A/N: We've finally reached the beginning of the Tartaros Arc!

Episode 234, Opening 19.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: THE NINE DEMON GATES

THE MAGIC COUNCIL, ERA...

Siegrain was currently sitting with the other Council members, having a meeting. Normally, Siegrain would sleep through them, but this particular meeting was important.

It was about Tartaros's recent activity and the decrease of dark guilds — none of which was his or Crime Sorciére's doing.

"Any information I can give to Jellal and Mer will be useful." Siegrain thought as one of the Council members spoke up.

"So Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games..."

"Good grief."

"I expected this would happen when the Tenrou group came home."

"That guild definitely stands out. In the first place, it seems we should discuss the Grand Magic Games tournament."

"Still, if one country sponsors such a thing, it will be difficult dealing with them."

A tall and fit elderly man with long graying hair and a long beard tapped his staff on the ground to get everyone to be silent. He was in moderately clad in fitted armor; had an ornate cape draped over his shoulders. And he also sported a stereotypical wizard hat.

"Peace, everyone. The subject of today's meeting is Tartaros."

CHAIRMAN OF THE MAGIC COUNCIL / GRAN DOMA.

"As you know, seven dark guilds thought to be affiliated with Tartaros have disappeared over the past several days. We don't know who is behind this, but to us, it is an unwelcome favor. Since if it's the work of a legitimate guild, it's possible there will be retaliation." Gran Doma continued.

"It's probably that, you know... the ones that call themselves an independent guild..."

"Crime Sorciére? Yes, it's possible."

"Dismiss that thought immediately. It's not them." Siegrain spoke up.

"Whose to say it's not you, Siegrain? After all, your reputation of eradicating dark guilds is no secret."

"As much as I would like to take credit for the handiwork, it's not me, either. Whoever it is, they work faster than I do." Siegrain replied.

"I would guess it's more Fairy Tail shenanigans."

"They have a psychological need to show how powerful they are."

"I think you have a psychological need to involve Fairy Tail in this, no surprise there." Siegrain retorted.

"Well, you certainly have their backs, Siegrain."

"Listen. If we're talking about possibilities, their parent guild, Tartaros, could have taken over their children guilds, no?" Siegrain suggested.

"To what purpose?"

"I don't know. However, building up their military force and weeding out members comes to mind." Siegrain answered. "Think about it, we know absolutely nothing about this guild aside from eye witnesses."

The room went silent for a moment before the Council members began laughing.

"Cannibalization between dark guilds?"

"Now that's one thing I can't see happening!"

Siegrain scoffs. "These old geezers don't take me seriously, as per usual. Glad to know nothing has changed within the span of seven years." He noted.

He felt someone's eyes on him as he looked across from him, seeing Org giving him a nod, as if signaling he made a good point.

"It's safe to assume that Tartaros is already plenty powerful."

"As always, you find ways to prove that you're too young for this, Siegrain."

"And as always, you doubt my opinions. All of you." Siegrain shot back. "We're the damn Magic Council. Fairy Tail was able to take out two-thirds of the Balam Alliance. Honestly, how are you all not embarrassed by that? They shouldn't have to do our damn job."

Gran Doma was tapping his index finger on the table in thought. "Enough, Siegrain. Your opinion sounds logical." He informed.

"Chairman!"

"The Tartaros issue has been on the back-burner, but now is the time to address it. The enemy's identity is unknown. But if we destroy them now, the whole Balam Alliance will fall apart. Now is the time for us, the Magic Council, to wield our great power and fight." Gran Doma said.

All of the Council members had stunned looks while Org and Siegrain just grinned.

Outside, Doranbolt and Lahar were guarding the conference room. "So Siegrain-san finally suggested they get off their asses?" Doranbolt questioned.

"Knowing that guy, he's tired of it as much as we are. I was waiting for him to finally snap." Lahar replied. "This way, the dark guilds of the Balam Alliance can be mopped up."

A Council worker soon barged in, appearing on the balcony. "We have an emergency!" The worker announced.

