Chapter 81: Fairy Sphere!
Dante grunted in pain as Mira continued to tend to his injuries. He was just blasted into the ground thanks to an angry Gildarts. It was still shocking to think that Gildarts was Cana's father, which is why Dante was attacked by Gildarts. Luckily for Dante, Cana was able to stop Gildarts from doing any serious damage.
"There all done, you should be fine Dante" stated Mira in her signature sweet one. Dante smiled at Mira as a show of thanks as he responded.
"Thanks Mira, I still can't believe that Gildarts is Cana's father" responded Dante still in disbelief.
"I know right, it's so shocking" responded Mira with the same level of disbelief. As the two of them continued to make small talk, Gildarts walked up to Dante. Thinking that Gildarts wasn't done with him, Dante tensed up as Gildarts started to speak.
"Don't worry man, I'm not going to hurt you. Sorry about that, I guess I just got defensive is all" stated Gildarts as he took a seat next to Dante. Smiling back at Gildarts as he breathed a sigh of relief, Dante started to speak.
"Don't sweat it, I would have done the same in your shoes" responded Dante who was just glad Gildarts wasn't in protective dad mode.
"Cana assured me this is what she wants, that's the only reason why I'm letting this go. You better not hurt her or else" responded Gildarts, the last part of his statement was emphasized with him radiating his magical power.
"I won't hurt Cana. I love all my wh- I mean girlfriends, I would never do anything to hurt them" responded Dante glad that he caught himself from calling Cana a whore in front of Gildarts. Just before Gildarts was about to respond to Dante about his almost slip up, a powerful roar was heard in the distance.
"What the hell was that" stated Dante with some fear in his voice. That roar sounded like it came from an immensely powerful creature and Dante was feeling an absurd amount of magical power.
"No, don't tell me" stated Gildarts in a fearful tone. Hearing the fear in Gildart's voice sent chills running down Dante's spine. Gildarts was the strongest wizard Dante knew next to Markov, so to see Gildarts this frightened meant that things could get very bad.
"Do you know who or what made that noise" asked Dante hoping that it would be nothing.
"I sure as hell hope not" responded Gildarts as he looked into the sky. Just as Dante was about to ask Gildarts to further explain himself, he along with everyone else saw a massive, winged figure appear out of the clouds. Seeing the massive figure in the sky, Dante felt his heart stop for a moment.
"What the hell is that" asked Dante as he stood up. Gildarts stood up next to Dante as he responded.
"That is the black dragon of the apocalypse, Acnologia" responded Gildarts as he shook from fear.
"THAT'S ACNOLOGIA?! You've got to be kidding" responded Dante. He had heard legends of Acnologia, the dragon said to have destroyed an entire nation by himself. If that really was Acnologia and if just half the stories of him were true, then it would mean the end of everyone here.
"EVERYONE! WE NEED TO GET AWAY NOW" yelled Gildarts shocking everyone. Natsu seemed to dislike the idea of running away since he started to protest.
"WHAT RUN AWAY?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! I'M A DRAGON SLAYER THAT MEANS" Natsu started to say before he was interrupted by Gildarts.
"NATSU! LISTEN TO ME, YOU CAN'T BEAT HIM! OUR ONLY CHANCE OF MAKING IT OUT ALVIE IS TO RUN AND I DON'T THINK WE ALL ARE GOING TO LIVE" yelled Gildarts in response. Hearing these words caused Dante to feel his heart drop. Not everyone was going to make it out alive? He took a short moment to look around at all of his treasured guild mates. Who among them was Dante seeing for the last time?
"EVERYONE GET TO THE SHIP NOW" yelled Markov. The entire guild, hearing the fear in their guild master's voice took off running towards the ship. Just before everyone was able to make it any sort of distance, Acnologia landed and then roared. The powerful roar tore apart the landscape as Dante and everyone else was sent crashing to the ground. As the smoke cleared, Dante and the others looked in horror at the amount of destruction caused by a simple roar.
"I don't believe it; the entire forest has been completely cleared" stated Natsu in fear of the power displayed.
"LISTEN UP! IF YOU WANT TO STAY ALIVE YOU CAN'T WASTE TIME FREAKING OUT! PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER AND GET OUT OF HERE" yelled Gildarts in a fearful tone. Seeing that some of his guildmates were still too shocked to move, Dante stood up and started to shout.
"EVERYONE FOLLOW ME! I PROMISE WE WILL ALL GET OUT OF HERE SAFE BUT WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW" shouted Dante. As Dante and everyone else started to make a break for it, Dante hoped that his promise just now wasn't an empty one.
As Dante and the others ran towards the ship in the distance, Acnologia was soaring above them. Hearing the atrocious roar above them, Dante prayed to whoever was listening that everyone would make it out alive. He didn't care if he dies here, just as long as everyone else lives. It didn't take long before Acnologia cut off the escape route. Thinking that he would have to step up and hopefully distract the fearsome black dragon, Dante was beat to the punch when Markov stepped forward.
"GET TO THE SHIP" yelled Markov as he used his magic to grow to Acnologia's size before he started to grapple with him. Dante and the others watched in horror as they processed what Markov was saying.
"MASTER LET US HELP YOU! WE CAN'T LOSE YOU" yelled Dante in a desperate tone. Memories of Markov over the years flashed through his mind. Dante could not imagine a Fairy Tail without Markov. It was because of Markov that Fairy Tail was more than just a guild, it was a home.
