The Rise of a Warrior: Fairy Tail

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Luke Drako, S-class wizard of the Fairy Tail guild, the true Lightning Dragon Slayer, student and son of the Lightning dragon Kaminari. This is his story. The story of a Dragon Slayer trying to find his place in the world, and make one hell of a strong team along the way. And with any luck, he just might win the heart of a certain brunette card mage. OC x Cana. Read and review.

39. Tenrou Island VI

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this story since I updated it.

Jaemos: Thanks, I'm glad to see you enjoyed the chapter. Yeah, Luke and Noah have a pretty strong mutual respect for each other.

Altajir95 (ch 37): Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Yeah, I like to make a few changes from canon here and there.

Altajir95 (ch 38): Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Yeah, the Luke vs Noah showdown was something that I was looking forward to for a really long time, and when the time came, I really enjoyed writing it out.

Guest: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked the chapter. I assume that what you're referring to is me having Natsu take the place of Rogue as the evil future counterpart. I have to admit, that idea does sound very interesting. I suppose only time will tell.

Guest: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked the chapter. Yes, Luke vs Noah was one fight I've been looking forward to for a long time now, and I really enjoyed doing it.

Ragnas Bredvolts (ch 37): Yes, TFS references are a beautiful thing in any piece of media. Yes, Kain is a bit odd in comparison to the other members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, and he does look a bit like a fatter version of Chiaotzu. Gajeel and Lucy teaming up isn't the sort of thing you would expect to see, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing. I have to admit though, while I am a devoted shipper of Gajeel x Levy, you do bring up an interesting point. Seems like a good idea for another fanfiction. Yes, Bluenote is kind of a badass, but your rather colorful description of him is fairly accurate. No, it's still going to be Gildarts vs Bluenote. I already have an opponent in mind for Luke. You'll see who it is in the next chapter.

Ragnas Bredvolts (ch 38): Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. I'm glad to see that you share in my opinion of Erza's Armadura Fairy armir, and that you approve of how I used it. Yes, her Clear Heart Clothing does represent her not hiding behind her armors anymore, but her armors still have a lot of uses going for them. As for the enchantments you were talking about, I haven't been keeping up with 100 Year Quest so I wouldn't know, but it sounds promising. I'm also glad to see you enjoyed the fight between Luke and Noah. I enjoyed writing everything about it, from the dialogue to the drama, to the old fashioned fist fight. You do raise some interesting ideas in regards to Noah's Dragon Slayer magic, though I have to be careful and make sure they fit with his personality. I do like the names you came up with though, the Land Genesis one sounds the best to me though. I haven't really heard much about Eden's Zero before now, but it does seem interesting. I'll have to check it out when it gets adapted into an anime. That's all I have to say for now, and you have a nice day as well my friend.

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"Fairy Tail guild was hosting their annual S-class trials on Tenrou Island, the sacred ground of their guild, when they suddenly found themselves forced into an all out war with Grimoire Heart, the mightiest dark guild in all of the land. After several long and brutal battles against their forces, including the legendary Bluenote Stinger and the fearful Seven Kin of Purgatory, Luke was able to defeat his fellow Dragon Slayer Noah, while Gray emerged victorious from his battle against Ultear, leaving Master Hades as the only remaining foe on the battlefield. Despite the extraordinary power that he demonstrated, power capable of leaving Makarov near death within a matter of moments, the wizards of Fairy Tail will soon launch head first into a final showdown, one that can easily leave Tenrou Island in utter ruin."

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Things had turned calm yet considerably uneasy for everyone at the Fairy Tail base camp.

Lucy and Levy were standing outside of one of the tents, gazing up at the storms raging throughout the skies above them "You know when you think about it, storms can be kind of relaxing."

"You think so? They kind of put me on edge." Levy muttered, then glanced over to see Lily was shaking violently as lightning flashed overhead "Wow Lily, you're really shaking pretty bad aren't you?"

"I think I know why too." Carla gave a smirk "He's afraid of thunder and lightning."

"Oh man, that's just adorable!"

"Hey!" Lily promptly rounded on the two of them "I am not adorable or precious, or anything of that sort!"

"Oh come on, it's funny."

"Hey!" this was when Gajeel broke into their conversation "No making fun of my cat, if anyone gets to then it's me."

"Alright alright." Levy calmed herself down and let out a sigh "So did you and the others get anything out of him?" she looked over at where Rustyrose was tied up to a tree nearby.

"You mean him? He didn't give us shit, just spouting some more crap about the Grand Magic World and all that."

"Well I say we've done enough waiting around." Natsu pulled himself to his feet, now mostly healed of his wounds and exhaustion "I think it's time for us to pay a visit to Hades, you got a problem with that?"

"Fuck no, in fact I was thinking the exact same thing."

"Happy you in?"

"Aye sir!" Happy soluted him.

"Alright then."

"I'm coming too." Cana pulled herself to her feet "I've got a lot to make up for, and I think the old man has this coming big time."

"What about the others?" asked Lucy "Don't you think we should wait for Luke, Gray and Erza to get back?"

"Knowing them I'd say they're probably on their way to see Hades themselves right now, and they probably know that we plan on going there too."

"We, as in me too? But wouldn't Freed be a better choice?"

"We need him for the defense team, he's gotta write an enchantment and stick around to protect the others in case any more of the enemy forces show up."

"I'm going too." Wendy stepped forward "I've done what I can here, so I'll do what I can to help all of you."

"Absolutely not child, you will do no such thing!" Carla protested.

"This is one fight where they're going to need every bit of support they can get."

"I… I'll come too!" Lily spoke up with some hesitation "I owe him a beating on behalf of everyone else in the guild, and I want to stand by Gajeel."

"Right." Cana glanced around at the others "Levy, stick around and help Freed write out his enchantment, and Mira stick around and act as defense in case any more of Grimoire Heart's thugs show up."

"I've gotta admit I'm kind of surprised." Mira commented "I didn't think you were the type to really take charge like this."

"I'm just trying to think about what Luke would do since he isn't here." Cana glanced up at the storm raging above them "We've got a tough fight ahead of us, we just need to think about exactly what Luke would do, and probably is doing, in these types of situations."

"So he would." Freed noted "And it would appear that we have a proper plan of action. To put it quite simply, we'll be holding down the fort, while the rest of you face him in battle. Just be sure to come back safe and sound."

"Oh trust me, we plan to. Now that we're all back to full strength, or as close as we can get, I say we're ready for a fight." Cana gave a smirk as she looked around at Natsu and the others "Hades is the last opponent we have to face, we're gonna show him why you don't mess with Fairy Tail and get away with it."

"Hate to break it to you Mocha, but that's gonna be easier said than done."

Cana glanced over at the sound of a new voice, and her eyes narrowed "So you showed yourself again, Noah was it?"

Sure enough, Noah had appeared on the scene before the others, considerably bandaged and heavily wounded from his previous battle with Luke, and his appearance alone was enough to cause the others to get into defensive positions "Relax, I'm not here to fight. I've already had enough of that for one day."

"You look like you got run over, I take it that means you found Luke and finished your fight against him?"

"While the rest of you were passed out from your magic power being drained, I knew he was gonna be strong, but even then I underestimated him."

"So if you're not looking for a fight, then why are you here?"

"To put it simply, you can call this my little victory prize to you guys for Thunderclap beating me down so hard. I know for a fact that you guys are planning to take down Hades right now, am I right?"

"And if we are?"

"I'm gonna be blunt with you, even with all of you together, there's no way that you'll be able to defeat Hades in a straight up fight."

"I thought you knew us better than that." Natsu let out a growl "You know damn well that we can't, don't and won't give up against anybody, no matter who it is."

"Of course I know that you idiot, but no amount of nakama power or plot armor or hitting it harder isn't going to be enough for you to beat him. I fought him once, he went through me like a hot knife through butter. You can't beat him in a straight up fight, but there's a weakness you guys can exploit."

"Which is what exactly?" asked Cana.

His source of power, I know where it's hidden. It's called the Devil's Heart, it's hidden beneath the engine rooms on the airship. Hades is the only one who knows where it is, at least until I found it about a year ago, but he has no idea that I found it. It sort of acts as his life support and it grants him almost limitless magic power, not to mention it powers his entire airship. It's also ridiculously invulnerable, it would take the power of one of the three great spells of your guild to destroy it. To put it in terms so simple that even Salamander could understand it…"

"You're saying that I have to use Fairy Glitter to destroy it."

"Calm, cool, collected, strong and smart. Looks like Thunderclap has good taste." this caused her to blush "I told Thunderclap about this too, but he's not deterred. He says he's got one last trump card up his sleeve, and even after everything I've told him about how powerful Hades is, he's still confident he can beat him with it."

"Do you believe him?"

"I don't have a reason to believe he can't, not after the thrashing I got from him. Anyway I'll leave you to it, for now I've gotta go track down Meldy and the others before any of them do anything stupid. Later." and so he disappeared in a flash.

"...We'll keep that in mind. Come on guys, let's get going. We've got one hell of a fight on our hands right about now."

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Meanwhile, with Juvia…

"Stop… running!" by this point, Juvia was still chasing after Meldy in a method that made her seem like something out of a horror movie "Give… me… ZEREF!"

Of course, as a result of this, Meldy was not only running as fast as she could, which really wasn't that fast given her condition "What the hell is with her, is this lady possessed or something?"

"Just hand him over!"

"So what does that then, was all of that talk about love and life just a ploy to save your own skin or something?"

"I don't want to fight any more than you!"

"Then stop chasing me like something out of the Walking Dead!"

"Truth be told, this looks more like something out of the shining to me."

Meldy looked ahead and let out a slight sigh of relief "At least with you I can find some sanity on this island Noah."

Sure enough, Noah was standing before her "So should I even bother asking what the hell this is about?"

"I'd honestly rather you didn't, but to put it simply, Ultear entrusted me with Zeref, but this lady is chasing me like something out of… wow, the Shining does seem more fitting."

"I do what I can, but I think we've got other problems right now."

As it turns out, that was the moment when Zancrow dropped onto the scene, looking as psychotic as ever "Well fucking well, what do we have here?"

"An annoying douchebag who doesn't know how to bathe."

"Suck on the flat end of my (bleep) Noah! Hey Meldy, you do realize the airship is in the other direction right?"

"No, I didn't actually-" Meldy was cut off by a glare from Zancrow.

"Don't even try feeding me any sort of bullshit like that. Everyone with half a brain cell knows that you follow Ultear around like a little lovestruck puppy!"

"And yet somehow you know it too." Noah commented dryly.

"Shut your fucking trap Noah, you're just as bad! You're collaborating with that Fairy Tail trash, you're telling him about some bullshit weakness that Master Hades! As far as I'm concerned, the two of you aren't part of Grimoire Heart anymore! Flame God BELLOW!" he let out a roar, and with it came a powerful stream of black flames.

