"Rajaron?" Lucy blinked, staring at the abnormally tall male standing before them. "Wait…that's who the planned on feeding Diamond too!"
"And he is the strongest member of the Wizard hunters…barring our leader of course…" Marta smirked slightly.
"Well I'll be…" Satoshi tipped his hat slightly, a slight smirk appearing on his face. "This is the big bad Rajaron, eh?"
"Yeah…" Roy nodded, taking a step back. "I don't know how much stronger he's gotten, but I advise we take leave right now."
"Screw that!" Natsu yelled, pounding his now flaming fist together. "I ain't running away now! We've got them all minus this guy!"
"Ever think there was a reason for that, Salamander?" Roy asked.
"Reasoning really isn't his strongest point…" Aira pointed out with a nervous smile.
"I think we can take him!" Cynthia stated confidently, punching the air a few times.
"Oh no…" Laxus said in a stern tone. "You kids are stayin' back. Don't think I forgot that you two are still out of commission until the old man or Mira's say so."
"Darn it…" Cynthia huffed.
"You'll just get in the way. Leave." Sidney stated.
"Didn't have to be so mean about it…" Wendy frowned slightly, but nodded.
"Be careful you guys…" Carla said before exiting with Wendy, Cynthia, and Marlene who figured she would get in the way.
"You guys go on too," Cygnus said to Lucy, Yukino, Marlene, and Saeko.
"No way!" Yukino protested. "We're fighting with you…it's the least we can do for bringing you all into this mess."
"Your bad luck will be the end of everyone," Sidney stated bluntly.
"Oi!" Sting growled towards Sidney. "You keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it for you!"
"Now isn't really the time for this…" Hikaru sighed before turning to look at Rajaron. She picked up an odd scent from the tall male, raising a brow after. "Wait a minute…You're…"
"That's enough talk…" Rajaron said, stepping on the ground once. The floor nearly cratered from that simple step.
"Okay, we're obviously stuck here now so we need a plan…" Roy started.
"Who needs a plan!" Natsu grinned, rushing towards Rajaron with his fist pulled back."We'll just hit him really had!"
"That's a Natsu plan alright…" Happy commented with a sigh.
"Iron fist of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu shouted, throwing his flaming fist towards Rajaron's face. The male just grabbed Natsu's fist before it struck, licking his lips after.
"Oh…Dragon slayers…been a long time since I had one of those…" Rajaron grinned before pulling his free hand down, balling it into a fist. He then brought his fist upward into Natsu's jaw, sending the Salamander soaring into the air, hitting the ceiling.
"Gah!" Natsu grunted, falling off the ceiling now, but he would persist. He would use his downward momentum to his advantage, flames coating his body head to toe as he went headfirst for the male. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
"Want another?" Rajaron grinned, pulling his fist back in preparation to take down Natsu.
In a flash, Laxus appeared behind Rajaron, gripping the male in an arm lock with a smug grin. "Don't think so, bub…"
"Hmph…" Rajaron played along for a few seconds before tossing Laxus over his shoulder, Natsu colliding right with h is follow guild mate. The resulting collision ended in a small explosion, blowing both Dragon slayers back.
"So now we know a frontal assault won't work…" Roy chuckled a bit before thinking over various strategies.
"Anymore takers?" Rajaron asked while rolling his shoulders. "It's been a while since I've worked out…a good work out always leaves me with a pretty big appetite…"
"I got it!" Cygnus grinned, rushing forward as he entered his God Trigger, level two. A golden magic seal appeared around his person as he jumped into the air, using gravity to make himself lighter and jump higher.
"What did I JUST say?!" Roy exclaimed.
"Gravity God's…" Cygnus began to chant.
"Oh, I love this game!" Rajaron grinned, black wings spreading out from his back. He took off into the air, appearing in front of Cygnus within the blink of an eye. "Hi." In the next instant, Rajaron swung his fist at Cygnus' face, the impact sending Cygnus hurtling into the floor.
"Wings too?" Azur blinked. "Is this guy an actual dragon?!"
