Here is the sixteenth chapter of this story released when I wanted it to be in keeping with my self-imposed upload requirements for this series. The first day of the games is in the books but a certain Guild Master has something he needs to sort out and what better time to do so than when his Guild is drinking away their results and getting ready for the next day when they make their comeback. That's right, it's time at last for Makarov to meet the Black Bulls. That is all the administrative stuff I have for you as there are no questions that require answering and no guest reviews need a response, though I thank all of you for your support. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from those who enjoy my work. That is it for pre-chapter note so it is time to end it so that y'all can sit back and enjoy the sixteenth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 16: Meeting Makarov
Makarov slipped out of the tavern where Fairy Tail was staying. After the preliminaries they were all allowed to stay in the same tavern despite having two teams in the games, so they were all here to blow off steam after the disappointing first day of the games for them.
He did this his children partied, fought with each other, or in Cana's case was in an intense, and surprising for losing, drinking contest with a Quatro Cerberus S-Class wizard called Bacchus who'd crashed the party when he showed up having expected his Guild to be in the games as he was their reserve but came here to annoy Erza when he learned otherwise. It was the drinking contest that Makarov used as his cue to leave and head into the city of Crocus.
Fairy Tail had done badly on the first day, that couldn't be denied, so the party was necessary for moral. Despite having two of the eight teams participating in the games, they'd gotten 1 total point from Juvia's 7th place finish in Hidden as Gray had come last and then Lucy had lost an unfair fight thanks to blatant, but unprovable, cheating from Raven Tail.
Makarov had no idea precisely what his son was up to, even with what Gajeel was doing for him regarding Raven Tail, Makarov still didn't know Ivan's end game, but he knew his son well enough to know that whatever Ivan was up to wasn't good and clearly was going to be at Fairy Tail's expense. That had been shown in both Hidden when Raven Tail's member had gone after Gray specifically, and in the battle between Flare and Lucy, but it wasn't cheating if you didn't get caught and when it came to Dark Guilds they knew how to not get caught.
To add to it all Jellal, posing as the former Fairy Tail S-Class wizard Mystogan who was actually his counterpart from the world of Edolas, which was actually breaking the rules as Jellal wasn't a member of Fairy Tail had failed to beat Jura in their battle at the end of the day. That was a tough task to begin with, but Jellal had once held the same rank as Jura, so it wasn't an impossibility that he could beat Lamia Scale's Wizard Saint.
Alas, in an effort to beat Jura, and to those who knew Jellal show off for Erza, the wanted escapee had been forced to go to his most powerful move, one that would give away his identity, and whoever he was working with had been forced to sabotage him. Likely he would have to step out to get away from suspicion, but they had a reserve for it though at the moment Makarov knew that they'd not need her yet and as a reserve she was unlikely to be chosen for the battle part while the event participant had already been decided for Fairy Tail Team B.
That was because during the celebration, which Makarov had led while pretending to be drunk to cover for what he had to do tonight, Natsu had declared that he'd take the first event for Team A tomorrow no matter what it was and as such Gajeel had decided to do it for Team B. The Dragon Slayers were stubborn men with a long-standing rivalry, so no one was talking them out of it.
That was fine with Makarov because he knew that Fairy Tail was always best when it was down and so the games were going just as they wanted them to be, they'd be back tomorrow he was certain of it. He had full faith in his children to win this starting tomorrow providing said event didn't involve moving vehicles as that could be bad with Natsu's great weakness. At least Makarov would be confident in their success if they were against normal opponents.
However, after today Makarov knew that they weren't against normal opponents. That had been shown in Hidden when the youngest Guild, official status or not, to make the games, the Black Bulls, had caused a massive upset and won the event with one of their wizards called Asta.
The boy had showed some kind of Requip Magic it seemed that allowed him to nullify, reflect, and even destroy magic with various swords that he had, and he used that to amass a total of 8 points during Hidden with no hits taken to lose any points, including a point on Sabertooth's Rufus who'd been the favorite in the event. That had been more than enough for Asta to win it and it had been a shock for sure which just added to their surprise 3rd place finish in the qualifier.
Many were confused by the Black Bulls, and they continued causing confusion into the battles when their selected combatant, a punk looking man called Magna Swing, brought Sabertooth's Olga Nanagia to a knee with several hits using Fire Magic. In the end though Olga proved that he was stronger, and he won when he finally landed a shot on Magna but still it had been an unexpectedly close battle. Now people were wondering what the Black Bulls would do tomorrow and what their member would do in the event.
The only person who wasn't confused by the Black Bulls was Makarov. As soon as he saw the book that Asta used to fight in Hidden, the book where his swords were stored, he knew at once who they were and where they were from even if the only other book like that he'd seen was coverless.
That was confirmed by Magna having a book as well and then Erza had explained after they got back to the tavern how she'd seen a book act in a similar manor at the magic ball she'd gone to with Natsu and the others to catch Velveno. The only differences was that this one utilized Spatial Magic and had been copied by Velveno and not used by a Black Bull though it did show that their magic could be copied by an Earth Lander's magic.
Regardless, the info that Erza had provided had Makarov convinced that the Spatial Mage was on the team, but he didn't know which of the three he'd not seen their magic attributes for used that it. Still, he knew what they were and where they were from, they were mages from another world, but he had no idea why they were here in Earth Land when it had been over 70 years since someone from their world had visited and as such he had to find the answer to that.
That was why he'd slipped out and was now making his way through Crocus to the Grey Deer Tavern to discuss things with their Guild Master, or to use the term he knew was proper, their Captain. Alas, he wasn't technically alone for this pending meeting.
"Where are you going 6th Master?" A familiar female voice said from next to him. "It's not like you to leave such a fun party."
"First Master." Makarov said to the apparition of their First Master who most but him thought was a ghost as he knew the real truth to her current state but that wasn't relevant at the moment. "You followed me?"