"Mountain Dragon Terra Shield!" Noah slammed his hand into the ground and summoned a large wall of earth, protecting himself and the others from the blast "I might have lost out in my battle against Thuderclap, but I've still got more than enough power left to rip you apart piece by piece."

"Fine go ahead and be like that, I'll just slaughter your little girlfriend first! That way I get to make you suffer more, and she gets what she deserves for trying to take something that doesn't belong to you! It's just like how you keep using my Hulu account without asking."

"No please, you can't do this!" Meldy tried to reason with Zancrow, as futile as that was, with tears streaming down her face "If you take him then you take Ultear's future, and not just hers, but mine and Noah's too!"

"You never learn do you, Ultear is just using you like she uses everyone else, and Noah's just trying to protect you like some pathetic lovestruck puppy."

"I have no quarrels with shoving a stalagmite up your ass." Noah told him flatly.

"Try it dipshit, I fucking dare you."

"No you're wrong, she made a promise to me!" Meldy protested "She made a promise to me that if we reached the Grand Magic World, not only would my village finally be turned back to the way it used to be, but Noah would finally get to see his dragon again his father, the one who is to him what Ultear is to me!"

"What, that crappy place and some pathetic pipedream? Why would you want it to go back to normal after Kain and I redecorated the place for you? We weren't the only ones that wrecked the place either you know, your precious Ultear was the one who lead that attack, and she actually slaughtered even more than both of us combined!" that left Meldy frozen to her very core, while it also left Noah shaking with rage.

"No… No it can't be… it can't be true…"

"Oh it's totally true, and she did it all with a smile on her face, just like I did-" he was cut off when he suddenly started coughing up blood violently.

As it turns out, Noah had hardened his skin like rock and stuck it straight through Zancrow's chest, and then he removed it, revealing it to be coated with Zancrow's blood "I've given you enough pain over the years for always mocking me about Jishin, but when you cross the line and say shit like that about Meldy's home, her blood family, that's where I draw the line, and it's why I shove this thing through your gut."

"You… You son of a…" Zancrow was sent crashing to the ground with a kick to the head, causing him to cough up more blood.

"I'm about as fed up with your shit as I am with Teen Titans Go. This is it Zancrow, I'm taking you down here and now."

"Run… he's coming…" some quiet muttering from Zeref got their attention "He's coming… to this place… Acnologia…" then his eyes snapped open in the direction of Zancrow, revealing his eyes to be a deep crimson red, his body pulsating slightly.

"Get the fuck down! Mountain Dragon Terra Dome!" Noah blitzed towards Meldy and Juvia and quickly slammed his hands into the ground, erecting a dome of earth around the three of them a split second before a wave of black energy suddenly engulfed the area, and the very instant it disappeared, the earth dome shattered. Noah looked around, seeing Meldy and Juvia both lying on the ground unconscious, and Zancrow's lifeless body lying on the ground totally devoid of color 'That was way too close, a split second later and the three of us probably would've ended up exactly like him.'

Zeref's eyes turned back to their normal black color, and he was left filled with remorse and guilt at the sight of Zancrow's body "Forgive me… you didn't deserve such a fate…"

"I personally beg to differ." Noah was met with only a disinterested look from Zeref.

"Regardless of opinions, the fact is that I now bare even more darkness upon my shoulders, but at least you and the other two survive." he then knelt down by Zancrow's body and closed his pupilless eyes "I feel some relief that the rest of you will not be harmed any further." with a deep sigh, he started walking forward "It is the solemn vow I made, that the suffering I have caused will not repeat itself in the current era. I shall remain neutral and isolated, a friend or foe to no one at all. However…" his eyes turned red again, his gaze hardening "With that being said, if the current era should come to an end and give way to a new one, there is a fair chance that I shall take on a far more active role. I had hoped that you would grow strong enough to be able to defeat me before then… Natsu." and with that, he quietly took his leave of the scene.

Now that he thought he was alone, Noah fell to his knees, panting heavily 'The sheer intensity he was putting out, I guess he's the legendary Black Wizard for a reason.'

What he didn't realize was that Doranbolt was hiding behind a nearby tree, and he too was shaken to his very core 'No you've gotta be kidding me, please tell me that I misheard him. Did he really say… Acnologia?'

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Meanwhile, with Gray…

Having defeated Ultear and left on his own, Gray was slowly making his way through the forest of Tenrou Island, though his injuries and exhaustion were catching up to him 'Dammit, this isn't good… everything is getting hazy… I can't go any further… is this it for me…?' he came to a stop and fell over, only to find himself being caught by none other than Erza herself "So… do you have to keep showing off like that?"

"I missed you too." Erza gave a small smile.

"You know something, always having to be rescued gets old and becomes a major pain in the ass way too fast."

"Then just think of this as my way of returning the favor."

"Yeah I guess." Gray looked up to see Cana, Natsu and the others, along with the Exceeds, standing before him "So you guys are all here too?"

"Fresh from an ass kicking and more than up for some hardcore payback." Natsu shot a smirk down at him "So you guys want in on that or what?"

"As if you had to ask."

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Meanwhile, on the Grimoire Heart airship…

Hades stood at the edge of the deck on the airship, looking down on the sight of Cana and the others glaring up at him 'I have to say, I never would've imagined that the Seven Kin of Purgatory, along with Bluenote and even Noah, could be bested at the hands of Fairy Tail. In the end, it would seem that Makarov was a better guild master than even I had anticipated. Well no matter anyway, since my team was to inept to exterminate their pray, I shall just have to do the task myself. Playtime for the devils and fairies has now come to an end, and from here on out it's all business. But with that being said, it doesn't mean I won't take pleasure in making the lot of them suffer. So tell me, do all of you wish to receive the same treatment that I had given to your master? So be it then children of Makarov, come and face your destruction." still receiving numerous glares, he walked back inside the ship.

"Hey goddammit you old fart, give us a way up there!" Natsu barked at him, only to be comically ignored.

"I say we owe him a crap load of payback." Gray noted.

"Not just for Gramps, but for everything that he's done to our guild up until now."

"Don't worry, he's going to pay soon enough." Erza assured both of them.

"So if we can defeat that man in time, then the rest of them will leave and the council won't see any reason to fire on us?" asked Wendy.

"That's the plan for now, but I'm pretty sure they'll find a reason to fire on us no matter how pathetic it will seem." Gajeel pointed out dryly "I personally plan on putting him six feet under when this is over with."

"But if what Noah said is true, then that's going to be a lot easier said than done." Cana pointed out "Sorry about this guys, but you're gonna have to fight him without me. With my Fairy Glitter spell, I might be the only one of us who can take out Hades' heart. We've gotta keep him from using that unlimited supply of magic power we were told about, and don't forget that we can't afford to deal with any of that Dragon Slayer motion sickness, so we need to play this as carefully as we can,."

"Then take Lily and the others with you, just in case."

"Good idea."

"Yes you can count on us, can we go in now?" Lily's tone was urgent.

"Good call, but Wendy you'd better cast that Troia spell on Natsu just to be safe."

"Good idea, just hold on. Troia." Wendy held out her arms towards Natsu and cast the Troia spell to nullify his motion sickness.

"I think we've kept this bastard waiting long enough!" Gray slammed his hands together and used his Ice Make magic to form a flight of stairs up to the airship, which prompted himself and the others to take off running up the stairs in question "Now let's get in there and wreck some shit, we'll show this bastard why you don't screw with Fairy Tail!"

"Hate to break it to you guys, but it's not going to be that simple." Cana told him "We're dealing with someone whose power surpasses that of even Master, so once we're inside you'll have to hit him hard and hit him fast."

"Trust me, that's been the plan all along." Gajeel let out a snarl "I'm not stopping until he's begging for mercy!"

"I figured."

"But after everything he's done, he doesn't deserve any mercy." Lucy's gaze hardened at the very thought.

"Just don't lose focus, this is one battle where you can't afford to make any mistakes. Just make sure to be careful." and on that note, Cana broke away from the group, with Lily and the other Exceeds following her lead.

"Let's do this."

"Oh fuck yes, we're putting this bastard down once and for all! Ready or not Hades, we're coming for you!" with that final battlecry, Natsu leapt upwards towards Hades "I've got a message for you from Makarov, CHOKE ON IT!" he unleashed a large stream of flames from his hand.

Hades simply held out his hand and stopped the flames with ease "You'll have to do much better than that, now try again."

"Gladly! Requip! Moon Flash!" Erza blitzed onto the scene and requipped into her Black Wing Armor, then blitzed through Hades.

"Ice Make: Cold Excalibur!" Gray summoned a massive broadsword made of ice, also cutting through him.

"Iron Dragon Twin SWORD!" Gajeel morphed both of his arms into swords made of iron and ripped through Hades, though even with the force of combining his attacks with those of Gray and Erza, it didn't seem to much more to Hades than irritate him.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!" Lucy whipped out one of her golden Zodiac keys and summoned Taurus to bring down his axe on Hades, though she quickly sent him right back after this 'I can't waste too much magic power by keeping them around for too long.'

"By the grace of the wind, may you strike fiercely, move swiftly and be free of any and all harm! Arms and armor! Vernier! Now go!" Wendy promptly cast a number of support spells on Gajeel, Gray and Erza.

"Trust me shrimp, that's the plan!" Gajeel charged towards Hades, with Gray and Erza following right behind him.

"Nimble little brats aren't you?" Hades weaved his way around Gajeel and Gray's attacks, and then he used his magic chains to grab Erza by the neck, then hurled her into Gray and sent both of them flying.

"Iron Dragon Lance: DEMON LOGS!" Gajeel blitzed in front of Hades and fired a barrage of iron spears from both hands, piercing Hades all across his body but not making him bleed.

"That won't be enough for you to defeat me!"

"Then why the fuck don't we try this! Fire Dragon WING ATTACK!" Natsu promptly blitzed through Hades with a two handed fire attack, only for both him and Gajeel to be grabbed from behind by Hades using his magic chains and almost sent flying.

"Iron Dragon SWORD!" Gajeel used his twin swords to cut himself and Natsu free of the chains.

"Thanks for the save."

"No time to talk, now get in there! Ice Make: Hammer!" Gray summoned two hammers made of ice and allowed Natsu and Gajeel to rebound off of them "Hit them with a combined attack NOW!"

"On it!" Natsu and Gajeel both promptly rebounded off of the hammers and made their charge towards Hades in mid air.

"Sky Dragon ROAR!" Wendy let out a powerful tornado of wind with her roar.

"Scorpio!" with a key in hand, Lucy summoned Scorpio onto the battlefield and had him unleash his Sand Buster blast from his tail, the blast combining with Wendy's roar to form one even more powerful attack.

