"H-HISUI…!" Everyone called out as Hisui hit the ground, lifeless. Everyone froze in fear as the gravity of the situation began to weigh down on them.
Mavis appeared shortly after Zeref's deed, her eyes widening in surprise and fear as she realized what happened. "No…I was too late…"
"W-Why did you…" Lucy could barely managed words.
"Y-YOU BASTARD!" Natsu screamed out in pure anger; he was about to leap forward when the dark aura appeared around Zeref once more, and he pointed a hand filled with Death Magic to a crowd of innocents. "…!"
"Do not be so hasty…unless you wish to see these people die in front of you," Zeref warned, causing Natsu to stop in his tracks.
"You can't do that…!" Cynthia growled, though she really wasn't in a position to speak.
"You…" Natsu's growl grew lower. He found himself staring down Zeref while everyone fell silent.
"Unless…" Zeref stopped, lowering his hand slowly while dropping his guard completely. "Unless you can stop me right here and now, Natsu Dragneel. Do you think you have what it takes to end me right here, right now…?"
"What's this have to do with Natsu…?" Gray questioned, but it wasn't like anyone could answer.
"You don't even have to ask!" Natsu immediately replied. He leapt on a table, and then pushed off, making a straight line for Zeref with flames engulfing his fist. Once he was close to Zeref, he swung a fiery haymaker towards Zeref's jaw, landing a direct hit. Zeref spiraled backwards but he caught himself quickly with a flip, landing on his feet with ease and slid back a few inches before finally coming to a stop. There was a large burn mark on his cheek, but aside from that, he was unharmed. The mark on his cheek slowly began to heal as well, due to his immortality.
"No way…!" Sting's jaw dropped at Natsu's attack having no effect.
"That did nothing…?" Takeru was intrigued and a little shocked at the same time. He'd taken many hits like that from Natsu in the past, and he was surprised that Zeref shrugged it off with ease.
"Hm…" Zeref thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Not even close to enough power to kill me…I suppose that's to be expected. You had your chance…" Zeref then turned his back, and began to walk off. "The destruction has already come. Tartaros has released demons all over the city, even as we speak now the carnage is most likely widespread." The doors opened and Zeref continued to step out. "And my demons are infiltrating the palace at this very moment…resistance is futile…but if you think you can change the course of destruction…by all means, be my guest…" And with that, the doors shut behind Zeref.
.
.
"Ha! Look at those blokes run!" Maggie let out a hearty laugh while having her lava golems chase after some poor civilians, melting the ground with every step they took. "Oh, this is too great!"
"Like ants after a fire!" Kiora grinned, sitting atop her trusted three-headed beast, Cerberus. The three heads of the dog snapped at every passing citizen, and some were unlucky to get caught within the grasp. "Who's a good dog?" The ravenette patted one of the heads with a sinister grin. "This should make up for all those missed meals."
"This isn't going to be any fun if those wizards can't make their way out of the palace…" Tobias remarked.
"Shut up, Tobias," Ruika immediately replied before realizing that for once, Tobias had a point. "Oh, yes...that would be rather boring, wouldn't it? But, considering the mages, I doubt we'll be waiting too long…" After she spoke, multiple beams of magic were fired her way. It didn't take too much effort for her to dodge. "Hm…?" The celestial demon turned around, spotting members of the Council Guard defending the escaping civilians.
"Oh, look at that…the playthings have arrived!" Maggie merely yawned at the Council Guard's appearance.
"Protect the people! Don't let another life get stolen!" Lahar commanded, and the guards nodded.
"Well, ladies…" Maggie turned around, placing her hands on her hips as the Council Guards neared. "Shall we show these gentlemen a good time?"
"You know I'm all for that, Maggie…" Kiora grinned, hopping off Cerberus while manifesting a scythe from thin air.
"I'm all for it," Ruika gave a nod of agreement, drawing forth a key from her key ring.
.
.
"Jellal, we have problems!" Ultear gestured to the city that was under attack. "The capital is in danger!"
"I noticed…" Jellal immediately replied. "I don't know what's holding them up in there…but until they come out we have to do whatever we can to help."
"I agree…!" Meredy gave a quick nod. "But…there are so many demons down there…!"
"If we take out their leader, the numbers may just decrease…" Jellal thought aloud. "The demons of Tartaros are under the command of…"
"That would be me…" Daityas said as he appeared within a cloak of blue flames. The flames dispersed, revealing his figure. Jellal's eyes laid on the demon's bloodied lips. "And of course, Marde. But, in the end, we all serve under Zeref."
"Zeref is here…!?" Jellal's eyes widened.
"That's right. He's the one in charge of this entire attack, and he's got your little guild friends trapped in the palace. By now, I'm thinking he's already killed the Princess," Daityas replied while licking his lips clean.
