Ice Dragon Slayer/Chapter 37: Black Wizard

"...I'm telling you, you should have seen the look on Kumonga's face when I swung him by his webs! Gahahahaha! It was so priceless!"
The other Earth Defenders laughed a little when Varan had finally finished his story about how he and Mothra Lea had helped Cana and Lucy defeat Freed and Bickslow, as well as Kumonga and Kamoebas. The others shared their stories about what had happened with their human partners throughout the first round.
King Caesar told them about he, Gray and Loke defeated Mest, Wendy and Rodan in combat, causing the others to laugh when they began to imagine how their resident pterosaur would try to get back at the guardian beast. Gorosaurus talked about how bored Gajeel and Baragon were while they made their way threw the Serenity Route, so much so that they tried to alleviate their boredom by fighting. He and Levy were able to tolerate with it, but after about half an hour they finally had enough. Gorosaurus explained he actually had to knock the two out and carry them the rest of the way in order to finally get some peace and quiet, causing Baragon to growl a little.
The Defenders were stunned when Zilla and Anguirus told them about how Elfman and Evergreen tricked Mirajane into thinking the two Fairy Tail mages were getting married, throwing the She-Devil off her game and allowing the two to get the drop on her. Finally, Godzilla told the other kaiju about how he and Natsu battled Gildarts. They were surprised to learn that the S-Class Mage actually passed them despite the fact that they were unable to defeat him. However, the King of the Monsters made sure to leave out the part where Gildarts shrunk him down into multiple chibi bodies.
Anguirus glanced at Varan with a smirk. "I'm sure Kumonga is going to be pretty sour about you beating him."
The tan colored kaiju sniggered. "Let him try. Besides, I'm sure he'll get over it eventually."
"Don't be so sure about that." Gorosaurus said. "Kumonga is just as into that whole payback thing as Rodan."
Baragon chuckled. "It's true you know."
Zilla shook her head slowly. "I still can't believe that Elfman and Evergreen pulled that stunt with Mira. I would've never expected them to pull something like that off."
Caesar nodded. "True. Though I must admit, it seems like it was quite a clever trick." He then glanced around at their surroundings. "I'm still surprised that Manda and Leo were defeated. Knowing her, I was sure she would have won."
Varan nodded. "I hear ya. She's probably not too happy about losing."
Gorosaurus shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about that. Manda isn't the type who would hold a grudge over something like that. I'm sure she's fine."
Mothra Lea, who was crawling next to Godzilla, let out a small, sad chirp. She was a little upset that her brother didn't make it through the first round. She had hoped that it would have been more fun if they both had made it so they could compete against each other.
Godzilla noticed the young larva was feeling down and could already tell what she was upset about. He reached down and patted her head gently. "Don't worry about Leo, I'm sure he's feeling fine. You and I both know he's a lot tougher than he looks." He gave her a soft smile. "Know lets keep mov-"
He froze.
The other kaiju stopped and turned to their leader, who looked to be frozen to where he stood. Anguirus stepped forward. "Godzilla, are you alright?"
Godzilla was silent for what felt like an eternity. When he did answer his old friend, his voice was barely above a whisper. "Do you...feel that...?"
As soon as he said that, the other kaiju's eyes widened. They did feel something. Something really bad.
King Caesar spoke in a shaky voice. "Wha...what is that?
"It doesn't feel like anything I've felt before." Baragon said.
Mothra Lea literally started shaking in fear when she felt what the others were feeling. This energy felt really bad. It felt evil.
It felt like death.
Godzilla snapped out of his daze and turned to his allies. "We need to find the others right now! Everyone split up and find the others!"
His friends obeyed and began to split off into the forest to find the wizards who were still out there. Lea was about to join the search as well, but Godzilla stopped her. "Lea, I need you to head to the camp and warn the others there about what's going on. Can you do that?"
The daughter of Mothra nodded and continued her trek through the dense forest to get back to the camp. Godzilla turned and sprinted as fast as his large legs could carry him in search of anyone. But he could only think about one thing.
'Natsu...Lucy...Please be safe!'
----Natsu continued to glare at the strange man before him, who had tears streaming down his face. The Salamander allowed Elfman and Evergreen to get back up, but still kept his gaze towards the black haired man.
