry out; Which meant that he was used to this kind of damage. Hector may have managed to suppress his screams but some people seem to have noticed his condition. Although he didn't know why, he sensed that there was a lot of anger in Nahash's voice.
"Are you okay sir, are you bleeding?"
Hector slowly raised his head, he saw a woman in front of him and some who had come to check on his condition but he was only looking at the woman in front of him.
A sly smile appeared on his face before he used his thumb to wipe away some of the blood that was seeping from his left eye, then placed his thumb on that woman's forehead.
The woman turned away from Hector and before she could inquire why he had done so, her body began to tremble and convulse as she screamed in pain, as some people could hear the sound of bones cracking.
At the same time, the injuries on Hector's body had already healed, no, his injuries had been transferred to that woman.
The woman's body fell to the ground. She did not die, but rather lost consciousness due to the excessive pain. That's when Hector started repeating incomprehensible incantations, and as soon as he finished; The woman's skin became as red as blood, her figure became like a beast, her body three times larger than before.
It seemed to be undergoing a transformation.
Except for Hector, everyone was terrified of what had happened.
The transformed beast looked at Hector, looking as though it was expecting something from him
"For Lucifer, kill everything that moves." Hector spoke softly with a cold smile on his face. "Satanic Magic: The Altar!" Purple magic symbols appeared on the ground and covered most of the buildings and streets, as the area covered by the cursed symbols was five hundred meters.
"For Lucifer! For Lucifer!" The transformed beast repeated that sentence as it killed everyone standing in front of it, it seemed as if it didn't know another sentence.
Amidst the panicked cries of the people, Hector walked calmly, looking completely satisfied with what he had done. He used a demonic cursed technique, although it wasn't an offensive or defensive technique, it was still really scary, since anyone who died within the scope of this spell would not enter the cycle of reincarnation, but would become an offering to demons.
Since Hector worshiped many demons and made many deals with them, he had to offer many lives in order to avoid their wrath and get more rewards. two birds, one stone.
As for this village, Hector is not sure how many people will die, but he is sure that the number will not be less than three hundred.
Hector didn't feel guilty, not even a bit, after all, this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this. Of course, this won't be the last time.
/ /
«Magnolia»
Ulquiorra was walking quietly through the town streets back to his apartment.
finally! He was able to fully pay off his debts and free himself from union dependence.
Well, not quite..
Ulquiorra had to wait for three days before an emissary from the Magic Council came to remove the marks on his arm, and Ulquiorra would have formally renounced his dependence on the Guilds and the Magic Council. But until that happens, Ulquiorra will still do his job as a Arsilay.
[To be honest, this is unexpected.]
'Hmm?' thought Ulquiorra, not knowing what his zanpakuto meant.
[I'm talking about Makarov. For a man who nearly sacrificed his life for his guild, he didn't make any reaction after his guild building was vandalized, in fact, he seemed completely resigned. Does he fear Phantom Lord?]
'I do not think so. Makarov is stronger than Jose, the amount of magic energy they emit is uneven.'
This is an indisputable point. Six years ago, Makarov managed to defeat Jose in a humiliating manner, plus Makarov's fight against Ulquiorra had decisively proven that Jose had no chance of winning against Makarov.
[Then why can't he just go to Oak Town and turn it into a piece of bloody hell?]
'In this world, things don't work that way.'
[What do you mean?]
'If the Fairy Tail Guild were to react hostilely, it would be tantamount to declaring war against the Phantom Lord.'
[so what? Both guilds can't stand each other.]
'Because Jose porla and Makarov Deryar belong to a group called the Ten Saint Wizards; According to reports, these magicians were said to be the strongest in the entire continent. Which means that if both of them fight, the damage will be very catastrophic, not to mention that all members of the two guilds will also fight. Just imagine the amount of devastation and chaos that will ensue if this war is declared.'
[Oh...]
For him, Makarov's decision to do nothing was the best decision now, as Makarov seemed to be fully aware that this war only leads to the emergence of all forms of chaos. Besides, the Magic Council will never be forgiving.
But this does not mean that Makarov will not take any action if the attack is repeated.
It's none of his business, Ulquiorra sighed silently. There were only three days left before he was out of work. He will later have to choose the guild that suits him best, but for now..
He opened a gate and entered.
«Crocus, the mansion of the fiore family»
Hisui looked at the clock hanging on the wall, she was sitting on the chair waiting impatiently, but she smiled when a large black hole resembling the mouth of a monster appeared, as a man appeared from that black hole, that man was none other than Ulquiorra.
"You came on time as usual." Hisui smiled.
For two months, Ulquiorra kept his promise and returned to visit the princess whenever he got the chance. The first time, he came back to visit the princess just out of curiosity, but that only served to increase the number of visits.
Unlike most children, Hisui has shown a reat deal of culture, as Ulquiorra has acquired a lot of knowledge regarding history and geography that might help him deal with the remnants of the ancient era, plus she is adept at chess. Ulquiorra could guess that this was due to the fact that she was a princess and would have a great responsibility in the future.
As for Ulquiorra, he would not say that he was amused because he did not know what pleasure was, but he sure did not dislike it; Calm, excellent quality tea, someone with a fair amount of intelligence. So no, Ulquiorra doesn't dislike it not even a bit; In addition, being near her helped him improve his social skills, albeit in a small way. For Hisui, it was like finding a cold water bottle in the middle of the desert; Where she could talk about any topic without feeling shy or embarrassed, perhaps Ulquiorra didn't talk much but he was good at listening, as chatting with others is not something that is available to her, in addition to that she does not communicate with her father much, so Ulquiorra's presence will be more than enough for her.
/ /
"Well… I had no idea that another legal guild would do something like this." Lucy thought out loud.
The guild, for the remainder of the day, consisted of Natsu frowning, Gray frowning and standing in an opposite corner trying to calm himself, Erza trying to maintain stability, Master drinking, and Mirajane continuing to serve people whatever they asked for since the majority of food and supplies were on the Lower floor. All in all, the only thing that is unusual is the location.
Well, that wasn't necessarily true. The mood was completely different from the usual boisterous sensation that had almost always enveloped the building's atmosphere. Lucy wanted to disappear, it was unlike the gloomy situation everyone was currently sharing.
It pained her in some ways to see someone get away with hurting her new family. The blonde wasn't one to let her emotions get the better of her, but now was the time when she was struggling to do so. Yet everyone looked that way, more or less.
"I was surprised we didn't do anything...but still, I suppose the master knows what he's doing." Lucy said to herself as she approached her house. She knew very well about the war that would break out if Makarov struck back against the Phantom Lord Guild.
The blonde girl opens the door only to be greeted by the sight of Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy; All of them were sitting in the living room with somewhat cheerful expressions on their faces.
"Oh, Lucy, how are you…" said Natsu.
