How quickly the tables turned. It wasn't long before Kyouka was cuffed, standing in front of an angered Erza, Natsu, Lisanna, and Angel. Natsu and Lisanna were admittedly a little unnerved by what they deemed as an unusual anger on Erza's face. "I think it's about time to return the favor…"
"Why is she so upset…?" Lisanna whispered to the others, though they were unable to come up with an answer.
"I can assume something." Angel said with a glare. "Those demons are foul creatures…and if they treated her any better than they treated me…then I would be upset too."
"Precisely, Angel." Erza's lips curled and twitched. Right now, Erza was operating off pure spite and vitriol for what Kyouka did to her. "Now then…" Bringing her blade up, she held it to Kyouka's neck, that smile curving into a frown. "You're going to tell us everything YOU know. Starting with Face. How do we shut it off!?"
"Hah…." Even in this situation, Kyouka couldn't help but chuckle mockingly. All it served to do was annoy Erza even further, and she was already barely managing to hold herself together after such humiliating torture. "I don't see why you humans are so adamant in stopping us…we're simply trying to awaken our master and return to Lord Zeref…is that truly so much to ask…?"
"It becomes a problem when you endanger the lives of humans and the wellbeing of magic." Erza responded. "I don't care what it is you're trying to accomplish, you've hurt plenty of people by this point. I'm not going to ask you again…how do you stop Face?"
Letting out a defeated sigh, Kyouka responded; "I suppose that answer to that is really quite simple. You could try to destroy it…but it's already too late to try. The countdown is nearly over and it would take far too long for anyone to find its location. Suffice to say, even if I told you, it would change not a single thing in the grand scheme of things."
"Don't underestimate us!" Natsu shouted with a grin, taking Kyouka's statement as more of a challenge than anything else. "We'll crush Face and your entire building once and for all!"
"My my…humans are so arrogant, just as I predicted. That's what makes you so fun to toy with…" Kyouka licked her lips slowly.
"Enough of your needless chatter. Next question." Erza was not having any of it right now. "What did you do to Cynthia and where is she right now?"
"Do you mean Rose? We found her body and decided to revive her. It's as simple as that, really. Why?" Kyouka quirked a brow while staring up at Erza. That grin on her lips slowly widened and another soft chuckle escaped her. "Oh…it's very ironic when I think about it. That girl is truly a treat to this plan. She's been with us for only a month or so now, and she's fit right it. When I see your faces, I now see why Marde-sama ordered me to tell her to do that…"
"What are you talking about!?" Lisanna clenched a hand into a tight fist while glaring at Kyouka. "Tell us where is she…!"
In the midst of this interrogation, Angel couldn't help but notice Kyouka's attitude. She was very…unconcerned about the situation despite being cuffed. Her abilities should've been sealed, right…? Then why did Angel feel so uneasy…? …That's why. She recalled the encounter with Arc and remembered what it was that made Demons a different breed than human mages. "Those cuffs are…!"
Before Angel had the opportunity to finish, Kyouka broke free from the magic sealing cuffs with ease and aimed her claws at Erza's chest. Erza managed to defend against the blow with the full blade of her sword, although she did slide back slightly. "Agh…!"
"Those cuffs seal magic! Curse power is unaffected by them!" Kyouka grinned widely as she tried to push Erza even further back. "Now then Erza, shall we have a little more fun!? I wasn't quite done with you! Your screams of pain fill my ears with pleasure!"
"Erza..!" Lisanna reached out to help before withdrawing her hand.
"I can handle this!" Erza spoke with a disgruntled voice. "Go meet up with the others…and find Mira…!"
"Leave that to me…!" Lisanna nodded and quickly darted off in search of her sister. As for Natsu, he was going to catch up on all the action he was missing! And Angel…she had an agenda of her own to take care of…but she did start by following behind Lisanna.
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"Do you really think you'll be able to stand against me for more than a few minutes? You've already shortened your life span by stepping into this building…though I would be more than happy to end it now. You're just a simple copy mage…" Marde commented while resting his fist in his palm, staring at Luke while waiting for an answer.
"You didn't hear me, did you?" Luke narrowed his eyes at Marde before a wide smirk curved onto his lips. "I'm not just some opening act. I'm here to finish you….even a copycat such as myself can learn new tricks!" The magical aura Luke was letting out caused the throne room to tremble and Marde's brow to quirk. It wasn't long before a gray aura exploded from around Luke to give birth to his new appearance: bright green spiky hair, green eyes, and blue, inhumane scales that crawled up his ride side all the way to his face. By using the power given to him by Desdemona and Ophelia, Luke now had access to a new form: Chaos Unison. "Heh…"
Marde sensed the familiar presence from Luke's magical aura. Now his interest was truly taken and he actually stood up from his throne, keeping the book of E.N.D snug within one arm. "So…she's still around I see…and to think she'd pass off even the slightest drop of power to a lowly insect like yourself. Very well…I will allow you to entertain me for a few moments. The moment I get bored is the moment I dispose of you. I want to see what this power of yours can do, human."