"The princess…" Ultear could hardly breathe at the thought
"You know...it's just so boring when all you have are humans who can't do a thing once you get their hands on them. I like it when my food struggles a bit; it gives me a sense of satisfaction when I bore into them with no mercy…" Daityas digressed.
"Ultear…Meredy…Go on ahead." Jellal commanded.
"But…!" Meredy began to protest, but Jellal shook his head.
"Leave him to me…" Jellal commanded once again. "You must help those in the city." Reluctantly, the two females nodded and went into the demon ridden city.
"Must you always get all the entertaining ones…?" Marde questioned from afar while shaking his head. "I suppose I'll deal with his entourage…" With the book of E.N.D in hand, Marde slowly walked after Ultear and Meredy.
.
.
The non-wizards in the palace ball room were freaking out; the uproar of worry made itself known and no one could even hear themselves think with all the noises. Wendy, Aira, Chelia, the King, Arcadios, and Natsu all gathered around Hisui's lifeless body. "….How could this happen…?" The King spoke softly, unable to look directly at his daughter's body.
"I failed my duty…" Arcadios cursed himself for being such an inadequate knight.
"Come on…" Wendy, Chelia, and Aira all had their hands placed over Hisui's body, a soft sea-green light emitting from their palms. It was their attempt to heal the Princess, but it wasn't working. Her body wouldn't budge. "Nothing…"
"Damn it…" Natsu clenched his fist, anger welling up within him. He could smell the demons overrunning the palace, but right now they had no plan of action, and everyone was too distraught to think of anything.
"I was too late…" Mavis looked down shamefully. "If only I'd gotten here sooner…"
"Don't blame yourself, First…" Makarov assured the spirit. "I don't think we would've been able to change anything…"
"The Princess' life is lost…there's little room for doubt on that…" Mavis replied. "I must think of a way to get you all out of this situation…otherwise it will be too late."
"You're not the only one thinking…" Sidney told Mavis. "This isn't an easy situation, but there are very limited options in our current place. I hope you know this."
"They don't call me the Fairy Strategist for nothing," Mavis responded with a small smile. Despite the situation, she was not to be outdone by anyone else. This was the most important time to come up with a plan.
"Hn…" Aira examined Hisui's body closely, closing her eyes in attempt to concentrate. "Ugh…"
"What's wrong?" Chelia asked.
"It's too loud in here…" Aira groaned. "I can't focus on what I thought I heard…if only there was some way to get everyone to quiet down…"
Erza picked up on this. She cleared her throat before shouting to everyone. "BE QUIET." And with that, the noise in the room dropped to complete and utter silence. "That work?"
"Perfectly!" Aira gave Erza a nod and smile of appreciation before focusing. It was a few moments, but she heard the slightest and weakest thump coming from Hisui's chest. "…I heard it…!"
"What'd you hear!?" The King asked.
"I heard a heartbeat!" Aira responded, causing everyone to gasp. "She's not dead just yet, but if we don't hurry, she will be…"
"If she's alive, why won't our healing magic work?" Wendy questioned.
"The presence of Death Magic around her body is powerful…our healing magic won't get through to her as long as she's covered in such a strong shroud of Death Magic…" Aira reported.
"How do we get rid of it…?" Chelia asked.
"Allow me…I believe I have just the technique to leave you two with an opening…" Aira said while taking a deep breath.
"Wait, are you sure…!?" Selene spoke out with worry. "You haven't perfected it yet!"
"It'll be fine, Selene!" Aira reassured the diamond slayer. "Besides, if I don't, she'll die!" Aira then turned to Hisui, exhaling. "Okay…step back, please." Wendy and Chelia did just that. Aira held her hands out, blue lines beginning to on her body. "Infinite Healings…" Aira muttered as a bright green aura began to seep out from her hands. Everyone watched in amazement as a black aura began to appear around Hisui, slowly dispersing. "T-There's no way I can remove all of that Death Magic from around her…but it should be a sufficient opening…hurry!"
"R-Right!" Chelia and Wendy nodded, placing their hands over Hisui's body once again, the sea green light emitting from their hands once again. The Sky Sisters put everything they had into healing Hisui until…
Two soft coughs escaped Hisui's mouth, her eyes slowly opening. "Ugh…"
"It worked…!" Yukino let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"W-What…?" It took Hisui a moment to realize what happened. "T-That's right…Zeref…!" Her eyes widened and she sat up, only to wince after. "Agh…"
"You mustn't move…" Aira scolded Hisui. "I wasn't able to get rid of the death magic that was around you…if you do anything that your body can't handle, you'll die, and we won't be able to save you this time.
"…" Hisui silently nodded.
"Princess…I've failed you…" Arcadios bowed apologetically.
"No…" Hisui slowly shook her head. "Zeref caught me off guard…I was not expecting such a move from him, but now…I can tell that he's 100% serious…What's the situation…?"
