Chapter 36

'Thinking' – thoughts

"Speaking" – speech

'Thinking' – Dragon/God/Beast thinking

"Speaking" - Dragon/God/Beast speaking

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters they are the property of Hiro Masima.

BoredAsUsual34: I hope the older chapters aren't too bad and I do hope that I improved over the years.

kronosthetitanoftime: Thank you very much the the interest, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

midnightscar17: Sorry about that, it happened when I sent it through Grammarly and I didn't notice.

xComet4: Thank you for allowing my devious mind to twist this story xD. But thank you for the encouragement.

Ushindi: Enjoy the fist leg of the fight Wendy and Erza has in this chapter. 1. I have heard of it and I heard somewhere they will eventually also make a anime adaptation. 2. I don't specifically have plans just yet, but Wendy will be an easy addition and I can see how I can add some other characters after the time skip. 3. The title does fit with where they came into the story and their powers and resurrections did lend some more validity to that claim, I can see some different ideas I can implement to extend that arc and make it more interesting. 4. I'd say the GMG arc, I really like those competition arcs in anime.

saelk:Thank you so much for the praise. Here you go with another chapter.

-With Erza and Wendy-

"The war will resume. The victor decided anew. Change is here and history rewritten once more," a voice rasped as its ancient power swelled in the area. Erza was immediately on high alert as the strange power she never felt before came to rest around them.

"Erza," Wendy breathed out as her eyes locked onto a set of long leathery fingers as they curled around the edge of the recently restored tower. Erza turned in time to see a wing of a creature covered in ancient feathers coming into view. The wing was soon followed by the full appearance of their foe. A bird-like beak attached to a leathery head with four sets of small, glowing eyes turned to them as powerful goat-like legs with taloned feet stepped out from the gap holding up its hunched body.

"You are not part of the Oracion Seis, are you? Just what are you?" Erza demanded. She knew this foe was nothing like the dark mages they had been fighting up until now, the ancient power that surrounded it confirmed that.

"The old rise. The young wither. The world changes and history soon to follow," the thing said, its rasping voice filling with power as it became clearer as if its age fell away and it re-entered its prime. It let out a screech as it extended to its full height and power burst from its form sending Wendy and Erza flying against the opposite building, the walls crumbling under their impact.

-With Brain-

A frown momentarily formed on Brain's expression as yet another tattoo line disappeared from his face, leaving only one. 'Cobra fell as well. These light mages are proving much more troublesome than initially anticipated. Not that it will matter as Nirvana is now under my control,' Brain thought darkly before a smirk returned to his lips. Brain felt his magic being accepted by the ancient superweapon and it started to gather the energy needed for its terrifying weapon to fire.

"You are too late, Wizard Saint, Nirvana now bows to my will and soon the Cait Shelter guild will feel its wrath," Brain said as he sensed the spike in magic power that just scaled to the top of the temple moments before Jura and Gray made it to the summit.

"You can still be stopped, I will not allow you to run rampant in this country. You will soon join the rest of your guild in defeat," Jura stated as he was covered in a layer of his magic. Gray quickly followed suit as he placed a fist in his palm, ready to support the stronger mage however he could.

"Well, there are still some ways to go, I guess I can use the entertainment for now," Brain mused before he thrust his staff towards the two mages while calling out "Dark Rondo" as a stream of dark green energy raced at Jura and Gray.

Gray scrambled to get a defence ready but before he had a chance to cast a spell a slab of solid earth rose in front of them as Jura called out "Iron Rock Wall". The beam of dark green collided with the slab of solid earth but failed to pierce the iron defence. Once the beam dissipated, Jura jumped on the rock and pointed two fingers towards Brain while saying with a powerful voice, "Iron Rock Thrust". A wave of rocks blew from the ground and rushed Brain. A trench formed from where Jura stood straight to where a shocked and damaged Brain lay.

