"Enda…" Eizen's voice echoed through the mind of Edna's sub consciousness.
"H-Huh…?" Enda blinked awake slowly. It was pitch black, but she could only see Eizen's frame. "E-Eizen? What are you doing…what happened…?" Edna stood up, walking to her brother, but he only seemed to get further away. "Where are you going? Stop moving away from me, damn it."
"My time is up on this world, Edna." Eizen said with a sad smile. "I'm very glad I got to see you grow up to a fine young woman."
"W-What are you saying…?! You were fine a few minutes ago…!?" Edna started to tear up. "W-who did this!? What human did this to you!? I'll kill them!"
"It was the humans that saved me." Eizen shook his head. "The real villain is Dhegensea…he's been controlling us the entire time…and these humans have come to defeat him. Please, my dear sister…side with them and take down that wretched blind king…and then live your life off this cursed isle…"
"Don't talk like that!" Edna started to cry, running towards Eizen but never getting any closer. "Brother, please! Eizen, don't go, please I beg you!"
.
Selene stared at the unconscious Edna, recalling Mii's words from before. This caused her to bite her lip, seriously pondering the issue. "…"
"Selene? What's wrong?" Aira tilted her head. "You've been staring at this one for a while now…are you afraid she'll wake up and try something?"
"No, that's not it…" Selene shook her head. "I was thinking about something Mii told my group earlier…something about these dragons."
"What'd she say?" Jaxon asked. "Because I can guarantee that whatever she said can be taken with a grain of salt."
"She said we should kill these dragons the second we get a chance." Luke explained. "That just knocking them out wouldn't be good enough…they'd want to kill if they woke up."
"I can believe that…" Cygnus said while sitting cross legged on a pile of rubble. "So, we just gonna off her in her sleep or what?"
"That feels kind of wrong…" Aira mumbled.
"I'll do it then." Sidney didn't even hesitate while walking over to stand over Edna, but in that instant she shot awake and began looking around while panting heavily.
"E-Eizen! Eizen!?" Edna shouted with tears streaming down her cheeks. She could no longer feel her brother's presence and that only meant one thing. "N-No…."
"Eizen..?" Leon blinked.
"That was the Silver Dragon…" Draco tried to recall correctly.
"My brother is gone…" Edna began to sob, crystal tears hitting the ground. "Why was I so stupid…? Why did I let that bastard control me…Dhegensea is the real villain…he's the reason my brother is gone…!"
"What are you rambling about?" Heather snapped at Edna, having no patience for this one's attitude. "You better start talking; we don't have time for this."
"E-Eizen was my brother…I realize now that Dhegensea was using his Dragon Manipulation to make those who love humans fight against them…Eizen, myself, Princess Ena, Prince Kurthnaga…and even Venoma…we all love humans, but after you left the isle that day, things changed quickly…"
"That's your sob story?" Luke asked with the upmost skepticism.
"You can believe her words…" Ena said while limping from around the corner, bruised, battered, but alive. There was a soft smile on her lips as she continued to speak. "Edna doesn't like to show it, but she's actually a nice girl…I'm sad she wasn't around when you first arrived, things might've played out differently…"
"Ena! You're alive…!" Aira rushed over to Ena, beginning to do her best to heal her. "You look awful, what happened…?"
"Kurth and I...we were really going at it. I completely lost track of time. I guess it was a sibling fight in the making for the last hundred years…" Ena said with a weary smile. "Walking back to the city was a bit of a hassle…but I made it…"
"The princess has vouched for you…" Sidney turned to Edna. "But if you end up attacking us again, you won't live to see the light of tomorrow."
"I promise I won't attack." Edna gave a firm nod. "Please, let me help fight against the bastard king. Those dragon soldiers your friends are fighting only answer to Drake, though…the only way we're going to snap them out of it is taking out the asshole himself…but I have no idea where he could be right now…"
.
.
"Stay away from my sister!" Alex shouted while throwing her arm forward, changing her limb into a clawed whip. The intent was to stab Drake but he merely just leaned his body to the side and grabbed Alex's extended arm, pulling her closer with a single tug. "Waaah…!" They were in a bad spot, having used most of their efforts to take on the horde of dragon soldiers. Now that Drake was here...
"You're an annoying child, but you're not the one I'm after." Drake slammed his fist into Alex's chest, releasing her at the same moment to send her flying into another building, dusting his hands off after. "Anyone else wanna get in the way?" Asked and answered; Raven fired off several wind arrows in attempt to get Drake to back away, but they were hardly doing any damage to the Viral Dragon. "You next, kid?"
