Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

PROLOGUE: THE CHAOS PHENOMENON

Meliodas held his sword out in front of him as he looked up at the giant behemoth-like cat monster that had broken through the castle walls. The creature gave off a menacing glare and appeared to grin at Meliodas as it held the lifeless corpse of a soldier in its tongue.

“Well well. Long time no see. You’re alone today?” The creature smirked as it leaned closer to Meliodas. Meliodas stood his ground and continued to stare fiercely at the bizarre monster in silence.

“I see! So the rest are all dead then?!” The creature continued. Meliodas remained quiet but knew what it was talking about. All of his comrades had now disappeared from his life and he was all by himself, facing this monstrosity. Meliodas’s face suddenly changed as a dark pressure filled the air around them. His eyes, that were once a bright green color, had become pitch black. On his forehead, a black mark formed, consisting of a blotched circle with an unevenly expanding ring around it.

Without a word, Meliodas lunged at the monster, completely destroying what was left of the castle wall in an explosion of dust and debris. The beast emerged from the smoke unharmed as Meliodas pursued it through the air. Slashing with his blade, punching and kicking, all were ineffective as the enemy before him continued to dodge his attacks.

“What’s the matter? You seem to be in pain.” The creature taunted as it continued to dodge Meliodas’s attacks. Meliodas grit his teeth upon hearing this, serving as another reminder that none of his friends were by his side. The creature grinned and continued to speak as Meliodas’s attacks became less intense, his fighting spirit starting to waver.

“If you’d let me kill them all back then...you could have saved yourself from this pain and loneliness. You have no more friends left. So what’s the point in trying so hard all by yourself? Give it up! There are no constants in this world. This is a world of chaos. Everyone eventually goes away. As if they never were there from the start.”

Eventually, Meliodas stopped his onslaught of strikes at the monster. Meliodas stared at the ground, clenching the handle of his sword tightly as he continued to remain silent, with his demonic features now receding.

‘Don’t be sad Meliodas.’ A familiar voice echoed in Meliodas’ head. ‘You’re...not alone.’

As the voice echoed through his mind, Meliodas felt reinvigorated, his broken spirit mended. He looked up and glared at the beast.

“YOU’RE WRONG CATH!” Meliodas yelled out, surprising the creature as Meliodas’s will wasn’t shattered as it had originally anticipated.

‘We’re all with you and always will be!’ The voice continued to echo inside Meliodas’s head as he saw an image of his comrades flash before his eyes.

“OUR BONDS WILL NEVER GO AWAY! EVER!!!” Meliodas yelled as he leaped off the ground, shaking the Earth around them as the ground cracked away from the force. With all his strength, he charged at Cath with his blade. Cath’s surprised look turned into an Eerie smile as it also lunged at Meliodas with its claws unsheathed.

“Then let chaos separate you with those bonds!” Cath replied as it slashed the space in front of Meliodas. Meliodas’s eyes widened as he witnessed space itself begin to contort and tear open. From the tear, a bright light enveloped Meliodas as he flew inside of it, unable to stop himself before it was too late.

“Not even I know where chaos will take you.” Cath grinned as the rift closed.

Chapter Text

In an alleyway away from the bustling streets of Magnolia, a ripple in space began to form in the air several feet off the ground. A black cat rummaging through a dumpster peeked its head out as it stared at the strange occurrence. A loud screech echoed throughout the alleyway as a rift no larger than the size of a tall man, opened through the foundations of space. The cat leaped high into the air and let out a high pitched scream of fear. As it landed on the ground, several mice from underneath the dumpster scurried out of the alleyway, with the black cat close behind.

The rift continued to grow as a bright light shined out of it, lighting up the once dark alleyway. From the rift, a figure was launched out onto the hard stone floor. As the figure lay there, the light of the rift faded away as the tear in space closed, as if never there to begin with.

Several minutes went by as the figure lay on the ground, motionless. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at the clear blue sky above, with high brick walls on both sides of him.

‘What happened…’ Meliodas thought as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes and felt every muscle in his body aching as he tried to stand up. The last thing he recalled was fighting Cath before being hurled.

‘Where am I?’

Meliodas looked ahead and saw a bright street with several people walking by. He took a step and felt his head throb but continued on through the pain. With each step through the long alleyway, the pain in his body began to recede. As Meliodas approached the sidewalk of the main road, he stood in both awe and confusion of the buildings around him.

They were a lot more vivid than the ones in Liones and the architecture was unlike anything he had seen before, although the style itself was somewhat reminiscent of Britannia’s medieval theme. Down the road was what appeared to be a giant Cathedral, with four towers on each corner. A golden bell rested near the top of its green roof.

Meliodas continued looking around at the buildings as if he was in some kind of dream. His awed expression turned serious as he remembered what had just transpired in his fight to the death with Cath.

‘Cath...he sent me through some sort of portal using Chaos. Am I even in Britannia anymore?’

Meliodas stood still with a serious look on his face as he got lost in his thoughts. Unaware of what was happening around him, people began to swarm around him. Meliodas breaks out of his daze as he realizes there were at least a dozen people staring at him. A few girls giggled and a mother covered her child’s eyes.

Meliodas suddenly felt a cold breeze hit him as he looked down at his body. He realized that he was completely naked. He assumed his clothes had probably disintegrated while he was traveling through the rift.

‘I should probably get some clothes first.’ Meliodas chuckled and leaped on top of a tall building nearby to hide from any more onlookers.

‘Now where should I-’ Meliodas’s thoughts were cut short as he felt a huge magical presence coming from beyond the northern side of the town.

‘That feeling...could it be Cath? No. It’s different. But it might have something to do with the rift Cath sent me through. I can worry about clothes later. I’ll go check it out now!’

Meliodas focused on the magical power as he leaped from the tops of buildings. As he ran across the rooftops, he felt something was off about his body. His body felt strangely sluggish and heavy.

‘My strength...is nowhere near what it once was. It’s a similar feeling to when Merlin had sealed most of my power away in that Goddess amber...but I feel a bit weaker than that right now...’

Meliodas shook the thought as he continued to jump across the rooftops. Several bystanders watched in shock as they saw what appeared to be a blond naked boy jumping across the roofs. A few rubbed their eyes, thinking they were dreaming. As Meliodas continued making his way to the source of the large magical power, he stopped in his tracks as he felt a strange presence watching him. Meliodas looked up into the sky and caught a brief glimpse of what appeared to be a woman with blonde hair wearing a kimono walking through a strange portal in the sky that quickly closed behind her.

‘Am I seeing things?’ Meliodas thought to himself and rubbed his eyes before continuing along the tops of the buildings.

After a few minutes of hopping across buildings, Meliodas arrived at where he sensed the dense magical power coming from. In front of him, were a large group of people who he suspected to be mages of some sort as he could sense magic coming from each of them. They were all facing towards a large lake.

In the lake, stood an enormous castle that had four giant legs sprouting underneath it. Coming from the center of the castle, was a long barrel of a cannon. At the tip, a dense amount of magic was gathered up, ready to fire.

Meliodas shook his head in disappointment. It wasn’t it. The magic he sensed was just from the cannon and had nothing to do with his arrival. It was just a battle between mages. Not caring to get involved, Meliodas began to turn around to walk away but stopped as he heard a young woman’s yell.

“You won’t lay a hand on my friends! I won’t let you take down our guild!”

Meliodas turned around and saw a young, red haired woman, heavily clad in protective armor, standing in the way of the behemoth cannon’s blast with a look of fierce determination on his face. Meliodas, who initially didn’t want to get involved, clenched his fist as he felt the young woman’s resolve to protect her friends. From a pile of rubble nearby, he picked up a wooden stick lying on the ground. ‘It wouldn’t hurt to help them out.’ He thought to himself as he rushed over and heard the cries of the other mages.

“Erza, what are you going to do?!”
“No! Erza you’re going to die!”

“Don’t tell me she’s going to try to stop that attack?!”

People in the crowd behind Erza yelled out to her as she braced herself. In front of her, the cannon continued to charge its immense magic but she showed no sign of backing down. There was a brief silence as the cannon finished charging. The cries of the crowd grew silent and a highly concentrated beam of magic fired from the cannon.

Erza prepared to take the blast head on as she put her arms in front of her, only for her determined expression to turn into shock as she stared wide eyed at a naked, blond boy who suddenly appeared in front of her... holding a stick?

“Full Counter!”

Chapter Text

The great beam of magic, that was originally heading towards Erza, suddenly moved in the opposite direction as Meliodas swung the stick. Everyone’s eyes opened wide and their jaws dropped open as they witnessed the mysterious naked blond boy easily reflect the Jupiter cannon’s deadly blast with only a stick.

The beam continued in its new direction until it collided with the cannon that had originally shot it out. The barrel of the cannon was swallowed up whole by the beam as a large explosion of debris from the castle filled the sky with black smoke. The legs of the gargantuan fortress in front of them collapsed as the rest of the building fell into the lake.

A nearly tsunami-like wave washed over the shore where the mages were standing on. Several of the stronger mages held their ground and helped their comrades up before they were swept away by the rushing water.

Erza looked around for the young boy who had just saved them from the attack as the rushing waters swept away the area, but among the water and floating debris, she could not find him.

----

Meliodas walked atop the roofs of the large bustling town. In his heart, he felt good he was able to help those who he felt deserved it, but felt no need to get further involved with them as he was not related to this conflict. That, and a blast from that cannon would have destroyed a good portion of the town if it hit the ground.

As he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, thinking of ways for him to possibly get back, a wave of fatigue and lethargy like none other swept over his body as he lost his balance, causing him to fall onto the streets below. As Meliodas fell, he could only speculate as to why his body felt so weak. Did Cath do something to seal his original strength? Or did traveling through that rift damage him in ways he was not aware of? Those thoughts eventually vanished as he hit the hard ground and blacked out.

“Hey, come here, some guy just passed out!” A young man said as he stared at the unconscious Meliodas.

“Why is he naked?” Someone else replied.

“What should we do with him?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t just leave him in the middle of the street.”

“Just throw him in the alley, I don't want to get involved. What if he is a Phantom member!”

“You’re right.”

---

For what had seemed like a few hours, was actually fifteen days as Meliodas opened his eyes again. He lay looking up at the blue sky above for several moments until his senses were shocked by a foul stench. Meliodas jumped up from his spot, his body now filled to the brim with energy from much needed rest, as various debris of soiled paper, empty cans, boxes, and the like, scattered around him.

As Meliodas landed on the stone floor, he realized he had been sleeping in a large pile of trash in the corner of an alleyway. Confusion swept over him as to how he had ended up in there as he last remembered falling onto the main street. ‘Someone threw me in a trash pile… there is something wrong with this city.’ Meliodas shrugged the thought as he brushed off a banana peel that was still on his head.

“Hey you! Give me everything you got!” A voice called out from behind him.

Meliodas turned around and saw a tall, bald, lanky man towering over him, wearing a white sweater, brown baggy pants, and black boots. On his face, neck, and hands, were several large scars, suggesting he had been in plenty of deadly fights in the past. In his right hand, he held a long, sharp dagger that he brandished. Meliodas looked at him confused before looking behind him then back to the man again.

“You talking to me?” Meliodas answered back with a cheeky smile.

“Who the hell else would I be talking to?!” The man responded, visibly annoyed at Meliodas’s smug response.

“I think you’re talking to the wrong person pal. As you can see, I’m naked and have nothing on me.” Meliodas said to him with a calm grin, as he walked out of the darkness of the alleyway into the light where the thug was standing. The man’s light complexion suddenly turned red as he realized Meliodas had made a fool of him.

“You little-”

The thug attempted to shove the knife into Meliodas’s face but found himself unable to push forward as Meliodas grabbed the blade between his thumb and index finger. The thug’s angry face changed as his eyes widened, now displaying a face full of shock and regret. Not regret that he had just tried to stab the young boy, but regret that the young boy was far stronger than he had originally thought. ‘Shit...’

Meliodas suddenly vanished from the thug’s field of view. As the thug questioned in his mind what had just happened, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck and fell to the ground, remaining motionless.

“How convenient!” Meliodas smiled as he began to strip the thug of all of his belongings until he left lying in his undergarments and boots as he laid unconscious on the cold floor.

“Hehe, I’ll leave you with some dignity, and your shoes don't fit…” Meliodas said.
Meliodas put on the thug’s clothes, which smelled no better than he did, but at least he wasn’t naked anymore. However, the clothes were very baggy on Meliodas, with the bottom of the sweater nearly going down to Meliodas’s knees. With quick and swift cuts using the thug’s dagger, Meliodas somewhat tailored his clothes to fit him better, but they were still very baggy on him.

Meliodas looked back one more time at the unconscious man and laughed at the thought that what he just did to the thug was something Ban would have done. After sheathing the dagger and hiding it underneath his large sweater, Meliodas walked out of the alleyway.

The bustling and happy atmosphere of the cheerful street filled with the happy faces of people disappeared as every person’s face turned into disgust. Several people held their breaths while others covered their noses with their clothes. A lone, blond young boy walked along the sidewalk, with people moving out of the way as he walked by.

“Wow everyone is so nice here! They’re moving out of the way for me!” Meliodas said out loud to himself, actually aware that the reason they were moving out of the way was because of his unpleasant odor.

“No you idiot! You smell nasty!” A young man approached Meliodas, pinching his nose. “There’s a bath house a few buildings down the street. Go use it!”

“Thanks for the information!” Meliodas grinned at the stranger before walking by him. Several buildings down the road, Meliodas arrived and stood in front of the bath house. On the front was a large sign displaying the words “Magnolia Public Bath.”

Upon walking in, Meliodas saw the bath house was empty, with only an old man who worked there in the main lobby with him. The old man smiled as Meliodas approached.

“Welcome to Magnolia Public Bath. The-” Before he could finish his sentence, the old man immediately covered his nose with his hands and began to gag. As he continued to gag, he pointed at a sign next to the register, which read “500 Jewels per person.”

Meliodas remembered that the thug he stole the clothes from had a wallet in the back pocket. Meliodas reached into his back pants pocket and pulled out the wallet. Luckily, there were 20,000 Jewels inside, most likely the money from previous thefts. Meliodas paid the old man 500 Jewels and began to walk to the locker area.

“Hey kid, I’ll even let you wash your clothes here, free of charge!” The old man yelled while gasping for fresh air. He pointed towards a room next to the bath area entry that had “Laundry” written on a sign above it.

“I’m not a kid, but thanks!” Meliodas responded as he walked through the curtains into the bath area.

“Not a kid?...” The old man looked at Meliodas, perplexed by his statement.

A couple of hours later, Meliodas emerged from the bath house, his body now clean and his clothes now smelled of a fresh aroma. During his time in the bathhouse, Meliodas thought about his process of finding his way back to Britannia. As his first step, he was to find out information on this new land. Before leaving the bath house, he had asked the old man for general information and was told to go to a place nearby called “Book Land.”

As Meliodas exited the bath house and walked down the street, he felt a grumbling in his stomach. As a demon, he did not need to eat as frequently as a human but with his body in its weakened state, the pangs of hunger were overbearing. Meliodas looked around on the street he was on and noticed a restaurant just across the street, identifiable by a sign hanging above the door displaying the words “Eden’s Kitchen.”

Meliodas walked in and took a seat at an empty table. The inside of the restaurant was made out of wood, with the chairs and table being made of a darker polished wood. The lighting was dim but bright enough to see clearly. The restaurant was somewhat empty, with only a few tables having people eating at them. Meliodas looked at the menu briefly before the waiter approached him and placed an ice cold glass of water on the table.

“Hello, my name is Becca and I’ll be your waitress for today.” The waitress said cheerfully. Meliodas looked from the menu and looked at the waitress. She was a young girl with blue eyes, fair skin, and wavy blonde hair.

“I’ll have the pork simmered in ale.” Meliodas said as he read through the menu. Becca nodded and quickly wrote down the order before leaving the table. Meliodas reached for the cold glass of water and took a sip. Sitting there waiting for his order, he thought about possibilities to find a way back to Britannia. ‘I’ve never even heard of Magnolia...where is this place?’

Several minutes later, Becca returned to the table and placed Meliodas’s meal down. Meliodas took a look at the food in front of him. It was cooked to perfection, with the perfect golden coating and a light glaze over it. Placed neatly around it were various colorful vegetables.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Becca asked.

“Actually...do you know how to get to Britannia?” Meliodas responded. Becca looked at him confused, having never heard of Britannia.

“I’m sorry. I’m not familiar with that place.” Becca answered with a nervous smile. Meliodas nodded and looked back at his food as Becca walked away.

Meliodas quickly finished his food and walked out of the restaurant, with his hunger now satiated. He had spent 2000 jewels on the meal in addition to a 500 jewel tip to the waitress. Meliodas continued his stroll down the busy streets of town with a full belly.

He spent half an hour wandering around town, taking in the environment and geography before he found himself in front of the bookstore, Book Land, the one that the old man at the bath house had told him about. The store was a large pink, two story building with a sign shaped like a book above the two green doors for an entrance. Inside, was a wooden counter manned by a single clerk. There were no customers inside but instead, rows of shelves filled to the brim with various books.

“Welcome to book land, how may I help you?” The clerk greeted Meliodas. Meliodas approached the clerk and asked for a map of the country.

“We do have an atlas that contains the information you are looking for. It’s 1000 jewels. If you want, you can buy a book bag to go with it. Normally it would be an additional 1000 jewels for the bag as well, but if you buy them together, I'll take off 300 Jewels for a total of 1700 jewels.”

“Make it 1500 and you got a deal.” Meliodas countered.

“You got yourself a deal.” The store considered for a brief moment before replying. He placed the Atlas in the book bag before handing it over to Meliodas.

“Thanks.” Meliodas grabbed his purchase and walked out of the store.

He slung the bag over his shoulder before finding a bench to sit on. There, he read through the atlas, looking for any familiar landmarks or continents. As he had originally suspected, he was in an entirely different world and was currently in the town of Magnolia. Meliodas shoved the atlas back into his bag and slung it over his shoulder with a sigh. ‘Nothing seems familiar, and I don’t know anyone here.’ Meliodas laid on the bench as he was lost in his thoughts.

‘Well, maybe the bookstore has something related to magic that would be of help to me.’ Meliodas thought to himself before walking back into the bookstore.

“Welcome to Book- I mean welcome back to Book Land!” The clerk greeted Meliodas as he reentered the store.

“Hey do you have books on magic?” Meliodas asked.
“Hmm… there should be a few in the corner. You can look there.” The old man replied.
“Thanks.” Meliodas said before walking to the corner. There were only a few books that were related to magic. He leafed through them all before shaking his head.

“Are you sure you don't have any more books relating to magic? Anything related to spatial magic?” Meliodas asked again.

“Sorry kid, what you see is what I have.” The old man replied.

“Anything close to it?” Meliodas continued asking.

“Look, If you want more information regarding magic, it would be impossible to find it in a place like this. That kind of information is heavily regulated by the Magic Council so I can’t help you there. I suppose you could always check with official mages. We have a guild right here in Magnolia that has some extremely powerful wizards. Maybe one of them would be able to assist you. Although, their guild was recently damaged in a fight against another guild but they’re in the process of rebuilding.”

Meliodas immediately thanked the clerk and rushed out of the store. He remembered the guild location from the atlas, he made his way over. He felt that the direction was familiar, and recalled the location he had rushed over to before passing out. ‘So they were Fairy Tail huh...’

Chapter Text

Meliodas walked past a large cathedral, following the route straight to the Fairy Tail guild.

Meliodas approached a large, stone building that appeared to be in the middle of construction. Several people walked by Meliodas, carrying a few stacks of wood over their shoulders. Behind them, two individuals walked side by side to each other, one being a lean, muscular young man with spiky pink hair and the other being a muscular young man with black spiky hair, who for whatever reason, was not wearing a shirt.

“Think you can keep up with me Natsu! Just give up!” The shirtless young man yelled while shakily carrying the large stack of wooden planks.

“I’ll give up when you decide to actually put a damn shirt on Gray!” Natsu retorted, with his arms also shaking from carrying such a large stack of planks. Both of them stop walking and turn to face each other. As the two of them continued to argue, with their arms trembling as the wood they were carrying began to shift, Meliodas approached them.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted them amicably. The two bickering young men turned their heads and looked at Meliodas.

“What do you want, kid?” Natsu grunted under the weight of the wooden planks. Gray glanced at Meliodas and his eyes widened as he remembered the young blond boy who had reflected the Jupiter Cannon’s attack.

“Hey aren’t you-” Gray’s question was interrupted as his arms gave way from the weight of the planks. The large stack of planks crashed on top of him, causing Natsu to laugh. In turn, Natsu lost the strength in his arms as the wooden planks rained down on him. Meliodas tilted his head slightly as he stared at the two large piles of wood in front of him.

“HEY YOU TWITS! IF YOU’RE DONE PLAYING PATTY CAKE AND WASTING OUR RESOURCES, THEN GET BACK TO WORK!” A woman’s angry voice yelled from behind Meliodas. Meliodas turned around and recognized the red haired woman who had originally placed herself in front of the cannon to stop its blast, only this time instead of a heavy suit of armor, she was wearing construction worker attire and holding a clipboard.

From the piles of wood, Gray and Natsu popped back out, with an arm around each other as if they were the best of friends.

“Aye aye!” Both of them replied in unison as they scrambled to pick up the planks off the ground. Meliodas slightly laughed at the stupid duo. ‘These guys are funny.’ Erza turned towards Meliodas who was chuckling.

“Sorry, but we’re currently in the process of rebuilding. May I help you?” Erza said to Meliodas with her original angry tone suddenly replaced with a kinder professional tone.

“Are you all from Fairy Tail?” Meliodas asked.

“Yes we are Fairy-” Erza abruptly stopped her sentence as she immediately recognized Meliodas, the mysterious naked boy who stopped the Jupiter Cannon with only a stick, causing her to drop her clipboard on the ground.

“Hey aren't you-” Erza murmured for a brief moment before realization dawned on her.

“Thank you very much for assisting us with the Jupiter cannon.” Erza said while slightly bowing her head. A few of the other guild members including Natsu turned towards Erza, slightly surprised at her behavior. The spectating guild members commented as they saw Meliodas.

“Hey! Isn’t that the kid who stopped the Jupiter Cannon?!”

“He is.. I recognize him. Although he has clothes on this time.”

“Well you were out there risking your life for your friends. So I also felt the need to put myself out there.” Meliodas replied with a friendly smile.

In response, Erza extended her hand out to Meliodas.

“I am Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail. If it hadn't been for you, we would have suffered some serious damage.” Erza said.

“I’m Meliodas. Nice to meet ya!” Meliodas replied as he accepted her gesture and shook her hand.

“Hey, thanks for helping us!” A voice came from the side as Gray approached Meliodas.

“I am Gray Fullbuster, and the Pink Haired idiot is Natsu Dragneel.” Gray said as he introduced himself and pointed at Natsu. Natsu glared angrily at Gray but stopped as Erza gave him a stern look.

“Nice to meet ya both!” Meliodas replied.

“We tried to look for you after the battle to properly thank you, but you just disappeared and we didn’t know your name either.” Gray said.

“Well I wasn’t feeling so great so I had to leave early. Sorry about that.” Meliodas said. He didn’t want to think about the fact that he passed out naked on the street before being thrown in some random dumpster for many days.

“Thanks for coming by, if there is anything we can assist you with, please feel free to ask.” Erza said.

“Well actually, I was hoping I could speak to the guild master. I’m looking for some information.” Meliodas replied back.

“Unfortunately, the master is out at a meeting at the moment.” Erza said.

“ Do you know when he will return?” Meliodas asked.

“He will be returning soon. If you would like, you can wait inside for his return. The main cafe is set up so you can rest there.” Erza said while gesturing to the guild entrance. “I can guide you over if you’d like.”

“Sure, that would be great! Thanks!” Meliodas said as he followed Erza to guild hall.

As he entered the building, a familiar feeling swept over him, as if he was in his own tavern again with his friends. A slim young woman with white hair served alcohol to a group of men as they continued to drink and laugh. A large, muscular man with tan skin and white hair arm wrestled with another man. Several more people stood near the walls, hammering down wood as they continued with renovations.

“Here you are. Now, if you will excuse me, I will have to return to work” Erza said before departing.

Meliodas walked towards the bar counter and sat down. He saw a young blonde woman that was seated near him at the counter speaking with the barmaid. The barmaid looked towards Meliodas and approached him.

“Oh, you are the kid that helped us.” She said with a bright smile. The young blonde woman also turned towards Meliodas before greeting him.

“That was you?!” The blonde woman said, surprised to see Meliodas as she recalled some of the guild members talking about a naked blond boy who reflected the Jupiter Cannon before it struck Erza. “Well thank you for saving us. By the way, my name is Lucy. It's nice to meet you.”

“Meliodas.” Meliodas replied with a smile.

“I am Mirajane. And again, thank you for your help.” Mirajane also introduced herself.
“If there is anything you need, it will be on the house.”

Meliodas's eyes lit up as he stared at the various alcohol selections on the wall. Magnolian Berry Ale, Wild Wyvern Ale, Clover Ale, were just a few that Meliodas saw on the shelves, all of which were unfamiliar to him, but he was excited to try them out.

“If that’s the case, then can I get a glass of Wild Wyvern Ale?”

“Ale…?” Mirajane looked at Meliodas with a confused expression. To her, Meliodas looked like a young boy who couldn’t have been more than thirteen while Fiore’s drinking age was fifteen. Even Lucy, who was sitting at the bar was surprised.

“Sorry, but you shouldn’t be drinking alcohol as a kid. How about some juice instead.” Mira suggested kindly as she placed a fresh glass of orange juice in front of Meliodas.
Meliodas eyed the juice and shook his head, as in Britannia, many knew Meliodas as an adult and even those who didn’t know didn’t care if he drank.

‘Juice...’ Meliodas sighed. He didn’t want to drink juice. What was he, twelve years old…
However, he still picked up the glass, quickly gulping it down in seconds before placing the glass down hard on the table.

“Now...I would like some alcohol please. Despite my looks, I’m not a kid.” Meliodas persisted.

“No.” Mira replied.

“Just one Mug.” Meliodas countered.

“Nope.”

“Half a mug.”

“I don’t think kids should drink.”

“Just a small cup then.” Meliodas persisted as he stared into Mirajane’s eyes. There was a brief moment of silence between them until she finally answered.

“A-alright, but just this one, okay?” Mira said, finally acquiescing to Meliodas’s wishes. She filled a small mug with Wild Wyvern Ale and handed it to Meliodas. It had a slightly lower alcohol content. Meliodas quickly grabbed it before she might have had the chance to change her mind and began drinking it.

“Ahhhhh!” Meliodas let out a relaxing sigh as he finished the ale. “This was some high quality booze!”

“More please!” Meliodas requested. “Don't worry, I am old enough, I just look young.”

Mirajane smiled at Meliodas’s comment before returning to Lucy and the two young women began conversing as Meliodas drank more ale for the next hour, experimenting with the different kinds as he waited for the guild master to return. In the meantime, Natsu and Gray had also approached the bar, finished with their construction duty for the day.

They noticed Meliodas and were about to approach in greeting, when Natsu was unfortunately struck by a flying table, knocking him down and trapping him underneath it.

“You dare say that again?!” Erza yelled angrily. Meliodas turned his head over to the commotion. He saw Natsu’s pink hair sticking out from underneath the table and Erza arguing with someone beyond him.

“Then I’ll say it more clearly. The guild doesn’t need weak bastards!” A large, muscular young man with slicked back spiky blond hair and a distinct lightning bolt shaped scar over his right eye. “To be looked down upon by a guild such as Phantom Lord...How embarrassing!!”

“Who is this guy?” Meliodas asked Mirajane.

“He’s Laxus Dreyar, an S class mage of Fairy Tail and the grandson of the master. I haven’t explained the rank system to you yet but the S class is a rank reserved for the strongest mages of Fairy Tail.” Mirajane answered.

“Well he looks pretty strong.” Meliodas commented, taking another sip of his ale while he watched.

“I heard that you guys were beaten up by that Iron Dragon Gajeel?! Speaking of which, what are your names again? You’re all a disgrace Ahahahahahaha!” Laxus laughed while pointing at a trio of mages sitting nearby. The three mages looked down in embarrassment as Laxus continued to mock them.

“And who are they?” Meliodas asked Mirajane, referring to the three mages Laxus had just pointed out.

“They’re Team Shadow Gear. The girl with the blue hair is Levy. The two next to her are Jet and Droy.” Mirajane answered. However, she still had a sullen look on her face as she watched the commotion.

“And you…” Laxus turned around and faced the bar table where Lucy was sitting. “Isn’t this the princess who caused all of this?” Laxus began to walk towards Lucy but stopped as Mirajane slammed the table with her palm.

“Laxus! The matter is closed! There was no talk of blame from the start. You didn’t participate in the fight and you don’t need to add oil to the fire. Master said that.”

“Of course it doesn’t have anything to do with me. But if I was there, I wouldn’t get beat up horribly.” Laxus retorted. Next to Lucy, Laxus noticed Meliodas sitting aloofly, drinking his mug of booze.

“Hey you short shit. This bar is for guild members only. Why don’t you piss off.” Laxus declared, glaring at Meliodas. Meliodas ignored Laxus’s provocation as he finished his ale.

“Laxus, he may not be a guild member, but he was there to help us in the fight against Phantom Lord, unlike you.” Mirajane answered back. Laxus took a closer look at Meliodas and remembered the description of a young naked boy who had reflected the Jupiter Cannon’s attack.

“So Fairy Tail has stooped so low that they needed help from a little child? AHAHAHA!” Laxus began laughing loudly and walking towards Meliodas. Meliodas continued savoring his drink, ignoring Laxus who was approaching him at the bar.

“I find it hard to believe this child could stop the Jupiter Cannon. Why don’t we test that-”

“Laxus you bastard!” A voice yelled from behind Laxus as Natsu jumped out from under the table that was on top of him. Natsu charged at Laxus, preparing to punch him when Laxus suddenly disappeared from Natsu’s field of vision, leaving only sparks where he originally stood and reappearing behind Natsu.

“Laxus, fight me you unfeeling unreasonable bastard!” Natsu yelled as he turned around and began charging at Laxus again.

“Ahahaha you can’t even catch me, and you still talk about-” Laxus’s laughs ended abruptly as he noticed a figure go flying by him. As Laxus turned around, he felt something tap the back of his head.

“Well well well. I think this is a bit too much tension for a friendly guild fight don’t ya think?” Meliodas said with a relaxed smile, holding the mug he used to bonk Laxus.

“The hell you want from me shorty? You lookin to die today?” A vein appeared on Laxus’s forehead as he glared at Meliodas. Meliodas’s expression remained the same as he looked up and met Laxus’s gaze.

“You’re not even in this guild. Why don’t you piss off if you know what’s good for you.” Laxus said as sparks began to form around his body. The guild hall became dead silent as everyone around watched in anticipation of what was about to happen. Erza ran forward to try to stop what she sensed was going to be a fight but stopped as Meliodas began speaking.

“I don’t know the specifics as to why you feel the way you do about the guild, but there is more to a guild than power. You may have strength, but you’re severely lacking right here.” Meliodas pointed his thumb towards his chest, referring to the heart. There is a moment of silence after Meliodas’s words, until eventually the tension in the room died down as Laxus’s heavy glare turned into a cocky smirk.

“Tch...you sound like the old man. All of you weak minded shits think alike. Go ahead and join these weaklings then.” Laxus laughed as he walked by Meliodas, with neither individual making further eye contact with each other.

“If I succeed the guild, I’ll erase all the weaklings away along with anyone who opposes me! I will build the strongest guild! A guild that nobody will look down on! History’s strongest guild!!!” Laxus yelled his last words before exiting the guild hall. The air became tense as everyone looked towards the exit.

A few moments passed, the tension cleared. Everyone gave Meliodas a quick glance. They were impressed that he actually stood up to Laxus. The atmosphere slowly became festive once again as everyone resumed their drinking and talking.

“So what’s his deal?” Meliodas asked nonchalantly as he walked back over to the bar after Laxus exited. “Also I’ll have another ale please!”

“Alright, but this will be the last alright?” Mirajane smiled at Meliodas and refilled his drink. “Also you should be careful of Laxus. He is becoming quite aggressive.” Mira’s friendly face turned a little solemn as she warned Meliodas.

“I’ll manage”. Meliodas replied aloofly before grabbing the mug.

As Meliodas drank his second mug of ale. He overheard Natsu and his friends begin talking when he observed a blue cat that was speaking like a human.

“A talking cat...” Meliodas commented, reminding him of his own talking pig back in Britannia.

“That’s Happy, Natsu’s best friend.” Mirajane replied. “Natsu has looked after Happy ever since he hatched.”
“I am sorry, did you say he hatched?” Meliodas asked, confused at the concept of a cat hatching from an egg.

“Yes, out of an egg.”

“How did a cat hatch out of an egg?”

“Well Natsu found a large egg in the forest once, and he brought it back to the guild. Around a week later, Happy hatched out of the egg.”

“That's a great story, but how does a cat hatch out of an Egg?” Meliodas kept asking.

“Happy is a magical Cat.” Mirajane said smiling.

“Magical Cat?”

“He is a cat that is able to fly.”

“A happiness bringing, flying magical cat?” Meliodas murmured. “All I had was a magical talking pig that ate all the leftovers...”

“What's that?” Mirajane turned to Meliodas.

“Nothing, just talking to myself.” Meliodas replied.

“Alright then.” Mirajane said as she turned back to Lucy, who was getting up from the table as she was joining up with Natsu. “Lucy, take care of yourself on the mission.”

“Thanks Mira, bye!” Lucy replied as she turned to Meliodas. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Likewise.” Meliodas replied back.

“So they all went off on a mission huh?” Meliodas asked Mirajane.

“Mhm. There is a mission request board over there. It’s how the mages here earn money. We haven’t been accepting a lot of new missions because of the renovations but there are still some older jobs posted there. It’s a great way to make money, but knowing those five, they’ll probably cause more damage than what the mission pays for.”

Meliodas continued to drink in silence as he thought about what Mirajane had just told him. However, while he was lost in thought, he did not realize that Mira was now replacing his drinks with juice.

‘So joining a guild would definitely help me in making money to survive here while I gather information on potential magic that could help me return. ’ Meliodas mused as he drank his juice. ‘Hmm…’ Meliodas smacked his lips. ‘This is..’ He looked towards his drink which was now just orange juice.

“Last one” he requested.

“Nope.”

“Mix it with the juice.” he offered.

“Nope..”

“What abou-”

“No.” Mirajane looked at Meliodas sternly.

“Fine.” Meliodas gave up and drank the juice instead. Mirajane smiled as she watched Meliodas drink.

For the next couple of hours, Meliodas remained at the bar and asked Mirajane a lot of questions pertaining to the guild and to the world in general. He also asked Mira about different magic to see if he could get a lead on powerful spatial magic, all of which were answered by her.

“That's about the gist of it. The book store owner is also right. There are indeed many different guilds in the continent of Fiore. The total count amounts to almost 500 in all of Fiore. All of these guilds may have some unique wizards that may be able to help you with what you’re looking for. But the use of spatial magic for transport is quite rare. I am afraid I don't particularly know of anyone that uses it solely for travel. The master may be able to help you with that. He has seen much more of the world then I have.”

“Then you must have been on a lot of missions as well.” Meliodas said.

“Yes, but that was a long time ago” Mira replied. However, her expression became slightly dim as she mentioned it.

“Who is the current guild master?” Meliodas asked, trying to change the subject, noticing Mirajane’s change in expression.

“Our master is Makarov Dreyar.”

“Makarov Dreyar. What’s he like?”

“See for yourself. It looks like he is back.” Mirajane pointed to a very short elderly man with a thick white mustache who had just walked into the building. Meliodas looked curiously at the old man as despite his looks, could tell he was powerful.

“Master! Over here! Someone needs to see you!” Mirajane called. The old man turned his head and walked over to the bar where he took a seat next to Meliodas.

“That council meeting was tiring...and I still have a lot of paperwork to finish…” Makarov mumbled as he hung his head down with exhaustion. Mirajane quickly poured him a glass of booze that was gulped down quickly by Makarov. Suddenly, his tired demeanor disappeared and was replaced with a more upbeat jolly one.

“So this young man here wanted to see me?” Makarov inquired as he looked at Meliodas. Meliodas introduced himself as he felt Makarov’s gaze analyze him.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Meliodas.”

Chapter Text

“He’s the one who Erza was talking about earlier that reflected the Jupiter Cannon and destroyed the entire front half of the Phantom Lord guild.” Mirajane added in.

“So you are the one who turned the tide of that battle and saved my children…” Makarov stood up on the barstool and bowed his head. Even while standing on the barstool he wasn’t as tall as Meliodas sitting down, despite Meliodas’s own short stature.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal. It just felt like the right thing to do.” Meliodas replied.
Makarov smiled and sat back down. It was rare to meet a kid with such extraordinary manners and heart.

“I am Makarov Dreyar, the third guild master of Fairy Tail. If there is anything you need from our guild, please do not hesitate to ask.”

“Actually, I do need help. I was wondering if there was somewhere we could speak about it?” Meliodas responded.

“Of course. Come into my office. Makarov replied before hopping off the bar stool and walking towards his office. Meliodas also stood up and turned around to face Mirajane.

“Thanks for the drinks.” He said to Mira before following behind Makarov.

---

The two entered Makarov’s office. The office was still in the process of renovation, with scaffolds along the walls. The back wall had a large shelf with many books and files on it. In the center of the room was a wooden desk with a chair behind it and a chair in front of it. Makarov took a seat at his desk and looked at Meliodas. He gestured at Meliodas to sit down in the chair across his table.

“Alright what did you wish to speak with me about?”

“I was wondering if you would be able to provide me with knowledge regarding a certain type of magic.” Meliodas started.

“What type of magic?” Makarov asked curiously.

“Spatial magic.”

“Is that all you had to ask?” Makarov was surprised. He didn’t think the request would be so simple. “There’s many different applications to spatial magic. We have a few users here that are particularly proficient at it.”

“Really!” Meliodas stood up and exclaimed. He found what he was looking for so quickly. “Is there anyone in the guild that can use magic to transport someone?”

“Transport a person?” Makarov thought about it for a second. “I don’t recall anyone in our guild that uses magic like that. In fact, even among some of the other guilds, that kind of ability is very rare.”

“Ah..” Meliodas slumped back down to his chair. He got excited too quickly.
Noticing his disappointed expression, Makarov made a suggestion.

“There may not be what you are looking for amongst the wizards, but you can always check through the library we have in the guild. There are plenty of books we have in the guild that can help you find what you are looking for.

“You would let a stranger look through your books?” Meliodas asked.

“Of course not, but you saved my family. Plus, I can tell by looking at you, that you have no ill intentions. It would be extremely selfish of me to deny your request.” Makarov replied. “Of course, if you are interested then you are also free to join the guild as a member.” Makarov continued.

“Join the guild?...” Meliodas thought about it for a second. He had a rough idea of how it operated. He would be able to go on missions at his leisure to make money. He could spend the rest of the time looking for a way to get back. He made his decision and turned towards Makarov.

“I’d be happy to join, but I have to let you know that it will be temporary. I have to return to my friends as soon as possible.” Meliodas said. He didn’t want to join the guild only to leave so abruptly.

“That’s okay. You have your own reasons and we won’t force you to reveal them. Everyone in the guild has their own secrets. “

“Then as a member, I promise to also do my best in assisting the guild in any way that I can.” Meliodas said.

“It's great to have you on board.” Makarov smiled brightly as he extended out his hand.
Meliodas shook his hand and left the office. He made his way over to Mirajane. He remembered that Makarov had told him to receive his guild mark from Mirajane.

“Hey Mira.” Meliodas greeted.

“Welcome back, did you get the information you were looking for from the master?”

“No, but I do have some clues. And the master was kind enough to invite me to join the guild.”

“Oh, that's great news!” Mira exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’ll try to find what I’m looking for while doing missions.” Meliodas replied.

“What color and where would you like your mark?” Mirajane asked. Meliodas thought about it briefly. He already had a red tattoo of the dragon sin on his left arm and decided to put the mark on his right arm to even things out.

“The color red, and right here.” Meliodas lifted his right sleeve and pointed at his upper arm just beneath the shoulder. Mirajane nodded and pressed down on Meliodas’s bare skin with the stamp. As the stamp made contact with his skin, Meliodas could feel a warm sensation coming from the stamp, like some sort of magic. Mirajane released the stamp and the red mark of Fairy Tail remained on Meliodas’s right arm. Meliodas looked at the new tattoo on his arm, admiring its design. As he looked at the mark, he felt something special about it.

“And with that you’re officially a member of Fairy Tail!” Mirajane commented.

“Thanks, I think I’ll take off for the night, I will see you all tomorrow.” Meliodas bid his farewells and left the guild hall.

He made his way around town looking for lodgings. He didn’t need to sleep as often as normal humans but that didn’t mean he would live in a cave again.

Meliodas walked down the main road of Magnolia town for several minutes, remembering the location of a hotel that was on the way to the guild. He soon approached the hotel named “Hotel Magnolia.” The building looked old, like it was one of the first buildings to be built in town. The white paint on the walls of the hotel were cracking away. The hotel wasn’t in great condition but because of this, Meliodas figured it would be a lot cheaper than staying at a nicer hotel considering his lack of stable money.

Meliodas opened the front door, with the door creating a large creaking noise as he swung it open. A bell chimed as Meliodas walked in and he approached the front desk. There, he was greeted by the receptionist, an average height, short brown haired woman with brown eyes wearing a black suit.

“One room please.” Meliodas requested.
“How long would you like to rent it for?” She asked.

“Just for the night.”

“Very well, that will be five thousand jewels.”

Meliodas paid the woman and headed into his room. The room was nicer than he expected, having somewhat new wall paint and a clean appearance. Meliodas threw his book bag onto the desk and he jumped onto the bed and began thinking about his plans for the future.

‘First I need to earn some money. I’ve spent a lot of what I took from that mugger.’ He thought to himself as he looked at the small wad of bills left in his pocket. He had roughly ten thousand five hundred jewels left.

‘I’ll go on a mission tomorrow to earn some quick money, then I’ll continue my search.’ He finalized his plan before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

----

Meliodas woke up around noon the next day and washed his face and body. He went downstairs to eat the free food that was offered as part of his stay. After finishing it off, he returned the key to the receptionist and made his way towards the guild. Today would be spent earning some money. ‘I can use this city as base. I just need to find a permanent place to stay.’

Meliodas approached the guild, which was still under construction. He entered through the main hall and saw that the guild was already filled with people chatting or looking at the job boards. The moment he entered, he was suddenly greeted by a group of people with large grins on their faces.

“Yo Meliodas! I heard you joined the guild!!”

“Welcome to the guild!”

“Thanks for helping us back then!”

The greetings kept coming and Meliodas just smiled and greeted them back. After ten minutes he finally managed to get away from the crowd and went towards Mirajane, who was behind the bar.

“Yo!” Meliodas waved in greeting. Mirajane looked up while wiping the counter and saw Meliodas approaching.

“Welcome back!” Mirajane greeted back with a smile.

“I want to go on a mission.”

“That’s great. Do you know which one you want to do?”

“No, I still don't know which one to take. Are all the missions on the board available for me to take?”

“Yes, except for the S rank missions. The S rank mission flyers will be marked. Those are extremely dangerous where chances of fatality are high. In order to take them, you have to qualify as an S rank wizard. Of course, if you want, you can always team up with someone to do the mission. You would have to split the reward, but you can finish it much faster.” Mirajane explained.

“Alright, I’ll go look for one then.”

“When you find one, make sure to let me know before you leave.”

Meliodas nodded and walked towards the request board. He stared at the various mission flyers posted on the large bulletin board. There were simple missions such as delivery or helping out at a restaurant with staffing. Then there were missions for subduing monsters or catching thieves. Lastly, he saw missions that had extremely high payouts. Some were for destroying dark guilds and some were for capturing dangerous criminals.

Meliodas did not want too much trouble for his first mission. He just wanted to earn money as quickly as possible. As he stood by the request board he noticed another person also staring at the board. The man had a large build with spiky silver hair and tanned skin. He remembered Mirajane talking about her family yesterday. This was her brother, Elfman.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted.

Elfman turned over, looking down at Meliodas who was tiny compared to him. He had a menacing expression on his face as he greeted Meliodas before turning his head away.

“Hey, you’re that newbie, Meliodas right?”

Meliodas nodded as he turned his attention back towards the board and began browsing through the missions. As he was staring at the mission board thinking about which mission to take, when Elfman’s voice suddenly broke his train of thought.

“If you’re looking for a job to make fast jewels, I recommend a hunting mission. It makes good money and is a job for a real MAN! Since it's your first mission, I’ll take you along with me!”

“You really want to go with a “newbie?” Meliodas asked jokingly.

“I saw the way you confronted Laxus earlier. You have the heart of a real MAN! I would love to go on a hunting mission with you!”

“Well, the more the merrier.” Meliodas responded as he gazed over the board for several moments until a mission caught his eye. He picked the flyer off the board and showed it to Elfman.

“How about this one?” Meliodas flashed the flyer up to Elfman’s face, reading “Dread Wolf Extermination: two hundred thousand jewel reward. It has a high reward and according to the location it should be close by.” Elfman’s eyes lit up upon reading the text.

“Yes! That is a MANly mission! We will set off immediately!” Elfman responded as he and Meliodas accepted the mission, taking place at Magnolia Farms, south of Magnolia Town.

Chapter Text

Meliodas grabbed the flyer off the job board and made his way towards Mirajane. He placed the flyer on the bar table before speaking.

“I’ll take this one.”

Mirajane looked over the job flyer before replying.
“This one is a good mission to start with. There isn’t much advice I can give you. It's a simple mission to defeat some wild animals that have been attacking the farm...”

Just as the two were speaking, Elfman walked up to the bar with a large grin on his face.
“I will be going too big sis, so this will be a piece of cake for a MAN!” Eflman said, giving Mirajane a thumbs up.

Mirajane was a bit surprised, but still smiled in response.
“Alright then, take care, you two!”

The duo left the building and went towards the job location. The farmland was very close to the town, so they required no transportation to get there.

---

Meliodas and Elfman approached the Magnolia farmland as the sun was beaming above them. It was still in the middle of the afternoon when they arrived.The farmland was vast, expanding out for miles with bits of forest and hills in between and small houses and barns scattered. Meliodas and Elfman continued to walk down the dirt path, with the sounds of various farm animals around them.

“Are you ready for your first MANLY mission, Meliodas?!” Elfman yelled excitedly.

“I look forward to it.” Meliodas replied calmly with a smile. “You know I think you would like my friend Escanor.”

“Escanor?” Elfman asked. Meliodas nodded.

“Yeah. You talk a lot about being manly and people say Escanor is a true man among men, and I agree.”

“Well let me say, that MAN sounds like a MANLY MAN, man!” Elfman enthusiastically replied. Meliodas titled his head, confused at what Elfman just said but smiled back.

“Tell me about this Escanor MAN!” Elfman insisted.

“Sure.” Meliodas said.

The two of them continued walking down the dirt path through the farmland as Meliodas told Elfman stories about Escanor until they arrived at their destination. The two of them stopped in front of an old wooden barn. The barn had several patched holes and there were traces of blood and claw marks around the walls of the barn.

As Meliodas inspected the exterior of the barn, he heard the sound of sniffling next to him. He looked to Elfman and saw him tearing up.

“That MAN Escanor...was a true MAN!” Elfman said as he wiped his eyes. Meliodas chuckled and looked back at the barn, where an old man walked out. The old man was short, nearly the same height as Meliodas. He was bald with many wrinkles on his forehead. He had black eyes with large backs underneath them, indicating his lack of sleep.

“A-ah...you two must be from Fairy Tail.” The old man said as he slowly walked to them.

“That’s right, I’m Meliodas!” Meliodas greeted.

“E-Elfman.” Elfman said as he regained his composure.

“Meliodas and Elfman. It is great to meet you both but we must be quick. Those damn Dread Wolves just appeared one night and started slaughtering the cattle. There were at least several dozen of them...me and several other farmers have been trying to keep them at bay but we’re no fighters and only a couple of us can even use magic to begin with. Last night, most of us got hurt fighting them off. The other farmers are currently in Magnolia Hospital and I’m the only one left...Please...I beg of you...get rid of them.” The old man pleaded as he fell to his knees.

“Of course we will! Cause that’s what being a MAN is all about!” Elfman enthusiastically yelled. Meliodas extended a hand out to the old man and helped him up as Elfman looked around.

“Where are they, we will crush them like real MEN!” Elfman shouted.

“They always appear at night to attack us from the forest behind the barn. We tried tracking them in the morning, but they are experts at hiding. These last few days, they appeared around the time the sun set.”

Meliodas looked up at the sky. There were still a few hours left before the sun set.

“Alright, well let us help you fix up the walls and fences.” Meliodas suggested.

“Why not just go find the wolves and hunt them down first?” Elfman asked.

“That is too much work. If the wolves all appear at once, we can finish them in one fell swoop. So it would be best to just wait here for them to all come at once. Meanwhile, let’s just help the old man fix his farm.”

Elfman thought about it for a moment before agreeing.
“Yes! Fighting them all at once would be a challenge only a real MAN can do!”

Meliodas began fixing up the inside of the barn while chatting away with the old man about his favorite booze. Elfman remained outside, patching the holes with wooden planks.

---

The day settled and the night approached. Elfman and Meliodas had both finished their work and were preparing for the arrival of the wolves. They had boarded up and patched the fences, in case any wolves may slip through.

Suddenly, the group heard a faint howling coming through the forest. The old man trembled at the noise and clasped his hands in prayer.

“They are preparing...” He mumbled. Meliodas reassured the old man, patting him lightly on the back.

“Rest up inside, gramps. By the time you wake up tomorrow morning, all the Dread wolves will be dealt with.”

“Thank you both, very much…” The old man said as he slowly walked out of the barn.

Meliodas and Elfman hopped over the fence at the back of the barn facing the forest. For another half an hour the duo waited in anticipation. Behind them, the farmland was brightly illuminated by the full moon’s light.

“It’s a full moon tonight...this might be a rough night. Dread Wolves get stronger during a full moon. But that’s what being a MAN is all about! We will face this challenge like men!” Elfman yelled out.

Meliodas remained silent as he stared at the full moon, thinking about the moment he flew into the rift. Now, most of his power was gone and he could hardly bring out the darkness within him. However, under the night sky, he felt his power rise, thanks to his demon biology.

Another half an hour passed and from the trees, a low growling echoed. Meliodas and Elfman looked towards the trees and saw a pair of glowing red eyes, filled with bloodlust, followed by the sound of snarling.

“Let’s show these beasts the power of a MAN!” Elfman yelled as he got into an offensive stance.

“Beast Arm: Black Bull!”

Meliodas glanced over at Elfman, intrigued by his transformation. Elfman’s right arm began to grow even more muscular and turned a pitch black color.

From the forest, more than a dozen red glowing eyes appeared in the darkness. The growling stopped as an eerie silence filled the cold night air. The silence is soon broken by a distant howl as the huge bodies of the large wolves emerged from the forest.

Meliodas and Elfman looked at the first few wolves charging at them. They were nearly as tall as Elfman while on their fours, taller if they stood on their hind legs. They had jet black fur that hardly lit up even in the moonlight. Their eyes glowed a menacing crimson red as they snarled.

Meliodas cracked his knuckles. ‘Well then…this is a good time to test how much weaker I got.’

Elfman prepared to take on the assault head on as Meliodas leaped forward, plunging deep into the wolves’ formation. Several of the wolves were launched high into the air as Meliodas kicked them up.

More wolves appeared near Elfman’s side as he held them off with the gargantuan strength of his right arm, easily throwing the wolves above the trees and away from the barn behind them.

Meliodas continued striking each of the wolves, feeling the bones in their bodies crack under his fists as they were sent flying through several trees. As the fight continued on, Meliodas noticed a small change in himself. It was a change that was very miniscule, but enough to notice. Meliodas’s original strength was very slowly returning to him. At the rate at which he felt it return, it would take some time, but it was there, slowly coming back to him the more he fought.

A few wolves had managed to slip past Meliodas and Elfman and began tearing holes in the wall to reach the animals.

Meliodas reached under his large shirt and pulled out the dagger he had taken from the thug. Putting all of his power into his legs, he leaped towards the wolves attacking the barn, with the force of his jump shattering the ground below him.

In an instant, Meliodas cut through the wolves attacking the barn, their bodies falling into pieces as they were cut through multiple times simultaneously. Having gotten rid of the wolves at the barn, Meliodas turned back around, facing the rest of the pack. Their numbers have severely dwindled, with only less than a dozen remaining.

“Arghhhhh!!!” Elfman roared as he swung the bodies of two wolves around, hitting the other wolves around him in the process. “This is the power...of a MAN!!!” Elfman yelled.

Meliodas charged forward again with his dagger out in front of him in a spinning motion towards the remaining wolves, cutting through each of them with great ease as if cutting through butter until only one wolf remained.

“Hah, this one must be the alpha male.” Elfman commented as he walked up next to Meliodas. Meliodas nodded as he looked at the wolf. It was nearly double the size of the other dread wolves and had streaks of white fur on it. Across its face were several large scars.

Meliodas charged forward at the wolf and with his dagger, slashed at his face. As he flashed by the wolf, he noticed his dagger was no longer in his hands, but held firmly in the wolf’s mouth.

Meliodas looked down at his now empty hand, slightly puzzled. ‘Huh…guess I’m not as strong as I thought I was?’

The wolf spit out the dagger from its massive teeth and charged at Elfman. Elfman grinned as he prepared himself to take on the beast.

“Beast Arm: Iron Bull!” Elfman yelled as his black arm suddenly turned into a hard steel-like material, gleaming light off of the full moon.

He raised his right arm in front of him as the dread wolf launched his massive body at Elfman. Elfman was pushed back as the wolf charged head on into him, until eventually falling on the ground.

“Ggghhh!” Elfman grunted as he kept the wolf’s massive teeth away from him with his iron arm. The wolf roared as it sunk its teeth into Elfman’s arm. Despite it being hardened, it pierced through partially and blood started to drip.

“This is nothing...because I am a MAN! And you are a wolf, not a MAN!” Elfman yelled as he tried to push the wolf off of him.

Meliodas looked around hastily and found his dagger on the ground. He quickly ran to it and picked it up off the ground in one swift motion as he dashed towards Elfman and the dread wolf.

As he looked at the wolf, he tightened his grip on the dagger and pushed forward with his legs.

“Haah!” Meliodas yelled as he spun his body while he slashed through the back of the wolf, completely bisecting it.

The wolf’s grip on Elfman’s arm eventually gave way as the wolf’s fierce glowing eyes began to dim.

Meliodas landed on the ground and looked back at Elfman, who had just pulled the Wolf off of him and threw the half that was on him on the ground next to the other half.

“Settled that like a real MAN!” Elman said, giving Meliodas a thumbs up as his right arm began to shrink and the metal-like texture reverted to skin. There were still small wounds from the wolf’s teeth on Elfman’s arm but it was nothing serious and the bleeding had already stopped.

Meliodas looked around the area where they were fighting. The grass was covered in the blood of the beasts as the moon illuminated the battlefield.

“Hmmm...what to do with all of these bodies here…” Meliodas said to himself out loud while looking at all of the corpses. He thought about it briefly, remembering the old man’s health due to these wolves and that most of his animals had been killed, which were a primary source of income for his farm.

Meliodas crouched down on the ground next to one of the corpses. As he pulled out his dagger, Elfman looked at him, perplexed by his actions. Meliodas began skinning the wolf with his dagger. Having made clothes before in Purgatory from the hides of beasts that were far tougher, the pelts of these wolves were easy for Meliodas to skin.

As the night went on, Meliodas finished skinning the wolves. Elfman returned with the old man as the sun came up. The old man was surprised at what he saw. Dozens of wolf pelts were stacked on top of each other while a young boy covered from head to toe in blood waved at him.

“We took care of those wolves for you. But Meliodas here...is a true MAN. He went as far as to remove their pelts so you could sell them for money and replace the animals you lost…” Elfman said, beginning to tear up in admiration of Meliodas’s actions.

“Well it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Meliodas responded. The old man’s eyes began to well up with tears as he got on the ground.

“Y-you’re too kind. I wish there was more I could give to you…”

“Dry your tears old man. We did this job cause it was the MANLY thing to do!” Elfman replied.

“Well you’re the one tearing up, Elfman.” Meliodas laughed.

Chapter Text

Meliodas and Elfman returned to the guild hall early in the morning having received their money from their last job. Despite the early hours, the guild hall was bustling with people who were already drinking and fighting each other. An empty mug flew past Meliodas’s head and hit the wall behind him as he watched two guys wrestling on the ground.

“Elfman, Meliodas. Welcome back!” A voice greeted them from the side. Meliodas and Elfman turned their heads to see it was Mirajane.

“Big sis, Meliodas is a true MAN!” Elfman said enthusiastically.

“Meliodas you’re covered in dry blood.” Mirajane commented on Meliodas’s appearance. The blood of the wolves he slain had turned his white sweater almost completely red along with patches of blood on his face.

“Oh yeah! I should probably get cleaned up. You guys got a bath here?” Meliodas asked, laughing off the fact that he was covered in blood.

“No we don’t...You don’t have your own place?” Mirajane asked, concerned.

“No...not yet. I’ll work on getting one. In the meantime, I think I’ll just use the public bath house down the road, and buy some new clothes while I’m at it.” Meliodas waved goodbye as he exited the guild hall.

He looked over his danky clothing as he walked down the road. They already had some holes and were stained with wolf blood. ‘No clothes, and no real place to stay. First let's take care of this clothing.’

Meliodas continued to walk down the road, with people giving him strange looks, as seeing a young boy covered in blood was quite unordinary. While walking down the road, Meliodas spotted a store that caught his attention. In big bold letters above the entrance said “Heart Kruz.” The store looked very refurbished with newly painted silver paint over the bricks and the outside windows covering the clothing displays were spotless.

Meliodas walked into the store and noticed that the place was quite crowded. To his surprise a majority of the people ignored a young boy wearing blood stained clothing as they continued conversing amongst themselves.

“Hey, I want the new Heart Cruz Design!”

“Wait, I was here first!”

“Don’t cut in front of me!”

‘Is this a famous brand?’ Meliodas thought to himself as he made his way over to the mens clothing section. As he walked over, he was greeted by a young, female store associate who shrieked when she saw his appearance.

“Hello, I would like some new clothing please.” Meliodas requested, ignoring her shriek. The young lady calmed herself down for a moment. ‘It's probably just juice stains. After all he is just a kid...’ She thought.

“I am sorry young man, but the clothing section for kids is over there.” The associate replied while pointing to a different section of the store. Meliodas shook his head.

“I am not a kid. Meliodas sighed “Just show me what you have in my size.”

“Are you sure, these clothes are quite expensive you know.”

“Just show me.” Meliodas replied impatiently. Looking like this in a new world was starting to get annoying. The associate showed Meliodas around the store to some clothes that would fit him. She instinctively pointed to clothing that was relatively cheaper before leaving him on his own.

Meliodas didn’t care and picked out an outfit similar to his clothing tastes in the previous world. He bought a black vest over a full white shirt, and black pants with black leather shoes.

“I’ll take all these.” Meliodas said as he placed all of the clothes on the counter. The cashier raised an eyebrow looking at Meliodas’s appearance and sighed.

“I don’t get paid enough for this…” The cashier mumbled to himself. “The total comes out to 15,500 Jewels.”

Meliodas paid the cashier and left with his new clothes, looking forward to trying them on after he cleans up.

Next, he made his way over to the bathhouse he first bathed in when he arrived. After washing himself up, he discarded his old clothing and put on the ones he had just bought. He looked at himself in the mirror before leaving. His pants and vest were a perfect fit, but his collared shirt didn’t feel right. He unbuttoned his collar and rolled his sleeves up, feeling a lot more comfortable after doing so.

With clothing and bathing out of the way, Meliodas still had one more thing to do. He wanted to look for a place to rent. He couldn’t keep staying at the hotel everyday. With every bit of information he collected, he needed a place to organize it.

Meliodas vaguely remembered some houses that were leasing near the guild. He walked back over to the street where he remembered it was, feeling good as he walked by people without receiving strange looks.

Meliodas approached the neighborhood. The houses were small and made of white bricks, with each house being only one story tall. However, it appeared to be well taken care of and quiet. In front of him, was a house with a sign that said “For Lease 1 Room.”
Meliodas walked up to the door and knocked on it.

Several moments later, a grumpy looking old man opened the door. The old man had long gray hair parted on one side that went to his eyes and rectangular rimmed glasses and was still in his pajamas. He looked down and saw a young boy who appeared to be around 12-13 years old.

“What do you want, kid?”

“I saw that you were looking for tenants and I wish to rent a place.” Meliodas replied, going straight to the point.

The old man looked at Meliodas for a moment and shook his head before preparing to close the door. Meliodas noticed his intent and quickly put his foot out in front of the door to prevent it from closing.

“Hold on, why are you shutting the door?”

“Look kid, go back to your parents. I don’t have time for these games.”

“First of all, I am not a kid. And secondly, if you’re worried about payment, don’t.” Meliodas said as he pulled out a stack of bills. The old man’s skeptical expression turned into surprise as Meliodas pulled out the money but was quickly replaced with skepticism again.

“Listen, kid. I don't know where you got all that money from. For all I know, you could’ve stolen it. Renting isn’t just about the money. I need some credibility from you. If you can prove to me that you did earn your money in an honest way, then I’ll rent it to you.

‘Man this guy is stubborn.’ Meliodas thought for a moment when an idea popped into his head. He pulled up his right sleeve all the way, revealing his tricep and showed the old man the Fairy Tail emblem.

“See, I am a proper member of the Fairy Tail guild, that should count right.”

The old man became startled upon seeing the insignia on Meliodas’s shoulder. He cleared his throat as he regained his composure before replying.

“I suppose that should be enough. Alright I’ll let you rent it for a couple months and if there are no problems because of you, then I’ll continue letting you stay alright?

Meliodas nodded his head in agreement. This house was closest to the guild, and would most likely not be very expensive as he was only renting the top floor. The landlord let Meliodas in the house to begin filling in paperwork. Meliodas entered the house with the landlord and took a seat at the table. The house seemed small but comfortable. There were several file cabinets behind the table and a large house plant in the corner. On the wall directly behind the desk were two sickle weapons mounted and framed.

“What Interesting weapons...” Meliodas commented. The old man remained silent and they began filling out paperwork.

“Great. First pay the initial deposit. It’ll be 50,000 Jewels and you have till the end of the month for the rent.”

“Then I guess we have a deal then.” Meliodas stood up from his seat and extended his hand out for a handshake. The old man stood up from his seat and shook his hand.

“Meliodas was it?” The landlord asked, remembering the name Meliodas had written on the contract. “You may call me Schneider.”

Meliodas paid the man and was given a key to the house.

“If there’s anything wrong inside, let me know.” Schneider said.

“Thanks, I will.”

Meliodas left the house and walked outside. He saw some stairs leading to the floor above and went up.

“3370.” Meliodas read out loud as he looked at his key which had the numbers engraved on it. “This must be the place.”

Meliodas unlocked the door and walked inside. The interior was small, but comfy. It had a bedroom, bathroom, a living room and a small kitchen space, all the necessities Meliodas needed.

The old man reminded him of the bill one more time.
“Remember kid, 100,000 jewels at the end of the month. Meliodas shook his head as he was called a kid again.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Meliodas replied as he left the house and headed back towards the guild.

Chapter Text

Meliodas walked into the guild hall, refreshed, cleaned up and wearing his new clothing.

“Hey kid, I see ya got some new attire going for ya!” A voice called out from a nearby table. Sitting at the table were two older looking men. One was a slim man with dark blue hair and a light amount of facial hair. The other was a man with a cigarette in his mouth and brown hair shaped into a pompadour.

“I’m no kid ya old farts.” Meliodas said jokingly as he took a seat next to them.

“Oi we’re not that old!” Both of the men retorted back at the same time. Meliodas laughed a bit then introduced himself.

“Anyway, I’m Meliodas!”

“I’m Macao.” The dark blue haired man replied. “Here, have something to drink” Macao said as he passed Meliodas a mug of ale.

“And I’m Wakaba.” The man with the pompadour replied. “Say, I saw you hanging around the bar drinking a lot yesterday. Hell, you nearly drank as much as our guild alcoholic, Cana.” Wakaba said, pointing to a scantily dressed brunette woman at one of the tables drinking a whole barrel of booze by herself.

“Well the booze here certainly is good, and I think she understands that. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate a good quality booze doesn’t deserve to drink it.” Meliodas said, remembering sampling all of the various booze selections at the bar.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Macao replied.

“Drinking couldn’t have been the only thing you were doing at that bar. I saw ya, talking to that beauty, Mirajane for a while. She’s one hell of a woman isn’t she?” Wakaba inquired.

“Nah she’s not my type.” Meliodas nonchalantly replied.

“The hell?! How could she not be your type?! What is your type of woman then?” Wakaba asked, shocked that Meliodas didn’t find Mirajane attractive enough.

“Hmm…” Meliodas thought for a bit and imagined Elizabeth in his head. He spent a few moments thinking of a way to describe her.

“I like my women to have a slender, curvaceous figure, a nice rack I can grope, bright blue eyes, an ass that I can bury my face in, and long silver hair.” Meliodas said out loud confidently. Both Wakaba and Macao looked at Meliodas with shocked expressions.

“You literally just described Mirajane!” Both of them yelled in tandem. Meliodas glanced over at Mirajane at the bar.

“Nah I don’t see it.” Meliodas replied back, shrugging his shoulders. Both of the men shook their heads at Meliodas’s response.

“Meliodas!” A voice yelled from behind him. Meliodas turned around and saw Natsu charging at him.

“I heard from Elfman you were super strong. Lets fight!” Natsu yelled, with flames leaking from his mouth.

Meliodas grinned and stood up. “Alright. Let's see what you got”

The surrounding members of the guild heard Natsu and turned their attention towards him. They were also interested in seeing how strong Meliodas was. He managed to stop the Jupiter Cannon, but no one had seen him actually fight yet. Even Erza, Gray and Lucy were watching from the side.

“Alright whenever you’re ready.” Meliodas said. Natsu ignited his fist and rushed forward, surprising Meliodas slightly. ‘He lit his fist on fire? Is this his magic?’

“Fire Dragon Iron Fist!”

Natsu threw the punch at Meliodas to which Meliodas easily countered his punch by knocking away his arm. He gave him a swift kick to the chest as Natsu was now wide open, sending him back into the wall. With the kick, Meliodas held back his strength as he wanted to see more of Natsu’s magic. It was unique and he had never seen anything like it.

Natsu recovered and became even more excited. “Wow, you are strong.” He took in a large breath as a runic symbol appeared in front of his mouth.

‘What’s he doing now?’ Meliodas watched curiously.

“Fire Dragon’s... ROAR!!” Natsu shouted as he exhaled a large stream of fire towards Meliodas. ‘Is he breathing fire? Wow. But why would he do it inside the guild…’ Meliodas thought to himself as he extended his arm out in front of him with his palm facing the flames.

“Oyyy, what are you doing you idiot?! Not in the guild!” Gray yelled from the side.

“Why is Meliodas just standing there!” Lucy exclaimed.

Erza narrowed her eyes as she watched. The moment just before the blast hit Meliodas’s palm, it completely vanished. Natsu was stunned that his breath attack just disappeared. Gray and Erza were speechless.

“What kind of magic did he use? The blast completely disappeared?!” Lucy questioned. Natsu was surprised but he still ran towards Meliodas, winding up a punch.

“Alright, then.” Meliodas said with a smile on his face.

Natsu threw the punch. Just as his fist was inches away from Meliodas face he felt a hard, blunt pain hit his chin and found himself being launched towards the ceiling. Before he knew it, Natsu crashed into the upper beams of the still-in-construction building.

The guild’s originally loud atmosphere fell silent as they watched Natsu get punched upward and get his head stuck in the ceiling.

“Oops too much.” Meliodas chuckled. He looked up and saw Natsu flailing his feet as he tried to push his head out. Meliodas jumped up and plucked Natsu out of the ceiling then threw him onto the floor.

“Natsu, that's so embarrassing! You got beat so quickly!” Happy laughed as he flew towards Natsu’s limp body. Natsu immediately sprung up from the ground groggily.

“Rematch ti-” Natsu’s mumbled as he stumbled his way towards Meliodas. However, he was interrupted as a hand grabbed the top of his head and began dragging him away.

“That’s enough for today Natsu!” Erza said sternly, dragging him away from Meliodas. Meliodas watched as Natsu’s fiery attitude vanished instantly as he was dragged away by Erza. ‘What an interesting Magic. Breathing and punching with fire.’

“Wow, nice work. That flame brain has been heated ever since that situation with Laxus. And after seeing you stand up to him, he’s been itching to fight you.” Gray said, approaching Meliodas.

“It’s not a problem. By the way Gray, you look different. Did you get some new clothes?” Meliodas asked Gray.

“Uhh...no I didn’t?” Gray responded, confused at Meliodas’s question. Both Wakaba and Macao facepalmed at Meliodas’s question.

“Of course he looks different! He’s naked! Gray your clothes!” Macao shook his head. Gray looked down and realized he had stripped down completely naked unconsciously again, a bad habit of his.

“Shit where did my clothes go?!” Gray exclaimed as he scrambled around the guild hall picking up the clothes scattered across the ground.
Meliodas sat back down next to Macao and Wakaba again as Gray ran around looking for his clothes.

“So Meliodas. How are you fitting into the guild” Gray said several minutes later as he returned back to the table, now fully clothed as if nothing had happened. Meliodas sat back down at the table with Gray sitting across.

“It’s been good. You guys are an interesting bunch.” Meliodas replied.

“I heard you already went on a mission yesterday with Elfman, how did that go?”

“Killed some wolves so it was nothing special. Oh neat you changed your clothes again.” Meliodas commented as Gray somehow took off his shirt during the conversation.

“And here we go again.” Wakaba commented.

“Anyway.” Gray continued as he started putting on his shirt again. “I picked up a mission and I was wondering if you wanted to team up for it.”

“Don’t you normally go with Erza, Natsu and Lucy?” Meliodas asked curiously, having gained a general understanding of the team compositions within the guild.

“Yeah, but the last time we took a mission, we ended up having to pay for the damages out of the mission reward.” Gray said depressingly. Most of their reward had gone towards the repairs and we barely received anything from it.”

“Oh I see.” Meliodas chuckled in response.

“I heard about that. Weren’t you partly responsible for that too?” Macao asked.

Gray’s face turned pale.
“Ugh..”

“No problem, I’ll join.” Meliodas answered. But if you wreck anything, you’re paying for it.”
“Great. Don't worry, I won't wreck anything this time.”

“How much is the reward?”

“It’s 200,000 Jewels. We are just capturing some thieves.”
Meliodas nodded and accepted Gray’s request. ‘100,000 should cover the rent, and I can spend my time searching for a way to get back.’

Meliodas said goodbye to Macao and Wakaba and walked out of the guild with Gray.
Wakabe took a swig of his drink and turned to Macao.

“What a spirited kid.”

Macao agreed as he watched Meliodas get up and leave.
“I agree. He’s quite monstrous too. I can’t believe he beat Natsu that easily.”

Looks like we have quite the little monster in our guild. Maybe even more so than Erza… did you see his punch?. I didn’t even see him swing his fist.” Wakaba added in.

“Hey by the way, where’s the mission?” Meliodas asked as he walked next to Gray as he had not seen the details yet.

“It’s not very far from here. It’s over in Onibus Town, just north of Magnolia. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to get there by train.” Gray replied back.

“A train?” Meliodas asked.

Chapter Text

Meliodas and Gray finally arrived at the train station and Meliodas was stunned by what he saw. The station was a large, stone building. Inside, the duo walked down the stairs, leading to a large, open underground area. There were two sets of railroad tracks split by an island in the middle with large teal colored steel arcs high above the tracks. Just as he was staring at the tracks, he saw a large unknown object coming in from a distance. As it arrived at the station, it came to a slow, screeching halt.

“So is this the train?” Meliodas asked.

“Never seen a train before or something?” Gray asked. Meliodas shook his head and walked up closer to the tracks.

As the train stopped and people started exiting it, he walked up close to the train to see what made it move. There was no animal in front, and the entire thing was made of metal. He jumped on to the tracts and peeked under the train and he saw nothing but wheels and a system of metal rods holding the wheels. ‘Must run on magic or something.’ Meliodas thought. ‘I wonder if Britannia will get something like this.’

Gray silently watched Meliodas with a shocked expression on his face as Meliodas jumped onto the tracks.

“Oy, what are you doing?!!” Gray shouted, having recovered from his brief moment of astonishment.

As Meliodas stood on the tracks, a few bystanders noticed him and made comments.

“Hey what’s that guy doing!”

“Why is that kid jumping on the tracks?!”

“Hey kid, suicide is wrong, you have a lot to live for!”

The train conductor saw Meliodas jump onto the tracks and rushed over to the edge.
“Hey, get out of there kid!”

Meliodas looked up and saw a man yelling at him to get off the tracks. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and jumped back on.

“Wow you really haven’t seen a train before.” Gray commented as he approached Meliodas and the conductor.

“Never seen a train?!” The conductor blurted out as he looked at Meliodas. He took a closer look at Meliodas and noted his childlike appearance. The conductor sighed to himself. ‘He’s just a kid so I’ll let him go for now.’

“Look kid, it’s extremely dangerous to jump onto the tracks like that. So be careful alright. What are you doing here anyway? The conductor asked.

“We’re going to Onibus town.” Gray answered. “We’re from Fairy Tail. We got a mission there.”

“Oh I see.” The conductor said as he looked at Gray’s guild mark on his bare chest.
“Alright look, the ticket to Onibus is two thousand jewels per person for a round trip... But you need to wear clothes when you get on the train, okay?”

Gray gave the conductor a confused glance before looking down at his body.

“Dammit! Meliodas help me find my clothes really quick!” Gray exclaimed as he scrambled around the station.

Meliodas shrugged and took out the money.
“Here. I’ll get Gray’s too.”

The conductor took the money and handed Meliodas two small tickets. Meliodas looked at one of the tickets. It was a small card shaped piece of paper that was laminated.

“Alright, take the train at the other side of the tracks here. That one will get you to Onibus Town.”

“Got it thanks!” Meliodas said as he waved at the conductor before chasing after Gray.

After spending several minutes picking up Gray’s clothes again, Meliodas and Gray boarded the train to Onibus. They took a seat at one of the booths facing each other and stared out the window as the train started moving.

“How do you keep losing your clothes?” Meliodas asked Gray.

“It’s...a habit from a long time ago.” Gray answered. His face grew serious at the topic and Meliodas decided to deviate away from it.

“What kind of magic do you use?” Meliodas asked.

“Ice Make. I can practically make any object out of ice.” Gray answered. “What about you? When you fought Natsu earlier, you made his flames disappear.”

“Secret technique.” Meliodas smiled as he raised his index finger over his lips.

Gray shook his head and let out a small laugh.
“The hell. Don’t just ask me about my magic and not reveal yours.”

--

A couple of hours later, Gray and Meliodas arrived at the Onibus Town Station. After leaving the station they walked through the town.

Meliodas looked around at the town as they walked through the main street. It was a lot smaller than Magnolia but its buildings had a similar design.

“Looks like you’ve never been here before.” Gray commented.

“Nope. What about you?” Meliodas asked.

“I’ve had a couple missions here but nothing special.” Gray answered.

The duo continued walking through town until they reached a road that branched off from the rest of the town. Gray and Meliodas walked down the long road for about a kilometer until they reached a gate.

“Looks like this is the place.” Gray said while looking at the large gate. The gate appeared to be made of sturdy steel bars with the golden letters “BG” in the center of it. Gray hit the buzzer button at the side of the gate. Above the buzzer, was a surveillance lacrima. Several seconds later, a voice answered.

“This is the Bluegarden Estate. State your names and business.” The voice said from the buzzer.

“Gray Fullbuster and Meliodas...uhh…” Gray stuttered and looked at Meliodas, confused that Meliodas didn’t have a surname. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and Gray continued.

“We’re mages from Fairy Tail. He said before lifting up his shirt and showing his tattoo. We received a request from Joe Bluegarden to deal with some thieves.”

“Very well. Follow the road and stop at the main door. You will be greeted by the Master shortly.” The voice cut off and the gate opened up. Gray and Meliodas walked down the pathway. The path was made of smoothly cut stone and granite and patterned into diamonds. At the sides of the pathway, were steel lamp posts with golden lacrima as bulbs inside of them. To their left and right was a vast front yard with many gardeners trimming the greenery into various animals. One shape in particular caught Meliodas’s eye, looking like a familiar pig shape.

“Meliodas, what is your last name?” Gray asked.

“You know, I think I might have had one at one point of my life...but I don’t remember what it was…” Meliodas responded as he tried to remember if he ever took a last name.

“The hell? How do you not have one? Also, why does that sound like something an old man would say?!” Gray exclaimed, surprised at Meliodas’s answer. Meliodas looked at Gray and grinned without saying a word.

The duo arrived at the front of the large manor. The manor itself was made of a refined form of dark wood. The front face of the manor was filled with dozens of windows spanning five stories high. At the entrance, were two stone pillars engraved with a dragon design, supporting the overhang.

The front door to the manor opened and a tall, lanky man in an indigo colored diamond studded suit with blonde hair and a large curly mustache greeted them.

“Ah yes, the mages from Fairy Tail. I am Joe Bluegarden, the owner of this fine estate, but you may simply call me Joe. Please do come in.”

Meliodas and Gray walked into the manor and looked around in awe. The floors were a smooth white marble with an acrylic design. At the center of the room, was a large fountain. Mounted on top of the fountain was the statue of an angelic woman, holding a gourd where the water spilled out. Behind the fountain, was a grand staircase, adorned with a red carpet, leading to the second floor. Far above them was a giant chandelier that had at least a thousand tiny individual lights.

“Nice place ya got.” Meliodas commented while staring at the pictures on the wall.

“Why thank you. Would you two care for a drink? I can have my maids get some of the finest wine, made straight from the vineyards in the backyard.” Joe offered, while caressing his mustache.

“Well I’m not one to pass up an opportunity to try high quality booze. I’ll have a glass!” Meliodas answered.

“Just get me a glass of water.” Gray answered.

“Very well. Emma, Ali. I require your assistance!” Joe called out. Immediately, two maids ran down the stairs and bowed to Joe. One was a busty young woman with red hair and amber eyes. The other was a petite young woman with blonde hair and red eyes. Despite their differing bodily appearances, their similar faces indicated they were related.

“My guests are thirsty. Get them a glass of Rosa Bluegarden and our spring water.” Joe ordered.

“Yes master.” Both of the maids said simultaneously and they scurried into the kitchen. Several seconds later, they returned and handed Meliodas and Gray their drinks. Meliodas took a sip of the wine and his eyes opened wide. It was the one of the best tasting wines he had ever drank in his long life.

“This wine...is fantastic!” Meliodas exclaimed while Gray gulped down the water.

“Of course. We only serve the highest quality here.”

“So what’s the thief issue you’re having?” Gray asked upon finishing the glass of water.

“Ah yes. Forgive me for getting sidetracked. Recently, my beloved family treasures have been stolen. I have hired private security multiple times to address this matter but each time, they perish and more of my belongings are stolen. This has been going on for months and I fear all of my treasures may be stolen soon by the end of the year. I just couldn’t stand it any longer so I decided to request help from a magic guild.” Joe responded while twiddling with his mustache nervously.

“So where do you keep the treasure? We’ll just stand guard in front of it so when the thieves show up, we’ll beat em to the ground.” Gray said reassuringly. Joe stopped twiddling his mustache and from his coat pocket, pulled out a small black remote. Joe pushed the button on the remote, causing the water in the fountain to stop flowing.The structure of the fountain itself began to shift backwards, revealing a hidden spiral staircase.

“Follow me.” Joe said. Meliodas and Gray followed Joe down the deep stairwell. Despite being underground, it was well lit due to lacrima embedded into the walls. As they reached the bottom floor, the narrow stairwell opened into a large, empty room. At the end of the room, was a large, black round door, made of some sort of hard material. As Meliodas approached it, he could feel magical power coming from the door.

“This door is well protected.” Meliodas commented.

“It is indeed. In the past, I hired a mage to cast a special protective spell that can only be activated and deactivated by my remote here.” Joe said as he pulled out his remote.

“So if you’re the only one who has access here, then this could be an inside job then…?” Gray inquired.

“That's what I was originally thinking. However, I am the only one with the remote and it is on me at all times. Each time the vault was stolen from, the security I had hired was found dead.”

“So that’s why you hired mages...because magic may have been used here.” Gray said, looking around the large room.

“Yes, that is correct. For the time being, you two will remain down here. If you need anything, there is a buzzer on the wall to your left and I will personally come down and give it to you. Do you have any other concerns before I leave you two here?” Joe asked, looking at both of the Fairy Tail mages. Gray and Meliodas shook their heads and Joe twiddled his mustache one more time before walking back up the staircase.

“Well...we’re gonna be down here for a while…” Meliodas commented as he lay down on the floor. “Could have at least given us a couch or something.”

“A couch? No problem.” Gray replied as he smirked. Meliodas lifted his head curiously to see what Gray was up to. Gray took a stance in the middle of the room with his legs spread apart, one of his palms up, and the other formed into a fist resting on top of it.

“Ice Make: Couch!” Gray yelled out. The room became cold as ice began to form in front of Gray. As the ice formed, it began to take shape until it looked just like a couch.

“How’s that for a couch.” Gray said as he jumped on it and took a seat.

“I’d rather not freeze my butt off. I think I’ll just stay on the ground here.” Meliodas replied.

“Hah. Suit yourself.” Gray responded as he put his legs up on the rest of the couch and layed down.

Several hours passed as Gray and Meliodas lay in the underground room. There wasn’t much talking going on between them as Meliodas had closed his eyes. Gray assumed Meliodas had fallen asleep and continued to stare at the ceiling until he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Gray sat up on the couch and saw two women walking down the stairs.

“Emma and Ali?” Gray asked, confused to see them down here. In Emma’s hands, was a tray with cups filled with iced tea on it.

“Forgive us for interrupting your nap, but the Master was concerned that you two may have been thirsty so he requested we bring you drinks down here.” Ali said. Gray looked at both of them suspiciously before grabbing a drink.

“Oi, Meliodas, wake up!” Gray yelled.

“I’ve been awake.” Meliodas said as he sprung up from his laying down position. He approached the two girls and Gray handed Meliodas the other drink from the tray. Meliodas looked down at his tea curiously before drinking it. The two girls watched as Meliodas and Gray drank the tea. Several seconds passed before both Meliodas and Gray suddenly dropped to the floor, their bodies limp.

Chapter Text

“Hah, those two fools fell for it, just like the other guards.” Emma said with a smirk on her face. She and Ali walked past the bodies of Meliodas and Gray and approached the vault door. From her pocket, Emma pulled a remote out and pressed the button, deactivating the magical seal on the door. The door began to open slowly, revealing the bright golden treasures inside. Before the girls had a chance to step in the vault, a wall of ice erupted from the ground, blocking their way. The two of them turned around to see both Gray and Meliodas standing up.

“How the hell are you two still alive?! We put enough poison in those drinks to kill a large whale!” Emma exclaimed in shock.

“We only pretended to drink the tea.” Gray smirked and picked up his cup of tea from the ground and showed it to the women, revealing it was completely frozen. Meliodas also picked up his cup and showed it as well, with his having the words “Play Dead” carved into the iced over tea.

“But how did you know it was us?!” Alli questioned nervously.

“When we first came here, at first I didn’t. But when I saw you two walking down the stairs, I remembered that Joe had told us only he was allowed down here. I became more suspicious when you two said that Joe had sent you down here to give us drinks but Joe left this room with a buzzer for a task like that.” Gray replied as he walked over to the buzzer and hit the button. “And now when Joe comes down here, he’ll see that you two were behind all of it.”

“Sorry but Joe’s not coming down here. When we served him his afternoon wine, we put enough narcotics in there to keep him sleeping for the next few hours. It’s just the four of us down here.” Emma replied with a grin on her face.

“And when Joe wakes up and checks on you guys, he’ll find the bodies of two dead Fairy Tail members. Of course we will have a hard time trying to make your deaths look natural, but we’ll find a way to make it look like we weren’t here like we always have” Ali added.

“Then you leave us no choice then.” Gray said as he put his hands out in front of him.

An evil grin formed on Emma’s face as fire erupted from beneath her feet. Using the flames of her magic as propulsion, she launched herself at Gray at full speed. As she approached within striking distance of Gray, Meliodas suddenly appeared in front of her. Emma’s eyes widened as she saw Meliodas. He was previously just standing at the other side of the room, but now he was already in front of her.

Meliodas let out a cheeky smile as Emma was about to collide with him. He wound his head back and then leaned forward in a brutal headbutt. Meliodas’s head collided with Emma’s, causing Meliodas to skid back towards Gray slightly as Emma was launched across the room right next to Ali.

“Emma!” Ali yelled in distress. Sparks began to form around her as she infused her magic.

“I’ll make you pay for that!” Emma declared as blood dripped down her head. Emma prepared to jump back towards Meliodas but stopped momentarily as she winced in pain, clutching her side. Emma shook it off and lunged towards Meliodas.

Meliodas held his ground but was confused at what he just witnessed. ‘I didn’t hit her there. Was she already hurt before the fight started?’

Just before Emma reached Meliodas, Meliodas jumped backwards, revealing Gray right behind him charging his attack.

“Ice Make: Ice Geyser!”

From the ground in front of Gray, a large tower of ice spikes emerged underneath Emma.

Emma looked down at the ice forming underneath her as she found herself encased within a large tower of ice that stretched up to the ceiling.

“You’re wide open you naked punk!” A voice yelled from behind Gray. Gray turned around and saw Ali, above him in the air with lightning generating from her fingertips.

“Thunderbolt!”

She threw the lightning in her hand downward, straight towards Gray. Gray braced himself for the attack as he was unable to dodge from his position when Meliodas appeared in front of him.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas swung his sword at the lightning bolt, causing it to rebound back again towards Ali. Ali put her arms up in front of her as the lightning bolt struck her. She fell to the ground, standing up halfway but paralyzed.

“You reflected my attack?” Ali questioned as she tried to hold herself up and blood began to soak various spots of her clothing.

‘Well well well, blood again?’ Meliodas thought to himself. ‘Hmm...but I didn’t cut her.’

As Gray and Meliodas had their backs faced to the ice pillar behind them, they felt a burst of heat. Both of them turned around as Emma launched herself at Meliodas.

“Die you little runt!” Emma screamed as she launched forward, clad in fire at full speed towards Meliodas.

Before Emma could strike Meliodas, Meliodas grabbed her by the face, spinning one hundred eighty degrees and turning around to face Ali as he threw her towards Ali’s direction. Emma crashed into the ground right in front of Ali, creating a hole in the ground and a small explosion of flames.

“Ice Make: Ice-wall!”

Gray jumped in front of Meliodas then knelt on the ground with his fingertips touching the floor. As his hands touched the ground, ice began to crawl across the floor towards the two maids and completely encase them in ice.

Meliodas saw his chance and ran towards the ice. He jumped into the air, spinning forward and launched himself through the ice as he drew his blade.

Meliodas shattered through the ice as he cut both of the maids up, purposely missing their vital spots so as to not kill them. As Meliodas finished cutting through, he heard a cracking sound coming from his dagger as it split apart. ‘I guess this junk lasted longer than I thought.’ Meliodas thought as he resheathed the handle and a small portion of the blade, much akin to the appearance of his dragon handle in the past.

“Good work.” Gray nodded at Meliodas. Meliodas smiled back as the two of them walked towards the incapacitated maids.

“Ice Make: Prison!”
The floor under the maids began to freeze over as pillars of ice acting like bars formed around them, all the way up to the ceiling. The two maids sat silently in the middle of the prison, unconscious.

“Guess we’ll keep them here for now then. Let’s go upstairs and try to wake up Joe.” Gray suggested. Meliodas nodded and he and Gray began walking towards the stairs. Just as Meliodas approached the foot of the stairs, he turned around and looked at the two maids.

“What’s up?” Gray asked.

“Something’s been off this whole fight.” Meliodas replied. He walked over to the ice prison just in front of the bars.

“Can you open this?” Meliodas asked.

“Sure?” Gray replied, confused as to what Meliodas was planning. He clasped his hands together, causing a magic circle to form in front of his hands. The next moment, the bars at the front of the ice prison vanished.

Meliodas approached Ali and looked at her closely. At that moment, Ali opened her eyes, and saw Meliodas right up to her face. Meliodas pulled out what was left of his dagger and tapped her lightly on the side of her body with the handle. Ali winced in pain as she was struck.

“The hell are you doing?” Gray asked, confused at Meliodas’s actions.

“Well, well, well.” Meliodas said turning to Gray. Gray returned a confused glance at Meliodas.

“Well what?!”

Chapter Text

“Well they’re hurt.” Meliodas replied.

“Of course they are hurt, we just fought them!” Gray commented, slowly realizing what Meliodas was implying. “Wait.. you mean before the fight?”
Meliodas nodded as Gray walked up to Meliodas.

“Do you know why we do what we do?” Emma suddenly spoke up.
Meliodas and Gray both turned towards her.

“Why?” Gray asked.

“Because of this.” Emma said as she and Ali turned around and began taking off their tops.

“Wait hold up! Why the hell are you both stripping down?!” Gray exclaimed, flustered at the maids’ strange action.

“You’re one to talk Gray. Your shirt is gone.” Meliodas snickered while pointing to Gray’s naked upper body.

“The hell?! When did that happen?!” Gray yelled out in surprise as he looked down at his bare, shirtless body.

Both Meliodas and Gray stopped their conversation as they saw the maids’ backs and sides , filled with deep scars and wounds, ones that were not caused by Meliodas’s sword or Gray’s magic.

“That asshole Joe abuses us constantly. If we’re even a second late to getting him his morning coffee, he makes us strip down and whips us with his magic for the next hour…” Emma said as she and Alli began to put on their tops again. When they finished putting back on their clothes and turned around, tears began rolling down their faces.

“So naturally, we wanted revenge. We have been stealing all of Joe’s family treasures and selling them so that we can ruin him and finally quit this shitty job! And he doesn’t just do it to us, he does it to all of the people working here!” Alli finished, wiping the tears from her face.

Meliodas glanced over at Gray’s direction, wondering what he would do.

“Well you’re going about it the wrong way…naturally we’ll have to turn you in for theft, but we can do something about Bluegarden as well.” Gray said, turning to the two maids.

“W-why are you helping us?” Alli grunted, shocked by Gray’s kindness to help them despite the fact that they had just tried to kill him.

“Leaving you two like that to die just wouldn’t sit right with me is all.” Gray responded as he continued to freeze their wounds.

“Letting you two die would be the easy way out. After you two serve your time, live a better life to atone for your sins.” Meliodas added in. The two maids looked at each other and began crying.

After Gray had treated their burns, he and Meliodas brought them upstairs and trapped them on the ground floor in another ice prison.

“Well...guess we go wake up Bluegarden.” Gray commented.

“Wait!” Emma interjected. “There’s other things that Bluegarden’s been doing...you can talk to the other servants about it but the way he’s been getting all of his “family treasures…”

“He’s been working with several assassin guilds.” Ali finished.

“I see…” Gray replied. “So that can be used as further incriminating evidence against him.”

“Let’s go talk to the other servants before we wake him up then.” Meliodas said. Gray nodded and the two of them split up.

Meliodas went outside and began talking to the gardeners as Gray remained inside talking to the chefs and other maids and butlers. Most of them remained tight-lipped for fear of losing their job or were unaware of Bluegarden’s actions.

As Gray continued his questioning inside, Meliodas walked around the garden, until he encountered a small shack situated a bit further away from the house. Meliodas entered the shack and saw a middle aged man who appeared to be a security guard sitting down staring at several lacrima vision cameras. The man did not notice Meliodas as he entered.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted. The man had no response. Meliodas approached him and saw he was actually fast asleep. Meliodas pushed him on the shoulder, causing the man to wake up.

“W-what? Where am I?” The security guard questioned. He looked behind him and saw Meliodas.

“Oh...you’re that Fairy Tail mage. What can I help you with?”

“Do you know anything about Bluegarden’s affiliations with dark guilds?” Meliodas asked bluntly. The security guard returned a nervous look to Meliodas. He sighed and got up from his seat. He walked up to the door behind Meliodas and closed it.

“Listen...I don’t want to lose my job...but I also don’t think what Joe’s doing is right…” The security guard continued.

“So what do you know?” Meliodas asked.

“I had evidence on lacrima vision of Joe talking to several dark guild members...but Joe confiscated those lacrimas from me and told me to never speak of it again. I agreed but...he didn’t know I had made copies of it in case I ever needed them…”

“Oh that’s perfect. So you can get him arrested. If you tell the council, they’ll have him arrested.” Meliodas replied.

“But if I get him arrested…” The security guard mumbled to himself. Meliodas walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.

“If you don’t want to, that's fine. I still get paid anyway.” Meliodas said as turned around and walked out of the shack.

Meliodas met back up with Gray in the main hall. He looked at Gray, who was only wearing his underwear.

“So you get any leads?” Meliodas asked.

“Yeah, one. One of the butlers said there’s a room Bluegarden never lets anyone into, one that he’s been even more secretive of than his treasure room.” Gray replied. “The issue is no one knows how to open the door.”

“Well where is it?” Meliodas asked.

“It’s behind a bookshelf in his bedroom. Bluegarden is still asleep so we should be able to get in there.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Meliodas said as he and Gray began to walk towards the staircase.

“Put some damn clothes on first!” Emma yelled as they walked by her.

---

Gray and Meliodas entered Bluegarden’s room and looked around. It was a large room with various pieces of art on the walls. In the corner of the room was a piano. At the back, aligned in the center, was a king sized bed where Joe was passed out.

“So according to those maids, they drugged him out on narcotics.” Gray mentioned.

“Then we have plenty of time to look around.” Meliodas said. Gray and Meliodas looked around the room until they found the bookcase that one of the servants was talking about. Meliodas pushed the bookcase aside. Behind it was a strange black door. The door had no handle and had strange markings engraved on it.

“Never seen a door like this.” Gray commented. “Time to bust it open.”

Gray got into his ice make stance as he faced the door.
“Ice Make - Battering Ram.”

A large column of ice shot out from in front of Gray and hit the door with a loud bang. The ice shattered instantly as it hit the door, vanishing completely. Meliodas turned behind them and saw Joe was still fast asleep.

“What the hell is this door made of?!” Gray exclaimed. “I didn’t even dent it?!”

Meliodas looked at the door curiously and walked closer to it. He put his hand up to the door and touched it. The door felt cold to the touch. As Meliodas kept his hand on the door, he could feel the door draining his magic slightly.

“Hey Gray, come feel this.” Meliodas said. Gray walked up to the door and also placed his hand on it. His eyes widened as he realized what the door was doing.

“This is an anti magic door...no wonder I couldn’t break it down…” Gray commented. Meliodas and Gray took their hands off the door and stared at it.

“How the hell are we supposed to break through something this sturdy without magic?” Gray asked.

“I got it.” Meliodas replied. Meliodas gestured for Gray to move out of the way as he moved to stand right in front of the door.

Meliodas clenched his left hand tightly and bent his knees slightly, leading forward with his right leg.

“HAAAGHHH!” Meliodas yelled as he threw a punch at the door. For a brief instant, Meliodas’s fist sunk into the material of the door before the door finally broke off its hinges, launching straight into the room behind it. The door hit the wall with a loud clang that shook the entire house before falling to the ground.

“What the hell was that?!” Gray exclaimed, shocked at Meliodas’s brute strength. Meliodas ignored the comment and walked into the room. The room was a small cube, roughly three meters by three meters. Around him were various boxes filled with papers and invoices. Meliodas looked around further and saw a small opened box filled with lacrimas on the ground. ‘Oh that must be what that security guard was talking about.’

“Guess this must be the evidence the servants needed to really get that guy arrested.” Gray commented as he stood at the doorway and stared in the room.

“Let’s push the shelf back into place and wake up Bluegarden then.” Meliodas said. Gray moved out of the way and Meliodas pushed the shelf back, covering the hole where Meliodas punched through the door.

“So what do we do about that.” Gray said as he gestured towards Joe, who was still asleep.

“Well you’re already naked. Why don’t you crawl under the covers with him and give him a kiss?” Meliodas replied jokingly.

“The hell?!” Gray yelled as he looked down at his body. He frantically looked around the room and saw his clothes were not there. “Where did I put my clothes?!”

“Pretty sure you stripped them in the main hall somewhere.” Meliodas replied. “We’ll get them again on the way down.”

Meliodas walked up to Joe, who was sleeping peacefully. Meliodas leaned in closer right up to Joe’s face.

“Arise.”

There was no response.

“Wakey wakey!”

Again no response.

“Bluegarden! Get up!” Meliodas yelled. There was no reply as Joe did not budge or open his eyes.

“You think he’s dead? Maybe he overdosed?”

“We could pour some water on him.” Gray suggested.

“Well they have a pool in the back right? Could just throw him in there.”

“You think he’ll drown?”

“One way to find out.” Meliodas said as he walked towards the window. Outside he could see the massive garden of the estate. Below them, was a large swimming pool.

“Okay let’s bring him downstairs and throw him in I guess.” Gray said as he began to walk towards the door when suddenly he heard the sound of glass shattering. Gray quickly turned around and saw Joe’s body was no longer on the bed and there was a massive hole in the window.

“Oh good he made it in. Although I probably should have opened the window first.” Meliodas commented.

“I don’t think that’s the problem here…” Gray responded as he shook his head. Meliodas and Gray both ran downstairs and went outside. There, they saw Joe’s body floating facing up.

“Oh good at least he has air.” Meliodas said.

“You know...I think he actually might be dead.” Gray said as he walked towards the pool. Suddenly, Joe’s eyes opened and he began wildly flailing his arms.

“What the hell is going on?!” Joe yelled, confused as to why he was in the pool. “Help! I can’t swim!”

Gray leaned down and touched the water’s edge, causing the entire pool to freeze in an instant. Meliodas appeared behind Joe and pulled him out of the ice. Meliodas was confused when he heard him say he couldn’t swim.

“Why do you have a pool if you can't swim…”

“C-c-cold…” Joe cried as he was furiously shivering. Meliodas grabbed a towel hanging on a nearby drying rack and wrapped it around Joe before bringing him inside.

“W-w-w-why was I in the p-p-pool…” Joe shivered.

“Long story short, you got drugged by your maids and they’ve been the ones stealing from you.” Gray answered. As they entered the main lobby of the house, Joe was shocked as he saw a massive ice prison where Emma and Ali were sitting inside.

“Y-y-you t-t-traitors!” Joe yelled angrily. “I-I’ll have the c-c-council lock you up and throw the k-key away!”

Both Emma and Ali remained silent as Joe angrily left the room to another room nearby. From the lobby, Meliodas and Gray could hear him yelling as he contacted the council through a communication lacrima. Several minutes later, he came back out of the room, looking much warmer.

“The council will be on their way to lock these cretins up for good. In the meantime, I must thank you two for catching them. Now if you would excuse me, I must go change into something dry.” Joe said as he walked away.

----

Half an hour passed and several council members arrived at the estate. Meliodas and Gray watched out the window as a fleet of white carriages rode into the estate. As they parked in front of the house, many men and women wearing white robes walked out of the carriages.

“Did they really need to bring this many people for an arrest?” Gray mentioned out loud. Meliodas continued to stare at the councilmen who were approaching the manor. ‘Must be because of Joe’s status.’ Meliodas thought.

“It’s about time! Joe scoffed before letting the council members inside. Over a dozen of them filled the main hall as they trickled in from the front door.

“Hello, Mr. Bluegarden, I am Frestes, the Captain of the custody enforcement unit.” A tall man with long brown hair approached Joe. He wore a similar outfit to the rest of the councilmen but his own had greater detail, with various gold trimmings.

“Welcome!!!” Joe beamed.

“I am here regarding the thieves you mentioned, Mr. Bluegarden.” Frestes said.

“Yes, thank you! They were caught by the Fairy Tail mages here.” Joe said as he pointed to Meliodas and Gray.

Frestes turned to Meliodas and Gray. He looked at them with a slight frown. Personally, he was not a fan of the Fairy Tail wizards, wherever they went, they always caused trouble. However, he had no choice but to admit that they were exceptional wizards.

“Thank you for your efforts, we will take it from here.” Frestes said before turning back to Bluegarden. He waved his hand in the air, gesturing for his squad. Several council members walked forward and shackled Emma and Ali.

Meliodas watched as Emma and Ali were cuffed and taken away while Gray along with several of the servants spoke to one of the other councilmen.

“Hmph...serves them right.” Joe commented as he stood next to Meliodas.

“It’s quite unfortunate things turned out the way they did.” Meliodas commented.

“But you and your friend. Again I thank you both for catching them.” Joe reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a checkbook and a pen. There he quickly wrote the Jewel amount and ripped out the check, handing it to Meliodas.

“I thank you both for your help. As I am feeling charitable right now, I will not charge you for the window that you broke.” Joe said as he glared at Meliodas for a moment before his expression quickly changed back to a calm smile.

“No problem!” Meliodas replied. As Joe walked away, Gray approached Meliodas.

“You get the money?” Gray asked. Meliodas nodded and showed him the check.

“Well I left the rest to the servants. I told that councilman about Joe’s hidden room. Our mission here is done so we have no reason to stay here.” Gray said.

“Sounds good.” Meliodas replied as the two of them walked out of the estate.

After Meliodas and Gray left, Frestes approached Joe once again..

“Joe Bluegarden?” Frestes asked.

“Yes? Did you need anything else from me?” Joe asked in confusion. ‘They had already arrested the thieves, why were they still around?’

“Some interesting news has come to light.” He replied.

“You’re under arrest for the abuse of your servants and your illegal activities in affiliation with several dark guilds.” The councilman said. Before Joe had a chance to say anything, he grabbed Joe’s arms and turned him around, quickly cuffing him.

“What is the meaning of this?! I demand you release me immediately!” Joe exclaimed.
The councilman ignored Joe’s threats as he cuffed.

“Do not resist, we already found evidence of your actions. You will pay for your crimes.”
The councilman said.

“Wait, I don't know what you are talking about!!” Joe shouted as he panicked.

As he struggled, Joe looked back up towards the stairway and saw several councilmen walking down the stairs, holding boxes and books. ‘Those are from my secret room?! How the hell did they get in?! No, if they find what's in there, It’ll be a huge mess.’

“Wait, please, if you let me go, I promised to provide all the money you need. I can assist with getting a promotion as well!!!”

“Enough! Cover his mouth and drag him away!!” Frestes ordered.

‘How did they find out about my room, my servants didn’t even know about. Wait.. it was those servants... those wenches!!! They must have revealed it to someone, who in turn informed the council!!.’

Joe thought about it for a moment. A vein suddenly showed on his forehead as he grit his teeth angrily. ‘It was those damn Fairy Tail mages!’

Chapter Text

By the time Meliodas and Gray had returned to the guild, it was already dark. After a quick dinner and a drink at the hall, Meliodas bid farewell to Gray and went back home. Before going inside his house, he went down stairs and knocked on the landlord’s door. After several moments, Schneider opened the door. He looked down and saw Meliodas.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted.

“What can I help you with?” Schneider asked. Meliodas reached into his pocket and handed Schneider a wad of bills, having just cashed the check from his previous mission. Schneider was a bit surprised but accepted it.

“Paying me a bit early for rent huh? I guess that’s fine.” Schneider commented. “You have a good night then.”

Schneider closed the door as Meliodas went up the stairs to his room. He didn’t worry too much about living expenses. He didn’t need to eat as often as humans did and when he did, he could eat at the guild for cheap.

Meliodas layed down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He reached for his wallet which was still in his back pocket and opened it. ‘Still fifty eight thousand five hundred jewels left…’

---

The following morning, Meliodas returned to the guild hall. He took a seat at the bar and ordered a Magnolia Ale to start his day. As he drank, he read a newspaper someone had left on the counter, with the head article titled “Count Joe Bluegarden Arrested for numerous scandals.”

“A little too early for a drink, Meliodas?” Mirajane asked as she handed him his mug of booze. Meliodas gulped down his drink before replying.

“Not at all!”

Meliodas continued looking at the newspaper, prompting Mirajane to become curious.
“Anything there that catches your interest?” Mirajane asked.

“This guy was my previous job’s client.” Meliodas pointed at Joe’s face in the newspaper.

“Joe Bluegarden... I have heard of him. I heard he had a similar status to Duke Everlue.” Mirajane replied.

“Who is Duke Everlue?”

“He was a politician and the highest authority figure in Shirotsume town. He was recently arrested. Natsu and Lucy were actually the ones who got him arrested.”

Meliodas nodded and turned back to the newspaper.
“I see…If he has a lot of influence, then he won't be held for long will he?”

“Probably not.”

‘Nothing to do with me’. Meliodas thought to himself before changing the subject.
“By the way do you know where the master is?”

“He locked himself in his office. He’s been in a grumpy mood because of all of the paperwork the council has given him and doesn’t want to be bothered until he finishes it all.” Mirajane replied. “Did you need something from him?”

“Well I guess if he’s busy it can’t be helped. Is there a good place to get information on spatial magic?” Meliodas asked. His original plan was to ask if Makarov had gained any leads on spatial magic but seeing that he was busy, he had to take matters into his own hands.

“Well we do have a library in the basement. It wasn’t heavily damaged in the attack so most of the books should still be intact. There’s a lot of books on various kinds of magic down there. I think Levy is down there right now. She knows the library better than I do and can help you find what you need.”

“Alright I’ll go check it out! Thanks!” Meliodas said as he jumped up from his seat and began walking towards the stairs leading to the basement.

Meliodas followed the tall spiral staircase downward into the basement. There were several scaffolds on the walls, indicating that renovations were going to be made here soon. The library itself was relatively large. The bookshelves were about six meters high, filled with various books. At the corner of the library was a small portion that was destroyed, with rubble and wood covering one of the shelves.

Meliodas walked down the corridor of shelves, not knowing where to start. Behind a shelf, he could hear the pages of a book rapidly turning. Meliodas peeked his head over and saw a petite blue haired young woman wearing red glasses.

“You’re Levy right?”

The young blue haired woman stopped flipping through the pages and looked up at Meliodas.

“Oh you’re Meliodas, the one who joined recently! And yes I’m Levy.” Levy greeted Meliodas with a smile.

“I was wondering if you could help me locate some books. I need to research spatial magic.”

“Spatial magic…” Levy said to herself as she thought for a moment. “I think those books are over there.” Levy pointed to a shelf that was down the corridor. “Were there any in particular you were looking for?”

“Transportation. Kind of like teleportation I guess.” Meliodas replied. He walked towards the corner that Levy had pointed and began shuffling through the book titles.

“Advanced Re-equip…nope...Celestial magic theory... nope. Spatial theory for Beginners Vol.1…” Meliodas grabbed the book and sat down on the ground. He began reading the introduction.

The introduction described various magic relating to space. The most common usage was Re-equip. It allowed users to store items in a pocket dimension, so they can easily summon it at any time. Meliodas thought about the usefulness of this ability and noted it for later.

Meliodas flipped past the introduction and began reading the actual content of the book. During this time Levy had also left the library, leaving Meliodas alone in the room.
Meliodas spent five hours reading a single book and by the time he finished, he felt like his head was exploding. Meliodas had lived a long life, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had picked up a book and sat down to read it. He laid on the ground groaning. He barely understood the contents of the book and it was only the introduction.

‘Damn it…. This will be harder than I thought.’ As Meliodas lay sprawled out on the floor, Levy had returned to the library after her break and looked towards the corner.
She noticed Meliodas on the ground and grumbling to himself. She walked up to him and asked if everything was alright.

“Meliodas? What happened?”

Meliodas lifted his head and answered.
“Oh nothing. I just read one book and it took me 5 hours. Look at the quantity of books here…”

Levy laughed and handed Meliodas a pair of glasses. They were a simple looking pair of glasses with elongated lenses and a red, mildly large frame, whose only unique feature is the design of a small wing on each side.

“Here, try using these. They should help you read”

Meliodas took the glasses and looked at them curiously.
“What are these?”

Levy explained the glasses to Meliodas.
“These are Gale Force reading glasses. It allows you to read books at a rapid pace. These particular glasses will allow you to read at eighteen times the normal speed. I just finished using them, so you can borrow them.”

Meliodas thanked her and put on the glasses and picked up the book he had just finished reading.
“Wow, I really can read much faster. But it’s still hard to understand.”

“Well, the glasses can only help you read faster. Unfortunately, they don't increase your comprehension.” Levy explained before bidding farewell. “Well, I’ll leave you to it alright.”

“Thanks.” Meliodas returned to his reading. The glasses drastically increased his reading speed. However, he still had trouble understanding the content. ‘I wish Merlin was here...’ Meliodas thought as he scratched his head.

A few hours later, he had completed 3 books, all of which were basics which explained various spatial magic. He had read them multiple times in order to try and grasp the information. After hours, the only magic he somewhat understood was Re-equip.
‘I can't just read all day, I need to see it in action as well.’ Meliodas got up from the ground and rubbed his head. His head hurt after all that reading.

After putting back the book in its place, Meliodas walked back up the stairs and returned to the main hall. He looked around and noticed that it was a little empty as he had spent most of the day in the library. He saw Levy sitting with her team and walked up to her.

“Yo, thanks for lending me your glasses.” He said as he handed her back the glasses.

“No problem, did you find what you were looking for?” Levy asked. Meliodas scratched his head.
“Not really, but I learned some useful things.”

“Well, I am happy to help. By the way, this is Jet and Droy.” Levy introduced the duo behind her. One was a slim young man with orange hair and the other was a tan skinned young man with black hair that was styled upward in the back.

“Meliodas, right? Nice to meet ya I’m Jet!”

“Droy here! That was pretty cool of you to stand up to Laxus like that a few days ago.”

“So what’s exactly the deal with this Laxus guy. I keep hearing he’s really strong but the dude sounds like an ass.”

“Yeah Laxus is a jerk. I swear he wasn’t always a jerk though…but that was long ago. Crazy to believe him and the Master are related.” Levy added.

“Huh...I think I see it in the eyes…” Meliodas tried to imagine Laxus.

“But the real question Meliodas. Just by what you could tell from him, who do you think is stronger? You or Laxus?” Jet asked.

Meliodas paused to think about it. “Hard to say. He seems like a competent fighter but his magic was suppressed. If I were to take a wild guess how strong I think he is… I’d definitely have to put some effort in.”

“But would you lose?”

There was a moment of silence with both Jet and Droy staring at Meliodas eagerly. Meliodas looked at the two of them with a confident smirk.

“Nah, I’d win.”

“Well, you should join us on a mission sometime Meliodas! We’re known as Team Shadowgear.” Levy suggested.

“Oh neat you guys have your own team name. I don’t mind joining you guys sometime. I always appreciate more money for booze.”

Meliodas and Team Shadowgear continued to talk for another half an hour before Levy had to leave. Jet and Droy followed as Meliodas said goodbye to the three and went towards the bar.

Meliodas slumped over and ordered a drink at the bar from Mirajane. Talking with Team Shadowgear eased his pain slightly but now he felt his headache throbbing even worse now and spreading throughout his body.

“I wonder if this is what it feels like to grow old.”
Meliodas said to himself. He felt amused by his statement as he was actually much older than everyone around him.

“That’s a weird thing for someone so young to say. Did you find what you were looking for?” Mirajane asked as she poured Meliodas’s drink.

“Nope. But I did learn something about Requip magic though. It seems like it would come in useful.”

“Oh. If you are interested in Requip, I recommend talking to Erza. She’s an expert when it comes to Requip magic and can probably teach you how to use it.”

Meliodas perked up a little when he heard that. He was interested in Requip magic. He would be able to store his belongings in there and not have to lug things around.
“I’ll do that. Where is she?”

“Unfortunately, She left on a mission with Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Lucy. I don’t know when they will return.”

“Alright. I think I will go home for the day then.” Meliodas said as he finished his drink and got up from the barstool. He stretched his body a bit as he stood up before leaving.
“See you tomorrow!”

Meliodas left the building and noticed there was still some light out. He instead decided to go to the weaponsmith. ‘My dagger broke, and I can’t keep using the handle.’
He made his way over to a nearby magical weapon shop in town.

Meliodas approached the weapon shop. At the very top of the shop were a sword and shield and on the shield read, “Muscia’s Weapons and Wares.” The display windows at the front of the shop were filled with various weapons and armor. Meliodas spent a few minutes observing the fine craftsmanship of the weapons out on display before walking in.

Meliodas walked through the door and saw a man sitting behind the counter. He appeared to be a middle aged man with a thick beard and a large stature. He was seated behind the counter reading the Sorcerer weekly, when the door opened and kid walked in.
“Good Day! Welcome to Musica’s Weapons and Wares. What ya need kid?”

Meliodas quickly glanced around the place before replying.
“I am looking for a good sword.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place lad! Is there anything in particular you fancy?”
Meliodas calculated the amount he had left before asking.
“What's the price range of your weapons?”

The owner explained the prices to Meliodas, despite him looking like a kid. A customer was a customer, no matter what they looked like.

“The most expensive swords are close to 1 million Jewels. Our cheapest swords vary. Take a look at that sword rack over there ”

Meliodas walked over to the sword rack. There were several blades mounted on it but a short sword caught Meliodas’s eye. Meliodas picked up the sword from the rack and unsheathed it. The sword was well polished with a nice edge and he could see his reflection. There were no special engravings or ornaments. It was a simple iron sword. Meliodas sheathed the sword again before walking over to the counter and placing it down.

“How much for this one?”

“Twenty thousand jewels. The sheath and holster are included as well.”

Meliodas paid the man twenty thousand jewels and slung the sword over his shoulder.
“Thanks!”

“Anytime lad!” The owner waved at Meliodas as he exited the store.

Chapter Text

The next ten days, Meliodas spent his time reading various books in the guild library for clues while taking a few breaks. On the tenth day, Meliodas finished reading his books and set them aside. He closed his eyes and sighed.

‘No luck… so far everything I’ve read is just different spells. There aren’t even many teleportation spells on a large scale, much less traveling between worlds.’

Meliodas decided to take a break and walked into the guild hall. There was huge commotion in the guild. Guild members were rushing out of the guild. Meliodas turned to Mirajane who had a worried look on her face. Meliodas walked over to her.

“What happened?”

“Loke just quit the guild..”

Meliodas stayed silent as he pondered. ‘Who was Loke again…?’

---
The next morning, Meliodas approached the entrance to the guild, he saw Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza, and Lucy leaving. Behind Erza, was a large wagon filled to the brim with different sized luggage cases that were all tied together.

“You guys heading somewhere?” Meliodas asked as he noticed Erza’s change in attire. Instead of the normal armor she donned, she was instead wearing a large sun hat, a button up shirt with a tropical pattern, and an O-shaped tube was worn around her waist.

“We’re going on vacation. We’ll be gone for the next few days or so.” Erza replied as she walked by Meliodas while dragging the large wagon behind her.

“What’s even in there?” Meliodas questioned as he watched Erza walk down the road.

