Annoyance couldn't begin to describe what Laxus was feeling right now. Furious wasn't wrong, but it didn't capture everything. Beleaguered, perhaps? Galuna Island was a Quest that had been collecting dust on the S-Class board for a reason, and it was not due to it being difficult. Any ship captain that would dare sail there needed to be bribed exorbitantly, and rarely were the seas kind on the journey there. The people of Galuna Island had also been a superstitious and paranoid lot, with no one doubting that their entire population being struck by a curse only exacerbated the issue. To even legitimately take the Quest was sure to be an exercise in frustration, the villagers likely to hound your every step. The blonde was half-sure the reason for its S-Class status was the villagers exaggerating how big the problem was.
That belief was only reinforced as he sat in the center of the village, waiting for Evergreen to come back with the bimbo spirit mage and the moocher. Uninterested in wasting any more of his time here than he had to, Laxus had already ordered the Thunder God Tribe to hunt down their targets and bring them to the village so they could get a head count and go home. Natsu was the easiest catch, them having found him in the village amongst some destroyed huts with two unconscious mages at his feet. The pink-haired idiot had been blindsided by Fried, being tied in ropes with the simple enchantment of 'These ropes will not burn in fire'. Gray had been found by Bickslow next, the Seith Mage having called dibs on checking the purple beam of light in the sky as soon as they arrived on the island. According to him, he had found Gray and some snooty ice mage fighting each other in an old temple, and the other ice mage had willfully let Bickslow knock out Gray and drag him off. The stripper was soon forced into a situation similar to Natsu, only his ropes instead being inscribed with 'These ropes will not freeze in ice'.
While it was never a question that Fried would be the first to complete any task Laxus asked of him, it was a certain surprise that Bickslow came back before Evergreen did. The Fairy Mage had high opinions of herself and positively hated to see herself shown up by anyone. She only begrudgingly accepted Fried's superiority, and not for any lack of trying to prove better.
"We can't let Lyon free Deliora! That monster will annihilate this village, this island!" Gray screamed, having not stopped wiggling in his restraints since he woke up.
Laxus turned the volume higher on his headphones. The 'Deliora' the Ice-Make Mage kept screaming about could suck an egg for all the blonde cared. This wasn't his Quest, this wasn't the Thunder God Tribe's Quest and this certainly wasn't supposed to be the Quest of some idiots who thought they could throw themselves at S-Class Quests and retroactively become S-Class mages. If they wanted to kill themselves trying to hit above their weight class, all the better. His Fairy Tail needed idiots as much as it needed weaklings. As the future Guild Master, he didn't need to waste his time keeping his guild members in line. He should be back in the Hall, planning out his Battle of Fairy Tail.
Instead, at the moment, he was sitting on a crate since these villagers had apparently not seen the merit in chairs with one ankle crossed over his opposite knee and an arm holding his head up while he rested his elbow on his leg. Fried and Bickslow stood at either of his sides, Fried as tall and attentive as ever while Bickslow allowed his entire upper torso to flop side to side because he found it funny. The latter honestly only got away with it because he so continuously proved his individual strength and pride for Fairy Tail. Natsu and Gray fumbled on the ground in front of him, the fire dragon slayer seemingly having made it a contest between himself and Gray over who could win while neither had limbs. Laxus truly did appreciate Natsu's constant drive, he just wished it wasn't heavily diminished by how utterly unintelligent the boy was. Put him in a fight, and Natsu could analyze with the best of them, studying his opponent and figuring out their fighting style. Put him in a cage, however, and he was likely to just bash against the walls until something broke. It also couldn't be ignored that his emotional intelligence was similarly amazing. The pink-haired idiot couldn't talk his way out of a paper bag, but his awareness of what others were feeling was pinpoint. Two out of three was better than what most of the guild could say.
They were sitting in the general vicinity of the wreckage brought about by Natsu's fight, the villagers grumblingly cleaning up the destruction. Their negative response was almost entirely because Laxus had firmly declared it was their problem to deal with, but he couldn't be damned about that. They should be grateful in the first place that a member of Fairy Tail fought off their enemies for them, sanctioned Quest or not. They should be happy that fixing up a few huts was all they needed to do.
