AN: So it's been a while hasn't it, can't say I'm too surprised though, life has been busy and hectic, especially with me working in the health sector. Still here is the chapter, hopefully it reads all right despite the time gap between updates. That and I have always got a beta, a good guy from my discord group Alex, who has graciously volunteered to proof read my old chapter and help clean them up, and to beta for my upcoming chapter. So thank you Alex, you're help is much appreciated!
Other than that not much else to say, other than let's get this arc rolling, we are now coming to the main meat of the arc, and suffice to say, it's going to be hectic and chaotic as the small number of Fairy Tail wizards (a much smaller number than canon) attempt to fight off the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart, the stakes are high and things are getting serious!
Also for those that PMed sorry I haven't gotten back, I have not been on this account in a while as I've been so busy. I'm not being a dick, just lazy and prone to forgetting things.
Thanks for reading and please do leave a review, constructive comments are always useful and help, in my mind, to make a story better.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or Fairy Tail.
( - )
(Last Time)
Mest seemed to swell up at that statement. "As of this moment, consider yourself and your entire Guild under arrest, Asuma of Grimoire Heart. Even as we speak, there are over a dozen vessels headed to this island, each of which contains a company of Rune Knights. Surrender now, and you may be shown leniency!"
Asuma blinked in surprise at the command, before he finally showed some emotion other than arrogance and disdain. Without any warning, he let out a short bark of laughter.
Percy, meanwhile, just let loose a disappointed sigh, and rubbed his forehead. "So anyway, I believe I was about to kick the shit out of you?"
Asuma stopped laughing at that, though his smile remained as both of them ignored Mest and his idle threats, and instead prepared to face off.
( - )
Chapter 28
( - )
(Tenrou Island)
Makarov Dreyar, the current Third Master of the Fairy Tail Guild, was absolutely livid as he stood tall, directly in front of the enemy airship. By this point he had already used his Titan Magic to grow to a colossal size, so much so that he now towered over the island, his eyes two orbs of glowing, golden power as he glared down at the enemy on his doorstep.
"This is your last warning, leave now and never come back! Should you not, you shall feel the true wrath of Fairy Tail!" Makarov bellowed angrily, his voice echoing out across the island, and alerting all those who didn't know, that they were in danger.
Though considering the red danger flare that had been sent up earlier, he doubted that those were many, especially since the battle seemed to have already been joined. With the Dark Guild, Grimoire Heart, having already started the attack before they had even known they were on Fairy Tails island.
A few moments after Makarov's ultimatum, the airship showed no signs of stopping, or retreating, its magic powered engines instead letting out a roar as the vessel suddenly increased its pace instead. Speeding up rather than stopping or turning back.
Seeing this, Makarov's furious look intensified, before, without any hesitation, he then lashed out, slamming his boat sized fist down into the port side of the airship with a furious yell, which once again echoed out across the island.
Moments later, the armoured side of the magic vessel was shattered to pieces, fragments and scraps of metal, large and small spraying into the air from the impact and force of his blow, even as they began to rain down towards the sea below.
Following the blow, the rest of the airship slowly started to fall from the air as well, with large chunks of the hull breaking up and falling from the sky in a shower of shrapnel and scrap.
Makarov smiled viciously as he saw this. Pulling his fist back as he did so, he then prepared to go for the finishing blow. His hands raised and clasped above his head, as he readied himself to bring them down like a hammer, the size of a house, and consequently swat the remnants of the airship from the sky.
He could not afford to be merciful, not when the lives of his children were at stake.
Abruptly, however, before his very eyes, the damage that he had dealt to the aircraft was suddenly reversed, its engines suddenly flaring as it levelled off again. All of the destruction that Makarov had caused had been fixed within seconds. The airship was back in near immaculate condition.
It was almost as if time itself had rewound, and made it as it had been before Makarov had gone on the offensive.
'What is this?' Makarov thought furiously to himself, as he lowered his fists. The spectacle he had just witnessed made it clear that blunt force would not be effective enough, not if there was someone on board that ship who could repair the damage he caused in seconds, using either Time Magic, or some kind of Repairing Magic.
Unfortunately though, before Makarov could come up with another solution, he was distracted when he saw a lone wizard shoot out of the airship, a powerful one from what he could sense.
Narrowing his eyes at this, Makarov noticed that the man looked like some kind of anthropomorphic goat, only one with a great deal of magical power, and a jetpack…
Twisting around, Makarov could see that the Dark Wizard was heading for the island, and that he was somehow carrying a vast number of his comrades with him. No doubt this wizard was making use of some kind of obscure magic that Makarov did not know of to do so.
Almost instantly, Makarov realised what this wizard's purpose was. From the direction he was travelling and his cargo, he was quickly able to infer that this wizard was going to drop off his comrades in order to begin an all-out assault on the island, and on the Fairy Tail Guild.
Twisting around, Makarov could only glare as the goat-like wizard shot past him and way beyond his reach, a number of orbs falling from him as he flew over the island. With these spheres glowing as they fell, before they turned into a whole assortment of armed and shouting Dark Wizards.
The enemy had now well and truly infested the island.
Growling as he saw this, Makarov decided to trust in his children, the members of his Guild, to deal with the invaders whilst he dealt with the airship and the several intensely powerful magical signatures he could still sense on it, personally.