"The Guild was in fine hands and having a good time, so I figured that this was more interesting than watching Cana get drunk under a table or Natsu, Gray, and the others brawl." Mavis said as she walked next to him through Crocus though only Makarov could see and hear her. "So, where are we going? Somewhere fun?"
"The Grey Deer Tavern." Makarov said. "And I'm not sure that I'd call this fun."
"The Grey Deer Tavern?" Mavis asked confused looking at him. "The place where the Black Bull Guild is staying? Why are you going there?"
"I need to discuss things with them." Makarov said. "And I want their side before I reach out to Julius to ask him what he was thinking sending them here."
"Ah I see, you know more than you told us earlier, don't you." Mavis said quickly deducing what was going on. "I thought as much."
"I swore to keep Julius's secret, but I see that I can't keep you away from this, can I?" Makarov asked looking over at the short, young looking, and barefoot blonde woman.
"Not really seeing as only you can see me." Mavis said with a shrug. "But I'll stay quiet and out of the way. So, what is the real truth? Who are they?"
"Listen and you will learn as I won't speak it while outside." Makarov said as he turned down the street to where the Grey Deer Tavern was and approached the door as sounds of merriment came from it. "All I ask is that you treat this as a secret on par with what is known only by those who have served, even briefly, as Guild Master of Fairy Tail since your 'death' with the exception of Macao."
"Alright so it's serious." Mavis said. "You wouldn't reference the Lumen Histoire without good reason."
"More it's not my secret to share as Julius trusted me with it." Makarov said. "So, I'd rather not break his trust, but I can't really stop you from finding out about it if you're tagging along with me."
"Alright you got it, my lips are sealed." Mavis said with a smile. "Now let's see what these Black Bulls are like."
Makarov just nodded as he reached the door and pulled it open glad that it wasn't locked though with the magic power radiating from this place most would be foolish to attack it. Neither of them noticed the shift in the shadows as Makarov entered the common area and closed the door behind him.
-break-
"Woah let's drink up!" Yami said as he raised his tankard with his Squad around him who did the same with a mix of beer, wine, and nonalcoholic drinks depending on personal tastes as they were now all of the age to have alcohol, at least in this world. "We won an event and while Magna lost we let those little kitty cats know that we're here to take their spot so here's to another day of upsets and points for our band of failures."
At that Yami took a deep drink and the rest of the Squad cheered and drank at that and they had good reason to do so. They may only be in 5th due to the loss that Magna had against Olga but he'd lost to the top Guild, who Asta had upset in Hidden, so they'd bring it back and the Black Bulls knew it.
They hadn't decided who would be in the event tomorrow as they'd not heard what it was but when they did they'd not only enter it, they'd win it as well as tomorrow's battle. Then they could really take the lead as they pushed to becoming Fiore's top Guild.
The day had certainly been interesting after Hidden as the battles had shown them a lot, especially the first one. They all knew that Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail Team A deserved to win that battle, but Raven Tail had cheated multiple times using dirty tricks to ensure that their member, Flare Corona, won and Fairy Tail was humiliated.
That had really pissed off the Black Bulls because it was just like the nobles who hated when commoners upstaged them acted only Raven Tail were actually evil rather than just bigoted it seemed. The attack may not have been against them but there was no way that they'd let it slide.
That was why Nero and Zora weren't actually present for the celebrations, not that the former got exuberant at all or the latter cared for such revelries, but rather were already on the case of Raven Tail. They may not have been able to deal with them today, but they could gather intel and then pass it along to the authorities so that Raven Tail paid for what they did and Fairy Tail got some justice for what happened to them. That was why their experts at stealth, espionage and traps were already working on it though both would of course be present to support the Squad tomorrow.
After that battle the second was entirely normal without anything to note and then had been Magna's. He'd lost and gotten hurt, though Mimosa had healed him as his injuries hadn't been as bad as what he'd suffered when he faced Vetto in the Undersea Temple, and now Magna was drinking and eating comfort food from Charmy as Luck teased him about loosing to another Lightning Mage and how he couldn't wait to have a battle himself as he was hoping that he got selected for the next one. Magna was annoyed at the loss but he never sulked and was already proclaiming that he'd get stronger.
Naturally that set Asta off who was still riding high off his own win which really motivate them all to win as well. That had been what Asta had done for them since joining and no one, not even Mimosa who technically wasn't a Black Bull back home even if she was one in Earth Land, didn't acknowledge that the Black Bulls' turnaround had been because of Asta and his influence on the team.
All of them had grown in strength, confidence, and competence because of Asta and now that they were forging a life in a new world they had taken that motivation and carried over so that after 2 years in Earth Land they were already well respected and established. It was something that they weren't used to back home so they weren't complaining about their standing in Fiore.
That was before the Grand Magic Games though, now they were gunning for the top of the mountain and all that came with being number 1. It was time to take this world by storm and establish themselves as the top Guild in Fiore before they had to return to the Clover Kingdom. The fact that Fairy Tail was in the games as well only added to it because with their members back they were a legit threat to the top spot as well despite their failures today. The Black Bulls weren't taking them or anyone else in the games lightly and were ready for all the challenges that were still to come.
Of course, it was as they were celebrating that the door opened and closed quickly. While most of them didn't notice it because they were getting into the party what with Magna and Luck still going at it, Asta now standing on a table as Noelle and Mimosa tried to get him down, Vanessa drinking as always, Charmy feasting, Gray in a corner, Gordon being Gordon, Henry looking on with a smile, and Finral ruing that there were no ladies to impress, Yami did.
He sensed the unfamiliar ki entered the room and was instantly on edge as he looked through it from the stool he sat on at the bar and to the door where a small, old, bald man with a ring of hair around his head and a white mustache wearing a light-yellow cape was standing. There was no hostile intent in the ki, though Yami could tell that the man was strong despite his age, so he didn't act just yet as he waited to see what the old man wanted though Yami was of course ready to act if need be.