"What power, what knowledge he must possess," Brain said in awe before a hungry look took over his face, "No, I must keep my focus and restore the seals soon," Brain corrected himself as he shook the hungry look from his face and donned his regular calm expression.

"Stand up, you will only be allowed to rest once you have revealed why you are targeting the Cait Shelter guild when there are other guilds closer to where we are now," Jura demanded as he stood strong and his two fingers at the ready.

"What my intentions are does not concern you?" Brain asked as he raised his staff and released another beam with a shout of "Dark Rondo". Just like before Jura countered with his "Iron Rock Wall", the results of the clash were unchanged.

"Your attacks are meaningless. Now answer my question," Jura demanded.

"Meaningless you say? Let's see how you stand against an attack that is meant to pierce your pitiful defences. "Dark Capriccio" Brain cast a beam of dark green magic surrounded by a twirl of orange energy.

"Iron Rock Wall" Jura raised his defence again, though this time the results differed as Brain's spell broke through the rock formation. "Iron Rock Wall: Continuous Formation" Jura quickly called out as multiple slabs of rock raised between him and the oncoming spell.

"No matter how many times you raise a defence, Dark Capriccio will pierce through," Brain taunted as he continued to supply his spell with more magic, watching gleefully as it pierced one slab after the other and before long it reached the last one. Jura, unfazed by his defences faltering, pointed his two raised fingers downward as the dark spell reached his last slab. The solid earth bent to his will and with it, Brain's spell had its trajectory forcefully changed to harmlessly pierce into the night sky above.

'He managed to redirect such a powerful attack with his defence,' Gray watched on in amazement, feeling ashamed that he had little to offer in this fight while an idea started to mill in the back of his mind whether he would be able to perform a similar feat with his icy shield.

"Are you only able to evade attacks, one would expect a Wizard Saint to be able to do more," Brain taunted before releasing a more powerful version of the previous spell as he called out "Dark Capriccio Scream".

Noticing the difference in power Brain supplied to this attack compared to the previous one, Jura took a different approach to his iron defence. "Rock Mountain" Jura called out while joining his palms together in front of his chest. A massive human-shaped rock formation clad in eastern-looking armour rose from the ground with its palms joining in a similar manner to Jura. Gray was astonished as the massive rock formation formed around him as well, shielding the two light mages from the incoming attack. Gray could feel the clash of magic as Brain's spell tried to overcome Jura's defence, but after a while, he could sense that the clash of magical power stopped and moments later the rock formation crumbled as Jura released his hold on the defensive spell.

"They do often ask what would happen if an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object, care to explore that question?" Brain offered as he and Jura locked eyes again, their clash not done in any way.

"You seem to believe that I will merely sit back and allow you to attack," Jura said threateningly as the rubble started to rise with a golden brown aura around them before Jura thrust his palm forward and directed the rocks to converge on Brain. It didn't take long for the mass of stones to surround Brain, hiding him from Gray's eyes.

Jura wasn't done as he brought his hands together in a similar pose to when he raised his 'Rock Mountain' defence, but this time Gray could feel the pulses of magic wafting off Jura before the Wizard Saint shouted "Supreme King Rock Crush". Two ethereal palms appeared on either side of the rock-covered Brain before slamming together. As the two ethereal palms joined an explosion rocked the rubble hill.

Brain let out a grunt as he fell to the ground, his eyes wide in surprise at his swift defeat.

"No, the prayers have fallen? How could this happen?" Brain asked, more to himself than anyone else as the last of the tattooed lines on his face faded.

"Now you will answer my questions. Why are you targeting Cait Shelter?" Jura demanded as he towered over the defeated Brain.

"No, this will not bode well for any as the broken will have control," Brain continued, ignoring Jura's demand.

-With Natsu-

Natsu was quickly closing in on the Cait Shelter guild, his mind racing with the potential horror that will soon be unleashed as the one with the answer neared. Natsu barged through the main doors of the building where Roubaul was sitting, almost as if he was expecting him.

"You are here to ask about where Nirvana derives its power from? Nabura," Roubaul asked.