"You can attempt to run away as much as you want, but there's no longer any way for you to escape." Makarov shouted, as he turned back to the airship, only to see that it had now come to a halt just in front of him.
Makarov glared at this and brought his two hands together and pulled out what he hoped would be his trump card, Fairy Law. With this he could hopefully destroy the airship and the remaining denizens within, after which he could then rush to and assist his children in mopping up the Dark Wizards that had already made it onto the island.
Gritting his teeth in concentration and channelling his magic, he quickly began to create an intense orb of golden light between his palms. The intensely shining orb of pure light held such a vast amount of magical energy, amplified as it was by the nature of the rare and forbidden magic, one created by Mavis Vermillion herself, that it was truly staggering.
Letting loose a growl, Makarov prepared to unleash the now completed Fairy Law, one of the Guild's most powerful spells, and one which he hoped would wipe the airship and its occupants from existence, a just fate that would fall upon such foolish wizards that dared to attack Tenrou.
As the Fairy Tail guild master was preparing his spell though, a lone figure stepped out and onto the deck of the Grimoire Heart airship, the man in question being a tall, well-built man, one who had shoulder length grey hair, a long, waist length grey beard, and an eyepatch covering his left eye. Something which only added to the cruelty and malice of his expression.
The man in question was also currently wearing a long cloak, one which had the Grimoire Heart Guild crest on it, as well as a large horned helmet.
Striding forwards, the man came to a halt on the airship's foredeck, his expression hard as he stood opposite the colossal Makarov.
Looking down at this man, Makarov wasn't entirely sure at first who the man was, but either way it didn't matter. If he was an enemy of Fairy Tail, then he'd be obliterated along with the rest of his comrades. He had no choice, they had dared to not only attack the Guild, but to do so on their sacred island, for such a transgression there had to be consequences.
"So you'd try and annihilate us all right off the bat, eh, boy?!" The grey haired man asked, his voice obviously belonging to an older, but still strong man, with huge amounts of both confidence and authority.
In an instant, the man then took the same stance as Makarov, his hands extended as he too began to pool his magic between his palms, a grim look passing across the man's face as he gathered an immense amount of purple coloured, dark magical energy between the palms of his hands.
Makarov's eyes widened as he saw the man's actions, his expression becoming tighter when he heard the familiar tone of the man's voice, one he recognised from his youth. Back when he had been just another loud mouth brat in Fairy Tail, the Guild led by another Guild Master at the time, the Second Master, Precht Gaebolg.
Reading Makarov's expression, the man continued to craft his own spell, Grimoire Law, a bastardised, dark version of Fairy Law, a cruel smirk spreading across the man's face as he did so. His single visible eye gleaming manically as he saw that Makarov had recognised him.
"It's been a while, hasn't it… boy?!" Precht, the former Guild Master of Fairy Tail asked, his tone mocking as he used the word 'boy' more like an insult, than a term of resigned endearment like he had when he had still been the Master of the Fairy Tail Guild.
"Master Precht… is it really you?!" Makarov replied, almost losing control of his spell in shock at his realisation of the Dark Wizard's identity.
"I go by the name of Hades now, the Guild Master of the Dark Guild, Grimoire Heart. However, that's beside the point for the moment, I'm afraid…" Hades replied with dark amusement, the magical power between the palm of his hands surging as he did so. "Now you'd best back down while you still can, boy. If Grimoire Law clashes with Fairy Law, the resulting blast would scar the landscape permanently and turn all you see before you into a hellish wasteland!"
Makarov glared furiously at Precht as he heard that, before grudgingly the Third Master of Fairy Tail heeded the words of the former Second Master, now turned Dark Wizard and enemy. Both powerful Guild Masters released their control on their spells, and dispersed the two orbs of magic, absorbing the magic back into themselves as they did so.
However, Hades showed himself more prepared than Makarov, because as they both dismissed their respective magic attacks, the Dark Wizard, without any hesitation at all, thrusted both of his hands out, a magic circle forming in front of each palm, even as two chains crafted out of pure magical energy shot forth. The two white chains of magic striking Makarov and tearing into his shoulders, causing a cry of shock to erupt from the gigantic man's mouth.
Then without another word, Hades whipped his hands around, his magical power surging as he sent Makarov's colossal form tumbling back down into the woodland that littered Tenrou. The force of the attack, and the surprise of it, knocked the powerful wizard out of his titan form, as he instead shrank back to his normal size of a barely three foot old man.
Slowly pushing himself to his feet, Makarov glared back up at the airship, his dark eyes flashing with barely contained anger as he saw the former Second Master landing on the forest floor some dozen or so metres away, a few moments later. An obvious smirk on the now taller man's face as the two wizards once again faced off against each other.
The two men who had once been both mentor and student, and later friends, prepared to fight again.
Shifting around, a hint of nervousness began to rise up in Makarov as he looked at the supposedly dead Second Master, a man who had to be now well over one hundred years old, but still looked to be in his late fifties.
Almost instantly, Makarov could feel the sheer amount of magical power he possessed, power that was backed up by over a century of experience and practice. It was like facing off with someone of Perseus' calibre, only unlike the immortal mage, Precht looked like he would be going for the kill.
The man had already been beyond S-Class level when he had been the Guild Master, forty some odd years ago. He had been so strong that he could force Perseus to fight him seriously. In the decades since his disappearance, the old man had likely become many times more powerful, especially now that he had apparently become a Dark Wizard, and likely immersed himself in the blackest and darkest of magics.