"Based on the noises outside…" Reve began while staring at the door. "Your guards are getting destroyed by the demons that entered the castle."
"And the plan is…?" Hisui continued.
"About that…" Luke sighed.
"I GOT IT!" Mavis exclaimed, causing the Fairy Tail members and Sidney to turn, while the others just thought they were losing it. "I have a plan to counter Zeref's tactics! Sixth! I'll need you to explain it to everyone! Follow after me!"
"Of course, First…!" Makarov nodded, putting complete and utter faith in Mavis. "Wait, what's this plan's name?"
"Operation: Gain Ground!" Mavis grinned.
"Operation: Gain Ground…?" Makarov seemed confused at first before remembering that he was the one conveying to everyone.
"You think of that yourself?" Sidney shot towards Makarov.
"Watch your tongue…and respect your elders, boy…" Makarov replied to Sidney. "Regardless, listen up, all of you."
"Here's how we begin!" Mavis said, and Makarov just voiced all of her words. "The demons are coming through that door very soon, no doubt with the intent to overrun us and finish us off here. But…if we time it right, we can actually impede their progress and push our way forward, eventually leading us out of the castle and into the city streets! Timing is important…in order to push the enemy back when they're overrunning you; you have to crush the peak of their momentum." Spoken like a true strategist. "If we have our strongest up front, it will make things easier."
"Strongest, huh!?" Natsu grinned, pounding his fist together. "Count me in. I've gotta pay that Zeref bastard back for what he just did."
"I'll fight too…" Hisui stood up, but the King and Arcadios were strongly against this.
"You mustn't!" The King pleaded.
"It's much too dangerous!" Arcadios objected. "Allow me to fight for you, Princess."
"I cannot stand by and watch as this happens to my people…" Hisui shook her head slowly, a determined expression on her face. She could hardly stand, but she was willing to fight. "Not again. I know how to use a sword, you know."
"How!?" Arcadios was surprised to hear this.
"That would be my doing…" Tristan said while walking up with a bow. "Forgive me, King, Arcadios-san…but she requested my training in secret…But, you shouldn't. Not right now, at least. You must listen to Aira-san and leave this to us."
"…" With a reluctant sigh, Hisui nodded in agreement.
"Alright, so when are we getting started?!" Natsu asked impatiently, standing at the door with fire blazing around him. Just then, the door started to creak open. Natsu waited just until the door was open enough to get a shot in; he unleashed a Fire Dragon's Roar, but the funnel of fire was quickly counted by a blast of ice, resulting in a large explosion. Natsu slid back while glaring into the smoke. "What the…"
"Whoever that was…they were ready for that…" Gray commented while sliding into ice make stance.
From the smoke, two figures appeared. One was a male who donned a resemblance to the grim reaper. He held a large blue scythe in his hands, donning a cocky smile. The other was a female who wore a blue dress, held a dual bladed spear in her hands; her emotionless, apathetic expression making it known in her red eyes. "Your tricks will not work on us…" The female stated.
"I'm afraid we can't let you do that, Fairy Tail…" The Grim Reaper continued with a widening grin.
"Who the hell are these two…?" Tia said while taking a step back.
"I'm glad you asked that! I am Prometheus, a commander in Lord Zeref's army of demons! You may also refer to me as the Grim Reaper!" The Grim Reaper revealed his name.
"Pandora…the Goddess of calamity…" The female responded in a quiet tone.
"Sounds like they make a perfect match…" Sting tsked while clenching his fists.
"We can't allow you to interrupt with Lord Zeref's perfect plan!" Prometheus exclaimed while holding his scythe to his side. "This is the end of humanity in Fiore….then it'll spread throughout all of Earthland! He's been waiting for this day for quite some time now, and we can't let you take it away! KYAHAHAHAHA!"
"This guy's a freak…" Milliana hissed.
"Oh yeah!?" Natsu clenched his fists before darting towards the duo. "I don't care who you are, you're just in the way!" Natsu then leapt forward, aiming a fiery fist towards Prometheus.
"Heh…" Prometheus brought the blunt side of his scythe up, blocking Natsu's strike with ease, not even sliding back an inch. "So, you're the one Lord Zeref pays special attention to…Natsu Dragneel. It's a shame…He's going to be rather disappointed when I hand him your severed head!" Prometheus then swung forward, causing Natsu to fly backwards from the amount of force put into it. As Natsu flew back, Gray and Sting were the next to move in.
"Ice Make: Ice Bringer!" Gray exclaimed while drawing forth a single curved blade, preparing to slash.
"White Dragon's Punch!" Sting threw his white dragon slayer infused fist at Prometheus as Gray slashed his sword, but the strikes from the pair were suddenly blocked by Pandora and her lance.
