"We're dark mages!" - Talking

'We're dark mages!' - Thinking

"We're dark mages!" - Communication via Lacrima / Telepathy

"WE'RE DARK MAGES!" - Screaming

"Fairy Law!" - Spells

[ Here / Now ] - Place / Time

Chapter 8: The end of the Festival of Shadows

[Magnolia/ 15th October X784]

Throughout the city, after the grueling fights they had been forced to participate in, many of Fairy Tail's wizards were finally waking up, despite their injuries and exhaustion. Many of them had been defeated in Fried's forced clashes, but some had instead been defeated by the Thunder God Tribe themselves once their numbers had dropped sufficiently.

With a groan of pain, Mikuni stood up despite the pain in his entire body "Damn...I never thought he was that strong."

"Mikuni, are you okay?"

Looking in the direction of the voice, Mikuni saw Tono staggering towards him and the bald boy could only glare at him "You have a lot of nerve to that me after you defeated me a little while ago...did you have to hit me so hard?"

The little bespectacled boy scratched his head nervously "Yeah...sorry about that, but I was so taken aback that I couldn't stop myself."

Mikuni rolled his eyes before sighing "Well...I can't really blame you...with Fried's traps and Laxus' threats we were all on edge. Who did you lose against?"

"Evergreen..." sighed Tono "She defeated me with a single attack using her gold dust."

"At least you weren't petrified...before I saw some of our comrades reduced to stone statues, but someone must have defeated Evergreen because they are back to normal." the two wizards turned to the third comer and relaxed upon seeing Joey walking towards them with a particularly swollen cheek and several missing teeth "Has anyone seen Wan? He almost broke my jaw before!"

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen him around." said Tono while shacking his head, before noticing someone down the street. Squinting his for a better look, he could only tell that it was someone wearing all-black armor "Who is that person?"

Mikuni and Joey turned in the same direction and could not recognize the stranger who was advancing towards them, however with each step he took, a strong feeling of unease became more and more oppressive. It was as if a bloodthirsty beast was about to pounce on them, and none of them had ever experienced anything like that on their skins; not even when Mirajane was still known as "The Demon" had they ever felt so much darkness coming from one person alone.

That strong pressure kept them from moving until the stranger was now in front of them and he tilted his head slightly to look at them "Where's Titania?"

"T-Titania...?!" whispered Tono "W-What do you want from Erza?"

The next instant, the young wizard vomited a large amount of blood when he found a broadsword stuck in his chest. Without any difficulty, the man in armor lifted him off the ground and threw him across the street before looking at the other two wizards "Where's Titania? Back at your guild?"

"Y-Y-You killed him!" shouted Joey before jumping at him "How dare you!?"

A vertical slash, so fast as to be imperceptible, perfectly cut the muscular wizard in half, whose two halves fell to the sides of his killer, unperturbed by what had just happened. This time Siegmund did not ask for Erza's location again and decapitated Mikuni without even looking at him, letting his headless body fall to the ground, shedding a lot of blood on the street.

In the last few minutes he had sensed several sources of magical power around the city and could recognize Naco and Asteria among them, so he had avoided those areas knowing that he would find no opponents. The church was most likely where Laxus was hiding, but Siegmund, while knowing that Makarov's grandson would give him a worthy battle, wanted to first end his confrontation with Erza and then kill Mystogan for interrupting him.

Looking up, he could distinctly see the tip of the Fairy Tail building sticking out from behind some buildings at the bottom of the street, and he was sure Erza was there.

Clutching Tyrfing tightly, Siegmund resumed his advance down the road, leaving a trail of blood as he passed and the lifeless bodies of three fairies.

On the other side of town, Mystogan had just finished planting his magic staves on the ground forming the corners of a pentagon, while beside him, Shô, Simon, Millianna and Wally watched him with trepidation. After a brief glance at his work, Mystogan nodded before looking at the others "I'm done with the preparations. Simon, warn everyone else about what's going to happen and what to do in case I can't deal with all the Lacrima."

Simon nodded before bringing two fingers to his left temple while Mystogan placed a hand on his right shoulder "Everyone, can you hear me?!" throughout Magnolia, the still unconscious wizards began to awaken, hearing his voice in their heads "This is an emergency for all Fairy Tail mages! Please look up to the sky, there are about three hundred Lacrima created by Laxus, ready to destroy the city!"

"That voice...is that you Simon? Does that mean that Erza is back?"

"Yes, it's me Gray, now listen up! I am currently with Mystogan and he is about to use his magic on the Lacrima but he may not be able to deal with all of them! All mages capable of fighting must attack and destroy the remaining Lacrima!"

"Wait a moment Simon!" everyone could hear the agitation in Erza's voice "Those Lacrima are protected by Organic Link Magic! If you destroy them you will be hit by the lightning inside them!"

"My magic should be able to protect me and others in regards to the Lacrima I will destroy." added Mystogan, sounding deadly serious "However, the power contained in those Lacrima is enormous, so if you are too wounded or weak, do not attack them otherwise you risk dying. For all the others, you'll know right away when I'm using my magic, so get ready to destroy the remaining ones! Now we have just under a minute left!"

Once the magic stopped, Mystogan approached one of the magic staves, while the other four wizards got close to the others "I will need your help to be able to influence as many Lacrima as possible. You have to get your hands on the staves and bring your magical power into them."

Simon and the others nodded before doing as requested and immediately could feel their magical power being absorbed by Mystogan's staves, as the hooded wizard made quick movements with his hands before closing them with a loud clap "Five Layered Magic Circle: Jaw of the Abyss!"

Five magical circles appeared above the staves before a thick black mist escaped from the topmost one and, after a few seconds, a demonic growl was heard in the air before a monstrous, gigantic, all-black worm emerged from the mist, opening its jaws bristling with dozens of sharp teeth. Releasing a high pitched demonic scream, the huge creature began to inhale all the surrounding air within itself and, under the surprised and terrified eyes of Simon and the others, most of the Lacrima in the sky began to float towards the worm before they were suck inside its mouth. At least two hundred Lacrima were swallowed by the huge creature before it closed its jaws and disappeared inside the mist, completely nullifying the magic, while all those remaining were promptly destroyed by the wizards of Fairy Tail scattered around the city.

As expected, those who had destroyed them were immediately struck by Laxus' magic, falling to the ground with no energy left, while Simon and the others fell to their knees having used much of their magical power to power Mystogan's spell.

With a trembling hand, Simon put two fingers to his temple "Is everyone...all right?"