"This brings back memories, doesn't it… boy?" Hades asked, using the nickname that he knew Makarov despised as he crossed his arms in front of him, his dark cloak billowing about him as if caught in a phantom wind as he glared at the shorter man with his single visible eye.
"Precht… what in the hell is going on?!" Makarov demanded harshly, still confused about how the man in front of him was alive, and more importantly why he was attacking the sacred island of the Guild he had once led, and loved.
Hades's eyes flashed dangerously at that, before without any warning he sent another glowing white chain, that exploded from the palm of his hand, across the battlefield, where it then latched onto Makarov.
Following on from which, Hades then sent Makarov, one of the country's ten Wizard Saints, and one of the most powerful wizards in Fiore, hurtling into a nearby tree, doing so with such force that the impact shattered the trunk entirely and left the groaning Makarov leaning against the shattered remains of the tree.
"I'd have thought that my presence here was rather obvious…" Hades replied, his tone cold and holding none of the warmth Makarov remembered from his youth. The expression on the former Second Guild Master's face was one of disdain and anger, nothing like the gentle kindness he had exuded when he had been the Master of Fairy Tail a long time ago.
"But you went on a journey, Precht, right after leaving the Guild to me…?" Makarov replied as he picked himself up from the ground, his bones cracking as he finally shifted himself into a fighting position. The expression on his face hardened as he pushed down the nostalgic memories of the man Hades had once been, and instead focused on the monster he had somehow become. "What happened to you?"
"You are correct, Makarov. I did, indeed, go forth on a journey. I left in order to seek out more about this world, about the origin of magic as it is today. To travel the world and discover the primordial magic, magic in its purest form before it was defiled and diluted into what it is today, the magic which is as old as our world itself. However, the more and more I searched, the closer I came to the conclusion that the truth of this world's beginnings resided in the teachings of a single man, the Black Wizard, Zeref." Hades spoke, his tone building with passion and fury as he spoke, the spark of madness now apparent in his gaze. "And in time, I will return Zeref to his former glory and learn from his teachings. Though unfortunately that requires the eradication of those who would prevent us from doing so, like the Fairy Tail Guild…."
"What madness are you speaking of?!" Makarov shouted as he processed Precht's words. "You would raise a hand against a Guild you helped to create?! You were a good Guild Master, Precht. You were loved, you were…"
"I was foolish, and naïve!" Hades interrupted, his voice harsh. "Especially to think that walking the path of light would give me the answers I sought, not when this world is a darker and far more feral place than most can comprehend."
"And just what the hell is it that you seek?! What do you have to gain from throwing everything away like this?!" Makarov shouted angrily, still confused about just what the older man was searching for.
"The end times, of course! I seek a world of true magic, one in which the primordial magic that created this world can be found. In order to accomplish that, as unfortunate as it is. this world will need to turn into a form of hell for those who lack magical power. Creating that world both starts and ends with Zeref. That, Makarov, is the only thing that I seek." Hades replied callously, his mind filled with thoughts about the annihilation of all those who do not practice magic, either by choice or because they can't, and the creation of a new world order, with the magic users on top.
"I see…" Makarov uttered, clenching his hands into fists in order to restrain his rage as he too comprehended just what his former Master was after. "Then I have no choice but to take you down!"
"Though I take no pleasure in it, it would seem that fate has chosen me to be Fairy Tail's executioner." Hades replied, ignoring Makarov's threat. "Well then, boy… are you ready to taste defeat?"
"I always hated that nickname…" Makarov growled, his magical power surging as he prepared to fight. "In fact, I wanted to deck you just about every time you said it!"
( - )
(Elsewhere on the island)
"Damn it…" Doranbolt spat out as he rolled back onto his front and pushed himself back up and onto his feet. "What was that?"
Pushing himself up off the ground, his clothing covered in dirt and tears from the explosion, Doranbolt looked around, even as he tried to remember what had happened.
One moment he had been standing there about to arrest Azuma of Grimoire Heart and Perseus the God of Fairies, and the next the world had exploded.
Looking out to sea, he could just about make out the floating wreckage and remains of the Magic Council's expeditionary naval force, the grand fleet that had been sailing here to ambush the rebellious Fairy Tail Guild. The plan had been perfect and meticulous. They had had good intel on the Fairy Tail Guilds plans. Including just what kind of mischief they had been up to on this sacred island of theirs, as such they had known their resources, and thus the amount of force needed to bring the rebellious Guild down.
But they had overestimated themselves and their own capabilities. All of that planning, and all of those resources and loyal men, all of it was destroyed in a single instance by just one mage.
Asuma, he wasn't sure what the man had done, but one moment he had been facing off with the God of Fairies, and the next his world had been consumed in fire.
Getting to his feet, Doranbolt quickly looked around and saw that the area where he had once stood was little more than a glassy pit, and that the cliff face they had previously been standing on was no more. In fact it looked as if a good fifty metres of the shoreline had just collapsed into the sea.
As for the other two mages. Of Asuma there was no sign at all, the man was just gone, as for Perseus…
"Ah Mest, you're alright?" Percy said amiably, a slight smile spreading across his dirt encrusted face.
"Perseus…" Doranbolt rasped, his eyes widening as he scanned the elite mage for injuries. He had none, his shorts were a bit ragged, and he had mud and dust all over his bare flesh and in his hair, but other than that he was completely fine. It was a far cry from his own current state, as he himself had at least a couple of broken ribs and fingers, as well as a broken nose that was slowly gushing blood down his face. "What happened?"
