"Quite a shame, really…" Ashnard stood atop his beloved creation: the monstrous walking fortress known as Heracles. Alongside him was Count Waltz; the pair of royalty overlooked Earthland from the top of the large structure. "To think that we can no longer trust Fiore with such a simple task…it is quite disappointing…"

"I concur…" Waltz had a spot of tea. "Fiore used to be the most trustworthy country in all of Ishgar…that is why they were the ones given permission to enact the Face project. But for demons to be able to threaten our prosperous land with this plan…I see that faith in judgement was misplaced. Toma of Fiore is not going to be hearing any nice words…we may have to call his leadership abilities into question to allow his country to be ravaged this horribly."

"It's quite ironic; actually…Toma is no longer the seat in power in Fiore." Ashnard clarified. "The title of Ruler of Fiore actually belongs to a former associate of mine…Emmeraude."

"And how does one secede the throne so easily?" Waltz's skepticism was high.

"She has an interesting magical ability…" Ashnard explained. "I know not what it's called. But based on simple observation...Should she sit on the throne of an opposing kingdom, everyone's memories of their current ruler will disappear and everyone will begin to accept her as their new ruler. It'll be as though she'd been ruling over them forever. It's not much in combat of course…but who needs to fight when you can command the entire country?"

"I see…" Waltz lost interest. "Acting in the will of the people is what a ruler does after all. But onto a more important topic…do you truly intend to use this behemoth to destroy Face?"

"Not quite." Ashnard chuckled quietly. "I intend to use this to destroy all Face units in Pergrande and Seven. I won't allow our kingdoms to fall because of Fiore's ineptitude to keep one of the most dangerous weapons created."

"Excellent idea." Waltz sat back. "By the time night falls, there won't be anything anyone can do. In the meantime, I believe I have some medicinal powder to tax…my army isn't going to build itself."

A moment passed and a black shadow streaked across the sky. That presence was unmistakable even though it only lasted for a fleeting moment. "…Was that what I think it was?"Ashnard stared into the sky. "I was wondering where that monster had been hiding. It appears this situation is going to be getting just a little more chaotic…."

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With the other guilds finally arriving in Tartarus, it was time to push back these demons once and for all within their own home! The guilds spread out to cover more ground and take out any remaining demons. Kagura stepped forward, gripping the hilt of Archenemy with her usual stern expression while staring at Jackal. "I do not recall seeing this demon before. What are its abilities?"

"You know that King Midas story?" Zalen explained. "Instead of everything he touches turning to gold, it just…well, explodes."

"I see…" Nodding in understanding, the ace of Mermaid Heel stood before the explosive demon. "I will be your opponent…Kagura Mikazuchi from Mermaid Heel."

"PFT…." Jackal could hardly contain his anger. "You!? I didn't ask for The Little Mermaid wannabe to be my opponent. Demons consume pesky beings like you for breakfast!"

Before Jackal could finish, Kagura appeared before him with her amazing speed, gripping the hilt of her blade tightly. "Then why don't I show to you how the Mermaid consumes even the foulest of creatures. Slashing Form!" Zipping past the explosive demon, a myriad of slashes were aimed all along his body. Kagura slid to a halt and clicked her blade into its sheathe.

"G-Gah?!" Jackal let out a growl of pain as he had serious gashes all along his body. But there was a grin on his face as he prepared to reiterate his curse for the umpteenth time. "My curse…!" And Kagura threw the sheathe of Archemeny at Jackal, which had his signature explosive seal on it. The moment it made contact with him it exploded in his face, causing him to tumble backwards. "What!?"

"I won't fall prey to such transparent tricks…" Sliding into a stance, Archenemy's sharp tip glimmered for a brief moment. "Take me lightly again, I dare you."

"…This woman really doesn't play any games…" Zalen was impressed to say the least.

"You….humans are all so irritating!" Jackal swung his arm horizontally, creating a spiraling explosion occurred right on Kagura. Even she was taken off guard by the sudden explosion and was swept off her feet, parts of her kimono becoming singed and tattered from the eruption.

