Fairy May Cry - Devil's Retribution

by Iron117Prime

After seven years, Dante and the rest of Fairy Tail have returned from Tenrou Island. So much has changed since their absence; a guild called Sabertooth is now at the top spot, the forces of the Underworld are starting to become more active, and what's this new religious movement called the Order of the Sword? Times might have changed, but the insanity of Fairy Tail has not.

20. Storming the Hellgates

Hi everyone. Happy (late) Thanksgiving to all of you. I apologize for the late update but given how busy the holidays this time of year can be, it's difficult for me to find time to sit down and write. But rest assured, that I have every intention of keeping the story updates going at a (somewhat) steady pace.

A lot of you have been wondering for a while if Natsu or any other Fairy Tail characters will be getting Devil Arms. I promise that there will be some who will, I'm not saying who or when they'll get them, and not everyone is going to get one. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself.

Anyways, with that being said, let's get started.

Storming the Hellgates

As chaos continued to erupt across Fiore, the Magic Council's naval fleet, consisting of at least eight large vessels, made its way across the ocean that separated the mainland from Fortuna. Rune Knights were armed and ready for battle, while a small group of three on each ship worked to project special protection spells around the individual vessels so they wouldn't suffer damage if the Infinity Clock's reality distortion powers hit their general area. So far, their journey remained unaffected.

"Sir, we're just about to reach Fortuna." Lahar communicated with his superiors via a communication lacrima as a small hologram of Gran Doma appeared before him. "The protection spells seem to be working, and my men are ready to move once we make landfall."

"Good work, Lahar." Gran Doma nodded. "We're working with the kingdom's forces, as well as all local guilds and the Wizard Saints to push back against the chaos here. We'll be unable to send you reinforcements, you'll have to make do with what you have."

"Understood. And Sir? I'd like to remind you that the island of Fortuna is populated by thousands of innocent people." Lahar said. "And though they practice their religion under the Order of the Sword, these people are not responsible for the current crisis. Only the Order's leader, Sanctus, and his cabal are the guilty ones along with the Neo Oracion Seis. I'll do everything I can to stop them, but I will not harm any innocent people."

Gran Doma's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do what you must. But this incident must be quelled. No matter the cost." The hologram vanished.

Lahar sighed as he heard a voice speak up from behind him. "Wow. Never thought I'd hear you of all people talk back to the Chairman." Doranbolt said with an impressed smile.

"Like I said, I'd want to avoid putting innocent in danger." Lahar replied. "I'd much rather use a scalpel than a sledgehammer."

"Now that's what I like to hear. And you can count on me to have your back." Doranbolt said, causing Lahar to smile.

"Thank you, Doranbolt."

"Sir!" One Rune Knight ran toward them. "We're about to reach Fortuna, but we have company!"

They ran to the deck of the ship to see not only were they indeed approaching the island, but there was an army of Angelo soldiers; mostly Bianco Angelos, and several Alto Angelos, blocking their way.

"Guess that's the welcome wagon." Doranbolt commented as he took a combative stance.

"All ships, ready long-range weapons and spells!" Lahar ordered his fleet. "Prepare for battle! Push through to the island!"

Less than a second later, all the Angelo soldiers flew towards the incoming fleet just as the ships opened fire with their canons and several Rune Knight mages fired whatever long-ranged spells they could. The entire area lit up with explosions as the battle had begun.

---

All the people in the City of Fortuna gathered outside to see the magic projection of Zentopia's Archbishop shine in the air for them all to see. Nearly every citizen present was in a state of fear as not only was the world around them engulfed with chaos, but there were the sounds of battle just outside their shores. Many of them could even see the battle taking place outside.

"It's Zentopia's Archbishop!"

"But what of his Holiness, Sanctus?"

"Why are their ships from the Magic Council coming to our island?"

"Are we being invaded?"

"What is going on?"

The projection of the Archbishop raised his hand before speaking. "Let me assure you, there is no reason to be afraid. I have been working closely with the Order's leader Sanctus to ensure our world has a future. Our immediate future may seem dark and chaotic, but once this storm has passed, the world shall be reborn. From that point forward, we shall follow a new path."

Unbeknownst to everyone else, Sanctus was literally behind the Archbishop and had been manipulating him this entire time. He was nothing more than a literal puppet for the head of the Order, and no one was the wiser.

The projection vanished, leaving many of the citizens concerned. Among the people who listened to the broadcast was Byro, standing on the balcony of a nearby building.

'So that's what they're planning.' Byro thought to himself. 'Use the Neo Oracion Seis to destroy churches, eliminate all body-link Celestial Wizards, and plunge the world into chaos. But will that truly rectify the world? This world is filled with corruption, yes. But… what of the pure souls that pledged themselves to Zentopia? Or even the Order's followers, and countless others? Without question, innocent people will pay with their lives before this is over.'

A feeling of guilt and incisiveness began to fill Byro's being as the words of the youngest Son of Sparda echoed through his mind.

"If you're prepared to do that without their consent, then you're basically a murderer."

"I'm not the one who goes around kicking the little guy, thinking it's justified because they say it's part of some grand holy mission in my father's name!"

"You really are just a blind old dog."

"Spoken like a true dictator."

Byro clenched his fists as he tried to force these feelings back down. 'I'm sorry… Son of Sparda. Even if what you say is true, I am duty-bound to Zentopia, and by extension, the Order of the Sword now. I'm afraid I have no choice… but to let things be.'

---

"Man!" Ichiya shouted his battle cry, standing at the tip of the deck of the Christina Advanced as it made its way toward Fortuna. "Hang in there; Natsu, Dante, and Lucy! I, Ichiya, along with this elite team of Fairy Tail and our newfound allies, will save you from the enemy's clutches!"

The team consisting of Erza, Gray, Happy, Lisanna, Gajeel, Panther-Lily, Trish, Lady, Wendy, Carla, Modeus, Romeo, Warren, Dan, Sugarboy, and Samuel stood together alongside the guildmaster of Fairy Tail, Makarov.

"Mira, Freed and the others stood behind to face Racer so that we can keep going. Let's not waste this chance!" Lisanna stated.

"Please stay strong… you three." Erza expressed sympathy and concern for her comrades.

"I hope they're gonna be okay." Wendy said.

"They'll be fine. I know it." Happy said without a hint of doubt in his voice.

"How can you be so sure about that?" Lily asked.

"I just got faith they will, ya know?" Happy replied. "I believe that Natsu and Dante will be alright. They'll get to Lucy, and we'll go home together."

"Yes, I agree." Carla nodded. "Just remember who we're talking about here."

"Dante's gotten in and out of some pretty crazy shit before, so this is nothing new to him." Lady said, sharing a knowing smirk with Trish.

"And given how protective he's been for Lucy lately; I actually feel really sorry for any of those Order punks who try to stop him."

"There's no way Natsu's gonna be stopped either!" Romeo said. "He's one of Fairy Tail's best!"

"He's an idiot, but he's a strong one." Gajeel commented.

"Yeah, I don't think we have any reason to worry." Gray added.

"I have faith in our friends. They will prevail." Modeus said.

"But it won't just be your boys in there, hmm mmm." Sugarboy said, taking a dancer pose. "We got a couple folks of ours on the inside too!"

"Nero is headstrong, but he is a capable warrior." Samuel added. "Coco is more than reliable herself, and Kyrie is the smartest and most resourceful person I've ever met."

"You can bet if our guys meet your guys, they'll be alright." Dan said.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Warren asked with a grin. "Let's get in there and help them kick some butt!"

"Hold it!" Makarov stepped up. "While I applaud your willingness to help your comrades; Dante, Natsu, and Lucy have proven they are more than capable of handling themselves." He briefly turned to Dan, Sugarboy, and Samuel. "And if they met up with your friends, that gives them more than enough reason to prevail. Our priority should be destroying those Hellgates. They are far too dangerous to be left alone."

"I agree." Erza nodded. "Even if the Order no longer needs them, they are still a clear threat."

"I'll try to get a read for them." Modeus closed eyes and tried to focus, reaching out with his own demonic senses to get a vibe of the strong demonic power that was supposed to represent the active Hellgates. "The presence of the Infinity Clock…" He grunted, squinting his face a bit. "It makes it… difficult to get an accurate focus. However, now that we're close enough… I think… I can get a reading of… at least three Hellgates." He opened his eyes. "Yes. I don't know they're exact coordinates, but I can sense three strong surges of Underworldly power. Most likely the Hellgates."

"But I thought you said there were five Hellgates." Carla said to Samuel.

"Yes, but it is likely that your friends and ours may have destroyed them already." The bespectacled Exceed said. "I can't say for certain if they'll move onto the others, so we should move on them as quickly as possible. Sir Modeus…" He walked toward the demonic apprentice of Sparda, whom he greatly respected and handed him a map of Fortuna with five red circles at five specific spots. "These are the locations of the five Hellgates that Kyrie informed us of. Please identify which ones you sensed so we know which ones were destroyed already."

"Very well, Samuel." Modeus took the map and crossed off the two spots he did not feel any Underworldly force from.

"Then it's decided." Erza said. "We'll split into three teams to destroy each Hellgate. Once that's done, Warren will contact all of us with his Telepathy and attempt to make contact with our friends. We'll rendezvous together to neutralize the Infinity Clock and defeat the remainder of the enemy forces."

"I'll remain here on the Christina with Ichiya to act as a distraction and divert any of the enemy's attention away from you." Makarov added.

"Sounds like a plan." Lady nodded.

"With that in mind, I believe I have devised the teams that should have the most chance of success." Samuel said as he wrote in his journal. "Taking into account what limited data Kyrie provided to me when she scouted each gate, as well as the demons guarding them, and the abilities of all those gathered here, and team dynamics…"

"Wow, you work fast!" Happy pointed out.

"That's our Samuel, baby." Sugarboy said with pride.

"I have our teams!" Samuel announced. "Team A will consist of myself, Happy, Gray, Trish, and Warren. Team B will consist of Brother, Dan, Sugarboy, Gajeel, and Romeo. Team C will consist of Sir Modeus, Carla, young Wendy, Lady, and Erza."

While most of these people seemed to agree on the team formations, Dan was not.

"Oh, come on Samuel! I know you can do better than this!" Dan practically cried.

"What's the problem, man?" Gray asked.

"I'll tell you what the problem is! There are four smoking hot babes here and I'm not on a team with a single one of them!" Dan complained; resulting in everyone sweat dropping in annoyance; particularly Erza, Trish, Lisanna, and Lady.

