Author's Note: Sorry…It's been a while. Thank you for all your support and patience :,)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
But if I did...JK! I need to stop with the intro filler. Let's just keep the ball rolling as we start this new arc!
As always, please feel free to give me your constructive criticism, feedback, suggestions, etc. as they are all welcome. Or just feel free to drop your support in the review section. Your kind words are always appreciated.
Spells and attacks will be bold. Thoughts, flashbacks, and emphasized phrases will be italicized.
Wayfarers X790 arc - Chapter 18 - Inexorable Peoples
We go back to the year of X790.
Fairy Tail had fallen from grace as one of the nation's strongest guilds. Most of their promising mages went missing or were presumed dead after that tragic incident with the Black Dragon, Acnologia, on Tenrou Island. Their close allies- the guilds of Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale- were still sparing efforts to search for them; even the tiniest traces of Ethernano were all the hope they needed. Maybe somehow and somewhere, they were all still alive. But after 6 years of efforts and having nothing to show for it, that hope which once burned as brightly was now diminished to embers.
All of Tenrou Island vanished from the ocean surface. Not even rubble remained. Regardless of the fragments left in the past, time moved forward. Life went on. Often, that progression of time despite the harrowing setbacks was cruel. A 12-year-old boy with wine-colored hair sat melancholically at the harbors of Hargeon, staring wistfully out into the sea as he did almost every other day over the past 6 years...
But this story is not about that boy...
~ Brugmansia, Fiore X790~
Brugmansia was a different port city, located on the south-western coast of Fiore. Cargo ships bearing exports from other nations like the Kingdom of Caelum and the "Holy Land of Dance" Minstrel were a common sight along the harbors. The streets just outside the docks were lined with supermarkets for bartering and selling commodities from the neighboring nations.
One particular cargo ship containing goods from Caelum had just stationed itself in a vacant spot in Brugmansia's dock. A few crewmen dressed in white sailor uniforms hopped down from the ship to fasten the cables of their vessel onto the dock cleats. Once secured, the crewmen made gestures to the staff in the boat. Accordingly, a boarding ramp was lowered from the vessel, connecting it to the dock. Thereafter, staff began to prepare to unload crates containing items that would surely be distributed all over Fiore.
Before any staff bearing any crates could even leave the vessel, a shadowy figure leapt from the boat onto the dock right in front of the two sailors.
"W-Woah!" one of the crew members was startled by the sudden turn of events.
A young, teen male with black, spiky hair and lightless, sapphire eyes landed before them.
He wore an azure nagagi with snow-colored moonflower stencils woven into the cloth. His legs were covered by a gray hakama. Black combat boots adorned his feet. A katana in a black sheath was fastened to his back with the help of a black rope that hugged him from the right shoulder to his left torso.
Curtly bowing, as if to thank them, the young swordsman bolted away faster than he leapt off the boat.
"Ah man, he even left without saying a peep, documentation, or Jewel to spare!" one of the crew member facepalmed in frustration," We seriously need to start placing regulations on stowaways..."
"Dude, we don't even get paid to deal with people like that," the other crew member on the dock smacked the back of his co-worker's head with his sailor's cap, "We just gotta focus on shipping the goods because that's where the money's at!"
"Owww..." the contemplative crewmate rubbed the back of his head, "But duuuuude, what if the stowaway is an escaped convict or a criminal?"
"Like I said, brother, we don't get paid to ask dumb questions like this. That's not where the money's at," the other crewmate retorted, "Now are you going to help unload the cargo or what?"
...
Walking the white and gray paved streets of Brugmansia, away from port security and other potential threats, the wayfaring swordsman took in the beauty of his surroundings under the clear blue sky and morning sun. Just like its namesake, the city's architecture sported an aesthetic of yellow and peach-colored brick buildings accompanied by white-painted beams, picket fences, verandas, and pergolas. It was his first-time setting foot into another nation. Usually when people his age experience this kind of thing, their eyes would glisten at all the new, exciting sights.
His sapphire eyes, however, remained lightless and blank as he remembered the words of a dear family member from back home:
"It's too dangerous for you to stay here. If you were anyone else's child, it wouldn't have been a problem. But you have shown your inheritance and will put others in my dojo in danger if he knew we were hiding you from him."
A stern, yet sorrowful voice belonging to an adult male echoed from his memories.
"I never wanted to dishonor the promise I made your mother. Abandon the past, Shinji."
~Waning Crescent District, Moon Province, Caelum X781~
South of Fiore lay the multi-island Kingdom of Caelum.
Caelum was divided into four geographical territories - the Royal Family's territory alongside three smaller provinces controlled by two of the king's most trusted vassals' lineages. The archipelago consisting of six tropical islands southwest of Fiore's coasts are the Sol Isles under the jurisdiction of the Helios Dukedom. The island occupying the furthest southwestern tip of Ishgar's map is called Asteri under the governance of the Astrologos Magic Tower. The main island, located west of Minstrel, was divided into the Caelum Royal Family's Gran Caelestinium to the southwest. Northeast, the Moon Province was overseen the Lunar Shogunate to the northeast.
As home to descendants of those who immigrated from the Far East, the Moon Province was heavily inspired by their ancestors' culture and continued to preserve their influence over years to come. The Moon Province was split into eight districts named after the distinct phases of the moon.
Among them, the Waning Crescent District was notorious for its extravagant entertainment at night - kabuki theater troupes, street performers, firework festivals, and parades were a common occurrence. But the true financial backbone of the Waning Crescent District was none other than the courtesan industry. Countless beautiful women adorned in the district's best garments, silk, blush, and techniques were gatekept behind the doors of the district's heavily guarded brothels...
Outside the doors of a particular jade brothel building adorned with black pines with golden doors labeled "Tsuki no Yubari", a young black-haired female wearing a white kimono with red and gold lycoris vectors was on the receiving end of what seemed like a long-winded scolding from an old crone in a sable, monocolored kimono- most likely the owner of the brothel.
The raven-haired beauty carried a sky-blue tote pouch wit embroidered cloud designs; likely this pouch stored her scant belongs. Hiding behind the white-robed lady stood a small boy with black hair who wore a white nagagi over a black hakama with a drawstring sack wrapped around his small arms. Both the young lady and the small child shared the same serene, sapphire eyes amidst the
"We've given you more than our fair share of grace, letting you resume work here during that child's first four years of life," the wrinkled, white-haired proprietress was fuming, "But the reputation of our establishment shall not take any more slander for housing you and that bastard child! Get out of here, and don't you dare come back!"