Soon, Happy appeared and called to his friend. "Natsu?! What's going on?! All of the tree's just died all of the sudden!"
"Not just the tree, everything's withered." Evergreen commented.
"Except...us?" Elfman whispered.
Natsu growled at the stranger. "Look pal, this island is off limits to anyone who's not in the Fairy Tail guild! Keep your freaky death cloud out of our trial!"
The man lowered head, causing his eyes to be hidden behind his hair as he spoke softly. "You've grown...so much..." Natsu cocked an eye in confusion as he continued. "I've missed you...Natsu..."
Everyone blanched when Natsu suddenly rushed forward and punched the man square in the face, knocking him off his feet. "Tell me who you are or I'll hit harder!"
Evergreen looked on in shock. "Cheap shot!"
"He cold-cocked him!" Elfman said as his eyes widened with slight fear.
"That's how he does things." Happy deadpanned.
The man, however, smiled as he tumbled through the air, his eyes still hidden behind his hair. 'I see...Nothings changed, has it...? Not at all...' He managed to reach down and placed his hand to the ground, causing him to land perfectly on his feet again.
'You still can't break me.'
"You better tell me who you are bub! I won't ask again!" Natsu yelled.
The man slowly started to stand up straight again, albeit rather shakily. '...When will this mindless destruction end? I don't want to kill anymore. But the one person who can stop me still isn't strong enough...' He rose back up to full height, but Natsu noticed he was still crying. '...How long must I wait?'
Suddenly, his eyes widened as a black, mist-like energy began to pore out form his body. He grabbed his head as he felt another sudden pain rush into it. "Run! Now!" he shouted.
"That's the same cloud as earlier!" Elfman shouted.
"It drains the life force of everything it touches!" Evergreen pointed out.
Natsu's eyes widened and he quickly turned to the others. "Get outta here right now!"
The man grunted in pain as the black mist changed into the same black cloud as before and swirled around his body. The Salamander turned around to get as far away from the man as possible, but another wave shot out from the cloud and engulfed him.
Happy shot towards his friend. "NO!"
Elfman grabbed the Exceed as he and Evergreen kept running. "Don't be stupid! You go back there and you'll get yourself killed!"
They quickly dove for cover as another black wave soared over their heads, causing the already dead tree's around them to dissolve into dust.
Natsu coughed as the dust cleared and he slowly stood up. "Well that sucked."
"Your alive!" Happy exclaimed.
Natsu looked around. "What about him? It looked like he lost control."
The group glanced around and noticed that the stranger was nowhere to be found.
"He's...gone." Evergreen whispered as she eyed all the dead trees.
Happy looked over Natsu and noticed something was off. "Natsu! Your scarf...it turned black!"
Natsu's eyes widened as he looked down at the scaly scarf still wrapped around his neck. It was black! He reached up a clenched at the scarf with a growl. "He'll pay for this! Next time I see that punk he's getting a fiery fist to the face!"
While the Salamander continued to grimace over his scarf, Happy watched him with concern. 'Igneel gave him that scarf. Maybe it changed color because it absorbed the magic from the blast.'
----The man had managed to get some distance between himself and the Fairy Tail wizards and was resting against a large tree. After a few moments of resting in the tree's shade, he looked up and reached out towards the blue sky above.
'How much longer? When will this world stop rejecting me?'
----On a large cliff overlooking the vast ocean, Mest's eyes widened as he shot his head skyward. Wendy was on her knees and was admiring some flowers while Rodan was still out cold and resting against a rock. A dark, sadistic smile crossed the wizards face.
'This magic power...There's no doubt about it! It's HIM! He must be somewhere on the island!'
----Elsewhere:
A familiar red, white and black vestal soared through the skies above. The Grimoire Heart Airship slowly, yet steadily made it's way towards Tenrou Island. Inside, a familiar purple haired woman watched as an image of Tenrou Island appeared within her crystal ball which she balanced on her arm.
Ultear eyed the image before turning to a large, familiar throne. "We've finally found our quarry, and he appears to be in a state of rest. I believe the time is upon us, Master Hades."