"You shall not harm Prometheus…" Pandora stated in an emotionless tone; then, with a single twirl of her lance, she managed to push Gray and Sting away with a powerful gust of wind.
"Sky Dragon's…." Wendy leapt onto a table and into the air, arms spread apart as she overshadowed the opposing duo. "Wing Attack!" She threw her arms down, unleashing a spiral of blue wind down towards Prometheus and Pandora.
"Heh…" The Grim Reaper grinned while tightening his grip on his sickle. He held the sharp part forward, completely cutting through the Sky Dragon's Wing Attack with ease, not even making a motion.
"W-What…" Wendy stared in wide eyed shock as her attack was nullified without any movement.
"That was a cute attempt…now it's my turn…" Prometheus swung his scythe forward, unleashing a sharp blue wave towards the defenseless Wendy.
"Wendy!" Chelia leapt forward, snatching Wendy out of the way before the beam could strike. Chelia landed roughly on her side, but at least Wendy was okay. "Are you alright…?" Chelia asked as there was now a large cut on her side.
"M-me!?" Wendy couldn't believe Chelia was wondering about her instead of worrying about herself.
"You must stop wasting so much time playing around…" Pandora told Prometheus before reaching for the attachments at her head. She pulled them off and threw them into the air; seconds after, the attachments began to unleash beams of varying elements, throwing everyone off guard and caused them to scatter.
"Well, this has been…" Prometheus said as he pulled his scythe back. "But we really must be going now." He then swung his scythe forward, cutting through the floor. This caused a large number of the mages, to fall through to the lower levels of the castle. "See if your plan works now!" With that, he then began to turn around.
"Oi, oi!" Natsu shouted as Happy lifted him from the hole in the floor. "We're not done with you yet!"
"Yeah!" Gajeel growled in a comical manner while touching back down on the floor thanks to Lily. He then looked around, noticing that it was him, Natsu, Happy, Lily, Sting, Bacchus, Lector, Mason, Shadowlore, Gray, Cygnus, Hisui, the King, Tristan, and Arcadios left to deal with the troublesome pair; everyone else had fallen.
"Ah…so you all managed not to fall…?" Prometheus seemed impressed before shrugging. "Very well…" He and Pandora then turned around, beginning to walk off as demons began to flood the room. "Kyahaha…looks like they've already arrived. Good luck escaping."
"It's not an escape…It's blowing our way out of here…!" Natsu said while throwing an explosive fiery fist to a horde of demons, blowing them all back.
.
.
"Ugh…" Wendy slowly came too, looking around to see where she was and who was around her. "What happened…?"
"You're awake…?" Lucy said with a soft groan. With them was Cynthia, Carla, Elfman, Jack, Luke, Daryan, and Melody.
"Geez…" Melody said while rubbing the back of her head. "That was one hell of a party crasher…"
"Not cool at all…" Jack said with an annoyed groan. "Jerks…"
"We're all okay, don't worry," Leon said with a nod.
"Good…" Wendy nodded, scanning the current group before noticing someone was missing. Her wide eyed gaze met with Cynthia's. "O-Oh no…We got separated from Chelia…!"
"Crud…!" Cynthia said while ripping off all the fluffy parts of her dress; she didn't want to, but she was going to need mobility for the long fights up ahead.
"I don't see why you're all worried…" Luke began with a soft shrug. "You're acting like she isn't an overpowered teenage girl. She handled herself just fine when Tartaros attacked during the Council Ball. Then again, that Raven kid and I were with her."
"That's not it…" Wendy said while shaking her head slowly. "You know…she hasn't been the same at all since that Tartaros incident…no, before then; when she left Lamia Scale, actually. She told me that she didn't remember anything before a certain point, but recently she's been recalling all those events…"
"She was the one destroying all those towns, wasn't she…?" Melody asked while exchanging her dress for something more appropriate, silver armor that was flexible.
"Mhm…" Cynthia nodded, arms crossed. "When she started to remember what she did, she began to lose it slightly…and she wants to do whatever she can to make up for it."
"I don't see what's wrong with that…she wants to make up for what's she's done?" Leon questioned. He didn't quite understand where Wendy and Cynthia were going with this, but then again neither did everyone else.
"She's also really reckless when she wants to protect something…so if you put those two together…" Wendy began, and it clicked for the group.
"You don't think she'd try and solo something she probably couldn't do you!?" Lucy questioned with wide eyes.
"She'll certainly rush…" Cynthia nodded slowly. "Which is why we need to find her!"
"That doesn't sound too good…" Daryan admitted while rubbing the back of his head.
"Relax…" Jack said while waving a dismissive hand at the situation regarding Chelia. "If we all got split up, I doubt she'll actually be alone. What we should be doing is finding a way out of this dump ourselves. I want to get in on some of this action; I haven't had a fight in a long time."
"Aren't you worried about Tia?" Elfman immediately questioned, but Jack shrugged.
