"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 10: The curtain opens on the shadow of Nirvana!
[Dandelion City – Quatro Cerberus Guild/ 25thOctober X784]
Goldmine was sitting in his office signing some papers when the door to the room was kicked open and a muscled man with black hair staggered in, holding a bottle of beer "Oi, did you call me master~?"
Said master sighed at his drunk mage "Yes, the time has come for you to leave and join the other wizards, Bacchus. You didn't forget the mission did you?"
Bacchus took a sip of beer before bursting out laughing "Of course not! My backpack is downstairs at the bar! Loaded with beers and sake~! Can I take someone with me? Maybe Jäger or Rocker!"
"Out of the question! This is not a mission like the other Bacchus, you will have to face one of the pillars of the Balam Alliance. You are the strongest mage of this guild, the others can't hope to face those monsters and win." said Goldmine with a grave voice.
The mage in front of him suddenly became more serious and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk "Oi master don't tell me you're afraid we will fail."
"It's not that." Goldmine shook his head "I am confident in your abilities and I am sure that Makarov and Bob will send highly respected wizards, but your opponent is Oración Seis and you cannot afford to take them lightly. There is a reason the Magic Council has never tried to confront them openly."
"Bah, that's just because they are a bunch of pussies!" Bacchus waved one hand in dismissal "I am sure we will be able to win, especially if Erza Scarlet is there too. AH! I wonder how strong she has become!"
Goldmine could only wince at his words.
"Yeah...about that..."
[MargaretTown – Lamia Scale Guild/ 25thOctober X784]
"Are you both ready?" Jura Neekis asked, watching the two wizards behind him as they made their way to the guild master's office.
"We are, Jura-san." said a young boy with pale blue hair "But I wonder why the master has decided to send only the three of us."
Jura looked at him for a moment "Most likely because the other wizards are engaged in missions or other assignments, Lyon. You and Sherry are the most skilled wizards with me left in the guild currently."
Sherry smiled at him while standing at Lyon's side "I am sure that with you by our side we will be able to defeat those dark mages very quickly!"
"Your confidence in my abilities flatters me but just because I'm one of the Wizard Saints doesn't mean I'm that strong. All the others are much more skilled and stronger than me." said Jura with a calm voice before opening the door of their master's office.
"You're late!" shouted Ooba while spinning her arms "We are the furthest from the meeting point! I don't want you to make the guild look bad by arriving late!"
"You do not have to fear master, we will arrive before the others thanks to my magic and that of Sherry." said Lyon without worry in his voice while Sherry was mumbling something about 'power of love' with a red face.
"You better be right!" grumbled Ooba before looking at them with a more serious face "But more than anything else, you have to be careful. Oración Seis is considered the weakest guild of the Balam Alliance, but it is still a force to be reckoned with as it is made up of only six members and is still considered one of the most dangerous dark guilds!"
"Don't worry, master, we'll be back victorious." said Jura with serious eyes.
Ooba looked at him for a moment before looking away. Lyon and Sherry looked at each other with confused eyes while Jura arched an eyebrow "Did you happen to have a vision?"
"A vision?" repeated Sherry with more confusion than before.
"Aye, a vision. It's not magic, but these are mere sporadic visions that happen to me from time to time in my sleep." said Ooba before shifting her gaze toward them "I had a vision last night and I saw you three but you weren't alone. Shadows were all around you..."
Lyon tilted his head "Shadows? Wizards from the other legal guilds maybe?"
"I don't know..." admitted Ooba with a sigh "But I have a really bad feeling about this...now go, you must not be late!"
The three wizards nodded and immediately walked out of the office, leaving the old woman alone. Sighing again, she looked out the window "Shadows...I don't really like this...be careful out there!"
[MagnoliaTown – Fairy Tail Guild/ 25thOctober X784]
It felt like a day like any other in Fairy Tail. The various mages sat chatting and drinking, while others stood in front of the mission bulletin board, undecided on which assignment to accept. On the surface it all seemed normal, but it was more than evident that the blow they had taken nine days ago was still alive in their minds, and in the case of some on their bodies.
The funeral of the six victims had been held upon Makarov's return from the important meeting with the Magic Council and the other guild masters; all of Magnolia had participated and had held city mourning for three days before resuming regular activities. Predictably, Fairy Tail hadn't participated in Fantasia and so the festival had ended a day earlier but no one had had the courage to complain to the only guild of the city. Now everyone was trying to leave the past behind, some with alcohol, some with missions; easier said that done.
"They are all still grieving, aren't they?" asked Lucy while looking at the guild with sad eyes.
"Yeah...guild ties are as strong as a family's. In a way, we have lost six among brothers and sisters." said Levy while trying to read a book, but she had still been on the front page for over two hours "I guess that's strange to you..."
Lucy shook her head "No, not at all. After Gajeel and Juvia I am the latest arrival but even if I spend more time with you, Natsu and Gray, I also knew the others." she then looked at the stairs leading to Makarov's office "I wonder how the master is doing..."
Makarov was now spending more time in his office than in the great hall, and only Mira or Laxus had the courage to go straight to his office. In Mira's case to bring him food and drink, but no one knew what Laxus was going to do, and despite their incredible hearing, neither Gajeel nor Natsu had been able to hear a single word.
"He's probably still mourning. He's the one who took it hardest as he couldn't do anything to help his children..." said Levy before seeing Mira leave the office and look for someone in the hall.
After a few seconds, she found that person "Erza! The master wants to see you in his office now."
Surprised by those words, Erza nodded before leaving her table and walking up the stairs with Mira, entering Makarov's office soon after. The other wizards looked at each other in confusion, wondering what was going on.
"Perhaps he is telling her that she will participate in the mission to stop Oración Seis?" wondered Levy while looking ahead "Or maybe the other way around...her wounds haven't fully healed yet."
Her doubts would soon be answered because shortly after Mira came out again and approached them "Lucy, the master wants to see you too. Please go to his office while I search for the others." and with that she walked toward the other mages. Not knowing what to expect, Lucy preferred to go immediately and after a quick goodbye to her friend, she went up the stairs before arriving in front of the office door, where she knocked politely.