"Who said you could enter?!" Lucy screamed, kicking the Dragon Slayer directly in the cheek and effectively sending him across the room.
"You have a beautiful home, Lucy. It's very nice." Erza said before taking a sip of her drink from a small wooden cup.
"Why are you two here too?" Lucy asked angrily.
"The reason we're here is because right now we can assume that the Phantom Lord's members are in the town. So I think it would be safer if we stayed together in case they choose to attack us as individuals." Erza explained, returning to the topic at hand.
"Attack us?!" Lucy cried out in fear.
"Yes, and now they probably know where everyone lives." Gray added in a soft voice.
"If that's the case, then I think she's right..." answered Lucy, now inwardly grateful for her companion's insight.
"Sure, after she almost kicks me out, explain it to her." Natsu moaned as he rubbed his jaw.
After a few minutes, Lucy came out of the kitchen with cups of tea.
"Thanks." Erza spoke as she took a cup of tea.
"You're welcome." After the drinks were finished, Lucy took her seat next to Erza. "Anyway, how is everyone?"
"Mirajane and Elfman will stay together at home, Shadow gear will not be separated in any way. The rest of us have decided to stay in groups, just like us." Erza answered calmly.
"Hm... Erza-san..." Lucy spoke in confusion.
"What is the matter?"
"If things get out of control and war breaks out... what are our chances of winning?" Lucy could feel the mood of everyone in the room deteriorating.
Everyone had serious expressions on their faces.
"Well, let's look at the facts. We have stronger mages but they're outnumbered. They also have a group of mages known as element four that are rumored to consist of nothing but S-level mages. Then there's also their ace, the Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel redfox."
Lucy nervously said, "D-Dragon Slayer? You mean they have a mage like Natsu?" She saw firsthand the kind of destructive power Natsu was capable of unleashing, and knew that the power of dragon slayers should not be underestimated.
"Well, not quite like him." Erza explained, "Natsu is a fire dragon slayer, and he is able to consume fire to restore his magic energy. But Gajeel, being an iron dragon slayer, probably could do the same thing, but with iron." Erza took another sip of the tea. "But while he might be powerful, the biggest worry would be Jose. On top of being a guild master, he also holds the title of a saint wizard and is said to be on par with a master when it comes to brute force."
"Saint wizard?" Lucy spoke in confusion, she didn't know well about the Ten Saint Wizards.
"It is a title that only ten wizards can attain. They are the ten strongest wizards in the Magic World, according to the Magic Council's view. Master is one of them, and the rest of the saint wizards are as strong as him, or maybe even stronger than him."
"This means that if we go to war, the damage will be very catastrophic." Lucy spoke softly.
The rest nodded their heads. Even Natsu, who usually likes to fight, wished this war had not happened.
«Magnolia, Elsewhere»
"Gihi.."
Gajeel was standing on top of a building watching a group of people; Jett, Droy, Levy McGarden. Shadow Gear, the weakest team in Fairy Tail.
Gajeel couldn't help but laugh, things just got so much easier. As much as he hates fighting the weak, he wants to finish his missions as quickly as possible.
Those three poor people had no idea what was waiting for them, but the last thing they saw was a man who slammed to the ground before he pounced on them...
/ /
«The Next Day, Magnolia, Lucy's Apartment»
*knock!!* *knock!!*
Everyone except Natsu groaned when they heard a knock on the door. Last night, they had stayed up late at night.
*knock!!* *knock!!* *knock!!* *knock!!*
"Natsu... open the door." Lucy spoke in a tired voice as she put the pillow over her head so as not to hear the knock on the door.
"*snoring*.." Natsu's snoring was the only answer Lucy got, after all, Natsu wouldn't wake up easily.
"Gray..." Lucy groaned.
"It's your house, you go." Gray muttered as he lay on the sofa.
Lucy wasn't daring enough to ask Erza, after all, Erza had a sword in her hand, which meant that if Lucy woke Erza it would cause the red-haired woman to turn sour before she attacked the nuisance, which is not Nobody but Lucy Heartfilia. Precisely for this reason, the blonde didn't want to risk her life unnecessarily.
Lucy let out a long sigh before getting out of bed and going to the damn door.
The next knocking was so loud that Natsu, Gray and Erza woke up, which is evidenced by the fact that a little girlish scream was heard accompanied by several knocks.
"Wake up! If any of you are here, wake up now!" Mira's voice called out from behind the door.
Lucy immediately ran to the apartment door and they opened the door without delay.
"Thank God, you are okay.." Mira sighed, placing her hand over her heart.
"Mira, what happened?" Gray, who had just arrived with his friends, spoke, noticing the sad look in the waitress' eyes and mannerisms.
"It's awful… it's a Phantom lord, they…" Mira began, only to stop as she looked like she was about to cry.
Upon hearing this, Erza's eyes opened wide. Now she knew very well that something had happened, and if the sad look of the white-haired waitress was any indication, it meant that what had happened was not good.
"Mira.. what happened?" Erza asked, a high level of anger in her tone even though that anger was clearly not directed at the woman in front of her.
«Magnolia Town, Southgate Park»
Mirajane and Team Natsu stood in front of a large tree, each rendered speechless either by anger, grief, or disbelief. Immediately in front of them, three members of the Fairy Tail guild were hanging on a tree, their bodies severely beaten.
Those three were Levy, Jett, and Droy, the three-person team, Shadow gear. However, that wasn't the most obvious thing about the three mages' crucified practical appearance.
Right on Levy's stomach as she hung from the tree, unconscious and bruised, was the mark of the Phantom Lord tattooed into the skin directly above her stomach. Seeing this, everyone felt an urge to kill someone.
"Levy… Jett… Droy…" Lucy sighed anxiously, almost crying at seeing her new friends and guild mates in such a sorry state.
"Phantom Lord did this…" Natsu growled angrily.
Immediately after this was said, the master himself began to walk towards the tree in the attire of a saint wizard, wearing a white-coloured mantle with a wooden staff in his hand. Despite his usual carefree nature, an aura of anger emanated from his being.
"Master…" Erza uttered in a tone of suppressed anger, unable to take her eyes off the figures of her three companions.
"I can deal with our guild headquarters being destroyed… but I will not allow my children to be harmed without retaliation!" Makarov roared angrily, the wooden stick smashed between his hands out of pure anger.
Involuntarily, Lucy felt fear, Makarov's facial features became truly frightening.
"Jose, if you want a war, so be it." Makarov spoke with an eerie calmness, a golden aura surrounding his body. "Let the war begin."
/ /
«Oak town, headquarters»
"Hehehe, those losers in Fairy Tail got what they deserve, eh boys?" A Phantom member exclaimed, raising his cup as he did.
"I heard Gajeel shot down three of them no problem, what a bunch of weaklings!" another shouted.