"That wizard, Asuma, caught me by surprise. I thought he used some kind of plant or nature magic, I wasn't expecting explosions." Percy shrugged, his gaze panning around his surroundings before settling on the wrecked fleet in the distance. "I'm not sure how he did it, but he created a lot of explosions, both here and at sea. They were enough to cover his retreat and deal with your friends. Not that I would be too worried about them if I was you, those blasts were more bark than bite. Literally, the destruction they caused seemed to be mostly focused on the wood of the ships and the plants. Probably due to some kind of quirk of the guy's magic. Most of your comrades are probably fine, if a little wet, injured and embarrassed."
Taking the older man's words in, it took Doranbolt a few seconds to digest just what he said. "He caught you by surprise?"
"Well, yeah," Percy shrugged, dusting some of the mud and dirt off of him. "I'm pretty good at what I do, but I am not omnipotent. I don't have some kind of future sight, nor do I know every kind of magic in the world. The guy was strong and smart, but more than that, he was strategic. He wasn't looking for a full on fight, or at least I don't think he was. No, I think he was just trying to distract or debilitate before retreating."
"But you're the God of Fairies, said to be on a par with the Gods of Ishgar themselves." Doranbolt muttered.
"Urgh I always hated that title. I'm not a god, and they are certainly not. We're but humans, powerful humans, but humans all the same, and just like humans we're fallible. That said even gods are fallible, they make mistakes, and get defeated, and even get killed. If I was you, I wouldn't get too hung up on things like that." Percy replied. "Now enough talk, you look injured, and we're about to be attacked. Do you want me to heal you?"
"You can use healing magic?" Doranbolt asked, before suddenly starting in shock. "And what do you mean we're about to be attacked!"
"Sort of." Percy nodded, silver fire rapidly enshrouding his hands as he stepped up to Doranbolt, and then laid his flaming palm flat on the shocked and nervous man's chest. "And yes, I can feel a crowd of figures heading right for us."
"How can you tell?" Doranbolt muttered, his eyes widened as he then proceeded to stare at his now healed fingers. His ribs too had stopped hurting, and his nose had straightened out and stopped bleeding. From what he had just seen, once he returned to Era, he would need to update Perseus's file. "No wait, what about Asuma, you let him escape!"
"I didn't let him do anything," Percy shot back, his tone of voice turning a tad colder than before. "And don't worry about him, as soon as I've dealt with these pests I'll be pursuing Asuma, just like I will all of the other Dark Wizards on the island."
Before he could even think of a reply to Perseus's words, Doranbolt found himself suddenly twisting around to stare at the nearby forest as a large number of Grimoire Heart's foot soldiers, cloaked men and women bearing the Dark Guild's symbol, a thorny heart, and with at least an average ability with magic, surged forward. The group were all charging en masse at the pair of them.
"More enemies, men! You know the drill!" One of the charging wizards shouted, the man in question having a set of horns protruding from the hood of his cloak, as if to denote his position as their leader, and a magical sword in his hand as he thrust it in their direction.
"Mest, I'm going to need you to leave. Find the other's on the island and warn them about Grimoire Heart. I'll deal with these pests." Percy said calmly, once again unsheathing his sword and taking up a swordsman's stance.
Looking between the oncoming swarm of Dark Wizards and Percy, Doranbolt worried his lip. "Why would you trust me to do something like that?"
"Because you're not a colossal arsehole, now fuck off and help the others." Percy retorted, his gaze still on the swarming mages, before without another word he rocketed forward to meet their charge, streams of water already appearing around his form, even as the earth beneath him shook at his passing.
Teleporting out of the crater and to the tree line, Doranbolt could only watch in shock as Perseus met the charging Grimoire Heart mage's head on, the impact of his counter charge releasing a concussive explosion of energy that blasted the first few ranks of the Dark Wizards backwards, their mouths open in silent screams and their limbs all bent and twisted in unnatural ways.
"W-What the hell is he?!" The leader of the Grimoire Heart mages shouted as he backed away, his fellow wizards following his leads as they found their charge broken by Percy.
"Take him dow—" The leader then shouted, his magical sword thrust forward again, only for him to then be cut off by Percy taking the initiative and attacking once again. After which, without so much as a word, Percy exploded into action. Before the other mages could so much as react, streamers of water erupt out from the demigods form and started tearing into the surrounding mages like serrated whips. With more of the mages being hurled backwards or knocked down this time. Within moments of his new offence, several of the mages fled, whilst others, those that he had already struck down, just laid on the ground horrifically maimed.
Continuing his assault, Percy pushed forwards till he was within the centre of the mass of panicking mages, his sword clenched in his hand he struck out with controlled fury, each blow bringing down a different wizard as he aimed to incapacitate rather than kill, holding back on the power of his slashes as he instead just broke bones and maimed his enemies. The swirling body of water around him acting in tandem with his movements as the red stained liquid lashed out with barbed tendrils, or formed into a shadowy facsimile of Percy's own form which likewise lunged at his enemy just like his real body did, until at times it looked like there were a dozen Perseus's fighting at once.