"A Unison Raid?" Hades was taken off guard by the sight of this, so he didn't see coming what came next.

"Fire Dragon/ Iron Dragon ROAR!" Natsu and Gajeel hurtled towards Hades at full speed and unleashed two simultaneous Dragon Roars, which combined into one massive roar that slammed straight into Hades, the force combined with the Unison Raid sending Hades tumbling backwards in a heap as a result. Once it was over, Natsu fell to one knee "Well that was fun."

"Yeah, and Teen Titans Go isn't a thing." Gajeel pointed out dryly "Just stay sharp, it's not over by a fucking longshot."

"You would be wise to heed his warnings." sure enough, the smoke cleared and Hades came forward once more without so much as a scratch on him, leaving all of the others shaken to the core as a result "I've often heard over the years that young people tend to refer to their mistakes as life experiences. But true mistakes do not yield any experiences, as there is no coming back from them, such is the case here. Your future and those of the rest of your guild consist only of the grave. There is no lesson for you to learn other than this, that opposing me was the biggest mistake of your lives, and the last as well." his very appearance left the others frozen to the very core.

'No fucking way, all of that and he's not even scratched?! This is bullshit, we put everything we had into that! His magic power is unreal, how the fuck are we supposed to take him down?!'

"So be it then, now that I'm all warmed up, I believe the time has come for me to finally get serious." and then the area began pulsating with his own magic power, leaving the others frozen in terror, and then he set his sights on Wendy "KATSU!" and once he said this, Wendy suddenly vanished from where she stood, leaving only her clothes behind, which left everyone shaken to their cores.

"WENDY NO!" Natsu was the first of them to scream in vain.

"Believe me when I tell you that was a mercy kill, as in she got off easy compared to each of the rest of you. From this point forward, each of your deaths will turn out to be even more gruesome than the one that came before it."

"Dammit you old fucker, what the hell did you do to her?!" Gajeel let out a snarl "Start talking before I gouge out your heart!"

""It's okay everybody, I'm fine!"" a voice got everyone's attention, drawing them to the roof of of the airship, where Horologium resided above them ""I'm up here!" she explains with immense relief."

"It's Horologium, so then…" Lucy breathed a sigh of relief "That was way too close."

"My automatic danger detection mode was activated just in time."

"Oh really? And yet it didn't go off when me and Cana were fighting Freed and Bickslow, or when I was getting tortured by that dough guy from the Seven Kin of Purgatory, or when I was being crushed by that one guy with the Gravity magic? Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm getting the idea your danger detection thing needs one hell of an overhaul."

"My apologies, but while I do admit that you have had trouble in the past, your life was never truly at risk. "Thanks so much Horologium, that was a close call." she says graciously."

"I guess timing is kind of his thing." Gray commented "So is there any particular reason why didn't you take Wendy's clothes with her?"

"Seeing as it was an emergency, I only had enough time to protect her physical body."

"Wait a second, just her body? You mean that she's inside there, but she's still…"

"Completely and utterly disrobed? Affirmative. She screams in embarrassment. Not to worry though, I will provide new clothing for her."

"We're just glad she's alright." Erza let out a sigh "Thank you for your help."

"You are welcome, but unfortunately, this is the only time that I will be capable of offering my protection. Please take extra care everyone, and good luck." and then he promptly disappeared, leaving Wendy to fall to the ground and rejoin the others.

"I think we'll be fine from here on out."

"So this is Makarov's Fairy Tail then is it?" Hades noted "Well if nothing else, all of you are certainly proving to be entertaining."

"Hold up a second." this was when Natsu stepped towards him "Are you trying to tell us that you actually know Gramps?"

"I have to say, I am surprised that he never told you about me. Have the records of my very existence been expunged from the library of the guild? I should've expected as much. Well then, if Makarov is Gramps then I suppose that would make me Great Grandfather. I was once the second master of Fairy Tail." and yet again, he left them frozen to their cores, with one angry exception. Give you one guess who.

"That's a filthy lie!"

"No, it's really not. My name back then was Precht Gaeblog, and it was I that appointed Makarov as the third master of the guild."

"You really expect us to believe that?! There's no way in hell the old man would have anything to do with someone like you!" Gajeel promptly charged towards Hades in a rage.

"Amaterasu Formula 2." Hades simply held out his hand, dark energy gathering in his fingertips, and he blew Natsu back a great distance, and then with a wave of his hand he bound both Lucy and Erza together using his magic chains, before promptly detonating them and sending the two of them flying back. Then he went on to see Natsu charging towards him and began firing a series of magic bullets at him, Gray and the others, causing all of them to cry out in pain, whereas he was laughing maniacally "Now do you understand your mistakes, how truly foolish you were to

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Meanwhile, in another part of the ship…

The lightning flashing overhead could be heard all throughout the ship.

"It's so loud!" and Lily wasn't enjoying any of it "Who in their right mind would build a ship with such horrible sound insolation?! It sounds like it's inside my head, make it stop!"

"You know it's a lot worse when you keep complaining about it nonstop!" Cana pointed out, her tone increasingly dry.

"Look at it this way, at least now we know that the lightning won't be able to hit us while we're inside the ship." Happy pointed out.

"That is true. Come on, let's check around this corner next, and Lily you'd better move your tiny feet or we're leaving you behind."

"Wait for me!" Lily quickly rushed after them.

"And there you go."

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On the damaged battleship of the Magic Council, Doranbolt was quick to inform Lahar about the situation with Zeref and Acnologia, the news causing both of them to shake in fear, and Lahar promptly ordered his crew to retreat, claiming that their investigation of Tenrou Island had come to an end. As the crew prepared to leave, Doranbolt could only gaze out at the island and give out a silent apology, believing that there was nothing more that could be done.

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Meanwhile, back with the torture fest…

Things had taken a turn for the worst with our heroes.

Hades looked down at the badly wounded forms of Natsu and the others, and then he started to get condescending "Tell me, do fairies possess tails? It's supposed to be considered an eternal mystery, as well as a never ending adventure. I believe that was how the name of the guild came to be in the first place. However, your adventure is going to come to an abrupt end as you're crushed under the heel of my boot." he made his way forward and started stomping down on the head of the one closest to him, Natsu in this case "The First Master of Fairy Tail, Mavis herself, had entrusted her will to me, and in turn I passed my will and mantle onto Makarov nearly 50 years ago. Looking back, it was one of my greatest mistakes. Makarov was responsible for changing the guild."

"What bullshit… are you going on about…?" Natsu glared up at Hades even as he spat out some blood.

"He was the one who brought magic out of the darkness and into the light."

"That's how… our Fairy Tail… does things… You got a problem… with that? We're not a bunch of… rotten to the core… heartless monsters like you… and the rest of your guild… We live with our lives on the line… every moment… of every day… So sit and brood in the darkness… like an Uchiha all you want… you don't have the guts… to change a single damn thing!"

"Such blatant disrespect to your betters, you'll pay for that boy." Hades promptly shot clear through Natsu's leg with a magic bullet, and then he fired a series of several more magic bullets, causing him to scream in pain "If your anger is going to be directed anywhere, then it should be towards Makarov. After all, if it wasn't for him then you wouldn't be about to be ripped away from this world in complete and utter agony."

"Get your fucking hands off of him! Iron Dragon ROAR!" Gajeel tried to hit Hades with a breath attack, only to be hit with a series of magic bullets himself, leaving him in a blood covered heap on the ground.

"That goes for all of you."

"Shut up…" Natsu slowly pulled himself back to his feet "I won't let you… get away… with hurting Gramps… or any of the others… I…"

"You will die, and you will do so in pain and agony, such is the fate of all of those who reside within the current tail. Now farewell." and so he fired one large magic bullet aimed at Natsu's skull, despite the screams of protests coming from the others.

'Lisanna… Happy… everyone… I'm sorry…' Natsu could only watch the magic bullet aimed at his face, until…

"RAGING BOLT!" a massive blast of lightning suddenly burst down in front of Hades, the force sending him tumbling backwards a great distance as a result.

"You came… Luke…"

"Not exactly." the lightning dissipated to reveal none other than Laxus standing before the group, his body crackling with electricity "Luke might be the real deal, but he's not the only Lightning Dragon Slayer around, or did you forget that? Speaking of which, is that old fossil up ahead the one who took out Gramps? That's pretty interesting."

"Who are you?" Hades pulled himself back to his feet and locked eyes with Laxus, and his one visible eye widened at the sight of him 'The boy? Or is it Yuri…' he was promptly met with a lightning-enhanced headbutt that sent him staggering backwards 'No, it's definitely the both of them in one.'

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Meanwhile, with Luke…

'Come on, just a little further…' with his Dragon Force continuously surging, Luke kept on building his magic power, about ⅓ of his dragon scales having changed color, going from deep gold to azure blue 'Just a little bit longer, a little more time and then I'll be ready to join the others in battle. I have to admit though, I am rather nervous. I didn't think I would end up having to use this before I was sure it was time, and I didn't think I would try it again until after the trials were over with. Since I am still struggling to make it work, at this point I probably only have about a ⅓ chance of it actually working, and if I do screw it up then it's gonna do a lot more than just drain my magic power, but I can't afford to cut corners. I'm doing I have to do, whatever desires for combat exist, I have to meet. As the power of my enemies continue to climb to new heights, I'll do the same by necessity. I have to see how far I can go, not just for my sake, but for the sake of the people I love so dearly. I'm forcing myself all the way to my peek, for the sake of those I've sworn to protect!'

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Meanwhile, on the Grimoire Heart airship…

The battle had taken a turn for the worst, until the group suddenly received some surprise reinforcements from an unexpected source.

Natsu looked up and gave a small smile, despite the immense pain he was feeling "Laxus… you came…"

"I can't remember the last time… I was this happy to see him…" Gray spat out some blood and earned a dry look from Natsu.

"You've never been happy to see him, and neither has anyone else in the guild except for Gramps and the Thunder Legion."

"My point still stands."

Hades pulled himself out of the rubble and locked his gaze on Laxus "I see, so you must be a blood relative of Makarov."

"I'm his grandson, and you're gonna die in a minute." but before that, Laxus spared a glance back at Natsu and the others, and he let out a scoff "How pathetic, you guys just look sprawled out like a bunch of tattered old rags."

"Yeah… no joke…" Natsu let out a pained chuckle "What the hell are you doing here anyway? I mean, you do know this is sacred ground right?"

"Yeah, but that didn't stop Grimoire Heart from showing up, or from one of them pulling the biggest "Fuck you" to Naruto in history." he's referring to Noah's use of Planetary Devastation from his battle with Luke "Anyway, aside from seeing that, I came to pay my respects to the grave of the First Master. Keep in mind that I used to be a member of Fairy Tail too. I was only planning to stop my Mavis' grave, but then I met Luke and he asked me to come and play the big bad superhero before he makes his grand entrance and saves the day. I have to say though, I never would've expected to run into the second master of Fairy Tail." he promptly levelled his glare on Hades as his lightning magic started surging "I've got a better idea though. Since the both of us are already here, why don't I go ahead and dig a grave for you too? I'll even put you in it myself."

