A/N: Serpent Blade was the name of a Dark Guild that Shun was apart of before finally joining Lamia Scale. Just thought I'd let you know.

Also, Shun will be with Fairy Tail the majority of this arc. And Lyon will have more of a main role. He'll be helping Juvia defeat Keyes.

Episode 234, Opening 19.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: THE NINE DEMON GATES

Team Natsu, accompanied by Shun and Mila, were at Warrod Sequen's — one of the Four Gods of Ishgar — place. Night had fallen and there were stars in the sky.

"END? As in 'the end'?" Warrod asked.

"Supposedly a demon from the Books of Zeref. I hear my dragon dad tried to exterminate it." Natsu replied.

"The Books of Zeref. I wish I hadn't heard those words again."

"I figured if I could find out what this END is, it'd give me a hint about Igneel's whereabouts." Natsu explained.

"That's what Atlas Flame said..." Wendy added.

"I'm sorry. I don't know anything about that. But when you mentioned Tartaros this afternoon, it made me recall something." Warrod said. "No one really knows anything except that they're a creepy guild. Their location, members, and numbers are all unknown. But I have heard eyewitness accounts of their gatherings. Those witnesses all said the same thing. Their meetings are demonic rituals. This is only a conjecture from one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgar... but it's possible they possess a powerful demon from the Books of Zeref."

"A guild has a demon from the Books of Zeref?!" Lucy exclaimed in shock.

"Considering they are a dark guild, it's not that shocking." Mila claimed.

"Could that demon be END?!" Happy asked.

Gray narrowed his eyes. "Then there is a connection..." He noted, thinking back to when him and Shun fought Doriate. "...with the man from Succubus!"

"I wonder... Could Tartaros be the reason of my recurring nightmares of Deliora? I never had those nightmares before until recently..." Shun thought.

"Not to mention, whoever froze the Sun Village was no regular ice wizard... that was the work of a Devil Slayer. Shit... And I thought all of them dissolved after Serpent Blade got ambushed."

Meanwhile, a man clad in armor with the words 'Absolute Zero' on his chest plate and the Tartaros guild mark on his shoulder plates was walking through a path, his cape blowing in the wind as he stopped suddenly in front of a building.

"This building still gives me the creeps. And this is my guild..."

THE MAGIC COUNCIL, ERA...

"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 slammed 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."

"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."

"Well, you certainly have their backs, Sage Org."

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

"To what purpose?"

"I don't know. However, building up their military force and weeding out members comes to mind." Org answered.

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!"

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

"Maybe you're ready for retirement, Sage Org."

Grab Doma was tapping his index finger on the table in thought. "Hold on there. Sage Org's opinion sounds logical." He said.

"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 just grinned.

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

"It took time, but it was worth waiting for." 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 looked up, seeing Org a few feet away. "Sage Org!" He exclaimed in relief.

"You are okay?" Org asked before his head got slammed onto the ground, making Doranbolt's eyes widen.

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 nine members." Yellow light moved through his arm. "Explode."

Org was engulfed in a bright light. "D-Don't!" Doranbolt begged.

"Doranbolt... Escape!" Org ordered.

"I can't!" Doranbolt refused.

"What good is it if you die, too?" Org asked.

"Nobody can escape... my explosions."

"Go, Doranbolt!" Org spoke again.

"My name is Jackal. I'm a member of Tartaros, one of the Nine Demon Gates. Remember that in hell. Remember the name of the man who slaughtered the Council."

"L-Live so you can avenge us... Doranbolt!" Org shouted as Doranbolt had tears streaming down his face.

"Sage Org!"

Yellow beams were shown, followed by yet another explosion, causing the townspeople below to scream in terror.

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, taking Gray by surprise.

"It's the thought that counts." Shun thinks to himself before looking down.

"Hey, where's Mila?"

Shun looked up, seeing Gray had joined him. "She went back to Lamia Scale after we visited Warrod-san. Mostly to inform the others I'll be here for a while." He replied.

"Are you okay?" Gray asked worriedly.

"Honestly? No. I keep having those nightmares about Deliora and I don't know why." Shun responded.

Gray frowned as he ruffled Shun's hair, trying to bring him some comfort.

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.

"Not to mention Valkoinen, as well."

Everyone turned to see Shun had joined in on the conversation.

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

Rune Knights were disposing of the bodies from the ruined Council building as 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 for a moment.

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

Instantly, Doranbolt was behind him, a knife to his throat. "My friend died, too. 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 the same man wearing the armor.

"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. It is beneath our dignity."

THE NINE DEMON GATES OF TARTAROS / TORAFUZAR THE DARK.

"Like demons have dignity?! 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 all nine members died." Bickslow added.

"And not only them. There were 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.