"Ngh…" Cynthia slowly began to wake up. Her head was throbbing and she could barely remember a single thing. When her vision returned she saw that she was in an unfamiliar location. "What the heck…? Where am I….?"
"You idiot!" Rose shouted from Cynthia's head.
"Hey easy!" Cynthia grumbled. "My head hurts and you're not making it hurt any less!"
"You're still an idiot. You got caught." Rose huffed while forcefully turning Cynthia's head around.
"How…? I don't remember anything…" Cynthia rubbed her head with a groan.
"It was that crazy guy. It matched the description Kagura gave a few days ago." Rose clarified. "You, Wendy, Panther, Carla, and Levy were confronted by him in Levy's house and he only wanted you. Otherwise he'd hurt the other two, and like the soft wimp you are you conceded way too quickly."
[Flashback]
Wendy, Cynthia, Carla, Pantherlily, and Levy were heading back to Levy's house so she could decipher the runes that Freed left behind. The guild was a little too nosy for her to focus and the extra protection felt necessary. As they sat in Levy's house, Cynthia was rocking her head back and forth. "C'mon...wake up already."
"Do you think you can decipher it?" Pantherlily asked while looking towards Levy. She was hyper focused, but she nodded.
"Yes. I'm getting a lot already. Freed used the last of his strength to give us this information, so I'm going to make sure that I uncover it all!" Levy said with determination.
Eventually, Cynthia's expression shifted. Rose was practically nudged awake and groaned. "Ugh, what do you want!? I'm trying to sleep here...!"
'You're awake!" Wendy turned to Rose immediately. "Please, Rose! You have to tell us where you went last night."
"It's very important. We might be able to track down the enemy and learn what they want." Carla added, staring at Rose. "Please tell us what happened."
The strange part is that they weren't demanding. Rose felt the pleading in their words, which made her suck her teeth. She didn't have any idea what was going on, but she turned her head and crossed her arms. "I was instructed by Marde-s...Marde to follow the scent of a girl."
"Wait, isn't that the leader of Tartarus? I thought Gray said he was turned into a book..?" Pantherlily turned to Rose.
"You really thought you could keep a demon down? ...Is what I'd like to say, but I don't know the details." Rose shrugged. "Anyway...I followed a girl with green hair to Sabertooth...I bet she was the one that attacked Gray."
"What happened?" Wendy asked. Rose didn't answer.
"Rose..." Carla narrowed her gaze.
"...I don't know what happened." Rose grumbled. "She walked into the building and it collapsed in the same second. She walked out with Yukino and that big guy not even two seconds later." The way Rose said it made everyone's eyes widen. "it wasn't speed, it was something else..."
"What a terrifying person..." Pantherlily crossed his arms. If that was true, it was no wonder Gray and Juvia lost to such an opponent.
"I kept my distance. I was told not to exchange." Rose closed her eyes. "I still have her scent. I know exactly where she is."
"You do..?" Levy looked up at Rose. At the same time, she was just about finished with some cruical information that Freed left behind. She pulled up a map of Fiore and pointed to it. "Is it...somewhere in this direction?"
"...Yeah." Rose nodded. "Somewhere around there. Cynthia's nose should work. Go ask her." Rose didn't feel liek talking anymore. So, she left. It was so sudden, because Cynthia shook her head as if she just woke up.
"Ugh...I hate when she doesn't give me a warning." Cynthia groaned. But she was aware of the conversation. "I heard what she said. Oh, wait..."
"I smell someone else..." Wendy turned her head to the door. There was a knock on it. Before anyone could even move...
Kize kicked the door down, a mad grin on his face. "Knock knock! Who's there?"
[End Flashback.]
"…Sounds like something I'd do…" Cynthia laughed nervously. "But wait…that means they can track me down right!? I can smell Juvia nearby too! And…Yukino? What's going on here…?
"Do what you want." Rose's tone sounded as though she were giving a nonchalant shrug. "Wait…no, don't do that. I don't know what they want with you, but it affects me too. This is my body too and I don't need you mugging it up anymore!"
"This was my body first…!" Cynthia lifted her eyes up to her forehead. "Don't make me come in there!"
"Don't make me come out there!" Rose shouted through Cynthia's voice. After a few moments of a continuous back and forth between the two halves, Desdemona walked into the room. "Oh shit, quiet!"
Cynthia gulped as she laid eyes on Desdemona. The aura she got from the woman sent a minor chill down her spine. "H-Hello there…"
"Is that a bruise on your forehead? I told Kize to handle you with care." Des shook her head while letting out a small sigh. "I'm so sorry dear. I trust you are unharmed otherwise Cynthia? Or should I say Rose?"
Cynthia's eyes widened as Des easily saw through her and her other self. Even Rose was pretty stunned at this. "…Okay, this woman is giving ME a bad vibe. I can't tell if she wants to keep us safe or kill us slowly."
"I have no intentions of harming either of you." Des offered that sweet motherly smile of hers.
"SHE HEARD ME!?" Rose gasped, which cased Des to chuckle softly.
"What adorable children. Of course I heard you. Your voice is quite loud." Des only continued to send that chill down Cynthia's spine.