Without warning, Natsu stiffened and sat up, his gaze focusing on a section of the wooden wall surrounding the village. His nostrils were flared. Frowning, Laxus sniffed the air himself, and instantly straightened his back as he stared at the same spot, his headphones sliding to sit around his neck. While neither Fried nor Bickslow could smell what they were, the two were familiar enough with the occurrence to also tense. The Ecriture Mage drew his sword, while the Seith Mage's dolls began to rotate in a slow vertical circle. The cocktail of womanly products Evergreen reeked of was mixed with the heavy scent of blood, and she-
The section of the wall he and Natsu had been staring at exploded. A body was the cause, rocketing through the air toward them. The villagers screamed and ran, all of the mages ignoring them as they watched the body touch the ground and tumble across it, no hint of struggle to be found as the body simply rag-dolled. It slid to a stop a few meters away from where the wizards were, and each of them felt a pit form in their guts. Evergreen was unconscious, missing her right hand from her thumb forward, and her right thigh possessing a large lump that Laxus' trained eyes told him was a broken bone that did not pierce the skin. Lacerations were found all across her body, mixed with bruises and welts. Her dress was as much a dark red as it was its original green, with all but one of her wings missing and several rips and tears turning it into rags that barely kept her modest. Most of her glasses were nowhere to be found, though there was one sickening shard of a lens stuck in the side of her nose.
The scent of death encroached, and Laxus did not miss how Natsu seemed far more uncertain and anxious. A silhouette appeared in the dust cloud from the wall, and a form silently stepped out. It was the moocher, the blonde recognized. He understood instantly why Natsu seemed so uncomfortable if that was what Zangetsu smelled like. The demon's blade, unerringly clutched in his right hand, dripped with fresh blood. He was hunched forward like a predator on a hunt, stalking with purpose in his steps. Considering the blonde could see Evergreen's chest faintly rising and falling, he felt he could figure out what that purpose was.
Experience and practice had Fried and Bickslow exchange a silent glance, the Seith Mage carefully stepping forward with his dolls angrily floating in the air. Both the dolls and the sword-wielding mage kept an eye on the demon as the blue-haired man gently slid his arms underneath the woman and lifted her with equal care. He retreat slowly until he was behind Laxus, then he turned and ran towards the villagers, his dolls staying behind. Zangetsu stopped and kept the empty hollows of his eyes on the group.
Another silhouette appeared in the dust cloud, quickly revealed to be the blonde girl that had just joined Team Natsu, with another girl hanging off her. The second girl was whimpering to herself and held her left wrist to her chest protectively. The wrist did not have a hand at the end of it, rather tied fabric soaked red with blood. Three guesses how that happened, Laxus snarked in his head. The Celestial Spirit Mage looked up wearily, and her eyes instantly widened at seeing the group.
"N-N-Natsu?" She called across the space, staying behind Zangetsu.
"Looks like Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe were the ones sent to bring us back to the Guild." The dragon slayer gave out a weak smile. "Unlike Erza, I don't think there's a chance of us talking them down." The horned beast silently turned to look over at the girl behind him, piquing Laxus' interest. There was an unspoken question in that look.
"Y-you're saying they're just going to stop us right now?!" She shrieked. "But the villagers are in more danger than ever before! The guys behind this are actively targeting them now! If we leave, they'll all be killed!"
"That's what I've been trying to tell them!" Natsu's face curled into a snarl. "But Fried and Bickslow keep blowing me off and Laxus was just listening to music until just now!" The girl's brown eyes widened with horror and she flinched back, inciting a groan from the girl hanging on her. Those same brown orbs flicked to the demon standing just before her. His own gray eyes narrowed. What was she-
"I refuse to leave these people to die!" She shouted. "Zangetsu, can you please stop them?" The demon returned his gaze to them as he tightened his grip on his sword, bringing both Laxus and Fried to tense. The blonde stood as his green-haired companion's magic flared.
An unnatural boom of sound filled the air, and the beast was in front of Laxus, his blade swinging forward horizontally. To his dread, the blonde almost wasn't fast enough to dodge. Even worse, the air pressure from the strike still hit him, and it flung him back. Fried roared as he stepped in with his own strike, and both experienced mages widened their eyes when a simple backhand broke his rapier. Laxus only saw the demon's right leg blur, before Fried distorted into one himself, crashing through another of the village's huts.
"…Weak." It declared to the open air, before narrowing its attention onto the youngest of the Dreyar line. A beam of magical energy struck the side of its head. While it turned in irritation to discover the source was Bickslow's dolls, the S-Class mage couldn't help but wince at the sheer nothing the direct attack accomplished.