"My my, what a shame." Hades noted as his own magic power started surging "To think that the likes of Makarov would be burdened by such a pretentious grandchild."

"You think I'm pretentious?" with a scoff, Laxus blitzed forward faster than most of the others could track.

In a flash, Hades ducked under a lightning-enhanced kick being aimed at his head, seeing Laxus looming above him, and then he launched a magic bullet from his fingertip.

"Lightning Dragon IRON FIST!" Laxus spun around Hades' attack and launched one of his own in the form of one of his fists coated with lightning magic, his fist colliding with Hades' own, the force of the shockwave that followed sending both of them skidding backwards as a result.

"Your arrogance astounds me boy!" Hades charged at Laxus and attempted to blast him a point blank range.

"Lightning Dragon SURGE!" before the attack could be launched, Laxus promptly blitzed through Hades and unleashed a surge of electricity from his hand as he did so, leaving Hades with a deep gash across the side of his face.

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At the sight of the battle between Laxus and Hades unfolding, Erza and the others could only watch in awe from their place on the ground "It's incredible, Laxus may have only grazed him so far, but his attack actually did some visible, considering none of us were even able to scratch him before, and that's if we were lucky enough to touch him."

"You've gotta be kidding me, he's incredible." Lucy muttered "I don't think I've ever seen anyone move as fast as that, aside from Luke that is. It's not just how fast he is either, it's a lot more than that. I can barely even sense him using his magic power at all."

"I can only imagine he's utilizing it in short bursts to maximize the effect that his attacks are having on Hades. His speed and attack power are on an entirely different level, so he must have been training harder than ever since the last time I saw him."

"What the hell is going on?" Gajeel muttered "I know I'm seeing it with my own eyes, but I find it kind of hard to believe that what he's doing is seriously even possible, using that kind of power and speed without the effects of Dragon Force. What the hell is this guy?"

"He's the master's grandson by blood, but he was expelled from the guild a year ago. It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later."

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The battle continued raging on.

"It would seem that Makarov's stubbornness has been passed onto you, since you clearly don't know when you're outmatched!" Hades blitzed towards Laxus and unleashed a series of magic chains from each hand.

"Lightning Dragon TWIN STREAM!" Laxus stretched out both of his arms and unleashed two simultaneous currents of electricity, ripping through Hades' chains with ease.

"Amaterasu 28!" with the creation of three seals, Hades attempted to attack Laxus using one of his Amaterasu spells, only to find a lightning-enhanced fist buried in his gut, sending him flying back, though he quickly rebounded 'With such precision and speed in his attacks, this one is definitely above the rest of them by a fair amount. I have to say that I'm impressed with the level of magic power you possess, not to mention your courage. I didn't think the boy had another pawn of the same caliber as Gildarts, or the other Lightning Dragon Slayer of your guild."

"You know that reminds me of something my grandpa used to say. He told me that whenever you face a tough enemy, it doesn't matter how strong they are. What actually matters is that you stand up to them. Anyone and everyone in Fairy Tail understands that unspoken rule, and they live by it too."

"Typical of something the boy would say, but it's utter nonsense regardless. That's nothing more than an excuse that a weakling would give. If you truly do believe that you're strong enough to face off against me, then let's see what you've got."

"Trust me old man, I intend to!" Laxus blitzed forward towards Hades, evading his numerous magic bullets while simultaneously trying to unleash several small yet numerous surges of his lightning magic, though they ended up cancelling each other out as a result, which led to the two of them exchanging physical attacks, taking their fight to mid air.

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Wendy and the rest were in awe at the sight of Laxus and Hades going at it "Woah, their power is so amazing! But which one of them do you think is winning?"

"To be honest, I think it's too early to tell." Erza told her "But with that being said, when we faced off against Hades, there was a massive gap in power between us and him, but Laxus was able to close it so clearly and easily, and that's not all either."

"What do you mean?" asked Gray.

"I mean as strong as he is right now, it seems that he's continuously improving, continuously adapting to Hades' attacks as the fight goes on. Every time Hades fends him off, Laxus responds with an attack that's that much faster, harder and sharper."

"So what, you mean he's getting stronger as he fights?"

"No, it's like I said, he's adapting to Hades' abilities, understanding them further and learning how to do a better job of fending him off."

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Meanwhile, in another part of the ship…

By this point, Cana and the Exceeds were still finding little progress in their search, and they were growing restless as a result "I hate to say it guys, but I don't think searching like this is going to get us anywhere."

"I agree, I think it would be best if we were to split up." Carla noted.

"But just in case we run into enemy forces, let's do teams of two."

"Perhaps that's for the best." Lily noted "Each of us searching on our own doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Yeah and we all know why, but- Wait why are you sweating? You're not scared are you?"

"Absolutely not! Let's split up!"

"And there we go."

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About 10 minutes later…

After a fruitless search, Cana and the Exceeds regrouped with each other "Well that could've gone a lot better, I didn't find anything aside from their theater room, and most of their guys binge watching Rising of the Shiled Hero."

"All I found was a door with a brick wall hidden behind it." Carla grumbled.

"Well either way, I guess we'll have to continue searching together as a group until we find something."

"Yeah sure, that's fine with me." Lily commented, despite hiding a broken off door handle behind his back.

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Meanwhile, with the main battle…

"Lightning Dragon ROAR!" Laxus let out a roar and a lightning-enhanced breath attack that hurtled towards Hades at full speed.

"Don't think that will be anywhere near enough!" Hades whipped out of the way of the blast and unleashed a magic chain, hooking it to the massive globe in the center of the room, hooking to it like a massive wrecking ball and swinging it around the room.

"For the record, for those of you who don't have the energy to walk right now, stop daydreaming and fucking duck already! Lightning Dragon SURGE!" Laxus blitzed towards Hades, held out his hand and unleashed a surge of electricity, only to be sent flying by Hades with a powerful shockwave 'Shit!'

"You should've heeded my warning brat." Hades formed a number of symbols with his hands, summoning a series of magic circles in his hand.

'Fuck you've gotta be kidding me, is that an Amaterasu formula?!'

"Now die brat! Amaterasu Fomula 100!" Hades held out his hand and activated the Amaterasu formula, engulfing Laxus in the powerful explosion that followed, as well as sending Natsu and the others flying from the sheer force "Those who are unfortunate enough to be hit by the Amaterasu formula end up losing all of the strength in their limbs and become immobilized as a result, and simply blocking it consumes so much magic power that one could consider it to be fatal."

"Yeah well hate to break it to you old man, but I'm not like the others!" sure enough, the smoke cleared to reveal Laxus unharmed, aside from his skin and cloak being somewhat singed, and he blitzed forward through a barrage of magic bullets and slammed his leg into Hades' gut, causing him to cough up blood and sending him tumbling backwards "I know about the Amaterasu formula and its effects, I spent some time training with one of the Wizard Saints, who just so happened to be a Dragon Slayer with multiple different elements. Plus that was only one kick, and I've got three other limbs and the power in the rest of my body, so if I combine all of that power into one strike, I think it's safe to say the Lightning Dragon Slayer that's actually part of Fairy Tail won't even get the chance to fight. You wanna test that theory of mine?"

"You do talk big, not that I can blame you for it. There is a certain air of confidence that comes with you, but it doesn't speak of your skills! You don't have what it takes to defeat me!" and on that note, Hades charged forward with a blast of dark energy in his hand.

"Why don't you just come and try me! Lightning Dragon IRON FIST!" Laxus burst forward and let a burst of lightning from his fist collide with Hades' blast, blowing clear through it and sending him flying as a result, and with a primal roar he rushed in to finish it, resulting in another powerful explosion.

"So then… your name is Laxus correct?" unfortunately, the smoke cleared and the dust settled to reveal that Hades had recovered enough to stop Laxus' attack with one hand "Most impressive I have to admit, you really are far beyond the others. But at the same time, I can see your limit plain as day, and you've reached it." he unleashed a blast of dark energy, sending Laxus tumbling backwards in a heap "Well well, look what we have here. I knew that you were full of a great deal of brovado, but to fall so soon."

'Dammit…' Laxus coughed up some blood 'I guess I didn't protect myself from that spell as well as I would've liked to believe…' then he let out a bitter chuckle "I've travelled all over this continent… almost everywhere actually… met all sorts of strong people… some of them old and some new… fought with them and against them… but this is the first time, that I've ever met such a monster… I guess I still have a long way to go…"

"What the fuck are you saying?!" Natsu pulled himself up onto his knees "Dammit Laxus, you have to pull yourself together!"

"I can't… not with this one…"

"So you noticed." Hades let out a chuckle "I have to say, I'm glad I could help you come to that realization, but unfortunately for you, this is the very end. Your power and your passion have expired, and you have nothing more to offer me in this battle. Now die!" he fired a massive blast of dark magic energy.

"Dammit…"

"Hurry Laxus, you have to get up!" Erza called out to him, her pleads being echoed by the rest of the group.

'I realize it, I know that I'm not a member of Fairy Tail, not anymore, because after what I did, the way that I've acted and the things I've done, I have no right to be part of the guild. But even so, this bastard was the one who took out my grandpa, so one would think that I would be allowed to take revenge on him for that.' he spared a quick glance back, and he couldn't help but smile 'But I think I'll leave it to you, the one that's actually part of Fairy Tail.'

"Now die!" Hades hurtled the dark energy blast forward, only for a bright light to engulf the scene, and for the blast to disappear, leaving everyone in stunned silence. Hades was the only exception, and he slowly looked back behind him.

As it turns out, a figure bathed in golden light was standing behind him, holding Hades' blast in the palm of his hand, but he crushed it just as easily "Laxus' power and passion may have reached their limit, but I've got plenty to spare. Observe." in a flash the figure suddenly blitzed towards Hades and dealt him a sharp kick to the neck, sending him hurtling backwards into a wall on the other side of the battlefield, while the light around the figure slowly began to dissipate from the scene "That's only a sample of what's to come, I'm going to make sure that you pay for everything you've done."

"So you finally did it… It's about time too…" Laxus let out a chuckle, then pulled himself back to his feet and turned to the others "You guys are seeing this for yourselves right? You'd better be seeing this, because he's finally done it. He's finally showing it off for the first time. I have to admit it's all pretty incredible, even by the standards of Dragon Slayers, he really is something else. Look at that amazing form, there can be no doubt about it. This is the true power, complete in all of its glory. This is… Dual Element Dragon Force."