“Meliodas! Rematch when I’m back!” Natsu yelled as he ran past Meliodas to catch up with Erza, with Happy, Gray, and Lucy right behind him. Meliodas shrugged and walked back to the guild.

Meliodas entered the guild hall and was surprised. It was quieter than normal for once, with fewer people gathered around as most people decided to take their summer vacations at the same time. ‘A vacation sounds tempting but I need to find my way back. I’ve spent the past twelve days doing research and found nothing to help me...and I do also need some extra money.’

Meliodas walked over to the job board and started browsing through the jobs listed. After several minutes of looking at various flyers, one particular job caught his eye. Unlike most of the other jobs, this was a bounty mission requested by the council. On the flyer was a picture of the person they were hunting with a two million jewel reward. ‘Capture Ogre for two million jewels? With that much money, I’ll be set for a while.’

Meliodas grabbed the job off the board and went towards the bar, but was surprised as Mirajane wasn’t there as usual. Instead, he noticed Makarov sitting at one of the tables and approached him.

“Hey Master!” Meliodas said as he approached Makarov. “I’m taking this mission!”
Makarov looked up and saw Meliodas holding a flyer. He looked towards the bar and saw Mirajane was not there and nodded.

“Hmm I see…” Makarov said as he looked at the job. “Okay then good luck.” Makarov nodded at Meliodas and Meliodas grinned back before leaving the guild. Shortly after Meliodas left, Mirajane arrived.

“Mira!” Makarov called for her across the hall. Mirajane quickly ran over to Makarov.

“Sorry I am late Master, I had to run some errands.”

Makarov took a sip of his drink before answering.
“Not a problem.”

Mirajane looked towards the request board, much to the surprise of Makarov.
“You want to go on a mission?!”

Mirajane shook her head.
“No, I wanted to take down the job fliers for a few missions. It was a time sensitive matter, and due to the guild's reconstruction period, I wasn’t sure if we would be able to take it at the time, So I passed it over to the other guilds.”

“Which mission?”

“It was subduing a dangerous mage who was causing harm to local towns.”

Makarov continued drinking but stopped abruptly as he remembered a mission Meliodas just took. He slowly put down his drink and looked at Mirajane.
“Was it the one to hunt down Ogre?”

“Yes, did you see it?”

Makarov sighed.
“Meliodas just took it.”

---

In a large, dark room, a figure was seen seated on a throne. The figure was a very tall man with jet black hair, slicked back down to his shoulders. He had pale skin that stood out even in the dark and a pointed nose and goatee. He donned a black cape and underneath that, a black coat. As the figure sat there, another figure emerged from the shadows and knelt down on one knee. This one was much smaller compared to the first and wore a black cloak, with a hood over the figure’s head.

“Master Doryu, the preparations have been set. And the officers have been notified and are all making their way here.” The cloaked figure said.

“Good. And what of Ogre?” Doryu replied as he glared down at the figure with menacing dark eyes.

“He is on his way to Lily town to complete the Second orb.”

“At least that idiot is doing his job.” Doryu commented.

“However, sir, it seems Ogre’s activities have been noticed by the council. Quite the large bounty has been set to capture him.” The figure reached into his cloak and pulled out a wanted flyer with Ogre’s face. Doryu furrowed his brow as he looked at the flyer.

Doryu paused for a moment before and slammed his fist on the armrest of the throne, causing the whole room to shake and the chair to crack.

“That FOOL!. I told him to be discreet! No matter, he should almost be finished with his task. As long as he completes it, It won't matter what happens to him!. Aifread, go and retrieve the orb from Ogre directly, even if you have to pick it up from his corpse!”

“Yes, Master Doryu!” Aifread replied before sinking into the ground as he melded into the darkness in the room, disappearing from sight.

After Aifread left the room, a grin formed on Doryu’s face.
“That power...it will be mine soon.”

Chapter Text

By the late afternoon, Meliodas had taken a train to Onibus town. From there, he took a carriage heading west towards Lily Town.

“This is as far as I can go.” The carriage driver said. Meliodas thanked the driver and jumped out of the carriage. He looked out in front of him towards the town. The town was surrounded on all sides by high stone walls, where the only visible point of entry was a large gate. Meliodas approached the gate where he was greeted by one of the guards.

“State your name and business.” The guard said. The guard was wearing a full suit of armor where only his face was visible. He held a spear in his right hand and had an extra short sword at his waist.

“Meliodas. I accepted a mission to deal with a guy named Ogre.” Meliodas said as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the flyer. The guard looked at Meliodas and raised an eyebrow.

“What guild are you from?”

“Fairy Tail.” Meliodas replied as he lifted his right sleeve up, revealing his guild marking.

“Strange. Some members of Lamia Scale have already arrived to help with the problem. But I guess another mage to help out doesn’t hurt.” The guard turned around and faced the gate. “OPEN THE GATE!”

A large creaking sound could be heard from the gate. The doors of the gate opened slowly and Meliodas looked inside. From where he was standing, he could see the main road of the town. The houses were nowhere near as magnificent as Magnolia’s and the roads were made of dirt and stone. Meliodas walked into the town and the gate closed behind him.

“So what’s going on in this town?” Meliodas asked as he looked around. There were a few council members scattered about the town and several more guards patrolling.

“People have gone missing and we don’t know how. But every night, several people go missing and the only clue we have is gold dust. The council narrowed down any users of gold based magic and deduced it was by a man named Ogre.” The guard replied.

“Ogre you say?” Meliodas pulled out the flyer again and looked at Ogre’s face one more time. “I guess he looks like an ogre.”

The guard led Meliodas to the town hall at the center of town. Meliodas looked up at the building. It had four large white pillars made of marble supporting the front. At the front of the town hall was a fountain with a statue of a dragon in the middle with water gushing out of its mouth. The guard escorted Meliodas inside and Meliodas took a seat at one of the benches.

“Here, the mayor will be waiting for you.”

Meliodas thanked the guard and entered the hall.

There were already three people waiting in the lounge. One was a slim young man with bluish silver hair, most of which are spiky strands that jutted upwards, with a few strands falling over his face. The other was a young woman with blue eyes, pink hair, large breasts, and a curvaceous body. The last of them is a short, slim young man with extremely bushy and square black eyebrows. His eyes were also black, while his hair was a bright blue color.

Meliodas entered the room, and the trio’s eyes turned to the kid who had walked through the door. The silver haired man walked up Meliodas. He had a cold and composed look on his face.
“You are?”

“I’m Meliodas, from Fairy Tail!” Meliodas replied, grinning cheerfully.

“Fairy Tail!?!” The young pink haired woman exclaimed as she walked up to Meliodas until she was looking straight down at him. “This mission was given to Lamia Scale. How do you also have it?”

The silver haired man interrupted the young woman.
“Sherry, calm down. However, she is correct. This mission went to our guild, so it’s a little bit strange that you are on behalf of Fairy Tail for the mission.”

Meliodas was confused, but still pulled out the flyer for the mission. He also rolled up his right sleeve further to show them the Fairy Tail emblem on his right arm.
“I picked up the mission today from our board and came over here. So I'm afraid I don’t know what you are talking about.”

The trio calmed down for a bit after seeing the emblem on Meliodas’s arm.
“Anyway, I’m Lyon. These other two are Sherry and Yuka.

“Well it’s nice to meet you guys. I didn’t know it had been passed on. I don't mind splitting it with you all though.” Meliodas added. He had travelled a bit far for the mission and he did not want to go back empty handed.

Sherry was about to protest when she heard a voice calling out from inside the hall.
It was a middle aged man with a large rotund body and short blonde hair swept to the right. He had a large mustache that twirled at the ends while the rest of his face was clean shaven.

“Thank you all for coming here. I am the mayor of this town, Willard Phorum. As you’ve already been briefed, there has been a man who has been kidnapping our townsfolk. A few nights ago he was spotted by a few of our guards as they gave chase, he disappeared in what was described by them as a cloud of gold dust.” Willard explained. “Then just last night, he appeared again, but this time he was caught by lacrima vision. He stabbed a few of the guards with golden weaponry and carried off a couple of more villagers as he disappeared again.

“So he uses some sort of gold make magic?” Yuka asked.
“Possibly.” Willard replied.

“His gold make will be no match for my ice make. Let’s go deal with this guy. He only comes out at night right? Well it’s already getting dark. We can catch him by surprise.” Lyon said as he gestured for Sherry and Yuka to follow him.

“Wait! There’s more-” Willard yelled but it was too late as they had already closed the door to the building behind them.

“More?” Meliodas asked.

“Yes. The council informed me that Ogre has henchmen. Although they have never been seen with him up to this point, so be careful.”

“Understood mayor. Just leave it to me!” Meliodas said reassuringly as he began walking towards the door. ‘I wonder how those guys from Lamia Scale are going to split the reward if we’re all working on the same mission…’

Meliodas walked outside and looked up into the sky with the sun beginning to set. He looked around to see if the Lamia Scale members were nearby but couldn’t find them. Meliodas started heading towards the wall of the town, to scan the perimeter.

The sun fully set and night began. Meliodas stood atop a tall church building overlooking the town. The sky was bright with many stars and the half lit shape of the moon illuminated the ground. The sound of an owl hooting could be heard nearbyHis clothes fluttered in the wind as he stared silently into the distance with his arms crossed. The sky was bright with many stars and the half lit shape of the moon illuminated the ground.

Meliodas casually leaned back as a blade missed his head by a hair’s length. Meliodas jumped backward, performing several backflips before landing on the roof of a lower building next to the church. Meliodas ducked down as he felt a presence behind him. A blade whiffed over his head and Meliodas turned around.

“Well, well, well. It’s about time you showed up.”

Chapter Text

To Meliodas' surprise, there was nobody behind him.

Meliodas stood still on top of the roof, this time waiting for the assailant to try and attack him again. A few moments passed, with Meliodas waiting in complete silence. Even the owls hooting earlier had stopped.

Meliodas felt something behind him again, but instead of ducking down, this time he jumped high into the air. Meliodas opened his eyes and looked down below him. There he saw a man wearing black robes holding a long dagger looking back up at him in surprise.

“Found ya!” Meliodas said and smiled at the man. The man quickly jumped off the roof, like a diver jumping head first into water. Meliodas drew his blade while still in the air and threw it at the man before he made contact with the ground below. Meliodas’s sword impaled the man’s right shoulder and he crashed into the ground with the blade keeping him in place. Meliodas landed on the ground next to him and stepped on his back.

“H-how the hell did you know I was there…” The man grunted as Meliodas applied force.

“Lucky guess.” Meliodas responded sarcastically..

“Tch...this kid...” The man mumbled to himself.

“I’m no kid.” Meliodas said as he pulled the sword out from the man’s shoulder. The man winced in pain as Meliodas picked up the man from the ground and held him by the collar.

“So where’s Ogre?” Meliodas asked. The man remained silent but glared at Meliodas as he held him up.

“Well you may be a crook, but at least you have a sense of loyalty I guess.”

Meliodas suddenly let go of the man as three different blades impaled the assailant in the back. The man coughed up blood through his mask and fell to the ground. Meliodas looked ahead of him and saw another person standing in the shadow of the wall.

“So you managed to catch Gavan huh? Tch...it was to be expected. He fought like a coward and paid the price.”

“So you guys are willing to kill another comrade huh?” Meliodas asked, his originally bright tone turned serious.

“A comrade? Him? AHAHAHAHAHA!” The man laughed. “I would never be comrades with a guy who hides in the shadows, like a COWARD! I am Jin. In my guild, they call me the Blade of Darkness! Unlike Gavan who uses the darkness to hide, I use it to kill!”

Jin drew a long dagger and charged at Meliodas. He wound his blade back then jabbed forward to stab Meliodas.

Meliodas let go of the body in his hand and sidestepped just as Jin thrusted at Meliodas. He delivered a kick upwards to Jin’s torso as Jin’s body flew by him, causing him to cough up blood as he was hurled high into the air above the buildings. Jin quickly regained his composure in the air but as he flew upward, Meliodas appeared above him before he could blink.

“Wha-!” Jin’s surprise was cut short as Meliodas spun around and delivered a fierce elbow strike to his chest. Jin’s eyes opened wide from the pain of the attack as he was struck, before being launched straight into the ground below. Jin’s body hit the ground, causing the ground around him to crack and a cloud of dust kicked up into the air.

Meliodas landed on the ground in front of the dust cloud and looked into the dust cloud. There was no movement inside as the dust cloud was starting to settle. Meliodas looked to his side and saw the dead body of the man Jin had killed and shook his head.

“You’re wide open!” A voice yelled from inside the dust cloud. Meliodas turned his head and looked Jin in the eyes as Jin thrust his blade forward.

Before the blade made contact with Meliodas, Jin’s eyes widened as Meliodas grabbed the tip of the blade with just two fingers. Meliodas’s bright green eyes turned pitch black and a spiral patterned henna formed just above his right eyebrow.

“W-w-w-what the hell is that magic?!” Jin looked at Meliodas. The blazing confidence that Jin had vanished instantly and was replaced with fear. ‘T-this guy...he’s like Doryu…no it's far darker…’

Meliodas snapped the blade of the dagger in half as he tightened his grip and grabbed Jin by the neck. Meliodas looked directly into Jin’s eyes, his dark aura brimming with killing intent.

“Where is Ogre?” Meliodas asked, his voice cold.

Jin began trembling and beads of sweat ran down his face. Paralyzed with fear, he couldn’t bring out the energy to speak. Meliodas tightened his grip around Jin’s neck, causing Jin to gasp for air.

“I’m not asking again.”

Fearing for his life, Jin brought up what was left of his energy to speak.
“H-he’s at the s-southwestern watch t-tower…” Jin gasped.

“Oh okay thanks!” Meliodas’s killing gaze vanished and his pitch black eyes turned green again and he smiled at Jin as if nothing happened. Meliodas let go of Jin and dropped him on the ground. Jin panted heavily as he was on his knees panting and looked up at Meliodas, confused. But when he looked up, Meliodas was not there and he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and blacked out.

‘I’ll just tie this guy up and let the council pick him up in the morning.’ Meliodas thought as he began searching around the area for a rope. After a few minutes of rummaging through crates and barrels outside of the nearby houses, Meliodas found a rope and tightly tied Jin to a lamp post. However, even in his unconscious state, Jin kept murmuring to himself, “Demon, demon...demon…”

‘That should do.’ Meliodas turned around and faced in the southwest direction. ‘So Ogre is there? I wonder if those Lamia Scale guys are also there?’ Meliodas thought as he began running towards the tower.

Chapter Text

Earlier

“We don’t even know where he’ll show up.” Sherry said as the three of them were walking down the perimeter of the southern wall.

“It would probably be more efficient if we split up then to cover more ground.” Yuka suggested. “Although we don’t know how strong this guy-” Yuka stopped mid sentence and quickly moved his head to the right as a golden blade moved by his face. The blade made contact just above Yuka’s left eye, cutting half of his eyebrow off in the process.

“A-AAAHHH!” Yuka yelled as he held his head. Lyon and Sherry quickly ran to Yuka. Lyon entered an offensive stance while Sherry kneeled down next to Yuka.

“What happened?!”

“M-my eyebrow…” A tear rolled down Yuka’s face as he showed Sherry his left eyebrow was cut in half. To Yuka, his eyebrow wasn’t just facial hair, it was his pride, his identity. It was a part of him that he felt was cut in two.

“Jeez and here I thought your head was split open. There’s not even a drop of blood!” Sherry responded, annoyed as she shook her head and stood up again.

“Guys get ready.” Lyon ordered as he saw a thick cloud of golden dust swirl in front of them. From the dust, a human’s figure could be seen forming within. It was a large man with fair skin with no eyebrows who towered over the members of Lamia scale. He had a large, defined lower jaw and long white hair that was parted in the middle that ran down the sides of his face. He wore a red vest while remaining shirtless underneath, showing off his large muscles. As he grinned, his sharp spiky teeth were revealed.

“You must be Ogre.” Lyon said as he looked at Ogre fiercely.

“Heh...That guy’s eyebrow’s pissed me off! So I did him a favor!” Ogre smirked and began walking towards the three of them.

“Ice make, eagle!” Lyon put his hands out in front of him with his right fist over his left palm. Three ice formed eagles appeared in front of him and flew towards Ogre.

“Gold make, wall!” A barrier of gold formed in front of Ogre, creating a large wall that covered his front.

“Some puny ice won’t-” Ogre looked up and saw the eagles did not crash into the wall, but instead flew over it and were flying towards Ogre.

“Gold make, Axe!” Ogre opened his right hand and gold began forming in it, quickly taking shape into a giant axe. Ogre swung the axe before the ice eagles could reach him, shattering each of them. Suddenly, the golden wall in front of Ogre dispersed and Ogre looked at it, surprised as he did not disperse it himself. From the golden dust, Yuka emerged and charged at Ogre.

“I’ll make you pay Ogre!” Yuka yelled as he charged at Ogre. An evil grin formed on Ogre’s face as he tried to raise his cleaver but found it stuck to the ground, covered in mud.

Ogre looked to his side and saw Sherry, controlling the mud, keeping him from pulling his cleaver on Yuka.
“The power of LOVE! Now go my darling!”

“Now Lyon!” Yuka yelled as Lyon appeared above Ogre.

“Ice Make: Snow Dragon!” From Lyon’s hands, the large head of a dragon formed of Ice emerges and crashes into Ogre, filling the area with a cold mist. Lyon, Yuka, and Sherry surrounded Ogre, waiting for the mist to clear up.

“Did we get him?” Sherry asked.

“Definitely. There’s no way he could have-” Lyon’s eyes widened as Ogre’s figure was seen standing straight up. As the mist began clearing further, the group could see Ogre didn’t have a single scratch on him. Ogre’s body had also changed. His skin color turned red and he had grown another foot taller as well as having an increase in muscle mass, causing Ogre’s vest to rip off of his body.

“What was that? That was nothing but a cold breeze!” Ogre laughed. “Gold make isn’t my only magic! This is my other magic, Physical enhancement!”

Ogre punched the ground hard, forming a crater and creating a shockwave that knocked back the three Lamia Scale mages, knocking out both Sherry and Yuka.

“W-what the hell?” Lyon grunted on the ground as he tried to get up. Ogre smirked and began walking towards Yuka, who was unconscious on the ground.

“I think I’ll start with you, eyebrows. That face of yours really pisses me off!” Ogre raised his fist and gold began to form around it.

“Gold make: Gauntlet!” A large golden, armoured fist with spikes on the knuckles formed over Ogre’s right hand.

“Yuka!” Lyon yelled as he got into his fighting stance again. “Ice Make: Snow Tiger!”

A large tiger of ice materialized in front of Lyon and charged at Ogre. Ogre ignored the tiger and kept walking as the tiger jumped onto Ogre’s back. It opened its mouth wide and bit down on Ogre’s shoulder. As its ice teeth tried to sink into Ogre’s shoulder, the tiger shattered into many pieces. Ogre brushed off the pieces of ice on his shoulder and continued walking to Yuka.

“Ice Make: Ape!” Lyon yelled as an enormous ape nearly the size of Ogre formed in front of Lyon. As the ape charged at Ogre, Ogre stopped in his tracks and turned his body halfway to face it.

Ogre extended his left hand out in front of the ape as the ape launched a punch at Ogre. Ogre caught the punch with his hand and grabbed the ape’s arm. With only one arm, Ogre lifted the large ape up before throwing it back at Lyon.

“What?!” Lyon yelled in surprise as Ogre threw the ape at Lyon. Lyon put his arms up in front of him as the large hunk of ice crashed into him. Ogre grinned as he looked at the pile of ice Lyon was buried under. He turned around and set his sights on Yuka again. The ice on top of Lyon began to vanish as he lay on the ground, barely able to lift his head to see Ogre walking towards Yuka.

‘This guy is a monster…’ Lyon thought as he watched Ogre slowly make his way to Yuka’s unconscious body. ‘It would take someone like Jura to beat him...no I need to save Yuka…’

Lyon slowly struggled to get back up and managed to get on his feet again. Ogre noticed Lyon get up again and stopped walking.

“I’ll kill you soon enough, so wait your turn!” Ogre threatened without bothering to turn and face Lyon. Ogre looked down and saw Yuka right beneath him. He wound his golden gauntlet back.

“Die you little eyebrow shit!” Ogre yelled as he threw the punch at Yuka.

“Yuka!” Lyon yelled.

Both Lyon and Ogre’s eyes widened as they saw a young blond boy appear in the path of Ogre’s fist.

‘Meliodas?!’ Lyon thought.

Meliodas looked up at Ogre as the fist was coming towards him and put his right hand out, blocking the punch with his palm. As the punch was caught in Meliodas’s hand, the ground underneath him shattered and sunk, with the force of the punch exploding Meliodas’s right sleeve off, revealing his Fairy Tail insignia. Meliodas began to sink into the ground as the ground caved in beneath him from the blow.

Ogre looked surprised as Meliodas tightened his grip on the gauntlet, causing it to crack. ‘Who the hell is this kid?’ Ogre thought as he looked at the child, until he noticed the Fairy Tail symbol on his arm. ‘Fairy Tail?! I sent Gavan and Jin after him! He beat them both by himself?!’

Ogre dematerialized his gauntlet, freeing himself from Meliodas’s grip, and jumped back.

“Well well well. You must be Ogre.”

Chapter Text

Meliodas glanced back at Yuka, relieved to see he was only unconscious. Turning his gaze forward again, he looked past Ogre and spotted Lyon, barely able to stand, while further behind him, Sherry lay unconscious.
‘He blocked my attack with his fist?!’ Ogre’s eyes widened in disbelief. Though he hadn’t been using his full power, the fact that the kid before him had stopped his strike with his bare hand was astonishing.
"Not bad, kid, but let’s see you block this!" Ogre let out a maniacal laugh as he lunged toward Meliodas, his arm winding back for a devastating swing. Before he could step forward, however, Meliodas shot forward like a bullet, delivering a sharp jab straight to Ogre’s stomach.
Ogre winced, his body locking up from the unexpected force. ‘This little brat... he can actually hurt me through my enhancement?!’
Before he could recover, Meliodas followed up with a brutal uppercut to Ogre’s chin, launching the massive fighter skyward. In an instant, Meliodas was above him, his boot colliding with Ogre’s torso, sending him hurtling back down with a thunderous crash. The ground cracked, dust and debris flying in all directions from the impact.
Lyon, watching in disbelief, barely registered the destruction. ‘What the hell... that’s Meliodas?!’
The dust began to settle, but before it could fully clear, a powerful golden vortex erupted, sweeping away the debris. Ogre stood in the center of the destruction, wiping away a small trickle of blood from his mouth. His lips curled into a grin.
"I felt that, you little shit!" he bellowed with a laugh.
Meliodas landed softly, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword as his emerald eyes narrowed. With a burst of speed, he closed the gap between them in an instant.
"One thousand divine slashes!"
A blur of movement followed, his sword an extension of his relentless will. The sound of steel rending flesh and bone echoed like a violent storm. Each strike sent small bursts of force outward, rattling the ground beneath them.
Ogre’s massive frame barely budged, his monstrous endurance absorbing the damage. Blood trickled from countless wounds, yet he remained standing, unshaken.
Meliodas reappeared a few feet away, his blade still poised for battle, his breath steady despite the intensity of his assault. A thick silence hung in the air before thick rivulets of blood began seeping from the fresh gashes across Ogre’s body.
Yet, instead of collapsing, Ogre merely cracked his neck, a smirk still plastered on his face.
"Heh... that tickled," he growled, wiping the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. "You done?"
Meliodas’ grip on his sword tightened. "Not even close."
He glanced down at his weapon, noticing the blade was chipped. A cheap iron sword like this couldn’t handle his power—unlike Lostvayne. With a sigh, he sheathed it, deciding it was more of a liability now.
Ogre’s grin widened as he raised his hand, golden energy crackling around him.
"That’s it, you little shit! Let’s see you dodge this!"
A golden aura erupted from his body as small spheres of shimmering gold formed behind him.
"GOLD RUSH!"
The spheres fired beams of concentrated energy. Meliodas barely managed to move his head in time as one shot past, scorching the air beside him.
‘Fast!’
Ducking and weaving, he narrowly avoided the barrage, but even with his agility, he couldn’t evade them all. Streaks of blood began to trickle down his arms and legs as the relentless assault grazed him.
‘Tch… This attack is too mana-draining to keep up forever.’ Ogre smirked as he watched Meliodas dodge. His eyes flicked to the side, noticing Lyon standing frozen in shock. ‘There’s my chance.’
Ogre suddenly redirected the attack toward Lyon.
"Hahaha! DIE!"
Meliodas’ eyes widened. The golden beams shifted course, streaking toward the helpless Lyon.
Without hesitation, Meliodas appeared in front of him, arms outstretched.
"Meliodas?!" Lyon shouted in shock.
The golden rays slammed into Meliodas, burning into his flesh. A pool of blood began forming beneath him, each impact sending a fresh spray of crimson across the dirt.
After what felt like an eternity, the onslaught ceased. Meliodas fell to one knee, his body trembling but his spirit unbroken. Ogre’s skin, once a deep red, had faded back to a normal hue. The glowing orbs had vanished.
‘Tch... I’m running low on magic.’ Ogre cursed internally.
Lyon rushed to Meliodas’ side. "Why... why would you do that for me?!"
Meliodas looked at him and smirked but didn’t answer.
Before anything else could be said, a voice rang out behind them.
"Ogre! Stop where you are! We have you surrounded!"
Ogre turned to see several councilmen and town guards, their weapons drawn and ready. His eyes darted back to Meliodas, bloodied but still standing.
‘Damn… I can’t take them all on like this.’ His gaze flickered to Sherry’s unconscious form nearby. A sinister grin spread across his face.
He raised his hand, golden dust swirling around Sherry’s body, lifting her off the ground.
"Sherry!" Lyon shouted, stepping forward, but Ogre tightened his grip.
"If any of you worms try something funny, she dies!" he barked.
Meliodas locked eyes with him, his expression unreadable.
"What’s your name, kid?" Ogre asked.
"Meliodas."
"Raise your right palm to your face."
Meliodas hesitated but complied, not wanting to risk Sherry’s life. As he did, golden dust coiled around his hand, forming letters.
“I gave you the location. Come alone, or the girl dies.”
Ogre sneered as the golden dust thickened, swirling around him and Sherry.
Meliodas’ expression darkened. "Ogre... you’ll regret this."
Ogre met his gaze, and for the first time in years, he felt something foreign creeping into his chest—fear. A bead of sweat trailed down his face. Looking at his own trembling hand, he swallowed hard. ‘Heh... I haven’t felt fear like this since I first met Doryu…’
With a final smirk, Ogre and Sherry vanished in a golden shimmer.
Lyon fell to his knees, fists clenched. "Dammit…!"
A hand rested on his shoulder. Lyon looked up to see Meliodas standing over him, most of his injuries already healed.
"Don’t worry," Meliodas said, his voice calm but firm. "We’re gonna get her back."
Meliodas lifted Yuka over his shoulders, carrying him. He turned to Lyon, who was still slowly getting back up. “Can you walk?”
Lyon nodded and slowly followed Meliodas back.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Meliodas, Lyon, and Yuka sat down around a large table in the town hall. The three of them were covered in bandages. As they sat there, Meliodas twirled a pen in his hand as Yuka held a hand mirror up to his face, feeling the place where his eyebrow once was.

“Yuka, it’s gonna grow back.” Lyon said as he shook his head. Sherry was just captured and Yuka was worried about his eyebrow.

“Here I can fix it.” Meliodas offered as he got up from his seat and walked over to Yuka. Yuka looked at Meliodas, confused at how he was going to fix it.

“You got like hair regrowth magic or something?”

“No but I have something just as good. Just close your eyes.”

Seeing as Yuka had no choice, he closed his eyes and waited for Meliodas to do his thing. He felt a cold, wet sensation over where he had lost his eyebrow. Lyon watched and facepalmed at what Meliodas was doing.

“Okay done. You can open your eyes.”

Yuka opened his eyes and looked into the mirror. There he saw a poorly drawn eyebrow filled in over the missing part.

“AAAHHH! What the hell is this?!” Yuka exclaimed as he looked at himself in the mirror. “It looks even worse! It’s not the right shape or properly filled in!”

As Yuka panicked over his eyebrow, the Mayor walked in with several council members. Meliodas sat back down as one of the councilmen began speaking.

“We successfully interrogated Jin, the one of Ogre’s henchmen that Meliodas defeated last night. Because of this, we were able to locate the general area of Ogre’s base of operations.” The councilman pulled out a lacrima that began to glow brightly. From the light, a map of the area materialized.

“This area here is the location where we think his base of operations is. However, we are not able to pinpoint an exact location based on the mental state of said interogee. So we will form a search party to find him. Any questions?” The councilman asked. The room remained silent. “Very well we will depart immediately.” The councilman picked up the lacrima and walked out with his men and the mayor, leaving Meliodas and the two Lamia Scale members alone.

“Meliodas, what did Ogre tell you yesterday?” Lyon asked, remembering what Ogre asked Meliodas to do.

“He gave me direct coordinates to meet him.” Meliodas responded. Lyon and Yuka’s eyes widened upon hearing this. “Although he told me to go there alone or else he’ll kill Sherry.”

“Dammit…” Lyon slammed his fist on the table.

“He probably wants another go with you after what happened yesterday.” Yuka added in.

“Then I guess I’ll go there on my own!” Meliodas said as he got up from his seat. He looked at Lyon and Yuka who had solemn expressions on their faces at not being able to save their friend.

“But I’ll need you guys to help me.” Meliodas added in. Lyon and Yuka looked up at Meliodas and nodded.

“I’ll need you guys to rescue Sherry while I distract Ogre. I feel as though he’ll be playing dirty and might do something to Sherry if I gain the upper hand against him. So after I draw his attention, you guys sneak in and get Sherry out. Once you do, I’ll finish him off. Easy right?”

“Will it really be that easy though?” Yuka asked.

“Of course not. But no matter what happens, our top priority is getting Sherry back.” Lyon answered.

“I’ve seen how he fights now. I can handle him no problem!” Meliodas said as he left the room, with Lyon and Yuka right behind him.

Half an hour later, Meliodas and the group arrived at what appeared to be Ogre’s base. It was a large, rundown shack surrounded by dense forest. Meliodas, Lyon, and Yuka hid in the bushes as they went over the plan one more time.

“I’ll go in first, then when Ogre is distracted, you go and get Sherry.”

Lyon and Yuka both nodded and Meliodas stepped out of the brush. He approached the eerie looking building and walked inside.

It was dark inside the building, with parts of it only lit up by the light that shined in through the missing parts of the roof. The floors creaked as Meliodas walked on them. Meliodas continued walking through a long corridor until he reached a door. Meliodas opened the door and it opened out into a large room. The room was fairly bright, as there was a large hole in the roof where light was shining through. Standing in the light, was Ogre’s large figure. Behind him, in the corner of the room, he could see Sherry, tied up and chained to the floor. At the other corner of the room, was a strange orb mounted on a pedestal.

“Good. You came alone.” Ogre said.

“I did. Now let Sherry go.” Meliodas said.

“Nope...that won’t do at all.” Ogre replied as he raised his right hand and extended it towards Sherry. Gold dust began forming around her, transforming into spikes that surrounded her. Sherry squirmed in her restraints as the spikes got closer to her face.

“Do anything to me and I’ll kill her. You’re just going to sit there while I beat the shit out of you, got it?” Ogre said as he walked up to Meliodas. Meliodas nodded and looked fiercely at Ogre. Ogre’s body began to grow and his skin turned red.

“The way you looked at me earlier...I can’t stand it!” Ogre yelled as he raised his arm. A golden gauntlet appeared over his right hand as he punched Meliodas in the gut. Meliodas took the punch as he coughed up a small amount of blood.

“HAHAHAHAHA! This is the difference between you and I!” Ogre yelled as he kept punching Meliodas.

---

Lyon and Yuka waited just outside the entrance of the shack. They remained quiet as they waited patiently for a sign to go in. The silence around them faded as they heard the sound of Ogre yelling and punching.

“Meliodas has him distracted. Now’s our chance.” Lyon whispered. He gestured to Yuka to follow him as they went around to the back of the shack. There, they found a small hole in the wall just big enough for them to fit through.

“I’ll go in first. In case someone is waiting for us on the other side, I can block their magic.” Yuka said. Lyon nodded and waited for Yuka to crawl in. After a few moments, Lyon followed.

From where they were, they were barely visible. They were in the same room as Meliodas and Ogre, but behind them, and hiding in the shadows. Lyon and Yuka saw Sherry, tied up with golden spikes floating above her.

“So he’s using Sherry as a hostage…” Lyon commented.

“I’ll deal with this.” Yuka said as he snuck his way over to Sherry. Sherry turned her head as she could hear someone approaching her. She saw Yuka and Lyon and her worried eyes were filled with relief.

“Let’s get you out of here.” Yuka dispelled the golden spikes floating around her as Lyon froze the cuffs, breaking her out.

“HAHAHA!” Ogre laughed as he punched Meliodas over and over. Blood was splattered on the floor around them as Meliodas kept taking the beating. Ogre let out an evil grin and raised his right hand up, unaware that Yuka had dispelled his magic.

“Gold make: Cleaver!” A large axe made of gold formed in his hand and he cut down through Meliodas’s right arm. Blood profusely gushed out and Meliodas fell to the ground, taking a knee with his right arm on the floor next to him.

“Unlike that guy’s eyebrow’s LET ME EVEN THIS OUT!” Ogre laughed loudly as he raised the cleaver up in the air and looked back down at Meliodas who was glaring at him silently. ‘The hell?! I just cut this kid’s arm off. He’s not crying or begging for his life?!’

“Meliodas! Sherry’s free now!” Yuka yelled from across the room. Ogre’s eyes widened as he turned his head and saw Lyon and Yuka standing next to Sherry who was freed from her restraints.

“Yuka! Get rid of Ogre’s cleaver. I’ll go patch up Meliodas’s arm with my ice!” Lyon yelled as he and Yuka started running towards Ogre. Ogre’s confident sneer turned into a frown as he looked angrily at Lyon and Yuka who were running towards him. Both Yuka and Lyon suddenly stopped in their tracks however, as Ogre felt a dark sensation behind him.

“M-master Doryu?!” Ogre turned around quickly, his angry expression turning into fear as what he saw was not Doryu. There he saw Meliodas, his eyes now turned pitch black and a spiral henna formed over his right eyebrow. Meliodas glared at Ogre, causing Ogre to instinctively take a step back.

Meliodas raised his right shoulder where his arm was cut off. A black stream shot out and attached to Meliodas’s dislodged arm on the ground, quickly reattaching it back into place. The wounds and bruises on Meliodas’s body began to recede as darkness flowed out from them.

Lyon, Yuka, and Sherry watched in shock at what just happened as Ogre took another step back.

“W-what the hell are you?!” Ogre exclaimed as Meliodas kept releasing a menacing aura.

“You’ve had your fun, Ogre. But this ends here.”

Ogre clenched his fists and grit his teeth. He looked down at Meliodas with a glare as his body began glowing.

“Gold Make: Veil!”

Ogre’s red skin turned gold and gleamed in the light of the sun beaming from the hole in the roof.

“When I’m surrounded by gold like this, my body is even harder than the toughest of metals!” Ogre said as he took a step towards Meliodas. Before he had the chance to take another step, Meliodas vanished from his sight, reappearing in front of him. Meliodas clenched his fist tight, his hand clad in darkness, and punched Ogre’s golden abs, piercing straight through his body. Ogre watched in disbelief as he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and immediately coughed up a large glob of blood as Meliodas’ arm went straight through.

Meliodas forcibly pulled his hand out of Ogre’s body, causing more blood to gush out of the wound. Ogre took a few steps back and held his stomach before falling to the ground. He looked up and saw Meliodas looking down on him, his dark aura gone and his pitch black eyes had turned a bright emerald green again.

“You’re right. That actually hurt slightly..” Meliodas chuckled as stood over the fallen
Ogre.

“Meliodas, are you alright!?” Lyon asked, running towards Meliodas.

Meliodas nodded and replied nonchalantly.
“Yeah, I am fine.”

Lyon was still reeling from his earlier shock.
“But I saw your arm get cut off.”

“It did. It hurt quite a bit. But we got Sherry back right? Let’s go back to the town hall.” Meliodas said, putting his hands in his pockets and began walking towards Sherry and Yuka. Lyon tilted his head, still confused but let it go and followed Meliodas.

“Can you stand?” Yuka asked Sherry, who was sitting on the ground.

“No...Ogre did this weird thing where he drained my magic with some orb. My legs are still really wobbly…” Sherry replied as she turned and looked at Lyon who was approaching them. “But with some LOVE, maybe I can get back on my feet.”

Lyon shook his head and smiled as he approached Sherry and picked her up.
“Ok let’s go back.”

‘An orb?’ Meliodas thought as he remembered seeing an orb at the other corner of the room when he entered. Meliodas looked around the room but it was no longer there. ‘Strange…’

Chapter Text

Meliodas and the trio from Lamia Scale returned to the town, with Meliodas dragging Ogre by his foot. He would purposefully walk over rocks to bump Ogre’s head. As Meliodas dragged him, there was a trail of Ogre’s blood dripping behind them.

“Meliodas, do you need any help?” Lyon asked as he watched Ogre being dragged.
Lyon was still surprised as he stared at Meliodas. He couldn’t believe Fairy Tail had such a member, he had never heard of him. He dreaded at the thought of what would’ve happened if Meliodas arrived at Galuna Island instead of Natsu or Gray.
Yuka leaned over and whispered to his group “I am so glad this guy didn’t come to Galuna.” Sherry nodded in agreement. The trio still stared in amazement at Meliodas.

“Nope.” Meliodas said casually as he continued to walk unencumbered.

Thirty minutes later, the four of them approached the town guard. The guard had a shocked look on his face as he opened the gate, seeing Meliodas dragging a large bloodied figure.

“I-Is that Ogre?!” The guard stuttered.

“Yep! Where is the Mayor?” Meliodas asked.

The guard snapped out of his stupor before guiding Meliodas and his group inside. He stopped before a large door and stood outside, opening the door to allow Meliodas and his group in.

“The Mayor is waiting for you inside along with members of the council.” The guard said.

“Thanks.” Meliodas responded as he walked in through the door. He saw the mayor, Willard, sitting down at his table, speaking with the members of the Council. He stopped speaking and turned to Meliodas and his party.

Willard immediately stood up with an excited expression on his face. He wasn’t expecting Meliodas to return so soon. He was prepared to ask the council to send in some reinforcements to find them and assist them in battle. Willard immediately rushed over to greet the group.

“Thank you all very much, I can’t believe you guys were able to beat him.” Willard said, grinning widely.

“It wasn’t much.” Meliodas responded as he dropped Ogre down onto the floor. The council members walked over to Meliodas and thanked the group.

“Thank you, we will take it from here.” One of the councilmen said. Two of them lifted Ogre and placed him in a portable cage on wheels and cuffed him with anti magic cuffs. A medic tended to Ogre’s wounds while another tended to Sherry to help recover her lost magic.

As Ogre’s wounds were treated, he woke up, and saw Meliodas staring at him. ‘What was he after?’ Meliodas thought to himself.

Ogre looked down and saw both his arms and legs had been restrained. As the medic finished wrapping up Ogre, another councilman closed the door to the cage. Ogre ignored them, only staring at Meliodas.

“HAHAHAAHH!!! You may have beaten me, but you will all get what’s coming to you eventually. We already have what we need!!” Ogre roared as he was dragged away.

Meliodas furrowed his brows, thinking back to the missing orb. ‘Is it related to that orb that suddenly disappeared. Well whatever, the council will take it from here.’

After turning in the prisoner, Meliodas and the Lamia group turned to the mayor.

“Thank you all for saving our town from that man. We don’t know what we would have done with you.” Willard said, bowing his head to the group.

A councilman approached the group with a check in his hand. He handed Lyon the check for 2,000,000 Jewel.

“Thank you for your assistance. Here is the promised reward.” The councilman said before leaving. Lyon stared at the check for a few moments before turning to Meliodas.

“Meliodas.” Lyon handed Meliodas the check. “I think you should have it. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to beat Ogre or rescue Sherry.”

Yuka and Sherry both nodded in agreement. The mission would not have succeeded without Meliodas’s assistance.

“Nah. We’ll just split it fifty-fifty. You guys have been through a lot on this mission too and I don’t need all of this money. Besides…” Meliodas looked over at Yuka. “He needs a new eyebrow.”

Lyon and Sherry laughed as Yuka’s face turned red. Afterwards, Meliodas cashed the check out and gave Lamia Scale one million jewels for them to split amongst themselves.

“You sure you don’t want to come back with us to Lamia Scale?” Lyon asked.

“Nah. I’m sticking with Fairy Tail. Although I might pay a visit to you guys to sample some booze.” Meliodas replied. Lyon nodded in confusion as Meliodas waved goodbye to the three of them.

“Booze?” Lyon questioned, now doubting Meliodas’s childlike appearance even more.

“He’s strong.” Yuka commented as the Lamia Scale team watched Meliodas walk away. “He may be a match for Jura… ”

“That is true. But I wouldn’t put him at Jura’s level. But that strange magic of his that he used....” Lyon commented.

Unknown to Meliodas and the Lamia group, several buildings away, a figure watched from the shadow of a building. In his hand, the figure held a strange orb. As the figure watched Meliodas, he narrowed his eyes before vanishing.

---

In a dark hall, Doryu was seated in his throne, when a figure appeared through the shadows.

“Master Doryu.” Aifread said, kneeling down in front Doryu.

“Stand.” Doryu ordered.

Aifread stood up and presented Doryu an orb in his hand.
“Master, I’ve brought the orb.”

Doryu made a gesture with his hand, prompting the orb to float directly into his hands. Doryu looked at the orb and grinned.

“Good. It appears he was successful in filling up the orb. And what happened to Ogre?”

“He was defeated by some legal guild mages. They were from Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale I believe.” Aifread responded.

“That useless buffoon, he always went head first. However, his power was still impressive. I wonder who was capable of actually taking him out.” Doryu asked. “Were Titania or Jura on that mission?”

“Neither, Master Doryu.” Aifread replied.

“Then it was Makarov’s grandson, Laxus was it?” Doryu continued asking. Aifread shook his head before replying.

“It was a young boy named Meliodas who overpowered and defeated Ogre. I watched it from the shadows.”

“Ogre defeated by a child?!” Doryu exclaimed. A vein appeared on his head as he gripped the armrest of his seat hard enough to crack it.

“That child...was no ordinary child. His name is Meliodas. I watched it all from the shadows. He used a power as dark as your own and defeated Ogre in a single strike.”

Upon hearing this, Doryu’s anger calmed down and a calm grin formed on his face.

“Meliodas…? Interesting...but no matter. What is important is that now we only have two orbs remaining. Begin the transport, this time I will lead them personally.” Doryu ordered.

“Yes master.” Aifread said before leaving the room.

‘A child possesses darkness that rivals my own? Meliodas from Fairy Tail...I’ll have to look into him…’ Doryu waved his hand causing a three foot long coffin to appear in his hands. The coffin was pitch black and radiating a black miasmic mist that began to fill the room. On the coffin were four slots, two of which were filled with glowing orbs.

‘Two more….’

Chapter Text

The following morning, Meliodas left his house and went towards the guild. On his way over, he pulled out his iron sword that he had bought before going on the Ogre mission. Despite it being new, his overwhelming strength coupled with cutting Ogre’s hard skin had caused the sword to already have cracks forming in the blade. Meliodas swung the sword around a few times in front of him. He looked down at the blade, looking at his reflection and frowned.

‘I can probably use this sword a few more times at best. It’s only been a few days and it’s already cracked. I shouldn’t have been a cheapskate and bought a more expensive one. Although then I wouldn’t have been able to buy my booze…’ Meliodas sighed and sheathed his sword again as he began walking to the guild hall. ‘I need to get a new sword…one like Lostvayne’

---

Meliodas finally arrived at the guild. By this point the guild renovations had been complete. The guild looked far more extravagant than its previous appearance, now looking more like a castle. The front of the guild had two large towers at both sides of the entrance with Fairy Tail symbols above them. To the left of the entrance, was a small souvenir shop, although it was still closed.

Meliodas entered the hall and noticed that the guild felt slightly serious today. He wondered what was happening and went towards the person who would have the most knowledge about this. He sat down on the stool and called Mirajane over.
“Yo! Mira!”

Mirajane smiled and greeted Meliodas.
“Meliodas, welcome back. How was the mission?”

Meliodas replied with a deadpan expression.
“A little annoying.”
Mira laughed “How about a free drink, on the house.”
Meliodas beamed “YES!”
Mira smiled and brought over a mug with bright orange liquid.

Meliodas raised an eyebrow. “Comeon…” Meliodas reluctantly accepted the free drink, which was just juice.

Meliodas changed the subject as he was more curious about what was happening in the guild.
“But enough about that. What's going on with the guild? Why did it suddenly become so tense?”

Mirajane’s smile slightly fell as she explained.
“Most likely because of the new recruit.”

“Me?” Meliodas pointed at himself.

“No, not you. He is sitting over there.” Mirajane said while pointing towards the direction of a black haired fellow with piercings over his left eye who was eating chilli out of a metal bowl. After finishing his chilli, he proceeded to eat the metal spoon along with the bowl.

“What's wrong with him? He just looks broody. A nice mug of ale will cheer him up.” Meliodas commented, ignoring the fact that the man just ate the bowl and the spoon.

Mirajane explained the situation with Phantom Lord that happened before Meliodas joined. Meliodas had heard little pieces of information about it formerly, but didn’t know the exact details.

“That’s Gajeel. He was a member of the Phantom Lord guild. They are the ones who destroyed our guild and hurt our members. Actually, he was the one that was directly responsible for damaging the guild and attacking our members.” There was a flash of anger in Mira’s eyes.

Meliodas understood the situation and looked again towards Gajeel.
“I see.. So why did you let him join?”

“It was the master’s decision. But everyone is on edge because of it.”

“No wonder everyone is so angry.”

“So, what are your plans for the day?” Mirajane said, changing the subject.

“I have to take care of a few errands for today. Nothing major.” Meliodas responded. He quickly gulped down a mug of juice and said goodbye to Mirajane. Mirajane waved goodbye to Meliodas who was now walking towards the entrance.

Meliodas looked one more time towards Gajeel’s direction before leaving the guild and made his way towards the blacksmith shop he had visited the other day.

---

Meliodas arrived at the blacksmith shop and was greeted by the same viking looking fellow he ran into before.

The giant man remembered Meliodas since he was there just a few days ago.
“Welcome back lad! Ya lookin for a better sword?”

“Yeah. I was using the one I bought the other day and it already has a few cracks in it.” Meliodas said as he pulled out his iron sword and placed it over the counter.

“What!? This may just be an Iron sword, but it was still extremely well made. Who were you fighting with?”

“Well they were some pretty tough guys. And now I’m going to need another sword. A much more powerful sword then what I had.”

“The best sword I have is this one.” The owner said as he brought out a sword from the backroom.

“Crimson Tempesta. It’s the best Magical Sword I have. It’s 1.3 million Jewels.”
Meliodas eyed the sword which looked like a scimitar. It had a red blade with a golden guard and hilt.

“Do you mind if I try it?”

“I don't mind if you hold it but don't swing the sword in here. It possesses a unique holder type magic that generates a combination of wind and flames.”

Meliodas held it for a few moments before putting it back down. It was definitely a powerful sword. Meliodas also noticed the strange symbol on the blade of the sword. It was a musical note. Even if he could afford it, he didn’t really like the style of the sword.

Meliodas turned toward the owner.
“Can you do a custom order?”

“You want a personally forged weapon? Sorry lad, but I only get the swords from a few blacksmiths here and there. You want one personally made, I’d recommend finding a blacksmith.

“Who’s the best blacksmith around?” Meliodas asked.

“The best blacksmith lives in Clover town. His name is Thor. A lot of swords and other weapons I have here are made by him.

Meliodas remained silent for a few moments before picking up the Crimson Tempesta again.

“And who made this?”

“That-.. It was made by Musica.”

“Musica?” Meliodas asked.

“Yeah, Musica is THE LEGENDARY blacksmith. He’s so legendary, I even named my business after him. He used to provide a lot of weapons for this place, but I heard he rarely forges swords now. He forges a few here and there, but he’s whimsical, and rarely sends out his swords to sell.”

“Do you know where he lives?” Meliodas asked.

“Yeah, he also lives near Clover town, however he lives near the forest in the outskirts of town. The best way to get there is by taking a train from Magnolia Station. But I have to tell you, he doesn’t forge personalized weapons anymore.”

Meliodas was silent for a moment before making a decision.

“Thanks, If I want a good sword, then I am going to the best guy around.”

The large man laughed.
“Which one will you be going to?”

Meliodas looked back and smiled before exiting the store.

Chapter Text

Meliodas made his way over to the train station. After his first trip there with Gray, he was familiar with the layout this time around and quickly boarded the train to Clover Town. He still marveled at the creation. Maybe Britannia would have something similar someday.

Half a day later, the train arrived at Clover Town. Meliodas got off the train and stretched his arms, relieved to finally be standing up after sitting for so long.

Meliodas exited the station and entered the town. Clover Town was a rather small settlement nestled in a mountainous region, surrounded by dense forests.

As Meliodas walked down the streets, he thought about where would be the best place to get information on this “Legendary Blacksmith.” After wandering the streets for half an hour, Meliodas managed to stumble across a tavern, the perfect place for him to get both a drink and information.

Meliodas approached the front of the tavern. It was a stone building with wooden pillars at the entrance. At the front, was a sign that read “Black Clover Tavern” with a black, five leafed clover as its insignia. Meliodas walked in and sat at the counter. A middle aged woman with long brown hair tied in a side plait that went over her left shoulder approached Meliodas.
“Welcome to Black Clover Tavern, what would you like, young man?”

Meliodas quickly glanced at the menu before answering. He was a bit disappointed that his favorite food, pork simmered in ale, was not on the menu.
“Clover Meat Pie with the Four Leafed Ale please.”

The woman sized him up and raised an eyebrow. After she finished writing down his order on a small notepad, she walked into the back, and a few minutes later brought out the food that he requested with the exception of the alcohol. Instead, she brought him a glass of milk.

“No underage drinking!” The woman harshly said before continuing her work.
Meliodas accepted his fate and decided not to argue with the woman. He already spent a few hours on the train and now he had to find the blacksmith. ‘This is why I like Britannia better…’

Meliodas began eating the meat pie. It wasn’t the best meat pie he’s ever eaten, as the crust was a bit soggy, but it was certainly filling, with rich umami flavor coming from the beef. After eating, he called the bartender back over.
“Excuse me.”

The woman walked back over to Meliodas.
“I told you, no alcohol.”

Meliodas shook his head.
“That’s not it. Do you know where I can find Musica?”

The woman thought about the question for a moment before answering. Meliodas began drinking his milk as he waited.

“That old man… He was a renowned blacksmith. But if you’re looking to get something personally forged by him, you’d be wasting your time as he no longer takes those anymore. But I heard he just makes a few to sell for expenses and lives by himself in the forest. If you want to meet him, you can. He lives north of the guild master meeting hall... Sorry, that's the ex meeting hall. I heard it was destroyed by those idiots of Fairy Tail.”

Meliodas nearly spit out his milk when he heard that. ‘These guys cause trouble everywhere.’

“Alright thanks for the information.” Meliodas said as he placed two thousand jewels next to his empty plate. Meliodas jumped off the stool and left the bar. As Meliodas walked outside he heard a voice shouting from behind him.

“Hey blond kid!” The voice yelled. Meliodas ignored the voice and kept walking.

“What the hell?! I’m talking to you kid!” The voice yelled again as Meliodas continued walking until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Meliodas turned his head and saw a young man with spiky brown hair staring him down. The man had amber eyes and fair skin. He wore a white tunic and brown pants with knee high boots. Slinged over his back was a sword.

“Are you talking to me?” Meliodas asked indifferently.

“YES! You’re the only short blond kid here aren’t you?” The young man yelled. Meliodas looked around lazily and shrugged his shoulders.

“So what do you want?” Meliodas asked.

“I heard you asking that waitress about Musica. I’ll let you know I’m also looking for Musica. I want him to craft me the greatest sword, because I am the greatest swordsman! I suggest you head home, kid, he has no chance of crafting a sword for you!” The youngman said confidently with his chest unnecessarily puffed out as he looked down at Meliodas. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders, turned around and continued walking away.

“DON’T WALK AWAY FROM ME!” The brown haired young man shouted as he chased after Meliodas. He caught up to Meliodas quickly and ran in front of him. Meliodas stopped walking and looked up at him with an aloof expression.

“I am Harvey Wallis! I challenge you to a duel!” The young man exclaimed as he drew his sword.

Meliodas sighed and looked at Harvey. He saw Harvey’s fierce determination in his eyes and figured he wouldn’t back down even if he said no.

“Alright.” Meliodas said with a little bit of enthusiasm. “Come at me whenever you’re ready.”

“Haaaah!” Harvey yelled as he ran at Meliodas. Meliodas put his hand on the handle of his sword as he waited.

As Harvey got within striking distance, he slashed down at Meliodas, only for Meliodas to vanish and reappear behind Harvey. Meliodas gave Harvey a cheeky smile before swinging his hips back, hitting the young swordsman with his butt and sending him rolling several meters down the road.

At this point, several passersby began to watch the fight and comment amongst themselves.

“These guys are really fighting in the middle of the street?”
“I hope they’re not from Fairy Tail.”

Harvey quickly got back up and saw Meliodas walking away.
“DON’T TOY WITH ME!” Harvey yelled as he raised his sword in the air. Magic began to swirl around his sword and it began to glow. Meliodas stopped in his tracks and turned around. A large amount of magic was swirling around Harvey’s blade and he had a large confident grin on his face.

“HAAAH! Take this!” Harvey yelled as he swung his blade down, causing a large arc of magic to fly towards Meliodas.

Meliodas quickly drew his own sword and swung it just as the wave of magic was about to hit him.

“Full Counter!”

Harvey’s confident expression vanished instantly as his own magical attack was sent flying back at him, creating a large explosion in the street as Meliodas continued walking forward without looking back as Harvey lay unconscious.

For the next half an hour, Meliodas asked the locals around town a bit to locate the previous location of the guild hall. He arrived at the site and saw that it was currently under construction. There was a large wooden frame for the build and a few workers were laying down bricks.

Meliodas walked past the construction and went north into the woods. After fifteen minutes of walking, he finally arrived at a large site with no trees. Instead there was a small wooden house and a forge to the right of the house. Outside the house, was an old man sitting on a rocking chair. His eyes were closed as he gently rocked back and forth.

Meliodas walked up to the house and looked at the front door. There he saw a music note etched into the wood, the same note he saw when he saw the expensive sword back in Magnolia. Meliodas glanced back at the old man, whose eyes were still closed. ‘Is this the legendary blacksmith?’ Meliodas began walking to him but stopped, as it would be rude to wake him up.

Instead, Meliodas looked towards the forge where he saw numerous half completed swords. Meliodas walked up to the forge, and there he saw on a rack, were a few completed swords. Meliodas inspected the swords and was impressed by their craftsmanship. ‘The shop owner in Magnolia wasn’t joking. This swordsmith had excellent ability in forging magical swords. He might be able to make one that rivals Lostvayne…’

Meliodas reached his hand over to pick up one of the blades on the rack but stopped as he heard someone behind him.

“That sword isn’t for you kid.” A voice came from behind Meliodas.

Chapter Text

Meliodas turned around and saw that it was the old man who had awakened from his nap and was looking at Meliodas. Now that the old man was standing straight up, Meliodas got a good look at his figure. Despite his old age, he had a large amount of muscle mass, especially around his arms and chest. His hands were heavily callused, from the wear and tear of forging weapons for many years. He had long silver hair that flowed down to his shoulder and a long beard that was tied at the end.

“Sorry, I was just a bit interested.” Meliodas apologized.

“Hmph! What do you want?!” The old man snorted. He was annoyed that someone had just come to his house and started browsing through his things. ‘Wasn't this kid taught any manners?’

“I heard you were the best blacksmith in the country. They call you “The Legendary Blacksmith.” Meliodas responded.

“And what of it?”

“Well I came to see if you would craft me a sword.”

“If you heard about that through rumours, then you must also know that I don't take personal requests. If you want one of my swords, I'll send another few out in a few days. Now get lost.”

“If you moved out here, then it clearly isn't because of money. Is there anything in particular you are looking for..?” Meliodas continued.

“Look brat, I didn’t come out here because I was looking for something. I came here for the peace and quiet. I just want to perfect my craft.”
Meliodas didn’t argue back and stood there in silence.

“Alright, then you won't mind if I just stand here do you?” Meliodas replied, with a cheeky grin on his face. Musica glared at Meliodas but quickly shook his head and sighed.

“Do as you wish, brat. But don’t get in my way.” Musica replied as he turned around and started walking towards his house.

‘I guess we’re playing the long game.’ Meliodas smiled and walked a few feet away from the forge, towards a patch of grass. He laid down on the ground, with his hands behind his head and looked up at the clouds. He closed his eyes and before he knew it he fell into a light nap.

---

Meliodas fell asleep on the grass but was awoken as an image of Elizabeth popped into his head. Suddenly, he saw the giant gaping mouth of Cath swallow Elizabeth whole. Meliodas quickly flung up from his laying down position into a sitting position. He rubbed his eyes and looked around.

“Elizabeth…” Meliodas said silently to himself. He thought about it again for a moment. He’s been gone for over a month now and has not found a way back. Meliodas thought about the situation the others were left in with Cath but relaxed, having absolute faith that his friends would be able to deal with Cath without him.

Meliodas stood up and saw Musica, hammering away at a molten piece of steel. He began walking towards Musica but Musica stopped hammering down as he noticed Meliodas.

“Get out of here brat. I’m not your babysitter.”

“I already came this far. You’re not getting rid of me so easily, gramps.” Meliodas responded. Musica shook his head and continued hammering down on the molten blade, then proceeded to soak it in a tub of water, creating a high pitched sizzling noise and some steam. After the molten blade cooled down, he placed it back on the anvil and looked at Meliodas.

“If you’re just going to keep standing there gawking, then make yourself useful brat. I have a task for you. I’m running out of iron. Go into the mountains and get me some more ore. I have a pickaxe over there.” Musica pointed to a pickaxe leaning against the forge.

“Sure thing.” Meliodas replied. He walked over to the pickaxe and picked it up, mounting it over his shoulder as he walked away.

“That should keep him off me for a while.” Musica mumbled to himself as he turned back around to face his anvil.

Early the next morning, Musica fanned the flames of the forge and wiped the beads of sweat off of his face. He looked up at the sky as the sun began to rise. ‘So that brat isn’t back yet. Couldn’t handle hard work and ran back home most likely. Shit...he still has my pickaxe huh…’

As noon approached, Musica sat down on his rocking chair, polishing a blade. He momentarily stopped polishing the blade and looked up at the clear blue sky. ‘Will there ever be a swordsman worth crafting a sword for…’

Musica looked back down and began polishing the blade again but stopped as he heard the sound of creaking wheels approaching. He looked up and his eyes widened in shock. There he saw a young blond boy with a large wooden cart behind him. The cart itself was filled high with piles of iron ore stacked on top of each other that were at least three meters tall. ‘He did this by himself?! No he couldn’t have. Did he use magic? Even so, he’s hauling all of that ore with no assistance…’

Meliodas continued dragging the heavy cart towards Musica. Musica stood up from his seat as Meliodas approached.

“Sorry that took so long. I would have come back earlier but I needed something to haul all of this back in so I had to go into town to buy this wagon.” Meliodas laughed as he stopped pulling the wagon. The wagon creaked as Meliodas stopped it. A moment of silence passed and the wheels suddenly gave way as the wagon was crushed under its own weight. Meliodas stared at Musica, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face. Musica quickly shook the expression off and walked up to Meliodas.

“You did an adequate job getting this, brat. But where’s my pickaxe?” Musica asked, looking at the pile.

“I think I lost it somewhere up in the mountains, I don’t remember…” Meliodas put his hand on his chin and looked towards the mountains beyond the forest. Musica slapped his forehead with his palm.

“Then go and get me another one. I can’t break down this iron ore into manageable chunks without it.”

“Oh that shouldn’t be a problem then.” Meliodas grinned and drew his iron sword.

Meliodas quickly swung his blade, cutting up the large pieces of ore into smaller ones. As Meliodas was about to finish cutting the last of them, the blade of his sword snapped. The blade of his sword fell on the ground, with only a small portion still attached to the hilt.

“Well I guess this will do for now.” Meliodas commented, putting the remainder of his iron sword back into the sheathe. Musica’s eyes widened at what he just witnessed. ‘This brat...how many sword slices did I just see in that instant? Fifty? A hundred?’
Musica’s expression suddenly turned serious as he turned to Meliodas.

“Hey brat.” Musica said, getting Meliodas’s attention as he was staring at the pile. “Stay right where you are.” Musica walked into his house as Meliodas looked at him confused. ‘I wonder what he wants from me?’

Less than a minute later, Musica returned with two finely crafted identical iron swords. He approached Meliodas and handed him one of them. Meliodas accepted the blade and as he felt it in his hand, he instantly knew this one was far superior to the blade he was previously just using.

“Follow me.” Musica ordered as he began walking around to the back of the house. Meliodas silently followed him. As they walked around to the back of the house, the grass transitioned into an empty dirt field.

“I’m going to test you. If you pass my test, I will forge a sword for you as you had originally requested. There’s only one rule: No magic.” Musica said.

Meliodas looked at him and noticed that he was completely serious. He nodded and the two of them walked into the middle of the dirt field and stood a few meters across from each other. Musica leaned down and picked up a pebble from the ground.

“Are you ready, brat?” Musica got into an offensive stance, holding the sword in one hand to his side, pointing at Meliodas. “Land a single blow or disarm me.”

“Try and keep up.” Meliodas smiled at Musica as he held his sword out in front of him. Without another word, Musica threw the pebble into the air. Both Meliodas and Musica watched the pebble carefully. The instant the pebble hit the ground everything around them stopped. The birds stopped chirping. The wind stopped blowing. The flames in the forge withered out. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of two blades clashing against one another.

Chapter Text

Sparks flew as their blades clashed with one another. Both Meliodas and Musica appeared to be standing still, with their swords swinging so fast, regular bystanders wouldn’t be able to see it.

“You’re not bad, brat.” Musica commented. For the first time in years, he felt a challenge in a sword fight. A small smile began to form on Musica’s face as he continued clashing with Meliodas.

“I could say the same for you geezer!” Meliodas replied with his usual grin.

Eventually the sparks stopped as both Meliodas and Musica swung a fast and powerful hit at each other. The force of their swings created a shockwave that kicked the dirt up around them and generated a sound unlike no other. It was not the sound of metal hitting metal. One could describe it as a small boom. Meliodas’s left sleeve and Musica’s right sleeve were both immediately blown off by the force of the attack.

Both Meliodas and Musica were pushed back after the strike, their feet skidding across the dirt as they tried to regain their balance. Meliodas felt his hand shaking after the hit as the force reverberated through his arm.

“You’re pretty good.” Meliodas complimented. A grin formed on Musica’s face and he began to laugh.

“Ahahaha! It’s been twenty years since I’ve met a swordsman as skilled and powerful as you are. You’re no ordinary brat. I don’t think I got your name.”

“Meliodas.”

“Very well, Meliodas. I want you to come at me with everything you got. If you can break through my absolute defense, then I’ll craft you a sword!” Musica said enthusiastically as he shifted his stance to a defensive one with his blade in front of him pointed diagonally towards the ground. As Musica faced Meliodas, he noticed his Fairy Tail insignia on his arm. ‘This young man... so he’s from that guild is he? Regardless, I don’t expect him to be able to overcome my next technique. I’ll still craft him the sword even if he can’t break though...but I want to test him at his best. He’s far surpassed my expectations.’

“Here I go!” Meliodas responded as he leaped towards Musica at full speed. Both Musica and Meliodas smiled at each other the moment their blades came into contact with one another. Meliodas attacked Musica with a quick flurry of slashes. To Meliodas’s surprise, Musica was blocking each one and appeared to not even be breaking a sweat. ‘The way he’s parrying...it’s like…?!’

“You’re impressive, geezer. I didn’t expect to run into someone here who knew the Dance of Avidya.” Meliodas commented as he continued slashing at Musica. Musica continued parrying each blow as he responded.

“Dance of Avidya? No no. This technique is called my Parry Stance: Horizon.”

“I see…” Meliodas replied. ‘So it’s different in name in this world but follows the same concept. I’ll just give him an attack that he’ll have a hard time parrying.’

As Musica continued parrying Meliodas’s endless onslaught of slashes, he felt a sudden change in the air of battle as Meliodas shifted his positioning.

“Divine Thousand Slashes!” Meliodas charged straight at Musica. Musica’s confident demeanor shifted into worry as he clashed swords with Meliodas, with Meliodas’s slashes now being harder to track than ever. ‘One...ten...fifty...one hundred...five hundred…I can’t block them all!’

After charging straight at Musica and clashing swords, he reappeared behind Musica. Blood gushed from several spots on Musica’s body as he fell to his knees.

“You cut me that many times...and you still managed to avoid my vital spots…” Musica commented as he slowly tried to stand back up. Meliodas walked over to Musica and offered his hand out to him. Musica accepted the gesture as Meliodas pulled him up back on his feet.

“You really surprised me there. I didn’t expect you to be that skilled!” Meliodas said.

“You brat, don't patronize me. I don't know about your magical abilities, but you’re definitely the most skilled swordsman I’ve ever met. With my experience, I can tell that you held back, didn't you.?”

“Just a tad. Who knows, things might have been different if you were younger, ya geezer.” Meliodas replied. Both Musica and Meliodas laughed as Meliodas helped Musica walk back to his house.

“If I was your age maybe.” Musica responded.

“Trust me, you don’t want to be my age.” Meliodas said wryly. Musica ignored his comment and began bandaging himself.

---

The following day at noon, Meliodas arrived at Musica’s place again. As Musica had no room for Meliodas to stay the night, Meliodas decided it would be better for him to go back to town and stay at a hotel.

Meliodas approached Musica, who was hammering away at some steel.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted. Musica stopped what he was doing and turned around to face Meliodas.

“Are you ready for your new sword?” Musica asked. Meliodas nodded in response and reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper that he handed to Musica. Musica opened the piece of paper and saw it was a sword design. He stared intently at the paper for a bit, intrigued by its design.

“Hmm…This is an interesting design. You don’t want a guard? And it's a short sword. Are you sure you want your sword like this?”

“Yeah, are you able to make it like this?”

“I could make this. But I want this sword to be unlike any other I’ve ever made.”

“Great. That's what I want too.” Meliodas replied.

“By the way, I noticed the insignia on your arm. You are a Fairy Tail mage aren’t you?” Musica asked.

Meliodas nodded in response.

“Since you’re a wizard, I’ll make a sword that will complement your magic.” Musica said with a grin.

Meliodas was a bit surprised. This would truly be a sword that could rival Lostvayne.
“You can really do that?”

“Of course, who do you think I am? I am the greatest blacksmith.” Musica said proudly.

“I don’t heavily rely on magic when I fight.” Meliodas responded.

“A mage that doesn’t heavily rely on magic in battle is almost unheard of.” Musica commented, somewhat surprised by Meliodas’s statement.

“But when I do, it’s mainly this technique called “Full Counter.” Meliodas continued. “I can reflect any non physical attack back at the source at double the force just by swinging my sword.”

“Full Counter you said it was called...I see…” Musica said, staring out into the distance as he went into deep thought for several moments. Meliodas waited patiently as Musica continued to think.

“A sword that complements the ability to reflect magic….” Musica mused.

“I got it!” Musica said enthusiastically, as if the old grumpy man he once was had disappeared and was now a young man with a new purpose in life. “There is an extremely rare crystal known as “Anti Link.” It looks like a ruby and it has a special trait that allows it to absorb and nullify magic in its raw form. However, when properly smelted, the trait changes and instead, it will naturally repel magic. If properly embedded into a lacrima as a holder type magic, it may boost the reflection of your full counter even further.”

“That sounds great! But where do I find this crystal?” Meliodas asked excitedly.

“Well the crystal itself is heavily regulated by the council. You won’t find it on the market. However, anti link crystal was found in the mines near here up in the mountains. Unfortunately, the council caught wind of it and now they seized control of the mine. And I don’t know any other sources of the crystal…”

“That’s fine. I think I can get in somehow. I’ll leave the sword schematics here with you so you can start working on it.” Meliodas said as he turned around and waved goodbye to Musica.

---

Meliodas traveled further north of Clover Town, towards the mountainous region. He had originally gone there to gather iron for Musica so he was somewhat familiar with the area. ‘I think I remember seeing a councilman standing outside a mineshaft somewhere here…’

After a few minutes of wandering, Meliodas spotted the entrance to the mineshaft. In front of it was a small stone hut with a couple of councilmen standing guard.

“Yo!” Meliodas approached them.

“State your business here.” One of the councilmen said firmly.

“Can I enter the Mine?” Meliodas asked.

“No one without permission can enter the mines.” The councilman replied.

“How do you get permission?” Meliodas continued.

“You must be a member of the council. Or you must be here on a requested mission from the council as a mage of a guild.”

Meliodas was about to continue speaking when he heard someone approaching behind him. Meliodas turned around and saw a familiar young man walking towards him. He recognized him from the guild.

“Gajeel?”

Chapter Text

“Huh…” Gajeel responded. As he got closer, he saw the insignia on Meliodas’s arm.

“Oh you’re from the guild huh. Well whatever.” Gajeel turned and faced the two councilmen. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a job flyer. “I’m here for the monster extermination quest.”

The councilmen both looked at the flyer and nodded at each other. “Very well you may proceed.”

“Actually, I’m with him!” Meliodas quickly added, seeing his chance to get in the mine.
Gajeel turned around and gave him a mean look. He approached Meliodas and looked him straight in the eyes.

“Look, I’m not here to be all buddy buddy with Fairy Tail. I need some money and I found this mission so I’m doing it, that’s all there is to it.” Gajeel responded. He turned around and was about to walk into the mine when Meliodas put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey if you help me out here, I’ll let you eat this sword!” Meliodas whispered, pointing to the broken iron sword he still had on his back. He had remembered when he first saw Gajeel, he ate his spoon.

“I don’t want to eat your shitty sword!” Gajeel retorted.

Meliodas continued trying to persuade Gajeel.
“Okay okay. Just help me get in. I won’t bother you once we are inside and we’ll go our separate ways. I’ll throw in a little money too.”

Gajeel shook his head and sighed. He walked up to the councilmen.
“This guy’s with me. We’re from the same guild.”

Meliodas showed the two councilmen his Fairy Tail insignia and they both nodded.

“Very well, you both may enter.” They said. “However, you are not to go beyond the yellow tape. Do what you need to do then get out.”

“Yeah yeah.” Gajeel replied. Both he and Meliodas walked into the mine as the guards let them through.

Meliodas and Gajeel walked down a long, descending tunnel as they entered the mine. The line was lit up with lacrima mounted to the walls.
The two of them walked in silence until they reached a point where the path branches. To the left, the path was clear, but to the right, it was sectioned off with yellow tape.

“I think this is where we part ways. Good luck.” Meliodas said as he approached the yellow tape on the right path.

“Tch. Do what you want.” Gajeel replied as he continued walking down the left path. Meliodas lifted the tape and went through it. As Meliodas continued going down the shaft, it became darker as there were less lacrima lighting the path. A high pitched screech echoed through the corridor as Meliodas walked down. With blinding speed, a large beast flew at Meliodas.

Meliodas reacted in time and caught the beast by the neck. The beast was four feet tall and had a darkish purple leathery feeling skin. It’s arms were connected to its wings and it had red crystals jutting out from its body. As Meliodas held the beast, it struggled to move in his grasp and it let out a deafening screech.

From the darkness in front of Meliodas, two more figures rushed him with blinding speed. Meliodas quickly jumped into the air, grabbing one of them with his free hand and kicking down on the other one with his right foot.

‘What are these things?’ Meliodas thought as he squeezed their necks until they were unconscious and left them lying on the ground. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and continued walking down the mineshaft.

Eventually the lacrima stopped, and it became pitch black. Meliodas continued forward until he saw the cave begin to light up with a red glow. The walls of the cave began to fill with red, glowing crystals, until the corridor opened up into an enormous clearing. Meliodas looked around in awe of what he was seeing. The clearing was lit up dimly by glowing red crystals, giving off enough light that he could see around him. There were several more of those strange flying creatures he fought flying in circles high above him, at least twenty meters in the air.

He continued encountering a large number of the strange beasts as he traveled further into the mine. The crystal’s also had a purer glow as he traveled further down. Meliodas with his limited blacksmithing and appraisal skills knew the best stuff would be at the bottom. ‘Only the best for my sword.’ Meliodas thought as he continued down. Eventually he reached a point and stopped to take a look around.

‘Just how far did I go down?’ Meliodas thought as he kept observing his surroundings. Coming from the high ceiling of the cave, was a waterfall, rushing down to a small lake below. In the middle of the lake, was a giant red crystal in the center of an island. Around the crystal, were several small turtle-like creatures swimming in the water. Meliodas looked curiously at the large crystal in the middle. Unlike the other crystals on his way over, this one had the brightest glow. It almost lit up the entire room with its gleam. ‘That must be the one.’ Meliodas thought.

Meliodas’s slow walk turned into running as he prepared to leap over the water to the island. He pushed off with his legs just before he reached the water and easily jumped across, landing right in front of the large red crystal. As he stood in front of the crystal, he could feel his magic slowly being drained. ‘ It's draining my magic, just by being in its vicinity. This is definitely it.’

Meliodas readied himself to punch a large portion of the crystal to carry back when the water behind him suddenly erupted.

He turned around, and in front of him, he saw a large behemoth of a monster towering over him. It appeared to be at least fifteen feet tall and had tough, purple skin. Around its shoulders, arms, and legs, were tufts of red fur. From its face, were two long, sharp tusks made of a red, crystal like material. It’s eyes glowed red, like the crystals around the cave.

The monster roared at Meliodas, opening its gaping mouth wide and revealing its razor sharp teeth as it charged towards Meliodas, ready to ram Meliodas with its tusks.

Meliodas vanished suddenly, reappearing in front of the beast’s torso below its open mouth. He delivered a swift punch to its gut, leaving a small indent in its body but not knocking it down.

The beast retaliated by swatting Meliodas away, sending him flying across the lake and skidding across the top of the water until Meliodas stopped at hard land again. Meliodas shook off the blow and wiped off blood dripping from his lip as he stood up again.

The monster let out another roar, a louder one that echoed across the entire cavern. More monsters burst forth from the ground beneath him. They appeared to be smaller versions of the large one that were around Meliodas’s size. They all charged at him at once, with Meliodas blocking their attacks and swiftly counter attacking at the same time, knocking all of the small creatures back.

The large one jumped across the water with its gaping mouth open as it tried to land on Meliodas and devour him. Meliodas quickly jumped out of the way as the beast landed on the ground, forming a large crater as it shattered the earth beneath it.

“Hellblaze-” Meliodas started forming black fire in his hands but the moment he called it out, it vanished quickly. ‘Damn...I’m too close to the crystal to use that magic…’ Meliodas thought as he glanced over at the large anti link across the water.

The beast roared again, summoning more of its minions that climbed up from the ground that charged at Meliodas. Meliodas turned back to face the beast as he saw it and its minions approaching him.

“Interesting.,.” He smirked.

Chapter Text

Outside of the mine, the two council guards began conversing amongst themselves.
“Hey, I had a question.” One of them asked.

“What is it?” The other responded.

“Do you know what’s at the bottom of that path in the cave? The one we have the yellow tape blocking off?”

“You joined this post without knowing that? I thought they explained it in the briefing at HQ...” The councilman said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I may have fallen asleep…”

“You idiot.. Well the reason we put that there was as a warning. It’s not too bad as you go a little further in. But the monsters become more powerful as you travel further down. Eventually when you reach the deepest part, I heard that the purest Anti-link crystal exists there.”

“Then why aren’t we mining it?”

“It’s guarded by a saint level beast.”

“Don’t we have the ten wizard saints. Wouldn’t they be able to defeat the monster?”

“In normal situations, perhaps. But the monster at the bottom lives near the purest anti link crystal. Any wizard that goes near cannot use their magic. Because of that, it’s extremely dangerous for wizards to go that far down and the saints decided it was too much of a hassle.”

“What about those fellows who came for the mission?”

“They came to exterminate some of the beasts in the outer area. It's been dangerous for miners to mine other ores with them roaming around. Besides, those were Fairy Tail wizards, so they should be fine.”

---

Meliodas’s demeanor changed as a dark aura was emitted from his body. His eyes turned pitch black and a spiral shaped black henna appeared above his right eyebrow. Meliodas’s demonic form was not a magical boost, but simply him returning to his original biological state, allowing him to utilize the power boost despite not being able to use magic due to the anti link.

The fearless beasts continued charging at Meliodas despite the tension in the air caused by Meliodas’s transformation. Meliodas ran towards the small army of monsters head first, launching those he ran through into the air behind him. The small monsters continued their assault as they tried jumping at Meliodas, with Meliodas punching and kicking them away with great force. With each strike, he could feel the sound of their bones and crystals cracking under his strength as blood gushed out of their bodies.

As Meliodas finished dealing with the smaller monsters, the larger one confronted him. With its massive fists, it threw a barrage of punches at blinding speed at Meliodas. Meliodas countered with his own barrage of punches, his fists meeting the beast’s. As the clash continued, Meliodas unleashed an even stronger punch, breaking the monster’s right hand up through its entire arm completely.

The monster reeled back in pain but quickly regained its composure as it lunged at Meliodas with its tusks. Just as the tusks were about to impale Meliodas, Meliodas firmly grabbed its tusks. The beast continued pushing forward, pushing Meliodas back a couple of meters as he was forced to dig his feet into the hard stone for leverage.

“Aghhhh!!” Meliodas yelled as he held the monster’s tusks tighter, causing them to crack and he threw the massive behemoth straight up into the air. With all of his strength into his left hand, now clad in darkness, Meliodas jumped straight up at full speed causing the ground beneath him to crack, leaving a small crater where he stood. While the monster was defenseless in mid air, he delivered a fatal punch into its torso, the sound of its bones breaking echoed across the cavern. From its large mouth, the monster coughed up a large blob of blood as its body got sent hurtling high into the air until it hit the rocky ceiling above them.

The whole cavern shook from the force the monster slammed into the ceiling causing parts of the ceiling to collapse onto the ground below. Meliodas landed on the ground shortly after and looked up above him, where he saw the monster unconscious and buried halfway into the ceiling, with only its legs dangling out.

Meliodas let out a breath of relief and he jumped across the water back to the large crystal. With a quick, precise jab with his hand shrouded in darkness, a small portion of the crystal snapped off, no larger than the size of a baseball.

“All that hassle for a small piece of this.” Meliodas commented as he looked down at the small chunk he broke off. His demonic features began to fade away and his childlike demeanor returned. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and put the crystal in his pocket before leaping across the water again, walking back the way he came.

Meliodas arrived back at the fork in the path. He climbed back through the tape and saw Gajeel, walking out from the other corridor.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted him.

“The hell happened with you?” Gajeel commented, looking at Meliodas’s tattered clothes.

“Nothing much.” Meliodas replied with a grin.

“Tch whatever. I finished my mission here so I’m leaving. And don’t worry about the deal we made earlier. I don’t need it.” Gajeel responded coldly as he continued walking down the corridor with Meliodas right behind him until they were out of the mineshaft.

Gajeel and Meliodas walked out of the mineshaft where the two guards greeted them.
“Did you dispose of the creatures?” One of them asked.

“Yeah. I left their corpses on the ground. You guys can go pick that shit up.” Gajeel replied. The guard looked annoyed at Gajeel’s rude attitude but let it slide as he finished the job.

“Very well. I’ll write that check up for you after I confirm. Why don’t you two take a seat inside.” The guard gestured to the small house next to them. As he looked back at Gajeel, he saw Meliodas wasn’t there with him anymore.

“Where did your friend go?”

“I don’t know or care.” Gajeel replied

“Alright, I’ll go check the area and come back with your reward money.”

---

Meliodas returned to Musica’s home. He saw Musica outside at his forge, preparing materials for his masterpiece.

“Yo.” Meliodas greeted.

Musica turned around to greet Meliodas but was stunned by his appearance. Meliodas’s clothes were tattered and there were bruises all over his body. “What happened to you?!”

“Some of those beasts guarding the crystals were a bit annoying.”

“I see... Did you bring the crystal?”

“Yeah, here” Meliodas said as he threw the crystal towards Musica.
Musica held the crystal in hand and felt it slowly draining away his magic.

“Where did you find this crystal!?” He asked in surprise. This was the purest ore he had encountered so far. Just being near it was draining him.

Meliodas didn’t understand the question as Musica was the one who told Meliodas to go to the mine to begin with.
“You told me to bring a good Anti-link crystal from the mine.”

“I didn’t expect you to bring one of such high quality. There are almost no impurities in this crystal! It's so powerful that it can absorb your magic even without contact!” Musica exclaimed.

“It was deep in the mine. There was a large chunk of it down there so I broke some of it off. If I grabbed a chunk any bigger than that, I wouldn’t be able to bring it here.”

“I can’t believe you actually managed to grab a piece like this. This sword won’t have any errors due to materials now.”

“Great, so how long do you think it will take to forge?” Meliodas asked.

“A sword like this will take me an entire day. Feel free to rest up and get yourself cleaned inside.” Musica suggested as he turned back around and faced his anvil.

Meliodas turned around and walked into Musica’s home where he got himself cleaned up. The injuries he received were superficial and would easily be completely healed by the end of the day.

Meliodas sat down and looked around Musica’s small house. It was very comfy, like his own home, and had two rooms. One room was the bathroom while the rest of the house was one large room. There was a small divider in the corner where behind it was Musica’s bed. Mounted on the walls, were various swords and weapons of different shapes and sizes.

After spending a while browsing at Musica’s mounted weaponry, Meliodas went over to the kitchen. It was a small kitchen with a sink, refrigerator, and gas stove. In the middle, was a small, circular wooden table with two wooden stools. Meliodas picked up one of the stools and moved it next to the refrigerator. He climbed up on top of the stool and at the top of the fridge, saw a different variety of booze. Meliodas looked at each bottle until he decided to try the “Black Five Leafed Clover Liquor.” Meliodas picked up the bottle and went outside to check up on Musica.

Meliodas saw Musica outside, fanning the flames of the furnace.
“Dammit!” Musica yelled in frustration.

“What’s wrong?” Meliodas asked as he approached Musica. Musica turned around and saw Meliodas coming towards him, holding a bottle of liquor.

“Ah I see you found my liquor. I’ll warn you, that stuff will knock you out cold in one sip.” Musica commented. Meliodas shrugged as he popped open the bottle and began drinking it.

“So what’s the problem?” Meliodas asked again after drinking a good portion of the bottle to Musica’s surprise.

“This anti link crystal has a higher melting point than what I’ve worked with in the past. A pure crystal like this.. I can’t believe you managed to find it. I can’t smelt this properly unless I had at least triple the current heat…” Musica said as he pointed towards the forge. The crystal was secured in a special case inside of the forge to keep it from absorbing the surrounding magic. Underneath the flame was burning bright and hot.

“Oh it’s just heat you need? That’s not a problem.” Meliodas put the liquor down and raised his hand towards the forge. A black flame formed in Meliodas’s palm that shot into the forge.

The orange fires of the forge suddenly turned black. Musica could feel the difference in heat coming from his forge. He peered inside and saw the anti link properly melting.

“What on Ishgar...I’ve never seen flames like these before…” Musica commented out loud with a surprised look on his face.

“Let me know if you need any more help. Also, these flames can’t be extinguished by normal means, so tell me when you need them extinguished.” Meliodas said as he picked up the bottle and walked back towards the house.

Meliodas took a seat on Musica’s rocking chair and looked up into the sky. It was late in the afternoon and the clear blue skies were beginning to turn a bright orange. In the distance, Meliodas could make out the shape of birds flying in a “V” formation.

---

Early the next morning, Meliodas woke up. He didn’t remember falling asleep but saw Musica was hard at work at the forge. Meliodas looked down at the bottle of liquor he had drank, which was now empty. ‘I don’t normally get drunk easily. This must have been some hardcore stuff.’

Meliodas stood up and stretched his body before walking over to Musica, who was carving out his signature music symbol on the guard of the sword. Musica heard Meliodas approaching and greeted him.

“Good morning. I’m almost done here. Just doing some finishing touches.”

Meliodas peered around him and saw the blade. His eyes filled with excitement upon seeing it. In terms of length, it was about the same as Lostvayne. It had a wide blade with a silver colored polish as an outline while the inside of the blade was a darker gray. The guard had Musica’s symbol embedded on one side while the other side was Meliodas’s dragon sin tattoo, as requested on his blueprint.

“Here, try it out. Let me know how it feels.” Musica picked up the sword as he finished the last touches on the design and gave it to Meliodas. As Meliodas grasped the handle, he was surprised at the sword’s lightness.

Meliodas faced towards the empty grass field and did a few practice swings, getting a feel for the blade. It felt just as familiar as Lostvayne, if not, easier to swing due to its lighter weight. Despite its weight, it was very sturdy. Meliodas swung the blade vertically straight down with full force, the power of his swing splitting the ground in front of him open in a straight line across the field.

“This blade is fantastic!” Meliodas said. “Does it have a name?”

“Mel Force.” Musica replied.

“Why Mel Force?” Meliodas asked.

“You’re Meliodas and you have a lot of force?” Musica said realizing it was pretty silly.

“That's kind of silly.” Meliodas said laughing.

“Shut it! When you forge a sword, you can name it what you want. Although I apologize for not being able to test the capabilities of the sword in regards to how the anti link will affect your “Full Counter.” Musica replied.

“That’s not a problem. It works fine. I can tell.” Meliodas said as he swung Mel Force one last time.

“Also this is for you.” Musica handed over Meliodas a black scabbard with gold trimmings. Meliodas took his old scabbard off and put the new one on and sheathed Mel Force inside of it before hanging it over his shoulder.

“I can’t thank you enough Musica. I owe ya one!” Meliodas said.

“It was no problem at all. In fact I must thank you. In this world of mages, I thought there wasn’t a single person who had learned the true way of the sword, but you have given me hope. I hope you can reach great heights with this sword in hand.”
Meliodas nodded with a grin on his face.

“But I’m surprised a blacksmith like you is so good with a blade.” Meliodas said.

“When I was your age, I was out exploring the continent. During my time in Pergrande specifically, I met a powerful swordsman who taught me his techniques.”

“My age?” Meliodas laughed. “I’m not so sure about that. But thanks for the sword!” Meliodas waved at Musica as he began walking away. Musica waved back with a confused look on his face. ‘How old is he??’

Chapter Text

Musica watched as Meliodas walked away into the distance. ‘ What a strong swordsman, I haven’t met someone like him in ages.’ Musica mused to himself.

‘It feels great to have a good sword again.’ Meliodas thought to himself as he walked through the town. The town was lively today, with many people walking about the streets and a plentiful amount of vendors trying to pick up customers. While he strolled through the town and enjoyed the surrounding scenery, he felt the gazes of many curious eyes on him. Meliodas ignored the gazes and continued walking. As Meliodas walked by a large group of people gathered in front of a food stand, he could hear the comments they were saying to each other.

“Look at that kid, he’s just walking around with a sword on his back. It looks very nice though.” A man commented as he stuffed his face with food.
“Why is he carrying it around though?”
“You don’t see many swordsmen these days.”

Meliodas ignored the comments of the bystanders and continued walking around until he found a wooden bench to sit on. He sat on the bench and unsheathed his weapon from its scabbard. Bringing the side of the blade up to his face, he took a closer look at it. The blade shimmered in the light of the bright sun shining above him. ‘I wonder how much stronger my full counter will be with this.’ Meliodas thought. He turned the blade slightly, causing it to glint briefly before showing Meliodas’s clear reflection.

As Meliodas continued looking at his weapon, a few more passersby began to stare at his sword in awe. The craftsmanship was impressive, but their attention was caught more specifically by the unique music note symbol on the blade.

“That’s a Musica sword!!” One of the passersby gasped with excitement.
“No way!! It has to be fake!”
“Well Musica does live in the forest near here, and I saw the kid walking out from there.”
“Damn, what a lucky brat!”

Unknown to them, a cloaked figure was watching Meliodas from across the road in the shadow of a building. A greedy smile formed on the person’s face as observed from afar. In front of him was a rare sword that would sell for a pretty penny on the black market. And to his luck, the sword was wielded by none other than what appeared to be an unaware child. The cloaked man stared at the sword for a long time before planning his move.
‘Hmph, even if it isn’t a Musica sword, whoever made that is definitely a top notch blacksmith. It should sell for quite a bit.’ The man grinned before taking a few steps back, his feet crunching on shards of broken glass as he seemingly melded into the darkness of the alleyway behind him.

---

The cloaked figure had followed Meliodas all the way to the train station. To him, the blond boy was completely unaware that he was being followed.

Meliodas sighed as he finished purchasing his ticket. He was aware he was being followed from the moment he got up from the bench and walked to the train station. ‘Could someone be after my sword?’ Meliodas thought. He pushed the thought to the back of his head and boarded the train. He looked around, noticing a free seat by the window.

Meliodas sat in the seat and his bottom sunk slightly into the red cushion. It was a comfortable seat, with his only complaint being that he couldn't lean back. He placed his right arm on the sill of the window and rested his head on it, his cheek pressed against the cold glass as he waited patiently for the train to move.

Several minutes passed before the train began making chugging noises followed by a toot of the horn. The train began to move as Meliodas once again marveled at the novelty of the invention. ‘So much better than carriages. I need to propose this idea to someone in Britannia...’

An hour passed as the train continued to move. During this time, Meliodas stared out at the serene landscape of rolling hills and various animals grazing on the long, silky grass. The sky was a bright blue with not a single cloud in sight. As he watched the landscape roll by him as the train moved along, the thought that had plagued Meliodas’s mind earlier reemerged. ‘I’m still being followed.’

Meliodas closed his eyes. To an observer, he would appear to be sound asleep, but Meliodas was still acutely aware of his surroundings.

---

The cloaked man glanced over at Meliodas. The man was seated at the opposite end of the cabin. He adjusted his head to look past the heads of the other people on board until Meliodas was clearly in his sights. From there, he could see Meliodas was seated several rows down from him, his face leaning against the window. From the reflection of the glass, he could see Meliodas’s eyes were closed.

‘Good, looks like he is asleep.’ The man got up from his seat and walked towards Meliodas as normally as possible, to not give away his intent to him or the other passengers. Several steps later, the man was standing right next to Meliodas. Meliodas’s eyes were still closed and he could see the rhythmic rising and falling of Meliodas’ body as he breathed.

‘Fast Asleep. Perfect.’ The cloaked man looked around. No one else was paying attention to him. The passengers in the cabin were either sleeping or looking out the window. He slowly leaned over and reached for the sword on Meliodas’s back. As his fingertips were about to touch the handle, Meliodas’s eyes opened. Meliodas turned his head and stared at the man who suspiciously had his arm reaching towards his sword handle. From what he could see underneath the cloak, the man had fair skin and a bald head. He had sharp, black eyebrows and a scar that ran down the right side of his face.

“Can I help you?” Meliodas asked.

The man immediately lurched to a halt, not expecting Meliodas to actually be awake. He quickly retracted his arm back, and gave him a friendly smile.

“I was just trying to wake you up. It’s very dangerous to fall asleep on the train like that.”

Meliodas continued to stare at the man for another moment. He could tell he was up to no good and that this man thought he was a child. ‘Let’s see how far this guy will go. There’s nothing to do on this train anyway. They don’t even serve ale here…’

“Oh I see, well thank you then.” Meliodas said, smiling widely like a child.

“Of course” The man laughed as sat down in the empty seat across from Meliodas. There was a moment of awkward silence as he and Meliodas locked eyes. He could feel a bead of sweat beginning to run down the side of his bald head.

“So where are you headed?” The man asked, trying to make simple conversation.

Meliodas stared at him for a few seconds before replying sarcastically. “My parents told me not to speak with strangers.”

“That is good advice.” The man commented, failing to detect the hint of sarcasm in Meliodas’s tone. Meliodas returned a fake friendly smile to the man before turning his head back towards the window. Another hour passed by as Meliodas and the man sat without saying a single word.
Out of the corner of his eye, Meliodas glanced at the man. The man was obviously trying to look at Meliodas without looking suspicious as he averted his gaze whenever their eyes met. ‘We are already near the station, let’s see if he attempts something.’ Meliodas thought to himself. He slouched back in his seat, and closed his eyes.

The man waited patiently and observed Meliodas for half an hour. During that time, there was no indication that Meliodas was going to wake up any time soon. ‘This time the kid should definitely be out. I should act fast, we’re almost at the station!’ He thought to himself.

The man looked around. The other passengers were not paying attention to him as usual. Silently, he stood up from his seat, with his right arm concealed underneath his cloak. As he shifted his cloak, the faint shimmer of his dagger reflected off of the light.

With his dagger in hand, he jabbed directly at Meliodas. ‘Sorry kid, but you’ve brought this on yourself.’

As his blade moved closer to Meliodas, he felt as if he had suddenly struck steel. The man’s dagger rebounded and he dropped his dagger on the ground. He put his right hand out in front of him. His hand was shaking. The man looked back up and saw Meliodas had propped his left foot up to block the man’s strike. He stared at Meliodas with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“Well, well, well.” Meliodas said with his arms crossed. “Looks like you finally showed your true colors.”

The man snapped out of his daze and quickly picked his dagger up from the train floor. ‘Shit! This kid was toying with me! I need to get out of here now!’ At this point, the other people on the train were staring at them curiously, wondering what the loud noise they just heard was.

The man quickly took a step back to turn around. Before his body could finish turning, he felt a sharp yet heavy pain hit him right under his chest.

In that instant, Meliodas landed a kick. The force of the kick caused him to cough up blood as his body was launched through the train cart. The man’s body collided with the wall. A sound of breaking glass echoed through the compartments as shrapnel of steel and wood splintered around the impact site. Meliodas looked at where he had just kicked the man and saw a human shaped hole in the compartment wall. From the hole, he could see they were already approaching Magnolia Station and the train was already slowing down.

A few passerby noticed the man as he came flying out of the side of the train and landed on the ground with a thud and a puff of dust. A crowd immediately gathered around him.

“Wow, he just came flying out of the train.”
“Tch, kids these days, always in a hurry. What, he couldn’t wait a few minutes till the train stopped?” An elderly man commented.

The conductor immediately rushed over, panicking over the human shaped hole in the compartment. He approached the hole and peeked inside to see if anyone else was there. However, after a few glances, he saw that the train was completely empty. He scratched his head in confusion and looked back at the unconscious man on the ground. ‘Did he really jump through a moving train…’

Unknown to the conductor, Meliodas had stealthily departed the train, not wanting to wait around to be questioned.

‘That was close, I didn’t realize we were that close to the station. I can’t believe that guy. He actually tried stabbing me. There are just crooks everywhere…’ Meliodas thought as he exited the station and walked towards the guild.

Chapter Text

Early in the afternoon, Meliodas took a step in the guild hall. As he walked through the entrance, he felt something different about the guild. The guild, like normal, was filled with people and had an upbeat atmosphere, the room filled with chatter and laughter. But the guild was louder than normal today. Meliodas thought nothing of it initially and walked towards the bar. As he approached the bar, he noticed Mirajane wiping the wooden surface of the bar clean with a white rag.

“Yo Mira!” Meliodas greeted as he approached. Mirajane looked up from her task and smiled. Meliodas hopped up on one of the wooden stools, planting his butt firmly into the red cushion.

“Meliodas, welcome back!” Mirajane greeted back. She stopped wiping the counter as Meliodas sat down. She discarded the rag and reached down underneath the bar table, pulling out a large wooden mug and placing it on the table. Mirajane quickly turned around and faced the shelf behind her where she grabbed a bottle of alcohol and poured it into the mug.

“Consider it a special allowance.” Mira smiled

“Thanks!” Meliodas said as he quickly and enthusiastically downed the drink before Mira changed her mind. “Ahhhh! ”

“So where did you wander off too? You sort of disappeared for a few days but we heard from Gajeel yesterday that he ran into you during his mission?” Mirajane asked.

“Oh yeah. I went to find the Legendary Blacksmith, Musica.” Meliodas replied. As he drank his ale, he started recounting the events of the last few days.
“Well, let's see after I found him, He ignored me for a while, then eventually he told me to do some chores, then I found his ore, and he forged my sword.
Mira was stunned for a brief moment at Meliodas’s “unique” way of telling a story, but she quickly recovered and laughed.
“That sounds exciting! It’s amazing that he personally crafted you a sword. You should definitely show it to Erza. She just came back from vacation along with Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy.” Mirajane said. She pointed across the hall to a table at the other side. Meliodas turned his head and saw the scarlet haired young woman sitting down, eating what appeared to be a strawberry cake.

“Oh no wonder the guild is louder than normal since those guys are back. And good thing she’s here. I’ve been planning to learn requip magic from her.” Meliodas said.

“Well Erza is certainly the best to learn from.” Mirajane replied. “Now, if you would excuse me I have to get ready for an event that is coming up soon.”

“Sure thing! Thanks for the drink Mira!” Meliodas said. ‘An event?’ Meliodas pondered for a moment. He shrugged the thought and walked towards Erza’s table across the hall. There he saw Erza peacefully eating her cake with Lucy, Gray, Natsu, Happy, Cana, Gajeel, and a blue haired girl Meliodas did not recognize.

“Yo Meliodas!” Gray greeted as he saw him approaching.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted back before looking at the blue haired girl sitting next to Lucy. “I don’t think we’ve met?”

“This is Juvia.” Erza said. “She joined the guild recently along with Gajeel.” Erza pointed at Gajeel who was sitting at the other side of the table and faced the other way.

“I’m Meliodas! Nice to meet ya.” Meliodas greeted amicably.

“Nice to meet you as well. Please treat Juvia well.” Juvia responded.

“Hey Meliodas take a seat! The main event is going to start soon.” Cana said, pushing a large empty barrel of booze that was on the seat next to her down The barrel hit the ground with a thud as it landed on its side and began to roll away.

“Thanks!” Meliodas said as he sat down next to Cana. “So what’s this main event you’re talking about?” Meliodas asked.

“In about fifteen minutes, Mirajane is going to sing.” Cana answered. She reached underneath the table and with two hands, pulled out a large wooden barrel underneath. She opened the top and began drinking.

“That sounds interesting…” Meliodas said as his attention was diverted by Cana opening another barrel of booze.

“Meliodas, I heard Wakaba saying you could drink as much as me. Want to test that out?” Cana asked with a smirk on her face. She reached under the table and pulled out another barrel of booze, handing it over to Meliodas. ‘How many of those does she have?’ Meliodas thought to himself.

“Sure, I’m always down for a drink!” Meliodas replied with a grin. He popped the top of the barrel off and began chugging it.

“He’s not seriously going to drink that whole barrel is he?” Lucy questioned with a surprised look on her face. The barrel was larger than Meliodas’s body. It was a sight to behold to see someone with such a small stature drinking that much liquid, let alone alcohol at once.

“Aye! Meliodas is always either on a mission or at the bar drinking. He’ll drink it no problem!” Happy cheered. In no time at all, Meliodas and Cana both drank their barrels and placed them firmly down on the ground.

“Not bad! Let’s get another drink after the show!” Cana said, her face noticeably red. Meliodas responded with a grin and gave her a thumbs up.

“Cana, I can understand...but Meliodas seriously drank that entire barrel?!” Lucy exclaimed in shock, looking at Meliodas’s small stature. “He doesn’t even look drunk!”

Suddenly the lights in the hall went dim. The large stage at the front of the guild hall lit up and the giant red curtains that covered it slowly began to open.

“It’s dark!” Natsu shouted. He stood up from his seat and began blowing a small flame from his mouth, illuminating the table they were sitting at.

“Don’t be making your own lights!” Cana yelled.

Meliodas ignored the commotion around him and looked at the stage. The red curtains fully opened and Mirajane was sitting down on one of the barstools holding a guitar. The guitar had a unique fairy tail design, with the head stock being shaped like a wing and the body having “Fairy Tail” printed on it. Instead of her usual attire, Mirajane wore a tight fitting leopard printed dress that greatly accentuated her figure. All of the lights that were focused on the stage narrowed down to a single spotlight that shined on Mirajane. Everyone in the guild hall began to cheer for her.

“Mira!”
“Mirajane!”
“Mira I love you!”
“Mira we’ve been waiting!”

The room suddenly fell silent as she began singing.

“I’ll scream out a love. That will never stop ringing, Taking everything in where I stand, For that’s where our light lies-”

Mirajane continued her song as the crowd listened, enamored by her voice. Meliodas silently listened as he observed and listened to the lyrics. As the song went on, something clicked in his head about the song. ‘I don’t know why, but this song is strangely familiar…’

“What a pretty song!” Lucy commented.

“Strange, I haven’t heard Mirajane sing this one before.” Cana said. “But I like it!”

As Mirajane finished, the crowd cheered and Meliodas clapped, yet he couldn’t figure out why that song felt so familiar despite it being the first time he'd heard it. Meliodas shrugged the thought and waited eagerly for the next one when suddenly, Natsu stood on top of the table. He leaned down forward until his face was up in front of Gajeel and glared at him.

“The hell did you step on my foot for?!” Natsu yelled angrily at Gajeel. Gajeel looked away quickly, with a large smirk on his face.

“Shut up! Mira is still going to sing!” A voice from the crowd yelled. A large wooden mug soared across the guild hall hitting Natsu straight in the face. As the mug fell to the ground, there was a red mug shaped mark on Natsu’s face, which was brimming with rage. Out of anger, Natsu flipped the table they were sitting at. The drinks and food on the table went flying as the table was launched up into the air. Erza managed to grab her unfinished slice of strawberry cake off the table in time as the table went flying through the air.

“Natsu you jerk! Cut that out!” Gray yelled and stood up abruptly from his seat, hitting Erza’s shoulder in the process. The force of Gray bumping against Erza’s shoulder caused her to let go of her plate. Erza watched in horror as her precious strawberry cake fell to the ground, with the plate shattering on the stone floor. Erza stared at her mushed cake with a defeated look on her face as Elfman approached the group from behind.

“Listen wimps! A real man would-”

“Shut the hell up!” Erza yelled. Her defeated face was instantly replaced with one filled with rage as she wound her leg back and spun around. Elfman could not react as her foot sunk into his face, sending him flying across the room.

“I suppose it’s time to rock out!” Mirajane yelled on the microphone. In a puff of smoke she instantly changed her outfit into a leather top and dress with fishnet stockings, with the acoustic guitar she was using being replaced by an electric one.

As Mirajane began playing rock music, everyone in the room got up from their seats and began fighting each other. Tables were thrown across the hall. Glass shattered on the ground and mugs were constantly flying back and forth in the air.

“Meliodas!” Natsu yelled. “Don’t think I forgot about our fight last time!”

“Sure I’ll take you on!” Meliodas grinned as Natsu began taking a deep breath.

“Fire Dragon’s-”

“Don’t do THAT in here!” Makarov yelled from across the hall at Natsu but it was too late.

“ROAR!!!!!”

A wide stream of flames was exhaled out of Natsu’s mouth. Other guild members ducked down out of the way as the fire went towards Meliodas. Meliodas smiled and put his hand on the handle of Mel Force. ‘Time to test this out.’

“Don’t worry Master.” Erza said, approaching Makarov. “Meliodas can nullify it and-” Erza stopped mid sentence as she saw Meliodas pull out his sword. Her eyes began to twinkle, like a child in a candy shop as she saw the signature symbol of Musica on his blade.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas redirected the blast of fire upwards as he swung his blade, creating a massive explosion that blew off half of the roof as a large pillar of flames exited the hole.

“Woah! That’s cool!” Natsu exclaimed as he looked up at the hole in the roof, with traces of flames still burning where the blast exited from.

“M-m-m-” Erza stuttered as she looked at Meliodas’s sword. “MUSICA?!!!”

“THE ROOF!!!! W-whyyyyy! Only one more day!” Makarov cried as he got on his knees with an expression of despair on his face. “The reporter is coming tomorrow! Erza please I need you to stop them and-” Makarov looked up and saw Erza was no longer there next to him and was already next to Meliodas.

‘Wow it really works! My full counter was a lot stronger than normal!’ Meliodas thought as he looked at his blade. Suddenly two hands grabbed his hand that was holding his blade. Meliodas looked up and saw Erza staring at him with starstruck eyes.

“T-that sword...that mark...did you get that from Musica?!” Erza asked. Meliodas was somewhat taken back by this uncharacteristic change in Erza’s personality.

“Oh yeah, I was going to show you this. I spent the last few days finding Musica and getting him to craft me this sword.” Meliodas replied.

“I can’t believe he crafted it for you personally?! His swords are legendary. I have a few in my collection but those are just ones he sold at any regular shop. To get one personally made is unheard of. Could I hold it?” Erza asked, still grasping Meliodas’s hand.

“Sure?” Meliodas replied as he loosened his grip on Mel Force. Erza immediately grabbed the sword. Her eyes sparkled as she held it in her hands. Meliodas raised his eyebrows as he noticed her hands shaking.

“I-its beautiful. The sharpness of the blade! The smooth polish! The intricate engravings!” Erza commented as she held the sword. She gave the sword a few practice swings in the open space in front of her. “It’s so light yet sturdy!”

“You okay Erza?” Meliodas asked, snapping Erza out of her daze. Erza cleared her throat and handed Meliodas the sword again as she regained her serious composure again.

“Yes I’m fine.” Erza responded as if nothing had happened. “Musica is a renowned blacksmith who I dream one day will craft me a custom sword. By the way, what did he name the sword?”

“Mel Force.” Meliodas replied.

“A fitting name.” Erza replied, with a hint of envy in her voice.

“I mean if you want, I can introduce you to him. We’re on pretty good terms. And although I haven’t sparred you, I hear you’re a renowned sword user. If you impress him, he’ll definitely craft you one.” Meliodas said.

“You really think so?” Erza’s eyes lit up.

“Yup!” Meliodas replied. “I can introduce you both, but in return do you think you could teach me requip magic?”

“Of course! It’s a very convenient magic not just in battle, but out of it too! I could teach you right now in fact. And while we’re at it...maybe you could tell me more about your meeting with Musica?” Erza insisted.

“Haha sure!” Meliodas replied as he and Erza walked out of the chaotic guild hall ducking past the various silverware and furniture that were flying across the room.

“W-wait Erza! I need you to calm down the-” Makarov’s words were heard on deaf ears as Erza and Meliodas walked out of the guild hall.

---

Chapter Text

Erza and Meliodas stood in the center of an empty lot that was located behind the guild. At the edges of the lot were a lot of leftover construction materials from the guild renovations, leaving the concrete area in the middle wide open for them to train in. Further past the lot was the vast Lake Sciliora. A few remains of the Phantom Lord guild’s moving fortress still protruded out from the waters.

“So how does this work? I read a book on the fundamentals of it a couple of weeks ago. Something to do with a pocket dimension right?” Meliodas asked, recalling his torturous time spent in the library, reading for hours. Erza nodded.

“Yes. Are you already able to at least access it?”

“Nope. No clue how to do that.” Meliodas replied.

“Hmm alright…” Erza crossed her arms and put a hand on her chin as she thought about how to teach Meliodas how to access his pocket dimension. A few moments of silence passed before Erza spoke again.

“It all comes down to visualization. Everyone who can use magic can also use a pocket dimension if they choose to learn requip magic.” Erza said. She raised her palm up in front of her and a small holographic-like screen appeared in her palm. “This will be a lot easier since you’ve already read the fundamentals. Can you try to visualize something like this in your hand. This is an organization screen I use to organize and sort the various armors and weapons I use among other things.”

“Hmm…” Meliodas thought as he raised his arm out in front of him with his palm facing up. He looked at Erza’s screen she was holding up and tried to imitate it. A rectangular, flat shape started to form in Meliodas’s palm as words began forming on its surface.

“I think this is it?” Meliodas asked. Erza walked up to Meliodas and looked at the interface in his palm.

“Good this will suffice. With this you can access your pocket dimension.” Erza said. “Now the next step will be storage. Why don’t you try with Mel Force? For now, I suggest holding Mel Force in your hand to let your weapon connect with your magic, but once you become more sufficient, you should be able to store it without even touching it.”

“Okay here goes.” Meliodas said with a look of determination on his face. He unsheathed Mel Force and held it out in front of him. The blade glimmered in the light from the sun and Erza had noticeable awe on her face. Meliodas concentrated and closed his eyes. Several seconds passed as Meliodas channeled his magic. His magic first flowed through the sword but eventually, was flowing throughout all of Meliodas’s body, enveloping him entirely. Meliodas suddenly opened his eyes and looked down at Mel Force.

“Wait don’t do it like that!” Erza exclaimed, but it was too late. Meliodas’s sword glowed brightly as it began to dematerialize. In a bright flash, his sword vanished from his grip.

“Phew. That turned out well.” Meliodas said. He looked up at Erza and saw her face was bright red. She immediately looked the other way.

“What’s wrong?” Meliodas asked. Erza said nothing but pointed at Meliodas’s body as she continued looking away. Meliodas looked down and saw his clothes were completely gone as he had not only stored his sword, but every article of clothing on his body.

“Oops.” Meliodas laughed, scratching the back of his head. “I guess I’m like Gray now huh.”

“J-just put your clothes back on…” Erza said sternly, still looking away. Meliodas closed his eyes and concentrated. His body began glowing and his clothes reformed on his body, along with Mel Force, which was now back in its sheath on his back.

“There! All done.” Meliodas said. Erza turned her head again and looked at Meliodas who was now fully clothed. She took a deep breath and regained her composure.

“Good. You now know how to use requip. And as you can see, you can store not just weapons in there, but also clothing and other items.” Erza commented.

“Oh yeah that reminds me. If you have access to requip, how come you always carry so many luggages with you like when you went on vacation?” Meliodas asked, remembering the dozens of luggages she hauled behind her in a wagon before they departed a week earlier.

“There is a limit to how much space is inside your pocket dimension. Although I could store all of those luggages in there, I choose not to because I keep food in there. Perishable food doesn’t last long in a pocket dimension.” Erza replied.

“That’s interesting. I wonder how much booze I can fit in there….” Meliodas said to himself.

“So now that you learned requip…” Erza said as she began approaching Meliodas. She looked at Meliodas with a pleading expression on her face. “Tell me everything about Musica!”

“Hehe, sure!” Meliodas laughed as he began explaining to Erza his experience with Musica.

---

The next day, Meliodas entered the guild hall at noon. The guild was bustling and rowdier than normal. Surprisingly, there was a lack of furniture and silverware being tossed around across the room. Meliodas looked up at the ceiling. The hole where he had reflected Natsu’s attack had been patched up, albeit poorly. The wood color did not match the rest of the ceiling and there were still traces of burn marks. Meliodas walked over to the bar but was surprised Mirajane wasn’t there.

“Hey Meliodas!”

Meliodas heard a voice call out to him from behind. He turned around and saw Wakaba waving at him with Macao sitting across from him at a table. The table had many wooden mugs and various bottles of booze. Meliodas eyed the bottles of booze, seeing if there were any there he hadn’t already tried before.

“Mira’s not here right now. She’s busy prepping for the interview. Come take a seat here we got extra drinks!”

Meliodas smiled and accepted their offer. He took a seat right across from Wakaba and Macao and they poured him a drink into an empty mug.

“Cheers!” All of them yelled as they picked up their booze.The three of them knocked drinks and gulped it down.

“So what’s this about an interview?” Meliodas asked as he placed his mug back on the table.

“You don’t know? Sorcerer Weekly is sending a reporter over to feature the guild.” Macao answered. Meliodas thought about what Macao just said as he picked up his mug again and continued drinking. He remembered that sometimes while he was sitting at the bar, there were some magazines of Sorcerer Weekly. Thanks to those magazines, he would get baseline information of the world as it was all still brand new to him.

“You see last week’s issue? Damn! Mira was looking fine!” Wakaba said enthusiastically. He pulled out a copy of Sorcerer Magazine and flipped quickly through the pages until arriving at the right one. He handed Meliodas the magazine with the page open.

Meliodas took a look at the page opened to him. It was Mirajane in a classic ‘S’ pose wearing a tight and revealing office uniform. Meliodas flipped through the pages of the various pin up photos of Mirajane wearing swimsuits and bunny outfits. Suddenly an idea popped in his head. ‘I should make Elizabeth do these poses in these outfits! That would be perfect.’

Meliodas continued browsing the pages while sipping on his booze until he heard someone else call his name from behind him.

“Meliodas!”

Meliodas turned his head and saw Erza and Lucy approaching him.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted them.

“So these old perverts are tainting you too…” Lucy commented upon seeing the magazine opened in front of Meliodas with Mirajane’s provocative pictures.

“Oi we’re not that old!” Wakaba and Macao exclaimed at the same time. Erza glared at Wakaba, causing him to grab his magazine away from Meliodas and put it away behind him.

“Meliodas, have you been practicing your requip?” Erza asked.

“Yeah!” Meliodas replied enthusiastically. He put his hand out in front of him. A light began glowing in his palm and a large, glowing, bottle shaped light appeared in his hand. As the light disappeared, a green glass bottle of Magnolia Ale appeared in his hand.

“I can now summon booze whenever I want!” Meliodas said with a grin.

Lucy’s eyes widened in shock that Meliodas would learn requip just to keep booze on him as Erza clapped her hands and congratulated Meliodas.
“Good job. You’ve been practicing.”

“Yup! A lot better than what happened yesterday.”

Erza smiled and replied.
“Exactly.”

“Wait what happened yesterday?!” Lucy questioned. Erza remained silent as Meliodas popped open his bottle of ale and refilled the glasses of Macao and Wakaba.

“OHHH TITANIA!!!” A voice yelled out excitedly from behind them. The group turned around and saw a lanky man with a large grin on his face. The front of his hair was a bit messy and the back of his hair was sticking up into a tall spike. A black camera with a large lens dangled around his neck and he wore a pink t-shirt with a bright logo that had the words “FAIRY TAIL” written on it.

“Who is this?” Meliodas asked, looking observantly at the strangely energetic man.

“I think he’s from Sorcerer Weekly.” Lucy replied.

“His name is Jason.” Erza added.

“AHHH IT’S ERZA IN THE FLESH! SO COOOOL!” Jason yelled out louder and even more enthusiastically as he walked hastily to them. Lucy immediately walked up to greet him.

“Hi, I’m Lucy and as Erza’s friend, I’d like-” Lucy was cut off as Jason walked passed her and up to Erza and began asking Erza questions. Lucy was left with an expression of shock on her face as Jason had completely ignored her. She sulked over to the table Meliodas was sitting at and sat down next to him.

“There there.” Meliodas said as he patted Lucy on the shoulder.

“Thanks...” Lucy responded.

“How about some ale?” Meliodas offered as he summoned another bottle to Lucy’s surprise.

“How many of those do you keep on you?” Lucy asked.

“Hmm...I don’t quite remember. I stopped counting when it got into the hundreds.” Meliodas replied.

“HUNDREDS?!” Lucy exclaimed. “You’re practically a walking bar!”

