"Very impressive…" Heartless coughed before standing up slowly, giving Erza a smile. "It seems you're ready to face us after all…"

Erza's eyes widened as Heartless stood back up, but it seemed that Heartless truly conceded. Erza brought herself up slowly, resting against Siegrain's desk. "W-What do you mean…"

"I can see how you defeated Club Strong…but that's beside the point…" Heartless continued, completely ignoring Erza's question. "Tell me, Erza…do you remember the result of the Grand Magic Games in the GMG a few months ago? What happened to the city when all those powerful mages were in one place?"

"It was almost leveled…" Erza replied. "But I don't see what that has to do with…"

"Now, tell me…do we have powerful mages clashing here…?" Heartless asked.

"…!" It all clicked for Erza. "You don't mean…!?"

"It's the only viable conclusion," Heartless gave a slow nod. "And it's an easy way to talk you all out in a single swoop."

"Why are you telling me this? I thought it would be more convenient for Dealer if we were out of their hair…?" Erza asked, unable to help her suspicions.

"King still has some use for you…" Heartless replied while starting to walk off, pointing to the speaker on Siegrain's desk. "I tried to keep the desk out of our little bout for a reason. I think you have something you should be letting your friends know, right?"

"Wait…I still have questions for you…!" Erza shouted, but Heartless kept walking. What shocked Erza the most was the way that Heartless walked; almost as if their battle didn't even happen, but not even Heartless could hide the slight limp she had. "Were you holding back on me?"

Heartless stopped just before she exited the room. "I'll leave that for you to decide." After she said that, she finally walked out of sight.

"Ngh…" Erza groaned, feeling the soreness and exhaustion. She couldn't drop just yet; she had to warn everyone of what Tartaros was planning. She walked over to the intercom, pressing a button. "A-Attention…everyone…this is Erza Scarlet with a very important message for the fighting wizards…Tartaros seems to be planning to let the building collapse on itself from the power of you all fighting…so you all must stop the fighting and flee somewhere for the safety of every…one…" She couldn't go on much longer. Erza's eyes shut and she fell unconscious, leaning against the desk.

Heartless leaned against the hallway wall for support, gripping her chest with her hand. "Damn, Titania…" She coughed a few times, small pools of blood forming near her feet. "Stronger than I thought she was…good…"

.

.

"So this was part of their plan from the very beginning….?" Layanna asked herself while standing up, feeling completely replenished now that her life force was back. She stared at Kairi, who still didn't seem to be making any movements for an attack. "What's the matter, Ms. Aryes?"

Kairi winced as the heart symbol engraved on her back vanished. She instantly fell unconscious after that, returning to her normal form. "S-Skye…" She hit the ground after.

.

.

"What a loud mouth on that one…" Ur sighed, placing her hands on her hips. She looked over, noticing that Evanee and Sherry were now standing back up. "Hm...how troublesome…"

"Down here!" Lyon shouted, entering the room and skidding to a halt, eyes wide. "Sherry…! Ur…!" Right after Lyon made this discovery, Melanie, Alexine, Cygnus, and Ola entered the room.

"Evanee-senpai!" Melanie exclaimed.

"Oh, great…" Ur rolled her eyes. "Now this is just a bother…I'm not in the mood to take you all on." After she said that, she turned her back and took another exit. "I'm out. Maybe we can finish that fight next time…"

"Tch…" Evanee scoffed, dusting herself off. She was covered in all sorts of bruises and her body ached, but it was nothing she couldn't handle in the long run. "So they're planning to take us down with our own fighting, was it? Interesting. We're going to find the others and get out of here, understand?"

"I thought I was the leader of this group…" Lyon started.

"We never decided on that," Cygnus replied. "But…I think we should listen to her. She went toe to toe with a dragon and made the dragon yield…"

"Glad you see things my way," Evanee said in a serious tone while walking off, expecting the others to follow behind her.

.

.

"I hope Erza's okay…" Lucy let out a sigh. "She really fought for us all…"

"I'm sure she'll be fine…" Yukino gave Lucy a reassuring smile. "We just have to get her some make sure she gets treated soon…"

"Mhm…" Lucy nodded.

"Blondie…" Flare whispered from behind Lucy, causing the blonde to jump and shriek.

"GAH!?" Lucy turned around, letting out a heavy sigh once she saw Flare. "F-Flare…! You've got to stop doing that otherwise you'll give me a heart attack!"

"Sorry…" Flare gave a small frown.

"Isn't that the woman from the Grand Magic Games two years ago who…" Yukino started.

"She's not a bad person…" Lucy replied with a nod. "She was just in with the wrong group, that's all. Anyway…where've you been, Flare? You haven't gotten into any fights, have you?"