Hades grinned. "I shall finally meet the man who showed the world the true potential of the black arts. His horde of demons created chaos and death tolls without equal. Catastrophe is his daily bread. In all the history of the magic world, he is the true champion of wickedness...The Black Wizard, Zeref."
Hades stood up on his throne as six of the Seven Kin of Purgatory appeared before him. "The day is upon us. The Abyss of Sorcery is within our grasp. It's time to get to work."
"Tenrou Island will run red with the blood of Fairy Tail!"
----In another section of the airship, SpaceGodzilla awoke to the feeling of a foreign energy several miles from their current location. While it was very faint, he could tell it was unlike anything he had felt in this world yet.
He looked up towards the door to his chamber. "Gabara!"
Within a few seconds, the door opened and the toad-like kaiju entered the room slowly. "You called boss?"
SpaceGodzilla stood up. "I did. I trust you also felt the strange energy just now?"
"Y-yeah." Gabara nodded shakily. "I never felt anything like it. You think it has something to do with this 'Zeref' guy these humans keep going on about?"
"I do." SpaceGodzilla replied. "But I also sense that they are also on the island. I can feel it."
Gabara's eyes widened. "You mean the Earth Defenders?"
SpaceGodzilla nodded. "Correct. Send Dagahra and Ganimes to investigate. As I have just been informed, Hades has sent two of his forces there to weed out any trouble, though they may not realize what sort of challenge will await them."
The toad kaiju nodded. "Right. I'll let them know right away boss." With that, he slipped down the hall as SpaceGodzilla exited his chamber and walked down the long, dark hallway towards the observation deck.
A smile crept it's way on the crystalline beasts face. 'The time is almost near brother...let's see if you and your new allies will be able to survive what is about to come.'
----Back on Tenrou Island:
Natsu rose to his feet as he continued to eye his scarf with disdain. "Where did he go? He has no idea how bad he's gonna get pounded when I get my hands on him!"
"Sorry..." Happy said sadly.
Natsu then started stomping on the ground angrily. "I mean, how does he expect me to walk around in public with a black scarf and a black vest, huh?!"
Elfman and Evergreen sweat-dropped in unison. "Wow...I never thought Natsu was that concerned about fashion." the big man murmured.
"Me neither." Evergreen replied.
"So what do we do about the trial?" Happy asked.
Evergreen hummed in thought. "With Mr. Doom and Gloom running amok in the woods, I think it should be put on the back burner."
"Your probably right." the Exceed replied.
"Ain't no way I'm ditching the trial!" Natsu shouted angrily.
"A real man would conquer both at the same time!" Elfman roared. The two suddenly found themselves staring each other down like angry dogs.
"If I quit, I'd be breaking my promise to Gildarts!" the Salamander yelled.
"As Mirajane's brother, it's my duty to win!" the Take Over mage retorted. "I'll take down anyone who gets in my way!"
Happy ignored the bickering duo and looked around at the dead forest around them. "We can't just ignore that creepy tree killing guy. He was crying when he attacked, like he didn't want to do it." He then turned around to yell to his friend. "You need to stop making friends with psycho's Natsu!"
"That freak ain't no friend of mine!" the Dragon Slayer shouted back.
Happy continued. "Still, if you ask me, he didn't seem hostile."
"He could've fooled me." Evergreen remarked.
"Enough!" Natsu roared. "We got a trial to conquer!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy replied as he and the Salamander made their way down a dirt path.
Elfman grinned. "He's right! Let's go Evergreen!"
"When I need a shirtless bozo to boss me around I'll let you know!" she yelled angrily.
----Mest continued to stare off into space with his sadistic grin. 'He really is on this island. Should I return and report now? No.. I'll wait until I have a little more definitive information first.'
----Back on the Grimoire Heart Airship:
A large group of Grimoire Heart's foot soldiers were assembled in the observation room of the airship. All of them were dressed in black robes with purple hoods over their heads. Their faces were covered by white masks with their guilds logo on the front. Six of the Seven Kin, Ultear, Caprico, Rustyrose, Kain Hikaru, and Meredy, stood in front of them as Master Hades made his announcement.
"This is a momentous day indeed. If all goes as planned, we will see the return of Zeref, the Black Wizard." Hades clenched his fist. "The ambitions of Grimoire Heart will no longer be fantasy. Now that we've gathered all the necessary keys, we will awaken that which sleeps within Zeref."
