Chapter 226: A Race to Protect Former Council Members
Dante burst into the infirmary along with Mira and Juvia. Seeing the rest of Team Natsu along with serval other members of the guild already gathered around an infirmary bed, Dante swore to himself. The looks from everyone were ones of worry and horror, save for Natsu who had a pissed off look. Pushing his way to the front of the crowd, Dante felt rage fill his body as he looked at Laxus barely clinging to life.
"What the hell happened" asked Dante in an angry tone as he watched one of the strongest members of the guild barely cling to life. Lucy turned her attention towards Dante as she started to answer his question.
"They were attacked by a member of Tartaros during their job" responded Lucy in a sad tone. Cursing Tartaros, Dante started to speak.
"Is Laxus going to be okay? What's wrong with him" asked Dante in a concerned tone. As Dante looked at Laxus he felt a twinge of fear. He and Laxus were about equal in strength, if a member of Tartaros could do this to Laxus then this coming storm was going to be tough and dangerous. This time it was Porlyusica who answered Dante's question.
"Laxus was subjected to a powerful anti-magic poison called bane particles. His organs have taken massive internal damage. I honestly don't know how he is still alive" responded Porlyusica in a somber tone. Dante along with the rest of the guild felt a fresh surge of worry at these words while Dante started to speak.
"Damn it! How in the hell could those bastards get the better of Laxus? Laxus is one of our best" asked Dante mostly to himself. A moment of silence followed before Freed, who was resting on a nearby bed started to weakly respond.
"It was an act of cowardice that did this" responded Freed in a weak tone, he was in bad shape but appeared to be much better off than Laxus was. Seeing that serval eyes were now focusing on him, Freed continued to speak.
"We were attacked suddenly by one of the ten demon gates. He called himself Tempester. Just as the Thunder Legion was about to engage in battle with the monster, Laxus was able to defeat him easily" stated Freed in a weak tone.
"I don't understand, if that is what happened then why is Laxus and the rest of you in such bad shape" asked Wendy in a worried tone. Freed took a moment to answer since he was attacked by a fit of coughing.
"Tempester was defeated but he told us that everyone in the town was still going to die. The monster then blew himself up into millions of bane particles, the poison was going to spread across the entire town" responded Freed as he struggled to remain conscious. Knowing the type of person Laxus was and seeing that he was in the worst shape to the point of near death, Dante swore to himself as he started to speak.
"Damn, and Laxus inhaled all the particles didn't he" asked Dante in an angry and concerned tone. Freed weakly nodded his head before he started to speak.
"Yes Laxus used his dragon slayer lungs to save everyone from the deadly poison" responded Freed as he turned his attention towards Markov and continued to speak.
"Master Markov, was Laxus successful? Is the town safe" asked Freed hoping that Laxus's noble act wasn't for nothing. Markov was silent for a short moment before he nodded his head and started to speak.
"Yes my boy, the town was saved thanks to Laxus and the rest of the Thunder Legion. Please rest now" responded Markov in a somber tone but Dante knew Markov long enough to tell that rage was just under the surface. Freed had a relieved look on his face as he started to speak.
"Thank goodness" responded Freed as he laid his head back down and closed his eyes. Soon Freed was resting while Dante and the rest of the guild was silent. Dante turned his attention towards Markov as he started to speak.
"Master how many" asked Dante in a steady tone.
"One hundred were killed from the lingering bane particles. Many others were injured" responded Markov, his voice barely holding together with the rage boiling inside him. Just as Dante was about to respond, Natsu started to speak.
"We have to make them pay for this! This means war" yelled Natsu in an angry tone. The guild was silent as everyone considered Natsu's words, he had said what everyone was feeling. This act of violence could not go unanswered.
"Master I know you depend on me to be a calming voice during times like these, but I can't help but agree with Natsu. Tartous needs to pay" responded Dante as rage radiated from his body. Clenching his fists in anger, Dante wasn't sure he would be able to contain the rage building up inside him. One of his best friends could die, one hundred innocent people were dead, and it was all because of Tartous.
