"That was too close for comfort…" Blues let out a heavy sigh. "Giving us a heart attack over here…!"
"No kidding…" Kuro sighed along with his partner.
"You played that really risky, Erza…That's not good for anyone's health…" Aira scolded Titania while placing her palms over the injured knight, a soft sea-green light emitting from her palms as she began to heal her.
"Juvia wasn't that worried…" Even Juvia had to admit she was a little worried.
"I'm sorry…" Erza let out a nervous laugh. "I know I should've asked for your assistance, Blues…that was a fight I wasn't going to win and I wanted to make sure at least someone else had a chance to protect the others when I fell…"
"You knew you weren't going to win…?" Ena tilted her head while rubbing it at the same time. Her memory of the fight was rather hazy but she wasn't going to forget the splitting headache she had.
"That dragon skin of yours…" Meredy responded. "During the fight, I made a sensory link with you to see how you were feeling every time after Erza struck. I hardly felt anything minus that wound in your chest…but Erza didn't make that. That had to have been there before."
"Not to mention…" Blues crossed his arms while tapping his foot. "It's not often you hear about a black/red/pink dragon with strength such as yours…the hell are you?"
"Ah…" Ena understood as she nodded slowly. "Yes…well. I'm a hybrid. Between my father, the Black Dragon, and my mother, a Red Dragon…as a result, I carry genes from the both of them. It was a real scandal many centuries ago; many thought I was doomed to death because of this…however I proved them wrong. Which is why the residents of the isle hold a great deal of respect for me, it's nice. However, to put it simply…I am the youngest. Kurthnaga is my older brother and is a pure Black Dragon…the near impenetrable skin I have is only shared with him and Dhegensea. Mine is weaker because of an incident when I was young, back when it was a little more fragile. The eldest brother of mine is even stronger. Father's skin is something on an entirely different level…"
"I see…" Erza nodded slowly as Aira finished healing her.
"The eldest brother?" Blues tilted his head. "You mean, there's another one of you?"
"Yes..." Ena looked off to the side for a moment. "But we are forbidden from talking about him. Father disowned him long ago, for he chose to fight in the war between humans and dragons, on the side of Dragons."
"I guess we wouldn't be able to ask him for help anyway." Blues shrugged. It was worth asking, however.
"Wait…but I have one question…" Ena said with an innocently cute expression. "Why in the world did you come back here!? It's too dangerous for you to be here!"
"Yes, we know…" Erza responded. "However…some of our own were left behind for the sake of buying us time, so we had no choice but to return to rescue them. Especially since the Magic Council has decided to use the Etherion Cannon on the island come sunset…"
"The WHAT?!" Ena's eyes widened at this news. "H-He can't blow up this island! Most of the people dragons don't even want to fight…!"
"We know." Meredy nodded. "Which is why we're going to stop Dhegensea before it's too late!"
"Do you remember anything that happened after we left?" Aira questioned the Dragon Princess.
"Well…"
[Flash back: "Escape!"]
"F-Father!?" Ena's eyes were wide with fear as the Fairy Tail and White Eclipse mages retreated. "W-What's going on!?"
"Father, what is this madness…!?" Kurthnaga questioned with the same look as Ena. "Why would you…!?"
"Ah…my innocent children…" Dhegensea began with a soft chuckle. "What you see now is how things are supposed to turn out. Did you honestly believe things would turn out so badly under my watch? No, this is all fate had intended. The humans won't make it out alive."
"Erza-senpai…!" Ena's first thought was Erza. Pink wings spread out from her back and she lunged forward to try and assist the humans in their escape, however she was quickly pinned down by Venoma. "V-Venoma…!? L-Let me go…!?"
"Sorry, Ena hun…" Venoma shook her head while picking Ena up, restraining her by pulling her arms behind her back. "But be a good princess and stay here, this has nothing to do with you for now. Dhegensea, if you please~"
"Stop it…!" Ena struggled in Venoma's hold. Before she could do anything else, Dhegensea snapped her fingers, and there her eyes went, entering that strange look she had when she encountered Erza's team prior to fighting them.
[End flashback]
"So that's what happened to you…" Erza nodded. "I see…and Kurthnaga…?"
"I…I don't know…" Ena shook her head with a small frown. "I do hope he is okay…" She then turned to Erza. "So…if you're back, I assume the others are with you as well. What have I missed…?"
