Prior to the rain. the state of Fiore was quiet with all of the major guilds taking care of the Isle of the Dragons. In the depths of Tartarus, Ruika's eyes suddenly widened as she felt...something. Something in her core snap. "Ah!? What the...!?"

"What's with you?" Maggie noticed this and tilted her head. "Something got your pretty head in a twist, love?"

"...Something happened." Ruika narrowed her eyes. "A Zodiac key was broken. What in the hell is she doing!?"

"You can tell?" Maggie lifted a brow. "Those keys were never yours, though. All you did was steal and copy 'em."

"No, but I made those copies, remembers?" Ruika was sitting down, and she quickly stood up. "Ever since that happened, I've felt slightly attuned to the Zodiacs. At least, the ones Lucy had. And she just shattered a key! Batto, get out here!" Without even saying the correct incantation, Ruika summoned Batto and the two vanished.

"...Where are you going!?" Maggie face palmed. "Dait and Marde are going to explain our big plan!" But she was shouting at nothing and she knew it.

Despite all what was asked of her, Ruika couldn't help but see what was going on for herself. Unfortunately, due to Dhegensea's Night Tide, she was unable to force her way onto the Isle. As such, she stood at the shore of Fiore's beach. She could see a dome of darkness over the horizon, and above it, the figure of the Celestial Spirit King fighting against Dhegensea. A brilliant flash of light occurred in the distance, and she had to cover her eyes from it. When the light faded, the dome of darkness was gone. Soon after, the rain began to fall."..."

A portal opened up behind Ruika. From it, Tobias and Rugal stepped out. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Was everything that happened really that incredible?" Tobias asked.

"Of course it was!" Ruika spun around, clenching a hand into a fist. "She summoned the Celestial Spirit King! No wizard has done that in ages! She broken a Zodiac key to do it! That's the most annoying part!"

"What is so bad about that?" Rugal asked with a quirked brow. "Is this not good for you? If I recall, if a celestial spirit's key is broken, the contact is rendered null and the key takes at least a year to return to this world."

"...I barely care about that now." Ruika grumbled. "I just can't believe the kind of wizard Lucy Heartfilia really is. I've fallen behind because of my quest to take her and Yukino's keys. Because of this Tartarus! I can hardly stand the senseless killing anymore. It's not fun, it does nothing for me, and I've grown so tired of consistently falling short! Selfish people barely win in the end!" That rant came out of nowhere, but it had been building within her chest for a while. Ever since the demon attack on Crocus, those feelings were bubbling up to the surface.

Tobias and Rugal remained silent for a moment. How did they even respond to something like that? "If anyone else heard you, you'd be in for it." Tobias said quietly. "Although, it's not as if I disagree with those thoughts. Being disrespected so frequently has driven me at my wits end..."

"...Yet, no matter what we say or how we feel, this is the path we have all chosen." Rugal said calmly.

"Being in Fairy Tail was a better feeling than this." Ruika scowled.

"Don't tell me you actually liked being there!" Tobias gasped. Ruika vehemently shook her head.

"No! I hated that, too. That atmosphere was suffocating, but it was better than this." Ruika exclaimed with a hint of disgust.

He gestured to the portal behind him. "Regardless. Ruika, we must return. Daityas and Marde-sama have something they wish to discuss with us. With Fiore's major wizards dealing with the Isle, they wish to strike."

"..." Ruika let out a heavy sigh. Without saying a word, she stepped into the portal to return to Tartarus. Tobias did the same.

Rugal lingered for a moment. "This is the path we have chosen."

.

.

Ruika, Rugal, and Tobias stood within the Tartarus throne room. Awaiting them were Maggie, Kiora, Sora, and Arcturus. They weren't alone. The Nine Demon Gates of Tartarus were also present; Franmalth, Kyoka, Sayla, Silver, Keith, Tempesta, Jackal, Torafusa, and Ezel. "Took you all long enough." Jackal said with an annoyed stare.