Watching solemnly from the side as this one-sided beat down continued, Doranbolt could only shake his head wearily. Percy was being ruthless, but even so, if any of them did die then he wasn't going to cry about it. These men and women, they were Dark Wizards, marauders and invaders, they were individuals that had turned their back on society and on the Magic council for their own enrichment, most of the time at the expense of others.
With that thought in mind Doranbolt looked back one more time, before he then teleported away.
( - )
A few minutes after the fight began, it ended. With a large proportion of the Grimoire Heart members out of commission, and the ground now littered with fallen bodies as the still steadily breathing Percy stood in the midst of them.
It had been a very easy fight, especially since the vast majority of his opponents were just the Dark Guild's cannon fodder.
They were the ragtag nobodies that clung onto those stronger than themselves. The petty incipient weasels that followed a strong leader, not because they believed in their ideology, but because they thought they could get away with tormenting and belittling others, and playing out their own sick fantasies under the auspices of another influence. Essentially they were scum.
Turning to the remaining members of Grimoire Heart, Percy's green eyes shifted around to survey the assembled mages, his teeth bared in a vicious grin as he felt his heart beating faster. The thrill of a fight, even an easy one such as the one he had just fought, had once again got his blood racing.
"This guy isn't human!" One of the mages shouted fearfully.
"Tactical withdrawal?" Another one of the Dark Wizards spoke up nervously, his remaining fellows all nodding along, before they turned tail and all fled from the Fairy Godslayer, hoping as they did so that he wasn't like them, and wouldn't attack a retreating enemy from behind, and that he would instead show mercy.
Unfortunately for these wizards though, not all of them agreed with this decision. A newcomer to the fight, a man who had just arrived, and who held the rank of one of Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin of Purgatory, and thus one their elite fighters, was not in the mood to retreat.
Nor was he in the mood to allow his subordinates to do the same, which is why, with a cackle of laughter the man released a wave of black fire from his hands, the black flames quickly engulfing the remaining wizards as they tried to flee. Their agonizing screams filled the air for a brief few seconds, as their attacker, unlike Percy, deliberately directed his power in such a way that he could kill his victims. After which the once living wizards fell to the ground lifelessly, burnt and butchered by their own comrade.
"You snivelling cowards!" Their attacker, a wild looking man with waist-length shaggy blonde hair, crazed red eyes and a vicious smile bellowed at their corpses, the man in question walking carelessly through the black flames as he approached the stationary and watching Percy. "Such weaklings do not deserve to call themselves members of Grimoire Heart!"
Percy shifted to face the newcomer, his expression cautious as he eyed his new opponent. He could almost smell the intense power coming off of him.
A smile spread across Percy's face as he took the man in, the deaths of a dozen or so Dark Wizards by the hand of one of their own meaning little to nothing to him. He might not seek to kill when he didn't have to, but nor would he care that much about the death of his enemies. No, instead, he was just excited about finally having a challenge. The man reeked of magic, and those black flames of his, Percy had come across black coloured elements before in his travels and had a good idea of just what kind of magic the blonde used.
"Are you sure you want to do this? Considering what you've just done, and the mood I'm in, there's a good chance that you won't be walking away from this alive. I've never been good at holding back." Percy called out to the unstable looking blonde, his tone still relaxed as he saw the blonde haired man stop a few metres in front of him, a sneer on his face as he looked him up and down, obviously not impressed with Percy's comment.
"Really! Some scum like you thinks you can take on Zancrow of the Seven Kin?" The now named Zancrow asked incredulously, black fire coating his fists again as he glared at the unperturbed, Percy. "Fine then, I will show you what real power is!"
With that said the blonde then inhaled, his chest expanding as he raised a cupped hand to his mouth, in a move similar to the one Natsu used, before he then suddenly exhaled, an intense torrent of black fire exploding from his mouth and shooting towards the still calmly standing Percy. "Fire God's Bellow!"
Percy smiled at the sight of the black flames, it had been a while since he had last fought a Godslayer.
With that thought in mind Percy thrust his arm out, the ground around him cracking, and the air suddenly feeling heavier, as he then released his own counter attack, the very air itself becoming charged as spires of rock thrust out of the ground like accusing fingers, and a colossal tidal wave formed from the sea behind him casting the land around him into shadow.
( - )
(On Tenrou Island)
Wandering through the wild, untamed forests of Tenrou Island, a tall, curvaceous dark haired woman, in a tightly fitting black and white leotard and tights, let out a sigh, her waist length black hair flowing behind her as she scanned the area, her dark eyes narrowing, even as a frown marred her beautiful, flawless features.
Ultear was not pleased, looking around the forest again, she could sense battles going on all over the island now as the elite members of Grimoire Heart, the Seven Kin of Purgatory, engaged the Fairy Tail wizards in a life and death battle.
With there being multiple large scale fights breaking out all over the island, as wizard fought wizard, it was intense, and usually she would be in the midst of it all, wielding her magic and proving her superiority. Especially against the Fairy Tail wizard, Gray Fullbuster. She had a personal reason to crush that insect.
Unfortunately though, she had other tasks to be getting on with, both of which were a lot closer to her heart than pummelling some low level Guild wizards.
No, she could leave that to her subordinates, most of whom were now engaged with the enemy, with her protégé, Meredy, having taken on Erza Scarlet, one of Fairy Tail's more powerful mages. She would be a challenging opponent, but one Ultear was confident Meredy would overcome. After all, Ultear had taught her all she knew, and had honed the girl's natural talent with magic into a force to be reckoned with.