"That's precisely why you've been placed on an all-male team." Samuel said as a matter-of-factly. "This is a serious mission with the fate of the world at stake, and we don't need you distracted."

"Ah man…" Dan moaned before he graciously took Trish's hand, seemingly like a gentleman. "Well then, how about a kiss for good luck, lovely lady Trish?"

"No, but I'll zap you instead." Trish said as she promptly electrocuted him from the hand he held, causing Dan's body to comically light up and make his skeleton visible before he fell to the ground with smoke coming from his comically charred body.

"Guy had that coming." Gajeel commented.

"If you're all finished, you have work to do." Makarov said as the group quickly split into their teams and made their way to their assigned destinations via copies of the map that Samuel provided each team.

Trish flew in her Devil Trigger form alongside Gray and Warren, who were carried by Happy and Samuel respectively, while Lisanna flew in her Harpy Take Over. Sugarboy controlled his green slime as Romeo provided a pair of large wings made from green fire to give it flight as Gajeel, Dan and Panther-Lily rode on board. Erza flew in her Black Wing armor, holding onto Lady as Carla carried Wendy and Modeus flew in his own Devil Trigger.

---

Meanwhile, within the Christina's cargo hold, Kinana watched from a window with concern as she saw her friends fly off in their respective directions. Though she did pray for their safety, she had to get to Fortuna. She could feel him. He was here, and she had to see him.

---

Natsu and Nero both entered the chamber where the Ascension Ceremony would normally take place, only to find that they were not the first ones to arrive there.

"What took you guys so long?" Dante asked, leaning against a pillar with Coco standing next to him. Nero gave a slight scoff in annoyance before Natsu spoke.

"Dante… we know how the Order's been making all those fake demons…"

"I know." He cut off his Dragon Slayer friend. "They're using my old man's body."

Natsu looked away with a grimace, as did Nero, while Coco looked down in sorrow and shame. "I'm sorry, man." Natsu said sincerely.

"Yeah… I also know about this guy right here." Dante looked to Nero directly, who found it difficult to look into the eyes of the man who was revealed to be his elder half-brother. "Look kid, we obviously got some stuff to talk about. But right now, we should focus on saving my cousin and your girlfriend, and saving the world form a bunch of nutjobs."

"He's right, everything else can wait." Coco nodded in agreement, as did Natsu. Dante looked to Nero and offered him his hand to shake.

Though hesitant at first, Nero accepted it and shook Dante's hand. "Okay. Let's get going." However, his body was suddenly lit up with green energy before he felt his own inner power rupture from within, causing his body to explode and get flung across the room. Natsu, Coco, and even Dante underwent the same thing as their inner powers were ruptured and exploded.

"Uh oh. Looks like we got some naughty trespassers going where they're not supposed to go." Guttman said through his telepathy.

"What the hell…?!" Dante questioned as he and the others pulled themselves up. "Who's this freak?!"

"He's Guttman the Cleaner." Coco said, narrowing her eyes with a serious expression. "He's a demon the Order imprisoned long ago."

"Guessing he wasn't let out for good behavior." Nero commented.

"We don't got time to play with you, pal!" Natsu stated. "Get out of our way or we'll force our way through you!"

"Sorry, but I got orders from his Holiness to not let any of you through." Guttman told them as he rubbed his hands together with eagerness. "This is gonna be fun. All you guys got a bunch of magic in you, especially you oh mighty Son of Sparda!" He activated his Rupture on Dante first, sending him flying back.

"Alright! That's it!" Natsu leapt toward Guttman with a flaming fist, but the odd-looking demon focused his Rupture power on Natsu, causing him to explode as well before focusing on the incoming Nero and Coco.

"My power is called Rupture, kiddies!" Guttman practically sang. "If anything has magic or demonic power inside it, I can make it go boom!"

Suddenly, Dante shot out of the smoke and swung Rebellion at Guttman to send him crashing to the other side of the room. "I've had worse stomachaches from bad pizza. Gonna take a lot more than that to bring me down!"

Natsu was also back on his feet with Nero helping Coco up as well. But Guttman wasn't done yet as he stepped up as well.

"Yeah, well I'm pretty tough too! So, let's see which one of us is gonna go down first!"

---

Team A, consisting of Gray, Lisanna, Trish, Happy, Warren, and Samuel arrived at their destination, which appeared to be in a large courtyard with a blizzard blowing around. Trish transformed from her Devil Trigger back to her human form, as did Lisanna from her Harpy Take Over as they looked around.

"What's with the blizzard?" Happy questioned. "I can barely see anything!"

"Is this because of the Infinity Clock?" Lisanna also questioned.

"No." Samuel replied. "This is the result of the Hellgate. This must be the environment on the other side, and it may very well be 'leaking' into our world so-to-speak with the gate open."

"But where is it?" Warren questioned. "I don't see it."

"I do." Gray said, looking through the blizzard to see the black monolithic structure at the end of the courtyard. "This is blizzard ain't too bad, at least not for me."

"Then let's go smash it already!" Happy exclaimed. "I'm freezing my tail off!"

"Wait hold on… you guys hear that?" Warren asked as the sounds of women laughing echoed throughout the area. "There someone else here?"

"Over here."

"Come play with us."

In front of the group, appeared to be a pair of glowing blue naked women, seemingly hovering in the air as they danced seductively and blew kisses in their direction. But they weren't the only ones. Two more appeared behind them, this time glowing red as they too danced seductively.

"It's so cold here."

"Please come closer so we can get warmer."

Both pairs came together, making sure their breasts and rears touched each other, all while laughing and motioning for them to join them.

"Whoa…" Happy looked in awe. "Good thing Dan and Dante aren't here. Those two would love this."

"Yeah, they would." Trish commented with a hint of annoyance. "But who are these guys kidding?"

"You guys sense it too?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, not falling for this one." Lisanna commented. Suddenly, Trish threw her hands out to blast a wave of lightning in the direction of the glowing red women while Gray did the same with an ice-blast towards the blue pair.

The attacks were met and pushed away by two large beings leaping toward the group; who were forced to split and avoid them. Trish rolled to one side, Gray and Lisanna to the other, while Happy took Warren and shot into the air with Samuel. They looked to see what appeared to be giant toad-like demons.

"Whoa! Giant frog demons!" Happy exclaimed.

"Actually, they're toads." Samuel corrected. "There is a distinct difference between the two."

"Brother, we got some smart ones here!" One toad stated.

"Indeed, hopefully that means they'll taste good." The other one said.

"And who the hell are you guys?" Gray questioned.

"I am Bael."

"And I am Dagon."

"Our kind is among the fiercest ice demons in the underworld!" Bael declared.

"And you insects will serve as our next meal!" Dagon also declared.

Immediately, both toad-demons fired a hail of ice-spikes from their backs, which converged towards the group on the ground as Gray provided a shield of ice to block their attacks. Trish went on the offensive, drawing the scythe she took from Erigor and charging it with lightning before swinging it to send a wave of her demonic lightning at Dagon, causing him to leap back as Lisanna flew in alongside her.

"Take Over: Dragon Soul!" Lisanna transformed into her most powerful take over and threw a series of fireballs at Dagon, but he used his antennas to bat the fireballs away before jumping back to get some distance.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray fired his titular ranged attack at Bael, but he gave a powerful roar that seemed to blast away Gray's attack before scoffing insultingly.

"You dare use my own element against me?! A lowly human!?" Bael shot a hail of ice-spikes from his back toward Gray, but Samuel flew in to intercept them, drawing his swords as he transformed into his battle mode and sliced with the speed and precision necessary to cut through Bael's attacks.

"I think you would be wise not to underestimate humanity, as so many others have foolishly done." Samuel told the demon. "Same for my kind." He flew in to attack Bael as Gray conjured an ice-sword and went on the attack as well, while Happy kept Warren at a distance as the battles continued.

"We all knew this wouldn't be an easy fight… but I'm still a little worried." Warren commented.

"Yeah… I hope the others are doing alright too." Happy said.

---

Meanwhile, Team B, consisting of Gajeel, Panther-Lily, Romeo, Sugarboy, and Dan arrived at their designated Hellgate, which appeared to be surrounded by a large forest. Once they set foot on the ground, they looked up at their intended target.

"So that's a Hellgate." Gajeel said with a smirk. "Doesn't look that impressive."

Romeo looked around. "I don't see any demons. Think this one might be unguarded."

"Doubt it." Sugarboy shook his head. "Kyrie's usually right on the money about these sorts of things, baby."

"Be on guard, just because we cannot see our enemy does not mean they are not here." Panther-Lily stated.

"Let's get this over with fast." Dan said, drawing his lance and shield. "I got a hot date with some lovely ladies after this."

Before the group could even scoff in annoyance, Gajeel's heightened sense of hearing picked up a sound coming from the depths of the jungle behind them. It sounded like a tremor, only it was moving way too fast. One quick whiff, and he could tell that it was a demon.

"We got company!"

The group dove in opposite directions as a large serpent-like demon shot out through the trees at incredible speeds, moving up the Hellgate before coming to a halt in the air. Most of the group went on the attack with Dan thrusting his lance to send beams of magic energy while Romeo threw a hail of fireballs, but the demon moved far too fast as it shot down towards them to swipe its tail and smack them back into the ruined gate behind them.

"Get em doggies!" Sugarboy directed his magic slime in the direction of the demon, but it actually shot into the slime and barreled through it, it's scaled body proving too tough for the slime to handle. It smacked into Sugarboy to send him flying into he air before crashing onto the ground.

Panther-Lily flew Gajeel up to meet it, but as the demon swiped its tail at them, Lily threw Gajeel toward the demon as the black Exceed ducked down to avoid the swipe. Gajeel's arm converted into an iron sword, which he used to penetrate the demon's scaled hide and hold onto it. But the demon then flew directly into the forest in an attempt to shake Gajeel off by purposely ramming into the trees, but Gajeel braced himself so that he couldn't be knocked off so easily.

Gajeel tried to get a better grip as his free arm transformed into an iron pillar, which he attempted to use to punch through the scales, but they were tougher than they looked. The demon then flew straight upward into the air before spinning around violently with enough speed and force to throw Gajeel off and send him flying toward the ground, crashing hard close to the Hellgate. While he was down, the demon threw some sort of projectiles from its tail.

"Try some seeds on for size!"