“Ey Meliodas pour me another one!” Wakaba requested with his now empty mug raised.

“Sure thing!” Meliodas replied as he raised his hand up. Another bottle of Magnolia Ale appeared in his hand. He popped the cap off and filled Wakaba’s mug.

“He has grown so proficient with requip hasn’t he?” Erza commented as she walked over next to Lucy.

“Oh good he’s done interviewing you now where is-” Lucy turned around and saw Jason was no longer there. Lucy turned back around and saw Jason talking to Meliodas. ‘He’s talking to Meliodas already?!’

“So you’re the new guy, Meliodas right?!” Jason asked.

“Yup!” Meliodas replied.

“COOOOOOOL!” Jason exclaimed loudly. “What’s your hobby?”

“Collecting Ale.”

“COOOOOL!! Where did you get that sword on your back?” Jason continued.

“It was crafted for me by Musica.”

“THE LEGENDARY BLACKSMITH MUSICA?!!! COOOOOOL!!! Do you have any special abilities?”

Meliodas paused for a moment to think about an answer. There was a brief silence around them. Wakaba and Macao looked at Meliodas, curious as to what he would tell the reporter to be his special ability.

“His special ability is his magic, Full Counter I think it was called?” Erza commented. remembering Meliodas shouting “Full Counter” when he reflected Natsu’s Fire Dragon’s Roar.

“If anything, I’d say his ability is to drink copious amounts of booze. I swear he could out drink Cana if he really wanted to.” Lucy sighed.

Meliodas’s eyes lit up as he thought of an answer.
“My eyes can spot an exposed pair of panties from a mile away.” Meliodas said confidently.

“THAT’S SO COOOOOOOOOOL!!!!” Jason exclaimed. He pulled out a notepad from his pocket and began scribbling things on it for several seconds before he took off in a sprint to find the next person to interview.

“How is that cool?!” Lucy exclaimed.

“I see...Meliodas is a swordsman after all. His eyes have to be good at tracking small movements. He must have really high visual acuity in order to see that far...” Erza commented.

“Erza I think you’re missing the point!” “Lucy yelled out.

“What an odd fellow…” Meliodas commented as he watched Jason run away towards another person to interview.

----

Chapter Text

A few hours later, the reporter had finished his job and left the guild hall. The guild hall began quieting down as people began leaving and going on missions again now that the reporter was gone. Meliodas saw that Macao and Wakaba were passed out drunk and stopped drinking his ale. He dispelled the ale bottle, returning it to its pocket dimension, and approached the bar.

Makarov was already seated at the bar and saw Meliodas approaching him.
“Meliodas, how is your search going?”

Meliodas' mood changed slightly. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had enough time to research spatial magic.
“I haven’t made much progress besides learning miscellaneous magic.”

“That's a shame. However, there are still many books you haven’t read in the library that may help you with what you’re looking for.”

Meliodas sighed. He didn’t enjoy reading but he had no choice for now as he turned around and walked towards the library.

---

Five days had passed Meliodas had spent the entire time in the library reading at 18x speed thanks to the gale force glasses. He looked like a broken rag doll as laid moaning in the ground. Meliodas had already read every book pertaining to spatial magic and was reading other various things on Fiore to see if it was possible there was someone else who was in his situation written in history. To his dismay, he could not find a written record of anyone.

Levy, who visited the library frequently, noticed a groaning Meliodas who was surrounded with stacks of books while sprawled out on the ground. She walked up to him and tried to help him up.

“Meliodas, are you alright?”

Meliodas groaned before answering.
“My head hurts.”

Levy couldn’t help but laugh a bit before she helped Meliodas back up.
“Let’s go back. How long have you been here anyway?!”

“Uhhh...5 days…?” Meliodas grumbled. Levy’s laughter quickly faded as she heard his answer and a shock filled expression covered her face. Five days of reading non stop was unbelievable, even for her.

“How do you go without food or water for that long?!” Levy questioned. Meliodas did not reply and Levy dragged Meliodas upstairs.
“That’s enough reading, you need to get some food…”

Levy sat Meliodas down at the bar next to Makarov who was already there. Makarov gave Meliodas a puzzled look as Mirajane approached them. Upon seeing them, she gave the two of them a worried smile as she looked at Meliodas’s comatose state.

“I’ll get him some food.” Mirajane said to Levy reassuringly. Levy nodded and left Meliodas at the bar while Mirajane walked away into the back and a few minutes later, returned with some food and drinks. The aroma of the food awoke Meliodas from his slumber as he quickly scarfed down the food.

“Whew! That was refreshing. You’re the best Mira!” Meliodas said, delighted with his meal. Sitting next to Meliodas was Makarov, who chuckled at Meliodas.

“Did you learn anything?” Makarov asked.

“Nope… just more information about common miscellaneous usage of spatial magic and a few used for combat.” Meliodas answered.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have too many users of spatial magic. It’s a rare magic to begin with.”

Mirajane suddenly interjected as the two were conversing.
“Why don’t you try talking to guild members from other guilds?”

Makarov nodded at Mirajane’s suggestion.
“She’s right. We maintain a friendly relationship with the other guilds. Although they might not let you see their library collection, they have their own unique wizards, who might be able to help you.”

Meliodas also agreed. He didn’t want to read any more. Going outside and exploring would be a good change of pace. Meliodas stood up from his seat and stretched as prepared to leave.

“Alright, it's decided. I am going to the other guilds to see if they have any information.”

“Meliodas, fight me!” A voice was heard from the side. It was Natsu, who rushed at Meliodas with his hands ablaze.

“Fire Dragon’s-”

Meliodas faced Natsu with a smile as Natsu was about to strike Meliodas. Natsu suddenly felt a sharp pain on his chin before being launched upwards. His body shot into the ceiling, causing bits of wood to fall to the ground below as half of his body was now stuck in the ceiling.

“Sorry, I am busy.” Meliodas said as he began walking out of the guild hall. The other guild members who were watching looked at each other and began talking amongst themselves at what they just witnessed.

“One hit…”

“He beat Natsu again in one hit…”

“He beat Salamander in one hit...” Gajeel said. He observed Meliodas walk out of the guild hall and was shocked at his strength as Gray laughed while he watched as Natsu tried to get himself unstuck from the ceiling.

“Master, he is quite strong.” Mirajane said, staring up at the ceiling at Natsu, who was trying to pull his head out of the newly repaired ceiling.

“That's true, considering he just spent 5 days reading. Logically, he should be quite exhausted.” Makarov commented. Meliodas' strength had surprised Makarov. He didn’t sense any magic in his attack. It was just pure physical strength which surpassed human expectation.

Meliodas left the guild and went towards his house. The old landlord was seated outside on the porch reading the newspaper. He eyed Meliodas who had arrived.

“You have two days until you have to pay your rent again.” Schneider reminded. Meliodas nodded and approached him. He raised his hand out in front of him and a glowing stack of bills appeared in his hands. The stack stopped glowing as Meliodas handed it over.

“I’ll be gone for a few days. So I’ll give it to you in advance.” Meliodas said.

The old man nodded and took the money.
“Take care of yourself.”

“You too Schneider.” Meliodas said as he walked back up to his room. ‘Hmm...I might need to do a new mission soon. I’m a bit low on money.’

The following morning, Meliodas cleaned himself up and prepared to set off. He made a quick stop at Fairy Tail to speak with Makarov. While there, Natsu approached him, challenging him again but he ignored Natsu’s challenge as he exited the guild, to Natsu’s dismay.

According to Makarov, the guilds he recommended were Lamia scale, Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus. Meliodas put his hand out in front of him, summoning a map with requip. Meliodas couldn’t help but admire the convenience that learning requip had come with. He looked at the map, and saw which towns the guilds were in.

‘The best one to go to would Lamia Scale. It’s the closest to Fairy Tail. Looks like it's southwest of Magnolia Town at a place called Margaret Town.’ Meliodas put the map away and made his way to Magnolia Station, where he boarded a train to Margaret town.

‘I finally arrived.’ Meliodas thought to himself as he finally arrived in Margaret town, several hours later, which was the home of Lamia Scale, one of the strongest guilds in the Fiore Kingdom. The town was split into two by a river and was nearly the size of Magnolia Town.

Meliodas walked across the town and finally arrived at the large building in the center of town. It was a large stone building, with a banner at the front displaying Lamia Scale’s crest. At the front, was a stone statue with the upper body of a bikini clad young woman and the lower body of a serpent.

‘Speaking of Lamia Scale, weren’t those three from the Ogre mission from Lamia Scale…?’ Meliodas thought.

Meliodas approached the main entrance of Lamia Scale, and knocked on their large door. A few bystanders began commenting about Meliodas.

“Why is he knocking on the door? He knows he can just walk in right?”

“Poor kid, he must be lost.”

“Maybe he’s here to request a mission.”

The doors opened and a young man stared at Meliodas.
“Why are you knocking on the door? You can just walk in…”

Meliodas shrugged at the young man.
“Manners I guess...”

The young man chuckled and let Meliodas in.

“Yo Jovan, who is that?” Another person asked and approached Meliodas.

“I don't know, he was knocking on our doors.” Jovan replied as he turned to Meliodas.
“By the way, why are you here?”

“I came to talk to your master.”

A few members nearby laughed when they heard Meliodas.

“Kid, you can’t just walk in here and request to speak with the master.”

“What a funny kid.”

Meliodas’s abrupt arrival and request caused a commotion in the guild, prompting more members to gather at the hall entrance where he was standing. Lyon, who was picking up a mission from the board, turned his head over. Some more guild members walked over to Meliodas.

“Hey kid, why do you want to meet the master?”
“Are you lost?”
“Are you here to make a job request?”

“What is all this commotion?” A voice came out from the side. It was a tall and massive man with a heavily muscular figure, with a bald head and a pair of oval-shaped black marks just above his black eyes, in place of where his eyebrows should be. The guild members immediately moved aside for the man who had just appeared and commented among themselves.

“I can’t believe it. Jura’s talking to this kid?!”

“Oh he’s in for it now!”

Jura ignored the remarks and faced Meliodas.
“Young man, what brings you to our guild.”

Meliodas looked at the large man in surprise. This guy seemed strong. Stronger than most of the people he had encountered so far.
“My name is Meliodas, I am here to talk with your guild master.”

Jura sized Meliodas up. He looked like an ordinary kid, but he got a weird sensation from him. Despite his childlike stature, he was definitely concealing more power.
“I see. May I please know where you are from?” Jura asked, a bit suspicious of Meliodas.

“I am--”

Before Meliodas could answer a voice came from the side.
“Meliodas!”

Meliodas turned his head and saw Lyon who had called out his name. Beside him were Sherry and Yuka.

“Oh! Lion, Cherry, and...” Meliodas said, blankly staring at Yuka for several seconds trying to remember his name. “So how have you been?”

“It's Lyon!” Lyon exclaimed.

“Who the hell is Cherry?!” Sherry asked.

“It’s Yuka! At least mess up my name damn it! Don't just forget it!” Yuka yelled.

Meliodas scratched his head and laughed at the trio.
“Right, right… How have you guys been?”

“Good. Thank you for your help back then.” Sherry composed herself and thanked Meliodas.

“Yeah. If it wasn't for you, who knows what would’ve happened.” Yuka commented.

“Don’t worry about it.” Meliodas smiled and turned to face Jura. “Anyway, can I see the Master?”

Jura eased up and clasped Meliodas’s shoulder in a friendly manner.
“I didn’t know that was you, thank you for helping our guild. As for seeing the master, she is not in at the moment. If you have any requests to make of her, I can try assisting.”

“That would be great. I am looking for information on a certain type of magic.”
Meliodas said as he asked Jura about anything and everything relating to teleportation and spatial manipulation magic.

Jura conversed with Meliodas for thirty minutes, giving him a good amount of information he himself gathered. Of course, Jura held back some things pertaining to guild and Magic Council secrets.

“That's all I can tell. And unfortunately we don't have mages that really use spatial magic besides requip magic.” Jura said.

Meliodas sighed and thanked Jura.
“Thanks for the info, I’ll be on my way then.”

“I am sorry I couldn’t provide you with more information.”

“That's alright, I’ll see ya around.” Meliodas waved.

Meliodas grabbed a quick drink at their bar and conversed with Lyon, Sherry and Yuka before going around the guild for another hour, asking around for information. Despite his efforts, he did not get any other useful information and decided to leave the guild.

‘Where to next...’ Meliodas thought as he exited the Lamia Scale building.

Chapter Text

Meliodas walked around Margaret Town planning his next move. As he walked down the main street, a building at the corner of his eye caught his attention. He saw a sign mounted in front that said “Margaret Tavern.” Thinking the tavern would be a good place to get a meal and plan his route, he went inside.

The tavern was dimly lit with dark wood furniture and cobblestone floors. He took a seat at a table in the corner and a waitress approached him. He ordered some food and as the waitress left him, he summoned his map of Fiore and placed it on the table. ‘Lets see, the Master said that the other guild I can ask is Blue Pegasus...’

Meliodas looked over the map and saw the distance between Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. He slapped his forehead and sighed. ‘It’s on the other side of the country….it doesn’t help that Fiore is so much larger than Britannia...’

Meliodas continued looking at the map, surveying the surrounding land until he found a spot in between the two guilds, the kingdom's capital, Crocus. ‘I can stop here first for a quick rest and maybe some information before going to Blue Pegasus.’ Meliodas thought.

After deciding on his plan, he put away the map as his food arrived. Finishing his meal swiftly, he paied his tab and went outside. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and looked up at the sky. It was still early in the afternoon. Meliodas looked around and saw no one in the vicinity. Tired of taking trains, he activated his darkness, causing it to leak out from his back and molded it to form a pair of sharp wings. Meliodas squatted down temporarily before he leaped high into the air with great force, kicking up a small amount of dust where he was standing. He soared high above Margaret Town as he went North towards Crocus.

As the sun was beginning to set, when Meliodas arrived in the skies above Crocus and took in the view. Behind Crocus, the sky was a reddish, orange tint, much like flames. Underneath, Crocus was a large town, larger than Magnolia and Margaret, with a vast amount of buildings in a circular pattern. In the middle of the pattern, was an enormous castle. As Meliodas got closer to the ground, he could see a bountiful amount of different colored flowers that adorned the streets, with an assortment of flowerbeds that were placed at every corner.

Meliodas hovered above the city before he found a quiet corner of the city to land. He landed in an alleyway and receded his darkness back into his body and walked down the street, admiring the scenery and the aroma of flowers that filled the air. As he continued down the street, he found an inn and got a room for the night. On his bed, he laid down and closed his eyes.

‘Finding information on this magic is exhausting. I wonder if I should just explore the capital tomorrow.’

---

The next morning, within the castle of Crocus, a tall, muscular and well-built man was standing in the library. He had brown wavy hair and long sideburns that ran down his face to his beard. He was extremely focused on his book when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Sir Arcadios!!”

Arcadios felt a little annoyed that someone interrupted his reading and looked towards the soldier.
“What happened?”

“Sir the princess has run out of the castle again.” The soldier said nervously. Arcadios sighed and closed his book.

“Again…. It’s fine, her personal guard are always secretly protecting her when she steps out. Whenever she runs away she usually returns a few hours later.”

“Yes… sir.” The soldier said.

---

The night passed and Meliodas left the inn. As he was preparing to leave town he noticed a small figure, like that of a young child running towards his direction. The child was wearing a dark brown cloak that covered their body down to the ankles. Despite the hood, Meliodas still saw the child’s face as the child got closer. It was a young girl around 11 years old with large dark green eyes. She had a smile on her face as she ran past him towards an alleyway.

Meliodas was about to walk away when he noticed a few figures following closely behind the girl. The girl was unaware of their presence but Meliodas kept an eye on them. He rushed towards the strange figures who also entered the alley.

Meliodas instantly appeared in front of the pursuers. The three figures stopped in front of Meliodas. They were all wearing black cloaks with hoods and masks that covered their faces, leaving only their mouths visible.

“Well, well, well, what’s going on here?” Meliodas asked as he faced the three figures.

“Who are you?” One of them asked.

“I could ask the same of you three.” Meliodas responded.

“Who we are doesn’t concern you. Get out of our way if you know what’s good for you.” One of the other figures responded.

Meliodas sighed and vanished from their sight, much to their surprise. He reappeared behind the three of them, knocking each of them out with a swift chop to the back of the head. Meliodas moved their unconscious bodies out of the way and looked back to where he last saw the girl. He went towards her direction and saw her again at the end of the alleyway towards another open street. There, she was buying fruit from the vendors. She paid for her food and sat down on a nearby bench and began eating. Despite the fruit being a particularly juicy one, she left little if not any mess at all. Meliodas saw she was okay and was about to leave but he looked back at the three unconscious bodies of the girl’s pursuers. It wouldn’t sit right with him if there were more of them and he just left.

Meliodas approached her. She was still smiling, blissfully unaware of her pursuers. From this close, under her hood he could see the child’s green hair.

“Yo.” Meliodas said as he walked up to her. The girl looked up as she just finished eating the fruit. She looked up quickly, and saw to her relief it was a young blond boy approaching her.

“Hello.” She responded poshly.

“Did you know that there were people chasing you?” Meliodas questioned.The young girl became noticeably startled and she looked around the area. To her relief, she saw no one else but them in the area.

“Don't worry, they left.” Meliodas said with a smile.

“Is that so? That’s a relief then.” The young girl replied. She didn’t know who he was talking about, but she thanked him anyway. She didn’t feel too much suspicion towards Meliodas since he looked almost the same age as her. Meliodas thought about her situation for a brief moment and started to piece it together.

‘Those guys I knocked out earlier...did this girl run away from home or something?’ Meliodas thought. Her silver spoon accent was distinct and her mannerisms were easily recognizable by Meliodas, having spent many years of his life as royalty or serving royalty.

“Did you run away from home?”

The young girl was surprised at Meliodas’s deduction and nodded.
“Yes, but I ask that you do not tell anyone. I do not wish to go back yet. I am always stuck indoors, reading books and learning. I rarely get to go outside and explore...”

Meliodas chuckled at the situation.
“I see. So this isn’t the first time you have run away then. What did you run out this time for?”

“I am going to find a guild!!” She responded, with fiery determination in her dark green eyes.

“Oh, why do you want to find a guild?” Meliodas was slightly surprised as he asked.

“I want to see all different kinds of magic. My father told me that guilds are always going on adventures.” She replied enthusiastically. “There’s one guild I especially want to see. Fairy Tail!”

Her answer surprised Meliodas. Fairy Tail was a lot more well known than he had originally thought. Before saying something, he thought about the situation briefly. His research was going nowhere so far so taking a small detour wouldn’t be a huge impact.

“Alright, how about this. I’ll take you to Fairy Tail!” Meliodas said.

The girl gave Meliodas a skeptical smile and thought he was showing off.
“I do not mean to sound rude but you look hardly older than me. How could you possibly take me there?”

Meliodas grinned and pulled up his right sleeve, showing his guild insignia on his arm. The girl looked at the insignia and immediately, her eyes lit up with excitement upon seeing it.

“You are in Fairy Tail!” She blurted out loudly in surprise.

“Yup! I’m Meliodas of Fairy Tail. So what do you think, you want to see the guild now?”

“Meliodas...I see. I am Hisui E.- uh just Hisui. But can you really show me? But I am not sure if I can leave the city. My father will worry if I’m gone for too long...”

“Don't worry, I can bring you over there and have you back here in no time.” Meliodas said reassuringly as Hisui’s eyes sparkled.

“Really!! You must be a mage then. What kind of Magic do you use?” Hisui asked.

“I wouldn’t call it magic but…” Meliodas took a step back and darkness began to leak out of his back. The darkness began changing shape until it looked like a pair of wings.

“Can you really fly??” Hisui asked, her eyes gleaming.

“Of course I can! Hop on!” Meliodas offered. Meliodas kneeled on the ground and gestured towards his shoulders. Hisui ran towards Meliodas, climbing on his back until Meliodas was giving her a piggyback ride. Meliodas stood up and jumped into the air where he started floating above the ground.

“I can’t believe it! You’re actually flying!” Hisui exclaimed. Meliodas ascended at a consistent pace until he was high above Crocus. Hisui’s eyes widened at the view. She had never seen Crocus from this angle before.

“Hold on.” Meliodas said as he began flying east, towards Magnolia Town, speeding up.

The three figures in the alleyway woke up and looked up at the sky. There, they saw a brief glimpse of the mysterious young blond boy who had attacked them, flying in the sky, with wings of darkness sprouting from his back while Hisui hung onto his shoulders. Underneath their masks, their eyes widened with shock at what they had just witnessed.

“Quick, we need to return to the castle! Someone is kidnapping the princess!!!” One of the figures shouted, with noticeable panic in their voice.

“We must inform Sir Arcadios!” Another said. The three figures quickly stood up and ran in a full sprint towards the castle.

---

Arcadios was seated and still reading the same book when he suddenly heard a voice calling him once again. He felt peeved at the sudden interruption. He turned over and saw that it was the secret guard of the princess, causing him to stand up in panic at a possible worst case scenario.

“What are you idiots doing here!!!” Arcadios yelled at them.

“S-Sir...The princess has been kidnapped.”

---

Chapter Text

Arcadios flew into a fit of rage, his fair skinned face turned red.
“You incompetent fools! What do you mean the princess has been kidnapped? By who?!”

One of the guards began describing the events that happened and to the best of his abilities, how Meliodas looked like. However, as he described him, the traumatic experience caused him to begin exaggerating the details, as he remembered Meliodas suddenly appearing in front of them and knocking them out in a single hit.

“It was a blond kid with green eyes...but he was no kid. He knocked all three of us out without any trouble... like some kind of monster. A demon! After he knocked us out he flew away with wings as dark as the night sky, carrying the princess on his back.” The guard said nervously.

“Flew away?? With wings?!!” Arcadios questioned. Arcadios quickly rushed over to the corner of the room. Sitting on a wooden pedestal was a communication lacrima. He picked it up and began contacting the council.

“Arcadios, Squadron Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron, reporting. I am calling a national state of emergency. The princess, Hisui E. Fiore, has been kidnapped.”

---

Meliodas flew high in the sky with the wind gently blowing in his face. Below him were vast open fields and flowing rivers. He stared forward in silence at the horizon. The bright blue sky was above them with very little clouds.

His original goal was to get information from other guilds about returning to his world. Yet for some reason, he found himself going out of his way for this mysterious little girl he encountered. For some reason, having this young girl riding on his back made him think of what things could have been between him and Zeldris over three thousand years ago when they were still young. If times were peaceful and there had been no war. He could have been the older brother figure he regretted he never was to Zeldris, giving a younger child Zeldris who was still too young to use his darkness to fly a ride through the skies of the demon realm.

The trip back to Magnolia Town was relatively silent, with little interaction between the two, as Hisui was too engulfed with the overwhelming beauty of the countryside and was left speechless, although she would occasionally ask Meliodas questions about Fairy Tail.

“Look! A town!” Hisui exclaimed, breaking the silence.

“Yup. That’s Magnolia Town. That’s where Fairy Tail is.” Meliodas said. Meliodas sped up slightly and began descending, until he was just above Fairy Tail’s building. Hisui’s eyes lit up as she saw the guild insignia on the building.

“Wow so that’s Fairy Tail! It’s like a small castle!” Hisui commented with a large grin on her face.

Meliodas gently landed on the ground, right in front of the entrance. He got on a knee and let Hisui crawl off of his back. Meliodas was just about to walk inside but noticed Hisui was not following him. He turned around and saw Hisui standing still, not moving a muscle.

“You coming?” Meliodas asked.

“Oh sorry...I’m just a bit nervous and excited.” She said as she briskly walked up to Meliodas to catch up.

The two of them entered the guild and Hisui was immediately enamored by the cheerful atmosphere.

“Hey, hey it’s Meliodas! Welcome back!” Wakaba greeted Meliodas as he walked in. Wakaba was sitting down at his usual spot with a mug of ale in hand. He noticed the little girl wearing a cloak standing next to Meliodas.
“Well look at that. You come back with a girlfriend. And one who is your size. Although she seems a bit young.” Wakaba teased. Meliodas shook his head.

“Nah. She’s someone I met while in Crocus. She wanted to see Fairy Tail so I brought her over.” Meliodas replied. Makarov, who was sitting at the bar listening in, walked over to Meliodas and Hisui.

“Welcome to Fairy Tail young one. I am the Master, Makarov Dreyar.” Makarov greeted her with a warm smile. Hisui lowered her hood, letting her long green hair fall out as she smiled at Makarov.

“Thank you.” Hisui responded with a large grin on her face.

The entire room suddenly grew quiet upon seeing Hisui. Makarov’s warm smile vanished as his face contorted. It turned into a look of despair and shock as he saw who the little girl was. Some of the other guildmates look at her in shock too. Cana put down her drinking barrel as Lucy covered her mouth.

“Why did everyone get so quiet?” Natsu asked out loud, breaking the silence.

“Natsu, you don’t know who that is?” Gray asked, with a surprised look on his face. Natsu looked at Erza and saw that she even had a shocked expression. Meliodas looked around the room, confused at the situation.

“P-p-p-p-p-p-p….PRINCESS HISUI E. FIORE?!” Makarov yelled out.

“Princess?!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Meliodas! What have you done?! Why is the PRINCESSS WITH YOU!!!!” Makarov yelled out in anguish as he looked at Meliodas who was still indifferent despite the situation.

“Princess? I see, it makes sense now.” Meliodas commented.

“Please, do not blame him. It is not his fault. I asked of him to take me here. He did not know who I was at the time.” Hisui pleaded.

“Master.” Erza said as she approached Makarov. “Meliodas may have taken the princess, but he did so with good intention. I’m sure this can all be explained to the council and they will understand.”

Makarov’s distressed face slowly began to fade away as he regained his composure. He scratched his head as he tried to think of a way out of this.

“Okay...maybe they haven’t noticed the Princess is missing yet…” Makarov said to himself. “We might be able to get out of this mess…”

“Oh what’s going on?” Mirajane said as she walked in through the entrance of the guild and saw the guild hall was completely quiet and all staring at Meliodas.

“Umm...I got some new missions for the job bulletin!” Mirajane said, trying to break the silent tension in the room. Makarov walked up to her and took the stack of papers from her while Mirajane looked around the room curiously as to why everyone was so tense. Her eyes widened when Hisui turned around and faced her.

“Princess Fiore?” Mirajane questioned.

Makarov turned over a page on the new jobs stacks and his eyes widened. He dropped the stack of papers on the ground, only keeping that one job in his hand.

“Master, what's wrong?” Mirajane asked. The other guild members, including Meliodas, began to gather around and look at the flyer Makarov was holding. On the paper it read, “Urgent Quest. National Emergency!!! Princess Hisui E. Fiore kidnapped by The Blond Demon. Report any information about their whereabouts immediately to the council.”

On the paper was a picture of a child who looked similar to Meliodas, except that he had black horns, black wings, and a wicked smile. Underneath his picture was a bounty listed for 30,000,000 Jewel.

“Well well well. That’s pretty good for a wanted poster.” Meliodas commented, remembering his last wanted poster from when the Seven Deadly Sins were framed, which looked absolutely nothing like him.

“Oh no…” Makarov said, shaking his head. “Meliodas you need to go back to Crocus and return her NOW! I’m going to go to the council and see if I can explain this situation to them…”

“Please don’t be mad at Meliodas! He was only trying to help me... I apologize if my presence here is a burden to you all…” Hisui said.

“Don’t worry about it, Hisui!” Meliodas said reassuringly as he patted her lightly on the head.

“But how will Meliodas get there? A thirty million Jewel bounty will make it hard for him to travel there safely…” Lucy mentioned. “As soon as he even sets foot outside the building, he will be recognized…”

“Escorting Meliodas won’t be the only problem…” Makarov said. “There is the issue that it has been made public that her majesty is missing. Not only will people be actively hunting down Meliodas, but the Princess as well.”

“Then we’ll just have to bring them there ourselves.” Gray mentioned.

“Yeah! And if people get in our way, we’ll knock em out!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Aye sir!” Happy chimed in.

“Like a real MAN!” Elfman yelled out.

“So this is Fairy Tail…” Hisui said in awe as she watched everyone. Despite the drastic situation, their spirits were high.

“Very well…” Makarov said. “Erza I am leaving you in charge of forming a team to escort the Princess and Meliodas to the capital. In the meantime, I will call the council and try to get this mess-”

“That will not be necessary, Makarov.” A voice said from the entrance of the guild.

Chapter Text

Makarov’s eyes widened at the large figure standing at the entrance and the room became silent once again as everyone turned their heads towards the guild entrance. Meliodas and Hisui turned around and saw Jura Neekis standing with a large group of councilmen behind him.

“Yo, Jura!” Meliodas greeted him with a smile as he waved, unfettered by the situation.

“We meet again, Meliodas.” Jura replied. The silence in the room was broken as various members of the guild began talking amongst themselves.

“I can’t believe it, Jura’s here?!”
“They actually sent Jura Neekis?!”
“Who’s Jura…?”

“Makarov.” Jura said. He began to walk towards Makarov. The room became silent again as Jura began speaking. “Do not worry. Myself and the council will bring her majesty back to the capital.”

A look of relief filled Makarov’s face upon hearing this. One of the ten wizard saints escorting the princess back would be a best case scenario.

“However.” Jura continued. “I will also be taking Meliodas with me.”

“No you can’t take Meliodas!” Hisui protested as she stepped up in front of Meliodas.

“Yeah, he didn’t know that he accidentally kidnapped a princess!” Gray exclaimed.

“Yeah, you can’t take our friend!” Natsu yelled. He began to angrily walk towards Jura with his fists clenched.

“Calm down idiot!” Makarov yelled. His entire left arm began to grow until it was nearly ten times in size. With his enormous hand, he stopped Natsu and grabbed him, keeping the dragon slayer from moving.

“Jura, you’re here to take Meliodas...” Makarov said with narrowed eyes.

“Please calm down. Once we deliver the princess, we will just question Meliodas.” Jura said reassuringly to Makarov.

“Alright then...” Makarov agreed. Since the princess willingly came with Meliodas, he figured he would most likely be pardoned, so he wasn’t that worried. Makarov looked back over at Meliodas.

“Meliodas, go with Jura.” He ordered.

“Sure thing.” Meliodas replied.

Meliodas walked over to Jura where one of the councilmen that came with him cuffed him with anti magic cuffs while another took his sword. As the cuffs contacted his wrists, he noticed a familiar sensation, one that was similar to when he was fighting near the large anti-link crystal. ‘So that’s what they are using this for…’

“I am sorry Meliodas, but this is protocol.” Jura said. Meliodas nodded and Jura escorted Meliodas and Hisui out of the guild hall while the rest of the guild members watched silently, unable to do anything as they watched Meliodas get arrested.

Erza turned to Makarov.
“Master, will it be alright?”

“Yes, since the princess came willingly, he won’t get in much trouble. And I know Jura, he will make sure nothing unjust happens. The best thing we can do for now is wait.” Makarov said.

----

Meliodas sat down, cuffed, on a train heading towards Crocus. He looked out the window at the scenery. The rolling green hills and widespread farmland began to make him feel nostalgic as he reminisced of Britannia.

Sitting across from him was Jura and sitting next to him was Hisui. Filling the seats around them and standing in the corridor, were over a dozen councilmen. The councilmen had secured the railway and the train privately to bring the princess back, so there were no other passengers.

“Meliodas, I’m sorry… because of me, you are being taken away.” Hisui said as tears started forming in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Meliodas said reassuringly with a big smile. This will be a long train ride so feel free to ask any more questions about Fairy Tail. Hisui’s eyes lit up at Meliodas’s offer as she began bombarding Meliodas with many questions. Jura smiled at their conversation while he kept an eye on them.

“Hey by the way, you will be returning my sword right? Meliodas asked Jura.

“Don’t worry, we will just hold it for now. Once you’re let go, you’ll get it back. Although I will say, it’s quite the impressive sword.” Jura commented. Meliodas nodded in approval and then looked back out the window as he answered more of Hisui’s questions.

Before the sun had set, the train arrived at Crocus Station. From there, Meliodas was taken directly to the throne room where he stood before the King of Fiore. The throne room was a spacious room with large pillars engraved with various markings lined up on each side. There was a large red carpet leading towards a section of the room that was elevated by a few steps of stairs. The carpet ended at three chairs, lined up next to each other, with the chair in the middle being the throne. The throne itself was a heavily decorated large chair, twice the height of an average person with two large jewels embedded in it.

On the throne, sat the king, a short man who was around Makarov’s height. The man had neck length white hair and a thin mustache. He wore a red cape with striped overalls underneath. Beside him, stood Arcadios and Hisui. Meliodas kneeled on one leg and faced his head down, not forgetting his royal etiquette he had learned over the years.

“Meliodas, do you have anything to say for kidnapping my daughter.” The king asked.

Meliodas was unfazed and replied back.
“Well, I didn’t actually kidnap anyone. I just asked if she wanted to see Fairy Tail and she said yes.”

The king sighed and looked at his daughter, who nodded at him.
“It’s true father. I am sorry for the inconvenience I caused…”

The King remained silent for a few moments. He turned to his side and began talking to Arcadios along with several other men, who Meliodas assumed were the royal court. After several minutes of talking, the king turned back to Meliodas.

“You are dismissed.”

Meliodas nodded and walked out of the throne room with a few council guards as escorts. They gave each other confused looks as they showed Meliodas out of the room.

‘This guy is so cavalier.’
‘Isn’t he afraid of the king?’

---

Meliodas sat down in the main lobby of the castle, still cuffed, with several palace guards watching him. There, he waited until Jura had finished his meeting and was chatting away with the palace guards about ale in the meantime. After about half an hour, Meliodas heard footsteps coming from behind him and turned around. There he saw Jura walking towards him.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted.

“Meliodas, his majesty said he doesn’t have any reason to punish you. The princess told his Majesty everything that had happened prior to your meeting with him. However, the council has decided to detain you just for a week as a formality, due to the unfortunate encounter the princess’s secret guard had with you.”

“Fine…” Meliodas sighed. “But if I’m kept any longer, I’ll break out myself.” Meliodas replied with a cheeky smile. Jura laughed in response, as he didn’t really think anything about Meliodas' comment and passed it off as a joke. From the palace, the council once again escorted Meliodas to the Council Headquarters, which was directly south of Crocus.

---

The punishment was already decided and Meliodas was taken to his cell. It was a small room with runes grafted along the walls. Meliodas was placed inside and his cuffs were replaced with a thick, steel bracelet attached to his wrist to restrict the usage of his magic. Compared to the cuffs, the bracelet would be harder to break out of.

Meliodas sat down and looked around the cell and was surprised. It was surprisingly large and had a proper bed mounted to the wall with a toilet in the corner. It was quite comfortable for a jail cell.

The door closed behind Meliodas and the guard left, leaving Meliodas alone in the room. It was already night and Meliodas decided to sleep for the night.

Early the next morning, Meliodas woke up. He stared up at the ceiling of his cell as he layed in the bed.. ‘Damn, a whole week of this.’ He thought as he laid down on the bed.

An hour later he noticed a strange frogman guard stopped by his cell. The frogman opened the door and placed a tray of food for Meliodas. Meliodas looked at the contents of the tray. There was a bowl of cereal with a cup of milk on the side, an assortment of fruit, and biscuits covered in a thick gravy sauce.

“You got any ale?” Meliodas asked the frogman guard.

“No, this isn't a hotel. You are a prisoner.” The frogman guard gave Meliodas a stern look.

“Well, alright then.” Meliodas responded as he began eating his food. To his surprise, the food tasted pretty good. The frogman left the room and closed the door.

Meliodas walked up to the door of the cell and stood on his toes, looking at the hallway. Once he made sure no one was there, he walked over to his bed and sat down. He looked down at his left wrist where the cuff was placed and placed his right hand over the cuff.

Gripping the bracelet as hard as he could, he managed to break it right off as it made a small cracking noise. He took off and placed it at his side. The bracelet was still nearly intact apart from a small part that was broken off, in case Meliodas had to put it on again. Meliodas raised his hand in front of him and summoned a bottle of White Wyvern Ale. ‘I’m glad I learned this magic.’

---

One week passed, and Meliodas lay on his bed, his eyes open, staring at the blank ceiling above when he heard footsteps approaching his cell. His cell door swung open and the frogman guard came in.

“Get up.” The guard said.

“Meliodas hopped out of bed with a smile on his face. A week had passed and he knew he got to leave today. The guard escorted Meliodas out of his cell and down several long hallways until they reached the main lobby of the Council building.

“Alright, you are free to go. By the way, here’s your belongings.” The guard said.

“Thanks!” Meliodas replied as he took Melf Force and strapped it on his back. He made his way towards the exit.

“Wait, I have to take off your Anti-Magic bracelet.” The guard yelled. The guard looked at Meliodas’s wrist and was shocked when he realized the magic restraining bracelet was gone.

“Oh the bracelet. It got annoying so I took it off!” Meliodas said as he waved at the now dumbfounded guard and left the building.

“Took it off??” The guard questioned. He walked back to Meliodas’s cell and saw the magic restraining bracelet on the bed. There were two pieces on the bed from the bracelet. The guard picked it up and examined the remaining pieces. ‘He broke this without magic?!’

Chapter Text

Meliodas stood at the entrance outside of the council building. He summoned a map and began to look at it. The council building he was placed at was south of Crocus while Magnolia was almost directly east. However, he had lost a lot of research time staying at the prison.

‘I was supposed to go to Blue Pegasus, but I got sidetracked.’ Meliodas thought. Meliodas looked up into the sky. It was still early in the morning. If he wanted to, he could fly to where Blue Pegasus was before the end of the day.

Meliodas made up his mind and jumped into the air, sprouting wings of darkness from his back and flew north towards Blue Pegasus.

Meliodas soared through the skies of Fiore at a brisk pace but still enjoyed the surrounding scenery as it was all new to him. The cold wind felt great against his face as he had no fresh air in his cell the entire week. Meliodas continued flying through the sky until a small town was in view. He began to descend and as he got closer, could see what he assumed to be Blue Pegasus’s guild building.

Meliodas landed in front of the building. The Blue Pegasus guild building was a large, square building with massive pink bricks, with a pair of towers dividing the building into three sections. At the top of the building was a large dome and beneath it, above the entrance, was a banner portraying Blue Pegasus’s insignia.

Meliodas approached the door to the guild and opened it. As he opened the door, he was greeted by a fragrant scent of sweet wine. Meliodas looked around the guild. The main hall had red and black checker patterned tiles as the flooring. The room itself had an appearance of an elegant pub. To the side, Meliodas saw an elevated lounge and bar area. Naturally, he immediately went towards the bar but stopped as he was approached by a strange man.

The man was short, shorter than Meliodas, and had a large rectangular face. He had stubble around his mouth and chin and orange wavy hair. He wore a white suit with the Blue Pegasus symbol adorned on his left sleeve.

“Mennn...” The man said with an ostentatious tone and a flamboyant look on his face. Meliodas gave him a look of indifference.

“I think I’m at the wrong guild.” Meliodas said. He immediately turned around and began walking back towards the exit.

“Men…” The strange man replied with a sad look on his face.

---

Meliodas returned to the Fairy Tail guild late in the afternoon. As he walked in through the entrance, he was swarmed by a large mob of guild members.

“Meliodas you’re back!”

“Welcome back!”

“How was prison?”

“Wait Meliodas was in prison?!”

Meliodas smiled and greeted everyone and realized he had missed the guild more than he thought he did. After escaping the mob, he made his way back over to the bar.

“Welcome back Meliodas!” Mirajane greeted him cheerfully as she poured him a mug of Mikage berry ale.

“Thanks!” Meliodas replied cheerfully before drinking the mug.

“Ah Meliodas! You’ve returned.” A voice called from behind him. Meliodas placed his mug down and turned his head, seeing Makarov approaching him. Makarov climbed up to an empty barstool next to Meliodas and ordered a drink from Mirajane.

“That was quite the scare you gave me last week.” Makarov said before engorging himself into his drink. “I never got to ask, but did you find what you were looking for, well at least before you got detained.”

“No…” Meliodas replied. “I visited Lamia Scale and they didn’t have the information I needed. Before coming back here I went to Blue Pegasus but…” Meliodas stopped talking.

“Hmm...this must be one incredibly rare magic you’re looking for…” Makarov commented.

“Meliodas, if you’re not busy, why don’t you join the Fantasia Parade?” Mirajane offered. “You’ve been working yourself nonstop lately.”

“Fantasia Parade?” Meliodas asked.

“It's our annual festival. All of our mages will perform in a parade. It's always a festive time.” Mirajane responded.

“A festival sounds great. But unfortunately, I can’t rest. I have to keep searching…” Meliodas said as he slumped over the bar counter. Makrov looked at Meliodas' sorry state and felt slight pity.

“Hmm…” Makarov pondered for a moment and stayed silent. “Alright look, I may know someone who could help you.”

Meliodas’s eyes widened and he looked over at Makarov.
“How come you didn’t mention it before?” Meliodas asked curiously

“Well, this person likes to remain hidden, so I didn’t feel that it was appropriate to share...However I feel you two may have something in common.”

“Are you referring to Mystogan, Master?” Mirajane asked.

“Yes.” Makarov nodded. “Meliodas, I don’t think you’ve met Mystogan. Most people in the guild never got a chance to meet him despite having been here for a while. He is one of the few S rank mages here in Fairy Tail. He has several magic staves on his back and keeps his face covered at all times”

“No, I don’t think I have met him.” Meliodas replied.

“Now would be a good time to meet him. He may have an answer as to what you are looking for. While you were locked away, he came by the guild and picked up a new mission. Right now, he may be over by Boundary Forest.” Makarov said.

“Boundary forest huh?” Meliodas summoned his map with requip and took a look at it. Boundary forest was a good distance east of Magnolia and had no direct railways leading there.

“I’d be careful around there. There are plenty of large and dangerous monsters.” Makarov warned.

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Meliodas smiled. He quickly gulped down his drink and hopped down from the barstool.

“Good luck Meliodas.” Mirajane said.

“Thanks!” Meliodas waved at the two of them and walked out towards the exit.

From outside the guild Meliodas looked in the direction of the east. He jumped up high into the air and sprouted black wings, flying forward at a rapid pace towards. Meliodas quickly left town, flying over vast forests that covered the land. ‘Boundary forest should be just past a town called Rose Garden. I’ll stop at Rose Garden first and see if Mystogan is there…’

---

Meliodas continued flying east until a large city caught his attention. Meliodas began to descend as he approached the city. It was a bright city that was overflowing with magic. At the exterior of the town, was a ring of floating lights.

Meliodas landed at the eastern part of the city and began to walk through, passing by a massive theme park. ‘That looks interesting.’ Meliodas thought as he walked by. As he continued walking, he thought about how he could find Mystogan. He thought about the description that Makarov had gave him. Mystogan would certainly stand out in a crowd, but he most likely wouldn’t be in a place with a lot of people. ‘I should head towards Boundary Forest.’ Meliodas thought as he began running through the streets towards the eastern outskirts of the city.

As Meliodas reached the outskirts of the city, his attention was caught as he saw the bodies of several men on the ground. They were unconscious and there were traces of magic lingering in the area. Meliodas followed the path of unconscious bodies when a dagger went flying by his head, and hit a tree next to him. Meliodas turned his head and saw several thuggish figures grinning at him.

“You the one who did this to us?” One of the men asked as he pointed towards a few unconscious bodies on the ground.

“Me?” Meliodas asked back.

“No it wasn’t him.” Another man stepped up from the group, his body covered in bruises and wounds. “But if we use this kid as bait, we can lure that masked guy back out.”

‘Masked guy?!’ Meliodas thought. ‘So was it Mystogan who did this?’

“Good idea.” One of the men replied. He kneeled down and put his hands on the ground. A magic circle formed on the ground beneath his hands and several rocks jutted out of the ground from below Meliodas, trapping him in place with only his head sticking out.

“Okay you masked bastard! You better come out now! Or else this kid is gonna die!” The man yelled out. There was a brief moment of silence after he yelled. Suddenly the wind began blowing harder into a large gust and two staves dropped to the ground in front of the group of men.

“Two Layered Magic Circle: Burning Abyss.” A voice echoed from around them.
Persistent

The two staves began to glow and the group of men were surrounded by a high wall of flames. Then men frantically looked around for an opening but the wall of flames was unrelenting. Suddenly, Meliodas began to feel a bit drowsy. ‘Sleep magic?’ Meliodas thought as he let out a large yawn.

In the wall of flames, the men inside collapsed. The flames around the men died down. Their clothes were singed and they were all passed out on the ground snoring. In front of them, between the two staves, a figure began to appear, seemingly out of thin air. The figure had a dark blue cloak and a green mask, with three more staves on his back. He picked up the other two staves and placed them on his back.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted. He broke free of the rock formation that had him surrounded up to his head, causing it to crumble onto the ground. The figure turned around and looked at Meliodas, and remained silent.

“You must be Mystogan right?” Meliodas asked.

“Yes I am Mystogan.”

“I’m Melioda-aaaa!” Meliodas yawned mid sentence. “You think you can turn that sleep magic off?”

Mystogan nodded and took one of the staves off of his back that was glowing. He tapped it on the ground and the magic in the area began to fade away. Mystogan, despite never having met Meliodas, was familiar with his name as it was brought up that he had stopped the Jupiter Cannon by himself. Mystogan looked at Meliodas and continued to analyze him. ‘He seems strong. He was able to resist the effects of my sleep magic, as far as I know, only the master was able to resist it…’

“So I’m guessing your mission here was to deal with these guys?” Meliodas asked. Mystogan remained quiet and nodded in response.

“Well if you’re done here, you think you can help me with something?” Meliodas continued. Mystogan nodded. Meliodas paused for a moment to think about how to explain his situation when he remembered Makarov’s words saying they may have something in common.

“Well to put it simply, I’m not from here and I’m trying to get back to my world. You think you can help me out?” Meliodas asked bluntly. Mystogan’s calm eyes widened with shock at Meliodas’s question. ‘This child...he can’t be from Edolas can he? No...that’s impossible...’ Mystogan quickly regained his composure and remained silent. Meliodas tilted his head and looked at him curiously.

“You okay?” Meliodas asked.

Mystogan took in a deep breath and sighed.
“Does the term “Edolas” sound familiar to you?” Mystogan asked. Meliodas looked at him confused.

“Never heard of it.” Meliodas replied.

“Then it appears your situation is different from mine. I will be of no help to you.” Mystogan said. He turned around and began to walk away.

“Wait, you definitely know something!” Meliodas said as he leaped past Mystogan, landing in front of him. Meliodas looked up at Mystogan and stared at him. “Sorry but I can’t let you go that easily. Mystogan stopped and looked at Meliodas.

“I see. And I’m guessing Master Makarov told you to come find me.” Mystogan said. He had a suspicion that Makarov had an idea of who he really was but never acted on it.

“Yup.” Meliodas answered.

“We may be more similar than I originally thought...but this is not something I can just give you the details of right away.” Mystogan said as he began walking away. As he started walking, he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. He turned around and saw Meliodas following him.

Mystogan said nothing and turned back around. He started walking again as Meliodas trailed right behind him. Mystogan continued walking for another few moments then stopped.

“How long are you going to keep following me?” Mystogan asked.

“Oh, we just so happened to be walking in the same direction is all.” Meliodas replied. Mystogan nodded and shifted directions, walking towards the right. He heard footsteps behind him and turned around. There he saw Meliodas still following him.

“I changed my mind, this way is faster.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile. Mystogan shook his head and began running, only for Meliodas to run right after him. Suddenly, Meliodas felt magic coming out from one of Mystogan’s staves and Mystogan’s body transformed into mist. Meliodas stopped running and looked around. ‘Huh...where did he go?’

--

Shortly after becoming mist, Mystogan reappeared several kilometers away, his mist body rematerializing again. Mystogan looked around and saw no trace of Meliodas around him. He began walking again but heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Mystogan turned around and his eyes widened as he saw Meliodas walking behind him.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted him with a cheeky smile.

“How did you…?” Mystogan questioned.

“You can try and hide all you want, but you can’t hide from me. These eyes can spot an exposed pair of panties from over a mile away.” Meliodas replied with a cheeky grin. Meliodas’s answer briefly shook Mystogan’s composure, causing him to almost lose his balance as he continued walking.

“Besides.” Meliodas continued. “You’re the closest thing I have to a lead since I’ve been here. I won’t let you out of my sight so easily.”

Mystogan sighed and he glanced at Meliodas.
“If you want information from me so badly, then I’ll help you. But in return, you’ll have to help me.”

“Sure thing.”

Mystogan nodded and continued walking, with Meliodas next to him. The two of them didn’t say a word to each other as they walked through the forest.

Later that night, the duo stopped in a small clearing. Mystogan set up a small campfire and sat down next to it. He remained silent as he watched the flames.

“You want some ale?” Meliodas offered as he took a seat next to Mystogan. Mystogan shook his head and Meliodas shrugged as he popped open the bottle and began drinking from it.

The night went on and the two of them sat down in silence, with the silence only being broken by the occasional sound of an owl hooting or the sound of the flames cracking.

Meliodas finished drinking his bottle of ale and hopped up onto a nearby tree, leaning back on the trunk as he sat on a branch. He looked up into the sky and saw only clouds. Meliodas looked back down towards the campfire and saw Mystogan with his eyes closed.

Early the next morning, just before sunrise, Mystogan woke up. He looked up at where Meliodas was perched and saw him wide awake, still looking up at the sky. ‘Was he awake all night?’

Meliodas noticed Mystogan standing up and jumped down from the tree. With his stave, Mystogan put out the smoldering campfire with water magic and the two of them began walking deeper into the forest.

“So what exactly is it you need help with?” Meliodas asked, breaking the silence.

“There is a dark guild that has been poaching a rare species of bird in this area. The bird is known as the Ashen raptor. It’s an endangered species whose feathers shine a brilliant rainbow color under the sunlight due to some magical property. In addition, their talons, beaks, and meat also sell for a high price. They only appear during sunrise.”

“I see...so we’re going to find the raptors first and wait for the poachers to show up. That doesn’t seem too bad. But what did you need me for?” Meliodas asked.

“The raptors are extremely aggressive. They will attack us while we are trying to deal with the poachers. I can deal with the poachers but you will need to hold off the raptors. Do not kill them.”

“Sounds simple enough.” Meliodas replied. The two of them continued walking in the forest as the sun began to rise. Eventually they reached an opening in the forest that led to a vast field with many high cliffs. Up on the cliffs, the ashen raptors could be seen. Their feathers let off a rainbow hue from the sunlight as they basked in the sun. The raptor itself was very large, nearly six feet tall. They had sturdy, powerful legs with sharp talons colored red and a small yellow beak with a black tip. On their chest, were large zig zag white markings.

Below the cliff, Meliodas could make out the figures of at least a dozen suspicious characters. On their clothes, they all had matching insignias that looked like black pumpkins.

“I’ll deal with them now.” Mystogan said as his body vanished into mist. Meliodas nodded and jumped up towards the cliff, landing right next to the large birds of prey.

The birds immediately turned around away from the cliff and focused their attention on Meliodas while Mystogan confronted the poachers below the cliff. The largest one in front of Meliodas let out a deafening screech and charged at Meliodas with its talons.

Meliodas quickly weaved side to side, barely dodging the talons. Several other of the large birds charged in at Meliodas until Meliodas found himself surrounded by four of them and dodging in between their talons. ‘Mystogan told me not to kill the birds but…’

“Divine Thousand Slashes!”

Meliodas drew his sword and cut through all four birds simultaneously. A large cloud of feathers flew into the air with a rainbow shimmer. The birds let out a loud cry and immediately started running away down the other side of the cliff. ‘They’ll grow back.’

Meliodas sheathed his blade again and sighed. He looked around him and saw the ground was covered in rainbow colored feathers. He kneeled down and began picking them up, placing them into his requip inventory.

Mystogan appeared as a cloud of mist and materialized his body on the cliff right next to Meliodas. He looked around the cliff, surprised that none of the raptors were there and the ground was covered in feathers.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted as he continued scooping feathers.

“What did you do?” Mystogan asked.

“You mentioned their feathers are worth a lot. So I cut them off the birds and they ran away. They’re birds so they’ll grow back. And they don’t seem to rely on flight for fighting or hunting so they won’t be defenseless. Besides I need more booze money.”

“I guess…but I don’t suggest you sell those. Those feathers are a black market item. Legal guild mages will get in trouble for it.” Mystogan shook his head and watched as Meliodas finished collecting the feathers. “Well regardless, you’ve been helpful so -” Mystogan stopped mid sentence and looked up straight in the sky, much to Meliodas’s confusion.

“ANIMA!” Mystogan yelled out in the sky abruptly.

“Anima?” Meliodas questioned, confused by Mystogan's uncharacteristic outcry. Mystogan ignored Meliodas’s question and immediately placed one of his staves on the ground.

His stave began glowing and Meliodas began to sense a weird pressure coming from it. After a few moments, the pressure faded and the stave stopped glowing. Mystogan mounted the stave back on his back and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.
“I appreciate your help, Meliodas.”

“Sure thing!” Meliodas replied with a grin, not mentioning what had just happened. It was most likely related to Mystogan’s secret and sooner or later, it would get revealed if he stuck around him anyway.

Chapter Text

The following day, Meliodas and Mystogan had taken a train north of Rose Garden, reaching Clover Town as Mystogan needed to replenish his supplies.

“Clover Town... I was here recently. They got some good ale here.” Meliodas commented as the two of them walked through the streets. While Mystogan stopped at a magical wares shop, Meliodas looked around and saw several flyers that caught his eye outside. One of them read, “Come to Magnolia Town’s Harvest Festival, Hosted by Fairy Tail! October 15.”

As Meliodas read the flyers, Mystogan walked out of the store. Meliodas approached him with one of the flyers and showed it to him.

“You plan on going to this?” Meliodas asked.

“Perhaps.” Mystogan said. “But I have one more mission to do here.”

“And what would that be?” Meliodas asked. Mystogan pulled out a flyer from his robe with a mission from the council. Meliodas looked at the mission.

“So we’re stopping the same dark guild...they’re called Ghost Pumpkin? How spread out are these guys?”

“I’m not sure. But their reach spreads far and wide throughout Fiore. These are just branches of the main guild. In a sense, they are a growing fourth branch of the Balam Alliance but aren’t large enough to be considered one, so the council has been focusing on stopping their growth before it's too late.” Mystogan answered.

“Balam Alliance?” Meliodas questioned.

“The name of the three ruling dark guilds in Fiore. But at the rate this current guild is growing at, there might soon be four…”

“Alright well let’s go stop these guys.” Meliodas said with a grin. Mystogan nodded and gestured for Meliodas to follow him. The two of them walked through town until arriving at the western outskirts. Sitting on a rocky hill, was a lone, run down wooden shack with a couple of rugged looking men standing outside of it wearing sleeveless tops. On their arms, were the matching guild marks of a black pumpkin.

“I will put them to sleep with my magic, then we will go inside.” Mystogan said as he placed one of his staves on the ground. The stave began to glow and the two men standing at the top of the hill suddenly collapsed.

“That’s pretty handy.” Meliodas commented as the two of them walked up to the shack past the two men. The two of them entered, and to their surprise, it was empty except for a couple of chairs and a table. As the duo began walking around inside looking for clues, Meliodas stared curiously at the floor.

“Did you find something?” Mystogan asked. Without another word, Meliodas drew out Mel Force and unleashed a quick flurry of slashes towards the ground. The floor gave way, revealing a hidden staircase leading into a dark basement.

Mystogan drew out one of his staves, creating a light source from it as he walked down first, with Meliodas following right after him. The stairway seemed endless, as they continued walking down for several minutes until they reached an iron door. Mystogan tried to open the door, but it was locked.

“Leave it to me.” Meliodas smiled. He wound his fist back before punching the door, launching the door off of its hinges and leaving a massive dent in it as it fell to the ground in front of them.

Mystogan and Meliodas walked inside. The room looked like a secret underground tavern. It was a dimly lit room, lit only by several lacrima in the corners of the room. Across from the door Meliodas forced his way through, there was a bar with a lone bartender who was polishing a glass. On his hand, was the mark of a black pumpkin. There were several men playing cards with each other at a table in the corner, all with matching black pumpkin guild marks on their shoulders while more men were sitting at the other corner drinking. All of them immediately stopped what they were doing as they looked at the young blond child who had barged in.

“I will deal with them. Find out what’s in the next room.” Mystogan said, pointing to another door across the room. Meliodas nodded and walked towards the door as Mystogan casted his sleep magic. Before any of them had a chance to react, they all collapsed on the ground.

Meliodas approached the door to the next room. It looked like the iron door he had broken earlier but there were strange markings on it. Meliodas tried punching through like the last one, but to his surprise, his fist bounced off of the door. A veil of magic where Meliodas had punched was now visible.

“Something wrong?” Mystogan said as he approached Meliodas. Behind him, were several sleeping bodies of the dark guild members that were tied up on the ground.

“Yeah. This door is protected by magic.” Meliodas said. Looking closer at the door’s seal, he realized it was very similar to the one that Joe Bluegarden had used to guard his treasures.

“I may be able to dispel it. But it will take some time, considering the strength of this seal. I’ll need you to watch the entrance in case more of these guys show up. I can’t fight them off while breaking the seal on this door.” Mystogan said. He placed one of his staves down in front of the door. The stave began to glow.

Meliodas scratched his head as he continued to stare at the door. Suddenly, an idea entered his mind. He turned back around and looked at all of the unconscious guild members on the ground. Meliodas walked up to them and began searching through the pockets of each one individually.

“Oh this is it.” Meliodas commented as he pulled out a remote like device from the pocket of the bartender. Meliodas walked back to Mystogan who was trying to dispel the magic seal.

“I think this is it.” Meliodas showed Mystogan the remote and pressed the button on it, causing the door’s seal to deactivate and the door to swing wide open.

“How did you know it was remotely controlled?” Mystogan asked, putting away his stave again.

“This guy who I did a job for, Joe Bluegarden, had a similar seal on his treasure door. It could only be opened through a remote.” Meliodas answered.

“Joe Bluegarden...a man that powerful who may have connections to a dark guild…” Mystogan murmured to himself.

“What was that?” Meliodas asked.

“Nothing. Let’s go inside.” Mystogan said. Meliodas nodded back and the two of them walked into the originally sealed room. As they walked in, the stench of rotting corpses filled the air. Mystogan created a light with his stave, illuminating the room.

The stone floors and walls of the room were surprisingly clean, with no traces of blood. There were several old corpses on the ground near where they were standing. In the center of the room, was a strange pedestal but nothing on it. Meliodas looked at the pedestal. There was something familiar about it but he couldn’t figure out what.

“These bodies...there are no visible injuries on them. It’s as if they just...died.” Mystogan said, bending over and analyzing the corpses while Meliodas took a look at the pedestal.

“You know I think I recognize this from somewhere.” Meliodas said, looking at the top of it. “There was something like this back at a mission I did with Lamia Scale. Except the one I encountered had an orb on top of it.”

Mystogan stood up and turned to face Meliodas with a grim expression on his face. Despite Mystogan wearing a mask, Meliodas could tell from looking into his eyes.

“This guild is somehow using the souls and magic of people.” Mystogan said. “But what for…”

Meliodas looked around the rest of the room but found nothing else interesting. The two of them walked back up to ground level as Mystogan informed the council of the mission through a communication lacrima.

Half an hour later, the white carriages of dozens of councilmen swarmed the shack. Mystogan and Meliodas watched as a hoard of councilmen went into the small shack and came out with the tied up dark guild members. A councilman approached Mystogan and paid him for the mission before leaving with the rest of the councilmen.

“Meliodas, I appreciate the help you’ve given me on these missions.” Mystogan said. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem. Although with your strength, you probably didn’t need me.” Meliodas replied.

“Regardless, I told you I would tell you what I know if you helped me.” Mystogan said as he began unwrapping his mask and removing his head covering, to Meliodas’s surprise. Underneath his mask, Mystogan was a blue haired young man with a strange red tattoo on the right side of his face.

“You know...you look familiar. I think I’ve seen your face somewhere before…” Meliodas said out loud as he looked at Mystogan’s face. “Oh! I remember now. I was reading sorcerer’s magazine.”

“No. That was this world’s version of me. I come from another world, one parallel to this one, known as Edolas. It is one parallel to Earthland here. You said you also came from another world, but based on what I’ve seen of you, you do not come from Edolas.”

“Parallel worlds huh...that’s pretty neat but a bit disheartening...unless Britannia is somehow a parallel to this one.” Meliodas replied.

“Parallel worlds have doppelgangers of each other. If your Britannia didn’t have anyone who looked like us here, then it is not from a parallel world.”

“This parallel world stuff...this wouldn’t happen to have to do with you yelling “ANIMA” out loud earlier would it?” Meliodas questioned.

“Anima is the name of a magic that drains the magic in this world and transfers it to Edolas.” Mystogan answered.

“Oh so you got here by using some sort of reverse Anima and now you go around trying to stop them from appearing?” Meliodas asked. Mystogan nodded as he began wrapping his face up again.

“Well I’m sure you got your reasons for doing so and I won’t go any deeper. This Anima thing is the closest I’ve heard to a dimensional portal to bring me back. But I appreciate the information. It gives me a bit of hope that there really is a way for me to return.” Meliodas said.

“If I may ask, how did you get here?” Mystogan asked. Meliodas pondered for a moment, thinking about how to explain before answering.

“Long story short, I was fighting a monster cat that ripped a hole through space, creating a rift that sent me here using chaos.” Meliodas answered nonchalantly.

“Chaos?” Mystogan asked.

“Yeah, I don’t quite understand the concept myself. But here I am thanks to it.” Meliodas replied. Mystogan nodded in response.

“Meliodas, if you could, I ask that you keep our conversation a secret. It would be devastating to the guild if they found out my identity.” Mystogan said.

“Sure.” Meliodas said.

“But what will you do now? I will most likely start heading back to Fairy Tail for the festival and stop any Animas from appearing on the way.” Mystogan said.

“Hmm...well I’m still a bit interested in the whole Anima thing. You mind if I come along?”

“No I don’t mind. Your strength is useful. Do you use some sort of physical enhancement magic?” Mystogan asked.

“Nope.” Meliodas replied. Mystogan’s eyes widened. ‘He’s already this powerful without using magic...not to mention his swordsmanship is first rate...he could possibly stop- No...I shouldn’t involve him in this any further…’

Chapter Text

Three days have passed since Meliodas met up with Mystogan. After helping with some errands, Meliodas and Mystogan were on their way back to Magnolia Town. They decided to walk instead of taking a train, as Mystogan needed to stop several more Animas on the way.

As they approached they climbed a tall hill overlooking the town nearby. From there, they could see the entire town, but something was off about it. Floating in the air high above it, forming a circle, were hundreds of brightly glowing lacrima. Inside the lacrima, were thunderbolt shaped insignias.

“Thunder palace?!” Mystogan exclaimed.

“What’s that?” Meliodas asked, looking curiously at the lacrima. From where he was standing, he could sense a large amount of magic coming from them. As he looked closer, he noticed an electrical aura coming off of them.

“What is Laxus up to…” Mystogan said solemnly.

“Laxus…” Meliodas said out loud as he thought about the large blond man who had confronted him when he first arrived at the guild. “So he was serious after all…”

“Serious about what?” Mystogan asked.

“He said something about erasing all of the weaklings from the guild. I gave him the benefit of a doubt and assumed he was just in a bad mood that day since the guild was recently destroyed…” Meliodas answered.

“I will do what I can to stop Laxus. In the meantime, I ask that you check on Fairy Tail. If what you said was true, they may be in danger right now.” Mystogan said with distress in his voice as he began to dematerialize into mist.

“Yeah.” Meliodas answered with a serious tone as he leaped from the cliff towards Magnolia Town.

---

At the Fairy Tail Guild Natsu, Gajeel, Happy, and Makarov were gathered in the main hall, where they stood surrounding Erza.

“Erza’s back to normal!” Happy cheered. “Do you understand our situation?”

“Yeah...I heard it all, even in my petrified state. Now that I’m back in action, it appears the count is up to date.” Erza said. She glanced at the rune wall at the entrance of the guild hall. It read “Remaining Members: 3.”

“Three of us my ass! I still can’t leave here!” Natsu shouted angrily. He walked back over to the guild entrance where he pressed his face against the seemingly invisible wall. The more Natsu continued to press his face against the wall, the runes read, “No statue nor person over 80 may cross this point.”

Another moment passed and the runes began to change. Gajeel looked up at the wall and his eyes widened.
“There’s two more now.” Gajeel said, pointing to the rune wall. It now read “Remaining Members: 5.”

“Who the hell is it?! Everyone else is still stone!” Natsu yelled, continuing to try to force his way through. Makarov’s eyes lit up as he saw the number change while a smile formed on Erza’s face.

“So they’ve returned.” Erza said.

“Who?!” Natsu yelled.

“Mystogan and Meliodas.”

---

Back in Magnolia Town, Meliodas ran across the tops of buildings, while he looked around. Below him, he could see various members of the guild lying unconscious on the street. ‘What happened here? Did Laxus take them all out?’

Meliodas continued traversing the rooftops of Magnolia but stopped in his tracks. A laser beam hit the roof tile right in front of him, destroying part of the roof.

Meliodas looked up to see where it was shot from. There he saw a strange man floating above him, standing on two wooden dolls, one on each foot. The wooden dolls were quite small and were reminiscent of tribal totems with individually painted faces. The man had a knight’s visor over his eyes and a striped tunic with skull patterned shoulderguards. The man grinned and stuck his tongue out, revealing the Fairy Tail insignia on his tongue.

Meliodas looked at him in confusion. He had never seen him before, but based on the insignia, he was from Fairy Tail. Despite that, the man was clearly aiming that laser at him.

“Well, well, well. You shouldn’t be aiming blasts like that at a comrade.” Meliodas said to the strange man. The man began laughing maniacally as he descended to the rooftop.

“I heard about you, Meliodas! And you? A comrade?! I don’t consider the weak my-” The man stopped mid sentence and froze as he got a closer look at Meliodas. Under his visor, his eyes widened. ‘What the hell is this kid?! Is he not a human...?!’

“I-I don’t consider the weak my comrades!” The man finished, regaining his composure and sticking his tongue out again. From his floating wooden dolls, he hopped onto the other side of the roof where Meliodas was standing and three more wooden dolls appeared to his side, for a total of five.

“Go my babies! Destroy him!” The man laughed and the dolls immediately charged at Meliodas firing lasers at him and kicking up a large cloud of dust and smoke.

“AHAHA! Behold the power of Bickslow of the Thunder-” Bickslow stopped laughing as the smoke cleared, revealing Meliodas standing up with his arms out in front of him. He was mostly undamaged by the blast, with only his sleeves slightly burned off, revealing both his Fairy Tail and Dragon Sin insignias. Meliodas put his arms down and looked up at the strange man.

“I see. You are stronger than I thought! You may be able to take blasts from my babies individually, but how about from all five at once?! Go my babies, Baryon Formation!” Bickslow yelled.

The dolls approached Meliodas and flew into a pentagonal formation where they began to spin around, forming a hollow center. As they spun, Meliodas could feel their magical power rising greatly.

“Fire!” Bickslow yelled.

The dolls began to glow as they spun faster and faster, creating a whirlwind. From the center of the formation, a powerful green beam of magic was fired straight at Meliodas. Meliodas prepared himself and put his hand on Mel Force’s handle on his back. As the laser was about to hit him, he swung his blade.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas swung his sword causing the large laser to reflect back at the dolls that shot it, but with even greater intensity. Bickslow’s laugh froze as his jaw dropped in shock.

“NOOO MY BABIES!” Bickslow exclaimed as he watched his dolls get enveloped by the light of their own laser, fully disintegrating them. Nothing but their ashes fell to the ground as Meliodas sheathed his blade again.

“How could you do that to my babies…” Bickslow said with a sad tone. His sadness was short lived as he suddenly started laughing again.

“Just kidding! I got more!” Bickslow yelled as he stuck his tongue out. The next moment, even more dolls started floating up from beneath the building.

“Toys?” Meliodas questioned as he looked at them. There were various action figures and mannequins that Bickslow was now controlling, some of them still in their boxes.

“How unlucky for you that we happened to be standing on top of a toy store! You can destroy my babies all you want but they’ll still keep coming back!!” Bickslow laughed.

“We’ll see about that.” Meliodas retorted. He jumped up into the air towards the dolls. Gripping the handle of Mel Force tightly, he narrowed his eyes and charged forward.

“LIGHTNING SWORD FLASH.”

Bickslow, without blinking, watched Meliodas vanish from his sight and suddenly reappear behind the dolls, the dolls behind him each having been cut up into tiny
pieces. Meliodas sheathed his sword again and landed on the roof, with the pieces of the dolls falling behind him. Bickslow stood there in awe at Meliodas’s speed and swordsmanship. ‘This guy...he’s as fast as Laxus!’

“Bickslow was it?” Meliodas asked as he began walking towards Bickslow. “I’m giving you a chance here as a fellow guild member.”

Bickslow grinned and lifted his visor as Meliodas approached him, revealing his green glowing eyes. Meliodas looked straight into Bickslow’s eyes as he walked forward.

“Figure Eyes!”

Meliodas kept going forward as Meliodas and Bickslow made eye contact. Immediately upon trying to control Meliodas’s soul, Bickslow froze. As he peered deep into Meliodas’s soul, he saw an apparition of a black demonic figure that loomed over Meliodas.

“W-what are-” Bickslow stuttered. His question was interrupted as Meliodas punched Bickslow in the face right between the eyes, his fist sinking into his face and breaking his nose.

Bickslow was sent flying to the ground below, hitting the ground hard and forming a crater in the street. Blood gushed from Bickslow’s face as he fell unconscious. Meliodas jumped off the roof and landed on the ground next to him and looked down at Bickslow’s unconscious body.

“Well I gave you a chance didn’t I? Meliodas said frankly.

Chapter Text

“Dammit! Let me out!” Natsu yelled. Natsu stood at the guild entrance but found himself unable to leave the guild as he continued to press his face against the rune wall. Natsu continued grumbling as he smeared his face against the wall as if pressing it against glass. His eyes lit up as he noticed someone familiar approaching the guild entrance.

“Meliodas?!” Natsu shouted excitedly.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted. He looked at Natsu curiously and walked up to him, confused as to why he was leaning on air as if there was an invisible wall. He looked up and letters formed above Natsu’s head. “No statue or person above the age of 80 may pass.”
“You’re eighty years old?” Meliodas asked, slightly surprised.

“Like hell I am! This stupid wall makes no sense!” Natsu yelled angrily. Meliodas shrugged and took a step forward. As he tried to walk forward he felt his head hit something hard, as if there was a wall there.

“What?! You can’t go through it either?! Dammit Freed! Fix your damn runes!” Natsu exclaimed. Natsu continued to angrily press himself against the wall, fuming to the point where flames were leaking out of his mouth.

“Salamander, what are you going on about?” Gajeel asked as he walked over and saw Meliodas on the other side of the guild entrance. Meliodas walked up to the wall and pressed his face up against it.

“The hell? You too?!” Gajeel exclaimed.

Levy, rattled by the commotion, looked up to see Meliodas, who was trying to enter the guild. His face was planted as he tried pushing through.
“Meliodas!” she exclaimed. “ What happened, why can’t you enter?!?!”

“Well I am over eighty after all.” Meliodas chaffed.

“There’s no way you’re over eighty!” Natsu said as he backed away from the wall.

“What, you’re gonna say you’re over three thousand years old?” Gajeel ragged.

“Yup.” Meliodas replied. Both Meliodas and Gajeel stared at each other then back at Meliodas, who was pressing his face against the wall.

“He’s gotta be kiddin us…” Gajeel commented.

“So is there a way to get past this?” Meliodas asked as he took a step back from the rune wall.

“No, Levy is working on decoding it at the moment.” Gajeel mentioned. He pointed behind with his thumb towards Levy, who was sitting on the ground surrounded by books. In front of her was an open book that she flipped through the pages rapidly with her gale force reading glasses.

Meliodas mused for a second before calling out to Natsu.
“Let me try something. Step back.” Meliodas said to Natsu and Gajeel.
Gajeel and Natsu both nodded and stepped back. “What are you going to do?” Natsu asked. Meliodas took a step back and pulled his right arm back, preparing to strike at the rune wall.

“You’re going to punch it?!?!” Gajeel and Natsu both exclaimed.

Meliodas thrusted his arm forward, striking directly at the rune wall. A shockwave reverberated throughout the guild as Meliodas struck the wall. Natsu and Gajeel shook as they felt the force of the punch shake the guild and Levy dropped the book she was reading.

“Aghhh what the hell was that?!” Gajeel and Natsu exclaimed.

“Huh...this thing is pretty sturdy…” Meliodas commented as she shook his right hand. His hand was shaking slightly from the force of his punch rebounding.

“No wait! This is perfect! If all three of us punch it, we’ll definitely break through!” Natsu shouted enthusiastically. He wound his right fist back and flames began to burst from his hand. A grin formed on Gajeel’s face as he also got into a punching stance.

“Stop you guys! You can’t use brute force to break through this kind of magic!” Levy shouted. Natsu and Gajeel looked back at Wendy and sighed.

“But Meliodas just punched it and it shook.” Natsu mentioned.

“Maybe, but the guild won’t be able to hold if all three of you punch it like that, and we just repaired it.” Levy replied.

“Well that would certainly be bad if we punched the wall and the entire guild collapsed but the wall was still standing huh?” Meliodas said jokingly.

“Laxus, you coward!!! LET ME OUT!!” Natsu roared as he pressed his face against the wall again. As Natsu grumbled, Meliodas continued to observe the wall, but he was clueless regarding this kind of magic. It was also something his full counter nor counter vanish would work on either. ‘I wonder if Mystogan would have been able to get rid of this? Hmm...really wish Merlin was here right now.’

“By the way, where's the Master? He should be able to do something about this wall right?” Meliodas asked.

“No, Gramps wasn’t able to do anything either...” Natsu said solemnly.

“Plus he’s not feelin’ so hot. He’s in the back restin up.” Gajeel answered. “If Laxus don’t cut this crap out, he’ll kick the bucket…”

“I see…” Meliodas said, his normally nonchalant expression becoming serious to Gajeel and Natsu’s surprise.

“If it’s that bad, then I’ll definitely stop him.” Meliodas said as he turned around and began walking away.

“Oi! Hold up! I’m gonna be the one to kick his ass!” Natsu yelled as he banged on the rune wall.

---

Mystogan approached Kardia Cathedral. It was an enormous rectangular shaped building with four cylindrical keep towers attached at each corner and a green roof. At the entrance was a large opened gate with a bell at the very top.

Mystogan walked up to the entrance. Inside he could see a long, wide hallway with multiple sets of long benches. Light shone brightly through the rows of decorated windows at the side. Standing in the middle of the hallway was Laxus. Laxus met Mystogan with a grin as he welcomed him in.

“Oh? So you came...Mystogan.” Laxus smirked at the masked man. “I didn’t expect you of all people to participate in this.”

“Take down the Thunder Palace. If you do it now, we may still be able to pass this off as entertainment for the festival.” Mystogan ordered.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. There’s something more important to talk about here. You know, there are rumors going around saying that either you or I are the strongest in Fairy Tail. What do you think?” Laxus asked.

“That doesn’t matter to me. But if you want my word, I would say Gildarts.” Mystogan answered as he walked slowly towards Laxus.

“Gildarts? Tch...He’s never coming back. And then there’s Erza, who is still far too weak to be compared to us, don’t you agree?”

“Erza? Weak? You must be blind Laxus. Besides, I think there is someone else who may be a candidate for your so-called “strongest.” Mystogan firmly stated.

Laxus raised an eyebrow upon hearing Mystogan’s statement.
“Oh? And who would that be? Natsu? Gajeel?” Laxus sneered. “Those two are poor excuses for Dragon Slayers.”

Laxus broke into laughter, laughing loudly for several moments as Mystogan silently observed him. Laxus wiped a tear from his eye as he looked back at Mystogan.

“Meliodas.” Mystogan stated.

“Meliodas?” Laxus asked. He thought about it briefly and remembered the blond kid who confronted him a couple of months ago. A vein started forming on Laxus’s head as he pictured Meliodas’s face as Meliodas gave him the speech about “heart.”

“Him?! Bahahahaha!” Laxus bursted out laughing. “You sure you’re able to see through that mask of yours, Mystogan? Or should I say, the other-”

Upon hearing Laxus utter those words, Mystogan immediately swung his stave at Laxus. A large, blue wave of magic was launched in an arc shape towards him. Laxus grinned as he raised his hand out in front of him. Lighting crackled from his palm as a a blast of lightning was shot out at the blue wave of magic. The two magics collided in an explosion that filled the hall with smoke.

As the smoke cleared out, Laxus and Mystogan stood off a few meters apart from each other, staring each other down silently. The silence was broken quickly as Laxus began to laugh again as he thought about Meliodas.

“Meliodas?! That child who tried to preach to me about some power in here?!” Laxus scoffed as he pointed towards his chest with his thumb. “Ridiculous! That’s a load of shit!”

Laxus began charging lightning magic in his hand again. In a bright flash of yellow, he quickly fired it at Mystogan before he had a chance to retaliate. Mystogan’s eyes widened as the blast approached him when a small figure appeared in front of him.

“Full Counter!”

Laxus’s eyes widened in surprise as his lightning bolt was sent right back at him. Laxus stood firmly on the ground and planted his feet, taking the lightning bolt head on. Small traces of smoke began to rise from his body but he had no visible damage on his body. ‘I don’t remember putting that much force into this attack…?’ Laxus thought with a perplexed look on his face. He looked ahead of him at a familiar figure.

“Meliodas!” Both Laxus and Mystogan exclaimed at the same time.

“Well well well. Looks like you’ve been up to no good while I was away, Laxus.”

Chapter Text

Laxus glared at Meliodas and walked towards him. Meliodas returned Laxus’s gaze and also walked towards him until both of them were standing right in front of each other, with Meliodas looking straight up at Laxus and Laxus looking straight down. The two began sizing each other up and there was a strange pressure in the air as sparks began to fly around Laxus’s body.

Laxus’s hostile glare turned into a maniacal grin and he bent down to look Meliodas in the eyes.
“So are you really as strong as Mystogan says you are?” Laxus taunted.

“Why don’t you find out?” Meliodas responded with a cheeky smile at Laxus. Laxus’s smirk vanished and a crackling sound echoed through the cathedral as lightning surrounded his body.

More lightning began to come from Laxus’s body as he stood in front of Meliodas, with large sparks hitting the ground around Meliodas and creating small holes in the floor Meliodas stood firmly in place, his expression serious as he glared at Laxus.

In that moment, Laxus seemingly vanished from in front of Meliodas in a bright flash and reappeared behind him, delivering a kick towards Meliodas’s head. Meliodas turned his body and raised his right arm up, blocking the kick. The force of the kick caused him to skid across the hall while his feet were firmly planted, creating small indents in the floor and a trail of dust.

“You took that well.” Laxus said with a smirk. Meliodas remained silent and glanced over at Mystogan who was spectating. Mystogan saw the look in Meliodas’s eye and immediately knew what to do as he placed his five staves on the ground. Laxus glanced over and saw Mystogan placing his staves.

“Oh no you don’t!” Laxus yelled as he charged towards Mystogan. Lightning cloaked his body as he dashed towards Mystogan at blistering speed. As he approached Mystogan, he felt something grab his foot and stop him completely in his tracks. Laxus turned his head and saw Meliodas holding onto his foot, despite him being cloaked in lightning.

The instant Meliodas touched Laxus, the lightning around him transferred to Meliodas, causing his hair to begin to stand and completely blow his shirt off as he was electrocuted.

“Your fight is with me!” Meliodas yelled as he swung Laxus over his head and straight into the ground behind him. Laxus hit the ground hard, creating a crater in the floor of the cathedral.

Laxus felt Meliodas’s grip tighten around his foot as Meliodas prepared to throw Laxus. Laxus grit his teeth as he emitted lightning outwards from his body, causing Meliodas to let go of his foot.

“You little shit!” Laxus angrily yelled as he broke free of Meliodas’s grip. He delivered a kick to Meliodas in the gut, sending him flying back and straight through one of the support pillars. The stone pillar collapsed as Meliodas was launched through it, but he quickly regained his balance, landing on his feet and sinking his feet into the floor, only for Laxus to reappear in front of him clad in lightning.

Laxus aimed another lightning charged punch at Meliodas. Meliodas ducked the punch in time. He delivered a quick jab to Laxus’s gut, momentarily stunning him as he followed through with an uppercut to the chin, launching him straight up towards the ceiling. Before Laxus could go through the ceiling, he managed to stop his momentum partially and press his back up against it, causing that portion of the ceiling to crack. Using the ceiling as a foothold, he kicked off the ceiling towards Meliodas, creating a hole as bits of the roof caved into the ground.

Meliodas looked up at the ceiling, and saw Laxus coming back straight down, charged with lightning and his face filled with rage. He flew straight down at full speed, punching from above Meliodas. Meliodas put his arms up to block as Laxus’s fist made contact with Meliodas. The ground below Meliodas cracked, kicking up the stone floors as a crater formed underneath Meliodas’s feet and lightning enveloped Meliodas’s body.

“Gghhhh.” Meliodas grunted as Laxus pushed into Meliodas’s firm defense while being electrocuted. Meliodas pushed back harder, repelling Laxus away from him. Laxus regained his balance and landed on the ground a few meters away in front of Meliodas. Laxus brushed off some dust from his shoulder and began to laugh.

“What a joke. This is hardly a-” Laxus stopped as he noticed Mystogan had finished casting his magic. He looked up above him and saw five different colored magic circles that had formed, stacked on top of each other.

“Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song.”

The magic circle at the very top let out a beam that traveled through each individual circle below, hitting Laxus who was at the very bottom in a giant pillar of magic.

Mystogan and Meliodas stared at the smoke cloud formed from the blast when Meliodas spotted a lightning clad Laxus travel up the wall of the cathedral. The lightning clad Laxus charged at Meliodas. Meliodas braced himself as he tried to raise his arms up for the hit. Laxus delivered a fast punch to Meliodas’s face, right through Meliodas’s guard, launching Meliodas across the hall and out of the wall of the Cathedral. Laxus turned to his other side and saw Mystogan standing there with two of his staves out and glowing brightly.

“Two Layered Magic Circle: Burning Abyss.”

A wall of flames began to surround Laxus. Laxus cloaked himself in lightning and leaped out easily with his speed before he was completely surrounded. He appeared again, in front of the flames with lightning charged in his left hand. With a large grin on his face, he fired the lightning blast at Mystogan.

Mystogan quickly retaliated, and threw a third stave onto the ground in front of him.
“Three Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Water.”

Three magic circles appeared in front of Mystogan that blocked the lightning bolt attack. The lightning suddenly turned completely around as it went back to Laxus. Laxus smirked as he sidestepped to the right to dodge it, with the bolt just barely missing him.

“Full Counter!”

Laxus turned around, surprised, and saw Meliodas who had just swung his blade, redirecting the bolt again at Laxus. Unable to react in time, the bolt hit Laxus in the chest, creating a large explosion of lightning and smoke.

Meliodas and Mystogan carefully watched the smoke again, and saw that Laxus was unfazed by the attack despite it being reflected at over three times the force thanks to Mel Force’s boost. ‘He has a high resistance to lightning…’ Meliodas thought.

“Full Counter huh?” Laxus commented. “That shitty technique won’t work on me.”

“LAXUS!” Two voices yelled out from the entrance of the cathedral. All three of them turned their heads and saw Erza and Natsu standing at the doorway. Upon seeing them, Mystogan immediately panicked and tried to hide his face the other way from them.

“You’re wide open!” Laxus yelled. He raised his arm and pointed a lightning charged hand at Mystogan, shooting a small but quick blast of lightning at Mystogan’s face and blowing his mask right off. Both Erza and Natsu looked in shock as they saw Mystogan’s face through the smoke.

“Mystogan is Jellal?!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Jellal…” Erza whispered.

“Erza...you are the one person who I wished to never see my face…” Mystogan said with a sad look before turning over to Meliodas. “I’m sorry, but I’m sure you understand, this is where I must leave. I leave it in your hands, Meliodas.” Mystogan said as his body began to fade away into mist.

Meliodas nodded and looked back at Natsu and Erza. Natsu had already gotten over seeing Jellal’s face but Erza was still visibly distraught.

“Erza I’m taking him on!” Natsu yelled and glanced over at Erza who was still spacing out. “Erza?!”

A bolt of lightning was suddenly launched at a defenseless Erza. Erza watched as the bolt was about to come at her but she didn’t move as she couldn’t muster up the strength in her legs. Meliodas quickly dashed towards Erza and stood in front of her with his blade drawn.

“Full Coun-”

“I don’t think so!” Laxus smirked and made a circle motion with two fingers. The lightning changed directions instantly, moving around to behind Meliodas and going straight to Erza. Meliodas turned around instinctively and kicked Erza out of the way just before the lightning bolt hit them. Erza was launched into a nearby pillar and watched as the lightning bolt hit only Meliodas.

“Ggghhh” Meliodas grunted as he took the force of the lightning attack, causing him to take a knee.

“Dammit Laxus!” Natsu charged at Laxus with his fists ablaze.

Erza looked at Meliodas who was crouching on one knee with smoke coming from his body.

“My weakness caused this to happen to you...I won’t falter again!” Erza said as she stood up. Her body began to glow and her appearance changed into a black armor with bat-like wings.

“Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist!” Natsu yelled as he charged at Laxus. Laxus smiled and took the attack head on as he was punched in the cheek. Natsu’s fist was caught on Laxus’s cheek as Laxus turned his head, unfazed by the attack.

“That's all you got?” Laxus mocked, to Natsu’s surprise. He grabbed Natsu’s wrist, and threw him across the hall towards one of the pillars. Before Natsu collided with the pillar, Meliodas jumped in and caught him.

“Tch...weaklings helping weaklings.” Laxus commented.

Laxus quickly stepped back as a blade barely missed his body and Erza appeared in front of him.

“Laxus, what are those things in the sky?!” Erza questioned as she continued her onslaught of slashes against Laxus. Laxus grinned and continued dodging slashes as he answered.

“Thunder Palace. And you only got a couple of minutes left!” Laxus answered.

“Laxus you bastard! You’re really going to destroy the entire town?!” Erza yelled, kicking him back. Laxus skidded across the ground from the force of the blow but grinned as he was unfazed by the attack.

“Sorry but I won’t let you do that!” A voice said from behind Laxus. Before Laxus could turn around, he felt a sharp pain hit his back as he was slammed straight into the ground. The entire floor of the cathedral cracked. Several more pillars around them collapsed as the ground became uneven. Parts of the roof began to fall to the ground.

Laxus turned his head as blood dripped from his mouth.
“That was a lucky-” Laxus’s words were cut short as Meliodas grabbed his arm and threw him into the ceiling of the cathedral. Laxus hit the ceiling with great force, creating a large hole where he was launched through.

The cathedral was now brighter as nearly half of the roof was destroyed. Meliodas, Erza, and Natsu stared up at the sky. Several seconds later, a lightning bolt struck the ground several meters in front of them. Inside the lightning bolt, was Laxus. Laxus stood up fully and cracked his neck as he began to slowly walk over to Meliodas. He wiped the trickle of blood coming from his mouth and grinned.

“If I defeat you here, will Thunder Palace stop?” Meliodas asked.

“Who knows?” Laxus smirked. “ I’ll admit though, Mystogan was somewhat right about you. You’re decently strong. But I can tell you’re still holding back. Also, why not use your blade against me. It looks like a fine sword. Might be able to cut me. Yet you’ve only used it to counter my attacks.” Laxus remarked.

“I’m not trying to kill you Laxus. Neither are Natsu and Erza.” Meliodas replied.

“Not trying to kill me?! HAHAHAHA! You’re too soft Meliodas, and that will get you killed!” Laxus laughed.

“Laxus, stop Thunder Palace now! There is no need to get the entire town involved like this!” Erza shouted.

“I don’t know much about this Thunder Palace, but I’m not sure if beating Laxus here would disable it…” Meliodas said in a solemn tone. He faced towards Erza and Natsu. “Can you two deal with the lacrima? I can take on Laxus by myself.”

“Like hell I’m going to let you fight Laxus by yourself! Besides, if we break those Lacrima we’ll get electrocuted!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Organic Link Magic?! Laxus how could you!” Erza yelled.

“So what will it be Fairies?! Die by Thunder Palace or die by my hand?!” Laxus exclaimed.

“Neither. I will stop the Thunder Palace and I trust in Meliodas to stop you.” Erza declared. She turned around and began walking to the exit. “Even if I die, the town and all of our friends in it will be saved.”

“Erza, don’t die!” Natsu yelled as Erza left the cathedral. He turned to Meliodas and looked at him. “I’m all fired up!”

“Go with Erza.” Meliodas said in a serious tone. Natsu’s eyes widened as he looked at Meliodas. Meliodas was absolutely serious and was giving him a different vibe.

“Aghhh!!! Fine! But you definitely owe me a rematch!” Natsu shouted as he ran off with Erza.

“Hahahaha! You think you can fight me all by yourself?! Are you insane? Both you and Mystogan couldn’t even do anything.” Laxus laughed.

“Laxus. I was entrusted by my comrades to deal with you. You may not understand now, but I’ll show you now where power truly comes from!”

Chapter Text

Meliodas charged at Laxus, leaping towards him and leaving a cloud of dust behind him as he wound back his left arm. Laxus smirked as he saw Meliodas winding back to punch and put his guard up, raising both arms up in front of him.

To Laxus’s surprise, a punch was not thrown with Meliodas’s left hand as Meliodas shifted his body in the air, delivering an uppercut with his right hand instead, hitting Laxus from the gap underneath his arms.

Before Laxus could react, he felt a sharp blow to his chin. Blood gushed from his mouth as his head was knocked back. Laxus’s body was launched upward towards the ceiling. ‘Tch, he’s going all out now is he?.’ Laxus thought as he looked back down and saw Meliodas jump up in the air towards him.

Laxus looked down below him at Meliodas only for Meliodas to seemingly vanish as he accelerated and reappeared behind Laxus.

“Not gonna work you little shit!” Laxus yelled. He spun around and swung his right arm back, punching Meliodas in the face and sending him hurtling towards the ground head first. Meliodas braced himself to hit the ground but before he could, he felt Laxus grab onto his body.

“Die!” Laxus yelled as he propelled both Meliodas and himself straight into the floor of the cathedral.

There was a large explosion of lightning and smoke as a massive crater formed in the building, blowing back any remaining seats that were still somehow intact from the previous bouts. More pillars that were supporting the cathedral gave way from the force, causing more parts of the roof to collapse until nearly half the roof was now gone.

As Laxus held Meliodas’s body against the ground, he realized Meliodas had stopped the impact partially and was holding himself up with his arms.

“Haaahh!” Meliodas yelled as he pushed himself upward, breaking him free of Laxus’s grasp, much to Laxus’s surprise. Meliodas used this moment to jump up and deliver a kick to Laxus’s face. The stunned Laxus took a few steps back, as blood dripped from his mouth and nose.

As Meliodas landed on the ground after his kick, he charged forward at Laxus again. Laxus recovered quickly and faced Meliodas. The two of them collided, their left forearms braced against each other as they both stood their ground.

Suddenly, Meliodas sent a flurry of fast punches at Laxus, with Laxus retaliating with his own flurry of lightning charged punches. The punches collided with each other, creating loud shockwaves that echoed through the cathedral, causing it to shake. The punches continued on for several more seconds until Meliodas found an opening, punching Laxus straight in the gut. At that moment, Laxus had counterattacked, punching Meliodas in the face. Both were sent hurtling backwards, with Laxus crashing into the altar of the cathedral and Meliodas getting launched past the entrance and out of the building.

Meliodas crashed into a nearby fruit stand, with wood, splinters, and fruit scattering everywhere. Thankfully, nobody was at the stand and Meliodas got back up. He wiped a bit of blood off of his mouth and brushed off a piece of fruit that was on his shoulder. He looked directly into the cathedral and could see Laxus was just getting up as well.

‘This guy is tough…’ Meliodas thought. He looked up in the air and saw Thunder Palace was still there. ‘They put their faith in me to stop Laxus, so I trust they can take care of Thunder Palace.’

Meliodas ran forward through the entrance of the cathedral. Laxus had just brushed the dirt off his shoulder as he stood at the altar.

“Still got more in ya?” Laxus mocked. Meliodas stopped in front of Laxus and the two of them faced each other for a moment in silence.

“I guess that’s it for the warm up. How about we get serious.” Laxus said as his magical power began to drastically rise. Even more sparks began to form around him and his body began to grow in size, to the point where his purple top had ripped off, revealing his muscular upper body. His arms began to show a scale-like texture to them as his body finished growing.

“Haaaghhh!” Laxus yelled as lightning flared out from his body and cloaked him in an electrified aura. As Laxus finished yelling, he vanished, in a bright flash of yellow light and appeared behind Meliodas.

“Lightning Dragon’s Iron Fist!”

Meliodas barely had time to turn his head as Laxus delivered a punch that sent him flying across the cathedral. Before he could hit the other wall, Laxus appeared in Meliodas’s path again and delivered a solid punch to Meliodas’s stomach.

Meliodas coughed up blood as he was again sent flying back towards the entrance. This time, Meliodas planted his feet firmly on the ground as he skidded across the floor, leaving a trail of ruined ground where Meliodas sunk his feet.

Laxus charged forward again at Meliodas, who charged back at him. Meliodas threw a punch forward at Laxus, only for Laxus to disappear in a bright flash of light followed by a thunderous crackle. He reappeared positioned on top of Meliodas, leaving only sparks where he was originally placed.

“Lightning Dragon’s Iron Hammer!”

With a massive amount of lightning magic in his hand, Laxus punched down at the ground at Meliodas, creating a large shockwave that ripped open the floor entirely. The remaining pillars of the cathedral collapsed, causing the rest of the grand building to fall slowly to the ground around them, kicking up a large cloud of dust and smoke.

The land where the cathedral once stood was now filled with mounds of stone, glass and wood. From one of the mounds, Laxus jumped up from the ground, holding Meliodas by the neck in his right arm.

“You’re too soft Meliodas!” Laxus shouted as he gripped Meliodas’s neck harder. Meliodas grit his teeth as Laxus tightened his grip around his neck. “I’ll admit, you’re a bit stronger than I thought, but you’re still weak! You’re too soft. You haven’t tried to truly kill me this entire fight and I’m disappointed. You think I can’t tell you’re still pulling your punches?! It’s weak willed shits like you that deserve to die, along with everyone else!”

As Meliodas gasped for air, he looked up at the Thunder Palace around the town. To his surprise, the lacrimas in the sky were all gone. A smile formed on Meliodas’s face.

“The hell you smiling-” Laxus suddenly paused and let go of Meliodas. Meliodas fell to the ground, coughing as he knelt on the floor. Laxus looked up at the sky. Having been distracted by his fight with Meliodas, he did not realize all of the Lacrima were gone.

“Thunder Palace...all those Lacrima were destroyed?! Impossible!” Laxus yelled.

“See Laxus…” Meliodas said with a grin as he slowly got back up and wiped the blood from his mouth. “The more I stay here, the more this guild reminds me of the sins…” Meliodas said quietly to himself.

“The hell are you on about? What, you’re gonna tell me this was the power from the heart again?!” Laxus shouted in disbelief. “You’ve hardly been in Fairy Tail! Why are you fighting so hard for these weak shits!”

“Laxus...that’s because.” Meliodas paused as he took a step forward towards Meliodas and pointed his left thumb towards his heart. “I am both Meliodas the Dragon’s Sin and Meliodas of Fairy Tail!”

Chapter Text

“The Dragon Sin?” Laxus asked. He looked at Meliodas and briefly saw on his left arm, another tattoo, opposite of the Fairy Tail symbol on his right arm.

“Why the hell do you call yourself that?!” Laxus laughed.

“Because I once failed to protect everyone…” Meliodas said coldly as he looked down at the ground. Laxus stopped laughing and looked at Meliodas. Meliodas suddenly vanished from his sight as he felt a sharp paint to his stomach. Meliodas’s fist sunk into his torso as he heard the sound of his own ribs crack, sending him flying across the debris of the cathedral into the wall of a nearby building. As he crashed through the wall, he caught a glimpse of Meliodas walking towards him. ‘Is he serious now?! There’s now way he was holding back that much against me earlier!’

Laxus wearily got up from the hole in the wall he was lodged into. As he stood up, parts of the building began to collapse around him. He wiped the blood dripping from his mouth as he smirked at Meliodas.

“It’s about time you got serious!” Laxus shouted. A cloak of lightning enveloped his body as he charged forward at Meliodas, who was still walking slowly towards him with a serious look on his face.

“Lightning Dragon’s Iron Fist!”

Meliodas narrowed his eyes as he put a hand on Mel Force and jumped into the air towards Laxus. He quickly drew out his sword and swung down, faster than Laxus could even see.

“Enchant: Hellblaze!”

Black flames enveloped Meliodas’s sword as he cut straight across Laxus’s body before Laxus’s fist could even reach him.

“GAAGHHHH!” Laxus screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. He looked down at the wound inflicted by Meliodas. He was heavily bleeding and he could feel a painful burning sensation unlike any other. ‘Shit...that wasn’t normal fire...what the hell were those flames?!’ Laxus questioned in his head.

“You little shit!” Laxus yelled, angrier than before. He grit his teeth, trying to ignore the searing pain as he leaped forward at Meliodas. His open wound bled profusely as he moved at speeds even faster than he had shown before. Laxus charged at Meliodas, with Meliodas slashing forward towards Laxus. The blade cut at Laxus, leaving a gash in his side as he rolled mid air before kicking Mel Force out of Meliodas’s hand. Mel Force soared through the air and landed on the ground several meters away.

As Meliodas rebounded from the kick, Laxus charged lightning magic in his fist as a bright magic circle appeared in front of him.

“Lightning Dragon’s Breakdown Fist!”

With his lightning charged fist, he punched the magic circle. An even larger fist of lightning shot out of the circle, striking Meliodas and creating a large explosion of lightning in a dome of bright light.

Meliodas held his ground and raised his arms up as the attack pushed him back several meters away from Laxus. Meliodas looked back at Laxus who was already preparing another attack. As Meliodas tried to move his legs, to his dismay, he found his legs unable to move as most of his body was stunned from the massive shock of magic.

As Meliodas was unable to move away, Laxus stood facing him, his arms outstretched with palms facing him. Lightning magic was forming between his palms, taking form into the shape of a massive spear.

“Try and counter this you weak shit!” Laxus yelled as he finished charging his attack. The air around him crackled loudly as bolts of lightning shot out in all directions from his body.

“Lightning Dragon’s Heavenly Halberd!”

The massive yellow spear of lightning was launched at Meliodas. Meliodas, unable to move his legs as he stood there, managed to move one of his arms out in front of him. Just before the supercharged halberd was about to collide into Meliodas, he faced a palm out at the attack and connected his thumb and pinkie finger.

To Laxus’s shock, his attack completely vanished, dispersed without a trace. Laxus looked at Meliodas with a dumbfounded expression.

Meliodas, having gained feeling again in his legs, started stretching his legs in place as Laxus watched him. ‘The hell kind of technique was that? My attack is just...gone?’ Laxus thought to himself, in complete disbelief that one of his strongest attacks vanished without a trace.

“You’re just full of tricks aren’t you!” Laxus shouted. Meliodas turned his attention back at Laxus. He took a wobbly step towards Laxus as he slowly recovered from his temporary paralysis.

“Well, well well. I think that’s enough, Laxus. There’s no reason for us to fight like this any longer.” Meliodas said with a grin. Laxus looked at Meliodas angrily and took a wobbly step forward. He nearly fell to the ground but managed to catch himself on one knee. The wound Meliodas had inflicted earlier was still heavily bleeding and the pain got worse by the second.

“You...no...everyone...ALL OF YOU WILL DIE BY MY HAND!” With blood still gushing out of Laxus’s open wound, he stood back up and hunched over with his arms bent in front of him, palms facing each other. Between his palms, a bright light began to form.

Meliodas sensed the immense magical power coming from Laxus. A power made of light. Meliodas began walking faster towards Laxus, getting over his paralysis as he observed the attack. ‘I don’t think I want to get hit by something like this…’

“Laxus don’t do it!” A voice shouted.

Meliodas and Laxus turned their heads at the same time. Barely able to keep himself up, was a man with long green hair and a red coat who was limping over to them.

“Freed?!” Laxus exclaimed. “You lost your fight too didn’t you! Don’t you dare tell me what to do!”

The light shining between Laxus’s palms began to grow brighter and the magical power emitted from it continued to rise drastically. Light began to erupt from the ground around them, filling the skies with radiant beams and the area began to shake in a small earthquake.

“Laxus… your actions and passion… Deep inside, you want this guild to improve and you still care about the guild. But seeking power isn’t the way! Trust me on this! I thought seeking power was the way to save my friends, but in the end, they were the ones saving me…” Meliodas said solemnly as he clenched his fist.

“And what do you know about this guild?!” Laxus yelled as the light grew even brighter.

“This guild is one where they value each other above all else. They see me as a comrade, and I see them as mine as well! I know they would be willing to stake their lives for me, so I will do the same for them!” Meliodas yelled back as he charged at Laxus.

“Then you can die with them!” Laxus yelled as the brightly shining light began to engulf the whole area, growing rapidly in size.

“Fairy...”

“No Laxus don’t!” Freed yelled.

Through the bright shining light of Laxus’s attack, a figure burst through the light. In that instant, Laxus looked up, his rage filled eyes turned into surprise as he saw Meliodas.

As he looked straight into Meliodas’s emerald eyes, a change began to occur. The bright green color completely disappeared and turned pitch black. A black, spiral shaped henna formed above Meliodas’s right eyebrow. An ominous magical presence was expelled from Meliodas’s body.

“I WILL PROTECT MY FRIENDS UNTIL THE VERY END!” Meliodas yelled as he wound back his fist, clad in darkness.

“Your friends…” Laxus mumbled to himself as he watched the fist come at him at slow motion. “That’s where your strength came from?”

“Laxus... You threw away your precious comrades in exchange for the worthless power you’re seeking. That is your sin!”

Chapter Text

The last thing Freed remembered before closing his eyes from the bright light was Meliodas jumping into the light, towards Laxus.

Freed opened his eyes again. There in front of him, was Laxus, laying on the ground. Underneath him, a pool of blood was forming. Standing above him, was Meliodas. Freed felt his skin crawl as he felt Meliodas’s power. It was dark. Darker than Mirajane’s Satan Soul whom he just fought and lost to. The ominous feeling he was sensing vanished quickly as Meliodas’s features returned back to normal.

Freed slowly walked over to Laxus’s side. Laxus lay on the ground with his eyes closed. A tear began to roll down Freed’s face as he saw a soft smile on Laxus’s face.

“Laxus…” Freed whispered.

“Well well well. That was close wasn’t it.” Meliodas commented with a grin on his face. Freed stared at Meliodas with awe and fear.

“I can’t believe you defeated Laxus…” Freed said as his wobbly knees gave way. Just as he was about to fall to the ground, Meliodas grabbed onto his arm, catching him.

“So you’re Freed? I don’t think we’ve met.” Meliodas mentioned as he helped Freed back on his feet again.

“That is correct. I am Freed Justine of the Thunder God Tribe.” Freed replied.

“Thunder God Tribe...I think I fought someone like you. He had weird eyes and stuck his tongue out a lot.” Meliodas said, recalling his fight with Bickslow.

“So you’ve met Bickslow. It’s no surprise you were able to defeat him then.” Freed commented.

As Meliodas looked back over at Laxus, he heard a voice shouting at them and getting closer.

“Meliodas! Freed! Laxus!”

Freed and Meliodas turned their heads and saw Levy running towards them, with a panicked look on her face. As she stopped in front of them, she looked at Laxus, who was unconscious on the ground.

“Laxus is…?”

“Meliodas defeated Laxus. But what is it you came here to tell us?” Freed asked.

“It’s the master… he doesn’t have a lot of time left. I came here to tell Laxus to go see him but...I don’t think that’s possible right now.” Levy said as she stared at Laxus lying on the ground. The pool of blood began to grow as more blood leaked from his open wound on his chest.

“Laxus!” Freed exclaimed.

“You guys should probably go check up on the Master then. I’ll go drop Laxus and Freed off at the hospital. Especially Laxus. I don’t think he’ll last long with those injuries. Then I’ll go meet up with you guys.” Meliodas said.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking back myself. In fact, I will be the one to take Laxus to the hospital since you’re not in such good condition your-” Freed paused as he glanced at Meliodas. When Freed had first arrived to the scene, Meliodas was covered in heavy bruises. But now, all of his injuries on his body were gone from his fight with Laxus.

“Wait, weren’t you all battered up just a few moments ago?” Freed asked.

“What ever could you be talking about?” Meliodas jokingly responded as he picked up Laxus over his head.

“Well I think I’m good enough to walk. I’ll just get treated at the guild infirmary.” Freed replied. He took a step forward and immediately stumbled forward, almost falling on his face. Levy rushed to his side and helped him back up.

“Here, I’ll take Freed back to the guild. You take Laxus to the hospital. His injuries look really bad.” Levy said as she looked at Laxus.

Meliodas nodded and waved goodbye as he carried Laxus over his head. As he walked away, Freed continued to stare at Meliodas with a skeptical look on his face. ‘He has such a childlike face and demeanor but that strength of his...and that darkness…’

“Something wrong Freed?” Levy asked as she noticed Freed staring off into the distance.

“N-no...let’s go back to the guild.” Freed replied.

‘Hmm...Maybe I should go pick up that Bickslow guy on the way. I left him lying in the street somewhere.’ Meliodas thought as he walked back into town.

---

Several hours later, Meliodas sat at a table in the guild hall with Wakaba and Macao across from him as well as other members as they listened to Erza, who was wrapped up in badges, inform everyone of Makarov’s health.

“It looks like thanks to Porlyusica, the Master’s life is no longer in any immediate danger.” Erza declared to everyone. The guild hall immediately broke out of its silence into loud cheering as everyone celebrated. Meliodas smiled but remained silent as he drank his ale. ‘I wonder where Mystogan went…’ Meliodas’s thought to himself.

“Something on your mind? You should be celebrating!” Wakaba said with a mug of ale in hand.

“Yeah you showed that punk Laxus.” Macao commented.

“Well he’s just a guy whose passion burned too hot and he went on the wrong path.” Meliodas replied.

“Hmph...I guess if you put it that way...but still he had some nerve making us all fight to the death like that. At least none of us actually died.” Wakaba said. As Meliodas continued conversing, Natsu approached the table and went up to Meliodas. Behind him, Gajeel was following.

“Meliodas! You may have beat Laxus by but next time I’m fighting him!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Gi hi, there won’t be a next time salamander. I’ll be the one to fight him!” Gajeel interjected.

“Like hell you will! I destroyed more Lacrima than you!”

“Are you blind Salamander? I destroyed far more than you did!”

Meliodas sat the table, amused by the two dragon slayers as he drank more of his ale. He glanced over at the entrance as he felt a familiar magic coming towards the guild.

“I mean if you guys want to fight him, he’s coming here right now.” Meliodas commented. Both Gajeel and Natsu stopped bickering and looked towards the entrance, surprised. The guild fell silent as they all turned to the entrance and saw Laxus’s figure standing at the entrance. He had several bandages over his face and a cast on his right arm. On his torso, was a cast that wrapped around his body.

“Laxus?!”

“Laxus is here?”

“You have some nerve coming back here Laxus!”

Guild members started loudly voicing their anger and frustration at Laxus as he walked into the guild.

“That’s enough!” Erza shouted sternly to the rowdy guild members, silencing them immediately. Erza stood in front of Laxus and the two exchanged serious looks at each other.

“The master is in the medical office.” Erza said. Laxus nodded and continued walking only for Natsu to run up to Laxus.

“Next time, it won’t be Meliodas kicking your ass, it will be me!” Natsu exclaimed, pointing a finger at Laxus.

“So Meliodas really beat Laxus by himself?” Lucy asked Gajeel. Gajeel nodded.

“Yeah...I originally went to the cathedral after Natsu and Erza left. Then I saw how Meliodas and Laxus were fighting and uhh...yeah...”

“So you left and decided to help with the Lacrima around town instead?” Lucy asked. Gajeel remained silent as he looked the other way.

Laxus seemingly ignored Natsu’s request and continued walking forward, but waved a hand in acknowledgement to Natsu before stopping and glancing over at Meliodas.

Meliodas gave Laxus a friendly grin as they locked eyes as Laxus nodded silently in response. The rest of the guild watched in silence, curious about the interaction between the two.

“Want some ale?” Meliodas offered. He summoned an unopened bottle and handed it to Laxus.

“Thanks, but not now.” Laxus replied. “But I want to know why you didn’t kill me. You were holding back that entire fight. Even at the end, you only punched me with just enough force to stop me from casting Fairy Law…”

“I’ve fought plenty of guys like you before.” Meliodas replied with a smile. “And compared to them, you didn’t seem all that bad. Now how about drop that sour attitude and have some ale?”
Laxus shook his head but a very faint smile formed on his face as he turned around and continued walking away towards the medical office. As Laxus left the main hall, the guild returned to its festive atmosphere and Meliodas continued drinking his ale until he was approached by Mirajane.

“Meliodas will you be joining us for the Fantasia Parade later tonight?” Mirajane asked. Meliodas put his mug down and thought about it.

“Hmm...maybe. What do I have to do?” Meliodas asked.

“Well we have a variety of parade floats that you can either dance on or perform magic to impress the crowd.” Mirajane answered.

“Dancing isn't my thing. And my magic isn’t quite flashy…” Meliodas said as he tried to think of an idea.

“Why don’t you come out back and check out the other parade floats then?” Mirajane suggested. “You could always participate with one of the themes.”

“Good idea!” Meliodas replied. Meliodas hopped up enthusiastically from his seat. As he stood up, he felt slightly wobbly in his legs. ‘Huh...looks like that fight took out a bit more from me than I thought.’

Meliodas walked out to the back lot behind the guild. When Meliodas had last come out here with Erza to train, it was completely empty but now it was filled with various constructs and many of the guild members working on them.

Meliodas walked down the empty row at the middle of the floats. He took a closer look at the floats as he walked by. One of them was designed like an ice castle. On top of it was Gray who was doing finishing touches on the roof. Gray noticed Meliodas looking and waved.

“Hey Meliodas!” Gray greeted. He jumped down from the roof of the castle. As usual, he was shirtless.
“That’s not gonna melt right?” Meliodas asked. “We still got several more hours until it starts.”

“Nah. If my ice melted that easily, I wouldn’t be a good ice make mage.” Gray replied smugly.

“Then why is there a puddle right there.” Meliodas commented as he pointed at one of the pillars of the castle.

“Puddle? Hah, nice try but I won’t fall for-” Gray abruptly stopped as turned around. To his dismay, there was a puddle forming.

“What?! There’s no way!” Gray exclaimed as he ran over to the puddle. Meliodas chuckled as he watched Gray scurry around and start refreezing the walls of the castle until Mirajane approached him.

“Did you have an idea what you wanted to do yet?” Mirajane asked.

“Nope, not yet.” Meliodas replied. “Although...I think I have an idea now for a parade float.”

Chapter Text

“That’s great!” Mirajane said enthusiastically. “So what will it be?”

“Well back home, I used to have a tavern called the Boar’s Hat. It’s been destroyed but I think I want to make a small recreation of it for the parade. And from there, I’ll serve ale to people as the float drives by.” Meliodas replied with a large grin. He missed the Boar Hat after Hawk Mama’s body deflated, heavily damaging it beyond repair, and this would be the perfect opportunity as a temporary revival as the tavern he held dear to him.

“That would certainly bolster up our guild image. But I don’t think the guild has enough resources to serve ale to the town like that.” Mirajane said.

“Well I have my sources. I’m pretty well acquainted with some local brewers. I’m a frequent customer of theirs. Shouldn’t be too hard to get one of them to sponsor for the parade as that should really help with their sales. Although I’m not sure if I can build the float in the time we have left.”

“Well what’s the float going to be made out of?” Mirajane asked.

“Mainly wood.” Meliodas replied.

“Oh perfect! I know just the person to help out. I’ll be right back!” Mirajane said excitedly as she scurried back to the guild. Meliodas wondered what Mirajane was up to but he continued walking down the line of floats, admiring each one. After looking at each float, Meliodas took a seat on the ground and requiped a pen and paper where he began to draw out hypothetical blueprints of a float., to the best of his abilities.

Several minutes later, Mirajane returned. Walking next to her, was a slim young woman with short purple hair and oval lens glasses. She wore a light blue colored coat with dark blue trimmings, a red tie and tight fitting dark pants tucked into light blue colored boots.

“I’m Laki! I’ve heard all about you, Meliodas. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance!” The purple haired young woman introduced amiably.

“Likewise!” Meliodas said with a grin.

“You’ve met Gray who uses “Make” magic with ice. Well Laki uses Wood Make magic so she can help you with your float.” Mirajane explained.

“Just provide me with the blueprints.” Laki added.

“Well I got those drawn out already.” Meliodas replied. He handed Laki a quick sketch of what he had planned for the tavern. It wasn’t the best looking sketch, but it was enough for Laki to understand the main concept. She looked at it thoroughly for a minute before replying.

“I can work with this. It’s a giant wooden tankard. But why is it called the Boar Hat?” Laki asked.

“Because it’s the name of the tavern I used to own on top of a large green pig.” Meliodas replied bluntly. Laki gave Meliodas a puzzled look, to which Meliodas simply smiled back.

“A large pig?” Mirajane asked. “I remember you telling me before that you had a tavern but you didn’t ever mention it was on top of a pig.”

“Hmm...Well that’s...quite clever actually.” Laki responded. She looked back down at the blueprints and began mumbling to herself. Somewhere in her incoherent mumbles, Meliodas could make out the words “giant pig.”

“Well since you two have your float plans, I think I’ll go work on the one Elfman and I are working on.” Mirajane commented.

“Sounds good. Thanks for the help Mira!” Meliodas said as Mirajane left. Meliodas turned back to Laki, who was still looking at the blueprints.

“Hey I’ll leave the main building to you. I’ll be back in a bit, I have to get my supply of ale from a sponsor real quick.” Meliodas said. Laki nodded in response.

---

Half an hour later, Meliodas returned to the back lot of the guild. There he saw Laki had finished making the base structure of the float. On top of the float was the towering skeleton of the tankard-like structure.

“Wow you did a good job!” Meliodas said as he approached Laki.

“The shape was pretty basic so now it's just a matter of filling it in.” Laki replied.

“There’s actually a small change in the blueprints.” Meliodas said. He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to Laki. Laki unfolded the paper and read it.

“Oh? We have to paint a logo for Magnolia Craft Ale on here?” Laki questioned.

“Yup. That was their requirement for sponsoring me with fifteen kegs of ale.” Meliodas replied. “And I get to keep whatever isn’t served.”

“Sounds like a good deal! Should share a keg with me sometime!” A voice said loudly from behind them. Meliodas turned around and saw Cana approaching them. Her face had a tint of red and as she walked, and she stumbled around.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted. Behind Cana, he could see Lucy and Levy running up to her.