"Start explaining now," Natsu demanded as his eyes locked onto the man.

"The wars that ravaged the land centuries ago threatened to destroy all of civilisation as a whole. My people, the Nirvit, looked to me as their leader to uphold our pledge of peace, but the power we held was far from sufficient. I devoted much of my time trying to discover a new power for my people to reinstate the peace we strive for and that was when I stumbled upon it," Roubaul started.

"You uncovered something of a bygone era, something that should have stayed in the past," Natsu finished his initial statement before slight anger trickled into his voice at the end.

"Indeed. When I discovered the power to change the views of others I jumped on it. I saw the potential, if I could harness this power to change the hearts of men, peace in our war-torn world would be possible. I created Nirvana, a weapon that could harness the power to change and direct it. When we deployed it, we carved a path of peace through the land, but it did not last. I never considered that this was not my power, never considered what the source of the power was and how easy it was for me to harness it," Roubaul reminisced as regret filled his eyes.

"Did you ever see what the source of the power was, did it ever manifest in front of you?" Natsu asked.

"We were achieving our goal, Nirvana was working as I envisioned. It all changed one day though as a voice sounded in my ears..." Roubaul continued as he lost himself in his memories.

-Flashback-

Roubaul was sitting in a large room with a round table in the centre, sitting with him at the table were his fellow Nirvit leaders.

"The heaviest conflict still rages in the lands to the east and south. Our efforts with Nirvana have succeeded on our western coast though we are still waiting on reports from the lands beyond the oceans," one of the Nirvit reported.

"We need to consolidate our efforts on Ishgar first before we look to the northern and western continents," another raised.

"The rumours from the east indicate that the warmongering kingdom to the far west is growing rapidly, but there are many hurdles in our way to lend aid there," another Nirvit raised.

"Our problem is that we are limited in numbers, Roubaul, are you able to construct more weapons like Nirvana?" one asked the head of the gathered leaders.

"I have only found a single source of the power Nirvana uses, I have tried to replicate it but that only resulted in failure. My idea is to develop a power network to syphon this power across the land to smaller stations. This will require Nirvana to be retired as a mobile site and converted to a stronghold and battery for smaller units to take the expansion," Roubaul replied.

"This will cause a setback in our progression and war will continue around us," a Nirvit said sadly.

"For the future of this world, sacrifices must be made. This will ultimately increase our efforts and progression," Roubaul stated sadly. Silence washed over the gathered leaders. After a while, the gathered leaders locked eyes with one another as nods were shared between them all.

"Roubaul, it has been decided. You have not led us astray yet so please take the initiative again. Whatever resources we can provide we will. For the peace declared by the Great Nabura long ago, we will do all as the Nirvit people to achieve that vision," the eldest of the gathered leader declared.

Roubaul delved into searching for how to direct the power to change hearts into smaller units. He thought about storing the power in containers and refilling them as they empty on their quest for peace. His mind raged on the possibilities and what would be required for each of them to be realised until one day he made a breakthrough. The ancient relic he had first discovered that was the power source for Nirvana suddenly started to produce increased amounts of its magic as Roubaul experimented with transferring the magic to containers he designed. 'This is what I was looking for, now we can reach in more directions to restore peace,' Roubaul thought excitedly.

The next few days he pulled every resource he could to construct more containers and fill them with the magic that would bring about the Great Nabura's vision. As he completed the tenth container and filled it with magic the relic suddenly cracked. A massive pulse of magic escaped from the crack, raw and uncontrollable as it washed over the great city of Nirvana.

"Released from the prison, captured in reality. The jailers have gone, the captured will rise," Roubaul heard an ancient rasp followed by the wash of magic. Roubaul's eyes were locked onto a visage that flickered between existence and non-existence, its bird-like head and leathery skin filling the room while its glowing eyes pierced Roubaul's very being with interest.