However, just before the seeds could strike Gajeel, Panther-Lily flew in. The black Exceed had transformed into his battle form, drew Baskerville, and cut through the seeds before they could hit their mark.

The demon screeched with rage as the rest of the team regrouped. "My children! You bastard!" The 'mouth' of the demon opened up to reveal the upper half of a pale-skinned humanoid female demon. She shot toward the group, but they were able to move out of the way as the demon positioned itself protectively in front of the Hellgate.

"Now that's one ugly bitch." Gajeel commented.

"Ugh, tell me about it. That's one lady I don't plan on dating." Dan added.

"Glad to know you have such high standards." Romeo said sarcastically.

"Step aside baby, or else you're gonna get weed-whacked!" Sugarboy declared.

"You would be wise to retreat." Panther-Lily advised as well. "We have plenty of experience fighting and slaying demons."

"Pitiful worms! You have never faced the mighty Echidna before! I will tear you to shreds!" She shot at the group again with deadly intent.

---

At the same time; Team C, consisting of Erza, Modeus, Wendy, Carla, and Lady arrived at their destination. They flew through a powerful rainstorm, landing at the bottom of a cliffside, in front of a lake by an old temple with a massive waterfall flowing down from the cliffside.

"Where is the Hellgate?!" Erza questioned, raising her voice over the storm as lightning and thunder shot and echoed in the sky. The group quickly set down, Modeus transforming from his Devil Trigger back into his humanoid form.

"I can sense it beyond that waterfall!" Modeus answered, raising his arms to cover his face from the rain.

Carla scrunched her face as she took behind Lady for cover. "This rain feels like broken glass! What is with this weather?!"

"Guys… this storm… it doesn't feel natural!" Wendy said as the rain continued to pour. "I don't think it's from the Infinity Clock either!"

"It's not! I can feel the demonic power from all of this!" Lady stated. "Some big shot devil is behind it!"

Almost on cue to her declaration, something massive emerged from the lake in front of them with a massive splash. It was undoubtedly a demon. It had a massive, bloated body, with a series of tentacles around its lower body. Its arms were rather thin but still long with large, clawed hands. It also had curved horns along the top of its head and around the base of its bloated neck, a purple amulet around a chain necklace with an aquatic green skin tone and a blood red underbelly.

"Who dares enter my domain?!"

Modeus gave a loud gasp. "Oh no… Lord Krakken!"

"Lord what?!" Lady questioned.

"Modeus… do you know this demon?!" Carla questioned.

"Indeed!" The former apprentice of Sparda began. "Lord Krakken, otherwise known as the Drowned King. He is a powerful demon lord from the Underworld! He has potent control over water and wind, conjuring floods and storms to wash away all in his path! He is not to be underestimated!"

Krakken drew his attention toward the demon who spoke his name. "You… defiler! Apprentice to the heretic, Sparda! If I cannot have the satisfaction of slaying him, I will be the one who takes the life of his precious student!"

He waved his hands to conjure a massive wave and send it Modeus' way. But Modeus was quick to draw Hunter's Moon and counterattack. "Demon Sword: Residual Moon!" He sliced his sword through the wave, causing it to diverge past him, while also channeling his attack into the waters around them before they exploded. Though Modeus was brought down to his knee by the force of the impact that he could barely defend against.

However, with Krakken focused solely on him; it allowed the others to hit from multiple sides; Lady coming in from the left, Erza from the right, and Wendy from the sky as Carla provided her with flight.

"Steel Devil Rage!"

"Sky Dragon Roar!"

As Lady and Wendy blasted their respective breath attacks, Erza and quipped into her Sea Empress Armor and waved her sword, which appeared to be made entirely out of water, and sent a sharp wave of it slicing at Krakken's side while Wendy and Lady's attacks hit their mark. However, these attacks only served to anger Krakken.

"Humans… the weakest of creatures dare to attack me?! One even tries to use our very own power against me!?" Krakken exclaimed, feeling highly insulted before looking directly at Wendy. "But you… why do you wield that power?! How can you command the power of that wretched Sky Dragon?!"

That took Wendy by surprise. "You knew Grandeeney?!"

Krakken roared with fury, slamming his tentacles on the ground as the mere mention of that name sent him into a rage. "That worthless beast, whose own storms could surpass my own! I will not rest until I see her skewered by my hand! Now, I ask again: how do you command her power?!"

"Wendy…" Carla looked to her with concern as a hardened expression formed on the girl's face before answering.

"My name is Wendy Marvell! I'm Grandeeney daughter, the Sky Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail! Wendy the Sky Maiden!" She stated with as much fire as Natsu would when he makes his declarations. "And in the name of my mother, and the guild I call my home, my friends and I will defeat you!"

Though Carla was concerned with Wendy's declaration, a part of her couldn't help but be proud of her bravery. Erza and Lady shared proud smirks of their own, but none seemed prouder than Modeus. He could tell that his student had grown so much in such a short time.

Krakken growled as he raised his hands, the water behind him rising like a tidal wave while the storms above surged even more, the wind blowing harder and lightning streaking across the sky faster.

"Come! Be cleaned in my waters!"

---

Meanwhile, in another area within the lower levels of the Fortuna Castle, a large lump of wood seemed to move along the walls, as if there was something underneath it. And that was indeed the case as this moving lump of wood was the result of Laki's magic, being used to conceal herself as well as Morrison and Gildarts.

"You've really improved with your magic, Laki." Gildarts complemented. "We were able to sneak onto one of those Council ships without anyone noticing us, and we've slipped right into this place just as easy."

"It has been seven years, so of course I've improved." Laki replied. "But thank you."

"You sure this is the right direction?" Morrison asked. "I can't really see anything outside this thing."

"I'm positive." Laki confirmed. "This is where some of those Angelos had taken Zentopia's Archbishop."

The lump opened to allow the trio to step outside a large door, only to find there was nobody else there with them. "Seems kinda odd they don't have any guards." Gildarts observed.

"Let's just find him and get out of here." Laki said as Morrison was the first to open the door. The room seemed rather baren save for several candles along the walls, with the Archbishop sitting on a single chair in the middle of the room, muttering to himself as if he were in a trance.

"Let me assure you, there is no reason to be afraid. I have been working closely with the Order's leader Sanctus to ensure our world has a future. Our immediate future may seem dark and chaotic, but once this storm has passed, the world shall be reborn. From that point forward, we shall follow a new path."

"Looks like we found him." Morrison asked as he walked into the room, with Gildarts and Laki close behind before he addressed the elderly man directly. "Listen, you're the Archbishop of Zentopia, right? We got some questions for you."

"Let me assure you, there is no reason to be afraid. I have been working closely with the Order's leader Sanctus to ensure our world has a future. Our immediate future may seem dark and chaotic, but once this storm has passed, the world shall be reborn. From that point forward, we shall follow a new path." He repeated.

This caused the trio to look in confusion before Gildarts spoke up next. "Hey, old man. Sorry… but we don't really understand what you're saying."

"Let me assure you, there is no reason to be afraid. I have been working closely with the Order's leader Sanctus to ensure our world has a future. Our immediate future may seem dark and chaotic, but once this storm has passed, the world shall be reborn. From that point forward, we shall follow a new path." The Archbishop repeated once again.

"What's up with him?" Gildarts questioned. "It's like listening to a recording being played over and over."

Laki got a good look into the Archbishop's blank eyes. "I think he's in some kind of trance."

"Of course, he is."

The three were startled by the new voice that spoke up, but they were even more shocked at the sight of the wall behind the Archbishop actually melting like ice to water before it revealed the outside, with the head of the Order of the Sword hovering in the air and a golden aura shining around him.

"After all, if he had learned of our true objective and how we'd achieve it, he most certainly would have protested." Sanctus said with a sneer. "So, I had to use hypnosis in order to properly manipulate him."

"That's why there weren't any guards." Morrison narrowed his eyes. "This guy's been watching over him." However, his eyes, as well as that of his friends' widened in shock as they saw the enormous Savior outside, the group finding themselves at the Savior's launch site.

"What in the world is that?!" Laki exclaimed.

"Is that supposed to be Sparda?" Gildarts questioned, sounding unimpressed.

"Crafted in his likeness, yes." Sanctus revealed. "This is our glorious Savior, who shall give birth to a new world… by burning the old one to ash!"

---

Multiple clashes lit up the sky as two fast-moving blurs continued to clash with one another. These blurs were revealed to be Racer and Mirajane in her Halphas form. They clashed kicks with one another before Racer vanished, and Mira less than a second later. Racer re-appeared on the ground right before he vanished again as Mira delivered a powerful kick that created a crater before she vanished in pursuit of her fast-paced enemy.

"Heh, heh, I'm too fast." Racer gloated as he appeared in the air, with Mira appearing right behind him, but he vanished and reappeared a distance away. "You can't keep up… with me."

Mira however, smiled. "I don't have to."

Racer was then struck in the front by a series of golden bolts that sent him crashing to the ground. Though he quickly recovered and zoomed away from the spot where he landed, looking in confusion, but this confusion left him open for Mira to appear from his right and land kick into his side to send him skidding into a cluster of golden dust and particles.

"We may not be as fast as you…" Evergreen hovered above him. "But that doesn't mean we can't catch you! Fairy Bomb: Gremlin!" Racer was caught up in an explosion as the dust around him blew up all at once. Though he was able to make it out in time, he did not make it out unscathed.

"How…? How can you…?"

"That be me, pal!" Bickslow stood on top of a rock-tower, his tongue hanging out like a rock star. "My babies are scattered all over the perimeter of this place and they track your every movement!" It was true, all of Bickslow's dolls were scattered across the terrain, keeping their unblinking eyes over the entire area. "They see your twisted soul as bright as day, just like I do! No matter how fast you are!"

Before Racer could even reply he was caught in a pincer attack from Evergreen's bolts and Mira's dark magic blast. He tried to move, but the second he glanced at them… he saw something else. In the places of his three enemies… were three of the same Zeref-cultists that abducted and chased him as a child. This hesitation allowed the pincer attack to strike and blast him away.

However, he tried to recover and zoom away as fast as he could, but Mira was already on his trail. "Stay away!" This was also a distraction to lead him right into another trap Evergreen laid for him. "Stay away!"

He was caught up once again in Evergreen's Gremlin attack, sending him flying in an explosion that allowed Mira to strike a kick in his abdomen to send him crashing into the ground. She tried to move in and finish him off, but was blown away slightly by a flash of black light engulfing Racer's body. The light faded to reveal Racer had transformed into his Hermes Caduto form.