"Well, no…" Flare responded, pointing to the hallway to her left. "But I saw something weird over there and I wasn't quite sure how to react to it…and you happen to be nearby, so…"

"What's going on?" Yukino asked. "Is it a fight?"

"I don't think…"fight" is the correct word for it…" Flare replied.

.

"It won't stop moving!" Lector exclaimed while trying to get a grip on the moving Koldoa.

"Stop trying to catch me!" Koldoa shouted. "I don't have time to be playing with little kittens!"

"Why do I feel like I've seen this before…" Carla said to herself while watching Lector, Happy, and Frosch attempting to capture the seventh member of the Oracion Seis.

"Carla!" Lucy called out to the exceed princess.

"Huh?" Carla turned around, a smile crossing her face now. "Lucy, you're alright!"

"What's going on here…!?" Yukino asked.

"That…" Carla pointed to the…struggle with Koldoa. "I'm not exactly sure how to help with that…"

"Why does that thing look so familiar…" Lucy pondered this thought.

"I don't think we should let it get away…" Yukino replied.

"Right!" Lucy nodded, but she wasn't sure how to go about getting involved. "But…How do we even start…?"

"Let go of me…!" Koldoa exclaimed, bonking Happy in the head several times while Lector tried to keep a grip on him. Eventually, the staff wiggled its way from Lector's grip and began to hop off. "Freedom!"

"Grab it!" Lector exclaimed.

"I got it…" Flare said while whipping her head forward, wrapping her hair around Koldoa and successfully capturing him. "Got it."

"Go Flare!" Lucy chimed.

"Whoa, it's the creepy hair lady…" Happy said while rubbing his head.

"Sssh, Happy…!" Lucy bonked Happy on the head.

"So we caught him…now what…?" Carla asked.

"We question him hardcore!" Frosch exclaimed, the sudden outburst causing everyone to look at him. "….What…? Sting and Rogue watching Council Guard shows and…"

"Don't worry, Frosch, we get it…" Yukino gave Frosch a smile before turning to Koldoa. "Start talking."

"E-eh!? You can't be serious…!?" Koloda tried to protest and escape, but it wasn't happening.

"You'd better start telling us everything you know…" Flare said as a creepy smile appeared on her face. It was quite frightening.

"She's got that look again…" Lucy mumbled as a cold shiver traveled down her spine.

"Okay, okay! I'll talk!" Koldoa yelled. "I heard that the flame barrier around the building is gone now!"

"What!?" Everyone exclaimed.

"This is great! We can finally get out of here! But first, we have to find Erza…!" Lucy nodded. "What else do you know?!"

.

.

"Siegrain, sir!" Bright ran over to Siegrain, panting somewhat.

"Yes…?" Siegrain raised a brow towards the justice loving guard. "You seem exhausted…what's wrong?"

"The barrier around the building! It's gone!" Bright exclaimed, giving a salute after. "We can proceed and safely remove the civilians from the building now!"

"How convenient…" Lahar said with the upmost skepticism while pushing up his glasses. "I do't trust it."

"It could very well be a trap…" Doranbolt pointed out.

"But sirs!" Bright objected to the reluctant nature of the two captains. "If we don't do anything, we could be exposing the people to even more danger! It wouldn't be just!"

"It wouldn't hurt to give it a small look…" Odin sighed. "He certainly won't let the subject go…"

"I'll personally check things out myself!" Bright grinned, running off after.

"…I have a sinking feeling about this." Lahar sighed. "Because he forgot something…"

"He's one of the only Council Guards remaining, so we don't have much of a choice in the matter…" Doranbolt replied. "He can be good at his job…occasionally."

"What manner of luck managed to keep him alive but no one else..?" Odin wondered aloud.

.

.

"Are you feeling all right, Gray-san?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Gray replied, rubbing his head after. "I dunno what Erza did, but it saved us…"

"We should look for her as soon as possible…I don't think she'll last very long in a condition like that…" Wendy nodded.

"Aye," Gray replied, and the two were just about to start walking when another pair of footsteps echoed down the hallway. "What the…?"

"Well, well…" Daityas said as he walked, slowly burning a skull that was in his hand. "I just keep running into you Fairies all night…"

"Huh…?" Wendy blinked at Daityas' sudden appearance, though it didn't take very long for her to remember who he was. "You're…!"

"I remember you…" Gray gave a glare towards Daityas. "You're the one that burned down the guild all those months ago…"

"So you remember, excellent," Daityas replied with a slight grin. "Though you fairies aren't worth shit, it was enjoyable to burn down your precious guild. Yet, you still didn't get the message, as you came and so rudely intruded on my home after you were seemingly spared. Tell me, why do humans try and fight against something they know they cannot beat? I'm getting real tired of you humans fighting against us demons with your feelings and expecting that to fly…"

"Tch, you wouldn't understand!" Gray replied to Daityas with a yell, sliding into his Ice Make position. "I don't give a damn what the hell you are! I don't go easy on anyone who harms my comrades!"