And Gramps was worried about this thing being hurt?! Another burst of sound, and Zangetsu disappeared once more. Snapping his gaze around, he confirmed that two of the dolls were sliced in half from one slash, with the demon turning his wrist to swing at another while the remaining ones flitted about in fear. Taking the opening for what it was, Laxus swiftly threw off his coat and headphones, his own magical energy flooding his body. Lightning coursing over his skin, the next Guild Master of the Strongest Guild in Fiore howled in challenge.
The demon met his gaze and instantly shifted to face the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Something within the empty pits staring into him seemed utterly furious, and the monster responded in kind.
Its jaw opened wide as it stomped forward, cratering the ground with a single step as more magical energy than Laxus had ever felt in his life erupted from the demon. Its responsive roar to his challenge was overwhelming, grating and deep and seeming to strike him with physical force. This was separate from the crushing weight that slammed into his shoulders, visibly bringing the very air to tremble. The wooden walls surrounding the village splintered and ruptured all around them, several structures the villagers had put together collapsed in on themselves, the only one beyond Zangetsu himself who could remain standing was Laxus, and even that was no easy task. The beast physically glowed with energy, a wrathful crimson so powerful it extended past his form and burned the ground around him black. Before his eyes, Laxus saw that the dolls that could not escape the beast's immediate vicinity crumbled, leaving only one left just barely outside of the radius of the hateful aura. Past the walls of the village, the trees all leaned away, pushed outward by the power on display.
Some sort of gravity-related magic? No, that was just raw magical energy. Laxus winced as the demon allowed his roar to end. Shaking away the feeling, lightning coursed through his body. This time, it did not stop at his skin as he transitioned into becoming lightning, flying through the air at Zangetsu. The monster punched at him with its free hand, a small disk of energy flying out from it faster than even Evergreen's Leprechaun. It thankfully passed through his lightning form harmlessly, as he was not quick enough to evade it even in his current state. He changed back when he was right in front of the demon, his right hand pulled back and crackling with magic.
"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" He shouted, lightning engulfing his arm as he punched forth. Zangetsu snapped up his left hand, palm out to catch the fist and stopping it dead in its tracks. The built-up force of the attack still washed over him, a torrent of magical lightning battering at the monster, revealing it did nothing more than singe the cloth determinedly covering his right shoulder. Reacting on instinct, he shifted back into lightning at his fastest, a black blur of a blade swiping through the space his heart had just been in. Before the demon could finish his swing, Laxus was behind him, another Breakdown Fist coming for him.
It was only a wall of violet letters appearing without warning between Laxus and Zangetsu that kept the dragon slayer safe from the slash he had not seen coming. An enraged hiss left the demon's throat, while a relieved sigh left the blonde's. Neither lasted long, as the orange-haired beast raised his left fist, red energy glowing over his knuckles, and crashed it against the wall. Laxus had never seen Fried's Scripture tremble before, and it incited a hungry growl to leave the heartless monster. It reared back for another strike, and Laxus bolted out of the way. The Ecriture Mage gasped in shock as the wall shattered, but the lightning mage did not have the time to spare to pay attention to that. He did not dare look back, but he knew Zangetsu would be right behind him. He heard a burst of sound again and the sword beast was in front of his lightning form. He turned at a ninety-degree angle, the demon uselessly attempting to grab onto him while he was in his lightning state. A deep crash echoed behind him, followed by an angered howl. The dragon slayer looked back to see Zangetsu inside a box of Enchantments and already bringing his arm up to break through them. Laxus changed back and charged up his own attack, a spear of lightning forming in his hands. He would need to watch his timing on this, he couldn't let Zangetsu have enough time to dodge after breaking himself out. The two attacks needed to be all but simultaneous. He watched the demon throw his fist forward, and so he unleashed his strike.
"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" The spear of lightning struck true, passing through the space the Enchantment had been in just as it broke under the demon's power. It erupted over him, though the dragon slayer took no chances after witnessing his durability. He lifted an arm up, a magic circle appearing above where Zangetsu stood. "Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction! Lightning Dragon's Raging Bolt!" A pillar of lightning fell upon the demon, but still, Laxus charged up his magic for another spell. This time, however, he held it. Heavenward Halberd and Raging Bolt were two of his strongest spells.