"I SAID STAY AWAY!" He shouted before launching at Mira, throwing out rapid-fire punches at such speeds that it made it feel like she was being struck by a thousand enemies at once. With the final strike, Mira was sent flying and crashing along the ground, leaving a crater as she skidded to a halt.

"Mira!" Evergreen exclaimed, but she didn't have time to react as the transformed Racer was already on her, kicking her from all directions with such speed and precision before she was finally brought down to the ground, blood spilling from her mouth. Racer then used his further-enhanced speed to encircle the whole perimeter and destroy all Bickslow's dolls before they could catch on.

"My babies!" Bickslow sensed his dolls' vessels being destroyed, leaving him vulnerable for Racer to strike from behind, his hands vibrating to swipe at him like a sword, cutting him along the back to send him falling to the ground.

"Have to go! Can't stay here!" Racer muttered, feeling as if he was being haunted by the ghosts of his past. He ran in one single direction, going straight with the intent of leaving this place until…

The Hermes Caduto form of Racer smacked into what appeared to be an invisible wall. He quickly pulled himself up and feel what he hit, finding a barrier of Runes keeping him from leaving.

"No." He ran in the exact opposite direction, striking yet another invisible barrier. "No!" He repeated the process, moving parallel, perpendicular, diagonal, in every which way he could, only to have his path cut off by Rune barriers no matter which direction he went. "NO! What is this!? Why can't I leave?!"

"Because I made it so." Freed appeared behind the transformed Racer, his body materializing out of a set of Runes to glare at his enemy. "While the others kept you busy, I took the time to write a special enchantment. Bickslow's dolls did more than just track your movements, they gave me a base of the perimeter to work on and keep you isolated, allowing me to create a barrier around this entire area that you were unable to escape from. This barrier cannot be overpowered by sheer force, if you wish to know how it will fall, simply look above you."

Racer glanced up to a set of Runes hovering in the air that made out a sentence. However, he gasped once he read what was written.

"'This barrier shall only fall with your defeat.'" Freed read it aloud for Racer. "Your defeat being either your surrender, your disablement, or even your death."

Racer growled like an animal; barring his teeth together so hard, they looked like they were ready to chip as he glared at Freed. "Or maybe I can just kill the guy who wrote it!" He shot right at Freed with his enhanced speed.

"Dark Ecriture: Absolute Shadow!" Freed coated his upper body in his dark armor just as Racer was upon him. But even as the Hermes Caduto form lashed out with his inhumanly fast punches, Freed was able to match his speed, blocking and parrying each strike. Not a single attack made contact, much to Racer's shock.

"What…?!" He was then decked across the face by Freed's armored form. Racer then turned around and attempted to run away, only to find Mira, still in her Halphas form, blocking his way. He tried to fly straight up and avoid her, but she quickly grabbed his foot. As he desperately tried to lash out with a punch at his fastest speed…

Mira caught his fist!

Racer couldn't even react in time as Mira threw out a series of her own punches, moving at the same speed as her transformed enemy before falling back down with a final kick from Mira. Before he could even hit the ground however, Evergreen already flew in to meet him and waved her fan to shoot more bolts his way, all hitting successfully to send him flying straight up at Bickslow, who stood atop a hovering boulder as four rocks circled around him, blasting beams of green energy his way. The five rocks were now being the current vessels of Bickslow's dolls' souls. Racer attempted to dodge the blasts, but they moved too fast for even him, all hitting their mark before he finally landed on the ground.

"How… my Hermes Caduto… makes me… the fastest being in the world… how can you… keep up with me…?" He stuttered as all four of his enemies surrounded him.

"Another enchantment I wrote." Freed, still in his Absolute Shadow armor, explained as a sentence of Runes appeared on not only himself, but also Bickslow, Evergreen, and even Mirajane. He read the Runes aloud. "'All those within this barrier will have their speed enhanced to match that of the enemy's.'"

"You hear that, pal?" Bickslow said. "Even in that twisted fallen angel form you got, we're just as fast as you!"

"You're enemies are the Thunder Legion, the greatest team in the Fairy Tail guild!" Evergreen declared.

"You are trapped, you can't get away. Just give up." Mira told him.

The second Racer heard those words, something replayed in his memories. The words of the same men who constantly chased him, beat him for punishment, and threw him in a cell once it was over.

"You're trapped!"

"You can't get away!"

"Just give up!"

Racer snapped.

"No…! NO! NNNNNOOOOOOOO!" Racer shouted at the top of his lungs, a powerful dark aura surging around him as he let himself loose. He zoomed in between each wall of runes, bouncing around like a wild animal trying desperately to escape. But he couldn't even so much as crack the barrier, as per Freed's rules.

"He's off the rails! We gotta end this now!" Bickslow exclaimed.

Evergreen was the first to move, her speed matching Racer's as she flew to intercept him. "Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" She fired with as much power as she could to strike Racer all over his body with golden bolts that fired like a gatling gun. He tried to block each of the bolts with his enhanced speed, chopping them away with his arms but Bickslow was already on his side, his rock-dolls circling above him as a powerful green orb was beginning to pulsate.

"Baryon Formation!" Bickslow unleashed a massive blast of green energy that struck Racer along the side, causing him to holler in pain as he was sent flying toward Freed, who had inscribed a pair of Dark Ecriture Wings on his back to fly and meet him with an attack of his own.

"Dark Ecriture: Destruction!" With a slash of his sword, Freed had cut Racer along his chest, a wave of his energy spreading along Racer's body before he was sent crashing to the ground. He glanced up in fear, seeing the image of a Zeref-cultist riding his monstrous-steed, when it was actually, Mira preparing a final attack.

"Halphas Blast!" Firing a powerful attack that engulfed Racer in a bright explosion upon impact.

When the light and dust settled, Racer laid on his back, in the middle of the crater. His Hermes Caduto transformation vanishing in a flash of dark light as he flipped onto his front, barley moving.

"He's actually alive after all that?" Evergreen said in partial amazement as she and the others appeared before the crater.

"I suppose his Caduto transformation is much stronger than we thought. But it seems he's unable to stand now." Freed observed.

"Hmm… what the…?" Bickslow noticed something odd with their defeated enemy.

"What is it, Bickslow?" Freed asked.

"When Erigor showed off his Reaper Caduto form, I didn't see a soul." Bickslow explained. "He even said he out-right abandoned it to gain the power he has now. But this guy…" He took off his mask to show his glowing green eyes. "I don't know what exactly these guys did to themselves, but Racer here still has his soul."

That got all their attention. "Are you certain?" Freed questioned.

"Yeah… it's buried pretty deep in there, but it's still there." Bickslow confirmed.

Mira looked somewhat sympathetic as she stepped into the crater, still in her Halphas transformation, before standing before the defeated Racer. His visor was broken partially, so she could see one of his eyes even as he glared at her.

"Well… Are you gonna finish me? What are you waiting for?! If you're too slow, I'll just get away again!"

"Get away again, huh?" Mira began. "That's what you've been doing all this time, haven't you? Just running away. But why are you running? What are you running from?"

Racer didn't know what to say. The way this woman was speaking to him… it wasn't that of a hated enemy. But… given how he was still trapped, and pretty much defeated at this point, he saw no reason to hide it. Though, there wasn't that much to hide anyway.

"I… I don't know… I've spent my entire life running… it's all I know…" The memories of him as a child, running as fast as he could to try and escape the Tower of Heaven, as well as being chased down and beaten by the cultists who enslaved him, those would be forever etched into his mind. "I was always… running away…"

Mira looked toward him with an understanding feeling in her eyes. "I know what it is. You've been running from yourself."

Racer gasped in surprise as he looked up to her. "From… myself…?"

"Yes, you're fleeing from your past. All the pain, distress, fear, I know what it's like to try and escape it. I used to do the same thing myself." She recalled the very moment when her brother lost control of his Beast Soul and very nearly killed Lisanna. Though she was still alive now, the feelings of fear, dread, sorrow, and guilt were still inside her. She could never forget what she felt when she thought Lisanna had passed away. "I tried to run, but it never helped. Believe me when I say, I understand your heartache."

Slowly but surely, Racer pulled himself back on his feet. He turned around and tried to limp away, despite his injuries and lack of energy. The instinctive feeling to run being the only thing driving him as he attempted to flee.

"Where are you going? No one's chasing you." Mira told him.

That caused him to stop, his visible eye wavering as he heard those words. Nobody was chasing him? It was almost as if she was speaking to him in a foreign language and yet, he understood her clearly.

Mira dropped her Halphas form and turned back to normal before speaking again. "There's no need to run anymore."

That caused him to fall to his knees, his eyes watering before tears spilled out of them. So much pain and emotion began to spill out all at once; pain, fear, distress, and sorrow at the forefront, but there was also joy and relief from it as well. In that one moment, he had lost the will to fight… and to run.

The Thunder Legion looked around as Freed's barrier appeared briefly before vanishing. "The barrier has fallen." Freed noted. "He must have conceded defeat."

"That's two down, four to go." Bickslow said.

"Yeah, from the Oracion Seis, but not the Order of the Sword." Evergreen replied. "We still don't know how many of those goons we need to take down."

"We'll figure that out later. Right now, we must get to Fortuna and help our friends." Freed stated.

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Bickslow questioned. "That fight took a lot out of us, and we don't have a ship or anything."

"Then maybe I can give you a hand." A voice said from behind.

The three of them turned around to gasp in shock at who just approached them. "It's you…!" Freed exclaimed.

---

Bael gave a roar that sent a hurricane of icicles Trish's way, but she spun her scythe around like a helicopter, charging it with her lightning-powers to create a make-shift shield and protect herself from the icicles, allowing Samuel to fly in and slice at Bael's form, causing the demon toad to leap back before the 'women' on his antennas acted on their own to attack Samuel. Though he drove one of his swords into the abdomen of one of them, while decapitating the second with the other blade. However, the first demon grabbed Samuel by his arm, causing a patch of ice to form around his arm and threatened to spread across the rest of his body, but Samuel sliced it back and allowed himself to retreat. The ice faded away as he saw Bael recovering.

"Be careful not to let it touch you! It'll freeze you solid!" Samuel warned Trish.

"Yeah, thanks for that!" She drew Luce in her left hand and fired a series of electric bullets, running around Bael's side while holding her scythe in her right hand, charging it with more electricity before swinging it upward to send a wave of lightning that struck Bael's side and forced him to leap to the side of a nearby building and shoot more icicles from his back at the pair, forcing them to separate.

