"Slayers!" - Talking

'Slayers!' - Thinking

"Slayers!" - Communication via Lacrima / Telepathy

"SLAYERS!" - Screaming

"Slayer Attack!" - Spells

[ Here / Now ] - Place / Time

Chapter2: New poison in the family!

[World Slayers Guild Building / 19th July X786]

Slowly opening her eyes, Katharina sat up in her large bed and stretched her arms and legs, then sighed with relief as she felt her back crack with a loud pop. Throwing her legs out of bed after having pushed aside the red blanket, she stood up and then went and sat down at an elegant dark wood desk where there was a large framed mirror; as soon as she sat down, a swirling hole of shadows formed on the floor beside her, from which Nox emerged, complete with a silver tray on which were a cup of steaming coffee and a large croissant.

"Good morning, master." said Nox with a calm voice, placing the cup and croissant on the desk, whereupon he set the empty tray down on a stool nearby and picked up a hairbrush, decorated with gilt engravings. Without Katharina saying anything to him, he went to position himself behind her and started brushing her hair, which was completely disheveled due to the night's sleep "Today is a beautiful day, it seems that it has stopped snowing and there are few clouds."

"Great news! I was just thinking of hitting the town before visiting Cobra in prison. Might as well try to enlist him now!" nodded Katharina before eating the croissant, basking in the sweetness of that brioche "Once you're done with my hair please go wake up my brother and tell him to get ready, I want you both to come with me."

"It shall be done, master." nodded Nox with a calm smile on his face, continuing to brush her hair for several minutes before putting the brush down "What should I tell others if they ask?"

"Nothing in particular except that we will probably return with Cobra in tow and that I will most likely have already tested him, so they need to remain calm when we return." said Katharina before releasing a small chuckle after taking a sip of coffee "Some will ignore me for sure and try to attack Cobra on sight, but that's part of the game too."

Nox nodded and, after a short bow, took the empty cup and tray with him before vanishing into his own shadow without making a sound. Katharina looked at herself in the mirror for a few seconds before standing up and taking off her nightgown, then putting on her red and black dress complete with matching knee-high boots. Nodding satisfied, she then left her room and walked along a wooden and stone corridor where there were several doors and some torches hanging on the walls, then arriving at the wooden stairs that led her to the main hall of the guild, just below the other stairs that led to the second floor.

Looking around she saw that no one was there, which was to be expected as it was still early and many of the guild members lived in the nearby Pinnacle Town, rather than in the guild quarters. However, she was not alone for long as Nox immediately appeared from her shadow "Your brother will join us in a few moments."

Katharina nodded and then walked towards the entrance of the guild, opening the heavy door without difficulty, to then deeply inhale the fresh air of those snowy lands. Now that there was no storm, it was possible to admire the white landscape that stretched for miles, with wide snowy plains and mountains made of rock and eternal ice.

"And to think I hated this place a hundred years ago. Now I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!" said Katharina with a grin "I mean, where else could we find all this space to fight freely and huge monsters to eat?"

"The Kingdom of Fiore is said to have a more pleasant climate, while in the Kingdom of Seven there are monsters of various kinds." said Nox with both arms behind his back "Otherwise there is the Kingdom of Stella, they say that the crystals of that place are an incredible sight."

Katharina waved him off "Meh...I've been there before and it never seemed like much. The only reason to visit the Kingdom of Fiore would be to recruit more Slayers…damn Acnologia, depriving me of four Dragon Slayers and one God Slayer like that!"

Nox chuckled at his guild master's words before turning to the guild, where he saw a young boy with short white hair coming out of the main door, dressed in a black jacket, heavy boots and trousers, over which were pauldrons of ivory white armour, as well as his gauntlets. The closer he got to them, the more anyone could have noticed that he was slightly shorter than Katharina, who was one meter and seventy in height (5'7"), and markedly shorter than Nox, who towered over them with his meter and ninety of height (6'3").

