Ladies and Gentlemen, We're back with another chapter. A battle of epic perportions is right around the corner, and I sincerly hope that you'll be able to enjoy it. Lot's of time and effort was put into it to honest, so I hope you all let me know what you think.

Anyways, that's enough of that. Onto the chapter itself!

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Shönen Jump. Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and Weekly Shönen Magazine. I own NOTHING. This is all just for fun.


"Well now, this is certainly a surprise," Yhwach stated as E.N.D. continued his slow trek forward. "I wasn't expecting you to show yourself so soon, almighty demon of Zeref. But I suppose I pushed you a mite too far to draw out your latent power, so I only have myself to blame."

E.N.D. said nothing, his eyes glaring into the king's. He needn't say anything, as the look he was giving the king said everything. There was nothing but pure, unadulterated hatred etched onto his face, and nothing more. Yet despite this, there were no loud cries of revenge, or swearing to avenge his friend. No, this was one of the rare instances where the dragon slayer found himself completely silent.

The Quincy king had already taken precautions, Blut Vene activated. Out of all the beings that dwelled within Earth Land, E.N.D. was among the very few that Yhwach considered a true threat to himself. Fortunately, it seems that only a small portion of its power has awakened. I'll have to respond in kind, The king prepared to fire several Heilig Pfeil from his fingers. But for now, let us see what you are capable of… Etherious Natsu Dragneel.

(Song of choice: Crimson Flames, Naruto Shippuden OST.)

The flames surrounding the etherious swirled around him, building up into a chaotic vortex of hellfire. E.N.D. gritted his canines together and then, after a snarl, he lunged forward, striking out with his right claw. The demonic claw slashed at Yhwach, the Quincy king blocking with his left hand before he skid back several feet as he grunted out in pain. His eyes glanced over to his arm, the limb covered in first degree burns and scrapes. I see. So, it's as I suspected. Not even Blut Vene will be enough to fully protect me. I'll have to exercise more caution.

"I'll make you pay!"

E.N.D. attempted to slash at him again, the Kaiser responding by firing a Heilig Pfeil at the demon. However E.N.D. simply swatted it away before roaring in anger and delivering a powerful kick to the king's stomach. Letting out a gasp of air, Yhwach tried to slice at E.N.D. with his blade, but the demon dodged underneath and delivered a blow to Yhwach's right cheek. Almost instantly did Yhwach swing his sword in retaliation, slicing the demon across the chest. However, despite his blade cutting into the demon's flesh, no blood came from the wound.

"High speed regeneration?" Yhwach pondered before his eyes narrowed at the cut, quickly noticing the seared flesh "No… He simply cauterized the wound to prevent any bleeding."

"DIE!" E.N.D. cried out before taking off in a burst of flame, the Quincy Kaiser only just managing to raise up his sword in time to defend, the ground beneath them cratering as sword met claw. The king swung his sword to force the demon back, but the etherious was relentless, and quickly burst back into the fray, punching Yhwach hard in the stomach before attempting to grab at his face. The Quincy king took a step back before slicing his sword at E.N.D. yet again, slicing against his chest once more before firing a Heilig Pfeil at the demon. The etherious grabbed the arrow as he was sent back before he promptly crushed it in his claw.

E.N.D. let out a monstrous roar as he came charging in, the arrows fired from Yhwach's fingertips not slowing him down in the slightest. The king attempted to swing his sword to cut the

demon, but E.N.D. leapt above the strike and kicked downwards, the impact of his kick causing the ground beneath Yhwach to shatter into a larger crater. Grunting with some effort, the king managed to fling E.N.D off of his blade.

"Let's see how you handle this," Yhwach stated as he crossed his hands together. "Heizen."

A transparent, rectangular beam of light emitted from Yhwach's hands, slamming into the dragon slayer as he had taken off into a sprint. The demon gnashed his fangs together before, with a mighty shout, he spewed off a blast of flame from his mouth, melting the attack and hurtling right towards Yhwach. The king batted away the flames, only for E.N.D. to have already closed the distance. E.N.D. grabbed at the king's arms and held them to the side before he let out a loud roar and slammed his forehead against Yhwach's. The king let out a grunt of pain but the etherious promptly headbutted the king again and again, each one shattering the ground beneath them as the forest quaked.

Finally having enough of this, the emperor kicked E.N.D. hard in the chest before he swung his sword, the demon blocking the attack with his volcanic left arm just in time, only for the king to grab onto E.N.D.'s throat and throw him to the ground. He raised his sword high and thrust downwards, expecting to have to perform some first-aid on the soon-to-be incapacitated dragon slayer.

*Clang*

To his immense surprise, E.N.D. had somehow managed to stop the blade. His fangs clenched onto the edge and the blade itself began to melt before the dragon slayer spewed out a gout of fire from his mouth, forcing the emperor of Bosco to cover his face. E.N.D. then slammed both of his feet into his stomach, sending him back several feet. As Yhwach shook his head to try to place the demon, he noticed the looming shadow over him and reforged his blade to block a downward strike from E.N.D., the two tunneling down into the ground as E.N.D. kicked him into the earth. Down the two went, but as the pair continued their descent, the king was not idle. Moving his spare hand across the tunneling earth, Yhwach finished the preparations for his spell with an incantation.

"Leichte Hände der Erde."

Massive hands of light spewed forth from the tunnel where Yhwach's own hand had touched, reaching down and grabbing E.N.D. before flinging him out from the hole in the ground. However, as the constructs tried to connect with him once more, the demon took a quick breath before blasting out flames from his mouth, destroying the hands of light… only for Yhwach to come in at blinding speed in an attempt to cut him down.

As he moved in for an attack, E.N.D. generated flames around the soles of his feet to shoot upward before he then sped back down towards the king. Thinking fast, the king vanished from E.N.D.'s vision before appearing at the bottom of the forest floor.

"It seems that I have no choice but to be a bit rough with this one," Yhwach muttered as E.N.D. landed and began to make a mad dash towards him before the king disappeared from sight yet again, appearing behind E.N.D., and slashing at the demon's back. Satisfied with the pained cry in response, Yhwach sidestepped E.N.D.'s counterattack and slammed the pommel of his sword into the back of the demon's head, sending him tumbling forward.

"Power you may have, but you lack the clarity to use it properly," Yhwach claimed as E.N.D. leapt up into the air and crashed down towards the king who evaded once more in a flash. He turned around, preparing to slice at the demon once more, when a molten hand reached out and grabbed hold of his weapon, stopping both it and him in their tracks.

He's already adapted to my Hirenkyaku. I'll just have to-

(Song of choice: What do you see in their eyes. Bleach Fade to Black OST)

But before his line of thought could finish, E.N.D. snapped the sword in his hand, and Yhwach was forced to step back from a slash aimed at his face. His feet skidding aross the ground, Yhwach fired several Heilig Pfeil at E.N.D. The first three hit their mark, the demon grunting out in pain from each blow before he surrounded himself with fire, the arrows disintegrating once they made contact with his element. E.N.D. then gnashed his teeth together before the soles of his feet burst with flames, sending him hurtling towards Yhwach.

More arrows were fired at E.N.D., this time filled with additional power. While the attacks were more effective, each one managing to damage him to some varying degree, E.N.D. nonetheless rocketed through the barrage of arrows and grabbed Yhwach by his throat, hurling the two of them through several acres of forest.

Kicking hard on E.N.D.'s stomach, the demon's grip was released but not before he slashed at the king, sending him onto his back, the quincy monarch was forced to roll out of the way as E.N.D. crashed down where he had once been. The emperor had just gotten up to his feet when E.N.D.'s flaming palm grabbed Yhwach's face before E.N.D.'s brought it down to his knee.

The demon continued to slam the emperor of Boso's face onto his knee two more times as Yhwach tried to force the demon off of him with his left hand, only for E.N.D. to bite the hand and slammed Yhwach to the ground, the strongest of Zeref's demons letting out a mighty shout before he punched at the quincy king and devastated the ground beneath him. Far from satisfied, E.N.D proceeded to wail on the fallen king several dozen times, his fists slamming repeatedly into Yhwach's face.

Managing to find a moment to concentrate enough, the king finally managed to reforge his sword and swung it hard, the attack sending E.N.D high into the sky. Yhwach rose again just as a crash resounded before him, E.N.D. having landed. Yhwach fired a massive Heilig Pfeil at the demon, forcing him back before E.N.D. pivoted and jumped above the arrow into the air, hoping to drill his opponent into the earth once more, his right hand imbued with flame.

"Inferno Dragon's Iron Fist!"

With the ground beneath Yhwach already beginning to melt, the king of the quincy decided to opt for a proper defense. His Blut Vene extended out from his arms and shot into the ground, creating a forcefield that surrounded the king and effortlessly blocked the attack.

"It's useless, Etherious Natsu Dragneel." Yhwach watched as E.N.D. continued to try to break up the forcefield with his spell. "Blut Vene Anhaben creates a barrier far more powerful than Blut on its own. You'll find that, not only will your meager spell not be enough to penetrate my defense…"

Vein-like extensions erupted from the barrier that Yhwach had erected and shot out towards E.N.D., slowly covering his entire body. "...But it also acts as a means to tear my opponent apart and expand Blute Vene into their body! "

The king of the quincy had no desire to kill E.N.D. with this technique, but at the very least, he'd be able to restrict the demon's use of his right hand. The veins began to spread further and further up E.N.D.'s body… only to cease entirely. Then, to Yhwach's surprise, they burned away.

What!? He's burning my Blut!? The king realized before all of the veins that had traveled onto E.N.D.'s body had been completely melted away, with the flames now stretching back to the forcefield. They harmlessly clashed against the construct of light, but the demon was far from finished as he began to prepare for his next move, his flames concentrating on his left elbow.

"Inferno Dragon's Flame Elbow!"

His left claw empowered by the flames on his elbow, the demonic hand slashed right through the barrier, Yhwach's eyes wide with surprise as E.N.D. prepared to slash his flaming claw right down the middle.

"Heiliger Pfählerr!"

From the ground surrounding the king, eight blades of light sprung up and fired towards E.N.D. Each blade cut into the demon as he was flung away, the blades stretching outwards before they warped and slammed the demon to the ground. E.N.D. let out a loud roar, and with a swing of his right hand, all the blades embedded in his body shattered before he got up to his feet, his flames cauterizing the wounds once more.

Yhwach narrowed his eyes. "It seems that you are every bit the threat that I deemed you could be, E.N.D." He created a sword in one hand as his spiritual pressure continued to rise. "From this moment on, it seems that I'll have to start taking things a bit more seriously."