"Now I've got your attention?" With a gray aura radiating off of Luke's body, he faced the King of Hades with a widening smirk. "Good. Because I'll only need a few minutes to pull this off."
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"BAAAH…." Lamy let out the heaviest of sighs while staring at Mirajane, who was still unconscious within the healing tube. "This is taking forever…! You should be ready by now…" At this rate, Lamy was going to miss all of the action…or maybe not, considering Reiss, Tyson, and Saraya stumbled into Hell's Core.
"What is this place…?" Tyson questioned while looking around.
"OOOH!" Lamy's eyes sparkled and she hurried up to the trio of Eclipse rookies, staring at the males with intrigue. "Oh…tell me…does your guild have any hotties in it?" She asked Reiss while looking him over.
"Huh!?" What a random question to be asking! Reiss blinked a few times before pointing at himself. "Well I think you're looking at one right here, for your information."
Lamy continued to stare at Reiss before pulling back and shaking her head. "No…no, I don't think so."
"HA!" Tyson couldn't help but laugh. "Not even little Bo Peeps' lost sheep finds you attractive!"
"That's not funny!" Reiss shouted.
"Uh…" Saraya tried to break up the argument while pointing at Mira. "I think that's a person in there…should we do something about that…?"
"Oh! Thanks for reminding me!" Lamy snapped her fingers and went back to the panel controlling Mirajane's tube. Reiss tried to reach out and grab her but his hand slipped once making the slightly contact and it only left him confused. "This one is taking too long…I'm just going to do what I did with Rose and increase the volume of demonic cells entering her body…this should up that evil factor…add a touch of this…remove that and….!" Lamy pressed a button and the tube containing Mira exploded…earlier than the little lamb was expecting it to! Lifting her head up, Lamy stared at Mira who luckily had one of the tentacles covering her due to her lack of clothing while her hair covered her eyes. The presence Mira gave off had the Eclipse rookies shaking in their boots. "Fwahaha…! It was a success…I think!"
"…D-Do you think we can take her…?" Reiss questioned the others. It was Mira and if they really had to fight her, the chances didn't look so good with even the three of them together.
"I dunno…" Tyson admitted with a silent gulp.
"Now, my little evil butterfly!" Lamy pointed at the three rookies while her annoying laugh. "Kill them all! Slaughter them! Smear their remains all along the floor so I can have a good laugh!" Nope. Nothing. Mira only turned in Lamy's direction. "Huh…? Didn't you hear me…!? Or do I need to repeat myself!?"
"I would love for you to repeat yourself." Mira's voice had that sickeningly sweet threatening tone to it. "I really want to know what it was you did to my little Cynthia."
"…EEEK!" Lamy's eyes nearly buldged out of their sockets. "Wait….! How did you!? I put demon particles in you!"
"I'm already a demon." Mira responded. "So really…all you did was rejuvenate me. Thank you for that, I haven't felt this good in a while. Now then…you're going to tell me what happened with Cynthia." Mira began to reach out for the cowering Lamy, only for her body to stop short. It wasn't just her, but the other three mages in the room also felt all control leave their body. "Wha…?"
"It's quite a sad story to be honest." Sayla spoke while walking into the scene. "A girl enamored with her family…left alone to die, abandoned by them when she cared for them most. Now, reborn as a demon, she seeks revenge against those who left her to die. Tragic, yet not every story has a happy ending…"
Mirajane narrowed her eyes at Sayla and the atmosphere in the room grew heavy with tension. "You…"
"Oh…?" Sayla quirked a brow at Mira. "Oh…you remind me of the little boy and girl whom I encountered earlier. They should both be dead by now…but there was a minor setback. Although I don't believe it matters…your stories will all be over by the time the sun sets."
"Oh…?" Mira's lips curled into a grin akin to her old persona. Behind that sweet smile held malicious intentions. "So not only do you mess with Cynthia…but you go after my siblings too…? I'm afraid I cannot let either of these actions go without some punishment…"
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Lucy, Alex, Wendy, and Carla arrived within the data center of Tartarus. Wendy's nose led them there and once they were in the room she continued to sniff around, groaning from small irritation. "Ah…! She was just in here; it's all over this room…!" Wendy stated while glancing around the room rapidly.
"Did we miss her!?" Alex also felt that mild sense of irritation. "Cynthia? Are you here!?"
While Alex and Wendy were looking for Cynthia, Lucy's thoughts were running away. The events of the rumbling castle were not lost on her. The magic power released felt too familiar... "All of that shaking earlier. That was the Celestial Spirit King's power. But who summoned him? Yukino isn't here..."