"Y-Yeah...somehow..."

"Honestly...you people can be so reckless..." said Erza, having destroyed at least twenty Lacrima despite her wounds.

"You're not exactly...one to talk..."

"All that's left is to stop Laxus..."

"Natsu is fighting him right now." explained Simon with a tired smile "It's all in his hands."

"Flame Brain? I don't know whether to be worried or relieved..."

"Maybe both?"

"We have to believe in him, we always believe in ourselves and our guildmates."

"Yeah, we really are...quite some guild, aren't we...?"

"We'd be even better if Laxus wasn't at the rebellious age..."

Sighing, Simon looked towards the church as Mystogan helped Millianna to her feet "You have to win Natsu, you are the only one who can beat Laxus now."

Inside the Kardia Cathedral, Laxus was looking in shock at the various updates provided by Fried's runes, and what he read simply left him speechless: 'Thunder Palace – Out of Order', which could indicate only one thing, and that was that Mystogan and the others had destroyed all the Lacrima. A few moments later, a list appeared showing the number of Lacrima destroyed by each wizard.

"Do you really think this guild needs changes? We are all part of the same group." said Natsu looking at his opponent with a calm face "How can a guy, who doesn't even try to be part of the group, be the master of the guild, Laxus?"

Laxus began to tremble more and more until he screamed with all his fury, releasing an enormous amount of magical power that surprised Natsu, forcing him to raise his arms to protect himself from the shock wave released by Makarov's grandson. With electricity dancing around his body, Laxus shot a look of pure hatred at Natsu.

"Through force!"

"Give it up already, Laxus! Fairy Tail isn't going to belong to you!"

"Oh I know...yes you're right...I should never have bothered trying to bargain..." Laxus released another wave of magical power, causing the entire church to tremble "I should have just relied on this power of mine from the very beginning! This ultimate power is the true core of my identity!"

Igniting his lest hand, Natsu ran towards his opponent "Then I guess if I crush that power you'll finally give this up Laxus! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" and seeing that Laxus didn't move, Natsu managed to punch him in the face, but was shocked when the lightning wizard didn't seem to take damage from his attack, on the contrary he grinned with amusement.

"You're only the first...ahahah!" Laxus then blasted Natsu away with a burst of lightning from his right hand "Come and try me, Fairy Tail! I'll take everything you throw at me!"

From then on, Laxus began to fight seriously against Natsu, continuing to hit him without giving the dragon slayer respite and the pink-haired wizard was unable to react even once, suffering attack after attack, until Laxus hit him with a wave of lightning, electrocuting him and knocking him to the ground, while Makarov's grandson stood atop a destroyed column.

"Nhh...you are really...tough..." said Natsu with a small grin on his face.

"And you haven't seen anything yet, Natsu. Now you will disappear forever by my hand!" laughed Laxus before raising his right arm.

"Enough of this!" both wizards turned in surprise to the entrance of the church, where they saw Mirajane with a desperate expression on her face "Stop Laxus! This game has gone on too long! Don't you realize how much damage you are doing?! Your grandfather is suffering because of you!"

"Well well who do we have here...Mirajane, the former S-class mage!" laughed Laxus with lighting wrapping around his body "Wait your turn, first I'll kill this insect and then I'll take care of you! After that I will go to the old man so he will never suffer again! Ahahahah!"

Mirajane could fell the tears running down her face "Laxus...how could you...?"

"Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder...plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!" Laxus intoned as his power grew more and more "Die Natsu! Raging Bolt!"

'Die...? Natsu's going to die...?' thought Mirajane as time seemed to slow down and the face of a young white-haired girl, with the face stained with blood, appeared in her mind.

Mira-nee...

"Aaah...aaaaahhh...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" in a devastating blast of magical power that completely destroyed the church entrance, Mirajane was completely enveloped in a dark aura and Laxus immediately felt an immense spike of magical power before his spell struck Natsu, causing a second explosion. Despite the huge column of gray smoke rising from the smoking crater, Laxus jumped off the column before turning to the altar at the back of the church.

Grinning in satisfaction, Laxus let more electrical discharges dance around his body "I see that today is a constant surprise...I did not think I would ever see that form again, Mirajane."

Standing tall, in an almost demonic appearance, complete with a serpent tail and large bat-like wings, Mirajane the Demon gently laid Natsu on the ground before glaring at Laxus with hatred.

"Die."

"Ah, now we are talking!"

Laxus did not even have time to prepare to attack that Mira was on him and began to fight him hand-to-hand, without being able to land a hit, even if not even her opponent was able to hurt her. Cloaked in electricity, Laxus flew up with Mira behind him and the two danced in the air creating multiple shock waves with their shots until they were several meters apart, when Laxus aimed both hands with Mirajane and fired dozens of electric orbs, however the Take Over sorceress opened her right hand creating a black magic circle.

"Darkness Stream!"

Several large tendrils with hand-like appendages burst out of her magic circle, intercepting Laxus' attacks and even attempting to immobilize him but the lightning wizard avoided them all before quickly approaching Mirajane. Resuming hand-to-hand combat with even more ferocity, Laxus was finally able to strike Mirajane with a sudden surge of electricity, but this prevented him from seeing Natsu jump behind him and hit him with a giant ball of flames that hurled him towards the altar at the back of the church. Already recovered from the attack, Mirajane immediately accumulated magical power in her hands creating a sphere of dark energy, from which she sent a powerful energy beam that hit Laxus causing a strong explosion.

"Oi Mira! Not that I'm not happy to see you in action again, but I'll take care of Laxus!"

Mirajane sent him a light glare "Now is not the time Natsu! Hit him again, we have to defeat him quickly and get back to the master right away!"

Natsu didn't seem to understand why she wanted to return so urgently to Makarov, but mindful of all the beating suffered in his youth by Mirajane's hand, the dragon slayer did as requested and inhaled deeply, swelling his chest, while Mirajane created a sphere of darkness larger than the previous one.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

"Evil Explosion!"

The two attacks of darkness and flames hit Laxus, who was kneeling on the ground, causing a violent explosion that shook the church, but after a few seconds, from the cloud of smoke born from their attacks, a laugh was heard, surprising both of them.

"For an alleged dragon slayer and a demon feared throughout the guild...you are really weak." said Laxus standing tall with very few wounds on his body, having only lost his shirt.

'How is it possible?! Natsu has a magic capable of killing dragons and I am an S-class mage!' thought Mirajane with shocked eyes 'Is it possible that I'm so out of shape that I can't even weaken him?'