"U-Uhm…I can smell my friends here…" Cynthia began nervously. The more she thought about it the more scents she was able to pick up; Leon, Luke… "W-What are they doing here?"
"If you're referring to Juvia and Yukino, they are simply guests." Des waved her hand dismissively. "As for the others, they're going to serve the same purpose as you."
"H-Huh…?" Cynthia didn't like the sound of this.
"Tell me dear…you're familiar with Exerion, right? Well…that's the name they 'officially' called it, but it's really just Etherion." Des continued on while holding out a sample of Etherion. "Does this look familiar to you?"
Seeing that blue rock made Cynthia swallow hard out of fear. "I-I…uhm…"
"According to my records on you…it appears that your body burns through Etherion extremely slow. Is this because of your past history with your father?" Des slowly brought the rock closer while Cynthia attempted to back away.
"H-How do you know about that…who are you…?!" Cynthia was starting to panic. She was so frightened by Des that she didn't even think to try and throw a punch; something deep in her core told her that it was a futile effort. Even Rose, who would've resorted to violence in this situation, was shaken and wouldn't try such a thing.
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Mii pushed the doors open to Fairy Tail, panting softly since she had to take a sprint to get there. "How late is it?"
"Ah, Mii-chan." Zelos waved. "You're later than usual."
"That's not the problem here!" Mii then pointed at Natsu. "Have you seen Lucy!?"
"Huh…?" Natsu tilted his head. "No…she told Happy and I to leave, remember? So we did. You were there. You're weird…" Natsu scratched his head while staring at Happy, who just gave a shrug.
"Is something the matter?" Erza asked.
"Yeah, she's missing." Mii said calmly. The serious vibe she was putting down didn't sit well with her, but her message got across nonetheless.
"What do you mean she's missing?" Natsu tilted his head. "You were there with her? Didn't she leave her room after she kicked Happy and I out?" If the answer Natsu got wasn't yes, there were about to be some very serious problems rising.
"She never came out of her room. I assume she just wanted to sleep things off…but when I went to wake her up…she was just gone." Mii huffed. "Now…maybe I'm overacting and she just needed some fresh air…but…"
Before Mii could finish, Wendy, Levy, Lily, and Carla rushed into the guild. "A-Ah…I knew it!" Levy stomped her foot on the ground.
"What's wrong now?" Quite honestly, Gray was getting tired of all these bad happenings.
"That guy who attacked Mermaid Heel got the drop on us…" Lily said bitterly. "When we woke up, Cynthia wasn't there."
"You gotta be kiddin…" Gray sucked his teeth in annoyance. "That's it…I've had enough of these bastards! Levy, you got through the encryption right!?"
"Y-Yeah…!" Levy nodded. "Rose told us the general direction and it matches with what Freed left behind!"
"And I can smell Cynthia!" Wendy responded. "So we should hurry and…!" Before Wendy could finish a gigantic pillar of vermillion flame erupted several miles away. Wendy's eyes widened at those flames since she could identify them in a heartbeat. "O-Oh no…that…!"
.
.
Zalen adjusted his glasses while looking around the White Eclipse building. "Huh…that's odd. Anyone seen Luke or Roxy around here lately?"
"They probably went on a job or something…." Cygnus said with a dismissive wave.
"I would've heard about that…" Micaiah remarked with a small frown. "He's been skipping out on our training sessions lately with this disappearance." She would've gone on, but that pillar of crimson flame off in the distance really did a good job in capturing everyone's attention. "W-Whoa…a fireworks show…?"
"…That's not a firework." Sidney mumbled. He already knew what those flames represented. It was now that the bad omen he felt the entire time was coming to pass. "Rugal." This was the first time the ace called upon the new member. Rugal appeared instantly.
"Yes...?" Admittedly, Rugal was a little nervous about being called upon by the mighty Sidney Castle.
"I have a job for you. Your powers are about to become extremely vital."
.
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The Etherion forcefully injected in Cynthia's body was making her go mad. Her body was already tearing itself apart due to Rose, so this situation wasn't helping her at all. Cynthia's body was forcefully put into Dragon Force to try and cope with the output of the flames, but it wasn't helping. "I-It hurts…please stop this…I…I don't want to go back to that…!" By that she meant Fiore's End. Her body burned Etherion very slowly and with her massive power supply unhinged she was having trouble controlling herself. "W-Wendy! Help me…!"
"So…her power is as they say." Des smiled softly. She knew Cynthia was perfect for her silent, yet powerful declaration. "Oda, she goes to Bosco. Allow her to cause as much havoc as possible."
"Yes." The assassin nodded before using his magic to teleport Cynthia to Bosco. Cynthia was much stronger than she was prior to the first Fiore's End incident, so the damage she was capable of causing was that much more threatening.
"You got Cynthia too!? You monster!" Leon shouted while pushing forward to try and attack Oda, but it was then that Orsino inserted Etherion into his being. Leon stopped immediately as the substance caused a surge of power within his own body. A roar came from the male and acid exploded from around its body, completely melting and liquefying the ground.
