Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.
December 15, x784.
"Six teams have moved on to participate in the second part of the S-Class Promotion Exam." Makarov said. "And with this part, we will bring that number down to one."
By now, all the participants had recovered from their earlier battles while the teams who were eliminated were moved to the base camp.
Meanwhile, Makarov was standing in front of the six teams he mentioned with Elicia, Ultear and Mirajane standing behind him, as he explained the rules of the second part of the exam.
"As you all know, this island, Tenrou Island, was the place where our guild, Fairy Tail, was established." Makarov continued. "What you may not know, however, is that the grave of our first master, Mavis Vermillion is also located on this island."
Although some of the participants knew about Mavis Vermillion's grave and some did not, they were all confuse as to why that topic was brought up at this time.
"I can see that you are all confused." Makarov said with a grandfatherly smile on his face. "Well, the objective of this part of the exam is to find the first master's grave. The leader of the team that finds it first will be the newest S-Class wizard of Fairy Tail."
With that, all twelve of the participating wizards narrowed their eyes as they radiated determination.
"The grave is somewhere in this forest. And there are all manner of magical beasts that roam this forest, so be careful." Makarov said as he spread his arms and gestured behind him. "On top of that, Elicia, Mira, and Ultear will be roaming the forest as well. And should they encounter any of the teams, they will attack. Though, they will only be aiming to delay, not disqualify whomever they run into."
Hearing that, the six participating teams looked at the smiling young women behind Makarov warily. While Elicia winked at her guild mates playfully after noticing their stares, and Mirajane wore her usual pleasant smile. Ur smiled sadistically, causing some of the participants to shiver involuntarily, especially Gray and Meredy.
"Now…" Makarov said, drawing the attention back to himself. Then, he reached into his cloak and pulled out an ornate pocket watch. "The time is 5:55 p.m. and the trial will begin at 6. Until then…"
Makarov turned around and looked at the three S-Class wizards upon reaching that point.
"You three should make your way into the forest and prepare." Makarov continued with a smile.
In response, Elicia, Ultear, and Mirajane only nodded before they turned around and ran off into the forest. Then, once the three S-Class wizards were gone, Makarov pointed towards a small table that was set up nearby.
"On that table, there are six signal flares." Makarov said as he turned towards the S-Class candidates once again. "Once any of you find the first master's grave, use the flare to signal the completion of the trial."
Hearing that, the leaders of the six teams, Fried, Juvia, Levy, Cana, Sun, and Gray, made their way over to the table and picked up a flare each. Then, they all returned to their partner's sides.
"You will have a total of six hours to complete the trial." Makarov said once all the teams were together again. "Keep in mind, should no one find the grave in that time, then no one will be promoted to S-Class."
Once again, the participants wore solemn expressions after hearing Makarov's warning.
"And lastly, like the S-Class wizards roaming the forest, the teams are allowed to engage in combat with each other. Though, you all are not restricted to simply delaying your opponents. As if you are able to incapacitate your rivals, they will be disqualified from the exam."
With that, Makarov had explained all the rules of the second part of the Promotion Exam. Now, all there was to do was wait until the clock struck 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, Elicia, Ultear, and Mirajane split up upon entering the forest.
"I'd better go set up near Zeref." Elicia muttered to herself as she leapt from one tree branch to another. "It would be better if no one encountered him in this forest. We don't have Natsu to tank a blow from his [Death Wave, after… all…"
As Elicia reached the end of her sentence, she felt a certain quartet of trouble makers enter the range of her [Magic Power Detection].
"It looks like I talked him up." Elicia muttered with a shrug. "Oh, well. Having him here will help with Grimoire Heart's attack, I guess. Still, I doubt he'll show up in the forest.But I wonder who's gonna end up fighting who."
With that, Elicia continued traveling in Zeref's direction, though she had no intension of getting too close. Although she was strong, stronger than most S-Class wizards on Fiore, she was under no illusion that after only thirteen years of training that she could compete with Zeref, a four hundred year old, immortal dark wizard.
Unbeknownst to Elicia, however, there was another presence floating above the forest looking in a certain direction.
"Precht, why have you come here?" The presence, atransparent female with wavy, pastel-yellow hair that flowed down to her feet, a small ahoge, large, pupiless, green eyes, and wearing a frilly, layered robe with a red ribbon tied I a bow around her neck, asked to no one in particular with dismay in her tone before floating back down into the forest
Meanwhile, as Elicia mentioned, Natsu, Happy, Carla, and Panther Lily had just neared the island after several hours of flight. Despite that, they immediately started searching for anything they could find to indicate the exam's progress.