"It seems to me that you are somewhat confused Mirajane, yet there is nothing difficult to understand. You are weak, and I am strong." Laxus mocked her by starting to release even more magical power "The old man's a pain in the ass with his lectures, so I've been keeping it hidden all this time..." his canines lengthened slightly, becoming sharper "...but I guess I can let you guys see, just this once."

"N-No..." Natsu felt a cold shiver down his spine sensing a magical power too similar to his and Gajeel's.

"Lightning Dragon's...!"

"You're a dragon slayer as well, Laxus?!"

"...ROAR!"

A cone of lightning of immense power was fired from Laxus' mouth and neither Natsu nor Mirajane had time to defend themselves before being hit by the attack that created a huge furrow in the floor of the church and a large amount of smoke and dust. Standing still to admire the result of his attack, Laxus raised an eyebrow when he saw Natsu and Mirajane still alive, albeit badly injured and with the latter returning to her human form.

"The hell? You two are still alive?" growled Laxus taking a step toward them "Hurry up and die...! You two, Erza, Mystogan, the old man, everyone...you can all just go to hell!" and releasing another wave of magical power, he cracked the ground beneath him and was enveloped in a dense, blinding aura.

"T-This magical power...!"

"This feeling...it's the old man's...!"

A sphere of light materialized in Laxus' hands as the blond mage prepared to use Fairy Law, his most powerful magic with which he would defeat everyone and take his place as Fairy Tail's new guild master. In front of him, Mirajane and Natsu tried to get up but Laxus' latest attack had paralyzed them and their bodies refused to move, while their words seemed not to reach Makarov's grandson.

"Stop! Laxus!"

Looking to the side, they were surprised to see Levy leaning against a column of the church.

"Levy!"

"What are you doing here? It's dangerous!"

"The master is..." she said looking at Laxus, who was still focused on his spell "Your own grandfather...is on death's door! So please, just stop this and go see him!"

Natsu looked at her in shock while Mirajane lowered her gaze, having already guessed it when she administered the medicine to him. Normally, during his seizures, Makarov recovered after a short time while this time he was unconscious and did not seem about to wake up. On the other hand, Laxus seemed to have come to his senses and was staring ahead with unfocused eyes but after a few seconds, a wicked grin formed on his lips "Well that suits me just great! Looks like my chances of becoming master just went up again!"

"How can you say...something like that?!" shouted Mirajane while standing up "He's your grandfather!"

Laxus glared at her, forcing even more magic into his spell "I don't care about him! I'm sick of always being compared and associated with him! I am myself! I am not his grandson! I am Laxus! I AM LAXUS!"

"We all know that...so what if you're the old man's grandson. Does that make you special? Different maybe?" growled Natsu, trying to stand up "Don't you get hung up over some stupid blood ties! The guild is the only family we need!"

"You understand nothing Natsu! And soon you will be nothing!" shouted Laxus with his magic that had just reached its peak "Time to die useless fairies! Fairy L-AHG!"

Mirajane, Natsu and Levy watched in confusion as Laxus remained perfectly still, his eyes wide and his body slightly shaking.

"I'd say I made it just in time." giggled Poppea with her upper-body sticking out of Laxus' chest, and her hands roaming around his heart. None of those present could see her, but she could very well see the expression of fear and discomfort on Laxus' face "Sorry to spoil your party, but that attack could cause Kaz and the others a lot of trouble...although I have no idea what it does!"

"W-What is...this...?!" hissed Laxus trying to move his body. Why was he shaking? Was he afraid of using that spell? Him? Afraid?!

"Right right...you can't see me after all, but I see you haven't lost your focus yet, so..." Poppea quickly moved her hands to Laxus head, pressing her palms against his ears "Grievous Cry."

A shrill sound comparable to a banshee's screech echoed throughout the church and Laxus and Natsu clapped their hands to their ears screaming in pain as Levy and Mirajane fell to their knees feeling dazed by that mysterious sound. Looking around, neither of them was able to identify the source even if Mirajane was convinced that it came from Laxus, who had lost control of his spell which had dispersed into particles of light

"That should be enough." said Poppea before cutting off her magic, leaving a completely stunned Laxus on his knees, before rising into the air to observe the possible end of the fight.

"What the hell...was that?" asked Laxus shacking his head then looking at his hands with an annoyed look, having lost the concentration and a good dose of magical power to prepare Fairy Law "Tch, it doesn't matter, I will simply prepare it again!"

"Like hell you will!" Laxus looked up and saw Natsu running towards him with his right fist engulfed in flames "I'm gonna stop you here and now!"

Realizing that he didn't have time to prepare another Fairy Law, Laxus called his lightning magic to him and intercepted Natsu, hitting him in the face, causing him to roll several meters away. However, the fire mage got to his feet almost immediately before attempting to strike his opponent again, but Makarov's grandson avoided his attacks before hitting him from above, smashing him to the ground and cracking the floor of the church.

"As if someone like you could defeat me..." growled Laxus before looking with shocked eyes at Natsu, who was trying to get up once again.

"The guild doesn't belong to you...just think about it, Laxus..."

"Shut up!" Laxus kicked him in the ribs, sending him against a column "You are a hundred years too early to lecture me! Got that!?"

Natsu stood still for a few seconds before getting up, looking at Laxus straight in the eye and this only made him even more angry "Little brat..." raising his hands, he accumulated a large amount of magical power before molding it into the shape of a halberd "I will kill you so much that nothing will remain of you!"

"Such an amount of magical power..." said Mirajane staring at him in shock "Are you actually trying to kill him!?"

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!"

With all his strength, Laxus launched his attack on Natsu who fell to his knees due to his injuries and could distinctly hear Levy's scream who closed her eyes not to see the outcome of the attack, however at the last second, a shadow appeared in front of Natsu. Staring at her with shocked eyes, Natsu could only watch as Mirajane, transformed once again, acted as a human shield, being electrocuted before being smashed behind him, bouncing on the floor before stopping, her body heavily burned.

"Mira..."

Moving her head with difficulty, Mirajane turned to him "G-Go...!"

"Why...you...?" hissed Laxus feeling that his reserves of power were now running low.

Gritting his teeth and accumulating all the magical power he was capable of, Natsu cloaked himself in scarlet flames that took the shape of a large dragon "Fire Dragon's...!"

With eyes veiled with anger and despair, Laxus launched himself at his opponent again "WHY YOU-!" only to get hit in the face by Natsu's punch.