Sure enough, the light subsided to reveal Luke Drako himself before them, his arms, legs and face covered in dragon scales, but rather than just the typical gold color, it was mixed in with blue among them as well "Hey guys, sorry I took so long to get here, but I had to make sure that I was ready for what's about to happen next. I'm proud of all of you for fighting so hard up until now, but leave the rest to me, I'll take care of it."

"You'll what? Luke that's insane, you can't seriously think that even you would be able to beat him alone!" Lucy's protests were cut off by a smile from Luke, not just one of confidence, but a gentle and calming smile.

"It's alright, you don't need to push yourselves any harder than you already have. I have all that's really necessary to bring this guy down once and for all. There isn't anything wrong with feeling fear. after all without fear how else would we come to know our own weaknesses? Those are something you need to know if you want to become a stronger and gentler person. Today we learned just how weak we really are. As for what we have to do next, well for all of you, you have to use this experience and let it make you stronger than before. As for me, I already know exactly what my weakness is. Without having something to fight for, without having someone that I have to protect, I wouldn't have the strength of will I need to keep moving forward. But I swore to protect all of you with every ounce of strength in my body, until my dying breath, and that's exactly what I intend to do. Your part in this battle is over, so now I'm going to take it from here. After all, a wise man once told me a long time ago that the wizards who are the most courageous are those exceptional few who know when to stand down. For all of you, that time has come. As for me, the time has come to show this bastard why the Fairy Tail guild is one you don't want to mess with."

"Luke…"

"It's okay guys, he's right." Natsu staggered back to his feet "Luke has everything he needs to beat this guy. When he tested me in the trial earlier, he helped me to realize that there's nothing wrong with being afraid, and that we have to know when to back off. After all, that's the only way we can come to know our own weaknesses. You need to know them in order to become a stronger and gentler person. Today was the day where all of us learned just how weak we really are, so no we're gonna do the only thing we can. We're gonna use this experience and learn from it, and we'll grow stronger as a result. Like Luke said, we've gotta let him take it from here, because he already learned that a long time ago, and he's been honing it every single day ever since. He still has courage because he pushes himself to the absolute limit, all for the sake of protecting us. Now we're going to follow his example, and learn from this. But first, we have to let him settle things."

"Natsu… thanks for that. You and Laxus, and all of the others get back to the ground. I'm going to settle things with Hades on my own. Gray, take them back to the ground with your Ice Make magic if you have any left."

"Right." so with his hands slammed together, Gray summoned a series of platforms made of ice that carried the others back down to the ground.

Once they were gone, Luke turned his attention back to where Hades was picking himself up off of the ground "Alright Hades, I'm your opponent now, which means that this is when the real fight starts."

"So it shall." Hades dusted himself off and wiped the blood from his face as he studied Luke's appearance for a moment "So this is it then, the power that made Noah take such an interest in you before. Judging by your appearance and your magic power, I can see that he was right to have his curiosity peaked, but this is more than I expected."

"Yeah I know, I really was able to pull it off after all, the power of Dragon Force intensified and amplified by my Lightning Sea King Dragon Mode. Good thing too, if I had screwed this up even a little bit, then my magic power would've run out of control and with this much of it, I would've screwed myself over worse than I ever have before, but it looks like I've got it in check. So this is what it feels like, the power of Dual Element Dragon Force. I shouldn't be surprised that even something like this is worth so much of a risk."

"Dragon Force combined with a Dual Element mode, both of which require an incredible amount of magic power on their own. You know you won't be able to maintain this for very long."

"I'm well aware of that, and truth be told this is the first time I've actually used it in any real combat, but with someone as strong as you I can't afford to take any chances. Like you said though, I can't maintain this for very long, so if it's all the same to you, I'd rather get this underway fast."

"If that means you intend to have your life end that much sooner, then I suppose it's only fair of me to oblige you."

"Then allow me to do the same." with a flash, Luke suddenly blitzed through Hades with his sword and left a sizeable cut on the side of his face, his sheer magic power alone destroying a large part of the wall in front of him 'Combining the power of Dragon Force with my Dual Element mode pushed me to new heights, it's almost more than I can bare. One things is for sure, if I'm going to finish this then I have to do it fast. Even if my body is ripped apart as the fight goes on, I have to keep going, for the sake of protecting all of them. I'll do whatever it takes to ensure that.'

"I hope you won't let this new power of yours go to your head!" Hades quickly charged forward and started attacking Luke with a rapid barrage of punches and kicks.

Using his enhanced speed and power, Luke dodged, blocked and weaved his way around every strike Hades was aiming at him, but eventually he stopped Hades from advancing with a sharp jab to the neck, and then he dealt him a single kick to the chest that sent him skidding backwards across the room.

"Amaterasu 28!" Hades stopped himself after Luke's attack and formed three magic circles in front of him, surrounding Luke with runes that prevented him from escaping "You can't escape from an Amaterasu formula!"

"Who said that I had to? Dragon Sword Style: STORM DOME!" Luke thrusted his sword into the ground a split second before the explosion engulfed him. When it subsided, it was revealed that he had shielded himself with an energy dome "You were saying?"

"So you defended yourself from one, but will you be able to continue with that? No matter, even then it won't be enough!" Hades promptly charged at him again at full speed.

Luke gladly met the charge himself as the two of them began trading even blows, though he quickly took the upper hand as he dealt Hades an uppercut kick to the jaw, followed by a slash across the chest with his sword and then another kick to the face.

Hades let out a growl as he unleashed a series of magic bullets in one hand, and used his magic chains in the other hand, combining them for a more effective assault.

Luke managed to dodge each strike from the magic chains with a series of backflips and blitzing around them, leaving them to do some serious damage to the airship, while he emerged from the blaze caused by the following explosion and charged forward towards Hades, rapidly dodging the series of magic bullets being fired in his direction, and he started unleashing a rapid series of punches, kicks and slashes from his sword.

Hades was able to dodge and block most of the strikes being aimed at him, despite taking a few blows and slashes here and there, and he eventually was able to force his way through the onslaught to Luek and tried to prepare another Amaterasu spell at point blank range.

Luke blitzed forward and stopped Hades from casting the spell by grabbing his hand and crushing it, then dealt him a quick slash across his shoulder and kick to the back "Now this one is for Makarov, for everyone in my guild you've hurt, and this is why you don't mess with Fairy Tail! Lightning Sea Kin Dragon… ROAR!" he let out a massive roar, and with it came a massive stream of lightning infused with water properties, engulfing Hades in an instant and bursting clear through the ship and across the island, leaving an absolutely unbelievable path of destruction in its wake.

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The destruction caused by Luke's attack could be seen all throughout the island.

Lucy and the others were able to witness it plain as day from where they were currently residing on the ground "Unbelievable, he's unleashing so much power."

"You shouldn't be surprised, keep in mind that he's a member of your guild after all, and he's also the guy who defeated a Wizard Saint." Laxus pointed out.

"I know that, but still… I've never seen anything like this before."

"I've seen it only once myself, so I don't blame you."

"It's not really new to any of us." Gray pointed out, gesturing between himself and Natsu "Keep in mind that we were there in the Tower of Heaven when he went to town of Jellal, so combine that with the power he used to defeat Jose…"

"And he's basically a Dues Ex Machina in the making. Dual Element modes are pretty complex when you try to understand them, but basically you consume a small amount of another kind of Dragon Slayer magic and add it to your arsenal, and with enough training you can learn to access that power at will."

"So what then, any of us could use that kind of power?" asked Gajeel.

"Yes and no, it only works when the element you consume has a certain level of compatibility with your own element. For example, Luke's secondary element is water, and that works well with his lightning, maybe with the kid's (Wendy's) wind magic, but not for something like the fire that Natsu uses. Either way, now Luke can use water magic infused with his lightning magic whenever he wants."

"No way, that's totally awesome!" Lucy lit up when she heard this.

"Yes and no, because it takes a lot of power to use and control. Combine that with the amount of power and strain that comes with using Dragon Force, and I'd say he's in for the toughest fight of his life."

"You've gotta be kidding me though." Natsu muttered "You saw that Roar he used, I've never sensed that much magic power in one place!"

"Which proves just how tough the second master of Fairy Tail really is. But if anyone can defeat him, it would be Luke."

"Yeah, you're right about that. Luke, don't you fucking dare die on all of us, not today or any other day.'

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Meanwhile, back on the airship…

By this point, Happy and the other Exceeds were crawling their way through the vents of the airship "Maybe this power source we heard about is super small, and maybe we were just missing it somewhere."

"Given the size of this ship, I would have to say that it's highly unlikely it's being powered by anything that small." Carla pointed out.

"Maybe, but Cana was right when she said that we can't afford to take any chances."

"I suppose."

"Is there any particular reason why we're crawling through the duct work?" asked Lily, his tone increasingly dry.

"Don't ask me, why don't you ask our fearless leader up there?"

"Fine then, Happy why are we crawling through the air ducts?"

"It's just a feeling I have." was all Happy said.

"You're going to feel my fist next!" and then they all stopped when Happy did, bumping into each other "You know it's only common courtesy before you stop out of nowhere like that."

"Lily…"

"Oh what now?"

"...Did you touch it?"

"Did I touch what?"

"Carla bumped into my butt, which means that you must have gotten a face full of her cushie tushie."

"And how is that my fault, don't forget that you're the one who stopped out of nowhere for no reason!"

"Oh yeah, so I'm entirely to blame for you not being able to stop yourself from copping a feel on her! Lily, prepare to die!"

"Would it kill you to quit acting like a child focus on the mission at hand, besides it's not even a big deal!"

"It might not be to you, but it is to me! I challenge to you to a fight to the death!"

"Would you two idiots knock it off already?!" Carla snapped them both back to reality "So what made you stop in the first place, did you see something?"

"Oh yeah I did, do either of you know what that thing is…?" he gestured down at the air vent below him, leaving him shaking to the core "It's alive…"

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Meanwhile, back with the main battle…

Following the explosion caused by the massive Roar, everything had settled down, if only for a moment.

Luke glanced ahead at seeing the form of Hades sprawled out, and he let out a chuckle "You see, that's why you don't… mess with Fairy Tail…" he stumbled slightly, but propped himself up with his sword and gritted his teeth 'Dammit, I wasn't expecting this. Not only does using both of these forms at the same time use a ton of magic power, but it also ends up causing me a metric fuckton of pain. I guess I'll just have to acclimate, I have to keep pushing myself forward without giving him any sort of openings. You can get up now, I already know that even a blast like that one wouldn't be anywhere near enough to take you down, not yet."

"So you noticed. You may have knocked me down, but I'm not out." sure enough, once the smoke finally cleared, Hades slowly pulled himself back to his feet and requipped into a new outfit to replace his old charred and ruined one, complete with an evil cape "I have to give credit to Makarov where credit is due, he's raised some truly remarkable children despite his clearly flawed philosophies, but you're clearly a cut above the rest. I can't remember the last time I was left tattered and torn after a good brawl."

