Chapter 3 – Dark Presence

Lucy POV

After two weeks of training, I was ready to return. Although I only learned the basics, staying in the chamber for a longer period of time could have had a negative impact on my health. I learned my new strengths and weaknesses. Fortunately, the fairies gave me some conveniences. Like a spell that makes my things grow and shrink with me. Or a bracelet that warns me when it's time for my transformation.

Exactly. This was the biggest problem. If I stay in human form too much, it may have negative effects on my health. It's safe for a month, but after that, it's a big unknown. And I need to get back into fairy form for some time. Once I change, there is no going back.

Another problem is that I am not allowed to inform anyone about my new condition or information about fairies unless it is an emergency. Like meeting a rebellious fairy, battling with demons, or having run out of all other options in a fight to the death.

The last problem is my training. In short, I cannot train myself in new spells practically, or I risk many dangerous side effects. The stronger the spell, the worse the side effect. Supposedly this led to tragedy for the First Mistress of Fairy Tail, but they didn't say anything more.

By the way, the 3 great fairy spells of my guild were originally created by fairies. First Master Mavis managed to recreate them from the little information she found, but they weren't ready right away.

As for new abilities, I can detect magic like a fairy. Elaine also taught me how to recognize them. And how to change into my human form and back into my fairy form. In both cases, you must wait at least 24 hours. In the future, I might shorten this time.

And new spells. Well, it's just one. Lost Magic: Celestial Fairy Purifications. It is a half-offensive, half-healing spell. Like with Fairy Law, the spell is dangerous to enemies but also supports my allies by healing any negative effect that it can have on spirit, mind, or magic. I haven't learned how to control it in my human form yet, but to most people, it will look like a regular beam of light.

Additionally, I was given a dozen new books to learn other fairy spells and celestial magic. And a few other useful things. Virgo took most of it to the Celestial Realm for safekeeping.

Fairies also cast spells on me to hide your half-fairy nature. Quite simple. Just don't spam fairy magic and everything will be fine.

But I still need to learn how to control my magic better. I've improved, but I'm still not even at average in terms of control.

After saying goodbye to Elaine, Harlequine and a few other fairies I met here, I started heading back home. Or at least where Elaine picked me up from.

In a flash of light, I appeared and the first thing I saw was a gun barrel pointed at my face.

Does this world hate me?

"Lucy?" - a familiar voice suddenly asked. The gun came off my face and she saw Wallie, Sho, and Milliane.

"What happened?" - Milliana asked worriedly - "When we saw the flashes of light from the prison in the town of Bratkole, we became curious. But then a panicked guard rushes out and screams, that prisoner is dead. Then the mayor started to get angry and said how he shouldn't have let that woman magician go into the forest alone. And when we ask who he is, we find out it's you. Then we came here and started looking."

"We would have been here earlier if you hadn't run away after that cat." - Wally said nervously.

"But he was blue. It could have been Happy." - Milliana defended herself.

"Back to the topic." - Sho interrupted them before they could start arguing more - "When we got here, all we found were more dead bodies, including a demon and a buried hideout. Then you show up in a beam of light and here we are. So, what happened?"

"I'll tell you on the way to Bratkowle." - I replied without thinking.

And so, on the way back, I told what happened. Of course, due to promises of secrecy, I had to omit Elaine and replace the Fairy Realm with the Celestial Realm. Good thing I'm a good actress. Natsu would blurt out immediately. It would be obvious from Erza. Why have they changed so much? I want them back as my friends.

After returning to the city and explaining the situation, the mayor gave me a reward and allowed me to stay the night. The next day I caught the train to Magnolia. Wally, Sho, and Milliana went with me. They were going to visit Erze anyway, so we decided to go together. It was nice talking to them on the way back.

"So, I didn't want to bring it up earlier." - said Sho - "But why are you alone? Shouldn't you be on the team with Erza and the rest?"

I knew this would happen. I just sighed and told them what happened.

"But, Big Sister wouldn't do that." - Sho said, not sure whether to believe me or not. Which is understandable. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I had been told this before Lissana returned. But here I am, on a mission alone. Maybe that's better. After all, there's a good chance someone would have come too late and Elaine would have been dead. Or the demon would be fully reborn and start murdering people in the area.

"Maybe she's being controlled without her knowledge." - Wally suggested - "Like we were because of Jellal."

"You're probably right." - I said - "But it works for the entire guild, except for me and a few other people."

"Er-chan wouldn't act like that without a reason." - said Milliana - "There's definitely an explanation for all this. I mean, they risked everything for you in the fight against Phantom Lord. They wouldn't turn around like that because someone came back."