"I feel the same but what are we supposed to do? We still don't know what Tartous is trying to accomplish" stated Erza in a serious tone. While Dante was still filled with rage he considered Erza's words. Now that Dante was thinking about it, it was odd that Tartous would randomly attack Laxus's team.
"Why would Tartous attack Laxus and the Thunder Legion, what was their goal" asked Dante mostly to himself as he tried to make sense of everything. Suddenly the answer came to Dante, and he swore to himself as he continued to speak.
"Damn, they weren't after Laxus's team. Tartarus is targeting former council members" stated Dante, many people in the crowd gasped at these words. Nodding his head, Markov started to speak.
"Yes I had the same realization. For some reason Tartarus seems intent on killing all former magic council members" responded Markov in a serious tone. Natsu stepped forward with an angry expression as he started to speak.
"We need to stop them" shouted Natsu, his voice filled with anger. Dante nodded his head in agreement, he didn't know why Tartarus was targettign former council members but whatever they had planned it had to be stopped.
"Natsu's right, we need to stop Tartarus before they accomplish whatever they are trying to achieve. If Tartarus is going after former magic council members then we need to protect them" responded Dante to Markov.
"I agree that is the best course of action given what we know but tracking down former council members is not easy" responded Markov in a serious tone. Just as Dante and the others were considering a possible solution to finding the former council members in time, Loki appeared out of the crowd.
"I might be able to help out with this" stated Loki with a smile. Everyone gathered in the infirmary turned their attention towards Loki.
"What do you mean Loki? Do you know where former council members live" asked Dante in a curious tone. Smiling at Dante, Loki started to speak.
"Sure do! As it turns out, serval magic council members have lovely daughters who've I became acquainted with. I actually know where serval council members live" responded Loki with a smile. Dante couldn't help but chuckle at this response. Besides himself, Loki was the other womanizer of the guild so it made sense that Loki would get around like this.
"That's great Loki. Now all we need to do is split up into teams and get to the council members before Tartous does. We should escort the council members back to the guild as soon as we can" responded Dante as he spoke to the crowd. Markov spent a moment to clear his throat before he started to speak.
"I don't like the idea of sending my children out like this. The teams are likely to be attacked by members of Tartous, but we have no other option. We cannot allow Tartous to accomplish their evil goals" stated Markov in a serious tone. Seeing that he had all eyes on him, Markov continued to speak.
"The teams need to consist of our best fighters, those that can stand up to powerful enemies" stated Markov as Dante and the others nodded their heads in agreement. Dante knew this meant that Team Natsu would have to split up, they couldn't have all their best fighters in one team.
"I can be a team by myself master, I can take care of myself just fine" responded Dante in a confident tone. Markov shook his head as he started to speak.
"No, I don't like that idea. I know you are strong Dante, but I don't like the idea of anyone going out alone no matter how strong they are" responded Markov in a serious tone. Just as Dante was about to argue that they had a lot of council members to save and they needed to make as many possible rescue teams as possible, Sorano started to speak.
"I can join Dante. Dante is one of our best fighters and with my healing magic should be able to defeat any member of Tartous" stated Sorano in a confidant tone. While Dante hated the idea of having one of his loved ones put in danger, he could not argue with the fact that having a healer close by just in case would be useful.
"If Sorano is going then so am I" responded Yukino in a confident tone. Again, Dante hated the idea of having any of his loved ones join him in this dangerous mission and unlike Sorano, Yukino's use was far less. Sorano could heal him, but Yukino's magic was no better than Lucy's. Yukino just wasn't a fighter but Dante knew the strong desire to protect a sibling so he couldn't argue.
"Then it's decided, the first team will consists of Dante, Sorano and Yukino" responded Markov as he nodded his head. Dante had a determined look on his face as he started to speak.