Letting out a final triumphant huff, the wrinkled proprietress turned her back, then trudged to her establishment's lavish gates before boisterously slamming the door in front of them. Regardless of the building's exorbitant exterior, nothing could change that its place in the Waning Crescent District's hierarchy was earned through the exploitation of impoverished lives.
"Well good riddance to you too, " The former courtesan cheekily stuck her tongue out that the golden jades of the brothel.
"Mother...what's a bastard?" the young child tugged at the black-haired beauty's sleeve.
"Pffttt...Oh Shinji, that's a word for you to learn when you get older," the raven-haired beauty covered lips with her free kimono sleeve," As a fair warning, it's meaning is not pleasant or becoming to say out loud."
"I'm sorry, Mother," the raven-haired child cast his head down, "I won't say that word ever again."
"Awwwwww, you're just the cutest!" Shinji's mother rustled his spiky raven locks as she adoringly looked at him her glistening gemstone eyes, "Such a sweet child! But whether you grow into a person with a potty mouth or not, Mommy will love you just the same!"
Young Shinji rose his head and saw his mother's radiant, gentle smile cascaded by the morning's light. Knowing his mother was still smiling despite their predicament gave him the courage to smile too, "Haha."
"Now, let's leave this awful place," the raven-haired lady tenderly wrapped her hand around Shinji's. Her sapphire eyes confidently gleamed with a promise of a better future for herself and her child, "I recently received a letter from my younger brother. Apparently, he runs a dojo in the outskirts of the Waxing Gibbous District. It's quite the walk away but maybe the fresh air will do wonders for us. Off we go!"
"Off we go!" the young Shinji cheerfully imitated his mother.
~Devil's Trumpet, Brugmansia~
Guided by a sudden pang of hunger, Shinji stumbled upon the chestnut-colored saloon doors of a tavern called the Devil's Trumpet.
Entering the saloon, Shinji took in the sights and sounds of the bar. Jazz music played from a live band suffused his auditory canals as if it was coming out from every orifice of the mahogany walls and flooring. To his left, was mahogany counter where bartenders mixed cocktails using the colorful assortment of liquors decorating the tall, obsidian cabinet leaning on the wall next to a dark green chalkboard that listed food and drink items. When he turned his head right, he could see various patrons and customers clinking their fancy drinks or eating victuals in the comfortable, red velvet cushioning of their booths. The seating area was adorned with pots from which small trees that yellow and orange flowers shaped like downward-pointing trumpets filled the room with a sickly-sweet fragrance.
Shinji felt slightly dizzy upon taking in the smell of those trumpet-like flowers. Shaking his head, the young swordsman regained his composure. He walked straight to the counter. Perusing the listed items on the chalkboard, Shinji was not sure what to order. Octopus soup, ceviche, spanakopita; all of these food items were so foreign compared to the oyakodon and saba shioyaki that reminded him of home.
"Ya new here or something?" the bartender behind the counter looked at him incredulously as he awaited the customer's order.
"Uh-yes, my apologies," Shinji slightly bowed.
"Hmph...if you keep starin', your eyes'll pop right out them sockets boy."
"Sorry..." Shinji bowed again before eyeing the cheapest dish he could find near the bottom of the chalkboard," I'll have a buttered cod please..."
"Hmmm...we'll tell you when yer orders ready," the bartender replied uninterested as he poured two different colored syrups into a cocktail shaker.
"Right...thank you very much," Shinji bowed.
He already heard the suspicious glances and gossipy whispers that ensued after he set foot into the bar. Shinji's state of dress drew the attention of many eyes. With all of the onlookers being total strangers from a whole other nation, Shinji's discomfort kept reaching newer lows as he let them scrutinize his appearance with their incessant speculations.
"Oh my...what strange get-up is that?"
"Honestly, it looks like something you'd find in Sakura City."
"That sword strapped to his back...Think he's like one of those killers-for-hire or something?"
"Maybe those rumored traffickers around the area hiring him as a bodyguard..."
"Doesn't he seem a little too young to be working in that line of business."
"In these unprecedented time...it wouldn't be surprising."
Annoying riffraff from the onlookers buzzed around him like a swarm of mosquitoes trying to suck the blood out of him. He had no need for this clutter, nor did he care what these total strangers had to say about him when they didn't dare say it directly to his face.
"I hope my food comes quickly..." Shinji quietly sighed as he leaned by a wooden pillar.
Weirdly, he was positioned close to a booth where two peculiar individuals were seated.
...
One was a voluptuous, dark-skinned lady with dreads streaked black and neon pink tied up in high ponytail with a red bandana. Her pink lips with plump and glossy from the use of lip filler. Red-framed glasses with rose-tinted lens bespectacled her face. Her upper figure was decked in a pink tube top that exposed her flat belly and curves. White, corduroy bellbottoms covered her legs. Red, open-toed heels adorned her feet.
Sitting across from her was a lanky, dark-skinned male with messy, teal hair. The man was dressed in a green hoodie with black sleeves and khaki cargo pants. Black and white sneakers covered his feet. A red bandana similar to the one the girl sitting across him was tied around his neck.
He gazed at her smittenly with his doe-like, brown eyes as he presented her a wooden rectangular parcel wrapped in a glittery, turquoise ribbon, "I got ya something, Isaruth."
"Awwww, you shouldn't have, Nilahs! You are too kind. Thank you soooo much," the flashily dressed woman named Isaruth puckered her plump lips in delight as she tenderly received the gift from her acquaintance, "Do you mind if open it?"
"Not at all," the slinky man names Nilahs scratched the back of his head, abashed, "I'd like to see your reaction, if anything."
Upon undoing the ribbon and opening the wooden box, Isaruth unveiled a curved magic stave made of silvery wood. Interweaving sinews of silvery wood connected a rose-quartz gem to the peripheries in the hooked curve of the upper stave like spider silk threads ensnaring an insect caught in its web.
"Oh, Nilahs, it's perfect!" Isaruth's black orbs sparkled, "This should make work totes easier for me now! Our latest batch of cargo can be processed more efficiently now!"