“Cana you’re already drunk?! We need to rehearse our dances for the parade!” Lucy exclaimed as she watched Cana sloppily try to walk to Meliodas.

“I dance better when I’m drunk so it’s okay!!!” Cana laughed while nearly falling on the ground but managing to catch herself.

“I mean, she should be relatively sober by the time the parade starts right?” Levy mentioned somewhat doubtfully.

“Come on Cana, let’s not bother Meliodas.” Lucy said as she wrapped one of Cana’s arms around her. Meliodas stared at the two girls as they tried to stabilize Cana when an idea popped in his head.

“Oh Laki!” Levy said as she saw Laki performing her wood make on Meliodas’s float. “Could you help us on our float if you get the chance? The support beams are really shaky underneath and I don’t think the float will hold for the entire parade.”

“I apologize, but I’ll be working on this for the duration of the parade.” Laki replied.

“Oh I see, then-” Levy stopped mid sentence as she saw Meliodas staring at her. “W-what?” Levy asked nervously.

“I have a suggestion for your float issue.” Meliodas replied.

---

Later that night, as the sky turned dark, bright fireworks of various colors, shapes, and sizes lit up the night sky, signaling the start of the Fantasia Parade. The main street of Magnolia was cleared for an occasion like this, with endless rows of people lining the sides of the main street. Starting from the Fairy Tail guild and going downtown, a row of brightly lit parade floats could be seen slowly traversing.

In front of the parade floats, were several of the guild members, dancing happily while displaying their various magics. Behind them, was the very first float. The float was the shape of a large wooden tankard that was slightly larger at the top. The handle of the tankard was designed into a swirled “S” shape. At the front of the tankard, was the Fairy Tail symbol and below that said the word “Boar Hat.” Even below that, was a logo that read “Sponsored by Magnolia Craft Ale.”

In front of the Tankard was a wide stage. Around the stage were various wooden tables. At the front were the women of the Miss Fairy Tail contest: Lucy, Levy, Bisca, and Cana. In their hands were trays filled with dozens of mugs of ale that they handed out to the people lined up in the sides. Behind them, were Macao and Wakaba, using their respective form shaping magic of fire and smoke. As Macao lit the air above them with intricately designed different colored flames, Wakaba assisted in handing out ale, creating several appendages of smoke to do the job.

As the woman finished serving all of the drinks they had in hand, they lined up standing next to each other and began their dance.

“I can’t believe we let Meliodas talk us into wearing these outfits…” Bisca commented. The three of them were not wearing their standard Miss Fairy Tail attire. Instead, they wore frilly, tight fitting pink buttoned shirt that exposed their midriff, a dark miniskirt with a pink belt, and a black stocking on each of their left legs along with black heels.

“Well Master saw the outfits and demanded that we wear them.” Levy commented.

“I just find it weird he was carrying these specific outfits with him.” Bisca said.

“Well he said something about starting up his old tavern again and these were the uniforms for his bar maids I guess.” Lucy mentioned.

Behind them, Meliodas stood next to Macao, watching the three girls in his signature bar maid outfits. ‘I miss Elizabeth…’ Meliodas thought to himself as he reminisced briefly of all of the sins gathered together working at the Boar Hat and wearing his designated uniforms.

“Meliodas, it’s time!” Macao said. He raised his hands up in the air, releasing several floating orbs of flames of different colors. Meliodas nodded and grinned. He put his hand on Mel Force and jumped up into the air right underneath the orbs.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas swung his blade at the orbs, causing them to burst upwards in an enormous swirling vortex of brightly flames of various colors that dispersed at the edges.

“And that’s the signal!” Macao shouted. The group on the float with Meliodas and the subsequent groups behind it all stopped what they were doing. Everyone stood up straight and pointed their index finger up with their hand in an “L” shape, their palms facing towards them.
---

At the after party, Meliodas sat down at the table alongside Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, Juvia, and Elfman. The table Meliodas was at was filled to the brim with plates of food as Happy sat on the table, content with a large fish in his mouth. Behind them, various guild members were dancing and cheering while Mirajane served them drinks.

As Meliodas prepared for another round of ale, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw it was from Makarov.

“What’s up?” Meliodas asked. Makarov gestured for Meliodas to follow him and Meliodas agreed. Makarov brought Meliodas to a more silent corner of the room where people were not paying attention to them.

“It’s about Laxus.” Makarov said.

“Speaking of Laxus...what happened to him?” Meliodas asked. He stared at Makarov who looked down at the ground, breaking eye contact.

“I had no choice. He’s been excommunicated. I’m sure you understand why. It’s not something I could bring up to the rest of this guild during this time of celebration. Some of them aren’t ready for this news yet...” Makarov said in a solemn tone. Meliodas nodded silently in response.

“Meliodas.” Makarov said as he looked back up at Meliodas, his eyes meeting Meliodas’s own.

“Laxus... Before he left. He told me to tell you “thank you.” Makarov finished. “He told me himself that he will use this time away from the guild to try and redeem himself.”

“Well that’s good. Glad he’s brightened up a bit.” Meliodas said with a grin.

“And one more thing. This is personal from me to you...Thank you, Meliodas.” Makarov said. He looked down at the ground as tears began to stream down his face. Meliodas put a hand on Makarov’s shoulder. As Makarov looked up, he saw Meliodas with a large smile on his face.

“That’s what family does right?”

Chapter Text

The following morning after the guild party, Meliodas entered the guild hall. Meliodas looked around the guild hall. The guild hall was unusually silent and empty, with hardly anyone in sight. All of the tables were wiped clean, with not a single tankard or piece of silverware on them.

The only ones who were there apart from Meliodas were those from the Thunder God Tribe, sitting at their own table at the corner of the hall. Meliodas recognized Freed and Bickslow, but didn’t recognize the woman with them. The woman had light brown hair and dark brown eyes under her glasses. She wore a green dress that accentuated her voluptuous figure along with navy blue stockings and white sandals. Just above her right breast was a green guild stamp.

“Ah, Meliodas, you’re here.” Makarov said as he approached Meliodas. Meliodas returned a friendly wave at Makarov.

“What’s going on? How come there are no people here?” Meliodas asked, curious about the guild’s current state. It was strange for the guild hall to be so empty after a successful night.

“Because of the damage that was caused from the incident yesterday, the Fairy Tail guild is held responsible. So I’ve dispersed various guild members throughout town the entire morning. And I’m sure you know, that the Kardia Cathedral is in dire need of cleaning.” Makarov stated. “I know it wasn’t entirely your fault but it was put on us to clean up after Laxus’s mess, by the council, considering that a major landmark was destroyed.”

“I understand.” Meliodas replied. He briefly recalled his fight with Laxus, where as the fight went on, all of the pillars that were supporting the cathedral had collapsed.

“Well I won’t be sending you alone. The Thunder God Tribe offered to help clean up on Laxus’s behalf.” Makarov continued. He gestured to the three members who Meliodas spotted earlier that were now approaching him.

“Hello again Meliodas.” Freed greeted. The other two who were with Freed remained silent.

“Yo, Freed! You changed your hair?” Meliodas asked. Freed’s long green hair was now gone, as he had cut his hair short, to the point of nearly being shaved.

“Yes. I did. For the Master, and for Laxus.” Freed replied. Meliodas nodded and looked over at Bickslow and Evergreen. Bickslow still had bandages over his nose where Meliodas had punched him previously in his fight.

“How’s it going Bickslow?” Meliodas greeted. Bickslow remained silent as he looked at Meliodas through his visor. Meliodas noticed Bickslow staring at him but ignored it and instead greeted the woman standing next to him.

“Don’t think we’ve met. I’m Meliodas.” Meliodas greeted.

“I’m Evergreen.” Evergreen responded. Makarov watched awkwardly as he could feel some tension in the air between Meliodas and the Thunder God Tribe. Despite Meliodas’ friendly nature, Bickslow and Evergreen still seemed uncomfortable with him, but it was understandable considering how Meliodas had beaten both Bickslow and Laxus. Makarov cleared his throat loudly to break the silent tension in the room.

“Ahem...so you’ve all met. Why don’t you all head over to the cathedral...or at least what’s left of it.” Makarov said.

---

Meliodas and the Thunder God Tribe group remained silent nearly the entire time as they cleaned the remains of the Kardia Cathedral. Meliodas looked around at the lot. Most of the remains of the cathedral have already been cleared out, with only a few large chunks of stone bricks still remaining. Meliodas put one large one on each shoulder, carrying them with ease out of the lot. Bickslow and Evergreen moved smaller chunks out as well, with Bickslow incorporating his wooden dolls to carry larger loads.

The three of them gathered the excess debris into an area surrounded by a rune wall that Freed had created specifically for this job. As Meliodas finished moving the last bit of stone in, Freed stepped up and drew his sword, pointing it at the stones.

“Dark Ecriture: Destruction.”

Freed’s right eye glowed purple as the rocks he was pointing at broke down further in tiny explosions, with the rune walls keeping the explosions in until nothing was left but small piles of dust. Freed sheathed his sword and turned to Meliodas.

“It seems we’re done here. Excellent work.” Freed said.

“Same for you guys!” Meliodas said with a friendly grin. Despite his friendliness, the others didn’t display the same hospitality.

“Well I guess I’ll go back to the guild.” Meliodas said nonchalantly as he turned around and began to walk away. Freed faced the other two and sighed.

“I understand he defeated Laxus but remember what Laxus told us before he left. We should be thankful to Meliodas.” Freed said. He glanced at Bickslow whose carefree nature had turned uncharacteristically timid.

“It’s not like you to be this silent.” Freed inquired.

“I told Evergreen my situation but I haven’t told you yet Freed...my fight with him.” Bickslow said as he lifted his visor and rubbed his eyes. When Bickslow lifted his visor, Freed could see his eyes were bloodshot red and dry, as if he hadn’t been blinking. ‘Was he staring at Meliodas the whole time?’ Freed thought.

“When I first looked at him, I knew right away he wasn’t human. I assumed he was a similar case to Loke, but I was mistaken. He...completely resisted my figure eyes. There is a dark power inside of him. That feeling of dread I felt when I saw it...I haven’t been able to shake it off.” Bickslow said, with a hint of fear in his voice. Evergreen noticed and put a hand on Bickslow’s shoulder reassuringly.

“I know what you mean. When I witnessed Laxus fight Meliodas at the very end, Laxus was going to cast Fairy Law. But Meliodas for a brief instant, unleashed some kind of dark power.” Freed mentioned with a slight shudder.

“Was it some kind of takeover magic like Mirajane’s?” Evergreen asked.

“Not even close. As you know, I personally fought her and the darkness her magic radiated can’t even be compared to the sensation I felt from Meliodas.” Freed answered.

“That kind of power sounds dangerous. He might even pose a danger to the guild...” Evergreen commented. Freed shook his head.

“No...I think we’re misunderstanding him. He was able to understand Laxus and have him see the error of his ways. I don’t think he is truly as sinister as his power lets off. If anything, we were the ones who were a danger to the guild, not Meliodas.” Freed replied. Evergreen remained quiet at the truth of Freed’s statement. Freed turned his attention to Bickslow who still seemed a bit antsy.

“Well... if you trust him that much and if Laxus trusts him that much, I’ll go with it.” Bickslow said with higher spirits, doing his signature grin sticking his tongue out.

---

Back at the guild Meliodas sat down at a table with Macao and Wakaba, where he was silently reading the newest issue of Sorcerer Magazine. It was an entertaining magazine to read that also provided Meliodas an ample amount of information about the world. The magazine was full of mage spotlights, showcasing a powerful mage and their magic. Meliodas paid close attention to this, hoping for a spotlight with a mage that had spatial magic. Meanwhile, people were beginning to fill up the guild hall after completing their share of clean up around town.

“Hey Meliodas, what’s this I hear about a rumor of you starting up a traveling tavern business?” Wakaba asked.

“Oh that? It’s just a rumor. Having a tavern is a good way to get information except I don’t have a large pig to mount it on this time to move it around.” Meliodas replied.

“A large pig?” Macao questioned. He looked at Meliodas, baffled by his statement and scratched his head. “Oh yeah I think Laki brought something about that up. I thought she was being cryptic but she actually meant it huh?”

“Meliodas.” A familiar voice interrupted from behind him. Meliodas turned around and saw the Thunder God Tribe standing in front of him.

“What’s up?” Meliodas asked.

“Uh...mind if we join you for a drink?” Bickslow asked. Meliodas enthusiastically grinned and pulled out several different bottles of ale from his requip inventory, much to the Thunder God Tribe’s surprise.

“Sure. What kind do you guys want?”

Chapter Text

One week has passed since the end of the Fantasia parade and Laxus’s excommunication. Apart from helping with the cathedral repairs, Meliodas spent a majority of his time researching any more leads he could find about the mysterious Anima that Mystogan brought up.

‘Still nothing… there’s no mention of anima in any of these books. And Mystogan has already left...’ Meliodas sighed as he finished reading through another book. When the parade finished, he could not find where Mystogan went and had to take the research into his own hands. There were a limited number of books about spatial magic in Fairy Tail’s library. Although it was a long shot, Meliodas started reading through the history of Fiore, to see if there was an event that happened that might be what he’s looking for. He had learned an ample amount about this world but nothing specifically he was looking for. Meliodas placed the book back on the shelf and walked back upstairs to the main guild hall.

As he walked up the stairs back into the guild hall, he could hear Natsu yelling something about Laxus again, an event that has been going on for the past week after Makarov revealed to the guild that he excommunicated Laxus.

“It ain’t right old man!! Why did you have to drive Laxus away?!” Natsu shouted. He stood in front of Makarov with an irate expression on his face. Makarov remained silent as Natsu kept pestering him about the subject.

“Give it up Natsu!” Erza yelled from behind Natsu. She approached Natsu and grabbed him by his vest, trying to pull him back as he resisted.

“I still want to fight him, and this time I’ll be the one to take him down!” Natsu exclaimed as he tried to power through Erza pulling him. Meliodas approached the two of them, interrupting their conversation. Both Erza and Natsu stopped what they were doing and looked at Meliodas.

“Hey Master do you have a moment?” Meliodas asked.

“What is it?” Makarov asked.

“Have you seen Mystogan?” Meliodas continued. Erza and Natsu’s eyes widened upon hearing Mystogan’s name. After seeing him with Jellal’s face, they still had many questions about him.

“No I have not, at least not since the Fantasia Parade.” Makarov responded.

“What do you know about Mystogan?” Erza asked. She gave Meliodas a skeptical look as Natsu stared at him.

“Not a lot.” Meliodas replied. “But I’m guessing what you're asking has to do with his appearance. I can’t really say much since I don’t know a lot myself, but he’s not the person you think he is.”

“I see…” Erza said quietly. She turned around and began to walk away, dragging Natsu with her, to his dismay.

“Well thanks anyway!” Meliodas said to Makarov as he began walking towards the exit of the guild.

--

Meliodas looked up at the sky as the sunlight poured down. ‘Still got some time left.’ He walked away from the guild and walked down the main street of Magnolia. Despite being relatively familiar with the city now, he still enjoyed the view. As he walked down the street, he looked down at his clothes. In every fight, something happens to his clothes where either his sleeves get blown off or his entire shirt goes missing. At this point, Meliodas only had a couple of spare sets of clothes left.

‘I think it was Heart Kreuz. I should buy some more clothes there.’ Meliodas reminded himself as he looked around, eventually finding the shop. He walked into the store, only to find that it was full of customers, most of whom were females. Meliodas watched as the people were fighting each other over clothes. One particular pair of customers were playing tug of war with the clothing.

“HEY I SAW THAT FIRST!!! A young girl said as she grabbed the coat.

“GET YOUR GREEDY PAWS OFF THIS IS MINE!” Another young girl said as she tried to pull the coat way. Tears in the fabric were becoming noticeable as they tried to pull the coat away from each other.
Meliodas found their fight briefly amusing but shrugged the thought as he began weaving through the thick gaggle of customers. Eventually he managed to get through to the section of the shop he had previously bought his clothes in.

Meliodas looked around. Through the crowd of people, he noticed the young woman who had helped him last time and walked towards her. She was currently speaking with a customer.

“Yo” Meliodas greeted her.

She turned towards Meliodas for a brief moment and nodded before returning to her conversation. Once she finished assisting the customer she turned towards Meliodas.

“Hello young man, it's nice to see you again.” The woman said. Meliodas was a bit surprised by this.

“You remember me?” Meliodas asked. It had been months since Meliodas set foot in Heart Kruz, and he had only been inside once.

“Of course, we remember most of our customers.” She replied with a smile. Truthfully that wasn’t the case. It was just that Meliodas was a rather unique customer. The last time he had come, he was wearing bloodied and tattered clothes and pulled out quite a bit of money. Not only was that surprising enough, he also looked to be around 12 years old. A customer like that would naturally be quite memorable.

“Wow, that's impressive.” Meliodas replied.

“Thank you, we here at Heart Kruz do our best to support our customers! Is there anything in particular you were looking for.” She asked.

“Hmm.” Meliodas mused for a moment. ‘I should probably stay away from full sleeved clothes for now... they keep ripping apart…’

“Do you have some sleeveless shirts?” Meliodas asked the store associate.The lady thought about Meliodas’s request for a second before replying.

“Something like a vest?” She inquired back. The store associate continued to spend another few moments thinking when she remembered something.

“We do have a new vest design for kids that was just released, please give me a moment, I will bring it to you.” She said before heading to the back of the store.

“Wait, I am not a k… forget it..” Meliodas stopped his sentence midway. He gave up explaining it to people. Let them assume what they want.

Around 10 min later, the lady came back with a set of clothing in her hand.
“Here you are, it’s the new design. Not only is it stylish, but it’s also made with a good fabric that's very durable.”

Meliodas took the clothing from her and raised it up in front of him. Despite the associate saying it was from the kids section, it looked anything but childish. It was a sleeveless high collared red shirt with white Heart Kreuz symbols sewed neatly inside of the collar. The attendant had also brought over some form fitting black slacks.

“Please consider wearing the pants with the shirt, they will go well together.” The associate said.

“Thanks, do you mind if I wear them out?” Meliodas asked.

“Hmm, normally our guests just take them home. But if you’d like, you can use the back room to change.”

“Thanks, also please bring me a few more sets of these clothes.” Meliodas said before walking into the back to change.

A short minute later, Meliodas walked out of the changing room, wearing his new clothes. ‘Not bad. It’s really comfortable.’ Meliodas thought as he walked out. The pants, despite looking tight, had a lot of room for movement. By the time he came out, the attendant was already waiting for him. She was carrying a few sets of the same clothes that Meliodas just wore. Meliodas grabbed his clothes and walked to the counter. He finished paying his jewels and left the store.

The sun was still shining and Meliodas realized he still had a few hours to kill. Instead of going home, he walked around town and took in some of the views. This world was far more advanced than the one he had lived in. He walked around town and looked towards the alley he had landed in.

He sat on a bench nearby and laid down. He had been here for nearly 5 months with barely any information on how to return. He closed his eyes and pondered his next steps.

‘I have to find more clues. I can’t just ask random guilds and I doubt the council would provide me anything. Especially after that whole princess ordeal…’

Meliodas spent the next few hours relaxing on the bench, even taking a small nap. Meliodas got off the bench and made his way home, the sun had already set, and the night was illuminated by the stars.

“Well… time to head home.”

Chapter Text

Meliodas arrived at his house. He threw himself on the bed with his hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling.

‘Nothing new so far…. What other options do I have?’

Just as Meliodas was about to close his eyes, he heard a suspicious noise coming from below, in Shcneider’s part of the house. Although it was faint, Meliodas was able to hear it. He immediately hopped off the bed and rushed downstairs to Schneider’s place, sensing something was wrong. Upon arriving downstairs, he saw a hooded figure holding a metal dagger standing across from Schneider. The dagger had a faint glow, indicating to Meliodas of some sort of enchantment. In front of the unknown figure, Schneider was sitting on the ground, clasping his right shoulder, which was heavily bleeding.

Just as the assailant had not noticed Meliodas had come downstairs and lunged forward towards Schneider. Meliodas swiftly moved across the room, appearing between the two of them and in the way of the dagger’s path. Meliodas extended his left hand out and firmly grasped the dagger by the blade between his index finger and thumb.

“Who are you?” Meliodas asked.

Without hesitation, the hooded figure immediately let go of his weapon, leaving it in Meliodas’s grasp. He jumped backwards into the air and threw several spherical black objects that the ground that burst into a thick black smoke that filled the room.

“We can’t let him escape!” Schneider coughed as he slowly got up from the floor.

“Get that wound treated, I’ll go!” Meliodas yelled as he ran out of the house. Meliodas immediately jumped up onto the roof of the house and began looking around. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the figure jumping across the rooftops. Meliodas dashed after it, hopping over several buildings in one leap.

The figure noticed Meliodas was following and turned around, throwing three daggers simultaneously in a cone at Meliodas. Just before the daggers made contact with Meliodas, he jumped up into the air, spinning and twisting his body while collecting the daggers as he grabbed them by their handles. With all three daggers in hand, from his position in the air, Meliodas threw them back at the hooded figure before landing on the ground again.

Unable to react, the daggers pinned the hooded figure to the roof he was standing on by his cloak. Meliodas began running towards the figure, only for the figure to slide out of his cloak and fall to the street below. Meliodas caught a glimpse of the man who slid out. The man who slid out appeared to be middle aged, with messy black hair and onyx eyes. He wore a sleeveless black tunic, revealing his bare arms and black baggy pants and boots.

The man glanced at Meliodas, who was closing in on him, and immediately threw another smoke bomb on the ground. Just as he was about to make a run for it, Meliodas appeared above him, crashing down from above as he tackled him into the ground, shattering the stone street in the process and burying the assailant in the ground. Meliodas looked at the man buried into the ground. His upper body was completely buried in the street with only his legs sticking out. Meliodas plucked the man out of the ground and got a better look at his face. The man’s eyes were open but had rolled to the back of his head and there was blood dripping out of his nose and mouth.

‘Oh good he’s knocked out. I guess I’ll go bring him back to Schneider.’

Meliodas carried the man over his head as he ran back to the house, hopping across the rooftops as he carried the assailant.

Several short moments later, Meliodas entered the house again. He saw Schneider who was sitting down on his couch and patching his wound up, wrapping a white bandage around his shoulder. Blood could still be seen leaking onto the bandage, painting it red as the bleeding slowed down. Schneider looked up as Meliodas entered and saw him carrying someone over his head.

“You already found him?!” Schneider exclaimed with a look of surprise. Meliodas had just left a couple of minutes ago and had already returned.

“Yeah, here he is.” Meliodas said. He tossed the assailant on the ground in front of Schneider. The assailant’s limp body rolled on the ground and stopped in the center of the living room.

“Impressive.” Schneider commented. He was still reeling over Meliodas' strength and speed as he had seen Meliodas move in front of the assassin and block the attack with only his fingers.

After spending another moment wrapping up the wound on his shoulder, Schneider looked down at the assailant and narrowed his eyes. He knelt down on the ground and began going through the assassin’s pockets and gear as if he was familiar with it already.

“Who is he?” Meliodas asked.

Schneider remained silent as he went through the assassin’s garments, going through his tunic. It was as if he was searching for something. He took off the assassins gloves and saw a symbol on his forearm that looked like two daggers, with one overlapping the other.

“The dual daggers….” Schneider muttered quietly, lost in thought.

“The what?” Meliodas interrupted. He walked closer to Schneider to inspect what he was looking at.

“Ah.. I am sorry. Thank you for your help, but it’s best you don’t involve yourself any further...” Schneider had a solemn look on his face as he stared at the marking on the man’s forearm.

“Too late for that.” Meliodas said as he looked at the assailant who had just regained consciousness.

“You will regret this!!” The assailant shouted as he leaped up from the ground. From his boot, a blade popped out of the bottom as he aimed a kick towards Meliodas’s face. Meliodas leaned backwards, dodging the blade by a hair’s length away from his face as he grabbed the assailant’s foot with his left hand. From there Meliodas flipped the assailant over and struck him in the face with a quick right hook, knocking him out again.

“Looks like he wants me dead just as much as he wants you dead.” Meliodas said with a cheeky grin. Schneider looked at Meliodas and laughed as he raised his hand out in front of him. A light formed around Scheider’s hands and when the light stopped glowing, a rope was formed in his hand.

“How convenient, you keep spools of rope on you. I should do that.” Meliodas commented, thinking about his own requip inventory which, up to now, was mainly filled with only booze and a couple of extra pairs of clothes. The old man smiled at his comment.
“Old habits die hard…”

“Hmm. You still haven’t answered my question about who he is.” Meliodas continued.

“He is an assassin from the Logres Kingdom, an originally independent kingdom that was assimilated into Pergrande about fifty years ago. That mark on his hand... the double dagger stamp. It’s a symbol of a covert guild within the kingdom. They are usually sent for assasination or information gathering missions. Sometimes, the two overlap…”

“But why was he going after you?” Meliodas questioned.

“I was once a part of that guild forty years ago. However, a young swordsman I was sent to assassinate changed me and my outlook of life. As a result, I abandoned the guild. I ran across Ishgar and settled here in Fiore. But that guild is not one you can just leave whenever you like. So I’ve been wanted by them for all these years. And somehow, they managed to find me again.” Schneider answered with a sigh.

“Well don’t worry old man. As long as I’m here, they won’t kill ya. I’ll make sure of it.” Meliodas said with a reassuring grin.

“I don’t doubt your strength, but I’m doubtful even you wouldn’t be able to fight off the entirety of their guild.” Schneider responded coldly. “Honestly it would be better if you moved out and didn’t associate yourself with me any longer. For cross continent assassination missions like this, they travel in pairs, with one person standing by as a scout in case the other fails. The scout most likely is returning to report you in as a target, since they’ve most likely established they currently can’t kill you.”

“Like I said, no problem. I’ve had an entire kingdom on me before and I’m still here now aren’t I?” Meliodas grinned. Schneider looked at Meliodas with a stern expression but it eventually softened up into a smile.

“That incident as “The Blond Demon” I presume? Your optimism knows no bounds does it? Well if you’re prepared to die here with me then go ahead.” Schneider responded.

“Well, finding another room to rent out will be a hassle.” Meliodas replied.

Chapter Text

Another week passed after the events at Schneider’s house. To Meliodas’s disappointment, there were no more assassination attempts on Schneider’s life. He was hoping to get this situation cleared up sooner than later.

It was early in the morning, and the sun had not risen yet. The guild hall was empty and the lights were off. Meliodas alone was seated at the bar with dozens of empty bottles of alcohol lying next to him. Despite this, he was not actually drunk. He slumped over the bar and sighed with a dead look in his eye. ‘Well, well, well...I have been here for almost 5 months and I barely have any leads…. what to do….’

Several more minutes passed with Meliodas sitting in complete silence and darkness. The doors to the guild entrance swung wide open, letting in some light as Mirajane entered the hall. She turned on the lights and was shocked to see Meliodas slumped over the bar. The area reeked of alcohol.

“Meliodas! What are you doing here?!” Mirajane exclaimed. She rushed over to Meliodas’s side and looked at the bottles that were scattered all over the counter. Meliodas looked up at Mirajane and answered wearily.

“I was in here all night doing research... I didn’t feel like going home so I stayed here.”

Mirajane shook her head. She hastily ran behind the bar and poured Meliodas a cold glass of water. Meliodas gulped it down immediately and let out a refreshing sigh.

“Ahhh! Thanks Mira!” Meliodas said, jumping up from his seat with more energy than earlier.

“You shouldn’t push yourself so hard like that.” Mirajane replied with a worried smile. “Was this still about the spatial magic?”

“Yeah...I’m a bit stumped on leads.”

“Well, I’ll clean up here. Go home and get some sleep okay.” Mirajane ordered.

Meliodas responded with a small laugh and waved goodbye to Mirajane as he walked out of the guild hall on his way back to the house to wash up.

After getting himself cleaned and resting for a few hours, Meliodas returned to the guild hall at noon. It was lively again but for some reason, everyone was gathered up around the back area. Meliodas walked over and saw, mounted on the wall, a giant board with a chart drawn on it. The chart read “Balam Alliance” with many guilds branching out from three in the middle.

Meliodas looked at the chart curiously as he read the words “Balam Alliance.” He remembered a past conversation with Mystogan bringing up the Balam Alliance briefly as one of the dark guilds they took a few members down from, Ghost Pumpkin, was a potential growing part of it. He looked around the crowd and saw Makarov walking up to the front. The guild grew silent as Makarov began speaking.

“We’re going to take down the Oracion Seis!” Makarov declared sternly. Everyone’s eyes widened with surprise at the revelation. Meliodas tilted his head curiously and continued looking at the chart.

‘Oracion Seis?’ Meliodas thought as he looked at the chart. In the middle, there were three guilds, bigger than the others that all had branches coming out from them. Meliodas read the names of the guilds. ‘Oracion Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros.’

“What is this about?” Erza asked.

“At a guild meeting a few days ago, the Oracion Seis was brought up. They’re up to something and that cannot be ignored. And so I’ve been informed today that it’s been decided that a guild must be sent to eliminate them.” Makarov answered.

“And that task was put on only Fairy Tail?” Gray asked.

“Not quite. The enemy is too big a threat for that. If we were to go alone, we would end up as the sole targets for the Balam Alliance. Which is why we are going to be forming an alliance of our own! Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter. Each guild will select members to join forces and take down the enemy!”

“Fairy Tail can handle those guys alone! Hell I could handle them alone!” Natsu exclaimed.

“No Natsu.” Makarov responded. “The Oracion Seis only has six members, but they are incredibly strong, strong enough that six members alone would make up a third of the Balam Alliance.”

“A guild with only 6 people!?” Someone blurted out.The room became tense as the guild members who were present began to understand the severity of the situation.

“Master, who will be going?” Erza asked. Makarov looked around at all the faces in the crowd staring at him before answering. He noticed quite a few key members were not present, such as the Thunder God Tribe. He saw Meliodas standing in the group staring at the board. Makarov thought back to the Laxus incident a couple of weeks back. Meliodas’s strength would play a key role in the success of this mission.

“Erza, you and Meliodas should go on behalf of Fairy Tail. Makarov glanced over at Meliodas who was still reading the board. Meliodas stopped reading the board and he locked eyes with Makarov.

“If you’re not busy with your research, Meliodas.” Makarov continued.

“Well well well, fighting six strong people? Sure thing Master! I could use some fresh air.” Meliodas replied with a grin.

“Wait!!??! Why just Meliodas and Erza? I want to go as well!” Natsu yelled.

“I’m sending our two strongest mages that we have currently. We no longer have Laxus and Mystogan is nowhere to be found. But Meliodas has proven himself already as someone who is capable.”

“This should be fun. I haven’t been on a mission with you yet Erza.” Meliodas commented.

“I believe we’ll make a great team.” Erza replied warmly.

“Come on gramps! Let me join them! I’m strong enough!” Natsu exclaimed.

“Shut it flame brain, the decision’s already been made!” Gray interjected. Meliodas glanced over at Natsu who was grumbling to himself. After not being able to fight Laxus, Natsu seemed even more eager than ever.

“Why don’t we have Natsu come with us?” Meliodas asked, much to Makarov’s surprise. “If the Oracion Seis are as tough as you say they are, it wouldn’t hurt to have more firepower, right?”

“I second that.” Erza added. “Don’t worry Master, we can keep Natsu in check.”

Makarov looked at both Erza and Meliodas and sighed.
“If you’re both requesting it, then very well. Natsu go ahead and join them.”

Natsu’s expression lit up as he jumped up into the air, with fire spewing from his mouth. “I’m all fired up!” Natsu shouted enthusiastically. “But Happy has to join too!”

“Aye Sir!” Happy exclaimed, floating up in the air above Natsu.

“Then it’s decided.” Makarov said. “You four will leave first thing tomorrow morning and meet at the designated point.” Makarov approached Erza and handed her a marked map of the meeting location.

“We won’t let you down Master!” Erza responded. Makarov nodded and began walking away as the group looked at the large chart on the board.

“Rest well today everyone, we have a big day tomorrow.” Erza turned towards the others.

Chapter Text

Early the next morning after taking a train, the group rode in a carriage on their way towards the meetup point, which was further up north beyond Clover Town. Meliodas had a half filled bottle of ale in hand as he looked out the window of the carriage. Slumped over the other window was Natsu, who was nauseated by the ride, with Happy sitting comfortably on his lap.

“Are we not there yet?” Natsu complained as the carriage hit a bump in the road, causing Natsu’s cheeks to puff up as he turned even paler with a sick look on his face. In his arms, he started to squeeze Happy up against him. Happy struggled to break free as Natsu held onto him tightly.

“Natsu, don't hurl! Not now!” Happy cried. Meliodas smiled as he watched the interaction between the two.

“We should be reaching there soon.” Erza said as she looked at the map, ignoring Happy’s pleas for help. “This is our first strategy meeting with the delegates of other guilds. It’s important we have good relations with them.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve worked with Lamia Scale.” Meliodas commented. “They were an interesting bunch.”

“So you’ve worked with Lamia Scale already. That’s good. It will certainly make forming relations a lot easier.” Erza replied.

“I wonder if Jura will be here. I met him the first time I visited their guild and again when I got detained.” Meliodas said as he reminisced about both of his meetings with Jura. From what he could tell of Jura, he was considerably stronger than the other members of Lamia Scale he worked with.

“Jura is one of the ten wizard saints. I would imagine he would be busy but if he were here, then having him help against the Oracion Seis will definitely put the odds in our favor.” Erza responded. Meliodas turned his attention back to Natsu as he heard him making strange gurgling noises.

“Gghguwuwh.” Natsu groaned.

“Aye, Meliodas! Please help!” Happy exclaimed. Meliodas pulled Happy free from Natsu’s grip. Happy took a seat next to Meliodas and sighed a breath of relief.

“So does he always get like this?” Meliodas asked as he continued observing Natsu.

“It’s an affliction that Natsu has. He gets motion sickness when he’s on a vehicle.” Erza answered. “There’s nothing we can do until we’re off this carriage.”

Meliodas and Erza both glanced at Natsu who now had his head sticking out of the window. Out the other window of the carriage, Happy was sticking out his head.

“Aye I see the meeting point!” Happy yelled enthusiastically. Meliodas looked outside the window and saw the building in the distance before raising his eyebrows. It was a large, pink mansion with multiple towers, with a heart shaped window in the middle section tower. The group got off the carriage, with Natsu collapsing on the ground as he walked out.

“Yes! We’re out of that torture machine!” Natsu cried. He spread his arms out as he hugged the dirt.

“Get up! We’re going inside.” Erza ordered. Natsu immediately stood up and his facial expression stiffened.

The group walked inside the building and into a large hall with many pillars adorned by stylized hearts and a large, red carpet that went down the middle. The group looked around in awe at the spacious hall.

“The hell kind of fancy meeting place is this?!” Natsu commented wearily, still feeling sick.

Suddenly, the lights went dark and ahead of them, a spotlight shined down, revealing three figures, two taller ones and a shorter one.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of Fairy Tail. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“We are the delegation from Blue Pegasus.”

“The Trimens.”

“The who?” Meliodas asked.

The three figures were revealed one at a time as the light shined brighter on them.

“Hundred Night, Hibiki.” Said a slim young man with spiky, somewhat messy brown hair wearing a double breasted suit with a light blue undershirt.

“Holy Night, Eve.” Said a short boy with blond hair styled in a neat bowl cut with a few strands jutting out and wearing a black suit with a pink undershirt.

“Silent Night, Ren.” Said a young man with dark skin and black spiky hair that went past his neck wearing a black suit and a yellow undershirt. The three of them stood in unique poses as they introduced themselves.

The three Blue Pegasus members immediately grouped around Erza, separating her from Meliodas and Natsu.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Titania.”

“You are every bit as beautiful as the rumors say.”

“Please, step this way.”

Hibiki and Eve took her to an expensive looking couch and coffee table at the corner of the hall. Erza sat down awkwardly as Ren walked away into a hallway in the back.

“Huh...I wonder if they’re the butlers here. You think they’ll serve us some ale?” Meliodas asked. He glanced over at Natsu who was leaning against a wall, still feeling some aftereffects of his prior motion sickness.

Meliodas looked back at Erza sitting uncomfortably on the couch as the two Blue Pegasus members continued to bombard her with compliments. He turned his head over to the hallway where he saw Ren returning with a tray of drinks.

Meliodas began to walk towards Ren to ask him for a drink when a sickly, sweet voice echoed across the hall, coming from the direction of the main stairway.

“My friends...that is quite enough of that.”

The three Pegasus members stopped what they were doing and stared at the stairwell. Erza looked over with widened eyes as she began to tremble.

“S-so you’re participating in this…” Erza commented shakily. Meliodas looked back at Erza with a puzzled look on his face before looking back up at the stairwell, curious to know who could cause Erza to lose her composure like this.

‘That man?’ Meliodas thought as he saw a figure walking down the stairs. The man looked familiar to him. He was a short, stout man, shorter than Meliodas. He had a rectangular face and long orange hair styled upwards. He wore a full white suit with an orange undershirt. Wrapped around his waist and falling to his right upper thigh, was a sash that contained vials filled with a strange liquid.

“Ichiya…?” Erza commented. Ichiya struck a pose with his hands raised up and his elbows out as he walked down the stairs. He looked at Erza with salacious eyes.

“Yes my honey, I have come here for you.” Ichiya responded as he slowly walked down the steps, putting unnecessary flare into each step. The trimen immediately lined up next to Erza and bowed their heads respectfully as they faced her.

“We apologize for our conduct. We had no idea you were the lover of Master Ichiya.” The three of them said simultaneously.

“I deny everything!” Erza exclaimed.

Ichiya continued walking down the stairs but stopped as he noticed Meliodas looking at him. He changed directions and immediately began to walk towards Meliodas, much to the trimen’s surprise and Erza’s relief.

Meliodas gave him a puzzled look as Ichiya approached Meliodas. He tiptoed and moved his face closer to Meliodas. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply.

“Mennnn…” Ichiya mumbled to himself.

“Something wrong?” Meliodas asked, still baffled by Ichiya’s action.

“I remember this parfum...You possess a one of a kind magic. I have never smelled anything like it.” Ichiya commented, remembering his short lived encounter with Meliodas when Meliodas had traveled to Blue Pegasus very briefly. His face began to gravitate closer to Meliodas’s as his nostrils continued to flare wider.

“Sorry, but I don’t swing that way.” Meliodas replied. He raised his right hand up, pushing Ichiya’s face away from his. Ichiya rolled backwards from his spot, tumbling across the mansion’s floor until he stopped right in front of Erza.

“Mennnn…” Ichiya mumbled as he looked up at Erza. He quickly regained his composure and stood back up, kneeling down on one knee as he reached for Erza’s hand.

“Forgive the minor detour, here I am now, my honey.”

Erza could not hide her appalled expression as Ichiya grabbed her hand. The three trimen turned towards Meliodas and glared at him. Meliodas ignored their angered expressions and approached them.

“So since you guys are the butlers here, could I get some ale?” Meliodas asked.

“Get it yourself.” Ren replied with a scowl.

“No, we’re not letting this one get away, not after what he did to Master Ichiya.” Eve added in. “It would be wise to not underestimate us.”

Natsu jumped up from his slump against the wall. He looked enthusiastically at the group of mages as his sick demeanor vanished.

“Alright a fight!” Natsu shouted across the hall.

Hibiki glared at Meliodas but didn’t say a word as he observed him. Meliodas returned an unfazed gaze at him. ‘That guy looks familiar, have I seen him before?’ Hibiki thought to himself. Erza walked in front of the trimen and glared at them.

“Now isn’t the time to be picking a f-” Erza stopped as she felt a shiver go down her spine. She felt the warm breaths of another person hitting the back of her neck.

“My honey, your parfum is amazing as always.” Ichiya whispered in her ear.

“Stay away from me!” Erza yelled. She quickly turned around and delivered a solid punch to Ichiya’s face. Ichiya’s face contorted as he flew gracefully through the air.

“MENNN!!!” Ichiya yelled as he was launched across the hall towards the entrance. Meliodas turned his head to where Ichiya was being launched. His eyebrows raised as he saw a familiar figure standing at the doorway. The figure raised his hand up, catching Ichiya’s head in his palm. As Ichiya’s head made contact with Lyon’s palm, his head was suddenly surrounded in a block of jagged ice.

Chapter Text

“So this is how we’re greeted huh?” Lyon commented as he held Ichiya’s frozen head in one hand. Lyon looked around the room at the people staring at him. He suddenly noticed a few familiar figures from Fairy Tail. He recalled Natsu and Erza from the Gulana Island incident. However, he was much more surprised to see that Meliodas had also come to this mission.

“Meliodas? So they sent you as a delegate for Fairy Tail.” Lyon commented. He was not expecting to run into Meliodas so soon after their last encounter. He remembered how strong Meliodas was from their last encounter. Now their group will have both Jura and Meliodas. A smile formed on his face as he flung Ichiya’s body through the hall. Meliodas returned a cheeky grin to Lyon as he caught Ichiya by the head.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted back.

“Hey! Don’t throw the boss around like that!” Eve exclaimed. “You got some nerve!”

“Tch...there's too many men here…” Hibiki commented.

“Men?” A feminine voice said coming from the ground. Meliodas looked down at the red carpet that spanned across the hall going down the middle from the entrance. The carpet began to move, rising up into the air and swirling around a specific area. A familiar figure could be seen underneath between the rotating carpet.

“Oh neat, both Lion and Cherry are here.” Meliodas said enthusiastically. The carpet that was swirling around Sherry abruptly stopped and fell to the ground.

“You still can’t get our names right?! It’s Sherry!” Sherry exclaimed. She was also a bit surprised to see that Meliodas had come. It was thanks to him that they were able to finish the Ogre mission. He even split the reward, even though he did most of the work. This left a very good impression of him on their group.

“Come on Meliodas, it’s Lyon!” Lyon shouted from across the hall as he started walking over to where Meliodas was standing.

“Oh no you don’t!” Ren shouted as he and the rest of the trimen rushed in front of Lyon. He waved his hands as gusts of wind gathered around his hands.

“We’re not letting you off the hook for freezing Master Ichiya’s head like that!” Eve said angrily as he snow started forming around him.

“If it’s a fight you want, then I’m all fired up!” Natsu shouted as he ran up to the trimen and Lyon with his fists ignited. “I’ll take you all on!”

“This is getting a bit out of hand.” Meliodas commented. He raised Ichiya’s frozen head up and looked at him. Underneath the ice, he could still hear him mumbling faintly the word “Men.”

“That’s enough! All of you stop!” Erza shouted. She rushed over to where the trimen, Natsu, and Lyon were standing off and glared at them.

Meliodas looked back at Ichiya as he felt the ice shaking in his hand. The ice around Ichiya’s head shattered as Ichiya burst free from Meliodas’s hand.

“My honey!” Ichiya exclaimed with his arms outstretched as he ran towards Erza.

“I said...GET AWAY FROM ME!” Erza yelled angrily. She wound her fist back as Ichiya ran towards her. Before he could embrace her in a hug, his face met Erza’s fist again sending him flying. The three trimen watched in shock as their role model was abused again and soared through the air, heading towards Meliodas.

“Natsu heads up!” Meliodas called out. He clasped his hands together, preparing to hit Ichiya the other way. Natsu turned his attention to Meliodas and grinned.

With both of his hands, Meliodas hit Ichiya back like a volleyball, launching him high into the air and almost hitting the ceiling. Natsu waited eagerly for Ichiya to land as he prepared to jump up and spike Ichiya.

At that moment, the room seemingly froze. A domineering magical presence could be felt coming from the entrance. Everyone looked towards the entryway at a lone figure standing there.

“That’s enough!” The figure shouted, his loud voice echoing across the hall. The figure began walking towards the previously rowdy mages who were now watching him.
“This is no time to fight amongst ourselves.”

“Jura?!” Erza questioned as she watched Jura approach them. She recalled Meliodas having talked about Jura joining with Lamia Scale on this mission.

“So that’s the ace of Lamia...Iron Rock Jura…” Hibiki commented.

Natsu had a puzzled look on his face as he stared at Jura. Despite having seen him come to the guild before arrest Meliodas, he had already completely forgotten who he was.

“Who is this guy again?” Natsu asked as he turned to Happy.

“You already forgot? That’s Jura! One of the Ten Wizard Saints. Don’t you remember he’s the guy who came and arrested Meliodas?” Happy replied.

Hibiki gave a puzzled glance to Meliodas. ‘He was arrested by Jura...oh I see. I remember him in my archive now.’

Jura scanned the room, counting the mages who were present.
“It appears that we are still missing the delegates from Cait Shelter.” Jura commented. He glanced over at Meliodas. Meliodas returned a friendly smile to Jura.

“Yo, Jura!” Meliodas greeted.

“Ah, Meliodas. It’s nice to see you again. Keeping yourself out of trouble?” Jura asked.

“Doing what I can.” Meliodas responded. Meliodas glanced over at the trimen who were still gawking at Jura’s presence.

“Since we’re still waiting for that last guild to show up, can you guys get me some ale?” Meliodas asked the trimen.

“We’re not your damn butlers! Get it yourself!” Ren angrily replied.

“Well alright then.” Meliodas said with an aloof tone. He turned around and began heading towards the back of the mansion.

---

Meliodas walked down several long corridors, peering into each room until he eventually found the kitchen. He walked into the grandiose kitchen. It was more than three times the size of the room he was renting. The floor was made of a smooth white marble with acrylic designs and there were several stove top islands in the middle and a bar area.

“Perfect!” Meliodas said happily as he approached the beverage refrigerator. Meliodas’s eyes widened and his eyes twinkled as he started going through all of the selections which he had never seen before. A smirk formed on his face and he began taking a few bottles and putting them in his requip storage.

‘He did say I can serve myself.’ Meliodas thought to himself with a large grin.

---

Chapter Text

In the kitchen of the mansion, Meliodas continued browsing through the various unique wine bottles. Up above him, he could faintly hear the conversations the guild members were having upstairs. Meliodas looked through more bottles and grabbed a few of them that looked interesting, putting them into his requip inventory.

‘Well I was told to serve myself.’ Meliodas thought as continued emptying the shelves, placing bottles in his requip inventory
.
As he continued browsing the shelves for several more minutes, he heard the rowdiness of the guilds in the main hall suddenly die down and become silent. ‘Oh, are they heading out already?’ Meliodas thought as he closed the fridge behind him and ran down the hallway out into the main hall. As he ran into the main hall, he was shocked to see almost everyone was gone, except for Jura, who was lying face down on the ground with a pool of blood underneath him.

In front of Jura, was a young woman with white shoulder length hair and bangs that were cut just above her eyebrows. She wore a white, feathered dress that revealed much of her cleavage and had two wing-like accessories on her back. In front of her, were two identical blue, small creatures with circular heads and beady black eyes.

“Oh I didn’t expect any stragglers.” The white haired woman said. To her surprise, Meliodas ignored her presence and headed straight to Jura. He flipped Jura over and saw he had a deep wound in his torso. Jura opened his eyes and saw Meliodas looking over him.

“M-Meliodas! There you are... Be careful.. that woman...her name is Angel. She is part of the Oracion S-seis…she’s a sly one.” Jura said as he tried sitting up again. Blood gushed from his wound as he spoke.

“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with her then I’ll get you patched up.” Meliodas said reassuringly. He stood back up and glared at Angel.

“Oh, you look like you want to fight me, little boy.” Angel smirked as she pulled out a golden key from her dress. “Open, Gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio!”

The golden key began to glow and a golden figure in the shape of a man began forming in front of her as the sound of a doorbell rang. The golden glow began to fade away, revealing a tall, lean built dark skinned man with short hair that was white on one side and red on the other. He was shirtless, but wore a large, flower shaped collar and coming out of his lower back, was a huge metallic looking tail with a gun end sticking out of the tip.

“Gemini, get ready.” Angel said to the two small blue creatures. The tiny blue duo nodded in response as Scorpio grinned.

“We are!!! Sand Buster!!!” Scorpio kneeled down and stuck his tail out in front of him with the gun end facing towards Meliodas. From there, a powerful tornado of wind and sand was shot out towards Meliodas. Meliodas put his hand on the handle of Mel Force as the tornado came at him.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas swung his sword just as the tornado of sand was about to collide with him, sending it back at Scorpio and Angel.

“What the?!” Angel and Scorpio were shocked as Meliodas sent their magic back at them. Before they could even move out of the way, the tornado hit them both, sending them flying into the air as the front half of the mansion exploded with sand and wind. Wood and glass scattered on the ground and there was a gaping hole where the doorway to the mansion once stood.

“What a potent magic.” Jura commented as he sat on the ground, applying pressure to his wound with one hand. He was still unable to fully get up without losing more blood. ‘That sandstorm attack shouldn’t have done that much damage, he must have reflected that with greater force!’ Jura thought as he watched in awe at what Meliodas just did. Meliodas sheathed his blade again and patiently waited.

The air around them was still filled with sand but Meliodas noticed two small figures moving quickly towards him, hidden mostly by the sand in the air. He turned his head and saw them both jump at him with their tiny blue arms stretched out towards him. One managed to grab his left hand, however, before Meliodas swatted them away with his right hand, sending them flying back into the cloud of sand.

Meliodas watched the cloud of sand carefully as it began to clear up, revealing Angel’s figure limping towards him. Scorpio was nowhere to be seen. Angel had blood dripping down her head and mouth and several large bruises all over her body. As she walked slowly towards Meliodas, she grasped her side.

“You.. You use reflection magic! You may have caught me off guard with that attack. But it won’t happen again. Gemini!” Angel said as she called her celestial spirit over to her. The two celestial spirits touched hands and began to glow, their bodies melding with each other and growing into a familiar shape.

“Me?” Meliodas commented as he watched Gemini transform into him.

“That’s not good...it transformed into you. It now has access to your memories and- wait… something’s wrong.” Jura commented as he looked at the copy of Meliodas. The left half of Meliodas’s body was formed yet the other half looked like a mutated, slimy blue substance that dripped to the floor.

“My memories?” Meliodas narrowed his eyes as a brief instance of seriousness appeared on his face.

“Memory transfer incomplete. Transformation, unstable. Unable to copy magical abilities.” Gemini said as it began listing out Meliodas’s information in bullets.

“Full name, Meliodas.”
“Loves booze but loves Elizabeth even more.”
“Age is...o-over three thousand.”
“Originally from a-nother world as s-son of t-t-t-t-the…”

Gemini’s words began to slur into an incomprehensible mess. Eventually, it fell silent as it continued reading through all of Meliodas’s thoughts and memories, and stood there with a blank expression on its face. As it stood there, more of its body began to melt into a blue mess.

“Three thousand?!” Jura exclaimed with noticeable surprise on his face. ‘That can’t be right, he looks like a child.’

“Huh...it’s been that long already?” Meliodas commented indifferently, to Jura’s surprise.

“Gemini what are you doing? Continue!” Angel ordered. Gemini remained standing still with a blank expression on its face.

“I said continue!” Angel continued nervously. Gemini turned around and gave Angel a horrific stare with its beady black eyes.

“A-Angel...Don’t fight this man. He’s dangerous. Run.” The misformed copy of Meliodas said before glowing and splitting up into its original form.

“An incomplete transformation… is this guy actually stronger than me?” Angel said to herself, confused and shocked as Gemini retreated back into its key. “That must be why the age was listed over three thousand. No one could actually be that old...”

Angel pulled another golden key out from her dress.
“Gate of the White Lamb, Aries!”

The key began glowing and a figure formed in front of Angel. It was a woman with pink hair and twisted brown horns on her head who wore fluffy white wool clothing.

“I-I’m sorry!” Aries cried as she raised her hands out in front of her, forming a small pink cloud that suddenly grew, filling the remainder of the mansion with an expanding puffy cloud of wool in a short amount of time.

“Aghh...what is this?” Meliodas said as fluffy pink wool began to push him and Jura back towards the mansion as they got swallowed up by a giant pink cloud. The large cloud of wool was not painful and was actually quite pleasant, surrounding both Meliodas and Jura with a comfortable feeling as it also restricted their movements.

“Thousand Divine Slashes!”

With a single swing of his blade, Meliodas cut through the wool multiple times in an instant, freeing him and Jura and causing the wool cloud to begin to disperse in the area around them.

“You okay Jura?” Meliodas asked as he turned around.

“I’ll be fine here. I can join up with you guys soon enough. But right now, you need to chase after that woman. She knows our plan.” Jura said with a serious expression. Meliodas nodded in response and ran out of the mansion clearing a path for himself as he cut through the remainder of the wool that blocked his way.

As Meliodas cut a path through the wool, Jura attempted to sit up again as he watched Meliodas. ‘Was that really a mistake? Is he actually over three thousand years old?’

Chapter Text

Meliodas ran out of the mansion and looked around the area. In the distance between the trees, he caught a glimpse of Angel running through some bushes. She was significantly slowed down after getting hit with her own attack, allowing Meliodas to easily catch up. Meliodas ran after her, trailing far enough away where she wouldn’t notice him.

Eventually, Angel reached what appeared to be a large sailboat-like airship with an equine head adorned at the front. Inside the airship, Meliodas could feel the magic of five other powerful mages inside. ‘So that’s the Oracion Seis.’

Meliodas snuck on board, hiding in the storage area as he thought about his plan of attack. As he sat down, he heard the ship rumble as it began to take off from the ground and fly in the sky. Meliodas stood up and began walking around. The storage bay was dark and filled with many empty crates. As he peered around each crate looking for a doorway or exit so he could make his way to the cockpit, a door that he initially missed opened behind him.

---

Angel boarded the ship and made her way through to the cockpit, regrouping with the rest of the Oracion Seis.

“You’re late. And It looks like you took quite a beating. Did Jura give you trouble?” A tall man with a long nose and a large yellow spiky mohawk commented.

“I ran into some unexpected trouble, Racer. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Angel said as she shakily took a seat.

“Doesn’t look like you’re alright. You could barely sit down in that chair.” Racer commented.

“Now that you’re here, we will begin.” Said a large man with dark skin and long white hair with tattoos all over his face. He glanced at Angel but ignored her injuries as he was more concerned with his own plan. He pressed a few buttons on the control panel, starting up the ship and revving up its engines.

“Here take this.” A man with tan skin and spiky maroon hair wearing a long white coat walked up to her. He handed her a pack of ice. “I can hear your bones creaking. Rest up.”

“Thanks, Cobra.” Angel replied.

“But did you know you were being followed?” Cobra added. A surprised look formed on Angel’s face. She was certain her wool diversion would have kept Meliodas at bay long enough to slip away.

“I can hear his steps. He’s walking around in the hull.” Cobra continued. “Brain, what’s the plan?”

“Cobra, how many?” The white haired man asked.

“Just one.”

“Deal with him.” The white haired man ordered. Cobra nodded and walked out of the cockpit as he began walking downstairs towards the hull. As he walked down the stairs, doubt began to fill his head. ‘It’s only one person...yet I hear seven heartbeats…’

Cobra arrived at the door to the storage bay and paused before he opened it. He hesitated as he reached his hand to the handle of the door. ‘Is this person in here even a human?’ Cobra swung the door open, letting in light into the dark storage bay. To his surprise, a small youthful figure with blond hair was standing next to a large crate, facing the other way. Meliodas noticed the door open behind him and turned around to face Cobra.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted him.

---

The four guild teams ran into the forest, enthusiastic about taking on the Oracion Seis. Above them, was the looming shadow of the Anti-Demon Assault Ship, Christina.

The group looked up in the sky excitedly as the ship flew over them, only for their smiles to vanish as their faces were filled with shock. The mighty ship that flew over them suddenly exploded, bursting into flames and falling to the ground in front of them.

“What just happened!” Ren exclaimed. The rest of the group watched silently as the ship crashed into the ground. The flames of the ship began to spread to the surrounding forest.

“Someone’s coming out!” Natsu yelled. He glared into the smoke from the debris. From the smoke, five figures were seen walking out of it, all with very high magical power.

“That’s strange...I recall there being six members, yet only five are present.” Hibiki commented.

The legal guild mages stood in place, filled with astonishment, as they watched the five figures emerge from the smoke. At the front of them, was a man holding a staff with dark skin and long white hair who began speaking.

“Hmm...it appears Cobra was separated from us in the blast when he went to deal with the pest. No matter. The five of us are enough to deal with you worms.” Brain commented.

“What...they already took down Christina?” Hibiki questioned.

“Of course we did. Your way of thinking was too predictable. We’ve already taken out Jura and Ichiya. And right now, Cobra is about to finish off Meliodas.” Angel answered.

“Naturally, we finished our job as quickly as possible.” Racer added in.

“Money makes a person stronger right? Well let me tell you that money is-”

“Shut up Hoteye!” Racer yelled as he looked at the tall man with a geometric shaped body and long orange hair.

“If you think Meliodas will be taken down by only one of your members, you’re severely underestimating him.” Erza responded. Suddenly, Natsu ran past Erza in a full sprint.

“You guys ready for an ass whoopin! I won’t let Meliodas out do me this time!” Natsu yelled as he charged in.

“Do it.” Brain ordered. A grin formed on Racer’s face as he ran past Brain with blistering speed.

---

Meliodas floated high above the forest, with his wings of darkness sprouted out of his back as he watched the massive airship fall to the ground below. Meliodas began his descent to the ground, perplexed as to what had happened. At one moment he was talking to Cobra and the next moment, there was a massive explosion and a hole in the storage bay where he fell out. Meliodas felt a presence behind him and turned around. There he saw a large purple snake with wings flying straight at him.

The snake opened its mouth wide showing its large, sharp fangs and bit down on Meliodas’s arm as it dragged him down to the ground, crashing through the branches of the tree canopies until Meliodas broke free from the snake’s grasp. The snake flew away as Meliodas fell to the ground.

Meliodas fell onto the forest floor. The ground underneath him cracked, forming a small crater around his impact spot. He looked at where the snake had bit him on the arm and saw two small puncture wounds where its fangs sunk into his skin. Meliodas stood up and looked in front of him. There he saw Cobra standing there smirking with his giant purple winged snake retreating to his side.

“That’s enough Cubellios. He will die to the poison.” Cobra commented. He turned his head and looked in the direction of where the airship landed.

“I can hear them. Your friends, falling one by one to our power.”

“You must be going deaf then.” Meliodas replied with a cheeky grin as he walked towards Cobra. Cobra’s eyes widened as he saw Meliodas was completely unfazed by Cubelios’s poison despite being bit. ‘This is definitely no kid. No one can just shrug off Cubelios’s poison like that.’

Meliodas’s smile quickly turned serious however, as he sensed the other members of the guilds being taken down one by one. ‘He’s right. I need to finish up here fast so I can help them.’

“I can hear it...your thoughts...your worry. You shouldn’t be worrying about your friends as you will die here by my hands.” Cobra said. He and Cubelios simultaneously lunged at Meliodas. Meliodas narrowed his eyes and put his left hand on Mel Force’s handle.

“Poison Dragon’s Twin Fangs!”

Cobra twisted his arms out in front of him in a cross as a massive amount of poison leaked from them, taking the form of a large pair of fangs while Cubelios charged in with its gaping mouth open.

Meliodas glared at the two of them as they got closer. He gripped the handle of Mel Force tightly and charged at them.

“I don’t have time to mess around with you!”

Cobra was stupefied as he watched Meliodas vanish from his sight without even blinking. With his magic, Cobra could hear Meliodas’s movements to form a counterattack. But the speed of which Meliodas slashed could not be reacted to. In an instant, Meliodas dashed through both of them, cutting them both at the same time as he reappeared behind them.

“Sorry, but I need to save my friends.” Meliodas said in a serious tone. He sheathed Mel Force back into its scabbard. The moment his blade was fully sheathed, blood erupted out of both Cobra and Cubellios’s bodies.

Cobra looked back at Meliodas in shock as a large amount of blood gushed from across his chest. ‘I-I could hear his movements...but the speed of his slash was too fast for me to react?! In a single moment… Is this the end…Cubellios…’ Cobra thought as he fell to the ground, drifting into a state of unconsciousness.

Before Meliodas ran further into the forest, he stopped and looked back at Cobra.

Chapter Text

“Titania was it?” Brain said as he raised his arm up in the air while holding his staff. Erza stood up by herself facing the other four members of the Oracion Seis as one of them was fast asleep on a floating carpet. Around her, Natsu, Lyon, Sherry, Hibiki, Ren, and Eve were on the ground and unable to get up.

“You’ve exceeded my expectations-” Brain stopped talking as he felt one of the tattoos on his face vanish. With his other hand, he grasped his face in disbelief. The other members of the Oracion Seis looked at him in surprise. Erza stared at Brain with a puzzled expression.

‘One of the markings on his face disappeared…’ Erza thought to herself.

“Cobra lost?!” Racer shouted in disbelief.

‘So it was that kid…’ Angel thought. She remembered that Gemini was shaken up by transforming into him and couldn’t even hold a complete transformation.

“It appears so. But that does not matter. After we wipe out this trash, I will personally deal with the one who defeated Cobra.” Brain said. He regained his composure and removed his hand from his face as he began gathering a sinister energy from around him into his staff.

However, before he cast his spell, he noticed a young blue haired girl, peeking out from behind a rock. He instantly cancelled his spell, as he stared at her in surprise.

“Wendy! The Sky Sorceress. To think I would actually find her here. If we have her then we can revive him! Racer! Angel! Hoteye! Step back!’ Brain ordered the three.

The three were surprised at Brain’s sudden outburst but heeded his orders and retreated back behind him. Brain began releasing his magic, preparing to cast a strong spell as he channeled it through his staff.

Erza noticed that Brain's magic was increasing and looked back towards the other members who were on the ground.

“Get ready! He's preparing something!” Erza warned.

“Dark Gravity!”

The group felt an enormous weight on their backs as they sunk to the ground. Pain encompassed their bodies as they felt themselves being crushed, with the ground around them also sinking down as it was compressed by the massive gravity increase. Erza grit her teeth as she tried to stay standing on shaky legs.

“This...This is Gravity Magic! It’s so powerful!” Ren grunted as he struggled to get up. Eve and Hibiki were also planted into the ground, unable to get up.

“AGGHHH!!” Natsu yelled as he shakily tried to push himself up from the ground. He managed to push himself up only for his arms to give way as the intensity of the gravity grew.

Brain looked over the group and saw that Erza was the only one able to keep herself from falling. However, she was unable to move forward from her spot.

“Racer, Grab the blue haired girl behind that rock. NOW!!” Brain shouted as he began casting another spell.

Erza was surprised at Brain’s comment but quickly turned her head, noticing Wendy spectating them. ‘So that’s why they backed off.’ Erza tried moving towards Wendy, however the gravity kept pushing her down as she attempted to move towards Wendy.

“WENDY RUN!” Erza shouted at Wendy.

“Eh?” Wendy questioned, unable to move as she was stricken with fear. She felt something tugging at her dress. A white cat, with feminine eyes and a stature similar to Happy was tugging at her to get her to move.

“Carla…” Wendy murmured.

“Wendy we have to go now!” Carla shouted.

Suddenly, Racer appeared behind Wendy. He delivered a swift chop to the back of her neck, knocking her out as he caught her and dashed back towards Brain before anyone else could react. Brain smirked as Racer returned to his side, holding an unconscious Wendy. He pointed his staff at Wendy, causing her to glow as she seemingly was sucked into another space.

“Now, all of you...Begone! Dark Rondo!” Brain yelled. The gravity that was keeping them from moving stopped as multiple dark beams of magic were emitted from Brain’s staff and launched towards the group of mages who were still unable to move.

“Iron Rock Wall!”

Before the beams were able to hit, large formations of Earth jutted out from the ground around them. The group found themselves covered by a large earth formation over their heads. The beams hit the formation, causing the formation to shake as smaller bits of rocks fell from the formation.

“Jura!” Sherry exclaimed with a smile of relief on her face.

“Thank you for saving us.” Hibiki said as he slowly struggled to stand back up.

“Glad you’re here, Mister Jura.” Lyon commented as he walked towards him. Upon getting closer, he noticed a bandage wrapped around his torso with traces of blood. “What happened?”

“That Angel woman got the better of me. But thanks to Ichiya’s Pain Relieving Parfum, I am able to stand up now.” Jura said, pointing towards Ichiya who had arrived with him and was standing behind him.

“Speaking of Angel, Meliodas showed up and chased her away. However, it appears he is not here with you all.”

“I haven’t seen him since we first arrived at the meeting hall.” Erza said as she approached them. “But I remember Brain mentioning one of their members was missing due to dealing with someone else.”

“Well well well. Looks like I’m a bit late aren’t I.” A voice said from behind them.

Everyone in the group immediately turned around and saw a young blond boy standing there grinning at them. Mounted over his shoulders was the body of Cobra and in his other hand dragging behind him, was a large purple snake that he held by the tail.

“That’s...Cobra?!” Jura said, surprised.

“What is that massive snake?!” Happy exclaimed.

“Yeah, I ran into him on the ship.” Meliodas replied. He explained how he followed Angel on to Christina and he ran into Cobra, after which the ship had blown up. The Fairy Tail members weren’t surprised that Meliodas handled the situation, as well as Lyon and Sherria who had also witnessed Meliodas’s strength previously. However, the Blue Pegasus members were in awe. Even with a numerical advantage they still struggled against just three of the Oracion Seis members while Meliodas had defeated one of them by himself. And based on his appearance, it didn’t look like he took any damage.

Ichiya took a sniff at Meliodas before thinking to himself. ‘That unique parfum again…’

Meliodas placed Cobra on the ground, and using his requip, summoned rope to tie him up. Meliodas began carrying rope ever since the Schneider incident. Meliodas took out a second rope which he used to tie a large purple snake to a tree. As Meliodas finished tying them up, he noticed Natsu angrily approaching Cobra.

“Okay you Oracion Seis jackass tell me where Wendy is!” Natsu yelled. He grabbed Cobra by the collar and began shaking him vigorously. A pool of blood began forming under Cobra, prompting Natsu to stop.

“Natsu, calm down.” Erza said. “If we can wake him up, we can interrogate him and figure out what the Oracion Seis are up to.”

The others nodded in agreement and reluctantly backed away from Cobra.
“Allow me, my honey.” Ichiya whispered into Erza’s ear, to her disgust. Ichiya approached Cobra and reached into his suit pocket, pulling out a perfume bottle. He popped open the bottle and held it up to Cobra’s nose.

The aroma slowly wafted over Cobra as his body jolted. His eyes immediately opened wide as he tried to jump up, only to be stopped by his restraints as he fell to the ground in pain, as his wound that was inflicted by Meliodas earlier had opened back up.

Cobra looked back up and around him at all of the people who were staring at him. He remembered that he fell unconscious from blood loss. He looked at Meliodas with some apprehension in his eyes. He was still reeling over Meliodas’ attack.

“Cobra was it?” Jura said interrupting Cobra’s thoughts as he bent down to look him in the eyes. “What is the Oracion Seis planning?”

“Where the hell is Wendy!” Natsu added in angrily. The group surrounded Cobra, preparing to interrogate him.

“Hmph. I have no reason to tell you. Torture me all you like, you won’t get anything out of me.” Cobra responded.

“We’ll see about that.” Erza said coldly as her body began to glow, requipping her Heaven’s Wheel Armor. She glared at Cobra and began to summon dozens of swords behind her, floating in the air around them and pointing towards Cobra.

“This is your last chance.”

Cobra remained silent as he looked back at Erza. A small smile formed on his face.
“I can hear it. Do it. Kill me. You won’t.” Cobra sneered. Erza clenched her fists and raised her arm up.

“Wait.” Meliodas interjected. Erza looked back at Meliodas and saw him walking towards the large purple snake.

“You said this snake’s name was Cubellios right?” Meliodas asked, patting Cubelios on the head. It was still unconscious. Cobra remained silent but the smirk on his face vanished and he became serious.

“You know, after all this fighting. I think we just need a good meal before we go after the Oracion Seis.” Meliodas commented as he ran his hand down the scales from Cubelios’s head.

“Meliodas this isn’t the time for-” Erza stopped talking as she realized what Meliodas was doing while the other members remained silent as they spectated.

“It’s been a while since I’ve made “snake simmered in ale.” Hmm...Hmm...But what ale should I use.” Meliodas said. Cobra grit his teeth and a bead of sweat began to run down his face. Meliodas slowly pulled out his sword and raised it out in front of him.

‘This bastard...I can hear it... He’s serious about eating Cubellios.’ Cobra glared at Meliodas as Meliodas put Mel Force up to Cubellios.

“That’s enough!” Cobra shouted. “I’ll tell you what I know. Just let Cubelios go.”

Meliodas turned around and smiled at Cobra. He cut Cubelios free of her restraints. Cubelios dropped to the ground and immediately woke up. Cubellios glanced at Cobra briefly before slithering away.

“So that’s Meliodas... I must add this to my archive.” Hibiki commented.

“Well done Meliodas.” Erza complimented. Her Heaven’s Wheel armor began to glow as she changed back into her default Heart Kreuz armor.

“Darn. I was looking forward to some snake simmered in ale...” Meliodas mused.

“Cobra. What is the Oracion Seis planning.” Jura asked as he approached Cobra. Cobra remained silent for several moments before finally answering.

“We are going to find Nirvana.” Cobra replied.

“Nirvana?!” Jura’s eyes widened.

“What’s Nirvana?” Natsu asked.

“Allow me to explain it.” Hibiki said. “Nirvana is a legendary magical item that can turn light into darkness and darkness into light. In doing so, it changes the alignments of those it affects.”

“You plan on throwing everything into chaos?!” Erza exclaimed. Cobra smiled but immediately fell to his side as he closed his eyes as a pool of blood began to form underneath him.

“Damn...he’s unconscious.” Lyon commented. “You must have really done him in Meliodas.”

“Mennn...He sustained heavy damage. I won't be able to awaken him without aggravating his injuries further.” Ichiya replied.

“And we still don’t know where Wendy is!” Natsu exclaimed.

“This is bad. If Brain took Wendy, then he must need her for something to do with Nirvana...but what?” Carla questioned.

“Wendy?” Meliodas asked.

“You weren’t there, but she’s the delegate from Cait Shelter.” Erza answered. “She came here with Carla.” Erza pointed towards the white cat who was talking earlier.

“I have just the plan for this.” Hibiki said as everyone looked at him. A large interface with multiple screens appeared in the air in front of him.

“We will split up into several groups. One group will be tasked with finding Wendy. The others will be searching for Nirvana and securing it before the Oracion Seis get to it. I will transfer this information into your heads now.”

“Transfer information?” Meliodas asked. ‘How does he transfer information?’

Hibiki smiled as he replied.
“It's thanks to my magic, Archive. It allows me to convert information into magical data and store it for access later. I am also able to transfer this information directly to others.”

Meliodas felt a sudden jolt of information enter his head. Just like that, he knew that he was assigned to find Wendy along with Erza, Natsu, Happy, and Carla. Meliodas looked curiously at Hibiki and his magic. ‘I wonder if he stores anything about spatial magic in there…’

The mages looked at each other and nodded, all in agreement with the terms of their mission. They gathered together in a circle, putting their right hands out.

“LET’S GO!”

Chapter Text

Meliodas, Natsu, Erza, Happy, and Carla teamed up into one group and split up with the others to try and find Wendy. The group ran through the forest with haste in their step as Natsu desperately sniffed the air.

“Natsu are you able to track her by her scent?” Erza asked. As they ran, Natsu took a few deep sniffs of the air around him.

“No. I can’t get her scent.” Natsu replied.

“It must be because she got absorbed into a separate space from that rod Brain was holding.” Carla said.

“Aye Carla you’re so smart. Do you want a fish?” Happy asked with lovestruck eyes.

“No male cat, this isn’t the time for this!” Carla exclaimed.

“Hey hold on, Wendy is a Dragon slayer right?” Natsu asked.

“Yes she is a Sky Dragon Slayer. I had her take this mission in hopes that she met you.” Carla replied.

“Hey there’s something up ahead. Stay sharp.” Erza warned. She and the group stopped in their tracks as they were stunned at the sight of the forest ahead of them. The normally lush, green trees had turned black, rotting as if the life got sucked out of them. The bushes and other greenery had also turned into a black color, with the ground beneath their feet showing a lack of any life.

“I don’t like the feel of this.” Meliodas said with a serious tone.

“This might be the work of Nirvana. We could be close.” Carla commented. The group began to walk forward towards the trees but stopped as they heard a voice.

“Well, if it isn’t Fairy Tail!” A voice said as a man came out from behind a tree. He was a large, robust man with an afro, wearing sunglasses and a suit. Several more men with apeish appearances stepped out from behind the trees and the Fairy Tail group soon found themselves surrounded all around them up to the treetops.

“Woah they’re monkeys!” Natsu exclaimed, commenting on their appearance.

“No! We’re Naked Mummy, one of the guilds working under the Oracion Seis!” One of the henchmen retorted.

“Why are you called Naked Mummy?” Meliodas asked curiously.

“Is that really what you want to know right now…” Carla asked nervously. “We’ve fallen into a trap!”

“Who cares! This will make it easier for us!” Natsu said enthusiastically with a large grin as he ignited his hands.

“That's a good point. Let’s just force them to tell us.” Meliodas replied, cracking his knuckles.

“Indeed. We’ll take them down now.” Erza commented as she stepped right up next to Meliodas and Natsu.

“Big brother Zato...that’s Titania.” One of the henchmen whispered nervously to the man with an afro.

“Titania? Heh that doesn’t matter. She can’t take us all on.” Zato smirked and raised his hand giving the signal to attack.

“I will make you give us Wendy back.” Erza glared as she requipped into her Heaven’s Wheel armor and summoned dozens of swords floating above her. “Take them out, but leave their leader conscious.”

“I’m all fired up!” Natsu grinned as he charged in, with everyone behind him.

“Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist!”

“Circle Sword!”

An explosion of fire and swords blew away the surroundings. The dead trees fell to the ground as dozens of Naked Mummy members were sent flying into the air as the Erza and Natsu them charged in. From further back, Zato spectacted with another apeish looking man with the word “Salsa” on one of his shoulderguards.

“This is crazy… They are fighting an entire guild…” Carla commented as she spectated while hiding behind one of the dead trees next to Happy.

“They’re quite capable aren’t they, Big Brother Gato?” Zato commented.

“Wasn’t there one more of them, Big Brother Zato?” Gato asked.

“Yo!” A voice said from behind them. Both of the Naked Mummy brothers froze and their eyes widened. They quickly turned around and saw Meliodas standing there.

“When did you-” Before Gato could finish talking, Meliodas leaped forward, headbutting Gato in the face, knocking him back. He kept crashing through several trees before finally losing momentum and hitting the ground, leaving a trail of upheaved dirt.

“You little shit!” Zato yelled angrily. He raised his hand and pointed it at Meliodas. It began to glow brightly as he fired a large magic blast from it at Meliodas. Meliodas raised his palm towards it in response. The blast instantly vanished without a trace. Zato froze in disbelief at what he had just witnessed.

Before Zato could do anything else, Meliodas grabbed him by the face, smashing him into the ground and creating a small crater in the shape of his face.

Meliodas plucked Zato’s face out of the ground and looked him in the eyes through his shattered sunglasses.

“So where is the Oracion Seis based at?” Meliodas asked.

Zato was frightened beyond belief. He didn’t sense any magic from the last attack Meliodas had used. Meliodas had simply grabbed his face and smashed him into the ground. He was barely conscious when Meliodas questioned him.

“Wahahaha! I don’t know. I was only called here to keep you lot away!” Zato cried before falling unconscious. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and dropped Zato on the ground. He looked up and saw Natsu and Erza had finished dealing with the rest of the dark guild.

“Looks like that guy didn’t know anything.” Meliodas said as he joined back up with the rest of the group.

“Then I guess we are still searching blindly for Wendy…” Erza commented.

“What should we do? This forest is huge” Happy asked.

“Dammit I-” Natsu stopped yelling abruptly as he started sniffing the air around him as everyone watched him. “That’s her! I can suddenly smell her scent!” Natsu exclaimed as he began running deeper into the forest.

“Come on let’s go!” Erza said as the rest of them followed Natsu.

The group followed Natsu as he darted through the trees, trying to track the scent. After several minutes of running without interruption, they reached a cliffside. Below them were the remnants of a small mining town with many destroyed buildings.

“WENDY!!!!” Natsu yelled as loud as he could.

“Hold on! The enemy is going to hear us!” Carla warned. The group looked down the cliff and saw Racer running quickly towards them. Racer suddenly dashed up the side of the cliff.

Natsu, Happy, and Carla were knocked back and swept off their feet as Racer blitzed by them with his speed. He set his sights on Meliodas and charged straight towards him.
With a clenched fist, he aimed a punch at Meliodas’ head.

Meliodas put his hands out in front of him and blocked Racer’s strike as he firmly planted his feet on the ground. Meliodas quickly retaliated with a punch at Racer’s head, only for Racer to move his head and jump backwards. Racer’s eyes widened underneath his goggles as he realized Meliodas had nicked his cheek. ‘He can keep up with me?!’

“I can take care of him. You guys save Wendy!” Meliodas shouted.

“Happy, let’s go!” Natsu exclaimed.

“I won’t let you!” Racer shouted. He lunged towards Natsu but stopped and sidestepped as Meliodas came crashing in from above him. Racer looked at Meliodas, his eyes wide with surprise underneath his goggles. ‘Why is he moving that fast inside of my slow magic?!’

“Aye sir!” Happy responded. He and Carla went to pick up Natsu and Erza as they flew them down the cliffside while Meliodas kept Racer off of them.

Natsu and Erza quickly descended to the mining town at the bottom of the cliff. Natsu began sniffing the air and picked up on her scent again.

“This way!” He exclaimed as he started running towards a cave. Erza, Happy, and Carla chased after Natsu only to stop as Natsu froze at the mouth of the cave.

“Natsu…?” Erza asked as she looked towards the cave entrance.

“What the hell is this?!” Natsu shouted angrily. Erza’s eyes widened as she saw a familiar blue haired man standing next to Brain. On the ground next to them, was Wendy who was unconscious.

---

Meliodas and Racer clashed in the air. Meliodas unleashed a flurry of punches at Racer, with Racer ducking out of the way of each punch. Racer jumped back and distanced himself from Meliodas.

“You’re fast, but you’re not as fast as me.” Racer commented. He charged at Meliodas, moving seemingly faster than before and unleashed a barrage of punches on Meliodas before reappearing behind him. Meliodas turned around, unfazed by the attack.

“You’re pretty fast, but you don’t hit very hard.” Meliodas commented with a cheeky smile.

“Then let’s see if you come out unscathed with this.” Racer said as he reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a double edged knife with no handguard. Without warning, he seemingly vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of Meliodas. Meliodas punched forward at Racer, with Racer ducking the punch at the last second.

“Your speed is no match for mine. I can see you like you’re in slow motion.” Racer taunted. With his knife in hand, he jabbed at Meliodas’s torso.

Meliodas grabbed Racer’s hand firmly, stopping the knife from reaching him. Meliodas looked Racer in the eyes and gave Racer a friendly grin.

“Really? So can I.” Meliodas retorted. Racer stared at Meliodas wide eyed as Meliodas wound his fist back and delivered a devastating punch to Racer’s face. The punch sent Racer flying into the forest, colliding into several trees and knocking each one down before landing on the ground.

“You were fast, but I think Laxus was a bit faster than you.” Meliodas commented as he walked up to Racer. Upon closer inspection, he could see that Racer was completely unconscious. Meliodas turned around and faced the cliffside again before running off after Natsu and Erza.

Chapter Text

“Wendy!” Carla exclaimed.

“J-Jellal?!” Erza questioned. Erza stood in place, shocked at what she was seeing. Natsu looked angrily at Jellal who was looking back at them.

“Well you got something to say?!” Natsu yelled. Natsu clenched his fists as he glared at Jellal while he continued to remain silent.

Brain looked at Natsu and Erza standing at the entrance. Natsu was prepared to fight but Erza was seemingly paralyzed by shock. A small smile appeared on Brain’s face. He raised his staff and pointed it towards Erza. A beam of darkness shot out from his staff and headed towards Erza.

“Erza! Move!” Natsu called out. He ran towards Erza but was unable to get to her in time.

“Watch out!” A voice yelled as a figure pushed Erza out of the way. The blast collided with the spot Erza was just standing in, creating an explosion of dark magic and dust that hit the figure.

“Meliodas?!” Natsu exclaimed. Natsu was surprised Meliodas was there. Even with what power he had gauged with Meliodas, it had still only been a couple of minutes and Meliodas had already defeated Racer and caught up with them.

“Meliodas!” Erza shouted as she snapped out of her daze and watched Meliodas get enveloped by the dark blast. Meliodas jumped out from the smoke of the blast moments later, with his clothes slightly tattered and minor scratches and wounds on his body, but was otherwise okay as he brushed the dust off his shoulders. A look of relief wiped over Erza’s worried expression.

“Meliodas I’m sorry...this is the second time you’ve had to push me out of the way from a blast…” Erza said.

“Don’t worry about it. But who is that guy?” Meliodas asked. ‘He looks like Mystogan… But it’s not him. Looks like the three of them have a history.’ Meliodas thought to himself. Mystogan had mentioned to him before that he hid his face because someone in this world looked like him.

“That's...JELLAL!!” Natsu yelled angrily as veins started forming on his face just above his eyebrows. He charged in at both Brain and Jellal. Jellal raised his hand and pointed it at Natsu as Natsu was about to land a punch on him. Suddenly, Natsu found himself unable to move as he was blasted into the wall of the cave and rocks began crashing down on him.

“As expected Jellal. Although...I may require your assistance dealing with those two pests.” Brain said as he looked towards Erza and Meliodas. He was intrigued by Meliodas who was barely damaged by the blast and from what he could tell based on one of his other markings being gone, had defeated Racer by himself.

Jellal looked back at Brain and swiped his hand at the ground beneath him. To Brain’s surprise, the rocky floor beneath him began to collapse into a deep pit.

“Jellal you-!” Brain yelled as he fell into the deep hole.

Without a word, Jellal turned back around and started walking towards the entrance. Meliodas and Erza both stared in silence at Jellal as he walked by them.

“Jellal…” Erza said solemnly as he walked by. Jellal stopped in his tracks with his back facing towards them. Without a word, Jellal swiped his right hand back towards the duo, sending a wide arc of magic at them.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas quickly drew his blade and reflected the blast back, enveloping the area in front of them several meters in an explosion of magic and debris. With his blade, Meliodas swiped at the smoke caused from the explosion, dispersing it. But behind the smoke, Jellal was no longer there.

“Looks like he got away.” Meliodas commented as he sheathed his sword again. He looked towards the cave and saw the pile of rocks Natsu was buried under. Bright flames could be seen glowing under the rocks when suddenly, the rocks erupted outwards. Natsu walked out, covered in dirt with an angry expression on his face.

“I’m gonna get that bastard!” Natsu yelled angrily. He began running out of the cave but was stopped by Carla.

“No, we need to get Wendy back you dolt!” Carla shouted. She pointed at Wendy who was still lying on the cold rocky floor of the cave.

“Leave Wendy to me. You guys can go chase after him. I can tell you all have some history.” Meliodas said reassuringly to them. Natsu’s angry expression calmed down slightly as he nodded at Meliodas.

“Happy let’s go!” Natsu yelled as he began running in the direction Jellal went in.

“Aye sir!” Happy replied eagerly as he flew after Natsu.

“Meliodas...thank you.” Erza said before running off to join Natsu. Meliodas watched the three of them disappear into the forest before turning back around and walking into the cave with Carla.

As Meliodas walked into the cave, he saw a dark blue haired girl lying face down on the ground. Carla ran up to her and started nudging on her shoulder to try and wake her up.

“Come on let’s go bring Wendy back.” Meliodas said. Carla looked back at Meliodas and nodded.

---

A moment later, Meliodas walked out of the cave with Wendy slung over his shoulder and Carla flying next to him. Meliodas looked back up at the cliff where he was attacked by Racer.

Meliodas and Carla went up the path of the cliff and into the other end of the forest. On the way, Meliodas stopped by where he had originally knocked out Racer. Racer’s unconscious body was still there. Meliodas took a moment to tie him up and drag him behind them as they continued walking back to the base camp. They walked through the forest for several minutes until reaching a clearing. Meliodas walked to the center of the clearing and put Wendy down, to Carla’s surprise.

“Why are we stopping here? We’re nowhere near the rendezvous.” Carla asked.

“We’re being followed.” Meliodas answered. He turned around and faced the forest. “Stand back.”

“Come out from hiding! I know you’re there!” Meliodas shouted.

Meliodas remained standing firm in the center of the clearing in silence as Carla watched. The silence was broken as the wind began blowing and a white haired woman began walking out slowly from the treeline.

“Angel from the Oracion Seis?! This would be bad but...” Carla noticed the heavy amount of damage already on Angel’s body. And Meliodas, despite fighting Cobra, Racer, and receiving a direct attack from Brain, was still relatively unscathed.

“So you noticed me.” Angel smirked as she walked closer to Meliodas.

“You’re not as stealthy as you think you are.” Meliodas commented with a cheeky grin.

Angel’s smirk vanished as it turned into a glare. She reached into her feathered dress pocket and pulled out a key.

“You’re going to hand Racer over right now! Don’t think this fight will be like last time!” Angel declared. Meliodas began walking towards Angel.

“Gate of the-” As Angel’s key began glowing, Meliodas seemingly vanished from Angel and Carla’s sight. He reappeared in front of Angel and snatched the key out of her hand.

Angel’s eyes widened in shock at what just happened. ‘This kid...he’s fast! I can see how he defeated Racer!’

Without delay, Meliodas turned his body around in a fluid motion, delivering a fierce back kick to Angel’s torso. Angel coughed up blood as the kick sent her flying back through the forest, leaving a trail of decimated trees and greenery.

Carla watched in shock at what had just happened as Meliodas walked into the forest where he kicked Angel. ‘Did he just defeat a member of the Oracion Seis in one blow?’

Meliodas approached Angel’s unconscious body. There was an indent in her body where Meliodas had kicked her and blood was dripping out of her mouth.

“You’re right, it wasn’t like last time.”

He noticed the rest of her keys had fallen out of her dress and he picked them up.

Can’t do much without these can ya?” Meliodas said out loud as he put them into his pants pocket. He bent down and picked up Angel, slinging her over his left shoulder before walking back to the clearing to meet up with Carla.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted Carla as he walked back in the clearing.

“W-Well done…” Carla said, still somewhat shaken by Meliodas’s recent feat. Meliodas smiled at Carla before picking up Wendy and slinging her over his right shoulder while he dragged Angel and Racer with his left arm.

“If we run into any more of these guys, I won’t have any more arms.” Meliodas laughed.

“Y-yeah.” Carla replied nervously. ‘This boy is some kind of monster?!’

Chapter Text

Meliodas and Carla traveled through the forest, trying to remember the way they came.
“Didn’t you say it was this way?” Meliodas asked, looking at Carla. The white cat shook her head.

“I…” Carla had no response, she didn’t know which way was back anymore as she looked around with all the trees looking the same.

“So.. we are lost. Let's look around to see if we can find anything familiar we may have passed.” Meliodas suggested. Carla nodded. Just as the two were looking around for clues, a voice appeared in Meliodas’s head.

“Meliodas, can you hear me?”

“What?!” Meliodas said out loud.

“What happened, did you see something?” Carla asked.

“No, a voice appeared inside my head. This voice is familiar.. Aren’t you the Blue Pegasus member?” Meliodas recognized the voice. It was Hibiki who had stayed behind.

“Yes, I was finally able to locate you. I am sending my thoughts directly to you. Have you found Wendy?”

“Yeah, we are bringing her back. But it looks like we got a bit lost.”

“I see… No problem, I can transmit a map into your head. It should lead you back to us.”

“Neat.” Meliodas replied. He suddenly felt a map appear in his head, detailing the way back to the camp as if he knew this forest like the back of his hand.

“Was that Hibiki?” Carla asked curiously. Meliodas looked towards Carla.

“Yeah. He just contacted me and gave me information. Lets go, I know the way back now.”

---

Meliodas and Carla arrived back at the rendezvous area. Hibiki was standing alone in the clearing, looking at a large magical interface in front of him.

“Oh it looks like they got Wendy already.” Hibiki commented as he waved at Meliodas who was walking towards them. His eyebrows raised as he saw Meliodas bringing back two others with him.

“Angel and Racer?!” Hibiki said, surprised.

Meliodas placed Wendy on the ground gently as Carla ran to Wendy’s side. He walked over to where Cobra was unconscious and placed Angel and Racer there as well. All three of them were tied up together, unable to move even if they were to wake up.

“How convenient to keep rope on you like that in your requip.” Hibiki commented.

“My landlord gave me the idea.” Meliodas responded.

“I will say, that’s incredible. You took down three of the Oracion Seis. Considering how easily you dealt with Cobra, I assume neither Erza or Natsu assisted you.” Hibiki commented. The Oracion Seis had taken all of them down without much trouble but Meliodas was able to beat three of them alone.

“I guess I just got lucky.” Meliodas replied nonchalantly.

Hibiki smiled. “Meliodas.. Your title of The Blond Demon certainly suits you.”

Meliodas tilted his head at Hibiki after hearing the comment.
“So you know about that?”

“You caused quite a commotion…Although it was hard to tell it was you at first. The wanted poster of you is...interesting...to say the least.” Hibiki said.

“Yeah, that was a huge misunderstanding.” Meliodas laughed.

“By the way, I haven’t been able to get in contact with Natsu or Erza. I thought they were with you on the Wendy rescue squad? Where have they gone?” Hibiki asked.

“Well we ran into some guy named Jellal and they ran after him while I took Wendy back.” Meliodas said.

“Jellal...what does he have to do with Nirvana…?” Hibiki said to himself. He turned back to his interface and began furiously typing on the touchscreen as he sorted through information.

“Guys, I think Wendy is waking up!” Carla shouted. The group turned around and saw Wendy slowly trying to sit back up.

“Wendy what happened? You didn’t overuse your magic again did you?” Carla questioned.

“I-I did...It was for Jellal…” Wendy said as tears began to flow down her face.

“That was very reckless of you Wendy! And after you passed out, Meliodas, Natsu, and Erza showed up to rescue you, only for Jellal to try and blast them away!” Carla sternly said.

“I-I’m sorry…but Jellal...he wouldn’t do something like that…that can’t be right...” Wendy said as she wiped her tears.

Hibiki continued typing frantically through his archives, trying to figure out Jellal’s connection to Nirvana.

“There there.” Meliodas said as he walked up to Wendy and patted her gently on the head. Wendy looked up at Meliodas slightly confused.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“Meliodas, from Fairy Tail.” Meliodas replied with a warm smile. “If this Jellal guy isn’t as bad as you say he is, why don’t we go talk to him ourselves.”

“You can’t be serious! I won’t allow this! That’s too dangerous!” Carla yelled as she stood in front of Meliodas and Wendy, separating them.

“This might be the only way. If Brain needed Jellal for something, the best way to find out is to get that information out of Jellal himself. Based on the information I’ve gathered on Meliodas, he may be the best person to do it.” Hibiki interjected.

“Carla, I have to do this…” Wendy pleaded as she looked Carla in the eyes, her teary eyes gone and replaced with determination.

Carla sighed and shook her head.
“I suppose. I can’t leave you alone to do this Wendy.”

“Thank you Carla!” Wendy said as she hugged Carla.

Meliodas turned back around and faced the forest again, with a serious look on his face. ‘He looked like Mystogan...maybe the “Jellal” Wendy was referring to was…’ Meliodas set aside his thoughts and turned towards the group.

“Ok so Wendy and Carla will join me. What about you, Hibiki?”

“You go on ahead. I’m going to see what I can gather about Jellal’s relation to Nirvana.” Hibiki replied as he continued pulling up various interfaces with his magic.Meliodas nodded in response. He looked back at Wendy and Carla.

“Let’s go!”

---

Meliodas ran through the forest with Carla flying above him, carrying Wendy with her. They retraced their steps, and made it back to the cliffside, which was an easy task as Hibiki had given Meliodas a detailed mental map of the area.

“Erza, Natsu, and Happy went that way.” Meliodas said, pointing towards the bottom of the cliff that led to another part of the forest. As his finger was pointed in that direction, a strange pressure filled the air. Meliodas’s eyes widened as a large pillar of black light shot up into the sky from a distance.

“This pressure…?” Meliodas said as he stared at the large beam of light.

“Could that be Nirvana? You think Natsu and Erza will be there too?” Carla questioned as Wendy stared at the beam wide-eyed.

“Then Jellal has to be there too!” Wendy commented.

Meliodas clenched his fist and a dark aura began to envelop him. Carla and Wendy looked at Meliodas in shock as wings of darkness sprouted from his back.

“What is this darkness? D-don’t tell me Nirvana is doing this to him?!” Carla exclaimed. Meliodas glanced back at the two and smiled, relieving them.

“I’m going on ahead!” Meliodas said as he jumped up into the air and soared towards the beam.

---

“Jellal!!!” Natsu yelled in rage. He faced Jellal with his fists clenched tightly and engulfed in flames. Jellal turned around from facing the enormous beam of light and looked back at Natsu and Erza who were standing behind him.

“Erza…” Jellal said solemnly as he shifted his gaze solely to Erza. “Why is that the only name I can remember…”

“Jellal...you and I were once friends. But you became so deranged to go as far as to hurt your friends...You destroyed the council and murdered Simon. Don’t think I’ll let you forget all of that!” Erza yelled.

“I hurt my friends? How could...I…” Jellal questioned. Tears began streaming down his face. He buckled over, clasping his face with his right hand.

“Don’t give me that shit Jellal!” Natsu shouted back, even more enraged at Jellal’s current actions. He began walking forward towards Jellal as Happy tried to hold him back.

“Wait Natsu! He’s going to knock you away in one hit again!” Happy grunted as he tried pulling Natsu back by tugging on his shirt as he flew. Natsu continued pressing forward until he felt a hand placed firmly on his shoulder. He turned around and was surprised to see Erza had stopped him.

“Natsu...for some reason, I just remembered your name…” Jellal commented. “I can see in your eyes that my actions in the past have wronged you both. Allow me to atone for my sins…”

Erza’s eyes widened as she saw Jellal turn back around and put his hand on the beam.
“Jellal you don’t mean-”

A strange, circuit-like purple formation began to spread from Jellal’s palm onto the pillar, extending outwards as it traveled up the large beam of black light. Jellal collapsed to the ground.

“Jellal!” Erza yelled as she ran to his side.

“Jellal, he’s…” Natsu said to himself in disbelief.

Erza kneeled down next to Jellal and grabbed his collar.
“You can’t die like this! This is not the way to make amends for what you’ve done!”

“A square of self destruction?” A voice said from behind them. Erza and Natsu turned around and saw Brain walking up to them with a wide grin on his face.

“You…” Natsu glared at Brain.

“Get out of my way you pest.” Brain said. He glared back at Natsu and raised his staff up in the air. However Brain’s glare vanished and his eyes widened as he felt a looming magical presence. He looked up in the sky, prompting both Natsu and Erza to also look up into the sky. A figure with jet black wings was hovering over them.

“Meliodas!” Natsu grinned.

Meliodas rapidly descended to the ground in front of Brain and his black wings disappeared.

“Well well well, I can’t just sit by and let you activate this thing can I?”

Chapter Text

“You think you can stop me by yourself?” Brain grinned as he stared at Meliodas standing across from him. He raised his staff up into the air above him.

“Dark Gravity!”

A heavy pressure fell on top of the area in front of Brain, causing the ground to begin to sink. Natsu grunted as he fell down to the ground and Happy fell to the ground as well, unable to maintain his flying.

“Wow, this is some interesting magic. You raised the gravity in the area..” Meliodas said in a carefree tone as he took a step towards Brain.

“You can walk while inside of my Dark Gravity?!” Brain asked in disbelief as Meliodas began to walk slowly towards him with his feet cracking the hard ground beneath him with each step. Brain immediately released his spell as he jumped back only for Meliodas to jump after him.

‘This one’s fast! I can see how he was able to defeat Racer...’ Brain thought as Meliodas leaped towards him at a blinding speed. Meliodas winded his fist back to punch Brain, only to freeze in his tracks as he fell to the ground.

“Gghhh...what is this?” Meliodas questioned as he felt the clothes on his body tightly constricting around him. Brain turned his head and saw a young man with black spiky hair and black lipstick wearing a black leather vest and yellow pants.

“So you made it here, Midnight.” Brain smirked.

“Of course, father. Don’t tell me you’re struggling to deal with these pests?” Midnight replied as he glared at Meliodas, causing the clothes around his body to squeeze even tighter.

As Midnight began walking towards Meliodas, several swords rained down from the sky on top of Midnight, only to be deflected away. As Midnight deflected the swords away, Meliodas felt the grip on his clothes disappear and he immediately jumped back towards Natsu who was getting back up.

“Thanks for that, Erza!” Meliodas said as he glanced back at Erza. Erza nodded and Meliodas turned his attention back to Brain and Midnight.

“Jellal. Get that square of self destruction off of you! You don’t get to give up on your life here...because we as Fairy Tail will keep on fighting!” Erza yelled as she got up and joined Natsu and Meliodas. Jellal watched silently as the Fairy Tail mages prepared to fight.

“I’m all fired up!” Natsu grinned. “I won’t let you have all the fun like with Laxus, Meliodas.”

“Try and keep up then!” Meliodas grinned back.

“We will split them up.” Erza said.

“Well then I’ll take this new guy here. I think you and Natsu can deal with Brain.” Meliodas said.

“I don’t know what you worms are planning, but it is futile!” Brain laughed as he raised his staff and pointed it towards the group.

“Dark Rondo!” Brain yelled as dark tendrils of magic shot out from the mouth of his staff.

“I’ll make an opening! We’ll use this chance to separate them!” Meliodas yelled as he jumped straight into the blast.

“Full Counter!”

The dark blast was immediately sent back at both Midnight and Brain, to Brain’s surprise. Brain’s surprise quickly vanished as a smirk formed on his face.

“Midnight!” Brain called.

“Of course father.” Midnight said calmly, raising his hand out in front of him. The blast collided with the space just in front of Midnight’s palm causing the blast to bisect and divert away from them. The blast hit the surrounding forest with great force. Trees were uprooted and incinerated, leaving long, deep trails in the earth. Midnight raised an eyebrow at the force of the attack he had just deflected. ‘Father isn’t that powerful...why was the attack that strong?’

As the remains of the blast finished spreading out, two figures, Natsu and Erza jumped up from behind Meliodas. In unison, Erza and Natsu lunged at Brain, kicking him simultaneously and sending flying back further into the forest. Erza and Natsu nodded briefly at Meliodas before following Brain.

“Splitting us up won’t make a difference.” Midnight scoffed. “All this means is that you’re going to die here alone.”

“We’ll see about that.” Meliodas commented. He jumped towards Midnight but again, was stopped mid air as his clothes constricted around his body. Meliodas fell to the ground as he squirmed around. Midnight raised his arm up and made a slicing motion with his hand at Meliodas’s body.

“Invisible Scythe.”

Ethereal slashes of air were shot at Meliodas. The slashes cut through the ground and the forest behind Meliodas, leaving deep marks in the dirt as well as cutting dozens of trees down to their stumps. A large cloud of dust was kicked up from the sharp air blades.

Midnight watched the dust begin to clear. His eyes widened as Meliodas’s figure was not lying on the ground anymore. He noticed movement above him and looked up. ‘He survived that?! No...he must have requipped his clothes off of him to jump away because... he's completely naked!’

Meliodas clad his fist in darkness as he fell towards Midnight. Midnight smirked at the darkness formed around his fist. ‘It’s slight but I can manipulate that!’

Midnight raised his arm and pointed it at Meliodas. To his shock, Meliodas was not slowing down as he wound his fist back. ‘That’s not darkness magic?! I can’t control it! What the hell is-’

Midnight’s thoughts were cut short as Meliodas delivered a fierce punch to Midnight’s stomach. Midnight coughed up blood as a large indent was made in his body as his bones were shattered and his body launched through the forest.

---

Brain planted his feet firmly in the ground as he was launched a sizable distance away from Midnight and Meliodas. He managed to stop his momentum leaving a large path of upheaved dirt where he sunk his feet into the ground. Between the trees, he could see Natsu and Erza running towards him.

“It was a mistake to separate yourselves from that blond child. He was the only one who I actually deemed a threat!” Brain laughed. “But no matter. Midnight will defeat him and I will take you two down here.”

“I don’t need Meliodas to kick your ass!” Natsu retorted. He jumped at Brain, with Erza close behind him. Her body began to glow as her armor changed, now donning her Heaven's Wheel Armor. She raised her right arm at Brain.

“You worms never learn!” Brain shouted as he raised his staff into the air.

“Dark Gravity!”

Erza and Natsu instantly fell to the ground. Natsu fell flat on his face as Erza attempted to keep herself standing up. She glared at Brain as Brain kept them there in place. Brain smirked as he watched the two Fairy Tail mages try to resist. Suddenly, Brain jumped backwards, causing him to cancel his gravity spell as several swords rained down from the air and impaled the ground where he was originally standing. ‘Tch...Titania will be a problem after all. She planted those swords there at the start in the event I used Dark Gravity…’

Natsu and Erza felt the heavy gravity release from their bodies. Natsu jumped up from the ground and grinned. He cracked his knuckles as he looked at Brain.

“Natsu, follow my lead!” Erza ordered. She leaped towards Brain with Natsu following close behind. Brain raised his staff in front of him again in response.

“Dark Rondo!”

Several tendrils of dark magic were launched at Erza and Natsu. Erza’s body began to glow and she stopped in her tracks, with Natsu stopping right behind her. The tendrils collided with Erza, creating an explosion that destroyed the area in front of them.

The smoke from the explosion began to clear, with Erza being relatively unharmed as she donned her Adamantium Armor, to Brain’s surprise. From behind her Natsu lunged towards Brain.

“Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist!”

With a fist engulfed in flames, he delivered a solid punch to Brain’s face. Brain was launched away, sent tumbling across the ground. He managed to recover from the punch and stood back up. His eyes widened as he saw a large blast of flames approaching him.

“Fire Dragon’s Roar!”

Brain put his staff up in front of him to protect himself from the blast. Suddenly, a figure appeared from inside of Natsu’s flames. Erza emerged, wearing her Flame Empress Armor with her sword in hand. Before Brain could cast another spell, she dashed at him, cutting through him with her blade. Brain attempted to move out of the way but could not fully dodge the attack as blood gushed from his side.

As his attention was still focused on Erza, he felt a large magical presence rapidly approaching him from the front. He glanced forward and saw Natsu looking angrily at him, soaring through the air as he charged head first.

“Fire Dragon’s Sword Horn!”

Engulfed in flames, Natsu rammed into Brain’s torso head first. Brain’s face contorted in pain as he was sent flying back, his momentum stopped as he crashed into a boulder several meters away. The boulder crumbled from the force he was launched into it and Brain fell to the ground on his knees.

Brain shakily stood back up and looked at Natsu and Erza who were running towards him. He raised his hand up but realized he had dropped his staff as Natsu collided into him.

Erza’s body began to glow again as she requipped into her Heaven’s Wheel Armor. Natsu’s magical power rose drastically as flames engulfed his body again.

“Dance, my swords! Circle Sword!”

Dozens of swords of various shapes and sizes were summoned around Erza. They began to rotate very quickly around her, forming a ring. With another sword in hand, Erza made a slashing motion, sending the disc of swords at Brain. Natsu’s magical power continued flaring up as the surrounding temperature of the forest around them began to rise. Brain felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his head.

“Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!”

Natsu made a swirling motion with both of his arms engulfed in flames, creating a powerful spiraling torrent of flames that shot out in front of him. The flames created by Natsu wrapped perfectly around Erza’s circle sword, integrating itself with the attack completely.

Brain watched, completely wonderstruck at what he just witnessed. ‘A Unison Raid?!’ That was his last thought as the blast of flames and blades struck him at once, creating multiple small explosions as each individual sword cut through him, followed by one final large explosion as Brain’s body collapsed to the ground.

Chapter Text

Meliodas, after having requipped his clothes and weapon back on, walked over to Jellal and Happy, both of which were in awe of what they had just watched.

“Aye, you showed him, Meliodas!” Happy cheered. Jellal remained silent as he looked at Meliodas.

“So you’re Jellal huh?” Meliodas asked. Jellal nodded but remained silent. Meliodas couldn’t help but smile a bit as both Jellal and Mystogan shared that same trait. He looked at the square of destruction marking on both Jellal and Nirvana. It was glowing even brighter.

“I don’t know the details of your past or sins. And I won’t pry into that. But I’ll tell you now, that killing yourself along with Nirvana isn’t the way to redeem yourself.” Meliodas said solemnly. Meliodas pointed to his left arm tattoo. Happy and Jellal looked at it curiously.

“I once failed to protect everyone. An entire kingdom was lost because of me, and that’s the sin I bear. Even now, I still carry it with me as a reminder, that I won’t let it happen again.” Meliodas said. He glanced up at the giant pillar of light that seemingly shot up endlessly into the sky. Jellal looked down at the square of destruction marking on his chest and put a hand on it.

“So why don’t you take that off yourself and we can drink some ale after-” Meliodas paused mid sentence as he sensed a great magical power suddenly appear behind him. He turned around and realized it was coming from the direction Erza and Natsu had come from.

“Meliodas what’s wrong?” Happy asked.

---

Natsu panted heavily as he looked at Brain’s unconscious body. A look of confusion swept over Natsu’s face as he looked at Brain’s face. The black markings on Brain’s face had all disappeared.

“Oh no! Please no! Anything but this!” A voice said from next to Natsu. Natsu turned his head and saw that the skull mounted on the top of Brain’s staff was speaking and had begun to hop towards them.

“A talking staff?!” Natsu exclaimed. “Wait what the hell are you on about?!”

“B-brain...he has another personality. The one you just fought was known as “Brain,” a man who loves knowledge. But this n-next one…” The skull’s teeth began chattering as it was speaking.

“So that means-” Erza turned her head and looked towards Brain’s body. Brain’s body seemed completely relaxed as he lay on the forest floor unconscious. Suddenly, Brain opened his eyes. His white sclera had turned red. Brain’s staff immediately dropped its head to the ground, bowing in respect.

“W-welcome back, Master Zero!”

“I see things have taken an interesting turn, Klodoa.” Zero smirked as he talked to the staff.

Zero began taking a few steps forward. His current outfit began to glow as he summoned a new outfit using requip, one that was reminiscent of a green military outfit. He glanced at Natsu and Erza who were staring at him in disbelief. His magic was foul and unlike anything they have sensed before.

“So these pests defeated my other half? How disappointing.” Zero smirked. Natsu clenched his fists before charging straight at Zero.

“Natsu don’t!” Erza shouted.

“Fire Dragon’s Iron-”

As Natsu wound his fist back, Zero jumped towards Natsu, grabbing him by the head. With a large grin on his face, he forcefully threw Natsu towards Erza. As Erza tried to catch Natsu, Zero raised his palm and pointed it at them.

“Dark Capriccio!”

A green and orange spiraling beam of dark magic shot out of his palm, impaling both Natsu and Erza through the torso. Erza coughed up blood as she glared at Brain, unable to move as her vision began to blur before collapsing on the ground with Natsu.

“Excellent job, Master!” Klodoa complimented. Zero’s smirk vanished and he glared at Klodoa.

“Pathetic.” Zero commented. He raised his right hand and with a swiping motion, letting out a wave of magic and completely shattered the skull shaped staff, Klodoa. Without even batting an eye, he continued walking.

---

Meliodas faced the forest with a serious look on his face. A lone man with white hair and a green military outfit emerged from the bushes. Happy and Jellal watched in shock as the man walked towards them.The man continued to walk towards Meliodas slowly but focused his attention on the bright light of Nirvana that was beaming upwards behind Meliodas.

“How pathetic. Couldn’t even activate it.” Zero commented. He focused his attention back to Meliodas and grinned.

“So you were the one who defeated most of my Oracion Seis single handedly? You are certainly someone who is…” Zero’s grin grew wider as his mouth opened.

“SOMEONE WHO IS WORTH DESTROYING.”

Meliodas began walking towards Zero as Zero walked towards Meliodas. Happy and Jellal watched as the two approached each other with both of them stopping in front of each other as Meliodas was looking straight up at Zero while Zero was looking straight down at Meliodas.

“You’re quite brave. But bravery can’t save you from your destruction.” Zero commented.

“Where are Natsu and Erza?” Meliodas asked in a serious tone.

“Who? I’m afraid I don’t know who you’re talking about. Tell me, do you go out of the way to learn the names of every ant you step on?” Brain retorted with an evil grin. Without another word, Meliodas’s eyes narrowed as his brow furrowed. He could still sense Natsu and Erza’s magic, but it was fading.

“Happy.” Meliodas said as he continued to glare at Zero. Happy’s head perked up as he heard the seriousness in Meliodas’ voice.

“Go find Wendy and Carla. They should still be nearby. She needs to heal Natsu and Erza.” Meliodas.

“Aye sir!” Happy said eagerly as he hastily flew up into the air.

“Concerned about your friends? Don’t bother, you’re only stalling their destruction.” Zero mocked.

Without another word, Meliodas jumped upwards, delivering a quick uppercut to Zero’s chin. Blood leaked out from Zero’s mouth as he was launched high into the air. Zero looked back down as he was getting launched and saw Meliodas jumping up right after him.

Meliodas leaped up after him. Zero looked back down at Meliodas coming at him and began charging magic into his hands.

“Dark Capriccio!”

Spiraling green and orange whip like constructs formed in Zero’s hands as he swung down at Meliodas. Meliodas drew Mel Force in response, parrying the whips with his blade as he was pushed back to the ground.

As Zero landed on the ground, he continued flailing the dark whips around, with Meliodas ducking and maneuvering each one as he got closer and closer to Zero. Zero dispelled one of the whips in his hand as he sent the other one towards Meliodas. Meliodas parried it with his blade, creating sparks as the whip scraped off of Mel Force. With his free hand, Zero pointed it towards Meliodas.

“Dark Delete!”

A barrage of spherical entities of darkness were shot from Zero’s free hand. Meliodas saw several of them coming his way and pushed the Dark Capriccio that was grinding against his sword away from him.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas swung his sword, causing the spheres of darkness to return back to Zero. Zero anticipated this and jumped up into the air immediately, dodging the spheres as they flew right under him. As Meliodas took a step forward, several more black spheres that were not part of the first attack flew by Meliodas’s head. Meliodas’s eyes widened as he realized Zero’s true intention.

“Jellal! Move!” Meliodas shouted as he turned his head. To his dismay, Jellal was already too weakened to move from his place as the spheres collided with him, creating an explosion of dark magic and smoke.

“You’re wide open!” Zero exclaimed. As Meliodas turned his head back to Zero he raised his sword up in front of him as two Dark Capriccios’s slash across the front side of Meliodas. Blood gushed from Meliodas’s body, causing him to take a knee. Zero smirked and began walking slowly towards Meliodas.

As Zero walked closer to Meliodas, his smirk quickly faded and his eyes grew wide with shock. The gashes across the front of Meliodas body began leaking a dark substance as the wounds closed up. Meliodas’ demeanor became more sinister and his eyes turned pitch black while black spiral shaped henna formed above his right eyebrow.

Chapter Text

“That power of yours…” Zero commented, visibly shaken by Meliodas' transformation. Meliodas’ power had surpassed Zero’s initial expectations. The sinister aura radiating from Meliodas was even darker than his own. As Meliodas took a step towards him, without realizing his body had moved, Zero took a step back. A nervous smile formed on Zero’s face.

“You...that magic...You wouldn’t happen to be related to Doryu by any chance?” Zero asked nervously.

“I don’t know who that is.” Meliodas replied coldly.

“I see...but you know, that power of yours won’t change the fact that I will destroy you here!” Zero laughed as he regained his maniacal composure.

“I’ll give you one chance to give up here.” Meliodas said in a dark tone. Zero regained his composure and a smirk formed on his face.

As Meliodas and Zero stood off, Jellal slowly got up from the ground. He was hurt by dark delete, but was still able to maintain consciousness. He looked at Meliodas and was surprised by his power.

‘That power...it feels more sinister than Zero’s.Yet even with that darkness you harbor, Meliodas...you’re still giving even Zero a chance…’ Jellal grasped his chest and looked down at the marking. He turned around and faced the pillar. ‘I know what I must do.’

“You’re really offering to spare me here? How pitiful! It makes me sick! After I destroy you, I’ll destroy everyone you care-” Zero shouted maniacally with a large grin but stopped abruptly and his grin immediately vanished.

“JELLAL WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!’ Zero shouted. Meliodas turned around and saw Jellal was standing up next to the large, brightly beaming pillar of black light. Meliodas felt a sense of relief when he saw Jellal no longer had the square of destruction on him as Jellal focused his efforts on Nirvana.

“I’ll use the rest of my magic to fast forward the square of destruction’s countdown. Meliodas, thank you.” Jellal said. He placed his hand on Nirvana and the light instantly stopped, the magic flowing from the ground dispersing into the air. There was a large rumble as the ground shook beneath them into a large earthquake. It continued for several seconds until eventually dying down, with Jellal falling unconscious on the ground. Meliodas turned back to face Zero, who was seething with rage.

“JELLAL! I’LL KILL YOU!” Zero screamed. He raised his arms up as green and orange spiraling whip-like constructs began to form from his hands.

Meliodas shook his head in disappointment as he walked towards Zero.
“You really are that far gone…”

“Dark Capricci-”

Zero saw Meliodas suddenly vanish from his field of vision. He quickly stopped what he was doing and maneuvered his body slightly to the right. Zero’s eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain in his left bicep. He slowly turned his head and saw Meliodas there, his blade drawn and out in front of him. Detached from his body, was his left arm, completely cut off. Blood gushed out from the wound.

“This bastard-” Zero grunted in pain. Zero knew if he hadn’t moved, Meliodas would have cut him in half down the middle. He jumped backwards to create distance between himself and Meliodas, with blood leaking out of his missing arm.

“You’re more dangerous than I thought! You’re absolutely worth destroying!” Zero shouted maniacally, ignoring the pain. He raised his right arm and faced his palm towards Meliodas.

“Dark Gravity!”

Meliodas felt a great force push down on his body, even stronger than before when Brain had originally done it. Meliodas’ feet sunk into the ground, past his ankles and nearly up to his knees. The surrounding area around Meliodas was also compressed, with the ground sinking around Meliodas. As Meliodas felt the great force weighed on him, he glared at Zero.

“Just try and walk as you are destroyed by my overwhelming force!” Zero yelled. He concentrated more of his magic into the attack, sinking Meliodas even deeper into the ground. Despite this, Meliodas stepped out of the hole his feet were in with little trouble and began walking towards Zero.

“Y-you...why are you still unencumbered by my gravity?!” Zero questioned.

“I left the members of the Oracion Seis that I fought alive, so that one day they may try and atone for what they did. This is your last chance.” Meliodas said.

“Haha...HAHAHAHAHA!” Zero laughed maniacally. “You’re preaching to me about sparing my life! I don’t care about my sins! There is nothing to care about when all there is...is DESTRUCTION!”

With his right hand, Zero pointed all of his fingers at Meliodas. Green colored darkness magic leaked out from his hand. Countless black phantoms emerged from his hand, forming a massive wave that headed towards Meliodas. The desperate moans of the phantoms echoed throughout the area. Soon, Meliodas was surrounded by a seemingly endless wave of phantoms.

