Chapter 102
Angry Skies
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Magic"
Flashback
Location / Date / Time Skip
Natsu stared at the Black Wizard in shock and fear, ready to attack if need be. "This guild was formed by the demons I created." Zeref explained. "I didn't create the guild itself. That was done by Master End."
"End." Natsu repeated. "The guy Igneel wanted to kill."
"To be precise, the one he could not kill." Zeref continued.
"Then I'll defeat him!" The pinkette shouted, charging in with the sword. "I'll inherit my father's will!" He swung the Heat Blade at the Black Wizard, only for the blade to completely dissolve to the hilt.
"You can do it." Zeref replied, the hilt smoking. "However, remember one thing. Igneel couldn't kill him. End, the strongest demon I ever created. You will have to make your choice too, eventually. Let him live or kill him. You'll be the one to choose." Natsu stared at him as Zeref started to flux out of view.
"I'm leaving now. Tartaros is doing this all to meet me, if I suddenly come out on my own, it will be a kill-joy. Only you or End will be able to get me. Let us meet again." The Black Wizard faded away and time returned to normal, letting the guards hit the ground.
Natsu stood there alone, confused as humanly possible. "What the hell is he?"
Outside the Cube
The guild cheered at Erza's apparent self rescue before the gravity brought her down. "What's going on?"
"There's no time to explain." Gray replied. "We'll go inside using the hole opened by Erza. Where are the others?"
"Natsu and Lisanna are fine!" She answered. "We only have to find Mira and Elfman."
"I'm okay. I'll save Mira at all costs!" The man replied before he joined the guild jumping down the entrance. Erza was grabbed by Kyouka's claws and pulled her back into the fight.
"Forget about me!" She shouted at Lucy. "Face's seal was broken! We must find a way to stop it!" Lucy nodded and joined the others as Erza was slammed into the rocks. "I still haven't thanked you enough."
"I'm starting to like you." Kyouka chuckled.
Laboratory
"Mira!" Lisanna shouted as she walked through the many tubes. Rounding a corner, the two women smiled and raced over for a hugged. "Thank god!"
"Why are you here?" Mirajane asked. "And why are you using Animal Soul?"
"I didn't have any clothes." She answered. "I, Erza, Nicholas, Natsu and Elfman were captured." Her explanation shocked her older sister. "Natsu and Erza are fine. Only Elfman is left."
"We didn't capture him." The sisters turned to see Sayla walking over, anger in her eyes.
"Be careful!" Lisanna warned. "She's able to control people! That's how she got me and Elfman"
"Lisanna, stay back." Mirajane said, pushing her sister behind her.
"I ordered the man called Elfman to blow up your guilld." The demon explained, shocking the two. "And he did a splendid job destroying it. However, he couldn't kill anyone… That was my mistake." The sisters smiled as Sayla ground her teeth. "I embarrassed myself in front if Lady Kyouka because of him. My story is crumbling down. You, the older sister, will pay for this."
"You did that to my siblings?" Mirajane growled out, her magic power flowing off her.
With Wendy and Lucy
"What's this room?" The blonde asked as the four entered the Super Archive room.
"It's full of floating letters." Happy said.
"It looks like a giant world map." Wendy looked up at the globe.
'They already got here?' Franmalth asked from behind a corner. 'How lame are those guards?'
"Look at this." Lucy said from the controls. "Like Erza said, Face's seal was broken."
"Can't we seal it again using this magic square?" Happy asked.
"Wait, it says that if someone doesn't operate it manually, it won't start up." Lucy read. "Hold on, it's already working!?"
'Nice work, Ezel.' The cyclops chuckled.
"This…" Wendy mumbled in fear as she stared at a timer counting down. "41 minutes left until Face's activated."
A clanging noise caught their attention and they turned to see Keyes walking up to them. "Is the obscure prayer of the maiden the ring of a bell resounding in hell. The shining demon gleam is the breath of Lucifer will restore the land. Fairy Maidens who fell into Hades. Turn to corpses and roam in purgatory."
"A-a-a a skeleton…" Lucy mumbled in a panic.
"It must be a mask…" Wendy whispered.
Lucy glanced back at the timer, finding a minute had already passed. "There's no time. We need to get out of here and fast." The blonde declared as she reached around for her keys.
"Stopping Face is all that matters." Carla added. "If we don't, they're will be chaos."
"Hate to burst your bubble, but it's too late." Franmalth teased, suddenly behind Keyes.
