The day had come.
The day when the attack on Phoenix Tail would be carried out in retaliation for what it did to the city and its inhabitants.
Thanks to the information from the Fairy Tail mages, Rimuru and the others had information about the type of magic that their future opponents possessed and that had surely increased in a mysterious way, although the magic that the master possessed remained a mystery to all.
After gathering all the necessary information, everyone went to rest so that they could be prepared.
When the next day arrived, everyone gathered in a small clearing on the outskirts of the city.
"Is everyone ready?" asked Rimuru.
"All ready and prepared, Lord Rimuru." said Shion with her sword at her back.
"Yeah, it's about time to give those guys a beating." said Natsu.
"I'll be sure to show them hell in person." said Benimaru with a smile.
"Are you sure you'll be okay, Shuna? It could be dangerous." said Lucy.
"Don't worry. It's not my first time in the battlefield and I'm stronger than I look." said Shuna with a smile.
"Anytime you want, Lord Rimuru." said Erza.
"Very well." said Rimuru before extending his arms, causing a glowing circle to appear on the ground below them.
A second later, they all quickly disappeared, leaving the area completely empty.
Later, everyone quickly reappeared in another area of the forest.
"Ugh." expressed Natsu leaning on his hands and knees on the ground with a green-tinted face. "Y-You could have called this in."
"Really? Did that look like a vehicle to you?" asked Gray.
"And it's not the only one." said Happy pointing to Wendy and Gajeel who were trying to stand with green faces.
"What's wrong with them?" asked Rimuru confused.
"It's a little side effect of their magic. Their senses are so enhanced that when riding any mode of transportation, they feel dizzy and sick." said Erza.
"Hmm. Interesting. Despite being a powerful magic, it has such a weakness." said Hakuro.
"Sounds ridiculous to me." said Benimaru.
"You… wait for me to pull myself together… and I'll show you what it's good for." said Natsu getting up with little difficulty.
"We don't have time for this. I've positioned us half a distance from where I located the Phoenix Tail people, so we'd better head over there right away." said Rimuru receiving a nod from the others before setting off.
For a while, they were all walking around the forest grounds, keeping an eye on their surroundings in case there were any hidden agents or traps, but so far, they found nothing.
It was then that Natsu began sniffing the air.
"I can something near us." said Natsu.
"Is it Phoenix Tail?" asked Charle.
"Yes, I remember its scent perfectly." said Natsu.
"You're right. I can smell it from here too." said Gajeel.
"That means we are close. Let's go." said Rimuru as they continued on their way.
They continued walking until, then, they spotted something very high in the distance.
Moving further, they finally discovered that it was some sort of pyramid made entirely of solid gold.
"Wow." said Shuna in awe.
"I suddenly got a sense of déjà vu." said Gajeel.
"Yeah, it looks just like the base we attacked that time." said Erza.
"And it looks like that gold guy created it from scratch. If he wasn't an enemy, I'd praise him." said Gray.
"Same here." said Hakuro.
"And I guess, like that time, there is no door." said Lily.
"Then I'll gladly create another one." said Natsu ready to pounce, but Shion put her arm in front of him to stop him.
"Let me do it." began Shion before approaching the structure and when she was standing in front of it, she threw a strong punch at the structure that ended up creating a huge hole that even a giant could fit through. "Go ahead, you can come in now, Lord Rimuru." said Shion with a polite smile.
"Uh… Thank you, Shion." said Rimuru.
"If that's her strength now, I don't want to imagine her when she's angry." commented Lucy.
"Me neither." said Wendy.
With the way clear, they all entered the pyramid and walked through the corridors, trying to find their targets.
"This is weird. Even though there are only six of them, they haven't made a move." said Souei.
"That's true. The normal thing to do in these cases is to have set traps or alarms. Everything is very quiet." said Erza.
"Too much. Don't lose your concentration for a second. We don't know what might happen." said Rimuru.
That's when they came to a point where the road split into six directions.
"Which way do we go?" asked Charle.
"It doesn't matter which one we choose. I can sense a tremendous amount of magical power in each one." said Benimaru.
"Which means they've split up." said Gray.
"Also that they know we're here and are inviting us in." said Gajeel.
"So what do we do?" asked Shuna.
Before Rimuru could say anything, Raphael threw a warning into his mind.
"Everyone, stand back!" exclaimed Rimuru.
The moment everyone jumped in a different direction, a wall fell in the area where they were before.
Soon after, the entire room began to move.
From outside, they could see how the pyramid split into three segments that then rotated each in a different direction and speed, as if it were a Rubik's cube.
After a while, the parts of the pyramid stopped moving and returned to their previous position.
"Shion, are you okay?" asked Lucy, as the movement of the base had left her and the horned woman in another hallway away from the others.
"Forget about me. Where's Lord Rimuru?" asked Shion before she started punching the wall in a panic. "Lord Rimuru! Lord Rimuru! Are you all right? LORD RIMURU!" shouted Shion punching the wall with the intention of destroying it, but to no avail.
Lucy had to wrap her arms around her to push her away.