"Master, you're overlooking the opposition." Ultear said as she raised her crystal orb in her hand. "Our plans could still come crash down around us should Fairy Tail decide to intervene. They defeated one of the Balam Alliances most powerful guilds, the Oración Seis. The strongest among them are currently gathered on Tenrou Island. Awakening Zeref won't be a simple task."
"Enough with all the wimpy talk!" Zancrow interrupted. "That sad bunch of weaklings shouldn't be called a guild. I've got more power in one finger!" Suddenly, black flames engulfed has body as he started laughing rambunctiously. "When I'm done with them, they'll be ash beneath my boot!"
Ultear gave the long, blond haired teen a serious look. "Beware of overconfidence Zancrow."
"Never underestimate ones opponent." the human-like figure of a white goat with black sunglasses said. "Even so, I faith we will win this battle."
Rustyrose adjusted his glasses. "I couldn't agree more Caprico."
"I- uhh...well...yeah..." Kain stuttered.
"At last we will unleash our ultimate desires!" the silver haired man said dramatically. "Our war drums beat against their cages and cry for violence. We shall dance the waltz of death to their rhythm."
Kain stated sweating profusely as he shot his hand in the air. "Uhhh...Ifeelthesameway!" he shouted so quickly, no one could decipher.
"No one understands you, tubby!" Zancrow yelled.
Meredy stepped forward, speaking in her monotone voice. "Kain Hikaru's statement is deciphered as follows: 'I feel the same way.' Is that correct?"
"Yep! That's it!" the chubby man replied happily.
The pink haired girl then gestured to Rustyrose. "Rustyrose's previous statements' deciphered: Desires means wants. War drums refers to hearts."
Ultear smiled at the young girl. "Meredy, will you be joining us?"
"In battle?" She paused for a moment. "...Yes."
Hades slowly rose from his throne and smiled. "I am delighted. No one will be able withstand our might. Not even Fairy Tail. Their strongest wizards will soon know the power of true darkness, the eminence that lurks within the abyss. For we are Grimoire Heart. We've walked the path of demons and will force this world into the darkness. Tonight, these 'demons' will bathe Tenrou Island in the blood of faeries."
A dark aura began to emit from his body as he gave a vile grin. "I'm looking forward to the agony on Makarov's face. Our show down against the Fairy Tail guild starts now!"
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
The large group of soldiers stepped aside as everyone turned their attention to the end of the room. SpaceGodzilla stood with his back turned to the humans as he gazed out of the large window in front of him.
He spoke again, but continued to stare out of the window. "However, I believe Ultear speaks truth, especially with the Earth Defenders now among Fairy Tails ranks. But even still, I have every confidence we will come out victorious."
"Are you certain your forces are enough to deal with them?" Caprico asked.
"Oh, aren't we?!" another announced.
The Earth Conquerors, aside from Dagahra and Ganimes, stepped out from the shadows and approached their leader. Gabara spoke again. "I think it's obvious we're more than enough to take out those low lives! We could all take em down with our hands tied!"
"Don't try making it sound so easy." Megaguirus warned. "It may just cost us our victory."
"Like hell it will!" Gaira roared. "Let me take the first strike at them! I'll rip them limb from limb!"
Sanda stepped towards the green kaiju. "Brother, please don't jump to violence so quickly." he pleaded. "I mean, don't you think we could just talk to them?"
Gaira looked at Sanda like he was crazy. "Talk? Talk?!" He suddenly punched his brother square in the face, knocking him to the ground. "You always gotta be the peacemaker, don't you Sanda?! Your always trying to talk us out of hurting the humans! Well guess what, that ain't gonna happen!"
"You shouldn't be so hard on your brother Gaira." Battra interfered. "He's only speaking out his mind."
Gaira turned to the black moth and laughed. "Ha! Yeah right! Say's the guy who murdered his own sister in cold- gah!"
He was interrupted when Battra slammed into him and pinned the green gargantuan to the ground, his crown of horns and glowing red eyes sparking with energy. "You dare speak of her you filthy ogre?!"