"Well, we're here. What are we waiting for?" Ruika crossed her arms. "Are we attacking since Fiore decided to send their best wizards to the Isle?"

"I assumed that would be the story today." Sayla said, with a book in hand. She wasn't really paying attention to the situation. "But it appears that Daityas and Marde-sama have other business to attend to."

"So they just called us here to ditch us?" Silver let out a small laugh. "Doesn't sound like them at all! I thought we were finally going to get the ball rolling."

"Oh, we are." Kiora said while waving her hand. "Unlike Marde, Dait actually leaves us with some instructions. And we also don't wait to act until told, anyway. Unlike you lot."

"We respect Marde-sama and his wishes." Kyoka spoke, bringing a clawed hand to her lips. There was an amused smile on her lips as she spoke. "That is why we do not have embarrassing defeats at the hands of humans like you all do."

"Wanna say that again?" Kiora narrowed her eyes. "Taking pride in sitting and doing nothing, are you?"

"I've always wanted to eat one of you." Arcturus stated bluntly. "We've done more to sow the fear of demons into Fiore than you all have."

"Kyoka-sama, you shouldn't engage in these taunts with them." Sayla said while lowering her book to look at Kyoka.

"She's right! We're all part of the same team at the end of the day! We all want to bring about Fiore's downfall. And most importantly...the death of Lord Zeref." Silver spoke with a hearty grin.

"I still don't trust you." Maggie gave Silver a look, but he just smiled.

"I've already told you. He will do no damage so long as he is under my control." Keith said calmly. The necromancer had to keep a sharp eye on Silver, but there was nothing the Ice Devil could do against him. "The loss of Ur Milkovich on our forces opened my eyes...I will not allow the same thing to happen to my finest creation."

This back and forth could go on forever, but it was soon interrupted as Lamy ran in. The first thing she did was attach herself to Jackal. "Jackal-kun! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Get off me!" Jackal grunted, trying to push her off. As annoying as she was, he couldn't pry her away from him.

"I come bearing updates!" Lamy told everyone. Everyone just stared at the scene in front of them. "First of all, Tayakata's recovery is going smoothly! Maggie-chan left her with some nasty burns and bruises, but thanks to me, she's still alive!"

"I wasn't trying to kill her." Maggie rolled her eyes.

"The second update is what Marde-sama and Daityas left. They have a special assignment for Ruika, Tobias, and Rugal!" Lamy pointed to the three of them.

"Aww, not Sora?" Sora pouted at the idea of being left out.

"For the importance of our plan, they task the three of you to kill Wizard Saint Draco." Lamy states.

"What!?" Tobias gulped. "A Wizard Saint?"

"Shut up, Tobias." Maggie rolled her eyes.

"...I see." Ruika was simply accepting this mission.

"Mithril wants to join as well." Lamy quickly added. "If you need assistant, he will be there. But otherwise, Daityas and Marde-sama expect you three to complete this mission before they return! That is all."

"Tasked with such a mission. But I understand why." Rugal stroked his chin. "The new Wizard Saints, coupled with a few old Magic Council officials, are the only things standing between us and Face. With Fiore's wizards occupied, this is the perfect opportunity to strike. But why Saint Draco..."

"I'll tell you why when we're there." Ruika sounded as if she had an idea. "Come on, Rugal rift us away."

"Very well." Rugal nodded and created a portal behind him. Tobias and Ruika stepped through, but as they did...

"Good luck!" Sora waved the trio off as the portal closed behind them.

"So that's it?" Ezel grunted in annoyance. "We gathered here just so those three could walk off!? I could cut that Draco guy down to size in no time!"

"There was likely more, but with Daityas and Marde-sama currently away at once..." Keith trailed off.

"It's just a hit job." Kiora folded her arms under her chest, blowing a tuft of hair from her eyes. "Which sucks, because I wanted it. I bet Dait wants to make people aware of the fact we're far from finished. They got comfortable after Crocus."