"Mortal, you will be rewarded for the deeds done, Desolation will fill your wake," the ancient being rasped as a malicious gleam entered its eyes. Roubaul felt his mind starting to wane as his vision and dreams of the Great Nabura's peace morphed into mountains of bodies of his... enemies?

"No, my faith will not be swayed. Begone foul demon and release the hold you have over my mind," Roubaul shouted in defiance. Not thinking, he grabbed one of the nearby tools and with a mighty heave, slammed it down on one of the containers he had filled. As the orb shattered and the magic flooded out Roubaul could hear the ancient demon roaring in frustration.

Taking the frustration as a sign that what he was doing was sealing the demon once more, Roubaul didn't hesitate to destroy his work as one container after the other shattered. The frustrated roars silenced after only half the orbs were destroyed but Roubaul didn't falter and completed his hasty task. It was only once every last one was destroyed that Roubaul returned his attention to the demon's apparition.

"Halted with a taste of freedom, the prison already broken. The past will rise to the present and the future will be a memory of the past. You have delayed us mortal, but change is inevitable," the demon rasped before the visage disappeared, only leaving the reminiscent magic that Roubaul had harvested from the ancient artefact.

-Flashback end-

"Your quest for peace could have been the dawn of an ancient era where the ruling races once battled tirelessly for dominance and the inhabitants of this world lived in fear for their lives at each turn. My Father told me tales of those times and the flood of souls that entered his realm. The end of that ancient war lead to the rise of the nations we know today," Natsu said in anger but his tone turned to worry at the end.

"My entire civilisation paid dearly for our ambitions and my mistakes did not take long to haunt me. Nabura," Roubaul agreed sadly.

"After I destroyed the containers I created, I went to report back to my people, but I was not ready for the horrors that awaited me. It quickly became clear that the demon did not only try to sway my mind, but the rest of my people as well, and unfortunately they did not have the luxury of meeting their foe and being able to deny its influence. The peaceful Nirvit people have changed into savages, I had no choice but to watch as my people turned on one another and my nation destroyed themselves. That was when I met your Father, after my entire nation was destroyed and my own life reached its end he came for me, but I could not rest. He granted my selfish request to enter an eternal vigil to watch over my greatest failure and try to prevent the demon from rising once more. Nabura," Roubaul finished.

"What you almost released is known as a Changer of Ways, an ancient demon that has the power to twist and warp raw magic to suit their needs and in our world filled with magic, they are truly a dangerous foe. Where did you leave the relic that contains it?" Natsu asked.

"It is sealed away deep within Nirvana. The entire city now acts as a tomb and prison for the artefact and the demon will never see the light of day. Nabura," Roubaul said with uncharacteristic hate in his voice.

"Unless the magic control of Nirvana falls and the power is released," Natsu said with shock before he immediately turned and rushed out of the building back to where he came from.

-With Wendy and Erza-

"Sky Dragon Roar" Wendy shouted as she released a vortex of air at the ancient beast while Erza called out "Photon Slicer" as a blast of energy was released from the tips of her two sabres that came with her Morning Star Armour.

The ancient demon raised its leathery hand and with a pulse of magic the two incoming attacks stopped in mid-air before they were shot towards the mages, Wendy's vortex of air rushed Erza while the energy blast raced towards Wendy. Erza easily brought her sabres down on the air vortex and sliced it in two and changing her strategy on how to deal with this foe by calling out "Re-quip: Heaven's Wheel Armour" and started to summon a mass of weapons to her side.

Wendy had more trouble with the attack that raced towards her. Her first attempt was to simply dodge the attack but she quickly realised that their foe still had control over it as it moved to follow her. Wendy was aware of the difference in power between herself and Erza so she knew that trying to counter the attack wouldn't work. "Sky Dragon Air Wave" Wendy called out as she slammed both her palms on the ground, forcing a wall of air to rise in from of her. As the energy blast made contact with the wall of air, Wendy quickly twisted her body and the air wall, giving the blast of energy a direct path to impact the ground. Wendy was still staggered by the force of the explosion and when she recovered she managed to see Erza just before she was ready to release her next attack.