Wendy kept looking around. Eventually, her nose took her to the computer to where she glanced up at the screen. "H-Huh…?" Eyes widened as she stared face to face with the Face countdown. Only 20 minutes remained until the Magic Pulse Bomb went off!
"No way…! Only 20 minutes…?" Lucy's eyes widened as she stared at the timer. "Agh…we still have no way of stopping it…" Right after Lucy spoke a blade composed of pure darkness soared across the room, aiming to pierce through her side. Luckily the celestial mage was fast enough to evade the blade and it struck the wall behind her before dispersing. "Huh…!?"
"Who threw that…!?" Carla asked while peering down the opposing entryway where the blade came from.
"What was that!?" Alex was in a battle ready position.
"Oh…" Taya sauntered from the entryway with her hands on her hips. She seemed a little disappointed at the sight of the two Fairies before her. "You weren't who I was hoping to see…what a shame."
"Wha…" Lucy couldn't believe who she was seeing! "Wait…aren't you supposed to be dead…?"
"Dead? Far from it." Taya scoffed at the question while pulling her hair behind her back. "I had an epiphany: I don't like you humans. Why should I continue to assist them when I don't like them…? It's not really my place."
"You reek of Cynthia's scent." Wendy narrowed her eyes. "Where is she?"
"Do you mean Rose?" Taya questioned. "Oh, I believe you're the last person she wants to see right now. But if you must know…you actually just missed her. She was told to ensure Face activated without a hitch and she's gone in that direction as we speak."
"…!" Wendy's jaw dropped and she took a glance at Lucy, Alex and Carla. They were all on the same page. "I have to go stop her…! Alex, we have to go!"
Alex shook her head. "I can help you get out, but I can't help you get there. I'd only slow you and Carla down...you have to go to her."
"I..." Wendy blinked a few times. Alex gave her a serious look.
"Save my sister, please." Alex pleaded with a gentle smile.
"I don't think I can allow that to happen so easily…" Tayakata started to speak, however Lucy stood in her way. "Oh…?"
"Go Wendy, Carla! I'll keep her busy!" Lucy said while changing into her Stardress: Cancer, now dual wielding a pair of swords. With nods, Carla picked up Wendy and proceeded to fly towards Face's location to stop Cynthia from doing anything rash, while Alex followed behind. If a demon attempted to attack them, Alex made sure to put them down. The moment Wendy and Carla left, Taya was chuckling quietly, though Lucy overheard it. "Huh…? What's so funny?"
.
.
As Wendy and Carla flew off, they suddenly came to a halt against their will while in the air. "Huh!?" Wendy gasped.
"I can't move!? What happened!?" Carla was trying her best, but she wasn't going anywhere. When they both looked down, they could see Sora standing on the ground, looking up at them. Sora bound Carla and Wendy's joined shadow to the ground, preventing them from moving.
"You...You're Sora...!" Wendy's eyes widened. This was the worst timing...!
"You're not going to bother Rose-chan." Sora said while glaring up at the two of them. She knew exactly where they were going and planned to stop them "She doesn't want to see you."
"But I need to see her!" Wendy objected. "Sora, please let us go! Cynthia is hurting and I..."
"She's hurting because of you!" Sora shouted. Wendy was surprised at the vitriol in Sora's voice. It sounded like Sora really cared about Cynthia. However, Sora's attempts at intervention were cut short as Alex fulfilled her promise, shoulder tackling the pink haired demon. Sora tumbled to the side, her control over Carla and Wendy's shadows fading. "Ow...!"
"Go!" Alex shouted. Carla didn't need to be told twice, and flew off into the distance. As she did, Alex turned her attention to Sora.
"Who are you!?" Sora stood up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "How dare you stop Sora from stopping those evil Fairies from hurting Rose anymore!"
"Who am I?" Alex's red hair wavered in the wind, and she stared at Sora. This was their first ever meeting, but they had a common bond between them. "I'm Cynthia's sister. And the only thing I'm doing...is making sure she gets back where she belongs." Cynthia's sister vs. Rose's friend...
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"You never did let me finish…" Taya spoke with a knowing grin. "Rose isn't the only one heading towards Face at the moment. There is another Demon Gate lying in wait…Ezel. We predicted that one of your Fairies would try to stop Face, so that was why Rose was sent. She already hates you all to your very core and she wouldn't go down without a fight…but in the event she is defeated, Ezel is lying in wait to kill the poor soul who fought Rose. How ironic that the little girl is going…since that's Rose's mission: to kill Wendy, as it were."
Such information naturally came as a shock to the blonde. Lucy needed a second to take everything in before taking a firm stance. "I don't believe Wendy will fail…we won't fail either!" Admittedly…she was a little nervous thinking about it. The fate of the world's magic rested on Wendy's shoulders…and on her bond with Cynthia. She was silently praying that the two of them would be okay and manage to stop Face in time.
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Next Time: Against The Clock.