"Man, these overgrown toads are tougher than they look!" Happy commented as he kept Warren safe and at a distance. "You sure you can't just go into their heads and mess with their thoughts or something, Warren?"

"My telepathy doesn't work like that!" He replied. "The whole reason I'm even here is to help our groups keep in contact and hopefully find Natsu, Dante, and Lucy!"

Happy looked down with concern as he saw Gray and Lisanna, still in her Dragon Take Over, duking it out with Dagon.

"Ice-Make: Canon!" Gray formed a bazooka of ice to fire a multitude of exploding ice-balls at Dagon, who croaked to blast a blizzard from his mouth to knock away Gray's projectiles.

Dagon roared in fury, once again angry at his own element being used against him. So, in retaliation, he sicked his 'women' antennas on Gray, who seemed to fight on their own accord like Bael's, forcing Gray to rely on hand-to-hand to defend himself against the relentless punches and kicks. But this allowed Lisanna to fly in close.

"Hey toads! You like the cold?! Then how about a little fire thrown into the mix?!" She generated a large fireball in her hands and threw it at Dagon, scoring a direct hit. However, out of the smoke, Dagon leapt with an open mouth to devour Lisanna whole.

"LISANNA!" Happy screamed as he, Warren, Gray, Trish, and Samuel looked in horror while Bael sneered in delight.

"Well brother, how does that female taste?"

Dagon felt around in his mouth a bit. "It… tastes… spicy… too spicy!" He began to hack and cough as smoke came out of his mouth, followed by a surge of fire before Dagon screamed in pain as the flames spread over his insides, forcing him to regurgitate what he had spat out, revealing to be Lisanna, who had coated herself in flames.

"They're vulnerable on the inside!" She told all of them.

Gray smirked. "That's all I needed to hear!" He threw out a pair of ice-hooks that latched onto the sides of Dagon's mouth, which he used to force open before throwing himself inside. "Open wide!" Gray entered Dagon's mouth and went to the very back of his throat.

"Ice-Make: Gungnir!"

A massive lance of ice shot through the back of Dagon's mouth and head, sending the impaled toad-demon all the way up to the top of a nearby building as Gray slid out from the ice-pole. Both he and Lisanna looked to see Dagon's body turn into ice, inside and out, before shattering to pieces.

"BROTHER!" Bael cried out. But he didn't have time to grieve as Samuel flew in, wedged his blades into Bael's mouth and forced them open.

"I suggest you make your move, now!" He told Trish as Bael struggled to throw Samuel off. "I can only it for so long!"

Without saying anything else, Trish ran straight towards the thrashing Bael before leaping straight into his forced-open mouth, her whole body surging with lightning as she fell in. Right then, Samuel was thrown off, Bael's mouth closed, but it was too late. He felt slashes, electrocutions, and gunshots all throughout his innards. It was so painful, the toad hollered in pain until finally, a bolt of lightning exploded out from the top of his head, Trish leaping from it and landing graceful on the ground as Bael toppled over, dead. Like his brother, Bael's body froze over before it shattered.

"That was so gross, yet so cool!" Happy exclaimed as he flew Warren down to regroup with everyone else. "You guys were amazing!"

"Thanks, but we're not done yet." Trish said as they all turned toward the Hellgate, now completely visible now that the blizzard was clearing up.

"Is that the Hellgate?" Gray asked.

"It is indeed." Samuel confirmed. "Now then, let us be rid of it." He flew to attack the Hellgate first, plunging both his swords into the center of the monolithic structure, causing a large crack to form. "Here! Strike at this exact spot with everything you have!" He ordered as he flew away.

"Super Freezing Arrow!" Gray formed a bow of ice before launching an arrow, super-charged with his magic.

"Inferno Blast!" Lisanna unleashed a breath-attack of flames, just as Trish pulled out Luce and Ombre and shot a pair of super-charged electric bullets.

All three attacks hit the spot where Samuel struck at the same time, creating an explosion that mixed fire, ice, and lightning that blew apart the entire Hellgate.

"Precisely as I calculated." Samuel noted as he dropped his battle-form and into his smaller one. "By combing your attacks at a single weakened point, the entire structure would collapse. Well, done on all our parts, I must say."

"Why does it feel like you're complementing yourself for the most part?" Gray questioned in minor annoyance.

Lisanna quickly noticed something at the ruins of the Hellgate and made her way over as she dropped her Dragon Soul. "Hey guys, come here for a second." She walked toward a pedestal that was built into the Hellgate, one that had a glowing orb in the middle of it. However, with the Hellgate destroyed, there was no use for a power source, and so the orb faded away to reveal a large, metal, briefcase with a demonic skull on the center of it.

"I… I think this is the Devil Arm that powered it." Lisanna said, picking it up.

"But it's a briefcase." Happy said. "I thought Devil Arms were weapons; like swords and stuff."

"Appearances are often deceiving." Samuel noted. "But that should indeed be the Devil Arm that was serving as the power source for the Hellgate."

"Then let's take it with us. No sense leaving something like that here." Gray said.

"Good idea." Warren agreed as he tried to reach out with his telepathy. "I'll try to get in contact with everyone else."

---

Echidna roared as she spun her body in the air, sending a hail of seeds in the direction of the heroes. Dan thrusted his lance to send out multiple magic-blasts to take down several of the seeds, and those that he missed were cut down by Panther-Lily with Baskerville and Gajeel with his Iron Dragon Sword.

"You child-murdering bastards!" Echidna screeched.

"You hate your precious seeds getting crushed, then stop throwing them at us you horny bitch!" Gajeel exclaimed before going on the attack, slashing his sword at Echidna, who quickly covered herself with her outer-serpent's mouth before flinging snapping her tail to send him crashing back into a tree.

Echidna then shot into the air before falling straight back down, where her serpentine-body split apart into six separate legs, almost like an insect, that rooted themselves into the ground before she sprouted a half-dozen seeds from the bottom. The seeds quickly hatched like eggs to produce several small plant-like demons made from plants, vines, with blades at the end of their arms.

"Oh man, that is so gross!" Romeo felt like he was about to puke.

"Get them my precious Chimeras!" Echidna commanded, her Chimera demons leaping toward the heroes. Romeo tried to act first, throwing several purple fireballs at the enemy, but the Chimeras were quicker than they looked as they leapt to avoid them and tried to converge on Romeo; only for Sugarboy's mound of slime to come in and act like a wall to protect the young wizard.

"Don't worry kiddo, my guard doggies got your back!" Sugarboy sang.

"You two deal with the children, we'll handle the mother!" Panther-Lily told the pair as he, Gajeel, and Dan rushed Echidna, who sunk her lower body deeper into the ground. Multiple roots then shoot up from the ground beneath the three that snapped and lashed out at them. Gajeel, once again, used his Iron Dragon Sword to slice them away, with Lily doing the same with Baskerville, and Dan using his shield to defend himself.

Meanwhile, Sugarboy and Romeo found themselves surrounded by the six Chimera demons. "Got any ideas how to take these things down?"

"Actually, yeah." Sugarboy replied. "You got fire magic, rocking anything spicy like your friend Natsu?"

"Well… I can't exactly make hot fire… but how about cold?" Romeo wondered, producing a blue flame in his hand.

Sugarboy smirked. "That'll work."

The Chimeras screeched as they leapt at the pair, intent on devouring them all at once. However, Sugarboy pulled Romeo down as he aimed his staff to direct his slime upward before it exploded outward to engulf all the Chimeras and trap them.

"Freeze it, kiddo!" Sugarboy said, with Romeo throwing several fireballs of blue flame into Sugarboy's slime. His Dog Whistle magic absorbing Romeo's and spreading it all over before the whole thing froze solid with all the Chimeras inside, right before it shattered.

Echidna screeched as she saw her children die once again. "My offspring! My children!" She shot out from the ground and tried to rush Sugarboy and Romeo, snapping her tail at them.

Suddenly though, Dan appeared and flashed his shield, Ricochet, to not only block the impact but absorb the force and shoot it back. "Let's see how you like it!" The force Echidna unleashed was sent back at her, sending her crashing into the Hellgate. With her dazed from the rebounded attack, Panther-Lily quickly flew in and impaled her vulnerable humanoid form with Baskerville.

Though she screeched in pain, she wasn't dead yet as she tried to wrap her fingers around Lily's throat. "I… I won't die… like this…!"

"That's too damn bad!" Gajeel had leapt into the air high above Echidna and the Hellgate. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Karma Demon Iron Spiral!" His lower body transformed into a massive iron drill, which he spun rapidly and fell back down toward her. Lily extracted Baskerville just in time as Gajeel's attack struck; completely blowing away Echidna and reducing her to chunks, while also barreling through the Hellgate in one blow, causing it to shatter with Gajeel sliding past the falling rubble.

"I think that look suits her better anyways." Gajeel smirked like a champ toward his Exceed partner. Panther-Lily turned back to normal as he shared the smirk and gave a nod of his own.

"Aw yeah! Now that's how it's done!" Dan pumped his fist with a smirk.

"Now that's a man's man right there." Sugarboy gave a finger salute. "Why, if I didn't have my eyes set on old ice boy, I'd wanna have his babies."

"I'm right here! And I'm into girls!" Gajeel exclaimed with comically razor-sharp teeth.

"Hey guys! Over here!" Romeo called to them as he had already came to the pedestal where the Hellgate's power source was located. It was a glowing green orb for a few seconds, before it faded away to reveal the Devil Arm that it really was.

It appeared to be a set of silver and glowing red gauntlets, grieves, with a mask, all connected to a piece of back armor. Everyone else gathered around Romeo to see the demonic weapons.

"That must be the Devil Arm that served as the Hellgate's power source." Lily assumed. "With the Hellgate destroyed, there is no further need for a power source."

Gajeel took the weapons' set and tucked it under his arm. "Come on, we need to meet up with the rest of the guys and tear this god damn place to the ground. No offense." He told Dan and Sugarboy.

"None taken." They both replied at the same time.

---

Lightning, wind, and rain continued to pound across the battlefield as the team of Wendy, Carla, Modeus, Erza, and Lady battled against the Drowned King, otherwise known as Krakken. Wendy had already cast her Support Magic to enhance the strength, speed, and defense of herself, and all her companions; Wendy glowing with a cyan aura, a pink one for Carla, a white aura surrounding Modeus, a vibrant violet for Erza, and a shining silver aura for Lady. This did well to keep them all on their toes as Krakken threw his hands out to create three large spheres of water above him that shot bolts of lightning in their direction.

