Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail
When Juvia lead Lyon back to the guild hall, she was smiling and fairly upbeat. "So, has our history convinced you of how fitting Phantom Lord would be for you?"
"Perhaps. It showed me some interesting things, at least." In a way, the guild almost had a founding principle he could get behind. They valued strength and superiority, two things Lyon had strived for. Yet, wasn't he somewhat trying to stop with his comparisons to others? He still wished to be strong, but surpassing Ur was no longer his goal. He needed a new ambition and, like Gray, he had hoped to move on beyond his past and stop clinging to the same old notions. "I think I'd like to see more of the present atmosphere, before solidifying my decision. Thus far, it seems quite promising, given your principles."
"Juvia thought that a powerful wizard like you would enjoy the focus on strength." Lyon nodded, while she smiled. However, she was interrupted before she could continue.
"Oi, are you too busy flirting to remember you idiots have a job to do?" A new wizard was there, along with a much larger crowd starting to gather. "I've finished my job and now it's your turn. Or are the Element Four too lazy to stick to their word?"
"Gajeel! Oh, so it has begun already?" Juvia asked. The large man nodded, huffing and crossing his arms over his chest. "Juvia will leave immediately." She turned towards Lyon, meeting his gaze. "Lyon, would you care to join me? You can start to prove your allegiance to the guild throughout this conflict and remain by Juvia's side for protection as the battles begin."
"What exactly will we be doing?"
"Abducting Lucy Heartfilia, as per the terms of our job." Lyon blinked, wondering if it was just a coincidence. They couldn't be targeting that blond idiot from Gray's team, could they? She hadn't even seemed powerful. She seemed far too high-maintenance to be capable of fighting properly. "You will see, it will not be as bad as it sounds. Our task is to bring her home, not to cause her harm. Surely, you can see that this is not an entirely unjust course of action? The job was given to us by her father, after all."
Her family? Lyon looked away, swallowing. Lyon hardly remembered his own family. The clearest memory he had was of them inviting him out for a family picnic. They gathered materials, went outside, and they'd been smiling. Lyon had been happy, because he so rarely got their attention like that. However, instead, they'd brought him to a stranger's home. They'd said it would be a fun prank, a way to bond as a family over a little mischief. They'd given Lyon the basket and turned and ran after knocking. Lyon had moved to follow, but he'd tripped, fallen, and ended up in the yard as Ur answered the door. She had helped him up and cleaned off the scrape on his leg before sending him on his way to his worried parents.
When he went to find them, there'd been nothing to find. Snow had fallen and covered any footprints they may have left and there were no signs of them, alive or dead. He'd gone back to Ur, crying about how they'd just left him there, alone. He'd cried, insisting that he couldn't do anything alone, that he couldn't hunt, couldn't eat, and couldn't even dress himself properly. Well, at least something along those lines; the exact complaints weren't quite clear anymore. Yet, she'd seemed so motherly and caring; she'd offered him a place to stay and when he grew interested in watching her practice magic, she started teaching him. Gradually, whatever memories he had of his real mother faded and were replaced with memories of living alongside of Ur, laughing with her, training with her, and wanting to prove to her that he could survive on his own.
When he learned of Ultear, he'd assumed that was why she let him stay. He'd assumed he was her new child and that was why she was so happy to let him in. Clearly, he'd been mistaken, but the real answer always eluded him. Now, he was surviving on his own. If his parents came for him now, what would he do? Would he want to meet with them, to ask them why he'd been sent away? Strangely, Lyon thought he might. It would at least answer the question of why he'd been placed onto this path in life and possibly give him a better sense of direction on where he wanted to go from here.
Would Lucy feel the same? He wasn't certain, but the only basis of judgement he had was his own mindset. "If we are returning her to her family, then perhaps it is for the best."
Juvia nodded and Lyon started to follow her. Maybe he could try and catch Lucy first, to pass along the warning. That seemed to be the better option, if it was available. He could explain what he'd learned of the curse and they could continue to move forward.