As it stood, things were starting to spiral out of control. The air itself was filled with an intensely dry heat, the entire forest slowly losing all of its moisture to their battle. Nearby trees were beginning to wither and dry up, and from the corner of Yhwach's eye did he notice a nearby pond evaporating at an alarming rate. Yes, he was lucky indeed to have moved this battle as far away from Magnolia as he had.

E.N.D., for his part, simply snarled before letting loose a thunderous roar and dashing forward. The demon didn't know why that man was calling him that name. He didn't care. He just knew that this bastard had disrespected Lisanna's grave in front of him, and now… he was going to pay with his life.


"Ok, what the hell am I sensing!?" Bambietta asked her fellow Quincy and surrounding Reigai as she gazed back over towards East forest. "Is that… is that fucking Natsu!?" She demanded. She couldn't believe it if it was, the dragon slayer's power skyrocketing to such insane heights that he made her full power in her prime look like nothing by comparison..

"It is, but… how!?" Rukia asked. "Right now his powers shot up well above even Captain Ukitake's!"

"I… I didn't think it was possible for mages to get this strong." Momo replied as she continued to heal Erza among her friends.

That wasn't to even speak of just how dry everything felt. Sure, it wasn't anywhere to the degree of when Yammamoto had unleashed his Bankai during the Wandenreich's first attack on the Sereitai, but the fact that they could feel Natsu's flames from this distance was…concerning

Even Ulquiorra was taken aback, his eyes wide. He didn't want to admit it, but at the moment… It was even greater than his own in Segunda Etapa and if anything… it was more akin to the form Ichigo Kurosaki had undergone to defeat him. No, as things stood, it was getting even stronger.

Does the power of one's emotions allow for such a feat to be possible? The arrancar pondered.

"Holy. Shit. Ok, note to self, do not get on his bad side in any future guild brawls." Candice exclaimed. "Because I don't want any of that!"

"Something's wrong though." Liltotto mentioned, her face wrought with concern. "His power, it seems… different."

"Well yeah, no shit Lil. It's freaking gigantic." Bambietta responded.

Liltotto shook her head. "No, I don't just mean the size. You probably haven't noticed it because you're not around him as often as I am, but Natsu's flames and magic usually exude warmth. Fierce, yet protective. But this power… Even from this distance I only sense hatred and sorrow."

Bambietta narrowed her eyes. "Come to think of it… Yeah, I sense it too. Like… it doesn't even feel like magic anymore. It's not like a hollow though. No this feels… different."

Rukia nodded. "Yes, I agree. But I've sensed something similar before. This feels like… like… it's from Hell."

Everyone glanced over towards Rukia. "Hell!? Are you sure!? Are you absolutely certain!?" Momo asked.

Rukia slowly nodded her head. "I thought that I was just imagining things when I first sensed it, but now I'm sure of it. It's a… very similar feeling. My original actually ran into several denizens of hell, no, she actually went there! So yes, I'm sure of it!"

Bambietta sighed. "First Yhwach comes over for a visit with the Schutzstaffel, now Natsu's got hell energy. Man, as if this day wasn't exhausting enough."

"What do you think any of this means?" Candice asked Liltotto.

Liltotto clenched her fists, before she took a silent gulp. "I… I don't know." However, she shook her head as a steely gaze overtook her. "I'm going."

Bambietta gawked at her suggestion. "You're going!? Lil, that's practically suicide! I know you can sense what's going on over there! We get too close and we could die!"

"Lil, I hate to agree with her, but she's right." Candice said. "We can already feel some of the heat from over here. We might fry to a crisp if we get too close, and that's not even counting all of that insane spiritual pressure!"

Liltotto shook her head. "I don't care! I can't just sit by and watch by the sidelines anymore!" Liltotto demanded. "I can't, no I won't, let him take Natsu from me!"

"You have nothing to fear, Liltotto. I'll be heading over to check up on it myself."

The group of three turned their head's as Makarov made his way towards them. "But while I understand how you feel, it is too dangerous for me to allow the rest of you to come with me. Therefore, I ask that you remain here while I check up on them."

"I wish to participate if you'll allow me, Master Makarov." Ulquiorra said as he appeared with a flash. "The level of power I'm sensing...It needs to be checked out by at least one person who can appropriately sense it. I should be able to withstand the heat better than the others with my Hiero."

While normally Makarov would have insisted that he could have handled this on his own, having someone more familiar with the powerset from the world that the quincy's had originated from would no doubt be beneficial. "Very well, let us head forth and make way towards them! This has gone on long enough!"

However, much to Ulquiorra and Makarov's surprise, the two…didn't move from their spot. It wasn't as if there was some force preventing them from moving at all, but rather…they felt a completely overwhelming desire to remain still.

I…I don't understand! Makarov asked himself internally. I…I need to go help Natsu! I can't just stay here! I am the master of this guild, and therefore his safety is my top priority! Yet despite this rousing internal speech that he had given himself…nothing had happened, his feet remained firmly planted. Was…was he frozen in place by fear?

He glanced over towards Ulquiorra, the arrancar having a similar problem. Something was going on, there was no doubt about it…but just what that was, the guild master of Fairy Tail had no idea.

Liltotto wasn't taking their lack of action lying down however. "What? You guys got cold feet all of a sudden? Well fine! Then I'll just-"

However, just as she took a single step forward,, the former stern ritter found herself in a similar circumstance, as her body seemed to wash over with a strong urge to remain where she was. This….what….is…this? Liltotto pondered. No…damn it all, don't tell me I'm getting too scared to help him too! NO, I told myself I wouldn't abandon anyone ever again! Move! Come on you piece of shit, move!

Yet despite all of her internal pleading…she simply remained as she was.

The Schutzstaffel meanwhile were having a conversation of their own. Lilie Barro and Gerard in particular looked rather serious.

"Things are getting out of hand " Lille stated as he sensed the battle between his lord and the dragon slayer. "I know that his Majesty wished to witness the full capacity of the 'War Potentials', but the fact that he is struggling at all means that the situation has become dire."

Gerard nodded his head. "Verily. We should head to His Majesty to assist him immediately!"

"Do you believe that we should accompany you?" Ria asked.

"Nay," Gerard answered as he shook his head. "The two of you have yet to fully master your schrift and holy forms. As you are now, you'd just get in the way."

"For now it would be best for the two of you to remain here and continue to ensure that no one else will follow." Lille Barro said as he and Gerard prepared to leave. " For if they were to do so… their lives may become forfeit."

The two Quincy vanished then, Ria promptly turning around to face the Grand Master. "Jonathan, you've been… uncharacteristically quiet throughout this. What's wrong?"

Jonathan turned around to face Ria and gave her a small smile. "You always could tell when something was amiss ever since we were children. Nothing is wrong, per se. I'm just mulling over all of the potential outcomes of our current predicament. In the best case scenario, things will proceed exactly as planned."

"And the worst?" Ria asked with concern.

Jonathan's smile vanished. "Then we'll be left with no choice but to take over Fiore and Fairy Tail by force."

Assuming his Majesty could win at all.


(Song of choice: Showdown. Evangelion 1.0)

"GGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

An inhuman roar came from E.N.D.'s mouth as the dragon slayer slashed across the emperor's stomach with his right claw, his uniform and chest now slowly dripping with blood as his feet skid against the ground. Letting out yet another roar, the demon charged in for another attack, only for his claw to be parried by the Emperor's sword and for the Kaiser to promptly fire a Hileg Phiel from his hand. It blasted E.N.D. in the chest, sending the demon back before Yhwach rushed in, his sword at the ready.

E.N.D. dodged the first strike aimed at his throat, then another that had tried to slice at his chest before the Quincy king fired an arrow to the ground, blowing up dust and obscuring his vision. Yhwach thrust his blade into E.N.D.'s left shoulder, but the demon growled before delivering a slash across Yhwach's face, the king taking a step or two back before E.N.D. slammed his fist right across Yhwach's face. "Inferno Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The king staggered back before E.N.D. leapt into the air, his legs engulfed in fire. "Inferno Dragon's Claw!" The demon crashed down on Yhwach, the emperor swinging his sword to properly block the attack before E.N.D. landed on his hands and knees.

"Inferno Dragon's Sword Horn!"

The mightiest of Zeref's creations slammed into the king, the pair burrowing through an entire mountainside before the king grabbed Natsu by the face and fired an arrow at the demon point blank. The first blow caused the demon to grunt in pain, the second to loosen his grip, and the third to finally release the king outright. As the Etherious shook his head, woozy from the attacks, several more arrows had been fired from Yhwach's hand.

Ten arrows hit the dragon slayer directly and blasted him out of the hole the two had created in the mountain, the king using Hirenkyaku to appear right behind E.N.D. and slash him horizontally on his back. The demon snarled before he swung his claws at the king, his trusty blade blocking the attack as his feet dug into the ground. Fist and blade clashed then, the shockwaves devastating the forest as entire acres of trees were cut and burned through the exchange.

Utilizing Blut Arterie, the king of the Quincy swung his sword. E.N.D. dodged underneath the blow, the shockwaves of the attack stretching outwards to the sky, before cleaving an entire mountain in two.

Before he could begin to ponder his next move however, E.N.D. was already preparing his own, a massive amount of fire building up in his belly, preparing to blast it out.

"INFERNO DRAGON'S ROAR!"

An immeasurable amount of searing, white-hot flame spewed from E.N.D.'s mouth. Knowing that defending against such an attack would end poorly, Yhwach decided to use Hirenkyaku to evade the attack. The king turned to witness the devastation of the attack, his eyes widening. There was an enormous, gaping hole in one of the mountains surrounding Magnolia, the sheer heat of the burn leaving a perfectly circle-shaped hole where most of its mass had once been before the mountain began to cave in.

Well then, so much for keeping destruction of the local area to a minimum. No doubt he would have to request his daughter to come visit the devastated forest. In the meanwhile, however… he had more important matters to dwell on.

Most importantly…Surviving.

A powerful slice of E.N.D.'s claws, then another, both impacting against his Blut Vene, the attacks began doing slightly more and more damage with each strike. After going in for a third blow, Yhwach parried the claw strike with his sword, before giving E.N.D. an uppercut with his spare hand before firing a large Heilig Pfeil at him. The large arrow carried him a bit before E.N.D. let out a blaring roar, the soundwave shattering the arrow of light… only for five more arrows to slam into him.

"Damn it… I won't lose!"

Rolling across the ground, E.N.D. punched the ground with his right hand, embedding his fist within the dried soil. Yhwach raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by this seemingly random tactic. Realization struck just before several pillars of flame to burst all around the quincy king. The flames burst outward, engulfing the Quincy king in a mighty explosion.