"Fast wind that run the heaven… Vernier. Power of the stout arms that tears heaven… Arms. Guard that protects heaven Armour" Wendy chanted as a blue aura once more surrounded Erza. Wendy knew she would need to grow a lot more before she could stand with Erza on the offence, but her support skills will be valuable here and she will do whatever she needs to make Erza and Natsu proud of her.

Erza was floated up in the air as hundreds of weapons surrounded her. Wendy was mesmerised by the image of Erza, like a Valkyrie facing an ancient evil with the weapons of the world at her command.

"Dance my Blades," Erza declared before she rushed forward with two blades in her hand. The demon raised the staff it had in its hand in the path of Erza's approach. Erza was surprised when she was stopped completely by the staff, the demon held impressive strength in its scrawny body. Even though she was surprised, Erza quickly used the sturdy staff as a springboard and created more distance between herself and the demon as her blades reached their target.

The beast roared as the mass of weapons assaulted its body. The demon covered its body with its wings as it called upon its magic once more as the blades continued to assault it. The beast let loose another roar as it unfurled its wings and extended its hand outwards. Before the next of Erza's weapons could land another blow, light blue and pink flames burst from the ground around it, forming high-reaching pillars that started to roam the area, targeting the approaching arsenal and either dispersing them or completely destroying them.

"Keep your distance Wendy, but be mindful of possible ranged attacks, we don't know what this thing is capable of," Erza said as a golden aura momentarily covered her before it dissipated revealing Erza standing in a dark red armour. "Re-quip: Flame Empress Armour" Erza said, though in her hands were two blades that did not belong to the fiery set of armour. In one hand she held a hilt with a watery blade, her Sea Empress Sword, and in the other rested her Spear of Lightning.

The demon took this opportunity to go on the offensive. It raised its staff and turned towards Erza. The blades that impaled the area along with the rubble started to rise before the demon locked eyes with Erza before a gleam entered its glowing eyes before it let loose a squawk as it thrust its staff towards Erza.

Erza released a pulse of her magic to return her scattered blades to her re-quip space, significantly lessening the weight behind the attack that was approaching her. "Water Orb" Erza called out as she drew upon the ability of her Sea Empress Sword that allowed her to tap into Water Magic. A ball of water sprouted from the liquid tip of the Sea Empress Sword and grew to intercept the approaching rubble.

Erza moved the orb of water, now filled with rubble, towards the demon. Taking the move as a challenge, the demon planted its staff next to it and raised its opposite hand as the orb reached within arm's length of it. The ancient magic filled the space once more as Erza felt her control over the orb wane. 'It's taking control of my magic?' Erza thought in shock. The demon turned its palm around so that it was now facing up, with its fingers curled as if it was holding a smaller version of the water orb.

"The Present is weak, the Past is strong. Ancient wars will dominate the Present peace," The demon rasped as it clenched its fist and Erza felt what little hold she had on the water fail and it burst, showering the ground in a thin layer of shallow water. The demon held its taunting gaze on Erza as its bird-like head twisted from side to side, goading her on.

The demon did not expect to be blown to the side by a gust of air. Though it did not cause much damage, it did cause it to stumble. Rage filled its eyes as it snapped its head in the direction of the attack. Falling under its malicious glare Wendy stood defiant, raising her hands in a cross above her head before bringing them down and calling out "Sky Dragon Wing Attack", sending two whips of air at the demon.

The demon released a roar of rage as the air whips slashed at its leathery hide. Though the attack did not cause too much damage when compared to Erza's attacks, it seemed to have garnered a more prevalent reaction, like there was something more personal associated with Wendy's attack that landed on it.

"The power of the ancient foe, imbued into the being of the new age. This will be the rise of old as the ancient foe is felled," the demon's rasp was laced with hatred before gaining a triumphant undertone as it revelled in the chance to rewrite the ancient history.