At the mention of work, Nilahs shuffled a bit in mild discomfort, "Ya now, you probably shouldn't talk about that so casually. We're still in public."
"Why is that?" Isruth tilted her head in protest, "Moreover, why do you act so uncomfortable when I mention work?"
"Because..." Nilahs's voice trailed off.
"Hmmmmm...?" Isaruth clutched her newly gifted stave.
"I-" Nilahs tried to muster an answer.
"You've been aware of the nature of our work since joining. You've been complicit part of these operations for 8 months now," Isaruth cut him off with a total 180-degree flip from her initial ditzy personality. Her once sparkling, obsidian orbs became pitch-black voids that conveyed something ugly and exploitative.
She scoffed at his hypocrisy, "I fucking hate it when you act like you've suddenly grown a moral compass after all this time."
"I-I'm sorry," Nilahs was too taken aback to combat any of the points Isaruth brought up. He knew all too well he was in too deep, "I just feel bad... sometimes, ya know? Those kids-"
"You better be sorry, Nilahs," Isaruth reverted back to her smiling, playful self to guise her threatening words, "After all, Master Arvesque would've imploded you from the inside if you showed even the slightest amount of chickening out in front of her. Aren't you lucky you're under me?"
She held out a hand bedazzled with golden bling and black nail polish to her stupid, subservient grunt.
"O-oh," seeing his superior offer him her hand made Nilahs's blood flow to his cheeks. He showered her hand with many light kisses, "Isaruth-sama! Isaruth-sama!"
Amidst the silky jazz music, the clamor of customer conversations, pouring liquors, stovetop cooking, and kitchen-staff call-outs, this sinister absurdity Shinji had the misfortune of witnessing was utterly drowned out. By all except him.
"This girl...is truly hideous...And the guy...pathetic..." Not daring to make a sound or give off the slightest hint he was paying attention to this bullshit, Shinji buried his face into a menu brochure as he backtracked over the information, he gathered from sitting and waiting around in the minutes prior.
"If I remember correctly, one of the customers who was gossiping earlier mentioned something about 'rumored traffickers working around the area'...I mustn't assume...but what I saw earlier makes a compelling case. To think...not even a day into arriving in this new land and I've already got wind of a human trafficking syndicate..."
Shinji felt his heart stink into his stomach as he further contemplated on his own speculations.
"Here's your buttered cod as ordered!" a waitress in white frilled apron over a black dress peppily served him his plate, snapping him out of his analytics.
Shinji jolted in perplexity as the waitress interrupted his train of thought.
"Woah, there, didn't mean to scare ya," the waitress bowed to him politely.
"Ah, no, of course. I'm sorry, I'm new to the area. T-thank you, kindly," Shinji bowed his head to the waitress.
"No worries, enjoy the food..." the waitress winked at him before abruptly collapsing over the table with a loud bang, slamming her face straight into his food.
At this Shinji really jolted back in surprise. The real travesty was his cod getting demolished by unprecedented face, "My...food..."
Another clang, followed by the drop of a glass, the clatter of falling trays filled with fancy food and beverages ensued. The live jazz played by the bank was cut mid chorus too. One by one, everyone else in the Devil's Trumpet fell unconscious. Everyone save for him and the two strange individuals in the booth nearest him.
Isaruth and Nilahs walked up from their seats and stood across from Shinji who was utterly baffled at this point.
"I can aaalways tell when someone is watching me. Comes with the territory..." she glared at Shinji with her void, obsidian eyes, "Now from which sewer did you slide out of?"
"W-What should we do?" the teal-haired coward trembled as he failed to maintain a front, "Want me to k-kill him?"
At the words "kill", Shinji quickly gripped the handle of the katana strapped to his back.
Isaruth stuck out her tongue at her lackey, "I'd like to see you try, without my help."
Upon closer inspection of the gold-glasses girl, he noticed her tongue was marked with a mauve insignia resembling a horned devil blowing a trumpet.
"A-As you wish," Nilahs bowed to Isaruth before removing the red bandana around his neck. Behind it was a marsh insignia similar to the one Isaruth had on her tongue.
"Hmph," Shinji quickly unsheathed his katana before dashing at Isaruth, instead of her grunt.
"Oh noooo, Nilahs help me!" Isaruth feigned being scared.
"Scale Mail!"
Just when Shinji lowered his blade to cut her down to size, Nilahs blocked his slash with arms covered with tough, green scales similar to those of Lizardmen found across the continent. Shinji's blade recoiled from the keratinized armor with a metallic clink that resounded through the hall of the tavern.
"Don't you dare get your blade on Isaruth-sama!" Nilahs's switch was also flipped.
Shinji remained unfazed by Nilah's "resolve". Maybe this, too, was a front to try and win her affections. Still, fighting the teal-haired male would prove challenge. The green scales that formed along his arms seemed challenging to overcome.
"Get back Isaruth-sama, let me and my Scale Magic protect you!" Nilahs smirked.
"Wow, Nilahs!" Isaruth praised him, "If only you were this confident outside of being a punching bag..."
"Gah!" her back-handed compliment was a literal javelin through his heart.
Seizing their banter as a chance to strike, Shinji swiftly side-stepped past Nilahs and tried to swing his blade at Isaruth.
"Oh Nilahs~!" Isaruth playfully called out to knight in shining armor.
Again, the Scale Magic user parried the young swordsman's strike with his encrusted upper arms in the nick of time.
"Oh wow! Again! Again!" Isaruth clapped, goading her pawn on.
Although he was cowardly and hypocritical, Isaruth's praise hit a special place that boosted Nilahs's ego that made him braver and audacious. The teal-haired male smirked, "You won't be able to land on my Isaruth if you can't get through me first!"
"This guy..." Shinji grimaced, "Is that all it takes to get him motivated?"
"And we're not done yet!" Nilahs then pointed his scaled hands at Shinji, "Scale Shot!"
At Nilahs's command, one of his green scales darted form his hands, whizzing past Shinji by a hair's breadth.
"Awww, you nearly got him," Isaruth pouted.
Sensing the bespectacled woman's disappointment, Nilahs frowned as he prepared to shot Shinji a second time.
"!..." Shinji was nearly surprised how his opponent nearly got him but chose to remain unfazed. The young swordsman turned his attention to the silly crook in front of him and sprinted towards him with his blade drawn.
