Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Chapter Eight: The Sins Take Their Prey

The Next Day….
Road to Magnolia

On the road walked four Wizards, the sun rising to the east. Each of them had the sigil for Lamia Scale on their bodies as they walked, intending to join the other Wizards at Fairy Tail for the fight against the Seven Deadly Sins.

Lyon noticed Jura had stopped walking and turned around. "Jura. What is the matter?" Both Sherry and her cousin Chelia all turned to their fellow guild member.

Jura looked at the rising sun and noticed how red the sky was. "Blood has been shed last night," Jura said, his brow furrowing.

Sherry looked up and wondered what Jura meant. "Jura, you know that's just a superstition, right?"

Chelia looked up at the sky before seeing something flying towards them. "Look! It's one of Master Oba's messenger pigeons!"

Lyon narrowed his eyes. For their master to send a message right after they'd left didn't bode well. He extended his arm and let the pigeon drop the large scroll it was carrying into his hand. Breaking the seal, he opened it up and read it.

Jura watched the pigeon fly away before turning and seeing the look of horror on Lyon's face. "What has happened, Lyon? Is the guild in jeopardy?"

Thankfully, the white-haired young man shook his head. "No, Jura. It's not our guild that's in danger. But…" he looked down at the ground. "Quatro Cerberus…Quatro Cerberus is no more."

The other three members just stared in shock. "What?!" Sherry gasped. "But what about Bacchus? And Master Goldmine?"

"According to the letter, the guild's in ruins," Lyon explained. "The guildhall was burned to the ground. The villagers were able to recover bodies. A…a lot of them were dead but the reports said that Goldmine is still alive as well as Bacchus. It was reported that he managed to carry Goldmine out of the burning building before the flames became too great. But…they're both in critical condition. And…" Jura looked up and sighed, "It says that Master Goldmine isn't expected to make it."

The wind ominously whipped by the four Wizards as they processed the news. "Do we know who is responsible?" Jura asked.

"Yes. Bacchus was able to recount what happened before he lost consciousness. He said that this was all the work of one man."

"WHAT?!" Sherry and Chelia gasped in horror. "One man took down an entire guild in one night?"

"It is the Seven Deadly Sins," Jura deduced. "They're purging the land of its guilds. They've already starting." Jura started to walk again, this time his stride filled with purpose. They came upon a fork in the road. "Lyon."

"Yes, Jura?" the young man asked as he walked up to his senior.

"Take Chelia and Sherry to Magnolia. I will go this route and head for Blue Pegasus. It's the closest guild to Quatro Cerberus and we need to make sure Ichiya and his group are safe. I will rejoin you at Fairy Tail once I've linked up with them.

Knowing his senior wouldn't think of dividing them so lightly, Lyon nodded. "Alright, Jura. We'll be waiting for you."

"Good luck, Jura," Chelia waved as Jura started to walk down his path.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Sherry asked her friend, Lyon.

"It's Jura. If one of those demons runs into him, I pity them. Let's go," he said, turning around and heading for Fairy Tail.

Meanwhile….
Fairy Tail Infirmary

Lucy sat up, wiping her eyes as she yawned. She remembered the horrifying night she had previously and shivered. She looked around and remembered that she was at the guild's infirmary. She recalled last night where came flew in and told her that Natsu and the others had done it and defeated Envy, saying that without her help, he and the others would've likely died at the hands of the demonic girl. She leaned back down and sighed in relief. There were only six more demons to slay and after their defeat last night, they would most certainly steer clear of the guild which would give Lucy and her friends more time to hunt them down.

And then she heard it.

She sat up startled when she heard something coming from the back of the infirmary, hidden behind a curtain. "Who…who is there…" she said before the music became louder.

"Sweet Lucy, my dear love

With hair of golden sunshine.

Rest your weary mind

And listen to my song Cloud Nine."

The soft music of a flute played behind the curtain, a trail of visible purple notes flew through the air and entered Lucy's ears. Quickly, Lucy's eyes drooped as she felt her mind start to become dazed. She slumped back onto the bed as she listened to the music more.

"Sweet Lucy, my dear treasure

Come away from the world that's unjust.

Rise from your weary slumber

And come into the arms of Lust."