"Well…' Erza began. "We've split up into several teams…most of them are trying to find out where our missing comrades are. Our team is looking for a way inside the city to reach the Mystic Water lake…"
"Mystic Water…!" Ena's eyes lit up with hope. She'd nearly forgotten about it with everything going on. "Of course…with that, you can cure the dragons who've been infected!"
"We especially need it for Cynthia…" Juvia nodded firmly. "The bite she caught from Drake is actually affecting her, so we have to hurry…"
"Cynthia…" Ena chewed her bottom lip for a moment before nodding.
"We also had Hisui with us…" Aira sighed while staring up at the hole in the cave ceiling. "But she was kidnapped."
"Wait, huh…!?" Ena's eyes widened. "W-Wait, huh?! You brought the Princess of Fiore here!? What happened?!"
"She wouldn't take no for an answer. She was planning on speaking with Dhegensea diplomatically; however Mii betrayed us and kidnapped her…" Aira continued.
"What?!" Ena was just in for surprise after surprise today. "Perhaps a kind soul sure as her would be able to convince Father what he's doing is wrong…but Mii? I can't understand her…the last thing I remember her doing was holding her gun to Wendy's head…and the next second after that she flew out of the castle…"
"There's a lot going on…" Blues sighed. "But we don't have the time to pick and choose what we have to do now. We have to complete our mission, we have to sneak into the city and get to the Mystic Water."
"Oh no…" Ena shook her head. "That's a bad idea…the city is crawling with those human-like dragon soldiers under Drake's influence. "You'll never sneak in that way, they'll spot you a mile away."
"Then how do we get in?" Meredy asked.
"Follow me." Ena said with a growing smile. "I know a secret path. It'll lead outside the city but in the end it goes straight to the Mystic Water lake!"
"I knew you'd be a help to us, Ena…" Erza said with a slight nod. "Thank you."
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Saint Draco returned to the Magic Council HQ, dusting himself off after ending his Meteor spell. He didn't waste much time heading for Siegrain's office, where the countdown of the Etherion cannon was at 8 hours. Siegrain turned from his window to stare at the Wizard Saint. "Well?"
"He's not budging an inch." Draco said with a slight sigh. "Not only that…but it appears that the plan concerning the Etherion cannon has been leaked."
"They know of the plan?" This seemed to catch Siegrain's attention more than anything else. "Interesting…it seems we had a spy in our midst since the very beginning...how crafty. No matter, things will proceed accordingly. There's no way those dragons are getting off that island anyway."
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A boat docked next to the large ship of the Commandants. Hubert stepped off onto the sand while looking around. "So, this is the Isle of the Dragons, hm? How quaint." He commented before staring at the ship, quirking a slight brow of interest. "Oh…? I recognize this ship…I wonder who's been assigned and what it is they're doing…"
"Enough talk!" Another male voice called out. This man was tall and had raven hair and black eyes. This was Masharu (Marshall) Izami, one of the Gemas of Empyrean Dawn. He currently wore an angered visage, probably from the long trip it took from the mainland to the island. "Let's just hurry and finish this mission up. I need to get back to doing Zinnia's laundry."
"You mean stealing her panties again, Lust?" Hubert quipped, though Marsharu chose to ignore that last part.
*Yaaaaawn* a tall blonde female with red eyes exited the ship with a yawn, stretching her arms out. This female was Nina Routlette, the youngest of the Routlette sisters; speaking of her sister, a slightly shorter brunette who had her hair in odd pony tails and had green eyes. This was Julia Roulette, the elder Roulette sister. "Oh, awake too, Jules?"
"When we stopped I assumed we were done sailing…" Julia said while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Last but not least, a female with black hair and some yellow strands walked out of the ship, sauntering onto the sands with a hand on her hip. Cecelia Vibius, ranked number 3 of Empyrean Dawn's 8 Z class mages, aka a group of some of their strongest. "My…" Cecelia remarked while staring at the scenery the beach had to offer. "This area is nice. Oh well, we've a mission to do."