E.N.D. stared into the blast, waiting to make his next move, only for Yhwach to appear right before his eyes, skin scorched and burned, with sword raised above his head. E.N.D. moved both of his hands above his head to block the strike, the sword clashing against his demonic claws and slicing all of the nearby trees in half.

Yhwach then pointed his left hand at E.N.D. pelting him with arrow's. While individually they were a bit lacking in power, they more than made up with in sheer quantity, as thousands of the light arrow's slammed into him. E.N.D. roared out in pain before he let out a thundering shout and surrounded himself with flame, which formed into a massive barrier of fire.

Yhwach smirked. "Well now, this certainly takes me back." The king of all quincies looked at the demonic Fairy Tail mage and his chaotic flames as they stretched high into the sky, his mind superimposing a young, and equally merciless and mighty Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto over the Etherious. "It's been so long since I've encountered such a worthy opponent, E.N.D.!" Yhwach yelled, his face filled with an elation he had not felt for thousands of years.

"I don't care what you want," E.N.D. muttered before his flames intensified. "I JUST WANT YOU DEAD!"

Just then, two massive flame-like claws emerged from E.N.D's back, and shot forth. His eyes widening, Yhwach tried to block one of the claws with his sword, only to find himself losing ground as the gigantic flaming claw sent him through tree after tree. Switching from Blut Vene to Blut Arterie, the king was finally able to force the flaming limb off of him, only to be struck hard by the other claw, sending him soaring high into the sky.

Clasping his hands together and then separating them, countless arrows appeared behind him, filling the sky as if they were the very stars themselves. He lifted up his right hand then, before swinging it down. "Sternenlicht Schwall!"

One million arrows of light descended upon E.N.D., the demon snarling before he began to bat them away with his two gigantic flaming claws. Many of them were deflected by the massive limbs of flame, and what few broke through were simply battered away by E.N.D.'s own hands and feet. However, a million arrows was simply too much for even someone of E.N.D.'s power to simply bat away, and eventually, he was overcome by the massive barrage.

Yhwach smirked as he landed, having expected the battle to have finally made significant headway, but four massive flaming claws burst out from the shadows, the king's eyes widening from the unexpected counter attack. He placed his left hand to the ground, erecting a massive cross of light. "Gottes Querschild!"

The massive cross of light formed and managed to fully block the initial attack, yet as two more flaming claws burst through, the construct of light shattered. Yhwach swung his sword to defend against one of the claws, but the remaining three hit their mark, grabbing onto his arms and legs and suspending him midair. The Quincy monarch prepared to raise his spiritual pressure to break himself free, but E.N.D. had already soared above him, his own two arms wreathed in flame.

"CRIMSON LOTUS: INFERNO DRAGON'S FIST!"

Yhwach quickly switched to Blut Vene, and not a second too late, as the barrage of flaming fists hit the king hard and fast. His body burned and bruised throughout the attack as each of the strikes hit with a force more than enough power to destroy Magnolia. With one last mighty roar, the dragon slayer hit the king as hard as he could across the face, the land beneath seeming to erupt in flames as if it were a massive volcano.

E.N.D. stared at the quincy caught in his grasp. Unmoving. No. No, he wasn't done with this one. Not yet. He hadn't suffered enough yet.

"Lichtstrahl!"

A massive torrent of light blasted forth from Yhwach's right hand, which he had managed to free during E.N.D's onslaught, forcing the mightiest demon of Zeref to finally let go of him as the blast sent him through an entire mountain range. Yhwach fell to one knee, gasping slightly.

"It seems… I've underestimated you slightly. A mistake I'll be sure to rectify."

He waved his left hand to the side, as a massive bow, about a quarter of a kilometer in length formed above his head, with five equally massive Heilig Pfeils ready to fire. "Sankt Bogen!" Yhwach simply extended his hand before each of them fired at the dragon slayer.

E.N.D. thrust his hand outward, a massive wave of fire flowing outwards, but the spiritual arrows were too massive and powerful to be melted as they pierced through the wall of flame and slammed into E.N.D., the blast shaking the entire forest as all five arrows bore E.N.D. into a nearby mountain, before they erupted, destroying it, and all of the surrounding nature that was within range of the massive blast.

Yhwach narrowed his eyes as he tried to sense for E. spiritual pressure. His power has only managed to increase the longer this battle has gone on. It's already slowly encroaching on a level akin to that of Ryuujin Jakka. If this continues for much longer…

But before he could further ponder, E.N.D. burst out from the massive dust cloud and crater his technique had created. He was far from uninjured, the creation of Zeref now adorned with cuts and bruises a plenty, especially compared to what he had had earlier, blood dripping all over its body…but it still wasn't the result that the Quincy king had hoped for.

He moved his hand to the sky, his eyes closed as white bolts of lightning began to surround him before he opened up his eyes. "Göttlicher Blitz." A massive bolt of lighting fired down from the sky, striking E.N.D. just as he landed onto his feet. The demon tried to get up to his feet, but the emperor was far from finished.

"Taifun des Lichts." A massive gale of water and wind burst from his hands, the force of the attack uprooting trees that had been anywhere even remotely close to the battlefield. E.N.D didn't move his ground however, as he built up flames to surround his body.

"Inferno Dragon's Roar!"

Flames clashed with water and wind, and while it initially seemed as if they were evenly matched, the quincy king's attack eventually won out, putting out the massive stream of fire and colliding with E.N.D., the weather around them resembling that of a hurricane as the tree's bellowed and the ground filled with water as the dragon slayer found himself engulfed in a blazing vortex.

However, a deafening roar emitted from the dragon slayer, and a burst of flames put out the element as his magic power continued to increase. Cocking his right arm back, E.N.D. flung a massive fireball at the quincy emperor, Yhwach promptly firing a heilig pfeil to intercept the attack. The two attacks canceled each other out, shaking the entire forest once more.

However, not wanting E.N.D. to get even a moment of reprieve, ten blades of light spewed out from the ground, the king of the Quincy narrowing his eyes as the attack narrowed in on E.N.D.. "Heiliger Pfähler!"

But as the blades of light came barrelling in, E.N.D clasped both of his hands together before a massive ball of fire, several times his own size, formed above his head. "Inferno Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

The gigantic orb of fire was flung down towards the monarch, shattering the blades of light as it made contact and throttled downwards to its target. Yhwach fired heilig pfeil after heilig pfeil, the attacks merly stalling the massive ball of fire before it erupted in a massive explosion, destroying several mountains and shaking all of Ishgar.

After several minutes, the dust cloud cleared to reveal a tremendous crater stretching as far as the eye could see and seemed endless in depth. The Quincy king was at the very bottom, surrounded by the forcefield of Blut Vene Anhaben, though it was riddled with cracks.

The king narrowed his eyes as he tried to place E.N.D.'s location. That was too close for comfort. Had I not used Blut Anhaben at the last second, that attack could have inflicted serious damage. I suppose it's time to stop playing around and time to put an end to–

"Crimson Lotus:-"

Yhwach eyes shot wide open, the dragon slayer suddenly upon him, now surrounded by a gargantuan vortex of fire, the size of it helping it to resemble a large tornado, the Quincy monarch promptly crossed his arms and braced for the worst as E.N.D attacked with his claws.

"EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!"

The titanic, swirling whirlwind of blaze slammed against the barrier, with the torrents of fire slamming against it over and over, each strike cracking it even more before it shattered completely, exposing Yhwach to the onslaught of one of E.N.D.'s most powerful techniques.

Despite having Blut Vene active, the flames burned and seared at Yhwach's flesh, the king of the Quincy gritting his teeth to hold back the pain as he withstood the vortex of fire. His spiritual pressure dipped before he was sent flying into the air, his mouth eliciting a silent cry before he fell to the ground, unmoving.

E.N.D took a single step forward, then another as his flames melted the very earth surrounding him, his every step sinking into the ground. "Oh, it seems you're still alive," the demon mocked as he took another step forward. "That's a mistake I'll be sure to rectify."

He walked over to the king, his entire body ablaze before he glared down at Yhwach's prone body. "Now, di-"

"Away from his Majesty, foul demon!"

But before E.N.D. could even register what he had just heard, Gerard Valkyrie had tackled him with his right shoulder, sending the demon back several feet. He snarled, and was just about to run towards the interloper, only for him to be blasted with an ethereal bullet, the attack sending the demonic Fairy Tail mage far into the forest.

Lille Barro sighed as he landed next to Gerard. "Honestly, must you always announce your presence to the enemy before you attack them? I'd have had a much better shot of ending this sooner had you not given away our postion."

Gerard let out a hearty laugh, favoring his seared shoulder. "Forgive me, my old friend. I suppose some old habits are just too hard to get rid of."

Lille sighed before shaking his head. "And this is why his Majesty placed myself as the leader."

Gerard looked back at his old friend. "Oh come now, we managed to move him away from His Majesty, so what more could we have-"

Any further banter was cut short by a gigantic pillar of flame bursting out from the forest, along with an inhuman roar. Instantly, Gerard's smile faded from his face as Lille Baro prepared his rifle once more.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" E.N.D yelled out as his flames burst out around him.

"Go at him as you please. I'll line up a shot," Lille Barro told his comrade.

(Song of Choice: Kakuzu, Naruto Shippuden OST)

Nodding in agreement, Gerard took off in a sprint, his sword raised high above his head. "For the glory of His Majesty!" He cried out before he jumped high into the sky before he proceeded to swing his sword down at E.N.D. "Have at thee!"

The muscular Quincy's blade clashed against E.N.D.'s demonic arm, the dragon slayer growling before he forced Gerard back and went in for a strike with his flaming claw. Gerard blocked the blow with his shield before thrusting his sword forward, but E.N.D grasped onto the blade before it could pierce his stomach before he slammed a flaming kick right into Gerard's stomach, the large Quincy crashing through several tree's as a result.

E.N.D. looked over at Gerard and bent his knees, preparing to pounce on his new foe, only for a powerful impact to blast him on his abdomen, the demon flying through several trees before he ground his feet against the forest floor.

"Grrrrrr," E.N.D growled as he glared towards the direction of the attack. Lille Barro narrowed his eye as he prepared his next shot.

"Hmm, Interesting. The new captain commander aside, no one has ever been hit by three of my Heilig Pfeil and survived." Lille Barro fired from his massive sniper rifle once more, as the demon came charging in, the ethereal bullet hitting E.N.D square in the face and causing him to roll across the ground before he quickly got up.

So, he was going to shoot him from afar huh? Fine! He could play that game and fry him to a crisp!

"Inferno Dragon's Ro-"

"I think not!"

Once more did Gerard Valkyrie come charging in, but this time the demon was ready for the attack and stopped his charge by extending out his right claw, before digging his digits into Gerard's shoulder. The quincy forced E.N.D.'s head upwards as he spewed out a massive burst of fire, his hand burning from the contact.