"Haha..." Rajaron laughed. "Not just any dragon. But I am a Black Dragon. I intend to destroy every single dragon, including Acnogloia. But I'll start with that wretched, cowardly island once I'm done here."
"You weren't lyin…" Satoshi said to Roy. "Interesting individual we have here…"
"Shoot him down!" Tristan exclaimed, and everyone who had a ranged attack used it. Tristan used his Steel Make: Lance, Lucy used Sagittarius, the dragon slayers used their respective roars and so on. But, every single attack fired off was avoided by Rajaron, which left everyone surprised at how nimble such a large male was in a confined space.
"We can't beat him in a straight fight." Roy stated.
"What do you suggest we do then?" Satoshi asked.
"For starters…" Roy started before looking up, eyes widening. "Oh…This building isn't structurally sound, is it…?"
"Well, when you have multiple fights going on and the combatants have powerful attacks, a building tends to start to crumble…" Cain stated in a sarcastic manner before actually getting what was about to happen. "OH."
All eyes (but Rajaron's) went to the ceiling, which had a multitude of holes in it from all the missed attacks. The warehouse itself then began to shake. "Is that our cue to leave…?" Sting asked.
"Pick up the tied up ones and let's bolt!" Mason kinda commanded, bolting shortly after.
"We don't have much choice…" Aira nodded. Sting picked up Cain, Erza picked up Weavel, Natsu picked up Marta, Laxus picked up Marx, Rogue picked up Bass, and Sidney left with Aeon.
"Where do you think you're going!?" Rajaron roared towards the mages who so rude fully left.
"We're leaving," Aira replied while taking a step forward. "I won't allow you to bring any more harm to my comrades." After Aira spoke, multiple blue spheres appeared around Rajaron. "Secret Art: Raging Collapse." Rajaron thought this simple attack could be blocked, but he was wrong. Once the spheres made contact, they attacked the central nervous system and pain receptors which would cause a great deal of pain. The winged male fell to the ground, allowing Hikaru to make her move.
"The Ice Dragon's Palace." After Hikaru chanted that, she placed her hands on the floor, creating a "palace" of ice that served more of a prison, trapping the currently injured Rajaron. After that, everyone made it outside safely while the warehouse began to collapse.
"He's gonna get up…" Roy said while preparing a rather large bomb. "This, my friends, is how you finish off a monster." With a grin, Roy threw the bomb forward. Once connecting with the already collapsing warehouse, the bomb unleashed a massive explosion, noticeable from a few miles away. After the explosion, the large group of wizards decided to leave the scene.
{Minutes later}
"So, what are we going to do with these guys?" Cygnus asked.
"Hand 'em over to the Council," Roy replied. "They can't do much on their own, especially like that."
"Piss off," Weavel grunted.
"Have fun sitting in the slammer…" Roy chuckled.
.
.
Quite a ways away from the warehouse the hunters used as their base, Yumia and Yukia laid on the grass, both getting over their injuries. "Ugh…" Yukia sighed, rubbing her arm as she looked over at her sister with a concerned look. "Are you okay…?"
"Yeah…" Yumia nodded, rolling over onto her stomach with a wince. She pulled out a commutations lacrima, contacting their leader, Lucia.
"What is it…?" Lucia asked, eying the injuries of the twins. "Mission update?"
"We've failed," Yukia reported, letting out a heavy sigh after.
"You've failed?" Lucia repeated, just to make sure she heard Yukia correctly.
"It's all your fault!" Yumia exclaimed. "You just HAD to tell us to hold back on any wizards we ended up facing. If we didn't have to hold back…"
"I told you to hold back because we can't be deemed too dangerous. You were all meant to not be caught…I don't understand how they found you so quickly and easily…" Lucia growled somewhat, but not at the Twins. "No matter…I can explain the situation to our employer, and I'm sure he'll understand. Where are the others?"
