Fairy May Cry - Devil's Retribution

by Iron117Prime

After seven years, Dante and the rest of Fairy Tail have returned from Tenrou Island. So much has changed since their absence; a guild called Sabertooth is now at the top spot, the forces of the Underworld are starting to become more active, and what's this new religious movement called the Order of the Sword? Times might have changed, but the insanity of Fairy Tail has not.

50. Draconic Inferno

Hi everyone, welcome back to Fairy May Cry. The Dragon Invasion crisis has begun, and I've been waiting for a long time to write this part of the arc! If I'm being honest, this whole battle in the canon series was a huge mess in how it was handled. Though it makes sense given the vast number of characters in this battle. This battle took me a while to think through for that very reason, with a lot of moving parts to it. But I managed to get it all organized and have a solid plan on how to handle it. Expect more than a few surprises in this battle as well as events that will differentiate from the canon events.

With that said, let's get started!

Draconic Inferno

"…We're goners…" Happy's words pretty much established what everyone in front of the Eclipse Gate was thinking as the Thunder Dragon King, Elexion, had stepped out of the past and into the present. The bright golden and yellow dragon whose scales sparkled so brightly with the soul-piercing red eyes flexed his enormous wings while scanning and surveying the area around him, casting a shadow over all the smaller beings below.

Princess Hisui, who fell back on her rear in shock, couldn't believe what she was seeing. Nor could Darton or the many royal soldiers as they already begun to panic at the sight of the enormous beast. Even as Arcadios stepped in front of the princess protectively and dutifully, even he shook in his armor as he grasped the handle of his sheathed sword.

"I… I don't believe it…" Yukino muttered as she and every one of the Fairy Tail members around her looked in expressions of awe and terror, particularly Modeus as he stepped in front of the shaking Wendy and Carla for their defense. Lisanna found herself backing towards her older sister, who put her hands on her shoulders. Cana, Lady, Trish, and Panther-Lily, arguably some of the most hardened warriors in this group, even they could feel their bodies drenched in a cold sweat right now.

"A dragon… a real life dragon…" Kyrie's face went pale. She had remembered reading books of them in Fortuna's library, but to actually see one… to stand in the presence of such an enormous and imposing creature… it made her feel so small and insignificant.

Lucy fell to her knees in disbelief. They were too late. They couldn't stop the Gate from opening… and not only did a dragon step through, but it was also arguably the worst one imaginable. She remembered how Sparda and the others told them of the Dragon Civil War, how Elexion led those who opposed human co-existence. And worst of all, her eldest cousin, Vergil, was directly responsible for all of this.

Spreading his wings out and holding his head up to the sky, Elexion gave a mighty roar. A roar that wasn't deep, but sounded very high pitched; a wailing roar with an underlying scratch to it. But that did not diminish the sheer force that came from his roar alone.

The force was powerful enough to create a shockwave that blew back nearly all of the royal soldiers in the area, even as many of them tried to drive their spears into the ground for stability. Even the ground itself was torn up from the sheer force of the roar. The Exceed trio were nearly blown away, with Wendy being pushed down as well while Modeus braced himself in front of them for their protection. Lady, Mira, and Trish braced themselves as well, standing in front of Lucy, Cana, Lisanna, Kyrie, and Yukino. Arcadios held the princess close for the same reason.

Elexion took a step forward, one that sent an electrical shockwave well past the perimeter and into the city, blowing away many of the buildings, something that had forced Bruni and Gandelina to stop their sprint towards the castle as they braced themselves.

"You felt that, right?!" Bruni questioned.

"Yes…" Gandelina muttered in fear.

---

Even the force of the blast had reached the center plaza where the guildmasters, along with several royal soldiers, Warren and Hibiki, had established a base.

"Where the hell did that blast come from?!" Warren questioned.

"Is the attack here?!" Goldmine questioned as well.

Kurenai herself felt a chill down her spine as she not only heard the roar from the castle, but also felt the residual traces of electrical power in the air from that shockwave.

'I know this presence…!' She immediately turned towards the communicators. "Everyone's already linked together, right?!"

"Y-yeah…!" Hibiki answered as several archive screens formed in the form of a giant circle around the base, with a screen in front of each present guildmaster and a central one for himself. "I've never linked so many people before… but I've got everyone!"

"Does that include everyone at the castle?!" Kurenai questioned.

"Hang on…." Hibiki looked to the screen that currently had a loading bar on it. But once it reached the other side, the screen blinked to reveal the chibi heads representing Modeus, Lucy, Trish, Lisanna, Cana, Lady, Happy, Carla, Wendy, Panther-Lily, Kyrie, Mira, and even Yukino. "Yeah! I got them!"

"Modeus, are you there?!" Kurenai tried to reach out to them through the now-established link.

"Lady Kurenai! I read you!" He replied over on the other end. "It's the Eclipse Gate…!"

"It's opened. I know." Kurenai answered. "Crime Sorciere had told me about the future that other Lucy came from before they reached you at the castle before. The world is under the threat of dragons, not demons. I can feel his presence now… has Elexion emerged from the Gate?"

"Yes, he has." Modeus answered grimly. "And the Gate remains open."

"Have Lucy and Yukino do what they can to close it, and then destroy it!" Kurenai instructed. "We have our defenses already planned, but it may not last against so many dragons!"

"Understood, but there is one thing you must know…" Modeus told her. "Vergil's responsible for this."

"…What…?!" Kurenai's eyes widened. Even those nearby heard that between all the guildmasters and those with them, with Makarov and Warren looking especially shocked. "Are you sure…?"

"Yes." Modeus confirmed. "Along with Rogue Cheney who claims to come from a different future who emerged from the Gate sometime before. They met and planned all of this."

Kurenai's eyes closed in frustration before opening to reveal a look of determination. "Focus on closing the Gate for now. Leave the rest to us."

"I understand." Modeus relayed before Kurenai broke out into a run from the plaza and away from the base.

"Lady Kurenai…!" Bob tried to call to her.

"Let her do what she needs to do." Makarov instructed. "It's up to the rest of us to make sure everyone is prepared."

Kurenai had reached the edge of the plaza and jumped off to land on the street below before running in the direction of the castle. "Kagura! Lucia! Erza! Nero! Can you all read me?!"

"Lady Kurenai, I can hear you." Erza responded.

"Mother… what's wrong?" Kagura asked.

"I need you four to listen, and do exactly what I say!" Kurenai began.

---

"Stay close, Princess!" Arcadios told Hisui as he held her protectively and all continued to stand under the shadow of the Thunder Dragon King. "Don't leave my side!"

"This can't be happening!"

"We don't stand a chance!"

"That thing will pulverize us!"

As the royal soldiers continued to panic, those in Fairy Tail attempted to steel themselves, albeit some were still shaking in their spots, notably Wendy, Happy, and Kyrie. But as Elexion stepped further away from the Gate, they also happened to spot something stepping out of the bright light within the enormus and still-open device, something that seemed just as big with thundering steps that grew louder and louder.

"Heads up! Something else is coming through!" Cana warned.

Right as she said that, a second dragon had emerged from the Gate. While it was only slightly smaller than Elexion, it was no less imposing. This dragon appeared covered in thick scales that looked almost like armor. It had a massive and armored mouth with blank and empty eyes, also bearing enormous wings and a long tail.

"Motherglare…" Modeus recognized this one right away.

"I'm guessing this one isn't friendly either!" Trish assumed.

"No. Not at all." He confirmed.

Lisanna then noticed an orange light coming from the gate, almost like fire, complete with a sudden wave of heat as well. "Here comes another one!"

A third dragon had then emerged from the Eclipse Gate, and this one appeared the most striking of them all, mostly because it seemed to be covered head-to-toe in fire, with something that resembled the silhouette of a skeleton inside.

"Is that dragon… made out of fire?!" Carla exclaimed.

"I can feel the intense heat even from here…!" Lily muttered.

"Atlas Flame…" That actually caused Modeus some form of relief as he knew this dragon quite well. He was a close ally of Igneel, Sparda, and fought alongside them for the right of humans' existence among dragons. But that relief turned into worry as a fourth dragon emerged right behind Atlas Flame.

This one had shiny white skin that looked almost metallic and carried bright blue eyes. It had an elongated neck with arms and legs with bright and shiny wings that almost reflected the light around him.

Yet another dragon had stepped out right behind the blue-eyed, white scaled dragon. This one almost seemed like it's polar opposite. Its skin was like a black metal, and it seemed almost skeletal in nature, and it had a bright red glow in its own eyes.

"They just keep coming!" Darton exclaimed.

"I… I didn't…" Hisui was at a complete loss for her words. Her plan to protect the kingdom from a crisis was actually the catalyst to start one. She had doomed her whole kingdom, possibly the world! She glanced towards Fairy Tail, specifically towards Lucy and Yukino and gasped with realization. "Please!" She stumbled as she picked herself back on her feet and made her way towards the guild members. "I'm begging you! Help us stop this before more dragons come through!"