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"You're quite the stubborn one, Spirit King…" Dhegensea remarked while folding his arms. His body was covered in scratches and marks, but nothing too severe. His skin was far too powerful for the Spirit King to inflict any sort of damage at all…on the other hand; the Spirit King himself was damaged, though he didn't allow this to show. "I don't understand, Spirit King…why do you still fight for these humans…?" Spreading his arms apart, the Dragon King created a sphere of darkness between his palms. "They do nothing but drag everything they touch into everlasting darkness…the Spirit Mage summoned you here to break the darkness…but please realize that the darkness is inescapable. You may have shattered Night Tide…but you will not escape my own personal prison. Black Dragon's…Prison." Arms spread apart a little more before thrusting them forward, sending the small sphere towards the Spirit King. Before he could react, the sphere engulfed him whole.
The Spirit King found himself trapped within the darkness, feeling it leech away at his magic, and as a result, Lucy's magic. If this continued for much longer, he would be putting Lucy in a very dangerous situation, and considering he didn't know her condition right now… "Dragon King…" He began with a low tone. "You ask me why I fight for the humans? It is simple…it is because they are my friends. They are not bound to a piece of paper as you are…The one who summoned me is a very old friend of mine…and today, you are the cause for the tears she is shedding right now." The blade he held began to shine a brilliant golden light. "You are the enemy…and for the sake of my old friend…I will destroy you!" With one slash the darkness prison was broken instantly broken, and the Spirit King wore an angered visage. He then held his blade up, a rainbow aura shrouding the sword as the very sky itself began to open up; just the beginning of the Spirit King's final gambit caused the entire sky and island to quiver violent. Just the light emitting from the sword forced Dhegensea to cover his eyes with his arm to shield them from the light.
"W-What do you think you're doing!?" Dhegensea questioned the Spirit King's insanity. "Do you know what you can do with that level of an attack? Are you TRYING to destroy my island and your 'friends' along with it!?"
As the Spirit King held his blade, he wore a serious expression even with Dhegensea's question. A few seconds passed before the widest grin humanly imaginable crossed his lips. "Grin!"
And in that instant, Dhegensea could see the Spirit King was entirely serious. "…!"
"Meteor Light…" Spirit King raised his sword up high as the golden light shone even brighter, becoming even more noticeable even from the ground. "BLADE!" Swinging the sword down, the tip of the blade caught Dhegensea and sent him rocketing towards the island like a meteor. The effect of the slash created a large shockwave that nearly ripped the island in two, destroyed a large section of the castle and continued on for miles, splitting the ocean in half. Afterwards, the Spirit King let out a hefty sigh before nodding. "I must go now, my old friend…but remember the light inside you. You and your friends together can put an end to this isle…" With that, the Spirit King disappeared back into the Spirit World.
"W-Whoa…!? What the…!?" Drake shielded his eyes from the blinding light coming from the sky. The next thing he knew, most of the castle began to fall apart on itself. More importantly, the falling star that was Dhegensea crashed in the front of the castle courtyard in a blinding explosion of light. When the light finally died down, there was the Dragon King encased in a shell of light with a shocked expression. He wasn't moving.
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"W-whoa whoa whoa whoa…!" Mii staggered as the island shook violently from the Spirit King's final attack. She looked in the sky, forced to shield her eyes from the light escaping the clouds. "What the hell is going on up there?! Can't things go smoothly without me being around? I swear I'm the glue that keeps everything together…!" After the light died down, Mii kept her eyes on the sky, only to see what looked like a meteor crash down in the vicinity of the castle. "Hah…? I wonder what that was…? Whatever, I have my own agenda to attend to right now…."
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The earthquake occurring brought up some motion sickness from Sting and Rogue, causing them to teeter back and forth as their faces paled from the sensation. "Ugh…" Sting groaned while attempting to keep his glare on Eizen.
"Don't tell me you two are getting motion sickness from this…!?" Yukino said with a comically shocked expression. She glanced over at Natsu to see if he was experiencing the same feeling, and sure enough he was feeling just as queasy. "Oh my goodness…"
Eizen just stood there with a grin on his lips. Sliver light wrapped around his arm in the shape of a claw. "Well, that's quite unfortunate that a little shiver in the ground is making you sick. I suppose I'll just finish this right here…" Before he could take another step forward, Dhegensea's lack of presence immediately hit Eizen. "…!" He turned back towards the general direction of the castle, allowing the sliver light on his arm to disperse and it was then the tremor died down.
"The quake stopped…" Rogue grunted as he began to feel less queasy.
