Sorry for the wait between chapters, guys. Last week or so has been a bit hectic. So apologies.
Also given recent manga developments, please remember: Can't change shit.
Enjoy!
"So Gin, where're you from?" Gin looked up in confusion as this to see the others looking back at him as they walked along the beaten path.
"Pardon?" He asked. Nashi smiled.
"I asked where you're from." She said. her voice was soft and patient, one Gin was still unaccustomed to being addressed with.
"No where special." he said, looking away from her. "Some place east."
"Did you like it there?" Ultear asked. Gin looked down at his feet.
"Get out of here, you fucking monster! Stay away! GO!"
"...Yeah." Gin said, closing his eyes to forget the memory. "It was nice there. Until the incident, that is."
'Incident?" Damien asked. There was silence at this. "Seems like a lot of us get into shit like that."
"Seems so." Elise said. "Has Bella, ever? I don't think so, otherwise we'd have known what she was."
"Yeah." Damien agreed. "Although that might have to do with the fact that Meridia is a little eccentric."
"...This Bella girl you keep mentioning." Gin said, "You say she is a Demon Lord as well?"
"Yeah, she is." Simon said. "She's in Blue Pegasus."
"I see." Gin replied. "And this Meridia is her Lord, I assume."
"Yeah, she's the Succubus." Steph said, before smirking and elbowing her brother. "Right bro?"
"You shut your damn mouth." Damien said. "The last thing I want right now is to hear about that."
"What?" Steph asked. "I just figured you'd want to inform Gin your girlfriend has-!" Damien clamped a hand over Steph's mouth at this.
"What did you just call her?" Damien growled, making Steph snort under his grasp.
"Girlfriend?" Gin inquired. "I see, you two are involved romantically. Congratulations."
"No the hell we aren't." Damien said, making an angry face. "We're just friends. She just has a habit of clinging to me like we are an item. It's tiring." This made the others chuckle.
"Yeah, I don't know how you do it, man." Drake said sarcastically. "A drop dead gorgeous girl hanging off of you all the time must be a real drag."
"You poor, poor man." Simon agreed, snorting. This just made Damien hang his head in defeat. Gin found travelling with these people to be quite interesting. Like many other people Gin ran into during his lifelong trek, they seemed laid back and easy going. Although he had not been with them long, he sensed a very deep bond between the seven, one that he somehow didn't feel alienated by. In fact, their behavior made him feel...Strange. Almost warm on the inside.
"How much longer until we get home?" Drake asked. "We've been walking since dawn."
"It's still a while, Drake. You know that." Ultear replied. "The job was far away."
"Yeah, but..."
"Are you all employed to do something?" Gin asked, not sure why he felt so curious of them. Nashi nodded.
"Yeah, we're in a wizard guild. It's called Fairy Tail." She said. Ah, that made sense. These people knew magic. That was probably why they'd thrust themselves into this situation. Because they thought they'd be able to handle it. Gin hoped they were right. No more blood needed to be split over him.
"Can you sense it, Gin?" Gin's stomach dropped. Not again. He turned to see Mortavius walking alongside him. "Can you smell it?"
"What do you mean?" He murmured. Mortavius smirked and looked at Gin.
"The bloodshed." he whispered. "It's not far off now, I wager."
"What bloodshed?" Gin asked, before his eyes widened... "Do you mean...?" Mortavius laughed.
"Yes I do. The Demon Hunters are on their way. And guessing from the fact that a demon magnet is standing five feet from us, I don't think they'll have much trouble finding us." Gin looked forward, to where Damien stood.
Of course. Now he knew what was going on.
"...Guys." Gin said, coming to a stop. The others kept walking, perhaps because he's asked for their attention so quietly. "Guys!" he said, making them stop and look back. "They're coming, I know they are. They might even be close."
"We know." Nashi replied.
...Huh?
"What was it Xisplate said, Damien?" Simon asked. "Midday?"
"Uh huh." Damien agreed. "So we're not far off."
"Interesting." Drake said.
"W-Wait a moment." Gin said. "You know they're coming?" Damien shrugged.
"Yeah, I've known since last night. I told the others this morning as we left."
"Why was I not informed?" He asked weakly.
"Would you have bolted off on your own to defend us from them?" Ultear asked. Gin fell silent at this. "That's what I thought. Sorry Gin, but we're here now. No turning back."
"...I just don't get this." He said. "Why are you all so kind and selfless? It's so confusing..."
"Don't get all confused now." Elise said. "We might need you for the fight. Could get heated."
"It'd probably be better if Gin and I stay out of it." Damien said. "We take too many hits and we're gonna get fried inside out." At these words, Gin raised a hand to his chest, where he'd been hit by the Hunters a few days before. It still burned a little from what he could feel. Damien had a very good point. Take too many hits and Gin wasn't sure he'd be able to walk anymore.
"We'll be okay." Drake said. "Huh. This feels like our first fight against a group ganged up on us instead of one on one like usual."