The beast stepped out from the smoke produced from the attacks, and Laxus felt his heart sink. The only difference was that the scrap of cloth over Zangetsu's right shoulder now only covered the shoulder, rather than extending to just above the elbow. Gritting his teeth, the blonde opened his mouth as he leaned forward.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" He unleashed, a torrent of lightning eclipsing the demon's form. While still firing the attack, he saw Fried dart close in his Darkness form, his transformed hands filled with dark energy.
"Darkness Breath!" The man cast as he joined in bombarding their opponent with magic. With such an intense onslaught upon Zangetsu, Laxus almost failed to sense the concentration of energy.
"DODGE!" He screamed as he canceled his attack to lunge to the left. Fried immediately did as told, jumping to the right. Thankfully, both managed to get out of the way of the beam of crimson energy that eclipsed both his own and Fried's combined. It carved a deep trench in the ground, deeper than the village's walls stood tall and wider than the largest hut in the village. The beast seemingly did them the mercy of stopping the attack rather than turning even slightly to take out one of his two opponents.
"…Weak." The Lightning Dragon Slayer heard it rasp. "…Slow…An…noy…ing." He and Fried kept their gazes on the sword beast, and they watched as it leveled a glare at…just over Fried's shoulder? Furthering their confusion, they watched its white skin slightly darken to a shade of light grey as it ceased moving entirely.
"I've got him with my Figure Eyes!" Bickslow's voice called as he stepped up from behind them, inciting both to breathe a sigh of relief. Even Laxus would have been helpless if caught by Bickslow's eyes. "He's under my control now!" The blonde and the verdet both allowed their magic to calm, the Ecriture Mage leaving his Darkness form as lightning stopped dancing atop the dragon slayer's skin. They both turned to the Seith Mage, who was lightly patting his chest like he was trying to calm his heart. "Man, that had me for a good minute. Still kinda does. We should really get going, by the way, I don't think the Docs in this place are good enough to fix up Ever."
"Yeah." The blonde nodded. The idiots didn't even have chairs, he doubted they would have the medical supplies to fix her leg. "By the way, I don't think any of your 'babies' made it, Bick. Zangetsu seemed pretty annoyed by them."
"What?! Did he get-" Without any warning, the demon exploded with rage, a geyser of crimson energy bursting out from him. The ocean of pressure from when Zangetsu responded to his challenge returned, only twice as densely powerful and sending even the dragon slayer crashing to his knees. Laxus witnessed only a glimpse of seething yellow eyes deep inside black pits before the monster disappeared in another boom of sound.
"…YOU! …NOT! …KING!" The only reason Bickslow did not die right then and there was a combination of him pitching back to dodge while instinctively using his magic to manipulate Zangetsu's body as much as he could. Instead, the nightmare's black blade only sliced through the bridge of his nose and both of his eyes. Laxus was certain the man's screams would haunt his nightmares for years to come. The flesh of both the dragon slayer and the Ecriture Mage paled in time with Zangetsu's, as they each scrambled to rescue their friend. With his moment of control having swiftly been over, they were certain the demon's retaliation would be horrific.
None of them seemed to be prepared for Lucy lunging from out of nowhere to wrap herself around the creature's head, herself only just barely managing to not be impaled. Her legs swung around to lock her ankles behind his back, her thighs directly underneath his armpits, and her arms wove around the top of his head, pressing his face into her chest. Due to the completely unexpected action, the demon stumbled back several steps, arms flailing slightly as its balance was disturbed. It screamed with limitless rage into her shirt, but to the immense shock of both Laxus and Fried, did not make to do anything else against her.
"ZANGETSU, STOP!" She screamed back at its bellowing. Having regained its footing, the chain hanging from the hilt of its sword rattled as its body shook, the monster screeching in hatred once more. "You-" she gasped as she fought to think of something to convince him. "You said he's not 'King', right?!" The responsive snarl was blood-chillingly low, the topic clearly something closer to a nuclear bomb rather than a simple landmine. "He-he didn't know! He was just trying to get you to stop, he wasn't trying to seriously control you! Right?!" Her voice was shrill as she begged for support. Fried handled Bickslow's injuries as Laxus stood protectively in front of the two.
"Gramps told us to bring all of you back to the guild as fast as we could." He announced, his voice tense. "We only fought back because you attacked first." The Celestial Spirit Mage stiffened anxiously, and her jaw wavered with nervousness. Zangetsu tightened his grip on his sword, having just begun to loosen his hold.