'The way he's talking, it's like he has an ace up his sleeve too. I'd better be careful, who knows what kind of power he's going to bring out.'

"I do appreciate you and the rest of your comrades entertaining me up until now, but I do have to get back to work. I'll be obliterating everyone in your guild now, and I think it's only fitting that I start with you. Believe me when I tell you this, you'll wish I had done so sooner." he slowly removed the patch over his right eye "Devil's Eye, open." his right eye slowly opened, which revealed it to be glowing red as black energy started surrounding his body.

'His power is rising beyond anything I've ever felt before, like some kind of black abyss so deep you can't even see the bottom. What the hell kind of power is he unleashing?'

"You are now going to witness something you've never seen before, that being the abyss of sorcery. From here extends an endless realm that surpasses your feeble imagination. I am the harbinger of the last breath of the Fairy Tail guild."

'Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but there's no way in hell I'm going down without a fight.'

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Meanwhile, with the B team…

By this point, Cana had caught up with Exceeds and like them, she was marvelling at the sight before them in the form of a massive organic heart hooked up to a machine "So this is what you three found, you think this is it?"

"Well it doesn't exactly look like a power source, but all things considered, it does look a bit like a heart, at least on some level." Carla commented "It does seem to bear the appearance of the heart of this ship itself."

"I guess it's called Grimoire Heart for a reason. Alright stand back, I'm gonna prepare to use Fairy Glitter on this thing." she motioned for them to step back, when…

"Hold it right there intruder! And cats!" as it turns out, the door was left wide open, and so several of the remaining soldiers of Grimoire Heart had found Cana and the Exceeds.

"Dammit, I forgot about that."

"Stay where you are and we'll shoot you!"

"Don't you mean, or we'll shoot you?"

"We know what we said!"

"Don't worry, I'll keep them occupied for as long as I can." Lily quickly rushed out of the room and confronted the guards himself.

"How the hell did a cat get in here? You know what it doesn't matter, just stomp the damn thing already!"

"Stomp on this!" Lily threw the door handle he had been carrying at the soldiers, then started using it to fend off their swords.

"You flea ridden little shit, now you're asking for it!"

"Oh am I now?" Lily promptly morphed into his gigantic form and grabbed the massive sword out of the hand of one of their soldiers "How generous, I'll be taking this thank you."

"But that's my sword!"

"Not anymore it isn't." with a slash of the sword, Lily sent several soldiers flying, only to see the blade glowing 'This blade, it works quite well for me actually. I have to admit that this is very unexpected, I never thought I would find a sword with the ability to change in size, at least one outside of Edolas. I think I'll hold onto this, I could use a replacement for Bustermarm. I'll hold them off for as long as I can, the rest of you focus on destroying that heart!"

"Right!" Cana turned back to the Devil's Heart as she braced her right arm 'Judging by the power I'm sensing from this thing, I'm guessing Noah was right when he said I would need my Fairy Glitter spell in order to completely destroy it. The problem is I don't have as much magic power left as I did when I used it against Bluenote, so preparing it will take a lot longer than the last time I used it. Sorry Lily, but you're gonna have to hold them off for a lot longer than I had been expecting.'

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The battlefield had turned deathly quiet.

Luke had slowly dropped into a battle stance with his sword in hand, sweating considerably at the sight of Hades unleashing his full power 'The abyss of sorcery, the Devil's Eye, combined with the amount of power he had been using before, it's pretty unbelievable.'

"If one wishes to walk the path of sorcery, then one must first be prepared to sink into its abyss of eternal darkness." Hades told him "Within that darkness lies the Primordial magic, a magic that shines like the heavens themselves, the purest of magic power. You can feel it can't you? That power, the Primordial magic, it's so close it's almost palpable, and yet it's so far in the depths that it may as well be out of my reach. Within those depths is a lost world, a world known as the Grand Magic World, and Zeref is the key to reaching it. Tonight is the night, Zeref will finally awaken and history will forever be altered, and then at long last, the Primordial magic will at last find their rightful place with me!"

"You're a damn fool if you think I'm going to let that happen, and an even bigger fool if you think that I'm going to let him get away."

"You don't have a choice in the matter. You and the rest of your guild shall be ostricized, only the strong will be allowed to live, and you lack the resolve you need to reach into the abyss."

"That's where you're wrong. I don't need resolve to reach into the abyss, mainly because I have more than enough resolve not to."

"Such a naive fool, but what else should I expect from the teachings of Makarov."

"You taught him everything he knows, but you lost sight of that, so it's only right that as someone whose embraced Makarov's will, I remind you of what's truly important. Now come on old man, let's do this."

"So be it then, if you must learn the hard way, then I'll just have to teach it to you." and on that note, Hades suddenly burst forward with a massive increase in speed.

With his Dual Element Dragon Force surging, Luke met his charge full force, which resulted in the two of them trading even blows faster than the eye could see, and he was able to dodge, block and/ or counter most of Hades' attacks before catching one fist with his hand "I guess I should be flattered that you finally decided to get serious."

"What I've decided is to show you how pathetic and futile your efforts truly are!" Hades then struck Luke at point blank range with an explosive magic bullet, the force blowing Luke clear off his feet and sending him tumbling backwards through one of the nearby walls, and with a mighty roar he aimed a magic chain at him to finish him.

Luke was able to rebound and escape right before he could be pierced by the magic chain and rebounded on the side of the nearby wall he had blown through earlier.

Hades let out a roar as he fired a barrage of magic bullets from his fingertips, creating a series of powerful explosions that ripped through the entire airship.

'Dammit, I don't have the time to run and there's too many of them to dodge, so I guess I've only got one option: Counter it! Lightning Sea King Dragon Heavenward Trident!" with no other opinions, Luke summoned a massive trident made of lightning and water properties, and he detonated it, resulting in an explosion powerful enough to cancel out, only for his head to snap forward once the blast subsided 'Dammit, what the hell is he planning now?'

"Chapter 4, verse 12 from the Book of Zeref: Arcane magic NEMESIS!" with a wave of his hands, Hades summoned a number of dark creatures "With the magic power of the abyss at my command, I can create nightmare creatures from the tiniest speck of dust! The devilish dancers and heavenly arbiters, such is the supremacy of arcane magic!"

"Dragon Sword Style: Storming Blade Dance!" Luke drew his sword and blitzd through the creatures, cutting them down with a number of lightning and water-enhanced slashes from the blade of his sword "Under normal circumstances, a demon made of pure magic power is pretty lethal, but when you have a sword like mine that can cut through anything, including magic power, I think it's safe to say they're not much more than common foot soldiers."

"Perhaps, but that's not the only spell that comes from the Book of Zeref. The Amaterasu formulas actually originate from the book as well, at least some of the more powerful spells that is. Observe."

Luke glanced around and found himself surrounded by Amaterasu magic seals on every side of him, as well as above him 'Dammit, those Nemesis creatures were just a distraction, he was trying to lure me into this all along!'

"Now this farce of a battle has gone on long enough! Amaterasu Formula 120!" with a wave of his hands, Hades unleashed simultaneous blasts from each of the magic seals.

"Lightning Sea King Dragon CURRENT!" thinking quick, Luke stuck out both of his arms and unleashed two simultaneous currents of water and lightning, countering each of the blasts before they were able to hit him, but at the same time, it resulted in him being trapped in a struggle to maintain this.

"This battle has gone on long enough, I'm ending this here and now!" with a roar, Hades then poured more power into his spell, overpowering Luke's counterattack and allowing the formula to hit him from all sides, engulfing him in the massive explosion that followed, as well as sending him tumbling backwards across the room as a result.

It took a moment for him to recover, but Luke burst out from within the smoke and debris, and charged at Hades with his sword drawn, which resulted in him stabbing Hades through the chest while at the same time, he received a magic chain pierced through his shoulder, and another one pierced through his leg, which resulted in the two of them grappling in a power struggle.

"To think that you have the ability to continue fighting like this even after taking the full force of an Amaterasu formula, I suppose I underestimated you after all. But then again, I suppose that is another byproduct of Makarov's flawed teachings."

"Those were teachings that he learned from you, and if you think they're flawed then that's just proof to me that you're the one who's flawed!" the power struggle between the two of them ended in the air ship being damaged even further, but it ended when Luke once again thrusted his sword into Hades' gut.

Hades spat out some blood and dealt Luke a severe kick to the chest, sending him hurtling backwards a fair distance, and then he attempted to run him through with another one of his magic chains.

"Dragon Sword Style: STORM HELIX!" Luke thrusted his sword forward and unleashed two streams from the blade, one of them lightning and one of them water, both of them spiralling towards Hades and taking the form of a double helix. This attack was able to cancel out the magic chains, but they detonated too close to Luke, and he was sent tumbling backwards as a result.

Hades then blitzed behind Luke and hurtled forward another explosive magic bullet, sending him tumbling across the battlefield which he followed up on by hooking onto him with a magic chain and hurling him across the room, leaving him in a bloody heap as a result. Hades could only smirk at him despite the pain, and then he charged another explosive bullet "Such is the fate of all of those who stand in the way my reaching the Primordial magic."

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Meanwhile, on another level of the ship…

'Okay, that's enough power, so I think I can…' Cana finally finished charging up her magic power, only to freeze and look up "Don't tell me…"

"What's the matter?" asked Carla.

"I've got a bad feeling about something, like Luke is in trouble. That's his magic power up there clashing against Hades. Come on Luke, you have to get up! I know you can hear me up there, so don't ignore me! Every time that it's really mattered before, no matter how impossible the odds might have looked to you, you've always found a way to bounce back, and it's never mattered more to you or me, or to anyone than it does right now! I believe in you Luke, and so do the rest of them! You have what it takes to bring Hades down once and for all! You just have to plant your feet, grit your teeth, and get he hell up already Luke! GET THE HELL UP!"

"Cana…"

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Meanwhile, back on the main battlefield…

"You just have to plant your feet, grit your teeth, and get he hell up already Luke! GET THE HELL UP!" Cana's pleads to Luke echoed throughout the ship, mainly through

Even while he was only semi-conscous and lying on the ground in a bloody heap, Luke was able to hear her calling out to him 'Cana… she needs me… so do the rest of them… all of them… all of them are counting on me… to win this fight… I made a promise… to her… to all of them… and to myself… I will… I WILL PROTECT THEM!' gritting his teeth and gripping his sword life his life depended on it, and found Hades just calmly standing there waiting for him "Not yet… I'm not done with you just yet…"

"Yes, I can see that plain as day." Hades merely let out a sigh "And here I thought that you didn't have any strength left. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, Noah is part of my ranks, so I should have higher expectations for a Dragon Slayer."