As Shinji grew closer, Nilahs resumed his attempts to shoot him down.
"Scale Shot! Scale Shot! Scale Shot! Scale Shot!"
Shinji weaved and maneuvered himself around each consecutive shell. With each missed shot, Nilahs grew more and more frantic. Finally, a yard into slashing range, Shinji rose his blade again at Nilahs. The teal-haired mage smirked knowing Shinji's katana could not harm him if he successfully blocked. Preemptively, he held his reinforced arms in front of his head and vitals.
"You blocked too early!" Shinji noted aloud. The raven-haired teen abruptly stopped in front of Nilahs before putting his blade back in its sheath.
"Huh? I did?" Nilahs switched the positions of his scaled arms in confusion.
Shinji then swung the sheathed blade upwards, hitting Nilahs square in the jugular.
"Gah!" the teal-haired dimwit tumbled backwards, clutching his bottom jaw before passing out on the wooden floor.
With the minor threat down, Shinji turned his attention to Isaruth. He glared at her with his icy-cold sapphire eyes before unsheathing his blade again, "It's clear as day that your friend over there couldn't have knocked out everyone else in this establishment. What did you do?"
Isaruth chuckled, "Huhuhu...awwww, the same thing I'm going to do to you."
"Mindflayer!" The pink and black dreadlocked lady channeled pink aura into her silver arborous stave. The rose quartz gem tangled in the wood sinew web glowed bright pink as if it was concentrating her magic aura.
Shinji readied his katana, bracing for a surprise attack. But how can anyone expect something when they can't see it.
As if an invisible force was grabbing his limbs and joints, Shinji realized he was suddenly turning the handle of his katana around.
In the next second, he had lined the edge of his blade next to his throat without ever in
"What the-" Shinji's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, I bet you weren't expecting that. Huhuhuhu," Isaruth giggled as she playfully stepped on Nilahs's syncopal constitution with the back end of her heel,"You see, us mages from Amdusias specialize in magic that controls people. Except fro Nilahs because he's just a henchman who's only good for following orders..."
The girl kicked her grunt's body as he lay unconscious, before turning her eyes to the swordsman,"Anywaaaaays, my Neural Hacking can control your nervous system. I can make you do all kinds of things against your own will."
If that was true, Shinji was already in dire straits. The young teen grit his teeth in frustration, "And what kind of cheap trick is that?"
"Cheap? Noooo! This kind of magic rakes in the dough," Isaruth sassily clarified, "Face it, kid, you're outclassed!"
Isaruth narrowed her lightless black eyes at Shinji through her rose tinted lens.
"Ah!" Although he would never deign do this to himself, Shinji felt his grip on his katana change as he dug the sharp edge of his blade dug a little deeper into the left side of his neck. A miniscule trail of blood crept down into his left collar bone. Those normally calm, tranquil, and often icy sapphire eyes of his conveyed exponential panic as his circumstances became clear to him.
"No, no, no, no, is this really how it all ends?"
"Huhuhuhuhu...Huhuhuhuhu...Kill yourself for me," the neural manipulation mage ordered, "Nice and sloooowlyyy..."
"Meteor!"
Just as Shinji felt his blade's edge cut a little deeper into his neck, a blinding figure wrapped in radiant light suddenly entered tavern. It zigzagged around furniture and collapsed bodies as it gunned for the black and pink haired woman.
"Tch...so another one enters the party" Isaruth clicked her tongue at this unwarranted interference. She tried to follow the figure's speed to time an attack to halt its progression, but the mysterious individual proved too quick. Furthermore, the light-based magic they were using concealed their body. Regardless, Isaruth raised her staff. She poured in pink aura from her hands into her staff, "Mindflay-Oof!"
The streak of light pushed her, causing the Neural Hacking mage to crash into one of the mahogany round tables encircled by red velvet booth cushions. Having pushed the real threat out of the way, the light around the enigmatic being subsided. A hooded man in a navy-blue cloak with white rims over a black coat with yellow rims revealed himself. Plated armor covered his abdominal area. Underneath the plating, the man wore a black compression shirt.
Extending down from the abdominal armor to the front of his black pants and black combat boots was an ecru banner bearing a black insignia of a ghoulish face clad in a robe and a witch's hat. The robe and the witch's hat curved in opposite directions, creating an "S" formation.
The hooded man turned his face towards Shinji's vicinity, but he was not looking directly at the 13-year-old who was nearly about to slit his own throat. His sights were set on something above him. The stranger held out his right hand and imbued with the same radiance from earlier.
"W-Wait..." Shinji was not fond of pleading, but he didn't want to be stricken while in his current predicament.
"Hold still," the hooded man tried to reassure the young swordsman.
He fired a blast of lavendar light above Shinji. Where there was seemingly nothing, the light burst. Suddenly, Shinji felt he could move his limbs the way he wanted to move them. Quickly he removed his blade that was barely lodged into to the left side of his neck and placed it back in its sheath. Confused, Shinji turned his attention to whatever it was that was above him. His eyes widened in disbelief.
An entity akin to a pink ghost jellyfish revealed floating above the young swordsman after being struck by the strange man's light. Translucent, pink tendrils were discovered to have once been attached to Shinji's arms and scalp now retracted themselves.
"What is that?" the raven-haired teen questioned the oddity before him.
"This is the 'Mindflayer' spell..." the hooded man spoke, "Normally, users of Neural Hacking need to make direct contact with their targets to manipulate their neurons. But this spell was developed to create an extension of the user for nervous system manipulation without a need to directly touch people. The staff acts a conduit to better direct the flow of Ether into the extension. When the Mindflayer latched onto you, the first thing it altered was your perception of it. Furthermore, this shape in particular enables for neuronic control over subjects over a wider area. Just now, I used some Dispelling Magic to severe its connection to you."
"So that's how she knocked everyone out in the tavern..." Shinji was baffled by the grim nature of his opponent's magic.
He switched his gaze to Isaruth who was just getting up after her crash landing. Her once pristine, white pants were now splattered with red sauce and wine stains.
"Now look what you've done, my favorite bellbottoms have stains on them! My outfit is ruined!" the black and pink haired girl glared daggers at the hooded man.
"A small price to pay for everything your guild has been involved with," the hooded man's response conveyed no remorse, "Tell me. Where is Amdusias hiding its precious cargo?"