"I don't need to be, she can take care of herself…" Jack replied.
"What…!?" Elfman scowled at Jack's response, which was something the kid wasn't expecting. "What kind of response is that…!?"
"Whoa…!" Jack took a step back. "What's with you all of a sudden!? Are you worried about your older sister, because last time I checked, she was stronger than you…"
"That's not the point!" Elfman growled lowly while clenching his hand into a fist. "Don't you remember Ace's last words to you!?"
"…" Jack stayed silent, looking away.
"You have to take care of Tia now, okay? I'm trusting you!"
"I don't have to worry about Mirajane all the time…She's stronger than I can ever hope to be. But that's fine with me, I can accept that. But there's something more important, you know! Just because she's stronger, doesn't mean I shouldn't be there for her! It's my duty as a man to make sure I have her back! Ace is trusting you with the protection of your older sister…Do you have her back…are you a Man!?"
"Whoa…" Cynthia blinked; she had never seen this side of Elfman before.
"I…" Jack paused for a moment. "I thought she didn't need my help and that she was always protecting me…"
"That's where you're wrong!" Lucy said with a widening smile. "She needs you, and you need her. You need each other, and there's nothing wrong with that."
"Well…" A bright light surrounded Jack's body, and in that very same second, he was in his Corvus Armor. "I can't let anything happen to Sis! I gotta be there for her, since he can't anymore."
"Are we done with the sentimental crap?" Luke asked rather impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.
"They're going to be here any second, I can smell them," Leon pointed out, referring to the demons. Acid began to swirl around his body; he was ready.
"We're ready! Operation: Gain Ground begins!" Cynthia pumped a fist in the air. Just as she exclaimed this, the door to the room they were in broke open.
"Acid Dragon's Roar!" Leon wasted no time, unleashing a funnel of acid from his mouth into the incoming horde of demons, blowing them away with ease.
"Nice shot, Leon!" Daryan grinned while spreading his hands out, creating a several foot long bone in his hands. He then took the lead forward into the hallway, using the bone to smack away any incoming demons with ease.
"Sliver Make:…" Melody began while following right beside Daryan, a sliver magic seal appearing before her. "Arrows!" From the magic seal, multiple sliver arrows shot out, piercing through whatever demons were in the way.
"Beast Soul!" Elfman roared as a magic seal appeared over him, changing into his Beast Soul Takeover. He rushed down the hallway wildly, charging through whatever demons dared stand in his way, crushing them with ease. "MAN!" He said while slamming his hands down on the floor, creating a shockwave that blew a wave of demons back.
"Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee!" Lucy pulled out a golden key while swiping it forward. "Taurus!" From a magic seal came the Zodiac Spirit, mooing with gusto and his large axe in hand. "Are you ready!?"
"Anything for you!" Taurus exclaimed with a nod. He then lunged forward and with a mighty swing, cleaved through most of the horde of demons.
"What strength…!" Melody admitted.
"That's Manly!" Elfman exclaimed.
"Now it's our turn!" Wendy said while running alongside Cynthia. "Ready?"
"Always!" Cynthia replied with a nod. The two girls leapt into the air, cheeks puffed out. "Omega Fire Dragon's…"
"Sky Dragon's…"
"ROAR!" The two girls unleashed their roars, cleaning out a majority of the demons in their way.
"Those two are so in sync!" Leon grinned from watching the two partners do work.
"Nothing new here!" Carla said with a bit of pride.
"Pfft, that's nothing…" Luke said, deciding that he wanted to show off slightly. He formed a dense black sphere in his hand, throwing it down the hallway at a distance group of demons, causing a large explosion that shook the area slightly. "Ha!"
"What are you trying to do, bring down the entire castle!?" Cynthia said while huffing at Luke. "Everyone else is still in here, you know!"
"Yeah, watch your fire, Luke-san!" Wendy placed her hand on her hips, puffing her cheeks out at Luke.
"Oh come on…" Luke hung his head over, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Outta the way!" Jack said while flying overhead, leaving the group in the dust.
"He must really want to protect Tia…" Lucy let out a soft laugh before nodding to herself. "Let's just follow Jack, he might get rid of everything, and if not we have his back!"
.
.
"Gwah!" Jellal tumbled across the ground before hopping back up, a fierce yellow aura coating his body. He panted softly, glaring at Daityas, who he barely managed to get a scratch on. "Grr…"
"What's the matter?" Daityas asked in a taunting tone, a wide grin forming on his face. "You had a little more gusto before coming at me, where'd it all go?"
"I'm just getting started, demon!" Jellal exclaimed while snapping his fingers, drawing forth the staves he used when posing as Mystogan to his side. "I know you are not one to be underestimated, King of Hell…and I will use all that I have on me to destroy you?"