The demon extended its wings while raising its staff before letting out a blood-curdling roar as three pillars of twisting blue flames sprouted around it. It slammed its staff into the ground while pointing its other hand in Wendy's direction, willing the blue pillars of flame to advance on the Sky Dragon Slayer.

Wendy stood in defiance as she called out "Sky Dragon Roar". She faltered when she saw her attack disappearing before it even managed to reach the demon's attack. Erza rushed to stand between herself and Wendy as she raised her watery blade while still clad in her Flame Empress Armour. She took a slash at the nearest pillar, expecting the water to aid in extinguishing the flames, but much to her surprise she saw her blade shimmering and morph around the blue pillar as they moved around her and proceeded to their initial target.

Wendy was about to jump out of the way when she found her feet bound by wood-like tendrils. Her eyes snapped to the demon and realisation hit her when she saw the gleam in its eyes and the same wood-like tendrils spreading out from its staff that was planted in the ground. The demon routed her in place to ensure its attack would land.

"Erza, I can't move," Wendy pleaded as she felt fear entering her heart at the approaching pillars that overpowered her roar as if it wasn't even there. She wanted to close her eyes, she wanted to wish that she wasn't in this situation, she wanted to feel safe, but reality and fear kept her eyes open, locked on the incoming flames.

Wendy felt a comforting presence begging for entry into her heart as if a guardian angel descended to answer her call. A magic circle formed in front of her eyes as the edges of her vision were taken over by two massive objects. Wendy heard her guardian angel's voice whisper "Adamantine Barrier" into her ear.

Wendy heard a grunt from a pained grunt from her guardian angel that sounded very familiar and her concern for someone being injured started to overpower her paralysing fear of the powerful demon. Wendy finally snapped out of her fear and turned her head around to see that her guardian angel was in fact Erza who was still clad in her Flame Empress Armour with both her Adamantine Shield halves in her hands. The blue flames relentlessly rushed over her and Wendy could see the pain she was in. Spinning around, only now realising that the bindings had vanished some time ago moments before the flames reached her, Wendy instantly channelled her healing magic into her hands.

Erza felt a cooling relief flooding to the areas where the flames felt like they were breaking through the natural resistance that her armour provided. When she initially felt the flames breaking through her resistance she began to wonder if she would be able to withstand the attack, but now that Wendy soothed her pain she stood tall as the last of the horrific flames died out.

"Thank you, Wendy. Keep your wits about you, and allow a thin layer of your magic to coat the ground around you, it should allow you to sense any magic in your direct surroundings," Erza thanked her before parting with a bit of advice. "Re-quip: Giant's Armour" Erza called out as a bulky yellow armour replaced the severely damaged Flame Empress Armour. Erza stepped towards the demon as a massive hammer appeared in her hand.

"If you can, try and disturb its footing while I attack," Erza said while advancing with the hammer spinning in her one hand, the physical power provided by the armour making the seemingly impossible feat easy. Taking her support role in stride, Wendy called out "Sky Dragon Wing Attack" and aimed her attack at the demon's feet, wrapping the whips of air around it and pulling it towards her with all her might. At the same time, Erza charged forward with a burst of speed as she swung the colossal hammer at the demon.

The demon raised its staff once more to block Erza, its eyes slightly widening as its guard slightly faltered behind the weight of the attack. quickly extending one foot backwards to provide a more stable base it held onto the staff with both hands. As the weight behind Erza's attack started to equalise with the demon's strength pushing back. It was at this moment that Wendy's air whips wrapped around its taloned feet and slightly adjusted their positioning, just enough to disturb the steady base the demon created and allowing Erza to push it back.

While they weren't able to land a real blow, the demon fell on its back and provided another opening for a follow-up attack. "Giant's Javelin" Erza shouted as the hammer was replaced by a large javelin with a set of boosters behind the tip as she leapt into the air. While Erza was rearing back her hand to throw the javelin, Wendy joined in Erza's attack by shouting "Sky Dragon Arrow", creating five wisps of concentrated air that she directed at the downed demon as Erza released her javelin with a mighty thrust as flames blew from the boosters. The wisps of air reached the demon first and assaulted a spread wing of the demon, followed up by the large javelin as it impaled a part of the demon's wing. The demon let out a roar of pain and rage as it ripped its wing loose and pushed itself to its feet.