"Go easy…?" Daityas scoffed before letting out a chuckle. "That's cute…you think you're intimidating…"

"Just so you know…" Gray started, lifting up his shirt. "Ever since I've gotten the mark of Fairy Tail, I've never lost to the same opponent twice."

"Interesting, tell me more…" Daityas replied with a sarcastic tone.

"I'll help out, too!" Wendy exclaimed. "Arms, Armor, Vernier!" After calling out these names, a magic seal appeared under both Wendy and Gray, boosting their stats tenfold. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Gray grinned while facing Daityas, a cold wind around his ankles. "Let's see how you stand up to this! Ice Make: Freeze Lancer!" Gray threw his hands forward, unleashing a plethora of enlarged ice lances towards Daityas, aiming to strike from all angles.

"Ice Magic…? It's like you want to die…" Daityas replied. He decided to humor Gray and brought his arm up, giving the illusion that he blocked the attack as the ice lances shattered, but in reality his natural body temperature (which was really high in case you didn't really think about it) shattered and melted the ice before it could touch him. "You know, at least your teacher's ice left a little sting."

"Don't you dare talk about her!" Gray demanded with a shout.

Wendy leapt up above Gray, cheeks already puffed out. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" She exclaimed and opened her mouth, unleashing a powerful blue hurricane towards Daityas.

"Hm..?" Daityas raised a brow, but kept his arm raised. The Sky Dragon's Roar engulfed his person and tore apart the hallway. When Wendy stopped, Daityas was seen in the same spot he was before, and there wasn't a mark on him. "Hm…"

"W-What!?" Wendy's eyes widened at the fact her attack had no effect. "Not even a mark!?"

"Don't let up on him!" Gray exclaimed, running forward with his fist in his palm once again. He was bringing out the heavy artillery. "Ice Make: Bringer!" As Gray chanted this, two large curved blades of ice appeared in his hands. Once reaching Daityas, he swung the blades in an X formation.

"I'll give you a little taste of my power to show you how insignificant you are…" Daityas reacted quickly once Gray swung, gripping the two blades of ice in his hands, leaving Gray stunned. "You see?" Daityas lit his hands in flames, instantly evaporating the ice. In the next instant, he swung around, a tail of flames appearing on his back. He slammed this tail into Gray's side, sending Gray flying into a wall. "You're ignorance and beliefs are what should be getting you killed."

"Gray-san!" Wendy yelped as Gray flew into the wall.

"I'm fine…" Gray grunted, pulling himself from the wall with bruises and some burn marks. "Fire isn't much of a problem when you deal with that flaming hot head everyday…"

"Comparing the flames of a demon to those of a shitty dragon slayer, are we?" Daityas laughed, the ignorance of humans always amused him.

Wendy took this time to run forward, performing a front flip into the air. When she was upside down, she kicked, unleashing a tornado towards Daityas' position. "Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!"

"Eh…" Daityas sighed, bringing his arms up to defend against the incoming attack. Though Daityas was Daityas, the attack did no damage, but that wasn't the point. The winds were so intense that it began to hold down his movement just a little bit. "What's this…?"

Wendy landed, on her feet, cheeks puffing out once again but this time red fire was into the mix. "Roar of the Omega Flame Sky Dragon!" Wendy shouted, unleashing a funnel of blue winds and red fire towards Daityas.

"Oh!" Daityas let out a "surprised" noise. The winds were nothing to him, and he stuck his hand out to grasp the incoming roar, though it pushed him back a few centimeters, nothing noticeable. He then closed his hand, causing the Roar to disperse. "That was a cute attempt, little girl."

"Ice Make: Gungir!" Gray yelled at the top of his lungs, causing a large spear of ice to shoot up from under Daityas and rise through the ceiling, reaching the very top of the Council building with Daityas inside the spearhead. "Heh!" Gray grinned, feeling quite satisfied. "Those are the flames of a demon, huh?" His mockery was cut short as the Gungir melted, and Daityas just landed right in front his him, cheeks puffed out with an inside grin. "..!"

"Look out!" Wendy yelped.

"Hell Fire Demon's Screech!" Daityas called out, unleashing a large vortex of Hell Flames upon Wendy and Gray. The two let out screams of pain as the attack engulfed them. When it faded, they were both on the ground, smoke coming from their body as they tried to move.

"D-Dammit…" Gray groaned, trying to pick himself up.

"H-He's so strong…" Wendy groaned in pain.