"Bringing forth wooden sticks?" Daityas inquired while eying the staves curiously. "You must be asking for a forest fire, Jellal." With a slight grin, Daityas' cheeks began to inflate. "Well, if you wish to play with fire, be prepared to burn." Daityas then opened his cheeks, unleashing a Hell Fire Demon's Screech towards Jellal.
"Hmph…" Jellal called forth three of the staves, holding them forward to creating a magic seal in front of him. "Three Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Water!" The wave of demonic fire struck the magic seal, immediately bouncing back to Daityas.
"Hm?" Daityas merely raised a brow at the returning fire. "Surely, you can't be that stupid." As Daityas spoke, his own fire consumed, but he was unharmed due to the immunity of his own magic. When the flames cleared, he found that a barrier was suddenly around him, along with four the five staves carried. "That was fast…"
"Four Layered Magic Circle: Wind's Barrier!" Jellal proclaimed before throwing the final stave down, completing the circle of staves around the demon. "And finally…Five Layer Magic Circle: Sacred Song!"
Daityas looked up as five magic seals appeared above him, a powerful beam of magic passing through each seal, growing larger and stronger with each passing. "Oh, you clever bast…" The beam struck Daityas directly; causing a massive explosion that caught the eyes of some, but they were too busy escaping to pay attention to it for too long. When the smoke from the attack cleared Daityas walked out, dusting off his suit with a groan. He took damage from the attack, yes, but there was no way he was going to let Jellal know that. "Ugh…this is a new suit too…"
"Grr…" Jellal growled lowly as Daityas walked out of the attack seemingly unfazed. The bluenette then placed his hands forward, creating a golden magic seal before him, unleashing multiple beams of Heavenly Body magic towards Daityas.
"Tch…" Daityas brought up his arm, shielding himself from the beams of magic with little trouble, grunting just softly. "I'm growing bored of this…why don't we take the fight somewhere else?"
"I refuse to let the escapees get involved. You're not stringing me along that easily…" Jellal replied while a heavenly light appeared around his body, activating his Meteor spell. He then sped towards Daityas with blinding speed, circling around him a few times before aiming an incredibly fast kick to the male's side.
"Oh, you misunderstood me…" Daityas scoffed while catching Jellal's leg right after it hit, keeping a firm grip on the male. "It was a rhetorical question. You see, I was thinking…" Daityas' eyes laid on the city, where the Council was the only thing separating the demons from slaughtering the humans that were too slow to escape. "I say we join your two little ladies friends in the city!" Daityas reared his arm back, and then hurled Jellal with most of his might, sending the former saint into the city. A blue flame appeared around Daityas as he teleported away to pursue Jellal, he wasn't done with him yet.
.
.
"Get outta the way!" Natsu exclaimed while punching through every demon that dared to step in his path. "I gotta get that Zeref bastard!" He then reared his arms back, unleashing Dazzling Blaze of the Fire Dragon upon the immediate group in front of him, destroying part of the walls and floor.
"H-hey! Don't take them all, Natsu-san!" Sting said while running right behind Natsu. "Step back and cover your eyes everyone, it's about to get bright!" The guild master of Sabertooth warned while leaping into the air, white magic covering his feet. "White Dragon's Flash Stomp!" Sting landed just in front of a mass of demons, a powerful white shockwave booming out, not only blowing the demons away but blinding those who managed to retain their ground. It also created a large crater in the floor.
"Nice one, Sting-kun!" Lector shouted in excitement.
"Impressive…" Hisui nodded slowly in acknowledgement. She was still rather weak from her near death experience, so Arcadios was the one tasked to fight off any demons that managed to slip by the heavy offense/defense.
"That's nothin'…" Gajeel scoffed; it was almost like this was a show off contest, and the demons were the unlucky victims. "Watch and learn!" Gajeel puffed his cheeks out, gathering a large sum of magic in his mouth. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" A funnel of iron shards escaped Gajeel's mouth, plowing right through some demons in a straight line, also destroying a wall in the distance. "That's how you do it!"
"Reasons Gajeel is the strongest Dragon Slayer," Lily said with a firm nod.
"It's Natsu!" Happy quickly snapped, but now wasn't the time for the usual quarrel.
"This is all very impressive…" The King said with a nod. "But…uhm…"
"Please try to refrain from destroying the castle…" Hisui spoke up, poking her fingers together rather sheepishly. "We understand the situation well and all…but we're still going to have to ask you to pay for what you've destroyed once we get out of this…Repairs don't just happen overnight and for free, you see…aheheh…"
"NOW YOU TELL US…!?" Natsu, Sting, and Gajeel exclaimed with paled and shocked expressions.
"Look on the bright side!" Mason said while pulling out his sling shot, pulling back a few pellets. "We're gonna make it out of this, bet!" He then fired the pellet, a magic seal appearing just before the pellet fired, changing the pellet into a steel ball that pelted a demon square in the forehead, killing it instantly. "Ha!"