"Who's the Captain here." The man said loudly, and the use of that word instantly got the Black Bulls to stop, Asta falling off the table and onto his head, and turn to the door to see the man standing there and who was now smirking at their reaction. "I see that I'm right, you lot are a Magic Knight Squad from the Clover Kingdom. So, who's the Captain?"
"That would be me old man." Yami said getting off his stool and walking towards him. "If you know who we are then you must be Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Makarov Dreyar I presume."
"That would be me." Makarov said as he walked into the room and looked around at the various Black Bulls, all of whom were wearing the same robe with only Yami and Asta having a different cut to the others, but he did notice Guild Marks on several of them showing that they'd accepted that aspect of being in a Guild in Earth Land. "You must be Yami Sukehiro."
"You've heard of me." Yami said as he took a drag on his cigarette. "I'm not surprised."
"You're a Guild Master in Fiore, your name is well known at this point." Makarov said. "But in addition to that Julius often spoke of you when he was here and your rare Dark Magic which he was fascinated by. You and another in his Squad at the time, William Vangeance, were the two he often told tales of."
"Anything negative that geek said is a lie." Yami said, he was going to have words with that magic loving freak when he got back to the Clover Kingdom.
"Yes, he greatly respected your skills and talents, both of you." Makarov said. "He often said that if he became the Wizard King as was his goal he'd ask the two of you to form Magic Knight Squads once you'd proven you were worthy of them. I can see that he did so with you at least."
"Yeah, he made us both Squad Captains at the same time in fact." Yami said. "Shortly after he became Wizard King in fact and after me and ole Goldie Guts did as you mentioned and proved we were worthy of them. We were in competition to take over the Grey Deer back then, but it was a tie in the end as we formed our own Squads instead. He formed his Golden Dawn and I the Black Bulls. My goal was to have a Squad for people like me, a place where those overlooked, disgraced, outside the norms of that society, or whatever, could have a home within the Magic Knights."
"I see, that does sound good." Makarov said. "It is good to put a face to a name though the whole different passage of time thing between our worlds is still hard to deal with."
"Tell me about it, Julius said that you were in your 20s when you met but now you're some old geezer." Yami said before he gestured to a table. "But enough small talk, you're here for a reason so how about taking a seat and having a drink with us. This has been a long time coming. If you'd not come here then I'd have probably sought you out myself after the games were over."
"Thank you, I did come here with a simple question that I felt couldn't wait until after the games." Makarov said as he walked to the table and hopped up onto the bench there while Yami said opposite, and the Squad gathered around but remained at a respectful distance from their Captain and Makarov. "Why are you here? I got back in contact with Julius a few months ago when I returned from Tenrou Island, and he told me all that had happened to him in the last 7 months of your time while I apologized for vanishing. It's hard to believe he actually died for a bit but could be revived because of some magic item that stored his Time Magic, but he said nothing about sending Magic Knights here."
"Well, that does at least get that out of the way as I was told to tell you to contact him when I saw you, but you seem to have done that." Yami said as Vanessa brought over two tankards of beer for them and placed them in front of the Guild Masters, in Fiore at least. "As for why we are here, that's a long story."
"Huh, well, I could…" Makarov began as Yami lit up a fresh cigarette as Makarov got distracted by the fantastic chest on the pink haired Black Bull that had served him which was made only more striking by the Guild Mark on her sternum that had the horns of the bull crest over her bosom while the face part was between them, as they out classed even the largest in Fairy Tail and that was saying something.
"My what a dirty old man you are but my eyes are up here." Vanessa said in a teasing tone as she reached a gloved hand out and took Makarov's chin lightly in it and tipped his head up to meet her eyes as she smiled seductively down at him as hearts formed in Makarov's eyes. "If you want to see better images of me in even more revealing attire then I'll give you a discount on my latest calendar and posters, they're as risqué as possible without going full nude."
"Well, if you insist then I suppose I can support people who Julius sent here in that manner." Makarov said as Yami sighed, it seemed the old man was a bit of a pervert and Vanessa had just expertly played him. "To make up for my absence of course."
"Come see me this week, I'll have them ready and feel free to bring any others in your Guild who want to enjoy the image of a woman they can't get." Vanessa said as she lightly flicked Makarov's nose and then rubbed his bald head before backing up with a wink. "I've got plenty in stock and I'm sure even your famous Mirajane Strauss can't compete with me."
"Of course." Makarov said the hearts in his eyes now beating before Yami coughed to get his attention and he turned back to Yami without a hint of shame at his actions. "Right, sorry."
"It's fine, Vanessa's primary work for us here is to market us through her modeling and the merch we make, it's great money for her and the Squad." Yami said as Charmy approached with some Sheep Cooks carrying food for them. "We've built quite the profitable business model here by introducing our own magic items into Fiore, as well as adapting your tech with our own skills, and the marketing Vanessa and the girls do is invaluable help in that regard."
"I can tell, some of my children went out to your store in Magnolia to check it out and from what they reported it sounded rather impressive." Makarov said confusing them at that as the Sheep Cooks put the delicious smelling and meat rich food on the table. "Oh, thank you little miss."
"Hey, I'm 21." Charmy said causing Makarov to blink in surprise at that as the short woman looked a lot younger, but her voice showed her age. "Anyway, figured you could use some food as well. You knew our Wizard King when he was here and he's a good man so you must be as well."
"Take it as a good sign." Yami said as he picked up some meat and ate a chuck of it noting that it was as good as ever. "Charmy doesn't share her food with people outside the Squad often."
"Oh well then thank you." Makarov said as he tried the meat to find it really good, the girl and what appeared to be her Cotton Magic if he had to guess could really cook. "This is great. I knew Julius before he was Wizard King though he told me when he achieved his goal, it's just a shame he did so under the circumstances."
"Huh?" Asta asked confused.