"There was another reason." Kyoka looked amused as before. "Marde-sama told me something. He said that he's curious about those three and their allegiances. That's the price of being recruited as opposed to being born under Marde-sama."

"If they think to betray Tartarus...their stories will come to an abrupt end. But I wonder if that's what they want." Sayla mused quietly.

"What's the price for betrayal? Their souls, of course!" Franmalth laughed in the background.

"You don't get to lay a hand on them." Arcturus said while stepping forward.

'Yeah! They'd never do that!" Sora exclaimed back. "They'll come back winners!"

"Tobias is the only unreliable one. Ruika and Rugal are decent blokes." Maggie waved her hand dismissively. A shame Taya wasn't awake for all of this, but oh well. That was the only thing on her mind right now.

"If they come back and he's not dead, we'll know where they stand." Sayla said calmly.

"..." Tempesta said nothing, he simply turned and walked off.

"Ugh, I really gotta work on that guy. Next time he dies, I'm turning him into a hottie." Lamy groaned.

"Second thoughts, hm?" Silver simply turned and walked off as well, shortly after Tempesta. "I wonder if it's too late for them. This place is a heavy burden on the heart after a while."

.

.

The rain was still falling. Saint Draco exited the Magic Council, staring up at the cloudy sky. "I sensed the Celestial Spirit King. The things occurring on the Isle must be more dire than I ever could have expected." He clenched his hand into a fist, the rumbling of thunder growing stronger. "Clearly, Dhegensea cannot be reasoned with. I'll have to take matters into my own hands if I want to prevent a disaster from happening. It is my duty as a Wizard Saint to protect Fiore from danger." And so, he started to fly forward. The moment he gained momentum, a portal opened up in front of him. "What!?" He flew through the portal before he had a chance to stop himself. When he came to a halt, he saw that he was in some strange void. "What is this...!?"

"Flame Dragon!" Tobias called out. Draco turned his head to the sound of the voice, only to see a dragon composed of flames shooting right at him. Draco crossed his arms and took the brunt of the impact, sliding across the ground with slightly burned arms.

"An ambush?" Draco lifted a brow when he saw Tobias. Soon, Ruika and Rugal joined him, all of them standing side by side. "Tartarus? So am I to assume you've put a target on my back."

"This really isn't personal." Ruika stated, her blue and red eyes narrowing as she stared at Saint Draco. "But we have some plans for the future, and none of them involve you being present."

"So for the sake of our goal, you have to die, Wizard Saint Draco." Rugal said as an aura around him appeared. Normally, since this was his 'world' his body would grow larger and his power would expand. However, after his fight and defeat against Natsu, he realized this approach was costing him too much. As such, he condensed that power within his body, to avoid slowing down such as before.

"Striking while Fiore is occupied? I should've expected such a dirty tactic. But that doesn't mean it will succeed!" Draco barked. "I'll give you a single chance to retreat."

Ruika held a black key out. "Unfortunately for you, we don't have that option. Gate of the Warrior, open! Orion!" Orion appeared upon being called, the knight bowing in front of Ruika.

"Lady Ruika, I am here for your every need, whim, and desire!" Orion said while looking up at Ruika with admiration. Ruika just groaned and pointed at Draco. "Kill him."

"As you wish, my lady!" Orion nodded and drew his sword, before rushing towards Draco with killing intent. "Anything my lady commands, I shall follow through!" Orion declared as he swung his sword at Draco, who easily dodged his efforts. "You can dodge as many times as you want, you'll never overcome my loyalty for Lady Ruika!"

"..." Draco wasn't going to entertain this at all. He had a job to do! His fist wrapped in Heavenly Body magic and he shot it towards Orion at high speeds. Orion prepared to defend, but halfway through his punch, Draco's arm went right into a rift. As such, his punch completely missed as it was redirected elsewhere. "...!" Realizing this, he turned, only to see Rugal attacking him with his sword.