"Iron Fist!"

A kick.

"Claw!"

Then by both hands in wide arcs.

"Wing Attack!"

A headbutt.

"Sword Horn!"

A clawed hand.

"Crushing Fang!"

Laxus could only take blow after blow as Levy, Mirajane and Poppea watched Natsu prepare for his final attack, with the first completely enraptured by Natsu's magic "That magic will shatter a dragon's scales, crush its innards and cut down its very soul..."

Mirajane could only nod "The ultimate dragon slayer technique..."

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"

Releasing all his magical power at once, Natsu rotated his arms creating a powerful torrent of flames that hit Laxus and threw him into the air, before he crashed to the ground several meters away, without moving anymore. Natsu himself stood motionless before letting go with a roar that echoed throughout the church and surroundings, as if to warn all the other Fairy Tail wizards that he had won.

"He is really strong. I'm sure Siegmund or Asteria would love to fight him." said Poppea with a small smile before flying out of the church "Now...I wonder if she and Naco are done with their battle."

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Asteria moved quickly to avoid the attack of metal shrapnel which opened a large hole in the wall of the warehouse where they were fighting, while Naco tried to attack Gajeel from behind, but the dragon slayer turned his right arm into a greatsword to attempt to decapitate him, however the wizard of Shadow Soul became pure electricity and was able to electrocute Gajeel before reforming his body a few meters away.

Despite the fact that the fatigue and the injuries accumulated during the last hours were starting to weigh on his body, Naco could not help but grin at the dragon slayer. The three had been fighting for several minutes and, despite being two against one, Gajeel was extremely resistant and could also recharge his magical power by eating metal pieces of the walls or the warehouse door, thus managing to stand up to Naco and Asteria.

The aforementioned girl wrapped herself in her golden aura before lunging at Gajeel, avoiding his sword-arm and hitting him with a kick to the temple, but the dragon slayer remained standing and created several metal poles out of his body erratically, managing to hit Asteria in the right shoulder and knock her to the ground. Before he could continue with his attack however, Gajeel sensed Naco's magical power to his right and turning in that direction, saw him hurl several balls of electricity at him, then the dragon slayer transformed his right arm again making it assume the shape of a spearhead.

"Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs!"

Dozens of green energy spears were hurled from his arm, intercepting and destroying Naco's electric orbs, but this gave Asteria the chance to stand up and place two hands near Gajeel's side.

"Petite Chariot!"

The golden blast wasn't enough to defeat Gajeel, but it hurt him, very badly. The metal scales that covered his body were destroyed in the left side of his chest and the dragon slayer was thrown against some wooden crates before getting up and trying again to hit Asteria with his roar, but he was struck by a lightning bolt from Naco. Growling at the lightning wizard, Gajeel tried to stab him with his sword-arm but when Naco avoided the attack, he tried to decapitate him by opening a large gash in the wall behind him before turning both arms into spears and hurling dozens of energy spears at the two wizards, forcing them to keep moving to avoid getting hit.

Seeing an opportunity to attack, Naco lunged forward to try and electrocute Gajeel again. The dragon slayer saw him coming and tried again to hit him with his sword-arm, while continuing to fire spears of energy towards Asteria. Naco grinned turning his body into electricity, however Gajeel grinned too before stopping his arm before he could touch the electricity.

"Water Nebula!"

Juvia's surprise attack caught Naco off guard who was hit by the huge vortex of water, hurling him against the warehouse wall and making him return to normal; Gajeel immediately took advantage of this by moving his right arm towards him "Iron Dragon's Club!" and the iron club created by his arm struck Naco in the chest causing him to vomit blood and saliva and crack several ribs before destroying the wall behind him.

Avoiding yet another spear of energy, Asteria cast a quick glance at the spot where Juvia should have been imprisoned and saw the handcuffs on the ground, cut in two in addition to the blood mage's bleeding wrists.

'Throughout the fight, he never tried to save her. I thought Gajeel just wanted to face us alone instead he distracted us with all his attacks and he also aimed at Juvia knowing he could free her despite hurting her in the process.' thought Asteria with a grin on her face "Clever, but that doesn't change anything! Jiu Leixing!"

Nine swords of electricity darted through the air hitting both of Fairy Tail's wizards causing them to scream in pain before Juvia fired several blades of water, which Asteria managed to avoid with her speed, however when she was close enough to the two, Gajeel used his roar again aiming at the ground and causing an explosion of debris and pieces of floor. While he and Juvia were unharmed from the blast, several debris hit Asteria allowing the water sorceress to hit her with a jet of water that hurled Asteria against the opposite wall of the warehouse.

Exchanging a quick glance, the two Fairy Tail wizards prepared to finish the fight, with Juvia approaching Naco before locking him inside a water bubble without giving him time to react and Naco noticing that she was not touching the water, therefore he could not even hope to electrocute her by releasing his magical power.

Meanwhile, Gajeel turned entirely to Asteria taking a deep breath "This time I won't miss! Iron Dragon's-UGH!"

Naco, Juvia and Asteria turned towards him with confused eyes and saw him completely motionless with wide eyes and a slight tremor of the body.

If they had special eyes, they would have seen Poppea sticking out of his back with her hands buried in his body at heart level and a calm smile on her lips.

"My my...it seems that it is becoming a habit to stop dragon slayers in this way." said Poppea without moving her hands, so as to keep Gajeel under her influence.

"O-Oi...t-there's something...h-here!" hissed Gajeel with trembling voice.

Juvia did not seem to understand immediately the meaning of his words but then seemed to guess something and, letting go of Naco, she pointed both hands towards Gajeel "Water Nebula!"

Poppea looked at the incoming attack with calm eyes without moving "I doubt you saw me but if you're trying to hurt me, that attack won't do anything to me." and as expected the water passed through her without ruffling even a hair. Nodding in satisfaction at her own magic, she looked back at her current victim, moving her hands a little in the air while staring at the damaged floor.

"...mh?"

Strange to say but Gajeel was gone. Was it possible that he had become invisible with that last attack?

A few coughs drew her attention to the left and, looking in that direction, she saw Gajeel spit some water as he stood up, nodding at Juvia. Blinking a couple of times, Poppea looked back at the water sorceress, who was running toward her guildmate 'Her attack was aimed at moving Gajeel away from me...she's really smart!'

"Are you okay Gajeel?"

"Yes, I don't know what happened but it was like my body was paralyzed with fear...but I don't know why." said the dragon slayer, staring at Naco while he moved toward Asteria.