They began moving towards the door to leave, pulling it open to head out. However, Lyon blinked, his eyes widening when he saw Gray standing just outside, preparing to enter. Yet, something seemed a bit different about his expression. There was a bland neutrality to it, rather than his typical scowl in place. Though, he supposed Gray just might actually be in a good mood for a change. It wasn't as if he'd known his former rival at all in recent years. "Excuse us. We have work to attend to," Lyon said.
"Ice Make: Wall." Instantly, a wall of ice spread outward on both sides of Gray. Lyon blinked in surprise, taking a step back as he literally found himself walled in, trapped between Gray and Phantom Lord's guild hall. The creation itself was massive, larger than he thought Gray was capable of making. "Now, do I have your attention?" Gray smiled and meeting that smile, Lyon had a sinking feeling.
"Black?"
"Hello again, Lyon." The man nodded, turning his head to look around the guild hall and the wizards inside. "And Gajeel as well. Perfect, it appears as if my timing was correct."
"What, you think some ice-wizard has got what it takes to stand off against our Gajeel?"
"Yeah, you're no match for him at all!"
The guild was getting riled up, seeing this as a challenge. "Stay close to me, Lyon. This ice wizard does not appear to be like you," Juvia said.
"I'd advise the rest of you to stand down as well." Zeref's scanning of the guild members paused as he stood straight and focused on the center of the crowd. "You are the guild that is attempting to compete with Fairy Tail for strength, are you not?" A few of them shared looks, before gradually nodding. "Well, then I have a gift to offer you. You see…I am not the wizard I appear to be. Fairy Tail has something I want and I've infiltrated their guild, taking over the body of one of their own."
Lyon narrowed his eyes at the man, watching him approach the guild calmly. "I would not trust him, if I were you. He is dangerous—"
"And also correct." He smiled, glancing at Lyon, before turning back to the guild. "I will grant you the chance to strike them all at once. I've managed to convince them to convene at quite the dangerous location…an island which holds a great many of deadly threats. Not only that, but I've also trapped their strongest team under a spell that will render their magic useless and ineffective. If you think you cannot defeat them as they are now, on that island…well, you'll never have the chance to do so again."
"We don't need any help defeating some weak fairies." Gajeel stepped forward, glaring at the man. "Just who do you think you are, trying to steal away our enemy? We're the number one guild around, not them. We'll crush them without any sort of added help from you, so why don't you run on home, remove your little curse, and forget about whatever it was you wanted to steal from Fairy Tail?"
"I can't." The man shrugged. "The curse is complicated and due to the nature of how it is cast, it affects the user as well. I manipulated the situation to make it ideal for me, so I would not fully lose my magic…but this wizard is not capable of the reversal spell."
Lyon crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes. "You can't be serious…"
"Oh, this isn't ideal for me either. I did attempt to talk them out of this whole mess, but of course, no one trusts me." He glanced at Phantom Lord. "They discovered my secret, which of course meant I had to tell them not to go through with the plan I'd already suggested. That, in turn, made them eager to follow through. Reasoning and logic are things few people listen to in moments of anger. You are quite skilled at the art of manipulation. That distraction was well-placed and timed perfectly with the destruction of the guild hall afterwords."
Distraction? Destroyed guild hall? Lyon glared at Black, wishing he could do something or at least warn someone about all of this. Whatever he was up to, it wasn't good. "Juvia has heard enough. This war is ours to fight. Outsiders will cause problems, and we will not allow such a thing to happen." She stood tall, altering her stance and preparing to fight. "Juvia will make sure you do not interfere again. Water Slicer!"
Zeref saw the attack, holding out a hand in front of him. Lyon blinked in surprise as it froze completely before any of the blades even neared him. "A water wizard can't hope to defeat ice." Yet, Juvia glared at him, her hand still raised and focused on the water. Zeref narrowed his eyes at them, before letting out a curse and jumping back. "Damn…you really can't fight like Invel, can you?" Who was that supposed to be? Lyon didn't have time to question it, as Zeref was already moving again. "Ice Make: Age Scratch!" What the heck was that? Yet, strangely, the ice seemed to take on the form of clock hands as blades, lashing out repeatedly at Juvia.