"Tch…!" With a flip, Kagura landed back on the ground. She wasted no time coating her sword in heavy gravity, swinging it forward to release all this pent up power in the form of a gigantic wave of crushing gravity that crushed everything in its path.

Jackal crossed his arms, not suspecting Kagura to have so much power he was thrown backwards and crashed into a wall. An explosion occurred as Jackal emerged from the rubble in his Etherious Form, letting out a frustrated howl as he lunged towards Kagura. "I WON'T LET YOU MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME!"

"…!" Kagura's eyes widened briefly at Jackal's transformation. Sliding Archenemy to the blade itself, she held it in a defensive manner as Jackal punched the sword instead. She underestimated Jackal's physical strength and she was lifted off her feet; the ensuring explosion blew the Mermaid Ace backwards and through a wall! "Agh…!"

"EXPLODE!" Jackal then began throwing multiple explosions at where Kagura was!

Kagura wasn't one to stay down for long no matter what kind of injuries she sustained. She used her Gravity Change to push the rubble off of her and outward, colliding with the multiple explosions Jackal sent. This only resulted in large explosions filling the room, obscuring everything from sight. "I believe it's time…for you to disappear!" Emerging from the smoke from the air, Kagura swung Archenemy diagonally down Jackal's chest, blood spurting from the wound.

"GRAH! I'LL BLOW YOU APART!" Jackal growled while rearing his arms back in attempt to grab Kagura's skull!

"HAAAA!" Kagura quickly withdrew Archenemy and quickly plunged her blade into Jackal's chest. Just in the nick of time, for Jackal's hands were near inches away from Kagura's head.

"W-What…How…?" Jackal's body froze completely from the shock of being stabbed. "I lost…to another human…?"

"This is how the Mermaid consumes the demon." Kagura fiercely twisted the blade within Jackal's abdomen to seal the deal. Because of his curse, Archenemy was set to explode…but she didn't move the blade. That's right; this was happening. Light began seeping out from Jackal's opens wounds before the demon's upper body exploded! It was not a pretty result, although Kagura was unfazed by the blood and guts falling everywhere.

Zalen and Waiston just stood there wide eyed at Kagura's good riddance of Jackal, although the Building Mage would've preferred to not get any of the remains on him. "AGH! NO! Do you know how many showers this is going to take for me to completely get the stench off me!?"

"Save it." Kagura took a step forward, only to fall to a knee, using her sword as a support to help her stand up. "We're not…finished here yet."

"She's got that fighting spirit, I'll give her that much!" Waiston grinned at Kagura's persistence.

.

Meanwhile…Lamy…or rather, LAMYS were causing a vast majority of trouble for everyone else! Her annoying laugh echoed throughout the destroyed remains of Tartarus. "Look at all these hunks! This is like a dream come true!" Multiple Lamys spoke simultaneously.

"I thought it was rabbits that multiplied exponentially, not sheep!?" Melody said while trying combat the several Lamys that latched onto her. "Where did these things even come from?!"

A Lamy stopped in front of Warren, giving a lazy smile. "Hey…are there any hotties in your guild?"

"Wha..? Of course!" Warren said while pointing at himself. "Right here?"

"I don't see any…" Lamy placed her hand above her head, scouring the area for some hot guys.

"Wha!? I'm right here in front of you!" Warren pointed to himself with a wide grin.

"Please….stop." Max just shook his head. "You're already looking even more pathetic when you have to point to yourself like that."

"I'll take care of them all in one shot!" Orga placed his arms in front of his body, obsidian lightning crackling around his being. "100mm Black Lightning Cannon!" A sphere of lightning formed within his hands before releasing in the form of a gigantic beam of black lightning that soared towards several Lamys. The explosions threw the Lamys off to side with giddy expressions.

Just when Orga thought he took out Lamy, a few more latched onto his muscular arms. "Now THIS! Is a hunk!"

"Look at those muscles!"

"Can I have you!?"

"What the?! Get off of me!" Orga grunted while rapidly swinging his arms around to pry Lamy off of him, all while her annoying laugh echoed throughout the area.