"Shion, please calm down! I'm sure you won't be able to help him by being like this!" said Lucy hoping that using her slime devotion would serve to calm her down.
Which worked, as Shion took a deep breath and calmed down.
"Yes, you're right. I won't be able to help Lord Rimuru by panicking." said Shion.
"It looks like the base has moved and separated us from the others." said Lucy.
Shion tapped the wall once more.
"And they also seem to have strengthened the walls. They haven't fallen despite how hard I hit." said Shion.
"That's not all. I can feel someone at the end of the hallway. It's probably one of the Phoenix Tail." said Lucy.
"In that case, let's go get him. The sooner we finish him off, the sooner we can meet up with Lord Rimuru and the others." said Shion.
"You're right." said Lucy before she and the horned woman walked down the hallway.
When they reached the end, they ended up in a larger room.
"Well, well, well." the two turned their gaze forward to see Reflacta step out of the shadows and look at the celestial mage with a sadistic grin. "We meet again, celestial mage."
"You're the one from that time!" said Lucy recognizing the blue-skinned woman.
"That's right. When Treasgold made that move, I didn't expect that, of all the people who came into our base, I'd run into you. It's funny, you know?" asked Reflacta.
"You think it's funny? Try this!" exclaimed Shion lunging towards the reflective mage.
"Shion, stop!" shouted Lucy trying to stop her, but it was too late.
Shion charged towards the reflective mage with her fist recoiled and when she threw it forward, instead of hitting her, it hit some sort of invisible wall.
Before she could react to it, an unknown force hit her and sent her flying until she hit the wall.
Despite this, she managed to land on her feet on the ground.
"Are you okay?" asked Lucy approaching her.
"Yeah, don't worry. This is nothing." said Shion.
"Be careful. She's the one with the reflective magic capable of hitting back all the blows." said Lucy.
"Oh yeah? Then I'll have to hit harder." said Shion drawing her sword.
"Go ahead. I'll be happy to return the damage you intend to give me." said Reflacta.
"Is there anyone else around here?" asked Benimaru looking around.
"Looks like we're the only ones in this area." said Gray.
"Tsk. Let your guard down for a moment and this is what happens." said Benimaru.
"Don't torture yourself. We all fell for it." said Gray.
"I guess." began Benimaru before fixing his gaze on the hallway they were in. "Looks like there's someone waiting for us out there."
"Then let's not keep him waiting." said Gray before the two advanced down the hallway.
Soon after, the two found themselves in a room, where there was no one besides them.
"I don't have time for games. Get the hell out." said Benimaru.
"As you wish."
The two looked ahead to see Treasgold appear.
"I should have guessed it was going to be you." said Gray.
"Wow. It's a pleasure to see you again ice mage. Tell me, what do you think of my new creation? It is worthy of praise." said Treasgold.
"So it was you who caused that earlier." began Benimaru drawing his sword. "I'm going to make you pay for that."
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm not in the habit of paying, but for others to pay me with their gold or their lives." said Treasgold.
"Well this time it won't be either one or the other." said Gray taking off his shirt and preparing to fight.
Erza slammed her sword against the wall with the intention of shattering it, but nothing happened.
"It's useless to do that. It looks like whoever caused that wanted to get us away from the others" said Hakuro.
"In that case, all we can do is go ahead and find them." said Erza.
"Well said and it looks like we've already found someone. Or rather, he has found us." said Hakuro looking down the hall.
"Yes, I can feel it too." said Erza.
Without hesitation, the two swordsmen walked down the hallway until they reached a room where they could see the samurai sitting on the floor.
"I was waiting for you and I must say I'm glad the person who found me was you, Erza Scarlet." said the samurai.
"The feeling is almost mutual." said Erza.
It was then that the samurai turned his gaze to the older horned man.
"May I know your name, sir?" asked the samurai.
"Hakuro." said Hakuro introducing himself.
"Hakuro. I can tell in plain sight that you are an expert swordsman." began the samurai before standing up. "I suppose it was fate that we skilled swordsmen should meet in a duel to the death."
"Are you okay, Shuna?" asked Wendy.
"Yeah, take it easy. I'm fine." said Shuna.
"I'm glad. It was like the whole base was moving." said Charle.
"Yeah, I felt a little dizzy." said Wendy.
"It seems like that took us away from the others." said Shuna.
"So what do we do now? We don't know where we are." said Wendy.
"Maybe we should… " began Charle before her eyes widened in horror. "Y-You feel that?"
Wendy's eyes widened as she felt the same as the exceed.
"Y-Yes. I feel it too." said Wendy.
"There's someone down the hall. Someone with enormous power." said Shuna.
"And there's no other way to go." said Charle.
"Then we'll have to go forward." said Shuna with determination before moving forward, with the young dragon slayer and the exceed behind her.
They walked until they came to a room.
"Wow. What a nice surprise."
Wendy's eyes widened in horror as she recognized that voice and looking ahead, she saw Babus step out of the shadows.
"Honestly, you were the last, but at the same time, the person I was most looking forward to seeing" said Babus.