"I got this!" Lucy pulled out two good keys and summoned Aries and Taurus, shocking the demons. Aries shot a mass of pink wool out of her hand and trapped the demons before Taurus started spinning in a circle. The wool followed the momentum and dragged the demons along for the 'ride' as Happy and Carla picked up the girls and flew out of the room.
"We need to get to Poison Jelly Valley as fast as possible!" Carla declared.
"Taurus, Aries! Cover us while we make a break for it!" Lucy requested before the pairs left. Zooming down the hall, the four were shocked when Keyes suddenly appeared in front of them. "How? Didn't we just leave him in that room?"
"Maybe he went through a secret passage?" Wendy suggested.
Keyes began a chant only for Gray appear from behind and punch him into a black powder. "Perfect timing." Lucy cheered before the two zoomed past him. "Sorry, we're in a hurry."
"What in the!?" The ice wizard started to ask before the skeleton demon reformed behind him.
"You're… Silver's…" Keyes whispered, confusing Gray.
The two girls flew towards a large open window when a wall of pink wool suddenly crept around a corner. "You're not going anywhere, ladies!" Franmalth declared, suddenly coming out of the corner, looking like Aries. He swatted his arm and unleashed a wool wall of his own, trapping Lucy and Happy.
"We'll be fine, Wendy! Get going!" Lucy shouted from with in the wool. "We need you to stop Face!"
"Right!" Carla turned and flew out the window, carrying Wendy.
"Leaving so soon?!" Franmalth shot a wool arm at the girl, only for fire to burn the arm away.
He turned to see Natsu standing in front of the wool trapped Lucy, clad in a black and gold outfit. "Back off, eyeball. You're dealing with me!" He growled before looking out the window. "Why is Wendy in such a hurry? In fact, why are you guys here?"
"Face is already counting down, and we can only stop it on site!" Lucy explained. "We have to trust Face to Wendy. We gotta find Mira first. And Laki is really worried about you too."
Franmath roared in anger before he started glowing. The light died and he was changed into version of Taurus, shocking the trio. "Die absorbed Taurus and Aries?" Lucy asked in shock.
"I can use the souls of the things I absorb." Franmalth chuckled. "I wonder how much you punks are gonna be worth."
"You will release Taurus and Aries." Lucy demanded.
"In your dreams, pig tails. They're part of my collection now." The demon joked back.
"I'll kick your ass until you spit them out!" Natsu declared before charging forward, his fist on fire.
Franmalth chucked before his face shifted and turned into Aries, shocking Natsu enough to land a hit in. "I bet your soul is top notch!" He reached out to absorb Natsu into him, but the Dragon Slayer rolled to the side and stood up. Taurus had appeared on the body before Natsu suddenly punched him.
"I can hit you!" He declared as the demon flew backwards, crashing into a brick wall.
"How cruel…" Lucy mumbled.
"I understand where he's coming from but still." Happy agreed.
"You damn brat…" Franmalth growled as he stood up, rubble falling off him. "I'll show you one of my top class souls!" Glowing with power, the demon transformed into a horrifying face.
"It can't be… why does he have that soul?" Happy mumbled in fear. The smoke from the transformation settled and revealed the visage of Master Hades, scaring Lucy and the cat.
Natsu, not so much. "You don't even have the body right!"
"Shut up and die!" Franmalth shouted before unleashing a chain spell. Natsu ducked and charged in, hitting a punch that shattered the wall behind the demon. Franmalth jumped back and clothesline the Dragon Slayer back, sending him crashing down the hall. "The body may not look like much, but it doesn't quit!"
Natsu raced back in, only for a chain spell to launch at him. He moved and avoided the spell before getting grabbed by the ankle and shoulder. "Soon, I'll be putting your soul in the bank!"
The pinkette spun and broke the arms off, lightning arching off him. "Lightning Flame Dragon Roar!" Sliding back, the spell shout out of his mouth and blasted Fanmalth, cooking and shocking him at the same time.
"Nice try, but that won't work!" The demon chuckled before the spell spiraled into his hand before his whole body was coated in flames and lightning on his own accord. "You might be the one who beat Jackal, but it won't save you against the likes of us! We have a lust for human pain, and the full power of an army behind us.
With your puny magic, you can't possibly win against our curses. In ten minutes from now, Face will activate, and all wizards on this continent will lose their magic. Do you understand? The era of wizards is about to end!"
"If everyone here were to lose their magic in the middle of this fight…" Lucy mumbled in fear as she looked out a window. "Wendy, please…"
"It' be okay! Carla is with her too." Happy declared. "Carla is really smart. She can help come up with a plan."