Azuma had also engaged the enemy. Already their vanguard operative had wiped out the oncoming Rune Knight fleet, before the rest of the Guild had even fully infiltrated the island, and had then retreated to the centre of the island where he was to destroy the massive Tenrou tree, and break the protective magic it exuded, a protective magic which shielded and strengthened all those who bore the Fairy Tail Guild's mark.
Though apparently before that, he first wanted to hunt the island for more wizards he could fight in order to find a worthy challenge. Currently, the battle maniac was fighting against the model, Mirajane Strauss.
Which was a little odd as although the washed up S-class mage turned model was strong enough in her own right, she was not exactly a match for a wizard of Azuma's calibre. It all seemed so futile. Then again it was none of her business, as long as he did his job that was all that mattered. She could at least take solace in the fact that he didn't pick a fight with Perseus like she was worried he would, after all Perseus was supposed to be her target, or at least both Hades' and her own target, after she had secured her primary goal, the Black Wizard Zeref.
Likewise, Caprico, the goat-like wizard/ possessed Celestial Spirit, had engaged the young Lucy Heartfilia, a Celestial Spirit mage, someone Ultear knew he had an axe to grind against. Their fight looked to be a pretty nasty one too, then again, similar to Azuma, as long as he did his job she didn't care.
Similarly, Rustyrose, another of the Kin of Purgatory had oddly enough found another Erza Scarlet- she was still trying to work out just what was going on there- who obviously was a formidable mage in her own right, only in this case she was hampered by also protecting the Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel, and his little blue haired partner. Already he was in the midst of fighting the other Erza and the blue haired girl, even as the badly wounded Gajeel stayed back, with him having been relegated to a supporting role.
Cain Marko, another member of the Kin, had also found his own fight. The vulgar man had after all found the equally vulgar, young Natsu Dragneel to fight against, a fight she knew could go either way considering the Dragon Slayer's unpredictable nature.
All this Ultear had been able to see through the lacrima orb she was carrying, which she had previously been using to search for her target, a much more dangerous prey than a simple Fairy Tail wizard, after all she was looking for Zeref. Though unfortunately her search had thus far been to no avail as she had instead only found the different Fairy Tail wizards, all of whom were fighting her Guild's soldiers, including Master Hades, who was in the midst of fighting the current Fairy Tail Guild Master, Makarov.
Not that she was too concerned, she had plenty of time to find Zeref, after all even if the Kin were defeated- which she deemed unlikely, they still would have bought her enough time to find the Black Wizard and unseal him. She had only hoped using the orb would have made things easier.
Raising the large round sphere once more, Ultear swept a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, showing off a stretch of the porcelain like skin of her neck. Her eyes furrowed as she used the lacrima orb to try and find Zeref once more, the clear orb fogging up before images began to take shape within it.
The scrying spell was a creation of her own design. It worked by locking onto the different magical signatures in the area, an image of her target and their actions appearing in her orb as she did so. Unfortunately though, as a relatively newly created magic it still had a few issues, such as range, and the orb not being able to differentiate between targets. This meant that as she stood there watching, she ended up cycling through all the signatures on the island, her gaze growing bored as she flicked through the different scenes of battle as she tried to find a powerful and unfamiliar presence.
Barely noticing how it was mainly the Fairy Tail mages who were falling, as Azuma defeated Mirajane, and Rustyrose forced Erza Scarlet onto the defensive, even as the blue haired girl carried her Dragon Slayer partner to the 'safety' of the camp. That said, the fight between Caprico and Lucy Heartfelia looked like it could go either way, as did that fight between Natsu and Cain.
Frowning slightly, she ignored the distractions and continued to scan through the different magical signatures on the island, and the numerous ongoing battles. As she flicked through the different scenes she ended up stopping on one of the magical signatures longer than the others. The signature was faint, and oddly weak considering the source, but it was still there, and thus it allowed her to focus on the man in question, Perseus.
Manipulating the magic of her scrying spell, Ultear then zoomed in on the fight, her eyes roving over him as she tried to spot his tell-tale gold and silver sword. The blade that Hades had told her about, the supposedly 'ancient and divine' weapon that could manipulate time itself.
That sword, it was to be her prize, her reward for all she had done. Hades had promised her that much. Focusing in on the familiar wizard and the surrounding area, the image of what was happening appeared in her orb.
It was as she did this, that she noticed two things.
She noticed both that he was currently facing off against Grimoire Heart's Godslayer, Zancrow. A foulmouthed, insane wizard, who was as dangerous to his allies as he was to his enemies. A mad dog who was only kept around because he was a useful tool. And secondly, and more importantly, that he wasn't carrying his magic sword, instead he was carrying some plain silver blade.
Ultear grit her teeth as she saw this, holding back her anger and fear at the thought of just what her realisation could mean. Biting her lip, she quickly began to think over what to do next. Should she continue with her mission and acquire Zeref in the hope that he, the Black Wizard, and one of the most murderous individuals of all time, could, and more importantly would, help her with her life ambition.
Or should she head for Perseus. Hades had long since told her all about his old friend, including his weak point, the single chink in his impenetrable armour, and currently he was being distracted by that mad fool Zancrow. If she gave up on Zeref now and went after Percy there was a chance she could find out the location of his weapon, a weapon that could be key to making all her dreams come true. That said, if she went after him now, she wouldn't have Hades backing her up, and furthermore Zeref could slip through her fingers.