"Defilers! Heretics! Insects! This realm shall belong to me!" Krakken exclaimed as he summoned a mighty tidal wave and sent it straight toward the group. Carla managed to pull Wendy out of the way as Modeus, Erza, and Lady leapt into the air to avoid it before the three went on the attack.

"Demon Sword: Phantom Moon!" Modeus swung Hunter's Moon to send out a flurry of crescent-moon shaped projectiles.

"Lightning Empress!" Erza quipped into her lightning armor, thrusting her spear to blast a cluster of lightning forward.

"Steel Devil Bullet Barrage!" Lady fired her pistols to shoot rapid-fire bullets enhanced with her magic.

All three attacks struck Krakken's large form, causing him to stagger back, but he wasn't done yet. "Fools! I command the storm itself!" He waved his hands to raise a large maelstrom from the water below the group, bringing it upwards in the form of a swirling twister of water. The trio did their best to stand their ground, but quickly felt themselves being pulled in.

As Krakken laughed, Carla had flown Wendy directly above Krakken and his three spheres of storm-power where she unleashed an attack of her own. "Sky Dragon Wing Attack!" She waved her arms to send two large whirlwinds at Krakken, destroying his spheres and striking him in the back of his head. This broke his concentration on the cyclone, freeing Erza, Lady, and Modeus. As Krakken turned his attention directly to Wendy, she unleashed another attack. "Sky Dragon Claw!" She delivered a kick across his face, a whirlwind surrounding her foot to deal further damage.

This did disorient Krakken a bit, but it wasn't enough to stop him. "Dragon Slayer wretch!" He swiped his claw, which was coated in lightning, to slice at Wendy, knocking her and Carla out of the air and sending them crashing into the ground with a splash. "I'll crush you!" He tried to stomp one of his tentacles onto her.

Fortuntely, Modeus quickly arrived to slice Hunter's Moon and sever Krakken's entire tentacle, causing him to reel in pain. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!" He shouted towards the massive demon.

Krakken snarled at Modeus, but this allowed Erza, now quipped in her Giant Armor, and Lady, who was now coated in her Steel Devil Skin, to both leap up with yells and land clean hits in Krakken's face; a fist from Erza and a kick from Lady. This was enough to send Krakken tumbling back. However, he quickly recovered with a roar to resume his attack, with Lady and Erza taking him head-on.

"Wendy, Carla, are you alright?" Modeus asked as he lowered himself to help them both up.

"Uh-huh." Wendy nodded.

"Other than being soaking wet, I'm fine." Carla commented. They all turned toward the fight as Erza and Lady appeared to struggle more against Krakken. "I can see why you were so worried about his demon, he is strong."

"His title of the Drowned King was earned." Modeus said.

"But we have to stop him, somehow!" Wendy exclaimed. "What about his heart? If we destroy it…"

"We'd have to get close enough, breaking through his defenses won't be easy." Modeus said.

"And I'm certain all that fat will make it even more difficult." Carla added.

Wendy's eyes quickly widened as she turned to her teacher with a plan. "Modeus, I have an idea!"

"Enough of this!" Krakken waved his hands to trap Lady and Erza in two more spheres of water, charging with electricity to electrocute them both. "I will cleanse you all!"

"Krakken!"

He turned his attention toward Modeus, who had already formed his glowing white bow, Hunter's Moon positioned as an arrow, his attack primed and ready.

"This ends now! Lunar Goddess of the Hunt: Artemis!" He fired a powerful arrow that not only broke through the storm that surrounded Krakken, but also scored a solid hit in his chest. The arrow didn't quite break through, but it caused a bleeding hole to form on his chest that was already gushing with blood.

Krakken hollered in pain as he held his wound, losing control of the traps he ensnared Lady and Erza with, freeing them. "Insolent little… you dare to strike a king!? Even when trained by Sparda himself, you fall short of his expectations!"

"That attack as not meant to slay you." Modeus said as he stepped out of the way, revealing Wendy as she inhaled as much of the air around her as possible, preparing attack of her own.

"This one is! Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Shattering Light: Sky Drill!" She fired a powerful, condensed, blast of wind filled with her magic, scoring a hit on the exact same wound Modeus just inflicted, blasting through Krakken's chest, all the way into his heart, and out his back.

Krakken's final call of agony caused all the waters in the area to shoot up like geysers as he glanced at Wendy one last time. For a brief second, he saw not a young human girl standing in opposition to him, but rather a giant white dragon.

"Damn you… Grandeeney…!" Krakken muttered as his whole body melted and dissolved into water, falling back down with the last of the waters that shot up into the air; completely soaking all the heroes as the rain finally stopped.

Erza and Lady looked nothing short of amazed as they glanced at Wendy, who fell to her knees in exhaustion.

"Whoa…" Lady breathed. "That kid's something else…"

"Indeed." Erza smiled warmly as they slowly approached her, with Modeus and Carla helping Wendy to stand.

"Erza, Lady, are you two alright?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah, we're good. What about you?" Lady asked in return.

Wendy giggled a bit as she took note of her soaked body. "Fine… I guess we've been… 'cleansed'." That actually earned a laugh from Lady, with even Modeus, Erza, and Carla chuckling as well. "I tried to do a joke like Dante. How'd I do?"

"That was actually a solid ten out of ten, way better than those cheesy lines he comes up with." Lady snarked.

"Jokes aside, that was truly incredible Wendy." Modeus ruffled her hair. "I'm proud of you."

"We all are." Carla added with a warm smile of her own. This caused Wendy to blush with a proud smile on her face.

As the group smiled, Erza glanced back towards the water fall that was behind Krakken, only to find the water had stopped falling, revealing the black monolithic structure that was their intended target from the beginning.

"The Hellgate." Modeus observed with a serious tone of voice, with everyone else having similar expressions.

Erza then directed her eyes to a glowing red orb on a pedestal attached to the Hellgate. She slowly walked towards it before reaching out to the orb. The second she touched it, her entire body was engulfed in a bright red flash. The flash subsided to reveal something that caused all her friends to look in surprise.

It was Erza, clad in a completely different attire than before. She now wore mostly black with a slight brownish-red shade to it. The armor appeared something rather demonic with a large, spiked, shoulder plate on her left shoulder with a glowing red crystal attached to it. The rest of her upper body was covered in a thin layer of armor that exposed her cleavage down to her belly, while keeping her breasts covered. Her right arm was covered in more spikey armor, with the tallest spikes also glowing red. Her lower body was covered in a large, black-furred dress, with dark brown cloth covering that. Her thighs were covered in dark armor with curved horns pointing downward closer to the dress, with glowing red crystals in the center of each armor piece, along with chains attached to each end, each chain carrying a glowing red crystal that dangled off her sides. She also had dark brown, almost black, spiked boots with glowing red spikes curved at the tips of her boots. In her right hand was also a long black demonic-looking spear. The rear point had a small trident-like attachment to it, while the front had a massive black demonic-looking spear-point with a glowing red patch of fur in the center.

One look at her newfound armor, and Erza knew what to call it. "Armadura Diabla."

"Erza…" Lady looked toward her with uncertainty.

She directed her attention back toward the Hellgate, and with a mighty yell, plunged her spear directly into it. The second it made contact, surges of red energy spread across the Hellgate, causing it to crack and break apart. She then leapt into the air, spinning her spear as she lashed out with extreme precision and force to shatter each piece. Each broken piece of the Hellgate was shattered even further upon contact with the spear, until there was nothing left of it but dust before she landed on the ground in dramatic fashion.

"Erza… wha… what is… are you wearing…. A Devil Arm?" Wendy stuttered, not sure whether she should be amazed or concerned right now.

"Yes… I do believe it is." Erza said, looking at her newly acquired armor herself.

"But I thought Devil Arms were merely weapons, such as swords, spears, scythes." Carla recalled. "If anything, something that would even come close to this, it would be in the form of gauntlets and grieves, not full sets of armor."

"It is rare, but some Devil Arms do make up a full set of armor." Modeus said. "And I believe this Armadura Diabla is one of them. But Erza, are you sure you should wield this? However strong you may be, this is an incredibly powerful Devil Arm, there is still a chance that it could try to corrupt and consume you."

"You don't have to explain it to me. I've seen myself how demonic power can corrupt someone." Erza recalled Arkham and Hades has prime examples. She then transformed back into her standard Heart Kreuz armor. "I will do everything I can to harness and master this power. But, if I cannot, I promise to have it properly disposed of."

That caused the group to smile in relief. This was still Erza after all, she was not the type to let power go to her head.

"Hey, at least you're not alone in that regard." Lady said, extending her hand to shake, revealing the Steel Devil Slayer markings on it to show that she was in a similar boat to Erza. "Maybe we could work together so we both don't get corrupted. Deal?"

Erza smiled warmly as she accepted Lady's hand. "Deal."

"Hey, can anyone hear me?!" Warren's voice echoed in their heads.

"Its' Warren!" Carla stated.

"Warren, we hear you." Erza replied. "My team just destroyed the Hellgate in our location."

"Good; Gray and Gajeel's teams reported back saying the same thing." Warren revealed.

"That means all the Hellgates have been destroyed!" Wendy stated with a wide smile.

"Don't celebrate just yet, kid." Lady advised. "Our job's not done yet."

"Agreed, we still have to contend with the Infinity Clock." Modeus said.

"Samuel said he already has an idea of where we can go to meet up for that. Look at your map." Warren instructed as Erza took out the map her team had. "There's a castle in the center of the island, all the Hellgates are almost in a complete circle around it. We should meet there."

"Very well, see you soon." Erza replied before looking to her teammates, all of whom nodded with serious expressions. "Let us be off."

---

More explosions erupted from within Dante, Natsu, and Nero as Guttman continued to use Rupture repeatedly on all three of them. Coco had only received a couple before she was already on her knees.

"There's no way I'm gonna let you guys get up and attack me. I learned my lesson from my last tussle with your friends." Guttman told them. "So, I'm just gonna keep on rupturing until you go form boom to splat!"

He sent all three of them up in explosions that literally sent them flying up into the ceiling before crashing down onto the ground.

"Damn it all… I don't have time for this!" Dante pulled himself up to his feet. "Get out of our way… now!" He made no attempt to joke or anything, showing how deathly serious he was. "Or you die."