"That's enough Battra." SpaceGodzilla said calmly.
After a few seconds, the black moth released Gaira before giving off one last growl. Sanda tried to help his brother to his feet, but the green gargantuan just shook him off. Gezora chuckled darkly. "Hehehehe. You really did it now, didn't you Gaira?" Gaira just snarled in response.
Titanosaurs shook his head. "I can't believe I signed up with this unruly bunch..." he muttered.
Ebirah turned to the red dinosaur with a snicker. "Awww. What's wrong Titanosaurus? You starting to regret that you joined us? I bet you wish you could've stayed with the Earth Defenders, don't you?"
"No." Titanosaurus replied easily. "I have absolutely no intention of going back to that sorry bunch of cowards."
Kamacuras stepped forward. "What is the plan to deal with the Earth Defenders master?"
SpaceGodzilla turned around to face his allies. "Simple. When the time comes, we along with Grimoire Heart will launch our assault on the island. From their, we will pick off the Earth Defenders one by one." He then shot them a serious look. "However, you are to leave Godzilla to me. I wish to face him myself."
The others nodded. Then, SpaceGodzilla remembered something and turned to Hades. "I believe that you have already sent one of your Seven Kin to the island, is that correct?"
Hades nodded. "Yes. I sent one of my strongest wizards to be precise. What of it?"
SpaceGodzilla grinned and turned back to his team. He eyed them for a moment before coming to a decision.
"Destoroyah!"
The other Conquerors immediately backed away as the massive, crimson red kaiju pushed her way to the front before stopping just a foot or two from the crystalline beast. SpaceGodzilla looked at one his strongest members in the eyes. "I have a task for you. But first, tell me..."
"Do you still thirst for Earth Defender blood?"
Destroyah hissed with glee.
----Back on Tenrou Island:
"If I were the guilds founding master, where would I be buried?" Lucy asked herself as she and Cana rested on the side of a dirt path.
Cana stared at her with anticipation. "Anything coming to you?"
"Not at all." Lucy replied, feeling a little disappointed. "I mean, how are we supposed to find this thing without any clues? My brain is going on strike here."
The Card mage looked skyward. "I'm not convinced we have been given clues." Lucy looked at her with slight confusion as she continued. "The old man may be a sadist with his tests, but in the four times I've been through this trial there's never been a task that was impossible. You get me? I have a feeling he may have subtly given us all the clues we need to find this thing." She paused for a moment. "Then again, I could be giving him too much credit. What do you think?"
"It does make sense." Lucy said. "First round tested strength, this one must test intellect. So...maybe it's a riddle. What if Master told us how to find it while he was explaining the rules of the second round?"
"I don't follow you." Cana replied.
"Like the word 'grave.'" the blonde Celestial mage suggested. "We assume it refers to some visible hole in the ground or head stone, but it could also be used as imagery to suggest the end of someones life."
Cana thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, that's true."
"Remember how he said he'd be waiting for us at the grave?" Lucy asked. "What if he's gonna die and he wants us to find his body?"
Cana sweat dropped. "That makes no sense. Your over-analyzing. Just say it like one of your 'Lucyism's.'" She then clapped her hands together and tried out her best Lucy impression. "'When you die, you become a shooting star!' Something like that?"
Now it was Lucy's turn to sweat drop. "Uhh...Do I really come off as the type of person who would say something so ditzy and corny? I hope the whole guild doesn't think I'm that way..."
Suddenly, her eyes widened as she gasped in realization. "It's so simple!" she exclaimed as she shot to her feet. "Ditzy or not, this blonde bombshell just figured out where the grave is hidden!"
"For real?!" Cana asked.
The two then raced down the path were Lucy knew were the grave would. However, what they didn't realize was that Gray and Loke were listening in on their conversation the entire time.
Loke smirked. "I told you she'd figure it out."
"It's good luck we ran into them." Gray said.
"Now we just follow them and clear the round." the Lion Spirit said as he watched the girls race down the path.
Gray smiled. "Hate to do this to ya Lucy, but this whole trial's about using what you've got and I wouldn't be showing off my S-Class potential if I didn't use you!"
Loke chuckled as he adjusted his glasses. "Sounds like a relationship to me."