"Right, due to what happened we don't mention the guy before Julius." Yami said. "The Wizard King when I came to Clover and during my time in the Grey Deer was a guy called Conrad Leto. He was like Julius when I first arrived, beloved by the people which is expected, frankly required, for a Wizard King, but he rebelled against the kingdom and vanished several years ago. We've not seen him since and because of his rebellion he was stripped of his title and Julius was named as the new Wizard King. It was a bid scandal and since then his name has not been spoken. Julius believes he'll be back though, one day, and he's got no idea what Conrad has in store for us when that happens."
"Oh, that's not good." Asta said surprised and angry at what he was hearing. "A Wizard King shouldn't do that."
"No, he shouldn't but it allowed Julius to become the Wizard King when he did, and things are improving slowly with him in the position." Yami said. "But it is still a fair ways off which is in part why we are here."
"Yes why are the Black Bulls in Earth Land?" Makarov asked as he took a swig of the good beer that he'd been served. "Why did Julius send you?"
"Wait before then can I ask the old man something?" Asta asked. "I've been wondering it pretty much since we got here but haven't had a chance to ask."
"Oh, er sure." Yami said looking to Makarov who nodded. "Ask?"
"Why is his Guild called Fairy Tail?" Asta asked. "Because the fairy thing that I know doesn't have a tail, so I don't get why your Guild is called Fairy Tail."
That instantly got Makarov's attention, and he knew that Mavis was now starring at Asta in shock, well more shock as she'd been behind Yami where Makarov could see her getting more and more confused and shocked by the conversation the two men were having but now she had turned to the short, muscular, gray-haired boy called Asta. It was for good reason. In Earth Land fairies were myths and the whole name of their Guild was a play on the debate about what they might look like, and because Mavis believed them to be real.
"Wait you know a real fairy?" Makarov said. "In your world?"
"Damn it Dorksta why did you mention her." Noelle, who's name Makarov didn't know yet, said with a sigh. "I don't think you were supposed to say anything about that and besides, she's not a fairy, just a really irritating spirit."
"Oh, you mean that bug that's always blocking me from my Prince of Provisions." Charmy said as she ate. "I need to fry her up then she can stop annoying me and blinding me with her sparkles."
"Charmy, we don't eat spirits." Asta reminded her. "Though she can be a little annoying."
"I'm confused." Makarov said. "So is this person a fairy or not."
"No, she's not." Noelle said looking at the old man who had known the Wizard King. "Her name is Sylph, or as the human she's contracted herself to calls her, Bell, and she's the Wind Spirit, one of the four great nature spirits in our world. She does look like what you'd call a fairy, at least if the stories you lot have regarding fairies are the same as ours, as she looks a human girl who's only 4 inches tall or so wearing a green dress and has four translucent wings but she's technically a spirit and before you ask, no those four spirits aren't like the Celestial Spirits in your world as far as we know."
"She's still annoying and always in my way." Charmy said. "I know I'm the sexy goddess that my prince deserves but still she's blocking me from Yuno."
"Huh?" Makarov asked now more confused and Yami didn't care so Noelle just explained what she knew.
"The four great spirits contract with humans who have the attribute they represent and are deemed worthy by them in some way which in Bell's case she chose Yuno, Asta's childhood friend and a skilled Wind Magic user in the Golden Dawn." Noelle said. "However, for some strange reason, she has a deep obsession with her human and as Charmy has a crush on Yuno for her own reasons…"
"He daringly saved my food for me." Charmy said with a smile. "And brought it back before passing out on top of me, ah I still have such sweet dreams of that moment."
"Wasn't that during the attack on the Capital?" Asta asked. "I don't…"
"Shut it Asta, let Charmy have her reasoning because it won't change no matter how many times we tell her what actually happened." Noelle said though she was envious that Charmy could be so honest with her feelings when she, wait no she was honest, and she didn't feel that way for Asta like how Charmy did for Yuno, so Noelle shook her head to clear those thoughts an pushed on. "Anyway, because of that Charmy and Bell don't get along and fight whenever they meet."
"Ah that I understand." Makarov said trying to sound sage and wise on the ways of women and failing. "And the other great spirits? Are they known as well."
"We've only met the fire one, Salamander." Noelle said. "It's currently contracted to Mimosa's cousin Fuegoleon, the Captain of the Crimson Lion Kings."
"Salamander, now wouldn't it be funny if that was had a dragon made of fire." Makarov said with a laugh but those who'd seen Salamander all blinked at him.
"How'd you know?" Asta asked causing Makarov to look confused as he looked at Asta.
"Know what?" Makarov asked.
"That Salamander was a fire dragon in shape, or at least a flying reptile of fire." Asta said. "I've seen it a few times both when it was under the control of some chick called Fana who was part of this evil elf group called the Eye of the Midnight Sun that are basically the reason why we are here and then again after it left her following the elf Fana's spirit being exorcised away by the human, who was also called Fana, that she had been reborn into. At least I think that's the case, that part always hurt my brain."
"It's really confusing but we can get to it with how we ended up here." Yami said. "But they are right, Salamander is the Spirit of Fire in our world and he takes the form of red dragon-like reptile that is made of Flame Spirit Magic. Hurts like hell to be burned by it and that was when it wasn't full grown as well."
"Oh, then it's just a coincidence then." Makarov said amazed at that. "You see, Natsu Dragneel is the Fire Dragon Slayer and a member of Fairy Tail and he's got the nickname Salamander though these days only Gajeel calls him that."
"Ah we weren't aware of that nickname but that does seem coincidental." Yami said though he was sure that Nero knew what it was.
"Those are the only two spirits we've met though." Noelle said. "The Earth and Water Spirits are unknown."
"I don't know the name of the Water Spirit, but I do know where it is." Mimosa said helpfully though as with most of the Black Bulls Makarov had yet to learn her name though he presumed that she was called Mimosa as the only other girl he'd noted, he couldn't see Gray in her corner, that he didn't know the name of was the silver haired one who'd said the name Mimosa. "It's in the Heart Kingdom. I learned when I visited it as a kid, with my brother who was really annoying the entire time, that historically the Queens of the Heart Kingdom have had Water Magic and the Spirit of Water contracts with them exclusively from what I've been told. Whoever has the contract is Queen it seems."