"Jeez, yeah." Elise said. "Last time we had that must have been, what, The Enchanted Blades?"
"Something like that." Ultear said, voice a little darker than before. Perhaps that moment wasn't a good memory for her. Regardless, Gin still didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't like fighting, or killing. He never did.
Which only made Mortavius' behavior all the worse. And as such, every time he hijacked control Gin felt worse and worse. He only hoped there was no such incident this ti-
A high pitched ringing cut off his thoughts. Covering his ears and looking around, Gin soon found out what the problem was.
A white magic circle was around his feet, and it was glowing brightly. It soon dispersed, following a trail down the path away from them and back the way they came.
"What the hell was that?" Nashi asked.
"...Oh no." Gin said, recalling a few days before. "That was a tracking circle. They found me."
"Or the site of the massacre of those three morons." Mortavius guessed, laughing.
"Huh." Drake said. "Feels earlier than midday, honestly."
"They're efficient." Steph said. "I wonder if that prick that attacked you is coming, Onii-chan."
"Who knows." Damien said. "That'd be nice. Even the score a little."
"Weren't you staying out of this?" Simon asked. Damien shrugged and cracked his knuckles.
"If he's coming, I'll come out and play." And again, the laid back attitude the group displayed despite a battle coming to the forefront was off putting.
But Gin could not deny that, now that the fight was soon, he felt the group was very capable.
They had not made it very far after the tracking circle found them before Drake paused. Nashi stopped to look at him, and she noted he looked concentrated.
"There's a few guys over the hill that way, maybe a mile away or so." He said, pointing off to the side. Nashi looked over at the hill and saw nothing, but that didn't surprise her. Drake couldn't have been wrong. "It looks to be a scouting party for the main force."
"You hear any main force?" Drake paused once more.
"Nah, they must not be in range yet." He said.
"What even is your range?" Ultear asked.
"How do you know they're there?' Gin asked. Drake tapped his ear at him and smirked.
"I can hear it." Drake replied. Gin obviously had no idea what that meant judging by his expression, but Drake ignored this. "From the sounds of it these guys don't know Gin ain't alone, so I'd play that to our advantage."
"How so?" Simon asked. "Drake looked at him.
"We make sure these guys don't let anyone know." He said. Well, that was certainly a way. "I've got a plan. They're coming from our right, so Gin, I want you to keep walking without us. Make it look believable." He then looked to Nashi and the others. "We're going to hang back and try to remain undetected to catch these guys when they don't have a clue. Sound good?"
"Sounds like a solid plan to me." Ultear said. "Anyone got a problem?" No one spoke up. "Alright, lets'd do this."
"No running off now, Gin." Simon said with a smile. "Can't go losing you now." Gin didn't say anything in response to this, but he seemed to be going along with the plan given he started to walk down the path away from them. Once he was a fair distance away, Nashi and the others moved off the road decided to lay in wait. They didn't have to wait long before a group of three men dressed in black cloaks walked right where they had been a moment before.
"Well, their outfit makes in easy to tell they're who we think they are." Damien murmured.
"Sure does." Drake agreed, raising a hand. Nashi watched as poison coated his hand, but soon the color changed from dark red to green. Drake lobbed the ball of poison in the direction of the Hunters, and it exploded over them, making them freeze in place. After this, Drake got up from their hiding place and walked towards them, gaining the attention of his victims.
"Who the hell are you?" One of them asked.
"Nobody." He answered.
"Probably bandits." Another one of them said.
"Wrong, but it isn't important." Drake said, pocketing his hands as Nashi and the others reached him. "Now, care to tell me what you guys are doing following our friend?"
"Friend?" One asked. "What friend?"
"Don't evade me." Drake said. "You know what I'm talking about so spit it out. What're you doing? How many of them are you? Where?" At this, the silent Hunter laughed.
"I see." he said. "The kid hired some mercenaries to cover his retreat. Well ain't he just a smart little bugger."
"I'm getting a little irritated." Drake warned.
"What do you care anyway, kid?" He asked. "That guy you're protecting, he's a monster. He's killed countless of our numbers already, and Lord knows how many innocents. So you'll stand here and impede the progress of righteous justice?"
"Oh, we have a big talker over here." Drake said, walking over to the man. "I'll let you keep talking if you tell me how big your main force is."
"Main force?" He asked. "Ah, you mean the rest of us." At this, the man smirked. This made Nashi tense up.
"What're you smirking for?" She asked. The Hunter laughed.
"No reason." He said. "It's just...I can't believe the cover enchantment worked so damn well." Nashi made a face at this. She was about to ask another question when her spine tingled.
Duck.
Nashi did as the voice said and ducked her head down, and she immediately felt a beam of magic fly right by her head and down the road. Looking up, Nashi felt the blood drain from her face.
She could only assume that the small army approaching them now was the main force they were asking about.
"What the hell's going on?!" Simon asked. "How come you didn't hear them, Drake?!"