"Dimension Slash!" Rugal swung his sword a fair distance away from Draco. An invisible shockwave followed the motion, and that was what struck Draco. He slid back from this impact with some injuries, while Rugal narrowed his eyes, testing the waters to see how strong this target of theirs really was.

Tobias immediately followed up with his own sword. He attacked from above, aiming to slam his sword down on Draco. "Raging Ice Fang!" Draco dodged this at the last second by flying up, narrowing avoiding a large trail of glaciers that may have frozen him if he were hit. Tobias sucked his teeth and looked into the sky. "So he's not that bad after all."

Draco traced his fingers horizontally in front of him, multiple gleaming lights appearing around him. "You will regret your actions on this day. I assure you. Pleiades!" These gleaming lights then turned into arrows that began to descend upon the Tartarus Trio and Orion. They all had to take defensive measures from the massive bombardment occurring within Rugal's void. Each arrow exploded in a flash of heavenly body magic, displaying Draco's raw strength as a Wizard Saint. As the dust settled, the result of his attack was clear. Tobias had to use his Magic Guard spell to mitigate the damage; Rugal blocked the attack head on, and Orion gallantly sacrificed himself so Ruika wouldn't take too much damage. Still, the damage all three of them sustained was quite high.

"Damn..." Tobias grunted. "That was a lot harder than I expected..."

"Heavenly Body magic. A high form of magic you don't see often." Ruika dusted herself off after Orion faded away, back to the Spirit World. "Not to mention...you are a dragon, aren't you?"

"You could tell. So you understand why you won't win this day, do you not?" Draco said as wings spread on his back, glaring down at the Tartarus trio. "I am among the few who can outright stop Dhegensea in his tracks. I will not be held back by the likes of you three."

"Hah..." Ruika let out a faint laugh at that. It was insulting, really. "I know that Lucy can do this, so I should be able to do it too. Star Dress: Batto!" There was a black glow around Ruika's body, and when it faded, she had a vampiric appearance. She wore a red dress that came equipped with bat wings, although it was unclear if they actually gave her flight or not. The power of Batto flowed through her body, and it felt good! "I see...!"

"I must defeat you and stop Dhegensea from taking further action." Draco said calmly while beginning to inhale. "Astral Dragon's Roar!" He exhaled down at the trio, only for his roar to vanish before he could actually let loose.

"Don't forget, you are still in my world!" Rugal still had control over this space, meaning he wouldn't allow Draco to do as he pleased. He suddenly appeared above the Wizard Saint, aiming to slash his head off with his sword. Draco brought both hands up, clasping them at Rugal's blade to stop his attempt cold. The green haired demon stared at Draco with a faint scowl. Draco attempted to swing his leg at Rugal, but he vanished before contact could be made. He appeared behind Draco once again, aiming a punch to the back of his head, but Draco easily countered this by spinning around to block with his arm. He then fired off a blast of Heavenly Body from his palm which blew Rugal away...but not for long, as Rugal vanished, only to strike again and again.

As Draco was occupied with Rugal, Tobias let out a grunt as he activated his Overlimit ability, boosting his magical power and his spellcasting speed. He reared one arm back, a spear of darkness forming within his grip. "Demon's Lance!" He hurled the spear straight at the airborne Draco! It cut through the air at high speeds, aiming to pierce the Wizard Saint in the back.

Draco sensed this and turned around, using his hand to cleave through the incoming Demon's Lance with ease. It dispersed into wisps of darkness...but those wisps of darkness quickly formed into Ruika, who looked at Draco with a smirk. She lifted her hands up, multiple spikes of darkness surrounding the saint. "Dark Spikes T!" She swung her arms down, the spikes quickly moving towards Draco from all angles with the intent of piercing him from multiple angles!