“Genesis Zero!”

Meliodas raised Mel Force in front of him. Black flames clad his blade as the wave of phantoms approached him.

“Divine Slayer!”

Meliodas made a wide horizontal slash with his sword. A small wave of black flames was shot out in an arc. As the flames traveled towards the wave of phantoms they grew wider and traveled across the ground until nearly matching the size of the phantoms.

“Your soul and your memories will be devoured by the Nil until nothing is left!” Zero shouted as he poured even more magic into his attack, summoning more phantoms and empowering them with darkness.

The wave of phantoms collided with Meliodas’s hellblaze. The phantoms’ moans turned into horrified screams of pain as the black flames engulfed them. The phantoms who were trying to devour Meliodas initially were now being devoured instead by the black flames.

“What the hell are those flames?!” Zero exclaimed with a look of horror on his face. His greatest attack was being destroyed by a darkness greater than his own. In the next moments, the phantoms summoned by his attack were now completely engulfed in black flames. Zero squinted his eyes as the heat from the flames kept rising, burning his phantoms until nothing was left. Suddenly, Meliodas emerged from the wall of black flames in front of Zero. As Meliodas approached Zero, Zero looked into Meliodas’ pitch black eyes.

“You! You’re not human are you?!” Zero exclaimed. He raised his right arm, engulfing it with his darkness magic before throwing a punch at the approaching Meliodas. Meliodas wound his own fist back at Zero, clashing punches with Zero. The instant Zero’s fist made contact with Meliodas’, Zero’s entire arm buckled, bending inwards unnaturally as his fist was crushed.

At that moment, time seemed to have slowed down for Zero. Zero felt despair as he watched Meliodas wind back a punch with his left hand, clad in darkness. The person he was trying to truly destroy, was going to destroy him instead. Behind Meliodas, Zero could see the shadow of a large demonic figure looming over Meliodas.

“I gave you a chance Zero! But I can’t let you destroy everything! I’ll bring you down right here!”

Meliodas threw the darkness clad punch at Zero’s chest. A massive hole formed in Zero’s body as the force from the punch knocked down the trees in the forest behind Zero. Zero stared at Meliodas with an empty expression as he fell backwards onto the ground.

Meliodas’ demonic features faded as he stood over Zero’s lifeless body. He looked down solemnly at the gaping hole in Zero’s chest.

“It didn’t have to be this way.” Meliodas said quietly.

Chapter Text

As Meliodas turned around to check on Jellal, he noticed the tall bright light of Nirvana that shot up endlessly into the sky had disappeared completely without a trace. On the ground in front of where the light was coming out, was Jellal’s body, face up with his eyes closed in front of a massive hole where the beam originally rose.

Meliodas hastily ran up to him. As he got closer, he saw that Jellal was only unconscious as he saw the rising of his chest as he breathed. Meliodas leaned down and nudged on Jellal’s shoulder. Jellal’s eyes opened partially as he looked straight up at the sky, his body still dreary from the effects of his magic.

“So you changed your mind after all?” Meliodas asked.

“I’m starting...to remember a little bit more…all I’ve done...the atrocious sins I’ve committed...it hasn’t come back to me entirely, but I know that I hurt both Erza and Natsu.” Jellal murmured. He opened his eyes fully and looked up at Meliodas who was looking down at him.

“Jellal.” Meliodas said with a friendly smile. “I don’t know what your past is or how deep your sins run. But you still helped us out here by destroying Nirvana, and I’d say you’re on your way towards redeeming yourself, don’t ya think?”

Meliodas extended his hand out to Jellal. Jellal grabbed Meliodas’ hand as he helped him back up. Jellal stood up on shaky legs, managing to regain his balance.

“Meliodas!” A familiar voice cried out from behind Meliodas. He turned around and saw Happy flying towards him from the treeline. Happy’s eyes were filled with joy and there was a large smile on his face.

“Natsu and Erza are gonna be okay!” Happy exclaimed cheerfully. Meliodas sighed a breath of relief knowing that Wendy was able to heal the both of them on time. As Happy flew over to Meliodas, he noticed Zero’s corpse and the massive hole in his body.

“WAH! What happened here?!” Happy shouted, startled as he glanced over at Meliodas. He knew how strong Meliodas was, but seeing Zero’s body lying on the ground with a gaping hole was a whole different thing. Meliodas remained silent.

“Meliodas?” Happy asked as he slowly flew closer to Meliodas. Meliodas returned a friendly smile to Happy.

Right next to them, the bushes began to rustle. The three of them turned their heads wondering who it could be as Jura and Hoteye walked out from the bushes.

“It’s Jura!” Happy exclaimed. “And that’s-” Happy paused as he saw Hoteye, one of the Oracion Seis members, standing next to Jura. Happy immediately flew behind Meliodas, who looked at Hoteye indifferently.

“Do not worry. Hoteye is no longer an enemy.” Jura replied, much to Happy’s relief.

“The power of love has changed me.” Hoteye added.

“Okay then…” Meliodas replied, not quite sure what had caused a change in Hoteye but he figured it was for the better.

Jura glanced over at Zero’s limp body on the ground face down. There was a massive, gaping hole through his chest. Jura’s eyes widened at the ruthlessness of which Zero was killed. He had initially rushed over upon feeling Zero’s menacing magic after his encounter with Hoteye, but on his way, he felt an even darker, stronger magic. Jura glanced at Meliodas who was conversing with Happy.

‘That magic I felt earlier. No doubt about it, it came from him. There’s no other explanation for Zero to have been defeated like that. And that interaction Gemini had with Meliodas earlier…’ Jura recalled Gemini telling Angel that Meliodas was dangerous and to immediately run. He continued to look at Meliodas. His youthful, innocent appearance gave no visual indication of him being a threat, yet Jura could not shake the uneasiness off his mind the more he thought about it. Meliodas noticed Jura staring at him awkwardly and turned to him.

“Something wrong?” Meliodas asked lightheartedly.

“No...it’s nothing…well done Meliodas.” Jura replied, trying to hide his uneasiness. Suddenly, Meliodas and Jura heard Hibiki’s voice echo in their heads.

‘Erza and Natsu are back at the base camp with me. Eve and Ren brought them after Wendy healed them. They’re just now waking up. And what I’ve gathered, the Oracion Seis have all been defeated. When you get the chance, head back.’ Hibiki’s voice echoed.

‘Will do.’ Jura replied.

“Looks like we’re heading back now.” Jura said. He gestured for Meliodas and Hoteye to follow. Meliodas nodded and glanced back at Jellal, who was watching them silently. He averted his gaze as Meliodas looked at him.

“Come with us.” Meliodas said amicably. Jellal nodded and followed behind Meliodas as the group began to walk towards the treeline.

“Oh wait Jura. Gotta pick someone up.” Meliodas interjected. Jura nodded and waited patiently with Hoteye and looked curiously as Meliodas ran into the forest. Several seconds later, he came back, holding Midnight’s unconscious body over his head.

---

The group arrived back at the base camp. The members of Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale were waiting patiently there as they talked to Natsu and Erza.

“Natsuuuu!!!” Happy cried as he flew over to Natsu. A large grin formed on Natsu’s face as Happy flew over to hug him.

“You’re not dead!” Happy exclaimed.

“Hah of course not! I’d never be able to meet Igneel if I died from something like that!” Natsu replied.

“Happy, where is everyone else?” Erza asked. She looked towards the direction that Happy flew in from, expecting there to be more people.

“Right there.” Happy pointed back. Several seconds later, the bushes began to rustle and Meliodas, Jura, and Hoteye walked out from the thick brush.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted with his free hand as he had Midnight slung over his right shoulder. He placed Midnight on the ground and walked over to rest of the mages. Jura picked up Midnight’s body, going over to the rest of the Oracion Seis who were unconscious and tied up. He made a hand sign with his right index and middle finger, surrounding the Oracion Seis members in an extra layer of security made of earth.

“I heard you defeated Zero.” Erza commented. Meliodas nodded in response but had a serious expression on his face.

“It wasn’t the outcome I wanted, but someone like him… he didn’t give me a choice.” Meliodas replied. “Also…”

Meliodas turned around and faced the way he came from. He looked at the bushes he had just walked out of curiously and waited a few seconds.

“No need to be shy now! Come out!” Meliodas shouted. The brush began to rustle as Jellal slowly emerged.

“Jellal!” Both Natsu and Erza exclaimed. Natsu’s face grew angry as he jumped up from his spot. Igniting his feet, he launched himself forward at Jellal like a rocket, only to stop in his tracks as Meliodas grabbed him by his jacket.

“Gahh!” Natsu grunted as he fell onto the ground next to Meliodas, the flames on his feet dying out. “What’s the big deal bringing Jellal here?!”

“He’s the one who destroyed Nirvana.” Meliodas replied with a grin.

“Jellal you…” Erza said quietly.

“Meliodas gave me the choice to live, and I chose to do so...” Jellal replied. “Even so, I don’t deserve to be here with you all.”

“No Jellal. What you did was commendable. And...I’m glad you chose not to destroy yourself…” Erza said as she walked up slowly to Jellal. Meliodas smiled and watched as the two of them walked away to a more secluded area of the camp.

“So Jellal really helped out there…” Natsu commented with a stern look on his face as he got up from the ground.

“Oh yeah, where’s Wendy?” Meliodas asked. Natsu pointed to the other side of the camp. Wendy was sleeping peacefully as Carla stood by her.

“She’s tired from healing Natsu and Erza. Let her rest.” Hibiki said as he approached them. He looked at Meliodas curiously as Meliodas returned his gaze.

“I didn’t expect Fairy Tail to have such a powerful member as yourself. This is something I must add to my archive.” Hibiki commented.

“Oh speaking of your magic, you think you could help me out with something?” Meliodas asked.

“Of course, what would that be?” Hibiki replied.

“What information do you have on spatial magic.”

Chapter Text

As the sun set on the base camp, Meliodas and Hibiki continued to speak. Hibiki transferred what he had in his archive about spatial magic to Meliodas, but none of it was what Meliodas was looking for.

“So none of these match up with what you want then. Whatever magic it is you’re looking for, definitely won’t be common knowledge. I apologize that I can’t provide any help.” Hibiki said.

“It’s fine, I’ll just have to-” Meliodas was interrupted as Eve’s voice cried out through the base camp.

“Hibiki! Where is Master Ichiya!” Eve exclaimed.

“Yeah, it’s odd that he hasn’t returned yet!” Ren interjected.

Hibiki’s eyes widened. He had last telepathically spoken to Ichiya briefly before Meliodas and Jura returned to the base camp. It had been over an hour since then and Ichiya still wasn’t back. Hibiki quickly pulled up his archive as he tried to search for Ichiya.

“He’s...in the forest still?!” Hibiki tried to connect to Ichiya telepathically but couldn’t get in contact with him. “He must have ran into a dark guild that he couldn’t fight. This place was swarming with them because of the Oracion Seis.”

Jura, hearing the commotion, approached Hibiki.
“What’s going on?” Jura asked.

“Master Ichiya has been missing for over an hour since I last contacted him. He should have returned by now.” Hibiki replied. “I have his general location pinpointed.”

“Hmm. I see. Then we shall create a small team to find him. Just us should suffice.” Jura said.

“Very well. I’ll transmit his location to you all now.” Hibiki said as he began typing on his magical interface. Several seconds later, Meliodas, Jura, Eve, and Ren received mental directions to where Ichiya should be.

“We’ll head out now.” Jura said.

“Is it a good idea to leave Hoteye by himself?” Hibiki asked. Jura looked at Hoteye and sighed. Despite him having switched alignments, he was still a criminal.

“Then you three will have to suffice.” Jura replied.

“Don’t worry Master Ichiya, the trimen will save you!” Eve and Ren shouted as they ran into the forest. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and nodded at Hibiki before running in after them.

---

Meliodas, Eve, and Ren split up to find Ichiya. Hibiki’s coordinates were not exact and were a rough estimation of his general area. Meliodas walked through the forest, looking around for any signs of the strange Blue Pegasus mage.

Meliodas continued walking for several minutes but abruptly stopped in his tracks. He felt a strange presence. Someone or something was watching him. He quickly turned around but saw no one there. Despite this, he could still feel the gaze of his stalker.

“I know you’re there.” Meliodas said calmly. There was no response. The presence suddenly vanished. Meliodas looked around skeptically, but couldn’t feel his pursuer anymore. A moment later, he heard Hibiki’s voice in his head.

‘Meliodas, Ren has found Master Ichiya. He was tied up and left on a stick by a dark guild earlier. He’s safe now. Return to base camp.’ Hibiki’s words rang through Meliodas’s head.

---

Meliodas returned to the camp, still unsure of what it was he had felt watching him earlier. He shrugged the feeling off and walked over to Wendy, who was now awake. She sat down on a rock, seemingly in an empty trance. Sitting next to Wendy, was Carla.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted.

“O-oh! Meliodas.” Wendy said, startled as she didn’t realize he was approaching.

“Thanks for your help, healing Natsu and Erza back there.” Meliodas said. “Did you get to speak to Jellal yet?”

“About that…Jellal didn’t remember me at all…” Wendy said. She looked away from Meliodas, unable to hide her sad expression. Meliodas smiled and patted Wendy on the head, while pondering her words. At that moment, it came to him. ‘Could Wendy have met Mystogan instead of Jellal?’

“Don’t let it get you too down Wendy.” Meliodas said reassuringly. As he got up, he summoned a bottle of Magnolia Craft Ale and began drinking it, only to stop halfway through as he felt that there was magic surrounding the entire camp. The sensation felt familiar. It was very similar to Freed’s runes. Meliodas looked at Jura who had also noticed and nodded at Meliodas.

“Guys get ready!” Meliodas yelled out loud. The group’s relaxed atmosphere disappeared as they looked around and saw there were runes on the ground. The runes glowed and rose up into large walls, enclosing the group.

“Do not fret. We do not intend to hurt you. We only wish to keep you here momentarily.” A voice said from the treeline. The group all turned and faced where they heard the voice coming from. A slim man with long, tied up black hair and glasses walked out. He was wearing white robes over a blue uniform. Behind him, were dozens of other men dressed in similar attire to him.

“I am the Captain of the Fourth Custody Enforcement Unit of the new Magic Council. You may call me Lahar.” The man said as he adjusted his glasses.

“A new one already?” Lyon asked.

“Yes. We were reformed quite quickly, especially after the incident with the blond demon-” Lahar’s eyes widened as he recognized Meliodas. “The blond demon is here?!”

“Yo!” Meliodas said as he gave Lahar a cheeky grin.

“Wait, that blond demon was Meliodas?!” Lyon exclaimed. Jura had briefly told him about his arrest of the blond demon but didn’t tell Lyon who exactly it was.

“We were just as surprised as you are when he showed up one day to the guild with the Princess with him.” Happy mentioned.

“I suppose your actions have been excused, but you are still high priority on our watchlist. No matter. We aren’t here for you. We are here for the Oracion Seis. I see you’ve already detained most of their members.” Lahar said as he looked at the five members who were encased in a rock formation. After Meliodas had brought them all back to camp, Jura swapped them out of their ropes into a sturdier rock formation.

“And we will also require the one code named “Hoteye.” Lahar continued.

“Wait a second! You can’t-” Jura yelled but stopped as he felt a hand placed on his shoulder.

“My awakening does not excuse the misdeeds and evil of my past. I will submit myself to them along with my other comrades and start anew.” Hoteye replied with conviction in his voice. Jura stared at him briefly and nodded.

“Then I shall find your brother in your place. What is his name?” Jura smiled.

“Wally Buchanan.”

“Wally?!” Erza said out loud, surprised. “I know him.”

Both Jura and Hoteye faced towards Erza as she said this, surprised at her words.

“He’s a friend of mine. I assure you he’s in good health. He is traveling across the continent right now as we speak.” Erza smiled at Hoteye, causing him to immediately burst into tears and fall to his knees. Everyone watched silently as several councilmen picked him up and escorted him out of the barrier in addition to picking up the remaining members of the Oracion Seis.

“So we can go now?” Sherry asked.

“No. Not yet. We have one more target, one that surpasses the threat that the Oracion Seis was.” Lahar replied seriously. There was a silent tension in the air around them, with everyone anticipating what Lahar was going to say. The silence was broken as Meliodas blurted out.

“Me?” Meliodas asked nonchalantly while holding his now empty bottle of ale.

“Yes... Wait! I mean no! No not you!” Lahar exclaimed. He cleared his throat and regained his composure before continuing, adjusting his glasses one more time in the process.

“The one who infiltrated the council and brought down Etherion. The worst, and most evil of villains...Jellal!” Lahar yelled, pointing at Jellal. The other council members behind Lahar immediately got into an aggressive stance.

“If you don’t surrender, we have orders to kill you where you stand.” Lahar exclaimed.

“You can’t!” Wendy yelled out.

“Hey wait a second! You can’t do that! He’s the one who destroyed Nirvana!” Natsu yelled angrily.

“That does not matter to me. He must never be allowed freedom again!” Lahar replied coldly. Tension began to build up in the air as Natsu glared angrily at Lahar. Meliodas looked at Erza who was standing next to Jellal. He expected her to say something but she remained quiet as several councilmen shackled Jellal’s arms.

“You can’t take him! He lost his memory! He doesn’t remember any of this!” Wendy cried out.

“The Thirteenth Clause of criminal law prevents memory loss as a defense. Now, lower the barrier.” Lahar said as he looked at one of the councilmen near him. The councilman nodded and the barrier around the group vanished.

As the barrier vanished, an unknown object flew through the air, unknown to Lahar. The group of legal guild mages fell silent as they watched the bottle fly through the air. Suddenly, the object collided with Lahar’s forehead, shattering into pieces with the sound of broken glass. A small crack formed on Lahar’s glasses and he looked down at the ground. At his feet were the cracked remains of a “Magnolia Craft Ale” bottle.

A trickle of blood began to drip down his face from his forehead. Lahar looked back up at the group with an annoyed expression on his face.

“Well well well. If you think we’re just going to hand over Jellal, then you’re mistaken, councilman.” Meliodas said as he began walking up to Lahar with a cheeky smile on his face.

“So the Blond Demon shows his true colors after all?” Lahar glared angrily back at Meliodas.

“To you, I may be the Blond Demon. And to my friends here, they know me as Meliodas of Fairy Tail. But I am also Meliodas, Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins.” Meliodas replied.

“Seven Deadly Sins?” Lahar questioned. Everyone else looked at each other, puzzled at Meliodas’ statement.

“Law number four of the Seven Deadly Sins, if a friend is in crisis, everybody needs to use all of their power to help.” Meliodas replied as he looked directly into Lahar’s eyes with a serious gaze. Lahar immediately took a few steps back upon making eye contact.

“If you choose to assist that man you will give me no choice but to arrest you!” Lahar exclaimed. Despite his fierce declaration, nervousness could still be heard in his voice.

“Yeah let’s kick some ass!” Natsu yelled as he jumped past Meliodas.

“Wait.” Jellal said. Meliodas immediately grabbed Natsu, stopping him in his tracks. Jellal met Meliodas’s gaze and Meliodas immediately read his expression.

“What’s the big deal?! Let me go!” Natsu yelled. “I thought we were gonna kick some council ass!”

Meliodas ignored Natsu’s squirming as he and Jellal stared at each other.

“Meliodas, you have shown me today that no matter the darkness that resides in a person and their past, they can overcome it. I wish to atone for my sins without causing you all trouble. I’ve seen the lengths you would go for your friends...and that is not necessary here.” Jellal said firmly.

“Well, if that’s what you want.” Meliodas replied. “I’m just glad you found your way and chose to live.”

“Like hell you will!” Natsu yelled angrily. “I won’t just sit idly by and let these guys-”

“Natsu that’s enough!” Erza shouted. “Jellal is right. If this is what he wants to do to atone...then let him do it.”

“Erza?!” Natsu responded in disbelief.

Lahar adjusted his glasses and regained his composure as he walked towards Jellal. With his hands, he gestured for the councilmen to take him away. The group watched as Jellal began getting further away from them but Jellal turned around and faced them before being put away into the transport carriage.

“Farewell, Erza, Natsu... and Meliodas. Thank you for giving me this chance.”

====

Chapter Text

Early the next morning, the legal guild mage alliance arrived at Cait Shelter as requested by their guild master.

The group stood in the center of a clearing in the middle of town, facing the guild. Every member of Cait Shelter was out in front of them with their guild leader, a small, slim elderly man with a full white beard and mustache that went up the sides of his face and wore tribal attire.

“Hmm...something’s off about this guy...no this entire guild…” Meliodas commented as he looked at the guild leader.

“What do you mean?” Sherry asked, confused at Meliodas’s statement. “I don’t see anything wrong with them.”

“Well it’s not that something’s wrong but...I’m just getting a strange vibe from them is all. I don’t think it’s a big deal.” Meliodas said. He shrugged it off and raised his hand out in front of him. An unopened bottle of White Wyvern Ale formed in his hand. With his thumb, he flicked off the cap before taking a drink.

“Maybe all that drinking is finally dulling your senses.” Lyon responded jokingly.

The group of mages continued conversing amongst themselves for a few more moments until the guild leader cleared his throat, indicating he was going to speak. The mages immediately quieted down.

“I am Roubaul, the Guild Master of Cait Shelter. On behalf of all of the regional guilds, I thank you all for destroying Nirvana and stopping the Oracion Seis.” The old man said.

“You are quite welcome, Master Roubaul!” Ichiya replied. “However, it was not us who destroyed Nirvana, but a man of heroic parfum who had to leave us far too early. And because of him, we may now bask in our victory through the bonds of friendship!” Ichiya said as he struck a pose, with Ren, Hibiki, and Eve right behind him.

“That’s Mister Ichiya!” The three Blue Pegasus members said simultaneously.

“Yeah! After mission party time!” Natsu cheered.

“Aye Sir!” Happy cheered as well.

Meliodas watched as the other mages of the group began dancing and skipping around and took another sip of his ale.

“Something on your mind?” Erza asked as she approached Meliodas. “I would expect you to be offering everyone booze during this time.”

“Something’s off about them…” Meliodas said as he pointed towards the Cait Shelter members who were standing in front of them. Despite the joyous occasion, none of them seemed happy.

“That is strange. They don’t seem happy.” Erza commented.

“Well no not that. Something else…” Meliodas squinted as he looked at them.

The rest of the mages continued happily prancing around but eventually stopped as they noticed none of the Cait Shelter members had joined in their celebration. They instantly fell silent and stopped in their tracks.

“Everyone...I must apologize to you…” Roubaul said. “I have been hiding the truth from you…”

Everyone looked at each other confused as Roubaul continued.

“Four hundred years ago...when Nirvana was first built...I was the one who built it.”

“What?!” Natsu’s eyes widened.

“Four hundred years ago?!” Happy questioned.

“Only four hundred?” Meliodas commented with a small laugh. Jura immediately looked at Meliodas with a shocked expression on his face as he remembered when Gemini had transformed into Meliodas and mentioned his age.

‘No...no...he’s joking right?’ Jura thought as he looked at Meliodas.

“Four hundred years ago...war was spread throughout the world. In order to stop it, I built Nirvana, in order to reverse good and evil using magic. I was hoping it would become a symbol of peace but...it ended up doing the exact opposite. Light gives birth to darkness in the way darkness will give birth to light. I failed to understand this during my time and as a result, the darkness overcame the hearts of the Nirvit people and we ended up slaughtering ourselves. I am the last survivor, and to atone for my crime, I have watched over Nirvana for the past four hundred years.” Roubaul said as everyone looked at him with shock.

“This form of mine currently is only a projection, as my original body has rotted away ages ago…” Roubaul continued.

“And I’m guessing the people in your guild are also projections.” Meliodas added in. Everyone else looked at Meliodas surprised but Roubaul nodded.

“That is correct. You are quite perceptive.” Roubaul said as the dozens of guild members behind him began fading away.

“Wait! What’s happening to everybody?!” Wendy exclaimed as she and Carla looked around panickedly.

“I’m sorry to have tricked you Wendy...but all the guild members are simply mages I projected.” Roubaul said.

“No way!” Natsu exclaimed.

“That must take an extraordinary amount of magical power…” Jura commented.

“Seven years ago...a young man with blue hair came to me, holding your unconscious body in his arms. He had such a determined face that I couldn’t turn him down. He dropped you off here and left. I was originally here by myself but...I ended up putting up that charade…” Roubaul continued.

‘Mystogan…’ Meliodas thought as he glanced over at Wendy. ‘So it really was him that met Wendy then.’

“You made a whole guild just for Wendy?!” Lucy questioned.

“N-no...I don’t want to hear this!” Wendy cried as she covered her ears. “They can’t vanish!”

“You have no need for false friends anymore Wendy. Your real friends...are standing there with you.” Roubaul gave Wendy a warm smile as he pointed to the mages standing behind Wendy.

“Goodbye everyone. Thank you for lifting this burden off of me and please...watch over Wendy and Carla.”

---

Somewhere far away, Doryu sat on his throne. He opened his eyes, revealing his piercing red irises as he looked down at another figure that was kneeling in front of him.

“Lord Doryu, we obtained the second orb. We are preparing to send the army to the third village to complete the charging of the third orb.” Aifread said.

“Good. What about the council? Have they traced anything yet.” Doryu asked.
The kneeling figure hesitated for a few moments before answering.

“Yes sir, although we tried to be as discreet as possible, there were still tracks left behind. Especially due to the defeat of Ogre. The council has placed some focus on our activities now that they’re running properly again.”

Doryu glared down at the kneeling man in front of him and lifted his hand. The kneeling man looked up at Doryu and began to tremble in fear, only to stop and sigh in relief as he saw Doryu begin stroking his goatee.

“How long before we complete the third orb.” Doryu asked.

“At least a week minimum sir. I believe that we should pull back for a few days to allow the council to set their target elsewhere.”

“Has there been any movement on the Dark Guilds?”

“We have little information on Tartaros. They have made no movements in the last few years. “

“The guild of demons….” Doryu mused as he stopped stroking his goatee. “What about the others?”

“Grimoire Heart has also stayed behind the scenes. However, we believe that they may have been related to the recent attack on the council which is what caused their temporary disbandment in the first place.” Aifread answered.

“I suppose we should thank them.” Doryu grinned. “They gave us the opportunity to secure the orb without much interference.”

“Lastly, Oracion Seis has made their move towards securing Nirvana, but were stopped by an organized group of legal guilds.”

“So even Zero lost to those filthy legal guilds? I expected more from him. He was certainly a fool, but there are very few that can match his power. Personally, I preferred his Brain personality. But no matter.” Doryu commented. “Which legal guilds?”

“I believe it was Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Cait Shelter.” Aifread replied.

“Fairy Tail? Then I suppose Meliodas was involved was he?” Doryu asked. Aifread didn’t say another word but nodded. There was a brief silence in the room before Aifread continued talking.

“Lord Doryu...I fear that young mage may become a threat to you in the future. At your request I will-”

“SILENCE!” Doryu yelled angrily, releasing his malevolent magic. The walls around them began to shake as a foul miasma filled the room.. Aifread looked down at the ground, unable to contain his fear as he began shaking.

“I am Doryu! I will not be bested by some child who wields darkness! Do NOT underestimate me again!” Doryu shouted, his dark aura spreading across the room.

“Yes my lord…” Aifread said quietly. Another moment passed and Doryu began to calm down, with the miasmic magic around the room slowly dissipating.

“We will wait for the next orb. Call in Franken Billy. Tell him to start moving towards the third orb. I will personally get the fourth orb.” Doryu ordered. “Even If the council gains knowledge of our objective, we will have already finished the fourth orb.”

“Yes my lord!”

Aifread got up and left the room leaving Doryu by himself. Doryu lifted his right arm up and a black coffin emerged from the ground in front of him, cloaked in darkness. The coffin was completely black, except for the four indentations in the front, two of which were filled with purple orbs.

“Soon, I will have awakened you.”

======

Chapter Text

Return

The following day, Team Fairy Tail arrived back at the guild with Wendy and Carla. Upon entering the guild hall, Wendy was admitted into the guild and everyone celebrated. Unknown to the other mages, on the second floor above them, a lone masked man watched the guild celebrate as he leaned on the wooden guardrails observing the celebrating mages.

“Yo, Mystogan!” Meliodas greeted. Mystogan turned his attention to Meliodas, not expecting anyone to come up here originally.

“Ah...Meliodas. I should have expected it would have been you to find me.” Mystogan said.

“How about a bottle of ale?” Meliodas asked. Meliodas raised his hand in front of him. The shape of a bottle began glowing bright yellow, forming fully in his hand a moment later. He smiled as he handed Mystogan a bottle of White Wyvern Ale. Mystogan shook his head.

“I’ll have to politely decline, but thank you.” Mystogan replied. “How was your mission? I assume it went well considering how loudly everyone down there is celebrating.”

“Not as smooth as I would have liked it. But everything worked out in the end. We actually met Jellal.” Meliodas said as he opened the bottle of ale that Mystogan had declined, taking a drink for himself.

“So you finally met him…” Mystogan said quietly.

“He has a rough past, but he kind of reminds me of you.” Meliodas commented. Mystogan’s eyes widened with surprise upon hearing this statement.

“How so?” Mystogan asked.

“He’s the quiet type, but deep down, he’s really a guy who wants what's best for his friends.” Meliodas replied.

“I see…” Mystogan commented quietly. ‘So he’s changed.’

“Also aren’t you going to say hi to Wendy? I think she knows you...in fact I think she misses you greatly.” Meliodas said teasingly he leaned closer and nudged Mystogan’s shoulder with his elbow.

“I’m sorry but... I can’t…” Mystogan said solemnly as he turned away. There was a brief silence between Mystogan and Meliodas that was broken by the sound of a loud ringing bell.

“What’s that bell? I don’t think I’ve heard it rang once since I’ve been here.” Meliodas asked.

“He’s coming.” Mystogan said. Meliodas peered curiously over the wooden guardrail and looked over towards the entrance of the guild. He stared at the entrance for several seconds as he saw nobody coming in, before turning back to face Mystogan.

“Wait who’s coming-” Meliodas looked around confused as he saw that Mystogan was no longer there.

‘He’s as sneaky as ever. Oh well, I guess I’ll just ask Mira.’ Meliodas thought to himself as he jumped down over the guardrails to the first floor.

---

“Wait what’s going on? Why is everyone suddenly more excited?” Lucy questioned.

“Well that’s because-” Mirajane stopped mid sentence as a figure caming flying in from above, landing right next to the two of them.

“Uwahhh!” Lucy screamed. She looked at the figure that just landed and recognized who it was. “Meliodas?! Where did you come from?!”

“Up there.” Meliodas said, pointing at the spot he had jumped from above them on the second floor. “So Mira what’s this bell going on?”

“Gildarts is coming back. He was gone for three years so everyone is naturally excited.” Mirajane answered.

‘Gildarts? I think I heard his name mentioned before?’ Meliodas thought to himself. Before Laxus’ excommunication it was often brought up by gossiping guild members whether Laxus or Gildarts was the strongest in Fairy Tail.

“Three years?! What’s he been doing all this time?” Lucy asked.

“A job of course! There is a level that is above S class quests called SS Class quests. They are also called decade quests because no one has completed one in ten years. However...Gildarts took one even above that. He took on a century quest.” Mirajane answered.

“So why does he have a bell that announces when he’s coming?” Meliodas asked. Before Mirajane could answer, a loud voice was heard echoing throughout the guild hall coming from outside.

“Magnolia will now undergo the Gildarts Shift. Will all citizens please take to your assigned positions!”

“Gildarts shift?!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Both of you, come outside, you’ll see for yourselves.” Mirajane said as she gestured for the two of them to follow her. Meliodas and Lucy both walked to the guild hall entrance with her and to their shock, they saw the town beginning to transform. The ground beneath them rumbled as buildings suddenly moved away from the main road and began to elevate, leaving only a lone pathway.

“The whole town...split in two?!” Lucy yelled out. Meliodas was impressed as he watched the entire town move around and adjust itself in one smooth transition.

“Gildarts’ magic takes anything he touches and turns it into dust. If he’s not paying attention, he could accidently touch a house and completely destroy it.” Mirajane explained.

“This guy sounds pretty strong.” Meliodas said.

“He’s the strongest in the guild!” Natsu yelled from behind Meliodas. “And I’m going to fight him!”

“Aye sir! Even stronger than Laxus!” Happy mentioned. “Although I’m not sure how strong he is compared to Meliodas who is also stronger than Laxus.” Upon hearing this, Natsu froze briefly and his eyes began to light up.

“You’re right, Happy! I should fight both Meliodas and Gildarts at the same time!” Natsu yelled out enthusiastically.

“It’s always fighting with you.” Lucy sighed.

“Look he’s coming!” Natsu shouted.

In the distance, walking down the single path that split the town, was a single man. He had shoulder length orange hair that was slicked back and a stubbly beard, with most of his body hidden underneath a dark colored, high collared coat. As he walked closer to the guild, everyone got noticeably more excited.

“Gildarts! Fight me!” Natsu yelled out excitedly with a large grin on his face as Gildarts took his first step into the guild hall.

“Welcome home!” Mirajane greeted him.

“Huh?” Gildarts looked around confused. “Have you seen Fairy Tail around here young lady?”

“This is Fairy Tail right here! And I’m Mirajane.” Mirajane replied.

“Mira…” Gildarts took a closer look at her. “AH! Mira! You’ve changed a lot! And so has the rest of the guild!” Gildarts exclaimed as he turned his head and looked around at the new building. “And I see there are a lot of new people too!”

“I said fight me!” Natsu shouted again as he charged in at Gildarts. Gildarts turned his head and smiled at Natsu who was approaching him fast.

“Good to see you again Natsu.” Gildarts grinned. As Natsu jumped towards Gildarts, he swatted Natsu upward towards the ceiling of the guild with only one hand, causing Natsu’s body to become planted in the wood above, leaving his lower body dangling down.

“Gildarts.” Makarov said as he walked up to him.

“Master!! It’s been a while!” Gildarts greeted enthusiastically.

“How was the job?” Makarov asked.

“Couldn’t do it!” Gildarts laughed, leaving everyone else in the room dumbfounded and murmuring amongst themselves.

“You’re kidding right?”

“Even Gildarts failed a mission?!”

“Sorry, I sullied our name!” Gildarts laughed nervously. Makarov shook his head.

“No it is quite alright. All that matters is that you returned safely. In fact, you are the only one who has taken that mission and came back alive…”

“Well I’m gonna go head home. I’m beat after that mission. Also, Natsu.” Gildarts said as he looked up back at the ceiling at the dangling pair of Natsu’s legs. “I got a present for you. Stop by later.”

Natsu freed himself from the ceiling, falling on the ground as bits of wood fell around him. He nodded at Gildarts. Gildarts waved goodbye as he walked through a wall out of the guild.

‘A century quest huh...those must make a lot of money. I do need more money for booze right now...although at my current strength, if a guy like Gildarts wasn’t able to complete it, I wouldn’t stand a chance. I have to regain my original power back.’ Meliodas thought to himself. ‘That way, I’ll also be ready for Cath…just in case...’

“I hope you’re not thinking of taking that century quest.” Erza said from behind Meliodas. Meliodas turned around and grinned.

“Nope, I don’t think I can take a quest like that yet.” Meliodas replied.

“I see. However, I don’t doubt your strength. Why don’t we go on an S rank mission sometime?” Erza asked.

“Right now?” Meliodas asked.

“No not yet. I need time to get my armor repaired and I want to see the new selection Heart Kreuz has released recently. I’ll let you know when I find an appropriate mission.” Erza responded.

“Sounds good!” Meliodas smiled.

Chapter Text

The next day, Meliodas approached the job bulletin. He stared at the board, skimming over the current jobs that were posted. The board was relatively empty compared to most days, with most of the higher paying jobs being taken. Meliodas scratched his head and sighed. He looked over towards the bar and walked over, taking a seat on one of the stools.

“Something wrong Meliodas?” Mirajane asked as she approached Meliodas. She put a glass down on the table and poured in some cold ale.

“I’m running out of booze money and all the jobs on the board are too low paying. They’re not very hard but it’s not something I would go out of my way for.” Meliodas replied before eagerly gulping down the ale.

“You sure are devoted to collecting ale aren’t you?” Mirajane smiled as Meliodas put the now empty glass back down.

“It’s a hobby of mine. And it’s something for me to do since I don’t own a tavern anymore.” Meliodas replied.

“Well if you’re not doing anything today, I think Reedus is looking for people to draw.” Mirajane mentioned, changing the subject as she noticed Meliodas’s normally cheerful attitude disappearing as he talked about the tavern.

“Reedus?” Meliodas asked as he turned around on his seat and began looking around the guild.

“Mhm. He’s the one sitting in the corner there painting on that canvas.” Mirajane said as she pointed to a tall, oddly round shaped man with curly orange hair. Over his circular body was a white shirt and he donned a black wide brimmed hat reminiscent of a witch’s hat.

“He’s really good at drawing and his magic is based on it. He can even make his drawings come to life.” Mirajane added.

“Come to life you say?” Meliodas said as he thought about a drawing of Elizabeth becoming a living, breathing Elizabeth. A cheeky smile formed on his face and he hopped off his seat.

“Thanks for the advice Mira!” Meliodas said as he walked towards Reedus at the other side of the guild hall.

Meliodas approached Reedus as he was painting a picture on a large canvas in front of him. Reedus, with his full concentration on the drawing, didn’t notice Meliodas approach him as Meliodas stood next to him, looking at the picture which was a nearly completed picture of Wendy.

“Well, that’s really good Reedus.” Meliodas commented. Reedus turned his head and saw Meliodas standing next to him.

“Bonjour, Meliodas.” Reedus greeted as he continued coloring in Wendy’s hair. “I’m glad you like my drawing. I wanted to draw Wendy as she is the newest member of our guild.”

“That’s pretty neat. Does that mean you drew me when I joined?” Meliodas asked.

“I did.” Reedus said as he placed his paintbrush down. He turned to his side and picked up a large accordion style folder on the floor next to him. After spending a few seconds browsing through the various canvases inside, he pulled one out and showed it to Meliodas.

“Wow that’s really good. Looks just like me.” Meliodas complimented.

“Merci.” Reedus said as he put the drawing back in the folder before pulling out another one. Meliodas’s eyes widened as he saw the drawing.

“Here’s one I drew the next day of what I thought you would look like as an adult before I learned you’re already an adult.” Reedus said. Meliodas silently looked at the picture. Appearance wise, it looked very similar to Estarossa, just like his old wanted poster.

“Hmm...I’d say that’s pretty accurate!” Meliodas said cheerfully, breaking the silence. Reedus smiled back and put the drawing away.

“When you get the chance, I have a request for a drawing.” Meliodas said.

“I’m just about finished with Wendy’s drawing so I can work on it right now.” Reedus said. “What would you like me to draw?”

“There’s a woman I want you to draw, but I don’t have a picture of her for reference…” Meliodas said.

“Hmmm. Well if you give me a detailed enough description of her, I can draw her.” Reedus responded. Meliodas put his hand up to his chin as he thought briefly. He closed his eyes and pictured Elizabeth in his head for several seconds.

“She has...the finest body in the world. The best breasts for groping and the best ass to bury my face-”

“Arrete Meliodas! That’s enough!” Reedus said, somewhat flustered by Meliodas’s description. “How about just tell me stuff like her hair color and her eye color.”

“Oh that’s easy.” Meliodas responded. “She has blue eyes and long silver hair.”

“What’s the name of the woman you want me to draw?” Reedus asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Elizabeth.” Meliodas replied.

“Okay.” Reedus said as he began making a preliminary sketch on the canvas as Meliodas continued giving out details. As he was drawing, two more individuals walked up to Meliodas and Reedus.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted as the two individuals walked up to them. Reedus looked up from sketching and saw Jet and Droy approaching.

“Bonjour.” Reedus greeted.

“Hey Meliodas, getting a drawing from Reedus done I see?” Jet asked.

“Yup!” Meliodas replied.

“Reedus, we were wondering if you could draw a picture of Levy later.” Droy said.

“Another one? Oui. After I’m done with Meliodas’s request.” Reedus responded as he continued sketching.

“So what are you drawing right now?” Jet asked as he and Droy looked at Reedus’s sketch. They remained silent as Reedus began quickly coloring it in.

“Hey that looks a lot like Mira?!” Jet exclaimed. “That’s pretty spot on.”

“No he’s not drawing Mira. He’s drawing Elizabeth.” Meliodas corrected, visibly annoyed by Jet’s comment. “The hair needs to be shorter at the bangs. And the eyes need to be rounder.” Meliodas continued. Reedus nodded in response and continued making the adjustments.

“How about this?” Reedus asked as he tweaked the drawing.

“Something’s still off…” Meliodas commented as he scratched his head and pondered for a few moments.

“There you two are!” A lively familiar voice called out from behind them. Jet and Droy turned around and their eyes brightened as they saw Levy approach them with Lucy next to her.

“Levy!!!!” Jet and Droy enthusiastically shouted.

“I’m here too…” Lucy commented. Her disappointment was shaken off as she looked over at Reedus and Meliodas. She noticed Reedus was drawing something as Meliodas was talking to him.

“Hey guys, what are you two up to?” Lucy asked as she walked up to them.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted while continuing to stare at Reedus’s drawing.

“Bonjour! I am working on a painting for Monsieur Meliodas.” Reedus replied. Lucy looked at the canvas and her eyes widened.

“You’re drawing Mira for Meliodas?” Lucy questioned. Meliodas slumped over and sighed.

“No it’s not Mira. It seems explaining how to draw someone is harder than I thought…” Meliodas said as he looked hard at the drawing and tried to think of a way to explain. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. He remembered his fight against Angel and how she had summoned two strange creatures that transformed into him and gained his memories. ‘Maybe those things can transform into Elizabeth…’ Meliodas thought.

“I got it!” Meliodas shouted as he reached into his pocket. Reedus stopped his drawing as he and Lucy looked over at Meliodas, curious as to what he was up to. From his pocket, Meliodas pulled out a shiny gold object. Lucy’s eyes widened with shock as she realized what the item was.

“T-t-that’s a golden key?!” Lucy exclaimed. “Where did you get that?!”

“I took it from an Oracion Seis woman. She also had two more keys but I grabbed those from her too. Might have left those in my other pants though...” Meliodas replied as he began shuffling through his other pockets.

“Wait does that mean you formed a contract with her spirits now?” Lucy questioned. Meliodas ignored the question as he continued searching his pockets. Eventually, Meliodas pulled out two more golden keys from his pants and held them out in front of him.

“Now which one was it…” Meliodas said to himself as he eyed the keys.

“Those are...Gemini, Scorpio, and Aries!” Lucy commented with awe written all over her face.

“Gemini! That was the one!” Meliodas said. “Here you can have these two, I only need this one.” Meliodas handed over Scorpio and Aries, much to Lucy’s surprise.

“Wait you’re just giving them to me?!” Lucy asked, shocked at what just happened as she held the keys in her hand.

“Well if you don’t want them, I guess I can sell them for booze money.” Meliodas replied.

“No no! I’ll take them then!” Lucy exclaimed.

Meliodas held Gemini’s key in front of him and looked at it. “What did that lady say again? Open the gates? I must have forgot.”

“Actually it’s, “Open, gate of the twins, Gemini.” Lucy corrected. Meliodas nodded and held his key out in front of him. He began to concentrate his magical power into the key to the point where it began to glow.

“Open, gate of the twins, Gemini!” Meliodas shouted. There was a brief silence as nothing happened and the key stopped glowing.

“Maybe it’s broken.” Meliodas said. He walked up to a nearby table and started banging the key on a nearby table.

“No, don't do that!!!” Lucy yelled as she snatched the key out of Meliodas’s hand. “Are you even a Celestial Spirit Mage?”

“No, but I figured if I put enough magic into it, I could get it to come out.” Meliodas shrugged. “If you can summon Gemini for me you can keep it afterwards. Otherwise, I”ll just sell it for booze money.”

“Aghh...here I’ll do it for you.” Lucy shook her head. “By the way, Celestial spirits are not just keys you can sell whenever you want! They are living beings like us! So apologize to Gemini once I summon them!” Lucy said as she looked sternly at Meliodas.

“Alright I will.” Meliodas replied. Lucy nodded and took a step back. She took Gemini’s key and raised it up into the air.

“Good. Now, open, gate of the twins, Gemini!” Lucy shouted as it began to glow. Shortly after, two small, identical blue creatures with round heads and beady eyes appeared.

“Piri piri!” Gemini said as it was summoned. Gemini looked around and saw it was Lucy who summoned them and not Angel. Standing across from Lucy was Meliodas. The two blue twins immediately leaped under a nearby table upon seeing him.

“Look you scared them when you hit their key!” Lucy yelled. Meliodas didn’t say anything as he crouched down on the ground and looked at the two blue creatures. He slowly extended his hands towards them before patting them both lightly on the top of their heads.

“There there.” Meliodas said reassuringly. The two creatures looked at each other before flying out from underneath the table.

“We weren’t afraid of him because of what happened a couple minutes ago with our key.” Gemini commented. “It was the battle with Angel, piri.”

“Angel? What exactly happened?” Lucy asked. Meliodas got up from the ground and looked at the two spirits, remembering that they had learned a lot about him, more than he would have liked.

“Our ability allows us to transform into anyone we touch and copy their magic, recent thoughts, and knowledge. However, it was an incomplete transformation and we could not get his magic, only his thoughts and some of his knowledge as Meliodas’s magical power surpassed Angel’s. But during those few moments we were transformed...piri…”
The two Geminis huddled next to each other and began shaking.

Lucy glanced at Meliodas who had a nonchalant expression on his face. ‘They must have learned something about Meliodas. But what could they have learned about him that made even Celestial Spirits afraid?’

“Well Meliodas isn’t a bad guy so you have nothing to be afraid of!” Lucy said reassuringly as she smiled at the two spirits.

“Lucy...you’re very kind piri. It is because of that, we must warn you about Meliodas…piri.” Gemini replied.

“W-warn me about what?” Lucy asked nervously as she looked at Meliodas, whose expression had not changed. Meliodas looked at the two celestial spirits and made eye contact with them.

“He’s a big pervert piri piri.” Gemini said. “All he ever thought about was one woman who he would do lewd things to piri piri.”

“And I’m guessing that’s the one that Meliodas wants drawn?” Lucy asked, shaking her head.

“Yup.” Meliodas replied with a grin. “I was hoping Reedus could draw a naked version for me later.”

“You sicko…” Lucy sighed.

“Well it seems I won’t be able to get a drawing as accurately as I thought since Gemini can’t transform into someone based on memory. Have fun with the new keys.” Meliodas waved as he began to walk away.

“Hold on?! You’re serious about just giving me these?!” Lucy exclaimed. Meliodas ignored her as he walked back to Reedus.

“How does it look so far?” Reedus asked as he saw Meliodas approaching again. Meliodas stood next to Reedus and looked at the drawing.

“Hmm...it’s close, but not quite. Tweak this right here and that…” Meliodas answered as he pointed to different spots on the canvas.

“By the way Reedus, you think you could draw a naked-”

“Non! I don’t draw those things!” Reedus interjected.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Meliodas walked into the guild hall. He took a seat at a table at a secluded spot by himself, thinking about a way to get back home with a bottle of ale in hand. Meliodas thought of his conversation he had with Hibiki. The information transferred to him with Hibiki’s magic gave him more insight on various types of spatial magic but none of them were particularly helpful towards his case. As he stared off into space, his thoughts were interrupted by a particular pair arguing at the job bulletin.

“Wendy, you know it's too dangerous for you to take this kind of mission!” Carla yelled.

“I’m...I’m just trying to be helpful!” Wendy yelled back.

“There are other missions you can do that you can still be helpful in but not get in harm’s way!” Carla continued.

“Carla you don’t understand...I couldn’t do anything against the Oracion Seis...I had to keep relying on everyone else…” Wendy said, almost tearing up.

“Wendy, I understand, but doing that mission is not the way! You hardly have any magic to protect yourself!”

“I knew you wouldn’t understand! I’ll just go by myself then!” Wendy shouted again. She quickly grabbed one of the flyers off of the job board and began walking away from Carla.

“Hmph. Fine!” Carla yelled back, turning her head away.

At the bar, Makarov watched as Carla and Wendy fought. He sighed as he took one last sip of his mug of ale and placed it firmly down on the table.

“Wendy hold on.” Makarov ordered as Wendy walked by him on the way out of the guild hall. Wendy immediately turned around to face Makarov.

“I understand you want to take this mission to prove yourself, and that’s fine. However, I will not permit you to go by yourself.” Makarov said sternly. Makarov began looking around the guild hall. Compared to most days, it was fairly empty and quiet, with many of the louder members not present. Makarov scanned the room for someone to go with Wendy. ‘Hmm…’ Makarov thought. He saw Wakaba and Macao drinking and reading Sorcerer Magazine at their normal table. He quickly decided against it and looked elsewhere. At another table, Cana was chugging down an entire barrel of ale by herself. Makarov shook his head as he needed someone to look out for Wendy.

Makarov continued scanning the room and saw Meliodas sitting at a table watching the scene from afar as he quietly sipped on his ale.

“Meliodas! Come here!” Makarov said.

“Sure thing.” Meliodas said as he hopped up from his seat. On his way, he gulped down the rest of his ale, throwing the empty bottle into a bin right next to the bar as he approached Makarov.

“Are you busy today?” Makarov asked.

“I had no plans in particular.” Meliodas responded.

“Would you go with Wendy on this mission to make sure she’s safe? I’m well aware of your strength so I ask of you to let Wendy do most of it on her own so she can prove herself.”

“I don’t mind at all!” Meliodas said amicably as he turned towards Wendy. “Mind if I see the mission?”

Wendy nodded and handed Meliodas the flyer. Meliodas looked over the request. “Defeat the beasts that are destroying farmland. 350,000 Jewel reward and it’s just south of Onibus Town.” Meliodas said as he read over the job description.

“Well then. We should head out now.” Meliodas commented. Wendy nodded and the two of them walked out of the guild hall as Carla watched them, with a worried look on her face.

“Wendy will be fine. Meliodas is with Wendy after all.” Makarov said reassuringly to the white cat, noticing the worried look on her face.

“I guess so…” Carla said.

---

Wendy and Meliodas walked to the train station and boarded the train heading towards Onibus town. Meliodas took a seat at a booth and Wendy sat across from him. Meliodas looked out the window as the train started up and began moving.

“Meliodas…” Wendy whispered nervously, unsure of whether she should try to start a conversation.

“Hmm?” Meliodas averted his gaze away from the window and looked at Wendy.

“How did you become so strong? You look like you’re no older than I am yet I hear our guild talk about how you might even be the strongest in the guild.” Wendy asked.

“Oh that? Well, I’m not actually that young. It’s a long story, a lot of stuff happened and it kept me from aging properly I guess.I am a lot older than I look” Meliodas responded.

“O-oh…” Wendy said, not quite satisfied with Meliodas’s answer. She decided not to ask anymore as it seemed like something personal.

The two had a relatively silent train trip towards Onibus as Meliodas quietly stared out the window at the scenery. Wendy wondered what was on his mind, but decided not to pry.

By the late afternoon, the duo arrived at Onibus Town. They got off the train and walked towards the outskirts where the farmland was at. Meliodas and Wendy approached a large, red barn. In front of the barn, was a middle aged man who appeared to be a farmer based on his attire. The farmer wore blue overalls and a white shirt underneath along with muddy dark brown work boots. He had sweat running down his face and dripping off of his shaggy brown beard. The farmer saw Meliodas and Wendy approaching the barn and raised an eyebrow at the two mages.

“Are you two the mages from Fairy Tail?” The farmer asked. He glanced at Meliodas’ right arm and noticed the Fairy Tail insignia as Meliodas got closer.

“Yes sir. Are you Mister Marco?” Wendy asked.

“Yeah that’s me. But they really only sent two kids for this kind of mission?” The farmer said with a look of disappointment. He had expected the guild to bring powerful mages, not children. Wendy returned his look with a shy smile as Meliodas looked at the farmer indifferently.

“I-I’m Wendy Marvell.” Wendy introduced herself.

“Meliodas.” Meliodas added as he gave the farmer a short wave. “So you wanted us to deal with some monsters attacking your crops?”

“Yeah.” Marco pointed towards his fields. Meliodas and Wendy looked to where he was pointing. The fields were completely ravaged. The dirt was kicked up in sloppy mounds and there were holes everywhere with not a sight of any crop growing anywhere.

“Those damn moles...they keep stealing food. At first it was just a few carrots here and there...but then they started taking the potatoes and the corn and before I knew it, all of my crops were gone. I tried to stop them, but they’re smarter than your average mole. They understand human speech and can even speak it. To make things worse, their leader uses some kinda earth magic. A couple other farmers tried to fight off the moles but they were too damn strong...” The farmer explained. “I need yall to go out there and kill em.”

“Hmm...sounds simple enough. Lead the way Wendy!” Meliodas said as he smiled and gave Wendy a pat on the back. Wendy turned around and gave Meliodas a worried glance.

“Uh...yeah!” Wendy nervously replied. She and Meliodas turned back around and started walking towards the other fields, only to trip on a mound of displaced ground as her foot got stuck in the earth. Meliodas quickly grabbed onto Wendy’s shoulder as she was about to fall forward.

“Careful.” Meliodas said reassuringly. Wendy nodded her head, her face flush with embarrassment before the two of them began to walk through the fields. The farmer looked at the two Fairy Tail mages and shook his head.

“Those kids are screwed...” The farmer said to himself before walking inside the barn.

Chapter Text

Wendy and Meliodas walked through the ruined fields, looking at the scraps left behind by the moles. Traces of food remained from their last raid, with the ends of carrots and corn left between mounds of kicked up dirt and mud.

“This is terrible. We need to stop them. But...I don’t know where to begin.” Wendy commented as she looked around. There was a long moment of silence as Wendy thought of what to do. Meliodas glanced over at her and saw a shakily determined look on her face.

‘If I could just find a way to give her some confidence somehow.’ Meliodas thought to himself. They continued walking through the ravaged fields for a few more minutes in silence when Meliodas decided to break the silence.

“Hmm...well the farmer said there was a leader, right? I’m sure if we defeat the leader, the moles will stop coming here. If anything, this is no different from hunting.” Meliodas said, trying to lead Wendy in the right direction with a plan. He looked at Wendy and waited to hear her response to what he had just said. He could have taken the initiative with his own plan, but with what Makarov told him before they left, he decided to have Wendy come up with it herself.

“Well…from what I know about moles, they have a good sense of smell. Maybe we can lure one out with food and catch it?” Wendy suggested.

Meliodas nodded in approval at the plan. Wendy and Meliodas walked back across the fields to the farmer’s barn. The farmer was surprised to see them back so soon.

“You two already got rid of those damn moles?” Marco asked.

“No. But we’re working on it.” Meliodas replied.

“We were going to lure them back out with food. You wouldn’t happen to have any food leftover we could use right?” Wendy asked.

“Food huh?” Marco said. He reached into his overall pocket and pulled out an unopened candy bar and handed it over to Wendy. Wendy and Meliodas both looked at the candy bar. It was in a blue wrapper with the words “Peanut Butter Surprise.”

“Peanut Butter Surprise?” Wendy questioned as she read it out loud.

“Listen, that was gonna be my snack but if it helps you kids get rid of those moles, then take it.” Marco said. “Besides, it’s peanut butter. Everybody loves peanut butter.”

“I-I guess so.” Wendy replied. Meliodas looked curiously at the candy bar. ‘Peanut butter? I don’t think I’ve had that before.’ Meliodas thought to himself. The two bid the farmer farewell once again as they walked back to their initial spot in the fields. Wendy set up the bait and the two of them hid behind a tree, downwind from where the bait was.

Several minutes passed as nothing eventful happened. Wendy continued to watch the bait as Meliodas looked at their surroundings.

“Meliodas! Look!” Wendy whispered as she tugged on his shirt to get his attention. Meliodas looked over at the candy bar bait and saw a mole had popped his head out of the ground. The mole’s nose twitched as it sniffed the candy bar.

“Well that’s a big mole.” Meliodas commented quietly as the mole continued to climb out of its hole. The mole was slightly larger than Happy and Carla.

“That farmer said those moles can talk. Hit it fast and hard with some magic to knock it out then we’ll interrogate it.” Meliodas whispered to Wendy.

“Ummm... about that...I don’t have any offensive magic…” Wendy said as she gave Meliodas a nervous smile. Meliodas returned a blank expression to her.

“Guess I’ll catch it then.” Meliodas said.

“But how are you going to sneak-”

Meliodas suddenly leaped up into the air before Wendy could finish speaking. As the mole was sniffing the Peanut Butter Surprise, it felt an incoming presence above it and quickly dug back into the ground. Meliodas grinned and landed on top of the hole with great force, causing a small cloud of dust to kick up. Meliodas stuck his hand into the hole and grabbed the mole, pulling it out and firmly grasping it in his hand. He walked back over to Wendy with a large grin on his face while holding the mole up in front of him.

“Like that.” Meliodas said. Wendy remained silent with awe written all over her face until the silence was broken by the mole’s screaming.

“Let me go! The boss will have your head for this!” The mole yelled as it tried to break out of Meliodas’s grip. Despite its struggles, it could not break free. The mole decided to stop struggling as it glared at Meliodas.

“Oh, so you guys really can talk.” Meliodas commented. “So where’s your boss?”

“He’ll come for you soon enough.” The mole said confidently. Meliodas looked around the area, anticipating the boss to show up at any moment.

“Wahhh!” Wendy screamed as the ground started to shake violently. Meliodas maintained his composure and continued to hold onto the mole as the ground beneath him started to open. Meliodas jumped back to a more sturdy piece of land as a figure rose from the soil in front of him.

“W-what is that thing?!” Wendy exclaimed. Meliodas watched as a bipedal mole began to walk towards Meliodas and Wendy. The mole appeared to be over a meter tall and had a dark brown coat of fur and massive gray colored claws supported by its stout body and short legs. Its face was long, white and thin and over its eyes, it wore a pair of V shaped black glasses. On its head was a shiny golden crown adorned with red and green jewels.

“B-boss! You’re here! Please save me!” The mole in Meliodas’s grasp cried out.

“The Mole King has arrived! The Mole King demands you let go of that mole in your hands child!” The bipedal mole yelled as it pointed its polished, large claws at Meliodas. The sun’s rays reflected off the mole’s claw’s causing Meliodas to slightly squint his eyes at the glint.

“W-wait!” Wendy yelled. “We don’t mean you any harm. We just want you to stop taking food from the farms here!”

“Hmph. The Mole King listens to no child.” The large, bipedal mole said as it crossed its arms. “For years, we have lived underground, our homes torn apart by the filthy human race, leaving us with no food. But that shall happen no longer! With the magical power granted upon the Mole King at birth, the Mole King will make the moles prosper!” The Mole King declared loudly. He raised his right claw up in the air with his legs spread apart, his claw appearing to shine in the sunlight.

The Mole King turned his attention back to Meliodas and walked closer to him, until he was standing less than a meter across.

“Drop the mole, child. The Mole King is conflicted about fighting mere children.” The Mole King demanded as he looked up at Meliodas.

“Little children? But you’re smaller than both of us.” Meliodas retorted. The Mole King’s confident expression vanished, as it grit its teeth angrily at hearing Meliodas’ comment. Meliodas’ eyes widened as the ground began to shake and he felt a large amount of magic being emitted from the mole. ‘I didn’t think a mole could have this kind of magic.’ Meliodas thought as he stared at the mole.

“Wendy catch!” Meliodas quickly turned around and threw the mole in his hands at Wendy. Wendy caught it in both arms when suddenly, the ground beneath them cracked further. Dozens of tiny mole heads popped out from the cracks in the earth.

“Brothers and sisters! We must get our brethren back! The Mole King will deal with this insolent human!” The Mole King ordered.

“Wendy, run! I’ll deal with this!” Meliodas yelled. Wendy nodded and with the mole firmly held in her grasp, she ran across the fields, with dozens of moles trailing behind her.

“Foolish child! The Mole King will end you!” The Mole King said as he faced Meliodas. A cheeky smile formed on Meliodas’ face as he slammed his left fist into his right palm out in front of him.

“Sorry Mole King, but I’m going to have to dethrone you.”

Chapter Text

The Mole King charged at Meliodas. Despite its looks, it was surprisingly fast as it unleashed a flurry of slashes with its massive claws. Meliodas drew his sword and met the mole’s slashes with his own. The two of them continued their exchange of flurries briefly before the Mole King jumped into the air and slammed its large claws into the ground. Meliodas jumped back as the ground where the Mole King sunk its claws into caved in.

The rocks kicked up from the attack suddenly began floating and the Mole King was standing up right behind them.

“Crusher Barrage!” The Mole King yelled as the rocks launched rapidly towards Meliodas.

‘Huh...reminds me of Diane’s move…’ Meliodas thought to himself. Meliodas looked fiercely at the Mole King as he got into a stance before swinging his blade.

“Full Counter!”

The rocks that were rushing at Meliodas suddenly bounced back as Meliodas swung his sword and accelerated even faster towards the Mole King. The Mole King stood dumbfounded as the rocks collided with him with greater force than he had launched them, resulting in an explosion of dust and debris.

Meliodas watched the smoke cloud, trying to sense if the Mole King was taken down by the attack.

“Hyaahh!” A faint scream was heard in the distance. Meliodas turned around and looked across the field. Wendy had tripped and dropped their hostage mole. The mole that was in her grasp was freed and quickly burrowed into the ground as several other mole surrounded Wendy. Meliodas sheathed his sword and began running towards Wendy, remembering she couldn’t use offensive magic.

“Wendy! Try to remember what Natsu does! Take a deep breath in and exhale with all of your magic!” Meliodas yelled from across the field.

Wendy heard Meliodas’ words and quickly stood up with a fierce look in her eyes. The shy little girl vanished in that moment as she took a deep breath in.

“Sky Dragon’s Roar!”

Wendy exhaled and blew out with all of her might. The moles stopped approaching her and looked at each other awkwardly as all Wendy did was let out a harmless cough.

“I-it didn’t work?” Wendy said to herself in disbelief. Her confidence faded and she grew nervous again as she saw the moles start to approach her once more. Tears began to form in her eyes as the moles got closer.

Wendy closed her eyes in fear as she prepared herself to get attacked by moles. She put her arms out in front of her, preparing for the worst. Several seconds passed as Wendy braced herself, yet nothing happened. She opened her eyes slowly, wondering what had happened.

“Kyaaaaah!” Wendy suddenly screamed as she saw Meliodas’s face right in front of her. She nearly fell backwards again but managed to hold herself up this time.

“Oh good, you’re alright.” Meliodas commented before turning around. Wendy looked around and saw all of the moles were unconscious on the ground. ‘He did all of that?!’

The Mole King bursted out from underneath the ground. He was heavily bruised with blood running down his head. Several more moles with him this time as he came out of the ground.

“You may have bested The Mole King last time, but now, The Mole King will defeat you, with the help of the ELITE mole squadron!”

Meliodas shook his head and prepared himself. The Mole King and his moles were not very threatening to begin with, and if he had been by himself, he could have finished the mission already. Meliodas glanced back at Wendy who was still cowering in fear.

“Attack!” The Mole King yelled as he charged in at Meliodas with half a dozen other moles behind him.

Meliodas put his arms up to defend as the mole king and his henchmen unleashed a flurry of slashes with their claws at Meliodas. Meliodas continued taking the assault head on for several long moments.

Wendy watched in shock as Meliodas continued taking the full force of their attacks. ‘Meliodas could easily have beaten them...so why is he-’

In between slashes, Meliodas managed to grab the body of the Mole King and threw him hard at the other moles. The other moles were knocked out as the Mole King’s body was launched into them at great force. The Mole King quickly recovered from the throw and looked fiercely at Meliodas as he stood back up.

“The Mole King demands you tell me your name, blond child.” The Mole King asked.

“Meliodas. What’s your name?” Meliodas asked.

“The Mole King.”

Meliodas shook his head as he laughed inside. ‘I should have expected as much…’

The Mole King suddenly leaped high into the air above Meliodas and Wendy. The two of them looked up and saw the Mole King clasping its claws together in front of it.

“No longer, will us moles have to remain underground! This is the Mole King’s ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE!”

As the Mole King began to slowly fall, he started to spin. His spinning became faster and faster as he continued to gain speed in the air.

“Giga...Mole...”

Meliodas put a hand on his sword, prepared to cut the Mole to pieces, but took his hand off as he remembered this was Wendy’s mission. Instead, he placed his hands out in front of him as he prepared to stop the Mole King with his bare hands.

“BREAAKKKKERRRRR!!!!!” The Mole King yelled as he collided with Meliodas’s hands. Meliodas grunted as the Mole King’s claws began to dig into him. Blood began to drip down his arms as the flesh in his hands was shredded.

“M-Meliodas what are you doing?!” Wendy yelled.

“HAAAHHHH!” Meliodas yelled as he gripped down harder on the mole. The mole’s rotation began to slow down until coming to a halt moments later. Meliodas held the Mole King’s claws in his hands as he locked eyes with him.

“This human child...STOPPED MY ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE??!!” The Mole King exclaimed.

Wendy looked in horror at Meliodas’s shredded hands. There was a pool of blood where blood was dripping from Meliodas’s elbows.

“Meliodas...why...why did you-” Wendy closed her eyes as tears began streaming down her face. She opened her eyes as she felt a hand pat her head twice.

“There there.” Meliodas said reassuringly. A drop of blood dripped onto Wendy’s face from Meliodas’s hand. Wendy looked at Meliodas’s other hand, and saw he was firmly gripping the Mole King’s arms in place, rendering him unable to move.

“Wendy, what’s the one thing you should be focusing on right now?” Meliodas asked.

“T-the mission…” Wendy said, wiping the tears away from her face. Meliodas nodded and continued.

“Yup. If I remember, you initially wanted to do this mission on your own. So it’s your responsibility now to finish the job. There won’t always be someone to bail you out, whether it’s me or Carla. So I’m going to need you to change your outlook on yourself. Have some confidence in yourself...otherwise...” Meliodas’s smile turned serious. “You won’t be able to protect those you care about. You may not believe in yourself that you can do it...”

“But I believe in you Wendy!” Meliodas added, smiling again.

“Now then...” Meliodas turned around and faced the Mole King, who was wincing in pain from Meliodas’s grip.

“Let me go human!” The Mole King cried out in pain as Meliodas’ grip tightened.

“Well well well, it’s about time we finished our mission here.”

The Mole King looked nervously at Meliodas. ‘T-this is bad...very bad….what is this kid...no this MONSTER going to do?!’

“Wendy, I’m leaving this to you!” Meliodas shouted as he threw the Mole King into the air.

Wendy nodded and stood up from the ground. Meliodas stepped out of the way and looked at her. There he saw the expression of a shy little girl was gone as fierce determination was written all over her face. Wendy took a deep breath in.

“Sky Dragon’s…”

The Mole King felt Wendy’s magical power begin to rise. Still in the air, he began to panic as he flailed his limbs around.

“Roar!”

A fierce torrent of winds was blown out of Wendy’s mouth in the shape of a large tornado. The fierce winds hit the Mole King in the air, sending him flying further into the air as it damaged him.

“AAAHHH!” The Mole King screamed before falling to the ground with a thud, his head buried in the dirt. The Mole King pulled his head out of the ground and looked up at Meliodas and Wendy, his black glasses shattered, along with his confidence.

“Y-you are no kids...you are MONSTERS! The Mole King will never set foot above ground again!” The Mole King yelled as he scurried back underneath the ground.

“I-I did it…” Wendy said quietly to herself. Meliodas walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Yup, you did!” Meliodas said cheerfully. Wendy glanced at Meliodas’s hand and saw it was completely fine, not the bloody mess like earlier.

“Your hands…”

“Oh. Don’t worry about using your magic to heal them. I did it myself.” Meliodas grinned. “Now come on, let’s head back and get your reward, it’s getting late.”

Chapter Text

Late that night, Meliodas returned back to his house from the guild hall. He waved at Schneider who was downstairs reading a book. Schneider returned a friendly nod and Meliodas went upstairs.

Meliodas looked around his room. It was a cluttered mess, with various empty bottles of ale scattered around the room and trash everywhere. ‘I think I should clean this place up.’ Meliodas thought.

For the next half an hour, Meliodas picked up all of the trash around his room. The floor was clean and all that was left leaning against a wall was the portrait of Elizabeth Meliodas received from Reedus that he still had not hung up.

Meliodas walked up to the portrait and picked it up, staring at her face in silence for several minutes. He looked at the photo endearingly. Reedus had managed to capture Elizabeth’s look exactly. Meliodas continued to stare at the drawing in silence, feeling his heart clench from the pain of having to be away from Elizabeth all of these months. Eventually he stopped looking at the painting as he looked around the room. ‘Now where should I hang this up.’ Meliodas thought as he tried to find a suitable place to hang it up.

As Meliodas tried to find a good spot, he felt a strange chill, as if he was being watched. Meliodas concentrated as he closed his eyes and tried to sense where he was being watched from.

He suddenly let go of the portrait as a large knife sunk into it from the top and tore its way down across in one clean cut. The two pieces of the now cut in half portrait fell to the ground. In front of Meliodas was a hooded man wearing a black cloak with a large knife in hand.

Meliodas looked down at the portrait which was now at the man’s feet. Elizabeth’s face was cut in half down the middle. ‘I might be able to fix that with some-’

The mysterious man took a step forward, his boot stepping on Elizabeth’s face, leaving a dirty boot mark as he walked closer to Meliodas. At that moment, Meliodas felt a strange sensation he hadn’t felt in a while. Meliodas looked back up at the man, his features now changed as a dark aura began to emanate from him.

---

Schneider briefly put his book down as he sipped his tea and stared at the flames flickering in the fireplace. ‘It seems he finally finished.’ Schneider thought to himself. Meliodas was making quite the racket that night as he cleaned up around the room. But now it was silent. Schneider picked up his book and began reading.

He suddenly felt a chill go down his spine as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. ‘This sensation...this killing intent...it’s true rage!’ Schneider immediately stood up from his seat and looked up at the ceiling. ‘Is it coming from Meliodas?’

Another moment passed and the ceiling caved in. Schneider watched as Meliodas and another man fell into his living room, with the mysterious man’s neck being held firmly by Meliodas as they crashed into the ground. Schneider put his arms up in front of him as various pieces of rocks and wood went flying around him. As the dust settled, Schneider’s eyes widened.

There he saw Meliodas, with pitch black eyes and a spiral shaped black henna marking over his right eyebrow. Meliodas was looking down at the unconscious man. Blood was dripping down from the man’s face as he lay there.

“Meliodas…” Schneider said quietly. Meliodas’ turned his head as he heard Schneider say his name. His demonic features quickly vanished as he faced Schneider with a happy smile on his face, as if nothing had happened.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted. “Sorry about the roof. I’ll include it in the next-”

“Don’t worry about it. I owe you for what happened with the assassin from Logres…” Schneider interrupted. Meliodas nodded and looked down at the cloaked figure, who was just now waking up. He grabbed the cloaked man and brought him closer to his face. Meliodas looked at him with fierce eyes as the man slowly opened his.

“Who are you?” Meliodas asked. “Why did you try to kill me- no...why did you step on Elizabeth!” Meliodas yelled angrily.

The man looked at Meliodas with a fearful look. ‘This isn’t a child...this is a real DEMON! I SHOULDN’T HAVE TAKEN THIS JOB…’

“I-I am S-S-Savos!” The man replied. “I was h-hired by Joe Bluegarden to k-kill you…”

“Joe?” Meliodas questioned. He then remembered one of the very first missions he took with Gray. They had gotten Joe arrested by the council but he quickly got out, most likely due to his high status. ‘Then that means…’

“Dammit!” Meliodas shouted. With a swift chop to the back of the head, he knocked the assassin out and carried his body outside the house as Schneider watched silently in shock as to what was happening. Meliodas jumped onto the roof of his house and looked around. ‘That means Gray is in danger too...but where did he live again?’

Meliodas began scanning the tops of the buildings as he tried to think if he knew where Gray’s house was. He suddenly felt a spike in magical power as a large pillar of ice that towered above the other buildings rose from the ground several blocks away. ‘That’s him!’

Meliodas prepared a massive leap from his current spot. As his feet left the roof, the tiles of the roof were kicked off as he soared through the night sky with Savos unconscious body slung over his shoulder.

Meliodas managed to land just in front of the ice pillar. He saw that there was another cloaked man that was encased inside of the ice pillar. Standing in front of the ice pillar was Gray, who was only wearing his shorts.

“Gray!” Meliodas yelled as he ran over to him. Gray turned his head and saw Meliodas approaching him carrying an unconscious man.

“Meliodas?!” Gray exclaimed. “Don’t tell me…”

“Bluegarden’s after us.” Meliodas replied. He dropped Savos down on the ground in front of him.

“Tch..this is a real problem. It’s a good thing I wasn’t sleeping yet or I might as well have been dead.” Gray said. “I guess I’ll go call the council and have them pick up these scumbags. But what the hell are we gonna do about Bluegarden. They let that bastard free after getting arrested.”

“I’ll deal with him…” Meliodas said with a serious tone. Meliodas jumped up into the air as black wings sprouted from his back. Gray watched as Meliodas soared into the distance, with his wings nearly invisible in the night sky.

“Damn.” Gray said. “Then I guess I gotta clean up with these guys.”
---

Joe sat down on his porch, with a glass of wine in hand. He stared into the distance, looking at the calm night sky. The full moon above him illuminated his estate.

‘I will make those damn Fairy Tail mages pay for crossing me.’ Joe thought to himself. He took a sip of his wine as he stared into the night sky. ‘Before the sun rises, those assassins would have already killed-’

Joe’s thoughts paused as he looked at the moon. His hands began to shake as he silently stared into the night sky. His wine glass slipped out of his hands, shattering on the ground and breaking the silence.

‘N-n-noo…’ Joe stared at the figure that was right above him, hovering with wings of darkness. He suddenly turned around and tried to make a run for it into his mansion. Just before he could reach the door, the figure landed right in front of him.

“Y-you!” Joe looked at Meliodas, his eyes meeting Meliodas’s pitch black eyes. Meliodas grabbed Joe by the collar and pulled him close.

“I won’t let you get away with trying to kill one of my friends!” Meliodas declared. His body emanated a dark aura. Joe found no strength in his legs as he became paralyzed in fear.

“N-no...p-p-please spare me...I-I promise I won’t try to kill you or anyone from Fairy Tail ever again! Please...I’ll give you anything you want!”

Meliodas glared at Joe in silence before answering.

“Then tell me everything you know. What information do you have on spatial magic?”

---

Chapter Text

“I-I don’t know anything.” Joe Bluegarden replied.

“You don’t have a library or another secret room somewhere?” Meliodas asked.

“N-no. The Council confiscated everything I owned that was magic related... this large mansion is essentially empty now.” Joe said. The dark aura around Meliodas receded and his demonic features vanished. He let out a sigh.

“Well that’s a shame. How about you give me whatever bottles of booze you have left and…” Meliodas’s lighthearted tone vanished briefly and turned serious again. “Leave my friends alone.”

“Y-yes! Of course! Right away!” Joe exclaimed as he scurried off into his mansion.

---

Late the next morning, Meliodas sat in a train on the way back to Magnolia Town. The train was mostly empty as many people did not want to travel during a large storm. The few people that were on the train were sleeping. As he sat down in his seat, he stared out the window. Outside, there was a heavy downpour of unrelenting rain. ‘Looks like it’s going to storm all day.’ Meliodas thought to himself.

As he continued to stare out of the window, he noticed something peculiar in the clouds. In the distance, Meliodas saw the clouds begin to swirl around a singular point. From that point, the clouds opened up followed by what appeared to be a large vortex that shot out from the hole. Meliodas’s eyes widened with surprise. ‘That’s right above Magnolia?!’

Meliodas stood up from his seat as he watched the vortex touch down. He could sense a tremendous amount of magical power coming from the clouds.

The train suddenly came to a screeching halt. The people who were taking a nap flew out of their seats and fell onto the floor. A voice rang out over the intercom.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, there will be a delay to Magnolia Town. Please remain calm and in your seats.”

As the message finished, Meliodas ran through the corridor and opened the emergency exit of the train and jumped out. Wings of darkness sprouted from his back and he hastily flew towards Magnolia Town.

---

Meliodas arrived shortly at where he thought Magnolia Town was. Except the landscape had completely changed. It was completely flat, with occasional mounds of dust and debris here and there. There seemed to be a light snow that fell to the ground from the clouds.

Meliodas continued flying above the clearing when he heard the shout of a familiar little girl.

“IS ANYONE HERE?!”

Meliodas turned his head and saw Wendy standing all alone. He quickly flew down and landed next to her. Wendy noticed Meliodas approaching and gave him a tearful look.

“Wendy! What happened here?!” Meliodas questioned.

“T-the guild...it’s all gone…” Wendy said. Meliodas looked all around them. Not a single person or building in sight. Just as he was about to speak, a head popped out of the ground right next to them.

“Natsu!” Wendy exclaimed.

Natsu pushed himself out of the ground and stood up. He looked around in complete shock as to what had happened.

“Wendy? And Meliodas! What happened here? Is this Magnolia?!” Natsu questioned with a puzzled expression.

“I don’t know the specifics, but I saw it on the train back here. A hole in the clouds opened up and a large vortex sucked the entire town up.” Meliodas replied.

“I-It swallowed up the whole guild and town! We’re the only ones left!” Wendy cried.

“N-no way…” Natsu said in disbelief.

“It appears this was because of the special magic that you dragon slayers possess.” A voice said from above them. All three of them looked up and saw a white cat slowly floating down towards them.

“Carla!” Wendy exclaimed. “You’re okay!”

Carla landed on the ground next to them. She looked over at Meliodas who was also there.

“On the other hand, it looks like you lucked out. You weren’t in town when the Anima struck, so you didn’t get sucked up.” Carla said.

“Anima…” Meliodas commented, remembering the term Mystogan said to him on their brief mission together. “Don’t tell me that Mystogan…”

“Wait, you know about Mystogan?” Wendy questioned. Meliodas nodded.

“Then I suppose you’re also aware of Edolas, aren’t you Meliodas.” Carla added in.

“Mystogan brought it up briefly but I don’t know the specifics. I believe he mentioned something about parallel worlds...” Meliodas replied.

“Well that hole that opened up in the sky was actually a gateway to Edolas, the world on the other side.” Carla continued.

“The hell are you all on about this Edolas crap?!” Natsu exclaimed. “Just tell me where everyone went!”

“Natsu calm down! That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Wendy responded.

“Natssuuuu!” Another voice called out from the distance. Everyone turned to the voice and saw a familiar blue cat flying towards them.

“Happy!” Natsu shouted out cheerfully.

“Where is the town?!” Happy cried.

“Happy too...I guess Natsu and Wendy were saved because of their unique magic and I wasn’t in range of the Anima...but why are both Carla and Happy still here then?” Meliodas questioned.

“We’re both from Edolas, that’s why.” Carla answered. Natsu, Wendy, and Happy turned their heads to Carla with a shocked expression. Carla’s face became gloomier as she continued talking.

“We’re the reason...that the town and guild disappeared...Edolas is a land that is losing its magic. As a result, the king made a spell to absorb magic from this world and bring it to Edolas…it’s a hyper dimensional space spell, Anima.”

“So that's why Mystogan was travelling around, closing these Animas then…” Meliodas added in.

“That’s correct.” Carla answered.

“So this one was too much for Mystogan to handle, and in turn it swallowed up the entire town.” Meliodas said.

“Meliodas, I’m surprised you know so much about this!” Wendy interjected.

“Yes, that is quite strange, considering that you are not from Edolas, Meliodas.” Carla added. “I find it hard to believe that Mystogan would reveal this to you, considering who he is as a person.”

“That is true, but I don’t think we should pry into-” Wendy’s comment was interrupted by Meliodas.

“It’s fine Wendy.” Meliodas said with a friendly grin. “You guys would find out sooner or later anyway. Mystogan and I shared something in common being that we’re not from this world to begin with.”

“WHAT?!” Natsu yelled. “What is all this otherworldly crap?! Just give me back my friends!” Natsu shouted into the cloudy skies.

“Y-you’re not from here?!” Wendy exclaimed. Carla looked at Meliodas with a surprised expression. Meliodas returned a casual laugh at her before continuing.

“So what does this Anima have to do with you?” Meliodas asked.

“Yeah...how is it mine and Carla’s fault?” Happy asked.

“Because...we were sent on a mission from their kingdom and sent to this world.” Carla replied.

“But you two were born here weren’t you?! You hatched from an egg HERE!” Wendy exclaimed.

“Yeah! I found Happy’s egg here!” Natsu added.

“I’ve never been to Edolas, that much is true. But the mission and information about Edolas has been ingrained into us. We were meant to be born aware of everything from our birth.” Carla said. She looked over to Happy, who was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression.

“And how do you not know a thing about our mission!” Carla shouted spitefully. Happy returned a nervous look before looking away.

“Now, now. No need to be so harsh.” Meliodas said. “So what is this mission of yours anyway. You guys can’t be some sort of catalyst to open Animas right?”

“I can’t say…” Carla said remorsefully.

“But Carla…” Happy added in. “I want to know. Please tell me what I-”

“I said I can’t say! If you want to know so badly, remember it yourself male cat!” Carla shouted angrily. Happy returned a saddened look to Carla before looking to the ground. Meliodas looked at the two cats, then looked at Wendy and Natsu.

“This mission…You don’t have to answer, but I’m gonna take a wild guess and say it has something to do with dragon slayers doesn’t it?” Meliodas said with a grin. Carla could not contain the look of surprise on her face as she looked at Meliodas. She quickly looked the other way.

“I don’t care what this has to do with us!” Natsu interjected. “Since things are straightened up here, why don’t we go to Edolas ourselves!”

“Nothing’s straightened out! What are you on about!” Carla shouted at Natsu.

“Well since nothing’s straightened out, the only way to straighten things out is to head to Edolas right?” Meliodas said.

“We can go there…but there’s no guarantee we can even come back to this world.” Carla said glumly.

“That’s not a problem! If my friends are all there, then I don’t mind staying there at all!” Natsu said.

“Me too!” Wendy added in.

“I don’t mind a bit of world hopping.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile.

“Aye...we can save everyone!” Happy added.

“Fine…” Carla said, looking at all of them. “But there are a few conditions I need you all to follow. You’ll all have to disguise yourselves as we can’t be caught. They especially can’t know about me and the male cat. Also I can’t be your navigator, as I know nothing about Edolas apart from the knowledge I was born with. Second, do not inquire about my mission.” Carla said, looking at both Happy and Meliodas. “And third, if the male cat and I end up doing something to betray you, then kill us immediately.” Carla said with a serious expression. Wendy and Natsu returned a nervous glance at each other.

“I’m sure it won’t come to that.” Meliodas said reassuringly as he put a hand on their shoulders.

“Then we’ll go now!” Carla exclaimed as she suddenly jumped towards Wendy and picked her up, soaring up into the air.

“Wait up!” Happy yelled as he picked up Natsu and trailed right behind them. Meliodas looked in the sky at the two dragon slayers and two cats flying towards the clouds. ‘This Anima might be the key to me returning to my world. If it comes to this... I will miss these guys if that’s the case…’

Meliodas shook the thought and jumped up high into the air. Wings of darkness appeared on his back as he soared into the sky and caught up Happy and Carla.

“Meliodas!” Carla yelled as they flew faster. “You’ll have to stay extremely close to us. We’re going to use the traces left from the Anima to get in thanks to our wings!”

“Right!” Meliodas said as he slipped right in between Natsu and Wendy, flying between the two of them.

“Male cat, we’re going to break through right now! Release your magic!” Carla shouted.

“Aye!” Happy responded.

The three of them increased their speed as they flew straight up into the air. Suddenly, a hole opened up in the sky and they flew through.

The next moment, Happy, Carla, and the Dragon Slayers found themselves hovering high above the land of Edolas. The land consisted of many plateaus and floating islands. Strange creatures unknown to them flew high above the ground.

“So this is Edolas…” Carla said as she looked down below them.

“Wait! Where’s Meliodas?!” Wendy exclaimed. Everyone looked around them, wondering where Meliodas went.

“That can’t be. He was right there with us. I saw him go into the Anima with us!” Carla said in disbelief.

“Aye...I think we have a bigger problem…” Happy said nervously as he and Carla’s wing’s suddenly vanished.

Chapter Text

As Meliodas followed Happy and Carla through the Anima, he felt a tremendous force tugging at him, pulling him away from the others. Meliodas ignored the force as he tried to keep up with the two flying cats, keeping them in his line of sight. Eventually, that force became too much as he found himself unable to keep up with them.

‘This thing pulling me...no it’s also draining my magic?!’ Meliodas thought as his vision began to darken. He felt the strap from his sheath become undone. Just as Mel Force separated from him, he quickly grabbed it by the handle. ‘I need to put this in my requip inventory. It would be terrible if I lost this in another world.’ Meliodas thought as he quickly put Mel Force in his requip inventory while he still had magic remaining.

As Meliodas struggled to keep up, the cats and dragon slayers flew farther and farther away from him until his vision completely blacked out as he was pulled away from the group entirely.

Meliodas was awoken by a strong wind blowing on his face. He opened his eyes slowly but his eyes quickly widened as he saw the ground approaching him. Meliodas put his arms in front of him as he braced himself for impact with the ground.

Meliodas crashed into the rocky terrain, creating a large crater as rocks and dirt kicked up into the sky, creating a brown cloud of dust coming from the crater.

Several minutes passed and the dust began to clear out. Meliodas plucked his head out of the ground and shook his head quickly, getting rid of most of the tiny bits of rocks and dirt that were lodged in his hair.

‘Man that really hurt.’ Meliodas thought as he rubbed his cheeks. Meliodas got up and looked around, shaking off the bits of dirt still stuck in his hair and dusted off the dirt on his shoulders. His fall had formed a fairly deep crater. He continued to look around at the unfamiliar landscape.

‘Is this Edolas?’ Meliodas questioned. Nearby, he could see a large city. The city was massive, and appeared even bigger than Crocus from what Meliodas could tell from that distance. The city was built on a circular plane separated into many rising segments. At the center, was a large tower that towered above the rest of the city. Behind the tower, were floating islands.

As Meliodas gazed at the sky, he heard the footsteps of several dozen people approaching. He looked back down at ground level and found himself surrounded by armored men with various weapons. Meliodas looked curiously at them and assumed them to be some sort of military force of this world.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted amicably to them. The armored men began talking to each other, ignoring his friendly greeting.

“This has to be one of those Fairy Tail mages from Earthland right?” One of them commented.

“He doesn’t match the description or pictures that the King described.” Another added on.

“You think maybe he’s just a skydiver whose parachute failed…?”

“How is he still alive then…”

Meliodas continued observing silently for several moments as the men talked amongst themselves until one of them finally spoke up to him, stepping up closer to Meliodas. Meliodas noticed this man’s armor was slightly different from the rest, decorate with golden trimmings and a white feathered helmet. ‘So this guy is their leader then?’ Melioads thought to himself.

“Kid, are you from Fairy Tail?”

Meliodas kept his composure but was surprised at the question. ‘Should I tell these guys? No...something’s off. And Carla said we need to disguise ourselves.’

“Nope.” Meliodas replied. The soldier looked at Meliodas and sighed.

“Regardless, skydiving above the Royal City is a class three offense. You are under arrest-” The soldier cut off as he noticed the insignia on Meliodas’ right arm.

“T-that mark! Y-you! You are from Fairy Tail!” The soldier yelled out. “Men! Capture him!”

Meliodas looked down at his left shoulder and realized his Fairy Tail marking was left exposed by his sleeveless top. ‘Oops. I forgot about that.’ Meliodas shook his head and sighed as he looked at the oncoming soldiers.

“Well, well, well. Can’t I ever go somewhere without a kingdom coming after me?” Meliodas reached towards his back to grab the handle of Mel Force but felt nothing there. At that moment, he remembered he had put Mel Force away before he blacked out.

Meliodas raised his hand out in front of him, attempting to requip Mel Force. To his surprise, the sword would not come out.

‘And I can’t requip it either. For some reason, I can’t use magic in this world.’ Meliodas thought, unable to feel magic flowing in his body. The soldiers began to close in on Meliodas. Meliodas cracked his knuckles and looked at them. He eyed the soldiers who were carrying swords.

“Not going to come with us peacefully?” One of the soldiers asked. He raised his spear and pointed it at Meliodas. “You leave us no choice but to-”

Meliodas interrupted the soldier as he leaped forward, slamming his knee straight into the soldier’s face. Blood gushed from the soldier’s face while the force of the blow sent the soldier back several meters into the other soldiers, knocking a few of them down onto the ground as they tumbled backwards into more soldiers. The other approaching soldiers stopped in their tracks momentarily, surprised at what they just witnessed.

“Press the attack!” One of the other soldiers yelled. Several spearmen charged forward at Meliodas. One of them lunged his spear at Meliodas’s face. Meliodas ducked underneath the point of the spear and retaliated with an uppercut, sending the spearman high into the sky. The other two attacked simultaneously from the left and right sides, both jabbing at Meliodas. Meliodas grabbed both of their spears by the handles and jumped up into the air. He leaned back mid air and kicked both of the soldiers in the face, sending them flying into other soldiers behind them as they let go of their spears.

Several more spearmen and a couple more swordsmen began to charge at Meliodas. Meliodas charged straight into the group, running through them as many of the soldiers were sent flying up into the air.

“Who the hell is this kid?! He’s a monster!” One of the soldiers commented as he was launched into the air.

“A monster? No this kid’s a demon!”

“We need a Captain over here now!”

The soldiers went down one by one as Meliodas knocked each one out, until there none were left standing. ‘Huh...these guys are a lot weaker than I thought. Is it because they can’t use magic?’ Meliodas thought as he looked back at the dozens of unconscious bodies scattered on the ground.

Meliodas began scanning the vicinity and found a sword that one of the swordsmen was using. He picked it up along and inspected the blade for several moments before sheathing it and slinging it on his back. ‘It’s not Mel Force, but it will have to do.’

Meliodas turned around and looked at the large city looming in front of him. ‘I wonder if Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla are there. I’m sure they’ll be fine. In the meantime, I need to search for answers.’

Chapter Text

Meliodas walked around the streets of the large city. He had no idea where exactly he was in Edolas, so his first mission was to obtain information. Meliodas considered going to a tavern but he realized his money won’t work here in Edolas so he had to find a way to make money. As he walked down the street, a crowd of people caught his eye.

Curious, Meliodas approached the crowd. He squeezed his way into the crowd until he arrived at the center. In the middle of the crowd, was a short middle aged man with a bald head, roughly the size of Meliodas. In his hand, he held what appeared to be a sack of money.

Behind that man was a taller one who was about the same height as Laxus. He had shoulder length black hair slicked back and wore a tight black tank top, revealing his massive upper body muscles.

“In my hand here are ten thousand gems! It can all be yours, if you manage to beat my man Viggo here! Only a thousand gems to try and enter!” The short bald man shouted as the crowd talked amongst themselves.

“I’ll be a thousand down and get my ass beat? No thanks!”

“This is a scam and you know it! Who the hell could beat that guy?”

Meliodas looked at Viggo. As much as he wanted to fight him, he didn’t have the one thousand gems needed to even participate.

“I’ll fight him.” Meliodas blurted out. “Although I don’t have any money.”

The crowd became silent and looked at Meliodas. Even the host of the event became silent.

“So you wanna fight Viggo, kid? Sorry, but there’s a fee so you gotta pay up. Although…” The host eyed the sword on Meliodas’s back. “That’s a pretty cool sword. How about you wager that instead?”

“Sure!” Meliodas said. He unstrapped the sword off of his back and handed it over to the host to hold onto. Meliodas approached Viggo and looked up at him.

“I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a kid.” Viggo said as he cracked his knuckles and glared at Meliodas.

“Okay.” Meliodas replied indifferently. The silent crowd began to grow restless as Meliodas stood in front of the hulking figure that was Viggo.

“Are you doubting my strength?!” Viggo yelled, annoyed at Meliodas’s indifference.

“I just want some money for booze is all.” Meliodas replied. The crowd became even more restless and began to comment amongst themselves.

“That kid is gonna die.”

“I feel bad for him.”

“Did that kid just say he wanted money for booze?”

Meliodas and Viggo continued to look at each other. The host backed away and raised his arm up in the air.

“The fight starts now!” The host yelled. Viggo immediately got into a fighting stance as Meliodas stood standing straight up with his hands in his pockets.

“You’ll regret not getting serious, kid!” Viggo yelled as he charged in at Meliodas.

The moment Viggo got in front of Meliodas, he threw a rapid flurry of fast punches at Meliodas. Meliodas took his right hand out of his pocket and began to block each one with only that hand. The crowd stood in complete silence as Meliodas deflected each of Viggo’s punches.

Suddenly, Viggo stopped punching Meliodas and paused. He raised his hands out in front of him with a look of disbelief on his face. At this point, the host could not hide his nervousness.

“AGHH!” Viggo yelled as he fell to his knees. He raised his hands up in front of him with a look of horror on his face. All of his fingers on his hands were broken and bent in unnatural directions.

“I would have been a bit more gentle, but you wanted me to get serious right?” Meliodas said as he turned around and began walking towards the host. The host was frozen in place from astonishment as he held Meliodas’s sword in one hand and the sack of money in the other. Meliodas took both and walked out of the crowd.

‘I was hoping for a bit more of a fight but that worked out.’ Meliodas thought as he walked down the street. He continued walking, looking for a tavern for the next few minutes.

At the corner of his eye, Meliodas spotted a tavern. The sign outside read “Royal City Pub and Lounge.” It was a fairly large two story building made from dark wood. Meliodas walked inside and looked around.

The inside of the tavern was dimly lit. At one side of the tavern, was the bar. At the other side, were many wooden tables. A few drunk soldiers were at those tables laughing loudly. Across from them were a set upstairs that led to an upstairs dining area. Meliodas sat down at the bar and the bartender approached him.

The bartender was a slim middle aged man with a prominent black mustache and short hair parted to the left. The bartender gave Meliodas a suspicious look before talking to him.

“What may I get for you today sir?” The bartender asked. Meliodas glanced at the selection behind him. All of these selections were new to him and he was excited to try them out.

“I’ll have a glass of the Sycca Porter.” Meliodas requested. The bartender nodded and walked away. He returned a few moments later with Meliodas’s drink. Meliodas thanked him and took a sip. ‘This is really good. If I get more money, I’ll have to buy a few bottles of these.’

“Hey, I’m from out of town, do you happen to know if there’s any events going on here?” Meliodas asked. The bartender glanced at Meliodas before looking down again to wipe the counter.

“Yes. There is one that is happening tomorrow. The King himself is coming out to give a speech. Something about having gotten a hold of a large magical lacrima.”

“Tomorrow huh? Okay then I’ll go check it out. Thanks for the info.” Meliodas said as he got up from the table. He left a thousand gems on the bar and left.

Meliodas went back outside and began walking down the street again. ‘A giant lacrima filled with magic...don’t tell me that lacrima is…hmm...I’ll find out when I see that speech tomorrow.’

Meliodas continued walking down the street when a strange poster caught his eye. He approached the poster. “WANTED : THE BLOND DEMON” the poster read. Below the text was a picture of Meliodas although it barely resembled him.

“It looks like I can’t escape this nickname here either.” Meliodas laughed to himself. He continued walking down the street until he found an inn. The inn had a large sign above it reading “ROYAL CITY INN.” The building itself was six stories tall and was made out of smooth gray bricks.

Meliodas walked inside the inn and approached the receptionist. For six thousand gems, he managed to get a room for the night.

Meliodas sat in his room and stared out the window into the night sky of Edolas. Meliodas’ eyes widened as he looked up into the sky. There were several celestial bodies visible compared to there normally only being one moon. In the far distance behind them, he could make out the shape of what appeared to be another planet. Enamored by the view, he continued staring out the window for another hour.

Eventually, Meliodas stopped looking out the window. He laid on top of his bed and closed his eyes.
‘Using this Anima, I was able to travel to another world. This could possibly be used as a way back to Britannia. But at the same time, I also need to save Fairy Tail. I can’t just leave them behind. Regardless, both of my goals are in this city. I’ll find out more tomorrow…’

Chapter Text

Meliodas woke up the next morning and checked out of the hotel. He walked towards the center of the city, closer to the large castle. There he saw where the Lacrima was being displayed. A large crowd stood in front of the Lacrima while many armed guards stood in front of it. Just in front of the lacrima, was a small wooden stage.

‘That lacrima must be it.’ Meliodas thought to himself as he stood in the crowd. Several minutes passed until a slim elderly man with long white hair and a large amount of facial hair walked on stage. He wore brown regal attire and wore a rounded mitre on his head with a strange symbol on it. The moment he walked on stage the crowd began to cheer.

“Your Highness!”

“Long Live his Highness!”

The crowd’s cheers began to die down as the man began speaking.

“My children, my sacred kingdom has, through the use of Anima, produced ten years worth of magical energy! Sing together! Dance together! Let us share in each other’s joy!” The king declared loudly. The crowd began to cheer loudly again as he continued talking while Meliodas observed silently.

‘That Lacrima contains all of Fairy Tail...the problem is even if I were to somehow gain control of that lacrima, would I be able to revert everyone to their normal forms?’

---

Several hours passed since the King’s speech. Meliodas sat in the corner of the tavern at a table by himself, listening in on the conversations of a few drunk guards who just got off duty.

“Hey did you see the look on those Fairy Tail shits faces when we captured them?!”

“Yeah! They couldn’t fight us at all, how pitiful! I can’t believe they fell for that trap!”

“Oh man, I want to see their expressions as they’re locked up in the castle’s dungeon!”

‘They got caught?!’ Meliodas thought. Immediately, he clenched his fist and grit his teeth. A look of rage filled his eyes as he jumped up from his seat and ran out the door of the tavern.

Meliodas ran through the streets at full speed as he ran towards the castle. ‘Looks like I don’t have time to be discreet. I don’t have a plan but that doesn’t matter. I have to save them!’

Meliodas arrived at the main entrance of the castle. A couple of guards standing outside looked at him.

“You lost kid?” One of the guards asked. Meliodas didn’t say a word and clenched his fist.

“Out of my way!” Meliodas yelled as he leaped forward and punched through the front gate. The large iron gate collapsed with a loud crash as Meliodas ran into the courtyard. Immediately after, a loud bell began to ring behind him as one of the guards started shouting.

“Intruder at the front gate! He’s breached our defenses. Stop him at all costs!”

Meliodas continued running through the courtyard as dozens of guards began running out of the buildings to the left and right of him. Directly in front of him, a few guards stood with what appeared to be cannons facing him.

“Fire the magical cannons!” A voice yelled. The cannons fired a bright beam of magic straight at Meliodas. Meliodas reached for his sword handle and prepared to full counter but stopped. ‘Dammit, I can’t use that here.’

The beams from the cannons collided into Meliodas, creating a small explosion where he was standing. The guards that were coming in from the left and right of him surrounded the spot where Meliodas was shot.

As the smoke began to clear from the area, Meliodas was revealed standing up. He had his arms out in front of him. There was slight damage and burns on his arms. Apart from that, he had very little injuries on the rest of his body.

“He’s still alive!” A guard yelled.

“Wait I remember him! That’s the blond demon!” Another guard yelled.

“Get out of my way!” Meliodas yelled as he charged forward at full speed, knocking out any guards that were standing in his way and sending them flying.

“Reload the magical cannons and fire them again!” A guard shouted.

“I won’t let you!” Meliodas drew his blade and dashed through the guards and their cannons. The cannons collapsed into small pieces on the ground as the guards using them gushed out blood. Meliodas continued to run forward towards the doors of the castle as more guards chased behind him.

---

“Your majesty!” A guard shouted as he burst into the throne room. Standing next to the king were two other men. One of the men was a young man with arrowlike eyebrows and white and black hair. He wore a long white coat with gold trimmings.

“What gives you the right to suddenly barge in?” One of the men asked.

“I-it’s an emergency. The castle has been breached. The guards are all fighting in the main courtyard!!”

“A breach?!” The king exclaimed.

“Huh? What idiots would charge into the castle during this time?” Another one of the men standing next to the king asked. This man was an older looking man with a defined chin and a blond pompadour. He donned a set of pink armor.

“I-it’s actually one person sir…” The guard said nervously.

A look of frustration wiped over the king’s face. He looked at the men standing next to him. “I can’t afford to have an inconvenience like this ruin today’s plans! Hughes. Sugarboy. Kill the intruder at once!”

“Yes your majesty!” The two men replied before running out of the throne room.

“You!” The king said as he looked at the guard. “Go find Knightwalker and Pantherlily now!”

“Yes your majesty!” The guard said as he turned around and ran out the door. As he exited the room, another guard came in.

“Your majesty, I have an urgent report!” The new guard said. Faust looked at the guard angrily.

“If it’s about the intruder, I’m already aware!”

“No your majesty...the fallen have escaped with the prisoner. Two exceed, one green and one blue. They were last seen flying towards the courtyard.”

“The courtyard? I see…” Faust’s angry expression calmed as he stroked his beard. ‘So it’s time for THAT.’

---

Meliodas continued his assault on the guards. Cutting through each one swiftly before they had a chance to make a move.

The courtyard reeked with the scent of blood and metal as the bodies of dozens of unconscious guards were lying on the ground. Only a couple of guards were left standing in front of Meliodas.

“Tell me where you’re keeping Natsu and Wendy!” Meliodas yelled as he walked towards the remaining guards. The remaining guards stood frozen in fear in their spots, unable to move a muscle. They had just witnessed a single man destroy an army by himself with barely a scratch on him.

“T-t-t-they’re i-i-nn…” The guard could not contain his fear as he started to wildly stutter, unable to form a proper sentence to respond to Meliodas.

“Now, now. That’s something we can’t tell you.” A voice said from behind the guard. Meliodas stopped walking as three more people walked out.

“And you guys are?” Meliodas asked as he clenched his sword.

“Hughes.” Said the young man with arrowlike eyebrows. “I’m one of the amazing Captains handpicked by King Faust himself.”

“Sugarboy.” Said the man wearing pink armor. Standing next to them was a large, muscular cat-like man with black fur. He wore sturdy custom armor with a cape. Mounted on his back, was a large sword.

“Pantherlily.” The large cat man said. “You may be an enemy, a child no less, but your swordsmanship is commendable.”

“A young child defeated the palace guard by himself?” Sugarboy questioned as he looked around the courtyard at the bodies of many guards on the ground.

“That’s no ordinary child. You must be one of those damn mages from Fairy Tail.” Another voice said from behind the three Captains who approached him. Meliodas’s eyes widened as he saw the person approaching. It was a familiar young woman with long red hair that covered over one eye styled in a ponytail. She wore a revealing black breastplate top that exposed much of her stomach and cleavage with black gauntlets and greaves. Around her neck was a black scarf.

“Erza?” Meliodas questioned.

“I am Erza Knightwalker. You must be familiar with my Earthland counterpart.” Erza said.

“I see…” Meliodas said. ‘This just like how Mystogan and Jellal are counterparts.’ He glared at the four captains standing in front of him with fierce eyes.

“I’ll say it right now. You four won’t beat me, and I will save my friends!”

Chapter Text

Lucy, being held by Carla, and Happy floated high above the castle. As they hovered in place, planning their next course of action, the sound of many wings flapping could be heard coming closer to them.

“What’s that sound?” Lucy asked. The three of them looked around above them. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw an army of hundreds of Exceed flying at them.

“We’ve found you, Fallen!” One of the Exceed at the front yelled out. This particular Exceed looked very familiar, with features similar to the Blue Pegasus member Ichiya.

“There's...so many cats?!” Lucy exclaimed.

“They are the Exceed! We need to run!!!”Happy said.

“It will be troublesome if we remain up here. We’ll go back down to the ground!” Carla ordered.

“What about the royal army?” Happy asked.

“We have no choice, we can just fly through the castle.” Carla said urgently.

“Won’t the guards stop us?” Happy continued
.
“No, remember we almost fooled Erza, I am sure the guards won’t ask too much. Plus, it would be much easier to run away from the guards on the ground than the Exceed in the air.” Carla said as she began flying towards the courtyard.

“Aye.” Happy nodded and followed behind Carla.

The two dove straight towards the ground with Carla still holding onto Lucy. As they came closer to the ground they noticed that a lot of the soldiers were on the ground groaning in pain.

They looked around and noticed five figures who were standing off below. Four of them were facing one lone smaller one. Happy’s eyes widened in surprise as he noticed the familiar smaller figure.

“Meliodas!” Happy yelled. Carla and Lucy looked down at the ground and below them, was Meliodas standing in the middle of the courtyard. In front of him were Erza, Pantherlily, Hughes, and Sugarboy.

“So Meliodas made it here!” Lucy exclaimed. She was surprised to see that Meliodas was here as well. She remembered that he wasn’t in the town when it vanished.

“This is no time to celebrate. We need to get down there now! It looks like Meliodas has his hands full with those four already.” Carla interjected. The three of them flew quickly towards the ground as the army of Exceeds was right behind them.

--

“You’re going to fight us by yourself?” Sugarboy asked. “Silly boy, you don’t know what you’re getting into-.” Sugarboy stopped as he noticed the army of Exceed flying towards the castle.

“Oh, when did they get here?” Hughes asked, looking up above them. Perplexed at their reactions, Meliodas turned around and saw three familiar faces flying rapidly towards them.

“Lucy?” Meliodas questioned. “When did you get here?”

“No time to explain!” Lucy shouted as she, Happy, and Carla flew right by him and landed on the ground next to him.

“Well well well. That’s a lot of cats.” Meliodas said as he continued to look up into the sky above, which was now filled with Exceed. “Although we have bigger problems right now.”

Meliodas turned around and gestured towards the four Captains standing there in front of them. The group was surrounded on both sides.
“This doesn’t look good…” Carla commented.

“We have to defeat these four as well. So Lucy, do you want to fight the cats or them?” Meliodas asked nonchalantly.

“What kind of question is that?!” Lucy exclaimed, shocked at Meliodas’ calmness despite the drastic situation.

“And it’s not like I can fight back…these cuffs are restraining my magic.” Lucy said as she revealed the anti magic cuffs that were restraining her wrists. She held her cuffs out in front of her. Meliodas gave her a puzzled look.

“Wait...you’re able to use magic here? Well I’ll ask more about it later.” Meliodas shrugged and raised his sword up in the air. He swiftly cut down on the cuffs that shackled Lucy’s wrists. The cuffs split in two and fell to the ground.

“Ok now we can-” Before Meliodas could finish, a loud voice shouted from the top of one of the buildings.

“INVOKE CODE ETD.”

Meliodas glanced back at the captains who all had shocked expressions on their faces. Meliodas scratched his head, puzzled by the words of the loud voice. ‘ETD?’

He looked back up towards the Exceed who were flying towards them. Suddenly, three wide rays of magic intersecting from each side of the courtyard shot out at the Exceed, engulfing their army completely in rays of bright light. Suddenly, the Exceeds began to transform into small lacrima that fell to the ground as the light engulfed them.

“What is the meaning of this...Humans!” One of the Exceed at the front shouted as he was held in place by a strange light before he himself turned into a lacrima.

“We can use this chaos to get away and go save Natsu and Wendy!” Carla shouted.

“Then I’ll keep these guys off of you in the meantime!” Meliodas replied as he turned back to the Captains.

“Meliodas!” Lucy shouted as she, Happy, and Carla began to fly away. “Natsu and Wendy are in the West Tower basement! Head over there when you’re done!”

“You won’t get away from me!” Pantherlily yelled as he snapped out of his daze. Wings sprouted from his back as he leaped into the air to give chase to Lucy, Happy and Carla.

“Carla, bad news! That big guy is coming after us!” Happy exclaimed.

“I won’t let you!” Meliodas shouted as he suddenly appeared in front of Pantherlily. Pantherlily’s eyes widened. ‘He was just down on the ground. How did he jump over here so fast?!’

Meliodas raised both hands above his head and clasped them before slamming down on Pantherlily. Pantherlily gasped in pain before being sent hurtling towards the ground. Pantherlily slammed face first into the ground, creating a large crater.

“Thanks Meliodas!” Lucy shouted as they left the area.

Meliodas landed on the ground in front of the unconscious Pantherlily. He looked at the remaining three Captains.

“Allow me.” Sugarboy said as he charged in at Meliodas and drew his blade. Sugarboy’s blade was a unique looking one, with a rose shaped handle. The blade widened towards the tip and three lacrima were lodged within the blade.

Meliodas clashed with Sugarboy’s blade, exchanging a flurry of slashes with him at blistering speed. Suddenly, Meliodas’s blade seemingly melted and dripped to the ground like liquid, leaving Meliodas holding onto only a handle.

‘What is that magic?’ Meliodas thought. ‘No...these guys can’t use magic. It must be an ability from that sword.’

Meliodas jumped back several meters and picked up another sword laying on the ground. He looked back up at Sugarboy who was looking at his arm. From the clash earlier, Meliodas had cut through Sugarboy’s armor on his right arm and blood was dripping down Sugarboy’s hand.

“Try all of the swords you like, but you won’t be able to stop my Rosa Espada.” Sugarboy said as he tried to ignore the pain in his bleeding arm. He held his blade in front of him and charged at Meliodas once again.

Sugarboy ran forward at Meliodas and unleashed a series of fast sword swings. Meliodas ducked and weaved between each one, making sure not to come into contact with his blade.

“You’re wide open!” Meliodas shouted as he found an opening in Sugarboy’s sword slashes. He threw a quick punch at Sugarboy’s chest, leaving a deep dent in his pink armor. Sugarboy coughed up blood as he was sent flying back.

“He defeated Sugarboy in one hit?!” Hughes questioned.

“You’re next!” Meliodas shouted as he charged straight at Hughes. Hughes’ eyes widened as he tried to reach into his pocket and pull out his weapon in time. As he barely managed to pull out a wand-like object, it was too late as Meliodas delivered a solid punch to his gut, sending him flying across the courtyard.

As Meliodas finished his punch, he instinctively ducked back as the tip of a black spear barely missed impaling his head. A slight wound formed on his cheek in the process and blood dripped down the side of his face. Meliodas retreated backwards, only to see Erza standing there holding a spear.

“You’re certainly stronger than I had anticipated.” Erza said as she slowly began walking towards Meliodas. “Even without magic, your swordsmanship and physical prowess are enough to overwhelm even the Royal Guard. However...I’m not like the others.” Erza spun her spear quickly before getting into a battle stance and pointing it at Meliodas. Meliodas clenched his sword and raised it at Erza. A cheeky smile formed on his face.

“Well, well, well. I hope you don’t disappoint, fake Erza.”

Chapter Text

“F-fake...Erza…” Erza said with a shocked expression on her face. Her shocked expression vanished as it was quickly replaced with a furious one. She looked at Meliodas angrily as she grit her teeth.

“How dare you compare me to your Earthland counterpart!” Erza exclaimed. “I’m no fake. I am Erza Knightwalker the Fairy Hunter! In fact, I’m the superior one! As you can see, I’m still standing here, unlike her who was turned into a lacrima!”

“Why don’t you prove it then?” Meliodas responded with a taunting grin as he held his sword up.

“You’ll die where you stand for going against the king!” Erza shouted. She pointed her spear at Meliodas. The spear began to change form, switching to a wide, bluish gray spearhead with the edges on the side curving inward. Mounted on the shaft, was a silver glowing orb.

“Mel Force!”

Meliodas’s eyes widened at the name. ‘Mel Force? Wait...isn’t that-’ Meliodas braced himself and put his arms out in front of him as a large gust of wind shot out of the tip of her spear, pushing him back across the courtyard. Meliodas sunk his feet into the ground, disheveling the ground and leaving two trails of kicked up dirt and grass where his feet were planted. From the dust trail left behind from the attack, Erza burst forth, charging towards Meliodas with blinding speed.

“Silfarion!”

The shape of Erza’s spear had changed once again, this time taking the form of a triangular arrowhead type spear with a gold spiral base and red stripes. ‘She got faster?’ Meliodas thought as Erza charged at him.

Meliodas responded with his own speed and raised his own sword up. As Erza was about to thrust her spear into Meliodas’ body, he parried the strike, retaliating with his own slash until the two of them began to rally slashes, creating large sparks as the blade of his sword grinded against the tip of her spear.

Erza quickly jumped back before charging in again, making a huge lunge at Meliodas with her spear pointed at Meliodas. Meliodas retaliated with a lunge of his own, his sword out in front of him. Just before the tip of her spear was about to collide with Meliodas’s sword, it changed forms, becoming a triangular shaped blade with two curvy yellow lines located at the center.

“Explosion!”

Erza’s spear emitted a large explosion from the tip, engulfing Meliodas in a large ball of fire and smoke. The explosion itself caused Meliodas’ blade to snap and Meliodas quickly jumped out of the smoke.

Meliodas emerged from the smoke, with slight damage on his arms and parts of his clothes singed but it was nothing too serious. Before Meliodas feet could touch the ground, Erza lunged forward, the tip of her spear glowing as she aimed it at Meliodas head.

“This is where you die!” Erza shouted.

“Not good!” Meliodas commented as he realized he only had a handle left on his sword. Meliodas dropped the handle of the sword and prepared to face the oncoming attack. As the tip of the spear closed in on Meliodas’s head, his features quickly changed. His eyes became pitch black and a black spiral henna appeared on his forehead. He raised his hand right in front of the spear and caught the tip of the head between his thumb and index finger.

“What?!” Erza exclaimed in disbelief as Meliodas held the tip of her spear. “However…”

The tip of the spear created a large explosion, engulfing Meliodas as he continued to hold onto the trip. Erza stared into the smoke of the explosion, her eyes widening as she realized she couldn’t get Meliodas to let go of the spear. The smoke began to clear out, showing Meliodas unfazed by the blast.

“Gravity Core!” Erza’s spear transformed once again, now possessing a long, dark blade as a large black orb manifested where Meliodas was holding the spear. The orb engulfed Meliodas before exploding, creating a massive crater in the ground. As Erza tried to withdraw her spear, she found she was still unable to pull it out of Meliodas’s grasp.

‘He just took Gravity Core head on?! How is still standing?’ Erza looked at Meliodas in disbelief. ‘And that nasty aura he’s giving off...what the hell is he?’

Meliodas changed his grip on Erza’s spear, using his other hand to grab the handle. From there he spun around still holding the spear and threw Erza as hard as he could. Erza kept her grip on the spear but couldn’t stop herself from being launched across the courtyard as she slammed straight through a wall of the castle, followed by another wall and another wall.

Erza laid in the debris of the walls she was slammed into. In front of her, were the holes of several other walls she was thrown into until this one stopped her. As she got back up, she saw Meliodas walking towards her through the holes in the walls. She wiped the blood dripping down her head and smirked.

“I see...it appears I greatly underestimated your power. What is your name?” Erza asked.

“Meliodas.” Meliodas replied as he walked closer. “Listen. I’m a bit reluctant to hurt you since you share the face of a comrade, so just put down your weapon and I’ll go save my friends.” Meliodas said with an amicable tone, his demonic features now gone.

Erza grit her teeth upon hearing that comment. ‘Again…just like with Lucy…’
“I won’t tolerate being compared to my Earthland counterpart any longer! I’ll kill you right here with my full power!” Erza yelled standing up again and brushing the dirt off of herself. Meliodas shook his head as he got in a battle stance with his left arm raised in front of him.