"Enough philosophy, their getting away!" the Ice mage yelled as he raced after Lucy and Cana.
"Right behind ya." Loke replied.
----Back at Fairy Tail's makeshift base, Lisanna handed her sister a small bowl of stew. "Okay, I think It's ready for a taste test."
"Don't mind if I do." Mira said as she took the bowl. She took a small sip and smiled. "It's delicious!"
Lisanna beamed at her sister. "Really? You think so?"
"I'm proud of you Lisanna." Mira said happily. "I guess your time in Edolas was well spent."
"I learned a few things from the other Mira. She was a great cook too." the youngest Strauss sibling said as she continued to stir the pot full of stew.
Mira looked down with a soft smile. "It's hard to believe it's not a dream. Having you come back into our lives has been a miracle. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm gonna blink and you'll be gone again..."
Lisanna smiled reassuringly. "I'm not going anywhere."
The Shobijin, who where overhearing the sisters conversation, felt a sudden pang of sadness from hearing the two sisters words and frowned. This immediately caught Mira and Lisanna's attention. "Is something wrong?" the younger sister asked with concern.
They looked up at them with sad smiles. "It's nothing. It is just...the way you two care for each other...it reminds us of a time when Mothra and her brother were once just as close."
Mira's eyes slightly widened. "Huh? Are you saying that Mothra and Battra once loved each other?"
The tiny women nodded. "Yes. It was a long time ago, but there was in fact a time when they truly cared for each other. It was back during the time when Battra was known as the Guardian of Terra, while Mothra was known as the Guardian of Mortals."
"What was it like?" Lisanna asked, now finding herself curious about what the supposed 'Rogue Divine Moth' was like before he turned evil.
The two looked at each other and nodded before looking back up at the Strauss sisters. "If you wish to understand our Mothra and Battra, then perhaps it would be best if you learned of their ancestor."
That caught Mira's attention. "Ancestor? You mean...there's been more than one Mothra and Battra?"
"Not exactly." the Shobijin replied. "The first line of their ancestry began during the end of a time known as the Late Cretaceous, long before early humans even came to exist. It was a time when creatures the humans called 'dinosaurs' ruled Terra. Mothra and Battra's ancestor, along with seven other titanic guardians were tasked with the safeguarding of the planet."
They paused and allowed the sisters to let the information sink in before continuing. "Then one day, two incredibly powerful kaiju arrived on Terra in an asteroid impact and began to feast on the life force of the planets local inhabitants, causing a vast majority of the dinosaurs to die off and resulting in a mass extinction."
Lisanna gasped at this. "Two monsters caused that much death?! Who were those kaiju?!"
The Shonijin paused for a moment before speaking again. "...Their names were King Ghidorah and DesGhidorah."
That made the sisters eyes widen in shock. "K-king Ghidorah?! You mean...that huge dragon that fought Godzilla?!" Mira asked in slight fear. She remembered seeing King Ghidorah when she and the others saw Godzilla's memories and how afraid she felt when she saw the humongous, three headed dragon.
The small women nodded. "You are correct Mirajane. The King Ghidorah that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs is the very same one who fought Godzilla in Antarctica."
The Strauss sisters were stunned into silence, so the Shobijin continued. "King Ghidorah, as he is mostly known on our world, had earned his vast reputation because he has been single handedly responsible for the destruction of hundreds, if not thousands, of other inhabited worlds over his time, relying on the life force of those planets inhabitants as a source of food."
They paused again. "Thousands of years ago, it is said that a neighboring planet of Terra known as Venus, which was populated by a highly advanced civilization at the time, was attacked by King Ghidorah and reduced to an uninhabitable wasteland in less than a day. As a result, the few Venusians who survived decided to nickname him 'Venus Hellfire'."
This caused the sisters to slightly shiver in fear, but then Lisanna realized something. "Wait. We already know about King Ghidorah, but who's 'DesGhidorah?'"
"DesGhidorah was a relative of King Ghidorah, and like him, he was incredibly powerful. Many years ago, like Ghidorah, he attacked another neighboring planet of Terra called Mars and turned it into a wasteland before joining King Ghidorah in order to attack Terra." the Shobijin replied.