"Is he one of the Phoenix Tail?" asked Shuna.
"Yes, he's the one who possesses the black plague magic." said Charle.
"That is, he's the one who unleashed that sickly fog on the city." said Shuna.
"Guilty as charged, my lady. I needed a place where I could test my new power, and a city full of monsters was too tempting to ignore." said Babus.
"You… You… How dare you do that to innocent beings?!" asked Shuna very angrily.
"Many monsters ended up sick. What you did was very cruel!" said Wendy angrily.
"Oh, you don't like it? I'm sorry, but that's just me and because of that, I'm going to have to kill you!" said Babus.
Gajeel slammed his fist against the wall which was unaffected by it.
"Tsk. Damn. Looks like they've reinforced the walls." said Gajeel.
"So, we won't be able to 'create our own way out' and look for the others anymore." said Lily.
"Even if I agree with that about going to look for the others, I'm afraid we have more important matters to deal with." said Souei.
"Yes, I sensed someone at the end of this hallway. It's possible that it was a member of Phoenix Tail." said Lily.
"Then let's go get him and have him tell us how to get out of here." said Gajeel before he and the others started walking.
That's when they came to a room, but the most striking thing was that no one was there.
"That's weird. I don't see anyone." said Lily.
Suddenly, Souei noticed something incoming.
"Get back!" shouted Souei.
Just as everyone jumped back, something hit the ground and when it rose up, it revealed itself to be Roksteelan.
"What a pity. You dodged it, but I'm glad too. It'll be more fun this way." said Roksteelan.
"You know? I was hoping you would have died soon after coming to this world." said Gajeel.
"Hahaha. It takes more than bugs to finish me off." said Roksteelan.
"Since you know each other so well, I have to assume you're a member of Phoenix Tail." said Souei.
"That's right, remember that well when I kill you all." said Roksteelan.
Lily adopted his warrior form as he took up a fighting stance with the others.
"We'll see about that." said Lily.
"Raphael, locate the others. Hurry." thought Rimuru.
"Analysis. The others are in various areas within the pyramid structure." said Raphael.
"So they've only separated us. Well, that's a relief." thought Rimuru before looking around to realize he was alone. "Looks like it's just me. I don't know if it's just that they want me alone or it's just a coincidence." said Rimuru before shrugging his shoulders. "This is no time to think about that. I should get moving." said Rimuru before running down the hallway.
"Natsu, are you okay?" asked Happy.
"Ugh. That thing earlier made me feel sick." said Natsu leaning on his hands.
"I guess we didn't expect this place to move like a vehicle." said Happy.
"When I catch one of those guys, he's going to find out" said Natsu having fully recovered.
"By the way, where are the others?" asked Happy.
Natsu looked around before sniffing the air.
"I can still smell them, but they're far away from us." said Natsu.
"They must have separated us." said Happy worried about the others.
"It's okay. I'm sure they'll be able to handle whatever they come across on their way." said Natsu with a confident smile.
It was then that the two sensed something.
"Natsu, is that…?" asked Happy.
"Yes, someone very, very strong is out there." said Natsu.
"W-What do we do?" asked Happy nervously.
"It's clear. Let's kick his ass!" exclaimed Natsu before charging forward, leaving Happy alone.
"*Sigh* That's the way Natsu is. Aye, sir." said Happy before taking off his wings and flying towards his friend.
The two were running down various corridors until they reached the end.
When they passed through to the other side, they were shocked, for they were in a huge room that looked like royalty itself.
In fact, there was even a carpet, albeit made of gold that ended in a golden throne and it was then that they became aware of the presence of who was sitting on the throne.
"You!" said Natsu pointing… to the guild master.
"Wow. Who knew that, out of our maze game, it would be you who ended up here." said Dumbleldus with a smile.
"Well I'm glad you're my adversary." said Natsu.
"Hehe. That's funny, because you'll soon be regretting finding me all by yourself." said Dumbleldus.
"Hey, I'm here!" said Happy offended.
"I don't care if you're the guild master. You will test my power. Fire Dragon's Roar!" shouted Natsu shooting out of his mouth a torrent of fire that hit the guild master directly.
Natsu hoped that had done something to him, but then, he was shocked to see that, once again, Dumbleldus had come out immune to the fire.
"That's all the power you have? I thought I told you that your fire didn't affect me at all." said Dumbleldus.
"Damn." said Natsu as the guild master stood up.
"Now, allow me to demonstrate my power to you." said Dumbleldus before puffing out his cheeks, causing Natsu and Happy's eyes to widen in horror.
"I-It can't be." said Natsu.
Before they could say anything else, Dumbleldus shot a torrent of flames out of his mouth at the two of them, but they dodged it in time.
"Are you… Are you a dragon slayer?" asked Natsu.
"Please don't compare me to those giant flying lizards. My magic is much stronger than theirs." said Dumbleldus.
"So what are you?" asked Happy.
"I guess there's no harm in telling you." began Dumbleldus before he was engulfed in fire and that's when the fire began to take the shape of a bird. "I am… a phoenix slayer."