"Raven look out!" Chelia squealed.
"G-Guh…!" Raven began to panic while unleashing arrow after arrow, but was merely backhanded away into some rubble, lying in a half conscious state after the strike.
"Raven!" Chelia ran over to Raven, kneeling down to see if he was all right.
"Ngh...I wish...I still had that magic..." Raven grunted.
"Get away from them!" Romeo threw a yellow flame towards Drake, hoping that it would get in his face and disturb his senses. Unfortunately for Romeo, Drake dodged to the side. But he could still catch a whiff of that noxious flame.
"Good try, kid!" Drake said while lunging towards Romeo, slamming his tail into the young man to knock him away. He could see Spark moving in for another attack along with Jack as well. But considering he was fresh, he could easily strike the both of them down by intercepting them with a leap. Both of his hands crashed into their chests, slamming them into the ground as a result. Jack and Spark felt the full force of a dragon that wasn't holding back.
"Guh...!" Jack coughed, an eye clenched as his armor saved him from taking too much damage, but he was still struggling to move. "D-Damn it...this asshole...!"
"Ugh..." Spark wasn't so combat savvy, even with his training. As such, that blow was about all he could take. "Gotta...help them..."
"Cynthia…I'll protect you…!" Wendy stood in front of the suffering Cynthia, though she winced from her injured leg. "I…I…Ngh…"
"You won't be doing much with that wounded leg." Drake shook his head at Wendy's attempt to protect her friend. "You'll make it much easier for yourself if you just hand her over." As Drake grew closer, he smacked Wendy over to the side, causing her to tumble before coming to a stop on her side, groaning in pain after. He then began to extend his hand towards Cynthia with a grin…until sparkling water whipped him several times, causing him to cringe and back away. "Guh!? What the hell was that!?"
"Stay away from her!" Juvia shouted while continuing to whip Drake away from Cynthia. "Cynthia is not your servant!"
"J-Juvia-san!" Wendy couldn't help but grin at Juvia's arrival, and with her different look, Wendy could only assume she grabbed the Mystic Water.
"No way…you lot actually got to the Mystic Water…" Drake growled while staring at Cynthia, who was between Juvia and himself. She was practically roaring at this point like a dragon so that meant only minutes remained before her conversion was true.
"Don't worry, Cynthia-san! Juvia is here!" Juvia pointed her hand forward, aiming a beam of the Mystic Water at Cynthia, but Drake stood in the way, wincing in pain due to the properties of the Mystic Water. "E-Eh?!"
"I'll die before I let you take away one of the strongest dragons soon to be!" Drake grinned. "So hit her all you want, I'll just be in the way! She's only a few minutes away!"
"Forgive me, Cynthia-san…!" Juvia extended her arm, creating a Water Lock around Cynthia completely composed of Mystic Water.
"Wha…?! Hey!" Drake turned around instantly, eyes widening at Juvia's sneaky attempt to cure Cynthia. Drake swung his claw at the Water Lock, popping the bubble and the small droplets rained down on Cynthia who kept writhing around on the ground. "There we go…"
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Wendy screamed while pushing herself off the ground, immediately entering Dragon Force once again as she reared her good leg back, slamming it into Drake's jaw to send him spiraling away. "Cynthia!"
"Ugh…" Juvia fell to a knee, panting heavily. Her body was starting to not be able to take it and it was starting to show. She couldn't move and at the worst moment.
"It's too late now…" Drake wore a giant grin despite the bruise Wendy left on his jaw. Cynthia was reaching the peak of infection…
"S-Sis…!" Alex cried out while pulling herself from the rubble.
"This is no good…are we out of time!?" Carla cringed.
"Oh no...!" Romeo gasped. All eyes were on Cynthia as she struggled on the ground, unable to even say a single word.
"No one has escaped my bite!" Drake rose his hand as Cynthia's flames began to flare uncontrollably from around her. "Not even you, Omega Fire Dragon! Now, I'll issue my first order to you! Take out your friends!"
"Rgh…agh…" Cynthia wasn't even speaking words at this point. She just placed her hands on the ground, pushing herself to her hands and knees. She looked horrible. Her entire right arm was coated in red scales and her hand was a claw, the scales covered half her face, her fangs were bared Dragon Force was active on its own accord, she had wings spread from her back, and her right leg was heavily covered in red scales as well.
"C-Cynthia!" Wendy began tearing up. Had they truly been too late to save her after all...?