Biting her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, Ultear finally made her decision.
( - )
(With Percy)
Letting out an inaudible roar, the ground around him cracking, and the air suddenly feeling heavier, as he released his own counter attack to the Godslayer's flames, Percy dropped a small tsunami onto the coast of Tenrou.
Within moments the Godslayer's black fire was quenched by hundreds of tonnes of water, hundreds of tonnes that continued forward uninterrupted, tearing chunks of land off the island even as the wave slammed straight into the surprised Godslayer and swept both him and his fallen comrades away and into the nearby woods. With the force of the wave continuing on into the forest, knocking down dozens of trees and bashing the sodden and battering Godslayer into and through several dozen more trees. Before finally the wave lost power and the water began to retreat back to the sea.
Standing up straight, Percy rolled his shoulders, his back making a number of cracking sounds, as he then proceeded to stretch out his arms.
"Dammit, it's been a while, I must be getting soft in my old age." Percy grumbled to himself, as he lazily looked at the path of destruction he had caused. Sure the wave hadn't been the strongest he could create. But then again, back in his prime he had been able to shatter mountains, and drown full grown dragons.
Narrowing his eyes as his heightened senses picked up the cracking of branches in the distances as the Godslayer got back up, Percy let out a grunt of irritation.
The humans of this world were made of tougher stuff than the ones of his own. It was because of the magic rich atmosphere, or at least in his opinion. Magic suffused everything in this world, including the people.
Cracking his neck again, Percy summoned up a cloak of water around him. The swirling cool liquid washed away the dirt and grim from before, even as it solidified and condensed. The now rock hard water had taken the form of segmented armour around him, armour which covered his arms, legs and torso, before swirling up to form a spartan-like helmet on his head, after which it froze into place, the water turning from an opaque liquid into a whitish blue ice.
Covering his simple sword with a similar layer of condensed water, Percy watched as the feral looking blonde wizard from before erupted out of the nearby forest with a yell, his arm pulled back ready to strike, and his fist already encased in his potent black fire as he closed in on Percy, a scream of hate and rage leaving his lips as he did so.
Moving forward, Percy, his movements now heightened by the water enshrouding his flesh, ducked below Zancrow's initial wild swing, allowing the burning hot fiery fist to pass over him. The heat of the flames barely registered through his armour, despite the damage it did, as Percy instead ducked the blow and drove his sword into Zancrow's gut, folding him in two and knocking the air out of his lungs, even as his sword pierced his midriff.
Or at least that had been the intention.
Unfortunately the battered looking flame Godslayer was giving off such an enormous amount of heat, and the fire in his gut was so intense, that it evaporated the water on the sword and melted the blade itself after only a few seconds of contact. Meaning that his debilitating piercing blow only made it a few inches into the Godslayer before it melted.
Luckily his armour lasted longer and held up better against the Godslayer's fire than said godslayer against his sword, which allowed Percy to adapt and follow up his failed lunge with a straight cross to the blonde's face and a full on kick to his wounded and already cauterized gut, knocking him back a few more metres before he even had a chance to full register he had just been stabbed.
"What the hell are you?!" Zancrow screamed out, as he landed on the ground, one of his hands slapping on the earth, before he swung his body around and unleashed a wave of black fire from his feet at Percy.
"I would have thought that was obvious." Percy replied as he shot through the wave of fire, completely unharmed, before without another word he slammed his feet on the ground and swung his arm around, a spire of earth erupting from the ground and hitting Zancrow again, even as another large wave of water began to form.
Additionally, overhead the sky rapidly grew darker, and the winds harsher. With roiling black clouds taking form far above the island, blocking out the sun and leaching away the warmth as it covered the island in shadow, even as large droplets of rain began to fall and thunder boomed through its presence in the heavens.
Ignoring how Zancrow blasted the spire of rock to pieces, Percy continued to get in the Godslayer's face, his movements quick and sharp as he formed condensed vibrating water blades around his hands out of his cracked and melting armour, and then proceeded to lay into the Godslayer, inflicting dozens of minors cuts and slashes as he continually reformed and bolstered his weapons and armour using the waning supply of water.
"I, I am a Godslayer! How, how are you doing this?! What are you!?" Zancrow shouted, as he once again staggered to his feet, his entire body covered cuts and slashes as he now sent Percy a fearful look.
"Well despite my name, I'm not a god." Percy replied easily, not a flicker of concern passing across his face, as he instead proceeded to drop another tidal wave on Zancrow with just a small offhand motion.
This one was just as big as the last, and it loomed overhead before it crashed down against the coast. Only this time the wave consumed both of them, even as it once more hurtled towards the forest, before then reversing course and dragging them both back to the raging sea.
In response to the wave, black fire completely covered Zancrow's panicking form, his red eyes bulging as he tried to evaporate the sea itself.
Seeing this, Percy latched on to all the surrounding water. His green eyes were practically glowing now as covered both himself and the struggling Zancrow with literal tonnes of water. The water condensed as it formed up around the pair of him, before it suddenly began to rise out of the storm surge.
With the first thing to form being a colossal arm that exploded out of the water the ball of black fire that was now Zancrow clutched tightly in its massive fingers. Following the arm, came another one, only this arm rested on the bubbling surface of the water, using it as leverage as soon enough a giant head and torso emerged from the brine. The now glowing, pulsating green figure of Percy at its heart.