Grunting through the pain, Gerard slammed the pummel of his sword against E.N.D.'s face before slashing down his chest. The cut was extremely shallow, and, like Yhwach's attacks before, the heat of his flames quickly cauterized the wound.

Gerard couldn't help but grin. "Oh ho! Looks like we've got a sturdy one here! Well, I suppose he'd have to be in order to give His Majesty as hard a time as he was. Now, have at you, worthy adversary!"

E.N.D. aimed his burning fight fist at Gerard's face, the muscular quincy blocking it with his shield as his feet ground against the forest floor, right before E.N.D had jumped up into the air, and slammed down onto Gerard with both of his feet, the attack sending them both deep underground.

Lille sighed. "So much for lining up a shot."

As the pair continued to tunnel downward, the pair finally stopped when they arrived in an underground cave of some sort, Gerard forcing E.N.D. off of him with a swing of his blade before he went in for another strike. E.N.D. dodged to the left of the initial sword strike, then the right, before ducking underneath a forward thrust and uppercutted the quincy.

Gerard flew right into the ceiling of the cave, but with a mighty shout, he charged down from above and swung his blade at the demon. E.N.D. blocked the attack with his right claw, before slashing his other claw down Gerard's chest, his claws going deep into his chest. Gerard grunted as he looked down at his wound, his left hand running over the wound before he looked back at E.N.D.. "Ah, a good strike." He then gave the demon as wide a grin as possible. "But you will have to do better than–!"

"Inferno Dragon's Wing Attack!"

The twin torrents of flame slammed into Gerard, sending him through one of the cave's walls. As E.N.D. went charging in, Gerard came running out from the cave as well, his sword clashing against the demon's claw as the entire cave shook from the exchange. Gerard swung his sword several more times at the demon, but E.N.D. promptly grabbed onto his sword arm with his right hand, before he slammed his fist into Gerards face with his left. Gerard tried to wrench himself free, but the demon's grip held firm, as he continued to strike him across the face, his mask shattering.

After the tenth or so strike, Gerard slammed his forehead against E.N.D.'s before he slashed him across the chest 4 times, the wound's cauterizing almost instantly. Despite his burning forehead, Gerard went in for one more strike, only for E.N.D. to somersault over the attack and slash Gerard across the back.

"Grah! Tough bastard, aren't you!?" Gerard replied as he tried to swing his blade in retaliation, only for E.N.D. to slash him hard across the face with one of his claws, before he knelt down to his hands and knees.

"INFERNO DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!"

The impact happened far faster than Gerard could have anticipated, the pair shooting upwards out of the cave and promptly out of the ground and into the sky, Gerard managed to force the demon off of him, but it didn't seem as if the monster was done yet.

"Inferno Dragon's Claw!"

The following kick sent Gerard crashing to the floor below, E.N.D. landing shortly after. Letting out a vicious roar, the demon charged at Gerard, the quincy warrior brandishing hs blade once more as he went in for another charge…but E.N.D. simply grabbed the blade before he began to clench it hard in his claw, the blade slowly beginning to crack.

Then to E.N.D's surprise, Gerard began to smirk. "Ah, I see that you've managed to damage my Hoffnung…but was that really wise?"

Before the demon could fully grasp what Gerard was saying, his body was littered with cuts, the blonde quincy kicking him away with a sly grin. "My sword, Hoffnung is a sword of the people's hopes come together! When it breaks, their despair is reflected onto-"

"Inferno Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Rushing in at intense speed with the flames burning at the soles of his feet, Gerard had only just enough time to block the oncoming attack with his shield…only for it to shatter upon impact as he was sent flying through several tree's. The blonde quincy tried to get to his feet, but E.N.D. crashed onto his body and began to slash away at him with reckless abandon. Gerard tried to block the onslaught as best as he could, using Hoffnung to block all the attacks, with each blow did the sword chip more and more, the demon receiving damage in turn…only for each blow to promptly heal due to his flames.

I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes, but Hoffung's ability is being rendered completely useless! Gerard realized as E.N.D. raised both of his hands above his head.

"Inferno Dragon's Brilliant-"

Only for the dragon slayer to be sent flying away as a powerful blow impacted on his skull, sending him flying about several miles away. Gerard woosily got up to his feet as Lille appeared right next to him with Hirenkyaku.

"I've never seen you so utterly thrashed by an opponent before." Lille said as he knelt to his knees to prepare his next shot. "Care to explain how this came to be?"

Gerard began to dust himself off. "What's there to say? He's strong. Remarkably so. I've never faced a foe who could shrug off Hoffung's ability."

Lille glanced over to Gerard. "Then at this point I believe it would be wise for you to simply stand on the side lines. You'll simply get in the way of my ability to properly aim my-"

"INFERNO DRAGON'S ROAR!"

A massive torrent of flame came bursting out from the forest, Lille and Gerard's eyes widening with shock as they used Hirenkyaku to avoid the attack. Lille landed about a half a mile away, trying to sense for the E.N.D.'s location. "Come now, foul beast, where are-"

His eye widened as he sensed a looming shadow, the quincy jumping back just before E.N.D. landed right where he had been mere seconds ago. Never before had anyone managed to react to his hirenkyaku so easily! Without warning, the demon lunged at him, his claws at the ready. Lille fired off a shot, then another, each of them hitting the flaming monstrosity that Natsu had become, but he paid his injuries no mind as he slashed at the elite quincy.

Hirenkyaku had helped Lille avoid the strike, the quincy preparing to line up another shot with his rifle, but the demon was faster than he anticipated as he quickly closed ground. More shots were fired, this time the demon dodging out of the way of the attacks before he swung his claw, slashing the rifle in two.

What?! He broke Diagramm!? Lille realized before he dodged out of the way of the next strike. More shots were fired, but much like before, the demon of Zeref evaded the attacks, this time leaping into the sky before he spewed out a quick burst of flames from his mouth.

Lille jumped back, firing more heilig pfeil at the dragon slayer, but this time, the flames surrounding the demon shot out like tendrils, stopping the bullets before they even made impact.

Don't tell me that he's adapting the longer this continues!? Lille realized as he ran his left hand over Diagramm, fixing the rifle and concentrated his energy for an especially strong Heilig Pfei, the attack slamming E.N.D. right in the stomach and sending him careening into the forest. The sniper couldn't help but smirk slightly…only for that smirk to completely vanish as E.N.D. had quickly burst out from the forest and with a mighty punch, sent him through a small hill.

Groaning, the leader of the Schutzstaffel got up to his feet, and took note of the charging E.N.D. He lined up his shot with Diagraam, firing at him repeatedly. At first, it seemed as if the attacks wouldn't have been enough as E.N.D. continued to approach…until more heilig pfeil had joined the fray.

Glancing over to his right, he could see Gerard had appeared right beside him, his bow formed as he fired his own volley of arrow's at the demon. Hundreds of arrows slammed into the demon, and, with a mighty shout from Gerard and concentrated effort from Lille the two fired their own massively large arrows that merged into one, slamming into E.N.D. and sending him about a mile away.

Gerard let out a hearty laugh. "AHAHAHA! I do believe that was our first successful unison raid! Excellent! With that, the demon should surely be–"

"GRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Several large and intense pillars of flame shot out from the ground, each as tall as a skyscraper as E.N.D. burst forward and grabbed the two members of the Schutzstaffel by the faces before he slammed them to the ground and continued to run, the earth itself melting as he ran through half of the forest before finally tossing the two of them into the side of the mountain, the two cratering it's side.

The both of them groaning from pain, both Lille Barro and Gerard Valkyrie exited from the mountain side, before the pair glanced over towards each other.

"This… This isn't working," Gerard muttered.

Lille nodded. "Agreed. Fighting him without either the fullpower of our schrifts or our vollstandig is a hopeless endeavor. I know that His Majesty ordered us to not use them so as to not reveal how much we have managed to maintain from our previous life and to maintain the element of surprise, but at the rate this is going…"

"What have I told you Sternritter in the past about interfering with my battles?"

The two members of the Schutzstaffel glanced above, their king floating above them as he stared at them, frowning with a slight glare.

"A million apologies, Your Majesty!" Lille Barro spoke as he got to one knee. "We– We simply believed you may have needed our assistance in this battle was all!"

Gerard quickly followed in Lille's example. "Yes sire, we simply thought that you–"

"I was merely testing out the limits of E.N.D.'s capabilities while he's fighting in this lessened state of being. I had hoped that using a portion of my power would have been enough to eventually subdue him, but it seems his growth while in this state has exceeded my expectations. From this moment onwards–" Yhwach said as he landed in front of his two subordinates. "I have no choice now but to use half of my full power to put an end to this quickly. Sankt Bogen."

Like before, a massive bow formed above the king before it fired down a massive arrow just in front of the Quincy Monarch. This one seemed different from the others however, with an elongated arrow head and its shaft, spine and fletching acting like a makeshift handle, the Kaiser having used this very same weapon to execute Head Captain Yamamoto. "Be honored, E.N.D. Only one other has had the distinction to have faced this weapon. Scharfrichter Pfeilklinge."

(Song of choice: L'Oscurità dell'Ignoto, Kingdom Hearts 3)

Yhwach's spiritual pressure spiked then, the two members of the Schutzstaffel promptly retreating in a blur of movement as E.N.D took a furious step forward with the ground cracking from spiritual might and melting from the intense heat.

"You're...still alive…You…Destroyed…Lisanna's grave. NowI'll kill you!" The demon proclaimed as his flames spewed out in all directions. "GRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" E.N.D cried out as he took off like a rocket.

Yhwach however simply extended his right arm outwards and opened up his palm, the demon stopping right in its tracks as it was held in a telekinetic hold. Using Sankt Bogen yet again, the massive bow promptly fired off ten massive arrows as they slammed into Zeref's most powerful creation, the demon crying out as it rolled across the ground, his blood falling to the ground before he snarled. Natsu roared in fury before he burst with flames and broke free of the telekinetic grip on him, and ran towards Yhwach..

More massive Heilg Pfiel fired upon E.N.D, but the demon simply leapt from massive arrow to another, quickly closing the distance between him and the Quincy King. He jumped up into the air, his flame's burning with intensity as he swung his hand down hard. "Inferno Dragon's Crushing Fang!"

Holy blade and demonic claw clashed, as flames spewed out in massive pillar's surrounding the pair before E.N.D. let out a roar of fury and began to swing away wildly at Yhwach. The emperor side stepped and parried each of the attacks, before blasting E.N.D with a large Heilg Pfiel, the demon holding back the massive construct before he sent it upwards, where it exploded in a massive burst of light before the demon fired flames from its feet to close the distance.