"What do you need sister?" asked the young boy, looking at her with annoyed red eyes.

Katharina grinned at him "What's up, Ossian? Did being woken up by Nox give you a boner?"

The now named Ossian rolled his eyes "I just woke up…could you avoid talking nonsense in the early morning? Nox told me we had to go somewhere."

"Fine fine! You really are a grouch!" said Katharina after raising both hands before walking away from the guild with the two in tow "Let's go to Pinnacle Town! Jennet should have already received what we need for the day."

Ossian didn't comment on this and followed his sister through all that snow, after adjusting his belt from which hung four large leather pockets, ignoring the footprints on the ground; probably someone from the guild had woken up before them and had already left. The group of three walked for at least thirty minutes, getting closer and closer to two gigantic blocks of ice and rock that gave its name to the city, built in the middle. Thanks to the presence of those mountains, most of the wind during the storms was blocked, allowing the inhabitants of the city to move more freely, but since the space was not much, there were several structures and houses built vertically along the mountain walls. All the houses were built mostly of worked stone and all of the buildings had floors made of special stones from the Kingdom of Desierto, famed throughout Ishgar for their ability to retain the sun's heat for hundreds of years before cooling down.

As they approached, they began to cross passers-by, mostly farmers who moved between the various fields where special vegetables and fruits typical of that kingdom grew, but all of them greeted the three guild members with respect. After passing a herd of yaks being driven to the nearby river, Katharina, Nox and Ossian finally found themselves in the city where, despite the hour, many shops were already open.

"I wonder if those fabrics that we requested have arrived." said Katharina looking at a clothing store after greeting passers-by.

Nox reached inside his uniform and pulled out a small black notebook; after opening it he read a few lines before closing it and putting it away "They should arrive between tomorrow and the day after, master. Three of our members are escorting the convoy from the Kingdom of Bellum but the road is still long."

Katharina nodded, having remembered that detail, before stopping in front of what appeared to be a tavern and, judging by the smell of food in the air, it was clear that someone was already filling their bellies. Approaching the door, she opened it, ringing the bell above "Good morning everyone!"

The dozen customers who were seated at the various tables raised their glasses or mugs to greet her before returning to eat while she approached the counter behind which there was a middle-aged lady with gray hair and eyes of the same color, dressed in winter clothes including a blue coat with white fur.

"Good morning Katharina, you are an early riser today." said the woman with a warm smile on her face as she finished arranging some bottles of liquor under the counter; then turning fully to the three newcomers, she asked them "Are you here for the Magic Council permits?"

"I see that Doma-kun immediately did what I asked of him!" grinned Katharina "How many did he send you?"

"Only five, apparently to make more he will have to wait for the approval of the entire Magic Council, but it shouldn't take long." explained Jennet while shacking her head "Honestly, the last time I went to Era there wasn't so much bureaucracy for simple permits."

"When you went to that place everything was different, Doma-kun was not even close to becoming chairman." chuckled Katharina before gesturing toward Ossian and Nox "A trip for three, can we use your Port Chamber?"

"Sure, but you'll have to use your magic power to power it. I used it the other day and it has yet to finish charging." and without another word, Jennet ushered them behind the counter before leading them through a door that opened into a large room used as a kitchen and food storage; from there they went down to the cellar of the tavern where there was on the ground a circular stone covered with runes and engravings, and next to it a small altar with a crystal ball on it.

Katharina, Ossian and Nox stood on the stone and the latter placed a hand on the crystal ball, releasing a thick black and purple aura within it. After a few seconds, the runes below them began to glow "I've finished charging it, and I've also set the destination."

Jennet walked over to them, handing to Nox five folded papers "Here are the permits. If Gran Doma has already warned the others you shouldn't have any problems, but it's best to be safe."

Katharina and the other two thanked her and, in a flash, all three vanished as Jennet went for the stairs to go back upstairs while letting out a small chuckle "Might as well start preparing the usual extra large breakfasts, the gods only know how much these Slayers eat."