"It's not because I'm a Dragon Slayer, at least not entirely. I have people that I've sworn to protect, and I'm going to stick by that vow for as long as I draw breath. Cana, Natsu, everyone in Fairy Tail guild, hell even Laxus, they're counting me to win this fight, to end the war against our guilds once and for all. On my vow to protect them, on the faith that all of them are putting in me, I can't and won't betray their trust and let them down, not after everything I've gone through to avoid that happening." his magic power surged even higher.

"Don't you understand? Whatever power you believe you possess means nothing before one willing to sink into the abyss, only then can you discover what power truly means."

"And that's the other reason I'm continuing with this fight, to prove to you that you're just dead wrong." the two of them charged towards each other once more, trading even blows of punches, kicks and the occasional blast of magic energy, though Luke was quick to gain the upper hand in their clash with renewed speed, strength and surprising levels of ferocity.

'This can't be, his power and speed have both increased considerably! He's even faster than he was before! No his can't be, I refuse to accept this! How are you doing this?!"

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet? I thought it would be obvious." Luke was able to catch both of Hades' fist and dealt him an uppercut kick to the jaw, and then he started dodging and countering every atack being thrown at him without any considerable amount of effort "The reason why I'm able to reach these heights, why I'm able to push myself as far as I can and do, is because unlike you and the majority of your guild, I don't fight for just myself. I fight for all of them, that's the main difference here. You should understand what I'm talking about. Behind every strike, slash or blast of lightning I unleash, there's an entire guild and community of people that I've grown up with, pushing me to grow stronger over a lifetime of one challenge after another that one couldn't even begin to fathom. Each one of them has been crucial, because they're my friends and my family, my allies and my rivals, inspiring me and pushing me to keep moving forward. I could be the most powerful being in existence, and I would never even dream of thinking that I had gotten as far as I did on my own. Being a part of Fairy Tail has had a big impact on that, and it's pushed a lot of the others forward too, and shaped them into the wizards, the people who all of us are today."

"SILENCE!" Hades suddenly blitzed forward and hit Luke in the side of his head with a magic bullet, sending him hurtling backwards across the battlefield, and then he followed up with a magic chain aimed at his head.

"Lightning Sea King Dragon… HEAVENWARD TRIDENT!" Luke quickly blitzed out of the path of the magic chain and hurled forward a large trident infused with lightning and water properties "A lot of us started out broken, lost and confused, all of us alone without any place to call our own, and some of us even started out as enemies, being hostile or misguided, but as time went on and we grew as wizards and as people, all of us began to gain respect and trust for each other, and we came to learn and understand a different way. Sure we fight and beat the crap out of each other, and we have our fair share of problems and incidents, but at the end of the day that doesn't matter, because we put all of it aside for the sake of protecting and cherishing what we now have. That's the main reason why we're more than just a guild, and we're more than just friends. We're a family. It's strange, but as time goes on, Fairy Tail has a unique way of drawing in more and more people.

"I SAID BE SILENT! Amaterasu 28!" Hades quickly formed three magic circles and tried to engulf Luke in the explosion that followed.

When the smoke cleared, Luke was revealed to have avoided the blast at the last second, and he blitzed forward "Dragon Sword Style: Storm Helix!" he released two simultaneous streams of water and lightning in the form of a double helix, leaving them to drill through Hades and leave a gaping wound in his shoulder

Hades quickly rebounded despite the wounds he was suffering from, and he fired a barrage of magic chains forward from his hands.

Luke blitzed through the barrage of magic chains and suddenly materialized a mere few inches away from Hades "Lightning Sea King Dragon… ROAR!" he let out a massive water and lightning-enhanced roar, engulfing Hades in an instant and blowing his way clear through the side of the ship, completely obliterating one of the wings, leaving the ship slightly lop-sided as a result "Now do you understand it Hades, or should I say Master Precht? This is the power that we share, one of unending optimism, conviction and compassion, a power that you one taught with a wise and gentle hand, but also one you lost sight of a long time ago, and now it's about to bring about your ultimate downfall.

With a burst of black and purple energy, Hades pulled himself out of the rubble, visibly and heavily wounded and with the vein his forehead throbbing from his rage "I've had enough of your preaching about your friendship, your trust, conviction, compassion, I'm sick of hearing of it! Putting faith in such things is nothing more than dependency, the excuse of a pathetic weakling who doesn't know what it means to be truly strong! I did once believe in such things, but I realized how much of an arrogant fool I was, and I traded those ideals for one that would lead me to ultimate power! Such foolish ideals are things that can be ripped away! LET ME SHOW YOU!" he summoned an absolutely massive explosive bullet, but not at Luke. No, he aimed it away from the ship… down at the island itself, and to be more specific, in the direction of the Fairy Tail base camp.

'He's aiming for… FUCK!' with a quick flash of teleportation magic, Luke blitzed into mid air just in time to use his sword to deflect the blast being aimed at the camp, leaving it to detonate harmlessly along the island's coastline, though it did still unleash a powerful shockwave. Once that was done, Luke blitzed back onto the battlefield in front of Hades, his teeth grinding fiercely to coincide with his unyielding rage "You… You've got a lot of nerve old man, pulling a stunt like that just to get your point across."

"The source of strength that you rely on is fleeting, it is only a matter of time before all of it turns to dust scattered away through the breeze."

"Which is exactly what happened to any and all patience I had for you and your preaching after that little stunt of yours." with his teeth grinding and his fists clenchec, Luke placed his sword back in its sheath on his back, and then his magic power started surging wildly "I don't care about becoming all powerful or being a savior or anything like that, but anyone who would try to hurt my guild, my friends, my family… Anyone who dares to cross that line… THEY'RE GOING TO PAY! LIGHTNING SEA KING DRAGON STORM FIST!" with his magic power exploding along with his rage, Luke surged forward with speed beyond anything he had ever shown before and slammed a lightning and water-enhanced fist directly into Hades' face, and then he followed up with a series of water and lightning-enhanced punches and kicks.

Hades was able to use his magic to block every kick but was still thrown to the ground, though he was able to quickly rebound and attempted to pierce Luke through the chest with another one of his magic chains.

Luke blitzed through the assault and thrusted his sword into Hades' gut, then dealt him a brutal uppercut kick to the jaw that sent him hurtling into the air.

Hades rebounded in mid air and promptly unleashed another series of magic chains that hurtled downwards.

Using small concentrated bursts of magic power, Luke promptly danced his way along the magic chains and pushed himself closer to his target with every passing second as he prepared to unleash another roar.

Hades tried to fire another series of magic bullets in mid air and at point blank range, which only resulted in the two of them clashing in mid air in a remarkable display, black and purple against blue and gold, their energies blending together in the form of a double helix, before they started blitzing out of the now pretty much wrecked ship and taking their clash to the skies above Tenrou Island, only for Hades to be met with a kick to the torso that sent him hurtling downwards towards the ground, but he stopped himself before he actually hit the ground.

Luke dropped down to meet Hades at eye level, taking less than a second to catch his breath 'Oh damn, I can tell that my Dual Element Dragon Force is starting to lose its hold, if I'm gonna end this then I'm gonna have to do it fast. Good thing I know what I'm fighting for, or else I would've lost this battle a good while ago.' he charged forward as he cupped his hands at his side, blue and gold magic energy charging in between his palms.

Now losing whatever composure he might have been retaining, Hades hurtled forward a magic chain from one hand and a series of magic bullets from the other hand, trying to rip Luke apart in his rage.

Luke powered through the barrage using his sheer magic power alone, and he wasted no time in blitzing towards Hades "And now for my ultimate attack, straight from the handbooks of both the lightning dragon Kaminari and God Serena of the Eight Dragons, and on behalf of everyone in the Fairy Tail guild! Advanced Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Indra's Wrath: STORM CANNON!" using all of the magic power he was able to muster, Luke fired forward a massive two-handed blast of gold and blue energy, engulfing Hades in it at point blank range, while he pushed the blast as far and as hard as he was able to.

Hades could only scream in utter pain and agony as he was sent hurtling towards the ground by the blast at a tremendous speed, leaving him to be engulfed in the absolutely massive explosion that followed, lighting up the skies around the island.

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Meanwhile, inside the airship…

'Okay, so that wasn't exactly fun.' having been blown clear off her feet by the battle ripping apart the ship, Cana pulled herself back to her feet and glanced out of the massive hole in the wall, just in time to see Luke blowing Hades clear out of the sky, and she couldn't help but let out a very small sigh of relief 'I always had faith in you Luke, and I always will. But for now, I'd better make sure that the old man stays down.' she rose her right arm "Assemble, oh river of light guided by fairies!" the mark on her arm started glowing golden, and then her entire body was engulfed in a golden light that shot up through the storm clouds above them "May your radiance shine and vanquish the fangs of wickedness!" she then summoned a golden halo overhead "FAIRY GLITTER!" with a wave of her arm, she guided it down towards the Devil's Heart in front of her, bathing it in a golden light…

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But for the time being, we have to backtrack by about a minute and a half…

With the battle appearing to be over, Luke slowly returned to the ground as he saw Hades lying in a crater in a bloody heap 'So he's down, now I have to make sure he stays that way.' he started slowly moving forward.

Hades looked up from his place in the crater and shot a glare at Luke, his Devil's Eye having long since shut "What's the matter, boy…? Why don't you go ahead… and just finish me off already…."

"As much power as you may possess, the fact remains that you were once the master of Fairy Tail, so now you have to admit that what I've been telling you this entire time is true. You understand it much better than you would like to believe, now don't you?"

"Don't waste your time or energy… trying to preach to me… This battle is over… now go ahead and finish me…"

"That's another thing you've lost sight of in your time in the darkness, morals. I'm not going to finish you, but I do want you to leave this island right now." Luke stepped forward, but that was all he could do before it happened. Not only did he cough up a fair amount of blood, but then an even larger amount of blood suddenly erupted from his back as he fell to the ground in a puddle of his own blood, and the very second he hit the ground as his Dual Element Dragon Force vanished from existence and black electricity started surging around his body, causing him to scream in utter pain and agony.

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Meanwhile, on the sidelines…

Lucy and the others could see what was happening to Luke from their place on the sidelines, and they could only look on in horror at the sight "Luke no! What's happening to him?!"

"Dammit, I was afraid of this." Laxus cursed under his breath "Dragon Force and his Dual Element mode took a hell of a lot of power on their own, but together they're almost unbearable for most people. He knew that he wasn't ready to use this but he didn't have a choice, it was either this or let everyone get slaughtered by Hades."

"But Luke had that battle won, it was completely over! We all saw it for ourselves!"

"It doesn't matter, the fact is that Luke is down for the count."

"Dammit…" Natsu was gritting his teeth furiously 'Dammit, I can't just sit here and do nothing while he's about to get slaughtered!' he felt a hand on his shoulder, courtesy of Laxus, and then he felt power flowing into him, his body suddenly surging with electricity.