"…Bitch…hit…first." He hissed. The grey-eyed man tilted his head, but Lucy quickly filled them in.
"E-Evergreen didn't try to talk us into it, she just insulted us and threatened us to come with her or she'd attack." The dragon slayer clicked his tongue. I thought she knew better than to threaten people before checking how much magic they had.
"She pushed you, you pushed back. I get it." Honestly, Laxus had no personal issues with the members of his guild proving their strength to each other. It was well and truly part of Fairy Tail's charm that it was a nigh-unending guild brawl. To his relief, the sword beast loosened his grip, seemingly grateful that the two were of the same mind on that matter. "As for just now, everyone's got something they can't stand. I hate Fairy Tail's reputation being tarnished. I take it you hate being controlled?" He wasn't prepared for the demon to visibly sag, its shoulders falling as its horns tilted down slightly.
"…On…ly…King." It practically whispered. Thankfully, Laxus' dragon slayer magic slightly strengthened his hearing. "…No…one…but…King." That…Laxus could sort of understand. A special right reserved for only one person, it had nothing to do with being controlled and everything to do with who was the one doing it.
"Then we won't do it again." The fight they just had was enough. He may not yet have a guild mark, but Zangetsu was bound to be convinced sooner or later, and he had already earned his place in Laxus' Fairy Tail. "Gramps still wants us to bring you back to Fairy Tail as fast as we can, and we now have two members in critical condition." He stated meaningfully.
Since the demon no longer seemed ready to decapitate at least one person, Lucy unlatched herself from his body and stood next to him, her eyes stuck on him. For good reason, Laxus agreed. The beast looked back at her, once more in silent question. This one, however, he could decipher:
What do you want to do?
"I can't in good conscience leave knowing the villagers would only be in danger." She stated. In response, Zangetsu just…stared off into the distance. For several seconds. "He…does that sometimes." The blonde girl nervously explained, rubbing the toe of her shoe into the dirt.
"…Two…for…one." He rasped before he once again disappeared in a burst of sound. With him being gone, Laxus decided to go for the prudent question.
"What the hell is that magic?" He demanded.
"We, uh, don't know." Was the Celestial Spirit Mage's lame answer. "That sound-teleport-thing is something he called 'Sonido', he can fly, he can do that weird pressure thing, and he can apparently sense souls. Until now, he didn't really do more than knock Natsu and Gray out in the Guild, so seeing that magic beam was new for me, too."
"Sense souls? Like Bickslow's Seith Magic?"
"I know a bit about Seith Magic, it's definitely different." She shook her head. "He was able to sense the guys behind this from the other side of the island, and could not only tell how many of them there were, but how strong they each were. He's like a magic bloodhound." That was a ridiculously useful ability.
He was going to inquire about why the demon smelled of death when the crimson beam from earlier overtook the purple ray on the other side of the island. Everyone except the finally unconscious Bickslow stared in awe and slight fear as the beam was visibly wider than the purple ray. That feeling was amplified when the beam continued up until it shattered the sky. Before anyone could begin commenting on it, Zangetsu returned in another burst of the so-called 'Sonido'. He stood in front of Gray, still in Fried's ropes on the ground.
"…De…mon…Dead." He huffed. Gray was only able to widen his eyes, the sword beast turning towards Laxus, Fried, and Lucy. "…Who…smart…est?" He demanded as he stepped toward them. Exchanging a glance, Laxus nudged his head for Fried to step up, who, while uncomfortable with the prospect, did not stall in going over. "…Talk…hard…so…help." The verdet blinked at the command but numbly kept a step behind Zangetsu as he went to stand in front of the villagers.
"I…I don't understand." The village leader was visibly confused. "You destroyed the moon, but you also didn't? And we're still affected by the curse?"
"…Curse…not…trans…form." The villagers instantly began to cry out their complaints, but after his previous displays, Zangetsu needed only to snarl lightly for all of them to snap their jaws shut. "…Ex…plain…Curse." The horned beast ordered the village leader before he grabbed Fried's arm and pulled him up. He pointed with his sword at the leader. "…Lis…ten." Nervously, the verdet took in the man's explanation for the struggle the villagers had been going through. Once he was done, both men shifted back to the heartless monster. His sword was slipped into the sash around his waist so he could gesture with both of his arms, and everyone relaxed slightly at the action.