"What is it?"

"Fool! We're in the middle of a meeting!"

"Th-This is more important. I-Intruder..." The worker started to say before a bright light appeared behind them.

Sparkles flashed around Magic Council building, before finally exploding, getting attention of the nearby onlookers.

Debris crumbled down to the ground and smoke rose into the air. Doranbolt winced as he saw Lahar's broken glasses. He soon stood up.

"Dammit... What happened? Lahar, wake up!" Doranbolt exclaimed. "Hey! 'Emergency' is an understatement here. Lahar... Hey! No way..."

Doranbolt sets Lahar's lifeless body down, looking at the ruined building. All of the Council members bodies were crushed under the debris.

"It can't be..." Doranbolt began walking around. "Hello? Did anybody else make it?"

He soon trips. "Dammit..." Doranbolt muttered.

"Doranbolt..."

Doranbolt looks up, seeing Siegrain still conscious under a pile of debris. "Siegrain-san!" He exclaimed in relief, lifting the debris off of him.

"Thank God you're alright." Siegrain said. He felt a presence coming up to him as he dodged an oncoming hand, looking up at his attacker.

A man with dark blonde hair, reaching down to his shoulders and covering the left side of his face appeared, his hair perpetually hid his left eye from sight, juts upwards on top of his head in a pair of prominent protrusions shaped like, his nose was small and black like a canine's; he had a furry tail protruding from his lower back, colored the same as his hair, and pointed, triangular fang-like teeth. His one visible eye, complete with a dark slit pupil, bears a thick dark outline, and black spots are present both below it and above its linear eyebrow; his forearms and hands are covered by a larger variety of similarly colored shapes, getting closer and closer in position as they approach his wrists, in correspondence to which they fuse together to leave his hands completely black.

"No, no. I need you dead. We were after all ten members."

"You're from Tartaros, I presume?" Siegrain asked.

The dark blonde haired male smirked. "That's right. My name is Jackal. I'm a member of Tartaros, one of the Nine Demon Gates." Jackal replied.

"Bastard..." Siegrain muttered weakly. "Doranbolt... You can still teleport, right? Take me to my brother... now!"

Doranbolt nods in understanding, grabbing onto Siegrain's torso and teleporting away before Jackal could kill him, irritating him in the process.

"I let one slip through my fingers... The others are not gonna be too happy about this..."

WIZARD GUILD / FAIRY TAIL...

Mugs full of beer were clinked together. "Mira-chan, I'll take a brew over here!" Macao called out.

"Me, too!" Wakaba added.

"Be right over!" Mira said.

"Pop, it's in the middle of the afternoon!" Romeo informed.

"Bastard! You just ogled Lisanna!" Elfman shouted at Warren.

"Stop it, Elf-nii-chan!" Lisanna scolded.

Makarov hummed. "Minerva joined a dark guild?" He questioned as Erza was reporting on what happened in the Sun Village.

"Yes." Erza nodded.

"What about her father? The former master of Sabertooth..." Makarov asked.

"I don't know where he is at the moment." Erza replied.

"Come to think of it, Sting is the current master of Saber." Laki said.

"A young, handsome master... That's so cool!" Kinana exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Laki agreed.

"We need to report this to the Council." Makarov said.

"I thought I would inform Sting, too." Erza added.

"Look at this, Gray-sama!" Juvia exclaimed, getting Gray's attention. "Juvia baked buns!"

The buns had Gray's face on him, leaving him stunned. "They're called Gray Buns!" Juvia announced.

"Well, they look good, but I have a thing against eating my own face..." Gray said.

"That makes sense. Juvia will eat the Gray Buns, while you, Gray-sama... please eat my Juvia Buns!" She showed him some buns with her face on them.

"I was tricked!"

"What's this with Gray? Even though he said he was going to flat-out reject her or whatever..." Cana muttered.

Mira smiled sheepishly. "It's always the same with them." She said.