"That explains why we've not seen it; the Heart Kingdom is closed off from the Clover Kingdom, you need special permission to enter it." Finral, another person who Makarov didn't know but like the silver haired girl he was one of the others on their team for the games, said. "It's got trap magic on the border and everything. Add in the whole constant aggression from the Diamond Kingdom and the Strong Magic Region that closes off Spade to us, though we still have the odd skirmish with them, and we really don't have inter kingdom relations."
"Ah ok, I do actually know those names, so I understand, Julius told me of many battles he had with Spade and Diamond Mages in his time." Makarov said. "So, this Spirit isn't a fairy then, a shame. I had hoped that you had fairies in your world but alas no. Julius never mentioned it though he did mention that there were, or had been, elves and dwarves at least which means that humans aren't the only race that you have there."
"Can't speak for the latter but the former was the issue that led to us being here in the end." Yami said.
"Isn't Charmy half-dwarf?" Mimosa asked.
"Oh, right that change she had." Asta said. "In the Shadow Palace where she got all big and her sheep turned into a wolf before she beat up Rill when he spilled her food while possessed by that elf."
"Huh, oh that, yeah that was strange." Charmy said. "Though I am still surprised that I'm half-dwarf."
"Ok so dwarves exist and Charmy's half one apparently though she didn't know that she was it seems." Yami said and Charmy shook her head to confirm that. "Alright well that's not relevant other than the mention of the Shadow Palace as that was the final part of our long tale that ended up with us being sent here."
"Do tell." Makarov said. "I want to know how you ended up here."
"Julius trusts you and we trust him, so we'll tell you, but we are not sharing our true origins with people here, at least not yet." Yami said looking at Makarov serious. "Got it."
"I do." Makarov said and he felt a flare of magic from Yami as the other man spoke and realized that in a fight he wasn't sure if he could beat the man which meant that Yami Sukehiro likely had Wizard Saint levels of power. "I am just curious. Julius is a good friend, family to me because we both bear the Fairy Tail Mark and all in Fairy Tail are part of the same family. As Guild Master I see them as my children and they see me as their paternal figure, so you can trust that bond between us. Helps that my own son in an ingrateful bastard who I had to expel from Fairy Tail."
"That explains the children comment and we will get into that later because I do want to discuss Raven Tail with you." Yami said. "Because we know that those bastards cheated today."
"I understand and I will answer what I can there." Makarov said. "But honestly I don't know Ivan's goals, he's obsessed with power but that's all I've gotten, and I even have a Guild member pretending to be working for him though that spy was with us on Tenrou, so a lot of info is out of date. Still, Ivan being here and what he did earlier can't be good."
"We noticed at the end, really cheap move." Yami said. "We don't like cheaters so you can be assured that if we end up in a battle with a Raven Tail wizard we'll put some hurt on him."
"Totally unmanly." Magna said.
"A low blow." Asta added.
"It was disgraceful." Noelle said. "And after your girl did so well despite their actions."
"Lucy was put in a hard situation and Natsu helped her but even then Raven Tail did something to stop Lucy's final spell but it's only cheating if you get caught and they know how to not get caught." Makarov said his anger clear in his voice. "Evidenced by the fact that they are now a legit Guild despite everyone knowing that they were a Dark Guild 7 years ago. By not being part of that alliance that ran all the other Dark Guilds, it seems that they were able to remain clean in a sense but clearly they aren't."
"They're up to no good and I already have two of my best at gathering intel on the job." Yami said. "They're spying on Raven Tail as we speak and anything we find I'll send to you and the Magic Council."
"Thank you but that is risky." Makarov said. "I don't want your people to get hurt on our behalf. This is a matter between me and my son, it's my problem to deal with."
"I know but no one can find our expert." Yami said. "She'll get what you need while the other one gets the info on them from the underworld of Crocus."
"I will take it and I hope that we can return any favors to you." Makarov said. "Julius is a great man and dear friend, so I wish for our Guilds to be close when the games are over."
"I believe that that is what Julius would want now that he knows you are safe as part of our mission was to find out what happened to you." Yami said. "But first we will win the games and then we can properly introduce ourselves to your Guild as the new number 1 Guild in Fiore."
"I have told him that I am safe, so you are discharged from that part of your mission here." Makarov said before grinning. "But we will win, you lot are good but we're better."
"We shall see old man and let's make a bet." Yami said seeing a good chance to gamble. "But first you do want our story, don't you?"
"Yes, let's get back to how you lot ended up here?" Makarov said. "And what has been going on as Julius said that things were rather hectic for a while. Last I'd heard he had suspicions that there was something going on in your kingdom but nothing more. He knew that something was up but not what it was."
"So it was that short of a time frame in our world." Yami said. "Well, basically there was this group called the Eye of the Midnight Sun that was the group which Julius had suspected was making moves in the shadows. Asta, Magna, and Noelle were the first to encounter some of their men on a routine mission but we didn't know who they were as 3 of them committed suicide and the last one fled. Then they attacked the capital as a way to get a magic stone from Fuegoleon Vermillion, no relation to your first master by the way, and that's when we learned who they were."
"Oh, I know that the Vermillions in your world are not related to Fairy Tail's first master." Makarov said as he ignored Mavis's surprise at that. "Julius told me of the royal houses of Kira, Vermillion, and Silva after he learned of Mavis's family name, but we know that there's no way for them to be connected. Just a pure coincidence."
"I'm not surprised that Julius told you of the royal houses." Yami said. "But yes there was an attack that was ultimately after Fuegoleon and they succeeding in getting the stone, maiming him in the process but he survived, and we learned of this group. Then we ran into their leader in a cavern, where I beat his ass with a tiny bit of help from Asta and Gauche. During the battle some of their strongest showed up after I won the first round against that light bastard, one of those three was that Fana girl with Salamander who we mentioned, but I can give the full battle tale later."