"Oh, gee. Ya think?" Lady began. "Ya think that maybe we should stop the crisis that we've been trying to stop from the beginning, even when you threw a wrench at us at every single opportunity, which only made this crisis all the more possible?!" She questioned, not even trying to hide her volatile sarcasm as she advanced towards Hisui, who backed away from her in clear shock. "You're a fucking genius, you god damn idiot!"

"Enough, she's right." Mira pulled Lady back as she turned towards the Celestial Wizards in their group. "Lucy, we need you and Yukino now!"

"Y-you're right!" The blonde was the first to stand up fully as she grabbed Yukino's hand and pulled her up to. "We need to pull out all the stops for this! If maybe you summon Ophiuchus…"

"No, we need to close the Gate first." Yukino stated. "But we're going to need to summon all twelve of the Zodiac Spirits at once to pull that off."

"All twelve?!" Lucy exclaimed. "The most I can summon is four with Gemini, including them! There's no way…"

"Yes, there is!" Yukino insisted. "There is a spell that will allow us to summon the entirety of the Zodiac! My mentor taught it to me! But you and I need to combine our magic powers to do it!"

"Whatever it is you guys are planning to do, do it! Cause we got dragon number seven coming out!" Happy argued as a yellow-eyed, maroon-colored dragon with two curved horns, one on its head and another under its jaw, stepped out of the Eclipse Gate.

No time to argue, Lucy decided to trust Yukino's judgement. "What do I need to do?"

"Follow my lead." Yukino instructed.

"Protect them!" Modeus instructed.

Wasting no time, he along with Wendy, Carla, Lady, Lisanna, Mira, Trish, Happy, Kyrie, Cana and Panther-Lily all formed a line in front of the two Celestial Wizards as they began to cast the spell.

Lucy and Yukino had both thrown their respective golden keys into the air. All twelve of them came together to form a perfect circle above the two wizards and quickly began to glow, shinning a bright light in the night sky, almost like a star had just formed, causing all the soldiers and Fairy Tail members to look in awe as both young women kneeled on the ground and began to cast the spell, their hands held together and foreheads pressed against one another to combine their magics into one.

"Oh, Celestial Spirits of the Zodiac…" Yukino began.

"Lend us the strength to seal away the wicked…" Lucy continued.

"Open…" Yukino went on.

"Gates of the Twelve Signs…" Lucy followed along.

Suddenly, a bright golden light shot down from the star that hovered above them, overlapping both Celestial Wizards almost like a spotlight as a familiar noise akin a doorbell was heard.

"THE ZODIAC!" Lucy and Yukino both declared.

In that instance, twelve magic circles formed around both of them like a ring. One-by-one, each of the Zodiac spirits manifested themselves, all of them enveloped in a brilliant golden aura. Loke, Aquarius, Aires, Scorpio, Pisces, Libra, Sagittarius, Virgo, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and Capricorn. All of the Zodiac spirits were now present and accounted for.

"Incredible…" Lily looked in awe.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Happy smiled with elation.

"All twelve of the Zodiac spirits are together!" Wendy said ecstatically.

"That's amazing…!" Kyrie felt herself smiling at what she saw. Despite the horrific situation they were in, it was hard not to be amazed at such a sight.

"That's our girl." Lady smirked as Modeus, Cana, Trish, Mira, Carla, and especially Lisanna, they couldn't help but be proud of Lucy in that very moment.

"Please help us…" Lucy pleaded to all the spirits.

Not needing to be told twice, all twelve of the Zodiac Spirits leapt straight up and soared through the air, the golden energy surrounding them granting them the ability to fly, almost like shooting stars. Loke, Aquarius, Cancer, Aries, Sagittarius, and Scorpio were on the right side of the gate, pressing against the doorway; while Virgo, Capricorn, Gemini, Libra, Pisces, and Taurus were doing the same on the left.

Slowly, it looked like the gateway was about to be closed. However, a large pair of claws had emerged as another dragon attempted to exit, its claws against the gateway. This caused everyone else to look in worry, wondering if the combined strength of the Zodiacs could overpower that of a dragon.

Lisanna happened to glance back towards Lucy and Yukino as they remained in the same position as before. The latter seemed to be doing fine as the golden aura shined brightly around them. Lucy, on the other hand, her aura began to flicker slightly as she herself seemed to be struggling with maintaining the spell.

"Come on Lucy…" Lisanna muttered. "You can do this… I know you can…"

Fortunately, it would seem that the spirits would have the advantage as the doorway was being pushed closed. Despite a dragon being on the other side, the Spirits kept pushing more and more.

"Ah yeah!" Cana grinned with smiles forming on everyone else's faces.

With one final push from the spirits, and a roar of despair from the dragon behind, the Eclipse Gate was sealed shut.

The moment the doorway was closed, all of the Zodiac spirits as the spell that summoned them came to an end.

Yukino gasped with joy. "We did it…"

"Yeah… we did…" Lucy muttered before falling and collapsing into Yukino's arms.

"Lucy…!" Lisanna was the first by her side with everyone else.

"Are you okay?" Happy asked worriedly.

"...I'm fine… just… tapped out…" Lucy tried to catch her breath.

"Well after the marathon of fights we just went through, it makes sense that you're exhausted." Trish commented.

"I'm sorry guys…" Lucy muttered.

"Don't be sorry, Lucy." Mira smiled. "You did very well. We can take it from here." This caused Lucy to smile slightly as she let herself relax in Yukino's arms.

Immediately, all the soldiers began to cheer. With the Eclipse Gate closed, it meant no more dragons could come through. But that did nothing to change the fact that some had still managed to come through.

"It's too soon to celebrate!" Arcadios got the attention of all his men. "Do we know how many dragons made it through?"

"Yes. Ten of them, sir." One soldier confirmed, causing Arcadios to grunt.

"Ten dragons are still going to be a problem." Modeus said seriously. "But we can still stop this, if we destroy the Eclipse Gate now. If we do that, then the Rogue who came from the future will have no means of traveling to our present…"

"And if he is unable to do that, then he won't be able to summon any of the dragons from the past to our time!" Carla followed his train of thought.

"Which means, all the dragons that came through will return to their original time periods as well." Lily said.

"Then let's do what we came here to do and smash that damn thing." Lady stated.

"I'm afraid that we cannot allow that."

All eyes turned toward two certain individuals, the eldest Son of Sparda, and the time traveling entity that inhabited the body of the Shadow Dragon Slayer.

"Although, you have put quite the break in our plans." Future Legion stated. "All that magic that fueled the Eclipse Gate, what you fools had spent seven years syphoning, is now gone. Even if we could refill it with that of the surrounding dragons, the lunar eclipse has all but passed."

"Which means, the Eclipse Gate is no longer useful to us." Vergil said.

"Vergil." Mira glared along with everyone else in Fairy Tail.

"That's him!" Hisui stated, looking towards the one who bore a resemblance to Rogue. "That's the one who lied about the demon horde and the Eclipse Cannon!"

"He's the one who deceived you?!" Arcadios glared.

"That traitorous scoundrel!" Darton glared as well.

"But he looks… different." Hisui noted as Future Legion hadn't altered his appearance since his and Vergil's fight with two certain members of Fairy Tail.

"Wait... if they're here… what happened to Natsu and Dante…?!" Happy asked with worry, causing Lisanna to look with worry herself.

"You're meddling friends from Crime Sorciere came to their aid, so they live. For now." Future Legion answered.

"Huh…?" Wendy blinked in surprise as she focused on Future Legion. "What is this…?"

"Wendy…?" Carla looked to her Dragon Slayer companion with concern.

"His scent… it's different…" Wendy said.

"Not just his scent…" Lady glared. "He's got this aura around him that wrecks demon!"

"A Demon…?" Kyrie questioned as everyone looked towards Future Legion with curiosity and worry, especially as the entity smirked evilly.

Mira had noticed this as well. She remembered how Rogue seemed to radiate demonic power subtly whenever his powers were used during the Grand Magic Games tournament. But this feels different. It felt stronger, and much more sinister than before.

"You are not Rogue Cheney." Modeus deduced. "Who or what are you?"

"We are known as Legion, a collection of the essence of the multitude of demons that Rogue Cheney has slain and consumed, merged into a unified consciousness. Rogue Cheney no longer inhabits this body, his mind and soul rendered silent after the deaths of those he cared for the most."

As he said all that, the dark demonic aura around him not only grew, but even took shape as multiple dark tendrils formed and took on the faces of several demonic entities that cackled sinisterly.

"He's been possessed…?!" Lisanna questioned.

"Hold on, this guy ate demons?!" Cana questioned as well.

"I… I remember a few battles… where Rogue would consume the power of the demons that he was fighting to further strengthen himself…" Yukino recalled, her eyes shaking in shock. "Demonic energy is a form of darkness… and since Rogue is a Shadow Dragon Slayer…"

"He could consume that darkness just as easily." Lily realized. "But I doubt any of us could have seen something like this coming."

"It's like he's possessed by a bunch of demon ghosts! That's super crazy and gross!" Happy said in a panicky tone.