[Era – Magic Council Headquarters / 19th July X786]

Katharina, Nox and Ossian materialized in a flash of light in the center of the special chamber built in the Magic Council Headquarters but before they could even move, the heavy doors of the chamber were opened and Gran Doma stood in the doorway, glancing annoyed at the blonde "I see you haven't wasted any time."

"There was no reason to, and after all we can finally let loose! Most of the guild is abuzz with excitement at the prospect of being able to do something different!" said Katharina with a grin while walking toward him "May I take it that since you're here, you've already prepared my next Slayer?"

"He's waiting for you, but I doubt you'll be able to convince him." replied Gran Doma, turning and beckoning them to follow him "He's already said that if we want anything from him, we have to let all the other Oración Seis go."

"I'll see what I can do, since I don't care about anyone else. As far as I'm concerned, we can already free them." Katharina shrugged before looking at her brother "How about you Ossian?"

"Well I…" he stopped as soon as he saw his sister's eyes on him "You're just waiting for my reply to make fun of me, aren't you?"

Katharina put her hand over her heart, her face showing a super exaggerated expression of pain and shock "Who? Me?! How could you ever think that your beloved sister could ever do something like this?"

He looked at her with a deadpanned expression "For me we may as well let them go now. We can always track them down and recapture or kill them at a later date."

"Yeah, I guess the thrill of the chase would give you a nice boner, eh bonehead?"

Ossian's right eye started twitching as Katharina burst out laughing; Nox chuckled for a few seconds before looking at their guild master "I agree with Ossian. Even if we had to let them go now, we could always send someone to hunt them down. I'm sure some guild members would be very happy to face members of one of the pillars of the Balam Alliance."

While the three wizards chatted among themselves, Gran Doma couldn't help but tightly grip his staff as a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek 'It took the intervention of four guilds, including two Dragon Slayers and one of the Wizard Saints, to defeat the Oración Seis the first time, and they talk about them as if they were simple prey. They really are monsters on another level…'

After a few minutes, Gran Doma let them into a room normally used for meetings and, seated and handcuffed on one of the chairs, there was Cobra, the Dragon Slayer of the Oración Seis, who turned towards them, looking at them with an impassive gaze. His eyes remained only a handful of seconds on Gran Doma after which they moved to the three strangers, and he immediately sensed that the blonde-haired girl was the leader of the three, as well as being very powerful.

"So you're the famous Cobra, huh?" asked Katharina, walking toward him while Gran Doma stood behind her. Stopping in front of the prisoner, she looked at him for a few seconds before nodding "You don't appear to have suffered any sort of permanent damage!" she then extended her right hand toward him "I'm Katharina Rel Alucard, and I'm here to formally invite you to join my guild!"

Cobra stared at her in disbelief as Ossian rubbed his forehead in anticipation of the headache coming his way. The dark mage's eyes then grew colder "Is this a joke? I don't even know you and I should join your guild? I'm already part of Oración Seis."

"Well the fact that you don't know me doesn't surprise me! Brain and you guys have never come close to the Kingdom of Iceberg after all." nodded Katharina before pointing at the handcuffs preventing him from using magic "However if you join us I could take those handcuffs off you and clean your criminal record too!"

Cobra was momentarily surprised by this but immediately turned serious "That doesn't change that I'm already in another guild. If you want me to do your dirty work, you have to free others as well."

Katharina put a finger to her chin before turning to Grand Doma who shook his head "Don't even think about it. The rest of the council agrees with releasing Cobra as he will be part of your guild and you can keep an eye on him but they will never agree to release someone like Zero."