I felt a little better. Maybe they were right and something was actually influencing them. If this is true, then just stop it and they will go back to normal. Although on the other hand. How can he stop something that has managed to possess the entire Guild? Maybe a new spell would do the trick, but I'd have to know where it came from first.

"All this is giving me a headache." - I said.

"Anyway, we'll wait on the outskirts of town until you find out what happened." - Sho said.

"Heh." - I said, quite surprised - "You don't want to meet Erza."

"If she's acting like this now, maybe it's better to wait a while." - Wally said.

"Additionally, if it is actually controlled, we will be able to surprise whoever is causing it and take him out." - Sho said.

"Mission to save Er-chanand Fara Tail." - Milliana said excitedly - "And we'll call her-"

"NO." - Sho and Wally interrupted her.

"Nia!" - said Milliana - "Why did we interrupt me?"

"You were going to call it something with cats." - Wally said.

"Of course." - Milliana said - "After all, cats are the best."

"I think Lucy should get the honor of naming this operation." - Wally said.

I just stood there surprised.

"I support this idea too." - said Sho - "Plus, she should be in charge."

"Seriusly." - I said.

"You know Fairy Tail much better than we do." - said Wally - "Just give us a target and we'll go BANG and finish the villain."

"Hmmm. Let it be." - Milliana said, then smiled at me - "But there are supposed to be cats in it."

I felt like crying. Tears actually fell from my eyes. But I quickly calmed down. Now is not the time for tears, but to save Fairy Tail from a mind-controlling spell. If that's the case, but hey, it's a better theory than the entire guild suddenly turning into selfish bastards. After all, that's the Fairy Tail way.

"Okay." - I said, gathering myself - "First of all, we need to determine who else is free from this mind control. Then we'll need help. In the worst case scenario, it will be just us against the entire Guild, and I don't see our chances in such a fight very well."

"Do you have anyone in particular in mind?" - Sho asked.

"Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus guilds." - I replied without thinking - "Together with them, we were in an alliance against Oracion Seis, so we can trust them. We can also get Laxus, but I don't know where he is. The situation is similar with Gildarts. We can also try to collect former Fairy Tail members, but I don't know how we can find them."

"There's a book of ex-members in the library." - Loke said, appearing in a flash of light - "If you want, princess, I can bring it to you."

"Thanks, Loke." - I replied, and Loke disappeared in a flash of light.

"Who he was?" - Wally asked.

"Loke, my star spirit. He is the leader of all the Zodiacs and comes from the constellation Leo."

"So it's a big cat?" - Milliana asked.

"You're right." - I replied.

Milliana, with stars in her eyes, looked at me, grabbed my hands, and said - "Can I meet him."

"Later." - I replied. Then Milliana sat down and we continued the conversation to Magnolia. Then I had to get to the Guild and report that the mission had been completed. And find evidence that the Guild is under the control of some spell or something. I just hope I don't make a mistake.

Unfortunately, my detection ability is active all the time, so when I started approaching the Guild, I had a bit of sensory overload due to the sheer number of powerful magical signatures. If dragon slayers have enhanced senses, how can they withstand such noise!? I'll just have to get used to it.

After entering the Guild, no one paid any attention to me. And that's actually good. I slowly made my way to the bar to report the completion of the mission, and along the way, I focused on their magical signatures. Strangely enough, apart from the normal signature, each of them had something else on it. I'll have to contact Elaine to explain this to me, but it almost seemed like a parasite.

"Oo. You're back." - Mira said as I approached the bar. On her, the parasite-like thing was noticeably larger than on the rest.

"Yes." - I replied, not wanting to draw attention to myself.

"Oh well." - said Mira - "Even you should be able to deal with a group of bandits. Although considering the time it took you, you probably barely made it. But what can you expect from such a weakling?

"Big sister is right." - Lissana said, coming out from behind the bar. This mark was by far the biggest on hers - "Anyone could do it in half the time it took you."

"Hahah…" - I laughed weakly. I have to get out of here. Sho and the others were right - "Of course you're right. I better go then."

"And don't show your face here too often." - said a voice, but I didn't even pay attention to it. After confirming that something was controlling them, or at least influencing them in some way, a solution was found. Truth be told, my feelings were mixed.

On the one hand, I am happy that their behavior is not real, but only caused by the influence of this spell.

On the other hand, someone is strong and/or smart enough to control my guild and no one has noticed it until now. I should have realized right away that something was wrong, instead of sitting there depressed. Oh my. What if he uses his influence in this guild to make them do something punishable? They will declare us a dark guild! It's scary to even think about it.