Natsu, Coco, and even Nero looked in surprise at Dante's tone; but given all that happened recently… Michelle's betrayal, Lucy's kidnapping, and the reveal of Sparda's body being harvested by the Order, they didn't necessarily blame him for being so angry.

"I'm not the one dying here, you silly billy. That's you!" However, Guttman's body went completely stiff. "What?! How come I can't move!"

"Cause I totally immobilized you!"

Everyone looked in surprise to see none other than Mary Hughes waving her wand to keep Guttman immobilized.

"No way…" Natsu looked in surprise.

"Hughes!" Nero looked in surprise, as well as Coco.

"Mary, you shouldn't be here! You're still hurt!" The younger girl told her.

"I don't really care!" Mary stated. "Kyrie's in trouble, right?"

"Hey, why are you siding with these heathens?" Guttman questioned, still immobilized. "Why do this mean thing to me?"

"I totally used to think that the Order followed the will of Sparda, and that anyone who opposed it was evil." Mary said. "But with everything that's happened, it really seems like Sanctus is the evil one!"

"Finally sunk in, huh?" Nero told her.

"You guys go ahead!" Mary told the group. "I'll hold this guy back, you go rescue Kyrie and your friend!"

"But we can help you!" Coco told her.

"You wanna save her too, don't you?" Nero also said. "Then we…"

"Quit wasting time and go!" Mary shouted, silencing Nero. "I'm not kidding myself anymore… and neither should you. She already has her knight in shining armor, and it's not me. No matter how much I want it to be."

Coco and even Nero looked in sympathy towards her.

'Really? A love triangle?' Dante didn't know whether to be honestly sympathetic, or just annoyed. He wasn't in the mood for this.

'Man, Happy would have a field day with this.' Natsu thought.

Suddenly, Mary's body began to glow green before her body was ruptured from the inside. "I don't need to move to use Rupture magic!" He was about to let loose another explosion, until Natsu landed a fiery-fist into Guttman's face.

"But you took your eyes off us, didn't you?!" Natsu growled.

Nero followed through with a slam of his Devil Bringer fist to the back of Guttman's head, with Dante swinging Rebellion to send Guttman crashing into the wall.

"Mary… are you okay?" Coco helped her to her feet.

"Yeah… I'm alright." She then looked at everyone else. "Well, what the hell are you guys waiting for?! Get going! I said I'll hold him off!"

"You got it. Thanks." Natsu gave a thumbs up, even Dante gave a subtle nod. Coco looked towards Mary with a nod of her own and ran off to join them, with Nero following until Mary called him.

"Hey Nero…." He turned back to her to see her giving him a teasing smirk. "If you don't end up saving Kyrie, I'll kill you myself!"

Nero smirked back. "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction." He said before catching up with the others, leaving Mary alone to face the recovering Guttman.

"You've really made it onto the naughty list with me, missy!" He glared at Mary.

"I don't mind being a bad girl, but how do you like being a dead demon?!" She exclaimed before waving her wand at him.

---

Meanwhile, the forces of the Magic Council had managed to push past the Angelos that were guarding the island and had reached the shore on their vessels. Already, the Rune Knights began to flow out before lining up military style as Lahar gave instructions with Doranbolt by his side.

"Listen up, men! The people of Fortuna are innocent civilians, not enemy forces!" Lahar began. "We are to protect and see to their well-being! Strike only the Angelos and whatever demons that you may stumble across! Any human soldiers aligned with the Order are to be detained first, using only non-lethal force! Our true enemies are the Neo Oracion Seis and the man known as Sanctus! Do not forget that!"

"Sir, yes sir!" All the Rune Knights saluted.

However, before their invasion could begin, a large shadow passed over them. It was revealed to be the Christina Advanced.

"Hey, isn't that ship from the Blue Pegasus guild?" One of the Rune Knights wondered.

"Fairy Tail." Lahar's instincts told him. "What are the odds they're on that ship too?"

"Knowing them, they're probably already on the island." Doranbolt commented with a small smile. "Of course they'd come."

Lahar then looked towards his men. "This changes nothing! Any guild wizards on this island are our allies, do not engage them! Focus only on the enemies I told you of! Understood!?"

"Yes sir!" The Rune Knights confirmed as they began marching toward the city. Already, multiple Angelo soldiers could be seen from the rooftops before several flew down to engage the army; while others flew up to deal with the Blue Pegasus' air ship, which already begun to fire its automated canons to intercept them.

"It seems the Magic Council has made their move." Ichiya noted as he was at the Christina's controls upon seeing all the Rune Knights engaging the enemy forces. "Should we be concerned about this?" He asked Makarov, who was still standing on the deck of the ship with his arms crossed.

"No. Focus only on the Order's forces right now. The Magic Council can wait." He instructed as the guildmaster of Fairy Tail observed the warzone that was soon unfolding around him.

However, there was someone else watching everything unfold as well. Byro stood on the top of the cathedral with a contemplating expression.

'We meet again, Fairy Tail. And even the Magic Council has chosen to intervene. However... my concern lies elsewhere at the moment.' Byro quickly transformed into his Angelo form and took to the skies, flying toward the center of the island. 'I think I'm going to follow Dante's advice. Even if I am duty-bound, I still have the right to some answers, and I will demand them from Sanctus if I must!'

---

Gildarts threw his hand out to cast his Crush Magic on the incoming fist of the Savior, but all he did was slow it down. "What?!" His magic ultimately shattered as the massive fist broke through, sending Gildarts crashing against the wall.

"Oh no, Gildarts!" Laki exclaimed.

Morrison was already sweating as he looked up at the massive monster. 'This damn thing is able to take down Fairy Tail's top ace?! Just what the hell is it?!' He glared up at the laughing Sanctus, standing on the Savior's head, glowing a bright gold.

"Is it not beautiful?" Sanctus told them. "The Savior, now the vessel for the unstable power of the Infinity Clock, shall bring about a new world order!"

"New world order, huh?!"

All eyes set upon Dante as he suddenly arrived alongside Natsu, Nero, and Coco.

"You got any idea how many times I've heard that line before?!"

"Gildarts! Laki! Morrison!" Natsu saw his friends as Gildarts stood up on his feet.

"Glad to see you guys here." Morrison said with relief.

"Ah, the legendary son of Sparda has arrived." Sanctus said calmly. "Alongside friends, even the infamous Salamander. Your proclivity for destruction has certainly made you a well-known individual."

"Come down here and say that to my face, asshole!" Natsu called up.

"What… what in the actual hell is that thing?!" Nero exclaimed upon seeing the Savior.

"It looks… just like Sparda…" Coco stuttered, looking up in awe and horror.

"Tell me something, did you make this thing using my dad's corpse, too?!" Dante called up to Sanctus, getting the attention of Gildarts, Morrison, and Laki.

"Wait… what!?" Laki questioned in shock.

"Yeah, that's how the Order's been turning people into demons and making all those Angelo things." Nero summed up. "They've been harvesting power from Sparda's body that they got all strapped up in their basement laboratory."

Gildarts, Morrison, and Laki couldn't contain their gasps of shock.

"No way… are you serious…?!" Laki was clearly horrified. Morrison glanced with concern at Dante, seeing the look of pure hate in his eyes as he glared at the smirking Sanctus.

"That is messed up." Gildarts growled. "And here I thought brainwashing Zentopia's Archbishop was crossing the line."

---

Meanwhile; the three Hellgate teams had just met up outside the main castle, not far from Dante and the others' location and were about to make their way inside, but Warren came to a sudden stop.

"Guys, wait!" He stopped everyone.

"What is it?!" Erza questioned as the group turned their attention to him.

"I just heard Gildarts' voice." Warren revealed, using his Telepathy. "He, Laki, and Morrison just met up with Dante and Natsu, they also got Nero and Coco with them too."

"Are they okay?!" Lisanna asked with concern.

"What about Lucy?!" Happy questioned.

"Is Kyrie with them?" Dan also asked.

"I don't know… but apparently, Zentopia's Archbishop is being controlled by Sanctus!" Warren revealed.

"He is? Are you certain of this?" Samuel asked.

"Yeah but… that's not even the worst of it." Warren's body was shaking with shock, sweat already dripping from his face that was turning pale. "The Order… the reason they've been able… to turn people into demons… and make an army of artificial ones… is because they have Sparda's corpse and have been harvesting his power from it!"

None of them were prepared for that. Many of them felt like their hearts had stopped at that revelation; even the most composed among them; Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Lily, Samuel, Carla, all lost their composure as they looked in horror.

"What!?" Modeus exclaimed, the very idea of his master and friend being desecrated like that was unimaginable.

"No way…." Wendy was almost in tears. "Dante's dad…?"

"They've been harvesting power…." Dan muttered.

"From his corpse…?" Sugarboy also looked in shock.

"Unthinkable…" Samuel was also just as horrified. The three of them were raised by the Order, they fought for the Order, in the name of the Dark Knight himself. But for them to learn that the very person of their worship was being desecrated in such a barbaric manner… nothing could describe the anguish they felt.

For those in Fairy Tail, Sparda was not only a legendary hero, but a founding member of their guild. But more important than anything, he was the father of their dear friend. No words could describe the shock they all felt, or horror in the case of Wendy, Lisanna, Happy, Carla, Romeo, and especially Modeus who knew Sparda personally. But for Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Trish, Lady, and even Panther-Lily, a boiling rage began to fill their bodies as many of them were clenching their fists.

"Who did it?" Gray growled.

"Somebody's going to die here." Gajeel pounded his fist into his palm.

They weren't the only ones who were shocked by this revelation. Byro's Angelo form hovered above them as he heard everything as well.

'What?! His holiness is being manipulated by Sanctus?! And even more disgracing… he's been desecrating Sparda's body?!' He looked towards his own hands in his transformed state. 'This power… did it come from this… this barbarism…?! How could I have been such a damned fool?! All this time, Sanctus has pulled the strings behind these atrocities, and I helped to pave the way!' As his anger built up, a dark purple aura surged around him, getting the attention of all those below him.

"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!" He took off at high speeds, leaving a trail of purple energy behind.

"That was Byro!" Dan recognized him.

"Guess he heard everything too." Lady said in a low growl. "Come on, let's not let him hog the blood bath."

"That is if Dante and Natsu haven't kill the bastard already." Trish also said in a growl as they ran as fast as they could to catch up.