"However, before the two could finish off the rest of the planets life, Mothra and Battra's ancestor and the seven titanic guardians managed to fight the two off. King Ghidorah barely managed to survive the battle and retreated back into space, but DesGhidorah was eventually defeated and sealed away deep beneath our former home of Infant Island. It was millions of years later that the first civilizations began to arise."
Suddenly, their faces darkened. "But then on that day, around 77,000 years ago, our world was plunged into darkness..."
Mira looked concerned. "What happened?"
"One of the guardians went rogue and caused another mass extinction, nearly eradicating all early humans on the planet before the remaining seven were forced to place a seal on him and banished him into space." the Shobijin replied sadly.
"He...went rogue?" Lisanna asked with shock. "Why?!"
The Shobijin continued to look down sadly. "We do not know why Lisanna. He took the secret with him to his entombment." The then continued with their story. "Eventually, around several thousand years ago, the current Mothra and Battra were born after their ancestor laid their egg before they remaining guardians disappeared. At one point, Battra decided to seal himself away until a time came when he would be needed again. It was then that everything changed."
At first, they looked uncertain if they should continue, but eventually decided to keep talking. "The evil psychic twins, Minette and Mallory, discovered Battra's egg. They believed that if they could control whatever lived within the egg, they would be able to take over the whole world."
They looked down sadly again. "When Battra eventually hatched, he was completely vulnerable to their power and was forced to obey their every command. However, thanks to King Caesar, Minette and Mallory were destroyed and it appeared that Battra was freed. But..."
"But what?" Mira asked with concern again.
"I seems that Battra is still suffering from the long exposure to Minette and Mallory's control and it has caused him to travel down an extremely dark and violent path." the tiny women said. "We fear he may never be able to recover again."
Once the two finally finished their story, the Strauss sisters were completely stunned into silence. Lisanna turned and saw Mothra Leo was sound asleep by the table, completely oblivious to the conversation she and her sister had with the Shobijin.
She felt a wave of sadness wash over her. 'Are they right? Is it really impossible for Battra to recover after being forced to do all of those bad things? Killing Mothra, attacking his own nephew and niece... No! I won't accept that! I'm sure there's still chance for him to be redeemed! I'll find a way, for both Leo and Lea.'
----Levy was on the verge of loosing her mind.
Ever since they had left to search for the First Masters grave, Gajeel hadn't stopped complaining about how bored he was that there wasn't anyone for him to fight. He had managed to take some of his angst out on a few of the islands resident monsters, but even that didn't seem to quench the Iron Dragon Slayers need for a good brawl.
"I don't understand the point of this stupid trial! How does picking a route or finding a grave prove your strength to anyone!" Gajeel growled impatiently as he and Levy walked down a small path.
"Ugh! Would you shut up!" Levy shouted in annoyance.
Unfortunately, Gajeel just ignored her and continued to ramble on. "I only came to this island so I could have a chance to beat up Erza or Salamander! Hell, maybe I could've gotten lucky and could've gone another round with dog breath! Walking through caves and fighting over sized lizards is not my idea of time well spent!"
Finally, Levy stopped and turned to the Dragon Slayer. "Oh, so it wasn't to help me get S-Class?!"
Gajeel cocked a studded eyebrow at her. "Huh? Why're you getting all bent out'a shape short stuff?
"You just said the only reason your here is so you could beat our friends!" Levy said as she glared at him. "You don't seem to care about me at all! I'm right aren't I?!"
Gajeel just grinned at started patting her head playfully. "Awww! Is someone feeling left out? So you wanna get my attention, is that it half pint? In that case, all you gotta do is get strong enough to actually be a challenge for me."
Levy just continued to stare ahead, her eyes trembling. "...What you're saying is I'll never be up to the task...cause I'm too weak..."
Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Not that this ain't fun, but you got more important things to do than get all-gah!"
He was interrupted when Levy smacked him in the face with her red bag, knocking him to the ground before rushing off. "Fine! Who needs you, you iron-hearted jerk!"
Gajeel slumped to the ground, the center of his face completely red from where he had been hit by the bag. "...What just happened?"
Levy raced down the path as fast as she could, never once looking back. 'What's with him?! I was starting to think he was a nice guy until this!' She thought back to when he offered to be her partner for the trials and felt tears beginning to sting her eys. 'But he's not! He's just arrogant and selfish!'