"Vergil…" Lucy weakly looked towards her eldest cousin once more, and he only paid her brief eye-contact before he heard someone call his name.

"Explain yourself, Vergil!" Darton demanded. "You allied with this time traveler and deceived the princess! Why?! To bring an army of dragons here?!"

"You pledged an oath to his majesty!" Arcadios exclaimed.

"An oath I took no joy in breaking." Vergil answered. "The resources you and the king have provided me were useful, but I need more if I am to eliminate Mundus. He is my one true enemy. As for the rest of you… I will give you a choice. Stay out of my way. Do so, and no harm will come to any of you. Ten dragons have passed through the Gate as opposed to the ten thousand that we originally planned. It's unfortunate, but nothing we cannot adapt from. However, this would also mean that collateral damage will be kept at a minimum. I will find a way to use these dragons to kill Mundus and see to it that the Underworld is no longer a threat to your kingdom. Step aside, Princess Hisui." He told her specifically. "This is going to happen whether you want it to or not."

Hisui still couldn't shake the look of betrayal in her eyes. She had admired and respected Vergil as an honorable warrior. She even considered him a friend. A part of her even toyed the idea of marrying him one day. But for him to deceive and use her like this… in a plan that could have potentially destroyed her entire kingdom…! No. She will no longer be his pawn. She will not stand by and leave the fate of her kingdom, the whole planet, in the hands of this man.

"Here is my counteroffer, Vergil." The princess began as she faced him directly with a serious expression. "Surrender and allow us to destroy the Gate to undo all the damage that's been done. Do so, and I promise to give you a fair trial. This is my kingdom, and it's not for you to decide its fate."

As she made that proclamation, Arcadios, Darton, and the other royal soldiers stepped by her side and had their weapons drawn, ready to face him. Even Arcadios had finally drawn his sword, which glowed a bright jade green as he held it.

Vergil simply closed his eyes in response. "I respect your loyalty to your kingdom. And if that makes us enemies… then so be it." He looked to Future Legion. "Do it."

The demonic entity smirked evilly as a shadowy aura formed over his glowing red eyes. "Our draconic subjects, hear us and follow our command! Let our words reach the depth of your souls!" He reached his hand forward as a dark red energy formed over his hand, which he aimed to all ten of the dragons that hovered in the sky.

"Motherglare!" The most heavily armored dragon felt its eyes glow with the same dark red aura as shadows formed around them as well. The same applied for the other dragons whose names Future Legion had called out.

"Atlas Flame!" The dragon that seemed to be made entirely out of fire too had a shadowy aura form over his own eyes, which almost seemed to match the flames.

"Scissor Runner!" The maroon-skinned dragon gave a roar as he had felt a dark presence invade his mind as the same shadow aura formed over his eyes.

"Zirconis!" A dragon covered in dark and jagged green scales with a flat skull and green eyes had come under the influence as well.

"Levia!" The next dragon was blue-skinned and had a muscular build to him, a short beard and even fish-like fins that appeared on the sides of his head and along the backs of his arms and legs.

"Jades!" The red-eyed, black-skinned dragon growled as his already red eyes became even darker.

"Ionar!" The blue-eyed, white-scaled dragon also growled as Future Legions' spell reached him, his bright blue eyes being overlapped by the dark shadows.

"Voidar!" One dragon had sleek black skin all over his body, save for his underbelly that was magenta in color, and had his wings attached to his front-most limbs, almost akin to a bat, was next to succumb to the spell as his yellow eyes were enveloped by the shadows.

"Agate!" This dragon appeared made almost entirely out of rock and stone, even his wings, which its joints were made from stone, appeared to be almost like crumbled leaves. His glowing yellow eyes were soon overpowered by the same dark shadow, just like the others.

"And finally, Elexion!" The Thunder Dragon King gave a small growl as he felt a dark presence attempt to invade his mind as well, that same shadow aura almost covered his eyes, though he kept them closed.

"We command you to raze this city! Leave not a single soul alive!" Most of the dragons had begun to fly towards the city, obeying Future Legion's command with no hesitation.

"Are they actually doing what this freak says?!" Cana questioned in clear shock.

"How is this even possible?!" Kyrie also questioned.

"I… I do not know…" Modeus stuttered, being just as surprised as everyone else. "I've never seen this type of power before…"

"It is a very rare spell that only a select few dragons could harness in the ancient past." Future Legion explained with a cackle. "One that grants a superior dragon complete dominance over those under him or her. Dragon Supremacy Magic."

"Dragon... Supremacy…?" Wendy muttered. She never heard Grandeeney mention anything like that before, nor was it written in the notes that Porlyusica had given her.

"It doesn't sound like anything Igneel might have told Natsu…" Lisanna said in the same tone.

"But how is a demon able to use this?" Trish questioned.

"We may have been born from demons, but this body is still that of a Dragon Slayer, and it is indeed possible for us to use this magic." Future Legion answered. However, Future Legion's smirk faded as he glanced up to see that Elexion remained hovering in the sky. "Elexion, what are you doing? Did you not hear our instruction?"

The Thunder Dragon King blinked his eyes a few times, sparks of electricity popping in from each blink before the last of the shadows cleared out. He then re-directed his intimidating gaze towards Future Legion, who was growing more agitated by the lack of response.

"Elexion! You will do as we command and destroy this city!" Future Legion ordered.

"Who are you to order me?"

Future Legion's own eyes widened in complete surprise, taken off guard for perhaps the first time since his arrival in this timeline. Everyone in Fairy Tail and in the royal army, along with Hisui and her subordinates, all of them were surprised by this turn of events. Even Vergil raised a curious eyebrow.

"What…? But our Dragon Supremacy…!" Future Legion looked to his own hand that continued to glow with the spell still active. "We can feel the other dragons under our command… but why is this one…?"

"Do you have any idea to whom you speak, creature?" Elexion bellowed, his voice sounding like the claps of thunder in the sky. "I am the King of the Lightning Dragons! The heavens themselves tremble from my very presence! You, mortal, demon, whatever you may be… you are but a gnat to me! A gnat like every human that has infested this world, the world meant for dragons and dragons alone!" Spreading his wings and creating a powerful gust of wind that almost blew away everyone below, Elexion ascended higher into the sky. "But, I will still destroy this human nest as you wish… and you along with them! The price you must pay for your insolence!"

Elexion began to inhale, creating a suction-like force around his own mouth as sparks of electricity formed at his teeth and a ball of lightning appearing at the back of his throat.

"It's a breath attack!" Yukino exclaimed.

"Like what Natsu and the other Dragon Slayers do…?!" The shaky Kyrie questioned.

"Only a hundred times bigger….!" Happy shook.

"Hang on! I'll try to shield us!" Kyrie tried to project her Sanctuary barrier spell around herself and most of her friends. "I can't make one so big to protect everyone!"

"Princess, stay with them!" Arcadios told her as he pushed her and Darton into the barrier with the rest of Fairy Tail.

"But Arcadios…!" She attempted to resist, but found she was unable to exit the barrier.

"Colonel!" Darton protested as well.

"Form a perimeter! If we are to die, we will die protecting the princess!" Arcadios ordered.

"Yes, sir!" All the royal soldiers formed a perimeter around the Sanctuary spell as Elexion's breath attack was almost ready, a storm of electrical power was already growing inside his mouth.

"I don't think this barrier is gonna hold against that!" Cana stated.

"An attack like that could destroy the whole city and everyone in it…!" Modeus stated.

"B-but… what about… everyone else…?!" Lisanna shook, fearing the worst for her friends and loved ones.

Wendy fell to her knees as she began to hyperventilate, prompting Modeus, Carla, and Mira by her side as she looked up with blank and colorless eyes at the monster that would unleash an attack to destroy them all in one shot.

"This is… just like… back then…." The poor girl felt her mind being pulled back to Tenrou Island, when they attempted to fight back against Acnologia, only to almost be wiped out entirely.

Future Legion scowled as he sprouted a pair of enormous demonic wings made of shadows from his back and wrapped them around himself for protection, while Vergil simply looked in the direction of Lucy. Despite the barrier separating them, he could clearly see the look of fear in her eyes, while his remained stoic… and yet… underneath that… perhaps there was a hint of assurance, like everything would be okay.

He even held the Yamato ready, perhaps a means to send them all away to safety.

"Die! Miserable pests!"

Elexion unleashed his breath attack, which was a massive blast of lightning. One so large and so bright that the light was blinding to almost everyone present as several covered their eyes. Everyone in Fairy Tail, as well as Yukino and Hisui, looked in panic and fear as the deadly attack was about to strike, just as Vergil had grasped the handle of his katana…

Suddenly, an equally large blast of water had shot straight upwards at an angle, intercepting the lightning breath attack before it could reach its mark.

*BOOM!*

What happened next was a powerful and mighty explosion that mixed lightning and water, one that sent a shockwave through the air and over the entire city, drawing the attention of not only all the guild wizards, royal soldiers, and rune knights, but even the invading dragons.

The dust cloud above quickly dissipated as residual rain began to fall over the area around the Eclipse Gate, much to the surprise of everyone present.