Currently, inside the huge structure that towered over all the others in the city, the Phantom Lord's members sat in their places, drinking and cheering on the news of the recent events. In fact, some of them did not believe that the damage done was enough.
"Heh, we can't let him have all the fun. Let's go clip some fairy wings." A man sneered as he and two others prepared to exit the large castle-like structure.
Just as the three were about to open the door and step out to wreak some kind of havoc, the door seemed to explode forward in an outbreak of fire. A large cloud of smoke billowed into the air, and the bodies of the Phantom Lord's members flew across the room, now incinerated as a result of what appeared to be some sort of attack.
Every mage inside the building turned around and looked to see a large group of Fairy Tail members standing right on their doorstep, looking incredibly angry and clearly possessing hostile intent.
At the forefront of the group was none other than the Salamander from Fairy Tail, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, and the guild master himself who seemed to give extremely hostile intent to all who stood in his way.
"Fairy Tail has come!" Makarov shouted.
"Kill them!" A Phantom member shouted.
It took no time at all before four individuals specifically jumped straight into the incoming large wave of enemy mages. Natsu jumped towards the left with his fists on fire and an angry look in his eyes. Gray took the oath, using his magic to eliminate anyone foolish enough to approach him. However, this was the most straightforward progression.
He started with the third person, known as Fairy Tail's Titania who passed through everyone he saw around. Furthermore, the fury I was currently feeling was translated well by the extremely relaxed illustration of countless Phantom Lord members flying across the room.
"Take them down, they can't defeat us if we face them at once!" A man shouted, rallying a large number of nearby mages with his call for a full frontal attack.
"Requip!" Erza shouted.
In an instant, her body was engulfed in light before she donned her Flame Empress Armor and charged towards the wave of enemies, the flames covering her sword the entire time. It struck its opponents relentlessly and without hesitation.
And do not forget that Makarov was destroying everything in his path while searching for Jose, as Makarov had transformed into the giant form and made his enemies fly.
"It's a beast..." Someone still had the courage to speak.
"And you dared to lay your filthy hands on this monster's children! Were you foolish enough to think that the laws of mortals would protect you from my wrath?! Jose! Come and show yourself!" Makarov shouted angrily.
What no one realized was that Gajeel was watching everything that was going on, waiting for the right moment. Since entering a battle against one of the ten saintly magicians would only mean painful defeat, before something that would change the course of events happened, he would not intervene.
Which means that Phantom Lord is going to have a really hard time.
/ /
«Magnolia Town, The Hospital»
Lucy sat on the chair looking at her three sleeping friends.
'Droy... Jet... and poor Levy... I never knew Phantom Lord could be this cruel, how could they do something like that?' They have to pay for it.' Tears fell from Lucy's eyes.
"Pathetic.."
Lucy quickly turned back to see the person who had dared to mock her, his face; Ruby red eyes, slightly pale skin, messy black hair, that person was none other than Ryos, the kid who snuck into her house.
Ryos was leaning against the wall by the door.
Just looking at him made Lucy want to kill him in the worst way, although she had no concrete evidence, but she felt that Ryos had a connection to the rival syndicate.
"I don't understand why you're crying, it was their fault." Ryos spoke indifferently. "If you ask me, they deserved what happened to them. If they were strong this wouldn't have happened to them."
Lucy couldn't believe it, this kid was incredibly rude. A few days ago, he broke into her house and ate her food, then saw her naked, and now he is mocking her and her friends. unforgivable
"I heard that Jose-ojii-san has asked Gajeel-Teme to take a little care of these three." Ryos quietly walked toward the door. "But this 'little' seems to have been too much for them."
"what do you want?" Lucy could barely make the words come out of her mouth. Whether a Kid or not, She will beat him up!
A sly smile appeared on Ryos's face. "It looks like all of your friends have gone to Oak Town, right? That means I can destroy what's left of Fairy Tail's guildhall without any problem." Ryos left after he finished speaking.
Without any hesitation, Lucy quickly got up and then ran to stop Ryos from whatever he was going to do.
When Lucy was released from the hospital, she saw Ryos walking quietly down an alley; She didn't know how he managed to get there so quickly even though all he did was walk quietly, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to catch up with him if she just kept running, so she took out one of her golden keys.
"Open the Door... Virgo!!" Lucy shouted before a back appeared before a golden light. When the light faded, a pink-haired girl dressed as a servant with iron chains around her wrists was revealed.
"Punishment time, hime?" Virgo spoke with the usual emotionless face.
"No. Virgo, grab that kid!" Lucy ordered, pointing her finger towards where Rios was.
"science." Virgo spoke before her body sank into the stone floor.
«With Ryos»
Ryos stopped walking before looking back; He knew that Lucy would follow him, so he used the magic of shadows to keep a distance between himself and the Celestial mage. Although there was no one else around, his ear had picked up some sounds, he was sure that the source of that sound wasn't Lucy, he would have known it through his sense of hearing and smell.
'These voices... are coming from under the ground.' Ryos thought before his eyes widened a bit. 'He's right under me.'
Ryos jumps away before Virgo appears from under the ground and tries to catch the Shadow Dragon Slayer, but she clearly fails.
"Who are you?" Ryos looked at the pink-haired girl.
"Mistress wants me to catch you. So you have two choices, you either give in quietly or I will do it the hard way." Virgo spoke in an emotionless voice.
Ryos understood that this girl belonged to the blonde Celestial mage. "Come and force me."
Without saying another word, Virgo wrapped her chains around Ryos' body. But Ryos breaks free easily after transforming himself into a shadow before shooting off at Virgo; Ryos returned to his original form before punching the Celestial Spirit, but Virgo raised her arms so that she was able to block the punch, only to be pushed back several meters.
'His punch contained only pure muscle power. I can't believe a kid can hit like that.' Virgo thought without taking her eyes off the Dragon Slayer. 'His physical strength is enough to last a few minutes against an S-class mage. This boy... is extraordinary.'
Although she still couldn't believe this, Ryos' muscular strength could only be reached by a powerful mage. For Virgo, science and common sense say it is impossible for a human child to possess such power; No matter the number of attempts or the means, it's impossible! But Ryos has proven to have broken the impossible.
"Well done, Virgo!!"
Virgo turned back to see her lady running towards her.
"Don't come close! he's too dangerous!" exclaimed Virgo.
"Huh?" Lucy was amazed as she looked at the Celestial Spirit, she didn't understand how a child could be dangerous.
"Your defense is open."
Virgo's eyes widened before looking at Ryos, as shadows were gathering inside the Dragon Slayer's mouth.
"Shadow Dragon Roar!" Ryos opened his mouth and charged towards Virgo.
The Celestial spirit had not yet had enough time to block or dodge that attack, so it ended up receiving the attack completely; But since Lucy was far enough away, he was able to dodge the attack just in time. When that attack died down, Virgo's wounded body was revealed.