She finally stopped in a clearing when she began to flashback to the time when Gajeel had protected her from Laxus when he had first joined the guild.
'...I hate him.'
She heard some bushes begin to rustle. Suspecting it was Gajeel, she quickly wiped her eyes. "Leave me alon-!"
Her eyes widened when two shadowy figures shot out at her.
The first figure looked to be a human-like, brown goat with a flat nose and a goats beard. He was clad in a set of red samurai-like armor with gold edges, consisting of a tradition breastplate linked to spherical pauldrons. He swung his katana at her, but missed when she fell back in surprise, only managing to cut off her hair tie.
"I don't think these are island critters!" Levy said to herself. She then felt something grab her by both her wrists and turned to see the second figure.
The second assailant resembled a large, anthropomorphic rooster, but with human arms alongside chicken wings. He was dressed in an eastern-looking orange apron with a diamond-shaped drawing on the front, partly covered by a simple cloth belt over the lower part of it. He also wore dark pants that reached down just below his knees, revealing his yellow, chicken-like feet.
The humanoid rooster held Levy by both wrists over her head with just one hand before forcing her to the ground and using his other hand to pin her down. Levy flailed around desperately, but to no avail.
She looked up and saw the goat man raise his katana in the air. "First catch of the day!" he said triumphantly. Levy screamed and closed her eyes as the goat man swung his sword.
But nothing came.
She opened her eyes and her jaw dropped at what she saw.
Gajeel had covered his left arm in iron and blocked the sword while his right arm transformed into an iron club and punched the human rooster square in the beak. The goat man jumped back to get some distance between himself and the Dragon Slayer while the rooster stood up rather groggily before glaring at Black Steel.
"It's tough to keep track of you if you run off on your own kid." Gajeel grunted without looking back at the bluennete.
Levy looked down with disappointment, but what the Iron Dragon said next made her eyes widen.
"Seriously, don't leave my side again."
The Solid Script mage looked up at Gajeel as he continued to stare down the humanoid goat and smiled. She got to her feet and turned so she was back to back with Gajeel as she glared at the human-like rooster.
"So who're your new pals?" Black Steel asked over his shoulder.
"They aren't any friends of mine." Levy replied. She then looked over she shoulder and noticed a gold symbol in the shape of a heart on the chest plate of the goat mans armor. The same symbol was one the right side of the humanoid roosters neck, but purple. Her eyes widened when she recognized the symbol. "Grimoire Heart?! I don't understand why anyone from a dark guild would be here!"
Gajeel smirked. "The old mans more creative than I thought if he made these guys part of the trial."
Levy shook her head. "Master wouldn't do that. My guess is that they snuck onto the island to cause trouble."
"Whatever." Gajeel said as he cracked his knuckles with a fierce grin. "I don't care as long as I get to beat someone up. There's one thing I'm good at and it's cleaning up messes like this. Dealing with the unexpected is an even more important skill than fighting. If you can't adapt, you don't deserve to get to S-Class."
"But there in the most powerful dark guild their is. It's the head of the evil Balam Alliance." Levy protested. "We aren't even allowed to fight them without approval from the council."
The goat man grinned as he let out a laugh. "Gahahahaha! That's the problem with being an official guild! What's the point of joining if you're going to be restricted by rules?!"
"That's no way to fight a war if you ask me!" the human rooster clucked.
"Who are you guys?! What are you doing on Tenrou Island?!" Levy demanded.
The goat man continued to grin fiercely. "We're a couple of passionate hunters looking for the ultimate prey! I'm Yomazu!"
"And I'm his partner, Kawazu!" the rooster added.
Gajeel cocked an eye in suspicion. "What's this 'ultimate prey' your looking for?"
"I'm so glad you asked." Yomazu hissed. He then raised his katana and swung it downwards, causing what looked like a kanji symbol to appear out of thin air. Suddenly, a loud, piercing sound roared out from the symbol, forcing Gajeel and Levy to cover their ears.
Yomazu roared over the deafening sound that continued to pierce the once peaceful silence of Tenrou Island.
"Our prey is every member of Fairy Tail!"
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