"Don't ask me!" Drake replied angrily. "It's dead silent for my sound magic, but I see them clear as day!"
"We can't fight all of them." Elise said, voice steady. "We need to run."
"Agreed." Nashi said, cracking her neck. Feeling the magic flow through her veins, Nashi slammed her hands down on the ground. his caused a gigantic firewall to spring up around the army. It wouldn't keep them back for long, but at the very least it'd slow them down.
"Let's go while they can't advance." Ultear said. "Make sure Gin's okay"
Gin felt that the silence was much more frightening than a fight. He was fully expecting someone to come out and fight him at any second, but nothing happened.
I hope nothing happened between them and the scouting party...Or else more people got hurt because of me.
"Can you feel it yet?" Gin didn't need to look to his left to know Mortavius had returned. "The oncoming bloodshed? Can you feel your heart-rate increasing? Your body warning you that danger is near? What an incredible feeling, huh?"
"Shut up." Gin muttered. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Mortavius he did in fact feel that feeling. Something bad was on the horizon, he knew it. It always happened eventually. "Come on you guys, don't make me..."
"Gin!" Gin looked up to find the group running towards him, looking a little shaken.
"Guys." He said. "What...What happened?"
"Those hunters are crafty." Drake hissed. "They have some sort of anti-tracking enchantment going on. I didn't hear their main force coming towards us. And by that..."
"They were right on top of us in an instant." Ultear finished. "We need to get moving, there was way to many of them!"
"Well, where to?" Gin asked weakly.
"Back to Magnolia, I guess." Nashi said. "They wouldn't cause a huge fight where civilians could get hurt if they care so much if they're hurt."
"That'll take a while." Simon said. "And they don't exactly need a bloodhound to track us." With this, he jabbed his thumb at Damien and Gin. "They can probably see these two a mile away."
"We don't exactly have a choice, do we?" Steph asked. "They know we're close either way."
"Fuck it, just go!" With this, the group took off down the path even farther away from the Hunters, and Gin found himself running alongside them. Why he instinctively went with these people he had no idea.
It just felt strange to run away from the problem with a group, instead of being what the group fled from.
They didn't make it fair before a white blast of magic from above cut off their advance. Nashi stopped and looked up the hillside to find a group of the Hunter standing there.
And just like that, they were surrounded in an instant.
Hunters in front of them, behind them, on all sides they surrounded them. Nashi had no idea where they had come from, but she knew from the looks of things there was no way out but to fight.
"Get ready, we'll need to fight our way out." Simon said.
"Way ahead of you," Steph said, crackling with electricity. They all readied themselves for combat, but the Hunters made no advance. Nashi watched as the Hunters in front of them backed up a bit and started to part. Soon after, she heard someone clapping their hands.
"Nice try, I'll admit." A male voice said. "You got pretty far." As the Hunters moved all the way to the sides of the road, a man approached them. Although he was barely dressed any differently then those surrounding them, Nashi could tell he was on another level compared to them. If she had to guess, he was probably some sort of General. That's what it felt like, anyway.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Elise asked.
"Oh come now, no need for such animosity." He said, hands behind his back, smile as big as ever. "After all, we're all capable of being civil, right?" As he said this, his eyes darted over to Gin. "So, lower your fists. I have something you need to know." Nobody moved.
"Just out with it." Ultear advised. He shrugged.
"Suit yourself." He said. "Hand over the Demon Lord. I'm being nice by only asking for the one."
"Oh really now?" Steph asked. "And which one is that?"
"Well, I was thinking the one who slaughtered a scout camp, brutalized another scouting party, and has been alluding us for around six and a half months." The man said. At this, Gin shifted uncomfortably. "So, hand him over, and we can all go home."
"Not gonna happen." Nashi said.
"And why not?" He asked, frowning. "Seems odd you'd be so fervent to help a stranger like him. Any real reason?"
"I've run into your kind before." Damien said. "You're going to kill him, aren't you?" The man made a face and looked around at his subordinates.
"Well, duh." He said. "We are Demon Hunters,after all. We hunt impure beings. So, if you would, hand him over and we'll be done with it."
"It's not going to happen." Elise said. "He's done nothing to you, drop it."
"Done...Nothing, you say?" He asked. "Did you or did you not hear his list of crimes? He's killed some of us. Some, is putting it nicely. He'll pay for what he did."
"That wasn't me." Gin hissed. "It was him. That creature."
"You and him are all the same." The man replied. "So, third times the charm, huh? Usually because I threaten force. Hand. Him. Over." at this, Nashi felt the Hunters around them tense up. A brawl was incoming. There was a dead silence as the groups stared each other down, getting ready for one or the other to make the first move. After a little while, the General laughed.
"What?" Nashi asked.
"Pardon my manners, I forgot to introduce myself. Perhaps that's why you're so distrustful of me." He smirked. "My name is Quinn of the Skylance Demon Hunters. I'm the Base of the Cross."
We'll leave it here for today. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!