"Virgo!!" Lucy screamed as she saw Vergo's body turn into luminous dust. Lucy slowly turned towards the young Dragon Slayer, she looked frightened. "You… are you a dragon slayer?" She has seen firsthand Natsu's destructive power thanks to his dragon slayer magic, so whether or not Ryos is as powerful as Natsu, he remains a fearsome foe.
Ryos did not answer her question, but continued to stare at her.
'His eyes...' Lucy was confused as she looked into Ryos's eyes; His eyes were like Ulquiorra's, only more frightening.
"I thought you wouldn't come." A small, sly smile appeared on Ryos' face as he looked at something that was behind Lucy.
"Huh?" Before Lucy could look behind him, her body was trapped inside a water ball.
Lucy moved in a desperate attempt to free herself but to no avail, as she ended up losing consciousness due to lack of oxygen.
"Nee-san..is she…" Ryos spoke in a worried tone, looking uncomfortable.
"I passed out." Juvia spoke in an emotionless voice before looking at Ryos. "She will not die."
Ryos sighed with relief, killing wasn't one of the things he wanted to do or cause. He was only ordered to lure Lucy to a place free of people before his comrades kidnapped her. In fact, he had nothing against Fairy Tail, but he taunted Lucy to ensure that she would come after him.
"I have to take her to the dungeon and then back to the guild." Juvia spoke before turning and leaving. "Makarov has come to the guildhall with many of his followers."
"Really? I hope our comrades are okay." Ryos spoke as he walked beside Juvia.
/ /
«Oak town, Phantom Lord guildhall»
The battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord raged, but it seemed that the balance of the battle was tipping in favor of Fairy Tail!
No one from the Phantom Lord Guild could withstand Makarov and Erza. However, they weren't the only ones who were currently dealing an enormous amount of damage to the Phantom Lord. Across the building, Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Alzack, Bisca, Loke, and all the others put their efforts to defeat anyone who tried to stand against them. This was not a simple task they were asked to do, at this point it was a personal one.
From the top of the building's rafters, a man watched the show with an evil grin etched across his face, Gajeel Redfox. He almost wanted to jump down and engage in combat, but this was not a wise decision. He needed to wait before Makarov went off the battlefield.
This is what was about to happen!
"Erza, Natsu, Gray, I'll leave the rabble to you. Take care of them in Fairy Tail's name!" Makarov commanded as he made his way up the stairs and carelessly beat anyone foolish enough to get in his way.
"You got it, Gramps!" Natsu shouted without stopping fighting even as he spoke.
"I see, Master!" Erza responded, choosing not to stop her aggression just like her friend.
A few seconds later, the two of them found themselves standing against two opposing waves of enemy mages all the time.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Gray asked, momentarily ignoring the oncoming skirmish.
"Yes… I have faith that the Master will prevail. However, we must stand firm on our part." Erza replied.
"Yes, but with me here that won't happen!" A man's voice called out from above.
Everyone in the guild stopped fighting the enemy group, whatever their point of view, and looked up to see the owner of said voice leaping down onto the floor of the building.
"It is him!" Someone from the Phantom shouted, looking somewhat frightened for one reason or another.
The man who had just arrived was an individual with long, spiky black hair down to the middle of his back and red eyes. He didn't have any eyebrows, rather they appeared to have been replaced by small round spikes. In fact, across his body, iron studs appeared on his ears, nose, eyebrows, and just below his chin.
His attire consisted of a tattered black sleeveless jacket with studded edges, a piece of cloth wrapped around his waist as if it worked in place of a belt, and baggy beige trousers tucked inside a pair of black studded shoes. Plus two metal wrist straps. The last remaining part of his appearance was a wing-like ornament covering his upper right shoulder in dark green.
"It must be him…the Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel of the black steel." Erza muttered upon seeing the man's figure.
"You are the one who hurt Levy and the others!" One of the Fairy Tail members shouted angrily.
Nab almost immediately jumped towards the black-haired man in an attempt to retaliate, but all the Dragon Slayer did was smile and wait for the right moment.
When he was at close range, a large iron pillar replaced his arm and shot forward, effectively blasting his attacker away through the Guildhall and taking out some of the other Phantom members in the process.
"He wiped out his guildmates with that attack?!" Gray exclaimed, confused. It wouldn't surprise him if this was a dark guild, but for a legal guild to have someone so easily able to fight against his comrades was extremely troublesome.
"Yeah, I know, I hurt my comrades who were subjected to this attack. But truth be told, these poor assholes deserve what happened to them." Gajeel smiled arrogantly.
"Ryos won't let you get away with it..." One of the injured Phantom members spoke, but quickly closed his mouth when he saw Gajeel looking at him.
"It doesn't scare me, I can defeat him at any time. Unlike that brat, I'm not nice and weak." Gajeel spoke firmly and had a slight frown on his face, but his smile soon returned as he looked once more at his enemies. "Anyway, who of you will show me everything you have, I know there is at least one of you who has enough balls of steel to see what a true Dragon Slayer is capable of, so are the rest of you too afraid or not?"
"Too scared?! Real men don't know fear!" Elfman charged at Gajeel at full speed.
Gajeel quickly used his Iron Dragon Club to block the attack. "I've heard of you, you're Elfman aren't you? Yeah, the guy that kills monsters and absorbs their power for himself." he extended an iron club from his arm, and then one from his leg.
Elfman dodged the arm and quickly caught the leg using his beast arm.
"Well, not too bad, big guy."
"Well, that's just because I'm a real man."
"Is that a fact? Well then, let's just see how a real man handles this!" Gajeel shot several iron clubs out of his iron leg, hitting several Phantom Lord members.
"What the hell? what kind of real man attacks their own men?"
"The kind who knows it'll distract their opponent!" Gajeel slugged Elfman in the face using an iron club, sending him flying backwards.
"Gajeel!!!!"
"Hmmm?" Gajeel indifferently turned to see who the wretch had called out to him.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu dealt Gajeel a fire fist before he was able to react, sending him flying backwards into a nearby wall "Now allow me to introduce myself, I'm the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail and I'm here to kick your ass."
Gajeel promptly pulled himself back to his feet and spat out some rubble. "The feeling is mutual punk."
"Elfman just hang back, this asshat is all mine."
"Oh come on!" Elfman protested. "First you try to use me like a springboard, and now you want to steal a fight from one man to another?"
"Pretty much yeah."
"Works for me! Iron Dragon Club!" Gajeel morphed his arm into an iron club and promptly slammed it into Natsu's gut, sending him skidding backwards.
Natsu grabbed onto the iron club and forced himself to a stop "You fucked up our guild hall, you attacked Levy and her team."
"I did what Jose ordered me to do."