The guild master looked back at Cobra "Well you heard him, I can't help it much. But I have to say I'm curious…I don't know many people who would do all this for those who betrayed them." Cobra glared at her for a moment while clenching his hands "You know, I always try to know all about the guilds where I can find someone like you…so when you were defeated a few months ago, I got to read the mission reports and according to a certain Natsu Dragneel…your guild master betrayed you, and I'm not talking about Zero the destroyer, but about Brain the mind, someone in the prime of his mental faculties who always thinks about what he's doing." Katharina grabbed a chair and moved it in front of Cobra before sitting down on it "So would you like to tell me why, someone like you who seems very attached to his guild, would want to free the one who betrayed you?"

Cobra said nothing, just stared the girl straight in the eyes and after a few seconds a grin formed on her lips "Ah you want to get rid of him! You are afraid that he might use you again or that he might do the same to the others, aren't you?"

"If you think you know everything, why the hell are you asking me?" hissed Cobra, obviously annoyed by the girl's behavior.

"Because that changes everything!" exclaimed Katharina, leaning forward with excitement evident in her eyes "I would say we can find a compromise after all. How about this: you join my guild and I do everything to free Zero, and only Zero, so that you can kill him, then over time I will free the rest of your companions too. Deal?"

"Didn't you hear what I said?" asked Gran Doma.

"Oh don't worry Doma-kun, we can always kill them all if we want." said Katharina, waving him away without even looking at him "So Cobra? What do you say?"

"I'm not interested in a guild that wants to use me as a collectible." replied Cobra, having sensed that earlier Katharina was referring to someone with magic equal to his.

"Oh don't be silly, you would not be a collector's item but a member of our family!" for the first time she showed him a genuine smile before pointing at Ossian behind her "All right, let's make the deal even more inviting for you. You and Ossian, one on one. If you win, I'll have all the Oración Seis released right now and you can leave with them, we will even give you one day head start! However…!" she extended a hand to Cobra "If you lose, you'll have to settle for just killing Zero now, plus you'll join our guild. Sounds good?"

Cobra stared first at her, then at her hand, and finally at Gran Doma "Is she telling the truth…?"

Gran Doma sighed "The rest of the council won't like it, but if she says she can hunt you all down…she means she can and she will. She has the resources to succeed."

The dark mage was silent for a few seconds before raising his arms and shaking hands with Katharina.

"Excellent! Doma-kun be a dear and prepare a room for the duel!"

The chairman could only shake his head before walking out of the room 'I don't even want to think about how many headaches she will give me…it was easier to deal with Fairy Tail for God's sake.'

Twenty minutes later, they were all gathered inside an underground room used as an arena for duels and exercises. Katharina and Nox were already sitting on the small stands positioned on one side of the arena, while Gran Doma was removing the handcuffs from Cobra.

Letting the handcuffs fall to the floor, the old mage looked at the prisoner "Don't think you can escape just because now you can use your magic again. You wouldn't get very far."

Cobra ignored him, just stretching his arms as his ears adjusted again to his overdeveloped hearing. After a few seconds he looked at his opponent, observing him carefully, for there was something both strange and familiar about him.

"Don't look at him so intensely or you'll give him a boner!"

Ossian glared at his sister with annoyed eyes as Cobra watched unimpressed, hearing Gran Doma kick off the match 'That girl really thinks this kid might beat…wait…his smell is similar to that of Natsu Dragneel and that brat, Wendy.' his eyes widened in shock "You are-!"

Unfortunately for him though, Ossian had already arched his back puffing out his cheeks, before moving forward and releasing his magic "Bone Dragon's Roar!"

A large tornado of sharp bone chips was released from his mouth destroying the floor in front of him with ease, forcing Cobra to leap to the side to avoid the attack. When the attack ended, Cobra looked first at the damaged arena and then at his opponent "Dragon Slayer huh."

Ossian nodded, not at all tired from the attack just performed, before raising both hands, now covered in bony scales "Second generation, like you."

Cobra moved his eyes to Katharina for a brief moment "So the reason she said that thing…"

"Yes…it's because of my magic…she loves puns on bones…" explained Ossian, in an exasperated tone of voice "So I would ask you to ignore her when she says certain things, I don't swing that way."