"And why would I tell you?" Her lightless black voids scanned him up then down, until she glimpsed the insignia on the banner he wore. Isaruth's breath hitched in shock, "W-Wait...that mark...Does that mean you're-"
"Yes...My name is Jellal Fernandes of the Crime Sociere," the cloaked male lowered his hood, displaying a head of shaggy, azure hair. His handsome face was adorned with red tattoos that looked like arrows above and below his right eye.
"Crime Sociere? Amdusias? All these fancy names...and I don't even have half a clue what's going on?" Shinji was dumbfounded by the happenings unfurling in front of him.
Realizing her situation turned for the worse, Isaruth clutched her staff in fear, "Doesn't your guild have bigger fish to catch? Tartarus is still alive and kicking."
"The rumors that a dark guild might be behind the rumored trafficking in Brugmansia caught my particular attention. You could say that the news of this hit me somewhere personally," Jellal lowered his dark green eyes at Isaruth.
The azure-haired with the red face tattoo emitted a powerful magic aura that overwhelmed both Isaruth and Shinji. The Heavenly Body user, stepped towards Isaruth with a deep anger in his eyes, "Now tell me...where is your guild hiding those children?"
"U-uh-uh-uh-uh," Isaruth took a step back for each step the Crime Sociere mage took forward.
"This magic energy...it's off the charts!" Shinji tried to stay calm as he observed.
"Stay back!" a distressed Isaruth waved her silver wood stave, "Mindflayer!"
Instinctively, Jellal and Shinji checked the spaces above their heads. The same pink jellyfish specter from before re-spawned, but it wasn't hovering over either of them. Pink, frilly tentacles strapped themselves onto the fallen Nilahs. Still unconscious, he arose back into a standing position.
Isaruth pointed her staff at Nilahs, "Synaptic Control...accessing Scale Machinegun!"
The unconscious Nilahs held out his arms in an android-like fashion before activating his Scale Magic. Hard, green scales formed over both his upper extremities. Pointing his now armored fingers at Jellal and Shinji's direction, Nilahs began to rapid fire a shower of keratinized bullets at them with a whirring roar.
"Take cover!" Jellal warned Shinji as he dove behind a toppled table. Heeding the blue-haired man's words, the raven-haired youth hid behind a lounge sofa. Scattered scales bounced ricocheted everywhere around the bar, smashing lights, scattering vases and glass bottles of liquor. Although they weren't taking cover in the same location, Shinji and Jellal had clear view of each other in their hiding spots.
The Crime Sociere mage cast Shinji an earnest looked, "You should get out of here, kid, there's no need for you to get involved in all this mess."
"Haha. My feet are dipped pretty deep into this...all because of my empty stomach..." Shinji frowned to himself before steeling his resolve, "Besides, I can't turn my back the other way knowing there are kids being sold off to who knows where. Let me help!"
"Suit yourself," Jellal nodded before peeking at Nilahs who was still blasting shells at them, "See Teal over there?"
"Mmhmmm..." Shinji nodded eagerly.
"Think you can keep him busy while I dispel the Mindflayer controlling him?" Jellal asked.
Shinji looked back to Jellal incredulously, "How about I do both?"
"What...?" the Heavenly Body Mage's interest was piqued.
The raven-haired swordsman quickly unsheathed his katana and held the blade parallel across his chest with his right arm. With his left arm, he traced the blade's edge with his left middle and index fingers, the blade flashed.
"Bladesmith: Kaguya-Hime!"
Shinji's plain, steel katana reconfigured into a blade emitting a lavender glow reminiscent of a moon's radiance. A black steel tsuba resembling a new moon occupied the guard of the blade. Argentous bandage-like bindings wrapped around the hilt. The pommel of the katana was also an iridescent lavender just like the blade.
"Watch me," Shinji curtly nodded to Jellal.
Amidst the background raucous of bullets, Shinji backflipped from his hiding spot into the drizzle of hailing scales. With his sapphire eyes locked onto the jellyfish specter attached to the unfortunate pawn Nilahs, Shinji commenced his advance. Leaping from table towards his targets. Shinji swiftly deflected any scales whose trajectories interfered with his own in a chorus of clinking notes.
Within feet of his target, he raised his blade letting a glint of moonlight blind Nilahs to secure his chances of success. Shinji eyed the translucent, pink tendrils that connected the Mindflayer to Nilahs's brain. Switching his grip, Shinji jumped with an ascending slash through the magic phantom's sagittal plane. The Mindflayer shrieked as it faded. The teal-haired puppet collapsed back to the floor a second time.
As Jellal watched Shinji from behind his cover, thoughts of a certain scarlet-haired swordswoman replayed in his mind, "Erza..."
Once Shinji landed, his blade reverted back to its original form. The raven-haired boy put his steel katana back into its sheath. He looked back into Jellal's dark green eyes with a grin, "I guess you're not the only one who can dispel magecraft with their magic."
The blue-haired man seemed lost in thought, "Are you alright?"
"My apologies...I...You...that magic or yours loosely reminded me of someone else..." " Jellal looked mildly discomforted by Shinji's eye contact, before changing the subject. He held out his hand to the teen, "I never ask you your name."
"Shinji, Shinji Tsukiya" the raven-haired swordsman took the blue-haired man's hand. They shook hands firmly.
Shinji was unaware of the specifics behind this "someone else" Jellal mentioned and deemed it unnecessary to pry. So he changed the subject matter entirely.
"It seems the other one flew out the net."
Isaruth was nowhere to be seen in the now messy tavern halls. Jellal sighed before facepalming, "Ugh...Ultear is going not going to let me hear the end of it..."
"Ultear?" Shinji tilted his head.
"Very astute Jellal," a mature woman's voice from outside the tavern hall. A tall, dark purple-haired woman with red eyes and a slightly shorter, hot-pink haired girl with aqua green eyes clad in navy-blue cloaks just like Jellal's entered the establishment through the saloon doors.
The dark-purple haired woman in the front wore a black, backless body suit with an upside-down white cross design down the midsection. Tan-see through leggings with thigh-high black boots protected her legs. Her arms were emblazed with grey gloves over black detached sleeves with white rims tied with white ribbons. A matching headband with white bows to each side of her head was fastened to her head over her luscious, purple locks.