Elfman takes a bite out of the Juvia Bun. "If you ain't gonna eat it, I will!" This leaves Juvia in shock. "This is the flavor of a Man!"

"Elf-nii-chan, you need to get a clue!" Lisanna told him.

Juvia turned around in tears. "Another man ate Juvia's buns, and I don't even understand his opinion!"

"Well, you did go through the trouble, so I'll have one." Gray gives in, biting into the bun.

"Gray-sama! That's a Gray Bun." Juvia informed, shocking Gray.

Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, and Gajeel were gathered around Levy. "Look at this." Everyone looked down at the book Levy had. "END... This doesn't go into detail, but it seems to be a demon that's in a whole other league than Lullaby and Deliora."

"So it's a really powerful demon from the Books of Zeref?" Lucy asked.

"That's scary." Wendy commented.

"What is this 'demon from the Books of Zeref' thing?" Lily asked in confusion.

"Hell if I know." Gajeel replied.

"A demon that Zeref brought forth. It's said the way to summon it is written in one of Zeref's books." Carla explained.

"So if you have that book, you can summon one of Zeref's demons?" Happy questioned.

"That's right. There's one demon for every book." Carla replied.

"And Tartaros may have that END demon, right? And Igneel tried to destroy END." Natsu nodded. "Yeah. Now I get it."

"Get what?" Wendy asked.

"I'm gonna beat the crap out of Tartaros!" Natsu replied.

"Agreed!" Gajeel added.

"You don't get it!" Lucy shouted, placing a hand on her chin in thought. "There are too many unknowns about Tartaros. How can you beat them up when not even the Council knows where they are? We don't even know anything about their members."

"But it's a clue to Igneel's whereabouts." Natsu stated.

"That's right. Grandeeney, too." Wendy chimes in.

"Metalicana may have somethin' to do with it, too." Gajeel added.

The guild doors suddenly bursted open by Jet and Droy, who were both carrying newspapers. "Emergency! Dire news!" Jet shouted, grabbing everyone's attention immediately.

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION...

"Jellal!"

Jellal and Meredy turned upon hearing Doranbolt's voice. Jellal's eyes widened with terror as he saw a bleeding Siegrain on Doranbolt's back.

"Doranbolt, what happened?" Jellal questioned.

"The Magic Council was bombed by Tartaros. I managed to get Siegrain-san out of there in time. I have to head back to the ruined building. But I just needed to get him safely away from there." Doranbolt replied, seeing the terrified look on Jellal's face and the worried one on Meredy's, he adds, "Don't worry, he's alive."

The two of them sighed in relief. Jellal thanks Doranbolt with a nod as Doranbolt teleports away.

Jellal turns to look at Siegrain. Blood coated his blue hair from the wound that was coming from his head. Blood also came from his abdomen as well, and his entire left arm was missing.

It made Jellal want to throw up at the condition his twin brother was in.

"...Nii-san."

Jellal rushed to Siegrain's side. "Everything hurts... Don't leave me." He pleaded.

"I won't. I'll stay here with you, okay? You're safe." Jellal promised.

Siegrain's face morphed into pain before he finally fell unconscious. "Sieg!" Meredy called out in worry.

"He's fine. The pain was just to much for him to handle." Jellal reassured.

However, he glanced back at his brother in concern. "He looks so weak and vulnerable in this state. I hate seeing him like this." Jellal thought.

"I'll protect you, Sieg. No matter what..."

Rune Knights were disposing of the bodies from the ruined Council building. After taking Siegrain to Jellal's location, Doranbolt walked through the dungeon where they held the prisoners, finally stopping at Cobra's cell.

"I've been expecting you."

"You could hear what went on upstairs, right?" Doranbolt asked.

"Don't be stupid. I can't use magic from this cell. All I could hear was an explosion." Cobra replied.

"Tell me everything you know about Tartaros." Doranbolt ordered.

"I've told you before. I won't give anything away for free. My price is the release of all Oracion Seis members." Cobra said.