"What was that…?!"

"What just happened…?!"

Those questions reverberated among all the soldiers that had previously prepared to lay down their lives. Even Arcadios held his armored hand to let to look at the rain that fell and gathered water.

"What…? What was…?" Trish stuttered.

"Was that… water...?" Yukino questioned.

"Someone intercepted the blast!" Lily deduced.

"But whom…?" Carla wondered.

Suddenly, a powerful presence made itself known in the general area surrounding the Eclipse Gate. One so powerful, that it practically made the air itself shake.

"Do you guys all feel that...?!" Happy asked everyone.

"This presence…! It's demonic energy…! But way stronger than anything we've felt before…!" Lady stated.

"But it's different…" Mira said. "It doesn't feel hostile… but… warm. Like… like a warm ocean…"

Modeus smiled as he already knew exactly who this was.

---

The air that shook from the presence of this demonic aura was felt all across Crocus, which caused many of the dragons to growl, as well as caused nearly all the guild wizards to quake as they couldn't help but shake from this overwhelming power.

But only a select few would smile as they instead felt a strong sense of relief upon recognizing this power. Everyone in Mermaid Heel smiled emotionally with Sapphire smirking as she shared a glance with Amarilla who was smiling widely.

All of the Guildmasters and present Wizard Saints, including Makarov, Jura, and everyone else scattered throughout the city, as well as Bruni and Gandelina, who still hadn't made it to the castle yet, smirked and smiled too as they recognized this feeling.

"Looks like she beat us to the punch." Bruni grinned.

---

Future Legion too felt this intense presence and used his shadow-wings to ascend from his spot and perch himself to the top of the Eclipse Gate for his protection as even Vergil found himself taking a step or two back as the source of this intense presence had stepped onto the courtyard.

All of the royal soldiers cleared the way, including Arcadios himself, with Kyrie dropping her Sanctuary barrier to look in awe as a certain someone stepped calmly and stockily forward, splashes of water were made with every step as an ocean-like aura formed around her body and she held her trident firmly.

The second everyone saw her, smiles and laughs of joy and relief were felt by everyone between all the wizards and soldiers, as well as the princess herself.

Elexion looked down at the one who dared to stand against him, the one who had blocked his attack that would have obliterated every insolent human in this wretched city. The instant he set his eyes on her, he growled with as much hatred and hostility as he could muster.

"You…! Wretched underworld spawn…! Kurenai!"

The number one Wizard Saint, guildmaster of Mermaid Heel, and the sworn sister of the Dark Knight himself, didn't even pay the yellow dragon acknowledgement at first as she instead directed her attention to those around her.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you… Lady Kurenai." Modeus bowed his head to her gratefully.

Kurenai looked towards Fairy Tail with a smile, particularly the still-weak Lucy whom she smiled almost lovingly toward her. "You've all done well, but leave Elexion to me. As for these two…" She looked towards Vergil who simply narrowed his eyes at her, while Future Legion practically snarled from his perch. "I'll leave them to my daughters and their friends."

No sooner than she said that, Vergil felt an incoming attack being directed at him from behind. He was quick to draw the Yamato to block the sword-strike from the unsheathed Archenemy that Kagura had swung at him. But even that was a prelude to the rain of flaming swords that shot down towards Vergil, who backflipped to kick Kagura back before performing a quick-draw attack to slice up all the flaming swords before they could even reach their mark. The one who threw them was none other than Erza, clad in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, with her Flame Empress sword in her hand.

At the same time, Future Legion looked up to see two figures already above him, both revealing themselves as Nero and Lucia, swinging their respective swords of Red Queen and Cutlaseer at him, but Future Legion had shielded himself with a wave of shadow magic, but the force was still enough to force him off the Eclipse Gate and down toward the ground closer to Vergil as they faced the quartet of heroes that arrived.

"Sorry, we're late for the party." Nero smirked.

"Nero…!" Kyrie cried in joy the moment she saw him.

"Erza too!" Happy cheered as Lucy, Wendy, and Lisanna also cried.

"They also brought Kagura and Lucia…!" Mira noted with a wide smile.

"Now that's the cavalry." Trish smirked.

"Mother, leave these ones to us." Kagura told her as she held the Archenemy standing alongside Erza to face Vergil.

"Yes, you have more pressing matters to attend to. Such as that beast in the sky." Lucia added, standing by Nero's side to face Future Legion.

"Agreed." Kurenai closed her eyes as a large wave of water had formed around her body, causing everyone else to step back as the water swirled around her, almost akin to a small hurricane, before a bright navy-blue glow shined at the center of it. The water all blasted away to reveal the guildmaster of Mermaid Heel had transformed.

Gone, was her human form. Now stood her true demonic appearance. Her whole body was a navy blue color and resembled what could only be described as a demonic mermaid. Her legs were replaced with a long fish-like tail with flippers at the end resembling seaweed. Bright blue scales stretched up from the center of her tail to her chest where dark blue armor adorned her chest and shoulders with a darker blue set of stone-like gauntlets on her hands, including the one that held her trident, Poseidon. She also carried a set of wings on her back that resembled fish fins. The skin on her face was the same navy-blue color with her eyes being a darker blue in color, and her hair had grown longer and resembled the shape and flow of blue seaweed.

All the soldiers and wizards looked in awe as they, Arcadios, Hisui, and Darton, were all rendered speechless at what they saw.

"Holy shit…" Cana muttered.

"Is that…?" Lady questioned.

"Lady Kurenai's true demonic form." Modeus confirmed with a smile. "Always an inspiring sight."

"I will deal with Elexion. The rest of you, do what you can to destroy the Gate and defeat those who dared to commit such an atrocious crime."

Using her wings, Kurenai flew into the air and straight for the Thunder Dragon King, moving so fast that the lightning dragon seemed unable to stop her from quickly closing the gap, where she thrusted Poseidon forward to blast a concentrated beam of water, one so large and powerful that when it struck Elexion's underbelly, it pushed him higher into the sky with a growl. But that alone was nothing compared to Kurenai's next attack as she spun her trident around rapidly and came into his face to slam her weapon at him with enough force to send the mighty dragon careening through the air, much to the shock and joyous surprise of all those down below.

The monstrous dragon used his own massive wings to stabilize himself in the air as he scowled at Kurenai that hovered above him to glare down, literally looking down on him. An open insult if he had ever seen one.

"Elexion. Still as arrogant as ever, I see." Kurenai greeted coldly.

"Impudent wretch…! This is not the first time you challenged me…!" Elexion growled back. "But it will be the last. I am going to enjoy eviscerating you!" His right claw clenched into a fist as a powerful electric storm surged around it before he launched his attack forward, just as Kurenai spun Poseidon up in the air above her to generate a large whirlpool of water before swinging downward to send the attack colliding with Elexion's, creating a violent clash of water and electricity in the air as the two opponents glared at one another.

"So, you truly are responsible for this, Vergil." Erza glared at the man. She paid a brief glance back to the weakened Lucy to see her own saddened expression. "Your attempts at world domination should not be so surprising… but Lucy… she had such high hopes for you. You broke her heart, and for that…" Her Flame Empress sword was set ablaze. "I shall engrave my sword into yours!"

"Get in line. I want my chance at this bastard too." Nero revved up Red Queen.

"If it is battle you seek, then I shall oblige you." Vergil held his signature katana.

"But the two of us against all of you?" Future Legion looked towards the large gathering of enemies around them. "That hardly seems fair. Wouldn't you agree, Zirconis? Levia?"

Just then, the entire ground shook as the green-scaled dragon known as Zirconis, and the blue-skinned one that was named Levia, both landed on opposite sides of the courtyard, with roars and growls of their own.

"Wait, why are they still helping him?!" Happy questioned. "Didn't one of them turn against him?!"

"That was Elexion!" Modeus stated as he had Hunter's Moon drawn. "The Thunder Dragon King must have been too powerful for him! But these two are clearly weaker, though I doubt that means facing them will be an easy task."

"Well, ain't that just dandy" Cana's eyelids lowered as she held a series of cards in her hands.

"We will leave these pests to you." Future Legion told Vergil. "See to it that the Gate is undamaged." Once more, Future Legion had sprouted his shadow-wings to take to the air at incredible speeds.

"Hey, get back here!" Lady had her pistols drawn and ready to shoot him down, but Trish quickly pulled her back to avoid the crushing stomp from Zirconis that shook up much of the ground.

"Hmm, such tasty looking humans." Zirconis chuckled with drool in his mouth.

"But there are demons amongst them. Two of which, even smell akin to Sparda." Levia noted, referring to Vergil and Nero, with the latter glaring. "But we are tasked with assisting the one. The others, must die." Raising his left claw, streaks of water formed in-between his claws just as he slashed forward to send three large razor-sharp waves of water along the ground to the multitude of heroes.

