章節 236: The Night Falls

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

November, x784.

"I wonder how those quests Fonzie and Ur took are going." Cana asked while sipping from a mug of ale in the Fairy Tail guild hall.

"Ur's quest must be right in the swing of things." Sun replied. "I mean, she left yesterday, after all."

"Sun's probably right." Elicia replied with a smile. "As for Fonzie, he only left this morning, And since he has to go to the southernmost part of Fiore, He'll probably start some time tomorrow."

"Indeed." Erza said with a nod. "Still, I have no doubt that they will return victorious."

"Yeah, they are two of the strongest wizards in the guild." Levy said, agreeing with Erza's statement.

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked with a bit of worry in her tone. "I don't' know much about those two that Alfonzo was going to capture, but Ur is facing the Oración Seis. From what I've heard, all of them are strong enough to take on an entire guild by themselves."

"You don't need to worry so much, Lucy." Elicia said with a smile. "Ur is definitely strong enough to do the same. On top of that, she took Ultear, Natsu, and Gray with her, too. And Ultear is an S-Class while Natsu and Gray are both really strong, as strong as S-Class wizards. They just haven't passed the Promotion Exam yet."

Meanwhile, sitting at another table while trying to gain as much information about the three wizards she calls her soul mates as she could, Juvia was biting her thumb nail in worry.

'Oh, my sweet soul mates, please come back safely.' Juvia thought to herself while listening to the others talk about the ongoing alliance quests. 'Juvia will be here to congratulate you once you return.'

As Juvia's thoughts ran through her head, her face reddened due to the images that congratulating Ur, Gray, and Ultear provoked in her imagination. At the same time, the sound of boiling water could be heard from nearby.

"Well, anyone who looks hard enough can find some information about the Oración Seis." Alzack said while cutting a steak. "But do any of you know about the guys Alfonzo is going after?"

With that, everyone at the table fell silent. The information about a couple of scientists would not be as wide-spread like that of the Oración Seis. In fact, the only person in the guild, including Makarov, that had an idea about exactly what Orochimaru and Mayuri Kurotsuchi are capable of would be Elicia, due to her meta knowledge.

'I doubt Fonzie would have an issue with Mayuri and Orochimaru.' Elicia thought while plastering an overexaggerated look of confusion on her face. 'I mean, unless something about them is really different, Fonzie should know what to expect. Still, I wonder what kind of difference thee will be with Mayuri. I mean, he's not just a soul this time.'

Meanwhile, with is question not receiving an answer, Alzack decided to ask a different question.

"Do you know who from the other guilds our guys will be working with?" Alzack asked. "I mean, Ur's group will be teaming up with Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Cait Shelter While Alfonzo will be teaming up with Quatro Cerberus and Mermaid Heel."

"That's a good question." Bisca asked while smiling at Alzack. A moment later, however, when she made eye contact with him, they both looked away with blushes on their faces.

'Seriously, those two just need to start dating already.' Everyone at the table thought simultaneously.

"I'm not sure about the rest, but I bet Karen and Ichiya will be there from Blue Pegasus." Elicia said with a wry smile.

"Why's that?" Jet asked, trying to seem uninterested.

"Because Karen is infatuated with Lici." Lucy said with a giggle. "And there's a chance she could have gone on the quest for a cance to meet her."

"And as for Ichiya…" Erza said while shivering slightly. "He's Blue Pegasus' ace. Even if he is hard to deal with."

Simultaneously, all the female wizards that had met Ichiya in the past shivered as well as they nodded their heads strongly in agreement.

"Jura Neekis will also probably be there as the ace of Lamia Scale." Droy added, not noticing the abnormality with the ladies. "And considering the fact that he's one of the Ten Wizard Saints, the quest should go a lot smoother."

"And what about Cait Shelter?" Sun asked. "I've never even heard of that guild before."

In response, everyone shook their heads, indicating that they had no idea what to expect from such an unknown guild. Elicia, on the other hand, was thinking about what she knew.

'If nothing changed from the canon, Jura should be with Lyon and Sherry.' Elicia thought to herself. 'And since Karen will probably be going, that takes out at least one member of the Trimens. Sorano, or Angel, will also go, too. I mean, she did become an S-Class wizard after joining Blue Pegasus. But that makes me wonder, who will be the sixth member of the Oración Seis without her. Oh, and I can't forget about that little cutey pie, Wendy. Ooh~~~! She's so adorable, I wish Ur had picked me for her team.'

"As for Fonzie's quest." Cana said, ending the awkward silence. "I bet that drunk asshole, Bacchus, will be there. Since he'll probably be thinking the same as Karen, hoping that Lici will be there as well."