Draco crossed his arms, a barrier of heavenly body appearing around him. The dark spikes struck the barrier, some of them even getting through. But with a mighty roar, the Wizard Saint dispelled them, and his barrier exploded, pushing Ruika, Tobias, and Rugal back from its sheer power alone. This damaged them as well, causing them to tumble along the ground. "I don't have the time to waste with the three of you."

Ruika had one eye clenched shut, panting heavily while looking up at Draco, who began to circle around the space of the void. "So he's going to try and finish us here, is he!?"

"Try? No. I will." Draco finished drawing seven magic circles in the air above them. He couldn't afford to waste too much magic power on these three, and he knew he far outclassed them away. "GRAND CHARIOT!" And then, multiple beams of heavenly body crashed down on the trio of Tartarus wizards. Seven pillars erupted and shook the empty void, drowning out whatever cries they may have made. As the light settled, all three of them were sprawled across the ground, unmoving. With this sight, the void around them began to shift. Draco let out a small sigh as a result. "Stronger than anticipated, but not worth the effort to use my full power. That is the difference between us, Tartarus wizards. A selfish wizard will always lose in the end. Even if they come in groups." With few damages on his person, he turned and began to walk off...and then it happened.

Draco's eyes widened as he felt something pierce through his chest. He coughed blood as he looked down, staring at Tobias' sword.

"W-Wha...!?" Draco clenched one eye shut, before swiftly turning around to blast Tobias away. The wizard slid back, taking his sword with him, clearly heavily damaged, and yet... "You still stand...!?" Before he could finish his shock, Rugal's fist slammed into his face, causing him to stumble back. Not just him, but Ruika and Rugal were as well. "You're not that strong..."

"You're right. Compared to you, we aren't strong. Even as a collective..." Rugal admitted with heavy breaths. "But there is one thing we have over you...numbers."

"A selfish wizard will always lose?" Ruika repeated those words. Those words she felt in her core, and yet... "Well...we've all selfishly decided we want you dead." She snapped her fingers and her trick was revealed. Batto's powers lied in darkness and illusion. The area around them returned to the void, and the injuries that Tobias, Ruika, and Rugal received were truly revealed. The Grand Chariot never hit them, due to Rugal using his powers to warp them away at the last second. Ruika gave Draco the illusion he won.

"An illusion...?" Draco had to commend their teamwork. "So you can work as a unit. But that won't stop me from...!" Draco pointed his hand forward, only for his magic power to fizzle. "W-What...? How...!?"

"Contamination..." Tobias said with a sly grin. "It's like poison, only it drains magic the more you have. That direct stab is going to cost you your life."

"We knew you'd only resort to as much power as you thought you'd need to quell us." Rugal said while standing next to Ruika and Tobias. "That is why we had to give you the illusion of failure...so we could lure you into the reality that was your own. We needed this strike to work, and it did."

"Now you'll die." Ruika said while looking towards Draco with an annoyed expression. "You wouldn't risk transforming against us, because you felt as if you didn't need to. As a dragon, that was your mistake. Mithril would've gone for the kill."

Draco was panting heavily, feeling the blood gush from his chest. But to think they underestimated him so severely. Transforming now wasn't an option, but he knew he could win this. They were still selfish, even if they were working together. "You truly believe this is enough to stop me? All you've done is slow me down. I'll return to my guild, Spatial Radiance, and..."

"Oh...we already took care of that." Ruika interrupted Draco. "That was our first stop. We heard you came back, so we decided to give you a little present..."

Draco's eyes widened. Then, they narrowed as the pure rage took over. In the blink of an eye, faster than the three could react, he flew past them. An explosion threw the trio off their feet and they tumbled along the ground. "Now you've done it." Draco lifted his hands into the air, creating a sphere of pitch black darkness above his head. The magic power he was letting out was so strong, it was beginning to overpower Rugal's own void!

"Even my control of this space can't keep up!" Rugal warned. "If that strikes us, then I fear we truly will lose."