"Dodge! Now!" Lucia ordered as she, Kagura, Erza, and Nero had leapt away to avoid the devastating slashes that tore up much of the courtyard. Modeus, Lady, and Trish too had avoided the slashes as Carla picked up Wendy, Happy doing the same for Lucy, and Lily, who had shifted into his Battle-Form to pick up Yukino and Kyrie in his arms. Mira and Lisanna both transformed into their Satan and Dragon Souls respectively while the latter carried Cana.

Arcadios had grabbed Hisui and Darton and leapt out of the way himself, and many soldiers tried to do the same, but several were sliced to ribbons by the water slashes.

However, those airborne soon found themselves directly under the shadow of Zirconis who had opened his mouth with a laugh. "Don't mind if I do!" He opened his mouth with the intent to swallow them all.

"Claws to yourself, creep!" A bright golden meteor-like projectile shot across the sky and straight for Zirconis face, which was revealed to be Sheeree, having copied Jellal's Meteor Spell. "Sky Dragon Whirlwind Fist!" Copying Wendy's attack, Sheeree struck Zirconis in the side of his face, resulting in an explosive whirlwind. That combined with the momentum in the speed she took to arrive was enough to push Zirconis back sightly with a growl.

"Sheeree!" Wendy smiled joyously while Carla laughed with her.

At the same time, Jellal himself appeared directly above Levia, using his own Meteor Spell to hover above the blue-skinned dragon as he too attacked. "Grand Chariot!" Thrusting his hands downward, multiple golden meteorites fell from the sky to strike all over Levia's body, creating a series of explosions that coated the dragon in dust before Jellal himself landed on the ground.

"Jellal…" Erza smiled in relief upon seeing him, while Kagura had mixed feelings over his presence. But for the sake of the world, she would put her animosity aside just as her mother would want her too. But Jellal will answer for his crimes when this is over.

"Natsu and Dante are with Ultear and the others." Jellal informed everyone present. "We received instructions from Lady Kurenai that they would go into the city to help in fending off the dragons."

"Jellal and I volunteered to come and help you destroy the Gate." Sheeree added as she landed on the ground with everyone else who was airborne too, just as the dust from Jellal's attack cleared to reveal Levia wasn't so much as scratched. "Guess we'll have to fight a couple of dragons too."

"Your presence and aid are most welcome." Modeus assured.

"Glad you think so, cause we need some of you in the city, now!" A familiar voice reached to all of the Fairy Tail members via their telepathy.

"Warren!" Happy recognized.

"It's good to hear a familiar voice." Lisanna smiled.

"There's no time for reunions, so listen up!" Warren began. "Gramps, Hibiki, and the guildmasters have set up a basecamp in the center of the city and we're coordinating with the other wizards to fight back. Mira, Cana, Lily, Lady, you guys need to head into the city and join everyone else now! The rest of you stay at the Gate!"

"What?! We can't leave! We can still fight!" Lady protested.

"There is no time to argue! Do as we say now!" Makarov stated.

"That was Gramps…" Cana recognized is his voice. "And he sounds really serious."

"If this is the plan, then we must follow it." Erza instructed as she turned back to her guildmates. "There are those in the city that need your help now."

"She's right, we need to go." Mira, still clad in her Satan Soul, accepted before turning to her younger sister. "Lisanna, be careful."

"You too, Big Sis." The younger Strauss sister smiled back as she too remained in her Dragon Soul form.

"Please take Darton with you!" Hisui requested. "He can contribute to the coordination effort!"

"I will do everything I can to help you, I swear!" The defense minister promised.

"Alright, let's go." Lily, still in his Battle Form accepted as he picked up Darton as Mira picked up Cana.

"Time to go." The eldest Strauss sibling said.

"Yeah, I don't like it, but if the old man says so…" The card-user reluctantly accepted.

Lily had also picked up Lady as the two flyers carried their passengers and flew away from the scene. "Give them hell!" Lady called to her friends as they flew off.

Yukino hung in the back as she looked to see that Kyrie, and the still exhausted Lucy were still close to her with Hisui as Arcadios stood in front of her and the surviving soldiers, who also stood alongside the group that consisted of Happy, Erza, Jellal, Nero, Kagura, Lucia, Modeus, Wendy, Carla, Lisanna, Trish, and Sheeree. She also saw that right in front of them was Vergil with Levia on his right as Zirconis had recovered and landed on Vergil's left. And behind the eldest Son of Sparda and his two dragon allies was the Eclipse Gate.

"Kyrie, please protect Lucy." Yukino requested, much to both of the young women's surprise.

"Yukino…?" The weakened blonde muttered.

"What are you doing?" Kyrie questioned.

"As for the rest of you…" Yukino spoke to those in front of her. "Please clear me a path and keep them busy." She referred to the three enemies in front of them. "I will destroy the Eclipse Gate." That took them all by surprise. "Lucy is exhausted and cannot continue as she is. But I still have magic to spare, and as a Celestial Wizard, my magic can damage the Gate. But I'll need the rest of you to keep them off me while I do it. Please."

"While we do it." Hisui stepped by her side. "I'm a Celestial Wizard myself, and I am directly responsible for all of this. So I will do what I can to destroy the Gate too. Colonel Arcadios, please help them."

"As you wish, your highness." The white knight held his Jade Sword tightly.

"We don't got much choice, do we?" Nero asked Erza specifically.

"No. Celestial Spirit magic is the only power that can damage the Eclipse Gate, so this may be our only option." The redhead confirmed.

"Then let us clear that path for them." Lucia said as she and everyone else stood together, ready to face the opponents in front of them.

"I take it that you are finished strategizing?" Vergil asked rhetorically with Zirconis and Levia growling as they flanked both his sides with the green-scaled dragon looking especially excited. "Very well. Show me what this united front of yours is capable of." He challenged as he flicked the handle of the Yamato slightly, ready for battle.

---

Meanwhile, the remaining dragons had followed the instructions of their controller and begun their attack on Crocus. The ever-burning dragon that was Atlas Flame had just landed on the street to face most of the Fairy Tail guild.

"Whoa! It's huge!" Max exclaimed.

"No! It can't be real!" Jet shouted in a panic.

"We are so screwed!" Droy's eyes popped out at the sight of the flaming beast.

"That's a dragon!?" Wakaba shouted. "Now I wish we were fighting demons!"

"Its entire body is covered in fire!" Romeo was already sweating.

"Don't panic!" Macao took command. "Gajeel, Laxus, you two are Dragon Slayers! You take the front, the rest of us support them!"

"Well, you heard the man." Laxus said seriously.

"Let's take this freak down!" Gajeel agreed.

Both Dragon Slayers sprinted toward Atlas Flame, while the rest of their guildmates were trailing behind them.

"Go for its feet! Try to knock it off balance!" Macao ordered.

Before any of them could even attack however, the flaming dragon spoke. "I am the Hellflame Dragon, Atlas Flame! Prepare to taste my ever-burning fire! You lowly humans!" Opening his mouth, a spark of flame appeared before a condensed beam was shot at the ground where the members of Fairy Tail would be…

Right before it all went up in a fiery explosion, one so powerful that it sent many of them flying backwards.

---

Makarov clenched his fists as he saw what was happening to his guild on the screen in front of him. "Stay strong, my children!"

"Heads up, the other guilds are making contact!" Goldmine warned.

"Hibiki, make sure everyone is linked!" Bob told his subordinate who was typing endlessly on various magical keyboards all around him.

"I got them all, but Archive is stretched to its absolute limit! I've never linked so many people before!" Hibiki said as he and Warren both stared at the various magical screens around them that showed the chibi-heads of every single guild wizard in the city, with most of them already grouped up and contacting the many dragons that were now invading.

---

Scissor Runner landed on a building to look down upon most of the Sabertooth guild with a growl.

"Dragons?! I thought we were going to be fighting demons!" Lector stated.

"It's really big!" Frosch exclaimed.

"No time to question it now! We're gonna hit this thing with everything we got!" Sting proclaimed. "You guys ready?!"

"Ready!" Rogue confirmed as he, Sting, with Frosch and Lector beside them, charged the dragon alongside Orga, Rufus, and Dobengal. "Go for its underbelly! It should be its softest spot!"

---

Lamia Scale stood together to face the rock and stone covered dragon named Agate. "Is that really a dragon?!" Yuka questioned.

"It's covered entirely in rock!" Sherry observed.

"Stand your ground!" Jura commanded. "Lyon and Sherria, you two are with me as we assault the front! Everyone else, move around and keep it off balance!"

"Understood." Lyon put his hand to his palm as an icy whirlwind formed around him.

"Right!" Sherria pulled her arms back to generate a black gale-force wind behind her.

---

Voidar was perched on top of a building as it roared to the sky, with the combined group of Blue Pegasus and Quatro Puppy just underneath.

"Man! I never thought I'd see a real dragon in all my life. It is far more terrifying than I imagined." Ichiya said.

"Meow! Let us attack the building that it is on!" Nichiya suggested. "That may catch it off guard and give us a chance!"