"You can count on us master" responded Dante. Markov nodded his head in acknowledgement before he started to discuss the other teams that would move out. After the rest of the teams had been decided on, Dante had an idea.
"Hold on master, maybe we should send a few other members out to get help from other guilds. We still don't know how big of a fight we are in for so it might be best if we have help" stated Dante.
"That might be wise. Okay team Ruby will be in charge of going to other guilds" responded Markov as he turned his attention towards team Ruby. Ruby along with the rest of her team had determined looks on their faces as Ruby started to speak.
"We won't let you down master" responded Ruby. Dante turned his attention towards Ruby and started to speak.
"I recommend starting with Lamia Scale. Believe me when I say Jura is a monster and our chanced of success are going to be a lot better if we have his help" stated Dante with a smile as he remembered his fight against Jura in the Grand Magic games. Nodding her head, Ruby agreed that Lamia Scale would be their first stop. Shortly after this, Markov started to speak.
"Everyone now knows their respective roles. We cannot waste a moment. Go my children and show Tartous what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail" shouted Markov as the crowd around him cheered. The crowd then started to file out of the infirmary, everyone going to get ready. After Dante and Sorano agreed to meet up with Sorano in thirty minutes outside of Magnolia, Dante and Sorano were walking towards the Strauss home. Mira was walking beside Dante and Sorano since she needed to pack as well.
"You better stay safe Dante" stated Mira in a worried tone as she remembered seeing Dante die in front of her. Dante turned his attention towards Mira and gave her a warm smile as he started to speak.
"Don't worry Mira, I have Sorano to heal any stupid mistakes I make. I'll be just fine, I promise" responded Dante with a smile. While he was worried about his friends and family throwing themselves into danger, he was at least relieved about the team Mira was on. Mira and Erza were on the same team. With two of the strongest women in the entire kingdom on the same team, Dante felt bad for whoever dared fight them.
"Don't worry Mira, I won't let master do anything stupid" stated Sorano, determined to protect the man she loved. Mira smiled back at Dante and Sorano as she nodded her head. The three of them soon arrived at Dante's home and after a few minutes were all packed. Stepping out of the home, Dante knew this was where he had to say goodbye to Mira for now. Pulling Mira close to him, Dante crashed his lips onto Mira's. The two siblings imparted all of their love for each other through the heated kiss before Dante leaned back from Mira and started to speak.
"Please be safe Mira. I love you" stated Dante as he leaned his forehead against Mira's. Mira smiled sweetly at her husband and big brother as she started to speak.
"I love you too Dante. I promise we will see each other again" responded Mira hoping that her promise was one that she could keep. Leaning forward Mira placed a sweet and loving kiss on Dante's lips before she stepped away from him. Dante knew that he had to race to the council member as quickly as possible so with one final glance at Mira, Dante then turned towards Sorano.
"You ready Sorano" asked Dante in a determined tone. Sorano nodded her head as she started to speak.
"Yes master, I'm ready" responded Sorano with a hint of fear in her voice. Sorano was terrified about going up against the dark guild but at least found some solace in the fact that Dante would be nearby. Smiling at Sorano, Dante used his magic to transform into his Angel Soul Gabriel form. Scooping Sorano bridal style into his strong arms, Dante spread his wings wide as he started to speak.
"I hope you don't mind Sorano; time is a factor, and it will be quicker if we fly" stated Dante with a kind smile as he took off into the air.
Soon Dante was speeding towards the place where he and Sorano were going to meet Yukino. No matter what happened, Dante would make sure that Sorano and Yukino were safe. They would save the council member and get back to the guild as soon as possible. Sorano wrapped her arms tightly around Dante's neck, enjoying the wonderful feeling of being carried in his strong arms while they soared in the air. As they flew in the air, Sorano could not help but remember her prayer when she was a member of the Oracion Sies, and she couldn't help but smile. Sorano's life had turned out differently than she could have ever dreamed of and still somehow Dante had made her prayer come true.
End of Chapter 226