"Can she hear us…?" Chelia whimpered.
"Please, Sis…" Alex gasped.
"You…" Cynthia finally spoke, staring at Drake. "You hurt my friends, didn't you…?"
"W-what…?" Drake blinked as Cynthia spoke to him. That wasn't supposed to happen. "I said eliminate them!"
"I…." Cynthia brought herself to her feet, panting heavily. "I'll eliminate anyone who dares to put a finger on Wendy and anyone else I hold dear…I….I won't forgive you for hurting them!" With this exclamation, Cynthia let out a roar as her flames exploded, rising high into the sky in a bright red hue. She was fine; Juvia's attempts to save her did work after all.
"Cynthia…!" Wendy's eyes lit up in excitement to see Cynthia back to her senses.
"T-This shouldn't be happening…!" Drake panicked. He thought he stopped this, but the Mystic Water was even stronger than he thought! Or was it because of Juvia's feelings that it became so strong...!?
Cynthia lunged forward with red flame blazing around her fist, slamming it into Drake's face, sending him flying away with the sheer might. "This one's for all the dragons you hurt!" Wings flapped once and Cynthia actually took off after Drake, bringing her leg down for a fierce axe kick that sent the Viral Dragon crashing into the ground, now lying in a large crater, dazed from the impact. "And that one's for biting me, you freaking creep!" Cynthia raised her arms, a wildfire blazing around her limbs as she spun her body in a counterclockwise rotation. "And this one!? THIS IS FOR HURTING MY FRIENDS! Secret Art: Crimson Slash of the Omega Fire Dragon!" Cynthia then threw her arms forward, unleashing a massive spiral of flames at Drake that cut through anything and everything standing in its way.
"N-NO WAIT! STOP! I BEG OF YOU!" Drake's pleading was useless as the fiery vortex completely consumed him; his roar of pain was drowned out by the crackling of the flames that submerged him. When the flames faded, Drake was lying on his back, eyes wide and white in complete and utter defeat.
Cynthia landed on the ground, letting out a heavy sigh before giving Juvia a thumbs up as a thanks for saving her. "Heh…I can finally say I got that urge to tear something apart out of my system…!" However…she still looked partially like a dragon which worried her.
"Cynthia!" Chelia, Wendy, Alex, and even Carla tackle hugged Cynthia regardless, happy that she was feeling normal again. Raven, Jack, Romeo, and Spark all gave each other a high five at the result. That could've been so much worse.
"We're so glad you're back!" Chelia grinned.
"Sorry to worry you…" Cynthia replied with a small smile. "I hope this goes away soon…I really don't wanna keep looking like this for a while…"
.
.
Time until Etherion Fires: 10 minutes.
With Drake's defeat, any and all dragons under his control were put to a halt, stopping all violent actions the second he was rendered unconscious. "Things aren't looking too well down there…" Mii said while peering from the destroyed wall. "I think they've taken care of just about everyone…"
"This…" Dhegensea clenched the arm of his throne before crushing it within his fist. "This isn't how things should be playing out! They should all be dead by now! The Scroll of Fate has decreed this! Why are things deviating from fate!?"
"Are you mad?" Mii giggled while placing her hands on her hips, leaning forward. "You didn't honestly expect things to go the way some scrap of paper said it would, did you?"
"What's that supposed to mean, Chosen?" Dhegensea quirked a brow.
"You're dealing with humans here…" Mii shrugged and began pacing slowly around the room. "Humans aren't subject to change that doesn't benefit them, and they're inclined to fight against a bad fate. You think just because fate says so, it happens? It's supposed to be written in stone, not paper."
"Yet here you are, standing before me." Dhegensea scoffed. "What does Yggdrasil think of you? His own daughter? You are nothing like him."
Mii gave a small giggle to that. "What does he think of me? Not much, I'm afraid. But I guess some of us can't escape fate, no matter what we do." Mii merely sighed. "I'm not exactly human, so I guess that rule doesn't apply to me. But can I tell you a little story?"
"Of?" Dhegensea could only wonder what this was.
"My mother died shortly after giving birth to me. And when I was younger, after that Tower of Heaven business…which is a little foggy, honestly…I found my real parents back in Pergrande, and I was taken there to live a happy life. I met my tutor and longtime friend, Kogoro shortly after returning home. He taught me a lot…despite being lazy…then my life changed when King Ashnard of Pergrande picked me for the Angelus Project. Crazy thing it was...that was the first time I met my father, Yggdrasill. I learned a lot about myself that day. Our wings are the same. That he was the Hero who saved the Isle of the Dragons. In response, he decided to tell me some secrets, from father to daughter. They were never meant to be shared with the world below, and yet...I don't know why…but I betrayed them and told Ashnard everything…that was the start and end of the fastest Holy War I've ever seen…Ashnard's forces were incredible."