“Saint Spear: Ravelt!” Erza yelled, charging in at Meliodas again.

Erza’s spear changed into a straight pointed tip with four edges curving inwards and outwards, separated by a golden arrow extending out of both sides. In the middle of that arrow was a red gem.

“This is the Ten Commandments final form! With this, I will defeat you!” Erza shouted as her spear began to glow.

‘Ten commandments? First Mel Force and now this? Is she Erza’s counterpart or mine...’ Meliodas shook the thought as his demonic features returned and darkness leaked out of his left arm. A large blade of darkness extended out from his forearm, imitating a large blade that was nearly as long as Meliodas.

“I don’t know what exactly you’re fighting for... but that doesn’t matter to me. I will protect Fairy Tail!” Meliodas declared.

“For a world with eternal magic!” Erza yelled as she charged at Meliodas. More darkness began to pour out of Meliodas’s darkness blade as he charged at her.

Meliodas and Erza clashed, creating an explosion of bright light that shone out of the castle. The shockwave from their crash caused the castle around them to shake, with some of the supporting pillars falling to the ground. As the light died off, Meliodas stood behind Erza, his darkness blade still intact. Behind him, Erza stood silent and motionless holding her spear, Ravelt. A few moments passed where not a single movement was made.

“Dammit...I can’t...lose here…” Erza muttered, breaking the silence. Blood sprayed out from Erza’s body as she fell to the ground, dropping her spear in the process. Meliodas turned around and faced Erza as Erza struggled to keep her eyes open and look back at him.

“I understand you’re fighting for the sake of this world, but I am also fighting for mine.” Meliodas said. Erza couldn’t muster up the strength to speak as she watched Meliodas walk away from her, her eyes closing.

Chapter Text

Meliodas exited the portion of the castle he fought Knightwalker in and dashed across the courtyard, on his way to the West Tower. The guards’ numbers were beginning to dwindle as less and less were showing up to try to stop him. Suddenly, a looming shadow appeared in front of Meliodas, landing on the ground in front of him. The ground shook as it landed. Several more of these large figures landed in front of Meliodas, blocking his path. Meliodas looked up at the large beasts.

The beasts were massive, able to hold at least a dozen people on their backs along with large wings. They had smooth, dark blue fur and a pointed, angular head with yellow beady eyes. As the beasts opened their mouths, Meliodas could see a row of very sharp teeth.

Dozens of guards holding swords and spears got off the beasts' backs and lined up in front of Meliodas, with their weapons pointed at Meliodas. The very last one to walk out was a very short elderly man. He was bald with horn shaped eyebrows and wore a dark robe with a large cape draped over him.

“So you managed to defeat, even Erza? It appears she was not fitting of her title as Fairy Hunter. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Byro, the Chief of Staff.” The elderly man introduced himself.

“It would be wise of you to surrender here...for if you don’t...you truly will die here!” Byro continued. “If not to me or these troops, but to this army of Legions!”

Byro pointed up to the sky and Meliodas looked up. There were even more beasts that were floating above Meliodas, looking at him.

“There must be at least a couple dozen of these things…” Meliodas said as he looked up in the sky. In front of Meliodas, more soldiers began to line up as even more got off the backs of the Legions.

“So what will it be?” Bryo asked, with a smirk on his face. Meliodas returned Byro’s gaze with a look of fierce determination. A shiver ran down Byro’s spine as he looked at Meliodas’ unwavering emerald eyes.

“I will save my friends.” Meliodas stated resolutely. There was a brief moment of silence between Meliodas and the Edolas army in front of him. Tension built up in the air as they glared at each other for what seemed like an eternity despite only a few moments having passed. Eventually, Meliodas began slowly walking towards the army.

The army men stared at Meliodas, with some gripping their weapons even tighter to the point where their hands began shaking. Some held their breaths in heavy anticipation. Despite their overwhelming numbers, they knew that this would be a steep, uphill battle, having witnessed the defeat of many of their comrades including nearly every Captain of the royal army.

“Hagghhh!!!”

The silence was broken as members of the Edolas army yelled like a battle cry as they suddenly rushed towards Meliodas, with their spears and swords out. Meliodas’ slow walking pace transitioned into a brisk one, speeding up into a jog before finally becoming a full sprint as he ran straight into the army.

Meliodas and the oncoming army of people clashed, with multiple bodies being thrown up into the air as Meliodas charged straight through them. Meliodas soon found himself surrounded on all sides as men on each side came at him with swords.

Meliodas jumped in the air as a man slashed horizontally with his sword. From his midair position, he hit the soldier with a flying side kick, launching him into two more men who were coming in from behind him and knocking them over.

Two more men lunged in from behind Meliodas. One swung his sword at Meliodas horizontally, to which Meliodas quickly ducked underneath. He spun around, delivering a back kick to the man’s torso and knocking the wind out of him. The soldier was sent flying into several more soldiers, knocking them all down onto the ground.

The third man prepared to strike at Meliodas from behind, only for Meliodas to vanish from his sight and reappear on top of him. Meliodas delivered a swift chop to the back of the soldier’s head, knocking him out as four more came running at him from the front. Behind the four of them, a fifth was holding a magical cannon.

Meliodas dashed in at the four soldiers, grabbing the first one he saw and throwing him hard into the other three, with the soldier who was flung being sent flying straight into the fifth with the cannon. The cannon shattered as the soldier collided with it, causing a small explosion that took out several more nearby soldiers.

Several more soldiers charged in at all sides, holding spears. They each thrust their spears forward at Meliodas. Meliodas quickly got on the ground, with his back to the floor and his hips high above him. Twisting his torso, he spun around on the ground in a swift motion while keeping his legs in a “V” shape. The spears aimed at Meliodas bounced off his legs as he continued rotating on the ground. Meliodas suddenly jumped up from his position on the ground, fairly high in the air, above the heads of the other soldiers. He slammed down onto the ground with his legs, causing shards of the earth to kick up and jut outward as the shockwave blew back more of the surrounding soldiers.

Out of the corner of Meliodas’ eye, he noticed another soldier charging at him, holding a large spear, one far larger than the flimsy sticks the previous soldiers wielded. Meliodas ducked backwards as the spear barely missed his face. He grabbed the shaft of the spear tightly as he swung the spear over his head, sending the man who was originally holding it flying across the heads of the other soldiers who were closing in to surround Meliodas.

The soldiers who were now standing around Meliodas began to step back further away from him. Meliodas paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. He began to slowly walk forward, with the soldiers that were in front of Meliodas quickly moving back away.

“This child...I see how he was able to best the Captains…” Byro commented shakily. He shuddered at the thought that even with this army at his disposal, it wouldn’t be enough. ‘However...we still have those…’ Byro thought as he looked up into the sky.

From above, a large, winged figure was flying straight at Meliodas with blistering speed. Meliodas looked up at the Legion flying towards him, with its gaping jaw open wide. Behind it, several more Legions were flying in at Meliodas. Meliodas tightly gripped the large spear in his hands. A dark aura was exuded from his body as his eyes turned pitch black and a black spiral shaped henna formed above his right eyebrow. The spear he was holding became shrouded in a layer of darkness as Meliodas wound his arm back, turning the gray colored steel spear into a jet black one.

Meliodas threw the spear with great force at the Legions, the force of the throw creating a large gust of wind while cracking the ground under Meliodas’s feet. The darkness clad spear went straight through the Legion’s mouth and out the other end, perfectly intact. Blood gushed out of the Legion’s mouth as the spear continued flying without losing speed as it pierced straight through two more Legions behind the first one. The massive hulking bodies of the Legions immediately fell to the ground below.

Soldiers below them quickly fled as the massive bodies nearly crushed them. Two more Legions landed on the ground in front of Meliodas. Despite their fierce natures, none of them made a move to attack Meliodas, their animalistic instincts telling them that doing so will result in their deaths. Instead, Meliodas walked by them without trouble. The remaining soldiers firmly grasped their weapons silently and watched as Meliodas walked through their ranks towards Byro.

Bryo looked into Meliodas’ pitch black eyes and fell to his knees immediately. Sweat began to pour down his face as his hands started to tremble. He continued to stare at Meliodas, wide eyed, as Meliodas walked closer to him.

“T-that’s impossible...an army of Legions and armed men brought to their knees by a young boy who doesn’t even wield magic…”

Meliodas’s demonic features reverted to his more innocent appearance as he approached the heavily shaken Byro. He knelt down in front of Byro and looked him in the eyes.

“So how do I turn my friends back from being a lacrima?” Meliodas asked. Byro regained his composure as the malevolent aura that was around Meliodas was now gone. He cleared his throat before talking.

“It’s no use. You won’t be able to save your friends. Once the Dragon Chain Cannon is fired, it will link to the island your friends are on and crash it into Extalia.” Byro replied.

“Dragon Chain Cannon? Extalia?” How do I-” Meliodas was cut off as he heard a loud noise in the distance, coming from the main tower of the castle. He looked up at the tower of the castle and saw the massive head of the cannon getting ready to fire.

“It’s too late for your friends!” Byro laughed. Meliodas clenched his fists and stood back up as he looked at the giant Lacrima. He walked past Byro, delivering a swift chop the back of his head. The other soldier’s still there dropped their weapons in response, indicating their surrender. Meliodas ignored them as he continued to look up at the tower of the castle.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

====

Chapter Text

Natsu and Wendy’s eyes were closed, with their backs leaned up against a stone wall in a pitch black room. A loud creaking sound echoed through the room as the large metal door to enter it opened up. The room lit up as several figures walked in through the doorway.

“Natsu, Wendy!” Gray, Lucy, and Erza shouted simultaneously. They ran to their side to check on them. Carla approached Wendy, with tears in her eyes.

“I’m...sorry Wendy…” Carla cried as she grasped Wendy’s limp hand.

“They’re unconscious.” Gray said as he got a closer look.

“We’ll feed them the X balls. That should wake them up.” Erza suggested. Gray nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out a glass vial filled with small black circular pills. He placed a singular pill in each of the dragon slayer’s mouths. After feeding them both the pills, Natsu and Wendy immediately started coughing as they woke up.

“Wait a second! We didn’t give Meliodas one of those!” Lucy exclaimed. “He’s by himself right now in the courtyard fighting some high ranking Edolas Military members…”

“You left him by himself?!” Gray shouted.

“He said he could handle it! He beat Laxus right?” Lucy replied. “And didn’t he also defeat most of the Oracion Seis too?”

“Yeah he’s strong but, that was in Earthland where he had his magic...and right now he doesn’t have his magic. I’ll go over there and give him an X ball!” Gray said urgently as he immediately sprung up. He was about to run towards the door, only for Erza to stop him as she placed a hand on his bare shoulder.

“Meliodas has his job and we have ours. He isn’t someone who relies solely on magic. He’s also a capable swordsman. I’ll put my faith that he can fight them.” Erza said resolutely. Gray looked into Erza’s eyes and knew she was absolutely faithful in Meliodas’ skill. He nodded back at Erza in response.

“Then what are we waiting for!” Natsu shouted abruptly. He jumped up from the ground and sprinted towards the exit leading into the outer corridor.

“Wait! Natsu!” Lucy cried out.

“No...he’s right...we should go now. They’re planning on using the lacrima with all of our friends to crash into Extalia.” Wendy said as she slowly got up from the ground. “They’ll...use our friends as a bomb…”

“Then let’s go stop it! We can’t let that happen!” Erza shouted as she ran after Natsu. Gray and Lucy looked at each other and nodded before running off after Erza while Carla and Wendy stayed behind.

“We’re not going with them?” Carla asked.

“No… I don’t want to doubt them but in case something goes terribly wrong, let’s go inform Extalia.” Wendy answered.

---

Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Erza ran through the large corridors of the large castle. The castle was unfamiliar ground to them, with the design and style being nothing similar to any sort of architecture they’ve encountered in Earthland, making it even harder for them to find their way to the king.

“Why is there an amusement park here?!” Lucy shouted. In front of them was a large, colorful amusement park filled with varying rides.

“Heh...we really are lost aren’t we…” Gray commented.

“Isn’t it weird that we haven’t ran into any guards?” Lucy asked, curious as to why there would be no one trying to stop them in such a drastic state of emergency.

“Damn...and I was looking forward to kicking some ass.” Natsu said with a grin.

“That may be because of Meliodas. His storming of the castle to look for you guys would have brought the attention of the guards over to him in the courtyard. It’s thanks to him, we have a clear path now as we look for the king.” Erza mentioned.

As the group continued running through the amusement park, they encountered a strange girl who dashed in from around the corner. The girl was lean and short with a face that resembled a puppy. She wore green headgear that appeared to be like floppy ears and a yellow dress. Underneath the yellow dress was a skin tight blue bodysuit that went down to her ankles as she was barefoot. The mysterious girl paused as she looked at the Fairy Tail mages. In her hand was a strange, large key. The key was nearly as long as her body, symmetrical with three edges on each side of the tip that was held together by a long red rod. At the top of that rod was a red colored head of a dragon painted onto the base.

“Hey who are you!” Natsu questioned. The girl paused and remained silent as she continued to gawk at the earthland mages.

“Are you able to tell us where the King is?” Erza asked calmly as she approached her. The girl immediately ran the other way as Erza got closer.

“Sorry, not happening!” Gray shouted. He placed both hands on the ground, freezing the floor in front of him.

As the girl ran away, the ground beneath her became icy. Her left foot slid forward, causing her to lose her balance while her momentum carried her forward. The girl fell face first on the ice until skidding to a halt on the unfrozen parts of the ground. In the process, she dropped the strange key she was holding. The key slid across the ground, reaching Erza’s feet. Erza bent down and picked the key up.

“No! You can’t take that!” The girl cried out as she lay on the ground.

“And why not?” Erza asked, with the key now in her hands. The girl remained silent, unsure of how to answer.

“At least tell us your name first.” Gray added.

“Coco…” The girl answered reluctantly.

“Well my name is Erza. Those others there are Gray, Lucy, and Natsu. I understand you’re reluctant to answer us, most likely because you realized we are from Earthland.” Erza said. “However, we just want to save our friends, so please cooperate with us.”

“Save your friends?” Coco questioned.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to save our friends!” Natsu added in enthusiastically. Coco froze as she thought about her reasoning for stealing the key in the first place.

“If you want to save your friends...destroy that key.” Coco replied solemnly.

“Yeah let’s burn it!” Natsu shouted eagerly as he walked up to Erza.

“Wait. What is this key even for?” Erza asked.

“The Dragon Chain cannon. The Dragon Slayer magic extracted from your friends earlier was used to power that cannon. Using it will slam that lacrima into Extalia…” Coco explained.

“Wait...that means that cannon can revert our friends back to normal!” Lucy exclaimed excitedly.

“You’re right...we’ll just have to use this cannon for ourselves!” Gray added.

“Can you show us the way?” Erza asked Coco. Coco nodded in response.

“Hell yeah! Let’s go bring our friends back!” Natsu shouted.

---

Erza, Natsu, and Gray barged into the Dragon Chain Cannon room, breaking down the heavy doors in the process. As the doors fell down to the ground with a loud crash the guards in the room turned their attention to the entrance and looked at the three mages in awe.

“Y-You!” Faust exclaimed. “Guards! Quickly! Deal with them!”

The guards immediately charged at the three mages with their weapons drawn. A smile formed on Natsu’s face as flames engulfed his hands. He cracked his knuckles as he looked around the room.

“Finally! Some guys to beat up that Meliodas hasn’t gotten to yet! I’m all fired up!” Natsu shouted as he ran in first. He threw a fiery punch at the first guard he ran into, sending him flying into several other guards while more showed up from behind those ones. Natsu grinned as he crouched down with his arms spread out, while Erza and Gray stepped up next to him.

Erza’s armor began to glow, forming into her Heaven’s Wheel Armor. Dozens of swords of different shapes and sizes materialized above Erza’s head with a bright glow. Gray got into his ice make stance with both hands at his side, with one palm open while the other hand was a fist pressed against it.

“Fire Dragon’s Wings!”

“Ice Make: Geyser!”

“Circle Sword!”

Large whips of flames, an enormous pillar of ice, and a barrage of rotating swords slammed straight into the guards, sending dozens of their bodies flying in all directions.

“Not a lot of guards you have here.” Gray commented with a smirk.

“Dammit...dammit...dammit!” Faust shouted.

“Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re gonna go save our friends.” Erza said as she walked over to the control panel of the dragon chain cannon. With her requip, she summoned the key, much to Faust’s surprise.

“W-where did you get that?!” Faust questioned. Erza ignored his question as she put the key in the slot and messed around with the control panel. ‘Huh...how do I change the coordinates on this thing?’

“I...I won’t let you destroy my plans!” Faust yelled out. The ground beneath Erza, Gray, and Natsu suddenly gave way. Two large horns followed by a massive head tore through the ground. Erza, Natsu, and Gray jumped out of the way as the floor of the room collapsed. The Legion stuck its head out and glared at the three of them.

“What the hell is that thing?!” Natsu questioned. “It’s huge!”

“That is my personal Legion!” Faust replied as he ran over to the control panel. Erza immediately ran towards Faust, only to stop as the Legion lunged forward with its jaws, prompting Erza to jump back away.

“You’ve done the work for me! Say goodbye to your friends!” Faust yelled enthusiastically. A large grin appeared on his face underneath his beard as he pressed the button on the canon.

“NOO!” Natsu, Erza and Gray shouted simultaneously. From the construction supporting the panel, they could only watch as an enormous white chain with a dragon shaped head fired from the cannon towards the giant floating island where their friends remained.

As the chain reached the halfway mark from the island, a black blur seemingly bolted through the sky straight into the path of the chain. Erza, Natsu, and Gray’s eyes grew wide as they saw the figure standing in the path.

“Wait a second isn’t that-”

Chapter Text

“Meliodas?!” Erza, Natsu, and Gray exclaimed.

Meliodas appeared in front of the dragon head of the chain. The head of the chain collided with Meliodas’ body. With his whole body pressed against the chain, he pushed back against it.

Faust was wonderstruck as he stared at the lone youthful blond boy holding back the chain cannon with his bare hands. Meliodas hovered in the sky with his black wings. His eyes were pitch black and a black spiral shaped henna was formed over his right eyebrow. Darkness shrouded his hands up to his arms as he held the dragon head of the giant chain.

The chain continued pushing against Meliodas, causing him to slowly fly back towards the island. As the chain continued pushing, it felt as if it was getting even stronger, pushing Meliodas back even further and faster.

“We have to help him! He can’t hold that for long!” Natsu shouted.

“And how do you suppose we do that flame brain?! We can’t fly up there!” Gray retorted.

“Hold on...we never gave Meliodas an X ball yet. If we could just somehow restore his magic...” Erza mentioned as she stared at Meliodas.

“That’s true...Wait! You’re telling me he’s not holding that cannon back with magic?!” Gray exclaimed in disbelief as he looked at Meliodas. “Then what the hell are those black things coming out of his body?!”

Meliodas could see Erza, Gray, and Natsu from where he was floating and keeping the cannon at bay. He grit his teeth and mustered forth his strength. ‘If I don’t stop this thing...everyone will die! I won’t let that happen!’

“HAAHHHH!!!” Meliodas shouted. More darkness began to envelop Meliodas’s body up his arms, until nearly half of his body and face were completely shrouded in darkness. The darkness on his arms began to expand, taking form into giant claws. The dark wings on Meliodas’s back grew larger as he pushed back against the cannon. Blood began dripping from Meliodas’s mouth as he pushed back even harder, with the darkness on his arms seemingly throbbing.

“If Meliodas just had his magic…” Gray said as he pulled out the vial of remaining X balls in his pocket and looked down at them. His gaze was averted to the corner of his eye as he noticed Erza beginning to glow.

“Requip!”

Erza’s armor began to glow and change shape, becoming larger in size with massive shoulder pauldrons. The armor itself was yellow with blue trimmings with the edges decorated in white fur.

“Hand the bottle over to Natsu. I’ll throw him over and he can give a pill to Meliodas.” Erza ordered. Gray nodded and handed the bottle of X balls to Natsu. He gripped it firmly in his hand as he closed it. Erza extended her right arm out, the armor of which was bigger than her left and grabbed Natsu’s arm.

“Yeah let’s do this!” Natsu shouted enthusiastically. Grabbing Natsu, she launched him with great force into the air, with Natsu still holding onto the bottle.

As Meliodas continued to struggle holding off the dragon chain cannon, he noticed a familiar figure rapidly heading towards him.

“Take it!” Natsu shouted. He extended his arm out, holding the bottle of X balls. Meliodas grinned and he quickly reverted the darkness on his right hand as he reached out and grabbed the bottle out of Natsu’s hand as he flew right by. Another appendage of darkness shot out from his back, stopping Natsu’s momentum and catching him. All the while, the dragon chain cannon continued pushing harder, propelling both Meliodas and Natsu closer and closer into the island as Meliodas only had one hand pushing back the cannon.

With his thumb, he popped the lid off of the bottle and poured one into his mouth. Moments after swallowing the pill, he felt his magical power coming back to him, feeling refreshed and reinvigorated as strength surged into his body. Meliodas put the X balls in his pocket and looked down at the dragon chain head in front of him with determination. He switched hands, placing his right hand on the dragon chain as he raised his left one up.

“Requip: Mel Force!”

In his left hand, a bright sword-like figure glowed. The handle formed in his palm as he firmly grasped it. The sword stopped glowing, revealing his Mel Force blade. Natsu latched onto Meliodas’ back as Meliodas put the handle of Mel Force in his mouth. He quickly placed both hands out on the head of the dragon chain.

“Natsu let’s do this!” Meliodas shouted determinedly. He pushed off the dragon chain with great force, causing it to slow down slightly as he was propelled backward towards the lacrima island. Both Meliodas and Natsu landed with their feet planted on the side of the island as the dragon chain launched at them.

Both Meliodas and Natsu kicked off the ground at the same time. Natsu’s feet ignited, creating a stream of flames that pushed the two of them in the direction of the dragon chain as Meliodas thrust forward with Mel Force.

“HAAAHHH!!!!” Both Meliodas and Natsu shouted. With Mel Force out in front of him, he rammed straight into the dragon head of the chain. Sparks flew as Meliodas’ blade dug against the thick material of the dragon head. A loud cracking sound echoed through the air as a noticeable crack formed in the head of the chain.

“Hidden Fire Form-”

“Divine Slayer-”

The bodies of Meliodas and Natsu became clad in an aura of bright orange flames as Meliodas’ sword clad itself in black flames. Down from the castle, Gray and Erza watched in awe at what they were witnessing, as Faust remained completely silent and wide eyed.

“Crimson Lotus: Phoenix blade!”

“One Thousand Divine Cuts!”

The aura of flames surrounding Meliodas and Natsu flared up. The black flames of Meliodas’ sword began to meld with Natsu's, creating a swirling vortex of black and orange flames. With one last push, Natsu and Meliodas charged straight through, completely shattering the dragon head of the chain as its pieces were incinerated behind them. They continued piercing through each chain link, cutting it to pieces and incinerating each part as it crumbled away as they were propelled through the air towards the main cannon.

“I-Impossible!” Faust exclaimed in horror as the two Fairy Tail mages pierced straight through the chains towards the cannon itself. Both Natsu and Meliodas collided with the barrel of the cannon, creating a large explosion of black and orange flames that engulfed the large structure of the cannon itself. The shockwaves generated from the explosion caused the surrounding area to shake violently. The castle walls around them began to collapse, with large chunks of the building falling on the burning remains of the cannon.

Suddenly, the floor gave way beneath Faust, Erza, and Gray’s feet, causing them to fall out of the castle. Faust’s Legion flew up in time and grabbed him out of the air, flying away from the collapsing castle.

“Where’s Meliodas and Natsu?!” Gray questioned as the floor collapsed.

“They’ll be fine. We need to get ourselves out of here.” Erza shouted as they fell through the air. Gray looked around hastily and saw a wall of the castle still somewhat intact. He grabbed onto Erza’s arm with his left hand as he pointed his right hand towards the wall.

“Ice Make: Grappling Hook!”

A chain with a four pronged hooked end materialized out of Gray’s hand. It shot out towards the wall, latching firmly onto it. Gray held on tightly as he and Erza swung towards the wall. They stopped as they collided with the wall, with Gray holding onto Erza with his left arm.

“Good thinking.” Erza commented.

“Damn...where’s Natsu and-” Gray stopped mid sentence as he and Erza saw a massive Legion flying towards them from below. On the back of the Legion was Lucy along with Coco. As the Legion got closer, both Gray and Erza jumped down safely, landing on its back.

“Thank goodness you two are okay! But I can’t believe those two stopped the cannon like that! And where did they go?” Lucy asked. She peered over the side of the Legion and could only see the crumbled remains of the castle beneath them. Gray, Erza, and Coco also peered over the side. There, they saw another Legion was flying towards them. On top of the Legion was a familiar figure.

“That’s-” Erza interjected.

The new Legion flew up, parallel to their own. Standing on the head of that Legion was none other than Mystogan. Behind him, Meliodas and Natsu were sitting down, with large grins on their faces as they waved at them.

Chapter Text

Mystogan’s Legion continued its flight in the air, soaring near Coco’s Legion. The two Legions flew side by side as they hovered closer to the floating island of the large lacrima. Natsu and Meliodas waved at the group on Coco’s Legion, with large grins on their faces.

“Good job you two!” Erza complimented as she smiled back.

“Natsu!!” A familiar voice suddenly cried out from above them.

Meliodas and the rest of the group looked up above them. Flying quickly towards them with a large smile on his face was Happy, carrying Gajeel over with him as well. Behind them, was the hulking form of Pantherlily.

‘Oh him?’ Meliodas thought as he looked at the large black cat man. ‘I guess I held back a bit much when I knocked him to the ground earlier.’

Pantherlily noticed Meliodas looking at him. He quickly turned his head away nervously. The nervousness quickly vanished however as he noticed Mystogan on the Legion with Meliodas.

“Y-young prince!” Lily exclaimed as he got closer to the Legion.

“Prince?!” Lucy, Gray, and Natsu shouted in disbelief.

“I’ll explain it all to you later.” Mystogan said as he sighed.

“Salamander, look at you, getting rescued by Meliodas. Geehee'' Gajeel taunted with a smirk on his face.

“What the hell did you say?!” Natsu flared back. He hopped up from his sitting position as Gajeel smirked at him while descending. Happy let go of Gajeel, letting Gajeel fall onto the Legion. He and Natsu glared at each other briefly.

“Cut it out! We have more important things to deal with.” Lucy said, trying to stop them from bickering.

“She’s right.” Mystogan responded. Both Gajeel and Natsu looked at Mystogan before looking back at each other again, instead with smirks on their faces.

“So what about our friends? They’re still Lacrima.” Lucy asked. She gazed at the enormous, crystalline blue Lacrima standing on the floating island.

“Can’t me and salamander just smash the lacrima?” Gajeel questioned. He raised his hands up and cracked his knuckles before glancing over at Lily. “Well that’s if my new cat here doesn’t want to get in my way again. I don’t mind a round two.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ve set a reverse anima on a timer. It should go off any minute now and bring the Lacrima back to Earthland, which will transform your friends and Magnolia Town back to normal.” Mystogan explained. He looked over at Meliodas.

“If it wasn’t for you and Natsu stopping the cannon, I’m not entirely sure my plan would have made it in time.” Mystogan continued.

“Wait Meliodas...your arms!” Lucy exclaimed as she got a closer look at Meliodas. His forearms were a dark purple in color from heavy bruising and were massively swollen.

“Oh this? Don’t worry about it. Holding off that cannon with my bare hands at first probably wasn’t my greatest plan but I didn’t have much of a point. Besides, I heal fast.” Meliodas said with a grin.

“Now...what about Faust?” Meliodas asked, changing the subject. “Where did he go?”

“I remember his Legion picking him up and flying off as you and Natsu caused the floor to collapse.” Erza replied. Mystogan’s eyes widened at Erza’s statement.

“This can’t be good...” Mystogan said, with noticeable panic in his voice. He glanced at Coco who also had a distressed look on her face, knowing full well what was about to happen. Meliodas looked at Mystogan and raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he was so nervous about.

“Look it’s Wendy and Carla!” Happy suddenly shouted out as he pointed his tiny blue paw up to the sky. The group looked up in the sky and saw Wendy being carried by Carla. She slowly descended down to Mystogan’s Legion and landed in front of Meliodas and Natsu.

“Looks like there’s more.” Meliodas pointed out. The rest of the group turned around and saw dozens of Exceed flying towards them that filled the sky. Lily’s eyes widened as he saw the one winged Exceed who was leading them.

“They’re not coming down to say hi?” Meliodas asked.

“Well...we were originally going to help stop the lacrima from crashing into Extalia...but you and Natsu had that covered.” Wendy answered.

“Guys look at the lacrima!” Happy suddenly shouted. He pointed his right paw at the floating island with the lacrima. A strange portal appeared above it, much smaller yet similar to the one that had absorbed Magnolia Town. The Lacrima began to glow brightly, with particles of magic rising upward into the portal as the lacrima started to break down. The group watched silently as the anima continued to pick up the lacrima.

Meliodas noticed Mystogan’s expression and walked up to him. He tapped him lightly on the shoulder, snapping him out of his trance. Mystogan faced Meliodas, who returned a friendly smile to him.

“So what’s got you worried?” Meliodas asked.

“I fear Faust may resort to using Dorma Anim...” Mystogan said quietly. Meliodas raised an eyebrow, puzzled by what Mystogan mentioned.

“And what’s Dorma-” Meliodas stopped mid sentence as he felt a large surge in magical power approaching them making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He quickly turned around and saw a huge blast of magic coming their way.

“Watch out!” Meliodas yelled. Everyone immediately turned towards Meliodas as they heard him yell. Meliodas quickly leaped into the air in front of the Legions. Before him, was a giant glowing beam of magical energy that dwarfed even the Legions in size. He reached to his back, grabbing the handle of his sword. For an instant, he winced in pain as he grabbed the handle. ‘Damn...I’ve just about reached my limit on healing for now…’

“Full counter!”

With his left hand on the handle of Mel Force, he swung his blade downward as the beam was about to connect with him. The beam suddenly turned, returning to the source of the attack on the ground below. A giant explosion erupted from the ground in the shape of a dome. The shockwaves of the explosion generated gusts that caused even the massive Legion’s to lose their balance and get blown back while those who were on them were forced to hold on tight. The Exceed in the air above them scattered as the large gusts of wind pushed them further away.

“What the hell was that?!” Natsu exclaimed as he held onto the Legion as gusts of air pushed him back. Next to him were Gajeel and Wendy who were also holding on.

“Kyaahh!!” Wendy screamed as she couldn’t hold onto the Legion. Gajeel quickly reached out, grabbing her hand before she could fall off.

The shockwaves from the explosion died down. Everyone else got their bearings again as the Legions stabilized themselves.

“Meliodas what happened?” Erza questioned as she saw Meliodas hovering in the air with wings of darkness extended from his back. Meliodas remained silent as he watched the ground. Erza noticed where Meliodas had his attention drawn to and also looked down.

The smoke began to clear out, revealing the figure of a large bipedal dragon. As more smoke cleared, the dragon’s full body was revealed as entirely armored with glowing red eyes. It’s armor was a silver color that gleamed off the light of the moon.

“What is that thing?!” Lucy questioned.

“It looks like...a dragon?” Gray added.

“That...is Dorma Anim…” Mystogan replied.

Chapter Text

“Dorma Anim is supposed to be forbidden from use…” Coco murmured to herself, with noticeable fear in her voice.

“So you can reflect magic?” Faust’s voice projected from the gargantuan armored dragon. It’s red eyes began to glow even brighter and it took a step forward, creating a cloud of dust from the weight of its foot. Meliodas remained silent as he continued to glare at the mechanical dragon.

“Something that trivial...doesn’t matter! Dorma Anim is immune to all magic!” Faust shouted confidently. “This is the power of the king! My power...is absolute!”

Above Dorma Anim, half a dozen large Legions flew towards them. Meliodas glanced at the Legions. On their backs, were at least fifty more men total, armed with magical cannons, spears, and swords.

“I was expecting a larger army.” Mystogan commented. He looked over at Meliodas. ‘You really did a number on them didn’t you.’ Mystogan thought.

“There’s still quite a lot of them compared to us.” Erza commented.

“I’ll deal with Dorma Anim.” Meliodas said. “Magic may not work on it, so I’ll just have to hit it without magic.”

“Wait Meliodas, you can’t fight that thing the way you are now!” Wendy shouted. Looking at Meliodas’ arms, they were heavily bruised and damaged after holding off the dragon chain cannon, with the cannon’s power destroying his arms at a rate exceeding his regeneration capabilities.

“Then leave it to me!” Natsu shouted. He jumped off the top of their Legion, freefalling towards Dorma Anim.

“And what might you be up to?” Faust commented. “Don’t you remember that magic doesn’t-”

“Shut the hell up!” Natsu yelled, clad in flames. From his feet, two streams of flames burst forth, accelerating him towards the mechanical dragon. He slammed down hard into the top of Dorma Anim, causing it to lose its balance.

“What the-” Faust said as he felt the entire dragon shake from the force of the attack.

“That worked?” Lucy questioned. Dorma Anim began to stand up again, only to get knocked to the side once more by a large iron pillar.

“I won’t let you have all the fun, Salamander.” Gajeel commented with a smirk on his face as he appeared on the ground next to where Dorma Anim was standing.

“I see...Dragon Slayer Magic is its weakness…” Mystogan said.

“Meliodas, leave it to them for now. I’ll heal you first and we can join up with them.” Wendy said. Meliodas looked back towards Wendy and nodded. He flew over to the Legion, taking a seat on its back right in front of Wendy. Wendy put her hands up to Meliodas’ arms. A faint green glow was emitted from her hands.

The pain in Meliodas’ arms began to fade as his injuries and wounds receded. Meliodas’ eyes widened with surprise at the potency of the healing, feeling very similar to getting healed by “Ark.”

“Thanks Wendy!” Meliodas said with a smile. Wendy nodded and smiled back as she continued healing Meliodas.

“Then we’ll just have to deal with those other Legions ourselves while Meliodas is getting healed and the dragon slayers are dealing with Dorma Anim!” Erza said. She looked back at Gray and Lucy and nodded at them.

“Onward!” Coco yelled out, her Legion dashing forward towards the other Legions.

---

“Fire Dragon’s Roar!”

Natsu inhaled a deep breath, puffing his chest out before exhaling a large stream of flames at Dorma Anim. Dorma Anim jumped up high into the air to dodge it, kicking up the dirt from the ground beneath it from its sheer weight. Behind it in the air, Gajeel took a deep breath in.

“Iron Dragon’s Roar!”

Exhaling a dark gray vortex of magic, it collided with the back of Dorma Anim. Dorma Anim plummeted to the ground but managed to regain its balance before falling and landing on its feet.

“Tch...This thing is sturdy.” Gajeel commented.

“That gets me all fired up.” Natsu said with a smirk. He and Gajeel both lunged forward at Dorma Anim. Dorma Anim’s eyes glowed bright as it turned around, swinging its massive tail at Natsu and Gajeel.

Both Natsu and Gajeel jumped into the air to avoid the tail as it swung just under their feet, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

“Go salamander!” Gajeel shouted. He pointed his right arm towards Dorma Anim as it changed form, turning into a dark grey iron piston. Natsu hopped onto Gajeel’s arm as Gajeel shot his arm out towards the mechanical dragon. Natsu flared his magic, his body clad in flames as he was propelled forward by Gajeel’s piston.

“Fire Dragon’s Sword Horn!”

Propelling head first, Natsu collided into the chest of Dorma Anim, pushing it back a fair distance and leaving trails in the ground where its feet dug in. Natsu’s head bounced off its chest as his flames dissipated, leaving a small, but noticeable dent in Dorma Anim’s armor. Natsu fell to the ground, tumbling backwards a few meters before regaining his balance.

“Gahh! That thing is too damn hard!” Natsu commented as he got back up. He rubbed the spot on his forehead where he collided with Dorma Anim.

“Then let me show you a true sword!” Gajeel said as he sprinted past Natsu. He leaped up into the air, his right arm now transformed into a large jagged blade.

“Iron Dragon’s Sword!”

Gajeel swung his arm down at Dorma Anim’s ahead. Dorma Anim quickly moved its arm, blocking and catching Gajeel’s sword arm with its hand. Gajeel’s eyes widened as his sword barely pierced through the surface of its hand.

“What the-”

Dorma Anim firmly grasped Gajeel’s arm, before winding its own arm back and throwing Gajeel at Natsu. Natsu’s eyes widened as the thrown Gajeel was launched at him. The two of them collided heads before being launched further away as they tumbled across the rocky ground.

Both Gajeel and Natsu lay sprawled out on the ground in a daze while holding their heads, quickly snapping out of their daze as they heard Dorma Anim’s massive footsteps getting closer to them.

“Have you worms learned your lesson yet?!” Faust taunted. Natsu grit his teeth as he looked up at the towering figure of Dorma Anim. Gajeel also looked up at Dorma Anim, but his eyes widened at what he was seeing above it.

---

Wendy finished healing Meliodas’ arms, the heavy bruises and bleeding now completely gone. Meliodas stood back up, winding his arms back and forth to stretch.

“Alright now to stop Dorma Anim.” Meliodas said enthusiastically as he clasped his fist into his palm.

“Wait before you go!” Wendy interjected. Meliodas gave Wendy a puzzled look, curious what she was about to do as he sensed her building up her magic.

“Power of the stout arms that tear heaven...ARMS!” Wendy shouted. She raised her hands up as a red magical circle formed around her body. Meliodas felt magical power surge into his arms.

“Fast wind that runs the heavens...VERNIER!” Wendy continued. A green glow began to form around Meliodas’ body as more magical power surged into him. His body felt lighter, faster, and stronger. He looked at Wendy and nodded. Grabbing onto the handle of Mel Force, he jumped off the Legion towards Dorma Anim.

As Meliodas was in freefall towards Dorma Anim, he closed his eyes briefly, opening them again as his irises turned pitch black and a black spiral shaped henna formed just above his right eyebrow. He twisted his body and wound his left arm across his body as he prepared to cut down on Dorma Anim, which was now getting closer and closer.

Natsu and Gajeel caught the faint glimpse of Meliodas right above Dorma Anim. In that instant, Meliodas swung his blade as he crashed straight into it. He reappeared underneath it, crouched over with Mel Force out to his left side. Meliodas slowly stood up from his spot as he placed Mel Force back into its sheath.

Suddenly, Dorma Anim’s body split in two, its body bisected from the waist up. The two halves of Dorma Anim collapsed to the ground. Meliodas slowly walked away from the mechanical dragon’s body as Natsu and Gajeel watched in complete shock and awe.

“Well well well. Wendy’s enchantments really helped out there.” Meliodas said with a large grin.

Chapter Text

Meliodas, Gajeel, and Natsu stared at the two heaps of Dorma Anim’s body. Natsu approached the cockpit, ripping through the weakened material as he pulled Faust out. Faust’s eyes were wide open in fear as Natsu threw him into the ground.

“Meliodas.” Mystogan’s familiar voice called from behind him. Meliodas turned around and saw Mystogan walking in his direction, with Pantherlily next to him. Mystogan glanced at Faust momentarily before looking back at Meliodas.

“I need you to come with me.” Mystogan replied. “I’ll tell you everything that I know about traveling between worlds. Your friends are on the winning end of fighting off the remainders of the King’s army, so there’s no need to worry about them.”

Meliodas nodded and looked behind him. Hesaw Natsu shaking an unconscious Faust awake as Gajeel laughed. A smile formed on Meliodas face as he turned back to face Mystogan.

“Sure. It looks like things are just about wrapped up here anyway.” Meliodas replied. Mystogan, Pantherlily, and Meliodas walked away back towards the castle. They walked for several minutes in complete silence until arriving at a strange metal dome structure sticking out of the ground in the courtyard.

“It’s in here. This is an alternate entrance to where we need to get to.” Mystogan said. The front of the dome opened up as Mystogan stepped forward, revealing a spiral staircase. The three of them entered the dome, with the dome closing behind them. The spiral staircase lit up as they walked down each step for several minutes.

Eventually, they reached a large, brightly lit chamber. The chamber was very spacious and shaped like a circle, with walls that reached high above them, curving upwards and meeting in the center. Along those walls, were large, intricately designed decorative structures that reached all the way to the top. In the middle of the chamber, was a brightly glowing, blue, floating lacrima suspended by chains. Beneath the lacrima, was a strange blue orb, radiating magical power.

“This is the room that produces anima?” Lily questioned. Mystogan nodded. Meliodas stared intently at the strange blue orb and the crystal above it.

“So what are we doing down here?” Meliodas asked as he walked closer to the contraption.

“I will use this to create a reverse anima and suck all of the remaining power out of Edolas.” Mystogan replied, much to Meliodas and Lily’s surprise.

“That’s going too far!” Lily exclaimed.

“That may be so...but this is the only true way of stopping this conflict for magic.” Mystogan said solemnly. There was a brief silence in the room after the revelation.

“Meliodas.” Mystogan continued, getting his attention off of the lacrima. Meliodas turned to face Mystogan.

“Once I activate this reverse Anima, you and all of Fairy Tail will be sent back to Earthland. This will be our last meeting so I will tell you what I can about your situation in this world to the best of my abilities.” Mystogan said. Meliodas nodded in response, giving Mystogan his full attention.

“Before the Anima Project was created in order to siphon magic from Earthland straight into Edolas, there was one more target for this magic. This world is known as Elentir, the transcendental magic world.” Mystogan said.

“Elentir? But I’m not from there.” Meliodas replied.

“Yes, I am aware of that. However, I’m telling you about Elentir because of the reason we didn’t use that world as a target for the Anima. There is someone in that world with world traveling capabilities that are even greater than the Anima…” Mystogan said. Meliodas and Pantherlily both remained quiet as they stared at Mystogan.

“That being, is known as Selene, the Moon Dragon God. She is known as the dragon who crosses dimensions.” Mystogan finished.

“So I just need to find this Selene dragon and-” Meliodas immediately froze and his eyes widened. He remembered several months ago the strange, pale skinned light blonde haired woman who he thought he saw watching him very briefly when he arrived in Magnolia Town for the first time. ‘That couldn’t have been her...right?’

“What is it Meliodas?” Mystogan asked.

“Hmm…” Meliodas pondered for a bit before answering. “I think I may have seen her when I first arrived on Earthland, although I’m not too sure about it myself. Besides, you mentioned Selene as a Dragon God but the woman I saw looked completely human to me.” Meliodas answered, scratching the back of his head.

“I have never seen Selene for myself but...if that is the case and assuming that was Selene taking a different form, then does she have something to do with your arrival in Earthland?” Mystogan questioned. Meliodas shook his head.

“No. I was sent here by a creature named Cath Palug. I don’t think he and Selene are related.” Meliodas replied.

“Then perhaps whatever method Cath used to send you to Earthland caught Selene’s attention.” Mystogan inquired. Meliodas thought about Mystogan’s comment for a few moments before answering.

“Well regardless, I have no way of even seeing her now. And I’m not completely sure that was even Selene to begin with.” Meliodas commented as a small smile formed on his face. “Although...at least I have a better lead now on who I should be looking for exactly.”

Meliodas stretched his arms up, feeling a bit relieved of having a better lead on getting back to Britannia. He glanced over at Mystogan who had now turned around and was facing a large interface in front of the reverse anima. The lacrima began to glow as a light shot up high into the chamber. Suddenly, a massive gust of wind surrounded them, creating a steady vortex upward towards the Anima. Around him, Meliodas could feel magic being drained from the surroundings straight into the Anima.

“You may stop the conflict, but this will only be temporary…” Lily commented. Mystogan nodded his head.

“The citizens will be in a panic. Edolas will no longer be the world it once was. It will be a new world that requires a new king. A king that can lead a nation that was previously ruled with fear and terror into one ruled by happiness.” Mystogan said.

“So I guess when we’re all gone then you’ll rule then?” Meliodas responded. Mystogan looked at Meliodas and shook his head.

“No...that role is not fit for me, for I have not walked the paths of this world. To calm this hysteria, we need a villain and a hero. One who exposes the evil that plunged this world into chaos and executes that evil.”

“And who would that be?” Lily asked. “Who would be playing those roles as the villain and hero…”

“I, the one who rebelled against the king and stole all of this world’s magical power. And you...the hero who would bring out the harmony between the Exceed and the people of Edolas…” Mystogan replied, with a serious look on his face. Meliodas looked at the large exceed and Mystogan staring each other down.

“A hero and a villain huh? You and Jellal are more similar than I thought.” Meliodas commented as he began to walk away, thinking back to Jellal’s situation and wanting to kill himself with Nirvana. Mystogan’s eyes widened upon hearing Meliodas’ comment.

Mystogan and Pantherlily looked at Meliodas, who was turning around and walking away. Meliodas stopped at the stairway back up and looked back towards them, giving the two of them a warm smile.

“Well, well, well. I suppose it’s time that “The Blond Demon” makes his final appearance in Edolas. So just leave everything to me alright?”

---

Chapter Text

Meliodas exited the Anima chamber, leaping across the tops of the buildings as he went towards the courtyard exit. The courtyard was empty, compared to before when it was swarming with soldiers, with the exception of a few dozen unconscious bodies of soldiers that still remained.

A few moments later, Meliodas arrived at where Natsu and Gajeel were left with Dorma Anim and Faust. Erza, Lucy, Gray, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy were all standing around Faust, who was tied up and heavily bruised.

“Meliodas! Where did you run off to?!” Natsu asked as he saw Meliodas approaching them.

“I went to go speak to Mystogan. And now I’ll need all of your help.” Meliodas said with a large grin. “How would all of you like to join the Seven Deadly Sins?”

“Seven Deadly Sins?” Erza questioned. She remembered Meliodas bringing the term up briefly when he was talking to Lahar during Jellal’s arrest.

The rest of the group looked at each other, puzzled by Meliodas’ question. Meliodas quickly explained what Mystogan had been talking about in regards to being the villain and needing a “hero” to stop him.

“So he really wants to do something like that…” Gray said.

“I see. So if we play the villains, then we take that burden off of Mystogan...but I can’t believe he was going to go so far as to get himself executed…” Lucy said.

“Well we won’t let that happen!” Wendy said with a determined look on her face. “Not after everything he’s done for us!”

“Then we’ll just have to do what Fairy Tail’s best at!” Natsu shouted. He cracked his knuckles as his hands lit ablaze and a large grin formed on his face.

---

“That’s nonsense! There’s no way I can kill you! You’re the prince!” Lily shouted, with a visibly angered expression on his face. Mystogan remained calm as he faced the large exceed.

“I believe you can do it...you are the only one who can.” Mystogan replied.

“Like hell I am!” Lily retorted. “What makes you think I’m the one that can do this?!”

“Despite the fact that you are an Exceed, you saved my life when I was an infant. You displayed to me that you recognized the preciousness of life without being bound by the ways of your people.” Mystogan explained.

“No! You’re the one who needs to lead the people of Edolas out of this crisis! You’re doing this all for the world’s sake! Show the people that will and devotion you have towards Edolas, that you put your own life on the line for theirs!” Lily yelled.

“The chaos...it won’t be settled that way…” Mystogan said somberly.

“Then leave it to Meliodas!” Lily shouted. “Isn’t that what he said he’d do earlier?! Let him play the role of villain and you be the hero!”

“Meliodas is not from this world, he should not be the one who-” Mystogan’s words were cut off as a castle soldier ran into the room.

“Sir Pantherlily!” The soldier called out as he ran towards them. Pantherlily turned his head to face him as the soldier continued speaking.

“I have terrible news! There’s a group of people outside, tearing up the town! They call themselves the “Seven Deadly Sins.”

Mystogan and Pantherlily both looked at each other, realizing what was going on. Without another word, they immediately ran past the guard into the hallway right past the guard.

---

Mystogan and Pantherlily ran out of the castle, into the town. The surrounding buildings were up in flames, with some even collapsing to the ground. Many of the townsfolk ran through the streets stricken with panic.

Between the destroyed buildings in front of them, one of them remained standing. Atop that building several stories up on the roof, were the silhouettes of seven figures covered in smoke. The figure in the front swiped his hand, clearing the smoke and revealing all of them. Mystogan and Pantherlily’s eyes widened as they saw the person standing there.

“Hey that’s-” Pantherlily looked at Meliodas’ appearance. He had a cold look on his face and his eyes were pitch black with a black spiral shaped henna over his right eyebrow. Cloaked over his shoulders, was a cape, made with darkness. He looked down scornfully at the people below.

Standing to his right, was Natsu wearing a rugged black cloak over his back with a pair of fake red demon horns protruding from his head. Standing to Meliodas’ left, was Gajeel, also wearing a rugged black cloak over his shoulders. Behind them, stood Gray, Lucy, and Wendy, all donning similar cloaks. Erza stepped forward, wearing her Purgatory Armor. She placed Faust’s body on the roof just in front of Meliodas.

“H-hey they have the King!” One of the onlookers exclaimed. The surrounding people momentarily stopped their frenzied panicking and looked up at the building. Meliodas placed his foot on top of Faust’s head and looked down at the citizens below. An evil smirk formed on Meliodas’ face.

“I am Meliodas, the son of the demon king, and next in line for the throne!” Meliodas shouted. “I have assembled my group of demons, the Seven Deadly Sins, to destroy this world, and rebuild it for the demon race! As you can see, I’ve already captured your feeble king!”

Mystogan and Pantherlily stared at Meliodas in awe. They didn’t realize he would go this far to put on an act as a villain. Meliodas raised his hand up in the air.

“Seven Deadly Sins! Destroy this city!” Meliodas ordered. The rest of the group behind Meliodas jumped off the sides of the building. The crowd below immediately burst into an even louder panic as they scattered and began to run around frantically again. Meliodas grabbed onto the body of Faust and jumped down onto the ground below.

Mystogan approached Meliodas and the two of them stared at each other. In the background, explosions went off as more buildings collapsed, with the Fairy Tail members continuing to cause mass destruction to the town.

“Meliodas...I know what you’re trying to do...but this is going too far…” Mystogan said. Meliodas smirked and threw Faust’s body behind him onto the ground. He walked slowly up to Mystogan and narrowed his eyes. The citizens in the area stopped their screaming as they saw Mystogan confronting Meliodas.

“Hey that’s...Jellal!” One of them shouted.

“It’s the King’s son! Is he really going to try to stop the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins on his own?” Another person commented.

“Meliodas. This is enough. You don’t have to-” Mystogan was interrupted as Meliodas kicked him in the chest, sending him tumbling across the ground. Mystogan remained on the ground as he wiped a small trickle of blood coming from his mouth. He looked up at Meliodas who was standing above him.

“Hey what’s wrong, Prince Jellal?” Meliodas said with a smirk on his face. He walked closer to Mystogan, and grabbed onto his robes, lifting him up off the ground back onto his feet. He looked into Mystogan’s eyes as Mystogan remained silent.

“Why don’t you say something Jellal? Seeing that face of yours go into despair…” Meliodas said as his smirk slowly transitioned into an evil grin.

“Well there’s nothing that could make me happier!”

“Meliodas…” Mystogan grunted. “I know what you’re trying to do, but something like this won’t-”

Mystogan’s words were cut short as Meliodas leaned forward, slamming his head into Mystogan’s face. Blood gushed out from his nose as he was sent flying backwards into the group of people.

Mystogan regained his composure and stood back up. With his arm, he wiped the blood dripping down his face and looked at Meliodas. He reached over onto his back, grabbing one of his staves and pointed it at Meliodas.

“Magic won’t work on me here.” Meliodas said as he slowly walked closer. “As I’m draining the magical power from this world, those weapons of yours are now useless! Although...it’s not like magic power of that level could have done anything to me in the first place.” Meliodas said with a cocky smile.

Meliodas raised his left hand up at a nearby building. Black flames began to swirl around his left hand. From his hand, he fired the flames out in a ball, launching it towards the building. A great explosion of black flames engulfed the building, incinerating it down to the foundations it stood on. The crowd behind Mystogan watched, completely dumbfounded at the display of power.

“Meliodas…” Mystogan said as he clenched his fists. “Something like this won’t work!”

Mystogan lunged forward at Meliodas. He wound his right fist back at Meliodas and threw a punch to his face. Meliodas’ head turned as he took a step back from the punch. As he looked back up at Mystogan, he wiped his mouth.

“So I guess you have some fight left in you after all, human!” Meliodas said with a grin. He sent a quick jab at Mystogan’s gut, causing Mystogan’s eyes to widen from the pain. Mystogan quickly recovered as he planted his feet in the ground firmly again. He wound his left hand back, before delivering a heavy punch to Meliodas’ face again, this time sending the blond demon tumbling backwards.

Meliodas slowly stood back up. He spit to his side, splattering a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

“Impudent human.” Meliodas said with a smirk. “Learn your place.”

“Why...are you trying so hard for this! This is all fake isn’t it?!” Mystogan questioned as he ran towards Meliodas. He threw a punch with his left hand towards Meliodas’s face. Meliodas blocked with his palm. Mystogan quickly ducked downwards and spun around, delivering a fierce back kick to Meliodas’ chin. Meliodas stumbled back a few steps and glared at Mystogan. He began to slowly walk towards Mystogan.

“I was told these words on the spot, but I think I got the gist of it. I learned these words as they may get said to me one day as well!” Meliodas said as he charged in at Mystogan. He leaped forward and delivered a punch to Mystogan’s gut, making sure to lean in close to his face.

“The first law, you must never for the rest of your life reveal any tactics that could be a handicap to Fairy Tail!”

Mystogan took a couple steps back from the punch, feeling somewhat winded from the blow. He charged back towards Meliodas, winding his right foot back as he delivered a sidekick to Meliodas’ torso. Meliodas tumbled backwards from the kick a good distance, slamming into a stone wall.

Meliodas quickly jumped back up and charged forward again at Mystogan, ramming into Mystogan’s torso with his head. Mystogan grit his teeth as he took the impact straight on. He held on tight onto Meliodas as he tried to maintain his balance, with his feet sliding across the hard ground.

“The second law, you must never contact past clients for personal gain!” Meliodas grunted as Mystogan stopped his charge. Mystogan crouched down just underneath Meliodas. Meliodas watched as Mystogan twisted his body as he prepared for a kick.

“And-”

“Third!” Mystogan interrupted, kicking Meliodas high into the air. Mystogan jumped up after Meliodas, appearing right above him. He raised his right leg up, his heel above his head. A smile formed on Meliodas’ face as Mystogan kicked downwards with his heel onto Meliodas’ head, sending him crashing into the ground.

Meliodas collided with the ground, his body bouncing back up and turning over. Meliodas lay on the ground, his demonic features having reverted and the cape of darkness on his back having dispersed. Mystogan stood over Meliodas’ body and looked into his emerald green eyes, ignoring the cheers of the citizens in the back.

“Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might...You must never consider your life to be of little value...and you must never forget about your friends who loved you…” Mystogan finished as he looked down at Meliodas. Meliodas smiled back at Mystogan as he lay on the ground.

“He did it!” One of the citizens cheered.

“The prince defeated the leader of the demons!” Another one of the citizens exclaimed. Loud cheering roared through the area as the destruction in other areas began to die down, the other of the “Seven Deadly Sins” stopping their attacks as they realized Meliodas was defeated.

Suddenly, Meliodas’ body began to glow. Mystogan looked down at Meliodas, with a saddened expression on his face.

“Well...it looks like it’s time!” Meliodas said with a friendly smile. Mystogan’s saddened expression faded as he smiled softly at Meliodas.

“Meliodas. I know that I won’t ever be able to go back to Earthland again. You’ve shown me your strength time and time again. Make sure you take good care of the guild while you’re still on Earthland. Good luck on returning to your own world.” Mystogan said.

Meliodas’ body, now fully engulfed in light, began to rise into the air, high above the city. In the distance, the other members of Fairy Tail rose into the sky. Meliodas looked down at Mystogan and grinned. Despite his smile, Meliodas could not shake an uneasy feeling. Though he only knew them for a short time, one day, just like Mystogan, he would be leaving the friends he’s made at Fairy Tail behind.

---

Chapter Text

The sky above Magnolia Town was filled with dark clouds as rain continued to pour over the town. None of the townspeople were even aware they had been turned into Lacrima and proceeded on with their lives as normal.

Suddenly, the clouds began to shift, creating a large, circular opening, revealing the open sky above followed by a bright light. Many figures, some human, some not, could be seen falling from the sky towards the forest just outside of Magnolia town.

With a loud crash, Natsu slammed into the ground face first. He shakily got up and rubbed his face.

“Dammit, that-”

Several more figures fell on top of Natsu, much to the dragon slayer’s dismay. Before he knew it, he was buried under a pile of people. Slowly, the people in the pile began to stand up. Natsu sprung up from the ground once again and raised his arms up.

“We’re back!” Natsu shouted excitedly. He and the rest of the Fairy Tail mages ran through the forest until they arrived at a cliff overlooking Magnolia Town.

“And so is Magnolia!” Lucy said happily. The group looked around at each other and cheered.

“Hold on. Where is Meliodas?” Gray questioned. Everyone else looked around, perplexed as Meliodas should have fallen with them through the Anima.

“Look at the sky!” Wendy shouted. The group looked up and saw the sky filled with Exceed. Flying with them, was Meliodas with his black wings spread. Meliodas waved at the Fairy Tail group and descended to the ground in front of them.

“Hold on, the Exceed came here too?! We can’t just let them stay here! They’re dangerous!” Carla exclaimed. The rest of the Exceed landed in front of the Fairy Tail group. Meliodas turned around to face them as Shagotte stepped up to the front. All of the Exceed including her looked saddened.

“Carla, their homeland was destroyed. Why can’t they stay?” Wendy asked.

“Well it’s not like they can go back.” Meliodas commented. “Edolas has no more magic and it’s not like we can just create an Anima ourselves.”

“We apologize for throwing rocks at you guys!” One of the Exceeds shouted.

“We promise to change our ways!” Another Exceed chimed in. Carla looked at the group angrily.

“No...I don’t care about any of that! You gave me an order to murder a Dragon Slayer and sent me to Earthland!” Carla retorted.

“Carla…” Shagotte said somberly. “That wasn’t your mission. That original plan was to send 100 Exceed children to Earthland so they may escape. In doing so, we created the false mission of eliminating the Dragon Slayers. What you were seeing...was a result of your ability. Like me, you have the power of foresight.”

“What...foresight?” Carla questioned.

“However, in your case, yours was working subconsciously. As a result, your memory was skewed as you likely saw scattered fragments of the future of Edolas.” Shagotte said. “And out of every Exceed sent, only you had that power. It was a combination of bad luck upon bad luck that you were given those fraudulent orders…the Exceed are not to blame for this, only me.”

“No that’s not true your Majesty!” One of the Exceeds commented.

“Now that we’re here in Earthland we can finally find the other lost children!” Another Exceed chimed in.

“And then we can make friends with all the humans we run into!”
Carla sighed as she looked up at the Exceeds and their newfound determination and optimism in this world entirely new to them. She looked forward again at Shagotte.

“Fine then…” Carla said. “But explain to me why we have the same powers?”

Shagotte looked to her side nervously, breaking eye contact with Carla. At that moment, she noticed Meliodas looking at them.

“Meliodas, was it?” Shagotte asked. Meliodas nodded his head as Shagotte approached him.

“Your actions to save our people from our time of need reached us. Allow me to read your future before we take our leave to find the rest of the children we sent here.” Shagotte said.

“Read my future? That sounds pretty interesting. How does it work?” Meliodas asked.

“Just give me your hand and I’ll tell you.” Shagotte said. Melidoas nodded and raised his right hand out to Shagotte. Shagotte grasped Meliodas’ hand with both of her paws. She closed her eyes and remained silent for several seconds as the Exceed and Fairy Tail mages all watched quietly. Her eyes immediately sprung open, wide with shock, nearly losing her balance and stumbling backwards. She looked up at Meliodas as Meliodas returned a confused glance at her.

“Well?” Meliodas asked.

“I-I don’t know how to say this...but in the near future you will die.” Shagotte said solemnly.

“WHAT?!” Natsu exclaimed. The rest of the Fairy Tail group had shocked expressions on their face, their mouths wide open.

“Meliodas will...die?” Wendy questioned. “Are you sure about this? There’s no way…”

“Aye! There’s no way someone out there can kill Meliodas!” Happy chimed in.

“Wait now. What exactly did you see? Are you certain Meliodas will die?” Erza asked.

“I didn’t see his death exactly...however with what I did see, there is no way for him to survive.” Shagotte replied. She paused for a moment and took a deep breath in as she recalled the vision she saw.

“I saw Meliodas’ body being launched across a vast open body of water. His eyes were closed and blood was gushing out of his body…” Shagotte said.

“But that doesn’t mean he’s dead right?” Gray inquired.

“His body was nearly split in two across his chest and torso…” Shagotte said somberly. She knelt down on the ground at the gruesome image in her head.

“Meliodas is…” Carla looked towards Meliodas. To her surprise, Meliodas was unfazed by the revelation.

“Meliodas, this is your death! How are you not the slightest worried?!” Carla asked. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, the future is only one possibility. Besides, I won’t kick the bucket so easily. Not when there’s still something I need to do.” Meliodas said determinedly. Carla glanced at Wendy, who was also looking at her. They both read each other’s faces as they remembered what Meliodas had told them before they departed to Edolas.

“So not until you go back?” Carla asked. Meliodas looked at Carla and understood her implication, nodding in response. The rest of the guild was left confused at the statement.

“Well, I appreciate you telling me this future anyway.” Meliodas said with a carefree smile. “I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

“And he’s not alone. We’re all here to make sure that doesn’t happen either.” Erza added in.

“I see...then you really are in good hands. I’m glad that Carla joined such a kind group of humans as yourselves.” Shagotte replied. She turned around and walked towards the other Exceed. The Exceed smiled happily at the Fairy Tail members as they flew upwards into the clouds, waving at them. Meliodas looked up at them, but without a smile on his face.

Meliodas looked up into the clouds, ignoring Gajeel’s yelling in the background as he looked for Pantherlily. The raindrops pelted Meliodas’ face and dripped down his hair. ‘Even the Anima didn’t work…but regardless, I have a new lead...Elizabeth I hope I’ll see you soon…’ Meliodas thought solemnly to himself.

“Meliodas!” A voice yelled out. Meliodas snapped out of his daze and looked back toward the group. He saw Erza looking at him as she gestured towards the rest of the group. There, Meliodas saw a somewhat familiar black cat and a young woman with short white hair and blue eyes. She wore a purple tank top with white cross straps that were connected to a longer white skirt. Over her waist, she wore a pink sash and just above her left leg where her skirt parted was a white Fairy Tail symbol.

“Everything okay Meliodas?” Erza asked. “You’ve been staring at the sky for a while. Is this about the fortune that Shagotte told you about? I promise you that I won’t let that future happen and neither will the rest of Fairy Tail.” Erza said reassuringly.

“It’s not that. It’s something else.” Meliodas replied. He looked over towards the newcomers and walked over to them. He glanced over at the familiar black cat first.

“Hey Pantherlily, looks like you lost some weight.” Meliodas commented with a cheeky smile.

“I think he did a lot more than lose weight Meliodas…” Lucy commented.

“It appears I am unable to maintain my battle form in Earthland and I reverted to...this state…” Lily said, embarrassed.

“And...you look really familiar…” Meliodas said the white haired woman. “You kind of remind me of Mira.”

“That’s Lisanna!” Natsu shouted enthusiastically.

“I’m Mira’s younger sister.” Lisanna said. Meliodas gave a confused glance to Lisanna until Erza explained Lisanna’s supposed “death.”

“Oh so you were with the Fairy Tail guild in Edolas. You know, I never got to meet those guys. Nice to meet ya, I’m Meliodas!” Meliodas greeted.

“Likewise! Although, I’m surprised I never once ran into an Edolas version of you.” Lisanna said. Meliodas remained quiet at the comment.

“Aye! That’s because Meliodas isn’t even from Earthland and-” Happy added but was quickly slapped in the back of the head by Carla.

“Happy, learn to read the situation!” Carla exclaimed.

“No it’s fine. I should have told you all this from the start anyway.” Meliodas said. Erza, Gray, and Lucy looked at each other, somewhat puzzled at what Meliodas was saying.

“Although...why don’t we do that in the guild. It’s pouring out here.” Meliodas said.

Chapter Text

The rain continued its heavy downpour over Magnolia Town. Mirajane and Elfman reunited with Lisanna as Pantherlily became an official member of the guild. Erza and Meliodas explained the events of Edolas to Makarov, who like the rest of the guild, were completely unaware they were turned into Lacrima. The guild members stayed inside, keeping themselves warm and dry from the weather as they discussed the events.

“Welcome to the guild Lily! You’re my new cat now!” Gajeel said with an enthusiastic grin. A small smile formed on Lily’s face as he nodded at Gajeel.

“So all of that really happened while we were stuck in a lacrima...that’s hard to believe…” Macao commented.

“I find it incredible that there was an entire Fairy Tail guild like us!” Levy commented. “Were there any similarities between us and them?”

“Well not quite…” Lucy replied as she remembered Levy’s Edolas counterpart, who was quite vulgar and aggressive.

“Their personalities were definitely different, but just like this guild, they treated each other as family.” Lisanna added in.

“It’s hard to believe Mystogan left us like that though…I mean he had his reasons and I’m glad Meliodas was able to give him the farewell ceremony...but still…” Wakaba said. He looked over at Meliodas who had a surprisingly serious facial expression.

“And there’s something else I should let you all know about.” Meliodas said as everyone else in the guild was gathered around listening to their stories of Edolas. The rest of the guild waited in silence at what Meliodas was going to say, although Pantherlily, Wendy, Carla, Natsu, and Happy already had an idea.

“Like Mystogan, I’m also not from this world. I’ve spent the past five months here searching for a way back.” Meliodas said.

“WHAT?!” A majority of the guild members exclaimed.

‘So my suspicions about him were right.’ Makarov thought to himself as he stared at Meliodas.

“Although, I haven’t had much of a lead on getting back due to the nature of me getting sent here.” Meliodas laughed briefly but he turned serious again. “But you shouldn’t expect me to stay here in the guild for the long term…”

“Man...that’s one hell of a revelation…” Elfman commented solemnly.

“No wonder you spent all that time in the library…” Levy said sadly.

“We’ll miss drinking with ya Meliodas…” Macao added.

“Now now everyone.” Makarov interrupted. “He’s not going back quite yet. Although as a member of Fairy Tail, he is our family and we have to accept that he’ll have to leave for his own home one day.”

Makarov walked up closer to Meliodas and hopped on top of a table next to him. He placed a hand on Meliodas’ shoulder and gave him a reassuring look.

“I promise you, Meliodas. That I will do what I can to help you find your way home. You’ve done so much for us already despite having been here only a short time and have grown close with many of the members. Remember that even when you leave, you’ll still always be a part of our family and Fairy Tail will always be your home as well.”

Meliodas could not hold back the tears welling up in his eyes and returned a happy grin as tears fell down his face.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how exactly did you get sent to this world. Maybe with that information, we can find a way to get you back.” Levy inquired. Meliodas shook his head.

“I was sent here through a power known as “chaos.” Meliodas said. “I don’t know exactly how things came to be in this world, but where I come from, chaos is what created everything. I fought a being known as Cath Palug who devoured a portion of chaos. In my fight against Cath, he played around with that power and ripped a hole through the dimensions. I fell into that hole and ended up here…”

“You fought something that strong?!” Gray exclaimed.

“Aye! No wonder you’re so strong!” Happy shouted.

“Well, I was a lot stronger when I fought Cath. When I arrived in this world, Cath must have done something to my body because I’m nowhere near my original power.” Meliodas said. The entire guild stared at Meliodas, wide-eyed by his statement. Natsu’s eyes began to sparkle with excitement as he stared at Meliodas.

“Then let’s train to get your power back! Fight me right-” Natsu’s enthusiastic shout was stopped as Erza glared at Natsu. Natsu felt a chill roll down his spine before Erza returned her gaze back to Meliodas.

“So what happens if you were to find a way back now with your current power. Do you think you would stand a chance against Cath?” Erza asked.

“No. I couldn’t even fight Cath at that strength...although I do trust that by now, my friends back home were able to come up with a way to defeat Cath.” Meliodas said.

“Wouldn’t your friends back home be trying to find a way back for you?” Gray asked.

“Yeah. But I can’t just sit around and do nothing. I also need to find my own way back as well in case they are unable to.” Meliodas answered.

“This topic of world traveling is very nice and all but there’s something more important to bring up.” Carla interrupted. The guild turned their attention to the white Exceed.

“Oh yeah...that fortune...” Gray said coldly.

“If you want to go back to your world, you’ll have to be alive first in order to do so. And according to that fortune from the Queen, you most likely won’t live. We’ll need to do something about that first in order to change the future so you can actually go back.” Carla continued.

“Wait...Meliodas is going to die?! When?!” Elfman shouted.

“We don’t know.” Carla answered. “There is the possibility of it happening after Meliodas returns from his world, but we don’t know that. It would be better to assume it happens in the near future and to prepare for the worse so that we can stop it when it happens.”

“What did the fortune say exactly?” Levy asked. “Maybe we can predict where it will happen ahead of time depending on the wording.”

“It wasn’t very specific...The Queen saw that Meliodas was launched across the ocean, blood gushing out of his body as he was nearly split in half.” Carla shuddered.

“That’s-” Levy gasped in horror at the description. She turned to Meliodas who was unfazed by the description.

“So we just have to keep Meliodas away from large bodies of water right?” Jet questioned.

“I think the problem isn’t keeping Meliodas away from a body of water, but keeping the thing that hurt Meliodas away from him instead...but I find it hard to believe there is a mage who is that freakishly powerful…” Lucy added.

“So that means whatever did in Meliodas, might also attack us as well…” Gray commented. The room became dead silent at the revelation as they looked down at the ground, clenching their fists as they tried to think of a way to keep their friend alive.

“Well, well, well.” Meliodas said loudly, breaking the dreariness of the room. “There is no certainty in the future. None of us knows what the future holds. But we can’t let knowing something undecided like this keep us from walking forward.”

Chapter Text

Twinspur Town was a small rural town one hundred kilometers south of Mount Hakobe. The town consisted of small stone and wood buildings, dirt trails, and wide, open grassy fields. In the center of the town, was a larger building, the town hall. It towered above the rest of the one story buildings and was a cylindrical dome shape, with three windows on the face of the first floor and four large windows above it on the second story.

A loud rumbling noise echoed through the town as the windows of the town hall shattered. The rumbling continued, with the town hall collapsing to the ground as it created a large cloud of dust. From the cloud of dust, a lone man walked out, behind him being the rubble of the hall.

Several citizens rushed towards the town hall and approached the man. The man was a towering, well built figure, over two meters tall. He had wild spiky dark blond hair that jutted upwards and fair skin. On his squared face, was a large column of stitches that extended from his lower jaw up to his hairline through the right side of his face. He wore a black V neck shirt with the sleeves cut off, revealing his muscular arms, loose plain black pants, and black combat boots. On his left shoulder, was the mark of a black pumpkin insignia.

“W-who are you?!” One of the citizens questioned. “Why are you doing this?!”

The other citizens nervously observed the strange, large man. The large man returned a menacing grin to them.

“Since you’re all going to die here, I might as well tell you. I am Franken Billy. Remember this name as the last thing you etch into your skulls.” Franken Billy replied as he walked closer to the group of citizens. His already hulking body began to grow larger and larger. By the time he stood in front of the people, his size had increased nearly four fold as he towered over them. He raised his right arm up in the air as the citizens watched in complete silence and shock, unable to move their shaking legs.

Billy’s right arm color began to change, turning into a darker hue until it was pitch black with a metallic appearance. A smirk appeared on his face as he swung his fist straight down. A large pillar of dirt and debris kicked up as the shockwave from the punch blew away several nearby buildings.

---

South of the Capital Crocus, at the Magic Council Headquarters, a tall man with long brown hair reaching his shoulders wearing the white robes of the council walked through a long, spacious corridor.

“Captain Frestes!” A voice called out from behind him. He turned around and saw a young councilman approaching him.

“Yes?” Frestes asked. The young councilman bowed his head before continuing to speak.

“Sir, there is a report that came in from a recent patrol. Twinspur Town has been destroyed.”

Frestes eyes widened at the statement. He regained his composure and cleared his throat before continuing.

“Are there any survivors?” Frestes asked.

“None sir.” The young councilman replied. Frestes clenched his fists and turned back around quickly.

“Inform the other custody units! It looks like we need to have another meeting!” Frestes yelled as he hurried back down the corridor.

“Yes sir!” The young councilman said as he ran the other way down the corridor.

---

In less than fifteen minutes, Frestes and Lahar met in the custody enforcement meeting room. The other enforcement Captains did not show up as they were busy with work elsewhere in the country.

“So this is all the manpower we can allocate?” Frestes commented.

“It appears it will just be us.” Lahar said. He adjusted his glasses and looked over to the young councilman who was sitting across the table from them that had reported the incident.

“And I believe you were the one who filed that report to Captain Frestes correct?” Lahar asked.

“Yes, Head Captain Lahar. Third Custody Enforcement platoon sergeant Hourd Arvoss reports as ordered!” The councilman said as he stood straight up from his seat, in the position of attention. Lahar gestured for him to sit down before continuing. Hourd sat down as he shuffled through the papers in front of him.

“One of our patrols encountered a heavily wounded young mage. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries but he was able to tell us key information about the destruction of Twinspur Town. The town was destroyed by a lone man, who was several times larger than a regular man. He went by the name “Franken Billy.” As of now, we currently don’t know Franken Billy’s reasoning for destroying the town, nor do we know if he is associated with anyone else.” Hourd said as he read through the report. He handed over the report to Lahar. Lahar read over it in silence for several moments with a serious look on his face.

“Captain Frestes.” Lahar said, breaking the silence.

“Yes Head Captain.” Frestes replied.

“Assemble whoever is available in your team to investigate the remains of that town. If needed, I will send those in my squad to assist you if you need more manpower. We need to track down this mage at all costs.” Lahar continued.

“Yes sir!” Frestes said as he stood up. He looked at Hourd who also stood up from his seat as the two immediately stormed out of the meeting room. Lahar continued looking at the report, clenching the papers tightly in his hands.

----

Doryu sat on his throne as the doors to his room swung open. Franken Billy walked in, holding a large purple orb in hand, with Aifread right behind him. Upon seeing the orb, a smile formed on Doryu’s face.

“Master Doryu, I got the orb.” Franken Billy said as he and Aifread walked up to Doryu. Aifread immediately took a knee to the ground as they got close while Franken Billy handed Doryu the orb. Doryu marveled at the orb in his hands as it glowed a faint purple color.

“Excellent. You are dismissed, Billy.” Doryu said. Franken Billy nodded and turned around, walking out of the room and closing the large doors behind him, leaving only Aifread and Doryu in the room.

“Aifread, report.” Doryu said, still looking at the orb.

“Billy may have successfully gained the third orb, however he did so in a reckless manner. His actions have caused the council to start investigating further into us.” Aifread said.

“Is that so? Then let them. I will personally retrieve the fourth orb myself and there won’t be a single member of the council who can stop me. Once I get that orb, not even those fools that make up the Ten Wizard Saints will stand a chance, nor the other two branches of the Balam Alliance!” Doryu shouted.

---

Frestes and his group of over a dozen councilmen scoured through the debris of what remained of Twinspur Town, looking for clues. Frestes wiped the sweat from his head as he finished lifting a giant piece of stone where the town hall once stood. To his surprise, he found a strange pedestal underneath, lying on the ground. The pedestal was cracked but still in good shape. There was a noticeable groove at the top where it looked like something was being held.

“What is this…” Frestes commented as he examined it closer. He picked the pedestal off the ground. It was about a meter tall and was surprisingly heavy. It was gold colored, yet not made of gold, made out of some strange sturdy alloy instead. Carved into it, were intricate designs, reminiscent of demonic faces. ‘This kind of thing...doesn’t belong here…’

Frestes dragged the pedestal back to one of the large white tents the councilmen had set up. He placed the pedestal down on the ground next to the large table in the middle of the tent.

Channeling his magic, Frestes placed both hands in front of him. A bright blue square interface showed up. Frestes began tapping through the various screens for half an hour as he skimmed through various reports. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw a similar pedestal that was recovered during an incident with a man named “Ogre” several months back.

‘Are these guys...related?’ Frestes thought to himself. ‘I need to inform Lahar about this.’

Chapter Text

November 20th X784

Meliodas entered the guildhall at around ten in the morning, which was livelier than normal. In front of him, he saw the tables were arranged differently. The tables were all lined up and connected, with several guild members wiping down the tops of the tables and laying out a fancy red tablecloth. Behind them on the guild stage was a large purple banner that read “Fairy Tail Annual Cooking Competition” in bold white letters.

“Meliodas there you are!” Makarov said as he approached him. “You haven’t been here for very long so you haven’t experienced this, but we have an annual cooking competition between the guild members. You can either use the guild kitchen or cook from home. By noon, make sure your dish is on the table, as I and an old friend of mine will be judging them. The theme of this year is dessert, and the winner will receive a hundred thousand jewels.”

“Hmm...That sounds fun. I’ll participate!” Meliodas replied cheerfully. He bid Makarov goodbye as he walked over to the guild kitchen. The kitchen, despite being massive, was already filled to the brim with guild members preparing their dishes. At one corner of the kitchen, he noticed a large pillar of flames.

“Natsu you’re going to burn the whole kitchen down!” Lucy screamed.

“Calm down flame brain!” Gray shouted.

“I will make this the hottest desert ever!” Natsu yelled.

“Aye, sir!” Happy chimed in.

Meliodas looked around the rest of the kitchen and saw Mirajane working hard on a dish he’s never seen before with Erza next to her who appeared to be using ingredients to make a cake. ‘Hmm...I should do this at home. Seems a bit crowded here.’ Meliodas thought to himself before walking out.

Meliodas walked out of the guildhall and back to his house. On his way home, he pondered about what he could make. He recalled Ban teaching him how to make an apple pie. On his way home, Meliodas rushed to a local market, buying a large number of apples and various baking goods before returning.

---

Two hours passed by and Meliodas was back in the guildhall. He stood at the long row of tables with his dish in front of him, covered up by a silver food cover. He looked down the row of tables and saw all of the other participants with their food covered as well.

The guild suddenly grew dark and a spotlight shined towards the stage. Meliodas turned around and saw Makarov standing on the stage. Next to him was a short old man with thick eyebrows and a small mustache. He wore a white chef’s outfit.

“Welcome to Fairy Tail’s Annual Cooking Competition!” Makarov yelled out enthusiastically. “The theme for this year was simple, make the best dessert you can! And this year, I have my dear friend Yajima as a guest judge!” Makarov said as he gestured to Yajima. Yajima waved silently to the rest of the guild that was looking at him.

Makarov scanned the contestants lined up at the table. The rest of the lights in the guild turned back on as Makarov and Yajima walked over to Natsu.

“We will start here,” Makarov said. The rest of the guild who were not participating but watching from the sidelines looked at each other as they made comments.

“I can’t believe Natsu decided to join this.”

“Can he even cook?”

Natsu had an annoyed look on his face as he heard some comments from the guild members chatting on the side.

“Shut up I can cook!” Natsu yelled. “This cooking competition is like a fight and I’m all fired up!”

“Aye Sir!” Happy chimed as he floated next to Natsu. Natsu put his hand dramatically on the lid of the dish before lifting it.

“Check this out, Gramps! The hottest dish in all of Fairy Tail!” Natsu exclaimed as he pulled the lid up. Makarov’s eyes widened as looked at the dish Natsu had made. The restless guild grew silent as they saw what Natsu had made.

Sitting on the plate in front of them was a small, round, dark brown colored cake. On top of the cake was a light dusting of bright red colored powdered sugar.

“This isn’t what I think it is...is it?” Makarov asked as he looked up at Natsu. Natsu remained silent as he had a smug grin on his face. Makarov grabbed a fork and sunk it into the cake. A thick, steamy hot goo of chocolate oozed out as he cut through the cake.

“Y-you made this?!” Makarov asked in disbelief.

“This is a hard dessert to pull off correctly,” Yajima commented.

“I call it my Fire Dragon’s Molten Lava Cake!” Natsu shouted confidently. Makarov sunk his fork into the cake, splitting it apart. The cake oozed out a gooey flow of steaming chocolate. Makarov and Yajima’s eyes opened wide at the viscous sweetness pouring out. Makarov put a piece of the cake in his mouth as Yajima also grabbed a fork and also ate a piece of the cake. The two remained silent for a brief moment.

The rich chocolate taste and the sweetness of the chocolate liquid melded together, creating an intricate combination of texture and flavor. To their surprise, there was a small kick of spiciness in the chocolate, yet the spiciness did not take away from the sweetness, but instead, added to the experience.

“This is...certainly unexpected,” Makarov said, completely in shock at what he tasted.

“Yes, this is quite a good cake,” Yajima added on. A large grin formed on Natsu’s face. The spectators remained silent as they were struck with disbelief.

“Natsu could cook?!” Lucy commented. “I mean I’ve seen him compete with Happy in grilling fish but...this is something else…”

“This is new to me as well,” Gray added in.

Yajima and Makarov walked down the table to the next contestant, Cana. Makarov raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Cana. Her face was red as if she had been heavily drinking right before the contest began and she struggled standing up, losing her balance as she barely helped herself upright against the table.

“T-This is my rum cake!” Canna stuttered. She lifted the lid off of her dish. Underneath was a plain brown cake, shaped with a hollow center and many evenly spaced ridges the cake. As Makarov sliced a piece of the cake for himself and Makarov, he noticed the texture of the cake. It had just the right amount of moisture, being neither too wet nor too dry and in turn, creating a consistent fluffiness. Both Makarov and Yajima took a bite of the cake. Their eyes opened wide with shock. The texture was spot on, yet they could barely taste an ounce of sweetness. Instead, an overwhelming bitterness took over their taste buds.

“This cake…” Yajima murmured.

“It tastes completely like alcohol! Pure alcohol! I don’t even taste the cake!” Makarov exclaimed.

“I know right! Isn’t it great!” Cana responded with a large grin on her flushed red face.

Makarov shook his head and went down the table to the next person, Juvia. Juvia lifted the lid off of her dish. Makarov and Yajima’s eyes opened up wide.

“Juvia devotes this cake...to my beloved Gray!” Juvia yelled wholeheartedly. Gray’s eyes also widened as he looked at the cake. The cake was a vanilla ice cream cake with light blue frosting. On top of it, was an accurate and finely detailed frosting picture of Gray completely naked.

“I-I don’t know if I can eat that,” Makarov said quietly. Yajima remained silent.

“Please don’t…” Gray commented quietly. Makarov reached for a knife and sunk it into the cake. Gray’s face turned to horror as he watched his naked self get cut in half. Makarov handed a slice to Yajima and they both took a bite of it. The coolness of the cake and the sweetness from the vanilla flavor melded together well, with the texture of the ice cream and the fluffiness of the cake adding depth to its texture.

“This cake is very good,” Yajima commented.

“Yes, this is a delicious cake if it wasn’t for…” Makarov looked at the picture of Gray on the cake one more time and shook his head before moving onto the next person.

The next in line was Freed. He raised his dish cover-up and underneath, was a lemon meringue pie. On top of it was a yellow lightning mark made up of a whipped lemon frosting.

‘Huh...what a familiar marking.’ Meliodas thought as he looked at the cake.

“This looks good,” Makarov commented. He handed Yajima a slice of the cake and the two took a bite. The meringue melted in their mouths and the taste of lemons was not overbearing, with the sourness and sweetness melding together in perfect harmony.

“A truly delicious cake,” Makarov commented. Yajima nodded in approval as he took another bite.

“If I could not do that much, I would be no member of the Thunder God Tribe.” Freed replied smugly.

Makarov moved next in line over to Mirajane. He was particularly excited to try her dessert as he was well aware of her cooking skills. Mirajane revealed her dish to Makarov.

“I made Kuzumochi today Master,” Mirajane said with a smile.

“Ah yes! I haven’t had this in a while.” Makarov said. He looked down at the dish in front of him. They were white mochi cakes cut into perfect cubes. Glazed over them was a dark brown syrup. Sprinkled on top was a finely ground light brown powder of roasted soybeans.

Makarov and Yajima both picked up a cube of the kuzumochi. The cubes had a wobbly feel but were not too sticky and were cold to the touch. The two judges put a cube in their mouths. It had a mild sweetness to it that complemented its coolness. By itself, it was made perfectly but was no extraordinary dish. However, the black syrup coating that was drizzled on top added an extra layer of complexity to the sweetness with the roasted soybean powder, creating a harmony of different textures.

“This dessert is truly remarkable,” Makarov commented as he let the flavor sit in his mouth a while longer.

“I concur,” Yajima added as he also enjoyed the flavor for another moment.

Makarov and Yajima moved onto the next person. Makarov saw it was Meliodas. ‘I’m curious as to what he would cook.’ Makarov thought to himself. Meliodas gave the two judges a grin and lifted the lid over his dish.

Underneath was an apple pie. The crust was a crispy golden brown with a criss-cross pattern going over the top. In between the gaps, he could see the perfectly caramelized apple bits.

“This looks...fantastic...I didn’t know you could cook.” Makarov stated as he sliced into the pie.

“I have a lot of experience with making food,” Meliodas said.

“Oh right, you did run a bar by yourself after all!” Mirajane added in.

Both Makarov and Yajima took a bite of the apple pie at the same time. They both immediately froze in place a moment later. The guild looked at the two judges anxiously.

“Did Meliodas just make a dish so good the judges are completely speechless?” Lucy questioned.

“Or maybe...it’s really bad?” Gray responded.

“No...that apple pie looked perfect...completely flawless,” Freed added. “The taste they must be experiencing must be out of this world.”

Makarov and Yajima remained completely silent as they stood in place, with wide-eyed, nonblinking expressions.

“Master are you okay?” Mirajane asked, a bit worried about their current state. Suddenly, both of them dropped their portions of apple pie. Their plates fell to the ground, shattering into many pieces as the pie hit the ground, creating a sloppy mess on the floor.

Immediately afterward, Yajima fell backward on the ground, his body stiff as a board and eyes still wide open. Makarov remained standing in place, his face was frozen with empty eyes and his mouth open.

“Woah Meliodas, that must have been a really good pie!” Natsu exclaimed.

“AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” Makarov shouted as his magical power began to flare up drastically. His eyes began glowing and his mouth was gaped open wide. Beams of light shout out from both his mouth and eyes as his body began to grow in size from his gigantification magic.

“Master what’s going on?!” Mirajane exclaimed.

“Huh...he’s handling it better than I thought,” Meliodas commented.

“What the hell did you put in that pie?!” Gray questioned.

“Just apples,” Meliodas replied.

“AAARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!” Makarov continued yelling as the light emanating from his body became more intense.

“Everyone get down!” Erza yelled.

Chapter Text

Over an hour passed since the end of the Fairy Tail Cooking Competition. The competition had been canceled and pushed to a later date. The guildhall was back to normal, with the tables and chairs now in their original formations. Meliodas wiped the sweat from his forehead as he held a mop in his hand. Around him, several other guild members were holding mops as they cleaned the floors.

“I-It was everywhere…” Wendy murmured in horror.

“It was certainly worse for the Master and Yajima,” Carla mentioned. She looked towards Meliodas sternly. “And what on Earthland did you put in that pie?!”

“It was just like any normal apple pie,” Meliodas commented nonchalantly.

“That apple pie was anything but normal…” Lucy responded. “And didn’t you say you had a lot of experience?!”

“Oh that. I cooked for my customers all the time. Doesn’t mean they liked the food though. They just came to the tavern for ale.” Meliodas replied with a cheeky smile.

“Well, at least we’re just about done wiping up the mess,” Erza said. The group finished up mopping the floors when Makarov walked in from the main entrance.

“Master you’re alright!” Erza exclaimed.

“Yes...I’m fine now. I had Porlyusica take a look at me.” Makarov sighed. “Turns out that pie Meliodas gave me was just a normal pie…”

“Then what went wrong?” Erza asked.

“It was...THE WORST THING I’VE EVER TASTED.” Makarov shouted very loudly as he glared at Meliodas. Meliodas returned a friendly smile to Makarov. Makarov sighed as he quickly regained his composure and looked around the guild.

“So where did everyone else go?” Makarov asked.

“Well after your...eruption...those who got caught up in it went home to get themselves cleaned up,” Erza commented.

“O-oh...I apologize for that…” Makarov said as he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed at the situation. He turned his attention again to Meliodas.

“By the way...Meliodas...YOU ARE HEREBY BANNED FROM EVER COOKING AT OUR COOKING CONTEST UNTIL YOU CAN PROVE YOU CAN COOK!” Makarov yelled.

---
November 21st X784

The next day, Meliodas entered the guildhall. The guild was seemingly back to normal, despite the hectic event yesterday. Meliodas walked over to the bulletin board to look for a job. A specific job had caught his eye. He pulled the flyer off the board and read it.

“URGENT MISSION: TEACH MELIODAS HOW TO COOK. REWARD IS 1,000,000 JEWELS.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of money to teach me how to cook,” Meliodas commented out loud.

“Well, it is certainly needed, after what happened yesterday.” A voice said from behind him. Meliodas turned around and saw Makarov walking towards him.

“Did you put this up?” Meliodas asked.

“Yes. I made this mission myself. I realize that your cooking is a danger to not just the guild, but all of Ishtar.” Makarov replied.

“Don’t worry, Master.” A kind voice said from behind Makarov. Makarov turned around and saw Mirajane approaching them. Next to her, was Erza.

“We will take this quest and show Meliodas how to truly bake a wonderful dessert!” Erza declared enthusiastically.

“I see...well if it’s you two on this mission, then I have nothing to be worried about. I leave Meliodas in your care then.” Makarov said as he began to walk away.

“So what are you two going to teach me?” Meliodas asked.

“We will teach you how to make the ultimate…” Erza paused for a moment as she stood in a dramatic pose with her arms outstretched. “Strawberry cake!” Erza said enthusiastically.

“Then please teach me, Master Erza and Master Mira,” Meliodas said enthusiastically as he bowed his head.

“M-Master?!” Erza exclaimed. “Hmm...I guess I like the sound of that.”

“He’s certainly getting into it,” Mirajane commented. “Why don’t we head over to the kitchen.”

Meliodas, Mirajane, and Erza all walked into the guild kitchen. Erza began going through the cabinets, pulling out all of the required pans and utensils they will need while Mirajane went into the pantry to grab the ingredients. Less than a minute later, everything was set up on the counter in front of Meliodas.

“Okay Meliodas, the first thing you have to do is combine the cake mix, gelatin powder, and flour in a bowl with water. We’ve already measured these out for you.” Mirajane said. Meliodas nodded and grabbed an empty bowl. He poured the cake mix, gelatin, and flour and began whisking it vigorously.

“Wait, you need to add the-” Before Mirajane could finish, a large white cloud of powder filled the room, causing all three of them to start coughing. Erza and Mirajane fanned the air as they tried to clear the room up.

“Meliodas, make sure you add a cup of water to that,” Mirajane said as the powder began to clear. “Then add a cup of sugar.”

“Oh, easy,” Meliodas said. He reached into a cabinet under the counter, pulling out a
large tankard.

“We already put out the measuring cups-” Erza commented as Meliodas managed to fill the tankard to the brim with sugar.

“I think that’s a bit too much sugar…” Mirajane commented with a nervous smile. Meliodas proceed to pour the entire tankard of sugar into the bowl before filling up that same tankard with water and pouring it into the large mixing bowl. As Meliodas began mixing the ingredients, several other guild members walked into the kitchen. Meliodas looked up and saw Gray, Lucy, and Wendy approach the counter.

“I heard you guys are teaching Meliodas how to make a cake properly,” Gray mentioned.

“This can’t turn out good…” Lucy sighed.

“I think Meliodas will do a good job with Erza and Mira teaching him,” Wendy added.

“Well next is the eggs,” Erza commented. “Crack two eggs into the bowl.” She handed two eggs to Meliodas. Meliodas immediately threw the eggs whole into the bowl, shell and all. The eggs cracked as they hit the bottom of the bowl, with the yolks and whites leaking out of the broken shell.

“What the hell?! Don’t put the shells in too!” Gray exclaimed.

“I did,” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile as he pointed to the eggs which were broken from the force of him throwing them into the bowl. He began vigorously mixing the broken eggs and shells in the bowl, much to everyone’s dismay.

“This is not turning out good…” Lucy commented.

“Erza, can you preheat the oven?” Mirajane asked.

“I’m on it!” Erza said as she walked across the kitchen towards the stone oven.

“So while the oven is heating, why don’t we work on the frosting,” Mirajane suggested. Meliodas nodded eagerly and grinned.

“So these strawberries are already freeze-dried. We just need to grind them into powder and put them in with this stick of butter. Then we’ll add five cups of sugar and mix it.” Mirajane said. She gestured to a magic-powered food processor on the counter but Meliodas ignored it as he instead reached for a kitchen knife.

After picking up the ingredients, Meliodas threw the strawberries and butter into the air and swung his knife quickly at them. The strawberries and butter were immediately cut up into extremely tiny cubes and fell into the mixing bowl.

“Wow, Meliodas that’s incredible!” Wendy commented.

“I guess that works? Does that count as a powder?” Lucy questioned as Gray remained silent as he watched.

“Well they need to be a bit more finely-” Mirajane stopped as Meliodas immediately began to pour five large tankards of sugar into the mixing bowl.

“That’s too much!” Lucy exclaimed.

“There’s a regular measuring cup right there, use it!” Gray shouted. Their shouts were ignored as Meliodas vigorously stirred the mixture, causing it to splatter everywhere as it thickened.

“The oven is good to go!” Erza said as she turned back around, having ignited the stone oven.

“Okay then, Meliodas just put the first mixture we made into the oven,” Mirajane said nervously. Meliodas nodded and put it on the oven rack. Mirajane set a timer and the group walked out of the kitchen and sat down at the bar and began conversing.

“So who is going to taste that thing…” Gray asked.

“I will,” Erza replied confidently.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Erza…” Lucy said. The group continued to converse until the timer Mirajane had set began to ring. Meliodas and Mirajane walked into the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, they returned to the bar. In Meliodas’ hands was the strawberry cake. Meliodas placed the cake down on the table.

“It turned out better than I thought,” Mirajane commented. Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Lucy were completely silent as they looked at the cake. Despite having been there to see Meliodas mess up on nearly every step, the cake looked perfect.

“There’s no way that cake can look this good,” Gray commented.

“It looks delicious!” Erza added as her eyes sparkled with excitement. She leaned in and cut a slice of the cake and placed it on her cake. The group looked at the sliced cake.

“Wow, the texture looks good too!” Wendy commented.

“How did the cake even turn out looking this good?” Lucy asked Meliodas with a baffled expression on her face.

“I paid extra attention to the presentation,” Meliodas replied smugly. Erza eyed the cake as she sunk her fork into the slice.

“This texture...it’s perfect! I can only imagine how amazing this must taste!” Erza said excitedly as she put the cake in her mouth. As Erza ate the first bite, Makarov approached the group at the bar.

“So that’s the cake?” Makarov asked as he gave the cake a skeptical look. From his experience, he already knew that no matter how perfect it looked on the outside, the taste may not match its looks. He looked at Meliodas who had a large smile on his face before turning his attention to Erza.

“How is it?” Makarov asked. Erza remained silent with a stiff expression on her face. Lucy and Gray immediately got up from their seats and took a step back.

“Erza?” Wendy questioned. A forced smile formed on Erza’s face as she placed her fork down on the table. She looked at Makarov and nodded at him.

“I must excuse myself…” Erza said quietly. She slowly got up from her bar stool but immediately took off in a full sprint towards the back hall of the guild. The group stood silently for several moments and looked at each other.

“This can’t be good…” Carla commented.

A minute of silence passed as the guild members at the bar stared awkwardly at each other. The silence was broken as an ungodly sound followed by a scream echoed throughout the guildhall. Those who were talking in the guildhall immediately stopped, their eyes widened at what they had just heard.

“This turned out very badly…” Mirajane said quietly.

“I suppose you could call this an improvement. She didn’t throw up everywhere and explode.” Carla commented.

“If you put it that way then I guess?” Gray responded.

“Well, either way, Meliodas you apologize to Erza for-”

Lucy’s sentence was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash from the roof above as Erza busted in from the ceiling donning her Purgatory armor. Erza landed on top of the table, with pieces of wood and debris from the ceiling still falling around her. The group stepped back away from her as she had an angry, nearly bloodlusted expression on her face yet her skin looked pale and sickly.

“THAT CAKE DESERVES TO-”

Before Erza could finish the sentence, she immediately dropped her purgatory mace and hunched over as her cheeks began to puff up and her eyes widened.

“Wait I might be able to heal her before it's too late!” Wendy exclaimed as she ran to Erza’s side. She put her hands on Erza’s back as they emitted a faint green glow. However, Erza’s sickly demeanor did not change.

“My healing isn’t working on her?! What kind of strawberry cake was that?!” Wendy cried out.

“Everyone get away from Erza!” Gray shouted as he saw Erza’s face begin to contort. He quickly ran to Wendy, picking her up off the ground as he and the rest of the group jumped over the bar table to take cover.

---

[Meliodas is indefinitely banned from feeding his food to anybody in the guild.]

Chapter Text

November 21st X784

Frestes and his men returned from their investigation of Twinspur Town and arrived back at the Magic Council Headquarters. Frestes met up with Lahar, showing him his findings. The two sat in a smaller meeting room with a white circular table in the middle and four leather chairs. Two chairs were empty as Frestes and Lahar sat in the other two facing each other. Frestes slid his report to Lahar across the table.

Lahar picked up the papers and began reading through them. He spent a couple of minutes in silence as he read through the report, as Frestes anxiously waited for a reply. Lahar adjusted his glasses, pushing them back up as they slid down his nose as his head was angled downward. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“This is certainly a good find, Frestes.” Lahar said, looking back up at the younger Captain. “It appears these strange pedestals are all linked together somehow to whatever Ghost Pumpkin is planning…”

“But we still need to locate the others...assuming there are even more. We’re currently in the dark here.” Frestes said. “So far, I can’t think of any leads. I have my men cross referencing data from other cities and museums to see if there is any more information on this. We need to find that pedestal before Ghost Pumpkin does, or else more people will die…”

“Well, I have a few connections with the research department of the Magic Council. I’ll bring your report to them and see if they can bring up any more information on this to find out what these pedestals are linked to. In the meantime, I’ll have to increase the patrols and keep a lookout for the Ghost Pumpkin guild…” Lahar said.

---
November 24th X784

Three days have passed since the magic council custody units joined forces in trying to figure out the mystery behind the pedestal. Lahar sat in the unit shared quarters late at night, his room dimly lit by only his desk lamp. He continued reading a report that the research department had sent him based off of Frestes information.

“This...this can’t be…” Lahar said quietly to himself with noticeable panic in his voice. “They’re trying to revive THAT?!”

Lahar jumped out of his seat, running out of the room into the main corridor. ‘Dammit! I need to inform the council of this. We can’t let this happen!’

---
November 25th X784

The members of the magic council convened after. A group of old men wearing fancy robes and garments sat together around a table in a large room. Standing in front of the table was Lahar. Sitting at the very end of the table was a tall and fit elderly man with long gray hair and a long beard. He wore a fitted armor that was covered by a dark blue cape that draped over his shoulders. On his head, he wore a typical stereotypical black wizard’s hat.

“Gran Doma what is the purpose of this meeting today?” One of the old councilmen asked.

“Lahar, the Head Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit reported to me directly some drastic information regarding the destruction that has been happening as of late.” Gran Doma replied. He gestured towards Lahar who was standing across from them at the other side of the table. “If you would.”

“Yes sir.” Lahar replied. “I’m sure you are all aware by now of the sudden massacre of Twinspur Town.”

“Of course! Thousands of people died and that town was wiped off the face of the map!” One of the other councilmen exclaimed.

“Yes, well my custody team, Captain Frestes, and his custody team, as well as the research department have investigated the cause of this.” Lahar said. He turned to the next page of the report in his hands before continuing.

“Based on the results of the investigation and the evidence cross-referenced by the research team, we have determined that whoever is behind this attack is also behind the attacks on Lily Town and has relations to the Ghost Pumpkin dark guild. All of those areas also shared the same strange pedestal. Using the engravings on the pedestal as a reference, we have found similarities from excerpts from old manuscripts that date back to over four hundred years ago. According to those, these pedestals are used to awaken a certain weapon. The translations are a bit off but the two names that made the most sense were “The Bloodlust Sword” and “The Weapon of Ultimate Darkness.”

“A Weapon of Ultimate Darkness?! That’s absurd! If such a weapon exists, we must contain and destroy it immediately!” An older councilman commented.

“A weapon that takes the souls and magic of the living to power it...something like this cannot be good…Not only that but this weapon even predates the age of Zeref, going into the age of dragons...” Another councilman commented.

“Well, we currently don’t know where this weapon resides. However, we do know that four orbs are required and they all reside on the same pedestal. Based on further analysis by the research team, these pedestals are the reason these orbs can charge soul energy. And from cross-referencing images are trying information from cities and museums all over Fiore, we have found the last pedestal is in a town known as Marigold Town. Our best bet would be to secure the orb first before our unknown opposition does.” Lahar finished.

“A threat of this level that possesses the power to destroy single towns by themselves already…” Gran Doma commented. “Yes, this must be dealt with immediately! Lahar, send a group over to Marigold Town immediately.”

“Yes sir!” Lahar said. He turned around and quickly ran out the door of the meeting hall. Gran Doma stroked his long beard before continuing.

“For something like this...our custody units are still short on manpower. We’ll need the help of the Ten Wizard Saints.” Gran Doma said.

“But can we even get the Ten Wizard Saints to help us in time? Certainly numbers one through four won’t join in for something of this level. And if you remember, we lost three members that were five through ten. We’re short on Wizard Saints too!” A councilman added.

“So we’ll have to rely on Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale for this operation then. I’m not opposed to having Iron Rock Jura assist with this, but we can’t trust Fairy Tail. They may even bring more destruction than this weapon of darkness.” Another councilman said. Gran Doma sighed as he watched the other councilmen talk about the situation amongst themselves.

‘As much as I don’t want to contact Fairy Tail... it looks like I don’t have a choice.’

---

Chapter Text

“Well, well, well...I’m getting nowhere at all with this again.” Meliodas sighed. It had been a few days since the Edolas incident. Meliodas focused most of his time researching a way back. After talking with Mystogan about the Anima, he had hoped that perhaps there was a similar device invented in Earthland. Unfortunately, the guild did not keep track of such things. Meliodas went as far as to do research about the mysterious Moon Dragon God, Selene, but found no information regarding her.

After spending a few more hours in the library Meliodas walked out of the room towards the bar. He sat on the stool and slumped over with an exhausted expression on his face.

“No luck today either huh...” Mirajane said as she approached Meliodas. She brought over a mug of Jade Wyvern Ale and placed it in front of Meliodas. Meliodas instantly popped up from his slumped position. He grabbed the glass and downed it one go before setting it down.

“Nope,” Meliodas replied with a refreshed look on his face.

“What about the anima method?” Mira asked as she refilled Meliodas’ now empty mug.

“No, there was nothing about that in the books. Nothing even comes close to that level of technology. Edolas is much more advanced than us when it comes to their inventions, probably because they couldn’t rely on magic like we can.” Meliodas replied. He grabbed the now refilled mug of ale in front of him and gulped it down quickly again.

“I wish Merlin was here….” Meliodas grumbled.

“Who?” Mirajane asked.

“A long-time friend of mine. She is the smartest person I’ve ever known… I bet she could’ve figured out a method by now.” Meliodas said.

“Don’t get too down. I am sure you will find a way soon.” Mirajane said with a reassuring smile.

“Thanks,” Meliodas said cheerfully. He hopped off the barstool and turned around to face the rest of the guildhall. He looked around and was surprised at how empty it was. When he had come in earlier in the morning, the guildhall was full of people.

“Huh… where is everyone?” Meliodas asked.

“It’s getting to that time of year again,” Mirajane commented.

“Another cook-off?” Meliodas asked.

“No.” A stern voice said from Meliodas’ right side. He turned his head and saw Erza approaching him. “And you are not allowed to cook again…” Erza said with a slight shudder.

“I think that was my best work,” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile.

“I find it unbelievable that you cooked food for your tavern...” Erza commented. “And that people ate your food…”

“Well...they mostly came for the ale,” Meliodas said.

Erza sighed in relief. “But anyway, the reason the guild is this empty is that the S class trials will start soon so everyone wants to try their hardest to be selected.”

“Oh! So everyone is out on a job right now to try to get selected for S rank mage then.” Meliodas commented.

“Yes, if you become an S class mage you can take the requests from the S rank board. Those missions have a high reward but are incredibly dangerous.” Mirajane added in.

“How many S class mages do we have right now?” Meliodas asked.

“Currently, that would be me, Mirajane, and Gildarts. Laxus and Mystogan were also S class mages when they were still in the guild. I am sure if you wanted, you can easily be an S ranked wizard.” Erza replied.

‘I wonder if I should try to get selected…’ Meliodas thought to himself. His current research was still going nowhere and being an S Class Mage would grant him access to newer missions where he may encounter a strong spatial mage or someone who is knowledgeable in what he is looking for.

Another hour passed, and Meliodas sat at the bar, with a mug of ale in hand pondering his options back home and the S class trials. He watched as guild members came in and left as soon as they came, accepting jobs nonstop.

Eventually, Meliodas walked up to the request board and looked at the available missions that were posted. So far in his time in Fairy Tail, he had only taken missions so far in order to earn some money for expenses. ‘I could be using these missions to look for clues...’ Meliodas thought to himself as he read the missions.

“Capture the blind bandit, capture an escaped platypus bear? These won’t help me at all.“ Meliodas commented as he continued reading through the rest of the jobs.

“Meliodas, are you going to take a mission?” A voice suddenly came from his right side.
Meliodas turned towards the voice. It came from a tall muscular man with straight black hair, tan skin, and thick lips. He wore tribal attire consisting of a black open vest and a fur loincloth.

“Oh, Nab right? I am thinking about it. None of these missions really look appealing.” Meliodas answered.

“I understand what you mean,” Nab said. He nodded at Meliodas and grabbed a mission off the board before leaving the building.

‘Wow, even Nab took a mission off the board. Normally I see him just standing here looking at it all day. This S class trial must be serious…’ Meliodas thought before returning his attention back to the jobs on the board again. “What kind of mission would earn me money and look for info..” Meliodas thought for a second before having a realization. He widened his eyes and started looking through the rest of the missions.

‘Wait...there’s a second floor with a separate mission board.’ Meliodas turned towards the stairway leading up to the second floor. He quickly ran towards the stairs and traversed up them, approaching the job bulletin board. Standing in front of the bulletin board, was Erza. Meliodas walked up next to her and began scanning the board. He had a crafty smile on his face as he began looking through the mission requests.

‘A lot of these missions are subjugation missions and a good portion of those are for dark guilds. I can take care of these missions for money and at the same time, loot the dark guilds to see if they have any information on the magic I am looking for.’ Meliodas thought as looked at the other mission requests on the board while Erza looked over at his direction, curious as to what he was up to.

“Meliodas… you can’t take these missions yet. You have to become an S class mage to take them.” Erza said, interrupting Meliodas's thoughts.

“I’m aware. I just needed to confirm something up here. These types of missions might be what I need to find a way back to my world.” Meliodas said. Erza looked at Meliodas solemnly, remembering his revelation a few days back earlier about him not being from this world, a very similar situation to Mystogan except unlike Mystogan, he had no definite way back.

“Don't worry. I am sure that with your strength, Master would definitely select you for the S class trials. But until then, why don’t you just tag along with me on an S class mission. We did agree to go on one together before, remember?” Erza mentioned.

“Oh yeah you’re right! Sorry that completely slipped my mind. I’ve been a bit busy lately.” Meliodas laughed.

“It’s understandable. And I’ll do whatever I can in the meantime to help out with your situation. So did you have a particular mission in mind? I’ve spent the past few days resting after the incident in Edolas so now would be as good a time as ever to go on a mission.” Erza responded. Meliodas pointed at one of the job flyers on the board.

“Yeah this-” Meliodas was interrupted by a voice before he finished.

“Meliodas, Erza! Come down here!” Makarov shouted. Meliodas and Erza both looked at each other before hurrying downstairs.

“Is there something wrong Master?” Erza asked, noticing a strange seriousness in Makarov’s eyes.

“I need you both to immediately go on this mission. It was issued by the council. They are in urgent need of powerful wizards.”

Meliodas nodded. It was rare for him to see the guild master with such an expression. This mission was clearly of grave importance.

“A direct mission from the council? Where are we going?” Erza asked.

“Marigold Town.” Makarov answered.

---

Chapter Text

“Marigold Town? Why are we going there?” Erza asked.

“The council was in a rush relaying this to me so they left out a lot of details, but there are mages trying to awaken a sinister artifact. The council has requested immediate assistance with this matter. I know there aren’t a lot of others left in the guild because of the trials coming up, but see if you can find another to take with you as well.” Makarov answered.

Erza nodded. She and Meliodas looked around the guildhall. It was mostly empty since most of the members were busy taking various missions for the S class selection and as a result, we’re constantly out of the guild, only coming back to take another mission before leaving again.

“What about him,” Meliodas said pointing towards Gajeel, who was sitting down at a table in a corner of the guild munching on a bowl of nails. Sitting next to him was Pantherlily.

“Wow, he's eating a bowl of nails without any milk…” Meliodas mused.

“Yes, he will work!” Erza said enthusiastically as she walked over to Gajeel. Gajeel continued eating his bowl of nails as he and Lily conversed.

“Are you sure you didn’t want milk with that?” Lily asked, slightly unnerved at the fact that Gajeel was eating iron nails.

“Milk? What the hell do you take me for? I’m an Iron Dragon Slayer, not a Milk Dragon Slayer!” Gajeel responded as he put another spoonful of nails in his mouth. As he bit down and removed the spoon from his mouth, he realized he had eaten part of the spoon with it.

“Dammit...I knew I should have used a wooden spoon...Hey Lily can ya get me another sp-” Gajeel stopped mid-sentence as he felt a sharp pain on his head as his long black hair was pulled from behind. Gajeel fell backward onto the ground as he was dragged across the guildhall. Lily watched in silent awe as he watched Gajeel get dragged away by Erza.

“OY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!” Gajeel protested as he tried breaking free.

“Well we could have just asked but I guess this works too,” Meliodas said, feeling some sympathy for Gajeel who was being dragged out by Erza against his will.

“You crazy woman! Why did you drag me out?” Gajeel shouted as Erza continued to drag him along.

“We are going on an important mission!” Erza replied.

“Why didn’t you just ask?!!” Gajeel said with some indignation.

“No time. We are going on an urgent mission to Marigold town. We have to stop some evil mages. Council’s orders.”

“That's fine...not like I had anything better to do... But could you let me go already!” Gajeel exclaimed. Erza let go of Gajeel’s hair and he quickly jumped back up, dusting himself off briefly. He shuddered as he looked at Erza. ‘Is that why Salamander is so afraid of her?’

“You’re not interested in the S class trials?” Meliodas asked, perplexed as to why Gajeel wasn’t going on a mission spree like the other members. Gajeel looked at Meliodas and was about to say something, but stopped as he realized he couldn’t say the real reason why. Meliodas gave Gajeel a brief skeptical look but shrugged it off.

“How far is Marigold town?” Lily asked.

“It’s a few hours east by carriage as there is no direct railway to head there. ” Erza replied. “Let’s get going.”

----

An hour passed as Erza, Meliodas, Gajeel, and Pantherlily sat in the carriage, with Gajeel and Pantherlily sitting across from Erza and Meliodas. Erza fixed her gaze on the map as she held it on in front of her. Gajeel, Pantherlily, and Meliodas all stared out the window.

“By the way, what is this mission?” Gajeel asked. “You dragged me here saying we’re gonna fight some big bad wizard’s or somethin. I’m down for kickin some ass but at least brief me on this.”

“I didn’t receive the exact details from Master. All we know is that it is an urgent request from the council, requesting our assistance. I’m assuming we’ll find out more about it once we arrive in Marigold Town.”

“Tch...the Council…I hate those guys.” Gajeel muttered.

“Probably because you cause a lot of collateral damage in your missions.” Meliodas said jokingly.

“Don’t confuse me for salamander! They don't like me for different reasons.” Gajeel replied.

“That's not really better…..” Lily commented.

“That aside.. We will do our best not to tarnish Fairy Tail’s name.” Erza said. “We’re already on pretty bad terms with the council so we’ll need to behave ourselves on this mission.”

---

Lahar sat down in his office at the main council building. He sat at his desk in the middle of the room, looking through a large stack of papers filled with various reports of crimes and arrests that happened all throughout Fiore. As he looked through the files, he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in.” Lahar said. The door opened as a councilman walked in.

“Captain Lahar, the message has been sent to Fairy Tail’s guild master, Makarov. Makarov informed us that he will be sending a strong group of mages to assist us.” The councilman reported.

“Good. And I’ve already sent word to Jura. He should be arriving at the village soon.” Lahar responded.

“Sir, was there a reason we invited both Fairy Tail and Jura Neekis?” The councilman asked.

“If this threat is what I expect it to be, it may require even more.” Lahar replied solemnly.

“Why not invite some of the other guilds as well?” The councilman asked.

“Fairy Tail is the closest guild to the village. We realized the threat too late. Even if we inform the other guilds we don't know how long it will take for them to respond and send someone. Thankfully, Jura was already here at the council building so I could relay the important information to him right away. In the meantime, let’s start moving towards the village.” Lahar replied.

“Start gathering everyone around, we will leave immediately.” Lahar ordered.

“Yes sir!”

---

“Are we almost there yet?” Gajeel asked as he slowly opened his eyes. He stretched his arms out, at least as much as he could in the cramped space of the carriage, as ye yawned. He looked to his side and saw Lily still quietly looking out the window.

“Yes. According to the map, it looks like we should be approaching the village shortly.”
Erza replied.

“Hey I see it!” Meliodas replied as looked out the window. He pointed to a small village in the distance.

“How the hell can you see that?! I can barely see it!” Gajeel responded as he squinted.

“Well, my eyes can see an exposed pair of panties from a mile away.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile.

“Well I could see that far too if I tried!” Gajeel retorted, getting somewhat competitive with Meliodas. Lily shook his head as he looked at both Gajeel and Meliodas.

“But why….” Lily commented.

“Quiet. I can see the village up ahead. Driver, you think you could speed up?” Erza requested.

“Sure thing. But hold on tight!” The driver of the carriage said as the carriage nearly tripled in speed. The carriage hit a bump in the road as it sped up, causing Gajeel to bump his head into the ceiling.

“Ouch! Dammit watch it!” Gajeel shouted.

A few minutes later, the group reached the edge of the village. They thanked the carriage driver as he drove off back the way he came. Gajeel took a deep breath in and his eyes immediately widened.

“That smell…” Gajeel commented, his face looking grim.

“Smell?” Erza questioned as she looked at Gajeel and Pantherlily. Pantherlily also had a grim expression on his face as his sense of smell was also greater than a normal human’s. Erza turned her attention to Meliodas who had a serious look on his face.