Its eyes slowly shifted from the two mages to its damaged wing and back again before it uttered "You have inklings of power, but far from what is required to stand with the ancient beings." The demon raised its staff once more, but this time swiped the staff from left to right across its body. Wendy suddenly dropped to one knee while Erza slightly bowed her knees as the weight of her armour suddenly increased. Erza knew that this wasn't a gravity-based spell as she could feel her magic power waning slightly. 'What power can allow you to affect your opponent's magic directly?" Erza thought with concern on in her eyes as an enemy with this sort of power is definitely trouble.

With the staff now at the demon's side, it thrust it forward as a wave of pink flames washed over the ground towards the Fairy Tail mages. Erza's armour flashed once again and the same half shields occupied her hands while she now wore the matching set of Adamantine Armour. "Adamantine Barrier" Erza shouted as she slammed her shields together and created a solid barrier between herself and the approaching pink flames.

Erza gritted her teeth as she struggled to keep her barrier active. The power behind the wave of pink fire almost reminded her of the power she once tried to stop when Phantom Lord fired their Jupiter Cannon. For what felt like days of struggling with the powerful wave that might have only lasted a second, Erza felt the rush subside as her barrier started to crumble. With a last mighty heave, Erza parted her shields and angled them so that the rest of the wave washed around her and Wendy.

As the flames flooded past the two mages, the demon did not give them a moment's repose as it once more raised its staff, this time pointing it to the sky above the two mages. Erza dreaded looking up at what was happening because she knew that she would not be able to defend against the same level of attack in such quick succession and she would take some damage at the very least, though her concern was more directed to Wendy.

A rust-coloured vortex swirled into existence above them and Erza saw shards of metal start to drop from it. Erza pushed Wendy out of the way moments before the metal shards bombarded her in rapid succession.

"No Erza," Wendy shouted as the scarlet mage momentarily vanished from her view under the assault of metal. Turning to the demon, Wendy squashed the fear she currently felt in favour of helping Erza, gathering her magic in her mouth, she called out "Sky Dragon Roar", releasing a vortex of air at the demon, targeting its arm holding the staff. Wendy was pleased to see that when the attack hit, and the demon roared in anger and pain as its arm was wrenched away from the two mages, the bombardment of metal that was assaulting Erza stopped.

"Well done Wendy, let's give this demon some payback," Erza encouraged as she was once again engulfed in a golden light while calling out "Re-quip: Black Wing Armour". Erza emerged from the light in her black armour with bat-like wings already charging forward and skimming over the ground with the flight this armour provided her. "Sky Dragon Arrow" Wendy shouted as she surrounded Erza with wisps of concentrated air.

A gleam of anger entered the demon's eyes as it waved a hand over itself, washing itself in a gleaming layer of magic. A grin formed on its bird-like mouth as Erza and the wisps of air closed in and Erza was surprised when it did not raise a defence. Letting loose a shout of defiance, Erza brought her blade down on the demon with all the power her armour provided her while at the same time, Wendy's attack rained down on it.

The gleaming layer of magic condensed at each of the contact points of Erza's attack and Wendy's. For a heartbeat, the attacks vied to overpower the condensed magic, but suddenly Erza was flung back with great force while the wisps of air turned around on themselves and raced towards Wendy.

Erza managed to recover with the flight of her armour while Wendy easily avoided the air attack sent to her as this time there was no additional power behind them. Erza lowered herself to join up with Wendy again as they had yet another problem to deal with.