"My little brother is a good person, Cobra! I bet he doesn't even have a bad bone in his whole body!"

"See…?"

'Kinda like Hoteye with his money obsession…' thought Cobra before getting serious, he had a duel to win after all. His arms were instantly covered in crimson and white scales, destroying the sleeves of his prison uniform, and the next instant he attacked his opponent "Poison Dragon's Scales!"

Dozens of scale-shaped poison blades were hurled at Ossian but instead of avoiding them, the young Dragon Slayer raised his arms and began smashing them one after another in rapid succession, spreading venom all around. When the attack ended, Cobra saw that Ossian's hands were only slightly corroded by his venom.

Ossian raised both hands to guard himself "A dragon's bones are the hardest part along with its scales. Your poison can't corrode them that easily." after which he stretched them forward creating an ivory white magic circle "Bone Dragon's Spiraling Horn!" and from it was generated a great coiled horn of bone which shot towards Cobra.

The dark mage waved his right arm creating a crimson magic circle "Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust!"

A large mass of poison in the shape of a snake shot out of the magic circle and opened its jaws to intercept Ossian's attack, however it was only able to slow it down for a few seconds, barely giving Cobra time to move away from the attack. Still moving, Cobra puffed out his cheeks before attacking his opponent "Poison Dragon's Roar!"

Seeing the attack coming, Ossian slammed both hands on the ground "Bone Dragon's Ossuary!" and a thick wall made of bones was erected in front of him, protecting him from the poison of Cobra.

'I'll have to try to hit him when he's not expecting it.' thought Cobra realizing by now that his attacks had little hope of breaking through the enemy defences, but his eyes suddenly widened as he heard Ossian's inner voice 'He's going to-!'

"Bone Dragon's Hunting Ground!"

Dozens of large bone spikes sprang from the ground but not all of them were aimed at Cobra and this was due to the fact that Ossian was not aiming exclusively at him.

'He must be aware of my hearing! He's just 'attacking straight ahead' because he can smell me but if he were to aim directly at me he knows I could avoid his attack.' Cobra avoided two spikes to his right but soon found himself surrounded by those ivory columns and, to avoid one that would have pierced his chest, he slammed into another spike and within a few moments, the number of bone spikes grew in number, effectively imprisoning him, and pinning his neck and arms. Cobra immediately tried to free himself but noticed in spite of himself that the poison he was releasing from his hands was not able to corrode the bones fast enough 'Damn it all…'

"Cobra is no longer able to move. The winner is Ossian." said Gran Doma while standing up, looking at the damaged arena 'It will take days to fix this mess…'

Ossian came out from behind the wall of bones and approached Cobra, breaking some of the spikes that held him down, thus allowing him to move again "That was a good fight."

"Tch!" Cobra looked away, clearly angry that he lost his only chance to free the others.

"Honestly, what do you do to your prisoners? I'm sure Cobra is much stronger than that!" shouted Katharina while glaring at Gran Doma who merely shrugged.

"Maybe your brother is stronger, and anyway you should know that Cobra used to fight together with a big snake, furthermore in this closed room his ability to move was severely reduced."

"Yes yes as you say." Katharina moved toward Cobra with Nox at her side, offering him a hand "So? Ready to join us? No hard feeling right?"

Cobra grit her teeth but, after returning his arms to normal, grabbed her hand "Yes, I'll join your damn guild but I want to kill Zero. Now."

Katharina grinned before looking at the chairman "Oh I think you may have your wish granted, right Doma-kun?"

The old mage sighed heavily "Give me a few hours. It will be difficult to convince the others."

"Sweet! Oh and please get Cobra some decent clothes! He is no longer a prisoner after all." the guild master then looked at her new guildmate "Ready to breathe fresh air again?"

This time Cobra flashed her a grin "I'd be lying if I told you no."

"Good to know!" Katharina smiled at him "But please, don't flash that grin again. You could give my brother a boner!"

"Will you stop this nonsense, sister?!"