Still, the ice had no effect, pushing aside water which quickly reformed into her body. "Water Lock!" She prepared to trap him, but Zeref was ready to freeze and shatter it, far faster than Lyon had managed in his own spar with her. He dropped down, crouching and watching her warily.
"You wish to stop me? So be it." He stepped back, rising for a moment. Juvia stayed tense, watching him. "If you truly wish to destroy me, come find my real body. It exists on Tenrou Island…and if you kill my body, you will kill my mind as well, thus ending whatever threat you seem to think I hold. After all, do you really want to kill an innocent person just to get to me?"
She hesitated, staring at Zeref. After a moment, she rose as well, straightening and meeting his gaze. "Very well. Juvia will face off against whoever lives inside of you on Tenrou Island."
"I suggest you be careful and bring back-up. Even without talent in my true field of magic…it is quite potent when used in any form." With that, Zeref waved, but paused, glancing over at Lyon. "And Lyon? Even in this state…our agreement remains. Do keep my previous warnings in mind, regardless of what may or may not come to pass."
Phantom Lord was tense after the encounter, reasonably so. However, Juvia still seemed to be frowning, gazing off into the distance. "Juvia does not know which task takes priority. Gajeel, do we go after the dark mage, or after Lucy? From what we've just heard—"
"She'll be with the rest of the guild." Gajeel scowled, before kicking the wall of the guild hall. "Damn it! Why the hell did that bastard go and complicate things like this?"
"All of you calm down." Another voice interrupted and immediately silence echoed around. Lyon sensed the magic aura of this man and grew wary of its strength. The arriving wizard had dark hair, and was dressed in dark purple. Was this their guild master? "Things are not going that far off from our plans. After all, it sounds as if the fairies are in a trap and that we have a weakened dark wizard to deal with. Considering our strength, would it really be so difficult to manage to stop them? We'll get our information from the dark mage at Tenrou Island…and then we'll leave to destroy the fairies and bring the girl in for that reward."
"Gihi, sounds like a plan."
"Yeah!"
"Master Jose is the best, we'll never be stopped!"
Cheers were growing, echoing with enthusiasm over the plan. Yet…this all seemed far too much like playing into Zeref's hands. "You seem to be worried, Lyon. Is there something Juvia can do to help? She is certain that this will end in our victory, so there is nothing to be concerned over."
"You don't know that dark wizard like I do." He paused, looking to the space behind them where Zeref had been. "I have a feeling that this upcoming battle is going to be more surprising than you think. It will not be so simple to defeat him and right now, I get the feeling that we are doing exactly what he wants."
"Then we'll simply have to surprise him more than he'll surprise us." Juvia had a point, but just how could they manage that? Lyon had no idea, but he hoped the guild could pull it off. He focused on the task at hand, trying to ignore the fact that technically, he was making enemies with Gray's guild and his allies. While he was where he said he'd be, he doubted he'd be able to avoid actually fighting in what was to come. Hopefully, he'd manage to prove to Gray that he could be a reliable ally without completely jeopardizing his relationship with Juvia in the process.
Observing August was far easier to do than Invel had anticipated. The elderly wizard rarely left Vistarion, preferring to focus on either academic studies or reviewing proposed legislation unless something else took higher priority. Given their latest mystery, Invel often found the man in the library or the vault, researching old spells to seek out an answer on the spell.
Invel's own research was at a standstill it seemed. The magic spell was not reacting to the reversal for iced shell or any variation he could piece together from the notes August had provided. The library offered no additional resources to search from, August couldn't decipher the spell, and he knew that their vault contained nothing that would be of use. Dark magic trinkets that they stored away would have nothing to do with the icy curse they had no details on.
"The White Rose guild master has requested an audience with us today." August spoke from his seat in the library with Invel. "Perhaps I should see to that matter and leave you to your research."
"Hardly." Invel sighed. "We need something more to work from. Can you at least try to pretend you're invested in providing his majesty with the results he requested?"
August stiffened, staring down at the table. "This matter and his majesty's personal project are unrelated. I imagine he cares very little about this spell you've started to obsess over."