The younger girl behind had her wavy hot-pink locks tied up in a high ponytail with a pair of black fluffy earmuffs attached to her head. Underneath her navy cloak, she wore a short red dress fastened to her waist with a golden ribbon. The dress was trimmed around her thighs with golden lining. Brown boots over black stockings that reached her mid-thigh adorned her legs.
"It's unusual for you to get sidetracked like this. Normally, no one leaves your line of sight," the purple-haired beauty with the red-eyes crossed her arms over her chest as she looked incredulously at the blue-haired man.
"Ultear, I can explain," Jellal tried to clear up what went down.
"There's no need," Ultear grinned, as she switched Shinji, "How much does this little one know?"
"Too much," Jellal replied, "He- I mean Shinji-was nearly killed by one of the members of Amdusias."
Concerned for the young teen, the magenta-haired girl eyed the superficial laceration on the left side of Shinji's neck. She dug her hands into her cloak pockets and procured some gauze and ointment, "You're hurt. I can patch that up for you if you'd like."
"I'd appreciate that," Shinji bowed his head before letting the older teen girl come up to him to apply ointment to his cut, "I'm so sorry you went through that."
"Don't be. If Jellal-dono had arrived a second later, I would have been done for, "Shinji turned to Heavenly Body user and bowed his head, "I am in your debt, sir."
"Of course. It wasn't much," Jellal briefly shifted his gaze away from Shinji, trying to hide the rosy tint on his cheeks.
Having someone sincerely express their gratitude to him was something he could not get used to after gaining his memories. All of them. Despite his stoic exterior, Jellal was wracked with such guilt and shame from his transgressions. He often found it hard to breathe. Crime Sociere was the path to redemption that he saw fit. That one tiny 'thank you' from a life he saved meant more to him than the giver could perceive.
"Ah-hold still!" the muffed girl raised Shinji's head from his bow so she could wrap the gauze around him, "Otherwise, Meredy-neesan won't be able to do a good job."
"Meredy-neesan? Look at you becoming a responsible, older sister! I guess this means you can't be the baby of the group anymore," Ultear teased her adopted daughter.
"Don't tease me, Ul!" Meredy pouted her reddened cheeks at the purpled-haired lady, "I'm just trying to be friendly!"
"Those two seem particularly close to each other," Shinji quietly observed Ultear and Meredy's interaction.
Ultear giggled at Meredy's expressions before setting her gaze onto the messy tavern littered with toppled tables, spilled drinks, food waste, and shattered glass, "Guess we need to hurry to and erase our tracks here before someone wakes up and calls the Council."
"A mess like this would take hours to clean though," Shinji remarked.
Jellal and Meredy mildly smirked at the raven-haired swordsman. Sensing this Shinji could tell they knew something he didn't, "What?"
"Oh nothing," Meredy playfully replied, before clasping her hands in prayer to Ultear, "Ul, please..."
"Huuuuuh..." Ultear sighed heavily, "To think the magic I studied for all those grueling years would later me on clean-up duty. Things have aged rather insidiously..."
Ultear then held out a flat palm. Parallel to her extended palm, a silver magic circle with an hourglass emblem in the middle materialized. Her left eye flashed magenta, "Restore"
Fragments from shattered lightbulbs, wine glasses, fallen food trays, plates, and liquor bottles floated from the ground and reassembled themselves back into their original states and positions at the time before Isaruth knocked everyone out. Every of liquor that spilled during the altercation were siphoned from the wooden plank flooring before undulating into their respective glasses. Tables that were once toppled over were levitated back into their proper upright position. After every last scrap of food, drink, and glass was returned to their rightful place, Ultear lowered her head.
"I guess that was good enough," Ultear ceased her renovative operations.
"Woah..." Shinji's face was plastered with amazement as he stared in awe at Ultear, "You can turn back time?"
"Not entirely. Arc of Time doesn't work on living matter," Ultear shrugged at the young mage," I could not undo time to move her from that plate."
She then pointed to the table where Shinji once sat. The waitress from earlier still had her face buried in Shinji's food. The swordsman's stomach growled as he remembered why he came to the Devil's Trumpet in the first place. The swordsman's heart sank, "My cod..."
"Pffttt..." Ultear tried to stifled her laughter.
A growling noise came from Meredy's stomach soon after. The wavy-haired girl groaned in humiliation, "That makes two of us..."
"Pffttt..Hahahaha!" Ultear burst into giggles. She turned to Jellal who glowered at the two youths, "What do you say? How about I whip us all a little something before we hit the road?"
"Do what you want, " Jellal conveyed his indifference, "Just make it quick."
"Very well," Ultear walked through the kitchen door to the right of the chalkboard and liquor cabinet.
A few minutes after Ultear entered the kitchen, the sound of something sizzling over the fire lacrima stove filled the dead silence of the tavern hall. An aroma of the Time mage's cooking wafted into the every corner of the building, intermingling with the saccharine fragrance of the establishment's flowers.
"Ul's cooking..." Meredy's aqua green eyes sparkled as she wiped a bit of drool escaping her lips, "It's been a hot minute..."
Shinji and Meredy sat next to each other on the bar counter in anticipation for Ultear's culinary delights. Meanwhile, Jellal was inspecting the unconscious bodies of the restaurant staff and customers.
"Meredy," Jellal called to the younger female, "Do you think you could use your Maguilty Sense to assess the condition of these people."
Snapped out from her food-filled fantasy, Meredy glared at Jellal as if he just made a cruel joke, "If I link up to someone who's dead, I'll die too you know..."
"What kind of magic does that to its user?" a perplexed Shinji's head tilted.
"I know. Don't worry, all the people I examined still have their pulses intact, "Jellal reassured the girl, "But maybe you can find out something I wouldn't be able to..."
"I'll give it go," Meredy expressed her reluctance as she walked to the collapsed body of a waiter.
She lowered herself to crouch over the waiter's body before casting a spell, "Sensory Link"
A neon pink band with heart symbols formed around the pinkette's wrist. An exact same band wove itself around the unconscious waiter's cuffed wrist too. Sharing their senses, Meredy felt a sudden pang of light-headed dizziness before nearly keeling over herself, "Ack. Severe link..."
"Gotcha..." Jellal caught her before she could hit her head on the floor.