"Did you see Gajeel's face?" asked Naco while trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah, he was scared of something...and I think I know what or who."

"Hello guys, glad to have arrived just in time!" both Naco and Asteria grinned as they heard Poppea's voice in their minds, while the girl's soul was levitating above their heads "I know you're having a good time and I hate being a spoilsport...but Natsu Dragneel defeated Laxus Dreyar. It is very likely that you are the only ones still fighting in the whole city."

Asteria looked at Naco with a smug grin "So much for the best lighting mage, huh?"

"Shut up." growled Naco before looking back at their opponents "Let's get it over with and get out of here."

"Ooooh...are you feeling depressed now that your erotic dream with Laxus has been ruined?" laughed his guildmate before focusing on Gajeel and Juvia while crossing her arms over her head "Buy me some time and I will destroy them!"

Having heard her, Juvia immediately stepped forward throwing two powerful jets of water that were intercepted by Naco with an imposing lightning bolt generated by his hands, while Gajeel quickly ate a piece of metal found on the ground before joining his hands which emanated a strong green light. With one last push, Juvia canceled Naco's attack before stepping aside to avoid being hit by Gajeel, while the wizard of Shadow Soul did the same, moving away from Asteria who had created a large sphere of darkness similar to a black hole.

"Altairis!"

The massive attack of dark energy was hurled forward just as Gajeel materialized a gigantic greatsword that pierced the warehouse ceiling, before bringing it down with all his might "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art! Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!"

The titanic blade made of metal crashed against Asteria's spell generating a violent shock wave that knocked Naco, Juvia and Asteria back, and after a few moments of stalemate, much to Asteria's shock, Gajeel's blade cut her magic in half, creating a gigantic gash in the ground and completely destroying the wall behind Asteria along with three other buildings. Both she and Naco just had time to throw themselves to the side to avoid the attack and when they stood up they saw the devastation caused by Gajeel, who was on his knees and was catching his breath.

"Tch...freaking dragon slayer. Such a destructive power seems almost unfair." huffed Asteria while staring at her opponents.

"Ah...guys...we may have a problem...I think..."

Both Naco and Asteria looked up confused. Neither of them could see Poppea and they could not even use the Communication Lacrima to communicate with her, in order to avoid making Gajeel and Juvia understand that there was another person there with them.

"Gajeel...destroyed my left arm..."

Both Naco and Asteria, and most likely the other Shadow Soul wizards too, widened their eyes in surprise, watching Gajeel with incredulous faces.

"Wha...?"

"How...?"

"It's his magic." said Poppea, looking at what was left of his left arm, completely missing from the shoulder down. At that moment, Levy's words she had heard earlier in the church came back to her mind.

That magic will shatter a dragon's scales, crush its innards and cut down its very soul.

"That attack he just used can damage someone's soul as well."

"Oh to hell with this. Are you okay?" asked Asteria looking above her head, confusing both Gajeel and Juvia.

"Yes, don't worry. It's just...strange. This is the first time my soul has been damaged, but I don't think there will be any permanent consequences. I will probably have a hard time moving my arm once back in my body." explained Poppea with her usual smile despite the drops of sweat that trickled down her face, even if she was a soul.

"Better not risk leaving yourself in that shape for too long." Asteria looked at Naco "Oi, we must finish quickly. How long can you go on?"

Naco shrugged "Not very much. I used a lot of magical power...maybe I still have a spell in the barrel."

"Then we are in the same boat...we need a big one. Poppy buy us some time!" nodded Asteria before looking at Gajeel and Juvia, who were ready to fight once more.

"I'll take care of them." said Poppea before flying in the middle of the Fairy Tail mages "Grievous Cry!" and just like inside the church, a banshee-like scream was heard in the air causing Gajeel and Juvia to fall to their knees, keeping the hands pressed to their ears.

"Naco! Now!" shouted Asteria bringing back her left arm with golden magical power surrounding it.

"Can't believe we are really doing this!" replied Naco while doing the same with his right arm, surrounded by lighting.

Juvia looked at them with unfocused eyes "W-What are they d-doing?!"

"Nothing...good!" Gajeel yelled, feeling their magical power grow more and more until they became one with a yellow and golden magic circle that appeared before the two wizards of Shadow Soul.

""Unison Raid!""

Completely blocked due to Poppea's attack, Gajeel and Juvia could only widen their eyes in surprise as their two opponents swung their arms forward, releasing all their power within the magic circle.

""Heavenly Thunder!""

A huge beam of stellar and electrical energy was fired from the magic circle that illuminated the entire warehouse and surroundings, blinding everyone present before hitting Gajeel and Juvia, destroying much of the warehouse and neighboring buildings before causing a violent explosion that shook the entire city.

Falling to their knees with their magical power running out, Asteria and Naco watched the result of their attack, observing the devastation caused and the smoking bodies of Gajeel and Juvia, who were still alive albeit badly injured. Exchanging a quick glance, the two Shadow Soul wizards approached their opponents and Asteria kicked in the face Gajeel, who looked at her with only one open eye "Now you know why no one should ever defy the shadows. For today you and your partner will live...but if you try to talk about our guild to Makarov, we will come back and kill you both!"

Without even waiting for an answer, she and Naco turned before walking away quickly, while Poppea was already back to her body.

"Mission complete."

"Very good, but now we have another problem." said Asher with clear agitation in his voice.

Naco groaned "What kind of problem...?"

"The kind of problem that might get too much attention: Siegmund is heading for Fairy Tail."

"Ah...shit."

"Poppea, have you returned to your body?"

"Of course! I am a little tired and my left arm is very numb but nothing serious."

"You and Kazumi reach me as quickly as possible. We have to stop Siegmund." ordered Asher "Naco, Asteria, you two wait for us outside the city."

"Fine..."

"Roger that."

"We are on our way Ash!"

"We need to hurry Kaz!" said Poppea looking at her friend before pointing at his wounds "Don't you have any bandages with you for those?"

[ Not urgent. Others may need it more. ]

"Kaz..." he looked at her with worried eyes, since she wasn't smiling as always "The mistress told you that you have to worry about yourself too."

[ I'm fine. Really. ]

She stared at him for several seconds before nodding with a smile "Okay, I trust you...but once we get out of town I'll check those wounds better, okay?"

Kazumi nodded at her with a smile.

"Now we must hurry and stop Sieg, or we will not be up to the Containment Unit!"