"It isn't an obsession! This spell could be dangerous."
Raising his eyebrows, the older man studied Invel for a moment. "Perhaps, but we've heard no reports of it being used again. At this point, I'd say the matter falls under the jurisdiction of normal law enforcement." The winter mage narrowed his eyes at August, but he had no reasonable counter. "Nothing indicates that this should be taking away our time and resources for the issue. We should be setting it aside and handing over our knowledge to the Bureau of Magical Investigation."
It was a department his majesty had established to avoid wasting their time on investigating small one-time occurrences of magical crimes. While it was true that the Spriggan Twelve would assist them in larger issues, most petty crimes were left in their hands to keep the focus of the most powerful wizards on running the government that his majesty often neglected.
"I suppose it may be time to recategorize the issue." Invel sighed, staring at the table. "It simply makes no sense. An ice spell I have not seen and one that you cannot decipher. Part of me cannot help but feel that this was intended to target some shared weakness of the Twelve, a test of sorts for us."
"You think his majesty is testing our loyalties again?" August raised his eyebrows. "If so, I've already failed, don't you think?" The unsigned law for creating the line of succession was proof of that. Yet, August didn't add comments on the matter beyond that.
"He plays games with us frequently. Considering his actions that risk relations with Fiore, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to ensure we are loyal before enacting some greater plan of his." Invel may not have the full details, but he could see the signs.
Just a few years ago, his majesty had made a sudden and unusual decision to expand the Spriggan Shields. God Serena was added to their ranks, a wizard recognized as a wizard saint in Fiore. He'd been immediately positioned as a spy amongst the magic council, specifically to report on actions in Fiore. Combining the placement of a spy with the orders to increase military strength and reduce trade with Fiore, Invel was seeing a pattern. He doubted August and Irene were ignorant of that as well.
"There would be simpler methods to test us." Rising to his feet, August started walking towards the door. "Regardless, I do believe you are overthinking the matter. Put together a report for the Bureau and let us see what Leanne has to report." Leanne was the guild master arriving and likely awaiting someone to hear her report. It wasn't often that a guild master sought an audience with them, but it did happen on occasion as a result of unusual encounters on wizard jobs.
Joining August, Invel made his way to the foyer where they usually hosted guests. It kept things secure, not allowing them any further into the castle than the initial entrance. The room was set up almost akin to a small waiting room. It held a few chairs for sitting along with a table in the center of the room. Fake plants decorated the corners to give it some color, though his majesty refused to decorate with anything living for quite obvious reasons.
Sitting in a seat by the table was a short woman with a muscular build. Known for her body-enhancement magic, Leanne was a formidable wizard capable of not only enhancing her speed but increasing her strength as well. She'd mastered multiple forms of martial arts to coincide with her magic, making her skilled at close combat should she find herself in battle.
Taking a seat across from her, Invel folded his hands on the table. August joined, taking a seat by his side. "Good evening," August greeted with a smile. "Welcome to Vistarion. It was not our intention to keep you waiting, Master Leanne."
The woman nodded. "No, it is understandable. You both are quite busy." She bowed her head. "It is an honor to have an audience with such esteemed wizards as yourselves. As much as I would like to exchange pleasantries though, I feel as if that would be an improper waste of your time." Her head lifted, meeting August's eyes. "A few of my wizards recently returned from a job that took them beyond the borders of Alvarez, into the north. The request had asked them to retrieve some ancient manuscript containing information on a powerful spell created by someone's ancestors. The requester had managed to trace back their lineage to some tribe that had been dead for decades and foolishly thought knowing their magic would give them some connection to their lost culture."
"Was the spell dangerous then?" Invel leaned forward. "August would be more than happy to review the recovered manuscript and determine if it is within reason to allow an average citizen to hold onto it."
Shaking her head, Leanne pressed her hands into her lap and sat tensely. "It may have been, but my wizards determined it was not worth completing the task once they arrived at the ruins of the old civilization in the north." Her eyes locked over with Invel. "I am aware that his majesty is seeking out unusual 'ice' for his sculpture. What they saw has me believing that this may simply be a story to keep the public calm for the time being."