“You smell something too?” Erza asked. Meliodas shook his head.

“No...it’s something else.”

Chapter Text

Meliodas’s expression remained frosty as he walked into the village. Erza suddenly covered her mouth as her eyes widened in shock at the countless bodies of councilmen and villagers that laid scattered around. Around them, blood was splattered on the walls of houses, and pools of it formed on the ground.

“What the hell happened here?!” Gajeel asked with a slight, yet noticeable panic in his voice. He had never seen anything so brutal in his life. Meliodas looked curiously at the bodies of villagers specifically. He noticed that they had no visible wounds.

“Their souls were taken…” Meliodas muttered as he stared in shock. He hadn’t seen anything like this in the current world. ‘Such a method exists… does that mean there are demons in this world as well?’

“Who...or what would do something like this?” Lily asked. Meliodas and the group remained silent as they walked slowly through the village. The place reeked of the scent of blood that got worse and worse the deeper they went. The group stopped as they noticed the corpses of councilmen on the ground, their white robes turned red. One of the corpses in particular caught Meliodas’ eye. Meliodas paused as he looked at it.

“So all councilmen that were sent here were all slaughtered…” Erza commented. She noticed Meliodas staring at one particular corpse.

“Something caught your eye?” Erza asked.

“I think I know this one.” Meliodas said, pointing to the corpse of a tall councilman with long brown hair. He thought back to the councilman he met briefly on his mission with Gray at the Bluegarden estate.

“Look at his robes. He looks like a Captain.” Gajeel commented.

“So even a Captain within the council couldn’t fight this off…” Lily added.

“Let’s keep moving. We need to find out whoever did this and make sure this doesn’t happen again.” Meliodas said in a serious tone.

“And if we’re lucky, we’ll find survivors.” Erza said.

The group continued walking through the village, reaching the center to what appeared to be the broken remains of a town hall. As the group stopped to look at the building, a deep, familiar voice came from behind them.

“So you’ve arrived, Fairy Tail.”

The group turned around and saw the large man who had just greeted them.

“Jura?!” Erza exclaimed. Jura nodded as he looked at the group.

“Thank you for coming here so quickly. It’s good to see you again, Meliodas and Erza.”

“So this is the guy called Iron Rock Jura, of the Ten Wizard Saints…” Gajeel commented as he looked at him. He could feel a tremendous magical pressure from him, as expected of someone of the Ten Wizard Saints.

“He’s certainly strong.” Lily commented.

“Do you have any information as to who is behind this? We were told to come here on short notice and didn’t receive a lot of information regarding the mission.” Erza asked. Jura quickly briefed the group on the information he was given by the council.

“And the council doesn’t know who it was exactly or how many. It doesn’t help that those who were sent here to scout ahead of time were killed. We must explore the rest of the village and see if there are any clues left behind.” Jura replied.

Erza nodded. They didn’t have much of a choice. She followed behind Jura with Lily while Gajeel went back down the main road they came from. Erza noticed Meliodas squatting by one of the bodies of a councilman nearby.

“Meliodas… are you alright?” Erza asked, however Meliodas remained deep in thought as looked over the corpse.

“Perhaps he figured something out.” Lily suggested. A few moments later Meliodas stood up and looked at the trio.

“Meliodas, did you figure something out?” Jura asked.

“There are at least two assailants.” Meliodas replied.

“What? How do you know.” Erza asked.

“Only the councilmen have visible wounds on their bodies. The other corpses of villagers didn’t have those same wounds. Their bodies were completely fine. Instead, it looks like their souls were removed from their body. “

“Souls?!!....” Jura muttered.

“Yes. Look at the bodies of the villagers. They all look like they have been drained. I have seen things like this before.” Meliodas said. He was familiar with this concept after all, considering the demon race ate human souls.

“So why do you suspect two? Couldn’t it have been the same person that killed both the villagers and the councilmen?” Erza asked.

“The council members that died...they must have arrived after the souls of the villagers were taken. Their wounds are a lot fresher than the bodies whose souls are removed. My guess is another person may have finished them off to keep silent.” Meliodas answered.

“What he says does make sense. And even if it were the same person who did this, it would best we be as cautious as if there were multiple involved.” Jura added.

“So how are we going to track the culprits?” Lily asked. Meliodas looked around for any other clues, but noticed Gajeel was gone from the group.

“Where is Gajeel?” Meliodas asked.

“Hmm. He was just here.” Erza responded as she looked around.

“Hey get over here! I think I found something!” Gajeel’s voice called out from behind them, back at the main road. The group rushed over and saw Gajeel was standing next to the familiar councilman’s body. Jura’s eyes widened as he saw the councilman. He couldn’t help but feel sad upon seeing Captain Frestes’ lifeless body.

“So Captain Frestes has fallen…” Jura commented. “We drank together about a month ago after one of the large council meetings.”

“Well I found this in his hand.” Gajeel said. He showed the group a black piece of cloth that appeared to have been torn off of clothing.

“Good find. Whoever he was fighting, Captain Frestes must have managed to grab a hold of his clothing before he died.” Jura said.

“And with my sense of smell, we’ll find that bastard!” Gajeel said with a smirk. He put the piece of cloth up to his nose and took a large whiff. His eyes widened immediately and he began to look around.

“What’s wrong?” Lily asked.

“The scent’s pretty strong. That bastard is pretty close. Can’t be more than a few kilometers that way.” Gajeel said, pointing in the direction of the town hall.

“Then we’d better hurry up and move before we lose him.” Jura said. “We’ll follow after you Gajeel.”

Gajeel nodded and quickly ran to the north side of town, leaving the town into the forest with the rest of the mages right behind him. A few moments passed as the group ran through the forest.

“How close are we?” Erza asked.

“Very close.” Gajeel replied. The group ran a few more steps but immediately stopped as they felt an enormous magical presence nearby.

“What is this magical power?!” Lily exclaimed. He looked towards Jura and Meliodas. Meliodas had a serious expression on his face and Jura seemed a bit shaken by the power.

Runes on the ground began to glow as a massive, invisible wall rose up from behind them. The atmosphere of the area changed, with the sky turning dark as if it was night time. A large castle seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the distance as a thunderous noise crackled. Pantherlily immediately jumped up into Gajeel’s arms at the loud noise.

“So you’re afraid of thunder huh?” Gajeel said with a smirk. His smirk vanished quickly as the large magic he felt continued to grow.

“What is this place?” Erza questioned. Meliodas turned around and looked at the magical wall that had risen up behind them. He walked up to it and placed his hand on the wall. His hand immediately rebounded as a small shock jolted through his hand.

“Looks like they trapped us here with runes.” Meliodas said.

“So they must have anticipated we would be coming.” Jura commented.

“If they’re going to trap us in here, that gives us all the more reason to reach that castle and defeat whoever is behind all of this.” Erza said with a determined look on her face.

Suddenly more runes began to glow on the ground in front of them, which seemingly stretched out all the way to the castle. A shrill voice echoed throughout the area.

“You impudent worms won’t be going anywhere, now that you’ve fallen in THE GREAT MAZE!”

Chapter Text

Meliodas looked around him as Erza, Gajeel, Pantherlily, and Jura were suddenly teleported away. Suddenly, the ground around Meliodas began to rise high into the air, forming large walls.

Meliodas quickly charged towards one of the walls and wound his left fist back. He threw a heavy punch towards the wall, but to his surprise, his fist rebounded back as a large shockwave reverberated from the force, creating a large echo. Meliodas fell backwards and tumbled several meters before regaining his balance again.

Meliodas stood back up and shook his hand. He looked up at the wall that was still rising. He noticed runes had appeared on the wall as he tried to punch it. ‘Just like Freed’s. I don’t think I’m able to break through this with raw strength.’

Meliodas squatted down, preparing to jump high into the air. With great power, he leaped from his spot, cracking the hard ground beneath him as he propelled himself upwards towards the top of the wall. Just as he was about to hit the top of the wall, his eyes widened in surprise as he felt a sharp pain to his head as he slammed straight into the invisible wall. Strange runes began forming where he had slammed his head.

Meliodas fell back to the ground and landed on his butt.He rubbed his forehead where he hit the invisible rune wall headfirst. ‘That really hurt...whoever made this really put a lot of time into preparation.’ Meliodas thought as he shook off the pain. Meliodas stood back up and looked straight ahead at the path. The great earthen walls had stopped rising and there was but a wide, singular path that was about as wide as the main road of Magnolia Town.

“Well, well, well. I guess I have no choice.” Meliodas said as he began walking down the path. He looked around at the walls, hoping to see some kind of opening but he could not find one. After several minutes of walking, he eventually reached a fork in the path. He looked down both directions and saw that they lead to more forks in the road. Meliodas sighed and shook his head.

‘This is a real pain. I can’t seem to sense magic inside of this maze either and these walls won’t break. I hope everyone else is doing alright.’

---

Jura placed his right hand on the large stone wall in front of him. A magic circle formed on the wall as a large explosion blew up that portion of the wall. A hole opened up big enough for Jura to walk through.

“Perfect, now I can-” Jura’s eyes widened as the wall immediately closed shut. Jura made a strange motion with his right hand as another magic circle formed in front of him. Several pillars of earth shot out from the magic circle and shot out at the wall. Jura quickly ran towards the wall but to his surprise, the wall had already closed again.

“The wall itself is surprisingly sturdy, but this regeneration is something else...I wonder how much preparation was put into this…” Jura commented. He stared at the wall as he put his hand on it again. ‘Earlier, I tried breaking through the wall as it was forming, but I was unable to even contact it as the runes got in the way. It appears those runes were to protect the wall’s formation and now that it’s formed, the runes changed their purpose from absolute protection into simple regeneration. This level of jutsu shiki is indeed very high…’ Jura thought as he took his hand off the wall. ‘I guess I have no choice but to comply and follow through in this “Great Maze.”

---

“Dammit break already!” Gajeel shouted as he continued to furiously punch the wall with iron clad hands. His punches left small dents in the wall that repaired themselves in no time.

“You’re only wasting your energy doing that. It looks like we have no choice but to traverse through this maze.” Lily said. Gajeel sighed as his iron clad hands turned back to normal. He looked up at the open sky above.

“Hey wait! You can fly up there!” Gajeel pointed out.

“Already tried that.” Lily replied, pointing to the large bump on the top of his head.

“Tch...I guess we really gotta do this crap then…” Gajeel said.

Gajeel and Lily walked down the rocky path of the maze. Gajeel reached into his pocket and pulled out the black cloth of the assailant that Captain Frestes had managed to get his hands on.

“You think you’ll be able to track the guy inside of here?” Lily asked. Gajeel returned a smirk to Lily.

“These walls may make it hard to sense magic, but they haven’t taken away my sense of smell.” Gajeel replied confidently as he put the cloth up to his nose.

“Alright. I got that bastard’s scent again. In these walls, his scent is a lot easier to narrow down. We’ll just follow it and be outta here in no time! Then we’ll kick that guy’s ass!”

“Sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.” A voice said. Gajeel and Lily looked around and saw a large group of men consisting of a dozen people walk out from behind the corner of one of the walls. The mean each wore black hoods and masks that hid their faces. The hoods were connected to a sleeveless vest that revealed their arms. On their shoulders, was an insignia that resembled a black Jack-o-lantern.

“So all of you want to get beat up first. Alright then.” Gajeel remarked as he cracked his knuckles.

“You may be Black Steel Gajeel, but not even you can defeat all of us by yourself.” One of the men replied.

“He’s not alone.” Lily declared. His small, stout body began to grow, growing taller than Gajeel. His muscles grew larger as the features on his face became more rugged and he appeared to look older.

“Earthland still doesn’t fit well with this body, but this will be more than enough to deal with them.”

---

Erza looked up in awe as the walls finished forming around her. She looked around her to see if anyone had teleported with her, but to her dismay, there was no one else that came long.

‘I see...we were all separated. This kind of jutsu shiki might even be better than Freed’s…’ Erza thought as she gazed ahead. She looked just above the walls and could see the top of the castle looming over her. ‘This is only a small obstacle. I will get through this and reach that castle!’

Erza summoned her blade to her hand and lept forward towards the wall. She unleashed a flurry of slices at the earthen wall, leaving deep grooves in it. At some points, you could even see the other side of the wall. However, the wall quickly closed back up.

‘So these walls aren’t indestructible. They’re tough to cut through but if my power could somehow exceed the wall’s regeneration…’

Erza’s armor began to glow as she requipped into her blackwing armor. She unleashed another flurry of cuts towards the wall, creating even larger gaps. The gaps quickly filled up as fast as they were formed as Erza continued to slash at the wall.

‘This is getting nowhere. I don’t have the sword speed or power to cut through this unordinary rock. It would probably take someone of Meliodas’ caliber to break through. At this rate, I’ll just be wasting my stamina.’ Erza requipped back into her regular Heart Kreuz armor and took a deep breath. She looked ahead of her at the path and ran forward.

Chapter Text

Erza continued running through the many branching paths of the maze. As she tested earlier, the walls were sturdy and any damage they received would be instantly regenerated, leaving her no choice but to traverse the maze. As she continued running through the long corridors, she stopped in her tracks as she sensed a large magical presence ahead.

‘An enemy?’ Erza thought as she looked ahead. Erza continued forward until the corridor eventually opened up into a large forest, filled with tall trees.

The trunks of the trees in the forest were a pitch black color and the trees themselves had no leaves. Erza looked around the dead looking forest.

‘That magic I sensed...it’s further up ahead…’ Erza thought. She immediately rushed forward and ran deeper into the forest. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a movement and immediately ducked down as a large tree branch swung just above her head. Her eyes widened as she noticed the tree now had a sinister face on it. The trees around her began to form faces as they swung their branches at her.

Erza placed her hand out in front of her as a bright light began to glow in her palm, taking the shape of a sword. The sword stopped glowing, revealing a steel sword. She swung the blade as she continued running forward, cutting through any trees that got in her way. ‘Whatever is controlling these trees is definitely up ahead. But that won’t stop me! I’ll keep going forward!’

Erza continued toppling over the possessed trees as she ran full speed towards the magic she sensed, leaving a trail of stumps behind her. Eventually, the forest opened out into a large clearing. Standing in the middle of the clearing was a lone man. The man was of average height with fair skin and a bald head. He had sharp black eyes and a silver piercing over his left eyebrow. Covering the right side of his face were strange tattoos that ran to his neck. He wore a long black robe with purple outlines and had a necklace of small skulls.

“Oh? So it’s Titania I’m fighting?” The man commented as he watched Erza approach him. Erza stopped several meters away from him.

“I assume you’re the one who was controlling the trees earlier?” Erza asked.

“No. That would be the creator of The Great Maze. I am Fallion of the Doryu Attack Squad.” The man answered.

“A squad? Then there must be more of you. And I’m guessing Doryu is the leader of this squad and is also the one behind all those attacks on the towns?” Erza continued.

“That is correct. However, you will never make it to Doryu. Your journey ends here, Titania!” Fallion yelled as he raised his left arm up in the air with his index finger pointing towards the sky. The ground around them began to shake as skeletal hands and arms began to stick out of the ground, pulling themselves up and revealing their skeletal bodies.

“Behold, the army of the undead!” Fallion yelled. “The bodies of those we’ve slain are now under my control!”

“Necromancy? It does not matter if you raise ten, one hundred, or one thousand bodies to attack me. I will defeat them all!” Erza shouted as she charged in. The clothes and armor around her body began to glow as they changed shape, revealing a revealing cheetah patterned top piece, black shorts, a belt holding a green waist cloth to her left side, dark colored stockings, and white boots. In her hands were two shortswords with elaborate red rose shaped handguards.

Erza seemingly vanished from Fallion’s sight, reappearing right in front of him before he even had the chance to blink.

‘That speed?!’ Fallion thought as Erza swung her blades at Fallion. As Erza’s blades sunk into Fallion’s body, she quickly realized she was not cutting into flesh. In front of her for some reason now, was the body of a skeleton. The skeleton, now cut into tiny pieces, collapsed onto the ground.

‘So he swapped himself out…’ Erza thought as she looked around. On all sides she was surrounded by an army of skeletons with Fallion nowhere in sight. ‘I guess it wouldn’t matter even if I did find him. Based on that last attack, he can swap himself out with one of these anyway.’

Erza charged in at the other skeletons at blistering speed, cutting through their bones before they even had a chance to counter attack.

“You may be fast and strong, Titania, but even you can’t kill what is already dead!” A voice echoed throughout the forest. Erza looked around and saw the skeletons she had cut up were now forming back together again as a strange magic enveloped the bones. ‘I see…’ Erza thought. ‘Even if I destroy them...then he uses his magic to fix them. Then all that means is that I need to keep destroying them until he is out of magic. This will be a battle of attrition! My stamina or his magic!’ Erza gripped her swords tightly as she charged in at the skeletons once more.

“Just because they won’t die if I kill them, doesn’t mean they can’t die if I keep killing them!” Erza shouted as she mowed through dozens of more skeletons.

‘W-What kind of logic is that?!’ Fallion thought as he watched Erza from afar continue to cut down his skeletons. ‘These skeletons can really only handle normal mages. Someone of Titania’s caliber...requires something different! She’ll deplete my magic reserves at this point so I have no choice!’

As Erza cut through another skeleton, the skeletons around her began to glow. Erza looked around and the bodies of skeletons went flying past her, all convening into one point behind her.

‘What is that?’ Erza thought as the skeletons formed one massive skeletal body, that towered over the rest of the forest.

‘Let’s see how you deal with this, Titania.’ Fallion mused.

Erza looked up at the giant figure as it reached one of its massive skeletal arms towards her. She quickly jumped into the air, landing on its arm as she ran towards its head. ‘I’ll finish this right now!’

Erza jumped in the air just above the hulking skeletal figure. Her armor began to glow once again, changing as her previous armor was replaced with a heavy black spiked armor that surrounded her body. In her hands, she wielded a large black spiked mace.

From above the skeleton, she dove down onto its head, cracking its skull as the rest of the skeleton’s body collapsed in on itself.

‘Dammit! She destroyed that?!’ Fallion thought to himself. He grit his teeth as he took a knee. ‘Using this kind of magic pushes my magic reserves...I’m just about at my limit…’

Just behind Fallion, a loud crash followed by a shockwave knocked him over. Fallion tumbled across the ground but quickly got back up. From a cloud of dust behind him, he saw Erza’s figure walk out, still donning her Purgatory armor.

“Looks like you’re at your limit.” Erza said as she approached Fallion. She held her giant spiked mace up to Fallion. “Tell me how to get to the main castle.”

“My limit?” Fallion questioned. Erza’s eyes immediately widened and she quickly jumped backwards as a large surge of magical energy erupted from Fallion’s body. Fallion was engulfed in a bright purple light as his features began changing, his human skin beginning to peel off, revealing only a skeleton.

“Behold!” Fallion shouted. “The true nature of my magic! Takeover: King of the Undead!”

Fallion stood in front of Erza. His head became a skull surrounded in a spectral purple fire as his robes turned into black armor radiating purple flames. In his right hand, he donned a large black greatsword.

‘His magical power is much higher than before…I thought he was at his limit?’ Erza thought as she stared at Fallion.

“If you won’t tell me, then you leave me no choice. I’ll defeat you right here and keep moving forward!” Erza yelled as her purgatory armor began to glow, being replaced by a white sarashi around her chest and red hakama with a yellow flame pattern. In her right hand, she held a katana.

Fallion charged straight at Erza with his greatsword wound back behind him. Erza leaped forward at him, with her katana wound back. As the two were within striking distance of each other, they clashed blades before seemingly going through each other. A crack formed in Fallion’s black armor as they both remained still.

“You’ve bested me...Titania…” Fallion said as his armor shattered like glass onto the ground and his body collapsed. “But...that power is not enough to even contend with Master Doryu…”

Chapter Text

“Man, those guys were pushovers.” Gajeel commented as he stood over the body of one of the men who attacked him. He glanced over at Lily who was standing over several more bodies. Lily leaned down and picked up a sword that one of the men was using.

“It’s no Bustermarm, but it will have to do.” Lily commented as he slung the sword over his back.

“Ya able to keep that form up?” Gajeel asked.

“I’ve gotten some practice, I should be able to-” Lily’s body suddenly shrunk down back into his smaller Exceedlike stature.

“Hand it over. I’ll carry it for ya until you can transform again.” Gajeel said, gesturing towards the sword which was now taller than Lily. Lily handed Gajeel the sword as Gajeel slung it over his back. The two of them continued walking through the maze, following the scent from the cloth.

“Is this the end of the maze?” Lily commented as he looked ahead. They were right next to the castle at one of its massive side entrances. In front of them was a large door.

“Only one way to find out.” Gajeel said. He pushed the massive door open, revealing a dark room inside.

“Get ready, I think he’s close by.” Gajeel said. Pantherlily nodded as Gajeel handed him back the sword and Lily entered his battle form once again. The two of them continued walking through the dark room when suddenly the room lit up.

“Wait!” Gajeel said as he suddenly stopped in the middle of the room. He looked up at the massive height of the room. It appeared they entered a large ballroom. The ballroom was nearly the size of Kardia Cathedral. Rows of candles mounted to the walls and marble pillars decorated the room at the sides, leaving a large empty space in the middle, with only the smooth adagio floor. Hanging high above that empty space, was a huge chandelier that appeared to have thousands of small, brightly glowing lights on it.

“What happened?!” Lily exclaimed as he looked around, shocked by the sudden change in setting.

“He’s here.” Gajeel said as he took a small whiff into the air.

“What?!” Lily said, suddenly becoming alert and holding his sword in front of him.

“COME OUT!!!” Gajeel roared as he dashed towards a row of pillars on his right side.

“Iron Dragon’s Sword!”

Gajeel’s hand, up to his forearm, turned into a long and large jagged steel blade. He jabbed forward towards the pillar, piercing straight through. Just as the blade struck he felt the tearing of fabric and a small shadow suddenly moved away from the impact. A man came out of the shadow and stared at the duo. The man was of average height. He had black spiky hair that fell to his shoulders and orange eyes. On his face was a scar that diagonally down from above his left eye through the bridge of his nose and ended at his right cheek along with a bit of stubble on his chin. He wore a ripped cloak that Gajeel was able to tear the hood off of. Underneath that cloak he wore sturdy leather garments with many belts and black combat boots.

“Not bad. It appears I underestimated the nose of a Dragon Slayer. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aifread of the Doryu Attack Squad.” Aifreed said calmly as his magical power began to flare up.

“What is this magic power!” Lily said, clenching the handle of his sword. Gajeel remained silent and stared directly ahead.

“You the bastard that killed all those councilmen?” Gajeel asked as he glared at Aifread.

“Of course. I couldn’t have them interfering with our plans much like you lot are doing right now.” Aifread replied.

Gajeel continued glaring at Aifread. As he blinked and opened his eyes again, Aifread was suddenly gone, with no trace of his immense magical power anywhere.

“What?!” Gajeel yelled in disbelief. Aifread suddenly appeared in front of him with a black dagger in hand. Aifread thrust his dagger towards Gajeel’s chest as Gajeel moved to the side as a black dagger pierced his shoulder. Blood gushed out of Gajeel’s shoulder as Aifread quickly jumped back and disappeared into the shadows once again.

“Gajeel, are you alright?!!” Lily asked as he looked at the pitch black dagger sticking out of Gajeel’s shoulder.

“Yeah, he missed my chest.” Gajeel replied. Gajeel pulled the dagger out as blood dripped down his right arm. Suddenly, the dagger in Gajeel’s hand dissipated. ‘That dagger was made of some kind of dark magic. Is it similar to make-magic?’

“Not bad, Black Steel Gajeel. You reacted well to my strike. It appears the rumors of your strength are true. However, I wonder if your partner is as strong as you are.” Aifreed’s voice echoed throughout the ballroom. Gajeel and Lily prepared themselves for Aifread’s next attack.

Aifread suddenly appeared in front of Lily and struck towards him with a blade of darkness. However the moment the blade came close, Lily suddenly swung his sword, parrying the shadow blade before it struck.

“Oh?” Aifreed said, surprised at the large cat’s reaction speed as the dark dagger was knocked out of his hand. ‘This one can wield a blade well. And he seems to be about as strong as Gajeel.’

Lily immediately rushed forward and struck towards Aifread but Aifread simply faded into his own shadow on the ground and his presence vanished.

“Damn it! How are we supposed to hit him?!” Gajeel questioned.

“For now, it looks like we’ll just have to find an opening. He’s bound to slip up.” Lily whispered under his breath.

“Iron Dragon’s Scales!”

The skin on Gajeels body changed, becoming a dark gray colored steel that had a textured scale-like appearance.

“Alright you slippery bastard. Try and pierce me now!” Gajeel taunted. Suddenly, the candlelights in the room began to blow out one by one. The lights atop the chandelier started shattering and glass fell to the ground with the room becoming darker and darker.

Gajeel immediately leaned his head back as Aifread appeared seemingly out of nowhere and swung his dagger at Gajeel’s head. A cut appeared on Gajeels cheek as Aifread vanished once again.

“He cut through your scales?!” Lily exclaimed, shocked that Gajeel’s iron scales could be cut open so easily.

“The hell? Did he get stronger or something?” Gajeel questioned. Suddenly more lights shattered from the chandelier and more candles blew out, with the room being nearly pitch black.

Gajeel felt a presence behind him and tried to sidestep away, only to feel a sharp pain on his side as Aifread slashed across him.

“Gajeel what’s going on?!” Lily questioned as he heard Gajeel grunt in pain.

“I think I understand now. This guy’s magic gets stronger when it’s darker.” Gajeel commented as he held his bleeding side. ‘Damn...if I didn’t have these scales, he might have cut straight through me.’

Suddenly Lily felt a presence in front of him. He quickly raised his sword up, only for the blade of his sword to snap as a large horizontal gash appeared across his chest. Blood gushed from Lily’s wound as he took a few steps back.

“His moves are getting harder to see too…” Lily commented.

‘Dammit...what the hell do we do against this guy. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Salamander’s flames would come in handy here…’ Gajeel thought to himself as he prepared for another strike from Aifread. Gajeel’s thoughts were interrupted as he heard Lily’s sword hit the ground and Lily took a knee.

“Damn...I lost too much blood…” Lily said as he panted heavily. Aifread suddenly appeared in front of him, holding his blade of darkness.

“Lily!” Gajeel screamed as he dashed towards him as fast as he could. Aifread thrust his sword straight towards Lily’s chest, but to his surprise, Lily’s massive body vanished and his blade hit nothing. On the ground, he could see Lily’s smaller figure.

“So that’s your real form?” Aifread commented just as Gajeel appeared above him. Aifread vanished once again as Gajeel punched the ground where Aifread was once standing, his fist cracking the floor. Gajeel moved himself to stand atop an unconscious Pantherlily as he prepared himself for another attack.

‘I can barely adjust myself to this guy’s moves so he doesn’t hit my vital points...I think I know a way to beat this bastard and I only have one shot…’

Aifread appeared once again, this time in front of Gajeel. He thrust his blade of darkness into Gajeel’s chest, piercing straight through his iron scales. Blood dripped from Gajeel’s mouth but a smirk formed on his face as he firmly grabbed Aifread’s arm with his right hand.

Aifread looked at Gajeel, surprised that he was able to move after piercing his heart. He looked down where he had stabbed Gajeel and realized Gajeel had managed to slightly shift his body to where his blade missed his heart.

“Now that I got a hold of you…lets see how you run.” Gajeel grunted as he wound his left arm back. His left arm transformed into a gigantic jagged iron sword that dwarfed his previous one in size. He raised his arm up in the air as he glared at an awestruck Aifread.

“DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART - KARMA DEMON: IRON GOD SWORD!”

Gajeel swung the massive blade downwards across Aifread’s body. A large amount of blood gushed out of Aifread’s body as the shockwave from the sword swing cleaved the ballroom’s pillars behind him.

Aifread fell to the ground as Gajeel remained standing. Gajeel smirked one last time before collapsing on the ground.

Chapter Text

Jura walked through the labyrinth, looking at the walls that surrounded him on each side. ‘The caster of this magic must be incredibly strong to create walls and barriers that even when broken, can simply rebuild themselves. It doesn’t help that the nature of this magic keeps me from sensing the others. Although with them all being Fairy Tail, I suppose they’re alright.’

Jura continued walking down the long corridors until eventually, the corridor emptied out into an enormous flat courtyard area. Standing in the middle of the courtyard, was a tall man.

“Oh? You must be Franken Billy, at least according to the description.” Jura said as he got closer. The man returned Jura’s gaze and grinned.

“Iron Rock Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints. I’ve always wanted to fight one of you. I hear you’re all incredibly strong.” Franken Billy said. His grin grew wider and he raised his large arms up in front of him, cracking his knuckles.

“You flatter me, but I’m only at the very bottom. The rest of the saints are far stronger than me.” Jura replied. “You’re surprisingly hospitable for someone who destroyed an entire town.”

“Then let me test if you’re suitable for your nickname of the “Iron Rock.” You may be called “Iron Rock,” but there is no rock that I cannot crush!” Franken Billy yelled as his magical energy began to flare up. Jura’s eyes widened as Franken Billy’s size began to increase.

‘Gigantification magic?!’ Jura thought as he looked up. Franken Billy was now four times his original size. He raised his right arm into the air, winding it back as he clenched his hand into a fist. Jura quickly raised his right hand out in front of him with his index and middle fingers outstretched.

“Iron Rock Wall!”

As Franken Billy swung his giant fist down at Jura, a large wall of rocks raised in front of Jura, consisting of large cylindrical pillars. Billy’s fist collided with the wall, causing the wall to crack as the ground shook.

“His physical strength is no joke…I’ll have to be on the offensive” Jura commented as jumped back several meters. He watched the wall he made crumble as Franken Billy ran at Jura. Jura pointed his right hand towards him.

“Rock Avalanche!”

The ground in front of Jura separated, forming into large boulders as the rubble behind Franken Billy also rose into the air. Surrounded on all sides, Billy stopped in his tracks and put his arms up to brace himself as dozens of large boulders collided into him, creating a large cloud of dirt and dust in the process.

‘Did that get him?’ Jura thought as he looked into a large cloud. As the dust began to settle, he could see Billy’s figure standing upright still. He had light bruises on his body and a small amount of blood dripped down from his lower lip.

“I’ll admit, that kind of hurt.” Billy commented. “But I would expect no less from one of the Ten Wizard Saints.”

“Still standing huh?” Jura commented as he pointed his fingers again at Franken Billy, causing more rocks to launch in his direction. A smirk formed on Franken Billy’s face as he lowered his guard. His skin turned into a metallic black color and the rocks collided with his body, with each rock shattering and crumbling into dust as it made contact with him.

“Hardening magic too?!” Jura exclaimed. Franken Billy lunged towards Jura, surprising him with his speed. Jura had not expected someone with such a sturdy hardening ability and size to still be able to move that fast. Franken Billy wound his fist back and delivered a punch with his massive right hand straight into Jura’s body. Jura took the full force of the blow head on and was launched across the courtyard, colliding with one of the walls of the labyrinth. Jura coughed up blood as he slammed into the wall and fell to his knees.

‘What a monster…’ Jura thought as he looked up at Franken Billy walking slowly towards him. ‘I’ll need to restrain his movements.’

Jura raised his hand out in front of him and pointed two fingers at Franken Billy. Dozens of cylindrical pillars of earth shot out from the ground. Franken Billy grinned as his slow walk turned into a full sprint. He ran headfirst into the pillars, running through them as if they were not there at all.

Franken Billy swung his large hardened arm at Jura. Jura quickly raised the ground underneath Franken Billy’s feet, causing his punch to whiff Jura. The gust of wind generated from the punch blew on Jura’s face as Franken Billy was launched into the air.

‘He can’t hit me from here!’ Jura pointed his right hand at Franken Billy as chunks of the Earth rose from the ground, tearing up the courtyard as they launched upwards into Franken Billy’s body. The rocks collided with his hard skin, creating a large cloud of dust in the air.

“IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO IRON ROCK JURA?!” Franken Billy’s voice yelled from the dust cloud. He rememerged, with parts of his skin cracked as he plummeted towards Jura. Jura clapped his hands together as Franken Billy wound his fist back.

“Iron Rock Wall!”

The Earth around Jura formed into large pillars that covered Jura as Franken Billy slammed straight into the formation. The ground shook as Franken Billy crashed into Jura’s construction, causing it to come crumbling down. Jura emerged from the dust cloud, covered in heavy bruises. His left arm dangled limply as he landed on the ground as Jura placed his right hand on his left shoulder.

“His durability is something else...not to mention the power boost granted by his large size…” Jura commented as he watched Franken Billy’s figure emerge from the cloud of dust. ‘However...it appears that armored skin of his is reaching its limit.’ Jura noted. Franken Billy’s metallic black body was starting to show patches where his regular skin was showing and the smooth metallic black color had turned jagged with cracks.

‘If I want to defeat him, I’ll have to relentlessly assault him with everything I have. If he survives that, then I’m as good as dead.’ Jura thought as he raised his right arm out in front of him. He flared his magic outwards, creating waves of yellow energy that surged from his body.

“Oh, taking me seriously now?” Franken Billy questioned. He tilted his neck to the right, cracking it in the process as a smirk formed on his face.

“It’s all or nothing now!” Jura responded as he raised his right arm and pointed it at Franken Billy. A magic circle formed in front of Jura’s palm as hundreds of large rocks were launched out of the magic circle at Franken Billy.

“Supreme King Rock Crush!”

Franken Billy braced himself as he charged forward towards the rocks, with each rock colliding with his body and breaking.

“HAAAAGGHH!” Jura yelled as he poured every ounce of magic he could muster into the attack. More rocks formed that were launched into Franken Billy. Franken Billy’s charge noticeably slowed down as the rocks stopped breaking and instead began to pile up on him.

‘I need...to keep going! I’ll suppress him with rocks faster than he can break through them!’ Jura thought as he continued pouring his magic into generating more rocks that collided into Franken Billy.

“Something like this...won’t work on me!” Franken Billy grunted as he found himself getting smothered by more rocks than he could break. His size began to grow even further, but less and less of his body was covered by the strange black metal.

‘Even if he grows, he’s only creating more openings that I can take advantage of!’ Jura launched several more large boulders into those open patches on Franken Billy. Franken Billy’s eyes widened as he felt the sharp pain of the large rocks dig into his skin. He coughed up blood as more rocks continued to cover him.

‘He keeps fighting back...even my magic is starting to run low at this point!’ Jura thought. ‘But I’ll give it everything I have into this!’ Jura clenched his right hand in front of him, turning it into a fist and causing the large pile of boulders in front of him to give off a bright yellow grow. The ground began to rumble as the boulders compressed. Eventually, the ground stopped shaking and a large mountain of boulders remained still right in front of Jura.

“That must have been his limit. Although, I’m fairly close to my own. I can’t imagine how strong their leader is...I hope the others are doing alright. We may need all five of us to even stand a chance…”

---

Chapter Text

“Well, well, well. There is no end to this.” Meliodas sighed loudly as he continued walking through the maze. He couldn’t sense any outside magic but could feel a rumbling in the ground, like a small earthquake. ‘I wonder if that was Jura.’

Meliodas continued walking through the maze. He thought about the situation with Drole’s maze in the past and remembered him and Ban teaming up to break through the walls. “I’ve been walking for a while. Maybe I should just break through these...but that rune wall gets in the-’ Meliodas thoughts were cut off as he noticed up ahead the walls of the maze opened up. ‘A way out?’

Meliodas ran towards the open area. The area was covered by a strange purple mist. The ground was a mushy mess of mud and the area had a pungent odor. There were several large mushrooms and strange tall trees whose trunks had a gray tint to them with purplish green leaves that draped downwards. Meliodas slowed down his pace and continued walking forward. Several of the large mushrooms released a strange gas into the air around him.

“This place really stinks.” Meliodas commented as he covered his nose. As he looked ahead in the thick mist, he noticed a figure walking towards him.

“Covering your nose won’t save you. You’ve already taken a breath in. It’s over for you.” The figure said as he got closer. Meliodas took a good look at the person. He was a pale skinned man with long, dry white hair. He had a somewhat sickly appearance and had large bags underneath his eyes. He wore a large black cloak that covered his body.

“And who are you?” Meliodas asked.

“Since you won’t be alive much longer, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you. I am Orochi of the Doryu Attack Squad.” Orochi replied. He gave Meliodas a puzzled look as Meliodas remained standing aloofly. ‘This guy...this poison mist should have paralyzed his body and caused him to collapse. Is his magic strong enough to resist it?’

“Hey you think you could tell me a way out of this maze?” Meliodas asked as Orochi continued staring at Meliodas.

“You may be able to handle this level of poison...but what about something like this!” Orochi said as his body began to glow.

“Takeover: King Cobra!”

Orochi’s body began to morph, his lower body now being replaced by the body of a large purple snake. Fangs began to grow in his mouth as purple scales began to cover his human skin. He opened his mouth wide as he let out a thick purple stream of fluid from his mouth that spread out into a gaseous state and filled the air around them.

“This is a more concentrated form of my magic! The acidity is so great, even one small breath will melt your lungs and destroy your body from the inside out!” Orochi laughed.

“Hmm...this isn’t good.” Meliodas commented nonchalantly as he looked down at his shirt which was starting to melt from the acid. “It’s melting my shirt. I’m running out of these.”

Orochi’s eyes widened as he saw Meliodas standing up completely fine in the acidic cloud. ‘What?! How is he-’ Meliodas vanished from Orochi’s view, reappearing behind him with his hand on the handle of Mel Force as it was slightly unsheathed. As he fully sheathed his blade, blood gushed out of Orochi’s body from multiple spots and he fell to the ground unable to comprehend what had happened in that instant.

“Hopefully I can get out of this maze soon.” Meliodas said as he tore off what remained of his shirt and continued walking deeper into the maze.

---

Erza looked up at the looming castle as she stood right at the entrance. She could feel a strange presence coming from inside.

“Looks like I made it here first.” Erza said as she looked around. There was no sign of Meliodas, Jura, Gajeel, or Lily. ‘Then it looks like I’ll just have to clear a path up this castle by myself.’ Erza thought as she walked in through the main entrance of the castle.

As she entered into a large hall, there were dozens of mages who turned their attention to her.

“Who’s she?”

“Hold on that’s Titania!”

“She already made it through the labyrinth?”

Erza looked back at all of the mages, who were preparing to attack her. “Looks like we won’t be settling things peacefully. Very well!”

Erza’s armor began to glow as it changed form into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. She charged forward towards the mages as dozens of blades went flying around the main hall.

---

Meliodas sighed and walked up to one of the walls. He had lost track of how long he had been walking through the maze. He looked up in the sky and saw the sun was about to set. As Meliodas put his hand on the wall to lean on it, he noticed something strange. The rune wall that had originally been there protecting the wall was now gone.

Meliodas pulled out Mel Force and tapped on the wall with the blade. A small part of the wall chipped off, only for a new part to grow in.

‘I guess those runes were only there to protect the walls’ formation. Looks like they gained some regeneration effect instead once they formed.’ Meliodas thought. Meliodas sheathed Mel Force again and took a few steps back. With a running start, he leaped towards the wall and wound back a punch. As his fist collided with the wall, an opening formed. Meliodas slid through the hole but suddenly, the hole started closing while Meliodas was still inside until Meliodas’ upper half was sticking out of the wall.

“Well, well, well. Something like this doesn’t even compare to Drole’s.” Meliodas commented. He was nowhere near as strong as he was when he fought Drole, but he knew neither was the wall. A black spiral shaped henna formed above Meliodas’ right eyebrow and his eyes turned dark.

He easily broke himself free of the wall as wings of darkness sprouted from his back. Meliodas leaped from his spot, charging straight into the next wall towards the castle.

As he approached the looming castle, he looked up at the top of it. The entire top half of the castle had been blown off and he could sense a large ominous magic coming from that direction.

‘I need to get there fast!’ Meliodas thought as he sped up, breaking through more of the walls.
---
Unbeknownst to Meliodas, a short middle aged man wearing a black cloak sat in a dark room created by the walls of the maze. He looked at the vision lacrima in front of him, his eyes wide with terror.

‘T-that monster...he’s breaking through those walls with little trouble at all!’

As he stared at the lacrima, he could feel a rumbling getting closer and closer to him. The walls around him began to shake violently. The man’s eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.

‘He was heading straight to the castle...AND I’M RIGHT IN THE PATH TO-’

Suddenly, the wall next to him immediately crashed down as Meliodas flew right through, unaware that in the process he had knocked out the creator of the maze as the man was buried by the falling rocks.

Chapter Text

Erza approached the door to the room she believed to be where the leader was waiting. The door was a large, black wooden door with a semi elliptical shape. From behind the door, she could feel a dark yet dense magical power.

‘The others haven’t made it up. I can only assume they are still stuck in the maze. But I can’t let this mage get away with what he’s done.’ Erza thought as she pushed the door open. In front of her was a wall of pitch blackness. There was not a single light that illuminated the room.

Erza took a few steps forward, the door she came through slamming shut behind her. Rows of lights mounted on pillars began to illuminate a pathway. A dim spotlight shined down at the very end of the pathway. There she saw a lone man sitting down on a black throne, his right leg crossed at the ankle over his left leg. He sat over slightly hunched to his right side, resting his chin on his right hand as he looked at Erza, his red eyes glowing visibly in the dim room.

“So you’ve arrived, Titania.” The man said.

“You must be the one who was behind all of those killings!” Erza shouted. She began to walk towards the man but stopped in her tracks as the man emitted a strange dark aura from his body. She felt a strange pressure in the air as her body refused to take another step.

“Allow me to introduce myself.” The man said with a grin. He stood up from his seat slowly, his dark magical power releasing an even greater pressure.

“I am Doryu, the “mastermind” behind those killings.” Doryu said with a grin. Erza grit her teeth as she stared at Doryu in awe. His magical power surpassed even Zero’s and felt even darker. She clenched the sword in her hand tightly as she stood her ground.

“What you’ve been doing...taking the lives of those villagers, Unforgivable. This ends now Doryu!” Erza shouted as she charged at Doryu her armor glowing as she requipped into her Blackwing armor.

Doryu drew his own blade from his waist. It was a dark grey scimitar adorned with red jewels. As she swung her blade at Doryu, Doryu blocked it with his own.

“Quite a good amount of force behind that swing.” Doryu commented with a smirk. Erza retained her serious look as she continued slashing at Doryu. Doryu grinned as he blocked each one, causing sparks to fly from the blades colliding as he parried each one. As Erza lunged towards Doryu once more, Doryu swung his blade back at her. Erza quickly leaped back from her lunge, landing several meters away. A gash formed on her right arm as blood dripped from it.

“You have good instincts. If you went through with that attack, I would have cut your arm right off.” Doryu commented.

‘That sword speed...he’s faster than me. I don’t think I can land a single hit with only one sword...in that case…’ Erza’s armor began to glow again, requipping into her Flight Armor. With two swords in hand, she charged towards Doryu.

‘Oh she got faster?’ Doryu mused as Erza lunged at him. Doryu prepared himself as Erza unleashed a flurry of slashes.

Doryu raised his blade once again, parrying each slash as the blades were just about to hit him. Erza continued her onslaught, attempting to keep Doryu on the defensive as she tried to find an opening. ‘There!’

“Sonic Claw!”

Erza seemingly disappeared, reappearing behind Doryu with both blades held out at her sides. She turned around and to her surprise, Doryu was nearly unscathed, with only one small cut on his hand.

“Huh...I must be rusty.” Doryu said as he looked at the wound on his hand. He looked back at Erza and grinned.

“Your skill with the sword is quite good. In a one on one fight, you could maybe defeat each member of my attack squad. Perhaps if you had another few years to train you could defeat me.” Doryu commented. Erza remained silent at the remark as she gripped her blades firmly and stared at Doryu.

“Well then, now that I’m done testing the waters, how about I get serious?” Doryu said. He sheathed his blade and glared at Erza. Doryu’s magical power began to rise drastically as he flared it up. A strong wind was emitted from his body, swirling in a vortex with Doryu as the epicenter as Erza tried to keep her feet on the ground. Around her she noticed parts of the castle were beginning to crumble around her. Bits and pieces of the wall began to break off, with rays of light peeking through them from the setting sun.

“Evil Storm!”

The strong winds became harsher. Erza stood her ground and put her arms up in front of her as black bits of magic began to pound her body. Her armor began to glow once more as the color of the wind became a visible black color. More of the walls and ceiling began to break off, getting caught up in the vortex of darkness magic.

“I’ll show you...what real power is!” Doryu shouted as the room seemingly exploded. The top portion of the castle erupted in an explosion of darkness as the roof came flying right off, being caught in bits and pieces by the vortex of winds.

The winds began to die down, before coming to an abrupt stop. The debris caught in those winds fell to the ground. The dark room they were once in was now illuminated by the setting sun. Doryu looked forward to Erza. She remained standing firm, albeit heavily bruised with large chunks of her Adamantine Armor missing.

“Something like this...won’t bring me down!” Erza shouted as the remains of her armor began to glow again. Doryu felt a large surge in magical power and his eyes widened with interest.

“That magical power...it’s not bad at all.” Doryu commented as he stared at Erza’s new attire. She now wore a dual toned pink armor with a feathered collar and wings protruding from the pauldrons. Her waistguard consisted of layered pink plates over a lighter colored skirt along with layered pink boots that had a wing design on the knee guards. In her hands she wielded two swords with wing shaped guards.

“I believe all of your armors have names. I’m curious about the name of this one.” Doryu commented.

“This is Armadura Fairy, my most powerful armor.” Erza responded.

“I see. A fitting armor for the Fairy Queen.” Doryu said. She unsheathed his sword once again and placed his hand on the blade.

“Enchant: Darkness.”

A veil of dark magic covered the blade, turning its dark grey color into black. Doryu and Erza raised her two blades in front of her as a green magical energy leaked from them, taking form like lightning.

Both Erza and Doryu charged at each other, their blades colliding with each other as their initial clash and creating a large shockwave that leveled what was barely still standing on the top floor of the castle.

Erza slashed at Doryu in a cross cut fashion, her blades imbued with a green magical energy. Doryu raised his blade up in response to block the attack, causing a large explosion of magical energy as they collided. Doryu hopped out of the smoke and Erza gave chase.

Erza unleashed another flurry of slashes towards Doryu, with Doryu retaliating with his own flurry. Blood splattered on the ground as both Erza and Doryu received cuts on their bodies.

Both Erza and Doryu finished their flurry with one large swing, their blades clashing and creating another shockwave. The two of them paused for a moment, their blades still touching before jumping away from each other.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in years. It’s a shame I’ll need to finish you off now. You truly were a worthy opponent Titania.” Doryu commented.

“I’m ending that fun of yours right here Doryu! I can’t allow you to get away with what you’ve done!” Erza responded.

Both Erza and Doryu began infusing a greater amount of magical energy into their blades. More green lightning began to leak out from Erza’s swords as more darkness flowed into Doryu’s blade, causing its veil to flare up.

Without another word, the two of them charged at each other, clashing swords.

Chapter Text

Both Erza and Doryu stood with their backs to each other, their blades still drawn. Suddenly, blood gushed from Doryu’s backside. Erza remained standing still, without making a single movement.

“Not bad, Titania…” Doryu commented. A smirk formed on his face as Erza’s armor and swords suddenly shattered into tiny pieces. Blood gushed out from her body in multiple places and she fell to her knees. Doryu turned around and looked at Erza who was attempting to get back up.

“You still want to fight me? That’s quite commendable. But you’re not strong enough.” Doryu said. He began to walk towards the bloody and beaten Erza who was just getting back up. He raised his sword above him and prepared to slice down.

“Farewell, Titania-”

Doryu immediately jumped back as he noticed several rock formations floating above him. The rock formations impaled the ground where Doryu was once standing, creating a large hole in the ground. A figure walked up in front of Erza. Doryu’s eyes widened but a smile formed on his face.

“I was wondering when you’d show up, Iron Rock Jura.” Doryu mused. He looked at Jura’s left arm and noticed it was heavily bruised.

“There’s only one person in my attack squad with the power to fight against a Wizard Saint. I suppose you fought Franken Billy?” Doryu asked.

“That is correct. And you must be Doryu, the leader of the “Doryu Attack Squad.” Jura inquired.

“You would be right to assume that.” Doryu replied.

“That magical power of his...is quite sinister. Maybe even more so than Zero’s.” Jura commented, looking back at Erza who was back on her feet.

“He’s even stronger. We’ll definitely have to work together to fight him. I suspect he’s been toying with me during our entire fight…” Erza said.

“Comparing me to Zero?” Doryu questioned. He furrowed his brow and glared at the two mages. His magical power began to rise once again, shaking the very ground. Both Jura and Erza looked at him with shock.

“Even with my strongest armor, I couldn’t deal significant damage to him…” Erza said.

“If I were at my full strength, I don’t think I could defeat him. But we have no choice but to try.” Jura said. He prepared himself and got into a fighting stance. The shattered remains of Erza’s armor began to glow as she requipped into her clear heart clothing.

“Did Meliodas not make it here yet?” Jura asked. He thought back to the power he sensed when Meliodas had fought Zero. That kind of power would be needed in a fight like this.

“I haven’t seen him. Same with Gajeel and Lily.” Erza remarked.

“Did you say Meliodas?” Doryu asked. ‘I remember Aifread telling me about him multiple times. The one who defeated both Ogre and Zero…’

Both Jura and Erza remained silent at Doryu’s question. Doryu’s glare stopped and was replaced with a smirk.

“You lot are getting on my nerves, so I think it’s time for THAT.” Doryu said. He raised his right arm out to his side and a black coffin shrouded in darkness formed next to him. In the coffin were four glowing purple orbs. Both Jura and Erza flinched at the magical power they were sensing.

“That must be...we CAN’T let him open that!” Jura yelled with noticeable panic in his voice. Jura raised his right arm up in front of him and pointed his fingers at Doryu. A magical circle formed in front of Jura as dozens of large rocks shot out from it.

“How insolent.” Doryu said as he drew his blade once again, cutting through each of the rocks launched at him. He suddenly felt a presence to his side as Erza appeared, donning her Clear Heart clothing while holding her Demon Blade Benizakura in hand. She swung the blade towards Doryu’s head. Doryu ducked the swing and delivered a kick to Erza’s stomach with his left foot, launching Erza back.

Erza landed on her feet, slightly winded by the blow but immediately lunged back at Doryu as Jura continued launching his rocks at him.

“You’re both...GETTING ON MY NERVES!” Doryu shouted as a strong gust of wind knocked both Jura and Erza into the air. The power of the wind increased and turned black as it slammed into them both with dark magical power.

“T-this power?!” Jura commented as he was launched into the air as blood gushed from his body. He looked towards Erza who was in worse shape than him and was closer to the blast. She was heavily wounded yet still conscious. Jura landed on his feet again as Erza hit the ground hard.

“T-this is bad…” Jura said as he looked at Erza who was unable to move her body. Jura himself was not in good shape and could barely keep himself standing up.

“Now, I will show you what ultimate power is!” Doryu shouted enthusiastically. He reached towards the coffin and placed his hand between the four orbs. The coffin began to glow, emitting a bright purple light that enveloped the area.

As the light died down, Doryu was revealed holding a black scimitar with a dark substance flowing out of the blade. Jura looked at the blade. The presence it was giving out made him want to vomit. It was the most foul magic he sensed up to that point.

“That weapon…” Jura said dejectedly.

“Behold, the Ultimate Weapon of Dark-” Doryu’s sentence was cut short as tendrils of darkness shot out from the weapon straight into Doryu’s right arm. Doryu grunted in pain and looked at the weapon angrily.

“You dare try to absorb me?! Your Master?! How foolish!” Doryu yelled as he raised his magical power even higher. More darkness began to flow out of the weapon as the tendrils pumped a strange black substance into Doryu’s body.

“T-this weapon?!” Doryu exclaimed as he felt excruciating pain throughout his body. The pain he felt was unlike anything he had felt before, as if every cell in his body was burning.

“AGGHHHH!” Doryu screamed as darkness began to leak out from his body, covering it entirely in a matter of seconds.

“So even you’re not able to control a weapon like that.” Jura commented. “It looks like that Ultimate Weapon is your downfall.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Doryu replied. The darkness around him vanished completely. His black hair had turned white and his cloak was now gone, revealing his bare upper body. Black veins had become visible across all of his body. In the hand that held the black scimitar, even more black veins were visible, running up his arm up to his lower bicep.

“He controlled it…” Jura commented with a look of despair on his face. “Why go this far? For what purpose?!”

“With this power...I will change the world to my liking.” Doryu replied. “And it all starts with destroying the council.”

“I won’t let you get away with this evil plan of yours! I will put all of my power into stopping you here, even with my last dying breath!” Jura shouted.

“Evil? Am I the evil one? Perhaps. But those were all necessary sacrifices. It is because of the Council that I have been pushed to go this far.” Doryu replied calmly.

“The Council?” Jura questioned.

“I’m sure you’re aware of this, being a Wizard Saint. Whatever the Council deems as evil is absolute, no matter the circumstance. I’m merely a victim of that circumstance. Forty years ago, my father was a brilliant mage who specialized in darkness magic. He took down dark guilds by himself and opposed those who dared to prey on the weak. However, he was a force that the council couldn’t regulate, despite his “good” deeds. They deemed him a criminal, caught him, and executed him as they feared his power.”

“Your father...I’ve heard that story. The dark mage, Sinclair. He wasn’t executed because he was uncontrollable. He was executed for killing countless mages, which is against the law!” Jura retorted.

“Even if they were dark guild mages who did despicable acts even worse than my own? Jura I will say that you are one of the few among the council who has reason and isn’t corrupted by their ways. But today, you will also become a victim of circumstance, all for the ideal.” Doryu responded. “And with this ultimate power, I have the ability to do so!”

Jura glared at Doryu and raised his hand up in front of him, launching several large rocks at Doryu. Doryu remained still as the rocks collided with his body. As the smoke from the collision cleared, Jura looked at Doryu wide eyed, shocked that he had not a single scratch on his body.

“It takes power to get what you want in this world! Indisputable power that cannot be opposed! The power that the council has was considered such, but now I am in possession of said power!” Doryu shouted. He raised the black blade up into the air. Darkness began pouring out of it as a malevolent aura filled the air around them.

“Nightmare Spread!”

“Ggghhhh!” Jura grunted as he felt pain in every part of his body. ‘Dammit...I can’t hold on like this…’ Jura looked towards Erza and saw she was also going through the same pain. ‘She won’t hold out like this with those injuries...but how do I stop this…I can’t even muster the strength to move…’

“Nightmare Spread is an attack that bypasses all defense to attack the body directly. Only those who walk the path of darkness like myself can stand inside of this aura.” Doryu commented as he watched both Erza and Jura struggle.

“Dammit!” Erza yelled as she slowly began to stand up again. Both Doryu and Jura looked at her with surprise. ‘How can she move with those injuries while being under my Nightmare Spread?’

“Doryu...I understand how the council has wronged you...the council also took away someone who was very special to me...but I can’t let you go through with this revenge of yours! If I do...not just my life...but the lives of my friends will be at stake. I can’t let that happen!” Erza shouted as she slowly walked towards Doryu.

“Titania...you never cease to impress me. You must be going through a lot of pain right now. I will make your death swift.” Doryu said, walking closer to Erza. He raised his blade in the air, shrouding it with even more darkness.

“NO!” Jura yelled as he tried to take a step forward. He winced at the pain and looked towards Erza. ‘Erza...How are you able to withstand this kind of pain?!’

Doryu swung his blade down towards Erza. As the blade was about to connect with her head, his eyes widened as a figured burst from the floor beneath. Doryu felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as he coughed up blood and was sent flying back across the top floor of the castle. Doryu quickly regained himself, sinking the black blade into the ground to stop his momentum and leaving a thin hole in the ground where he skidded. Doryu wiped the blood from his mouth and looked up at the figure. ‘Who could have striked me so hard that I would bleed, even in this form? Not only that, but my Nightmare Spread was active until he hit me...’

“Well, well, well. That’s one dangerous power you have there.”

Chapter Text

“Meliodas?!” Jura exclaimed. Meliodas looked towards Jura who was wounded but still standing. Behind him, Erza was on the verge of collapsing.

“You’re finally here...Meliodas…” Erza said silently. She immediately fell forward as Meliodas caught her in his arms.

“So this is Meliodas…” Doryu commented as he looked at him. ‘He’s definitely hiding a greater power. I had assumed Aifread was spouting nonsense but perhaps he wasn’t entirely wrong.’

“Jura.” Meliodas said. “Can you walk still?”

“I can.” Jura responded.

“Take Erza and get out of here.” Meliodas said sternly. He picked up Erza and leaped towards Jura.

“Meliodas...you can’t fight something like that on your own…” Erza said. Meliodas looked down at her and smiled.

“Don’t worry about me. If I don’t fight him, who else will?” Meliodas replied. He handed Erza over to Jura and looked back towards Doryu as Jura quickly limped away carrying Erza over his right shoulder.

“Meliodas was it? I have been meaning to fight you for quite a while. My name is Doryu.” Doryu said, introducing himself. Meliodas remained quiet as he sized Doryu up for a moment. ‘This guy is strong. But that sword is what bothers me...I can feel many souls inside of it…’

“Shall we begin?” Doryu suggested as he lunged in towards Meliodas. Meliodas put his hand on the handle of Mel Force as Doryu appeared right in front of him. Doryu swung his blade down hard at Meliodas. Meliodas quickly drew Mel Force out in front of him, blocking the strike. The ground beneath them both shattered and a hole opened up, causing them both to fall through the hole as the top floor of the castle collapsed entirely. Doryu’s eyes widened as several cuts appeared on his arm. ‘He blocked my attack while attacking me simultaneously. I couldn’t even track the speed that he drew his sword?!’

As the two of them fell through the castle, crashing through the floors, Meliodas and Doryu continued to slash at each other. Blood gushed out from multiple parts of Doryu’s body as his trade with Meliodas continued. To his dismay, Meliodas was still unscathed despite the rally of attacks.

Doryu swung a heavy slash towards Meliodas as they crashed through another floor. Meliodas ducked the swing, countering with his own slash towards Doryu’s forearm. Blood gushed out of Doryu’s arm and Doryu immediately jumped back as they landed on the first floor of the castle.

‘His body has been reinforced heavily with magic. I can’t get a cut deep enough.’ Meliodas thought as he stared at Doryu.

Doryu looked at his bleeding arm. ‘His power is one thing, being able to wound me like this. But the speed of his swordsmanship...even with the boost to my senses from this blade, I can barely keep track of his swings…if that’s the case, then I’ll have to use magic!’

Doryu raised his left hand up above him, his palm facing up. A black sphere began forming in his hand, growing larger and larger. The sphere began to swallow up the upper floors of the castle, causing the top part of it to crumble down and fall into the sphere.

“Darkness Weight!”

Doryu threw the sphere towards Meliodas, with the sphere swallowing up even more of the castle and growing in size. Meliodas gripped the handle of Mel Force tightly and waited as the sphere was just about to collide with him.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas swung Mel Force. The black sphere instantly changed directions and headed straight towards Doryu instead.

“What?!” Doryu exclaimed as his own attack was sent back at him. Doryu’s surprise quickly vanished and was replaced with a smile as he faced his left palm towards the large ball of darkness. His eyes widened as he realized something was different about the ball. ‘My attack...it’s three times stronger than when I had launched it?!’ Doryu questioned. ‘No matter...I still have full control over it!’

Doryu caught the ball and prepared to launch it at Meliodas. To Doryu’s surprise, Meliodas was no longer standing in his initial spot. ‘Where did he-’

Meliodas suddenly appeared behind Doryu with his blade drawn out in front of him. Doryu immediately felt sharp pain in many places of his body as soon as he spotted Meliodas.

“One Thousand Divine Slashes!”

Meliodas sheathed Mel Force back into its scabbard. As his sword was fully sheathed, a fountain of blood and darkness gushed out of Doryu’s body. Meliodas vanished once again as Doryu could no longer hold the sphere of darkness. The sphere began to glow brightly before exploding in a large eruption of magical energy that enveloped the entirety of what was left of the castle in a large pillar of flowing black energy.

“Well, well, well. That was close.” Meliodas said as he watched the smoke clear from the explosion. “I almost got caught in that.”

The remains of the castle were no longer there. Instead, there was a flat area of smooth land as Doryu remained motionless yet still standing with his mouth wide open. Despite being seemingly defeated, Meliodas watched patiently and didn’t walk towards Doryu. Something still felt off about him.

Meliodas remained watching him for another moment. The setting sun now almost fully set and the surroundings becoming darker and darker. Darkness began to leak from Doryu’s body and Doryu took a deep breath in before exhaling. He turned around and saw Meliodas staring at him intently.

“Quite the trick you pulled on me.” Doryu mused. Meliodas looked at Doryu’s body. His wound had completely vanished.

“If I was still human, that would have killed me. But you see, I have evolved into a level beyond that.” Doryu said as he walked closer to Meliodas. Meliodas remained still but on guard.

“This black sword...has granted me a demonic power. One that allows me to heal from any wounds. And as the sun sets and night falls, my power grows!” Doryu yelled as his magical power flared up even higher, being nearly twice as strong as before. To Doryu’s surprise, Meliodas was unfazed by the boost in his magic nor his demonic aura.

“Perhaps you are so afraid of this power, that you cannot make a move nor speak?” Doryu asked as he walked closer to Meliodas until he was standing right in front of him, towering over his small stature.

“You gave up the lives of many innocent people to gain that kind of power…” Meliodas said somberly as he looked down at the ground.

“Indeed I did. But with this power, I’ve ascended! My strength is unparalleled!” Doryu yelled out. He raised his black sword up in the air above him, ready to strike down at Meliodas.

“Meliodas. You put up a good fight against my power. But in the end, you are no match against me.” Doryu said as he slashed down at Meliodas.

Doryu’s confidence faded as he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked at his right arm holding the black blade, which was now dislodged from his body. He felt a dark presence in front of him, one that was darker than his own.

Doryu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as blood gushed from his body and he was nearly bisected. He looked back up at Meliodas, wide eyed. Meliodas’ appearance had changed, his emerald green eyes turning dark and a black spiral shaped henna appeared on his head.

“And that is your sin!” Meliodas shouted.

Chapter Text

Doryu collapsed on the ground in a pool of his own blood that continued to grow larger. Meliodas immediately jumped back as a wave of darkness surrounded Doryu and the black sword went flying by Meliodas’ head towards Doryu.

Doryu’s dislodged arm holding the sword reattached itself to his body and his nearly bisected abdomen began healing at a fast rate.
“That power you possess...WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!” Doryu shouted out angrily. He charged at Meliodas once again, only for Meliodas to vanish from his sight and reappear behind him with his blade drawn.

Parts of Doryu’s body split open, only to close back together immediately as his wounds healed.

‘His healing is practically instantaneous. It’s almost like Ban’s regeneration…’ Meliodas thought to himself. ‘Not only that but his power is growing steadily despite the damage I’ve been inflicting on him.’

Doryu lunged forward again at Meliodas and swung his blade downward at Meliodas. Meliodas jumped back, dodging the swing as Doryu’s blade hit the ground, forming a huge crater. The force of the swing created a deep line in the ground that reached towards Meliodas. Meliodas felt a sharp pain hit his right shoulder as blood gushed from it. Darkness began to leak out of Meliodas’ wound, closing it shut as Meliodas landed on the ground again.

“Y-you...you can heal as well?!” Doryu questioned. Meliodas remained silent as his own healing wasn’t truly “healing” and would eventually hit its limit. Meliodas raised Mel Force out to his side.

“Enchant: Hellblaze.”

Meliodas leaped forward at Doryu with blinding speed, cutting diagonally across Doryu’s body with Mel Force clad in black flames. Blood gushed out of Doryu’s body and he screamed in pain.

“This burning sensation?!” Doryu grunted as he took a few steps back. He looked at his wound, alarmed as it wasn’t healing. ‘What the hell are those black flames?! My wound isn’t healing itself?!’

‘Even with the enchantment, that cut was more shallow than the last ones...his power and durability are growing faster than I thought. I have to finish him soon!’

With Mel Force still clad in hellblaze he swung his sword forward, unleashing a large wave of hellblaze at Doryu.

Doryu attempted to move out of the way, but stopped as he felt the pain of his last wound was too unbearable. ‘Why the hell isn’t it healed yet?!’ Doryu panicked as he watched the wave of flames coming at him.

The wave of hellblaze engulfed Doryu. Doryu screamed as he felt his body being burnt to a crisp. ‘These flames...they possess both the attributes of darkness and fire yet can also get rid of my healing?!’

Doryu’s roasted body remained still as he continued burning. Meliodas jumped towards Doryu to finish him off but stopped in his tracks as he felt Doryu’s magical power surge even higher.

The black blade Doryu was holding suddenly grew more tendrils that injected themselves into Doryu’s chest. Doryu looked down at the blade at what was happening.

“T-This blade...is trying to devour me to sustain its power?!” Doryu questioned. “But I won’t let you take my soul so easily!”

Doryu yelled as a black magical dome surrounded him. Meliodas leaped towards the dome and slashed at it. To his surprise, his blade bounced right off. Meliodas took a few steps back and patiently observed the dome. Inside, he could feel something dark and powerful.

Suddenly the dome dispersed. Meliodas’ eyes widened and he immediately stepped to the right. He felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder as his left arm was cut off.

Meliodas furrowed his brow as he looked at what Doryu had become. His eyes were lifeless and his sclera had turned pitch black. The black veins on his body had become more noticeable and were throbbing. The sword Doryu was holding continued to leak dark magical power.

“AAAAAGGGHHHH!” Doryu screamed, releasing a sinister aura.

‘That sword took over his body and is draining his soul. Doryu’s still trying to fight it but he’s losing control.’ Meliodas thought.

Meliodas pointed his left shoulder towards where his arm was dislodged. A stream of darkness flowed out from his shoulder towards his arm and attached itself, bringing his arm back to his body.

With his arm and Mel Force back in his possession he charged at Doryu. Doryu immediately swung his blade down at Meliodas, creating a huge shockwave of dark magical power at Meliodas.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas swung his sword at the shockwave, sending it back at Doryu. The shockwave collided with Doryu, creating a large explosion of dark magical energy. Doryu emerged from the shockwave with minor wounds and slashed down at Meliodas. Meliodas parried the blow to the side, creating a shockwave that caused the ground to shatter and the ground to that side to break. Meliodas jumped backwards, his sword clad in black flames again.

“Divine Slayer!”

Meliodas sent a large wave of black flames towards Doryu once again. Doryu continued to charge forward, ignoring the searing pain as his body was burnt and he emerged in front of Meliodas.

‘This boost in power...he’s gone completely berserk! And his power keeps on rising.’ Meliodas thought as Doryu grabbed him by the face. Meliodas unleashed a flurry of slashes at Doryu’s arm, causing blood to gush out of the wounds. Despite this, Doryu would not let go of Meliodas’ face.

Doryu stabbed the black sword straight into Meliodas’ chest. Meliodas coughed up blood as the sword emerged out of the other side of his body. With all of his strength, he kicked Doryu backwards, sending him flying as the sword left his body.

Meliodas collapsed onto the ground as Doryu skidded across the field. Meliodas slowly got back up, darkness leaking out of his chest as his wound closed. He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at Doryu who was standing back up again.

‘His power already exceeds mine. And his resistances keep increasing, especially to darkness. I have to end this now…’ Meliodas thought. Meliodas took a deep breath in and exhaled. A dark aura was emitted from Meliodas’ body before vanishing completely and Meliodas’ demonic features returned back to normal.

Doryu lunged forward again at Meliodas and slashed down at Meliodas. Blood gushed out of Meliodas’ body as the blade cut across him.

Meliodas retaliated with a punch to Doryu’s body, staggering him and allowing Meliodas to deliver an uppercut to his face, sending him into the air.

Doryu quickly regained himself, using his left hand to punch down hard on Meliodas’ head, sending him straight into the ground. The ground cracked, forming a crater as Meliodas’ body was lodged into the Earth.

Doryu walked up to Meliodas, picking him up by the head and squeezing him hard. Meliodas grunted in pain as Doryu tightened his grip.

“AAAAARRRGHHH!!!” Doryu screamed as he raised his black blade to slash at Meliodas once again.

Meliodas, still holding Mel Force, quickly cut through the wounded spot on Doryu’s arm, causing Doryu to let go of Meliodas. Doryu let out a feral scream once more before kicking Meliodas in the chest. Meliodas’ eyes widened as he coughed up blood before being sent flying across the field.

Suddenly, Doryu vanished from sight, reappearing behind Meliodas as Meliodas was still flying through the air. Doryu delivered a punch down onto Meliodas’ stomach, causing Meliodas to cough up more blood as he crashed into the ground.

Doryu raised his blade up and Meliodas quickly adjusted his body as Doryu slashed down at him, with Meliodas’ right arm being cut off in the process.

Meliodas rolled back several meters before landing on his feet. Heavily bruised and bleeding, he shakily stood up and gripped his sword tightly in his left hand.

“I think...this is enough…” Meliodas said quietly as he coughed up more blood. Doryu lunged forward at Meliodas, with his blade out in front of him, skewering Meliodas through the chest. Meliodas coughed up more blood as his body went limp.

Chapter Text

Meliodas’ body remained limp as he was skewered on the blade. Despite this, he was still firmly grasping Mel Force. Suddenly, Meliodas lifted his head and a grin formed on his face.

A swirling vortex of magic began to envelope both Meliodas and Doryu. Large chunks of the ground were unearthed and caught in the vortex as it grew higher and higher into the sky and radiantly glowed in the night sky. With the blade still inside of Meliodas, both Doryu and Meliodas began to hover in the air as the fierce whirlwind of magic lifted them up.

Meliodas gripped Mel Force tightly and raised it up. Doryu’s eyes widened as he realized what was going on. Despite being in a berserk state that ran only on instinct, his instincts were telling him that he would not make it out of this attack.

Meliodas swung Mel Force, compressing the massive amount of magic into a single point which was Doryu.

“REVENGE COUNTER!”

Doryu found himself surrounded by a bright light as his body was engulfed. His hand, which had been attached to the black sword that was still lodged into Meliodas’ body had finally detached. Doryu stared at Meliodas as the energy collided with him, having returned to his senses. A tear formed in his right eye and it dripped down his cheek. Despite being at death’s door, a sense of relief filled his heart. The black blade had drained most of his body’s life force already and trapped his soul in an eternal hell. Meliodas’ attack just now had freed him from that hell.

“I see...so I just wasn’t strong enough…” Doryu whispered before being fully engulfed by the blast.

Meliodas landed on the ground shakily as the blast finished, with the black blade still lodged inside of his chest. He felt a sharp, throbbing pain in his chest as he looked at the blade. In front of him, Doryu’s lifeless body hit the ground, his body shriveled and nearly unrecognizable.

Suddenly, Meliodas began to feel dizzy. His vision began to blur as his body collapsed on the ground. He grunted in pain before shortly passing out on the ground.

---
Meliodas woke up in what appeared to be some kind of void. He looked down at his body and noticed all of his injuries were gone. A dark purple abyss loomed beneath him as he stood on a transparent surface. Around him, all he could hear was endless screaming.

Meliodas ignored the screams and walked forward. In the distance, he could make out a pitch black figure that looked humanoid.

“You’re able to maintain your soul despite being trapped in the void?” The figure said in a child-like voice as Meliodas walked closer.

“Where is this place? Am I in the sword?” Meliodas asked.

“Yes you are. This is where all the souls are trapped in order to feed me power. They spend an eternity here as I feed off their rage and hatred. That fool Doryu didn’t have the capacity to keep my power in check and he paid the ultimate price. But before the conversion could finish, you defeated him, freeing his soul from my tortuous hell.” The figure continued.

“So you’re a being that resides in this sword or… are you the sword?” Meliodas asked. The figure remained silent but grinned showing its white teeth.

“On closer inspection I see that you aren’t human. Not even Doryu, a man with an innate darkness affinity could resist me for long. But with you...it makes sense why I can’t absorb you. Unlike Doryu, you’re not human. Only one who was a demon from the start can wield my power.”

“Well it’s not like I want to wield you.” Meliodas replied. “You just so happened to be lodged inside my chest. But while you’re at it, do you think you could free all these poor guys you have trapped here?”

“And give up my sustenance? Just who the hell do you think you are?!” The figure replied.

“I’m Meliodas.” Meliodas replied with a cheeky grin. The figure’s expression turned into a frown.

“You have a resistance to my influence, but an even greater potential for dark power. So I’ll just have to take your body for myself!” The figure immediately lunged towards Meliodas with its left hand outstretched.

The figure grabbed Meliodas by the neck and a grin formed on its face. Meliodas stared at the figure, unfazed by its actions.

“W-what’s going on?! I can’t absorb you?!” The figure stuttered.

“Looks like I have just a bit better control over my soul than you do.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile. Meliodas placed a hand on the figure’s chest.

“W-wait what are you doing?!” The dark figure exclaimed.

Suddenly, a countless number of white orbs flowed out of the back of the figure. As more and more of them flew out of the back, the screams of agony that echoed throughout the area began to die down. The figure immediately let go of Meliodas’ neck and jumped back.

“Y-you bastard! Those souls were mine! How are you able to pull them out of me?!” The figure exclaimed.

“I don’t know those people but I’m sure they didn’t deserve to be put into an eternal state of torture by you. And I’ll set them all free!” Meliodas shouted as he lunged forward at the figure.

“No...I WON’T LET YOU!” The figure shouted as tendrils of darkness shot out from its body towards Meliodas. Meliodas raised his left arm up, creating a black sword made of his own darkness. He lunged forward while spinning, cleaving through the tentacles as well as the figure.

Meliodas appeared behind the figure, the figure now cut in half from the waist down. From its wounds, more souls began to leak out of its body as they ascended upward. The figure immediately reattached itself to its lower body.

“I-I don’t understand? You’re able to overpower me in my own realm?” The figure stated.

“This isn’t just your realm. This is mine as well. You are attached to me after all.” Meliodas replied.

“All of those souls...if you’re going to take those from me...THEN I’LL DEFINITELY DEVOUR YOURS IN RE-” The figure immediately went silent as a condensed ball of darkness shot through its head like a bullet, leaving a large hole in its head.

“AAAAGGHHH!” The figure screamed as more souls began to pour out of the wound.

“My wound...it won’t close...why won’t it-” The figure immediately realized that Meliodas had left a part of his darkness in his head that was keeping the hole open. Even as he tried to close around it, the darkness would spread, preventing it from fully closing.

“N-no...It can’t end like this...I...won’t…” The figure’s words began to quiet down and it dropped to its knees. Souls stopped leaving its body and it remained motionless on the ground. Meliodas slowly walked up to the figure.

“Y-you’re going to devour me...in the same way I was going to devour you aren’t you…” The figure questioned.

“Nope.” Meliodas said. “You seem like you’ve been in a lot of pain here. So I’ll set you free as well.”

“What?!” The figure exclaimed, surprised at Meliodas’ words. “I could tell when I placed my hand on you! Something had damaged your very being, causing irreparable damage to both your body and soul and you’re not in your prime any longer! If you were to devour my power, you would have complete control over me and still become stronger!”

“Maybe if it were me from three thousand years ago I would have done it, but I’m not like that anymore.” Meliodas commented. “Besides, I don’t think you have what it takes to fix me even if I did eat you.”

“T-three thousand years ago?!” The figure exclaimed as he placed his hand on the figure’s head.

“Before I let you go, what is your name?” Meliodas asked. The figure remained silent for a few moments, dumbfounded at Meliodas’ actions not meeting his expectations. Eventually a wide grin formed on its face as it answered.

“Sacrifar.”

Chapter Text

Meliodas jolted up from his slumber. He looked around and he saw he was still in the middle of the clearing from where the castle once stood.

He looked down at his chest. Sacrifar was no longer lodged into his chest and his chest wound had closed. The last thing he remembered doing was setting the spirit of Sacrifar free before waking up. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. Meliodas raised his left hand out in front of him.

“Requip: Sacrifar!”

A black blade formed in Meliodas’ hand. Meliodas held the blade and looked at it closely. The sword’s guard had a four pronged spiked shape that connected to the grip with a unique, overlaying textured appearance. Hanging from the pommel was a chain with a cross hanging down. The blade itself was black colored and curved up with a sharp indentation near the tip. Written on the side of the black blade was the word “Sacrifar.” Meliodas looked at the side of the blade curiously. ‘Was that always written on there?’

Meliodas could no longer feel any presence inside of the blade. The blade gave off no innate darkness and was now just an empty husk yet he could feel some kind of resonance with the inner darkness inside of him. Meliodas stood back up fully and felt pain all over his body as he still retained his injuries from fighting Doryu.

Meliodas stored Sacrifar back into his requip inventory and picked up Mel Force from the ground next to him, sheathing it on his back again.

“I wonder how long I was out for. I hope everyone else is okay.” Meliodas commented as he looked around again. He began to hear dozens of footsteps coming from behind him. To his surprise, he saw Lahar and his squadron approaching.

“Oh it’s you!” Meliodas said.

“Meliodas?” Lahar said as he approached the scene. He looked around in awe. The area around them was completely flattened apart from a few craters in the ground. ‘Strange...Jura said there was a large castle here...don’t tell me that was destroyed?!’

“Hey did you run into anyone from Fairy Tail or Jura on the way here?” Meliodas asked.

“Yes. My men had already set up camp this evening in the town when Jura approached, holding Erza, Gajeel, and a black cat.” Lahar replied. “It’s a miracle he was able to hold onto all of them in the state he was in.” A wave of relief swept over Meliodas and he sat on the ground slumped over.

“Phew...good even Gajeel and Lily were okay. I was wondering where they went.” Meliodas replied. Lahar looked over at the body of Doryu and couldn’t hide his surprise.

“What happened here? This must have been quite the fight.” Lahar questioned. “Who is this man?”

“That’s Doryu. He was the one behind it all. We were fighting each other.” Meliodas answered.

“Did he have any weapons?” Lahar questioned further as his squadron picked up Doryu’s remains. Lahar glanced over at the body once more. ‘Judging on the state of the body, that weapon must have drained his life force. But where is the weapon?’

“He did. But it’s gone now.” Meliodas replied.

“Gone?” Lahar questioned. He looked around the clearing once more. ‘The Weapon of Ultimate Darkness just...disappeared? That can’t be…something’s not right…’

“Well I’ll get the details of this from you later. Why don’t we get your injuries treated and reunite you with your friends. I will say that your success on this mission will most certainly help with Fairy Tail’s declining reputation with the council.” Lahar said. He reached a hand out to Meliodas. Meliodas smiled at Lahar and took his hand as Lahar helped Meliodas back up.

---

Meliodas arrived back at Marigold Town with Lahar and his squadron. The bodies had been mostly cleaned up and there were several large white tents set up in the town square. He noticed several large cages mounted on carriages. Inside, he could see a few people he did not recognize but he recognized the snake guy he fought previously. ‘Well looks like they caught them.’

Lahar brought Meliodas into a large tent with a red cross at the top.
“We’ll have you treated here.”

Lahar left the tent and a nurse attended to Meliodas’ wounds. Meliodas looked around the tent. He noticed several large white curtains set up and assumed his friends were behind them.

After getting wrapped up in bandages the nurse left Meliodas at one of the beds to relax. Meliodas reached over and peered behind one of the curtains. There he saw Jura lying down and looking straight up at the ceiling. Jura noticed the curtain shift and looked at Meliodas.

“Yo, Jura!” Meliodas greeted.

“Meliodas...you defeated that monster?” Jura questioned, surprised at Meliodas’ physical state.

“He was pretty tough to beat.” Meliodas replied.

“Meliodas...you always exceed my expectations…” Jura said with a smile. He sat back up and looked at Meliodas.

“I assume that large magical power I sensed earlier was yours? I recall some councilmen freaking out about seeing a bright tornado in the middle of the night.” Jura laughed.

“Yeah. I had to take some drastic measures to beat Doryu. It’s not something I can do anytime I want.” Meliodas replied.

“I see...well regardless you did something that even I, a Wizard Saint, couldn’t come close to achieving. Have you considered becoming a Wizard Saint?” Jura asked. “There are a few spots open.” Meliodas’ eyes widened at Jura’s question.

“I haven’t…” Meliodas replied. Becoming a Wizard Saint in this world would most likely grant him access to information that even guilds don’t have, considering how the council caught wind of Sacrifar. If he did become a Wizard Saint, maybe he could find a magic that would bring him back to his world.

“Well I can recommend you...although I’m not quite sure if the council would accept you. They do harbor some grudge towards Fairy Tail due to the destruction your guild tends to cause, although with the completion of this mission, they may consider it. But giving Fairy Tail two positions in the Wizard Saints may even be a bit too much for the council.”

“Oh right, the Master is already a Wizard Saint.” Meliodas said.

“Even so, I’ll still ask about it.” Jura said with a smile.

“I wonder if everyone else is awake?” Meliodas asked as he looked around at the other closed curtains.

“The others had worse injuries than us. Even with healing lacrima, they still need their sleep so it's best not to disturb them.” Jura replied. “But they should be fine.”

“Well then this calls for a celebration. Care for a drink?” Meliodas asked.

“Hahaha!” Jura laughed at the gesture. “Not now, but I’ll take you up on that later.”

“Meliodas.” A voice said from behind him. Meliodas turned around and saw Lahar approaching him.

“Yo!” Meliodas replied with a small wave.

“We’d like to interview you about the details with your fight against Doryu. Would you be able to do it now?” Lahar asked.

“Sure.” Meliodas said.

---

Lahar brought Meliodas to a separate tent. Meliodas sat across from Lahar at a table with two councilmen beside him writing notes on clipboards. Lahar asked Meliodas various questions about Doryu and the fight as well as details about the Ultimate Weapon of Darkness. Meliodas answered them but left out a detail about Sacrifar being in his possession.

“I see. Very well. This is good information. Thank you for your cooperation Meliodas.” Lahar said as he stood up and left the tent with his councilmen leaving Meliodas inside by himself. Meliodas placed his chin down on the table as he leaned over.

‘Sacrifar might come in handy one day. Especially if I run into someone as strong as Doryu while I’m still recovering my power…’ Meliodas thought to himself. ‘My power isn’t returning as fast as I’d like it to. I should really start training again. And that comment Sacrifar told me about the damage to both my body and soul...what did Cath do to me?’

Chapter Text

vNovember 27th X784
Meliodas and the rest of the group sent to stop Doryu were healed enough from their injuries to go back, with Gajeel and Lily still wearing a few bandages. The group noticed a change in atmosphere within the town as during this time, the town had been rid of bodies and received a general cleaning up by the councilmen. The group stood at the outskirts of Marigold Town as they prepared to depart, with Gajeel munching on an iron ingot.

“It was great working with you all again, Fairy Tail.” Jura said with a smile.

“Likewise.” Meliodas said with a grin.

“It was an honor working with you again Jura.” Erza said.

“By the way, Meliodas, have you decided on whether you wanted to become a Wizard Saint?” Jura asked. Upon hearing this, a look of surprise formed on Erza, Lily, and Gajeel’s faces, with Gajeel nearly spitting out the iron chunk in his mouth.

“I’ll consider it.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile.

“In that case, I’ll be sure to relay your interest in the next council meeting this week. You all take care on your way back. I need to stay here with the councilmen here for a bit longer.” Jura said.

“So we're just gonna walk back or somethin?” Gajeel asked with a mouth still half full of iron.

“Do not worry about that. The council arranged for a carriage earlier. It looks like it’s just about here.” Jura said, pointing to the distance where one could just barely make out the shape of the carriage. As it got closer, they noticed it was one of the white council carriages.

“Bout time. We been here too long.” Gajeel muttered.

“I agree. Let’s go home.” Erza added in.

The carriage arrived shortly to where they were standing, with the group bidding their farewell to Jura before heading back to Magnolia Town. Meliodas stared silently out the window as the carriage started rolling, thinking about the close call fight he had against Doryu.

“So what happened in that fight with Doryu. He was a formidable foe.” Erza questioned.

“Tch...at least you guys got to fight him.” Gajeel commented dejectedly.

“Well it was a rough battle. I had to use a last resort technique in order to defeat him.” Meliodas answered.

“Last resort?” Lily asked. Meliodas nodded in response.

“It’s a variation of my Full Counter. It’s called “Revenge Counter.” Meliodas answered. “I have to disable my magic first and then accumulate damage. After that I release it all back in one blast.”

“You disabled your own magic to fight Doryu?!” Erza asked, surprised. “I can’t believe you lived through that.”

“I see why it’s called a last resort then.” Lily commented.

“So what happened with the weapon that Doryu was holding?” Erza asked.

“Oh you mean Sacrifar?” Meliodas raised his left hand out in front of him. A light began to glow in his palm before taking the form of a blade. Erza, Gajeel, and Lily watched, dumbstruck as they felt a dark sensation coming from Meliodas’ hand.

“You brought it back with you?!” Gajeel shouted.

“Well I didn’t have much of a choice. It was lodged in my chest.” Meliodas answered nonchalantly.

“I’m surprised the council didn’t confiscate from you.” Lily added.

“Well...let’s just keep that a secret.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile.

“So that’s the “Weapon of Ultimate Darkness” that Doryu was using…” Erza said as she stared at the blade. “Something’s different about it though. It felt a lot more sinister when Doryu held it.”

“Well, when Doryu had it, there were a lot of trapped souls in this blade. I set them all free before I took it. But it’s still a strong blade. It seems to work well with my darkness.” Meliodas responded.

“Even so...put that away. I don’t like the feeling that thing gives off. I’ve eaten plenty of swords but I’m not touching that.” Gajeel said. Meliodas nodded and Sacrifar began to glow again before being put back into Meliodas’ requip inventory.

---

A few hours passed since the Fairy Tail group left on their carriage back to Magnolia Town. As they arrived back at the guild, the rest of the guild who were there greeted them on their return.

“It feels great to be back.” Meliodas commented. He walked over to the bar with Gajeel, Lily, and Erza where Makarov was sitting. Meliodas sat down at an empty seat next to Makarov as Erza and Gajeel gathered around with Lily hopping up onto the table.

“Welcome back from your mission!” Mirajane said cheerfully as she approached. “What would you like to drink?”

“Hmm...” Meliodas thought for a moment. “Surprise me.”

“Then I know just what to give you.” Mirajane responded. She looked towards Erza, Gajeel, and Lily.

“Nothing for me.” Erza responded.

“Nothing for me either.” Lily responded.

“Can ya get me a bowl of nails again?” Gajeel asked. Mirajane nodded at the request and scurried off to the back to prepare the orders.

“I got a notification from the council late yesterday. They didn’t relay a lot of details about the mission as those will be covered during the next meeting. I hear it was a rough mission as you guys needed an extra day to heal.” Makarov said, looking at Gajeel and Lily who were still bandaged up. “But I’m glad you all came back safely.”

“It was certainly a tough mission. Our opponents were quite formidable. I wouldn’t have made it through without Meliodas.” Erza responded. Makarov nodded and looked back at Meliodas who had just gotten his drink from Mirajane and was happily downing it.

“Well I suggest you guys spend the next few days resting before going on any more missions. In the meantime, Gajeel.” Makarov said. He looked towards Gajeel who was eating his bowl of iron nails and gestured for Gajeel to follow him.Gajeel grinned, knowing what he was going to talk to him about and followed Makarov.

“So I guess you’ll just stay here and drink, Meliodas.” Lily asked.

“Yup!” Meliodas said.

“What about you Erza?” Lily asked.

“A lot of my armors were broken in the fight with Doryu. I need to get them repaired.” Erza replied. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Meliodas and Lily waved goodbye as Erza left the guild, leaving Meliodas alone with the black cat.

“Hey Lily.” Meliodas said just as he finished his drink.

“What is it?” Lily asked.

“When you get all healed up, let’s get you a new sword.” Meliodas answered. Lily’s eyes brightened up at Meliodas’ answer.

“But is there even a sword here in Earthland that can adapt to my size. The one I had back in Edolas, Bustermarm, could alter its size but that was still only able to match my battle form.” Lily questioned.

“I know just the person.” Meliodas said with a grin.

Chapter Text

December 3, X784

A week passed since the team that went to apprehend Doryu returned. By now, they had all recovered from their wounds. Meliodas sat at the bar and watched as a seemingly steady stream of mages went back and forth from the job board and back out of the guild again. During this week, Meliodas himself had gone on a few missions for extra pocket money. Today he decided on taking it easy as he drank at the bar.

“Meliodas!” Makarov’s voice shouted from the entrance of the guild.

“Hey Master!” Meliodas greeted.

“Welcome back from your meeting!” Mirajane greeted.

Makarov approached Meliodas and Mirajane at the bar and took a seat next to Meliodas. As Mirajane poured Makarov a drink, he stared at Meliodas.

“What’s wrong?” Meliodas asked. Makarov sighed and took a sip of his drink before answering.

“Meliodas, you never cease to surprise me. At the council meeting today, they went over their findings with the Weapon of Ultimate Darkness, Sacrifar.” Makarov said. “Your actions did get us on an at least tolerable standing with the council, but…” Makarov stopped and took another sip of his drink.

“It really surprised me when Jura himself requested that you be made one of the Ten Wizard Saints.” Makarov said.

“That’s impressive!” Mirajane complimented.

“Well I did tell him before we parted ways that I wouldn’t mind. And becoming a Wizard Saint should help me solve my problem with the information they possess, right?” Meliodas responded.

“I suppose...although I’m sure you know about how the council would feel about having two Fairy Tail members as Saints…” Makarov said.

“Well, apart from Jura’s recommendation, your actions on this mission not only got the attention of the council, but also the Royal Family, specifically the Royal Army.” Makarov continued. “They’re requesting you to serve as a mentor over the weekend to show the soldiers how to fight using a sword. They’ll pay you good money for it.”

“Really, how much?” Meliodas asked.

“Five Million Jewels.” Makarov said. Meliodas nearly spit out his drink at the number.

“Well, well, well. That’s more than most S class missions. Sounds like a good deal to me!” Meliodas said enthusiastically. “Do I have to go by myself?”

“Well they didn’t request you go alone specifically. Did you plan on bringing others along?” Makarov asked.

“There’s a couple of people I want to bring. Swordsmen, actually.” Meliodas said with a grin.

---

December 4, X784

Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily sat together on a train on the way to Crocus that morning. Pantherlily looked out the window as Meliodas briefed Erza on what they were doing.

“Meliodas, if you don’t mind, I would also like to learn swordsmanship from you directly.” Erza said. “My swordsmanship wasn’t enough to fight against Doryu…”

“Same here.” Lily added in. “I couldn’t help Gajeel against Aifread…”

“I don’t mind.” Meliodas replied. “Besides, after that close call, I need to start actively training again since my power isn’t returning at the pace that I would like it to. You guys would make great sparring partners.”

“That would be much appreciated. Thank you Meliodas.” Erza said.

“Oh right that reminds me!” Meliodas interjected. “On the way back, we can stop by Musica’s. Maybe he will craft you guys new swords.” Meliodas said.

“I remember you mentioning getting me a new sword last week. A sword that can match my changing size would be nice…” Lily mused.

“I don’t quite have an idea for a sword I want, but getting one refined by him would be just as good. I finally get to meet the Legendary Blacksmith!” Erza commented, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

---

Several hours later, the group arrived at Crocus. They got off the train and headed straight towards the main palace.

“This place is massive. It might even be bigger than Edolas’ capitol.” Lily commented as he looked up at the large looming castle.

“Apparently the palace is called “Mercurius.” Meliodas said as he read a brochure he picked up on the walk there.

The group walked up to the front of the palace at a large stone gate. There were multiple guards stationed at the front of the gate as well as high on the walls. Above the walls, Meliodas could see the palace building which was elevated above the rest of the city. One of the guards approached the group.

“State your names and business.” One of the guards said.

“Erza Scarlet.”

“Pantherlily.”

“Meliodas. We’re from Fairy Tail. We received a request to come here and mentor the royal army over the weekend.” Meliodas said. Out of his requip inventory, he pulled out a piece of paper with the request on it. The guard took the paper and scanned over it before handing it back.

“Very well you may proceed.” The guard said. He turned around and faced one of the other guards on the wall, making a gesture with his hand. The guard nodded and disappeared for a moment. Suddenly there was a rumbling as the gate began to open.
Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily walked through the gate, leading to a large stairway that led to the upper section of the castle in the courtyard area. The group walked through the courtyard before arriving at the entrance into the main palace. It was segmented into many rectangles by smooth stone pathways. In the rectangles were many statues and intricately cut bushes, with many of them looking like dragons. In the middle of the courtyard was a massive fountain in the shape of a dragon’s head. Around the fountain, were an assortment of brightly colored flowers.

A guard blocked their path and looked at the Fairy Tail group. Meliodas flashed the request paper at the guard. The guard skimmed over the paper before returning it to Meliodas.

“Hmm...I see. If you’re going to be doing the training, then it will be down that way at the royal barracks.” The guard said, pointing at a large white building at the edge of the courtyard.

The group walked towards the building. Upon getting closer, they realized just how massive the building actually was, with multiple stories and large windows that scaled all the way to the top. As they entered the main lobby of the building, they were greeted by a man Meliodas was somewhat familiar with. The man’s eyes widened upon seeing Meliodas.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted with a wave. ‘I think I remember seeing him when I had to go see the King.’ Meliodas thought.

The man gawked at Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily before regaining his composure. ‘Those three...The Blond Demon, Titania, and a cat…’

“I welcome you Fairy Tail, to Mercurius. I am Arcadios, Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron.” Arcadios said. “You three must be Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily. We’ve been informed of your arrival ahead of time.”

“So where are the people we’re training, Chief?” Meliodas asked.

“Over here.” Arcadios said, gesturing to the group to follow him. The Fairy Tail group followed Arcadios into a hallway leading to a set of doors. As they walked through the doors, they entered a massive hall with dozens of soldiers practicing their techniques on the various equipment scattered across.

“This is our training hall. Lately, our physical performance numbers have grown lower due to complacency. In addition, the incident with the escape of the Princess a few months ago made us reevaluate our policies and we realized how weak our army is.” Arcadios explained.

“I see where you’re going with this, but what reason did you have for going out of your way to hire a mage guild to help train your soldiers?” Erza asked.

“All I requested was that the Royal Family help me with my problem in getting my soldiers stronger. This method was their decision.” Arcadios answered.

“That reminds me, how is Hisui doing?” Meliodas asked.

“I suspect she’s the main reason for Fairy Tail being here. She did enjoy being in the company of your guild very much, despite the short time she was actually there.” Arcadios answered. “I believe she will be coming to spectate the training later, but there are no guarantees with that due to her busy schedule. However the Minister of Defense will most certainly be spectating.”

“Then we’ll do our best to train these soldiers.” Pantherlily added. Arcadios looked surprised at the talking cat.

“That reminds me, do any of you have any experience with training and teaching others?” Arcadios asked.

“I’ve trained fellow guild members before.” Erza answered.

“I was previously the Royal Army Captain of the 1st Magic War Division in Edolas.” Pantherlily answered. Arcadios raised an eyebrow at Pantherlily, surprised at his answer. ‘A Royal Army Captain? This cat? But what even is Edolas?’

“It’s a long story. I’m not from here.” Pantherlily explained. “And I didn’t always look like this.”

Pantherlily’s body suddenly began to grow, his short stature becoming taller and more muscular than even Arcadios.

“I-I see. That’s quite the form.” Arcadios commented. He glanced over at Meliodas, wondering what experience he would have.

“I’m in a similar situation with Pantherlily where I’m not from around here initially. But I did train the Holy Knights of both the kingdoms of Danafor and Liones.” Meliodas said. Arcadios could not hide the visible surprise on his face. ‘Danafor? Liones? Holy Knights? I’ve never heard of those. They don’t appear to be lying to me so they must have come from some foreign land.’ Arcadios furrowed his brow as he looked at Meliodas. ‘He looks youthful, but his physical appearance most likely doesn’t match his actual age, considering all of the things the council has said about him.’

“Well with all of that experience, teaching my soldiers should be easy.” Arcadios said, regaining his composure. He cleared his throat before shouting loudly.

“SQUADRON!”

“YES SIR!” The soldiers in the room yelled as they immediately stopped what they were doing and faced Arcadios.

“These three Fairy Tail mages will be training you. They may be mages, but they are all very skilled in swordsmanship and fighting. I expect you to treat them with the same respect as you would treat me. I will be at a Chief’s meeting with the other squadrons for the next couple of hours. That is all.” Arcadios said.

“Yes sir!” The soldiers responded.

Arcadios turned to the Fairy Tail group and nodded at them before walking out of the hall. Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily looked at the soldiers as the soldiers gawked awkwardly at them.

“So these are the guys that are going to train us this weekend?” One of the soldiers said silently.

“That cat looks scary.” Another soldier said, commenting on Lily still in his battle form.

“H-hey isn’t that Titania?! I can’t believe she’s here!” Another soldier said.

“T-the one in the middle. Isn’t he the Blond Demon?! I saw his poster before! He’s a lot less scary in person.”

Erza, Meliodas, and Pantherlily looked at each other and sighed.

“I don’t think these guys have a lot of real battle experience.” Meliodas commented as he glanced back at them, sizing them up.

“I suppose we’ll just have to train them like new recruits.” Pantherlily suggested.

“Leave it to me. I’ll break them and build them back up. And I know just how to do it.” Erza said with a determined gaze. Both Meliodas and Pantherlily took a step back as Erza stepped forward. She glared at the soldiers with a fierce gaze, with a few of the soldiers standing closer to her taking a step back.

“Quite the aura she gives off.” Pantherlily mentioned. Meliodas nodded his head in approval.

“Listen up Cherry Blossom Squadron! As of today, I will be your new instructor! I hear from Arcadios that you’ve all been slacking on your training. I will not allow for such behavior. You are all a part of the royal army so there is no room for mediocrity. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” Erza yelled, her voice echoing loudly throughout the training hall. The soldiers froze in place, dumbfounded and unable to respond.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” Erza yelled. The soldiers immediately snapped out of their daze and got into the position of attention.

“AYE SIR!”

Chapter Text

December 4, X784

Pantherlily watched in awe as Erza commanded the troops around. He looked towards Meliodas who was laughing at the situation.

“In order for you to protect Fiore, you must become stronger than you currently are!” Erza continued. “To do that you all need to experience an actual battle and not some lackluster friendly sparring. All of you come at me at once!”

The soldiers looked at each other, confused at Erza’s command.
“She’s seriously going to fight us?”

“All of us at once?!”

Erza glared at the soldiers once more, causing their chatter to stop.
“Did I stutter?!”

The soldier’s looked at each other once more before looking back at Erza who was standing firm in front of them with her arms crossed.

“AAAGGHHH!” One of the soldier’s yelled as he charged towards Erza. Shortly after, the others followed suite as they rushed towards Erza. A smile formed on Erza’s face.

“Good. The real training starts now.”
---

“Meliodas…” Pantherlily said as he and Meliodas sat at the side of the training hall watching Erza pummel down the soldiers.

“Hmm?” Meliodas asked.

“I feel like we should step in.” Pantherlily said.

“Nah. She’s just breaking them down.” Meliodas replied nonchalantly.

“Breaking them huh…”

The doors to the hall swung wide open as Arcadios walked back in. Behind him were, based on their attire, several other squadron chiefs.

“W-what’s going on?!” Arcadios exclaimed. He looked around the hall. He glanced at Meliodas who returned a friendly smile and a wave to him. Looking back to Erza, he saw dozens of his soldiers on the ground unconscious as Erza held the remaining two in her hands. Erza noticed Arcadios enter and placed the other two soldiers on the ground.

“Do not worry. This is all a part of the training.” Erza said reassuringly. The other chiefs behind Arcadios looked at her with awe.

“Arcadios what is going on here?” A short, old hunched man with big ears and hammer shaped eyebrows stepped in front of the group and faced Arcadios.

“This is the Fairy Tail group that the Royal Family sent to train the squadron.” Arcadios answered. The old man looked at the Fairy Tail group, specifically Meliodas. ‘So that’s the one who the princess kept going on about.’

“I see. I am Darton, the Minister of Defense.” The old man said as he looked at the Fairy Tail group. “I appreciate you all for coming here and taking the time to help train our army.”

“Of course.” Erza said proudly as she stood above the bodies of the unconscious soldiers.

“You see Arcadios, you’ve been too soft with your soldiers.” Darton said as he walked away with the other chiefs following right behind him.

“Well I suppose this is enough training for today. We’ll continue more tomorrow.” Erza said. The soldiers on the ground groaned in response.

---

The following morning, Arcadios walked outside to the courtyard. His eyes widened with surprise as he saw half of his squadron running around the outskirts carrying large logs.

“Honestly! Take a look at yourselves! You call yourselves the Royal Army?! Stop dragging your feet!” Erza yelled. The soldiers groaned as they carried the massive logs above their heads, running laps around the courtyard.

“Quite the training regimen you have going on.” Arcadios commented as he walked up to Erza. “By the way, I only see half my men here. Where are the rest.”

“To make training more efficient, I took command of the weakest half of your squadron based on how they fought against me yesterday. Meliodas and Pantherlily are in the training hall right now training up the other half.” Erza responded. Suddenly one of the soldiers fell on the ground nearby, dropping his log on the ground.

“I-I can’t do it anymore...please Chief...make her stop…” The soldier cried out.

“You again?!” Erza shouted as she glared at the fallen soldier. “I guess that’s as far as your determination goes. Are you really a soldier of the presteemed Cherry Blossom Squadron?!”

“I...I am a soldier of the Cherry Blossom Squadron!” The soldier said as he struggled to get back up on his feet.

“Then show me your guts! Do ten more laps with the log!” Erza shouted.

“Aye sir!” The soldier yelled as he stumbled over to his log. He picked it up back over his shoulder as he continued running.

“Impressive.” Arcadios said. “I guess I really have been too soft on these guys. Ever since the war of X781 we haven’t trained like this. I guess I’ll go check up on the other two then.”

---

Arcadios walked into the training hall and saw the rest of his soldiers all lined up in an orderly fashion of several rows and columns, standing evenly spaced apart. Each soldier held a sword in their hand as they swung downwards, performing a basic slash.

“How’s it going here?” Arcadios asked. Pantherlily, who was the closest to the entryway, noticed him.

“Based on what we saw of them fighting Erza, they need to work on their basics again. So we’re training them in just that. Meliodas and I are checking their form as they swing.” Pantherlily replied. Arcadios looked towards the squadron and saw Meliodas in front of one of his soldiers.

“No no. Your legs are too far apart.” Meliodas said. The soldier nodded and adjusted his legs and swung down in front of him again.

“Your shoulders are too stiff. You have to follow the movement all the way through.” Meliodas said. He reached for Mel Force and demonstrated his own sword swing for the soldier.

“A-ah I see.” The soldier said. He swung downwards once again.

“Hmm...better…” Meliodas said as he continued on to the next person.

---

Several more hours passed as Meliodas, Erza, and Pantherlily trained the soldiers. The group stood in the main hall of the barracks with Arcadios in front of them.

“After observing you three, I would say this was quite the successful training session.” Arcadios said.

“It was an honor to get the chance to train the Royal Army.” Erza replied.

“After helping with this training, I do kind of miss being a Captain.” Lily added in.

“Well I say it’s time to treat the soldiers out to some booze.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile. Arcadios smiled back at Meliodas.

“I suppose so. There is a bar just outside the castle that the soldiers frequent. We can all meet up there.” Arcadios said.

“That reminds me, I haven’t seen Hisui at all.” Meliodas commented. Arcadios flinched briefly at the casual mention of her name but shook it off.

“You’re right. I recall you saying she would also spectate the training.” Erza added in.

“I inquired about this with the higher ups earlier. It appears she is busy.” Arcadios mentioned. ‘The Royal Family may have acknowledged Meliodas’ strength, but even they don’t want to let the man who caused a nationwide emergency near her again for now.’

“Why don’t we head back into town then since the day’s just about over. The main branch of the Heart Kruz store is here. I’m curious as to what clothing designs they may have there and not in Magnolia.” Erza suggested with a hint of excitement in her voice.

“Well they do have nice clothing.” Meliodas commented, thinking back to his previous clothes he had bought when he first arrived that were all the “Heart Kruz” brand.

“And perhaps they have something in Lily’s size.” Erza said with a smile as she glanced over at Lily. Lily looked away, somewhat embarrassed.

“N-not like it will fit me anyway once I grow into my battle form.” Lily mentioned.

---

The Fairy Tail group walked through the bustling streets of Crocus, having now completed their mission by the Royal Army and with extra money in their pockets as Meliodas had split the money between himself and his group mates. The group walked around the main square, checking out the various stands set up selling food and other items.

“S-strawberry cake!” Erza yelled excitedly as she ran towards a dessert stand. Meliodas looked around with Lily at the other stands. One area of the square in particular caught his attention. It was a small table with a skinny young man who was around Meliodas’ size that was sitting behind it. The young man had black slicked back hair where a few strands fell over his face. He wore an oversized white tank top revealing his lanky arms and baggy black slacks. Behind that young man was another who wore a full black suit with his light brown hair parted to the right side.

“Come on down!” The man in the suit yelled as people gathered around the table. “How about a test of strength for some easy money! For a small entry fee of ten thousand jewels, you can win one hundred thousand jewels! All you have to do is beat my friend Lance here at arm wrestling. Simple enough right?” The suited man said as he gestured to the younger man sitting at the table. Lance gave the crowd a friendly grin as they all returned skeptical looks at him.

“Ten thousand jewels to win a hundred thousand? Sounds easy.” One of the people in the crowd commented.

“Seems like a scam to me.” Another one commented.

“H-hey I remember those two on a different side of the city yesterday. I think that young guy won fifty times in a row.”

“Hah I’ll beat him!” A large, bulky man stepped forward. He had a bald head and a bushy black mustache. He wore a black suit that was tight around his rotund gut. Despite his gut, his arms were quite muscular. On his way to the table, he dropped ten thousand jewels into the announcer’s hands.

The man sat down across from the younger man he was about to arm wrestle. He placed his right arm out on the table as Lance placed his right arm. They clasped hands as the announcer stood next to them..

“Who do you think will win?” Lily asked.

“Hmm...probably the smaller one.” Meliodas answered. “I suspect he’s hiding his true power.”

“It would appear so.” Lily commented.

“Ready…” The announcer yelled. ‘GO!”

The large bald man’s right arm sleeve immediately shredded apart, revealing his vascular bicep. He gripped hard on Lance’s hand as he tried to push down on it. Lance grunted as his arm was slowly pushed down.

“Gghhhh!!!” The bald man grunted as he pushed down with all of his might. To his surprise, he could not make Lance’s arm go down any further. ‘W-what's with this guy?!’ A look of panic became apparent on the bald man’s face. Lance grunted more as he began to push back, the bald man unable to oppose as the back of his hand slowly fell towards the table. To his dismay, Lance had managed to push the back of his hand fully onto the table.

“Winner!” The suited man yelled out. The bald man grumbled and walked away from the table.

“Are you kidding? That guy’s too strong!” A person in the crowd commented.

“That bald dude’s arm was twice the size of that kid’s head and he still lost!” Another person shouted out.

Meliodas looked at the arm wrestling station that was set up. He briefly thought about all of his bouts with Ban, and how many times he had won and lost against him. ‘I remember losing to Ban at Vaizel...but what was our score again?’

“Are you thinking about challenging that?” Lily asked, noticing Meliodas staring intently at the arm wrestling table.

“I don’t know yet. But you should try first. I think they’ll be really surprised to see your battle form.” Meliodas said with a cheeky grin.

“Hustle the hustlers? I guess I’ll give it a shot.” Lily said with a grin. He walked up to the table and hopped up on the chair across from Lance.

“Oi! Did someone lose their cat?!” The suited man yelled out to the crowd.

“I’m actually here to participate.” Lily replied. He placed ten thousand jewels on the table as the crowd, the suited man, and Lance all had a dumbfounded look on their face.

“Did that cat just talk?” Lance questioned.

“Well a challenger is a challenger.” The suited man said as he grabbed the jewels off the table. “But how are we going to set this up with the size difference. Anyone got a higher chair?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Lily said. His body began to grow, gaining a muscular human build as he grew in size. The spectators watched in shock and Lance’s eyes widened. A small smile formed in the corner of Lance’s mouth.

The two of the clasped hands with their elbows planted on the table. They both looked fiercely into each other’s eyes.

“Ready...Go!” The announcer yelled. An immense pressure was released from the two of them as Pantherlily pushed as hard as he could. Lance’s arm gave way slightly and started to get pushed back.

“Woah that buff cat man is winning!” A person shouted out.

“That’s what we thought last time, but then that bald guy still lost!” Another person shouted. The announcer looked nervously at the crowd. ‘This isn’t going as planned. We might have to move locations again.’

“Gggrraahhh!!” Pantherlily grunted as he pushed down on Lance’s hand. Just as Lance’s hand was about to touch the table, Lily felt an enormous pressure coming from Lance. Slowly, Lance pushed back, much to Pantherlily’s surprise.

“HAAAH!” Lance yelled as he slammed Pantherlily’s hand into the table.

“Winner!” The suited man yelled out. Lance let go of Pantherlily’s hand as Pantherlily reverted back into his regular form with a defeated look on his face.

“Hey that was really fun!” Lance said with a wide grin. Lily nodded at Lance before hopping off the seat and back to Meliodas.

“Hmm...he’s really strong.” Meliodas commented.

“I can’t believe I lost. As soon as he started pushing back, it felt like I was trying to move a mountain…” Lily said dejectedly. Meliodas patted Lily lightly on the head.

“Don’t worry I won’t tell Gajeel about this.” Meliodas said teasingly.

“So does anyone else want to test their strength?” The suited man continued. The crowd grew silent and looked at each other anxiously. ‘Dammit...they’re onto us. I think we might have to call it for today…’

“I’ll go!” Meliodas shouted.

Chapter Text

The crowd silently stared at Meliodas as he walked up to the table. Meliodas handed ten thousand jewels to the announcer and took a seat in front of Lance. The announcer stared awkwardly at Meliodas. As Meliodas sat down at the table, he looked at Lance with a friendly smile.

“Hey look at that blond guy’s arm!” A spectator called out. “That’s Fairy Tail’s mark!”

“Wait you’re right! Didn’t that giant cat man earlier have it on his back?!” Another crowd member exclaimed.

Lance stared wide eyed at Meliodas as Meliodas placed his right arm on the table. Lance looked towards the announcer with a nervous grin.

“Sorry Goodwin. But I gotta go all out for this one.” Lance said. Goodwin sighed but nodded at Lance.

“Well I don’t want to be down a hundred thousand jewels... so I suppose.”

Lance looked back towards Meliodas with a determined expression on his face. Meliodas looked at Lance with surprise as he felt a dense magic being exerted from Lance’s body. Suddenly Lance’s body began to grow, his lanky physique becoming quite muscular instead. He grasped firmly onto Meliodas’ hand.

“I can tell you’re strong and I don’t want to lose. So I’ll stop suppressing myself from now.” Lance said with a wide grin. Meliodas stared at his hand clasping Lance’s. Meliodas remembered how he last lost to Ban, despite the major power difference between the two with Meliodas being vastly stronger. Ban’s words echoed in his head. ‘When you play this, speed and spontaneity matter the most ♫.’

“Ready…” Goodwin said, with nervousness in his voice. ‘So Lance decided to blow our cover to reveal his actual strength...he must have sensed this guy must be strong.’

“Go!” Goodwin shouted. Without a chance to even blink, Goodwin fell backwards as Meliodas slammed down Lance’s arm through the table and into the ground, shattering the ground with a large crash. Rocks from the ground flew in the air as wood from the table splintered outward. The crowd immediately dispersed and fled the area in a panic.

Lance looked up at Meliodas in shock as he laid sprawled out on the ground, his right hand halfway buried into the solid stone. ‘He’s not just fast! He’s really strong!’

Meliodas shook his head quickly side to side, with bits and pieces of debris flying out from his hair. He looked down at Lance and offered a helping hand. Lance smiled at Meliodas and accepted his offer.

“Wow you’re strong. I didn’t expect to lose there to be honest.” Lance said with a lighthearted tone. “I knew you would be stronger than that black cat man earlier but this surprised me!”

“Well I do have a bit of experience arm wrestling.” Meliodas replied with a cheeky smile as he thought briefly about the hundreds of bouts he had with Ban throughout the years. He looked around and saw that him slamming the ground had scared away the crowd. In the distance, he could hear the sound of guards yelling getting closer to them.

“Was that an explosion?!” One of the guards yelled.

“It came from over there! Hurry!” Another shouted.

“We should get out of here. We’ll give you the money once we’re somewhere safe.” Goodwin said. Meliodas nodded and with Lily behind him, they quickly ran into a nearby alleyway.

Meliodas, Lily, Lance, and Goodwin moved to a quieter part of town away from the action. Goodwin pulled out the hundred thousand jewels and held it in his hand. He looked down at it and sighed as he handed Meliodas the money.

“Thanks!” Meliodas said with a grin.

“So what purpose did you guys have for trying to hustle people like that?” Lily asked.

“Oh that? Hahaha!” Lance laughed. “We’re not from here you see. We’re from the Pergrande Kingdom.”

“That far away?” Meliodas asked, recalling having seen a map of Ishgar when he arrived in this world. “That’s on the other side of the continent.”

“Well...things aren’t going well in Pergrande right now…” Goodwin added in a serious tone. “Especially with the Royal Family there. There’s some tension between them and a shady group of mages who showed up earlier this year. We felt some bloodshed was about to happen and we wanted nothing to do with it. So we left and wanted to go as far west as possible. Although…”

“We’re kinda short on money!” Lance laughed.

“Hence, we came up with this idea to make money. Lance is proficient in transformation magic so he changed his body to look quite fragile while also suppressing his magical presence. We would charge people ten grand for a hundred grand prize. We adjust our prices based on the financial situation of the towns. So far we’ve made over a million jewels with the few weeks we spent in Fiore.” Goodwin said.

“So far I’ve only lost twice since coming to Fiore.” Lance said braggadociously. “Once to you, and once to this drunk guy. He was slurring his words so I didn’t get his name but I think it started with a B?”

“Well regardless, you’re the second one to beat Lance in arm wrestling. By the way, I never caught either of you two’s names.” Goodwin said. “I’m Goodwin by the way.”

“And as you know, I’m Lance!” Lance said with a cheerful, wide grin.

“I’m Meliodas.” Meliodas greeted.

“I’m Pantherlily. You’re quite strong Lance.” Pantherlily commented.

“Well not as strong as Meliodas there. But that's to be expected. You guys are from Fairy Tail right? Even though we haven’t been here a long time, we hear that guild is really strong. Maybe even the strongest in Fiore.” Lance said.

“Well then, even with our loss today, we’ve accrued enough money from the past week here. If we stay any longer, the entire city will recognize us.” Goodwin said. His mood suddenly turned serious again as he looked at Meliodas and Lily. “And for you two, here’s a friendly tip. I recommend you stay away from Pergrande… Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting you both in this short time.”

“Likewise!” Meliodas responded.

“How about a rematch if we meet again? Not for any money of course but I won’t lose next time!” Lance exclaimed.

“The loser has to buy drinks then.” Meliodas said with a grin.

“Drinks? Well the last guy I lost to was pretty wasted when he beat me...is alcohol really the secret to having such insane strength?” Lance questioned with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Lance...you’re looking too much into this. Come on let’s get going.” Goodwin said.