[Shadow Soul's Headquarters / 15th October X784]

"Containment Unit?" asked Arseille while washing her hair after a long training session "What is that?"

Not far from her, Reveeina was comfortably immersed in the huge bathtub with Aki and Sylva, while Abilene was fighting to the death with Red and Green not to be thrown into the water. The guild master looked at the newcomer with an amused smile "Exactly what you think. Within the guild there are several units that specialize in certain fields. The Containment Unit, for example, encompasses wizards who can immobilize or neutralize other mages without killing or hurting them, including other Shadow Soul mages."

"Wait...they are wizards who specialize in dealing with wizards from the same guild?" asked Aki with confused eyes "Why on earth should they be good at dealing with their comrades?"

"What is happening now in Fairy Tail is a good example." replied Reveeina with a chuckle "Laxus is decidedly strong and ambitious, while his grandfather is far too naive. Now that his grandson has rebelled, who can stop him? From what Asher told me, three wizards have pretty much wiped out everyone else. There is no one capable of facing Laxus but Makarov, blocked by simple runes, Gildarts, on a mission, and perhaps the other S-class wizards. Makarov should have prepared countermeasures to stop his grandson in case something like this happened." she then looked at Sylva "I simply created backup plans in case one of my mages decides to betray us. Our dear Sylva is currently in charge of the Espionage Unit, and Lorenzo and Acier are also part of it. As can be deduced from the name, they specialize in gathering information but, for example, Sylva is also a member of the Containment Unit."

Aki nodded at her "Interesting. What does being part of one of these groups entail?"

"Let's say that it is easier for me to understand who to assign to which mission. I sent Asteria, Naco and Siegmund to Magnolia despite their personalities because I know that Poppea, Kazumi and Asher are very good at their job and can stop them." chuckled Reveeina before shifting her gaze to Aki "You would be a great addition to the Buster Unit, which specializes in combat, while Arseille and Abilene would be great in the Assassination Unit and Containment Unit."

"How can I enter those units?" asked Arseille, trying to make herself as useful as possible and make her father proud.

"You have to pass some tests or missions that are needed to see if you are suitable for the unit, but it is not mandatory to be part of it. Many guild mages are currently out of all units." explained Sylva "You will be given an important assignment in a few days, as I am sure you will be perfect for the role."

Arseille nodded and quickly rinsing her hair, she said goodbye to the guild master and the others before leaving, so that she could already prepare for that fateful mission.

"Looks like she has every intention of passing your test, Sylva." chuckled Reveeina before looking at Abilene, who was trying to stick her nails into the floor.

"No bath! NO!"

"Mmm...maybe with that strong will, she'll be fine for the Buster Unit as well."

Aki and Sylva could only nod at her words before returning to relax, ignoring Abilene's desperate screams as she was finally thrown into the tub.

[Magnolia/ 15th October X784]

Siegmund was close, he could feel it. The Fairy Tail building was just two hundred meters away and the mage of Shadow Soul could sense the presence of Erza, Makarov and other wizards within the guild. He couldn't sense Mystogan, but it didn't matter, he'd kill that damned coward once the fight with Titania was over.

The Berserker of Shadow Soul was so focused on the building ahead, that he didn't sense a presence at the end of the alley to his left until he heard "Far Grasp." and in a blink, the surroundings changed. Now Siegmund was no longer in the middle of a street, but in a small courtyard surrounded by houses on all sides, with the only possible exit in the form of an alley on the right. Without even wondering where he was, Siegmund looked to his left, where he saw Asher with his right arm extended forward and his open hand resting on the Berserker's shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"We can't let you get to Fairy Tail. The orders of the mistresses are clear: we can fight if necessary but we cannot attract too much attention." explained Asher with a calm, yet tense voice "Your battle with Erza Scarlet has already done too much damage and I know you killed several Fairy Tail mages before you got here."

"And I'll add you to the mass of corpses too if you don't let me finish the fight with Titania." hissed Siegmund with his eyes glowing with power behind hi helmet while raising his sword to strike down Asher, only to find himself completely immobilized. Growling fiercely, Siegmund could barely look forward "Poppea..."

"I'm really really really sorry Sieg!" Poppea, while sticking out of his chest, bowed her head even knowing he couldn't see or hear her, since he had destroyed his Communication Lacrima "Mistress orders."

Behind him, Kazumi jumped off a roof holding Poppea's body close to him, and approached Siegmund after exchanging a quick look with Asher "CALM DOWN."

Immediately, Siegmund felt Kazumi's magic take effect on his body and mind, however it was not enough to quench his thirst for battle and Kazumi was forced to use his magic seven times before Siegmund made his greatsword and armor disappear; fortunately, because Kazumi had now reached his limit and his throat was hurting him a lot.

"Get off me, Poppea." growled Siegmund with her moving away before returning to her body.

"We need to retreat. Laxus has lost and Naco and Asteria have completed their mission." said Asher with Poppea and Kazumi nodding at him while Siegmund simply walked away. Once out of the alley, he glanced at the Fairy Tail building before scoffing and walking away with the other wizards behind him.

Within a few minutes, all four were out of the city, on the hills that surrounded it, and found Naco and Asteria waiting for them near a large oak tree. Seeing them arrive, Asteria looked at Asher "Are you sure this is the right place?"

The red-haired boy nodded before pulling out a small purple, spherical Lacrima, throwing it to the ground and smashing it with his foot. That Lacrima was a particular Link Lacrima, which you could buy anywhere around the kingdom in pairs; its only effect was that when one of the two Lacrima was destroyed, the other crumbled as well.

After a few seconds, at the base of the oak, two columns made entirely of bone rose and in the center of them a swirling portal opened from which Shirros emerged, looking at them all before nodding his head towards the portal "The mistress is waiting for you."

Nodding, the six wizards entered the portal, leaving Shirros in the forest. The necromancer looked at Magnolia for a moment, sensing death hovering through its streets, before shaking his head and following his guildmates.

With their departure and their mission over, the festival had finally come to an end.

[Shadow Soul's Headquarters / 15th October X784]

"Welcome back, all of you." said Reveeina with a smile on her face while sitting on her armchair with the six mages standing in front of her "Judging by your injuries, I'd say you enjoyed yourself."

"More than you know, mistress." grinned Asteria.

"Very good, but I want to hope that none of you have forgotten about the mission." replied Reveeina with a pointed look aimed at Siegmund who merely scoffed looking away. With an amused chuckle, the guild master looked at Naco "Your report please, then go get those wounds medicated."