"Enter."
Swallowing with nervousness, Lucy opened the door and the first thing she saw was Erza beside Makarov's desk, with her eyes on the ground and it was evident that she was in a bad mood. Beside her, sitting in his armchair was Makarov and, although Lucy knew he was old, he seemed to have aged even more in the last few days.
"You wanted to see me, master?"
Makarov smiled at her "Yes, but first we have to wait for the others to arrive too." and as if he had foreseen it, the door that had just been closed by Lucy was thrown open by a kick from Natsu, who entered with Happy, Gray and Mira.
"Oi, what's going on old man?"
"Calm down Natsu, this is a very delicate matter." said Makarov looking at them as they stood beside Lucy. After a deep breath, he looked at them with even more serious eyes "As you know, our guild will be part of the alliance that will have to subjugate Oración Seis, and today is the departure day for the Fairy Tail wizards." while Natsu and Gray seemed interested in the subject, Lucy paled. She had a bad feeling about it "My initial idea was to send Erza along with the three of you, but sadly her wounds haven't healed completely yet, so Mira will come with you."
"W-Wait a moment! Why me?!" said Lucy pointing at herself "I mean...there are stronger mages than me in the guild! What about Cana, Juvia or Elfman? Gajeel? Laxus?!"
Makarov shook his head "Unfortunately none of them are at one hundred percent of their strength, after all just ten days ago they were fighting each other. Laxus is completely healed, but he never left the infirmary, as if he was guarding Fried and the others. Even if I were to order him, I don't think he would leave them alone, and be fore you ask, Mystogan has already left and I don't know where he is now."
A long sigh escaped Lucy's lips. She didn't like the idea but she couldn't refuse after she didn't fight or she wasn't hurt during Laxus' rebellion, while the others were still recovering.
"Good, now you may leave." nodded Makarov looking at his children "And be careful! This is not your ordinary dark guild!"
"Don't worry gramps, I'm all fired up now!" grinned Natsu with Happy and Gray nodding at his words. After saying goodbye to the master and Erza, the Fairy Tail delegation left the room to get ready and leave.
Erza then looked at Makarov "I don't like this master, I have a bad feeling about this…"
"I know...but this is the best I can do as well as hope that everything is fine." said Makarov while looking outside.
Now that was the only thing he could do, yet as he watched the sun set and the shadows advance along the road, he could only feel a cold shiver run down his spine…
[Blue RoseTown – Blue Pegasus Guild/ 25thOctober X784]
"Mh-mm-mmm~!" the ever smiling Blue Pegasus master was drying a glass behind the guild bar counter when someone sat across from him "Ah Ichiya-kun, are you ready to go?"
"Of course, we must be ready to welcome the delegations from other guilds." said the red-haired man while sipping champagne from a glass prepared instantly by the master. After setting the glass down with an elegance that was very out of tune with his face, he turned to the room crowded with wizards and customers "Hibiki! Eve! Ren! We must depart at once!"
Not far from him, Hibiki nodded "We will be ready in no time, Ichiya-sama." he then looked at the young girl who was sitting next to him "I'm sorry my dear, but our time together has sadly come to an end. I have to leave on an important mission."
The girl looked at him clear worry in her her black eyes "It won't be a dangerous mission right? I can't lose you!"
Hibiki showed her a bright smile "You have nothing to fear. Knowing that you will be there waiting for me, I will be back sooner than you can imagine."
"Then...let me give you a good luck charm." the girl said before taking the handkerchief out of the pocket of his elegant suit and planting a kiss on it, leaving an imprint made of black lipstick. After folding it properly she put it back in his pocket, then placing her hand on his heart.
"With this I hope your death can be quick and painless."
Hibiki's brain could not even register the words spoken by the girl that a large amount of blood oozed from his mouth, shocking the people closest to them. Looking down, he saw with confused eyes some strange claws forming around the fingers of the hand that had just pierced his heart and, slowly, the young girl's body dissolved into fog allowing him to see another girl, who was staring back at him with calm red eyes.
"I guess I hoped in vain, don't you think?" asked Sylva with a small smile before moving her other arm, slashing his throat with a clean cut. Releasing her other hand from his chest, she stood up before a stream of blood poured over the spot where she was sitting, closely followed by Hibiki's lifeless body.
"H-HIBIKI!"
Ichiya's thunderous voice shook the entire hall as what had happened was finally understood by all present, but before the mages could react, cries of pain were heard in several parts of the hall, where apparent customers had just surprised the wizards of Blue Pegasus, killing them quickly thanks to the surprise effect. Within seconds, over ten wizards and sorceresses lay dead on the ground.
"Aww...I was hoping to be able to drink another honey tea." said Poppea with a dead mage sitting next to her, with a knife sticking out of his forehead. Looking ahead, she smiled at Kazumi "I'm sorry we had to kill your host too. He seemed like an attractive guy to me!"
[ He wasn't my type. ] replied Kazumi, smiling back at her with a bloodstained knife in his left hand, while sitting near a dead mage with the throat torn [ The desserts, however, were very good. ]
The chaos finally came to life as the remaining customers screamed in fear and the other wizards moved to attack the assassins but just then the front door of the guild was thrown open and Shirros made his entrance flanked by Naco, Lycorian and about thirty armed black skeletons. With their overwhelming presence, the patrons were forced to run to the back of the room as Bob and his wizards lined up in front of them, ready to defend them.
"Who are you?" asked the guild master with pulsating veins on his forehead and a look full of anger.
"It does not matter. Just know that none of you will leave this place alive." said Shirros with a calm voice while Poppea, Kazumi and the others moved at his side "Also don't hope for reinforcements, you have no way of contacting the outside."
"You bastard! Is that why you killed Hibiki?!" growled Ren "You have to be allies with Oración Seis and...wait, where did that killer go?!" he asked while looking for Sylva, who was already gone.
"You should worry more about yourself and not her." grinned Naco with lighting dancing around his body.
Eve took a step forward "Don't think you've already won! We are Blue Pegasus mages and will protect the innocent behind us!"
Poppea couldn't help but giggle "If that is your goal, you have already failed!"