"Well you all heard em! Let's get wild!" Bacchus stated as he, his own guildmates, and those in Blue Pegasus attacked the building. Between the physical attacks of Bacchus, Ichiya, Nichiya, Rocker, Nobarly, Jager, and Warcry, and the ranged attacks from Wally, Jenny, Ren and Eve, at all the building's foundation, it quickly collapsed, taking Voidar with it.

"Did we get it?" Ren questioned as everyone took a few steps back to avoid getting caught up in the collapse themselves.

However, the dust quickly cleared to reveal Voidar was still standing without even a scratch and looked more annoyed than anything else.

"It's not even scratched!" Jenny exclaimed.

"I think we actually just pissed it off!" Wally said with a wince.

---

"Azure Dragon Infernal Fist!" Sapphire's blazing blue fist struck the side of Jades' face, which did cause the dragon some pain, but not before it retaliated with a quick swipe of its claws to send Sapphire crashing to the ground. Before it could advance further, multiple blasts of ranged magic, including plants and webbing, were all shot at it, courtesy of those in Mermaid Heel.

"Back off ugly!" Beth exclaimed.

"Nobody touches one of our guild sisters!" Arana stated.

As they kept up the covering fire, it allowed Risley and Amarilla a chance to collect Sapphire as the yellow-furred Exceed picked up her Dragon Slayer companion while Risley provided some cover before they withdrew back to their guildmates just as Jades shook off all their attacks.

"Are you okay, Sapphire?" Amarilla asked with concern.

"I'm fine…" She rubbed her head slightly before looking up at the black and red-eyed dragon. "I get the feeling this is gonna be a long night."

---

Gildarts stood by himself as he faced against Ionar who landed in front of him with a growl. "One human thinks he can stand against me? You are either arrogant or suicidal."

"Nah, I think I'm good." Gildarts smirked. "I went up against Acnologia and survived, think I can handle a small fry like you." He threw off his robe to reveal his muscular upper body, as well as his prosthetic left arm and the scars in his underbelly from where Acnologia had gutted him. But despite all the permanent injuries, that did nothing to stop the man from unleashing the full force of his magic as a maelstrom of pure white power surged around him, which already tore up the street underneath him and even cracked away at the buildings surrounding him.

"It's been a while since I got a chance to cut loose. So, show me a good time, why don't ya?" The man grinned just as a certain Dragon Slayer would.

---

The roars of dragons could be heard for miles, multiple plums of smoke that rose from the ensuing battles were seen high in the sky, even as a giant white angel flew over Crocus. Said angel had been conjured and controlled by Sorano who had Dante, Natsu, Ultear and Meredy riding on top to see it all.

"It looks like they're holding their own for now." Sorano observed.

"I just received word that Jellal and Sheeree had met up Lucy and the others. Erza, Nero, Kagura, and Lucia are with them as well." Ultear said to Dante and Natsu specifically. "But Vergil's standing in their way with two dragons."

"Where's the other one?" Dante asked in a low growl, something that caused the three women in Crime Sorciere to wince slightly.

Meredy looked around and spotted Motherglare hovering in the air, higher than their current position, with a certain someone riding on his back.

"Up there! That one dragon that isn't fighting! Someone's on top of it!" She pointed upward.

Natsu looked with angry glare in that direction and need only pick up a few whiffs before he caught that awful demonic scent. "Yeah, that's him alright."

"Then let's go. If we all attack together, we might overwhelm him." Ultear offered.

"No! Wait!"

Suddenly, appearing before them on the flying angel, was none other than the spirit of Sparda, much to the group's surprise.

"Old man…" Dante acknowledged him, but was in no mood for a talk.

"Listen to me, that dragon up there is Motherglare." Sparda informed them all. "Even if you defeat the man on top, Motherglare is too strong for all of you combined."

"The hell?! I'm a god damn Dragon Slayer! This is what I was trained for!" Natsu angrily shouted.

"You can do some damage, but Motherglare's hide is too thick to deal anything permanent." Sparda said. "And all your friends and allies down below may be holding their own for now, but none of them have faced real dragons before. Even Fairy Tail, who has stood against Acnologia and survived, isn't ready for this sort of battle. But I know of a way you can turn the tide and gain a significant advantage. But only if you do exactly what I tell you."

The five of them exchanged eye-contact with each other, particularly Ultear with Meredy and Sorano, and Dante with Natsu before they silently came to a decision.

"Alright, Dad. We're listening." Dante said seriously.

---

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Crocus, Lahar was among a large assortment of Rune Knights who had worked to establish a perimeter around the city as he used a lacrima to communicate with Doranbolt, who was currently away from the city.

"It seems that Lady Kurenai's intuition was correct. Dragons are attacking the city, not demons." Lahar informed. "I didn't want to believe it, not when she was taking the word of Crime Sorciere, known criminals."

"But given that the royal family had the Eclipse Gate… I guess anything was possible." Doranbolt said. "I should be arriving at the prison at any moment."

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I am not comfortable at all with this." Lahar stated.

"Neither am I, but I don't think we have much of a choice." Doranbolt replied. "Given that the fate of humanity may be at stake, risking one criminal escaping and running free is a small price to pay."

"The Council will learn about all of this." Lahar told him. "We've managed to form a perimeter for now, but I doubt that'll be enough to convince them not to take drastic measures of their own."

"You don't have to tell me. I just arrived at the prison. I'll be back soon with help." Doranbolt said before cutting off, leaving Lahar alone as he not only saw the dragons rampaging throughout the city, but even looking up high in the sky to see the bright flashes of lightning and explosions of water as Kurenai continued to clash with Elexion.

'For all our sakes, Lady Kurenai. I hope we're making the right decision.'

---

Doranbolt had just arrived at the facility that served as a prison under the Magic Council's jurisdiction and was already making his way through the hallways, quickly meeting up with a lizardman guard.

"Oh… Mr. Doranbolt…!" The guard quickly stood up, but Doranbolt just kept on walking at a quick pace, prompting the guard to catch up with him. "I've been expecting you, sir…!"

"You've told no one about this, right?" Doranbolt asked, still not stopping.

"Of course not." The guard confirmed.

"Prisoner one-zero-zero-nine-seven-seven is this way, correct?" Doranbolt asked for confirmation.

"Yes, sir. But we really don't have the proper authorization to be here right now." The guard told him.

"This is a dire situation! We literally don't have time to go through all the red tape. I'll take full responsibility." Doranbolt said with finality, leaving no room for argument.

"But sir, there are certain rules that need to be…" When the guard tried to grab Doranbolt's shoulder, the man punched the guard in the stomach to knock the wind out of him. "What… what are you…?"

"I'm sorry." Doranbolt said sincerely as the guard fell unconscious before he was set down on the ground and the man resumed his walk.

The Rune Knight soon came to his destination, a cell at the end of the hall with the number 100977 engraved on the top of the barred door. Inside the cell was a single man who sat on the ground, his body covered in shadows, but Doranbolt knew he was in there.

"We have a situation." Doranbolt told him. "I'd explain it to you, but given your abilities… I think you already know."

The prisoner inside gave something of a humorous scoff. "Yeah… and it looks like shit's really hit the fan for you guys, huh?"

---

Crocus

Future Legion continued to ride atop of Motherglare as he observed the ongoing battles with the wizards struggling against the dragons in the city below.

"The humans may hold their own for a time, but ultimately they will exhaust themselves and fall prey to our dragons." The entity began to monologue. "However, ten out of our originally planned ten thousand was an unfortunate halt to our initial plan. No matter, we can compensate. Three of Sparda's kin dwell within this city, and two other powerful demons along with them. Once they are weakened from their battles, we'll consume their power and gain even more! We'll have Dante's power twice over!" Future Legion clenched his fist in anticipation. "And Vergil… the fool. We only feigned weakness in our initial encounter with him, because we needed his resources to see that the Eclipse Gate would open and we would have our dragon army. But we can just as easily turn the dragons against him as well, weakening him to the point where we can consume and absorb his power as well."

Flashes of light erupted high in the sky, drawing Future Legion's attention to see Kurenai, in her true demonic form, still clashing against Elexion. The Thunder Dragon King flew high above Kurenai and flexed his wings to rain down countless bolts of electricity toward her from those very wings. However, Kurenai quickly waved her trident to generate a large quantity of water to form an enormous sphere over her body to shield her from the lightning, resulting in an explosion of steam that evaporated most of the water. Kurenai then shot out of the steam at supersonic speeds to thrust her trident into Elexion's stomach, which gave enough force to send the malevolent creature flying even higher up into the air.

"The fact that our Dragon Supremacy spell could not work on Elexion is also concerning. But we can resolve that issue as well." Future Legion continued. "There is little doubt that the battle between Kurenai and Elexion will exhaust them both. We'll be the ones to finish her off and consume her power as well. The power of one who could fight alongside the likes of Sparda would truly make us nigh unstoppable! That should be more than enough power for our spell to work on Elexion and control him too. With the Thunder Dragon King and the other nine dragons under our control, as well as the knowledge of when Abigail and Argosax will emerge in the near future, we'll overwhelm them and consume their power too! Two Demon Kings…! That should be more than enough to bridge the gap between us and Acnologia! If we are fortunate, our Dragon Supremacy spell could allow us to control him as well! With the Dragon Butcher on our leash, nothing will stop us from slaying Mundus and taking our rightful place atop the throne, as the new and eternal Demon Emperor!"