"I don't give a damn, you're gonna pay!" Natsu covered his arms in flames, gripped onto the iron club and threw Gajeel into the air.
Gajeel rebounded off one of the support pillars and charged at Natsu, his fist being covered in iron scales "Iron Dragon Hard Fist!"
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
The two attacks collided, the force blowing both of them back a short distance as they licked their minor wounds.
Natsu smiled as his fighting spirit awakened, he hadn't had a good fight in a while. "not bad."
"You, too." Gajeel smiled, feeling the same feelings as Natsu. "Unlike Ryos, you seem to give me a lot of Fun."
"Alright fine." Elfman let out a sigh "Yeah you're manlier than I thought. I'll let you have this one, but you've gotta promise me that you're gonna-"
"You can bet on it, I'll beat this guy until he's just a pile of scrap metal."
"For the record, I'm still standing right now." Gajeel pointed out.
"True, but you're not gonna be for much longer?"
"You wanna be?" Gajeel suddenly burst forward at full speed.
"Oh son of a-" Natsu was cut off by an iron club enhanced uppercut kick to the jaw, sending him flying across the building "Ow."
"Oh come on Salamander, don't tell me that your bark is worse than your bite. What can you dish out but you can't take the good shit? You're giving Dragon Slayers a bad name."
"You wanna be?" Natsu burst back up to his feet with a cocky smirk "It's gonna take a lot more than that to keep me down."
"You seriously think you've got what it takes to take me down don't you, Pyro?"
"The hell with think, I know for a fact that I can."
"We'll see about that. Iron Dragon Club!" Gajeel fired his Iron Club forward.
Natsu caught the beam with his bare hand as it began radiating flames "Your steel beams can't even touch me, you're gonna have to step up your game!"
"It's not steel it's iron you moron. Still the rumors are true, you're way more powerful than you look. That actually stung a little bit, so do you have what it takes to keep going Salamander?"
"That was just a warmup, I'm just getting started. You haven't seen anything from me yet you metal freak!" Natsu charged forward in a rage.
"We'll see about that." Gajeel blocked Natsu's fist and dealt him a quick kick to the gut, sending him skidding backwards.
'Dammit this guy's tough, but I'm not backing down to him! Fire Dragon Talon!" Natsu was quick to stop Gajeel's next attack with a fire enhanced uppercut kick to the jaw.
Gajeel quickly summoned some iron foot blades in the soles of his feet, hooking himself onto the support beams, then he blocked Natsu's next attack using his iron club, though he was sent crashing through several support beams before latching onto another.
"How do you like that one asshole?"
"Don't let yourself get too cocky punk, it's not gonna happen again."
"I think we'll see about that."
/ /
«Phantom Lord, Upstairs, with Makarov and Jose»
Right now, an extremely angry Makarov Deryar stormed into the throne room that Jose was in, as the floor was cracking and the place was shaking violently because of Makarov's magic energy that was raging furiously. However, the man who sat on the throne directly in front of him didn't move a muscle following a large torrent of yellow magic energy.
"JOSE!"
"Well well well, look what the cat dragged in." Jose let out a chuckle from where he was seated on his throne.
The man who sat in front of the old wizard was sinister in appearance. He was a tall, thin man with straight black hair that came down to his shoulders. He had green eyes, a sharp face, dark colored lips, and a thin mustache on his face.
He was wearing a high-collared purple coat with pink trimmings and a ragged cloak, under which was a plain-looking shirt with a Saint Mage's Medal showing around his neck with two light ribbons falling from it. However, the most distinctive feature of his clothing is a pair of bat-like wings that appeared to be part of his coat.
"Why are you attacking Fairy Tail?! TELL ME!" Makarov shouted, his magic energy still blazing the entire time.
"It's been quite some time since we've seen each other hasn't it Makarov, six years ago at the guild master conference I believe. I remember that day all too well, I was quite a mess. I can't hold my liquor as well as the rest of you." Jose said.
"SILENCE!" Makarov fired a gigantic fist forward, smashing the throne with ease "I didn't come here to make small talk Jose, what I want is answers!"
Jose simply let out a chuckle, his appearance flickering.
"A projection? You coward, I should've known you would've fled with your tail between your legs."
"This is far from cowardice Makarov, I'm simply trying to avoid a fight between two of the Ten Wizard Saints. In lieu of that mess I prefer a sensible victory without all of the unnecessary commotion."
"Why are you hiding? Come out and face me like a man!" the only answer Makarov received was a projection of the tied up form of Lucy appearing before him "Lucy, but why?"
"Why you ask? You mean to tell me she's a member of your guild and you don't even know about that? I'm quite surprised that miss Lucy Heartfilia never told you the truth." he summoned a Magic Circle coated with black energy.
"No don't!" Makarov quickly sensed the presence of another being in the room and whipped around 'Where did he come from? I wasn't even able to sense the presence of this one!'
As it turns out, standing behind Makarov was a large heavy set man by the name of Aria, his attire consisting of a large overcoat, a top hat and a blind fold, with tears streaming down his face endlessly "It's so sad, it's just so sad!"
"What the-" but then Makarov was suddenly engulfed in a white light.
«Phantom Lord, Ground Floor»
"Fire Dragon-" Natsu stopped abruptly.
From the highest point of the building, an object like a ton of bricks fell. It smashed into the ground shortly thereafter, drawing everyone's attention to it. When the smoke around the point of impact cleared, there wasn't a single person fighting, and the majority of Fairy Tail's powerful members went to help the man who looked significantly tensed, if not close to death's door.
Makarov lay on his back inside a small hole created by his landing, his complexion green and his magical energy fading with every passing second. It didn't look like he was seriously ill, the only alternative was that someone had his face painted with sickly green makeup.
"I am so sad! Why do I suddenly feel so sad?! Maybe because on this day the world lost a great mage!" A man cried aloud from the rafters, despite being ignored by everyone since the priority for the mages of Fairy Tail was to take care of their wounded leader.
"Master Makarov!" Erza shouted as she ran toward the seemingly defeated wizard.
"I don't understand… I don't feel any magic energy coming from him at all!" Gray exclaimed fearfully.
"Impossible, you mean he's just an ordinary old man now?" asked Elfman, expressing grave concern.
"That can't be true!" Natsu shouted defiantly, as if he simply wouldn't consider that an option.
"However, I don't get it… Gramps is so strong, how did they beat him?" Gray asked out loud.
"kids..." Makarov called out in a weak voice, drawing the attention of everyone around him.
"Gramps, what is this?!" Natsu asked hurriedly, resisting the urge to violently shake his master in order to wake him up. He knew this wouldn't work, but he couldn't think of anything else.
"Save… Lucy… captured by… Jose…" Makarov muttered, after which he seemed to pass out.