---

"Where's Lucy?!" Dante demanded, aiming Ivory at Sanctus. Natsu, Nero, Coco, Gildarts, Laki, and Morrison gathering around him.

"And Kyrie?! You have her too!" Nero also pointed Blue Rose at their mutual enemy.

Sanctus merely waved his hand, the jewel embedded in the Savior's forehead began to glow, causing Lucy and Kyrie to partially emerge from the stone, much to their friends' shock; but the two young women looked unresponsive.

"Is it not your wish to become one with them? Dante, Nero?" Sanctus questioned. "I had originally planned for only one blood descendent of Sparda to merge with our creation, but perhaps I can manage two. And within the Savior, your mortal bodies will combine, melting into one to manifest and create his core! A thing of utter and pure beauty!"

"Go blow yourself…!" Nero shouted, but was taken by surprise with everyone as Natsu propelled himself straight upward with flames from his feet.

"Natsu, wait!" Gildarts tried to stop him, but he was already there.

"I'm gonna save Lucy and Kyrie! Then I'm gonna burn you to a crisp!" Natsu prepared to unleash a fire-blast from his fist, only for the Savior to raise its hand and block the flames, taking no damage at all, much to Natsu's surprise. "What the…?!"

He was then smacked to the side by the Savior's backhand.

"Natsu!" Laki called out as they saw him crash into the wall before falling back down to the ground.

"I'm afraid you are too late! The Savior is powered by the Infinity Clock, something that not even Sparda and his closest followers could destroy!" Sanctus told them as Lucy and Kyrie's forms were reabsorbed back into the Savior's gemstone. "What chance do pathetic wizards like you have?!"

The Savior raised its fist and brought it down toward the group. Nero pulled Coco off to the side as Dante did the same for Laki and Morrison while Gildarts tried to halt the massive fist with his own magic and strength. Though he was able to halt it, he struggled with all his might to push it back, the ground cracking from underneath him before he was finally crushed under the fist, much to everyone's surprise and shock, especially Natsu's.

"GILDARTS!" Natsu looked in horror as the Savior's fist lifted to reveal Gildarts lying flat on the ground, though still alive and conscious.

"Now that hurt…" Gildarts struggled to pull himself up as the Savior pulled back another fist.

"It's coming back for another attack!" Morrison warned. However, just before the fist was brought down, a powerful magic arrow was shot into the Savior's shoulder temporally disrupting and halting its strike, much to everyone's surprise. But that surprise grew even more as they saw who threw out the attack.

"How dare you deceive me, Sanctus!" Byro glared in his Angelo form.

"Byro." Sanctus muttered before retaliating. Two angelic-like lanterns appeared by his side and fired a combined beam of golden energy at Byro, who responded by waving his staff to intercept the attack. But he only just then noticed a massive shadow on his side and was unable to dodge the Savior's massive fist that sent him crashing to the ground, reverting him back to his human form.

The Savior then reached down directly for Dante, only for Nero to quickly push him out of the way and get grabbed himself.

"Nero!" Coco exclaimed as the Savior lifted the struggling young man in its grip. Dante and the others tried to get up and help, but the ground beneath them began to melt, causing them to sink up to their ankles before it hardened, solidifying and trapping all of them, even Byro.

"What the hell?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"The damn clock's reality warping shit!" Dante growled as he glared at Sanctus, with Nero being raised closer to him.

"That was foolish." Sanctus commented on Nero's recent act of self-sacrifice. "But, if you truly wish to take Dante's place as the core of our Savior, I will oblige. After all, it is what you were made for. And that is not all." As he waved his hands, Nero began to feel something being pulled from his body. Only when it phased through the Savior's grip was it revealed to be the katana that he acquired from the lab, something that Dante recognized.

"Wait… is that…?" Dante looked in shock.

"It's not Vergil's sword!" Natsu told him as he tried to punch his way free from the ground. "It's just a copy he made!"

Sanctus took the Masayoshi in his hands as it glowed a faint blue, and he looked with pure ecstasy. "When your blood and this sword are combined, we will be able to proceed to the final stage of our ultimate goal!"

Just then, the large group consisting of Erza, Gray, Lady, Happy, Trish, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, Panther-Lily, Lisanna, Modeus, Romeo, Warren, Dan, Sugarboy, and Samuel had arrived on the roof top of the facility, seeing everything that was happening. But before any of them could make a move, a golden streak flew through the air, gunning straight for Sanctus.

Credo appeared in his Angelo form, slicing at Sanctus before turning to his trapped friends. "Nero! Coco! RUN!"

*PIERCE!*

Everyone gasped in shock; while Nero, Coco, Dan, Samuel, and Sugarboy felt their pupils shrink as they saw the Masayoshi run clean through Credo's Angelo form.

"CREDO!" Nero screamed.

Sanctus looked in disappointment as Credo reverted to his human form, the katana piercing through his stomach. "You have betrayed us. Why?"

Despite the agony he was in, Credo reached to grab Sanctus by the arms as he tried to yank the katana back through. Credo glared at his former leader before responding.

"I served… the dream of a world… you spoke of…. The Savior you preached of… But… not at the cost… of billions of innocent lives…" He stuttered. "And not only that… you manipulated Nero… Coco… Mary… Samuel… Dan…. Sugarboy… allied yourself with heinous criminals… and used my sister, Kyrie, who has… nothing to do with this. And that… is beyond forgiveness…!"

Sanctus plunged the Masayoshi in deeper, twisting it even as he looked more annoyed than anything else. "Love? For a sibling? For friends? How foolish." He pulled the katana out and watched Credo fall from the Savior's head. "All that is needed… is absolute power!"

However, Credo didn't fall very far as Happy quickly flew in to catch him. "I got em!"

Sanctus raised only a slight eyebrow, even as his lower body was engulfed by green slime, being controlled by Sugarboy, who glared at Sanctus with tear-filled eyes. Samuel then flew straight at him, shifting to his battle form as he drew his blades.

"SANCTUS!" Samuel called out in rage, tears flowing from his eyes as he tried to bring his blades down on him, only for an invisible barrier to block Samuel's attack and free himself from Sugarboy's slime. Sanctus then swung the Masayoshi to send a sharp wave at the warrior-Exceed, cutting him deeply along the chest and sending him flying back as he reverted to normal and fall, only to be caught by Lily.

"YOU'RE GONNA PAY!" Dan, who's eyes were also full of tears of rage, called out as he tried to attack from the other side, but Sanctus swung the Masayoshi again. "You idiot! My Ricochet can reflect…!" However, the slash actually cut through the shield, and most of Dan's armor, causing him to fall with a look of shock and horror on his face, but Carla quickly flew to catch him.

"You pathetic fools. This sword was made after one that can separate entire dimensions!" Sanctus said in a tone like he was scolding disobedient children. "Your cheap tricks will not work on me."

Immediately, everyone from Fairy Tail went on the attack. Erza quipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor to send a hail of swords, Trish and Lady fired their respective guns charged with lightning and Steel Devil Slayer magic, Gray fired from his ice-make bazooka, Gajeel and Wendy unleashed their respective breath attacks alongside Lisanna in her Dragon Take-Over. Modeus let loose a Chaotic Moon attack from his own sword, and even Romeo threw a series of purple fireballs.

All the attacks struck the Savior, creating a large explosion that shook up the whole area. However, when the dust cleared, it didn't even have a single scratch, much to their surprise.

"None of you can stop it now! And with the absorption of a Son of Sparda, the Savior will be completed!" Sanctus declared as Nero began to feel himself being absorbed deeper into the Savior's grasp, though he was able to free his Devil Bringer arm, he felt himself sinking deeper and deeper.

'A Son of Sparda?!' Erza thought in surprise. While this revelation was a shocking one, there was no more time for surprise. Everything else can wait right now. However, once she saw Nero's demonic arm, an idea came to mind as she turned towards her comrades.

"Gray! Gajeel! Throw him your Devil Arms!" She told them. "It may help give him a fighting chance!"

No time to disagree, they both nodded as they took out the demonic briefcase and armor-set respectively. "Hey, Nero!" Gajeel called out to him. "Catch!" He and Gray threw the two Devil Arms as Nero instinctively tried to reach for them.

For a brief moment, his hand began to glow a bright blue, as did the two Devil Arms before they transformed into bright orbs, which then shot toward and were absorbed into Nero's Devil Bringer just before he was completely absorbed but made sure to give the middle finger to Sanctus.

"At last….! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Sanctus began to laugh maniacally as the Savior's massive form began to rise, shaking up the entire building and most of the surrounding area. "THE SAVIOR IS COMPLETE! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! HA, HA, HA, HA!"

Sanctus evil laugh echoed through the sky as the Savior hovered below the dark clouds. A massive, brilliant, and almost complete, halo formed at the Savior's back to provide it with flight. And while Sanctus appeared gleeful, everyone else below could only look in shock and/or terror. Their job just became a whole lot harder.

Done.

And so begins the final battle of the Order of the Sword arc. On the positive side, Mira and the Thunder Legion have defeated Racer; while the rest of their friends and allies have destroyed the remaining three Hellgates, securing the Devil Arms that powered them. However, the bad news is, the Savior is now complete as Nero has now been absorbed into it. But, the heroes were able to give him Gilgamesh and Pandora, thinking it could give him a fighting chance. Yep, in this story, Nero is going to wield the canon DMC4 Devil Arms.

Oh, one thing to note from the Hellgate Erza and her team were at, the demon guarding it is modeled after Dagon from "Darksiders Genesis", but I renamed him Krakken because the name Dagon was taken by one of the toad-demons in DMC4. But other than the name change, he's pretty much the same boss.

Also, Erza now has a Devil Arm, which has manifested itself in the form of her armor, like all the others she wields. It is called Armadura Diabla (the last part is Spanish for female devil). This idea came from my friend 'altajir95', so credit for it goes to him, as does the design of the armor.
Look it up on my Deviantart profile page. I literally just posted it.

Our heroes are now united in Fortuna and are ready to take the battle against Sanctus and the remainder of the Neo Oracion Seis, but Credo has fallen in battle, as per the canon. That was something I did not want to change. As sad as Credo's fate is, it's still cool to see him die trying to save his friends and loved ones. That is an honorable end right there and I will not change it.

I hope you guys are prepared for the epic final battles to come. Can Fairy Tail and their allies prevail against the Savior? Will they be able to save Nero, Lucy, and Kyrie? Find out next time on Fairy May Cry!