"This is the one capable of defeating Daityas, even though he had a little help. I want to see what he can do when he isn't holding himself back. Joya." Des waved her hand. With that command Orsino took the liberty of teleporting Leon Shi to Seven, where his massive power was going to be a cause for incredible devastation.
"You bastards…!" Kanade clenched her hands into fists. "If you inject that shit into my body I'll be sure to punch the hell out of you for it!" She then took a swing at Ophelia, but even with her massive physical strength, Ophelia stopped it with one hand. Even the half-breed couldn't completely hold her ground and she did slide back a little bit.
"You're a beefy one. I think you'd do great Iceberg." Ophelia used her free hand to inject the Etherion into Kanade. The purplenette's eyes widened as the substance vastly increased her magic power beyond her own potential. Before Kanade began swinging, she was promptly sent to Iceberg where only destruction awaited.
"These winds…they speak ominously…" Satoshi grumbled, only to be stabbed in the back with Etherion by Kize.
"SHUT UP OLD MAN! HAHA!" Kize laughed as Satoshi also had some struggle keeping the Etherion within his body in check.
"The Pergrande Kingdom is a good choice for someone of your caliber. I'm sure their king would love to flex his might against you with his own weapon of mass destruction." Des gave a wave of her hand, issuing yet another command to her new toy. Satoshi sprouted wings from his back as he began to take into his dragon form, flying off into the distance. "That leaves…Luke, Roxanne…and Audrey, doesn't it?"
"What shall we do with them? They're still unconscious." Oda questioned.
"They will awaken to their own power soon enough. Then we will merely allow them to run amok as they see fit. They won't get some warning this time…" Des had a sinister smile on her her plan was finally put into motion. She put a lot of time and effort into this plot, while the general populace would only see this as some strange, random attack.
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.
"What on earth…?" Emeraude could feel the vibrations of the large powers gathered being unleashed all the way from the capital. It was quite the shocking feeling and looking out the window only gave a foreboding feeling. "What could be happening? I've never felt a surge such as this before…"
"What are we going to do!?" Hisui was worried and it showed. "Do we contact the Magic Council and ask for their assistance?"
"That's the most sensible option yes. It doesn't look like the people are in immediate danger but I will not allow them to be harmed." Emeraude then glanced at Arcadios. "Mobilized the Palace Guard in the meantime, are we clear?"
Arcadios was perhaps one the few who had his doubts about Emeraude. But if he were to speak aloud about such suspicions there'd be no doubt he'd be arrested for treason. This is why he usually obeyed her demands and now was no exception. "Yes, my Queen." Arcadios nodded and went off to find as many troops as he could.
"Just when I was preparing my own little scheme…why do all of these quiet threats wish to make themselves known before I act? It's quite bothersome…" Emeraude let out a heavy sigh before beginning to walk off. There was something she needed to look into during this time.
"…" Hisui remained silent. She recognized the crimson flames from Cynthia. She knew that girl was going through a lot at the moment and she was only praying that she was safe…she was also praying for the safety of everyone else. "Fairy Tail…what are you going to do? Please save us again…"
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"So…a plot has begun to destroy Ishgar, huh?" Ashnard sat comfortably in his throne as the report was given to him. "It always stems from Fiore…such a bothersome country."
"Sir, what should we do!? This seems extremely dangerous! There's a large reading coming directly for us!" The solider reported, quaking in fear.
Ashnard shifted his weight in the chair. "A large reading? Ready Heracles. Patty is on standby. If this is Fiore's way of declaring war, then I'll be more than happy to oblige with my own show of force. I don't care what they send at us, we will shoot it down, am I clear on this?"
"Y-Yes my lord!" The solider stood up and bowed, rounding up the people needed to get Heracles on the move again.
Ashnard sighed while relaxing in his seat. It was then that Nercon came around and smiled. "My King, such bothersome matters that country always drags our wellbeing into. We should really do something about them. I've been reading up on their females and there are a number of ripe ones…"
"In due time, my dear…" Ashnard chuckled. "For now, I want them to sit in peace…well…that's after this incident. If they wish to show their might then I will show ours as well. I wonder how Prince Waltz intends on handling the situation in Joya. I've heard a rather dangerous mage has been sent to his country. But I suppose he'll be fine…Seven is not a country to underestimate after all." As Ashnard spoke, Heracles' movements began to shake the very country of Pergrande. "They mobilized quickly. Just as I expected from my military."
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Des licked her lips while putting some finishing touches on Orga's body. She strung his unconscious body up while covering his face in lipstick. "There! Now you'll look all nice and pretty for when your friends finally arrive." Desdemona was clearly enjoying herself already. Her declaration was made and now all she had to do was wait for the impending ruin. "So…Ishgar. How will you respond to this? Will you down in the sea of crimson? Will you burn into ash? Or will you turn into a desolate wasteland, painted with the blood and remains of your citizens? Will it spread to Alvarez and the rest of the world? Or will you find some way to stop it all. I want to see it so badly…the world burning at my feet. There are Kings and there are Gods…but I stand above all of them."
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Next Time: Ruin.