Katharina's uproarious laughter echoed through the entire room as Gran Doma made his way to the Magic Council's main chamber, where he was sure to have some nasty and interminable hours.

"While we wait for those old goats to do their job…welcome to your new guild, World Slayers!" said Katharina with a big smile on her face "As I already said, my name is Katharina Rel Alucard and I am the first guild master. They are Ossian Rel Alucard, second generation Bone Dragon Slayer and my brother in all but blood."

Ossian nodded at him "It is always a pleasure to meet others like us."

"Wait…you are not siblings?"

The albino shook his head "She 'adopted' me years ago, even though she could very well be my mother or grandmother."

Cobra looked at Katharina "Huh?"

"I'm a fist generation Blood God Slayer and I am one hundred and twenty-six years old." she said as if she were talking about the weather "One thing many people don't know is that blood magic is extremely beneficial to one's body, but dangerous at the same time. Having full control over my magic I can use it to slow down the aging of my body, even if I often have to feed on magical blood; similar to a vampire, although I don't bite anyone or turn into a bat."

"I see…"

"Then we have Nox Ravenwood, a first generation Shadow Devil Slayer!"

Nox bowed toward Cobra with a calm smile on his face "I am the master's personal butler and her second-in-command, but I also serve the entire guild. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask me."

Cobra nodded though he was wary, as for some reason he couldn't hear Nox's inner voice, but then Katharina's words finally registered in his mind "Wait…God Slayers and Devil Slayers have different generations too? I know Grimoire Heart had a God Slayer in its ranks, while Tartaros is supposed to have a Devil Slayer…but I didn't realize they could be from different generations."

"Well then we might as well give you some clarification!" Katharina went and sat down on one of the bone spikes, crossing her legs "You probably already know the various generations of Dragon Slayers, correct?"

Cobra preferred to sit on the ground, keeping his eyes on her "Yes, Natsu Dragneel was a first generation Dragon Slayer, me and your brother are from the second generation and I've heard that the third generation is basically a cross of the first two."

"Correct! As for the God Slayers, the first generation encompasses those who have received their power from a god, through a ritual, a blessing, a prayer, you choose…in my case, I received the blessing of Haimus, a lesser God of Life who has blood as its domain, however I think there are just a handful of God Slayers whose magic has been 'taught' to them by a god. Just as Dragon Slayers can recognize others of their kind by scent, we can recognize other God Slayers at a glance and understand several things about them. The same also applies to divine objects and artifacts, as well as people under divine effects. Also it is the oldest type of Slayer Magic, as the gods are much older than dragons and demons, and unlike other generations, our magic does not turn black as it is 'pure' in the eyes of the gods."

To prove her point, Katharina raised her arm and blood began to seep from her skin to form a dagger, then liquefied again and was reabsorbed into her body. She then raised two fingers "Second generation God Slayers are those who learned their magic from first generation God Slayers, or who received their magic through artifacts or magical items. In these cases the element connected to their magic turns black; finally the third generation God Slayers are those who learn the magic by themselves or are taught by those who are not God Slayers, since there are several ancient tomes in the world that talk about this lost magic and how to learn it. Oh and if a second generation God Slayer were to teach their magic to someone else, the result would still be another second generation God Slayer."

Cobra assimilated Katharina's explanation without interrupting her, marveling at all those differences between Dragon and God Slayers. He then looked at Nox "What about those like him?"

"First generation Devil Slayers like myself gain their power by fusing with a demon or making a pact with one, even if it's something more like a contract." explained Nox with the smile still on his face.

"A contract?" Cobra raised an eyebrow "What, you gonna tell me you sold your soul for power?"

Nox chuckled for a moment "No, nothing like that. Due to a series of unfortunate events I found myself dying next to a shadow demon called Erebus, who was also dying. In order to survive we decided to merge, using my body as a base, and in doing so I gained my Devil Slayer powers."

"Why would a demon give you a power created to kill other demons?"