"We're finally here!" Natsu shouted as Happy carried him over the shore of Tenrou Island.
"I wonder if the exam has already ended." Panther Lily said while looking around the beach.
"Judging by all those craters, I think it has." Happy said.
Looking down at the beach, Natsu, Carla, and Panther Lily saw the aforementioned craters in the sand that had been left by Alfonzo and Laxus' lightning strikes from earlier in the day.
"It looks like the exam this year was pretty intense." Natsu said as his eyes narrowed. "I wonder if anyone has been eliminated already."
While Natsu, Happy, and Panther Lily discussed the possible goings on of the exam, Carla remained silent as she looked for any evidence of what could have happened to Wendy.
"Carla, is everything alright?" Panther Lily asked curiously.
"Everything is fine." Carla replied while shaking her head.
"Worried about Wendy, huh?" Happy asked.
Instead of replying verbally, Carla only nodded her head with a solemn expression.
"Well, I don't think you need to worry." Natsu said while sniffing the air. "She's nearby. And she's with Mest."
Hearing that, Carla's eyes opened wide as she turned her head towards Natsu.
"Where is she?" Carla asked frantically.
"She's over there." Natsu replied while pointing towards a spot on the beach.
Looking in the direction Natsu pointed, Carla saw Mest and Wendy sitting under a palm tree. Then, without hesitation, Carla spread her wings to the fullest and flew towards Wendy at high speed.
"I'll go with her." Panther Lily said as he left to follow Carla.
Meanwhile, Natsu started sniffing the air again as he picked up another sent approaching the island.
"That smell…." Natsu muttered as he looked over his shoulder. "What is---"
Natsu, what's wrong?" Happy asked after Natsu stopped mid-sentence.
Looking back in the same direction as Natsu, Happy could not help but open his eyes wide.
"What is that?" Happy asked in a shocked tone.
"I don't know." Natsu replied while narrowing his eyes. "But I don't like it… It smells dangerous. Come on Happy, let's go check it out."
Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Open Seas.
Meanwhile, on the sea near the island, Lahar, who had been standing at the Magic Council flag ship's bow since they arrived at the spot where they dropped anchor suddenly looked up.
"Is that an airship?" Lahar asked curiously after seeing a black dot on the horizon. Then, he turned his head back towards the rest of the ship as he barked an order. "Someone, get me a pair of binoculars!"
Hearing Lahar's order, the soldiers on the ship's deck looked at each other for a moment before one of them ran into the cabin to retrieve a pair of binoculars per Lahar's orders. Meanwhile, the captain of the flag ship ran over to Lahar after hearing him shout.
"Captain Lahar, is something the matter?" the flag ship's captain asked with concern in his tone.
"Maybe." Lahar replied as he watched the dot on the horizon grow in size.
"Sir!" the soldier who ran off shouted as he returned with a pair of binoculars. "The binoculars you requested."
"Thank you." Lahar replied as he took the binoculars from the soldier.
Quickly looking through the binoculars, Lahar was able to confirm his suspicions. The dot he saw in the distance was indeed an airship.
"That symbol…" Lahar muttered as he inspected the large, black airship that was approaching his location. "It's Grimoire Heart. But what are they doing here? Are they going to attack us?"
"Sir, did you say, Grimoire Heart?" The flag ship's captain asked in a frightened tone.
"Prepare for battle!" Lahar shouted, ignoring the captain's question. "We have a Dark Guild, a member of the Balam Alliance, Grimoire Heart, inbound."
With his voice empowered by magic, Lahar's orders were heard by everyone in the fleet. At first, all the soldiers and members of the Forth Custody Enforcement Unit were surprised. However, due to their years of training, they quickly followed their orders and moved to man their battle stations.
"Report this to the Magic Council, immediately!" Lahar ordered again. "We need orders on how to proceed."
"Yes, sir." The flag ship captain saluted as he ran towards the ship's communications room.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Era.
Though the flag ship captain reported to the Magic Council, the request for orders was brought directly to Org, who was reviewing documents in his office.
"So, they finally arrived." Org muttered to himself. "Good, with this, we should finally be rid of those ruffians from Fairy Tail."
"Sir, what are your orders for the fleet?" A communications officer asked respectfully.
Although this particular communications officer had no issue with Fairy Tail, in fact, his younger sister had been saved years ago when Gildarts defeated Deliora, as no one knew where the demon would strike next, he was trained to follow orders to the letter. So, even though he wanted to give the order to assist Fairy Tail in their inevitable battle against Grimoire Heart, he could not bring himself to do so.