"I don't have that authority." Doranbolt reminded.

"Then talk to the people upstairs about it." Cobra said in annoyance.

Doranbolt grits his teeth. "The people... All of the members have been murdered." He revealed, actually shocking Cobra.

"Even the Celestial Judge?" Cobra then asked.

"No. Siegrain-san is alive and at a safer location." Doranbolt responded.

Recovering from his composure, Cobra lets out a chuckle. "Then the others really made a big splash."

Instantly, Doranbolt was behind him, a knife to his throat. "My friend died, too. And Siegrain-san is in critical condition. I'm not playing games here. If you don't cough up information, I'll kill you." He threatened.

"The release of the Oracion Seis members is non-negotiable. They're my comrades." Cobra claimed as him and Doranbolt stared at each other. "But I'll do you a favor and tell you one thing."

In Tartaros's hallways, a woman wearing an intricate helmet, covering almost the entirety of her face save for her eyes and mouth was walking in front of some soldiers. From the sides of the helmet, two long wing-like pieces of hair protrude, curving out around her face. Her hair falls from the back of the helmet as well, this passing through her hood to fall to her lower back, being wrapped tightly into a thick band. Finishing the helmet is a large gem of sorts, which sits directly over her forehead. She meets with a man that had 'Absolute Zero' on the chest plate and Tartaros's guild mark on his shoulder plates.

"It's been a long time, Silver." She greeted the man.

"Kyoka... You're as sexy as ever." The man, now known as Silver, spoke.

"I don't often see you in human form."

"Manly, right? I like it."

"Jackal and Tempesta aren't here?" Kyoka asked.

"They're both off on different missions."

"Then the plan has already begun?" Kyoka questioned as all the other guild members appeared next to her.

"Good. Let's show humans the power of the underworld. Let's show them the hell that is Tartaros's Nine Demon Gates."

"None of them are human. They're all demons from the Books of Zeref. The name of their master is END. He's the most powerful demon from all the Books of Zeref." Cobra explained.

"That's our Jackal-san! He knows how to leave an impression!"

THE NINE DEMON GATES OF TARTAROS / FRANMALTH THE ARMORED.

"How much are the lives of the nine Council members worth? How much?!" Franmalth asked.

"Franmalth, stop that infernal cackling. He let one of them escape."

THE NINE DEMON GATES OF TARTAROS / TORAFUZAR THE DARK.

"Send me out next, Kyoka! I wanna massacre me some humans!"

THE NINE DEMON GATES OF TARTAROS / DÔJIGIRI EZEL.

"Ezel-san, in stories, there is always an order to the events. This is still the prologue..."

THE NINE DEMON GATES OF TARTAROS / GODDESS OF THE CHILL MOON SEILAH.

"No. I suppose it would be the foreword..." Seilah corrected.

"She's right. Be patient, Ezel." Kyoka agreed. "You already have a job to do."

THE NINE DEMON GATES OF TARTAROS / GODDESS OF THE SLAVE PLANT KYOKA.

"My body... My body aches for action! It's not fair that Jackal and Tempestra have all the fun!" Ezel complained.

"Prayers... Whispers... And the benediction of the underworld..."

THE NINE DEMON GATES OF TARTAROS / KEYES THE BLACK ARCHBISHOP.

"Hell has just begun." Kyoka narrowed her eyes.

Silver stayed silent.

THE NINE DEMON GATES OF TARTAROS / ABSOLUTE ZERO SILVER.

"It is all for our master, Zeref. Let us deliver a crushing demonic blow to the human race."

8 island restaurant...

The Raijin Tribe were currently helping Yajima with his restaurant. Yajima was currently looking at the newspaper.

"This is terrible news."

"The Council was bombed?!" Freed exclaimed in shock.

"I hear nine members died." Bickslow informed. "It seems Siegrain was able to escape. They didn't find his body."

"There were also 119 casualties. This is a tragedy." Yajima said.

"Good thing you quit the Council." Bickslow said.