The Fairy Tail wizards let out a collective gasp, and then parted from it because of the laughter that came from a certain dragon slayer. He had to take another step, but he clearly enjoyed watching his group's enemies tremble in fear of what had just happened.
"Oh, so Jose told him what we did with the blonde. Too bad he can't do anything now." Gajeel scoffed.
"Yes, but it saddens me so much that it had to be dealt with in this way!" The green-robed man shouted.
"Well, you're as scary as ever... I still have to commend you for taking down the Fairy Tail geezer, Aria." Gajeel stated.
"I just did what master Jose ordered." Aria replied, looking as if he really wasn't happy with what he had just done.
"Whatever.. Now there is one little fly I have to deal with and then we are done here." Gajeel said.
"That's enough for today."
Aria and Gajeel turned towards the source of the voice, it was none other than Jose.
"You both should rest well; the next battle will be decisive, so everyone should be at their best." Jose smiled as he saw the Fairy Tail guild members withdrawing.
As much as the Fairy Tail people wanted to continue fighting, they knew very well that all their chances of defeating Jose were completely nil.
/ /
«Oaktown, in the tower»
"Nnngggghhh.." Lucy slowly opened her eyes, and as soon as she remembered what had happened she got up straight, only to find herself tied up and locked in a cell. "What the hell, how did you get here?"
"Me and My sister kidnapped you and then put you here." A childish voice answered in an indifferent tone.
'this voice!' Lucy thought before turning to the source of the voice. "It's you, you little pervert!!" Lucy shouted angrily.
A few meters away, Ryos was sitting on the ground with a bag of candy and a snakes and ladders game in front of him. Snakes and Ladders is a team game that needs at least two people, but since Frosh is not here, Ryos will have to play alone.
Ryos was trying to stay out of boredom as much as possible, as he had to watch over Lucy before Jose came along. Ryos didn't want to do this because of that embarrassing memory with Lucy, but there was no way he could; After all, that image was still stuck in his brain.
Lucy looked around, her mind filled with thoughts. 'What's wrong with this rat? And most of all, how can I escape?'
As if sensing her thoughts, Ryos spoke in an indifferent tone. "You can't escape." He rolled the dice and then moved the piece that belonged to his imaginary opponent. "You will never be able to escape."
Lucy knew it was true, but she couldn't help feeling the need to run away, to get away from the awful situation. She couldn't believe that a kid could fool her so easily.
"Get me out of here!" Lucy exclaimed in annoyance.
"Stop yelling, it bothers me."
"Oh really?! Sorry that I disturbed your peace! But I find it hard to stay calm when I'm locked inside a cell with a pervert like you!"
"It's not like I wanted to see your balloons!" Ryos exclaimed, a slight redness appearing on his cheeks.
"Balloons?!" Lucy felt a little offended. "who told you that?!"
"My Big sister." Ryos answered truthfully.
"Oh.." Lucy seemed surprised, remembering that she was talking to a twelve-year-old; Of course he doesn't have the knowledge of adults, he's still innocent. But this does not negate the fact that he did wrong to her. "But you're still wrong!"
Ryos sighed in annoyance before looking at Lucy. "It's not me who dropped the towel off your body."
"But you are the one who entered my apartment without permission!!"
"I've been knocking on your apartment door for so long time, I had no choice but to break in. It's all for the mission."
"And was eating my apple cake part of your mission?!"
"I was hungry..." Ryos looked away and decided to keep playing and ignore the blonde girl, after all, even a kid like Ryos knows very well that there is no point in this conversation.
After a few minutes, Lucy sighed tiredly; She was trying to free herself from her chains and think of a way to escape, but she had reached a dead end. Even if she manages to free herself, Ryos is strong enough to knock her down and tie her up again.
"I'm hungry." Lucy spoke as she looked at the bag of candy next to the dragon slayer, she could smell the candy, intoxicating scent. "Give me some candy--" Her voice broke as Ryos put all the contents of the bag into his mouth in one go. "You really are a heartless brat!!"
Ryos couldn't stop himself from smiling. He always bought good quality candy just to tease Gajeel, as Ryos was well aware that the smell of this candy would make anyone with a nose want to eat it, especially if that person was Gajeel; And of course, Ryos will never give any piece to the iron dragon slayer, he will eat it all while enjoying seeing Gajeel trying to keep calm. These candy were expensive, but watching Gajeel suffer was worth it.
But he could do the same with Lucy, maybe she's not as annoying and obnoxious as Gajeel, but she gave him some bad time.
"From all people, I can't believe I'm with you. you eat my cake, so I'm entitled to have some of it." Lucy sighed comically, knowing that continuing to resist would not work. But she was surprised when she saw Ryos standing up and walking towards her. "What--"
Lucy didn't know what the boy was up to. When Ryos reached for Lucy he got down on one knee.
"Open your mouth."
"Huh?" Lucy was completely confused.
"I said, Open your mouth." Ryos spoke in a menacing manner as shadows surrounded his body.
Lucy opened her mouth and closed her eyes. Lucy didn't know what that boy was going to do to her, but she guessed it wouldn't be good. But all her fears were vanished when a spherical object entered his mouth; Cranberry flavour, it was candy; Amazing tasting candy. Lucy smiled savoring the candy and kept her eyes closed.
Ryos sighed before returning to his seat and continuing to play. He may have lost his last piece of candy, but he'll get some peace.
"My name is Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy tried to be friendly with the Shadow Dragon Slayer, maybe she could get some information...and some candy.
"I know that." Ryos answered with apparent indifference.
"What is your name?"
"Ryos, Ryos lockser." Ryos answered calmly, but his tone contained a little grimace.
"Ryos?" Lucy muttered in astonishment. 'Who gives his son such a terrible name?'
Ryos is not a name, Lucy is sure of that. In fact, Ryos is a word that means 'bastard' ; Sometimes this word is used as an insult.
All in all, Ryos is a word that never lends itself to being used as a name. Whoever gave this name to the Shadow Dragon Slayer, had committed an unforgivable act.
(Author's note: If you don't understand. Imagine your name is "murderer" or "whore", "motherfucker",..; that's what happened with Ryos. I don't know about you guys, but I think that's a crime.)
Lucy was about to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat when she heard someone's voice.
"So you are finally awake." The door opened to reveal Jose standing in front of her. "I must admit I was very worried about you, Lucy-sama."
Meanwhile, Ryos got up and bowed respectfully before his master.
"Just who are you?" Lucy spoke confused.
"Well, my name is Jose porla."
"Are you with Phantom Lord?"
"Actually, I am the Phantom Lord Guild master. I would like to apologize for this filthy dungeon and restriction, it must be insulting but I'm afraid I had no other choice, my dear. This is how you treat a prisoner after all."
"You son of a bitch who attacked my friend Levy, you better let me go! My friends are coming looking for me!" Lucy shouted angrily.