"Order them to stand by." Org replied as he placed the report on his desk. "They are only to act if Doranbolt is in danger. They may also act when they believe the combat to have finished. It should be a good opportunity to bring in the members of Grimoire Heart after they are weakened by Fairy Tail."
Hearing that, the officer's expression turned slightly uncomfortable. Still, he saluted and turned around to carry out his orders.
"Oh, and one more thing." Org said in a solemn tone. "I am the one responsible for this mission. So, do not seek the advice of the other members of the Council without my permission. Is that understood?"
"Sir!" The officer replied with another salute.
A moment later, the officer left Org's office and was on his way to relay the orders. Meanwhile, Org sat back in his chair with a solemn expression. However, as time passed, his expression slowly turned int a smile before he started chuckling which turned into full-blown laughter after a few more seconds.
"Don't hate me, Fairy Tail." Org said after getting his laughter under control. "I'll make sure you'll be remembered as heroes. It's the least I can do for your sacrifice and all the patents we'll receive with your demise."
Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Open Seas.
"Sir, we've received a response from the Council!" The flag ship's captain shouted as he rushed towards Lahar.
"What did they say?' Lahar asked as he continued to watch the Grimoire Heart airship.
"They told us to stand by and only act if Doranbolt is in danger." The captain replied. "We were also ordered to clean up any members of Grimoire Heart after the combat between the two guilds has completed."
Hearing that, Lahar lowered the binoculars and gazed at the captain with a surprised expression on his face. Still, as one raised by the Magic Council, all he could do was follow his orders regardless of how uncomfortable they
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Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.
December 15, x784.
"The second trial begins now!" Makarov announced loudly.
In the next instant, all twelve participating wizards from Fairy Tail rushed into the forest to find Mavis Vermillion's grave in hopes of securing their spot as the next S-Class wizard of Fairy Tail.
"So, they sent us in here with no clues, huh?" Lucy asked as she ran alongside Cana through the forest.
"I don't think we'll need any." Cana replied. "Since we can all use [Magic Power Detection], we shouldn't have any issues finding the grave."
"That's only if there are magic items around it, though." Lucy muttered.
"That's right." Cana replied with a solemn nod. "But did you forget? There's a barrier surrounding this island. And that has to originate from somewhere, right?"
Hearing that, Lucy opened her eyes wide.
"So, you think the first master's grave is where the barrier's origin is?" Lucy asked in an enlightened tone.
"That's right." Cana replied with a nod. "We just need to get to a point where I can stop and scan the forest. Then, I'll be able to pin point the location."
"I just hope the others haven't thought so far ahead." Lucy muttered.
Luckily, Cana was actually the only one that had that train of thought. Meanwhile, the other wizards taking part in the exam were thinking of other landmarks they had seen while approaching the island. Then, there were those like Fried, Bickslow, and Gray who had been to the island before for previous Promotion Exams who thought they had an idea where Mavis' grave might be.
A few minutes later, after distancing themselves from the other candidates and dealing with a few hostile magical beasts, Cana and Lucy came to a stop while Cana closed her eyes to focus on spreading her [Magic Power Detection] as far as she could.
"Let's see… That's the barrier…" Cana muttered as she felt for all the different magic power signatures she could. "And those are the other teams…. There's Lici… And that's Mira… That's Ultear… and that's…."
"Did you find it?" Lucy asked in a hopeful tone.
"I think so." Cana replied. "I found two signatures that are way stronger than any beast on the island that I'm unfamiliar with. While one of them feels really dark and ominous, the other one feels like it's protecting me."
"Then that's probably it!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly.
"That's what I was thinking, too." Cana said as she opened her eyes with a smile. "Now, let's go."
"Yeah!" Lucy cheered happily.
Cana's ability to pinpoint Mavis' grave was actually due to a combination of factors. First, she had come to the island to take part in the S-Class Promotion Exam several times, just like Fried, Bickslow, and Gray.
On top of that, she had spent a lot of time honing the use of her [Magic Power Detection] with Alfonzo, the creator of the technique. And lastly, her desperation had pushed her potential to new heights.
So, with their destination set, Cana pulled three combinations of cards out of her card pouch before slapping them onto her body.
"[Card Magic: Enhancement Cards: Power, Speed, Magic Power Density]." Cana chanted as she grabbed Lucy's arm.
"Not again…" Lucy muttered as she recognized what was about to happen.
Smiling in response, Cana took a step forward, kicking up a large cloud of dust as she raced through the forest in a straight line towards her destination.
"Kya~~~~~~~!" Lucy screamed, the sound of her terror echoing through the forest.
Meanwhile, Natsu and Happy had finally gotten close to the incoming airship.