"Yes I can't be out too long so just give me the highlights." Makarov said. "This group, what were they and what were they after?"
"They claimed to want to overthrow the Clover Kingdom and make their own one in its place, but it was much more than that." Yami explained. "See, they were being manipulated by some scumbag devil and his 500 yearlong plan to enter our world and rule it, or something like that I wasn't really paying attention to his details."
"A devil?" Makarov asked. "Like a demon?"
"What's a demon?" Yami asked.
"It's a creature in this world associated with a Dark Wizard called Zeref." Gordon said surprising both Yami and Makarov as he looked at the strange man in white and black makeup it seemed. "I read about them during my research time here as we are dealing with devils back home, so I wanted to see if there were some similarities in this world but what I learned about demons was that they're completely different."
"Your Guild member is right." Makarov said. "Demons in this world are creations by the Dark Wizard himself, sentient constructs so to speak, that are tied to books of his or something like that. Little is known and given the stories around Zeref it's hard to say what is true and what is fiction when it comes to his abilities."
"Zeref?" Yami asked.
"A Dark Wizard from 400 years ago of immense power and cruelty though there is a lot that is myth surrounding him." Makarov said. "He's something for another time but you should know what I know of him just in case because there are always rumors that he will return, and we may or may not have encountered him on Tenrou Island though I'm not sure on that front. Again, things with that man are clouded."
"Understood, we can have a detailed discussion on this Zeref after the games." Yami said. "And if these demons are his constructs then devils aren't that. From what I gathered, though I've only met one of them, devils are a sentient race of evil bastards that live in the underworld that is at least tied to our one via a place called the Shadow Palace. This devil was trying to get into our world some 500 years before our own events but failed due to the actions of the First Wizard King and the leader of the elf clan who both possessed four-leaf grimoires."
"Right, the lucky ones." Makarov said. "Julius explained what the leaves of the clover meant and that despite his grimoire not having a cover it was still a three-leaf grimoire though I noticed that Asta's has 5 on it."
"Yeah mines special." Asta said with an embarrassed chuckle. "It actually once belonged to Licht, the leader of the elves 500 years ago our time who had a four-leaf grimoire. See, according to that devil we mentioned, for him to get a grimoire he needs to force a four-leaf grimoire holder, my foster brother Yuno has one by the way, to give into despair."
"A devil needs to do that?" Makarov asked.
"Yes and 500 years ago the devil we faced almost managed this by pitting the elves and humans against each other." Asta said with a nod. "He manipulated the humans into a sneak attack on the elves during a wedding between Licht and a human princess who's brother was Licht's close friend and a fellow four-leaf grimoire holder. During the attack, the elves were massacred by the royals of the Clover Kingdom. Licht almost gave into despair, it was bad enough to create a five-leaf grimoire, but he managed to stop at the last minute and made himself into a demon in our world, which prevented the devil from getting the grimoire. The First Wizard King killed him to save him and the nation, it's how that position began."
"I see, sort of." Makarov said.
"Basically, this devil bastard was behind it the whole time and caused a genocide for his own gain and amusement." Yami said with a puff of his cigarette. "It was stopped and according to someone I trust that understands this the devil was sealed away for 500 years but he set his plan into motion subtler and used what we call Forbidden Magic to reincarnate one of the elves who was killed, the one who would get the four-leaf grimoire in his generation, that Light Magic user I faced in the cavern, so that he could manipulate the reincarnated elf from afar."
"Reincarnation Magic." Makarov said with a shudder. "In our world that has never been recorded, at least not in the way you just described, that I know of, but it sounds sinister."
"From what we saw it is that and then some." Yami said. "Reincarnation Magic appears to make those it's used on more susceptible to negative emotions so when the guy was reincarnated, in the body of William Vangeance by the way, he began his plan to pay the humans back by killing all of them in the Clover Kingdom almost 500 years prior to his reincarnation. It was dumb and he used more Reincarnation Magic to create 3 deputies to aid him, those three who showed up after I beat him in our first round, and put the spirits of all the other elves into various humans for when the time came to reincarnate all of them."
"I was one of them." Luck said causing Makarov to look at the blond boy who was very excitable and was one of the 5 that was on the Black Bulls' team for the games. "As was Gauche."
"Don't remind me." Gauche said as he continued to stare at the picture he had of Marie as his nose bled and ignore the conversation around him as Makarov committed the man's name to memory. "It was annoying."
"Ok and I take it that the plan of this elf guy was to what, take over the bodies or something?" Makarov asked.
"Something like that." Yami said. "He needed these magic stones, that's why he attacked Fuegoleon, and we found out, so we went to get one from an Undersea Temple and faced one of his deputies, some monster called Vetto the Despair who had Beast Magic. My team beat him while I was trapped by some annoying Spatial Mage, but I pushed past my limits, learned a new spell, escaped, beat that guy up, and then ended Vetto before he could destroy the Temple. Then they found the other stone by accident because Asta got his arms messed up by Vetto and Vanessa went to her home in the Forest of Witches to get her mother to heal Asta. She did but that was when Fana attacked them, as did the Diamond Kingdom."
"It was intense." Asta said. "But I got my arms healed, we won, Fana was saved and reunited with her friend Mars, who became my friend then despite him trying to kill me the first time we met because now he was going to save the Diamond Kingdom where he was from, and we got the stone. Well after the Witch Queen took over my body for my power and tried to make me kill my friends that is."
"As horrible as she is, and I refuse to call her mother because she's not family to me that's the Black Bulls, it did allow me to finally learn the spell she wanted me to learn, which had been why she'd locked me in a cage as a child." Vanessa said. "It did help her reform somewhat though as she realized that I was never going to learn that spell with her and we're on slightly better terms. As a thank you for our service she gave us the stone and explained a bit about what it was."