"Shut up!" Ryos shouted in a deep, terrifying, bone-chilling voice, as his voice was like dozens of people speaking at the same time.
His eyes began to glow with a frightening red light and shadows surrounded his body such that it looked like a mass of raging black flames. It was a terrifying sight.
"Show some respect." Ryos spoke in that same terrifying voice.
'This power... this aura...' Lucy was speechless. 'Is he really a kid? No, is he even human?' Ryos was all but human. "What are you?" Lucy could barely get those words out of her mouth.
"the future." Jose replied smiling. "After a few years, with hard training; this child will become strong enough to make the Dark Guild Masters eat dirt."
"This shouldn't be possible, even for a Dragon Slayer." Lucy spoke without taking her eyes off Ryos. "How… how could this boy… have such power?!"
A proud smile appeared on Jose's lips; Ryos might not be the most powerful mage in Phantom Lord, but the potential that Ryos displayed was really impressive, plus Jose couldn't see the ceiling of the Shadow Dragon Slayer's potential.
"Ryos-kun, please go now, I don't want our guest to feel uncomfortable."
The savage aura that was around Ryos' body disappeared before he crouched, turned into a shadow, and quickly left. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, it wasn't comfortable being so close to that boy.
"Now, depending on how willing you are to cooperate, I am quite willing to treat you as a respected guest rather than a humble prisoner."
"What exactly does that mean?" Lucy spoke defiantly, but soon gave goosebumps when she noticed something wrong with her leg. "Oh my God, that bug crawled on me!"
"Now you see, you don't want to stay here, do you? I have a nicely decorated suite waiting for you if you promise to do well."
"Why the hell does your guild keep attacking us?!"
"Who are we exactly? Sorry, were you talking about Fairy Tail? This was nothing more than a means to an end."
"What?"
"You see we were working towards our main objective of acquiring a certain person, they actually happen to be a member of Fairy Tail so if we have to destroy the guild to get a hold of them then that's simply a working benefit."
"Who the heck are you talking about?"
"Oh my, you truly are such a naive young lady, not at all what I'd expect from a debutante. I'm talking about you of course, Lady Lucy the privileged daughter of the wealthy Heartfilia family." that shook Lucy to the core.
"But... But how did you find out about that?"
"You know I'm surprised you never told your fellow guild members the truth, and I don't understand the daughter of a wealthy tycoon would stoop to such cheap and dangerous work as wizarding for such a low class guild, so do you? "
"So you mean… I've been kidnapped?"
"No far from it my dear, I assure you it's not like that. We're not looking for ransom money or anything of that sort, we're just doing our job. We were hired by your father to bring you home to him." and that left Lucy downright terrified.
"No... I don't understand, why the hell would he want me back?"
"Why do you seem so confused? Any father would go looking for a daughter who ran away from home."
"But not him, I'm honestly shocked he even noticed that I was gone. I'm not ever gonna go back to that house, I don't want anything to do with him!"
"Oh dear, I should've known that you would be problematic.''
Well then you might as well just let me go.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."
"Please… I need to go to the bathroom."
"Oh give me a break, you don't think I'd fall for the oldest trick in the book do you?"
"No for real, I'm totally dying here!"
"Fine then." Jose promptly placed a bucket in front of her "Go ahead."
"A bucket?!"
"I'm ready for any old trick you might throw my way."
"Well then I guess it'll have to work. she stood up and prepared to pull down her skirt "Well here goes…"
"You mean you're actually gonna use it?! Well I've never met such a vulgar young lady, but I'll turn away because I'm a gentleman." so he promptly turned around.
"Good enough for me." so Lucy promptly launched one foot right between Jose's legs, nailing him right in the crotch and sending him falling to his knees "You know there's a good reason why old tricks are still around, it's because they work. Well I'll be seeing you , now take care okay?" she made a beeline for the window, only to stop when she realized that she was several stories off the ground.
"Oh yes, right…" Jose pulled himself back to his feet, still in a great deal of pain "I forgot to mention it before, this cell is several stories high. I must admit you really did a number on me young lady but you're not going to get away with it, you'll be punished for this. I'm going to show you just how terrifying the Phantom Lord guild can be."
"I think we'll see about that." and with that, Lucy shut her eyes, took a deep breath and promptly leapt off the ledge, sending her plummeting to the ground below.
'...Oh shit, that wasn't what I was expecting.' and then he fell to the ground again.
/
«30 minutes ago, Oak town: in one of the mountainous areas near the destroyed Phantom Lord guildhall.»
The Fire Dragon Slayer was in an extremely bad mood, which was clearly evident from the fact that his eyes were fixed in an angry glare and his lips were forming what appeared to be a normal frown. The reasons for this were many.
First, he saw Makarov's struggle to escape death. Secondly, Lucy had apparently been snatched from right under their very noses by the Phantom Lord. The Celestial Witch chose to stay by Levi's side in the hospital, as she was nothing more than a good friend who felt nothing but grief over what had happened.
It was also because of these two things that for the past half hour or so, he had been ignoring the constant whining that came from the Phantom Lord mage who was currently dragging him along the winding stone path.
Even now, Happy had chosen to remain calm, fully aware that his best friend was currently in a mood that intuitively meant that something was about to burn.
"Come on man, just let me go already!" The man sobbed but the pink-haired teenager ignored him.
"So what are we going to do now?" asked Happy in a soft voice, testing the waters to see if his best friend was in a better mood to talk.
"Isn't that obvious? We'll go save Lucy, then we'll go back to the guild and make sure Gramps is okay." Natsu answered.
His tone was very annoyed, but it wasn't directed at the blue-furred cat at all. In fact, Saeed didn't think it was possible for Natsu not to get upset after what happened.
"Okay pal, where is she?" Natsu asked in a serious tone.
"How do I know?" the man asked in a tense voice, the Dragon Slayer's fist around his neck making it somewhat difficult to speak.
"Look, someone dear to me has a serious injury right now, and a close friend of mine has been kidnapped. So I'm not exactly in a good mood right now, which means if you don't start talking, you'll regret it." Natsu said forcefully, restraining himself. Using a modicum of mercy.
"I already told you, I don't know.." the man began.
The ghost mage's body caught fire before he could even finish speaking, after which he started to scream due to the fact that his body was currently burning. Needless to say, it wasn't all that comfortable.
"Ahh! Come on man, it hurts!" shouted the man.
"Start talking or you will turn into a pile of ash." Natsu shouted, turning around and looking at his prisoner.
"aye". Happy said in agreement as he flew beside the pink-haired magician.
"If I knew anything, I would tell you now!" The man begged desperately.
"so Funny, I was thinking you should have been burnt to crisp by now." Natsu answered indifferently.
"Come on man, put out the fire! Look, our quarters are up front. If I had to guess, that's where your girl's going to be!" shouted the man.