"Is that a guild symbol?" Natsu asked as he inspected the large, black airship.
"I think so." Happy replied. "But I don't recognize it."
"It doesn't matter who they are." Natsu replied with a scowl. "They're intruding on our guild's holy land."
"Yeah!" Happy shouted in agreement. "Teach them a lesson, Natsu!"
With that, Natsu took a deep breath.
"Hey! Listen up!" Natsu shouted loud enough that Mest, Wendy, Carla, and Panther Lily could hear him from the Tenrou Island's beach. "This is Fairy Tail's holy ground. Turn back or we won't be responsible for what happens!"
Waiting for a few moments, the airship did not stop, slow down, or try to respond to Natsu's warning.
"Fine, don't say I didn't warn you." Natsu said angrily before taking another deep breath as he brought his hands up to his mouth. "[Fire Dragon's Roar]."
With that, Natsu blew a searing hot flame from between his hands at the incoming airship. Still, the air ship did not move to avoid the spell. Instead, a panel opened on the front of the air ship, revealing a young man with long, spiky blond hair, red eyes with concentric circles in his pupils and a psychotic grin that showed his teeth wearing a yellow and dark blue armor that ends in a battle skirt and exposes the right side of his torso and his guild emblem that is located on his chest.
"A fire wizard, huh? Ahahahaha!" The young blond man said with a psychotic laugh. "I wonder how your flames taste."
With that said, the bond man opened his mouth and inhaled all the flames from Natsu's breath attack.
"What the?" Natsu exclaimed in surprise. "Don't tell me, he's a [Fire Dragon Slayer], too."
"Hmph!" The blond man snorted in disdain after swallowing Natsu's spell. "A Dragon Slayer? Don't make me laugh. After all, what's a dragon in front of a god?"
With that, the young man brought his hands to his mouth in a manner similar to Natsu while taking a deep breath.
"[Fire God's Bellow]." The blond man chanted as he blew a stream of black flames that formed a giant fireball towards Natsu and Happy.
"Fire won't work on me, either!" Natsu shouted defiantly before he inhaled the black flames. "Argh~~~~~!"
Unlike wen the blond man did it, however, Natsu felt the heat from the flames burning his insides as the flames he could not consume exploded, sending him and Happy flying back towards the island.
"Natsu, what's wrong?" Happy shouted as he tried to regain control of his flight.
"The flames… they burned… me…?" Natsu muttered in disbelief and pain.
A few moments later, Happy managed to stop before crashing into the rocky area of the island. Though, he was quite concerned for Natsu's well-being.
Meanwhile, back at the base camp, Alfonzo, Laxus, Ur, and Erza all stood up in unison after feeling both Natsu and the blond man's magic power.
"What was that?" Erza asked as she looked in the direction of the strong magic power she just felt. "I think the first one was Natsu, but what was the second one?"
"The first one was definitely Natsu." Laxus replied with a frown.
"And the second one attacked him." Ur replied. "But why is Natsu here in the first place?"
"That doesn't matter." Alfonzo replied, knowing exactly what was going on. "What does matter, however, is the fact that some mother fucker is attacking us."
"Right!" Laxus, Ur, and Erza said in unison.
"And where the hell is Gildarts?" Ur asked with a frown.
"He said he was going back to the ship to have a drink.' Alfonzo replied. "I'll go get him. From what I can feel, we'll need all the help we can get."
Hearing that, the other three nodded before Alfonzo was covered in blue electricity. Then, he rushed off in the direction where the ship was docked.
"I'm sure the old man felt that, too." Laxus muttered. "I wouldn't be surprised if he called an end to the exam soon."
Just as Laxus finished, a flare shot up into the air.
"And there it---" Laxus started to say before he noticed the color of the flare. "Wait, it's blue. How is that possible? It's only 6:30. Does that mean someone found the first master's grave already?"
Before anyone could answer Laxus question, however, a second flare shot up into the sky. This time, however, the flare was red in color.
"Well, I guess whoever it was got lucky." Ur said. Then, as she focused her attention on the area near Mavis' grave, she smiled. "Oh, it was Cana. About time she passed."
"Seriously, she got really lucky." Laxus muttered. "If she had been a few seconds later, the exam would have been called off before she could complete it."
"Anyway, we should focus on finding the examinees and getting them out of the forest." Erza said in a solemn tone, though the smile on her face told everyone she was happy for Cana.
"Right." Laxus and Ur replied simultaneously.
"I'll stay here." Ur said a moment later. "You can bring the others back here. I'll make sure the base stays safe."
As she spoke, Ur made her casting gesture.