"It appears we'll have to finish this some other time. There are more pressing matters that require my attention…" While turning Eizen began to walk away, leaving the group on their own.
"Whew…" Yukino let out a sigh of relief.
"Tch…" Sting grit his teeth in annoyance, though it was probably for the best that Eizen left when he did. It was around then that the others started to awaken from their forced slumber. "Oi, is everyone okay!?"
"Ugh…" Selene groaned while rubbing her head. "What the hell happened…?"
"A little water brought you down…" Luke replied with a pained chuckle…and it was then Selene tackle hugged the injured copycat. "S-Selene…!"
"You're alive!" Draco exclaimed.
"Barely…" Luke responded with a heavy sigh. Chelia walked over with a confused expression while beginning to heal both Luke and Lucy.
"Thanks, Chelia…" Lucy was feeling a lot better now that the Spirit King wasn't draining what was left of her magic. Sitting up from Yukino's lap, she pulled out the card given to her by Cana to project a message to the others. "H-Hey everyone…we've found Luke and Natsu, so you don't have to worry about them anymore…! Please update if you can find Laxus, Mira, Takeru, and Leon…" With that, the message cut off.
"So what happened to you two?" Kagura asked Lucy and Luke since they were the most injured out of everyone.
"Before we talk about that…" Lucy winced before staring at Natsu. "Where did you go, idiot!?" Lucy huffed while frowning. "You can't just go jumping off the ship like that!? What if Nasir led you to an ambush or something!?"
"It was fine!" Natsu defended while crossing his arms. "The bastard got away anyway…"
"What happened…?" Sting said while rubbing the back of his head.
"Well…" Natsu paused for a moment. "I caught up to him, but he didn't stay around for long…"
[Flash back]
"Finally caught up to you, you bastard!" Natsu said while pounding his fists together. "Now start talking!"
Nasir chuckled before shrugging, hands tilted up, the poisonous fumes he used before starting to fill the air. "Very well, I'll answer any question you can manage to ask before this toxic air fills your lungs and you die. And to make this deal even better, I won't even tell you a single lie."
Natsu was partially expecting this so he held his breath and Happy did the same. This tactic wasn't going to last for long but it was going to help him last long enough for the two questions he wanted to ask. "First of all, where's Mira?!" Natsu shouted while pointing at Nasir's bloodied hand.
"You're wasting your breath, Fire Dragon…" Nasir said with a small chuckle. "I already told you once before, that I inflicted quite the mortal blow on that demon. This is amount of blood is far too much for a small wound, don't you agree?"
No. Natsu refused to believe Mira would fall so easily, but it was clear Nasir wasn't going to give him a straight answer in his mind. Therefore he asked the other question on his mind; "Why did Drake bite Cynthia!?"
"Oh, that…" Nasir actually rolled his eyes at this because the reasoning was something that annoyed him. "When you invaded Gaius' castle, the original intention was for me to put you humans down with my air and then have Drake bite the little girl. However, he bit her too soon so the Dragonification process began prematurely. Because she was technically turning into a dragon that was the reason you humans won the day, since my air doesn't poison dragons." The way he spoke seemed off…if everything was already prewritten, why did he seem genuinely upset about this? Even Natsu wasn't dumb enough to miss this.
"And about Dhegensea…!" Natsu began, but by then Night Tide started to roll in.
"Ah…I'm afraid your time is up, Fire Dragon…" Nasir said while turning around. While Natsu had difficulty seeing in the darkness, Nasir did not.
"Hey! Come back here…!" Natsu exclaimed in rage, but Nasir was long gone.
[End Flashback]
"So that's what happened…" Lucy nodded in understanding. "Before I share what happened…I have to say first that Mii betrayed us…she kidnapped Hisui under Erza's group's nose…!"
"She did what!?" Since Natsu was just now hearing of this, one could see the actual shock and frustration on his face.
"You mean to tell me…" Luke began. "The one who betrayed us…betrayed us again…why did you give her a second chance?!"
"Long story…there's a lot we need to catch you up on…" Lucy said while giving Luke a slight playful nudge on the shoulder.
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Slowly, dark storm clouds began to roll in over the island. There was no rain, but there was thunder in the distance, along with the occasional flash of lightning. Freed looked into the air with a slight grimace. "It looks like it's going to rain soon…"
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Next Time: Distant Thunder