Natsu released the enemy mage. The man let out a deep sigh shortly afterwards, though the Dragon Slayer then punched him hard enough to send him flying into the rocky passage down the mountain.
"Then why didn't you say that in the first place? God, these guys are idiots..." Natsu thought out loud and didn't bother watching the man keep falling down the mountain pass.
"Aye.." Happy muttered.
The best friends continued to travel up the mountain just a few feet before collectively starting to look at the large castle-like building ahead. The core prisoner had just told them that the Phantom Lord's headquarters was up front, which told them exactly what that building was.
"So this is the Phantom Lord's main base, right?" Natsu thought out loud as he continued walking forward.
"Look Natsu, it's raining people!" Happy exclaimed cheerfully, pointing his hand at the image of what appeared to be a fallen human.
The pink-haired Dragon Slayer made a confused expression before turning around to look at the fallen figure. He knew right away that it was a woman who, for some reason, had her hands tied behind her back.
However, his confused expression turned to intense concern as the scent of the fallen woman reached his nostrils. He knew very well who this woman was, and with that in mind, he ran toward the point where her body would likely fall as fast as he could.
"This is not just a person!" Natsu shouted, running forward trying to get there in time.
Even at the rate he was currently running at, it seemed as if he hadn't moved an inch, but even so, that wasn't an excuse for not trying. This was his friend, and although he might be powerless to save Makarov, this was something he could stop, he would do everything in his power to do so.
"Natsu!" Lucy screamed in the air as she continued to fall.
The pink-haired teen didn't know how his friend could tell he was there, but a cry for help made him hurry up. With her body about to collapse to the ground, Natsu jumped forward with everything he had and barely managed to grab the blonde's body and reverse the trajectory of her fall.
Unfortunately, this meant that he was violently sent into a nearby brick wall, but he was nevertheless hit more than that on numerous occasions.
"Phew… looks like I made it in time. said Natsu, his voice currently muffled by the large chest of a blonde-haired witch.
"Yes. Thanks." said Lucy, a genuine smile etched across her face. Normally, she would have freaked out given what her breasts were currently pressing against, but this situation was an exception in her eyes.
Within moments, the Dragon Slayer removed his girlfriend from his body, helped her stand up and freed her from her chains. Both of them remained silent during this time, even Happy who came from behind the two of them.
"Are you well?" Natsu asked in a worried voice.
Lucy replies "I think so..."
Truth be told, she wasn't quite well, but she couldn't describe herself like that since she knew very well that she was the reason why her guild was currently under attack. Her father was the primary catalyst for Phantom Lord's actions, and now it was her responsibility to relay that information. It pained her to think because of this fact that others would hate her.
"What happened?" Happy spoke in an innocent tone.
Immediately after asking Blue Cat to investigate, Lucy broke down in tears and started sobbing. Natsu just stared at his blue-furred comrade who just stared at the blonde with a bemused expression since he didn't necessarily understand what was so bad about his question.
"I-I...so sorry...I'm so sorry..." Lucy exclaimed.
"Why are you crying?" Natsu asked, a mixture of worry and confusion found in his voice.
'Lucy doesn't seem to be able to reply, but hopefully she will explain herself on the way back to the guild.' Natsu takes the Celestial Witch and places her on his back, at which point he returns her to the guild. However, her crying did not stop.
«Oaktown, in the tower»
Jose sat in front of the window, still groaning and writhing in agony over Lucy's low blow from a few minutes prior, until the pain subsided and was replaced by unyielding rage, evil magic energy radiating from his body "That does it... she's made me very angry, and she won't like me when I'm angry She and her guild will pay, and they'll pay in their blood!"
/ /
«Ulquiorra's Inner World»
*boom!!*
*baaam!!*
*Rumble!!*
Ulquiorra and Murcièlago were exchanging blows without either of them being able to hit the other, as the two were blocking every attack and counterattacking, but to no avail. Neither of them seemed to have the advantage.
*riiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!*
*riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!*
A chime was heard throughout the inner world.
"What--" Murcièlago spoke before receiving a powerful kick in the face that sent his body hurled twenty meters away.
Although Murcièlago had relaxed his defense for one second, that short amount of time was more than enough for Ulquiorra to direct his attack.
Murcièlago got up rubbing his cheek, though Ulquiorra couldn't kill Murcielago, but that didn't mean that Murcièlago couldn't feel pain. "Oh man! That was painful!!" Murcièlago cried angrily, but he did not see Ulquiorra. "Damn it! Wait until I get my hands on you, then you'll know who's boss!"
«Magnolia Town, Ulquiorra's Apartment»
Ulquiorra got up from his bed and shrugged his shoulders causing a popping sound.
"This is the Arsilay, Ulquiorra Schiffer." Holding the diamond, Ulquiorra spoke coldly.
"You have orders from the Magic Council. The Battle of Oak town has taken place between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail; the Fairy Tail guild members have returned to Magnolia, but it is clear that Phantom Lord will respond with a massive attack. Your task is to check on the conditions of the Fairy Tail guild and then stop Jose from Getting to Magnolia." cutting the connection..
[interesting. I didn't expect things to get this far.]
Ulquiorra didn't say anything, but took out a gem from his pocket and crushed it, his current clothes were replaced with work clothes, the Espada uniform!
/ /
«Demon world, in Bahamut's Palace»
"Pffffff! War?! Don't be kidding me! No dead bodies, no amputated limbs, not even a puddle of blood?! This isn't a war, it's just a match!" Storm Drake exclaimed indignantly.
Storm Drake had watched the battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord, and the purple-skinned man was clearly unhappy with what had happened in Phantom Lord's headquarters. He expected to do better than that.
At the same time, Bahamut had the same feelings as his subordinate, but he was much more calm and stoic.
"Well, if I said I wasn't disappointed, that would be a lie." Bahamut spoke softly. "Maybe this fight wasn't any better than Ulquiorra's fight against Fairy Tail, but the boring part is over." A sly smile appeared on Bahamut's face. "In Phantom Lord, there are Jose porla, Gajeel Redfox, The Element four, and WMDs. Fairy Tail, although it is likely that their master will not participate in the upcoming battle, there are some powerful magicians; Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster In addition to the possibility of the appearance of one of the elites such as Mirajane Strauss, Mystogan or even Laxus. And let's not forget that Hector Kadagra and Ulquiorra Schiffer will be a party to this conflict." Bahamut rose from his throne.
Storm Drake felt that his feelings of frustration had dissolved and his feelings of anticipation and excitement had returned to him. At the same time, Bahamut was quietly leaving the place in order to do some things, but the purple-skinned man could only hear the words that came out of the Prince of Hell's mouth.
"In all wars, there are so many possibilities that one thing can dramatically change the course of events."
Sorry for waiting. Any questions please?