"[Ice-Make: Frozen Fortress]." Ur chanted as she slammed her hands into the ground.
In the next instant, the camp was surrounded by 33 foot (approx. 10 m) tall walls made of ice.
Seeing the walls, Laxus and Erza nodded as they both dashed off into the forest to find the other members of their guild.
Meanwhile, Mest, who was talking with Wendy, noticed the explosion in the sky, as well.
'So, Grimoire Heart is making their move, huh?' Mest asked himself.
A moment later, he noticed the two flares that went up over the island. While he did not care much about the blue flare, signifying that someone had completed the second trial, the red one made him a little impatient.
'They're calling an end to the exam due to an emergency.' I need to get out of here, fast.' Mest thought as he glanced at Wendy, who was looking up at the flares, as well.
"What's happening?" Wendy asked in a worried tone.
"Come on, Wendy, we need to get somewhere safe." Mest said as he reached out to grab Wendy's arm.
Still skeptical of Mest's motives, Wendy dodged Mest's hand.
"What's wrong, Wendy?" Mest asked with a slight frown. "If we use my [Teleportation Magic], we can get to safety much faster.
Before Wendy could respond, Carla and Panther Lily flew down, stopping between Mest and Wendy.
"Carla? Lily? What are you doing here?" Wendy asked in surprise.
"I came to make sure you were alright." Carla replied while she glared at Mest.
"And just where were you trying to take Wendy?" Panther Lily, whose instincts were telling him that there was more to Mest than was shown on the surface asked as he reached for the hilt of the sword that was strapped to his back.
Just as Alfonzo promised, he had made a new sword for Panther Lily shortly after they returned from Edolas. And to Panther Lily's surprise, it was better in all aspects when compared to his old weapon, Bustermarm. On top of being sharper and more durable, it could also change sizes depending on which form panther Lily was in. Plus, it was not comically oversized, allowing Panther Lily better control of the blade when wielding it in either form.
'Damn it, why are these cats here?' Mest asked himself. 'It will be much harder to complete my mission of bringing the Maiden of the Sky under the Council's control. A wizard who can heal is wasted on a guild like Fairy Tail, after all.'
Although bringing Wendy with him to the Magic Council was only an optional mission, Doranbolt had every intention of completing it. Though, he was unaware that Org wanted to manipulate Wendy into being his own personal healer in order to keep himself alive for as long as possible.
"I'm just trying to get her to a safe place." Mest replied. "And [Teleporting] would have been faster than walking, right?"
"I see." Panther Lily replied. "Well, now that we're here, I think it would be best for us to fly to the safe zone. That way, we can survey the situation on the rest of the island."
"That's a good idea." Mest said with a forced smile. "Then, I'll leave Wendy to the two of you. I'll [Teleport] to the camp to see what the situation is. With my magic, I'll be able to help even more."
Then, before the others could respond, Mest [Teleported] away from where he stood.
"Well, I can guarantee that he's not going to the camp.' Panther Lily said as he released the hilt of his sword.
At the same time, Makarov, who had seen the explosion in the sky, knew that Natsu had been attacked.
"What is that boy doing here?" Makarov asked in a tone filled with anger. "Even so, I'll punish him for that later. First, I have to make the ones who attacked one of my children pay!"
As he spoke, and with every step he took while rushing towards the direction of the Grimoire Heart airship, Makarov grew in size. By the time he reached the shore, Makarov stood at an imposing height of just under 33 feet. (10 m) And when he saw the guild emblem on the side of the airship, his anger reached a new peak.
"Grimoire Heart! How dare you intrude on Fairy Tail's holy ground and harm one of my children!" Makarov bellowed angrily. "For your crimes, you shall be punished severely."
With that, Makarov raised his large arms in front of his chest and brought his palms close to each other. A moment later, a bright orb of white light formed between his palms.
At the same time, a hatch at the top of the airship opened and out walked an elderly man with long, slicked back, silver-white hair, a long mustache and beard of the same color that reached his chest, and a simple eye patch over his right eye wearing a black t-shirt with white pants and black boots along with armored shoulder pauldrons and gauntlets while chaim mail covered the exposed parts of his arms.
"It looks like you've gotten old, Boy." The Elderly man, Hades, the guild mater of Grimoire Heart said as he walked forward and took a posture similar to Makarov's "But do you really think you've grown enough to make me pay for anything?"
"[Fairy Law]." Makarov chanted, completing his spell before he recognized hades, or rather his old identity, Precht Gaebolg, the second master of Fairy Tail.
"[Grimoire Law]." Hades chanted, matching Makarov's spell.
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