"If this laugh continues, I swear I'm going to murder something and it's not going to be her….!" Heather had an enraged expression on her face while aiming several poisonous punches on a singular Lamy. The real one had to be around here somewhere right? …Right?

"We've got another problem on our hands…!" Cana flicked several cards to a Lamy or two, glancing back to where Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Yajima were. Somehow, when nobody was watching…Laxus up and left! "When did Sparky wake up…!? And where did he go…what's he trying to do in that condition!?"

.

"Blow." Tempesta let out a simple exhale, which unleashed a rather large tornado that tore through the corridor, sweeping up Aira, Milliana, and Lyon off their feet while sending them flying off.

"This demon again…" Aira flipped, catching herself while sliding backwards. "If I recall correctly…I believe we need to make this one bleed to make a cure for Laxus and the others!"

"Nyah…" Milliana rubbed her head, not feeling the most confident in that plan. "How are we going to do that?"

"We beat it down with everything we've got." Lyon placed his fist into his palm, a cyan glow emanating from his palms. "Ice Make: Lance!" Pushing his hands forward, a magic seal formed before the dynamic ice maker, unleashing several sharp lances of towards Tempesta.

"Burn." With a single swipe of his hand, Tempesta manifested searing flames that incinerated Lyon's ice creations while razing him with the intensity of the flames.

"Agh…!" Lyon cried out while bringing his arms up to shield himself from the demon's flames. "What is this demon!?"

Milliana wrapped her Nekosoku Tube around Tempesta's wrist, keeping a tight hold to prevent him from going anywhere. "I got him! Go now!"

"…I don't remember anything." Tempesta spoke while glancing at the tube wrapped tightly around his wrist. "All I know is that I am the Calamity…and it is my duty to eradicate you humans." A twister formed along his arm before travelling through the tube, growing in size to a vicious tornado that consumed Milliana, throwing her backwards into Lyon.

"I remember your misdeeds well! You've brought an end to many wonderful lives…and I will not forgive you for them!" Aira took to the air while rotating her body clockwise. "And for that…I will be taking your blood!" Twisting her body around, she released a vicious twister that shredding apart everything that stood in its path.

"Blow." Tempesta reared his arm back, allowing yet another tempest to form along it. Thrusting his arm forward, his cyclone clashed forward with Aira's; the two collided against one another and exploded, a fierce gale sweeping Aira away in the process.

"Gyah!" The S class tumbled along the floor, taking a moment to recover. "He's stronger than before…? That's strange…"

"Shatter." Before Aira could do anything else, the ground under her feet crumbled and caved in. A vicious burst of curse power erupted in the process, sending Aira tumbling down deeper into the pit. Tempesta dusted his hands off casually, moving onto the next batch of humans.

.

Luke laid on a pile of rubble. There was a pretty bad wound on his chest, but he seemed to be alive after fighting Marde and dealing SOME damage to the demon king. "Ugh…"

"Luke-sama…!" Yukino rushed over to Luke, kneeling down to look him over. "How long have you been here?! Are you okay?!"

"Huh…? Yeah…I'm fine…just bleeding from my best…" Luke responded with a dry laugh. "That was a close call…if it was any closer to the left that might've been the end of me."

"How can you laugh at a time like this?" Yukino luckily had a first aid kid on hand. She started to wrap Luke in bandages before one particular question came to mind. "Wait…how long have you been here?"

"…Pretty much all day since we've initiated the counter attack." Luke replied.

"And no one has come around here?"

"Nope…"

"Not a single demon?"

"Not at all."

"…." Yukino had no words. Luke just had the strangest luck out of anyone she'd known. Either way, she finished patching him up. "There. You shouldn't be moving too much, otherwise you'll reopen the wound."

"Thanks…" Luke shifted to a sitting position, which allowed him to see who was coming up from behind Yukino. "Ah shit…"

Yukino turned with Luke's curse. Tobias slowly approached the pair with a soulless look in his eyes. Stopping in front of them, he adjusted his scarf before pointing a hand forward, a sphere of flame forming within his palm. "Inferno Demon's Hell Prye." The sphere shot forward, racing towards the pair at a rapid pace!