One after another, the six mages gave their report without omitting any detail even when they repeated parts already described by someone else, such as the arrival of Laxus to the guild or the clash with Gajeel and Juvia. In about fifteen minutes, everyone was done and Asher was the last to leave the room.

After a few seconds of silence, Reveeina looked at Shirros, who had been on the sidelines the whole time "Your thoughts?"

"Gajeel and Juvia could talk, but at this point I doubt it will be of any use. Master Makarov will most likely ask all his mages about the 'mysterious intruders' who fought against them and will speak to the Magic Council about them." said the masked mage with a shrug "Although little known in certain areas, the Council certainly has something about us."

"True true...I also doubt that Laxus would have been successful in his 'rebellion' even if Poppea and the others had not been there." added Reveeina while looking at the ceiling "Now we have to see what Makarov will do but we can also ignore his decision. We need to focus on our next target." she then looked to the left where several photos of various dark wizards and guilds were posted on a small whiteboard.

Twisting a small dagger in her fingers, Reveeina threw it lazily, driving it into the center of an image depicting two kanji: six and demon.

"The Balam Alliance must understand that game time is over." grinned Reveeina staring at the six mages around the dagger "It is time for Oración Seis to leave the scene...for good!"

[Magnolia/ 16th October X784]

"Hey did you hear? It seems that this year there will be no parade..."

"What? Really? Why shouldn't they do it? It was the most anticipated event of the entire Harvest Festival!"

"Maybe that's because of what happened yesterday...I thought Fairy Tail was causing some problems, but maybe something more serious happened."

"Yep...massive damage to many buildings and some Fairy Tail wizards apparently lost their lives."

"Damn it...what the hell is going on in this town?"

While the townspeople were talking to each other, and many of them were already busy rebuilding the destroyed or damaged buildings, Porlyusica was walking the streets, listening to their speeches without any particular interest. Everywhere she looked, she saw signs of destruction caused by the previous day's fighting, and she herself had spent at least three hours that morning helping doctors at the local hospital due to the large number of civilian casualties. Some of them had even complained about her as she was affiliated with Fairy Tail. The nerve they had!

Finally arriving in front of the Fairy Tail building, the old sorceress entered and immediately noticed how tense or depressing the atmosphere was. To her left came Lucy, one of the few mages not to have suffered damage as she had tried to get civilians away from the hottest areas "Ehm...Porlyusica? The master is waiting for you with the others in the infirmary."

Porlyusica looked at her for just a moment before going to the stairs that would take her to the infirmary, ignoring the blonde mage.

Lucy sweat-dropped before looking at Happy "Is she always like this?"

"Aye sir!"

Back with Porlyusica, the woman opened the door to the infirmary and found the large room more full than usual, as all the beds were occupied and there were several people standing or sitting next to the beds. Starting from the right, she saw Laxus leaning against the wall with his three bodyguards lying in as many beds, then Makarov, Gajeel, Juvia, Erza, Natsu, Cana, Mirajane and finally Mystogan with the rest of Team Erza. All of them, except Mystogan and Team Erza, were covered from head to toe in bandages and plasters, while the three members of the Thunder God Tribe were fast asleep. Of course, all the other guild members were covered with wounds, too, but none of them were so bad that they had to stay in bed; even Bisca was already up and together with the others.

"Any news?"

Makarov shook his head "None of them showed signs of recovery...can you tell us more now that we're all here? This is going to be a long discussion."

The pink-haired woman looked at him with serious eyes "Longer than you think." she then moved her gaze to Laxus "Bickslow has several broken bones and also several bruises, burns and cuts all over his body but the worst is the stab wound to the lower abdomen. It has severed his spine and most likely he will not be able to walk anymore. Fried has suffered horrific burns all over his body, a concussion and his nervous system appears to be severely damaged...I don't know what state he will be in when he wakes up."

Everyone listened in shock to her words and, despite having been opponents until the day before, they looked at Laxus with worried eyes, but Makarov's grandson nodded silently, clenching his fists with more and more force until they bled.

"Evergreen..." Porlyusica shook her head with a sigh "She is the one who has suffered the most damage of all. Concussion, several broken ribs, skull bones damaged in several places, at least ten broken and eight lost teeth, her wings were ripped off her body even though they could grow back and her eyes...her eyes were pulled out of their sockets..."

A surreal silence followed her words as everyone looked at Evergreen's sleeping form with pity and sadness.

Makarov released a long sigh "Can you do anything for her? You created an artificial eye for Erza after all."

Porlyusica nodded "I can, I'm also about to finish an eye for Simon after all, but if she still wants to use her petrifying magic, I'll have to find rarer materials to make eyes to suit her."

"Thank you." Makarov looked at the three mages with sorrow before looking away "And the others?"

The old woman looked at the other mages "The worst I would say are Gajeel and Juvia with their burns, Erza with some fractures and Cana with the damage to her nervous system...although nothing too serious or permanent. With the exception of the Thunder God Tribe, everyone should be back in shape within a month maximum; maybe even less."

The guild master seemed relieved by that news, then coughed to attract the attention of everyone present "Okay, we have a lot to discuss, so it's best to go in order. First of all, I am glad that our Mira has overcome her trauma and has regained her magic." the aforementioned bartender smiled at the master while the others nodded, evidently happy that she was returning to the former "Secondly...Mystogan. Do you want to tell us something?"

The masked magician was silent for a few seconds before taking off the bandana and cloth he used to hide his face, showing his face to everyone, shocking Erza.

"J-Jellal...?! Y-You're alive?!" the redhead asks but then she saw her team shake their heads.

"It's not him Er-chan..." said Millianna "We also believed it was him, but if you focus on his magical power you will notice that it is completely different."

Not knowing how to react, Erza did as suggested and after a few seconds looked at Mystogan with confused eyes "Who are you?"

"I am Jellal." said Mystogan with a sad smile "Just...not your Jellal. I know him, but I'm not him. My full name is Jellal Rodriguez and I am originally from the world of Edolas, a universe parallel to Earth Land."

"Edolas? What is that?" asked Natsu with confused eyes, mimicked by most of the present.

"As I said is a universe parallel to Earth Land. In Edolas' world, magic doesn't exist like it does here. It must be collected inside objects, mostly Lacrima, and then combined with tools or weapons, thus allowing people to use magic. The world is also very different from yours, as it is also made up of a large number of floating islands." explained Mystogan with the others listening to his words "I came here to Earth Land because the king of Edolas uses a special item called Anima with which he can steal magical power from your world and transfer it to Edolas."