"Yeah, it will probably be him and one of his tag-a-longs." Bisca replied with a nod. "But what about Mermaid Heel? I didn't even know they had an S-Class. I mean, that girl, Kagura, is pretty strong, but she's only sixteen, right?"

"Yeah, she's pretty strong." Sun said. "I ran into her once on a quest. And she uses [Gravity Magic]. Before spending time in the gravity rooms, I would have had a hard time if I had to fight against her."

"Even so, she's not S-Class yet, is she?" Levy asked curiously.

"I don't' think so." Elicia replied. "I'm actually not sure who will show up, either."

'I wonder if they will be accompanied by some crossovers from the franchises Mayuri and Orochimaru came from, Bleach and Naruto.' Elicia thought to herself. 'But there are so many people who could show up if that's the case. I kinda wish I went along with Fonzie, now.'

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Worth Woodsea.

"Did you just say that you're Brain's son?" Ultear asked with a frown on her face. "If so, maybe I should make you suffer so that Brain can have a taste of what he did to us."

As she spoke, Ultear flared her magic power to its limit. As a result, the city's streets as well as the nearby buildings began to crack. Ur and Midnight, however, seemed to be unaffected.

"Calm down, Tear." Ur said, patting her daughter on the shoulder. "Even if you want to get revenge, you shouldn't let it consume you."

'Even if I kinda did the same thing when I first saw Brain.' Ur said with a sheepish internal smile.

"But I don't' mind leaving him to you." Ur continued. "And since Sorano had Hibiki relay what all the members of the Oración Seis can do after she woke up, you shouldn't have a problem dealing with him, right?"

Taking a deep breath, Ultear forcefully calmed herself down.

"*Sigh* Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem." Ultear said with a nod.

"So, she really did turn traitor." Midnight said disinterestedly. "Considering her personality, I kind of expected her to be playing at being a double agent. Then, again, she really might be. We'll just have to see how complete your information about my magic is. Not that it will make much of a difference in the end."

"You talk too much." Ultear said as she took a step forward while making her casting gesture. "[Ice-Make: Rozen Krone]."

In the next instant, an ice rose grew from the ground beneath Midnight. Like last time, however, its growth distorted , leaving Midnight untouched.

"Tch! Fine, if that won't work, then what about this?" Ultear asked, making her casting gesture again. "Ice-Make: Lance]."

This time, a number of ice spears were generated in front of Ultear that rapidly grew towards Midnight. Unlike with Ultear's last spell, however, Midnight was forced to dodge most of them.

'So, the fact that he can only distort one thing at a time was true.' Ultear thought to herself.

"[Spiral Pain]." Midnight chanted as he swept his right hand at Ultear with is index finger extended.

At the same time, Ultear leapt away from where she stood. Though it seemed as if nothing happened, Ultear, through her [Magic Power Detection] could see the space where she once stood being distorted severely.

'So, she was right about that, too.' Ultear thought to herself as she made her casting gesture once again while charging at Midnight.

"[Ice-Make: Claws]." Ultear chanted as she dodged another one of Midnight's [Spiral Pain] spells.

"So, she really did tell you everything." Midnight said, still with an impassive expression on his face. A moment later, however, his expression morphed into a malicious grin. "Still, What good will that do if you can't hit me with your magic?"

Midnight's words, in most cases, would not be all that boastful. With his unique magic, [Reflect Shield], or [Reflector], however, he could reflect, distort, or deflect all magics aimed at him, within reason, of course. And as if to prove his words correct, Once Ultear closed the distance and thrust her ice claw clad right hand at his chest, the ice making up her claw began to distort. As an after effect, it also started to twist around Ultear's outstretched hand.

Quickly dispelling the claw on her right hand, so it wouldn't end up as a pile of mangled flesh, Ultear raked her left claw at Midnight's face.

"Stubborn, aren't you?" Midnight said with a sneer as he watched the incoming ice claw begin to distort as well.

Before it could distort too much, however, Ultear dispelled the [Ice Claw] on her left hand. However, she did not stop her swinging left arm. Instead, she clenched her fingers into a fist as she followed through.

*Bang!*

As a result, Ultear landed a left hook on Midnight's right jaw. The force behind this punch was so great that Midnight was sent flying to his left before crashing into the ground and rolling into the nearest wall.

'And just like Sorano said, that weird [Reflector Magic] only works on magic and magic items.' Ultear thought as she glanced back to where her mother was standing. When she did, she pouted at what she saw. 'Tch! She's already gone inside the palace. *Sigh* But she was right, I get too angry whenever I see that bastard. So, I really hope you make him pay, Mom.'