"Hey, word of advice!"

Turning around slightly, Future Legion felt a punch strike him dead in the face, one that had enough force to send him rolling across Motherglare's back and towards the end of his tail before flipping to land on his feet. The one who struck him was none other than Bruni, who held the handle of his Prometheus weapon as the flames that came from it had taken the form of a large hawk for him to ride on.

"Don't monologue. It's annoying and it spoils the surprises." Bruni told him.

Future Legion wiped his face slightly as he stood up fully to address his newly arrived adversary. "The Wizard Saint, Bruni. You have no demonic power, so there is nothing for us to feed on and absorb. Motherglare, remove this eyesore."

The large and armored dragon changed its flight path to face the flaming hawk that Bruni rode on and opened his mouth to unleash a breath attack that resembled a white beam of energy, which seemed to engulf the fire hawk and extinguish it.

*PIERCE!*

Future Legion's eyes widened as he looked in front of him in clear shock to see Bruni, who had somehow appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye, the flaming sword of Promethus running through his chest, with dark shadows oozing out in the openings.

"Huh, no blood. Guess you really aren't human." Bruni noted before looking to see the shocked look on his enemy's face. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was that attack meant for me?" He smiled mockingly.

Scowling, Future Legion thrusted his right hand, which glowed white as he prepared to unleash a beam of white light onto him, but Bruni vanished just as the beam was fired, and re-appeared behind Future Legion. The entity quickly turned around as his left hand was coated in shadows to take the form of a demonic claw, which he attempted to slash at him, only for a hand of flames to emerge from the Prometheus handle to catch and overwhelm the shadowy-claw, as well as trap Future Legion's hand.

"Don't worry, there's still more!" Bruni pulled back his free hand and dealt multiple rapid punches, moving at incredible speeds that his arm was like a blur and all landing solid hits on Future Legion's chest.

However, after the tenth hit, Future Legion's body had changed into shadows to escape Bruni's grasp and gather some distance as he moved closer to Motherglare's head. "Shake him off!"

"Aw, trying to get rid of me already?" Bruni had already appeared in front of him, Prometheus held back as the flames took the form of a katana. "But we just met!" Quickly dashing past him, Future Legion felt multiple flaming slashes across his body before he was engulfed in a fiery explosion. "Let's get to know each other a bit more, shall we?"

Turning around Bruni saw the smoke disappear to reveal Future Legion's form. His upper clothes had all but burnt away, leaving only the black-skinned chest with glowing white dragon scales on his left arm and on the left side of his body, with the white Devil Slayer emblem on his right arm still glowing.

"Yep. Definitely not human." Bruni noted. "If you were a normal person, I'd probably have killed you at least four times over already. This might actually be fun."

"What is this…?" Future Legion voiced his confusion aloud. "We sense no internal magic power from you… and yet… your speed and strength are well beyond that of a normal human. Even with the mastery of your weapon, it shouldn't grant you such physical prowess. So tell us… how are you so strong? Why is it that you have strength that's comparable to that of a Dragon Slayer?!"

"You could say, it was a gift from my bro." Bruni teased, causing Future Legion to growl.

'I didn't tell Natsu everything about my meeting with Igneel, mostly because I didn't wanna make a big deal out of it.' Bruni thought. 'He told me to protect the kid if I ever saw him, but since I was from a world where magic was finite, I didn't have any internal magic power. And that meant my body couldn't handle any Dragon Slayer magic that he would want to teach me. But that didn't mean he couldn't do anything for me. He called it 'pseudo dragonfication' or whatever. But basically, we forged a pact that increased my prowess and senses to be equal to that of a Dragon Slayer, just without all the flashy magic. I call it the Dragon Pact! Thanks to that, my master swordsmanship, as well as Prometheus, I became a Wizard Saint. When I found out that Natsu was in the Fairy Tail guild, I kept an eye on him from a distance. Didn't wanna get his hopes up about his dragon daddy, but here we are now.'

"You are an anomaly, and a potential threat to our plans." Future Legion declared as a shadow appeared on his left with a handle slowly sticking out. Grasping it, Future Legion had drawn the Rebellion that he stole from his timeline's Dante after slaying him. His right hand also had a black icy mist form around it. "And because of that… you must die, here and now."

"Bring it on, freakshow." Bruni waved Prometheus around, flashing the flames that took the form of a large, spiked whip. "Show me a good time."

---

"Iron Dragon Roar!"

"Lightning Dragon Heavenward Halberd!"

Gajeel's breath attack was shot alongside Laxus' electric halberd as both struck Atlas Flame in the face, causing the flaming dragon to stagger slightly, a wince clearly being seen on his face.

"We're getting to him! So, let's keep pushing!" Gajeel stated as he ran forward.

"Don't go rushing in, idiot!" Laxus tried to pull him back, but Atlas Flame was already on the attack.

"Your power is impressive, but it pales in comparison to my own hellfire!" A large fireball appeared in the open mouth of the flaming dragon as he prepared his own breath attack.

"Incoming! Get out of the way, everyone!" Laxus warned the rest of Fairy Tail that stood behind him and his fellow Dragon Slayer, prompting all of them to run and find some cover in the alleyways between the buildings around them.

"I'll nullify it with my Enchantments!" Freed was already in front of his leader and comrade, using his sword to quickly erect a barrier of runes.

"Let me help!" Levy used her Solid Script magic to help create a barrier of steel, which was literally made of multiple stacks of steel that were in the shape of the word 'STEEL'! The barrier was further enforced by Freed's enchantments just as Atlas Flame unleashed his breath attack.

The blazing inferno struck the shield, which held for only a few seconds before it all blew apart in a firey explosion, the shockwave blasting Laxus, Freed, Gajeel, and Levy all backwards, along with a few of their friends.

"That thing blew through Freed and Levy's spell like it was nothing!" Bickslow exclaimed as he landed flat on his back.

"We can't give up!" Romeo tried to rally everyone together.

"Try and focus your attacks on the ground underneath it!" Gray told everybody. "Juvia and I can hit it with a Unison Raid!"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Juvia agreed. "We may not be Dragon Slayers, but our water and ice should still do some damage to its fire-body."

"You heard em! Go for the ground at its feet!" Macao ordered just as he formed a large purple fire ball over his head and threw it forward, which Romeo followed through with a similar attack as he created a green fire construct in the shape of a spiked ball. Wakaba and Laki added to it with their respective attacks of smoke and wood.

At the same time; Evergreen, Bickslow, Elfman, Alzack, Bisca, Jet, and Droy appeared behind Atlas Flame. Elfman had transformed into his Werebear Take-Over and brought his fists to the ground just as Jet had ran up a building before jumping off and coming down with his foot sticking out to smash into the ground, their combined efforts helped to create a tremor in the direction of Atlas Flame's behind just as Evergreen, Bickslow, Bisca, Alzack, and Droy used their respective long ranged attacks on that same spot where the tremor hit at the back of Atlas Flame's rear feet.

The combined attack from the wizards, plus Atlas Flame's own weight, caused the street to collapse, and forced the flaming dragon to fall into the sewer below. The second his flaming feet touched the sewer water, it quickly evaporated to create a cloud of steam with the burning dragon being thigh-deep in the ground and appeared to be stuck.

"Let's hit him now, Juvia!" Gray said.

"Ready when you are!" She agreed as they quickly grasped each other's hands and combined their respective magics, creating a vortex of water and ice around the pair, which quickly condensed together into a single and powerful spell at their joined hands.

"Ice-Make: Geyser!"

"Water Nebula!"

Thrusting their hands forward to unleash the broadest attack that they could, a combined double strike that twirled ice and water together was sent straight for the stuck Atlas Flame. It landed with little issue and created a massive explosion of steam that covered most of the area.

"Alright! Direct hit!" Gray grinned.

"No, wait…" Juvia stopped him from celebrating as they saw the steam clear, revealing that Atlas Flame was still standing.

"It didn't do anything?!" Gray looked in disbelief.

"Not a single one of its flames were extinguished…!" Juvia was more than a little nervous.

"You believe that since water and ice are the natural opposites of fire that you would have the advantage." Atlas Flame spoke specifically to the pair. "That along with your efforts to trap me aren't bad strategies, all things considered." He granted as he climbed his way out of the hole and back to the surface. "But my hellfire burns away all other elements, water and ice included. Try as you wish, normal humans cannot defeat me!"

"Then how about a couple of Dragon Slayers instead, ya hothead?!" Gajeel called out as he and Laxus, both engulfed by lightning as the latter used his Lightning Body to carry the pair directly above the flaming dragon.

"You're in for the shock of your life!" Laxus added as they both unleashed their respective breath attacks towards the back of Atlas Flame.