"What?! He is stealing our power?! Who does he think he is?!" shouted Natsu with Erza punching him in the head since it was clear that Mystogan was not done yet.

"While understanding your anger Natsu, you don't have to worry as Earth Land's magical power is unlimited as opposed to Edolas. By harnessing the magical power of your world, the king was able to conquer all of Edolas and I decided to stop him by closing any Anima portals I could find."

"So that's why you didn't want us to see you. You were afraid we would mistake you for another person." summarized Mirajane with a nod "What will you do now?"

"Nothing, I will simply continue to do what I have done so far, but I ask you not to reveal what I have learned now. Not everyone is aware of Edolas and I fear that the Magic Council or someone else would try to act violently against my home world." said Mystogan with everyone nodding at his words; he then covered his face again, leaving the word to Makarov.

"Good, and that's solved too. Now...Laxus." they all tensed as the lightning wizard stood leaning against the wall, looking at his grandfather "Do you know what his guild is? It's a gathering place for comrades-in-arms, an agency for missions and to some kids who don't have a family, it's even their home...it doesn't belong to you. With your actions yesterday, you went against all the principles on which our guild is based and put your comrades' lives in danger. This is not a crime I can forgive."

Laxus looked at the floor for a moment "I understand."

"I can see in your eyes that you are not an evil person Laxus, and I am sure that if you were able to use Fairy Law, nothing would have happened." everyone looked at him in confusion, since Fairy Law was a powerful spell "That magic was created by the First Master and being pure light, it can read your heart better than anyone else. In your heart you don't see any of us as real enemies, do you?"

His grandson said nothing, looking out a window without making eye contact with anyone.

Makarov sighed "Ah...today's youngster...you can never be honest with yourself. Laxus, in view of what you have done...I should excommunicate you from the guild and forbid you to come back here, as I did with your father." next to him, Natsu started to oppose the idea but Erza pulled him back "However I know that despite your actions, the blood of this family is not on your hands..."

A more oppressive and cold air seemed to envelop the entire room, as everyone understood what he was referring to.

"How many...?" asked Mirajane, without really wanting to know the answer.

"Six..." breathed Makarov placing a hand over his face "Mikuni, Joey, Tono, Krov, Niggy and Chico...all of them killed by a large blade."

"A large blade...?" asked Erza while clenching her fists "So it's his doing..."

"The loss of our comrades brings us to the last point...someone attacked us yesterday." continued Makarov although everyone could understand that he would have preferred to remain on the sidelines and mourning for the death of his children "Speaking with everyone and thinking back to Fried's runes, we deduced that at least five or six wizards were present yesterday during Laxus 'rebellion', and that they took advantage of it to sow panic and injure or kill our comrades. Erza fought a man named Siegmund Hildolfr, who was allegedly responsible for the deaths of our six comrades. Apparently there is a bounty on him and he is classified as a dark mage, although little is known about him or his affiliation...although many sources link him to a semi-unknown guild known as Shadow Soul."

"Then there is that lightning wizard who hit Juvia and me..." growled Cana, remembering how she had been defeated without being able to react.

Makarov nodded at her "He later confronted Juvia and Gajeel in an abandoned warehouse along with another sorceress, although according to Gajeel there was a third invisible mage with them."

"It's just a hypothesis...but at some point I felt a feeling of fear all over my body and I couldn't move, but none of them were using their magic." explained the dragon slayer, continuing to curse his weakness. He hadn't revealed anything to Makarov regarding Shadow Soul, because he knew that those two wizards would return for him and Juvia, and although Gajeel cared little about his own life, he couldn't endanger the water sorceress. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, it seemed that Makarov was already aware of this guild.

"It's the same thing that happened to me when I was about to activate Fairy Law...it must be ghostly magic or something." added Laxus, remembering the feeling of fear in the church.

"Finally, there are two wizards we know nothing about who defeated Bickslow...if we add the invisible wizard, we have six possible dark mages who have attacked us." Makarov shook his head "I don't know if they were here by accident or if they knew of Laxus' plans, but it is now clear that their purpose was to weaken us."

"Old man..." everyone looked at Natsu, who was grinding his teeth with flames coming out of his body. Natsu was one of those who had suffered the hardest from the news of his companions' deaths, because while they were dying, he was either fighting Laxus or wandering around Magnolia, imagining himself defeating the wizard who had stood up to Erza. He had taken the situation less seriously than the others, sure that Laxus would do nothing...and that had caused the deaths of six of his companions.

Looking at the guild master with angry eyes, the dragon slayer hissed three simple words.

"This means war!"

Makarov nodded slowly before releasing a burst of golden energy from his body "Yes, don't worry Natsu...I'll report what happened to the Magic Council and try to figure out who was stupid enough to attack us and kill our comrades...and if it really is this alleged Shadow Soul..." his magical aura made the whole building tremble slightly despite the warning from Mirajane and Porlyusica to calm down "And when we understand who is behind this attack, we will make them understand what it means to go against our family!"

The war between fairies and shadows had begun!

TO BE CONTINUED...

And here we are! How did this chapter seem to you? Did you like it? Did it disgust you? Let me know in the reviews!

Happy birthday to this fic! I wanted to update the story on Wednesday but couldn't...at least I can say I came close. It has already been a year since I started this fic and I'm glad to see that the appreciation for Shadow Soul has remained constant through the ups and downs! For this I sincerely thank everyone who reads my fic and reviews whenever they can!

Now, onto the chapter! We are finally at the end of the festival! As you may have noticed I have made some changes to the canon, including Mystogan explaining to the others what Edolas is and Laxus who is not excommunicated from the guild! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and these changes!

We also found that Reveeina's next target is Oración Seis and Makarov plans to find out as much as possible about Shadow Soul!

The next chapter will be very important in some respects because it will lay the groundwork for changes and revelations that will also mature over the course of seven years (yep, what you will see in the next chapter will bear fruit around the time-skip period in the canon)! I hope you will read it in many and that you will appreciate! Also I hope you like the idea of Special Units within the guild!

Now, as usual, I remind you that if you have any love interests for your OC, contact me to let me know and I'll see what I can do! On the other hand, all of you have marked spells for your OC, but it is clear that all of them will age over the course of the story, so if any of you had any changes in mind for your OC (in terms of clothing, physical appearance, etc...) or any new spells you would like your OC to learn, let me know!

This is it and I hope you will read many and leave many reviews! I love reading them!

See you next time!