August frowned. "You claimed this was beyond the borders of the empire. Why would the matter concern us?"
"Because it is less than an hour past the border, if you know how to locate the pass through the mountains at least." Leanne looked between them. "Someone powerful had to have been there and may have continued on to Alvarez. My wizards reported that the ruins weren't truly ruins at all, but rather an entire city made purely of ice. One of them was a fire wizard - he'd been using his magic to light their path in the dark and was surprised to notice the buildings did not even glisten with moisture in response to his flames."
"A town made of ice?" Invel shook his head. "I could create such a thing myself if I wanted. While there may be a skilled wizard out there, I still agree with August. There is nothing to report here."
"There is." Her eyes locked on Invel's. "Because they continued to explore. Inside the village, there seemed to be a rather large building made of ice. Architecturally, they made the assumption that it was some form of library simply based on size and went inside to retrieve their documents." Slowly, she lowered her head. "Inside was more accurately a tomb. Countless frozen sculptures filled the room, each of them containing someone inside. Assuming them to be long since dead, my wizards continued until they noticed the frozen figures' eyes move. Whoever is there is still alive and I am certain that the culprit is as well."
"Thank you for the report." August nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "We will keep your warning in mind. Please, return to your guild for the time being. We will reach out if we need anything further."
Dismissed, the guild leader rose to her feet and gave them a bow. Then, she turned to leave the castle. Looking over at August, Invel frowned. "It is beyond our borders."
"But it does give me the impression that what you found was not a one-time occurrence." August closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. "This is beyond our jurisdiction to research. Technically, those mountains and the land beyond are part of Ilora."
"I'm well aware." Invel closed his hand into a fist on the table, inhaling slowly. Ilora was a nation that was harsh to all except those in leadership. With a strict monarchy, the royal family did everything in its power to keep the citizens weakened and extort wealth from them through force. Numerous civil wars had broken out throughout history in an attempt to overthrow the king. All had failed as learning magic had been made illegal in the country.
Alvarez nearly expanded to take over the region as well. Invel pushed for that action every time they were asked to discuss their next move for expansion. Their emperor knew how to be benevolent and would be welcomed by the people of Ilora. Yet, Ilora lacked any real resources Alvarez needed. The mountains were rich with ores and metals, but Alvarez had no need for wealth. His majesty was seeking military strength and with the oppressed people, Ilora simply had no strength to offer in terms of wizards or weapons.
"You aren't going to let this matter drop, are you?" Invel shook his head. Sighing, August nodded. "Then I suppose I best prepare to join you. Perhaps we can learn something while we are there - Ilora's royal family is known for their winter magic."
Swallowing, Invel nodded and rose to his feet. "That will not be necessary." He wasn't going to cause further issues between their nations. Invel had already put enough of a damage on the relationship when he'd defected from Ilora, fleeing the harsh nation in favor of Alvarez. As Ilora's former prince, he'd been one of the few with magic. Entering Alvarez, he'd learned that it was quite versatile as well for an ice mage. He'd immediately gone to Vistarion, hoping to plea for assistance in freeing his people from the oppression of his own family.
Emperor Spriggan had listened and told him that it was not the appropriate time to act. However, he had given Invel an offer. If he would prove his loyalty to Alvarez and serve their government, one day he would fulfill Invel's request. Invel was still waiting for the day his majesty would fulfill that promise, yet he had never once seen the man break one. His years of service had taught Invel that beyond everything else, Emperor Spriggan was honest no matter how cruel the truth may be.
Lost in thought, Invel prepared for the trip quickly and left for the airships to travel to the north. August was waiting for him and did not press for further conversation. Perhaps Invel should have, to at least bring up the fact that August failed to follow through on his majesty's orders regarding the succession line. Yet, he found that he cared very little about implementing it at this time. Whatever this magic was, it seemed to be intended to target Invel with his own specialty in a way that also hit every weakness he thought he kept well hidden. Someone knew Alvarez's generals well and Invel was determined to find out what was going on and put a stop to it.