"Ehh…I think they got caught…" Yukia replied, rubbing the back of her head. "I think they believe they took care of Rajaron…but we all know how durable that guy is. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he's just napping where they left him…"
"I see…" Lucia rubbed her chin before letting out a sigh. "Very well. You two are in charge of any operation the Wizard Hunters gain within Fiore's borders…"
"Wait…" Yukia's eyes lit up. "We're in charge?!"
"In FIORE," Lucia corrected. "Don't go getting the wrong ideas now."
"Fine, fine…" Yukia nodded. "So we're technically off the Pergrande job?"
"Yeager, Shade, and I will find something else that could hopefully appease the client.
"Okay, we'll just lay low for now, then!" Yumia nodded.
"Very well…stay safe, and I will contact you when ready." Lucia nodded, cutting off the connection shortly after.
"Guess it's just you and me against the world now…" Yukia said while plopping back down onto the grass. "Nothing changes…"
.
.
After his brief business with the three White Eclipse mages, Daityas returned to Tartaros. He opened the doors to his throne room, immediately scowling at the sight. Someone was sitting on his throne. Not just anyone someone; Marde Gullie. Daityas slowly approached the demon, glaring towards him. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Ah, look who it is…" Marde stated with a condescending smile on his face. "I appreciate you keeping my seat nice and warm…"
"You…" Daityas growled slightly.
"You allow a simple demon to play king, and he becomes all high and mighty…" Marde said while crossing his legs.
"What the hell do you want?" Daityas asked with an irritated voice.
"Oh, I'm just here to let you know that your time as "King" is coming to a close, Daityas. You've done nothing but toy around those humans…I'll never understand why you and the others have taken a liking with those disgusting creatures…they should've been crushed under your foot the very second they defied Tartaros and its demons. Not to mention, I see you've added another person among our ranks? That ice wizard?"
During Marde's little lecture, Daityas curled his lip in disgust slightly, ignoring just about everything the king had to say. "I don't need you poking your nose around in my business."
"Oh, very well." Marde stood up, a slight grin on his face as he flicked the mighty Daityas in the nose, to which no reaction was given by the hell fire demon. "I'm just here to let you know that you can continue with your fun, but your fun ends the very second I, or Master Zeref, say so."
Daityas' eyes widened just slightly at the mention of Zeref. "He's coming, isn't he?"
Marde gave a soft chuckle, starting to walk out of the throne room. "Oh, he will be coming very soon. I can't wait to see how things play out for his arrival…the minute he arrives is the minute Fiore will be plunged into darkness…"
.
.
Heartless placed Diamond on the infirmary bed, letting out a heavy sigh after. "Diamond, what n Earthland got into you…" She then turned to Jack, who was still unconscious from Joker's blow (from the Interlude). "And Jack, you need to calm yourself…"
"Mistress…" Daigo said while tapping Heartless on the shoulder.
"Yes?" Heartless asked.
"King would like to speak with you." Daigo nodded, walking out after.
Heartless nodded after Daigo left, making her way to the main room of Dealer, where King was waiting for her. "You wanted to see me, King?"
"Yes," King nodded. "Heartless, your work has been outstanding lately. I do not know where this project would be without your assistance. This project is nearly completed!"
"I'm glad to be of assistance…" Heartless gave a slight bow.
"And because of that, I would like you to take on the next assignment…"
.
.
{In the remains of the warehouse}
Rajaron awoke. He wasn't in pain, but he was hungry. He stood up, brushing off the rubble that was on him. "Grh…" He growled in response to his empty stomach. He was promised food, but instead his food attacked and ran away from him, and stole his comrades. He was too focused on hunger. He needed to eat. His eyes changed to an oval shape, more dragon-like. The wings from before sprouted out of his back, only this time much larger; his body began to bulk up in size, scales appearing all over his body; mouth opened, teeth sharpened. It was only seconds later that a large, black dragon stood on top of what used to be a warehouse. "Hungry…must…feed…" The black dragon gave a roar before flying off into the distance to feed on a few nearby villages. Where would the enraged dragon go after that? No one knew…but he would return soon enough…