"Shit…!" Luke took a step forward, crossing his arms to form a Black God's Bubble around himself and Yukino. It was strong enough to withstand the Hell Pyre, however Luke's bubble broke and he was thrown back. "Agh…!"

"Luke-sama!" Yukino knelt down. "Don't worry, I can handle this!"

"Tremor Demon's Quake." Tobias spoke in a monotonous voice. Lifting his hand into the air, he slammed it against the ground to create a powerful earthquake that was more than enough to knock Yukino off her feet.

"Agh…!" The ground continued to shake intensely, making it difficult for Yukino to stand. "I-I can't move!"

Tobias then drew his blade, slowly walking forward towards the downed Yukino and Luke. Lifting the blade up, he prepared to strike Yukino through the chest…when an iron blade clashed against his own. "…?"

"Ghehe…so, this is what you do now? I always knew you were pathetic, Tobias…but this really takes the cake." Gajeel had a wide grin on his lips while staring down Tobias.

"…." Tobias didn't reply. Instead he leapt backwards besides Keith who just appeared on the scene.

"Isn't my creation wonderful?" Keith's stitched lips stretched into a grin. "I have implanted Tobias with several lacrima infused with Demon Slaying magic…earth, wind, fire, ice, lightning, wind, darkness, and light. With no soul…he has become the perfect puppet to do my bidding. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be even more useful than Silver. Tobias of the 8 demons! Perhaps even stronger than the hybrid dragon our lord has created!"

"Gheh…using the dead to do your bidding?" Gajeel shook his head, allowing his iron scales to form along his body. "That's pretty fuckin' sick if you ask me. Even in death, no one should be a puppet to somebody else. But don't worry, Tobias…I'll kick your ass one more time to send you packing back to the hell you came from!"

.

"Oi, you okay Lucy?" Natsu turned over to Lucy, who had a hand placed on her side. "You've been breathing heavy since we left that room."

"Y-Yeah…" Lucy nodded slowly. "I-I'm fine…that kid just hit me really hard. We were fighting before you and that demon showed up, and I think she broke a rib or two…"

"She's tough. I think I want to fight her after this is over…" Natsu was already contemplating fighting Sophie after this Tartarus incident…if everything worked well, after all.

"Natsu…" Lucy grumbled. Couldn't he think about anything besides fighting people!?

"What…?" And of course, Natsu didn't see anything wrong with this. But there was something that caught his attention and his ears wiggled slightly. "….That voice….shit."

"Natsu…?" Lucy tilted her head. She hardly heard that tone of voice coming from Natsu, and when it did it meant something BAD was coming. "What's wrong!?"

"…He's coming." Natsu replied while staring up at the sky, clenching his hand into a fist while his body started to tremble. Whether he was aware of that or not…there was one thing that was painfully clear….

.

"Ah…" Wendy placed a hand on her chest, her breathing starting to become a little heavy. "I-I'm getting that feeling again…"

"Ugh..." Alex was no exception either. It was a feeling she would never forget.

"M-Me too…" Cynthia closed one eye while nodding in agreement. Concerned, Mest and Carla looked over at the both of them.

"Are you three okay…?" Mest asked while looking them over. "Don't push yourselves too hard, you're still recovering after all."

"I…I don't know…" Wendy panted. "But I feel worried all of a sudden…" Speak of the devil, and it shall appear. A large black streak flew over the skies above, and there was no mistaking that shape and presence. "O-Oh no…!"

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Marde stared up at the sky, a small sweat drop forming on his forehead. This was something that even he did not foresee due to prior events. "I see…so at last he has decided to show himself once again. Did it come here for Zeref…or perhaps it wishes to eradicate END? Either way…I did not expect you to show your face here once again…"

Just by flying, the aerial being caused widespread destruction; explosions following every flap of its wings. With a vicious roar that shook the earth to its very core, the King of Dragons emerged in the sky.

"Acnologia."

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Next Time: Tobias of The 8 Demons.