"However, they attacked our base for some reason while we were attacking theirs, but we'd given the stones to the Wizard King, so we don't know why they attack." Gordon said and with Nero not there to tell them the truth behind the attack was to retrieve the final magic stone which she'd retrieved from Saussy Village. "And they used them to do their Reincarnation Magic to reincarnate all the souls by sacrificing those of the Eye of the Midnight Sun members who'd been tricked into thinking they'd be the ones changing when they were just human sacrifices."
"That's horrible." Makarov said his eyes wide. "Magic like that, it's pure evil."
"It is magic used by devils." Yami said. "So, it makes sense that it would be like that and those elves they reincarnated were done so into the bodies of powerful, non-royal, mages."
"What level of power?" Makarov said. "By your metrics or mine."
"I'd say they were Senior Magic Knight level for the most part, or at least high in mana, though we had some ways to subdue them and even exorcise them using one of Asta's swords." Yami said though he didn't give away Asta's actual power as that was a secret he'd ordered not be revealed unless absolutely necessary. "And they tried to kill the King. I had to save his life with one of the few other Captains not taken over by an elf soul while the other royals sorted out their houses and this Shadow Palace appeared. That's when the devil revealed himself and his plans."
"I was there for that moment." Asta said. "It was enough to send Patry, the elf he'd manipulated through Reincarnation Magic, into despair when he learned the truth of everything and how it wasn't Licht's will that he was doing. As such the devil got his five-leaf grimoire."
"I take it that's bad." Makarov said.
"Oh yeah it was bad, the devil had some freaky magic called Word Soul Magic where anything he said became real and that was before he got his grimoire." Asta said.
"Yeah it was a nasty bit of magic." Yami said. "It had some limitations to it but still it was tough to face, and the devil had a lot of mana."
"But you beat him." Makarov said. "Or else you wouldn't be here."
"Yeah we beat him." Asta said with a grin. "There was a fight, the First Wizard King showed up due to not actually being dead but sealed away as a statue until this moment, and Licht who'd been reincarnated as well and put into a fake body made by one the Eye's members called Sally also fought. She actually survived being sacrificed along with two others because of one of theirs magic. Regardless, that was unforgivable, but I was able to help Patry out, dude was just a scared kid, but he committed horrible crimes, and brought him back from despair."
"I'm a little lost so perhaps another time we can go over those more nuanced details." Makarov said as he finished his beer. "Just tell me how you beat him. It must have been tough."
"It wasn't easy, but we managed it." Yami said. "That devil freak had some strange spell in his grimoire that ate mana, and as a result the Shadow Palace was falling apart. I used a mix of my own skills and one I'd learned from Fuegoleon's sister called Mana Zone to find him and slash him with my Dark Magic as that worked on him for some reason."
"That gave me and Yuno the needed opening for Yuno to get me to him and for me to cut his heart in two, with some help from others." Asta said. "You have to do that to kill a devil apparently and he can move his heart around but with Captain Yami's hit we had it. Then we busted out and with the aid Captain Vangeance, who'd returned as Patry had been in charge of their body, and Licht's connection to the other elves I was able to exorcise the remaining elves in one go and put them to rest."
"All of them?" Makarov asked. "How?"
"Captain Vangeance has World Tree Magic and he used that to connect all the elves via its roots then I used my sword that can exorcise them on the tree that was made." Asta said. "Only the 3 who'd been reincarnated before and Patry, who himself was placed in the fake body used for Licht by Rades, one of the three survivors with Sally of that whole mass sacrifice, to atone for his sins. Not sure what happened to them."
"They fled like cowards and haven't actually faced punishment annoyingly." Yami said. "But that's the gist however the damage the elves causes when they'd been awoken filled with hatred for humans was extensive and many citizens died. Rather than reveal the truth, that this had been caused by the Captain of the Golden Dawn's failure to stop Patry, and that he'd been in the know the entire time, the nobles used Asta as a scapegoat because he has some kind of what you'd call Takeover Magic that makes him look like a devil and it was easier to pin it on an orphaned commoner than the real culprit."
"I understand that, Julius explained the situation in your world, and I actually know that kind of prejudice to demonic looking Takeover Magic as it exists here." Makarov said buying the ruse they were using for Asta's devil form. "One of my children, before she and her siblings joined Fairy Tail, faced it due to her Takeover Magic."
"That does surprise me given the limited prejudice we've noticed here." Yami said. "There is still some here and there that we've noticed but nothing like it is back in our world."
"Prejudice and ignorance exist no matter the world." Makarov said "I know of the stuff in your world from Julius. I take it they wanted to execute Asta to finish the scapegoating of him and thus sweep the whole thing under the rug."
"Pretty much though they would have likely also gone after another of my Squad who's magic was corrupted by using ancient magic not meant for humans." Yami said though Makarov had no idea who he was referring to with that. "But Julius worked out a deal with the Magic Parliament to stop that. We serve a 6-month banishment from the Clover Kingdom, a suspension of Asta's sentence effectively, while Julius and the other nobles on our side, which is a good few after all that happened, work to clear his name. To aid us, Julius suggested we come here for it as it would be 6 years to us so we'd get more training in this way and be away from all that. I agreed and now we're here."
"I see, yes that would explain it and Julius told me that the key he used to get here, which was made here by the way I was able to confirm that when he was in our world all those decades ago for me, can be used in his world fine but takes 6 years our time to recharge on Ethernano." Makarov said rubbing his chin. "Well played old friend, well played indeed. You are as shrewd as ever I see. I'm sure that Precht would have considered naming Julius Guild Master and not me had Julius stayed but I understand why he had to return to your world."
"Julius may be a magic loving freak but he's not the Wizard King for nothing." Yami said. "Anyway, that is how and why we are here. Been here for two years before you lot returned and now we're in the Grand Magic Games. Our lives here have been good, we're actually doing a lot better than we were in the Clover Kingdom, but we will return home the moment our banishment here is over."