"Enough!" The fire around Atlas Flame's began to twist and spin, taking the form of a violent fiery tornado that exploded upward to blast and engulf both Dragon Slayers, as well as sweep up all their friends as they too were pulled up in the flaming vortex before being sent falling and crashing to the ground below and directly in front of the flaming dragon.

"Your kind may be physically inferior to my own. You know this, and yet you still chose to stand against me. I commend your courage." Atlas Flame said to the downed Fairy Tail members as they tried to pick themselves back up. "Because of that, I will grant you all a warrior's death!"

Once more, Atlas Flame unleashed his own breath attack onto the seemingly defeated guild members…

Only for a certain individual to come falling down from the sky and land directly in front of the blazing inferno to take it head on, creating a large and fiery explosion. Atlas Flame then looked in confusion to see all the flames from that attack shrinking and condensing into a single point.

That point being the mouth of one particular young man as he inhaled all the flames with little issue. They were all gone in a manner of seconds as the Dragon Slayer wiped his mouth.

"Thanks for the snack, now I got a fire in my belly!" Natsu grinned.

"Natsu!" Romeo smiled joyously and was already crying in relief.

"Geeze, talk about dramatic timing." Gray cracked as the smiling Juvia pulled himself up, but he was still glad to see him.

"You…?" Atlas Flame looked towards the glaring Natsu. "You consume my flames…?"

However, the fiery beast didn't get much chance to dwell on it as a large cluster of pink crystal was shot up from the ground in front of him, shooting up directly into Atlas Flame's face, completely covering it in said crystals right before it all exploded, which caused Atlas Flame to stagger back slightly, backing into the large hole in the street that he was previously in, before stumbling and falling back into it.

"Huh, a dragon made out of fire." Dante said as he carried Crystalbane over his shoulder, having claimed it for himself since the now-deceased Moloch had no use for it. "Just when I think I've seen everything, something like this happens."

"Dante's here too!" Levy said with relief of her own.

"And look at that new sword he's packing! Talk about manly!" Elfman grinned.

"You guys need to get going." Natsu told all his guildmates behind him as he and Dante both stood together. "Dante and I got this one."

"Hold on, we can help you!" Macao tried to tell them.

"No, do as they say." A certain young and female voice reached to all of them via telepathy.

"Hang on… I know that voice…" Wakaba recognized it just like everyone else.

"Is that the First Master?" Juvia asked.

---

"Yes, it is." Mavis herself confirmed as hers and Sparda's spirits both appeared in the middle of the central base where the guildmasters, Hibiki and Warren all were. "Daddy and I are connecting to everyone else via Warren and Hibiki's now shared Telepathy and Archive to better coordinate the battles."

"And we have a plan in place to turn this battle around, but you must leave Atlas Flame to Natsu and Dante." Sparda told them.

'I'm actually hearing the voice of Fairy Tail's first master and the Dark Knight in my head.' Hibiki thought to himself before smiling. 'Here I thought this guild couldn't get any more unorthodox.'

"We are sending you all the coordinates of the best place for you all to be." Sparda told them. "Some of you will be meeting up with others to help fight off the other dragons, others will be preparing for a potential attack that could easily turn the tide of his battle back in the enemy's favor." He glanced up to the sky to see Motherglare still flying with an explosion that mixed fire and shadows on its back.

"If this battle is to be won, you must follow our directions to the letter!" Mavis told them sternly.

---

For all the present members of Fairy Tail, a magic loading bar appeared above all their heads as the coordinates for their respective locations were all uploaded directly into their minds.

"Everyone else get that?" Jet asked.

"Yeah, I got it." Droy confirmed.

"So, get going. You heard my old man. Natsu and I can handle this hothead." Dante said as he and Natsu still faced against Atlas Flame as he pushed himself up from the hole he was in.

Everyone in Fairy Tail looked towards each other with knowing expressions before understanding what they needed to do.

"Hey Natsu." Laxus spoke to him with a slight smile. "You'd better not lose this."

"Yeah, a Fire Dragon Slayer losing to a fire dragon?" Gajeel grinned.

"You know we'd never let you live that one down." Gray added with a smirk of his own.

Natsu turned back with a grin. "I wouldn't give you guys the satisfaction. Now get the hell outta here."

With that, all their friends ran from the area, leaving the Son of Igneel and Son of Sparda to face against Atlas Flame alone as both had serious expressions form on their faces.

"You ready, Natsu?" Dante asked as he held Crystalbane tightly.

"Born ready." The Salamander replied as he cracked his knuckles.

---

"Are we truly connected to everyone in Crocus now?" Sparda asked.

"Eh… Y-yes, sir." Hibiki confirmed. "All the guild wizards are now linked together through the conjoined Telepathy and Archive spell."

"Good, I wish to address the troops."

It all focused on the spirit of the Dark Knight as he assumed his demonic form. Taking a brief moment to close his eyes, they opened as he spoke.

"Can you all hear me?!" Sparda called out as every single guild wizard in Crocus heard his words. "The time has come to show the world what you can do! I speak not just to every wizard in this city, but the Dragon Slayers currently fighting! There are eight of you now, and nine dragons currently rampaging in the city! You can do this!"

Throughout Crocus, Gajeel, Wendy, Laxus, Sting, Rogue, and Sapphire, all from their respective spots heard these words. Gajeel, Laxus, Sting, and Sapphire all smirked, while Wendy and Rogue had serious expressions on their faces.

"I've seen what every single one of you can do! Follow our instructions, trust in those around you and in yourselves, and fight with everything that you have! This is what you have all trained for! Everything has led up to this! So do what your titles suggests, and strike these dragons down!"

"Wow… the old man has a way of words, huh?" Goldmine commented with an impressed smile.

"Lady Kurenai and Gildarts will be facing dragons on their own." Makarov commented. "But knowing those two, they'll be just fine."

"We'll make sure the Dragon Slayers will have all the support they need, even those among the demonic variety." Mavis said with a smile.

"And you can count on us to make sure all our little guild wizards get the orders they need." Bob said flirtatiously.

"Go and send those overgrown lizards back to the stone age!" Ooba ordered as she spun her finger. "I'll spin you all if you don't!"

"Uh… Sparda, sir…" Warren got his attention. "I think your math might be off. You said there were eight Dragon Slayers, but there's only seven in the city."

Sparda smiled knowingly. "Don't worry. I can sense the last one has just arrived."

---

Doranbolt collapsed on his hands and knees on the outskirts of the city, drenched in sweat as he had to use is Direct Line to transport all the way to the Magic Council's prison and all the way back to Crocus as quickly as he could, pushing his magic beyond its normal limits, especially as he had a passenger with him.

"I appreciate you going through the trouble." Lahar said sincerely.

"It's okay… he's here with us now." Doranbolt said after taking a minute to catch his breath.

Lahar then looked to whom his comrade had brought with him. "Dragons are attacking the city."

"You don't say? I already heard." The man replied.

"Please…!" Doranbolt begged. "We need your power… so will you help us… Cobra?"

The Poison Dragon Slayer who was once a member of the Oracion Seis turned to them with a genuine smile. "Sure, I'll lend a hand. Oh, by the way. My name isn't Cobra. Call me Erik."

Done.

So, this chapter seemed kinda all over the place, but given that I was working with so many characters, it does seem that way. But I tried my best to keep it well organized as well as establish what needed to be done…

Though Lucy and Yukino were able to close the Eclipse Gate, ten dragons have already passed through, and Lucy is too exhausted to keep going right now.

We have all the canon dragons from the original series with Atlas Flame, Motherglare, Zirconis, Scissor Runner, Levia, Agate (Rock Dragon), and Voidar (Dark Dragon), we also have the Thunder Dragon King Elexion, and two original dragons named Ionar and Jades, based loosely off the Blue Eyes White Dragon and Red Eyes Black Dragon respectively from the Yu-Gi-Oh series. You can expect to learn more about their own magical abilities and powers in later chapters as the Dragon Slayers and their allies clash with them.

Kurenai is currently squaring off against the Thunder Dragon King in the sky, revealing her true Demon Form and showing a taste of her incredible power and there is still plenty more to come.

You can also find a picture of her true demon form on my DeviantArt profile.

The combined group of Erza, Lisanna, Nero, Jellal, Wendy, Carla, Modeus, Kagura, Trish, Lucia, Sheeree, and Arcadios are at the Eclipse Gate, fighting Vergil, Zirconis, and Levia, while also protecting Yukino as she and Hisui work to try and destroy the Eclipse Gate while Kyrie protects the weakened Lucy.

Natsu and Dante are about to battle against Atlas Flame, following a plan that Sparda laid out for them.

The rest of Crime Soricere has joined the guilds' efforts in repelling the other dragons scattered throughout the city while Mavis and Sparda both work to coordinate everyone's efforts and will soon be joined by Cobra, now going by his true name of Erik.

And Bruni is currently fighting Future Legion, showing more of what he can do, such as having the physical prowess of a Dragon Slayer himself, just without all the flashy magic.

These next few chapters are going to be intense as everyone gives this fight everything they have to push back against the draconic horde and the two masterminds responsible for orchestrating it now, and I can't wait for you all to see what I have in store.

Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.