The Kaiser, however, had a different plan. "Heilige Welle."

A massive torrent of water seemingly made of light came hurtling towards E.N.D. The monster took a deep breath before crying out "Inferno Dragon's Roar!" which blasted right onto the oncoming wave. However, the water swiftly took over the flames and swept up both E.N.D. and much of the forest before the demon's flames intensified and evaporated the surrounding water.

"Heizen Sperrfeuer."

Just then, 100 massive rectangular intangible cubes of light, each the size of a ten story building, came crashing towards E.N.D, the demon catching and promptly melting one of the light rectangles in one hand, while doing the same with his other. He caught onto two more, before he proceeded to bat away the building sized constructs, but just as he finished destroying the final one, Yhwach clapped his hands together.

"Unendlicher Lichtsturm."

A dome of seemingly infinite light surrounded E.N.D. before they began to fire on him in mass, firing millions upon million's of blasts of light. E.N.D. tried to bat them away with his own claws as best as he could, but the attacks continued without end, the barrage eventually overwhelming the demon of Zeref and continuing its unceasing barrage of light.

"No, I'm not done!" E.N.D proclaimed as he slammed his fists into the ground, creating multiple pillars of flame that shot into the sky and disrupted Yhwach's technique before E.N.D. leapt upwards and came crashing down, his fists focusing themselves on his right elbow. "Inferno Dragon's Flaming Elbow!"

The king blocked the attacks with Scharfrichter PfeilKlinge, before swinging the blade down E.N.D.s chest. Blood spewed forth from the wound, but just like the other wounds, it was quickly seared with flames. E.N.D. snarled as he went for a flaming claw strike, but Yhwach simply grasped onto the claw with his spare hand, preventing the attack from connecting before he slashed the demon back with his blade.

Roaring out with fury, E.N.D. rushed towards the king of the quincy, the demon spewing a blast of flame from his mouth which Yhwach deflected with his massive weapon, only for E.N.D to grab onto his face and have furious flames burst forth. However, Yhwach had promptly kicked him in the stomach for the attack, his sword swinging down to meet Natsu's claws as the ground beneath them shattered before the pair took off into the sky.

"GET BACK HERE!" E.N.D. shouted as he swung his right arm, hundreds of fireballs shooting out from the fire he had projected. Despite not expecting that the demon could produce such a volley of attacks, the king countered with his own barrage of arrows. Flame and light clashed amongst the sky, with each exchange looking akin to a massive firework.

Yet E.N.D. seemed far from finished, soaring through the massive barrage to strike at Yhwach with his flaming claws. The king countered in kind with his blade, the two rapidly exchanging blows. Ten strikes. Twenty. Fifty. A hundred. It seemed the contest of strength would never end until Yhwach decided to vanish from E.N.D.'s sight before slashing downward at the demon's head with Hirenkyaku, the demon blocking just in time before he crashed into a massive pit.

The king smirked as he landed.. "Are you quite finished, E.N.D.? Or do I have to-"

Four limbs of flame sprouted out from the hole in the ground and attempted to grab Yhwach, but the Kaiser's new blade slashed through the attacks with ease, slicing through the flaming limbs like butter before he landed on the ground. However, six more flaming limbs emerged from the hole, Yhwach evading the first few attempts with Hirenkyaku, slicing through another two with his new blade and finally swung his sword hard to fire off a wave of light, destroying the remaining four limbs as they headed his way.

"DIE!" E.N.D. proclaimed as he jumped out from the hole and surrounded himself with flames. "Inferno Dragon's Sword Horn!" The demon took off in a flaming tackle, attempting to destroy the king of the Quincy, but Yhwach seemingly vanished before his very eyes, appearing behind him with Hirenkyaku…and his right arm severed from his body.

Gyyyyyaaaaarrrhhhhh!" E.N.D. howles out in agony as he crashed to the ground, writing in pain.

The king promptly turned around. "Ahh, so it seems that was significant enough force to-"

Only for a flaming arm to burst from E.N.D.'s bleeding shoulder and shoot right towards Yhwach. The king sidestepped the attack before he sliced the makeshift limb in two, but E.N.D had taken advantage of this momentary distraction and kicked him from behind, the pair sliding across the ground before E.N.D. grabbed onto Yhwach's head and slammed it to the ground.

"Now die you bastard!" E.N.D. cried out before he slammed his fist down on Yhwach's body, then using his artificial flaming arm before he proceeded to deliver a barrage of blows, each one sending the emperor deeper into the ground.

"Die! DIE! DIE! DIE!" E.N.D. continued to shout before it raised its right claw high into the air. ""DIIIIEEEEE!"

*SLICH!*

Only for Yhwach's blade of light to pierce E.N.D.'s stomach, the demon gasping out as blood poured from his mouth before Yhwach rose to his feet. Scuffed, but unharmed.

"You fought well, but it's about time I put an end to this conflict." The king proclaimed before slicing the demon across the stomach once more time, this time the force of the attack sending Natsu flying through the sky until he finally landed on the ground, rolling through several rocks and finally coming to a complete stop.

Yhwach simply stared at the demon, uncertain if the fight was truly over. Giving weight to his concerns, the demon stretched out its hand before it dug into the ground, bleeding profusely as it wobbly got up to his feet.

"No. No, I won't stop. I can't. You destroyed Lisanna's grave. And for that…and for thatI'LL KILL YOU!"

From his back did two enormous black jagged demonic wings emerge, the dragon slayer slowly getting up to his feet as his power continued to rise and let out an inhumane roar, almost shattering the eardrums of Gerard, Lille Barro and Yhwach.

"This isn't good!" Lille proclaimed as he took a step back. "His Majesty keeps on striking him down, but the demon only continues to get stronger!"

Gerard raised his right arm in front of his face to protect himself from the immense heat. "Verily! His ability to continue to get stronger is akin to "The Miracle!" I knew that he was strong, but this is insanity!"

Yhwach narrowed his eyes as the demon continued to increase in power. "I see. So, your power truly will continue to grow indefinitely until you are rendered unconscious. In that case, It seems that I have no choice but to come at you with the intent to kill."

The demon's eyes snapped wide open, and then, letting out a furious battle cry, he took off into the sky and flew towards the king. Yet as the demon closed the distance between them, the monster only a few feet away from him, the king did not look the least bit concerned. Various constructs of light, littered with roman numerals fell from his hands and sank into the ground.

"Behold, the most powerful Quincy spell in terms of offense and defense. Kirchenlied: Sankt Zwinger!" Ten quincy crosses burst forth from the ground in a large circle around the Kaiser, with a large ring of light surrounding them. "Now, be torn apart by God's Light." A massive ray of light burst out from the construct and into the heavens, blasting out past the stratosphere and covering E.N.D. in its brightness and burning the dragon slayer's very skin.

The demon of Zeref screamed out in agony as the light continued to burn him. However, E.N.D. grit his teeth before he blasted his flames outwards as multiple claws of flame grabbed at the Quincy crosses making up Sankt Zwinger and slowly began to melt them.

Yhwach narrowed his eyes as he reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out a pure white medallion with the Wandenreich cross in the middle of it. "No, I think not. It's about time I finally rid you of those demonic flames." A stream of darkness burst forth from the device and as it came into contact with the destructive fire. The blackness swiftly overtook the flames that had stretched out and y covered E.N.D.s body, the dragon slayer letting out a muffled cry as the darkness consumed him until then…silence.

Ten seconds. Twenty. Thirty. For the Quincy involved it seemed as if time had stopped, until finally, the darkness subsided and Natsu fell to the ground with a resounding thud, all traces of his demonic form completely vanished.

Both members of the Schutzstaffel let out a sigh of relief, before Gerard let out a laugh. "Ahahaha! As expected of His Majesty, he was no match for you once you began to truly put forth effort."

Lille smiled as he bowed to his king. "Indeed. It seems that there was no need to fear E.N.D after all. Especially now that his power has been stolen."

"That is incorrect, Lille Barro. He was, and still is, every bit the threat I had feared him to be."

The two Quincy glanced over towards Yhwach, the man glaring down at his medallion.

"You're Majesty… I don't understand." Lille said with some confusion. "You were able to defeat this creature with only half of your strength. How could he still be considered a threat to one such as you?"

The Kaiser glanced over towards the pair. "And do you believe that was the limit to his power, Lille?" Yhwach shook his head. "It was not. Up until he had started to create those wings of flames, we had only bore witness to approximately a third of its might. Had his strength exceeded its halfway point, then without the use of "The Almighty"…I fear that at least half of Ishgar would have been destroyed before I could defeat him."

Gerard titled his head in confusion. "I mean, that's impressive and all but…you stole his power, so it's not like we have to worry about it ever again, right?"

The emperor of Bosco simply lifted up his hand, revealing the medallion that had stolen E. flames…and the two elite Quincy gasped at what they saw.

The once pure white cross was scorched, and what little white remained was slowly beginning to melt, no different than vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day.

"That's impossible!" Lille yelled, aghast at what he saw.. "You made that medallion specifically to seal away E.N.D's flames, so why then is it melting away!? It should be no different from when you stole Zanka No Tachi from the Captain Commander!"

Yhwach shook his head. "Your confusion is understandable, but you misunderstand the situation entirely. Yammamoto's flames destroy that which they come in contact with on a physical and spiritual plane. E. flames, however, while not initially as hot, are more destructive in nature, because they burn on a conceptual level. They are flames that can burn away anything. Immortality, Time. Space. All of these things and more are susceptible to destruction under his curse. I believe that within the hour, the medallion will be completely destroyed, and the power of these flames will inevitably return to Natsu."

He then took out several Ginto capsules as he made his way over towards the unconscious dragon slayer. "Now, fetch me his arm, Lille. I need to act swiftly if I am to properly mend most of his more grievous wounds. I gave Master Makarov my word, after all and I fully intend to keep it."

Snapping out of his surprised stupor, Lille bowed as he made his way towards the detached limb. Gerard, meanwhile, looked about the devastated forest before his eyes caught onto something strange.

"Hmmm. What's that?" He pondered as he tried to get a better look. From what he could gather, it seemed to look like a remote hutt and a gravestone of some kind in the distance. Surprisingly, it seemed as if none of the flames had come even remotely close to annihilating the place. Well, isn't that a fine Miracle. Still, I have to wonder what a gravestone is doing all the way out here? He glanced over to his lord, the king of the Quincy patching up Natsu's wounds. Well, since it doesn't seem like His Majesty needs me to do anything, I suppose I'll go and check it out.

However, he only took one step in that direction when he heard his lord's voice call out to him.

"Leave that be, Gerard Valkyrie."