The common bands between Meredy and the waiter dissipated only seconds after the link was establsihed.
Concerned, Shinji got out of his seat, "Meredy-san, are you alright?"
Regaining her bearings, Meredy stood up clutched her head. She looked to Jellal to give her verdict, "Lack of blood flow to the brain. Whoever knocked them all out really knew their anatomy..."
"And to do that to so many people...Amdusias has some dangerous mages up their alley," Jellal remarked. The blue-haired man turned his attention to Shinji, "How come you were spared from the Neural Hacking?"
"I...don't know..." Shinji replied, "Maybe she wanted to kill me without anyone watching."
Jellal and Meredy grimaced at the thought. Noticing his remark soured the mood, the raven-haired male tried to change the subject, "Why is your guild invested in ending Amdusias's trafficking?"
"Not just Amdusias, Shinji," Jellal clarified, "Us three formed Crime Sociere as an independent organization to eradicate the activities of all dark guilds and Black Arts cults."
"Woooooah," Shinji's sapphire irises gleamed. Running into such chivalrous people after nearly being murdered was truly the best of turn of luck. Though he had no plans to thank the traffickers at Amdusias for this coincidence. Shinji kowtowed before Jellal and Meredy, "Please, take me with you...I want to put an end to the dark guilds' operations, too!"
"No, I refuse," Jellal turned the raven-haired swordsman down not even a second after his request.
"Eh?" Meredy was too stunned to speak.
"I humbly beg of you to reconsider!" Shinji further buried his head into the wooden floor.
"And my answer remains the same...No," Jellal vehemently rejected Shinji's request to join.
Shinji lifted his head and frowned at Jellal, "But why?"
"You're too young to get mixed anymore of this. I don't want to someone with a bright road ahead of themselves to get killed just because they got involved in our line of work," although he tried to remain stern and stoic, Jellal's inner turmoil was on the verge of leaking. Still, he did his utmost to keep calm. He need to transparent with Shinji about the last part. Even though it gutted him from the inside, at least he was being genuine and upfront.
Jellal made direct eye contact at Shinji, "One more thing, we're not as honorable as you might think we are either. We didn't collectively decide to fight against the dark guilds and cults from a place of pure justice. Ultear, Meredy, and I are also wanted fugitives by the Magic Council...
He narrowed his dark pupils at the naive teen boy, "After hearing that, how could you possibly want anything to do with us?"
"Jellal..." Meredy casted a crestfallen look to her senior.
"..." Shinji lowered his head to respectfully listen. His spiky black locks overcast his pupils.
"You don't have a clue. Jellal, seriously irate, continued his extrapolation, "What I'm saying is that Crime Sociere is our redemption. Someone like you who hasn't committed the kinds of transgressions we did shouldn't have to walk this path in the shadows."
Shinji then lifted his head to match Jellal's solemn gaze. His sapphire irises were a frigid storm. Children with eyes like that don't need words to prove that they've been brushed by the world's ugliness too.
The young swordsman grit his teeth as he remembered someone dear from his past. The image of a black-haired woman with sapphire eyes clad in an azure furisode with white flower designs flashed in his mind. Her silken robe was secured to her slender frame with a bright red obi. She kneeled on a pillow on the ground next to a tatami. A sliding door behind her was left ajar in the memory, allowing the light of the sun to illuminate her optimistic smile. That very optimism was her kryptonite.
That transient, beautiful memory was soon flooded with a backdrop of cloudy, indigo gradient. A somber scene of the same lady now a frail, skeletal husk of her former self now violently coughing as she lay supine in a futon resurfaced. The hacking noises grew increasingly cacophonous as the memory's gradient became murkier before total obscurement.
"My sin was being born, "Shinji emotionlessly stated as if reciting it as a fact, "My mother once worked as a prostitute in the Waxing Crescent District of Caelum's Moon Province. Because I wasn't born from love, my existence became a burden onto those who loved me, especially hers."
Jellal stopped in his tracks. Meredy held her hands over her mouth.
The sizzling of food on the stove abruptly ceased a dead silence resumed in the backdrop.
"It seems this child does have darkness in his heart," Ultear exited the kitchen door with plates bearing food. A savory, spiced aroma wafted from four golden pilaf dishes with chopped vegetables and grilled fish. The purple-haired beauty set down the plates before looking to Jellal, "In that sense, he's just like us. Wouldn't it be more efficient to take this one under our wing, instead of letting him wander at the risk of becoming a bigger threat in the future?"
"Tch. Fine...Since you gained Ultear's tacit approval...we'll take you on board" Jellal acquiesced, looking away. Doubts aside, Shinji's prowess with a sword and sense of justice reminded him of that scarlet-haired someone dear who basked in the light despite their shared sorrows. But that someone was not guaranteed to return. He had to live in world where he might never see her face again.
Shinji's sapphire eyes lit up as he smiled for the first time. He bowed politely to Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy, "It is a pleasure to be accepted under your wing, Jellal-dono, Ultear-dono, and Meredy-dono."
"By the way, now that one of Amdusias's mages escaped, how are we going to get intel on the location of their cargo?" Meredy asked aloud.
Ultear's eyes glinted sinisterly as she looked back and forth between her adopted daughter and Nilahs's unconscious body. She suddenly latched one of her hands over Meredy's shoulders and dragged her over to Nilahs.
"Hehe...I have an inkling. While I was in the kitchen, I found...THESE!" The Arc of Time mage pulled out a smorgasbord of red chili peppers, "Meredy, be a dear and link up to Teal over there after we wake his ass up."
Meredy vehemently shuddered as tears formed at the corners of her aqua green eyes, "Ul...I don't want to do this!"
Shinji and Jellal concurrently sweatdropped as Meredy's wails became the tavern's new musical backdrop.
~Datura Darkwoods, Southeast Fiore X790~
To the east of Brugmansia lay the eerie Datura Darkwoods. Aside from the perpetual mists shrouded the terrain, teh Datura Darkwoods was known to be a breeding ground for an abundance of poisonous flora species. Frantically clutching her silver wood stave, Isaruth panted and heaved as she ran through the mist towards the silhouette of a decrepit manor nestled in a field of jimsonweeds. Vines with white and violet swirled moonflowers scaled up the facility's walls.