"Didn't even have to break a sweat…" Daityas chuckled once again before walking towards the two downed wizards with the intent of finishing them off. "This won't hurt a bit…it'll hurt a whole lot." Before Daityas could do anything else, a red flaming fist slammed into his fist, causing him to stumble back a few steps. "Who…?"

"You won't touch them…" Cynthia said in a threatening tone.

.

.

"Never fear, citizens!" Bright exclaimed to the civilians protected by the runes. "Justice Full Bright is here to save the day!"

"A council guard!" A woman exclaimed happily.

"He's here to get us out of here!" Another woman shouted.

"That's right!" Bright nodded, giving a two fingered salute to the citizens. "This evil threat has almost passed, and I am going to personally lead you all out of this building to safety!"

"That's great!" A male shouted. "So you'll get us out of these runes now!?"

"Indeed!" Bright grinned…..until he realized he didn't even have rune magic to even do so, poking his fingers together in a sheepish manner. "Oh…I didn't really think that far ahead about this, did I…?" And with that comment all the people within the runes just fell over in a comedic fashion.

"Great, it's THIS kind of guard…" A woman commented, and a small murmur of agreement came from the crowd.

"What was that!?" Bright took full offense to that comment. He clenched his hand into a fist, and narrowed his eyes towards the people. "I'll have you know, I am the EMBODIMENT of justice! I may be a lowly guard, sure, but my sense of justice is even higher than that of Siegrain's! So you dare question my sense of justice!?"

"We're questioning your work ethic…" A male commented.

"Nygah!" Bright gripped his head, jaw hanging.

"I apologize for this unsightly display…" Lahar said as he walked up to the runes. "But before I let you all out of these runes, we are going to secure the entrance so you'll all make it out safely…"

"Finally, someone competent…"

"Oh the pain…!" Bright gasped.

.

.

"Hm…" Rugal stared at Tristan and Blues. The two seemed to be just fine now after the odd event that occurred only moments ago. "So you've recovered…?"

"That's right!" Blues grinned, water surrounding his fist. (Though I'm not exactly sure what was going on or how it stopped but that's not the point now…) "And now it's time to take you down!" Blues rushed forward, pulling his arm back. "Water Dragon's Punch!"

"I think I've had enough of this little game…" Rugal said while creating a portal in front of him, allowing Blues' fist to fly right through it.

"What the…" Blues' eyes widened as his fist went through the portal. He drew it back just before the portal closed with his arm in it. "The hell was that!?"

"Steel Make: Lance!" Tristan shouted, unleashing a decent amount of steel lances towards Rugal.

"Hm…" Rugal quickly formed a portal to his side and stepped in, but a few lances grazed his side. He reappeared a few feet away from the pair, noticing the gash in his side. "Stronger than I expected…but it appears as though I do not have the time to play around with you two anymore…" With that, Rugal stepped back and into another portal, vanishing from sight.

.

.

Daityas held an injured Cynthia by her hair. They both had burn marks on them, but it was clear who was currently the stronger between the two. "So, this is the one who can supposedly burn this entire country? Not with power like that…"

"C-Cynthia…" Wendy tried to force herself to stand, desperate to save her best friend.

"Even she couldn't do much to him…" Gray groaned.

Cynthia wasn't done yet. She began to puff her cheeks out, aiming to take advantage of this close range. "Roar…" Daityas wasn't having it. He gripped her face and let his own flames seep out his palm, causing Cynthia to let out a muffled scream of pain before Daityas threw her down to the ground harshly, right next to Wendy. "Ngh…"

"A-Are you okay…!?" Wendy asked with fear in her voice.

"F-F-Fine…" Cynthia replied. "My everything just hurts…"

"Enough of this…" Daityas said. "You were all good use for exercise, but that's it…" Daityas took one step forward, and another fist slammed into him, but this time it was his entire body, and the fist was rather huge. The power behind it set Daityas sliding back across the ruined floor, now glaring into the distance. "Who the fuck is it now!?"

A small figure walked from the darkness of the hall. Makarov Dreyar. And he was not happy. Last he was seen in the Council Ball was drunkenly wandering off somewhere, but his timing could not have been more perfect. "Daityas."

"M-Master…!" Wendy grinned happily at the sight of Makarov.

"Oh….?" Daityas grinned widely, almost pleased that Makarov showed up when he did. "Well, well…look who it is…the Master of the prestigious Fairies…Makarov Dreyar."

"You've burned down our home, brought harm to my children…" Makarov said in a deep, threatening tone as his eyes began to glow yellow. He clapped his hands together, a bright light concealed. "You are an enemy to my family…I'm giving you to the count three to surrender."

"Try me, Wizard Saint." Daityas replied in a challenging tone.

"One….

Two….

Three.

Beg for mercy."