"We'll be fine. It looks like a lot, but if we keep our heads clear, we can do this." Tristan said with a firm nod, gripping his steel sword tightly. Each demon that attempted to flank from the intersections in the hallway met a swift end by Tristan's blade. The Steel Make Mage played no games when it came to the protection of the Princess.
"Ice Make: Saucer!" Gray threw his hands forward unleashing a spinning saucer of ice that cut through the floor and demons it traveled through. It eventually smashed against the wall and broke a portrait of Hisui.
"NOOO….!" Hisui began to weep comically at the shattered frame. "That was one of my best photos!"
"Uh…" Gray awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry…?"
"Sorry isn't gonna fix it, you dumbass!" Natsu yelled at Gray, and suddenly they were head to head once again.
"You can't talk! You destroyed the walls for cryin' out loud!" Gray shouted back at Natsu.
"Idiots…" Cygnus pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an annoyed sigh. Between him, Tristan, and possibly Shadowlore and Arcadios, there were very few people with common sense around him.
"The lot of them…" Shadowlore said, and then turned his head to Bacchus.
"WILD..!" Bacchus exclaimed with a hiccup. Now, the Drunken Falcon had demolished the supply of beer while things were still peaceful, so it was needless to say that this man was hammered, and was going all kinds of in on these demons right now. He swayed and weaved away from all the deadly slashes aimed at him, retaliating with palm strikes left and right, killing the demons with ease. "FOUR!" He continued, too drunk to even care he completed the phrase by himself.
"Maybe we should leave this to the drunk…?" The King said with a nervous laugh.
"No way! He's gonna take all the action!" Natsu exclaimed in a comical fit of rage, plowing through all the demons along with everyone else. It wasn't long before their group was actually the first ones to make it outside, and they quickly realized that Zeref was not joking when he said that demons were literally overrunning the city.
"There's everywhere…" Hisui gasped. "The people…"
"Don't worry," Tristan said while placing a hand on Hisui's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "We'll take this city back before anything happens."
"They're ignoring us, though…" Arcadios said while drawing his sword. "How do we proceed?"
"We're gaining ground, right?" Natsu questioned briefly. "Well, we got no ground to lose, but everything to gain! So in that case…" He puffed his cheeks out, unleashing an enormous Fire Dragon's Roar into the sky, catching the attention of many things around. "OI! YOU BASTARDS! WE'RE RIGHT HERE, SO COME AND TAKE US ON!"
"ARE YOU CRAZY?! Don't bring the all TO US!" Mason said while flailing his arms around.
"Fight or don't!" Gajeel snapped at Mason. "We don't have time for people who're just gonna whine, kid!"
"Fine, fine…" Mason said with a groan.
"Here they come!" Cygnus said while prepping himself.
"Okay, First! Watch this! We're gonna plow right through them and make a path!" Natsu said while coating his entire body in flames.
.
.
"Hm…?" Zeref turned, glancing at the funnel of flames rising from the castle entrance. "They got out already…? That was fast…" He then turned back around, continuing his walk. "No matter…this will still be a one sided massacre. All they're doing is prolonging the inevitable."
.
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"Ugh…" Chelia groaned, slowly coming to. As her luck would have it, it looked like she was completely alone, probably in a kitchen or something. She stood up slowly, shaking her head to snap back into things. "We all got separated, huh? Great…"
"I wouldn't say all alone…!" Prometheus broke the silence by warping in along with Pandora. "Hm…" He eyed the sky god slayer up and down before shrugging. "You sure this is the one with dark power? It's just a little kid. There's no way she could've done all that damage months ago, as the reports say."
Pandora shook her head slowly. "No…this is the one…a vital piece to Lord Zeref's game, Prometheus. She will prove useful if we can awaken that dark power that's nestled within her."
"That doesn't sound lovely at all…" Chelia took a nervous step back. Judging by their performance earlier, these two were dangerous together, but she was going to fight. She drew her hand back, gathering a sphere of black wind in her hand. "Sky God's Boreas!" She threw her hand forward, sending a powerful spiral of wind towards the pair.
"Hmph…" Pandora scoffed as she and Prometheus split off in different directions. Pandora then aimed her scepter towards Chelia. "Thunder Snake." She called out quietly, unleashing multiple beams of thunder towards Chelia.
"Agh…" Chelia prepared herself, performing a side flip over the incoming beams of thunder. Little did she know that the "snakes" would follow her; cobalt eyes widened as she back flipped once more, narrowly avoiding the deadly lightning snakes. Unfortunately for her, Prometheus was right behind her. Before she could turn, she felt a sharp pain in her right leg: the grim reaper's scythe. She collapsed onto the ground, twitching in pain for a second before a bright light appeared around her body, the wound steadily beginning to close.