"I didn't want to resort to this, but you have well and truly forced my hand." Draco pointed the sphere at the three of them and fired. "ALTARIS!" The sphere flew towards the three of them with malicious intent. Draco decided here and now, for the good of Fiore, these three needed to be taken down permanently.

"Damn..." Tobias was going to brace for impact.

"Damn it...I don't want to lose here either!" Ruika cursed. Even after all that effort...

But in a surprising moment, Rugal stood in front of the two of them, his sword clashing with the Altaris. A shockwave boomed out as he tried to hold his ground, the boost from being in his own void really doing a lot of work for him.

"Rugal!?" Tobias and Ruika gasped at the same time.

"What are you doing!?" Ruika shouted. He was...protecting them!?

"I see only one path to victory..." Rugal grunted, his green hair fluttering in the winds of this clash. "It is where you two land the finishing blow! We have an opening for victory! All of this magic he's using will catch up to him...but that means nothing if this attack destroys us first! That is why, I am selfishly deciding to bear the burden of this attack!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Tobias grunted. But Rugal was right about one thing. Pushing Draco into anger made him expel more magic. With the Contamination magic draining his magic in response to how much he used...they did have a chance. "Fine! I'm going to get the final blow!"

"No, I am!" Ruika shouted. With that, the two of them started to sprint off in separation directions. Selfishly pushing forward for the glory. As Ruika ran, she pulled out another black key. "Star Dress: Ursa Major!" Her appearance changed yet again; this time wearing a sports bra and leggings. Her black and white hair was tied up into a pony tail, with a green hairband at top. But more importantly, she wielded a large axe.

Draco noticed their approach and was surprised at their last ditch effort for victory. He missed his chance for a clean win, but he knew this had to get messy now. As such, he had to focus on Rugal, pouring more effort into his Altaris. This pushed Rugal back a great deal, but he expected it to overwhelm the dimensional mage. To his surprise, it did not. "How are they still standing...!?"

"Power that lies in the root of all creation, memories inscribed in ages past, hear my call and arise before me!" Tobias slid to a halt, pointing his hand at Draco. Four large orbs of fire, wind, water, and earth appeared around the Wizard Saint, surrounding him. Before he had the chance to move, the four orbs shot massive beams of their respective elements with him in the middle of it. The beams exploded loudly, causing Draco to grunt out in pain as his focus slipped. The injury from Tobias, on top of his magic rapidly draining were catching up to him.

In this moment, Rugal had his chance. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and summoned his inner strength, slashing through the Altaris with all the effort he could muster. It took everything he had to manage that, and it looked like they had their opening. "This is our victory!" Rugal teleported close, while Tobias and Ruika leapt into the air. All three of them lifted their weapons above their heads, and...

"Saint Draco...YOU LOSE!"

They slammed them into Draco. Each selfish desire collided into the Wizard Saint at once. Two swords and an axe cleaved into Saint Draco's chest, as they roared and crushed him into the ground. The moment Draco hit the ground, Rugal's void shattered due to the lack of magic he had, revealing that they were standing at Fiore's beach. All three of them were panting heavily, staring down at Saint Draco, who was a bloodied mess underneath them, breathing lightly.

The three Tartarus Wizards could barely stand. It was adrealine keeping them going after such a fact. They were really standing over a defeated Wizard Saint...by the skin of their teeth. "D-Did we...do it..." Tobias panted.

"Ngh..." Draco could barely muster a word. He had no idea what just happened. In all his years, he'd never seen three selfish wizards band together like this. What was Tartarus up to...

"You did it." That voice came from Mithril. He was in his human form, looking over at Draco with a disappointed expression. But not only that, there was a crowd of people who witnessed the scene, all of them in fear, recognizing the Tartarus wizards. Out of panic, they quickly began to flee the scene, which made Mithril laugh. "I thought I was going to have to step in...but you surprised me. I'm sure Dait and the others will be pleased to hear this." He walked over to Draco, looking down at him. "Did you ever think your life would end like this, Draco? You fought on the side of humans 400 years ago...and now, it was humans that killed you. Do you regret that decision now?"