"GET OUT OF HERE" yelled Markov in a desperate tone. Dante could not believe that this was really happening. Everyone in the guild stated that they would never leave Markov behind, they didn't want to lose him.
"WILL YOU BRATS JUST SHUT UP AND HONOR YOUR MASTER'S FINAL WISH?! GET OUT OF HERE NOW" yelled Markov in a pleading tone. He wanted to make sure all of his beloved children made it out alive, he didn't care about his own life. Hearing these words, Dante felt tears fall freely from his face.
"Final wish" stated Mira in a sad tone as everyone watched in fear. Dante turned his head towards Laxus as he started to speak.
"He's your grandfather Laxus, what should we do" asked Dante not knowing what answer he wanted from Laxus. Laxus grunted as he thought about his answer as Natsu started to speak.
"I'M A DRAGON SLAYER WIZARD GRAMPS! THIS IS WHAT I WAS BORN TO DO! SO LET ME" yelled Natsu before he was interrupted when Laxus grabbed him by the back of the color and started to drag him away.
"Not today kid" stated Laxus in a sad tone. Natsu was about to protest until he saw the tears falling from Laxus's face. Seeing Laxus drag Natsu away, Dante cursed before he started to speak.
"Please don't die master" stated Dante before he turned around and ran to the ship with the others.
Dante and the other's ran towards the ship. The entire time Dante felt his tears freely falling from his face. He hated that he couldn't do anything and now was leaving behind someone he considered family. It felt wrong, it felt like it was going against everything Markov taught them over the years. Was this really how it was going to end Dante thought? Was he, along with everyone else really going to abandon Markov after everything he has done for them.
As Dante continued to run away, he remembered how Markov had saved his siblings and himself. They were on the run for so long, no one giving them a chance because of Mira's demonic appearance. Dante felt so helpless back in those days, he could do nothing to stop his siblings suffering. It was Markov that helped them, it was him that gave them a home and a new family. Thinking this, Dante thought there was no way in hell he was going to repay Markov by leaving him for dead.
"Dante, Erza you too" asked Markov with conflicting emotions in his voice. He was touched that his children would go to such lengths for him but was also fearful for their lives.
"I was down with the plan to evacuate. I'm sure there are plenty of folks out there who are willing to let an old guy take the fall, but not your guild" stated Laxus to Markov with a smile.
"EVERYONE TOGETHER" yelled Dante as he transformed into his Archangel Soul Michael form. Following his orders, everyone else in the guild save for Erza and Laxus charged forward.
"You stupid bunch of kids" stated Markov with tears in his eyes. Dante smiled as he and Laxus shared a look. Dante and Laxus both charged up all of their magical energy.
"YOU BETTER GET OUT OF THE WAY NATSU, BECAUSE HERE IT COMES" yelled Laxus as he and Dante continued to charge up their magical power. Channeling all of his magical power through the sword of David, Dante pointed it at the black dragon.
"WRATH OF HEAVEN" yelled Dante as the massive holy beam of holy energy blasted towards Acnologia. His attack mixed with Laxus's lighting attack just before Natsu was able to jump out of the way. Everyone in the guild fired their own attacks, mixing with Dante and Laxus's to form one super massive attack with the power of the entire guild behind it. The massive attack hit Acnologia with a thundering crash. As the smoke covered the landscape, Dante prayed that it did the job.
"YOU DRAGON SLAYERS BETTER LIVE UP TO YOUR NAME! DO IT" yelled Dante appealed that Acnologia was tanking the powerful combined attack. Natsu and the other two dragon slayers fired their combined roar attacks, pushing Acnologia back and he crashed into the sea. Before Dante could even begin to hope that the attack was enough, Acnologia soared into the sky. Looking up, Dante was filled with hopelessness as he reverted back to his original form since he was out of magical power.
"Not even a scratch" asked Dante in disbelief. He along with everyone else had thrown everything they had at Acnologia, and it had accomplished nothing. Everyone else in the guild remarked similar statements as Acnologia started to charge up for a breath attack.
"He's really going to wipe out the entire island" stated Dante in horror. He briefly thought of using the guardian angel spell but thought better. Even if he had enough magical power, it wouldn't work since the entire island would be blasted apart.
"Defensive spell users, bring out your most powerful spells" stated Erza in a desperate tone. Dante felt some eyes on him at Erza's words.
"Heaven's Shield would be useless here. There is no way I have enough magical power even at full strength for this kind of blast. I would die the moment his attack touched my shield" stated Dante in a frightful tone.
After Dante said this, Levy made the point that script magic along with Freed's enhancements could possibly work. With nothing else better to do, the plan was formed to hold hands and concentrate all of their magical power on Freed and Levy. Dante held tightly onto Mira's and Lisanna's hands as he concentrated all of his magical power on Freed and Levy. Praying that this would work, Dante and the others looked up at Acnologia just before he fired his breath attack.
"Okay kids let us all go home together" stated Markov through tears.
Hearing these words, Dante took a deep breath and released it. He resigned himself to the fact that nothing else could be done at this moment. As Dante was standing in solidarity with his fellow guildmates he couldn't help but smile. It wasn't the worst way to go out at least. If this was it, Dante could accept that. Acnologia's breath attack then collided with everyone, and Dante's world blinked out of existence.
End of Chapter 81