A flicker of terror passed through Zancrow's face as he saw this, his red eyes widening as he realised that this foe was beyond him, as he was nothing like anyone of the common soldiers he'd just killed.
"No, no!" Zancrow tried to shout from within the water, letting loose another blast of black fire, releasing every ounce of his magical power at once all in an attempt to destroy the towering monstrosity in front of him. Only for it to be to no avail as the now fifty metre tall colossus in front of him slapped its hands together crushing Zancrow's struggling form between its giant palms like some kind of errant bug.
( - )
(Elsewhere across the island)
As Percy and Zancrow's fight was progressing, the concentration of Percy's power and the resulting storm could be felt across the island. With gale force winds now lashing the island and knocking down trees, even as lightning tore through the sky and thunder boomed out far overhead.
Across the island many of the wizards in combat, both Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart, were forced to their knees, as an overwhelming feeling of unadulterated power enveloped the entire island. Both Fairy Tail wizards and Dark Wizards alike were left trembling, at the inhuman fury that came with this power, as only the strongest found themselves capable of even standing.
With some, like Natsu, being able to stand due to his nature as a Dragon Slayer, whilst others like Erza, Gildarts and Mirajane were less affected as they had felt this power before in one form or another, and seen the pure destruction Percy could wreak once his hand was forced.
Taking advantage of the confusion Natsu turned and with a single swing of his flame enshrouded fist, knocked his partially paralysed opponent, Cain Marko, out, burning his weird magical voodoo doll thing to cinders a few moments later as he did so. Before without another word he turned and ran in the direction of the source of the intense power.
Erza Knightwalker meanwhile also used the distraction the release of power created to finish her fight with Rustyrose. With the redhead taking her opponent down by first hamstringing him with her spear and then repeatedly punching the shocked man in the head until his face was but a bloody ruin, and he had stopped moving.
Also, aware of what was going on, was Azuma from Grimoire Heart. Who, upon feeling the familiar presence, looked up from the fallen form of the faintly stirring Mirajane, his previous task forgotten as he felt the potency of the God of Fairies' power. Upon feeling it, his dark eyes widened slightly, before without another word he turned, and headed for the island's sacred tree. Now that he had felt this power, he understood Master Hades' insistence on neutering it.
Similar to her counterpart, Erza Scarlet, looked down on the unconscious form of Meredy. She had been a worthy opponent. A difficult one to fight against too. Despite that however, she had been defeated handily. Though perhaps more easily than she might've been under better circumstances, after all the girl had been badly affected by Percy's power. That said maybe not as she was only young, and as such was lacking the experience needed to fight at an S-Class level.
Frowning at that thought, Erza bent down to grab the young, pink haired girl, so she could take her back to base camp where hopefully someone was around who was capable of helping the lost young girl out.
Gildarts was also aware of what had transpired and looked over in the direction the power was coming from, a hint of interest on his face as he recognised the power.
A quick grin passed across Gildarts's face at that thought, before without another word he turned around and continued to hunt down any enemy mages he could. Percy could look after himself, for now he would make sure the rest of his Guild mates were safe.
( - )
"Such strength." Ultear muttered as she looked up and in the direction she could feel the intense power coming from. She was pretty confident she knew who it was, even if she couldn't lock onto the image of it on her lacrima orb due to the massive amounts of energy that was being released into the area. Though one thing she did not, was that the energy Percy was giving off, it was not magic, or at least not magic as it was recognised today.
Some distance away, also aware of what was going on, a dark haired youth in a set of white and black robes, sat up, his black eyes widening as he looked in the direction of the familiar magic.
"It couldn't be." The boy muttered as he got to his feet, his wavy black hair blowing in the wind as he felt the ground beneath his feet shake, and the air around him suddenly felt colder. "I thought he was dead." The boy continued to mutter to himself, his brow furrowed, and his eyes flashing red for a moment at the thought of that man still being alive, and more importantly being on the island, the same island that he had spent the last year hiding on after leaving Alvarez, his magic hidden as he secluded himself from the world, and from the reputation he had gained himself, as Zeref, the Black Wizard.
Narrowing his eyes at that thought, Zeref's eyes flashed crimson again momentarily. After all, if that dangerous monster, the destroyer, was once again on the move, well it was as sure a sign as any that things were changing fast, and that the current Era might soon be reaching its end.
( - )
AN: So a bit action packed and chaotic I know. That said I took this particular approach as I didn't want to get stuck on writing out every fight, even the ones that follow canon. Comment to that affect were made about the focus on the Gajeel fight, with people thinking that it drew out the arc too much, and involved to many POV changes, and honestly I would agree with some of that criticism. That said I think some scene are important as they relate to context and character development, and sometimes need to be included in the story, especially for those that aren't as familiar with Fairy Tail as others. That and as much as I would like to write out all the fights, the cast is just a bit big, and writing continuous action is tiring. That said we still have plenty of action to come, so don't be too disappointed.
Other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was pretty fun to write, even if I did feel like I made a mess of it in places. Like serious I rewrote several bits of this chapter several times, and even then I wasn't entirely happy with things. Coming back to a story after a long period of time is a pain!
So yes, thank you for reading and I hope you stay tuned for more. Stay safe out there and have a good rest of the weekend! Also if you like Percy Jackson stories please do check out my other profile, Greed720, I have plenty of stories on their of varying quality.
Catch you all later.
Greed720.