"H-Help…!"
SNAP!
With their eyes widening in shock, Eve, Ren and many others turned only to see a girl crouched on a window sill with her hands full of vines, the ends of which were wrapped around the necks of the remaining customers, all of them strangled dead now. The girl looked at them with a sadistic smile "I did it! You didn't hear me!" she then looked at Shirros "Was I good?!"
"Yes Abi, good job." he then noticed her eyes and unluckily he had already learned to recognize that look "Yes, you'll get a treasure later."
"You." Shirros and the others looked at Bob, who was glaring at them "You will all be stopped here! I will not allow you to go any further!"
Lycorian arched an eyebrow "How can you say such a thing when you're dressed like that...?"
"Naco." said mage looked at Shirros "Your target is Ren Akatsuki." and with a grin on his lips, the lighting mage looked at the dark-skinned mage, who was glaring daggers at him.
"Lycorian, you must kill Eve Tearm. Kazumi, you can take on Ichiya Kotobuki." both mages nodded at his words while Eve and Ichiya braced themselves to face them both.
"Abi." while still on the window sill, she looked at him "Jenny Realight, kill her."
"…"
Shirros pointed at a girl among the Blue Pegasus mages "The one with blonde hair and blue eyes..."
"Oh!" Abi nodded before shifting her gaze toward her target "Will do!"
"I will take care of the guild master. Everyone else, kill all the others. No prisoners are to be taken!" and with a battle cry all the dark mages and skeletons charged towards their opponents and in a few moments chaos erupted in the Blue Pegasus guild.
The first to reach his target was Naco thanks to his speed and he immediately managed to hit Ren with a front kick but the wizard of Blue Pegasus managed to cross his arms to resist the blow, however he was thrown backwards. Quickly moving both arms he threw blades of wind at Naco, but he managed to avoid them all before stopping a few meters from Ren, looking at him with a grin "Wind Magic huh? Let's see if you are more capable of Erigor or if you are just a beginner!"
"Don't you dare compare me to a killer like him!" shouted Ren before creating a blue magic circle in front of him "My Air Magic will defeat you! Aerial Shot!" and the floor beneath his feet shattered, lifting several pieces of marble and tiles before hurling them at Naco.
The wizard of Shadow Soul quickly pointed an arm at the incoming attack and released a huge beam of electricity that destroyed all the projectiles generated by Ren's magic, who threw himself aside to avoid the attack before sending out more blades of wind. Creating two daggers of electricity in his hands, Naco intercepted all attacks before hurling his weapons at Ren, but the wizard of Blue Pegasus took off thanks to his magic and created another magic circle in front of him.
"To hell with you, damn monster!" after swinging both of his hands in a circular motion around himself, Ren brought both arms forward creating a violent tornado around Naco "Aerial Phose!"
Naco stood still in the center of the tornado as small cuts began to open on his body. After a few seconds, he sighed in disappointment "I guess Erigor was better than you after all." and in an instant he released a wave of electricity from his body that was enough to dissipate the tornado, shocking Ren. Without giving him time to react, Naco used his magic to move quickly behind Ren and, after pointing a finger in his back, pierced him with a beam of lightning that electrocuted him from within, killing the mage of Blue Pegasus within seconds.
Without even looking at Ren's body as it fell to the ground, Naco looked around to observe the tide of the battle and immediately noticed that the mages of Blue Pegasus were incredibly weak as some of them had been killed by Shirros' skeletons.
'And this is supposed to be one of Fiore's best guilds...? How did they hope to contribute to the defeat of Oración Seis?' wondered Naco with an arched eyebrow before noticing Abilene fighting Jenny, who was now wearing a distinctive red and black armor. After a short jump, Jenny tried to punch Abilene from above but her opponent jumped back, avoiding the attack that easily destroyed the floor. Jenny didn't give up, however, and dashed forward as a crimson blade slid out of the armor on her right forearm.
Abilene easily dodged all of Jenny's slashes before attempting to hit her with two vine whips, but a circular shield formed around Jenny's other arm and she used it to knock off Abilene's attacks. When Blue Pegasus' sorceress tried again to hit her with her blade, Abilene reacted with her whips but while the first was aimed at Jenny's face, before being promptly blocked by the shield, the second coiled around Jenny's left ankle and, with a strong tug, Abilene managed to knock her to the ground on her back.
Without hesitation, Abilene then tried to hit her again but two compartments opened on Jenny's armor at the ankles and a thick smokescreen was generated within seconds, giving her time to get up. When a small red visor formed before her eyes, Jenny grinned "It's over now, dark mage! You can't fight in this smokescreen! It's my win now!"
However Abilene was not at all worried about the smoke that surrounded her, in fact she was particularly calm. Looking around, she couldn't help but smile "Same as Faye's illusions!" and after crouching, she pointed her hands down "Vine Trap!" and several vines grew out of her hands and arranged themselves like a web or cobweb on the floor around her.
Closing her eyes, Abilene focused on the sounds around her as when she was in the forest where she had grown up and in a few moments she heard and felt Jenny running towards her from the left, so moving her hands quickly, she closed the net around Jenny, surprising her, before pointing her right hand towards her opponent's belly, the only point uncovered besides the face.
"Vine Shot!" and in an instant, her vine buried itself in Jenny's belly, causing her to spit a lot of blood. By now the smokescreen was clearing and the two opponents could easily see each other, but it was evident that Jenny was the one most in trouble. However, she managed to break the vines that held her in place before removing the one from her belly, barely standing.
"You...you're barely a little girl. How...can you fight...alongside these killers?!"
Abilene tilted her head to side, confused by her question, before showing her a huge smile "Because they helped me, I help them now!"
To say that Jenny was appalled was an understatement "Just for that…? T-They are killing people!"
"So?" Abilene shrugged "Hurting people is fun!"
"Fun…? FUN?! Hurting people is fun?!" ignoring her injury, Jenny raised both arms and prepared to fight again "I don't care if you're a little girl, I'll stop you here and now!" and with a battle cry she lunged at Abilene, but the mage of Shadow Soul avoided her easily, however when Jenny turned to follow her opponent, she found the palm of one hand inches from her face and a small green magic circle visible on that palm.
Realizing immediately what was about to happen, she tried to back away "W-Wait-!"
"Vine Shot!"
Without any difficulty, Abilene's vine pierced Jenny's forehead, killing her instantly and scattering a lot of blood mixed with brains and bone fragments on the ground. Without batting an eye, she dropped Jenny's corpse to the ground which was momentarily enveloped in white light before showing the lifeless sorceress in her simple dress and Abilene immediately noticed what looked like a large gold necklace around her neck. With her eyes glowing with a new light, Abilene crouched down before removing the various jewels from Jenny's corpse and putting them on herself with a broad smile "New treasures!"
Her moment of joy was momentarily shattered when a table crashed a few meters away from her, making her wince in fright. Turning to the rest of the battle, she immediately saw Kazumi and Lycorian engaged against Eve and Ichiya, who was now incredibly more muscular. In front of him, Kazumi seemed almost amused by the situation as he watched his opponent with two knives in hand. After a few moments, Ichiya lunged at Kazumi to punch him but the wizard of Shadow Soul simply opened his mouth "STOP!" and Blue Pegasus' S-class wizard instantly froze on the spot.
"T-This magic…!"
Without hesitation, Kazumi immediately attempted to kill Ichiya with a stab but his nostrils were assaulted by what was without a doubt the most sickening and horrible smell he had ever had the displeasure of sniffing, to the point that his face turned green and he was forced to distance himself a few meters. This allowed Ichiya to break the control that Kazumi's spell had over him "Men...lucky that I had my secret weapon with me."
"Senpai! Let me assist you!" Eve moved toward Ichiya in that moment, while pointing an arm toward Kazumi "White Fury!" and a big jet of snow and wind came from his hand, but in front of Kazumi Lycorian stood with his pen ready to draw, already moving it on his notebook.
"Draw Flame!" and in quick succession he managed to draw five fireballs that intercepted Eve's snow, canceling the attack. Taking a deep breath, Lycorian carefully observed his opponents 'Not gonna lie, Faye's workouts are scary and hurt a lot, but they give excellent results. Now I can draw faster and even more attacks together.'
"Be careful senpai, that guy can draw anything…"
Ichiya nodded "The other dark mage, on the other hand, can give commands with his voice. Those are two very dangerous magics."
"STOP!"
"Draw Lightning!"
Eve and Ichiya were immediately immobilized by Kazumi's magic, but before the lightning hurled by Lycorian could hit them, Eve was able to activate his magic and a tornado of snow immediately enveloped them, protecting them from the oncoming attack. Freed again from Kazumi's magic, Ichiya threw two vials containing a purple liquid at them but Kazumi intercepted them with two knives, scattering the contents on the ground.
"Now Eve!"
"White Out!" Eve screamed before generating a violent snowstorm aimed at their opponents, but this time Lycorian quickly approached his guildmate.
'Here goes nothing!' thought Lycorian before drawing with incredible speed on his chest and Kazumi's "Draw Heat Rune!" and a moment later they were both hit by the snowstorm. However, contrary to the cold wave that Eve and Ichiya expected to feel, they saw a large cloud of steam forming around their opponents and after a few seconds they were surprised to see them standing with a bright red rune in the center of their chests.
"R-Runes…?!" asked Eve with shocked eyes "He can draw runes of that level?!"
"Look out Eve!" shouted Ichiya before moving in front of his guildmate, protecting him from a series of daggers thrown by Kazumi that stuck in his arms, but just as he still had his arms raised as a shield, he heard the voice of the dark mage "STOP!"
When his body and Eve's froze, Ichiya felt something fall in front of him and could barely see the shape of three grenades just thrown by Lycorian. Pushing his body and spirit to the limit he managed to break Kazumi's magic just in time to throw himself on the grenade with his body, under the shocked eyes of Eve.
"SENP-!"
BOOOM!
The power of the three grenades was enough to knock Eve backwards, causing him to destroy several tables and chairs. Shaking his head from the impact, the wizard of Blue Pegasus raised his head slightly and could only watch in horror as Ichiya's body fell beside him, chest wide open and arms totally absent. The smell of blood and burnt flesh invaded his nostrils causing him to retch but he still managed to restrain himself and get up, albeit staggering in place.
"A weird guy, but he was pretty cool in the end." Lycorian said looking at Ichiya's body "At least he doesn't smell like that anymore...those smells were unbearable."
Kazumi nodded before looking at Eve but just as the wizard of Blue Pegasus seemed ready for his last attack, the doors of the guild opened and a new figure entered, attracting the attention of many of those present. After a few moments, Eve's eyes lit up with happiness "Captain Acier! You're here!"
Acier stood still, gazing coldly at the surroundings before pausing on Kazumi "Aren't you done yet?"
[ We are almost done. Most of them are dead. ]
Acier leaned against the now closed door with his arms crossed "Be quick. The others Rune Knights are fighting against some mages of the guild, but they will arrive quickly."
"C-Captain Acier…?" Acier looked at Eve, who was staring back at him with a mix of confusion and fear "W-Why are you not helping us?!"
His state of shock did not allow him to react in time when Lycorian hurled three balls of fire at him, causing him to scream in pain as the flames devoured his flesh, killing him within seconds. What just happened allowed the other wizards of Shadow Soul to quickly kill their opponents, who were shocked that a Rune Knights captain was doing nothing to help them.
The guild master was also shocked but couldn't afford to get distracted further as Shirros wasn't giving him a chance to catch his breath "Don't tell me you bribed one of the captains!"
"Who knows." replied Shirros with a calm voice while standing a few meters away "Not that you need to know."
Bob gritted his teeth before flying up and lashing out at Shirros, who sent a flock of skeletal crows at him, but they passed through Bob without even scratching him thanks to his magic. When he was in front of the masked wizard, he tried to hit him in the face but Shirros avoided the attack before moving a hand to grab his opponent and Bob was shocked when Shirros' gloved hand, pervaded by a purple aura, managed to grab his face before smashing him violently to the ground. Without letting go, Shirros lifted the guild master easily before throwing him at the guild bar, destroying it.
Coughing up blood, Bob stood up almost immediately, looking at his opponent "How is it possible? My magic shouldn't let you touch me."
"Let's say my magic is useful for circumventing certain types of obstacles." Shirros looked for a moment at Acier before focusing back on Bob "We are running out of time so I'll have to end it now." and raising one hand, he began to generate a sphere of purple energy in which ghostly skulls were visible.
Bob's eyes widened even more in shock at seeing the spell "Impossible! That's Jose-!"
"Dead Wave!"
Moving her arm forward, Shirros released a giant beam of purple and black magical energy that swept everything in her path, also destroying part of the guild wall, sending a shock wave all around that knocked many of his allies to the ground. Unperturbed by the destruction caused, Shirros began walking through the smoke generated by his attack and after a few seconds he found the wounded form of the guild master on the ground. Without hesitation, he grabbed him by the throat before lifting him to face level.
"T-That...magic…!"
SNAP!
Without even letting go of Bob's lifeless body, Shirros quickly transformed him into a black skeleton with her magic before dissolving him, then turned to his allies "Bring me the bodies of all the mages." and within seconds, all the corpses of Blue Pegasus' wizards were brought before Shirros, who transformed them into skeletons before vanishing them along with the ones he had previously summoned, leaving only a handful.
"Shirros!" he looked at his right, where Poppea was walking toward him with Sylva at her side "We found the secret passage to their hangar! It's in the master office."
The masked man nodded "Then let's get on with the plan. You return to the guild as my skeletons fly their war machine to the rally point with the others. We should be able to learn all the secrets of their flying ship in no time." and as the remaining skeletons made their way to Bob's office, Shirros created a portal for his guildmates to escape safely, closing it as soon as the last one crossed the gap, leaving him alone with Acier.
"The Rune Knights are most likely coming here." said Acier walking toward him while Shirros wore two rings on his hands and, within seconds, the Oración Seis mark appeared on his cloak and the black jacket he wore underneath.
"Then we can go ahead and give them a show." nodded Shirros before releasing a huge wave of magical power, soon thwarted by the magical power of Acier, who was not at all intimidated "We haven't fight in a while."
"That's true." nodded Acier before summoning liquid metal at his side "I hope you haven't been sluggish since the last time."
Shirros tilted his head to the side "Why don't we find out now, Rune Knight?"
A small, almost imperceptible grin formed on Acier's lips "I was getting bored anyway. Let's see what you can do, dark mage."
Without saying anything else, the two lashed out at each other and within moments, the entire guild became a battleground between two monsters.
[Bob's Palace – South of Worth Woodsea/ 26thOctober X784]
"So this is the meeting point?" asked Happy looking at the huge purple and white building.
"Yes, it's a villa belonging to the guild master of Blue Pegasus." said Mira with a smile "He offered this place as it is the closest to where we believe the Oración Seis gathered."
"Well we might as well go in and see if we are the first to arrive." said Gray before walking in with Mira and Lucy while Natsu was being led by Happy as he was still in bad shape from the carriage ride.
The delegation of Fairy Tail soon found themselves in a large hall, evidently also used for gala balls, but apparently no one was present but them, or so it seemed. A glass bottle fell to the ground, shattered and, looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a black-haired man lying on a bar counter and several empty liquor bottles around him. Emptying yet another bottle in one gulp, he then sat up to look at Natsu and the others with unfocused eyes and a noticeable blush on his face.
"Hic...so it's true...Titania...hic...is not with you all…" he mumbled before sighing "Such a shame...hic!"
"Who the hell is that drunkard?" asked Gray with incredulous eyes, mimicked by Lucy and Happy.
Mira took a step forward with a confident smile on her face "Bacchus Groh, the ace of Quatro Cerberus. So you are the wizard they sent to help us?"
Bacchus stared at Mira for a moment, with a grin on his face "Well aren't ya a cutie~? Hic! What about a good night with me when – hic – when this is all over?"
Lucy and Gray looked at him with a mix of surprise and disgust but Mira let out a little laugh "I'm sorry but you're not my type, and then I wouldn't want Erza to come looking for you to try and cut out what makes you a man."
Bacchus arched an eyebrow, walking toward her stopping right in front of Mira before staring intently at her for several seconds. All of a sudden, the drunken wizard burst out laughing heartily and even slapped Mira's shoulder "I must be more drunk than usual if I didn't recognize Fairy Tail's demon! Hic! The last time I saw Erza she told me that you had retired from the scene!"
"And that's true, but I've recently found the desire and strength to fight for my guild." replied Mira, not at all disturbed by his behavior.
"Mira, you know him?" asked Gray with confused eyes.
The maid nodded at the ice mage "Of course, even if Erza knows him better as they have faced each other several times without ever being able to prevail over each other."
Lucy looked at Bacchus with a pale face "He's as strong as Erza?!"
"REALLY?!" Natsu was magically beside them "Fight me! I want to see how strong you are!"
"I'm always ready for a drinking contest, but for a fight you'll have to wait~!" said Bacchus waving him away "If I make a mess my master will forbid me to drink for a whole year and I can't live without my precious booze~!"
'He is really a drunkard…' thought Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Happy, sweat-dropping at his words.
"Also, it looks like someone else is coming." added Mira looking toward the front door just as three people walked in, with two of them who were old acquaintances of Natsu and the others.
"Lyon?!"
"Gray!?"
"You were in a guild...?"
"You?!"
"Oh you are here as well? Time to make you understand the power of love!"
"You know them?" asked Mira with a small smile on her face.
"Yeah, me and Lyon where students under the same master and we fought against him and that girl on Galuna Island…" explained Gray with a scowl "But I didn't know they joined a guild."
Lyon walked toward them "I had to redeem myself for what I had done, and helping Lamia Scale seemed appropriate to me." he then looked around "So you four are from Fairy Tail, while he must be Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus."
"That's correct." nodded Mira "It is a pleasure to meet you, Iron Rock Jura. Master Makarov spoke highly of you."
Jura bowed his head in gratitude "Your words fill me with pride, but I'm still not at the level of a powerful wizard like Makarov. Now, three of the five guilds are assembled. We must wait for the other two."
"By the way, why did Quatro Cerberus only send a wizard?" asked Lyon looking at Bacchus with an annoyed glare, but the black-haired mage merely shrugged.
"I asked that as well, but apparently no one else can take on Oración Seis apart from me." Bacchus went to pick a bottle of wine from the bar " 'sides I heard from my master that even Cait Shelter will send only one mage."
"What?" Gray looked at him with surprised eyes "We have a very difficult mission to face and they only send one person?!" and he was right to be surprised or even angry because there was no rumor about Cait Shelter and therefore it was plausible to infer that they did not have strong wizards in their ranks. Bacchus was one thing, as he was an S-class wizard and apparently was able to stand up against Erza, but an unknown mage from a lesser-known guild was another story altogether.
Lucy looked at the others with a scared face, mimicked by Sherry "W-Wait! Don't tell me they are sending some stupidly powerful person!"
Her fear was short-lived as everyone heard someone running towards the entrance of the villa and after a few seconds, a little girl with long blue hair entered the living room, stumbling after a few steps. Under the incredulous gaze of those present, the girl stood up massaging her face "U-Um...I'm sorry for arriving so late." she then looked at them with shyness "I'm here from Cait Shelter, my name is Wendy. Pleased to work with you all!"
The shock of learning that a little girl was the only one sent by Cait Shelter lasted several seconds before Sherry started shaking her head "Such a difficult mission and they decide to just send a little girl? Does Cait Shelter's master think this is just a game?"
"Alone? I think not, you tawdry woman!" everyone looked toward the door, just to see a female white cat walking toward them.
"Carla! You followed me?!" asked Wendy moving toward her.
"But of course! I would worry to no end if you were to go off alone." explained the white cat, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Wendy nodded before turning to the other wizards "Um...I...I don't really know how to fight, b-but I know a lot of support magic that should be useful for you all...s-so don't leave me out completely!"
Mira immediately reassured her that it would not happen and that they were only surprised that a little girl had been sent, however as the atmosphere had calmed down again, there remained the question of the absence of Blue Pegasus. Logically, if the villa belonged to them it was correct to deduce that they would be there first, right?
"Agh! Where the hell are those guys?" asked Gray with a scowl "We can't just wait here all day!"
Natsu was the most nervous of all and was now about to run in search of Oración Seis to face them alone, but then his senses perceived something and he quickly turned to the front door. The others noticed this and looked at him, with Lucy asking "Is something wrong Natsu?"
"There's someone out there, watching us."
His words alerted the other wizards, making them prepare for a possible confrontation, but after a few seconds Wendy stepped between them and the door "W-Wait! I don't know who she is, but she has followed me since I left and she has never done anything!"
"She?" repeated Mira with an arched eyebrow.
Wendy nodded "I don't know her name, but I know she talked to my master and he told me she's not an enemy, even though he didn't tell me any names or why she was there."
"You want to tell me that suspicious woman followed you?!" shouted Carla looking at Wendy, with the voice of a mother who was berating her own daughter "If you knew she was following you why didn't you tell her to leave?!"
"B-B-But she didn't do anything wrong!"
While the young sorceress and the cat argued, Jura intensely observed the forest surrounding the mansion, drawing the attention of his guildmates. Noting the seriousness of his expression, Lyon asked him "Jura-san, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine don't worry about me." said Jura with the eyes still on the forest "I'm just trying to figure out where the one who's watching us is. It is very likely that Natsu-dono has identified her thanks to his developed senses, because I do not perceive even an iota of magical power."
Sherry shrugged "Maybe this woman is not a mage?"
"Maybe." Jura conceded with a small nod "Or maybe she's incredibly good at hiding her presence."
Several dozen meters from the mansion, Ranmaru was watching the mages gathered inside and could only shake her head in disapproval. With a small notebook in her hands, she quickly wrote something before returning to observe the villa.
'Ninety-six, no...ninety-five meters and about forty centimeters.' a small nod 'At this distance, one of the Wizard Saints still cannot identify me with his senses alone. This denotes a complete lack of training and total addiction to magical perception, possibly derived from the title assigned to him and his control of the magic itself.'
Ranmaru could have easily followed Wendy without being spotted, but the little girl had neither the wit nor the mentality to become aggressive, so it was like following a defenseless puppy. Without any kind of imminent threat Ranmaru had been able to quickly follow her to the meeting point of the other guilds, although she was rather disappointed by the array of alleged "aces" that the various guilds of light had sent.
'Natsu Dragneel spotted me as soon as I broke a branch as a test, so his developed senses are within initial expectations. Although…' she raised her head, staring at the moving leaves with her black eyes 'The wind is in his favor, I will repeat the test later should the situation arise.'
Her ears twitched.
Without making any noise, she stood up before moving further away from the dirt road leading to the villa, hiding behind some bushes just as a large number of people marched towards the building. Observing the new group closely, she paused on the one who was leading it, a captain of the Rune Knights.
'Rune Knights and legal guilds are always in conflict with each other. Their presence may mean that today they will be allies to eliminate the threat posed by Oración Seis; at least they are not so arrogant as to think they can win alone.' writing a few words in her notebook she then put it back in her backpack before leaving the area around the villa.
The diatribes between light and darkness were none of her business and it was clear that many of the wizards present were children. She could always hope that the other two groups of people she had spotted earlier were better sources of information, and above all of clues as to how to reach the infamous Nirvana.
They were two small groups from what she could understand at that distance and it was evident that they were at a much higher level than all the other groups, much more numerous, scattered in the forest. It was plausible to deduce that the larger groups were cannon fodder guided by Oración Seis, which rendered them useless in Ranmaru's eyes. Now she had only to decide whether to head towards one of the pillars of the Balam Alliance, given their innermost position, or towards the unknown group lurking on the edge.
Once she had gotten far enough from the villa, she paused to draw her particular dagger and with a fluid and natural movement of her wrist, she spun it quickly on the palm of her hand, observing it calmly. After a few seconds, the blade stopped and pointed towards the innermost part of the Worth Woodsea.
Sheathing the blade, Ranmaru looked toward her new destination "Oración Seis it is." and walking in that direction, she materialized three cards in her right hand, soon after they began to glow with power.
She was about to approach one of the most dangerous dark guilds ever, so she had to set the playing field according to her rules.
"What the hell are you Rune Knights doing here?" asked Gray looking at them with confused eyes.
Natsu growled at them with fire around his fists "Don't tell me you still want to arrest Erza! She's not even here but I won't let you do it again anyway!"
"Natsu! Erza said it wasn't the real thing and that it was more of a staging!" said Happy trying to placate his friend "We can't fight with the Rune Knights right now!"
The one who was clearly the leader took a step forward, bowing his head in greeting "My name is Winter Driver, and I am the Head Captain of the Second Custody Enforcement Unit. I have been assigned to assist you in your mission to defeat Oración Seis. Your guild masters should have warned you about this."
"Goldmine said something about it...but I still don't understand how you can help us." said Bacchus with a raised eyebrow, since the Rune Knights were pretty weak in his opinion.
"The plan is very simple. Some of my knights and I will be supporting you, while the rest of my unit is already setting up around the forest where we believe Oración Seis is hiding, so as to contain any collateral damage." explained Winter with a serious face "Now we can also start devising an attack strategy."
"Hey wait a moment!" said Gray catching his attention "The Blue Pegasus delegation hasn't arrived yet!"
"Nobody will come." replied Winter while shacking his head "The Blue Pegasus guild was attacked yesterday and wiped out. There are no survivors."
Everyone looked at him with shocked eyes, until Lucy asked "B-But they were one of the best guilds in the kingdom! How d-did it happen?!"
"Unfortunately I didn't get to read the detailed report, but apparently yesterday several dark mages attacked the guild and fought all the wizards present. Many civilians lost their lives, as well as the guild master Bob." explained Winter looking at each one of them "Another captain of the Rune Knights, Acier Grey, intervened as soon as possible but could not save them and fought against the only dark wizard left, destroying the entire building as well as many of the surroundings. Apparently that dark mage was very powerful as they fought for at least three hours before he retreated after wounding Acier. What many witnesses have reported is that that mage had the Oración Seis symbol on his clothes, even though it doesn't match the profiles of the six official members."
Behind him, six knights drew out spherical Lacrima and a person's face was shown inside each of them.
Winter pointed at the various Lacrima "Hoteye, Racer, Angel, Cobra, Midnight and Brain. These are the people who make up the Oración Seis guild, we believe that these are just code names and that Brain is the current guild master. Unfortunately we have no real information regarding their magic but each of them is incredibly powerful."
Mira raised a hand "Isn't there the possibility that there are actually many more? Attacking a guild like Blue Pegasus in broad daylight and killing everyone...seems like something only a powerful dark guild could do."
"It is possible, but unfortunately we cannot be sure. It may have been a rival guild's trick to put the blame on Oración Seis."
"More than anything, we're one less guild now. Getting hit right before an important mission like this...doesn't seem like a coincidence to me." added Lyon with a frown on his face.
"I can understand your doubts however we must proceed with the mission before Oración Seis is able to find Nirvana." said Winter looking at the ice mage with serious eyes "The fact that there is no reliable information on this magic makes our mission even more important, and now that we can't count on Blue Pegasus' help we need to be even more cautious. Excluding my knights and your...pets…" he paused to spare a glance at Happy and Carla "We are ten mages but if we have to fight several times, none of us have to try to face Oración Seis alone. Always try to be at least two."
"There's no need for that, I'm all fired up now!" said Natsu with a huge grin and, before anyone could stop him, he started running fast towards the Worth Woodsea "I'm gonna take all six of them on by myself!"
"Natsu wait!" shouted Lucy before running after him with Gray and Mira.
"That big idiot!"
Lyon looked at them with a small smirk "We can't let Fairy Tail outdo us, let's go Sherry!"
"Yes!"
"Sherry! Lyon! Wait!" shouted Jura but they were already gone with Bacchus who was finally getting some action. Seconds later, Carla took Wendy by the hand and forced her to run to chase the others, with Happy right behind them.
"Without control as described in the reports." said Winter while shacking his head "After them, we can't let them be caught alone by our enemies!" and together with the knights who were with him, Winter too ran in pursuit of the others, leaving Jura alone.
"Dear me…" the Wizard Saint did not understand how he had gotten to that point, but there was no time to waste so he made to go out in turn when a female voice caught his attention.
"Ah what the hell! Who's screaming at this hour?!" looking back, he saw a green-haired girl walking towards him rubbing her head "Who the hell are you? Don't you know this villa is owned by Blue Pegasus? You should leave, I'm waiting for the delegations of some guilds!"
"You are...from Blue Pegasus?" asked Jura with confused eyes.
"Of course I am! Name's Karen Lilica, don't you know me?" she shook her head "Well anyway I'm being waiting here for two days, so could you leave? As I said I'm waiting for someone!"
Jura looked away for a moment "I'm from Lamia Scale, the others just left to fight against Oración Seis and...I'm sorry to say this but...you don't have a guild anymore."
Karen looked at him with confusion on her face, which quickly turned to anger "The hell are you talking about? I left just two days ago, the guild was still a thing and I'm sure I haven't been expelled!" she was now in front of him, pressing her finger against his chest "So you better give me a good explanation!"
"There's no time for that, we must follow the others then we will explain everything."
"Wait a moment...you said you're from Lamia Scale...then you must be the famous Jura!" said Karen pointing at the mage while running with him "The one who is called as strong as Makarov Dreyar!"
"That's just a big exaggeration! Just because I have the same title as him doesn't mean I'm as strong as he is." replied Jura, not noticing the knife just unsheathed by Karen, who did not hesitate to stab him in the belly from behind. Vomiting a large amount of blood, Jura fell to the ground while Karen paused to look at him in amusement.
"W-What are you…?!"
Under Jura's surprised eyes, Karen exploded in a cloud of smoke leaving room for two small blue humanoid creatures. Trying to get up, he felt his strength fail and he could only stay on his knees as another person approached him from the villa.