"Shut your mouth! Show some respect." Yajima scolded.

"Still, it could have been worse." Freed informed.

"Well, I didn't think it was over."

"What was over?" Freed questioned.

"I'm talking about ERA. The Council headquarters, ERA, represents all of the guilds on the continent. That is, it's the linchpin that ties all the wizards together. People sought out the Council for accurate judgment and sound decisiveness. And that is what I aimed to cultivate when I became a member. But the truth is, the Council had various managerial problems. Sometimes we made a bad call. Sometimes we acted too aggressively. Eventually, I no longer belonged there. When I quit the Council and opened my restaurant... it felt like laying down a heavy burden." Yajima ranted.

"Yajima-san..." Freed muttered.

"And I did lay down a burden, but..." Yajima trailed off.

"Do you have any regrets?" Bickslow questioned.

"It's like a small needle pricking at my heart. Powerful authority gives rise to anti-authority. That's the way of the world. Especially when it's uncompromising in every respect." Yajima replied, looking at the newspaper again. "I thought something like this might happen. But that doesn't diminish the cruelty of it."

Evergreen soon stepped forward, wearing a waitress uniform and her hands on her hips. "Hey, you guys! Just because we don't have many customers right now doesn't mean you can slack off!"

"That uniform doesn't suit you." Bickslow insulted with Freed nodding in agreement.

Evergreen looks at the two in irritation. "Look who's talking!" She shouted, adjusting her glasses. "Sheesh... You guys complained after the Grand Magic Games led to getting lots of heavy-duty jobs, so I found an easy one for us, right?"

"Hey, now, a restaurant is no easy gig." Yajima said.

"Well, I am good at cooking." Freed claimed.

"And I'm good at dishing it out, baby!" Bickslow exclaimed.

"Dish it out! Dish it out!"

Evergreen was laying on the counter. "Well, I do have the sex appeal..."

"By the way, I wonder when Laxus is coming back." Yajima said.

"Maybe he got lost?" Bickslow guessed.

"He can't even run an errand. That guy's hopeless." Freed said.

The door to the restaurant soon opened, getting Evergreen's attention. "Speak of the devil..."

However, the person that walked in wasn't Laxus. But rather a man in a hood.

"Rumble."

A tornado of wind soon flew into the air, destroying the restaurant and blowing everyone back.

"Whoosh."

The hooded figure soon charged straight for Yajima.

"Who is he?!" Yajima exclaimed.

"Yajima-san!" Evergreen shouted.

Bickslow and Freed stood in front of Yajima as the man pushed both of them back.

"Boom."

"Whipper-snapper!" Yajima exclaimed.

"Gust."

Flames soon attacked Yajima. "Yajima-san!" Freed called out.

"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" Evergreen shouted.

"Rumble."

Another tornado appeared once again. The dust cleared as Evergreen laid on the ground, injured.

"Ever!" Freed shouted.

"Damn him..." Bickslow muttered as Yajima stared at the hooded man.

"Who are you?!" Yajima asked.

"I have no name. I am one of the Nine Demon Gates. The human race calls me 'calamity.'"

"Dammit! What kind of magic is this?!" Bickslow wondered.

"I can't move..." Freed said.

"The gates of hell have been opened. Humanity shall be judged." The man picks up Yajima by his throat.

"Yajima-san!" Evergreen called out.

"The gates of the underworld... Tartaros?!" Bickslow exclaimed.

"Don't tell me..." Freed widened his eyes. "...their targets weren't only current Council members, but former members, too?! What the hell are they after?!"

"Go..."

"Don't!" Bickslow screamed.

"...to hell."

Yajima was then engulfed by wind. "Yajima-san!" Evergreen cried out.

Lightning suddenly struck down, stopping the man from killing Yajima. Laxus places his fist down as the lightning struck the man head on.

Laxus drops the groceries. "I was unsure about the way back... but I got no doubts about killing you!" He exclaimed, his fist being covered in lightning.

A/N: And the Tartaros Arc begins!

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.