"Ah...*huff*...*huff...Sooo not used to running, "The black and pink braided girl stopped in front of the building's entrance to catch her breath. She then walked calmly to the sable door with a brass knocker modeled after a horned demon face with an agape jaw. She lifted the brass and knocked seven times consecutively. A second later, the door opened itself.
Collecting herself, Isaruth stepped in...
"Make haste Isaruth. We don't have all day..." a woman's ice colder than winter echoed cut through the mansion's corridors. The door clamorously shut itself after Isaruth entered the building.
"Ack...Sheeeesh, this place always give me the creeps," the Neural Hacker shivered as she began to walk down the inner halls of the building. Dust and withered leaves accrued onto the ivory marble flooring after months of neglect. Fog from outside subtly trickled into the interior through various cracks on the walls. Eying the stairs as she did many times prior, Isaruth brusquely made her up to the second floor.
Finally on the second floor, she walked delicately towards a crimson door with an obsidian black knocker resembling a spider with its mandibles ajar. Again, she knocked seven times. As if something intangible similar to her Mindflayer was in charge, the crimson door opened itself. Behind it was a study with red velvet carpeting and mahogany cabinets lined with literature and textbooks. In the middle of the room was central mahogany desk with an empty black bird cage set next to a stack of inscribed parchments and a quill stabbed into blood-red ink.
Sitting behind sophisticatedly sat a woman with deep-red locks styled into parting bangs in her front and tied into a long ponytail in the back. Her ponytail had black streaks that intermingled with the natural red of her hair. She wore a hooded red cape over a sable waist coast and black dress pants with crimson splice patterns and web vectors. She wore nothing underneath her waist coat. Around her bare neck was a titanium alloy necklace baring the Amdusias insignia. She clasped her arms bearing red spider web tattoos and red painted nails onto the desk front of her chest and stared into Isaruth's lightless black eyes with her own irises which bore a gradient that shifted from grey to sunset orange. Her unique rhombic, red pupils pierced into the girl standing on the other side of the desk.
To her left stood a smiling, round man with a red afro and red and white make up. He was dressed in circus clown garb - a one piece clown suit that was yellow on the right side and red on the left. The sleeves of the costume were lavender with red and yellow polka dots. The midsection of the clown onesie was decked with three purple buttons, evenly spaced. Frilled, white cuffs occupied the hems of sleeves next to similarly white gloves. The clown man's left glove sported a yellow insignia of the Amdusias syndicate. HIs feet were adorned in big funky purple clown shoes that matched his sleeves.
Next to him stood a small child, whose identifiable features were purposefully covered by an auburn cloak.
"Why isn't Nilahs with you?" the red-haired woman asked, feigning a saccharine, inquisitive tone.
"He was caught..." Isaruth kept her answer short and choppy.
"Do clarify...caught by who?" the red-haired woman questioned with fake poise that belied seething rage and bloodlust.
"Crime Sociere..." the Neural Hacking mage replied.
"Interesting..." the red-haired woman's grey eyes widened; not from shock, but from fascination, "Tell me, why didn't you use your magic to bring him here with you now that you have a staff to work that long-distance neural manipulation of yours?"
"I-" Isaruth hesitated to continue her initial reactive thought, before answering. Uncharacteristically, she bowed to her red-headed superior, "My apologies, this was a shortcoming on my end."
"Indeed it was...Though Nilahs is cowardly, useless fodder, he still serves as a footprint of our guild's activity. Crime Sociere has cracked down hard on the activities of various dark guilds across Fiore. You know this well. But despite knowing, you still left him behind?" the grey-orange eyed lady abruptly got up from her seat and walked towards Isaruth.
Beads of sweat began to form on the Neural Hacker's forehead as she shakily replied, "M-My apologies Master Arvesque, t-this shortcoming was on my e-."
Arvesque interrupted Isaruth from repeating her paltry apology with a snap of her finger. In an instant, a series of thin, neon-red strings tightened themselves to her subordinate's neck. Isaruth's tanned skin slowed turned purple from cyanosis.
"Ack-!"
"I care not for your apology, you lowly, lying wench. I know that you're selfish enough to leave your own allies behind or place all the blame on them if it means preserving your own ugly hide. But no matter, my Blood Threat will snap your neck if you dare leave the manor premises," Arvesque's red, rhombic pupils stared into the eyes of the disgusting, untrustworthy insect she caught in her web, "Because of you, it will only be matter of time before Crime Sociere shows up."
Arvesque snapped her fingers again. The red binds around Isaruth's neck loosened slightly before sinking back into her neck. Isaruth was too frightened beyond her wits to utter even a syllable. She could shiver at the grave she dug herself into.
Arvesque turned to the clown man who stood smiling, unbothered by the whole exchange, "Pierrot, my dear harlequin, how much progress have you made with our most prized possession."
Her red rhombic pupils briefly glanced at the cloaked child.
"Huhuhuhu!" Pierrot comedically chuckled, imitating Isaruth's laughter, "Much progress has been made Master Arvesque! This girl's soul is completely under my command!"
"That is pleasing to hear, " Arvesque stated her satisfaction, "I demand a demonstration."
"And one you shall receive!" Pierrot clapped his hands, "A-1, bow before your master!"
Doing as told, the child bowed her upper body towards her master. Lifting her head back up, her auburn hood separated from her head and fell behind her neck.
Cherry-blossom-colored locks cascaded from her hood as she lowered her head. Ruby irises that have long lost their glisten stared blankly at the figure before her as if unfazed by the authoritarian aura Arvesque emanated.
"Hmmm...Adequate start," Arvesque perched her chin between the index finger and thumb of her tattooed arm before looking to his clown subordinate, "Pierrot, I'd like see how you can control her combat prowess. That magic of hers...is quite intriguing."
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUN!
Anyways...
Next Chapter: Lone Petal Over Still Waters
Stay tuned. Stay hyped. This flashback arc might bite.
As usual, feel free to give me your constructive criticisms, feedback, suggestions, etc. but please don't be too harsh. If you do, Arvesque might put a Blood Threat onto your hands!
Arvesque: *Glares in glam and demonic neon red* How about we add a condition for...entertainment?
Author: *shudders* And what might that be?
Arvesque: For every character they type into being rude, I'll fasten additional Blood Threats other limbs of my choice. Spaces will also be included.
Author: *shuddering intensifies* That won't be necessary...