"So the Holy War nearly two decades ago was your doing? Interesting…" Dhegensea nodded to tell Mii to keep going. "Fate has told me nothing about you prior to this aside from your time on this island and how it will end."
"Ha…" Mii gave a dry laugh before continuing. "I caused a war, can you believe it? Me. I was shunned by the angels, and when I went home…the people who helped raised me were dead, and I heard Kogoro was missing…I thought he would understand, but I couldn't find him. No matter how hard I looked…and I've been looking for a long time, hell, I was doing anything I could to find him, no matter how dirty my hands got, so why do you think people have trust issues around me? …And I finally caught wind that he was on this island. This was my chance! And I swear on my life I saw him here yesterday in the prison when I was with Fairy Tail, and now he's gone! So where the hell did he go!?"
"I'm afraid I've no clue what you're talking about." Dhegensea was hiding it. He knew, but letting Mii know? That was a different story. "Perhaps what you've been looking for has never been here at all. But does it really matter in the end, when you're fated to die here?"
"Haha...I guess not." Mii sad with a dry laugh. Clearly she wasn't going to get the answers she wanted. But why did it matter? Dhegensea was right. "I guess it doesn't matter at all." She then pulled out a familiar book, waving it around carelessly. "I held onto this thing for a long time. I really thought it would lead me back to him..."
"That book..." Dhegensea stared at the book in Mii's hands. "How did...where did you...!?
"I hate this island with a passion to be honest. It's a pretty crummy place to be living my last moments. I'm a disgrace to the Yggdrasil bloodline. The Eternal Sword is my blood right, but as I am now, I bet Origin would look at me and scoff. A girl with no resolve shouldn't lift that sword. Believe me if you want, I know I'm a compulsive liar…" As Mii continued to pace around, she finally reached the Scared Gem sitting in the corner. She grabbed it and a sly grin stretched onto her lips. "But there's one thing I do know…"
"And that is…?" Dhegensea felt this conversation was dragging on for far too long now.
Mii turned to Dhegensea, clenching the Scared Gem in her hands, its power radiating off of her now. "You shouldn't have told me I could use this Gem freely." With a devious grin, she pointed Purple Put at Dhegensea, unleashing a gigantic beam in his direction that cut through the floor it traveled over.
"Traitor!?" Dhegensea quickly leapt to the side to avoid the massive, sliding across the room with a scowl. "So now you show you're true colors?!"
"For someone who claims to know everything that happens…" Mii twirled Purple Pot around her index finger. "You're pretty slow on the uptake. I've never been one to hide my true colors…after all, I told you before I'm playing for the winning side…or did you not know that already?" Dhegensea could only clench his teeth in response. "Ah-ha! So the Dragon King is exposed! You really don't know anything, especially about Mii! But that's no surprise…I'm half angel, but I'm also half human. Humans can surprise anyone, after all"
"You…!" Dhegensea growled.
"Mii Koryuji, at your service!" Mii gave a cheeky smile before throwing Purple Pot and Dragon Hadlar into the air, and with a snap of her fingers the guns began unleashing countless magic beams onto Dhegensea who had no choice but to defend. Mii leapt into the air and performed a little spin. She slammed her boot into Dhegensea's chest, and the bullet from her boot exploded outward, throwing the Dragon King backwards.
"Guh!?" Dhegensea let out a surprised cry of pain. The bullet within Mii's boot was far stronger than he anticipated, and he could feel it ripping through his scales. "What are those boots made of!?" He shook off the impact as he saw Mii approach once more, his fingers cloaked in dark dragon energy. "Dark Slash!" He swung his hand forward in a clawing motion, several shockwaves of dark magic shooting forward to cleave through Mii. "If the Chosen is going to rebel against the Fate of this island, then I will slice you down as well!"
Mii narrowed her eyes and bent her legs, flipping and twisting her body to avoid the incoming slash. She landed on the ground, wincing slightly due to her injuries, but kept going. "Maybe the fate of this Island is something completely different! Before I die, I'm going to make sure of one thing: that you don't get what you want! After all, what I say, goes!"