"I understand and hope that we can work together in that time because your aid in some situations would be useful, your magic is different and can be a key factor here as we saw today in Hidden." Makarov said. "Very well, that explains what I wanted to know but I do have one more question for you. What happened to Captain Vangeance? He was responsible for all this so surely something must have happened."
"Publicly my Captain can't be punished, the nobles wouldn't stand for it, especially after the role he played in exorcising all the elves at the end." Mimosa said causing Makarov to look to the girl in surprise as she was wearing a Black Bulls robe and he could just about make out part of her Guild Mark on her left thigh as the strip of exposed skin she had there showed it. "But privately he has been. He was the favorite to succeed Lord Julius as Wizard King but now he's not able to because of his actions and he'll spend the rest of his time doing all he can to make up for it."
"I guess that is how it goes there." Makarov said. "But you mentioned that he was your Captain. Aren't you a Black Bull? You wear their robe and bear their Guild Mark after all."
"I am at the moment." Mimosa said as she started to blush as she explained why she was here. "But back in the Clover Kingdom I am a member of the Golden Dawn, the only royal in them and thus the only one not with an elf soul, though the one in Yuno was an unborn child so he wasn't taken over. However, when I found out that Asta would be banished, which was better than being executed at least, I volunteered to join the Black Bulls in their banishment to look after him, and the others as well."
"Oh, so that's how it is." Makarov said eyeing the girl and noting that as conservative as she was dressed it still didn't hide that she was above the Fairy Tail average in the bust department. "Asta's a lucky man to have you there for him."
"What!" Noelle shrieked which got even more attention from Makarov, the boy was really lucky it seemed.
"Huh?" Asta asked clueless as ever to this sort of stuff.
"No, it's not like that." Mimosa said quickly though her red face gave it away that she wanted it to be like that. "Yes I am a close friend of Asta's, we've worked together many times, but it's not as you imply. You see Asta has a habit of getting hurt, a lot and usually it's quite badly, and, well, while there is someone on the Black Bulls who can do some kinds of Healing Magic she's not got the skills I have so I volunteered to come as a healer for the Black Bulls. Lord Julius agreed as Healing Magic wasn't here when he was, though I've heard it is now, and so it made sense. Plus, I could be the official monitor of them as a non-Black Bull but in reality I am a member of this Guild."
"Oh ok." Makarov said, he was sure that some of his Guild, especially a certain blue exceed, would have some fun with that triangle when they all met but he'd let Happy have his moment and see if one of the girls tried to blast him to the moon for it. "Well thank you for telling me. I was curious but as with you I trust Julius so if he sent you here then you must be good."
"You saved us the trouble of finding you for a chat old man though I would have if you hadn't have come." Yami said as Makarov hopped off the bench, his drink and food now long done, and he headed to the door. "We'll chat more once we win the Grand Magic Games."
"Don't you mean once we do." Makarov said with a laugh. "Tomorrow is a new day so let's see who wins then we can talk more. Goodnight Black Bulls, tomorrow we are rivals again."
The Black Bulls all, well most, answered that and Makarov left the tavern and closed the door behind him. As soon as he was gone Yami looked at his Squad.
"That was useful but don't let it distract you, we must focus on the games until they are over." Yami said. "So those on the team, get some rest as I expect 20 points tomorrow. The rest of you make sure that you're up for them because I want all of us there to support them."
"Yes Captain." Came the chorus of responses before the Black Bulls made their ways to bed or to keep celebrating or discuss what had happened.
For his part Yami just got up and went to his private bathroom. He needed a dump and he had to think on the conversation with Makarov so where better to do so than while on the toilet. There was a lot more that he and the old man needed to discuss alone but that would come in time. For now, it was time to drop a load and then crash because tomorrow the Black Bulls pulled into the lead in the Grand Magic Games.
Makarov was also deep in thought as he left the tavern, and Mavis began peppering him with questions. He couldn't answer her in public but he would in private back at their tavern because there was a lot going on after he'd learned what he'd come for. Regardless, he trusted Julius to know what he was doing.
There would be time to talk to Yami again after the games but first he needed to focus on them. Tomorrow was the day Fairy Tail bounced back as they worked hard to recover and win the Grand Magic Games.
What no one realized, mainly because he was shadow the entire time so ki didn't work due him not having a physical presence to give it off and thanks to his years of training he could make the shadows mask his magic, was that a certain man from the future had been present almost the entire time. He'd stayed long enough to learn what he needed to before leaving so as to not push his luck and have time report to Princess Hisui what he'd learn.
Future Rogue was smirking as he moved through the shadows of Crocus. His theory had been proven and he could use it to manipulate the gullible Princess back on track for his plans that would soon come to fruition once the Grand Magic Games came to a close and the rise of the Dragon King began.
Well, there it is, Makarov's first meeting with Yami and now he, and Mavis who's learned the truth not that the Black Bulls know, is aware of why they are in Fiore and what Julius has been up to recently though another has now learned of their true origin and will soon use it to his advantage. There will be many more chats I am sure and these two gamblers and drinkers will have plenty of bets to make but for now they need to focus on their own Guilds as each tries to win the Grand Magic Games. Still, the seeds of friendship and cooperation between Fairy Tail and the Black Bulls is there and once the Games are over they will sprout, pending any unforeseen delays of course. For anyone wondering there is Black Clover precedent for Shadow Magic, when the user is fully merged with a shadow, being able to evade ki as seen by the Eye of the Midnight Sun member who hid in Asta's shadow during the reception for the members as well as implied notions that Nacht can use it to evade ki and magic. As such I used that to have Future Rogue hide as he has to make sure his plans go off without a hitch and now he knows the truth of the Black Bulls and it plays right into his hands so he can get the Princess back under his thumb and further his goals for what is to come. Anyway, that is all that I have for this chapter so I will leave it off here, y'all know what is next as the Grand Magic Games continues. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog