As Bixlow would say, Here we go, babies!

Here's the next chapter! Enjoy the read!

Chapter 110

The War Begins

NO POV

A few moments before the red flare went off, Wendy and Mest were busy exploring the cliffs just above the forest. You see, the path they chose turned out be a Combat path which forced them to fight the team of Gray and Loke. The battle was a fierce one, but in the end, Wendy and Mest lost the fight, and Gray and Loke moved onto the second round. After that, Mest mentioned to Wendy a secret that Fairy Tail has been hiding on the island, and suggested that the two of them go an explore, so they did.

As they explored the cliffs, Wendy couldn't help but admire the scenery around her. However, Mest, on the other hand, had something else in mind. He had a hidden objective as to why he wanted to explore the Tenrou Island, but Wendy wasn't aware of this just yet.

Wendy then started to gather some flowers hoping that she would take some home with her, but Mest was now slowly creeping up towards her like a predator ready to pounce on his prey.

"Hey, Mest! Look at these flowers!" Wendy said. "I've never seen flowers like these before! Aren't they pretty?"

She had turned around only for Mest to pounce straight at her, causing her scream loudly. However, Mest didn't go for Wendy. Instead, he went for the flowers that she was picking and started munching on them.

"I must know!" he said with a mouthful of flowers. "I must know what these never-before-seen flowers taste like!"

"But those flowers are for looking at, not for eating!" Wendy wailed. "So please stop doing that!"

Suddenly, there was a loud whistle as well as a loud pop, and from above them, a giant ball of red light burst forth in the sky, causing to the two to look up at it as it shone.

"Hey, what that red flare means?" wondered Wendy. She then looked up at Mest. "Do you have any idea, Mest?"

Mest then stared at Wendy, appearing not to be sure himself. Then he suddenly began munching on a rock.

"Now I really want to know!" he spoke. "I really want to know what that signal means!"

Wendy then cringed. "Um, it's okay if you've forgotten, but I don't think munching on that rock is going to help," she said. "Especially since that, you have no idea where that's been."

However, Mest was only doing this to avoid any suspicion with the girl. Not only that, but he was starting to get a bit anxious feeling worried that he had been found out.

"This is bad. I better make my move before it's too late," Mest thought to himself. "The main forces will arrive at any minute."

Then they both heard a voice which came from above.

"Wendy! Wendy!"

The two of them looked up, and they saw Carla and Pantherlily floating towards them.

Wendy was surprised to see the two. "Carla! Pantherlily! What are you two doing here?!"

"Never mind that!" Carla urgently spoke as she landed. "Just get away from that man right now!"

"But why? What's the matter?" asked Wendy, now feeling confused.

Carla was just about to explain when suddenly, something shot up just over the edge cliff right above them, causing everyone to look up. At first, they couldn't see what or who it was because of the sun, but whatever was above them fell until it finally touched down on the ground making a three-point landing. Everyone then gasped in surprise as it straightened up, for the thing that just landed turned out to be none other than Willy Falconer.

WILLY'S POV

As I landed on the ground, I straightened up my eyes glaring straight at Mest.

"Willy?! You're here too?!" I heard Wendy gasp. "What's going on here?!"

"Just listen to Carla and Pantherlily, Wendy!" I told her. "Stay back and don't get near this guy! He's the enemy!"

"Wh-What the heck are you talking about, Willy?" Mest spoke, appearing to be confused. "I'm not the enemy. I'm Mest Gryder, Mystogan's pupil, remember?"

It seemed to be that he was still trying to play innocent, but I knew that what he said was a lie, and I was getting fed up with him. I immediately shot straight towards him, straightening my hand and cloaking it with my water magic making a sword, and pointed it directly at his throat as I pinned him against a rock behind him.

"Stop it, Willy!" cried Wendy, sounding alarmed. "What's gotten into you?!"

"Just be quiet, and stay back, child!" ordered Carla.

"Why don't you do us all a favor and cut the act?!" I snapped, ignoring them, and holding my blade inches from Mest's throat. "I'll admit that you did a good job fooling everyone else, but you're not fooling me, so why don't you just admit who you really are, Mest?! Or would you rather have me call you Doranbolt instead?!"

Mest then blinked, his eyes went wide with shock, as a drop of sweat trickled down his cheek.

"Hold on. You know this fellow?" I heard Pantherlily asked with surprise.

"Of course, I do. How could I forget?" I replied, looking back towards him and the others. "He was one of the people who interrogated me back when I was locked up! His name is Doranbolt, and he's an officer from the Magic Council!"

Wendy, Carla, and Pantherlily's eyes went wide with shock as I turned back towards Mest explaining.

"First and foremost, his story has more holes than caves in a coral reef. In fact, I've been suspicious ever since he told me, Wendy, and Carla that he was Mystogan's pupil the other day. That alone didn't seem right, especially since he was a secretive man. But for some reason, my head was telling me that he was an ally, but in my gut and heart, something was up.

So I decided to do some digging and ask around everyone in the guild, so I could figure out what was going on. Everyone I asked gave me the same response; Mest was a participant at the S-Class Trial last year, and he almost passed it, and that's all. That made me wonder why Master Makarov would let someone like him a participant in the first place. But then I happened to come across a newspaper back at my apartment with an article about the council yesterday, and this guy's face just so happened to be on it. As soon as I saw it, I remembered who he was instantly, and at the same time, also figured out how he was able to infiltrate our guild.

He was using Memory Manipulation Magic to insert himself into our memories without us realizing it. And he would have gotten away with it too if I hadn't realized it sooner. If you still want to deny what I said, Doranbolt, I'm willing to bet that you didn't know anything about the Emergency Flare that was shot up just now. That alone proves that you're nothing but a liar! Now, tell me what you're doing here, otherwise, you're gonna be in for a world of hurt! Now talk!"

There was a long silence as Doranbolt stared into my eyes, the look on his face changing into a neutral expression. Then, just as I was about to try and pressure him even harder for answers, he suddenly disappeared from my grasp. I turned around and saw that he was now standing in front of Wendy.

"What the heck?!" I gasped thinking. "He can use Teleportation Magic, too?!"

"Wendy, no!" cried Carla, as she, along with Pantherlily, rushed over to help her.

I then turned around and tried to run over as well, thinking that Mest would try and attack her, but Mest embraced Wendy in a tight and protective hug and looked towards me.

"Look out!" he yelled.

At that moment, an unknown attack exploded throughout the area blasting me upward into the air. I felt a bit stunned, but I was able to regain myself as I spread my wings into the air taking flight.

"Was that an attack?! Where did it come from?!"

I then saw Pantherlily to my right of which had changed into his Battle Mode form while carrying Carla in his arms as he used his wings to fly.

"Pantherlily?! Are you and Carla okay?!" I called out.

"We're fine, but where's Wendy?!" Pantherlily called back.

I then looked down towards the cliffs hoping that Wendy didn't get caught in the explosion or kidnapped by Doranbolt. Then on a cliff next to the one we were on, I saw Doranbolt reappear with Wendy in his arms safe and sound, which made me feel surprised.

"He saved her?! But why?!"

Pantherlily and I then flew towards them, landing on the ground. No sooner than we did, I sensed danger and jumped backward, as did Pantherlily, Carla, and Doranbolt of which grabbed Wendy and pulled her out of the way. A line of several explosions shot past where we once stood which came from the left making me follow the trail of smoke which led up to a tree that stood on the end of the cliff.

"Who are you!?" shouted Doranbolt. "Show yourself!"

At that moment, something strange began to happen to the tree before us. At its trunk, it began to bend and bulge in a peculiar shape which immediately made me cringe from shock. The bump continued to swell until it took the form of a man's face.

"How very impressive," the face said. "It seems that you're senses are quite sharp."

"Th-The Tree attacked us?!" gasped Carla.

"It's got to be some kind of magic," said Pantherlily. "There's no other explanation!"

"Come out and show yourself!" I yelled. "And who are you?!"

The bulge from the tree swelled up to an even bigger size as it took the shape of a man pulling himself out from the tree to his upper body. He was dark-skinned, muscular, and had a face that appeared to be made of stone having a dark streak running over his left eye, and swarthy brown hair that was an afro, but appeared to be like confetti. He also wore an outfit that was colored, lime green, dark green, and orange, and seemed to be medieval and tribal in origin with the motifs on his shoulders, and straps on his lower clothes which were hidden inside the tree.

"I'm one of the Seven Kins of Purgatory as well as a member of Grimoire Heart," the man spoke. "Name's Azuma."

"Grimoire Heart?" puzzled Wendy worriedly.

"A dark guild," Carla spoke in a scowl.

"And not just any dark guild," I spoke. "One of the three main guilds of the Baram Alliance."

"So that's what that red flare was about," murmured Doranbolt. "It was meant to announce an enemy raid. Someone must have run into more of these freaks."

"I'd say it's a bit too late to be worrying about your friends," Azuma spoke to Mest. "If I were you, I'd be a little more concerned about yourselves right now."

"What exactly is going on here?!" demanded Pantherlily.

Doranbolt then took a couple of steps forward and began to chuckle.

"I thought if I was going to find any dirt on the Fairy Tail guild, the most logical place would be to start here, its sacred burial ground," Doranbolt said. "And now I find that Zeref and Grimoire Heart are here as well? Talk about hitting the jackpot! Must be my lucky day."

"Just who in the world are you?!" Carla demanded. "Answer us!"

"Come on, isn't it obvious? I mean, after all, Willy here was able to figure it out," Doranbolt spoke as he grinned. "It's as everything as he said. My name is Doranbolt, and I work for the Magic Council. I infiltrated your ranks to gather intel that'll bring you down once and for all!"

"And who put you up to this?!" I yelled, clenching my fists in anger. "Gran Doma?! The entire council?! Or was this another plot concocted by you, Lahar, and Akzuinu as payback toward me for proving my innocence?! I knew you guys were petty, but I didn't think you would sink as low as this!"

"What does it matter to you, Willy?" scoffed Doranbolt. "Besides, I've caught a much bigger fish now. To think that the elusive Grimoire Heart would just fall into my lap from out of nowhere. If I take them out, my career is as good as made! Good thing I have the council's Custody Enforcement's battleships on standby."

I then looked towards the sea just behind Azuma, and I could see a group of battleships coming towards us a great distance away, each one having sails that bore the Magic Council's symbol on it, and also had large cannons on both sides on the deck. Doranbolt then cackled in triumph.

"Once the Dark Guild makes landfall, it'll be game over for them!" he crowed. "This is a crackdown! I, Doranbolt, will single-handedly make history by making the Devil's Heart that is known as Grimoire Heart stop beating for good!"

"I knew I called you petty, but now I take that back. You're petty, crazy, and stupid, Doranbolt!" I snapped. "Do you honestly think that a couple of ships are gonna be good enough to take down a dark guild like Grimoire Heart?! In case you forgot, you're going up against one of the main three of the Baram Alliance! You have no idea what you're going up against!"

"You should listen to the boy," Azuma spoke, who now had an amused smile on his face as he crossed his arms. "At least, he's a lot smarter than you. By the way, those battleships over there, they're yours, correct? They seem so fragile from here."

Doranbolt looked at Azuma in confusion. Then a split second later, all the battleships that were sailing towards the island, all exploded with a mighty boom. My eyes went wide with shock as all the ships seemed to be destroyed in an instant. When the smoke cleared, all of the battleships were all in pieces as well as in flames.

"The ships!" Pantherlily cried.

"They all just exploded!" I gulped in disbelief. "Did Azuma cause that?!"

"All those poor people!" Wendy gasped. "How could you do that to them?!"

"Those ships were full of innocent people!" Carla added.

"He took them all out in an instant!" murmured Mest. "It's impossible! How can one man have such power?!"

Azuma then came out from his tree, now standing before us, with eyes as cold as ice.

"If you're all done talking, I'd like to get to work if you don't mind," he spoke in a sarcastic tone. "And I'd like to start with my first mission, right now."

He then looked directly at me.

"You there," Azuma spoke, pointing. "Am I to assume that you're Willy Falconer of Fairy Tail?"

"And what does it matter to you if I am?" I asked with a sneer.

"I'll take that as a yes then," Azuma spoke. "If that's the case, then that makes my mission all the more easier. Willy Falconer, I must ask that you come with me."

I then instinctively flinched from the words that came out of his mouth, not expecting such a response.

"Wait, what do you want with Willy?!" Wendy asked.

"And what if he doesn't want to go with you?!" Pantherlily spoke, putting up his fists.

"That's none of your concern, nor do you have a choice," Azuma replied. "All you need to know is that if you plan on resisting me, don't think for a second that I won't force you."

"This is bad. Something's telling me that this guy's not kidding around," I thought. "I wish I could try and figure out why this guy's after me, but right now, I need to focus on dealing with him, and protecting the others."

I then glanced around, looking at Wendy, Doranbolt, Pantherlily, and Carla.

"And to make things worse, this isn't the best group of people to fight him. Carla's definitely out, and Wendy only knows the Dragon Roar Spell as well as support magic, so she's out too, and I highly doubt that Doranbolt's willing to work with me considering that he hates my guts. There's Pantherlily, but he can only maintain his Battle Form for a short amount of time, which means, it's up to me. I don't know if I stand a chance against him, but I have to try."

I then looked back towards Azuma and took a fighting stance cloaking my hands with my water magic.

"Carla! Pantherlily! Take Wendy, and get out of here, now!" I said. "I'll take care of this!"

"No, Willy, you can't!" cried Wendy. "He's too strong for you to handle on your own!"

"I'm aware of that, but I'm the one he wants!" I spoke, coiling my legs. "And the last thing I want if for you guys to get caught in the crossfire. The least I can do is to give you guys some time to escape!"

"There is no way we'll do that!" Pantherlily yelled. "We're not going to leave you behind just to risk your life! It's not only foolish, but it's suicide!"

"I'm not going to tell you again!" I shouted back. "I said get out of here!"

I then jumped letting out a cry as he brought back my fist activating my magic, preparing to punch him right in the jaw, but Azuma raised his hand in front of me, and executed one of his spells.

"BLEVE."

A giant explosion seemed to erupt from his hands, engulfing my body and making me wince in pain, but I pushed on through and punched him right on the cheek, causing him to stumble a bit. I smirked feeling satisfied that I landed a hit, but that smile disappeared when I saw Azuma neutral expression appearing to be unfazed. Then strange firework-like lights came forth all around me, and exploded in my face causing me to yell out in pain as I took the full brunt. I felt myself being blown backward, but I planted my feet on the ground and flipped and landed back on the ground in a crouch. My clothes were already a bit tattered, and I also had some bruises on my skin, but I wasn't about to give up.

I looked up in time for Azuma to raise his hand to attack again, but I immediately slammed my fist into the ground making a Geyser Wall erupt in front of me expecting it to take the hit, but the firework-like lights once appeared around me exploding causing me to cry out in pain.

"It's no use," I heard Azuma say. "You may use water magic, but it's useless against mine."

"We'll see about that!" I yelled, as I spread my water wings and using Aqua Jet, shot up into the air.

When I was high enough into the air, and I saw Azuma in my sights, I released powerful torrents of water from my hands and flung them at him.

"WATER DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

The shockwave of wave seemed to hit, but Azuma countered with another explosion from his hands canceling out the attack.

"Is that the best you can do, Falconer?" he asked. "If it is, then I'm very disappointed."

"Damn it, just what kind of guy is he?! Not to mention that magic he's using is a big problem!" I thought. "The explosions are so strong, even I can hardly take them. There's got to be some way to counteract his magic!"

I held out my hands about to use my magic again, when I heard a familiar voice cry out from behind me.

"OH, SWIFT WINDS THAT SPEED THROUGH THE HEAVENS, AND I CALL UPON THEE, THE STALWARD MIGHT TO CLEAVE THE HEAVENS! VERNIER AND ARMS!"

I then turned around in time for Pantherlily to shoot past me and headed towards Azuma, now enhanced with Wendy's support magic. Azuma immediately reacted with a flick of his hand, and the same firework-like lights appeared around Pantherlily. However, thanks to Wendy's support magic, the black humanoid feline was able to dodge the explosions with by flying around at an incredible speed. He then shot towards Azuma and attacked with a strong kick of which Azuma avoided.

I then looked over to the girl feeling a bit irritated that she didn't listen to me. "Wendy! I told you and the others to run!"

"There's no way that we're leaving you, Willy!" Wendy shouted back. "We're not just gonna sit by and abandon a friend when he's in danger!" She then looked at Doranboly. "Now, Mest!"

Doranbolt took a firm hold of Wendy, and he, along with her, disappeared.

"Lily, go up!" Carla yelled.

Panthlily who of which was still fighting Azuma heard Carla and shot up high in the air.

"It doesn't matter where you run," Azuma called out raising his hand. "My explosions always hit their mark."

I then realized what Wendy and the others were up to, I looked towards Azuma and ran straight towards him only to have Wendy and Doranbolt reappear just behind him with Wendy having her cheeks puffed up preparing to use her breath attack. I was about to scream at them to get out of there, because I knew that tactic wouldn't work on a guy like Azuma, unfortunately not only was I too late, but I was also right.

"You pathetic fools," Azuma spoke as he extended his arms at their sides. "TOWER BURST!"

The next thing I knew, a giant pillar of flames erupted from where he stood overtaking my vision. I screamed in pain as the destructive force of the attack as well as the fire blasted and burned my body, blowing me backward. I then felt myself spinning and being smacked around as I fell until I opened my eyes only to see that the forest below was rapidly approaching me. I spread my wings using them to glide across the treetops, but it was too late as I fell through the trees and branches which scraped across my skin and landed on the ground. Now my clothes were really tattered, and I also had some scrapes here and there, which hurt a bit, but I was still alive. I then looked back up towards the cliff to see that most of it was destroyed due to the explosion, and I could see no sign of Wendy and the others anywhere.

"No way... That blast was so strong, that it did this much damage?! And what about Wendy and the others?! Did they..." I then shook my head, calming myself down. "No, don't think like that, Willy. They're okay. They just got to be! But still... Even if they did, it doesn't change the fact that Azuma's after me, and if I stay around them, they'll be in danger, but I can't just abandon them either!"

Then as I continued looking upwards, I caught sight of someone flying towards the cliff. I squinted my eyes, and saw that the said someone had a familiar tuft of pink hair, and the wings belonged to a furry blue cat.

"It's Natsu and Happy! They're heading towards the cliff!"

I watched as the two disappeared from view, and waited to see what would happen. At first, I thought that Azuma was still up there and was ready to jump in when he came, but to my surprise, nothing happened which puzzled me.

"Did Azuma leave or did something else happen? Either way, it works well for me. If Wendy and the others are up there, Natsu should be able to keep them safe. For now, I have to go get help while leading away any enemy that's after me. Most especially the Seven Kin. If Azuma's after me, then most likely the other Seven Kin will be coming for me too. I can't afford to let anyone else get caught the crossfire, especially since I'm the one they're after."

I turned around towards the endless trees before me while taking one last look at the cliff.

"Natsu, make sure you keep Wendy and the others safe for me if they're up there. And at the same time, I'll try my best to keep you out of harm's way when it comes to the Seven Kin. I'm not sure why Grimoire Heart's after me, but there's no way they're gonna get me without a fight! Until then, be careful."

I then broke into a sprint as I jumped up into the trees moving as fast as I could. But as I did, I heard a strange sound coming from above me. I looked up wondering what it was, and saw something strange. From the sky, strange orange balls were raining down coming towards me.

"What the heck are those?" I wondered. "Bubbles of some kind?"

As they grew closer to me, they began to swell up in size, and when I realized what the bubbles truly were, it was already too late.

NO POV

Thankfully for Willy, Azuma had already left the area where Wendy and the others were before Natsu and Happy arrived. However, he was still on the hunt for Willy as he walked around the forest. Then he heard the whine from a jet engine of sorts which was coming from the air. Azuma turned his head towards the sky, and a shape gliding across the sky while leaving a trail of smoke. It was one of his comrades, Caprico who was wearing a jet back with enormous wings.

As he flew, several strange orange bubbles came popping out from his jetpack scattering all around the island. Inside those orbs were not only Grimoire Heart's army, but also some of the Seven Kins themselves. When the bubbles got close to the ground, the bubbles popped, and they all emerged from them ready to carry out their assault.

"Well, well," Azuma said. "It seems as though the rowdy ones are here."

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Dragoman, signing off!