Meanwhile, as Ultear let her thoughts drift away from the fight, Midnight, with a large, purple bruise on the right side of his face and blood leaking from between his lips, slowly stood up. A moment later, he wiped at the wet sensation on his mouth and chin. And when he saw that his fingers were now dyed red, his eyes widened. Then, he began to laugh hysterically.

"What's wrong?" Ultear asked in a mocking tone. "Did I hit you too hard? Are you gonna go cry to your daddy?"

Hearing Ultear's mocking words, Midnight's laughter came to a stop immediately. Then, he glared at her with a malice filled gaze before he opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could say a word, however, Ultear leapt from where she stood. A moment later, a clean gash appeared on the street. Then, she was forced to dodge continuously as gashes appeared in all the areas where she previously stood.

"impossible." Midnight said with a scowl as he continued to send invisible attacks in Ultear's direction. "How could you possibly dodge my [Invisible Scythe]?"

As he said, the attacks Ultear was dodging were an application of Midnight's [Reflector Magic]. By distorting the air and sending it at a target, Midnight could cut his enemies without them even knowing where the attacks originated from.

Unfortunately for midnight, however, most of the members of Fairy Tail knew Alfonzo's [Magic Power Detection] to some degree. As a result, they could see, or rather sense, the magic power that was distorting the air used for his attacks.

Meanwhile, without answering Midnight's question, Ultear, after reaching a certain point in the plaza outside the palace, threw a fierce uppercut at seemingly empty space.

"Ugh!" Midnight grunted in pain.

A moment later, the midnight standing by the wall flickered out of existence. At the same time, another Midnight, with his head snapped back after Ultear's uppercut, blurred into view in front of Ultear.

'How is this possible?' Midnight asked himself with his face distorted in disbelief. 'She saw through my illusion? That should be impossible. Even if she knows about them, [Nightmare] doesn't leave any traces.'

"I bet you're wondering how I knew where you are, right?" Ultear said as she clenched her hands behind Midnight's head. "Well, that's a secret."

With a smile on her face, Ultear pulled Midnight's head downward as she raised her left knee.

*Bang!*

Once again, Midnight's head was snapped back as his body was forced to straighten by the force of Ultear's knee strike. Deciding that wasn't enough, Ultear spun on her right heel. Then, with her left leg, she swept Midnight's legs out from under him with enough force that his body lay parallel to the ground before falling.

Before Midnight could hit the ground, however, Ultear wrapped her hands around his right ankle. Then, using the momentum from her spin, she threw Midnight down the street, away from the palace.

Creating an ice path under her feet, Ultear propelled herself towards Midnight. Knowing that his Reflector Shield] would react instinctively, Ultear did not even considering casting a spell on him. Instead, she created a ramp at the end of her ice path before it would be influenced by Midnight's magic, and sent herself into the air.

Midnight, on the other hand, was too disoriented after taking that knee to the face and being sent flying to realize that Ultear was incoming once again. So, when Ultear's left heel slammed into his abdomen, his eyes opened wide as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Then, for the next forty-five seconds, Ultear rained blows down on Midnight's defenseless frame.

Meanwhile, while being beaten viciously, Midnight could only think about what he had always wanted ever since he was kidnapped to become a slave at the Tower of Heaven.

'The only thing I ever wanted was to find a place where I could get a good night's sleep.' Midnight, or rather Macbeth, thought to himself while losing consciousness thanks to Ultear's onslaught. 'Why is something like that so hard to find?'

Eventually, when she had had enough, Ultear looked over her handy work.

With blood leaking from his nose and mouth as well as cuts and bruises all over his head and torso, Ultear nodded her head in satisfaction after seeing the state she left the unconscious Midnight in with her assault.

"*Sigh* Though it still bothers me that I didn't get a chance to make Brain pay with my own hands, I feel a lot better after working off some of this excess negative energy." Ultear said to herself as she pulled a pair of anti-magic cuffs from the inside of her cloak. "Still, I wonder if I can watch Mom kick his ass if I hurry into the palace."

Like that, Ultear slapped the cuffs on Midnight's wrists. Then, just before she could start moving towards the palace, a wall near the top floor exploded outward. At the same time, the figure of a blue-haired man came flying out of the newly created hole in the palace.

"I thought Brain and Jellal were working together." Ultear muttered as she took on her casting posture. "Maybe not… Or maybe Mom did it? No, if it was her, the air would be much colder. Oh well, whatever, I'll capture him first before asking him what happened."