Surprised by the strenness in Yhwach's voice, Gerard looked at him befuddled. "V-very well. But if I may ask…is it important?" It wasn't often the king forbade him from doing anything.

The king nodded. "It is. More than you could possibly understand."

Scratching his head in confusion, but deciding to leave it be, Gerard decided to simply sit down and gazed up into the sky as Lille just found Natsu's arm.

Yhwach stopped healing the dragon slayer for a moment, his eyes glancing over towards the grave. So even while in that state, he couldn't allow any harm to come to that site. It seems that you've truly managed to have forged a mighty connection with him, Lisanna Strauss.

Of course he himself had also gone out of his way from destroying the grave during the battle, troublesome as it had become. Afterall…he understood how the dragon slayer felt all too well.


"What the fuck was that all about!?"

Bambietta was…shaken to say the least. How could she not after all of the insanity that she, and probably every spirit aware being in Earthland sensed from the ensuing battle.

Natsu's power has exploded, reaching a level that had been on par with Yammamoto's in shikai, and eventually had even improved beyond that. It was sheer madness to think that that goof, the one who started this altercation in the first place, could ever become that powerful.

Momo, Rukia, and Candice were simply stunned into silence, not sure how to take this recent revelation. Sure, the humans of Earthland had proven time and time again that they could reach captain levels in terms of power, but to reach a this magnitude was an entirely different matter.

Ulquiorra, however, had come to a revelation of his own. I had always sensed something different about him… something inhuman. Until now, I had simply assumed it had been a result of his magic, but now it's evident that that's not the case. The power itself doesn't feel like Magic, and his presence… It feels more sinister than any hollow I've ever encountered. Whatever Natsu Dragneel is… it's not human.

Liltotto however, fell to her knees as she began to weep silently. She didn't know how Natsu got so strong, or why the very nature of his power felt so wicked..She didn't know what caused it, or why His Majesty had indulged in this battle in the first place. She didn't care. Natsu's spiritual pressure had practically dropped to zero, and as far as Liltotto was concerned that meant only one thing.

He's…. he's dead. She despaired as her fingers dug into the ground. Why!? Why, why, why, why!? Why did you have to challenge him, Natsu!? I didn't want you to do this! I could have handled it, I could have left the guild! I didn't…I can't…I can't lose you!

Worst of all however, was how she couldn't seem to find the strength to go into the forest to ensure Natsu's safety. No doubt this was because of the overwhelming fear she had towards her former king, but as far as she was concerned, it was no excuse. She was just being a coward, concerned with her own life more than someone she had come to care deeply for.

Now Liltotto was doing everything she could to not let out a shattering cry. His Majesty would no doubt return soon and when he did, she would have to be on her absolute best behavior. No exceptions.

As much as she wanted to cry and scream and rage at the king of the Quincy for what he had done, she knew that she simply couldn't. While she was more than prepared to face whatever punishment would have followed towards herself, she simply could not allow any sort of consequence of her outburst to befall on the rest of the guild.

Bambietta, Candice, Erza, Wendy, Lucy, Levy, Jade. All of them and so much more had become something truly special to her. A family. The very thing she lacked in her first life, and what she desperately needed in her second. Now, she finally had it, and she wasn't about to allow her petty emotions to get the best of her.

Bambietta and Candice had been quick to notice their close friends breakdown, and had begun to move to her to assist her as best they could, only for the lot of them to turn their heads over towards Yhwach and the Schutzstaffel as they arrived back to the battlefield, an unconscious, but very much alive Natsu in tow.

Liltotto was quick to get up to her feet, and then, in spite of her own fear of the man holding her crush, sprinted towards them as fast as she could..She stopped in front of the pair of them, her eyes glancing over towards Natsu. "Is…is he-"

"Alive. Battered and bruised, but very much still alive, Miss Lampard." Yhwach informed her.

Liltotto's knees began to shake as her tears continued to fall before she fell to the ground, openly sobbing with joy that her dear dragon slayer had not yet departed from this world.

The emperor of Bosco set him down gently against the ground, before he took notice of Makarov's approach. "As you can see, I was true to my word, Master Makarov."

Makarov nodded, trying to remain as stern as he could, though it was clear as day he was overjoyed at Natsu's safety. "And for that you have my most sincere gratitude. However, I must know…what was it that transpired?"

Yhwach simply smirked as he walked past Makarov. "You have your secrets Master Makarov, and I have my own. Let's just say that things got a little out of hand, and leave it at that, shall we? Oh, and worry not about the devastation towards your forest. I have someone back in Bosco who can restore it by tomorrow morning. I'll be sure to send word to her soon."

The Quincy king casually strolled onwards, as Makarov glared at him from behind. I know there's more going on than what he's telling me. That much is obvious. But even so… I suppose I should just count my blessings that things only went this far. Simply demanding an answer from him would no doubt make things worse. So for now, I'll simply have to look into this matter on my own.

Ria meanwhile put a concerned hand on one of Jonathan's shoulders, the young man panting as if he had finished a marathon of some kind.. "Are you feeling ok?" She asked the Grand Master. "I've never seen you so exhausted before."

Jonathan simply looked back at his childhood friend and smirked as he tried to catch his breath. "I'll…I'll be fine. I'm just not used to…using my ability on people of that level." Jonathan said before he looked back towards Makarov, Ulquiorra and Liltotto as Yhwach approached them.. It seems as if I've found the limit's to my Schrift's weakest ability. I'll have to bear that in mind in the future.

"How about you, your majesty?" Ria asked Yhwach as he approached. "That seemed like a pretty intense battle."

Her Emperor nodded. "Indeed. However, I do believe I'll be in need of a tailor. Contact our seamstress back in Bosco. I'll be retiring to a local inn for the night. In the meantime…see what you can find for me in Magnolia."

Ria nodded before she promptly vanished with Hirenkyaku as Jonathan looked at his king sternly, the young man finally having caught his breath. "Was he as threatening as your nightly visions foretold?" The Grand Master asked.

"That and then some, Jonathan." Yhwach the pair walked away from the battlefield. "It is as I've foreseen. Should Natsu Dragneel go unchecked, he could be an invaluable ally…or a terrifying foe."

"And to think, he's only ranked the second most dangerous amongst the war potentials." Jonathan muttered, his right hand holding his chin. "I take it that you've already sealed away his memories with Löschen des Speichers?"

The Emperor nodded. "Indeed. It was the first thing I did once I finished patching him up. He won't remember a thing from the last twenty minutes. The last thing he'll be able to recall is landing in the forest away from his friends."

Jonathan smiled. "That's a relief. In the meanwhile, I'll see what I can do to warm up relations between our forces and this guild, considering how many of the war potentials reside within it."

"Yes, speaking of which…I'm going to request that we add Miss Marvell to them as well." Yhwach stated.

"I suspect it's because of the potential she's already shown during your battle?" Jonathan asked, the possibility having already occurred to the grand master while he had watched the earlier battle.

"Correct. In seven years time, she could become a significant threat. Not as much as Natsu Dragneel, but a threat nonetheless."

Jonathan nodded. "Agreed. I'll see what I come up with. Although…you may wish to free her of her imprisonment now that everything has resolved."

"Ah, yes, but of course." The king agreed as he glanced over towards his spell still in place. With a mere wave of his hand, Gritz was dispersed and Wendy Marvell was free once more.

Wendy had continued to pound away at the strange construct until it had recently shattered, the dragon slayer clumsily falling to her hands and knees before she realized what had happened. "I'm… free?" The young dragon slayer had no idea what had transpired since she had been sealed away by the spell, the blue haired mage only having been able to vaguely make an occasional sound or two outside of her confinement, everything coming to her ears as nothing more than muffled white noise. "Then does that mean that-"

"Oh thank god you're finally free!"

Before Wendy even had the chance to properly recognize the voice as Bambietta's, the Quincy had embraced Wendy in a tight hug. The dragon slayer blinked, not expecting her idol to have reacted in such a way. "B-Bambi?"

Bambietta looked down at Wendy as tears ran down her face. "Listen, unless you don't have any other choice, never, ever, never ever should you try to fight someone that above you in strength, understand!?"

"I… um…. yes?" Wendy answered in confusion.

"Good! Glad we got that all settled!" Bambietta said, her expression quickly changing to a huge smile. "Once Lucy wakes up, You, me and her are going out for ice cream!"

"But, what about everyone else?" Wendy asked. "Don't they need healing?"

"Momo and Rukia more or less picked up the slack once you were sealed away. They'll be a bit sore when they wake up, but they'll be fine." Bambietta assured her.

The brunette glanced around, looking at her fallen teammates. They were beaten yes, and certainly not in the best of conditions…but they were still alive. All of them. No limbs were missing, there was no subjugation of the guild, everything was just…fine.

Granted, that didn't answer a rather huge question she had been wondering for quite a while now. Yhwach had claimed since Natsu's bold challenge that he wanted to face Fairy Tails strongest. Excluding most of the S Class made sense, with most of them having been absent with the sole exception of Erza. No doubt the Thunder Legion had been left out for that very same reasoning. Natsu, Gray and Gajeel all fit the mold well more than enough, and he more than likely had no need to see the strength of anyone that had originated from their world.

But Lucy and Wendy? Sure, they had come quite a long way since their return from the Tower of Heaven, but had they actually reached similar heights? Lucy wasn't too hard of a sell, her fullbring having raised up her combat capability by quite a huge margin. But Wendy? Sure, she was far from the weakest member in the guild, but to place her among the best was…confusing to say the least.

Bambietta sighed. She didn't want to think about this right now? "Well, I don't know how or why but…it looks like everything turned out alri-"

"Miss Basterbine, a word if you please."

Bambietta turned around, noticing Jonathan standing only a few feet away from them.

"Um…Can I help you?" Bambietta asked.

"In a manner of speaking. His Majesty wishes to speak with you personally in his quarters. Alone."

Bambietta blinked a few times,her jaw dropping as she stared at the Grand Master before she finally found her voice. "…Excuse me, what?"

"His Majesty wished to have an audience with you. Alone. Preferably in the next five or so minutes." Jonathan answered

"Oh… that's… just… peachy." Bambietta said with a forced smile. "Well…. I better go find him right now then!"

She turned around, preparing to leave with Hirenkyaku, but the Quincy couldn't help but gulp and think one last thing before she left.

I'm so fucking dead.


As was to be expected, Yhwach had taken up residence in Magnolia's most luxurious hotel. While far from top of the line, the inside of the Emperor's room was far more embellished than the apartment that she and Lucy shared. Tepidly, she made her way inside, her mind filled with all sorts of questions that demanded to be answered.

Why the hell does he want to talk to me!? Me, of all people!? It's not like I have some special knowledge he lacks or something, given he knows how and why we're here! Gaaaaah, why can't this day just be over already!?