"..." Draco couldn't muster a response. Not with his fading vision. "At this rate...the Dragons..." All he could see was black. His vision faded, he breathed his last...and the Wizard Saint, Draco, was no more...

The rain was still falling at this point. Mithril let out a mocking laugh before turning to the battered trio. "I'll tell them you succeeded. Nice work, you three." With that, Mithril simply...walked off.

"..." Tobias slumped to the ground, thoroughly exhausted. But he did muster one final spell. He snapped his fingers, a circle appearing under himself, Ruika, and Rugal. "Healing circle..." With this, they were all healed slightly. Enough to they could stand.

"So we completed our mission, and killed more innocents." Rugal stared at Draco. "...We won, yet I feel both accomplished and empty."

"...Selfish people never win, huh." Ruika repeated those words. They were all selfish until the end, and it proved to bring their victory. "Ugh. This confirms it. I'm sick of this."

"Me too." Tobias admitted with a sigh. They sat there in silence for a bit, until Tobias lifted his head up. He noticed a woman, dressed as nun, standing at the shoreline, staring out into the distance where the Isle was. The woman had white hair and dark skin. Tobias stood up and slowly approached her. "...Faris?"

"Tobias." The woman named Faris didn't turn her head at first. She stared out at the Isle for a bit more, before finally turning her head. "I saw what happened. Congratulations."

"Er, thanks..." Tobias rubbed the back of his head. "What are you doing out here?"

Faris turned her head back to the Isle, a slight smile on her face. "It calls to me. Can't you hear it?"

"No. I'm not really hearing anything over here." Tobias scratched the back of his neck. Ruika and Rugal looked at one another, but decided to just silently watch.

Soon, the rain was forcibly dispersed by Dhegensea's roar. The clouds overhead scattered and the sky was clear once again. Faris' eyes widened in excitement. Something in her very core shook in delight at the sound of a dragon's roar. "...There. I heard it. I heard him..."

"What the hell was that..." Ruika narrowed her eyes. "Was that the Dragon King?"

"Yes, it was." Faris responded, turning to Tobias once more. "I heard Acnologia at the same time. The true Dragon King. I can feel it. He's going to the Isle."

"...Wow, that sucks for them." Ruika grunted.

"...I want to go to the Isle. I desire to meet him. To see the destruction " Faris took a step closer to Tobias. "You'll help me get there, won't you? Actually...will you join me? I'm making a group of wizards, and I would be glad to have you as my #1. I'd just need five more after the fact."

"...Sheesh. Twist my arm." Tobias sighed. "I'd love to ferry you across the ocean to your doom, but unfortunately, I don't have any magic right now. And besides, leaving Tartarus right now...isn't an option. You saw those people flee. No matter where we go or what we do, we'll be branded as monsters and killers."

"I see." Faris let out a small sigh, turned, and started to walk off. "I suppose it can't be helped. Come along. All of you."

"Eh?" Ruika blinked. "Where to?"

"You're all weak and out of magic. The least I can do is provide some shelter as you rest." Faris replied, not really waiting for an answer. She was just expecting them to agree.

"Tobias, you know this woman?" Rugal whispered.

"...You could say that." Tobias replied, deciding to follow Faris. "I know enough about her to know she will at least give us place to rest. When I have enough magic, I'll build her a bridge."

"Who would've thought you had friends." Ruika said with a mocking smile.

"Although, after an experience like this, I would say we are more tightly knit than before." Rugal added.

"We're almost friends." Tobias said, jokingly.

"Don't say that. It's gross." Ruika shook her head, her smile fading. Although, internally... "That doesn't sound that bad..."

"..." Faris said nothing, but looked on ahead with a slight smile. Her gaze tilted up to the sky. "Acnologia...your will of destruction resonates with me. I want to see firsthand what you're capable of..."

.

.

Next Time: Cosmic Star's Plight