Hell's Core
"You have no chance against my Macro curse." Sayla declared. "It can force any human being to do exactly as I command."
"That's how you able to get Elfman to destroy our guild." Mirajane growled out, her body glowing in a purple aura. "Listen, demon. You hurt my siblings, that means you have to answer to me. And I'm not as nice as I seem." Transforming into her Satan Soul, she charged at Sayla, who opened arms and summoned a swarm of books.
Pointing forward, the tomes peppered Mira before she managed to in a kick. Sayla blocked a punch before more books flew in from behind, hitting her in the head. "I will not lose…" Mira growled out.
With Erza
Erza swung her twin swords at Kyouka, who slashed back with her claws. "I'll ask again, what is your guild trying to accomplish!?"
"We live to serve the great being who created us." Kyouka replied, pushing against the blades. "There is but one path before us; the destruction of your world!"
"Don't think it'll go according to your plan." Erza declared.
"My plans should be the last thing you should be worrying about." The demon chuckled, slashing her claws.
With Wendy & Carla
"We have to hurry, Carla!" The girl shouted as they flew over the land. "We can't afford to mess this up. The stakes are bigger than us; the whole continent is at risk. No matter what happens, we have to find a way."
"I agree, but I have no idea what we should try!" Carla replied.
"Neither do I." Wendy confessed. "We'll just have to improvise. I know that's what Natsu would do. Failure is not an option." The two zoomed forward even faster before finally reaching the cave. Dropping down, Carla's wings faded away and hung onto Wendy's back. "A tunnel? It could lead to Face."
The two walked through the stone path, unaware of the tentacled creature above them. "How are we supposed to find something if we have no idea what it looks like or how big it is?" Wendy asked.
"Stay calm! We must concentrate and sense the magic." Carla reminded her.
"The air is good here…" Wendy mumbled, talking a sniff of the air.
"Low temperature, and high humidity." Carla explained as a bug crawled on Wendy, scaring her. "Bugs gather in high humidity."
"This won't be enough to satiate me." A voice said from above, scaring her even more. Wendy turned around and looked up to see the tentacled monster jump down from the ceiling, forcing her jump back. "Why did you give me this lame job!?"
"Tartaros!?" Wendy asked in horror. Ezel jumped forward and tried to smash her again. "What can we do!? We don't have time to fight him."
"We should run. It's not an opponent we can beat alone!" Carla warned, even as the demon kept charging.
"We won't make it! We're gonna have to fight!" Wendy placed her friend down and started enchanting herself. "Increase resistance to all types, Deus Corona! Increase physical abilities, Deus Eques! Iluarms, Iluarmer, Ilvarnia!"
"So you're an enchanter, huh!?" Ezel chuckled as Wendy pulled her head back.
"Sky Dragon Roar!" A massive tornado shot out of her mouth, blasting him in the face.
With a roar, he pushed through the storm and snarled in her face. "Can I go all out against this midget!?"
"Sky Dragon Talon!" Wendy punted him in the face, only for him to smirk.
"Tenga Goken: Onimaru!" The demon crossed its four arms before swinging them in an x, carving into the stone behind Wendy as she dodged. A tendril whacked her in the gut and sent her flying back in pain. She bounced along the ground through the cave before Ezel landed on her, crushing her with his mass. "Look."
Wendy turned her head and stared up at a giant white pillar topped with a face motif. "This is Face. In five minutes, it'll be activated. If you get close, you can feel the high concentration of Ethernano. It really stinks. But those particles will destroy all magic on this continent, and our curses will rule the world. But you won't live to see it."
He pushed down on his 'leg', starting to crush the girl. "Let go of Wendy!" Carla suddenly jumped up and tried to claw his eye out.
"Carla…" Wendy mumbled, blood coming from her head and mouth. "Run away…"
"What the hell is this cat?" Ezel asked, plucking the white Exceed off his face. "Can I eat it?"
"Carla!" Wendy shouted in horror.
"Air…" Carla mumbled, making the girl go wide eyed. With one heavy breath, Wendy started 'eating' the air. An explosion blasted the demon off her, making carla smile as she landed on the ground. 'She used to be so timid and weak…' The cat thought as she watched a wild mane of pink hair flow off her head and feathers began growing out of her body.
'Now, I have the Dragon Force!' Wendy thought as she glared at Ezel.
And DAMN! Never saw this coming. That transformation was amazing and got me hyped for what was next. Do I wish we could have seen more of it? Hell yeah. But I'll take what I can get. Not much left to add, so I'll see you next time.
Beta read by General Feng Xiang