"Ah...to think that Blue Pegasus was wiped out without us having fun with them." said the young girl with white hair, stopping near Jura "Great thing that I decided to keep that Karen's body after killing her, at least I managed to fool you, and if you want some advice don't even try to resist. That blade was covered with poison; maybe it won't kill you but you'll still be out of action for quite a while."
"Wha-?!" Jura tried to use his magic but he fell to the ground unable to get up again.
"There you go~ one down, more to go!" said the girl with a smile on her face, which then turned into a cold smirk "I won't let you interfere, little children of the light. If you try, then you'll meet the judgment of Angel!"
[ East of Worth Woodsea / 26th October X784 ]
"Can't we go now?" asked Asteria looking at the clouds above them with a bored look "This wait is killing me!"
"You can always get some sleep. Bonnie is sleeping and not complaining." said Grady with a small smirk while sitting next to her, with Bonnie on her huge pillow not far away. They were stationed on top of a small mountain and with them were also Aki, Reina and Siegmund, who was already wearing his black armor and his broadsword resting on his right shoulder while looking at the forest below.
Suddenly, Asher appeared before them with his magic "They are moving."
Reina nodded before standing up after adjusting the bandolier with the throwing knives over her chest "Okay everyone, listen to me." everyone except Siegmund moved around her, even though it was clear that Bonnie was still asleep "We will now start one of the most important missions for our guild in recent times. Our aim is to kill or capture Oración Seis members, recover the magic they are looking for, and if possible kill some of the alliance members as well."
"Priority on who should we kill or capture?" asked Asher.
"Brain, the guild master, must be killed. Everyone else is free game." replied Reina before adding "You are on your own Asher. Move around the forest and if you discover something report it through the Communication Lacrima; if you have the opportunity, do not hesitate to kill one of the targets."
Asher nodded and after placing the little Lacrima in his ear he approached the edge of the mountain and vanished soon after.
"Bonnie will move around with Asteria, same for Grady and Aki. Rules of engagement to your liking but don't overdo it and don't take unnecessary risks. I will move on my own and will try to assist you in case of need." continued Reina with a serious face.
Grady pointed at his left "What about Siegmund?"
Reina stared at him in silence for several seconds.
"Right...stupid question. My bad."
"Good, now before moving out...Aki, are you sure you are ready? Your brother is among our enemies today."
Aki knew she wasn't one hundred percent ready to face her foster brother, but she certainly couldn't back down after all the way to get to that point. After a deep breath, she nodded "I'm ready. I don't know how the fight will go if I have to face him...but I won't hold back."
"That's good to know." said Siegmund without looking at them "Otherwise I'll kill you myself."
Reina couldn't help but shake her head at his words of encouragement "You know what you have to do, now go!" and after putting a Lacrima in her ear she jumped off the mountain with Grady and Aki, while Asteria and Bonnie flew off on the latter's pillow, leaving Siegmund alone.
"Let me taste it again! Let me taste iiiit!" hissed Tyrfing, releasing black miasma "Let me taste dragon blooooood once agaaaaain!"
"Yes, you will soon be able to drink a lot of dragon's blood." replied Siegmund with a mad grin on his face, covered by the helmet of his armor. After another few seconds of waiting, he flexed his legs slightly before leaping into the forest.
"Death is calling for you! Can you hear it, Cobra?!"
SLAP!
Four pairs of eyes turned to the maroon-haired mage, who had just slapped a hand across his face to cover his permanently closed right eye, with a vertical scar in plain sight. His only eye was fixed on the ground and a feral grin was slowly forming on his lips "Yes, I can hear it, Siegmund."
"Siegmund?" repeated Brain with a calm face "So we were right. Shadow Soul has decided to hunt us too."
"Change of plans?" asked Racer looking at their boss who merely smiled.
"No, let's see if Reveeina's brats have improved in recent years. Along with those useless legal guilds we'll wipe them out too, but for now…" Brain pointed his scepter forward, amassing a lot of magical power on the skull-shaped tip "Dark Rondo!"
The entire area in front of their temporary shelter was completely destroyed by a wave of energy and ghostly purple and black faces. The ground shook for several seconds as a thick cloud of dust and smoke rose into the sky, but that didn't stop Oración Seis from calmly advancing until they popped out of the smoke and saw the result of Brain's attack.
Trees and rocks had been blown away, but a small number of standing silhouettes were visible several meters away. Observing closely they saw that most of the Rune Knights were on the ground helpless, while in the front row were Mira, now transformed into a demon, Gray, Lyon and Winter who had a blue spear in his hands.
"Those mages must have tried to counter my Dark Rondo, but they couldn't completely negate the effect." said Brain with a smirk "In the end they are simply maggots."
"Well it's not like they can do much, not now that Jura has already been defeated." chuckled Angel, shocking Lyon and Sherry.
"Many of you are trembling, I can hear it."
"So you are Oracion Seis." said Winter with ice cold eyes, staring at them "Your days are over, surrender now. We will never let you find the Nirvana." and at his side, Mira and the others prepared to fight.
"You spared us some time!" shouted Natsu running toward them with Gray and Bacchus at his side.
Brain stared at them for a moment before pointing his staff at them.
"Annihilate them."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Hello everyone! Here we are with a new chapter (the tenth!) which marks the beginning of the Oración Seis arc! While not my favorite, it was still a great story arc, so I hope you will enjoy the changes as well! I can't wait to read all of your reviews! Speaking of reviews I'm surprised and happy that even those who don't participate directly like this story, while I've noticed that the only two really long chapters I've published haven't gotten much attention (this is one of the reasons for my delay in churning out a new chapter), therefore from now on I will try to contain myself and make chapters shorter and lighter.
Plus we can already say goodbye to Blue Pegasus, a guild that looked more like a comic gag than a real guild! This is just one of the many drastic changes that I will make throughout the story, I hope you will like the others too!
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, magic, 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!
P.S: for those who read my profile from time to time, I know that it has been a long time since I have updated the data of the various OCs but I will fix it in these days.