"Please, take a seat, Miss Basterbine." Bambietta heard Yhwach's voice call out to her. Following his suggestion as fast as she could, the Quincy sat down in a reclining chair, her hands gripping onto the armrest as the door to his bedroom opened up.

Bambietta almost had to do a double take. Gone was the regal clothing and crimson cloak, and in its place was a mere colored white dress shirt, jet black cargo pants, and a massive black cape. Ok, it's not exactly much of a downgrade, but man, I never thought i'd see him look so… so… casual! Bambietta thought.

Her former king walked past Bambietta before simply sitting down on the opposing couch. This was incredibly different from what she was used to. With the sole three exceptions from when he had taken her into the Wandenreich and when she had received her Schrift and then back at the guildhall, Bambietta had always seen Yhwach on higher ground than her.

And she didn't mean it in a metaphorical sense either. Almost every time he had spoken to the Wandenreich as a whole, it had been from a grand podium, the king always looking down towards his subjects as he delivered whatever speech he had concocted. Even during their grand banquets, he sat atop of his throne. Only Haschwalth and the Schutzstaffel had the honor of walking on the same level as his majesty. To be able do it right here, right now, after everything that had just transpired was just bizarre.

"So, how is Fairy Tail?" Yhwach asked Bambietta as he gazed over towards her. "Do you like your new home?"

Bambietta had expected him to ask a great many things. Intel about the world at large, information about the Tower of Heaven, or anything about the War waged between the two factions for the fate of humanity. That…had certainly not been one of them. Still, she knew better than to keep Yhwach of all people waiting.

"I…I like it. I like it a lot actually." Bambietta admitted.

"I see. But there's more than just that, isn't there?" Yhwach asked her.

Bambietta blinked. Well, he wasn't wrong but… Oh, she may as well be honest, Though she still felt the need to ask her next question regardless. "May I…May I be frank, your Majesty?"

Receiving a nod in return, Bambietta spoke her mind. "For the first time in my life… I feel like I finally truly belong somewhere. For taking me away from the hellhole that was my hometown, I'll always be grateful. But the Wandenreich and Silbern never truly felt like home. It was a massive improvement, but…I never really felt like I had a family. I had Lil, Candi, Meni and…her. Oh, Bazz B too. But that was it. It was a dog eat dog world in the Wandenriech. The only reason we didn't try to constantly snatch power for ourselves was because we held you too much in respect. You took us in and gave us a home. But… Liltotto told me about what happened after I died and you went to the Soul Palace. Not that it really mattered, given I was already dead by that point, but I know now my death was inevitable, one way or another."

Bambietta then smiled. "But… Fairy Tail is different. People don't just like me for my strength or beauty, they like me for being me. Everyone here see's each other as a friend, and while I certainly don't really give two shits about the random schmucks who work there, I do have friends. People who would fight for me. Die for me…and I'd do the same in return. Fairy Tail isn't just a place where I can go to find work, it's a family. And because of that.. I want to humbly make a request."

"Oh? A request you say?" Yhwach asked. "Proceed."

"I know that you're making a new SternrItter army. I have no doubt that it'll be incredibly powerful. But I also know that you'd rather find people who are already plenty strong enough to join its ranks. So, if it allows my family to stay safe then… then… " Bambietta bowed her head down. "Then I'll gladly pledge myself into your servitude once more, Your Majesty."

This was far from her ideal choice, but after everything she had just seen, what more could she do to keep her friends safe? Erza, Natsu, Rukia, Candice, Liltotto, Levy, Lucy, Wendy and so many more. She couldn't let anything happen to them after everything they had done for her. If serving in the Neo Stern Ritter would ensure their safety…then she would have no regrets.

"I refuse."

Bambietta's heart sank. Panicking, she got to her hands and knees. "Please reconsider, your majesty!" She pleaded. "I know that I failed you in the past, but there were special circumstances at play that prevented me from-"

"You misunderstand, Bambietta Basterbine."

Bambietta glanced up at the king, her eyes wide. "I… I do?"

"You and the others seem to be under a misunderstanding that I am here with nefarious intentions in mind with regards to your guild. Is that not true?"

Bambietta gulped. She wasn't exactly comfortable admitting this, not sure if this was one of Yhwach's head games that he liked to play every once in a while, but lying to the king was a sure fire way to make him upset, so she spoke honestly. "It's true. We… We were deathly afraid of what you would do the moment you entered the guild. That our lives, and more importantly the lives of our friends and everyone's in the entire guild were forfeit."

"As I suspected. Well, to set your mind at ease for the duration of my stay, I shall inform you that I have no intention of either destroying, nor subjugating your guild."

"You don't?" Bambietta asked. "But… but, that's your whole thing!" Realizing how she may have come across, the quincy bowed. "I mean, what I meant to say was-"

He chuckled, sending yet another chill down Bambietta's spine. "I understand your concerns perfectly, Miss Basterbine. That was indeed how I was in the past. But, much like you, I have changed since I've come to this world. The how's and why's are a matter for another time. However, my stay in Magnolia is for one simple reason. The guild intrigues me. As do you, Miss Basterbine."

Bambietta simply stared at the king as the weight of his words slowly settled in. She opened up her mouth, closed it, opened it up again as she raised her index finger, only to put it down and close her mouth again before she mulled over his words one last time before she spoke. "Um… Pardon me, Your Majesty, but I thought I heard you say that I "intrigued" you. So could you please repeat-"

"You heard me correctly the first time, Miss Basterbine." Yhwach interrupted her.

Bambietta was about to simply stare at him once again before she shook her head. "But why!? I'm nowhere near as strong as I was back at home! I'm not even close to what I used to be capable of, so there's got to be some kind of mistake here!"

"You received a special power from the god's, did you not?"

And like that, everything began to make sense. It wasn't Bambietta herself that he was intrigued by, but rather the power she had received as the "Champion" to her side of the war of the gods. The temptation to lie quickly ran through her mind before she shot it down. Knowing the man before her, he'd see right through her. It was simply best if she spoke the truth. "I did." She said, straight to the point.

"I thought as much. I sensed your power spike over a week ago when you went on vacation to Akane Resort. The power you used then was the smallest of portions that you have yet to unlock. Should you master your new found divine powers…your potential may rival that of Ichigo Kurosaki's."

"You're kidding me." Bambietta almost whispered. She already knew what kind of a ceiling that was. The substitute shinigami's fight with Aizen towards the end of the Fake Karakura town conflict had shown her more than enough, and that was without the added potential that his fullbring and Quincy powers could have given him. The mere notion she could have that level of power at her fingertips and then some was… staggering.

"Miss Basterbine, you have the potential to destroy all of Earthland should you master this power. It is for this reason that you have caught my eye, and for this reason that you must remain within Fairy Tail."

Bambietta tilted her head. "Um… wouldn't it make more sense if I were to simply join you, your majesty? I thought you'd want a power like that on your side."

The king shook his head. "That power is one that you could only hope to cultivate here, Miss you to work under me… you'd never reach your full potential. Bond's help one forge new strength, and the bonds that you have with this guild are as strong as they could possibly be. So it is for that reason, and that alone, that I ask that you remain here."

One question answered, only for so, so many more to pop back into Bambietta's head. Seeing how the conversation had been going thus far, she decided to be direct. "Why are you telling me this!? What the hell kind of advantage does any of this give you anyways!? She asked. She blinked then, realizing the error of her own words and instantly shrunk down. "I mean… what I meant was-"

Yhwach smirked. "My reasons are my own. Just know that you have nothing to fear from me nor my entourage during this stay."

Bambietta clenched her fists. "With all due respect….how can I know that you're telling the truth?"

"Miss Basterbine, in all the years that we've known each other, have I ever once told you, or anyone in the Sternritter a lie?"

Bambietta raised up a hand in objection…only to slowly lower it. Her mind raced back towards every time had had spoken to her and the Wandenriech as a whole.

He had told them many things. That the vile shinigami would pay for the suffering they had inflicted upon them. That he would create a paradise for all Quincy, where they would no longer have to live their lives in fear just for what they were. That he would lead them all towards victory.

Large promises, larger than life in fact, as well as extravagant…but never a lie. But even so…

"You betrayed the Sternritter down below. You killed Robert, you killed Liltotto after you left them for dead!" Bambietta accused him.

"Of that I won't deny." Yhwach admitted. "It's true that at the time I had viewed the Sternritter as nothing more than a means to an end. Even the Schutzstaffel and Haschwalth were eventually seen as expendable. However…I had come to realize that this was my greatest mistake of all."

He glanced out towards the window. "When I took in the Soul King's power, I had foolishly believed that I could handle the future all by myself. It was this arrogance that led to my inevitable downfall. Had I allowed them to remain, then Uryu Ishida would not have been able to provide Ichigo Kurosaki the means he needed to achieve victory."

Wait a minute, that's what happened!? Bambietta screamed internally. Fucking Ichigo and Uryu were the ones to finish him off!? No doubt there was much more to the tale than her former king was telling her, but that was neither here nor there. "Alright, so you admit that you lost because of that. That's not exactly enough to-"

"I wasn't finished, Miss Basterbine." Yhwach interrupted, Bambietta ceasing her response instantly. " I simply wished to impart onto you the knowledge as to why I no longer see my own subordinates as disposable. But I'm well aware that this alone would be far from sufficient to change your mind. For that I simply wish to ask you a question…Do you believe that a person can change?"

Bambietta wasn't exactly sure what she had expected him to ask…but if she were to hazard a guess, it wouldn't have been that.

But, despite her initial confusion, she nonetheless knew the answer almost instantly. How could she not? After Liltotto, Candice, Ulquiorra, and even herself. They had all changed to varying degrees despite their relatively short time within Fairy Tail.

No, it wasn't just them. Gajeel too had changed since she had last defeated him since the battle with Phantom Lord. Gone was the bastard who enjoyed inflicting pain on her friends, now seemingly replaced with a far more lax individual. Erza had learned to open up rather considerably since her time at the tower had ended and Wendy…well, her confidence and power had gone leaps and bounds beyond compared to what she had back when she met her back in Clover.

Finally, she answered. "Yeah…Yeah I think people can change." Even so, however, she remained skeptical. "Are…you claiming that you've changed as well?" Admittedly, the Quincy monarch had been acting considerably different from what she was used to, but even so…

"Do you love Miss Heartfilia, Bambietta?"

Bambietta's eyes widened as she heard his words, answering almost immediately. "With all my heart, Your Majesty."