"Because unlike dragons and gods, demons are in constant conflict with other demons, killing each other, laughing at the suffering of other demons, and so on. There are exceptions of course, but most demons are like that." said Nox before looking down "Also those who merge with a demon can still hear its voice and sadly many Devil Slayers went insane from the demons they fused with and we had to kill them."

"So…you can hear Erebus' voice?" asked Cobra, wondering if that was why he wasn't hearing his inner voice.

"From time to time, but I have to call him otherwise he doesn't 'show up' and if you were wondering, you can't hear my thoughts because of my magic. With other Devil Slayers you shouldn't have the same problem with a few exceptions." explained Nox before continuing "Second generation Devil Slayers, like with you Dragon Slayers, get their powers from a Lacrima inside their body and this is the 'safer' generation as a Lacrima can hardly transmit the influence of the demon from which it was created, however the body of a second generation Devil Slayer takes much longer to adjust to the Lacrima and start using its magic."

Cobra placed a hand over his chest, where he could feel his Lacrima pulsing with power "Is it possible to create a Lacrima from any demon?"

Nox pondered his answer for a couple of seconds "From the 'original' demons yes even if it's not worth it, while if you're referring to the Etherious, the demons of Zeref's books, the answer is no." he then went on "Third generation Devil Slayers are those who receive their magic directly from another Devil Slayer. Any Devil Slayer can pass their magic to another person without having to force them to merge with a demon or give them the Lacrima. However, since this method is incredibly fast and fickle, new Devil Slayers are at risk of falling under the effects of the Demonization sooner than other generations of Devil Slayers, causing marks to appear on their body that expand more and more as they use their magic. I too can suffer from Demonization but after much longer, while it is almost impossible for second generation ones, and for this reason it is considered the safest generation."

Katharina looked at Cobra "Well do you understand everything?"

Instead of answering her directly, Cobra rubbed his forehead "I have a headache…"

"Hah! These were just the three most common and famous types of Slayer Magic! Wait to see the others!"

Closing his eyes, the dark mage sighed "Can I change my mind and go back to prison?"

"Nope! Now let's go find you some clothes! That prison uniform is awful!"

[Wastelands west of Era / 19th July X786]

A few hours after the fight between Cobra and Ossian, two figures were in the middle of several rock structures, several kilometers from Era.

"You did a great job, Cobra." said Brain with a grin on his face "I would never have expected you to be so diplomatic."

"It was you or the others." replied Cobra, with his back turned to Brain.

"You made the right choice." nodded Brain before spreading his arms "We just have to find someone else so that Oración Seis can be reb-!"

Brain had no way to finish the sentence as he found Cobra's hand stuck in his chest, with the Dragon Slayer's cold eyes fixed on him "We don't need others, but I need you dead." and upon releasing his magic from his hand, he disintegrated part of Brain's body, killing him instantly "And my name is Erik, not Cobra."

Seconds later, a swirl of shadows formed a short distance away from him and Nox, Katharina, and Ossian emerged from it. The guild master looked at Brain's corpse and nodded in satisfaction "You did it quickly! Now are you ready to start for real?"

Cobra turned to them "What's stopping me from leaving without you and trying to break out the other members of Oración Seis?"

"Well for one you would risk being caught again and imprisoned forever." said Katharina without missing a beat "Besides, if you start wandering around alone, you'll be in danger."

"In danger? Are you serious? Do you really think I can't handle it on my own?" asked Cobra, feeling offended by Katharina's words; after all he was still part of one of the three pillars of the Balam Alliance (not counting the fact that now only one pillar remained and he had just joined a legal guild, albeit an unknown one).

"No, you can't." the girl's response was immediate but unlike before she wasn't smiling and was incredibly serious, so much so that Cobra was surprised "You've probably heard me before, but I want to make it clear that I didn't form my guild to 'collect' wizards and sorceresses with our kind of magic, I created it to protect us all."