"Oh, she can heal herself…" Pandora tilted her head in what seemed like slight interest. "Interesting…"
"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Prometheus raised his scythe, preparing to jam it into Chelia's leg injury, but someone was quick to roll in and grab the sky god slayer before contact was made. "Huh…?"
"Whew…" Ren held Chelia in his arms, letting out a relieved sigh. "It's a good thing we found you when we did."
"Ren…!?" Chelia was more than elated to see the Blue Pegasus mage.
"Ice Make: Eagles!" Lyon exclaimed the distance, unleashing multiple birds of ice upon Prometheus and Pandora to swarm them.
"Insects!" Prometheus exclaimed while swinging his scythe forward, unleashing flames that took the form of skull heads towards the Eagles, clashing with them instantly. A large explosion occurred, covering the room in smoke. "Tch…"
"Oh, thank goodness you're alright…!" Aira said while rushing in with Selene and Takeru. "The others went on ahead to clear this side of the palace of demons, so we came over!"
"I'm relieved…" Chelia let out a heavy sigh.
"Hmph…" Pandora shook her head as the smoke cleared. "You honestly don't understand the gravity of her situation, do you…?"
"Don't spoil the surprise for them, Pandora!" Prometheus interrupted, but the look on Chelia's face was enough to tell him that she had an inkling of what they were talking about. "Oh, but let's go over what we already know! All those towns destroyed way back when…the lives lost…"
"N-No…stop…don't bring it up again…!" Chelia begged, placing her hands over her ears.
"That's enough out of you!" Selene said while puffing her cheeks out. "Diamond Dragon's Roar!" She opened her mouth, unleashing a funnel of small, but sharp diamonds towards the duo.
"Fiesty!" Prometheus said with a chuckle, spinning his scythe around to deflect the entirety of the roar, but his scythe didn't come out unscratched. "My scythe!"
"Prometheus…" Pandora looked over to the Grim Reaper. "We don't have time to waste on her or her friends. It will be better to let Daityas handle it…"
"Yes, I agree with that…" Prometheus nodded. "The game is about to get a lot more interesting when the time comes…I can't wait to see this!" With that, Prometheus and Pandora warped out of the room.
"Ugh…" Chelia uncovered her ears, letting out a heavy sigh as she closed her leg injury finally. "I…"
"Don't worry about it," Ren said with a firm nod. "We've all come to accept that it wasn't you in the end."
"That's right," Lyon added onto Ren's statement. "What you can only do now is keep moving forward…looking back will only slow you down. It was never your fault."
"Thanks…" Chelia said with a slow nod.
"Are we done here?" Takeru asked rather impatiently. "Everyone else is out there fighting, I can sense it."
"Of course…" Chelia nodded once again and stood on her own two feet. "I'm sorry for holding you all up…let's get going; we have to save the capital!"
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"I think I see an exit!" Cynthia pointed to the large door at the end of the hallway, surrounded by demons of course.
"I'll take them out!" Jack said while flying forward, gathering Wicked Flames in his palms. "Wicked Blaze!" He stopped, merging the Wicked Flames into a large purple sphere over his head, which he threw forward towards the demons. The Wicked Blaze was strong it incinerated the demons and destroyed the doors, allowing access to the outside. "Ah! Now, they can't be too far…"
"Well…I guess it was okay to leave everything to Jack…" Lucy said with a slight nervous smile. But now, it was time to be serious. The city was overrun, and the civilians still needed time to escape. She could see the Council was trying, but they weren't going to hold out forever. "We have to help the Council first, then we can start on the demons!"
"Aye!" Wendy, Cynthia, and Leon nodded.
"We can handle it!" Cynthia exclaimed, giving Wendy a firm nod.
"No, we're all in this together!" Leon corrected. "If we don't work as a team, we're not going to get far!"
"That too…!" Cynthia was all for that.
"We'll likely run into the others on the way, but don't get careless," Daryan said with a firm nod. For once, he was actually being serious about the situation instead of joking about it. "Let's go."
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Mavis watched from above, a silent sigh escaping her. "There was a bump in the road…but most of everyone managed to make it back outside. Wonderful…Operation Gain Ground has been a success so far. Once the people are evacuated, the real battle can begin…Zeref…I won't let you have your way with the country, I swear it. We will stop you."
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Natsu: "Finally! Where's Zeref!? It's time for me to kick his ass!"
Prometheus: "You're quite the feisty one, aren't you? Interesting, but you'll have to deal with the Demons of Tartarus if you want to get any farther!"
Natsu: "I'll crush them all, including you! So come on, bring it on!"
Gray: "Hey, you're not gonna get all the action, you walking torch!"
Erza: "Divert your hostility to the actual threat, and not each other!"
Natsu and Gray: "Y-Yes ma'am!"
Next time: The Battle Begins!