Suddenly, a presence appeared behind me. Lurking is young and something related to the air, but also extremely powerful. Like a dragon.

"Wendy." - I said suddenly, turning around to see the young dragon slayer standing behind me.

"Lucy-san, are you okay?" - she asked me.

Carla appeared next to her and added - "If they were just regular bandits, you should have managed without any major problems and returned yesterday. And this bandage on his right hand."

Oh right. I actually forgot about him. It was supposed to get rid of my scar but I had to keep it on for a few more days. Apparently, it will fall off on its own.

"The mission got a little complicated. Come to me and I will tell you everything." - I said and Wendy went with me to my house. Along the way, I felt a surprisingly strong magical presence in the water, but when I looked there, I saw nothing.

When we got to my apartment, I told them the same version of events as Sho and the others.

"Lucy-san, that was extraordinary." - said Wendy - "I wouldn't stand a chance against a demon one-on-one."

"But I wasn't alone." - I replied, stroking Wendy's head - "I had my spirits. If it weren't for them, I'd be dead. But now we have to focus on more important things."

"Like what?" - Carla asked.

"Most guilds are under some form of mind control." - said Lucy.

After calming Wendy down and explaining the situation, Carla spoke up - "That explains the vision I had."

"What vision?" - I asked.

"It was some kind of field fight. On one side were us and a few others from Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and a few unknown people. The most striking thing was the woman with ice magic who fought the Master. On the other side was the rest of Fairy Tail and a dark presence. I don't know how that fight ended."

Lucy thought about it for a moment. The only woman with ice magic she knew and who was strong enough to fight a champion was Gray and Lyon's champion, Ur. But it was turned to ice and then dissolved and ended up in the ocean. She's not technically dead, but it doesn't look like she'll ever come back.

Or maybe.

"Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" - I said, and Virgo appeared in a flash of light.

"Punishment, princess." - Virgo said, and I immediately denied it. Wendy was surprised and Carla just looked on disapprovingly.

"No, Virgo. But I need my new magic books. Especially with magic that can rebuild someone's body when all they have is their soul." - I said. Virgo looked at me and then said.

"This may not be possible, princess." - she said suddenly.

"Why?" - I asked.

"The magic you are asking about has been forgotten and cannot be used without proper permission." - she replied.

"Lucy, why do you need this magic?" - Carla asked.

"Master Gray, Ur, is most likely the person you saw in the vision. She is alive, but they lose their body to defeat Deliora. I felt it here in Magnolia."

"Even if it's true, from what I know, she used Iced Shell. Even if she's still alive, Moon Drip should weaken her considerably. Only sheer magical power would have allowed her to survive this long." - said Virgo.

"Can't Lucy-san get permission?" - Wendy asked.

Virgo thought for a moment and then said - "Princess if you can convince Celestial Spirit King, you will be able to perform this spell. Tell me the reason and I'll tell him."

Lucy explained the situation to Virgo, who returned to tell the King. Meanwhile, I decided to gather a few other Fairy Tail members who were free-thinking. Soon, Lily, Gajeel, and Juvia joined us and we explained the situation to them as well.

"Poor Gray-sama. He is under the control of some evil dark magician. Juvia will free him." - Juvia said.

"We should just hit them until they wake up." - Gajeel said.

"A direct attack is a bad idea." - Lily said, drawing from his experience as a military commander - 'From what Lucy said, the best thing to do would be to find whoever cast the spell and eliminate him. If we cannot do this, we should call for help from the other Guilds and separate them, freeing each of them individually."

"That's why we're waiting for Virgo now." - I said.

"Princess, I finished talking to the king." - Virgo said from behind me, scaring me a little - "You have been given permission to use the spell, but you will have to go to train in a special place and only you. The rest will have to stay in Magnolia."

"I see." - I said. The special place is probably the Fairy Realm, but I won't comment on that.

"So, what should we do while you learn this spell?" - Carla asked.

"You should contact Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. Plus, Erza's friends are nearby. I'll give you the locations. I'll be back soon. Keep an eye on Gajeel so he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Hey!" - Gajeel said, offended. But I ignored him as I waved to the others. At the same time, I took the key to the Fairy Realm that Harlequin gave me and I was gone. As I passed through the portal, I quickly transformed into a fairy and found myself in the king's designated spot near Elaine's room.

"Lucy." - Elaine said suddenly, coming after me and grabbing my hand - "Is everything okay? You left just yesterday, and before that, my brother was suddenly called to meet the Celestial Spirit King."

"You see, Elaine…" - I said the whole situation again.