"Call that a little gift from one Dragon Slayer to another. I know what you're thinking and you're right, we've gotta go in and back him up now. You lead the charge."

"Laxus, I… right." with his body surging both with flames and electricity, he stepped forward and looked back to face the group "No need to worry guys, because we've got everything we need to finish him right here and now. Like Luke taught me, there isn't anything wrong with feeling fear. After all, without fear how else would we come to know our own weaknesses? You need to know them in order to become a stronger and gentler person. Today all of us learned just how weak we truly are, so what do we do next? I'll tell you what we do next, we come together and grow a hell of a lot stronger. On our own we might be afraid to stand up to him, but right now we've got friends and comrades, people we trust by our side. I still have courage because all of you are here with me, and Luke's courage comes from knowing that we support him every step of the way. We have nothing to be afraid of, whatever comes our way we'll face it together with our heads held high. Now let's go, we're ending this."

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Luke was still lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, so weak he was barely able to lift his head, and his vision was growing blurry 'Dammit… I overexerted myself… I gave it everything I had… but in the end… it wasn't enough…'

Seeing Luke lying on the ground crippled, Hades slowly forced himself back to his feet and held out his hand, an explosive bullet "I have to say, Luke I believe your name was, you have proven yourself to be a true warrior, despite your constand holding onto the light when your future is shrouded in darkness. I do wish that our battle would have ended differently, it is a shame, but know that despite the fact that you will soon vanish from existence, this is one battle that I shall never forget for as long as I live. Now farewell." and he prepared to fire the blast.

'Dammit… so this is it… Cana… everyone… I'm sorry…' with his life flashing before his very eyes, Luke could only look up at the blast in front of him and await the inevitable, when…

"Lightning Flame Dragon ROAR!" a massive roar forced Hades to break off his attack and retreat backwards, courtesy of Natsu as he dropped down onto the scene, his body still radiating flames and electricity.

"An electrical charge along with his usual flames? Another dual element mode then?"

"You could say that, a gift from Laxus for the sake of me kicking your ass." Natsu then blitzed forward and started tearing into Hades with a barrage of fire and lightning enhanced attacks.

While that was going on, Erza and the others quickly rushed over to Luke and helped him back up to his feet "It's okay, you're going to be alright."

"If you say so…" Luke promptly spat out some blood "I thought that I… told you guys to get clear…"

"Yeah you did, and now I'm telling you to take that order and shove it." Laxus held out his arm and let some electricity surge, transferring it into Luke "You'll need the pick me up if you wanna be able to even move again."

"I figured, thanks for that."

"Amaterasu 28!" unfortunately, the comeback moment didn't last, as Hades was able to quickly catch Natsu in an Amaterasu 28, surrounding him with magic circles and engulfing him in the explosion that followed "Like the rest of your friends, you're going to fall here."

"Not on your life! Lightning Dragon Talon!" despite being greviously injured and having lost his Dual Element Dragon Force, Luke blitzed in front of Hades and dealt him a solid kick to the face, sending him stumbling backwards in disbelief.

"No that's impossible, I know for a fact that you had no power left!" Hades tried to fire off a series of magic bullets, only for them to be deflected with ease.

"Like I said, unlike you I fight for something other than myself."

"How can this be, my magic lies within-" then he froze as his right eye suddenly snapped open, no longer glowing red 'My heart, it couldn't have-'

"True power comes from the heart, something you clearly don't understand!" Luke drew his sword and dealt Hades a brutal slash across the chest, sending him flying backwards.

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Meanwhile, on the ruins of the airship…

'So it's done then.' Cana looked ahead at the Devil's Heart, or what was left of it after she had cast her Fairy Glitter spell, and she let out a sigh 'The supposed secret of Hades having so much power and longevity is the Devil's Heart, a secret… thing or something kept on the ship and hidden from everyone, so if Noah was right about this, and he has been so far, then that means that he'll lose all of his power and be totally helpless. I just hope I did it in time, I could sense that Luke's power just dropped like the ratings of Doctor Who.'

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Meanwhile, back with the climax…

'No it can't be, they found my heart?!' Hades' mind was racing even as he was taking a major beating 'Noah you wretch, so you did discover my heart after all! If that is true and he revealed that information to Fairy Tail, then that means they found it and destroyed it, and I'm going to lose all of my magic power!'

"Your power just dropped like the ratings of Doctor Who, which means that this battle is pretty much over." Luke was about to deliver one final blow, only to stop in his tracks at the sound of a massive rumbling, and when he looked to see what was the cause of it, his eyes immediately shot wide, along with the others "You've gotta be kidding me…"

"What's the matter?" asked Natsu.

"Take a look and see for yourself."

Natsu and the others did, and their eyes widened at the sight of the Tenrou Tree being restored to its original glory "Is that the Tenrou Tree? I don't get it, I thought that thing totally got ripped a new one."

"It did, so the question is, how the hell did this happen?"

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Now for the explanation behind the Tenrou Tree being restored…

As it turns out, the reason for the tree being restored was because Ultear was repairing it using her Arc of Time magic, her mind drifting as she did so "It's thanks to all of you that I've been given a new lease on life." she failed to notice Meldy watching her from a short distance away, with a dark look in her eyes.

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Now back at the plot…

Now that the Tenrou Tree was back, Luke and the others quickly noticed their guld marks glowing in their respective colors 'Okay, I wasn't expecting that. Now my magic power is back, even if that doesn't really do anything for the wounds. Come on you guys, we've got one last stand to make, so let's give him hell!" and with his sword drawn, he charged forward for their final stand, with everyone following his lead.

'No it can't be, this just can't be!' Hades could only watch as they charged towards him, his mind racing 'How is it that I, the all powerful Hades, could be defeated by Makarov and his wretched children?!'

"This is what you get for hurtling our master you bastard!" Natsu charged into the fray, only to be blown back by a blast of dark energy.

"Stay back, get away from me you cretins! Until I stand above all others who follow the path of sorcery, THE DEVIL WITHIN ME WILL NEVER SLEEP!"

"Yeah well, it's time for your lights to get snuffed out old man! Lightning Dragon Surge!" this was when Laxus suddenly blitzed in front of Hades and unleashed a surge of lightning magic that blew him clear off his feet "Now come on Fairy Tail! ATTACK HIM! FINISH THIS!"

"Trust me Laxus, that's the plan! Thunder Drive!" despite the searing pain currently coursing through his body, Luke activated his Thunder Drive once more and charged forward "This might be the last chance we have, so we've gotta make it count! Everyone charge at him with all the power you've got!"

"If you come any closer then I swear I'll make you feel my wrath!" Hades blasted Luke back a fair distance with a burst of dark energy.

Lucy was sent skidding back by the shockwave, but she wasn't deterred as she pulled out a certain Zodiac key "I know we don't have a contract yet, but I don't really have a lot of options right now. Open, Gate of the Sea Goat: Capricorn!" she opened the gate.

From that gate emerged Capricorn, clad in a new suit as he bowed to Lucy "I've come here at your service my lady, do you require assistance?"

"Take him down with everything you've got!"

"Right." and so he charged into the fray at full speed.

"How dare you betray me you-" was all Hades could get out before he found himself on the receiving end of a brutal beatdown by Capricorn.

"I have since rid myself of Sir Zoldeo, and now I am a Celestial Spirit dedicated to serving and protecting Lady Lucy, I am Capricorn!"

"I want to get a hit in too! Sky Dragon Wing Attack!" Wendy pounced on Hades with a series of whirlwinds from each hand, ripping through him.

"Iron Dragon TWIN SWORDS!" Gajeel went next and ripped through hades with two swords made of iron.

"Ice Make: ICE BRINGER!" Gray then ripped through Hades with two large broadswords made of ice.

"Requip! Heaven's Wheel: PENTAGRAM SWORD!" with a flash, Erza requipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor and slashed through Hades using two swords, ripping through him in the shape of a pentagram.

"Lightning Flame Dragon FIRING HAMMER!" Natsu went next and lunged at Hades with both flames and electricity wrapped around his arm, blowing Hades back a great distance.

Hades eventually managed to stop himself, though he had severe burns across his body 'Dammit, how can this be happening to me?! I am the all powerful Hades, the master of Grimoire Heart, I can't fall to these brats!'

"Change Mode: Lightning Sea King Dragon!" Luke's golden aura became mixed with a blue color as he surged forward as fast as he was able to, which wasn't that fast given his current condition, his left arm surging with magic power "Alright now come on Hades, let's end this once and for all!"

"I intend to boy!" Hades slammed his hands together and began summoning whatever magic power he was still able to muster "Grimoire-"

"Advanced Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"

'Dammit, I'm not going to make it!'

"Indra's Wrath: STORMING THUNDER!" Luke thrusted forward his left arm and unleashed a powerful blast of magic energy infused with water and lightning properties, slamming the blast straight into Hades' chest.

Hades could only scream in agony as he was sent flying by the blast and tumbling backwards in a heap, and just as he hit the ground the sun began rising over Tenrou Island.

At long last, the war with Grimoire Heart had finally come to an end, and Fairy Tail had emerged victorious.

A/N:

And with this chapter, we finally reach the climax of the Tenrou Island arc, with the inevitable showdown with Hades finally starting, along with the return of Laxus to the series after his last appearance (Omake III for those of you wondering), and after all of that we finally get to the real meat of not just this battle or this chapter, but the entire arc: Luke vs Hades! The battle is fierce and brutal, but in the end, by combining their powers for the sake of a common goal, Luke and the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards, along with Laxus managed to finally bring Hades and the rest of Grimoire Heart down once and for all.

I decided to include both Gajeel and Cana in the showdown with Hades, the latter working more behind the scenes in this case, because they're two of my favorite characters, and I think both of them need more spotlight. Besides, I always did find it rather odd that the Exceeds were able to destroy the Devil's Heart on their own, and pretty annoying we never even saw how they did it. So to fix that, I had Cana tag along with them and destroy the Devil's Heart using her Fairy Glitter spell, and she did so just in time to save Luke from being killed by Hades using Grimoire Law on him.

So yes, Luke's last resort that he used to take on Hades, a weapon more powerful than even Dragon Force, is revealed to be Dual Element Dragon Force, which combines his Dragon Force with his Lightning Sea King Dragon mode. Of course it's not without its price though, and that's what happens to Luke close to the end of the battle against Hades. Keep in mind that after using Dragon Force in his battle with Jose, he was badly hurt and couldn't even walk on his own, so of course with an even greater multiplier, it would be much worse. But at the same time, it does give me a reason to give Natsu his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode. I couldn't go without giving him that, now could I? Besides, it also leads to that epic scene of him and the others ganging up on Hades, the only differences being that Gajeel is included in the final assault, and Luke is the one who deals the final blow and ends the battle.