Dhegensea snarled at Mii's words. "Your existence is to aid ME in the fate that your father set! It is too late to go back on it now!" He began to inhale, a black vortex appearing around his lips as it took aim at the angel before him. "Black Dragon's Roar!" And he exhaled, a massive funnel of darkness shooting towards Mii. She had no time to dodge, so a number of her rainbow feathers shot forward at high speeds, colliding against his roar to force a stalemate, that ultimately ended in an explosion. "Gh...!" Dhegensea narrowed his eyes, trying to spot Mii. She flipped into the air, only to descend towards him.
"The Finish Line is in sight, now get out of my way! Lion Lord!" She then fell down on Dhegensea while preforming countless stomps on him, the force of each stomp dragging the Dragon king along the floor with a deep crevasse. With every stomp of her feet, came a bullet to explode against Dhegensea. None of them were actually piercing through his scales, but the damage being dealt to him was extremely high despite this. Mii then leapt off and landed, catching both guns in her hands. "Finish!"
"Y-You're truly serious about this?!" Dhegensea groaned from Mii's attacks, attempting to pry himself from the crater. She was impressively strong.
"Of course I am." Mii said as she pulled out the book once more, looking towards Dhegensea. "I've read this book every day, for a long time. And you know what passage always sticks out to me? How the hero with rainbow wings will save this island. And I've come to a single conclusion after spending the last two days here. This island can only be saved...BY GETTING RID OF YOU!"
"WHAT!?" Dhegensea snarled at such a claim.
"I'll show you what I can do…when I really get serious." Mii's tone dropped and her rainbow wings spread while lifting into the air, a purple florescent light filling the entire room. "SHINING BIND!" Several purple rays rained down from above directly onto Dhegensea, who let out a shout as he was consumed within the attack. Afterwards, Mii fell to her hands and knees, panting heavily from magic usage. "Haaa…haaa…" She then cringed heavily, falling to her stomach after, dropping the Sacred Gem and let it roll across the floor. Her magic tank was empty and her grave wounds were actually starting…to hurt. A lot. "I…I can't move…how about that…"
"I admit, your attacks were far stronger than I expected. I do not know what sort of magical weapons you possess, but I hope you didn't expect that to actually be the end of me…" Dhegensea emerged from the smoke with damage marks on him, an amused grin stretched on his lips. Mii's attacks did quite a bit more damage than he expected, but he wasn't going to let that slow him down. "I'm appalled. To think thisis the skin of my old friend..."
"S-Shit.." Mii's eyes widened in fear. "I-I thought for sure that would do more damage…! Unless…"
"You can't use the Sacred Gem against me. For we are one." Dhegensea explained while standing a few feet away from the downed Mii. "I should've expected such behavior…you were with those humans for a while and no doubt they showed you some kindness if you stuck with them for so long…oh, but how ironic fate is…" Dhegensea raised his hand, but the doors to the throne room were blown open: Natsu and Gray arrived.
"The hell…?" Gray took a second to take in the scene. "What's going on here?"
"Why's Mii on the floor?" Natsu mumbled.
"Ah, Natsu, Gray…" Dhegensea welcomed the two Fairy Tail mages with what looked like open arms, as if there were no hard feelings. "Welcome, welcome…you came at just right time. I'm well aware you wish to fight me…however I was just about to get rid of this traitor. But I think I'll pass this onto to you two. After all, her actions have affected you far more than anyone on this isle, don't you agree? And the price for betray on this isle is death. To think, the only people that ever showed her kindness for her actions, she just kept betraying, all for her friend whom she won't see again. To suffer the lonely fate of dying alone…it looks like all humans and angels can't escape their fate."
Mii averted her eyes, biting her lip gently. Looks like even she had a guilty conscious. "…I can't say I don't deserve it, after all I've done to you…"
"What say you?" Dhegensea stared at the two Fairy Tail wizard. "Time is ticking."
Natsu and Gray looked at each other, giving a nod before staring at Mii, fire and ice covering the respective mages dominate fist. "We know exactly what it is you need, Mii. "Gray said as the two slowly approached the down female.
Mii closed her eyes, bracing for what she believed to be the end of her life, while Dhegensea stood with a malicious grin. The impact that Mii waited for…never came. Natsu and Gray slammed their fists into Dhegensea's face, causing him to stagger back a few steps.
"A second chance at life!"
Just hearing those words caused Mii's green eyes to widen, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. Dhegensea on the other hand, was not pleased.
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Next Time: Countdown to Destruction