"…Curse…not…bo…dy." He stated slowly, his hands pressing against his chest. "…Curse…head." He shifted his hands to point at his brain. The Ecriture Mage tilted his own head.
"The Demon Curse does not affect their bodies, but instead changes their minds? But it was just explained to me that they all transform when under the moonlight." The collective intrigue of everyone in hearing distance was centered on the two. Zangetsu took a calming breath, clearly hating having to force his voice so much.
"…Them…not…done." He waved out at the villagers. "…Son…done."
"These villagers…have not completely succumbed to the curse, and you encountered someone's son, who had been consumed by it?" He voiced as a question. The white-skinned creature nodded.
"…Feel…same." The man's blue eyes widened as he started to understand it himself.
"If these villagers were being consumed by a curse that gradually transformed them into demons, their magic would not feel the same as someone who had completely turned, some of their humanity able to be felt within their magic." Zangetsu threw his arms up in gratefulness.
"…Curse…head." He pointed once again to his brain. "…Back…wards." Somehow, Fried completely comprehended the three words.
"The villagers have it backward!" He breathed. "They aren't humans undergoing a curse that transforms them into demons, they are demons with a curse that makes them believe they're human!" The villagers once more cried out their shock, which was furthered by a new demon flying out from the tree line. The village leader proclaimed that the newcomer was his son. It looked like Lucy well and truly wanted to appreciate the reunion, as well as process the revelation. That was unfortunately interrupted by Zangetsu stepping up, wrapping an arm around Fried's waist (which oddly produced a heavy blush on his face), and disappearing in another burst of Sonido. Laxus, Lucy, and the still-tied Natsu and Gray all blinked. The fire dragon slayer's eyes gleamed.
"Wait, did he just-" A boom indicated the beast reappearing, empty-handed, between Natsu and Gray. He grabbed onto the ropes still tying the two rivals, and they were once more gone in a pound of noise. Lucy was the next to seemingly understand whatever was happening.
"HE CAN GO THAT-?!" A pair of booms was both the warning that Zangetsu was between them as well as their only signal before everything blurred. Unprepared for being moved at incomprehensible speeds, Laxus fell to his hands and knees on wooden board.
…Wooden board?
Looking up, the lightning dragon slayer's jaw dropped as he saw they were inside the Fairy Tail Guild Hall.
"HE CAN!" Lucy screamed indignantly once she collected herself next to him. "I'M NEVER BUYING A TRAIN TICKET FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!"
…Yeah, Zangetsu was going to join Fairy Tail. He wasn't going to let someone who saved him from his motion sickness slip by.
"Lucy?!" Mirajane startled. "Laxus?! How is everyone-" Another Sonido filled the air followed swiftly by the heavy thump of a body dropping onto a table. Glancing up as the demon vanished for presumably one more trip, he saw Bickslow's body on a nearby table. It, thankfully, appeared to have previously been unoccupied. What he suspected was the last boom for a while sounded, and Evergreen's body was uncaringly thrown onto the table next to Bickslow's. The Fairy Mage gasped in pain, but the blonde figured that was likely the most politely Zangetsu could have gotten himself to handle her. "Can someone explain what's going on, please?!" Laxus sighed and climbed to his feet.
"Get me a drink and medical attention for those two, and I'll give you the full report."
"Zangetsu! You're okay!" Levy squealed as she ran over to the being in question, hugging him around the stomach. "Bickslow and Evergreen look like they're barely breathing, that Quest must've been dangerous! I'm so happy you're unhurt!" She innocently awed.
"Make that two drinks." He instantly amended. Gratefully, he saw that Mirajane's eyes were wide, and firmly on the blood that dripped from the edge of the horned beast's blade.
"…The Quest wasn't dangerous at all, was it…" She breathed.
"If he's not a member of Fairy Tail by the time the day is over, I'm going to fill out his application for him."
"Hey, where's Happy?" Natsu's voice echoed through the hall. After a moment's pause, yet another boom of Sonido followed.
"…You know what? Let's just get you a pitcher." Yes, he was very much grateful for the white-haired bartender.
Fresh reminder that, despite this and the previous chapter coming out with incredible efficiency, my focus will remain on To Undo it All until that is complete. Do not take this as an indicator that I'm spending more time on this. I actually just wrote these while waiting for my beta reader to finish going through the latest chapter of To Undo it All.