"Protect us…?"

Katharina nodded "We may have the power to slay demons, dragons, and gods, but the fact remains that there are plenty of people out there who are afraid of our power or who crave it for themselves. A Lacrima like yours is worth hundreds of millions of jewels and there are bounty hunters ready to do anything to rip it from your body and resell it. Furthermore, there are a lot of people who are after us, such as religious fanatics or unscrupulous exorcists." she looked at the horizon "You may not know it, but on the northern continent called Guiltina, there is Diabolos, a legal guild made up exclusively of fifth generation Dragon Slayers. Mages who have devoured dragons or other Dragon Slayers like you and Ossian to gain their power. All they do is hunt down the likes of you to kill and devour them."

Cobra looked at her with surprised eyes for a few seconds before asking "If they're so dangerous or strong, how come they never came here to hunt me down?"

Katharina did not answer him. She simply turned to look at him with a smile so cold and creepy that Cobra felt a shiver down his spine, as he had heard her inner voice: 'They tried. They failed.'

Nox looked at Cobra with a calm smile "They are a threat to the Dragon Slayers, and what better deterrent than a guild of only Slayers to force them to stay away?"

"And that's why my sister leaves alone Slayers who are in active guilds, but always tries to get those who are wandering alone or in prison, like you, to join our guild." added Ossian, with a serious face before looking at her "She wants to protect us."

"Oh how adorable you are!" Katharina walked to him in order so as to ruffle his hair "Even if you got a boner that time when-!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP PLEASE?!"

Katharina burst out laughing at the sight of her brother's face but then moved on to Cobra "Oh I forgot, I have to warn you that some of the others may attack you to see what you're made of. Fights are welcome but without using magic, if you want to face someone using your magic you have to go outside. Oh and someone might even ask you a weird question, like the one I'm about to ask you." she then proceeded to lick her lips in the slowest and most erotic way possible "Can I eat you?"

Cobra immediately took a step back with cheeks completely red "WHA-?!"

"AHAHAHAHAH! Your face! Oh gods! Your face! You should have seen it!" Katharina was already on the ground holding her sides due to laughter, while crying without a care in the world.

"Y-You weren't joking! I could hear you!" shouted Cobra, his cheeks still red with embarrassment.

"And this is why you shouldn't rely too much on your hearing!" said the girl before catching her breath, slowly raising to her feet. After a deep breath she looked at him with an amused smile "Jokes aside, never eat someone else's magic without permission. It is a gross form of rudeness as well as an insult to others, and currently only a select few are able to utilize multiple elements. Being part of a guild composed almost entirely of Slayers can have its advantages but also its disadvantages after all."

After calming down, Cobra nodded "Fine by me."

"Good! Now…" her smile became incredibly sincere and warm as she extended a hand to him "Are you ready to join my guild, fight who knows what, help this world and save your friends?"

Cobra was still not convinced of his choice, yet he couldn't even say anything bad about Katharina, since she had done everything to humor him and allowed him to take revenge on Brain, as well as the fact that she seemed genuinely concerned for him and wanted him in her guild to protect him.

After a few seconds, he reached for her hand and shook it with a small smile on his face "For the time being, I'll be in your care…master."

Katharina's smile seemed to grow even wider.

"In that case, welcome to the family Erik!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

And here we are with the second chapter! Erik joins the family (although he'll still be referred to as Cobra out of dialogue for convenience) and we got to know a couple more characters! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The purpose was purely to explain the various generations of Slayers without just listing them in my profile, as well as a couple of internal guild rules.

Katharina and the others know about Diabolos (for those who haven't read the manga "Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest" it's a guild that appears there) but our cute cannibals won't appear for a while, in addition there will also be other groups that hunt down the various Slayers! Finally, an info that I added later on my profile to specify, your OC doesn't necessarily have to already be part of the World Slayers guild. They can also be Slayers that have yet to be recruited.

Having said that, I look forward to your Ocs!

Have a good day/night!