"This is not going well, it doesn't seem like this thing has really taken much damage nor expended a lot of its energy," Erza observed as she already felt some drain on her magic reserves. Erza placed a comforting hand on Wendy's head as she saw the younger mage look up at her with worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry, if we need to retreat, we can meet up with our allies and get a new plan to finally defeat it," Erza said with a reassuring smile that seemed to have a calming effect on the young mage.

"Reassurance to instil hope. Terror to destroy hope. Peer into the Eye of Terror and succumb to the fear that all had in ancient times," The demon rasped again as it once more raised its staff and started to swing it around in a circular motion while chanting something in an ancient language that neither Wendy nor Erza understood. As the demon chanted on the unfamiliar language a rift seemed to open up in front of it, reality being ripped apart by cold pink flames as an ethereal blue filled in the opening in reality.

An invisible force started to pull everything in the surrounding area into the rift, the loose rubble and broken stones that littered the battlefield due to their previous clashes were the first to be consumed by the rift. Erza stabbed a sword into the ground to provide an anchor as the strength behind the pull increased, happy that she was positioned in front of Wendy when she felt her steady herself against her back.

"Hold on tight Wendy, we have no idea what will happen if we get pulled into that spell," Erza said as she slung one arm around Wendy while crouching down and tightening her grip on her sword. She felt Wendy tighten the grip she had on her as the two mages stared defiantly at the strange portal that had grown to the size of a large house, the ethereal blue energy being parted down the middle by a slit of pitch black, making the rift now look like a reptilian eye.

Erza released her grip on Wendy since she was now clinging on tightly and with the increased pulling power from the spell Erza needed another anchor. Re-quipping a spear this time Erza slammed it into the ground in such a position that she was holding Wendy back with supports on both sides.

"Sky Dragon Wind Wall," Erza heard Wendy shout from behind her. A second later she saw pieces of the building walls flying past her. Realising what Wendy had done Erza felt pride swelling at how quickly she was adapting. With a quick glance back Erza confirmed that Wendy had raised two angled walls of air, similar to when she redirected the wave of flames around them.

"Your Fear will become reality. Nothing is stationary, that is the Law of Time and Fate," The demon rasped with flee in its tone as its spell slowly started to advance on the two mages.

-With Jura and Brain-

"No, this will not bode well for any as the broken will soon have control," Brain whispered as his eyes clouded over into what looked like confusion.

"Now that is how a Wizard Saint deals with dark mages," Gray cheered as Jura claimed victory over Brain.

"There are still questions that we need to be answered though," Jura replied with a slight frown as the last words Brain said still rang in his ears. 'And what is this broken will he speaks of?' Jura thought to himself.

"Can anyone hear me, please respond," Hibiki's voice sounded in the minds of the two mages.

"I can hear you Hibiki, and I have Gray here with me," Jura answered. Almost at the same time, Lucy's voice sounded in their minds.

"I am here, I found Haru and Happy, they defeated Cobra but they have not recovered yet and I don't know the full extent of their injuries," Lucy reported.

"We can come over to you, Jura took care of Brain," Gray offered. He gave Jura a quick glance silently asking him if they can meet up.

"We will be over soon, just stay put," Jura confirmed.

"I will upload a map to her location. I will see who I can find and hopefully meet up with you all," Hibiki said before they felt the link break while a map to Lucy's location replaced it. Without another word, the two made their way over to where their comrades were.

There were no mages close by to hear the start of a silent chuckle that quickly started to change into deranged laughter, nor was anyone present to see Brain's eye snap open wide, but they didn't hold the calm and calculated gaze that the man had, no these eyes were wide-eyed stares that only revealed a mind in utter turmoil.

Hi everyone. Sorry about being gone for so long, a work project caused a lot of long workdays up until the point where my days basically consisted of work and sleep. But back to the story, this arc is coming to a close, either the next chapter or the one after that as the final conflicts are resolved. Before I get to the Edolas Arc I will have a mini one of my own to explore Wendy after Cait Shelter a bit more. I do hope you are enjoying the ancient foe and the little flashback I wrote, please let me know in the comments. Until next time.