Like a zombie, Lucy sat up in bed once more and shambled out of it, walking slowly to the source of the music. When she neared the curtain it was pulled back, revealing the demon Lust, playing her black flute.

Pulling the flute away from her mouth, the horned demon smiled at Lucy's blank face. "Hello there, my sweet Lucy," she grinned before wrapping her arms around her.

"Ahahahahahahah…."

Meanwhile….
Fairy Tail Guildhall

Most of the guild had gathered at the guildhall when the door burst opened. The wizards turned and saw Levy's teammates Jet and Droy dash into the hall. "Guys! It's terrible!"

Makarov hopped down from his seat and walked over to the panting duo. "What is it? What has happened, boys?"

Droy looked up, his eyes about to burst from his sockets from horror. "Levy asked us to go that monastery for more books about the Seven. But when we got there…it was…it was…" the fat man looked away.

Levy dashed over to her teammates. "What happened? What happened to Bart and the monks?"

Jet clenched his teeth before he spat out the words. "They're dead. All of the monks are dead! The…the monastery's a slaughterhouse!"

Makarov's face turned grave. "Calm down, you two. Take a deep breath. Did you see something else?" When both friends looked at each other with nervous faces, Makarov pressed further. "Tell us, Jet, Droy."

Jet took a deep breath before he explained everything. "We…we went into the monastery and saw nobody around. We thought that maybe the monks might've fled so we went into their library. We grabbed the books that Levy asked us to find. But…we started hearing some weird noises so we went further into the monastery. That's…that's when we heard…it."

"Heard what?" Erza asked, walking up next to Makarov.

Droy continued Jet's story. "We opened the door and peeked inside the mess hall. That's…that's when we found the bodies. Most of the…" the fat man shivered. "Most of them looked like someone had taken a bite out of most of the bodies! And…and sitting at a table was a monk. But…he…he…"

Levy put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Droy, it's okay. We all need to hear this."

The horror of what Droy saw made him scream it out. "HE WAS EATING BARTOLOMEO!"

The guild all froze in horror. "WHAT?!" Erza gasped.

"It's true!" Jet said. "He was eating him like Natsu eats fire. And then…and then the monk that was eating turned to us and grinned. He said, "Care to join me for dessert?" Droy and I ran out as fast as we could," he shamefully admitted. "I'd never been so terrified before."

Gajeel walked over to Jet and shook his head. "Don't beat yourself up. If you'd have stayed, there was a good chance you'd have ended up on his menu. These guys are monsters." Jet was a little werided out that Gajeel of all people was being supportive but appreciated it.

"This is terrible news," Makarov said. "And we've just got word that another of the sins destroyed Quatro Cerberus. These demons work fast…."

"What should we do, Master?" Ezra asked.

"Levy," Makarov turned to the blue-haired woman. "Find out what you can through those books. We need to find their hideout and make them answer for this atrocity! In the meantime we should-"

'MASTER!"

The whole guild turned to see Wendy run out of the Infirmary. "What's wrong, Wendy?" Natsu asked.

"LUCY! SHE'S GONE!"

Everyone stopped where they were. "Gone?!" Erza gaped. "But I just checked in on Lucy fifteen minutes ago!"

"It's true! She's not there. And…and…" she held up a piece of paper. "I found this in her bed."

Makarov took the note out of Wendy's hands and read it. "Oh no…."

Meanwhile….

Ichiya sniffed around as he and his men stopped to take a breather. They'd been walking all morning and needed the break. Unfortunately Master Bob did not have the transportation to spare so they were forced to walk on foot. Beside him, Hibiki used his Archive magic to try to learn more information about the Seven Deadly Sins. "Anything, Hibiki?"

"No, Ichiya-Sensei. There's barely any mention about these demons at all in the council's archive." He stopped typing when he heard his mentor sniffing the air. "Something wrong?"

Ichiya nodded, tensing himself. "I smell the perfume…the perfume of someone stained with blood nearby…."

It turned out that Ichiya's nose was right on the money. The four Wizards heard heavy footsteps nearby and all turned in unison as a huge figure emerged in the middle of the road.

From behind his hood, Wrath observed the four men before reaching into his pocket, withdrawing the communication's lacrima. "Pride?"

"Go ahead, Wrath."

"I think I've found someone with a most peculiar ability…."

To be continued