"I've found someone as well." The king admitted as he rose up from his seat, he walked over to a nearby bookshelf where he picked up a small picture frame resting at the top. "I have…remained in this world for a period far longer than the rest of you. Some have been here for a few years, others a few months, and even now, more warriors from our world are emerging. I however… have resided in Earthland for about twenty years."

Bambietta gasped as he revealed this newest revelation before he continued. "When I had first arrived, my powers had been significantly weakened. Why, I was no more powerful than the average Quincy. Upon my unexpected arrival, I was attacked by a monster. As much as it shames me to admit this, I had almost died. My body was battered and bleeding all across that barren forest. Truth be told, I should have died that day."

He then glanced back towards her. "But it seemed that fate had other plans. I was found by a woman, who, in her infinite kindness, had taken me in and nursed me back to health. Initially, I had simply planned to use her to fully recover before I inevitably reclaimed my power.. However…"

He then smiled. It wasn't a sneer or sinister smirk, like Bambietta had been so used to when it came to Yhwach..but a genuine smile filled with warmth. "Bianca had managed to convince me that life has so much more to offer."

Slowly, he made his way back towards Bambietta, though his smile never ceases before he handed her the picture frame, revealing a beautiful woman with long black hair and brown eyes. "Is this…is this her?" Bambietta asked before she wanted to slap herself. Idiot, of course it is! Why else would he just hand this to you!?

"Indeed it is. Our time together was truly special. I won't bother you with the details, but her kindness had brought me a newfound appreciation for the world, and eventually…we had a child of our own."

Oh that's right! He did mention that before! Bambietta recalled from earlier in the day before everything had gotten even more out of hand then it had. "I…I assume she must be rather incredible, if she's your kid." Bambietta spoke.

Yhwach looked back at her with a slight grin. "That she is. In fact, I do believe that the two of you have already met."

"...Beg pardon?" Bambietta asked. "I met her!? When!? I-"

"It was back at Hosenka Village."

Bambietta tried to recall her visit there as best she could…and quickly remembered the young woman who had invited and paid for their stay in full, Mette.

Oh…my…god. It made too much sense upon retrospect. She had mentioned earlier on that she was from Bosco, and was a Quincy, with a schrift to boot. Why else would he have even considered giving someone so kind a Schrift in the first place! Hell, she had even mentioned that she was already familiar with her father. How did I not see it sooner!?

She promptly bowed before she began to apologize. "A thousand apologies, Your Majesty! Had I any inclination that she was your daughter, I would have never allowed her to pay for a stay and addressed her in such a casual-"

Yhwach simply raised up his hand, silencing her. "Fret not Miss Basterbine. I don't begrudge you for how you interacted with her. It would have been her preference regardless. However, I believe it's safe to presume that I have presented you with…suitable enough evidence?"

Bambietta nodded her head. It was almost impossible to refute everything he had told her. Sure, a picture could always be forged, but a daughter!? That seemed a bit much even for Yhwach. Not an impossibility mind you but…unlikely nonetheless.

"You'll… understand if I'm still a little skeptical, your majesty." Bambietta admitted. "I mean, it's…a lot to just accept."

The king nodded. "I wouldn't have expected you to fully embrace my change of heart. However, I do believe I've made a sufficient enough case on my behalf. Whenever you choose to believe me or not is simply up to you. You may go now, Miss Basterbine. I believe I've said everything that I've needed to.

Bambietta quickly bowed and promptly made her way out of the door, slamming it as she ran down. The Quincy Monarch gazed out of the window as she began to make her way back home.

Excellent. It seems that much of her fear has now been thrown into doubt. I'll simply have to hope that she can overcome this fear with Miss Heartfilia's help and relight that blaze of passion within her. You'll need it for the battle to come, Sternritter E.

After all, it would be such a waste if the number one War Potential were to fall so soon.


Well that was certainly something. Bambietta pondered as she walked down the street's of Magnolia. Fuck me I can't tell if he's telling the truth or just really, really good at playing the king game!

This was…in some ways a blessing, yet in others a curse. In the hand this gave her an easy out to simply not let her fear overwhelm her and give a chance to finally relax. It was certainly something that she wasn't opposed to. If anything she desperately needed it…Yet she still couldn't remove that small bit of doubt within her.

"Damn it all, what do I do?" Bambietta muttered as she kicked a rock. Right now she was caught between a crossroads. Simply accept the situation for what it was and inform her friends that there was nothing to fear…or remain a worried mess.

She wanted to scream, destroy something, anything to vent, and was simply about to settle for screaming into her hands when she heard a voice call out to her.

"Oh, there you are Bambi!"

Bambietta swiftly turned around as Lucy came running towards her. "Lucy? How did you get here so fast?" The distance between here and the forest wasn't exactly a morning jog away, so for her to have gotten here so quickly was…

"Oh, that? Momo finally finished patching up the others, so I thought I'd ask if she'd be willing to take me back home. I kinda wanted to see you as soon as I could." Lucy answered.

Well, that answers that I guess. Bambietta thought before she brought her attention back towards Lucy. "So, what's up?" Bambietta asked, albeit nervously. She was still somewhat on edge from the current situation , so any and all distractions her girlfriend could offer at the moment would have been preferable to the panic attack she was trying to calm down from.

"Well, I just thought I'd check up on you after all that. You just seemed so nervous before all of that went down…Still kinda do if I'm to be honest."

Lucy, you don't know the half of it. Bambietta admitted to herself before she spoke up. "I mean…Yeah. I told you how strong His Majesty was. How could I be anything but nervous when I found out you and Wendy were going to fight him?"

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. He really was as every bit as powerful as you said he was." Lucy admitted. "Honestly I think I got off easy all things considered."

Again, you don't know the half of it. Bambietta said internally. "Yeah. You did, his Majesty usually isn't so merciful when he fights. Most people….They end up way worse than that."

"I can believe that. Even so…I'm kinda glad I met him." Lucy admitted.

"You are?" Bambietta asked, befuddled. "I mean…Did you find out something special about your mom?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, kinda. I always knew she was a mage but…Dad didn't really talk about her days as a mage when I was home. I…haven't exactly wanted to broach the topic whenever I see him either. He's…not overly fond of it, for some reason. But now…I know that she was an incredibly strong mage!"

Lucy's eyes seemingly lit up with excitement as she continued. "I always kinda wanted to be strong some day, you know? Really make a name for myself. After hearing about just how strong my mom was, it's given me all the more reason to keep on trying to get better!"

Bambietta couldn't help but smile at her excitement. "Well, I'm glad you got something out of it at least. I… I know your mom means a lot to you." It was a subject in which Bambietta could truly relate towards…but that was neither here nor there.

"Oh that's not all that I got either!" Lucy said as she reached into her skirt pocket to pull out a crimson key and w scroll of some kind. "He gave these too!"

"Really?" Bambietta asked, surprised. She couldn't ever recall a time Yhwach had given anyone a gift that didn't involve serving his army. Curiosity took over as Lucy handed the scroll to Bambietta, who promptly took a look inside at the spell.

"Urano Metria?" Bambietta spoke the spell's name aloud as she slowly glanced at it. Woah, this looks intense. Bambietta had to admit. Bambietta wasn't exactly an "expert" when it came to spells, even of the Quincy variety. She much preferred her heilig pfeil, Sword, and Schrift to get the job done, but even she could tell this spell was something special.

"And he even gave me a celestial spirit key! It's supposed to be one of the Legendary God Keys. He was certain that I'd find it useful!" She then grinned at the key. *I think I'm going to form a contract with him once the Harvest Festival is over."

Bambietta couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion. What was the king of the Quincy getting at here exactly? It wasn't like accepting these gifts forced Lucy into some sort of contract with the king, at least as far as she could tell. Was he…really just doing this out of the kindness of his own heart?

Lucy then looked over towards Bambietta and smiled. "So, Wendy said you wanted to get Ice Cream right? I say we get her right away! I've honestly been dying for one for a while!"

As Lucy began to drag Bambietta away as she held her hand, the Quincy stumbling before she followed along, she looked inwardly on the entire situation.

I… I still don't know if I can just take his word on everything he told me. I should probably stay on guard regardless of whenever he's telling the truth or not. But… even despite all that…

Bambietta quickly noticed her girlfriend looking back towards her, the blonde shooting her a brief smile. Bambietta was unable to stop herself from doing the same before Lucy looked forward and let go of her hand as she went for a slight jog, no doubt to find Wendy before they went for ice cream.

Despite all that. Right here, right now…I just want to live my life to the fullest. Bambietta thought as she began to pick up the pace. Whatever comes is whatever comes. As I am right now, there's nothing I can do… but maybe with that new power of mine that can change. I'll have to work on that in the future, to do what I can. Right now, telling everyone else about His Majesty would just take away their happiness. So for….so for now…

"Hey, Lucy, wait up!" Bambietta said as she finally went into a full on sprint before she finally caught up with her girlfriend and grabbed her hand.

I'll just enjoy what I have while it lasts!


Well, that was certainly quite the fight wasn't it? Let's just consider ourselves lucky that neither E.N.D. nor Yhwach used their full power. If they had...Well, it probably would have ended VERY badly for the people of Earthland.

The battle of Fairy Tail is just around the corner by, and I'm willing to bet a lot of you are excited to see how it all plays out. Well I have good news and bad news on that front.

Let's start off with the good. I've managed to have already written up to chapter 98, with about 95% of the arc having been finished. However, the bad news is...it hasn't been edited or proofread yet. Right now our focus is trying to finish that remaining 5%, but currently it's proving to be both tricky and time consuming.

Another issue is... I'm hitting a slight burn out. Nothing major, but it's been enough for me to realize that I should take some time away from the story to let myself recover slightly. After all, I wouldn't be doing this story, or the characters in it any justice if I went at it half-assed.

Thus, I have decided to not upload any more chapters untill July, to correspond with the return of Bleach's anime. Now, if we get done with the 5% we're struggling with early and manage to proofread and edit some of the chapters early, then I'll upload them earlier. On the flip side, if the remaining 5% isn't finished yet, or our editing/proofreading, the chapters will still be uploaded this July regardless.

That isn't to say that I plan on leaving you completely without content for the next 3-4 months however. "The Death and Life of Erza Scarlet", my other big project, will be returning rather soon... along with a brand new Bleach crossover I've been working on on the side.

This new crossover has been one that has helped me out of my writing burn out, given the new concepts I'm now working with. What I've decided to crossover with Bleach this time around, I plan to keep a secret, but you can expect it on the second of April.

I hope that you can all understand my reasoning for this.

Anyways, I greatly look forward to your reviews and getting your thoughts on what transpired in this chapter, especially the battle with E.N.D. I would truly appreciate any feedback regarding it.

No MPFs this time around. The numbers are...tricky to figure out at this point in time for me. XD