Meliodas waved to Lance and Goodwin as they began walking down the road speaking to each other. Meliodas could barely make out what they were saying as they walked further away.

“So which way should we go, Goodwin? Caelum or find a boat to take us to Alakashita?” Lance asked.

Chapter Text

“It’s starting to get a bit late.” Lily said as he looked up at the clear sky. The stars were becoming visible at this time and the sun had just set, leaving the sky a dimly lit dark red.

“We should go find Erza. Do you remember where she ran off to?” Meliodas asked. He looked around the area of the city they were in. Wandering off with Lance and Goodwin had seemingly got them lost in this unfamiliar part of Crocus.

“I believe she went to a dessert stand back in the main square. Although by the looks of things, it seems most of the stands are starting to clean up now so I doubt she would still be there.” Lily responded.

“Well we did agree to go shopping at Heart Kruz. Hopefully they’re still open so we’ll meet her out front.” Meliodas said. He pulled out the brochure he snagged earlier when he had first arrived in the city, the brochure containing a map within. They were a few blocks away from the Heart Kruz Department Store. He looked up and beyond the buildings around him, he could see bright glowing lights in the distance coming from a building that stood a bit above the others.

“That must be it.”

---

“There you two are!” Erza shouted as Meliodas and Lily approached her at the entrance of the Heart Kruz store.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. We got a bit sidetracked.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile as he thought about the previous arm wrestling incident.

“Well I suppose the same thing happened to me. I couldn’t help myself when I saw those sweets…” Erza responded with a hint of embarrassment. She quickly shook off the embarrassment and looked at Meliodas and Lily suspiciously.

“And what were you two up to while I was away? I heard a loud crash while I was eating.”

“Oh don’t worry about that. We just made some quick money is all.” Meliodas said.

“So this is the Heart Kruz store?” Lily commented, changing the subject. He looked straight up at the building in front of them, unable to hide the awe written all over his face as he hadn’t seen any stores like this in Edolas. The building was five stories tall with the entire front portion being covered in glass displays showing various outfits as bright lights illuminated the entire area in front of them. There was a steady stream of people walking in and out of the glass doors in which the door handles were shaped into an “H” and “K.”

“It is. The largest in all of Fiore...and they’re open until 2 in the morning!” Erza exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. “I don’t mind shopping here all night!”

“Well we did get a sizable amount of money from this mission.” Lily commented. “What time do the trains stop departing from Crocus?”

“Latest I’ve seen was 10 p.m.” Meliodas said. He turned around and looked at the massive clock tower sticking out of one of the nearby buildings that read “10:30 p.m.”

“Well I guess we’ll just shop here for a few hours then go back to our hotel.” Meliodas commented.

“I suppose so.” Lily sighed. ‘What would I even buy. Do they have anything my size?’

“Then we’ll meet up at the hotel later!” Erza shouted enthusiastically as she ran right into the building, shoving aside several people who were walking through the door.

“I don’t think I’ve seen her this excited since I told her about Musica.” Meliodas commented.

Meliodas and Lily walked into the store and looked around. Meliodas could not hide the awe on his face. The inside of the store was unlike anything he had ever seen in a store since he had been in Fiore or in his time in Britannia.

At the bottom floor were rows of various stores all under the Heart Kruz name. “HK Suits, HK Swimwear, HK Bunny Outfits” were among those to name a few. At the center of the first floor was a large marbled fountain area with many seats to rest on that surrounded the flowing fountain illuminated by many lacrima. Behind that was what appeared to be a food court for the “Heart Kruz Kitchen.”

“So they even have their own restaurant.” Meliodas commented.

“I think there’s a battle gear store on the third floor. I would like to head up there.” Lily said as he read a map of the location posted on a sign nearby. Meliodas nodded in response.

“Sounds good. I’ll join you on that and-”

“Excuse me sir!” A woman’s voice shouted from Meliodas’ side. Meliodas looked to his left and saw a woman who appeared to be a store associate approaching him.

“You’re not allowed to bring your pets in the store without a leash!” The woman continued. Meliodas looked down at Lily and Lily shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh you mean Lily? He’s not my pet. He’s my emergency food.” Meliodas said sarcastically with a cheeky smile.

“WHAT?!” Lily exclaimed with a look of horror on his face.

“Did that cat just speak?!” The store associate questioned.

“I’m only kidding. But Pantherlily here is a member of Fairy Tail, just like me.” Meliodas said. He pointed to his bare right shoulder with the Fairy Tail marking. The woman looked curiously at the mark and turned to face Lily, who turned around and displayed it on his back.

“I-I see...well then please enjoy your time shopping here at Heart Kruz!” The woman said with a sudden change of tone, switching to a happier persona.

“We will!” Meliodas replied. Meliodas and Lily walked around the bottom floor a bit longer, looking for the stairs to the next floor. On the way, Meliodas paused in front of the Bunny Outfit store. ‘Hmm...this might be my only chance to get one for Elizabeth.’

“Lily! I’ll meet you on the third floor in a few minutes! There’s something I gotta get first!” Meliodas said as he ran into the store. Lily nodded with a look of confusion on his face. ‘Why would he need to go into a bunny suit store?’

---

A few minutes later, Meliodas met up with Lily on the third floor at the “HK Battle Gear” store. The two of them walked inside and found themselves surrounded by various armor and clothes on display.

“That one looks similar to the one Erza wears.” Lily said, pointing at one of the displays.

“Well she shops at Heart Kruz frequently. Although that one seems to have a sleeker design.” Meliodas commented. The two of them continued walking through, looking for something in Lily’s size. Suddenly, they were approached by one of the store associates.

“Welcome to HK Battlegear! Is there anything you two are looking for in particular?” The associate asked.

“Something that fits my friend Lily here.” Meliodas said, pointing to Pantherlily. The store associate stared at Pantherlily for a few moments.

“Aisle five. You might find something that suits his size.” The store associate said.

“Thanks.” Pantherlily said, much to the associate’s surprise. Meliodas walked away with Pantherlily towards the aisle, looking at various other clothing on display on the way there.

---

Several hours passed and Meliodas and Pantherlily sat at the food court. Meliodas sunk his knife into a large cut of steak and cut a piece for himself while Lily sat across the table, slurping on a large smoothie.

“What flavor did you get?” Meliodas asked.

“The menu said “Heart Kruz Royale.” I don’t quite know what that means but I do taste a lot of different fruits in this.” Lily said before taking another slurp of the smoothie. “And I must say it’s quite good.”

Meliodas took another bite of the juicy steak and looked around. The store was beginning to empty out compared to earlier and a steady stream of customers walked out the door.

“Looks like they’re closing soon.” Meliodas commented. “I wonder where Erza is.”

“By the way, what outfit did you buy? I didn’t get the chance to see you try it on.” Pantherlily asked. He looked towards the bag sitting on the ground at Meliodas’ side.

“Something that reminded me of home.” Meliodas commented. He reached into the bag and pulled out a long sleeved high collared white tunic. The collar was a red color with adjustable strings hanging down from each side. On the sleeves were golden colored signature cross symbols of Heart Kruz.

“My clothes get destroyed a lot in battle so I thought it was time for another look.” Meliodas said. “I got a few more in the bag.”

“You do lose your clothes a lot. If I recall, you were shirtless when I met you in Edolas and shirtless after the fight against Doryu.” Lily said.

“I think I might be becoming like Gray.” Meliodas responded with a light laugh. “By the way, what did you get?”

“I got a few more pants.” Lily responded.

“There you two are!” Erza shouted from across the food court. Meliodas and Lily turned their heads to see Erza carrying dozens of large bags filled with clothes and various other goods.

“That’s a lot of stuff you got there.” Lily commented, looking at the sheer number of bags filled with clothes.

“They have clothes and armor here that is not for sale in Magnolia! Limited time only!” Erza said enthusiastically.

“Well this place is about to close soon. Shall we head to the hotel and wait for the next train?”

Chapter Text

December 5th X784

Meliodas, Lily, and Erza sat in one of the booths of the train, with Meliodas sitting next to the window as Erza and Lily sat across from him. The train they were on was on their way to Clover Town instead of Magnolia Town as Meliodas had previously promised them a visit to Musica.

“So I finally get to meet Musica…” Erza said with a visibly nervous look on her face. Lily looked at her, somewhat surprised at her attitude.

“I haven’t been in Earthland very long, but I’ve heard stories about this Musica person...that he is the “Legendary Blacksmith.” Lily said. “I believe Edolas had someone similar.”

“Hmm...now that I think of it, it must have been Edolas Musica who crafted Erza Knightwalker’s spear.” Meliodas mused, thinking back to Erza’s Ravelt with its “Mel Force” form.

“I’ve never seen Erza get this nervous over meeting a person. How is this “Legendary Blacksmith” as a person?” Lily inquired as he looked at Erza, who was in an uncharacteristically nervous wreck.

“Well my first impression was that he seems like your average cranky old man. But he has a good taste in booze and makes really good swords. My Mel Force was forged by him. But even in his old age, he’s not just a master blacksmith, but also a master swordsman.” Meliodas replied, thinking back to his sparring session with Musica.

“That’s impressive.” Lily commented.

“I heard he only crafts swords for those who he deems worthy.” Erza added in.

“Well he did test me with a sparring session. So you guys will probably have to fight him before he makes anything for you.” Meliodas said.

“Then I will give it my all!” Erza said with a determined expression, her nervousness now gone.

---

A couple of more hours passed by as the group got off the train. Meliodas, Erza, and Lily walked into the forest east of Clover Town. They approached a small house in the middle of a clearing with a blacksmith’s forge right in front of it, still lit dimly by burning embers.

“So this is the place…” Erza said with a wide eyed expression as she looked around.

“Musica!” Meliodas shouted. There was a moment of silence before an old man stepped out of the house. His eyes widened as he saw Meliodas and he immediately ran towards the group.

“Meliodas?!” Musica exclaimed.

“Well, well, well. It’s been a while hasn’t it, old man?” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile.

“Hah! I hope you’re not here because you broke Mel Force!” Musica shouted.

“Actually, I want you to meet my friends.” Meliodas responded, gesturing toward Erza and Lily. Musica raised an eyebrow looking at them.

“Oh so the famous Titania has come to visit? After Meliodas left, I was wondering when I would eventually see you as well.” Musica said.

“It is an honor to meet you.” Erza said with a stiff expression while bowing her head.

“Well you’re quite polite compared to when I met Meliodas for the first time. He would not leave me alone until I agreed to make him a sword!” Musica laughed. He turned his attention to Lily.

“Don’t tell me this cat is also a swordsman?”

“My name is Pantherlily. I am a swordsman as well.” Lily replied, much to Musica’s surprise.

“You don’t see a talking cat every day…” Musica commented. “I’m guessing Meliodas told you both about how amazing my swords are and that you wish to get some forged by me?”

Both Lily and Erza nodded in response. A small smile formed on Musica’s face.

“Then you both should also know that I must deem you worthy as a proper swordsman. In this world of mages, the art of fine swordsmanship has been lost and tainted by an overreliance on magic. I’m not looking for a mage who wields a sword. I’m looking for a true swordsman. So...which one of you would like to fight me first?”

Musica looked towards both Pantherlily and Erza, waiting for an answer. Pantherlily glanced over to Erza and noticed her stiff expression as she muttered something anxiously under her breath.

“I’ll fight first.” Lily said as he raised his hand.

“Very well. You don’t appear to have a sword on you so I will let you borrow one of mine. Although I don’t think I have one that is quite your size.” Musica said.

“Any sword will do. This is not the form I will be fighting you in.” Lily said as his body began to grow, taking the form of a large muscular humanoid cat. Musica nodded and turned back around, gesturing to the group to follow him.

As they walked towards the back end of the house, Meliodas lightly hit the back of Erza’s head with a small chop, snapping her out of her daze.

“Erza you there?” Meliodas said, having noticed her stiff expression for the entire duration of the meeting.

“O-oh!” Erza gasped as she snapped out of her daze. She looked over at Musica and Lily who were walking towards an empty plot of land with no grass.

“Something the matter?” Meliodas asked.

“It’s just that meeting the legendary Musica has been a dream of mine and I can’t believe he’s right there in front of me. Thanks for snapping me out of it Meliodas. I will falter no longer!” Erza said as she clenched her fist in front of her, her eyes ablaze with fierce determination. Meliodas nodded and looked back towards Lily and Musica.

Musica walked over to a sword stand nearby with several blades of different shapes and sizes mounted on it.

“Which one do you want to use?” Musica asked.

“I’ll take the broadsword.” Lily said. Musica nodded and picked up a broadsword from the stand along with a one handed sword. He walked over to Lily who was standing in the middle of the clearing and handed him the broadsword. Lily grasped the sword firmly in his hands, admiring the craftsmanship.

“When you’re done gawking at my brilliant work, we can begin.” Musica said. “If you manage to disarm or draw blood from me, I’ll craft you a sword. Although it won’t quite be free of charge as I did with Meliodas as materials are starting to get a bit expensive now.”

“That’s fine with me.” Lily said as he held the broadsword out in front of him. Musica responded by taking a relaxed sword stance with his sword facing the ground and his right side to Lily.

“I only have one rule. No magic. This is pure swordsmanship.” Musica said. “Come at me whenever you want.”

Lily stared at Musica with surprise as he looked at his stance. He was seemingly leaving himself wide open as he stood in a relaxed stance out in the open field. Lily remained standing still as he had an uneasy feeling in his gut, a feeling that if he were to charge straight in, he would lose that trade.

With his sword up in front of him, Lily slowly walked closer to Musica as he circled around him. Musica smiled as his eyes followed Lily. Lily suddenly charged forward, winding his sword back to swing it at Musica. Musica quickly jabbed forward at Lily with his own sword. To Musica’s surprise, Lily quickly stepped back before charging in once again.

‘A feint to see how I would react and to gauge my attacking distance. Not bad.’ Musica thought as Pantherlily swung his sword down at Musica. Musica jumped to the side, narrowly dodging the blade as it crashed into the ground, cracking the ground as a large smoke screen of dust was lifted up.

Musica noticed the dust cloud shift in the corner of his right eye. He immediately jumped back as Lily swung his blade at him once again. Musica landed on the ground outside of the dust cloud and stared intently at the cloud.

From inside, he could see Lily’s hulking figure charging straight at him. Lily swung his sword once again at Musica. To Lily's surprise, Musica raised his own sword to block at an angle, causing Lily’s sword to parry off to the side and hit the ground next to Musica. Musica whistled with a look of amazement on his face as Lily’s sword cracked the ground beneath their feet. Musica quickly jumped into the air, and over Lily's shoulder. He swiftly cut at Lily’s arm, causing a small amount of blood to drip out.

Lily looked at his arm in shock as blood dripped down. ‘I-I lost…’

“Not bad.” Musica said as he sheathed his sword. “Your power is certainly impressive. You wield that heavy greatsword as if it's as light as a feather. You seem to understand the basics of swordsmanship as I have no major corrections to make to your form and your battle instincts are passable.”
“Thank you for allowing me the chance to fight you.” Lily said as he bowed his head. ‘I see why Meliodas was speaking so highly of him. I could barely track his sword swings and he could read me perfectly…’

“Now then…” Musica turned his attention to Erza, who was watching them intently. “I believe it’s your turn.”

---

Chapter Text

Erza and Musica stood facing each other in the middle of the field as Meliodas and Lily watched from the sides.

“Musica is certainly skilled.” Lily commented. “I’m curious how well Erza will do against him.”

“He’s actually a bit stronger and faster than when I had last met him.” Meliodas said.

“You might have inspired him to train harder, even in his old age.” Lily responded with a smile as he looked back over at Musica.

“If I’ve heard correctly, you fight with multiple armors and swords, adapting to different styles of swordsmanship to fight, is that correct?” Musica asked.

“That is correct.” Erza responded.

“In that case, would you like to fight me using one of your swords or one of my own?” Musica asked.

“I will fight you with my own swords.” Erza answered resolutely.

“As you know, you will not be allowed to use magic in our fight. I suggest you summon every sword you wish to use ahead of time.” Musica said.

“Then I will fight you with my best.” Erza said, her body glowing as she requipped herself into her Clear Heart clothing. In her right hand she held the Demon Blade Benizakura. A look of interest formed on Musica’s face as he looked at the blade Erza held. ‘That is quite the sword,’ Musica thought.

Musica held his blade out in front of him as Erza did the same, the two staring each other down as they stood several meters across from each other in the field. Several moments passed in silence as the two stared at each other.

‘I can tell just by looking at her. This woman will be different from Pantherlily. I’ll have to fight her with the mentality as if I’m fighting Meliodas.’ Musica thought as he tightened his grip on his sword.

Both Erza and Musica suddenly vanished from their spots, reappearing in the middle of the field with a loud clang. Sparks flew as Erza and Musica unleashed a flurry of slashes at each other.

“T-they’re evenly matched…” Lily commented, his eyes wide open as he watched the two of them clash swords.

“Well...not quite.” Meliodas said. Lily gave Meliodas a puzzled look.

“Erza has an upper hand in physical strength. But Musica has the upper hand in reflexes. He’s just trying to gauge Erza’s rhythm before counter attacking.” Meliodas continued.

“Your power and precision are fantastic!” Musica shouted as he and Erza continued rallying slashes back and forth. “Who taught you how to fight like this?”

“I’m self taught.” Erza replied as she and Musica clashed blades once more, this time with both of them rebounding from the strike and jumping back.

“S-self taught?!” Musica exclaimed. ‘This young woman has a lot of potential. If she continues training, her skill will surpass mine in no time.’

“Very well, I will give you the same test I gave to Meliodas.” Musica said as he took a defensive stance. “Try and break through.”

“Oh, he’s using that already?” Meliodas commented.

“Using what?” Lily asked.

“Just wait and see.”

Erza leapt forward from her spot at blinding speed towards Musica. As she got within striking range, she swung her blade, a low horizontal swing towards Musica’s midsection. Just as the blade was about to hit Musica, Musica’s arm moved like a blur, and her sword was knocked back.

‘What was that?!’ Erza thought as she recovered from the counter. She swung her blade once again, only for her strike to get parried. Erza continued on, swinging her sword even faster as she tried to adapt to Musica’s speed.

Erza suddenly jumped up into the air, swinging down several times at Musica as she soared over him to the other side as Musica parried each of her strikes.

The instant she landed on the ground, Musica suddenly jumped in and unleashed a quick horizontal slash at Erza. Erza quickly raised her blade in front of her as she was sent flying backwards, crashing into the rack of swords sitting at the edge of the field. She fell to the ground and the swords from the rack fell and scattered as well.

“Hmm...you adapted to my speed quite fast.” Musica commented.

Erza slowly got up from the ground where swords were scattered around her. She tucked back a strand of hair that fell over her face and looked at Musica with determination. She crouched over, picking up one of the swords that was on the ground and held it in her right hand.

“Oh dual wielding now? I’ll allow it.” Musica commented.

Erza leaped forward towards Musica as Musica prepared himself to counter her attacks. Erza swung one blade after the other, unleashing a relentless assault on Musica as Musica continued to parry each attack.

‘She’s very good at dual wielding. If I continue to stay on the defensive like this, she’ll tire me out. My body at this age doesn’t work like it used to...’ Musica thought as he suddenly changed stances. Erza noticed the shift and immediately jumped back, only for Musica to quickly follow her as he placed his blade to the side as if he had sheathed it.

“Charge Stance: Final Cut.”

Erza’s eyes widened as she could not see the speed of which the blade was drawn. She raised both swords in front of her in a cross shape as a loud clanging sound rang through the air, followed by a gust of wind from the slash. Erza remained standing firm as she was launched backwards, sinking her feet into the ground for leverage and leaving trails of disheveled dirt in her wake.

“I didn’t expect you to be able to block a sword slash at that speed. I still haven’t been able to disarm or draw blood from you.” Musica mused.

Erza remained standing in place, breathing heavily as she held the two swords out in front of her. ‘I couldn't see the blade at the speed that he slashed me at. The fact that I’m still standing here able to continue with his challenge was pure luck that I raised my blades at the right spot. If he had struck any higher or lower, I would have lost already…’

“Why don’t we continue?” Musica asked. Erza nodded as she remained in her firm stance.

“Hmm...I don’t remember Musica using that move on me.” Meliodas commented out loud. Musica heard the comment and smiled at Meliodas.

“Well, you broke through the first stance so I had no need to show you the second one.” Musica responded. “Although, you of all people probably wouldn’t have had too much of a problem blocking or dodging it.”

Musica focused his attention back on Erza. Erza remained completely still with her guard up yet she closed her eyes. Musica could feel a strange pressure in the air and immediately got into his defensive stance.

Suddenly, Erza seemingly vanished from the spot she was standing in, reappearing in front of Musica. She unleashed a quick flurry of slashes towards Musica, to which Musica blocked each one with his blade. ‘She’s getting faster. She’s really adapting to my sword speed.’

Musica jumped back away from Erza, switching stances once again.

“Final Cut!”

As Musica swung his sword quickly from its sheathing point. His eyes widened as Erza stood her ground blocking the slash with her two blades as a loud clang echoed through the field with the sound of metal hitting metal. The force reverberated through the blades, causing Erza to let go of them.

“A disarm?!” Lily exclaimed. Meliodas remained silent as he looked at Erza, curious as to what she would do next.

Erza suddenly leaned backwards, rotating her body into a handstand as she caught the two blades between her toes. Musica’s eyes widened as he realized what she was about to do. ‘She can’t be serious?!’

Erza slashed at Musica, swinging down her left foot holding the blade as if kicking, following up with another slash with the other blade as she spun her body around. Musica parried the slashes but stared at her wide eyed at what she was doing.

“Well, well, well. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone do that before.” Meliodas commented enthusiastically.

“It’s almost as if she’s dancing!” Lily exclaimed.

Musica leaned back and raised his blade up as Erza’s blades clashed with his own. From his position, he suddenly jumped up into the air. Erza looked up and switched her swords back to her hands before jumping after him. Erza’s eyes widened as Musica seemingly vanished from her sight, reappearing behind her with his sword out in front of him.

“H-hey hold on isn’t that-” Lily gasped as he glanced at Meliodas.

“Not quite. But it’s not bad considering that I’ve only used it once against him.” Meliodas said, recalling his first fight against Musica.

The sound of swords clashing multiple times rang through the air in that instant as both Erza and Musica landed on the ground. A small drop of blood dripped down Erza’s bare shoulder as she and Musica stood with their backs facing each other.

“All those slashes and I could only land one on you.” Musica laughed, sheathing his sword in the process.

“That technique you did just now…” Erza commented.

“Meliodas did that to me once in our first skirmish and completely broke through my defense. I tried replicating it but I can’t match the speed of his swings.” Musica responded as he hunched over slightly. “That and my back is killing me…I’m too old for this…” Musica mumbled.

“Well regardless of the results, I’m quite satisfied with both you and Pantherlily.” Musica continued, straightening up his posture again. Both Erza and Lily looked at him, surprised.

“But we didn’t pass your trial.” Lily responded.

“Well I never said I wouldn’t craft swords for you two if you didn’t pass now did I?” Musica said with a small grin.

The group moved back to the front of Musica’s house by the forge. Musica pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil as they gathered around a table.

“Now, tell me what kind of swords you would like.”
---

Chapter Text

December 8, X784

From the bar, Meliodas watched as the guild hall was filled to the brim with people standing in front of the main stage. Meliodas took one last gulp from his mug of ale before hopping off the barstool and walked over to the large, rowdy crowd.

“What’s all the commotion about?” Lily asked.

“Heh, beats me.” Gajeel responded.

“Apparently the master has a very important announcement to make.” Wendy added in. Around them, the guild grew louder with more guild members commenting on the situation as they joined in the ground. Meliodas looked around and saw Natsu at one corner of the crowd fidgeting in place and twitching as he looked around anxiously.

“Natsu calm down!” Happy exclaimed.

“Yeah! This tension is MANly!” Elfman interjected. Carla gave him a perplexed look in response.

“That made no sense…” Carla commented.

The curtains on the stage opened up, revealing Makarov standing between both Erza and Mirajane. The crowd grew even more restless as they cheered excitedly.

“Yeah finally!”

“It’s about time! Hurry up and announce it!”

“As part of Fairy Tail’s long standing custom…I WILL ANNOUNCE THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE S-CLASS PROMOTION TRIAL!” Makarov shouted enthusiastically causing the crowd to break their silence and cheer.

“I'm all fired up!” Natsu shouted.

“This year, the venue for the trial will be at Fairy Tail’s Holy Ground, Tenrou Island!” Makarov declared. “I have seen the strength, heart, and soul of each of you this past year and now I am proud to announce the nine participants this year!” Makarov continued.

“Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, Cana Alberona, Freed Justine, Levy McGarden, Mest Gryder, and Meliodas! You all have exactly one week to prepare!”

“Woah this roster looks intense!” One of the guild members in the crowd yelled out.

“Hey hold on, didn’t Meliodas defeat Laxus already?” Another one of the guild members commented.

“I heard Meliodas was a candidate for one of the Ten Wizard Saints.” A guild member said.

The crowd continued their conversation, growing louder and louder. Makarov cleared his throat loudly again, prompting the guild to quiet down before he continued talking.

“Since there are some newbies here, Erza and Mira will explain the rules.” Makarov gestured towards them and nodded at Mira.

“Within this week you have to prepare, you each must select a partner.” Mirajane said.

“There are two rules to follow when selecting your partner. The first is they must be a member of Fairy Tail. Second, they cannot already be an S-Class mage.” Erza continued.

“The details of the exam will be revealed after your arrival to Tenrou Island. But this time, Erza will attempt to block you all from proceeding.” Makarov said.

“I will also be participating this time.” Mirajane added in with a friendly smile and a wave, much to the shock of other mages in the guild.

“So no one can become S Class unless they beat Erza and Mira?!” Lucy exclaimed as several other members voiced their complaints. Meliodas thought about having to fight either one of them. He was familiar with Erza’s magic and her swordplay, having sparred with her between missions frequently but he had not fought Mirajane at all or seen her magic for that matter. All he had heard about her was her previous nickname as “The Demon.”

“That’s enough whining. This is the path that all the S rank mages have to take.” Gildarts added in as he approached the stage from the side.

“Woah Gildarts is participating too?! I wanna fight him!” Natsu shouted excitedly.

“The chosen eight will take their partners with them and assemble at Hargeon Port in the morning in exactly one week. That is all!” Makarov finished.

The crowd dispersed from the area, continuing their chatter about the trials and who would win while Meliodas sat back down on the bar. He ordered a drink from Mirajane and gulped it down as he watched the other guild members scramble around.

“Ahh that hit the spot!” Meliodas said, feeling refreshed. “Another one please!”

“You seem pretty relaxed about this. Have you thought about who your partner will be yet?” Mirajane asked.

“Hmm…” Meliodas pondered. “Haven’t thought about it all that much.”

“Well with your strength, I think finding someone willing to partner with shouldn’t be a problem. People are already assuming you’re going to win this one.” Mirajane said as she refilled Meliodas’s mug.

“Well I think they’re overlooking some aspects of this trial. I think there may be more than power that’s required to get through this.” Meliodas commented before gulping down another mug of ale.

“Anyway, I think I should find a partner for this.” Meliodas said as he placed the mug on the table. “Thanks for the drinks Mira!”

“Anytime Meliodas!” Mirajane said with a friendly smile. Meliodas got up from his seat and walked towards the main dining area. He scanned the tables looking for people as a potential partner. ‘Hmm...Wendy’s not here. That’s a shame. Her enchantments were pretty useful.’ Melidoas thought, remembering when Wendy had healed his injuries back in Edolas in addition to powering him up greatly against Dorma Anim. He continued scanning the room until he saw Lily approaching him.

“Yo Lily!” Meliodas greeted.

“Meliodas, did you find a partner yet?” Lily asked. Meliodas shook his head.

“I was originally looking for Wendy but she’s not here so I guess someone else already got her as a partner.” Meliodas replied.

“I see. I could be your partner if you would like. Although with your strength, I don’t know how helpful I could be.” Lily commented. Meliodas bent over and patted Lily on the head, much to the black cat’s surprise.

“Sure, the more the merrier!” Meliodas said with a large grin.

“What?! You can’t take Lily!” Gajeel shouted from across the hall as he walked towards Meliodas and Lily.

“Well maybe you should have gotten selected.” Meliodas said teasingly with a cheeky grin as Gajeel got closer.

“H-Hey there are reasons I can’t tell you as to why I can’t join in on this! I’ve done some good for this guild!” Gajeel retorted, somewhat flustered as Lily snickered.

“Meliodas, if you don’t mind, would you care for a sparring match?” Lily asked.

“I don’t mind. Let’s take it outside.” Meliodas said.

“I learned a lot after that fight with Musica, and I’ll show you just how much I’ve improved!” Lily said confidently.

Chapter Text

December 15, X784

Meliodas and Lily arrived at Hargeon Port. Meliodas looked around and saw the other participants lined up.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted. He looked around at the rest of the dock. “The Master is not here yet?”

“I hope he arrives soon.” Lucy commented. “This waiting around is making me even more nervous.”

Meliodas noticed Cana standing next to Lucy and staring off at the ocean. Cana looked more serious than her normal self. Meliodas requipped a bottle of white wyvern ale into his hand and approached Cana with the drink in hand.

“How about a drink?” Meliodas offered in an amicable tone. Cana looked back at Meliodas coldly.

“Not now.” Cana said before turning and walking away. Meliodas looked at her with a puzzled expression, surprised at someone like Cana turning away a drink.

“I wonder what’s wrong.” Meliodas commented to himself. “Did she not like this kind of ale?”

“Perhaps the nerves of this trial are getting to her.” Lily suggested. Lucy looked at both Meliodas and Lily and sighed as she couldn’t tell them the real reason behind Cana’s attitude.

“Meliodas! Fight me!” Natsu shouted as he ran towards Meliodas. Meliodas turned around and saw the dragon slayer running towards him.

“We haven’t even started the trial yet, Natsu!” Lucy exclaimed. Suddenly a large hand grabbed Natsu, keeping him still and placing him back on the ground away from Meliodas.

“Oh good, the Master’s here!” Levy commented.

“Natsu there will be plenty of time for fighting once we get to the island.” Makarov said, causing Natsu’s eyes to light up with excitement. Makarov walked towards the boat and jumped up on one of the wooden guard rails at the side. The rest of the participants gathered around and looked up at Makarov.

“As you all know, today is the beginning of the S Class Mage Promotion Trials.” Makarov said. “There isn’t much to brief about the rules yet, but don’t fight on the boat and please stay on it. I’ll explain more as we get closer. There’s a board on the ship that explains a few more safety rules so read up on that. That is all for now.”

The group boarded the boat and spread themselves out amongst the top deck. Meliodas wandered around the top deck as Lily went to go find Gajeel. As the boat began to set sail, he noticed Natsu already hanging over the side. He walked over to Natsu and patted him on the back.

“Natsu hang in there! We haven’t even set sail yet!” Happy exclaimed.

“Ughh...where’s Wendy…” Natsu mumbled. Meliodas walked away from the two of them and looked towards the bow of the deck. He walked up to Gray and a young man with spiky orange hair who were also relaxing there.

“Hey what’s up Meliodas.” Gray greeted.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted back with a small wave. He looked over to the orange haired man. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Meliodas.”

“I’m Loke. I’ve seen you around a bit.” Loke greeted.

“Speaking of people I don’t remember seeing.” Meliodas said as he pointed to a lean built man with short black hair, emerald turquoise eyes, and thin eyebrows. He had three distinct scars on his face and wore a pinstriped jacket with an alternating red and orange pattern. The man noticed Meliodas pointing towards him and immediately looked away.

“I feel like he’s been watching me this entire time.” Meliodas said.

“Oh that’s Mest. He’s uhh…” Gray scratched his head as he tried to remember something about Mest. “I don’t know much about him but he’s in the guild I guess.”

“I can’t seem to remember much about him either…” Loke mentioned. “Perhaps he sees you as a threat in this trial and he’s trying to size you up. From what I’ve heard, you’re quite strong.”

“But that doesn’t mean we’ll lose to you.” Gray said with a grin. Meliodas smiled back at the two of them but couldn’t shake off a suspicious feeling about Mest.

“Speaking of forgetting things, where did your clothes go Gray?” Meliodas asked, pointing to Gray’s nearly nude body, as he was only wearing his underwear.

“Dammit!” Gray yelled as he picked up the clothes he had unconsciously stripped on the floor around him.

“I could have sworn you had clothes on at the start of this conversation.” Loke commented.

---

A few hours passed since the boat set sail. Meliodas sat down at a table on the main deck, next to Gajeel and Lily. The weather on the boat was particularly hot, causing most people on board to be very uncomfortable. Meliodas glanced at Gajeel and saw that he was starting to sweat.

“Why is it so hot!” Lucy exclaimed as she leaned back in her chair. As she leaned back, she noticed Meliodas relaxing while drinking from a mug of ale.

“How are you not bothered by this weather?” Lucy asked. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders in response.

“Nothing like a glass of cold ale to cool me off I guess.” Meliodas responded.

“Okay...but you’re not even sweating...like at all!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Hey I can see the island!” Loke shouted. Meliodas turned his attention to the front of the boat and got up from his seat. He walked up next to Loke to see what he was pointing out. There he saw a lone island in the middle of the ocean. It was covered in lush vegetation and had large rock formations jutting out. In the middle of the island, was an enormous tree that appeared to hold up another smaller island above it.

“Woah, so that’s Tenrou Island.” Gray commented.

“It’s an island on an island?!” Lucy exclaimed in surprise.

“That island looks MANLY!” Elfman yelled.

“It is said that fairies used to live on this island.” Makarov added in from behind them. Everyone immediately turned to face Makarov, who was standing above them on a wooden rail at the center of the ship.

‘Fairies?’ Meliodas thought as an image of King popped into his head. ‘I haven’t ran into any here yet. I wonder what fairies look like in this world.’

“And Fairy Tail’s first master Mavis Vermillion sleeps there.” Makarov continued. “But now I will now announce the details of the first exam. Everyone look toward the beach.” Makarov said as he pointed at the island. The Fairy Tail mages immediately turned around and looked at the island. There they saw a small trail of smoke coming from the beach.

“See that smoke? Head there first. There are nine paths there. Only one group can enter each path. And here’s what waits for you behind each path.” Makarov gestured with his hand and a magical interface appeared next to him. The interface showed a map of the paths and where they lead. Makarov explained the paths to the participants as they looked at the diagram. There were nine paths in total, with paths 1, 4, and 9 leading to a “Hard Battle” with an S class mage. Paths 2 and 3, 5 and 6, 7 and 8 were paths that lead towards a battle between the two paths.

“Your goals in this first exam are “Power” and “Luck.” Makarov finished.

“Luck?!” Several of the guild members shouted in disbelief. Meliodas stared at the board as he finished drinking from his mug of ale. Lily approached him and stood next to him.

“Do you have a particular path in mind you plan on going through?” Lily asked.

“Hmm…” Meliodas looked intently at the diagram. “Fighting the S class mages would be fun. I’ve seen what Erza is capable of and she’s impressive. Also, I’ve never seen Mira in battle.”

“I hear that your nickname is “The Blond Demon” and Mira’s is “The Demon.” Lily commented. “It would be interesting to see you two fight.”

“I think the biggest challenge would be Gildarts.” Meliodas added.

“I don’t know much about Gildarts, but from what I’ve heard around the guild in the short time I’ve been here, there’s a lot of debate as to whether you or him are stronger.” Lily said.

“I’m not sure about that, but I don’t think that matters too much. This is the S class trial after all. Raw power alone isn’t the only prerequisite to pass this. I need “luck” too.” Meliodas said with a grin.

“I suppose you’re right.” Lily replied with a smile back.

“THE EXAM STARTS NOW!” Makarov shouted.

“But... we’re still in the ocean?” Gray questioned.

“Let’s go Happy!” Natsu shouted confidently. He jumped up high into the air with a large grin on his face as Happy picked him up.

“Aye sir!” Happy shouted. Lily watched Natsu and Happy take off and immediately jumped up with his wings spread.

“Meliodas we should-”

Meliodas shook his head and pointed at the edge of the ship. Lily’s eyes widened as he looked to where Meliodas was pointing. There he saw runes written on the wood that surrounded the entire ship. He looked back up in the sky and saw Natsu and Happy slam into a seemingly invisible wall as runes began to rise up the walls.

“How long have those been there?!” Lily questioned.

“Since the ship set sail.” Meliodas replied nonchalantly, much to Lily’s surprise. In the distance, Meliodas could see Freed and Bickslow already flying towards the island.

“Don’t worry, it will disappear in five minutes!” Freed shouted back towards the ship. As the other members on board expressed their displeasure, Meliodas began to walk to the lower deck.

“Where are you off to?” Lily asked.

“Well if we’re gonna be stuck here for five minutes, then there's nothing I can do about it. I’m gonna go get another mug of ale.” Meliodas replied with a cheeky smile. Lily shook his head but couldn’t help smiling at Meliodas’ attitude.

“That’s just like you.” Lily commented.

Exactly five minutes passed as Meliodas returned to the top of the deck. He looked around and saw several members were already gone.

“While you were gone, it looks like both Evergreen and Levy were able to rewrite the rune scripts and leave on their own.” Lily commented.

“Let’s go Happy!” Natsu shouted as he and Happy jumped into the air.

“They got the right idea, let’s go!” Lily said as he jumped up into the air. Meliodas followed suit and wings of darkness sprouted from his back. To Lily’s surprise, Meliodas grabbed onto him before taking off, rapidly and passing by both Natsu and Happy.

“What the hell?!” Natsu yelled as Meliodas grinned at the two of them while flying by.

“Happy go faster!”

“Aye Sir!”

---

In no time at all, Meliodas and Lily arrived on the island. As they landed on the island, Meliodas’ eyes widened. He could feel the island overflowing with vast magical power. He looked ahead at the paths. The paths were separated into caves in the cliffside. Several of the paths were already closed off, indicating a team had gone into them.

“Which one should we take?” Lily asked.

“Well we don’t know where they lead. Let’s just pick that one and go.” Meliodas said as he pointed to one of the paths. Lily nodded and the two of them ran into the cave path.

Meliodas and Lily walked through the cave path. The cave path was fairly spacious and dimly lit by glowing bugs. They continued walking for several minutes, with the cave path growing wider and wider until it opened up into a massive clearing. Standing in the middle of the clearing, was a young woman with red hair.

“Yo Erza!” Meliodas greeted. A smile formed on Erza’s face as Meliodas and Lily approached them.

“So you’re the one I’m fighting then. I’m glad...” Erza said. The armor around her body began glowing before vanishing, instead being replaced by a white sarashi around her chest and a red hakama with a gold flame pattern. In her hand was what appeared to be a katana. She raised the katana and pointed it at Meliodas.

“Because if it were anyone else, I wouldn’t be able to go all out. Now get ready, Meliodas!”

Chapter Text

“Mind if I take this alone?” Meliodas asked Lily. Lily nodded in response and a grin formed on Meliodas’ face. He put a hand on Mel Force and unsheathed it, holding it out in front of him.

There was a brief silence between the two of them. Neither of them moved a muscle or said a word. Lily watched from the side, feeling the intense anticipation. He watched them intently, curious if they were waiting for some kind of signal before attacking.

Above them in the cave, water was leaking from above on the ceiling. The water trickled down, forming a drop that fell to the ground. The instant the drop hit the ground, both Meliodas and Erza charged at each other. Lily’s eyes widened as he watched them fight.

Sparks flew around everywhere, as the sound of one sword hitting another rang throughout the cave.

“Their swords...I can hear them hitting each other, but I can barely see them swinging it!” Lily commented in disbelief. “Erza’s also grown a lot since I saw her battle Musica.”

Meliodas and Erza stood firmly planted in the middle of the clearing, unleashing a multitude of slashes at each other. Lily noticed that blood was starting to drip down from Erza’s right arm as they continued slashing at each other while Meliodas had yet to receive a single scratch.

‘They’re both monsters but...there is an obvious gap in skill…’ Lily thought as he continued observing.

The rallying of blistering slashes eventually stopped, with the sound of swords hitting each other fading as the last echoes died out in the cave. Erza jumped back away from Meliodas, assuming a more defensive stance. Blood was dripping down her arms from multiple cuts.

“Looks like our sparring has been paying off.” Meliodas commented. “You’re a lot stronger than when you fought Doryu and better than when you sparred with Musica.”

“After that display of weakness I showed against Doryu, I trained even harder. But it appears it wasn’t enough. I can tell you’ve also grown significantly since the Doryu fight as well. Is your original power starting to return to you?” Erza replied.

“Just a bit, but I’m still far from it. Anyway, I think that’s enough of a warm up. How about we get serious?” Meliodas asked. Erza smiled as she gave Meliodas a determined look. In her left hand, another sword began to form, glowing and taking shape into a shortsword with a rose-like handguard.

Meliodas assumed a different stance. He removed the scabbard of Mel Force off of his back and held it in his right hand. With his legs spread apart, he pointed Mel Force out in front of him towards Erza while he held the scabbard up in the air behind him.

“He’s using the scabbard of his sword?” Lily questioned.

Both Erza and Meliodas charged at each other again, unleashing a flurry of slashes at each other, with Meliodas holding his scabbard out behind him as he parried the slashes of both of Erza’s swords with only Mel Force.

“Erza’s sword speed has drastically increased yet Meliodas is still able to keep up.” Lily commented.

Erza shifted her stance and lunged at Meliodas with both blades. Meliodas in turn blocked her blades with both Mel Force and his scabbard. As Erza’s blades grinded against Meliodas’ scabbard, both of them immediately felt an enormous magical energy followed by tremors.

“An earthquake?!” Lily exclaimed.

The room around them began to shake, with the tremors increasing even more violently every second. Both Meliodas and Erza backed away from each other as the magical presence continued to grow. Several seconds later, the tremors died down as the cave stopped shaking. Meliodas looked up at the cave ceiling.

“Huh...I wonder what that was?” Meliodas narrowed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling as he questioned the strange occurrence of magic.

“That must have been Gildarts...but I wonder who he was fighting to have displayed his magic like that.” Erza commented.

‘That's an impressive amount of magic’ Meliodas thought as he felt the surroundings shake.

“Well then, why don’t we continue.” Meliodas said. To Meliodas’ surprise, Erza dispelled the blade in her left hand, only holding the katana in her right. In response, Meliodas mounted Mel Force’s scabbard back onto his back.

“I know you’re still holding back against me. But this time, I want you to go all out.” Erza said. She held her katana with both hands to her side. Meliodas suddenly felt an intense magical energy being gathered into her sword as it began to glow.

“If it were anyone else who has made it this far, I would have let them pass by now. But as your final test, I want to challenge you with everything I got!” Erza declared with a look of fierce determination in her eyes. Meliodas nodded, knowing full well Erza wanted to test herself and assumed an offensive stance with Mel Force out in front of him.

“Well if you’re going to truly go all out, then it would be rude of me to not give it my all either.” Meliodas replied.

“Then here I go!” Erza yelled as she charged at Meliodas. Meliodas stood his ground as Erza approached, her blade radiating even more magical energy.

“Take this! Demon Blade Benizakura!” Erza shouted as she got within striking distance of Meliodas. As she swung her sword, her eyes widened. Meliodas had dropped his guard completely and put his sword down. Instead he put his right hand in front of Erza’s blade.

Lily watched, his face frozen with wonderstruck as his jaw remained open. There was a large explosion of dust and debris that filled the cave clearing where they were standing. Lily put his arms out in front of him as shockwaves pushed him back. As the shockwaves died off, he put his arms back down and watched the smoke clear. His eyes grew wide with shock.

Meliodas’ appearance had changed. His emerald green eyes turned pitch black and a black spiral shaped henna formed above his right eyebrow as he had a serious look on his face. Erza was not visibly shocked but Lily was in complete disbelief in the power he was feeling radiating from Meliodas. Between Meliodas’ index finger and thumb, Meliodas was holding Benizakura’s blade. Shrouding his fingertips, were traces of darkness.

The serious look on Meliodas’ face vanished but his demonic features still remained. He gave Erza a warm smile.

“I think that’s enough right?” Meliodas asked. Erza returned a smile back to Meliodas and her clothing and sword began to glow. Meliodas’ demonic features receded and Erza was back to wearing her regular armor.

“It looks like I still have a lot of work to do before I can reach your level.” Erza said. “Anyway, you passed this exam brilliantly. Go on to the end of the path. There will be others waiting there for the next trial.”

“Well at the rate you’re progressing, you’ll get there in no time!” Meliodas responded with a grin. He looked to his side and saw Lily approaching him. He nodded at Lily and Lily returned a nervous nod back at Meliodas as the two walked towards the exit.

Meliodas and Lily arrived outside the cave several minutes later. The cave exit opened into a forested area with several rocks jutting from the ground. Sitting on the rocks were Gray, Loke, Lucy, Cana, Gajeel, and Levy. Sitting by themselves in the corner were Natsu and Happy. Natsu was surprisingly silent and was looking away from the group.

“Looks like quite a few people made it here before us.” Lily commented.

“You guys sure took your sweet time getting out here.” Gajeel said with a grin as he looked at Lily.

“Honestly, I was expecting Meliodas to come here sooner.” Lucy said. “Who did you end up fighting anyway?”

“Erza.” Meliodas replied.

“Wait, you beat Erza?!” Lucy exclaimed. “Although, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that.”

“So you’ve all made it.” Makarov said as he walked towards the group, gaining their attention. He looked at all of the people left.

“Is this everyone?” Makarov questioned. He looked at the remaining participants and tried to think who could be left.

“Wait!” A voice shouted from the bushes. Everyone turned their heads to where the voice came from. The bushes rustled before two figures walked out.

“We beat Mira!” Elfman shouted as he struggled to walk over to them. Hanging onto him was Evergreen who was also struggling to keep herself up.

“First exam passed!” Evergreen commented. The rest of the mages looked at Elfman and Evergreen in disbelief as Meliodas looked over at Natsu, who was still oddly silent. Suddenly, Natsu jumped up from his slump and stood on top of the rock he was sitting on.

“I’ll defeat you all and become an S Class Mage!” Natsu exclaimed.

“In any case, let’s get on to the next part of the exam.” Makarov interrupted. “The second part will be to find the first master’s grave. You have six hours to locate it. Good luck everyone.”

“I’m all fired up! I’m gonna go get S class! Happy let’s go!” Natsu shouted enthusiastically.

“Aye Sir!” Happy cheered as he and Natsu immediately ran into the forest. The other mages followed as they split up in different directions. Meliodas instead, decided to stroll into the forest last, with Lily right next to him.

“You’re pretty calm about this. You must have an idea where the first master’s grave is.” Lily commented as he and Meliodas casually walked through the forest.

“Nope, I have no idea where it is.” Meliodas replied with a confident grin.

---

Chapter Text

“How long have we been walking?” Lily questioned.

“Not sure. Probably a few hours. I sort of lost track of time.” Meliodas replied. The two of them continued walking when suddenly, a massive beast rose from the bushes next to them. Lily got into a defensive stance but Meliodas remained indifferent. The beast towered over the two of them, standing nearly as tall as the trees. It took the appearance of something between a lion and a wolf and stood bipedal. It glared at both Meliodas and Lily.

“Hey you wouldn’t happen to know where the grave of Mavis Vermillion is right?” Meliodas asked.

“You’re expecting this beast to answer?!” Lily questioned.

“Well you’re a talking cat.” Meliodas retorted.

“I-I guess.” Lily said, accepting Meliodas’ logic. The beast took a step forward towards Meliodas and Lily, prompting them to focus their attention on it again.

“No. I don’t know.” The beast said before turning around and walking away.

“Was it really that simple?” Lily questioned.

“Huh...that’s a shame. I guess we’ll have to-” Meliodas froze mid sentence as he felt a strange magic, somewhere far away from them on the island. A distressed look formed on Meliodas’ face as his eyes widened.

“What’s wrong?!” Lily asked as it was generally rare for Meliodas to show any sign of visible distress. Meliodas regained his composure quickly and looked in the direction from where it came from.

“Lily let’s go!” Meliodas shouted as he ran into the forest.

“Wait up!” Lily replied as he flew after Meliodas.

---

Meliodas ran through the dense forests of Tenrou hastily with Lily flying right behind him. The magic he felt was very brief, but he had a general idea of where it was coming from. Meliodas ran through several thick bushes, suddenly colliding with a mage.

“Gahhh!” Natsu shouted as he fell to the ground.

“Meliodas?!” Happy exclaimed.

“What the-” Natsu looked up and saw it was Meliodas who had run into him. Natsu jumped up from the ground as Meliodas stared at him.

“Watch where you’re going!” Natsu shouted. Meliodas remained silent as he stared at Natsu’s scarf. For reasons unknown to Meliodas, the scarf was now black in color. Meliodas could feel an aura similar to the one he felt earlier that was being emitted from the scarf.

“There you are Meliodas! I thought I lost you!” Lily said as he flew in from the bushes.

“And Lily’s here too!” Happy added.

“What happened to your scarf?” Meliodas asked in a serious tone as he stared at it.

“Me, Elfman, and Evergreen just ran into this weird dude wearing black robes. He started crying or some crap and then let out this weird magic. And that damn magic turned my scarf black. This color doesn’t work with my clothes at all!” Natsu answered angrily.

“That mage’s magic...it caused all of the trees in the area to wither away…” Happy explained.

“Some kind of death magic?” Meliodas questioned as he considered staring at the scarf.

“A magic like that sounds awfully dangerous. I don’t think Makarov would have allowed it as part of the S class trial.” Lily added.

“I don’t give a damn about all of that! I’m still gonna become an S-” Natsu stopped talking as everyone looked up in the sky. He looked up and saw a red flare shoot into the air.

“Enemies?!” Happy questioned. “Could it be that guy we ran into?”

“Hell if I know, but it looks like whoever is trying to mess with us is looking for an ass beating!” Natsu grinned as he cracked his knuckles.

“I’m all fired up!” Natsu yelled as he ran into the forest.

“Aye sir!” Happy shouted as he flew after Natsu. Lily looked up at Meliodas and saw he was still staring into the distance.

“What should we do?” Lily asked.

“Go with Natsu and Happy.” Meliodas said.

“And what about you?” Lily asked.

“I’m going to find the source of that magic I felt earlier.”

Meliodas ran through the forest, towards the area of the island where he last sensed the strange magic coming from. Upon arriving in the area Meliodas paused at what he saw. The grass, trees, and bushes were all dead, rotting and shriveled away. There was not a creature or bug in sight. The area was completely devoid of life. Meliodas thought back to Nirvana’s effect on the trees but something about this was far more sinister.

Meliodas ran deeper into the dead forest but stopped as he felt a large magical presence very familiar to him. He turned his head towards where he felt it coming from. ‘That magic...it’s just like-’ Meliodas had felt this magic before. Laxus had attempted to cast this on him previously but failed as Meliodas had interrupted it.

‘It’s Fairy Law!’

Meliodas suddenly felt the magic vanish, as if the user had decided to stop casting it. He pondered for a moment, as to what would even prompt that to happen and looked up into the sky.

As he looked into the sky, he saw a figure hovering in the distance, dropping strange orbs. Meliodas squinted his eyes and could see inside each orb, was a person. ‘Well, it looks like we’re being invaded.’ Meliodas looked back towards the dead trees. ‘I don’t know if whoever did this is related to this invasion, but I have to go help my friends first.’

Meliodas ran hastily towards where the orbs filled with people were being dropped. He stopped in his tracks as he ran into a dozen of these people standing in the forest. One of them noticed Meliodas.

“Hey it looks like we found one of those damn Fairy Tail mages!” One of the mages said.

“Looks like he’s alone.” Another one commented. “Let’s-”

Without even blinking, Meliodas seemingly vanished from their sight, reappearing behind the group with Mel Force in his hand out in front of him.

[Lightning Sword Flash]

In that instant, blood gushed out from the dozen mages who were standing there. Simultaneously, each of them fell to the ground, without being able to comprehend what had just happened. Meliodas sheathed his sword and continued running into the forest.

Meliodas ran through the forest for several minutes, cutting through many of the invaders that got in his way in the process without losing momentum as he kept running. Suddenly, the ground beneath him shook, causing Meliodas to nearly stumble. He regained his balance and stopped as he felt the magical presence of what caused the ground to shake.

‘What was that?’ Meliodas thought. He looked in the direction of where it came from and saw several dozen more of the invaders rushing towards him. Meliodas put his hand on the handle of his blade and gripped it tightly. With a fierce look in his eyes, he charged straight into the invaders.

Blood splattered on the ground around them, as Meliodas cut through over a dozen of them in an instant. Meliodas looked in front of him at the several mages charging magical attacks of varying elements in their hands.

“Gale Force!”

“Flame Bullet!”

“Earth’s Vengeance!”

“Dark Buster!”

“Charge Shot!”

The mages fired their blasts at Meliodas simultaneously. Much to their surprise, Meliodas ran towards the blast with his sword drawn and swung his blade.

“Full Counter!”

The mages watched in horror as their attacks came back straight at them, creating an enormous, towering explosion of various magical powers that engulfed them and their allies. As the smoke from the explosion cleared, the mages were all lying face down on the ground, the forest area rendered completely flat as Meliodas ran by them, sheathing his sword again.

---

“Oh I see, so you’re known as “The Demon Mirajane.” A man said as he stood in front of both Mirajane and Lisanna, who were both on the ground. The man was tall and muscular with tan skin and thick brown hair that jutted upward and a brown goatee. He wore a tribal-like outfit, with a green chest piece and orange pants.

“I would like to request a serious match against “The Demon.” The man continued. Mirajane remained quiet as the man approached them.

“What’s wrong? You can’t get serious against me? If that is the case…” The man pointed a finger towards Lisanna. Thick tree-like roots rose out of the ground, ensnaring Lisanna. In front of the roots, was a magical interface with a timer starting from 180. As each second went by, the timer went down a number.

Mirajane rushed to the roots that were ensnaring Lisanna. She grabbed onto the roots and attempted to break Lisanna free as she tried to tear away at them.

“No need to be so hasty. If you continue to touch the roots like that, Lisanna will surely perish. If you want those roots to come out safely, you’ll have to defeat me...within three minutes that is.” The man commented.

“You coward!” Mirajane shouted as she turned and faced the man.

“I will do anything to fight “The Demon.” The man replied. He walked closer to the two sisters, prompting Mirajane to begin channeling her magic. Both the man and Mirajane stopped as a figure landed in between the two of them. The man’s eyebrows raised as he looked at the figure standing before him.

“Hmm? You’re-”

“Well, well, well. You shouldn’t be going around picking fights with demons.”

Chapter Text

“Meliodas!” Mirajane exclaimed. Meliodas glanced back at the two of them. Lisanna was tightly bound by the vines and the timer at the front was going down.

“And who are you?” Meliodas asked the mysterious man.

“So you’re Meliodas?” The man questioned. “I had expected you to look a bit different, but I suppose appearances are deceiving. I have heard about you. You are Fairy Tail’s other demon, known as, “The Blond Demon.” I am Azuma, of Grimoire Heart’s Seven Kin of Purgatory.”

“Grimoire Heart…?” Meliodas questioned as he recalled previously seeing the name on the chart of the Balam Alliance. ‘So he’s from one of those guilds. But why are they on this island?’

“Meliodas we have to take him down before the timer hits zero or else Lisanna will die!” Mirajane exclaimed. Meliodas glanced back at the timer. He had two and a half minutes left. Meliodas’ lighthearted expression vanished and quickly turned serious. He put his hand on Mel Force’s handle as he glared at Azuma.

Azuma smiled as he stepped forward towards Meliodas. Mirajane stood up and began to walk towards Meliodas, standing right next to him.

“Meliodas, I may not look like I can with my current state, but I will fight alongside you.” Mirajane said. She looked fiercely at Azuma who had a smirk on his face.

“And what’s so amusing about this?” Mirajane asked, irritated at Azuma’s attitude.

“It’s not so much amusing as it is...divine. It appears fortune has smiled upon me, allowing me to fight two of Fairy Tail’s demons.” Azuma answered.

“You should be careful what you call a fortunate opportunity.” Meliodas said in a cold tone. Mirajane looked at Meliodas and sensed a familiar feeling radiating off of him, a sensation that she was all too familiar with.

“Meliodas...you’re…” Mirajane commented quietly as she stared at Meliodas.

Azuma’s smirk quickly vanished as he looked at Meliodas. Azuma immediately jumped back as Meliodas’ features began changing.

‘This kid…’ As Azuma jumped back he could feel his body trembling. He looked into Meliodas’ pitch black eyes as Meliodas suddenly vanished from his sight, reappearing in front of him with his blade drawn. Azuma’s eyes widened as he saw Meliodas right in front of him.

‘That speed?! When did he-’

“Thousand Divine Slashes!”

Meliodas vanished again from in front of Azuma and reappeared behind him. Meliodas slowly sheathed Mel Force again as Azuma stood still, unable to comprehend what had happened. In the instant Meliodas finished sheathing Mel Force, blood gushed out from multiple spots on his body. Azuma fell to the ground, managing to muster up the last of his strength to turn his head and look at Meliodas. Meliodas turned around and faced Azuma.

“Whatever it takes, I won’t let anyone kill my friends.” Meliodas said.

“That power...you’re a real demon…” Azuma muttered as his body fell to the ground. The roots that coiled around Lisanna rotted away and she fell onto her knees. Mirajane quickly ran to her side.

“Lisanna are you okay?” Mirajane asked.

“I’m fine big sis.” Lisanna said as Mirajane leaned in to hug her. Mirajane looked over at Meliodas who was talking to Azuma.

“This...is my defeat…I underestimated your resolve to protect your friends and...that demonic power...” Azuma grunted, the pool of blood under his body growing larger and larger.

“So can you tell me why you guys came to this island?” Meliodas asked, back to his normal self.

“We...seek to f-find…” Azuma began to slur on his words as the blood loss became too severe. “Zeref.”

Azuma’s eyes remained wide open and lifeless as the pool of blood expanded underneath him. Meliodas pondered about the name Azuma brought up.

‘Zeref?’ Meliodas thought. In his time researching in the library, he had encountered Zeref’s name in a few of the books and was familiar with his title as the “Black Mage.” It suddenly pieced together in Meliodas’ head. ‘That person Natsu ran into...was that…’

“Meliodas!” Mirajane called out, snapping Meliodas out of his train of thought. He looked over to Mirajane and Lisanna and smiled.

“Glad you’re alright Lisanna!” Meliodas said with a smile.

“That’s thanks to you Meliodas.” Lisanna replied.

“Come on, let’s head back to base camp.” Mirajane suggested. Meliodas shook his head.

“No you guys go back without me. There’s something I need to confirm.” Meliodas said as he dashed into the forest, leaving the two sisters behind.

“Big sis, that power he used...was that a takeover magic like yours?” Lisanna asked. Mirajane shook her head.

“No. It wasn’t a takeover. I noticed there was always something different about him ever since I first talked to him when he joined the guild. I brushed it aside and thought nothing of it up until now, but this confirms my thoughts. Meliodas is a true demon.”

---

‘I think it was this way.’ Meliodas thought as he ran through the forest. He remembered the massive shockwave that had shook the island earlier and felt it coming from this general direction.

Meliodas continued running until he reached a cliffside. There he saw Makarov lying on the ground. Kneeling over them was Wendy who was trying to heal him with Natsu, Lucy, Carla, Lily, and Happy standing by.

“Meliodas!” Wendy shouted happily. The others turned their heads to see Meliodas running towards them.

“There you are! Always late to the party!” Natsu exclaimed with a large grin.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted them with a small wave as he approached them.

“Hey that’s-” Meliodas looked down at Makarov on the ground. He was unconscious and badly wounded but was alive and breathing.

“Hah we got Meliodas now! Now we can go to their ship and kick their asses!” Natsu shouted enthusiastically.

“Y-yeah but we still don’t know where their base is.” Lucy added.

“Meliodas did you run into anyone on the way here?” Wendy asked.

“I ran into Mira and Lisanna. They were heading back to base camp.” Meliodas answered.

“Oh good. We should probably all convene-” Before Lucy could finish talking, a man suddenly teleported in. Meliodas looked at the strange man who was holding a large communications lacrima. The man was lean built with short black hair and three scars on the left side of his face. He wore a red and orange striped jacket and black pants.

“You’re here?!” Lily questioned.

“So it’s Mest from the council.” Lucy commented.

“Council?” Meliodas asked.

“Long story short, “Mest” is a fabricated name. His name is Doranbolt and he was sent by the council to spy on Fairy Tail. He used his magic to alter our memories.” Lily answered.

“Where the hell did you go, you bastard!” Natsu shouted.

“Mister Doranbolt?” Wendy asked. Doranbolt returned a friendly smile to Wendy.

“I’m here to help out Fairy Tail. With my magic powers, I can teleport all of you off the island safely.”

“I refuse.” Natsu said stubbornly.

“Why would we accept help from the council?” Carla asked.

“Our guild takes care of its own problems.” Lily added.

“No you don’t understand! If the council gets wind of the situation here, then they’ll use Etherion to blow up the entire island!” Doranbolt exclaimed.

“So we’ll just deal with things before that happens then right?” Natsu continued.

“Makarov’s already been beaten! And there are still more terrifying people in Grimoire Heart! You guys don’t stand a chance! The council has Etherion!” Doranbolt retorted.

“So what? We have our trump card now!” Natsu said with a smirk.

“Your... trump card?” Doranbolt questioned. Suddenly, Lily’s eyes lit up as he comprehended the meaning behind Natsu’s comment.

“Natsu, are you referring to Meliodas?” Lily asked as he looked at Meliodas. The others looked at Meliodas as well as they realized what Natsu was implying.

“As strong as Meliodas may be, I don’t think even he can take on all of Grimoire Heart!” Doranbolt continued.

“Wait...you mean just like with the Jupiter Cannon?!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Jupiter Cannon? Hold on, what are you guys talking about?” Doranbolt asked.

“It’s Meliodas’ magical power, Full Counter.” Lily explained. “He can reflect any magical attack launched at him with double the force.”

“I don’t doubt Meliodas’ skill, but is it even possible for him to reflect something as massive as Etherion?” Carla questioned as she gave Meliodas a skeptical look.

“Pretty sure I can.” Meliodas said as he put his hand on the handle of Mel Force. “Although I don’t think we’ll need to get to that point.”

Doranbolt flinched at Meliodas’ relaxed attitude towards Etherion. ‘I’ve never heard of a magic called Full Counter...but is that really something that can reflect Etherion of all things?!’

“Yeah cause we’ll stop Grimoire Heart!” Natsu shouted enthusiastically.

“That kind of thing can’t be done! Don’t you realize the insane situation you guys are in! Sure you may have an answer to Etherion, but what if that doesn’t work out! Either way Grimoire Heart may end up killing you all anyway before Etherion is fired!” Doranbolt shouted.

“Then we’ll die trying!” Natsu said fiercely. Doranbolt became silent, the words taken out of his mouth as he witnessed Fairy Tail’s faith.

“We should bring the Master to the base camp first.” Wendy commented.

“Wait, Meliodas can fly can’t he? Which means he can find Grimoire Heart’s ship!” Lucy said excitedly. “The woman who had Zeref with her earlier said she was going to bring Zeref to her master. And they had to have come onto this island through some sort of ship.”

“I would assume their ship would be submerged somewhere in the water to hide it.” Lily commented.

“Aye! Meliodas can definitely spot it then! Don’t doubt Meliodas’ eyesight that can see an exposed pair of panties from a mile away!” Happy exclaimed.

“Well said, Happy!” Meliodas responded.

“I can’t believe you remember him saying that.” Lucy sighed.

“So it’s settled then. We’ll go meet up with everyone at base camp while Meliodas looks for their ship then.” Carla said. “And Meliodas...be careful.”

Meliodas nodded in response, knowing full well Carla was talking about the fortune given by Shagotte.

“Meliodas you better not kick their asses before I get there!” Natsu shouted with a friendly grin.

“No promises.” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile.

“So this is Fairy Tail…” Doranbolt said to himself as he watched the group split up. “How are they able to maintain such optimism in this situation…”

Chapter Text

Meliodas flew over the coast of Tenrou Island. He looked at the oceanside, looking for any possible sign of the enemy ship. As he continued flying over the coast, he noticed a black ship docked on the beach in the distance. As he got closer, he noticed the sheer size of the ship. The ship was enormous and split into three sections with a main hull and two separate small hulls attached to the sides. Meliodas landed on the ground in front of it to get a closer look.

A door at the front of the ship opened and a mysterious man walked out. The man was very tall and appeared to be middle aged. He had long black hair that was gathered together behind his head by a green band. He wore a purple and black robe with a black sun design at the front below his waist and had a large white coat draped over his shoulders.

The man noticed Meliodas and walked towards him. Meliodas remained standing in place as the man walked towards him. The man raised his right hand up and Meliodas immediately felt a large surge of magical power coming from the man.

“Fall.” He said.

Meliodas felt a tremendous pressure on top of his body pushing down on him. The surrounding area around him immediately caved in with Meliodas being pushed down as well, causing him to take a knee. The man walked towards Meliodas as Meliodas kneeled on the ground, with the ground around them continuing to sink and take the form of a massive crater.

“Where is the grave of Mavis Vermillion?” The strange man asked.

“Sorry but I don’t actually know where it is. Why are you looking for it anyway?” Meliodas replied with a cheeky smile as he kneeled on the ground, with the pressure that was placed on top of him growing increasingly stronger.

“Within that grave, lies one of Fairy Tail’s Three Great Magics, known as Fairy Glitter.” The man continued with slight agitation in his voice towards Meliodas’ indifference towards the gravity magic.

“Yeah... I don’t know what that is. You think you could let off on this gravity now...uhh what’s your name?” Meliodas asked.

“Bluenote.” The man commented as he continued walking towards Meliodas until he was standing right over him.

“Now tell me-” Before he could finish his sentence, Bluenote felt a sharp pain to his chin as he was launched into the air, causing the intense gravity in the area to vanish momentarily. Bluenote regained his balance and landed on the ground. He looked at Meliodas with a puzzled expression as Meliodas began slowly walking towards him.

“You can stand in MY gravity?” Bluenote questioned.

“Well your gravity is stronger than Zero’s I’ll give you that.” Meliodas replied. A vein formed on Bluenote’s forehead as he glared at Meliodas.

“Can you fly?” Bluenote asked. Meliodas raised an eyebrow at the question.

“Well that’s how I got over here.” Meliodas replied, not aware of Bluenote’s true meaning behind the question. Bluenote grew noticeably angrier upon hearing Meliodas’ answer. He charged at Meliodas with his right hand out. Meliodas felt an even heavier weight on his body, causing his legs to sink into the floor until the ground was at his knees.

“Woah…” Meliodas grunted as he found his legs stuck in the solid ground. Bluenote continued forward and threw a punch at Meliodas’ face. To his shock, Meliodas jumped out of the hole his legs were stuck in, high into the air.

“You...moved within MY gravity again!” Bluenote shouted angrily. He raised both his hands out in front of him. Meliodas felt a large amount of magic energy being gathered into a single point. A dark orb appeared in front of Bluenote. Meliodas felt his body beginning to get pulled into the orb while he was still in the air.

“This...is a point of infinite gravity that-” Bluenote stopped his explanation as he saw Meliodas’ features change. Meliodas pointed his hand cloaked in darkness at the orb. A mass of darkness shot out from Meliodas’ hand, enveloping the dark orb. The suction effect in the area stopped as the orb was fully covered.

“W-what did you-” Bluenote gasped as he tried challenging more magic into the orb. Despite his best efforts, the black hole would not start up again as the orb remained in front of him. He looked up in the air as Meliodas charged at him.

With a darkness-covered fist, Meliodas delivered a punch straight down on Bluenote’s chest. Bluenote coughed up blood as the earth around them shattered, kicking up large portions of the ground into a large crater within the crater they were standing in.

Meliodas jumped out from the crater and looked behind him with his demonic features gone. Bluenote was unconscious, with his body stuck between several large rocks while blood leaked out from his mouth.

“I don’t think you quite understand what “infinite” means.” Meliodas commented with a cheeky grin. He turned around again with a serious look and faced the large ship in front of him. ‘So their leader is in there.’

---

Meliodas entered the ship. The door to the ship was still left open by Bluenote initially. Meliodas walked up the large flight of stairs, up to the very top at the observation deck. There he saw a lone man standing in the middle of the deck, as if patiently waiting for his arrival. The man looked old, with slicked back, long white hair with a thick white mustache and a long curly beard. Over his right eye, was an eyepatch. Despite his old age, his body was well toned. He wore a dark red shirt tucked into khaki pants and black armored greaves and gauntlets.

“Meliodas was it?” The man asked. Meliodas stopped in place as the man began talking. “In case you don’t know, I am Hades, the leader of Grimoire Heart. I didn’t expect Makarov to have another person of Gildarts caliber in his guild like you. No...you might even be beyond Gildarts level.”

“You’re certainly a lot more hospitable than those guys I fought earlier.” Meliodas commented. ‘So this is the guy who defeated the Master…’

“And you’re much more level headed than I anticipated. I expected you to recklessly charge in at me, much like what the rest of Fairy Tail tends to do. Let me ask you, Meliodas. Did you know magic was originally born into darkness as a power that was oppressed and feared?”

Meliodas remained silent at the question, prompting Hades to keep going.

“Looking past that, I delved deep into its roots, and that is where I found...Zeref. From there I saw the true essence of magic.” Hades continued.

“So what exactly do you need Zeref for then? My understanding of the origins of magic are a bit different from yours, but from what I know, magic came from chaos.” Meliodas said solemnly, remembering that his current situation in this world was a result of Cath using the power of chaos. Hades’ eyes widened upon hearing Meliodas bring up the term “chaos.”

“You...I see...my Seven Kin never explained to you my true plans but it seems you understand what is needed in the Ultimate Magic World.” Hades responded.

“Ultimate Magic World?” Meliodas asked.

“A world where only mages can thrive. A world...ruled by chaos and darkness! I didn’t expect one of Makarov’s children to be so accepting of the concept of chaos.” Hades commented. Meliodas shook his head, as his definition of chaos and Hades’ definition were widely different.

“The way you speak about Makarov, it almost sounds as if you knew him at one point.” Meliodas inquired.

“Know him? I was the one who appointed him as the third guild master. I was originally known as Precht in my time in Fairy Tail. But that time is no more. I now walk the path of darkness in order to obtain the Ultimate Magic.” Hades answered.

“You’re just like him…” Meliodas said to himself.

“Who now?” Hades asked.

“I knew a man who strayed off his path into darkness. That darkness changed him, and as a result, he abandoned what was important to him to get closer to that darkness. I can see him in you.” Meliodas said.

“Oh? Are you perhaps suggesting that this path of darkness I’m walking on is evil and I should walk the path of light instead?” Hades inquired. “There is too much light in the world of magic and that needs to be changed.”

“I’m not referring to what is good or evil. I don’t believe in the slightest that darkness or light alone represent those. It’s what people do in their pursuit of power in order to achieve that.” Meliodas answered.

“You are an interesting boy, if I can even call you that. Your looks are not befitting of your true age I suspect. It’s quite a shame that we can’t come to an agreement on “The Ultimate Magic World,'' as I am willing to throw away everything for the sake of accomplishing that dream. If you are to stand in my way, I’m sure you know what that means. I will surely regret killing someone like you.”

“I guess it has to happen this way then.” Meliodas said as he clenched his fists, meeting Hades gaze with his own serious one.

“Do Fairies have tails? Or don’t they? An eternal mystery and an eternal adventure. But your adventure...will end now.” Hades declared as he assumed a fighting stance. Meliodas assumed his his own fighting stance with Mel Force drawn in front of him as a small smile formed on his face.

“I guess my adventure already ended long before you came along.” Meliodas replied.

“And why is that?” Hades asked.

“Because Fairies don’t have tails.”

Chapter Text

“So you’ve met actual fairies? I find that hard to believe, considering how they became
extinct ages ago. But no matter, you’ll join them soon enough.” Hades replied.

“Well I am over three thousand years old. You should be nicer to your elders.” Meliodas said smugly.

‘Three thousand?!’ Hades' eyes widened at Meliodas' comment. ‘That youthful appearance he possesses and that dark magic I felt earlier when he fought Bluenote...could he have truly...I’ll have to test it for myself.’

With his pointer and middle finger extended out, he made a strange motion with his right hand. Meliodas felt a magical presence gather around him as three strange black seals formed around him.

The seals exploded, creating an explosion of black and purple smoke. Hades watched as the smoke cleared. His eyes widened as he saw Meliodas was not inside of the smoke. Meliodas reappeared behind him. Before Hades could turn around he felt a sharp pain to the back of his head as Meliodas kicked, sending him tumbling across the observation deck.

Hades managed to stop himself and got back up on his feet. Meliodas charged at Hades, his hand on the handle of Mel Force. Hades raised his hands in front of him in response, pointing his index and middle fingers at Meliodas with his thumbs raised. A small purple ball of magic flickered at the tip of Hades finger.

The ball of magic fired in a fast beam at Meliodas. Meliodas quickly reacted, swinging his sword at the beam.

“Full Counter!”

‘Reflection Magic?’ Hades thought as his piercing bullet was now sent back towards him. He fired another one at the bullet, only for his bullet to be overpowered by the one Meliodas had reflected.

“What?!” Hades shouted in surprise as the bullet hit him in the shoulder, pushing him back. Blood began to drip down from Hades' shoulder. ‘That was no ordinary counter magic. He reflected it back at triple the output I had originally put into the attack.’

Meliodas charged at him with Mel Force out in front of him. Hades immediately raised his hands out in front of him, forming a magic circle. Bright chains shout out from the magic circle towards Meliodas. Meliodas seemingly vanished from in front of Hades, much to his surprise.

“Thousand Divine Slashes!”

Meliodas reappeared again behind Hades. At that moment, he felt his body get cut numerous times, causing Hades to take a knee to the ground as blood gushed out from multiple parts of his body.

“That sword is certainly sharp, as expected of a blade forged by the legendary blacksmith.” Hades commented, noticing Musica’s signature music note symbol. Meliodas was surprised to see Hades standing back up, with the cuts he inflicted on him being surprisingly shallow.

‘This guy is sturdy…’ Meliodas thought to himself.

“Your swordsmanship is certainly to be commended. However…” Hades quickly made a strange motion with the index and middle fingers of his right hand extended. Three purple magic seals formed next to Meliodas, with one underneath and one over him. Meliodas put his arms up as he braced himself for the impact.

“You do not dance with magic freely as I do.” Hades finished as he released the seals. A massive purple explosion formed within the seal, blowing the entire top part of the airship observation deck off. Shattered glass and debris rained from above them as the smoke cleared.

“Oh you’re a lot more durable than I had thought.” Hades commented as he saw Meliodas standing with his arms up in front of him with slight bruises and blood on his body. In the blast, his shirt had entirely burned off, revealing his bare muscular body. Meliodas immediately lunged at Hades, surprising Hades. ‘He is able to move that fast after being struck directly with Amaterasu 100?!’

“Enchant Hellblaze!”

Black flames clad Meliodas’ sword as he cut diagonally downward across Hades chest. Hades jumped back from the impact as blood dripped from the gash in his body. He winced at the intense burning pain he felt from the wound and felt his right eye beginning to throb underneath the eyepatch.

“How strange...this burning sensation. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Those flames were no ordinary flames. I could feel it. They were dark. That dark power you possess...your youthful appearance, and your supposed age. It all makes sense now! Are you one who has also walked the path of darkness?” Hades asked excitedly.

“I think the path you’re thinking of may be a bit different from mine...but to answer your question, I walked down that path once before, and my friends got me out of it. And I won’t walk down it again!” Meliodas responded.

He lunged forward at Hades again to cut him. Hades put both of his hands out in front of him as Meliodas cut at Hades.

More cuts formed on Hades body as Meliodas slashed at him. A grin formed on Hades face and suddenly, a white chain shot out of Hades’ hands. Meliodas swung his sword at the chain, but to his surprise, it latched onto Mel Force. Hades pulled the chain towards him, pulling both Meliodas and Mel Force with him as Meliodas had a firm grip on his blade. Hades took a deep breath and let out a loud yell as Meliodas was just in front of him.

“Katsu!”

Meliodas’ eyes widened as he felt an incredibly dangerous and potent magic he couldn’t see immediately slam into his body. The area in front of Hades exploded, leaving a large hole in the deck. Mel Force detached from the chain as Meliodas let go and it flew into the ocean through the massive hole in the wall of the deck.

“Hmph...there should be nothing left of-” Hades’ eyes widened as he saw a figure standing up in the smoke. The smoke cleared, revealing Meliodas’ tattered body. Blood gushed out of multiple large gashes spread across Meliodas chest and back. His arms were heavily bruised and dangled at his sides.

“You’ve impressed me again. I had expected to destroy you completely but here you are, standing in one piece. It makes me regret having to kill such potential.” Hades commented. He began walking forward towards Meliodas but immediately stopped as he felt a dark sensation coming from Meliodas.

“Oh ho? What is this sensation?” Hades questioned. Hades watched as darkness leaked out of every wound in Meliodas’ body. The wounds on his body began to shrink down and Meliodas’ eyes turned pitch black and a spiral shaped black henna formed above his right eyebrow.

Without saying a word, Meliodas launched himself at Hades. He threw a hard darkness clad punch at Hades’ chest. Hades coughed up blood as he was sent hurtling through the back end of the observation deck. Hades quickly recovered in the air and latched back onto the observation deck with several white chains shooting out of his hands. The chains dispersed as Hades wiped the blood trickling from his mouth and stared at Meliodas.

“So you really are one…” Hades commented. He coughed up more blood before starting to laugh.

“You really are a demon that frolics among fairies!”

Chapter Text

“I can feel it...my right eye is throbbing as I sense that demonic power of yours!” Hades shouted excitedly. Meliodas maintained a serious expression on his face as he began to walk towards Hades.

“This darkness you possess...this is truly the next step in attaining the Ultimate Magical World!” Hades shouted joyously. He ripped off the eyepatch on his right eye, revealing his glowing red eye. Meliodas felt Hades magical power soar even higher with a great demonic presence.

“You’ve really gone down this path huh…” Meliodas commented as he felt a similar sensation to when he fought Doryu. Hades smirked and raised his arms up in front of him. Purple tendrils of dark magic shot out from beneath him as they were launched at Meliodas. Meliodas charged forward, with both arms clad in darkness shaped into blades. Meliodas began cutting through the tendrils with ease, shredding them into hundreds of pieces as he spun around.

As one tendril went down, several more appeared to replace the last one. Meliodas continued slashing each one, managing to get closer and closer to Hades as he paved his own path.

“Do you understand? You are merely in the shallows of magic, as I stand in the depths dancing freely!” Hades commented as even more tendrils were summoned beneath Meliodas’ feet.

Meliodas jumped backwards and slashed at the tendrils that were attacking him. Meliodas stood back and looked at Hades. ‘His magic power doesn’t seem to be decreasing. In fact, it’s rising the longer this battle goes on. It’s not quite the same as with Doryu, but it’s still a problem. Does he have unlimited magic? I could maybe finish him off if I had a proper sword…’ Meliodas thought as he glanced at the open hole in the observation deck where Mel Force fell into the ocean.

“Allow me to show you what truly lies in the deep abyss of magic!” Hades declared. Hades raised his arms and moved them slowly in half a circle. He pointed one of his arms at Meliodas.

“This is from Chapter 4, Scripture 12 of the book of Zeref. Nemesis!”

From the ground in front of Meliodas, strange demonic beings began to rise from the rubble. In seconds, Hades was surrounded by an army of dozens demons in various shapes and sizes, all with similar black bodies and strange magic coursing through their visible red glowing veins. Meliodas closed his eyes and began to concentrate as the demons began their slow approach towards Meliodas. The darkness that formed blades on Meloidas’ hands disappeared as he took a deep breath in.

“What’s wrong? Were you not prepared for the Magic of the Abyss?!” Hades taunted. Meliodas opened his eyes again and raised his left arm out to his side and spread his stance wide. Hades immediately began to shudder as he felt a menacing presence forming in Meliodas’ left hand.

Black energy began to swirl around Meliodas’ hand, gathering into a dense darkness. That darkness, eventually taking shape into a pitch black sword.

“Requip: Sacrifar!”

Hades immediately froze upon hearing the name. He gawked at the black blade that was forming in Meliodas’ left hand. His right eye began to throb even more and Hades took a step back.

“S-Sacrifar?! That’s impossible! That sword is only a myth! Even if that was actually Sacrifar, why are you able to wield it?!” Hades questioned, his mouth wide open in shock.

As Sacrifar fully materialized in Meliodas’ hand, darkness began to leak out of Meliodas’ body, wrapping itself entirely around Meliodas’ left arm until it was pitch black. Sacrifar’s black handle seemingly melded with the darkness, taking the appearance of just one long blade. Meliodas raised his left arm up above him as a dark miasma continuously leaked from the blade.

Meliodas swung Sacrifar down vertically in front of him. At that moment, Hades’ felt an immense pain go through the center of his body, from the top of his head, all the way down the middle.

“H-He didn’t just pierce through my body...he also cut straight down the center of the ship...and destroyed The Devil’s Heart in the process…” Hades gasped as blood gushed out of his body.

After being split in half, the ship began to fall apart down the middle, the two sides slowly sinking into the water. Hades fell to the ground and looked up at Meliodas who was standing above him. He could feel no pain, only the warmth of the blood that was forming underneath him.

“It appears your darkness...was stronger than mine…” Hades commented as his vision began to blur.

“A world run by solely power is no world to live in.” Meliodas said as he looked down at Hades. A smile formed on Hades face.

“A demon telling me that power isn’t what’s important?” Hades questioned, his eyes growing lifeless. “Then what gives you that power?”

Meliodas remained silent and turned around. He started walking away but stopped.
“I want to protect the things precious to me. That’s what gives me power.”

“I see…” Hades said quietly. ‘I guess I did discard all that was precious for the Ultimate Magic World.’

Meliodas walked away and looked around at the collapsing ship. He ran towards the massive hole at the side of the hull where Mel Force got thrown out. ‘Now...where did Mel Force go.’

After a minute of swimming underwater, Meliodas found Mel Force. He jumped out of the water onto the beach. To his surprise, a familiar figure was standing there looking at him.

“Laxus?” Meliodas questioned.

“Looks like I’m a bit late.” Laxus commented.

“What are you doing here?” Meliodas asked.

“I felt something was wrong so I came here…” Laxus replied. “But seeing how you handled it, I guess I should be going now.”

“Wait! You should go see the Master. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you again.” Meliodas said with a warm smile. Laxus looked up at Meliodas but turned away.

“Not after everything I’ve done.” Laxus responded.

“Then I’ll just have to-” Meliodas suddenly stumbled, nearly falling forward. Laxus quickly rushed over to him and helped him stand back up.

“Looks like you can hardly walk. I don’t think you can force me to go back even with that ridiculous strength of yours in the state you’re in.” Laxus commented.

“Then can you help me get back to camp?” Meliodas asked. Laxus sighed and nodded.

“Fine.”

---

Laxus helped Meliodas walk back to camp, practically carrying him over his shoulder due to the size difference. The two of them arrived at the foot of the camp and looked around at everyone there. They were all conversing and wrapped up in bandages. Natsu saw Meliodas out of the corner of his eye and immediately turned to him.

“Look it’s Meliodas!” Natsu shouted. “And-” Natsu’s eyes grew wide with surprise as he saw the second person standing next to Meliodas.

“Laxus?!” Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow shouted out, unable to contain their excitement. Makarov had a surprised look on his face as well but remained silent.

“Wait... Laxus?! What the hell is he doing here?” Gray questioned.

“You guys can question me about that later. Get this guy treated.” Laxus said, pointing to Meliodas.

“Meliodas! I'll heal you right now!” Wendy shouted as she frantically ran over to him. Meliodas fell to the ground, flat on his butt, unable to stand up any longer. Wendy ran behind him and put her hands on his back as her magic began to envelop Meliodas’ body.

“Thanks Wendy!” Meliodas said cheerfully.

“So what happened?” Erza asked. “I’m guessing from that magic we sensed earlier, that you defeated Hades.”

“Yup.” Meliodas responded.

“What did you even do? The sky turned dark almost like it was night time!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Hahaha! That power was manly!” Elfman added in energetically.

“What the hell Meliodas?! I wanted to kick his ass too!” Natsu shouted out.

“That’s enough. Let Meliodas rest.” Makarov said. He looked towards Laxus and walked over to him.

“What brought you here? You're not a member of our guild anymore.” Makarov said sternly.

“Oh he helped me fight Hades.” Meliodas quickly answered. Makarov looked at Meliodas with a look of surprise before looking back at Laxus. ‘There’s not a scratch on Laxus and I didn’t sense his magic at all. There’s no way he fought Hades. Meliodas is just trying to stick up for him I guess...but why would Laxus come here…’

“I felt something was wrong so I came here.” Laxus said.

“Yes! Laxus has come to our aid in our great time of need!” Freed interjected.

“Come on Master. I’m sure you’re happy to see him right? Also he helped me get back to camp, otherwise I would have passed out on the beach somewhere.” Meliodas added in. Makarov looked at Laxus once more and quickly turned around.

“Do whatever you like.” Makarov said as he walked away.

“Wait, hold on!” Natsu interjected. “What about the rest of the S class trials?!”

“Well...we’ll have to suspend that for now.” Makarov answered. “With all that happened, we can’t really continue.”

“Among the candidates, the council snuck in and there was also Grimoire Heart interfering as well.” Mirajane added.

“So there’s really no other option this time around…” Levy commented.

“Dammit! I wanted to become an S Class Mage!” Gray shouted out in frustration.

“You may have all given up, but I haven’t!” Natsu shouted out eagerly. “I will become S Class, no matter what happens!”

“Well, well, well.” Meliodas joined in. “I think I’m with Natsu on that.”

Meliodas looked at Makarov and the two locked eyes. Makarov thought back to Meliodas’ situation and sighed. ‘If it were just Natsu, I would simply have Natsu fight me and end it in one hit but...Meliodas just did something that the rest of the guild couldn’t have done alone…Not even I could have defeated Hades by myself…’

“Alright then.” Makarov said. “If Natsu and Meliodas are the only ones who want to keep going, then both of you fight right now. The last one standing will be promoted to S class.”

“WHAT?!” The other Fairy Tail mages shouted in surprise.

“Alright! I’m all fired up!” Natsu said with a large grin. He looked at Meliodas who was walking towards him.

“This is certainly unexpected.” Mirajane commented.

“Is this even fair?” Lucy questioned.

“It might be more fair this way.” Freed added. “Meliodas just fought Hades and Wendy hadn’t finished healing him. Natsu had more time to recover his strength. This might be more even than you think.”

“Nope. Not even close.” Laxus commented. Freed and the other Thunder God Tribe members looked at him with surprise.

Both Meliodas and Natsu stood apart, facing each other. The rest of the guild gathered and watched them.

“I’m going all out Meliodas!” Natsu shouted as he leaped towards Meliodas, his body clad in bright orange flames.

“Fire Dragon’s Sword Horn--GAHHH!!” Natsu yelled as he felt a sharp pain to his shoulder as Meliodas appeared in front of him and delivered a swift chop down at him. Natsu slammed face first into the ground, creating a small crater as the ground cracked.

“H-he beat him in one hit again…” Lucy commented.

“Now’s my chance!” Natsu shouted as he lifted his head from the ground. Meliodas looked down, surprised to see Natsu springing up towards him.

“Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!”

Natsu swung his arms as he sprung up from the ground, his arms clad in flames, and a destructive torrent of flames enveloped Meliodas. The area around them exploded in flames and covered the area with smoke.

“He got him!” Happy cheered.

“I know Meliodas is strong, but that was a direct hit. He had to take some damage from that right?” Lucy questioned as she stared at the smoke cloud. She looked over at Gildarts who was staring intently at the cloud of smoke.

“Nah. Natsu tried that on me already.” Gildarts commented. As the smoke cloud cleared, everyone looked in shock at Natsu unconscious on the ground and Meliodas standing above him with a grin on his face.

“Well that was a close one!” Meliodas said with a cheeky smile as he looked at everyone else who were staring at him dumbstruck.

“Hahaha! As expected!” Gildarts applauded, breaking the silence.

“Well then. It looks like Meliodas will be promoted to S class. Any objections?” Makarov asked as he looked at the rest of the participants who were silently standing there.

Chapter Text

December 16, X785

Meliodas and the rest of the guild celebrated his promotion at the base camp the previous day, with Meliodas summoning dozens of bottles of ale as they drank and relaxed. At this time, they remained on the island to relax for a day longer before heading back to the guild.

“I assume you’ll be going on a lot of S Class missions now that you have access to the board now.” Erza asked as she sharpened one of her blades nearby.

“Yup!” Meliodas replied.

“Don’t forget, we’re supposed to go on an S rank mission together sometime.” Erza added.

“Of course!” Meliodas said with a grin.

“Meliodas!” Natsu shouted from a distance as he and Gildarts were about to walk away, the two of them holding fishing rods. “I demand a rematch once we get back!”

Meliodas gave Natsu a thumbs up before the two of them walked away into the forest.

“Meliodas…” Carla said. Meliodas looked towards her and noticed the worry in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Meliodas asked.

“This celebration time is great and all, but don’t you remember what the Queen said?” Carla asked silently. “This place...I think it might match the description of what will happen…”

“Oh that? I thought about that when I fought Hades. We were fighting on a ship next to the water and it never happened. I guess I changed the future?” Meliodas replied. “Although…”

“Although?” Carla asked. Meliodas remained silent as he went into deep thought. He thought about the magic he had sensed initially while he and Lily were looking for the first master’s grave. ‘I wonder if that has anything to do with it…’

“Actually it’s nothing.” Meliodas replied. He got up from his seat and stood up, stretching his arms and looking up at the massive tree. He stared at the tree silently for several moments. ‘I wonder if I ran into a fairy here, if they would look like King or Elaine…’

Suddenly he felt a shiver go down his spine. His eyes opened wide as he sensed an enormous magical presence, one greater than he had ever sensed in his time in Earthland. He looked around the camp at everyone else who was there, wondering if they felt it too. At one end, The Thunder God Tribe was relaxing with Laxus, Wendy, Mirajane, and Lisanna. At the other end, Gray was sitting down with Juvia as Erza polished her armour.

“What’s wrong Meliodas?” Makarov asked as he approached.

“Do you feel that?” Meliodas asked. Makarov’s eyes widened as he realized what Meliodas was talking about, having just sensed the magic at that moment.

“What is-” Makarov’s comment was cut short as the sound of a deafening roar echoed through the island. The other guild members who were relaxing looked up at the sky in shock as they covered their ears.

“That’s the cry of a dragon!” Wendy exclaimed. From the forest nearby, the rest of the guild members began to run in, also perplexed by the roar they had heard.

“He must be from back then…” Gildarts mentioned.

“Up there!” Pantherlily yelled as he pointed up in the sky. The rest of the guild members there looked up in the sky in disbelief.

“What is that?!” Gray shouted.

“It’s massive!” Elfman yelled.

“This can’t be real…” Gajeel commented nervously.

“That’s the Black Dragon of Apocalypse...ACNOLOGIA!” Makarov shouted in disbelief. Meliodas looked at the jet black dragon. He could feel its tremendous magical power from where it was flying above them. The Tyrant Dragon’s in Britannia were nothing compared to this one.

“HEY YOU!” Natsu shouted as loud as he could to the dragon. “YOU KNOW WHERE IGNEEL IS DON’T YOU?!”

“Natsu, knock that off!” Gildarts interjected. Suddenly, Acnologia changed directions, landing on the ground in front of them with a crash, destroying the forest and boulders underneath it in a massive shockwave that radiated outward. From where it stood, it let out another mighty roar.

As the deafening roar shook the Fairy Tail members up, Meliodas looked towards Carla with a serious expression. Carla noticed Meliodas’ gaze and looked back at him in horror, with both of them realizing what this dragon’s appearance meant.

“Meliodas! You absolutely cannot fight that!” Carla screamed.

“No one is going to fight that!” Gildarts shouted. “Everyone run!”

The guild members immediately ran back, away from the large dragon. The dragon flapped it’s large wings, the gust generated from it tearing up the landscape, uprooting trees and breaking rocks. Several guild members fell down from the sheer force as others continued running. Meliodas braced himself and remained in place as the fierce gust bombarded his body.

“We need to get to the ship!” Gildarts shouted.

“Wendy, can’t you talk to it?!” Carla questioned.

“Dragon’s have high intelligence. They should all be able to understand us already!” Wendy responded.

“Run! Get to the ship!” Makarov yelled as he remained standing firm between everyone else and the dragon. His body began to grow rapidly, to nearly the size of the black dragon. He rushed forward, holding the dragon by the neck as he tried to keep it back.

“There’s no way he can fight that!” Gray exclaimed as he stared in awe at the two titans fighting.

“At least not alone!” Meliodas shouted. Everyone turned their heads to Meliodas as they felt a monstrous dark magical power coming from him. His eyes turned dark as a spiral shaped henna formed above his right eyebrow. Wings of darkness sprouted from his back as he put his hand on the handle of Mel Force. He leaped forward at blinding speed past the rest of his guild mates towards Acnologia and Makarov. ‘I’ll clip it’s wings first!’

“Divine Thousand Slashes!”

Meliodas reappeared on top of Acnologia with his blade drawn. Suddenly, he heard a loud cracking sound as the front part of Mel Force’s blade chipped off. He looked back at the dragon with a surprised expression. ‘Those scales are too tough.’

“Meliodas! What are you doing!” Makarov yelled as blood gushed from his mouth as he continued holding onto Acnologia. “Get out of here now!”

The dragon let out another mighty roar as it flapped its wings. Meliodas attempted to stay in the air above Acnologia as the massive gusts of wind blew him back. Suddenly, he felt a powerful force slam into him, as the tip of Acnologia’s wing hit Meliodas. Meliodas grunted in pain as he fell straight to the ground below in the forest away from Acnologia, knocking over several trees in the process.

“We can’t let Meliodas continue fight that thing!” Carla screamed. “It will kill him! That has to be what caused the Queen’s fortune!”

The other guild members looked at Carla in shock, remembering the fortune that they had discussed briefly after their return from Edolas.

“Well we got four dragon slayers here! Like hell we’re gonna lose! We’ll save both Meliodas and the Master!” Natsu shouted enthusiastically as he charged forward. As Acnologia knocked Makarov onto the ground, Makarov turned his head back with a look of shock on his face as the members of Fairy Tail were rushing towards Acnologia.

“We won’t let this dragon win over Fairy Tail!” Erza yelled. “Everyone hit it with everything you got!”

The guild members immediately lined up in front of the dragon, charging their attacks before firing it all at once. A multitude of various elements and weapons struck the dragon, engulfing it in several large explosions and covering it with smoke.

“Did that do it?” Lucy questioned.

“No...it’s just playing with us…it hasn’t even begun to reveal its real power…” Gildarts said dejectedly. From the smoke cloud, everyone noticed Acnologia’s figure fly out and up high into the air. In its mouth, it began charging a large amount of magical energy.

“It’s a breath attack!” Gajeel yelled.

“With all of that magic, that attack can blast away the entire island!” Cana exclaimed.

“Everyone who can use defensive magic, put up your strongest barrier!” Erza ordered.

“I don’t have enough time to draw the seals!” Freed replied.

“There’s plenty of defensive magic that doesn’t require writing symbols or seals!” Levy interjected.

“Everyone, focus your magical energy on Freed!” Lisanna yelled out.

“We’ll join hands!” Mirajane added as she extended a hand out. The guild members immediately joined hands together, standing in a circle as they braced for the incoming attack.

“We’ll show this dragon the bond of our guild!”

From its mouth, Acnologia released a large blast of magical power that nearly engulfed the island. Fairy Tail closed their eyes as they prepared to take the oncoming blast. Suddenly a figure jumped up above their circle in the way of the blast just before it reached them.

“Full Counter!”

---

Chapter Text

The giant blast of magic shot out of Acnologia’s mouth immediately changed directions, growing drastically in size in the process and engulfing the black dragon in an even greater explosion. The island shook as the blast collided with Acnologia, with the Fairy Tail members barely being able to hold on as the shockwaves blew across the island and outward, generating large waves in the ocean. Pieces of the top of the large tree that stood in the middle of the island broke off and fell to the ground beneath. Any clouds that were in the vicinity were immediately cleared away for miles, leaving a wide open blue sky with only one massive smoke cloud where Acnologia was once flying.

“Such power…” Freed remarked, still visibly shook by what he just witnessed.

“That had to be stronger than Etherion…” Lucy commented, remembering the events of the Tower of Heaven and Etherion striking the tower.

“That power was too manly!” Elfman shouted. “There’s no way that dragon is coming back from that!”

The shockwaves of the blast began to die down and the Fairy Tail members looked up at the massive smoke cloud looming above the island.

“No…” Gildarts muttered. “That dragon is very much alive.”

“It had to have taken some damage right?!” Gray questioned.

“I doubt it. That blast only stalled it.” Meliodas responded. “When I fought Laxus, I reflected his lightning back at him and it had no effect, even at three times the power.”

“Yeah, we’re not affected by our own magic.” Laxus added. “It makes sense an actual dragon wouldn’t be either.”

“But if it roars at us, we can just keep reflecting back at it right? It has to run out of magic eventually-” Bickslow’s comment was cut off by a deafening roar coming from the massive smoke cloud. A large figure emerged from the smoke cloud and landed hard on the island, shaking it.

“We might stand a chance here. After seeing Meliodas reflect its blast, it won’t use it again most likely.” Levy added.

“But if it’s not affected by our own magic or all of us attacking it at once, how are we supposed to hurt it?” Carla questioned.

Meliodas stared at Acnologia briefly as an idea popped in his head. ‘I have to try that. There’s no other way.’ He turned to Makarov, who was back to his normal size and sitting on the ground.

“Master, you can use telepathy magic right?” Meliodas asked. Makarov nodded as Meliodas walked closer to him and whispered something in his ear. Makarov’s eyes widened at Meliodas’ plan.

“You’re...seriously planning something like that…” Makarov responded.

“Can you relay that to everyone else? I’ll need their help.” Meliodas said. Makarov paused for a moment as he realized this was truly a last resort and their only chance of
getting off the island.
“You had better survive, Meliodas.” Makarov added. He put his fingers on his head, as he activated his telepathy magic, his voice transmitting into the minds of the other Fairy Tail members. The Fairy Tail members’ faces filled with a mixture of surprise and dread as they heard the plan.

“So you’re using that technique…” Lily commented.

“Meliodas you can’t…” Wendy said somberly. Meliodas returned a small smile back at her before getting into a stance as he faced the rest of the Fairy Tail members. Meliodas unsheathed Mel Force, holding it firmly in his left hand as while a large amount of magic radiated from Meliodas’ body before vanishing.

“This is insane!” Natsu yelled.

“You’re really planning to take all of our attacks without any sort of defense?!” Gray added.

“Yeah, there has to be another way!” Lucy exclaimed.

As the Fairy Tail members stared at Meliodas, they heard the loud footsteps of Acnologia, getting closer and closer. Meliodas looked back at all of them with a reassuring smile.

“Come on everyone, let’s do this!”

“We just have to believe in Meliodas!” Erza interjected, now donning her Heaven’s Wheel Armor.

“Dammit! You better come out of this alive!” Gray shouted as he got into his ice make stance. The other Fairy Tail members looked at each other before taking their own stances.

“Ice Make: Cannon!”

“Fire Dragon’s Roar!”

“Iron Dragon’s Roar!”

“Sky Dragon’s Roar!”

“Lightning Dragon’s Roar!”

“Evil Explosion!”

“Sand Buster!”

“Water Slicer!”

“Solid Script: Storm!”

“Dark Ecriture: Destruction!”

“Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!”

“Baryon Formation!”

“Photon Slash!”

“Mizuwari!”

“Rain of Light!”

Meliodas stood in place as over a dozen different magical attacks struck him and various sensations of different degrees of pain radiated throughout his body. From the intense cold of Gray’s ice, to the heat of Natsu’s fire. His body, continuously ravaged as the roars of the other dragon slayers struck him at once, the blunt force of Gajeel’s roar, the great pressure of Wendy’s roar, and the electrifying power of Laxus’s roar.

These sensations of pain and damage, building up in his body further as several more attacks hit him and he could feel each one breaking him down further. Mirajane’s darkness slammed hard into his body as the combined gust of sand, wind, and water tore into him. He could feel every bone in his body screaming with pain as the attacks kept coming, the added pain from the Thunder God Tribe’s onslaught making it nearly unbearable at this point.

As Meliodas grit his teeth and braced himself for more, he felt the energy blast of Erza’s swords collide with his body. He could feel his bones creaking at this point, his body screaming at him to stop, but he continued taking each attack to its fullest. At that moment, the ground underneath him cracked, a massive shockwave of magical energy tore into him from Gildarts’ attack. He could feel many of his bones breaking and blood gushed out of his body as several fractures pierced out of him through his skin. Suddenly Meliodas felt an immense pain, one that he was all too familiar with as he could feel his body break down from many blasts of light magic that Makarov launched at him, a demon’s natural weakness.

The smoke from the resulting massive explosion of every attack striking the same area began to clear, revealing Meliodas standing up in a massive crater after taking all of the attacks. His body heavily beaten and bleeding, his skin mostly purple from heavy bruises, torn to shreds and seemingly on the verge of death. Meliodas fell to his knees with an empty look in his eyes as his head leaned back with Mel Force on the ground next to him.

“W-was that too much?” Wendy cried out as she looked at Meliodas, who appeared to be on the verge of death.

Acnologia began to charge towards Meliodas, tearing through the trees and rocks that were in his way. As the black dragon got closer, Meliodas jolted up from his kneeling position and picked up Mel Force from the ground with a fierce look in his eyes. A bright vortex surrounded Meliodas, one larger than even Acnologia and rose seemingly endlessly into the sky. His body began to hover in the air as he prepared to swing Mel Force at Acnologia who was now directly in front of him.

At that moment, Meliodas noticed a strange spot on Acnologia’s chest, one reminiscent of a scar. A scar in that seemingly impenetrable wall of scales that did not heal correctly from a previous fight unknown to Meliodas. ‘There!’

“REVENGE COUNTER!”

Meliodas swung Mel Force with the power of his revenge counter behind it, causing the vortex to dissipate as his blade glowed brightly. Meliodas’ blade clashed with Acnologia’s body, creating a massive shockwave as a loud clanging sound echoed throughout the island. Meliodas swung as hard as he could into Acnologia’s body with a fierce look of determination in his eyes. ‘I’ll protect everyone here.’

At that moment, the fierce expression on Meliodas’ face vanished, becoming one of pure despair as a loud cracking sound rang through the island. In his hand, Mel Force had completely broken, the blade shattered into many pieces like glass with only the hilt remaining. The remaining energy of the revenge counter faded as Meliodas slowly fell to the ground. He looked up with dreary eyes at Acnologia who was glaring at him.

“Meliodas get out of there!” Carla screamed. At that moment, the fortune of his demise that the Queen had spoken of came into his head. ‘So this is it…I couldn’t change that future.’

Acnologia raised his right claw in the air and swiftly slashed down at Meliodas. Meliodas felt a sharp pain go across his entire body going from his left clavicle down to his right hip. Blood gushed out of the massive gash in Meliodas’ body as he was sent flying across the island towards the ocean, the Fairy Tail members watching in absolute horror as blood from his body rained down below. Meliodas’ vision began to grow darker and darker, the screams of his worried comrades fading. He could feel no more physical pain in his body. Instead, he felt a deep burning pain in his chest that struck at his very essence. One that felt even worse than any physical trauma he had been through as he watched Tenrou Island get further and further away from him.

‘I couldn’t protect them.’

Chapter Text

Meliodas’ vision faded, his surroundings blacking out as the last thing he felt was his body floating into the air. Below him, two women on a small wooden boat watched in horror at the explosion caused by Acnologia’s roar. Unaware of Meliodas who was falling right above them, his body came crashing into their boat.

“What was that!!” A woman’s voice yelled as a figure crashed through their boat. The boat split in half as Meliodas’ limp body made impact. Splinters and broken planks went flying, scattering around them in the ocean and leaving the two women floating in the water. The blue ocean waters around them began to take on a reddish tint as Meliodas’ body floated back up to the surface, his head just above the water.

“It’s...a person...” One of the women said as she stared at Meliodas' current appearance. ‘This person is-?!’

“Ultear, quickly fix the boat!” The voice said, snapping Ultear out of her daze.

“Right.” Ultear responded as she raised her right hand out of the water. A green orb formed just above her hand and began to glow. The broken parts of the wooden boat immediately began reforming itself back together until it was restored to its previous state. Ultear climbed on the boat and extended a hand out towards the other young woman who was holding onto Meliodas’ body.

“Meredy! Here!” Ultear said as she reached out. She pulled Meredy onto the boat then reached down towards Meliodas’ body. As she lifted his body out of the water she immediately felt the urge to vomit as she stared at the grotesque scene before her before placing him down in the boat.

“T-this is horrible!” Meredy exclaimed as she looked at Meliodas’ body while covering her mouth.

“This person...” Ultear said as she examined Meliodas’ body. On Meliodas’ right shoulder, she noticed Fairy Tail’s insignia. “This is...Meliodas, Fairy Tail’s Blond Demon…”

“Even he didn’t survive that explosion…” Meredy commented as she looked away from the grotesque scene.

“These injuries couldn’t have been from the explosion...no...wait…” Ultear’s eyes widened as she stared at Meliodas’ body. She placed a hand on his chest and felt a faint sign of breathing. Meredy turned again to look at Meliodas. Her eyes widened as she saw the faint movement of Meliodas’ chest rising.

“He is still alive!” Meredy shouted.

‘How is he still alive with injuries like this?! His innards are exposed and nearly falling out of his body one of his arms is barely hanging on by a flap of skin…’ Ultear thought as she looked at him.

“Then...we should be able to treat him right?” Meredy questioned. Ultear nodded and raised her right hand up out in front of her. Her palm began to glow brightly for a brief moment, before fading and revealing a roll of white bandages.

“Meredy, help me wrap him up.” Ultear said.

“Right!” Meredy responded as she began pulling out a long string of bandages from the roll that Ultear requipped out. “Can we really fix up someone who is like this?”

“I dont know….” Ultear sighed. Neither she nor Meredy knew anything about first aid beyond the basics, with fixing up the mangled mess that was Meliodas’ body seeming nearly impossible. As Meredy and Ultear attempted to stop the bleeding, they both paused as they noticed something strange.

“This is…?” Ultear suddenly noticed a strange dark substance leaking out of Meliodas’s body. It slowly enveloped his injuries and began mending his body, pulling some of the separated parts back together. ‘Is this even magic…’

“What's happening to him?” Meredy asked as she watched Meliodas’ body attempting to repair itself.

“I don’t know. Whatever this darkness is, I’ve never seen or felt anything like it before. But it looks like it's slowly healing his body. For now we can just wrap up the serious wounds and focus on getting to land. He may end up surviving this.” Ultear said.

January 1st, X785

Meliodas slowly opened his eyes, his vision flooded by bright rays of light. He lay down looking up at a blurry yet familiar ceiling. Down below him, he could hear the muffled cheering and laughter of many voices.

“Meliodas you’re not just going to nap all day are you?!” A familiar high pitched voice called out from a nearby hallway. Meliodas’ eyes immediately opened wide and he jumped up from the bed he was laying down on. He rubbed his eyes, clearing his vision as he looked around.

‘This is...the Boar’s Hat? And that voice earlier was Hawk…’ Meliodas looked around the room and saw Lostvayne in its sheath right next to the bed leaning against the nightstand. He looked down at his apparel and saw he was wearing his typical tavern clothing consisting of a baggy white collared shirt and a black vest along with a loosely worn red tie. Meliodas picked up Lostvayne and mounted it across his back. Before walking outside the room, he lifted up the right sleeve of his shirt and glanced at his arm. To his surprise, the Fairy Tail symbol was not there.

Meliodas walked into the hallway and headed downstairs. As he walked down the wooden spiral staircase, he could smell the aroma of Ban’s cooking getting stronger and stronger. He immediately felt a deep aching pain in his heart(s) as if it was being squeezed upon reaching the bottom floor. He looked around at all of the familiar faces, his eyes beginning to tear up.

“There’s the Captain ~ ♫” Ban shouted with a large grin as he sat at the bar with a mug of ale in his hand.

“Captain! You’re finally awake!” King shouted from the corner of the bar next to the window. Sitting next to him was Diane in her human sized form.

“How are you just going to sleep through the Boar’s Hat grand reopening in Liones!” Hawk shouted with a mouthful of food underneath one of the nearby tables.

“Elizabeth! Come here! The Captain is awake!” Diane exclaimed.

“Meliodas are you feeling better?” A woman’s voice said in a kindhearted tone. Meliodas turned his head and immediately towards the bar. A familiar young woman began to walk towards Meliodas, tears beginning to run down his face.

“Elizabeth…” Meliodas said silently.

Elizabeth had a worried expression as she ran over to the now crying Meliodas, giving him a hug as she placed his face in her bosom.

“I...just had a bad dream is all…” Meliodas mumbled as his face was muffled between Elizabeth’s breasts. He took a deep breath in, engorging himself in her scent as he started to relax.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better...BECAUSE THIS HELL HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN!”

Meliodas immediately jumped back as he heard Elizabeth’s voice change. Elizabeth’s face contorted into an evil grin as the tavern around them began to melt away, with the other people in the tavern nowhere to be seen.

Within seconds, Meliodas found himself standing in a black void facing Elizabeth, whose face began to transform into that of the creature Cath Palug. Meliodas immediately felt a deep rage grow inside him. His eyes turned dark as he glared at Cath and a black circular splotch formed in the middle of his forehead, surrounded by an outer ring that extended unevenly outwards.

“AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!” Meliodas shouted angrily as he put his hand on the handle of Lostvayne, gripping it tightly as his dark eyes went wide with rage.

“Meliodas you have to calm down!” A woman’s voice yelled out.

Meliodas jolted up, his eyes wide open and panting heavily. He looked around at where he was. The room around him was a run down old room with dark wooden walls and floors. The floors and walls had massive cracks going through them. Above, sunlight peeked through a small hole in the ceiling, with bits and pieces of the ceiling falling apart. He looked towards the woman standing across from the bed he sat on. The woman was pale skinned with dark purple hair and red eyes. She wore a tight fitting, mainly white bodysuit divided into three sections and trimmed with gold patterns and black sleeves on her arms.

“Who are you?” Meliodas asked wearily. His head was still fuzzy as he thought about the dream he just had.

“I am Ultear Milkovich. I was previously associated with Grimoire Heart but that is no longer the case.” Ultear answered. “You must have a lot of questions, so I’ll answer them to the best of my abilities.”

“Grimoire…” Meliodas mumbled. A wave of panic fell over him as he remembered what had happened on Tenrou. He remembered his fight with Acnologia and getting nearly cut in half. Meliodas looked down at his body and saw he was shirtless, his upper body completely covered in bandages. He put his hand on the left part of his chest and across different parts of his torso. ‘Looks like I lost four of my hearts…’

“What happened to Fairy Tail? How long have I been out?” Meliodas questioned.

“I suspect they were killed by Acnologia. Acnologia destroyed the entire island with a roar. As for how long you’ve been out, it’s been two weeks. It’s now X785.” Ultear answered. “Meredy and I were escaping from Tenrou when your body was launched straight into our boat. Thankfully, my magic helped me fix the boat after your body crashed right through it and we took you in.”

“I see…” Meliodas answered solemnly as he looked down at his hands. “So in the end that fortune came true and I couldn’t protect my friends…” Meliodas said silently to himself.

“Well it was certainly a miracle you survived an encounter with Acnologia, let alone the injuries that were inflicted upon you.” Ultear commented. Meliodas remained sulking as he looked down while Ultear looked at him skeptically. ‘His body was barely attached together, nearly split in half...no ordinary human could have survived that kind of injury, especially since Meredy and I lack the healing magic to fix him. But here he is, completely recovered from his injuries…Not to mention that dark magic he flared out when he screamed earlier.’

“I assume you were the one who defeated Master Hades.” Ultear inquired. Meliodas nodded his head.

“I don’t know your reasons for rescuing me despite coming from an enemy guild, but you have my thanks.” Meliodas said as he slowly got up from the bed.

“You shouldn’t push yourself. I suggest you rest a bit longer.” Ultear said. “I sent Meredy out to get supplies an hour ago so she should be back soon.”

Meliodas nodded and sat back down at the edge of the bed. He could still feel a dull pain in his body where four of his hearts used to be.

‘That dragon was too powerful. None of my magic worked on it and neither did anyone else’s. I need to rely only on my physical strength and darkness. I probably won't be able to fight it until I return to my original strength...’ Meliodas thought to himself as he recalled his fight.

“And the reason as to why I saved you...well I’ve changed my ways since leaving Grimoire and it was thanks to Gray for opening my eyes. Seeing as you were a member of Fairy Tail, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had just left you to die...” Ultear said, a tear beginning to form in one of her eyes.

“You knew Gray?” Meliodas asked.

“Gray was my mother’s disciple. My mother was someone I had initially despised and was a large part of why I had turned out the way I was. But Gray showed me the truth.” Ultear continued.

“Ultear I’m back!” A young girl’s voice shouted from another room. A young girl of short stature walked into the room Meliodas and Ultear were in. She had short pink hair and pink eyes. She wore a gold, wing-like headgear around her ears, a tight purple leotard, and brownish thigh high boots.

“Ultear where do you want-” The young woman immediately stopped as she looked around the room, which was on the verge of falling apart from Meliodas’ outburst. “What happened here?!” She exclaimed.

“It’s nothing, Meredy. I’ll fix it soon.” Ultear responded. Meredy nodded and glanced at Meliodas.

“You’re finally awake, Meliodas. I’m Meredy.” Meredy introduced herself. Meliodas looked up at Meredy and nodded in response.

“Meliodas what will you do now?” Ultear asked. Meliodas remained silent for a moment, and placed his hand over his chest where he could feel several hearts missing before glancing at Ultear.

“I’m not sure yet. I think I’ll rest a bit longer before I do anything else…”

---

Chapter Text

Meliodas stood outside of the abandoned cabin he was staying at as he watched the sun rise. His injuries healed, he was now wearing the long sleeved tunic he had bought from Heart Kreuz previously instead of being wrapped in bandages. Standing next to him were Ultear and Meredy.

“You’re leaving now? Are you sure you’ve healed enough?” Meredy asked.

“Yeah. I heal pretty fast. Besides, I need to return to Fairy Tail and let them know I’m alright.” Meliodas answered.

“Take care of yourself, Meliodas.” Ultear added in.

“I will. And thanks again for saving me. You know where to find me if you ever need my help. By the way, what do you two plan on doing since you’re no longer with Grimoire.” Meliodas asked.

“I don’t quite have a plan yet. However, I do intend on doing something to atone for my past.” Ultear answered.

“And I’ll be joining Ultear with whatever she does.” Meredy added. Meliodas nodded and smiled at the two of them.

“Then I wish you two good luck!” Meliodas said as black wings of darkness sprouted from his back. He jumped into the air and took off north.

“I can’t believe he's already healed. When we found him, his body was completely torn. I didn’t even think he would live, much less heal in two weeks...” Meredy said.

Ultear nodded in agreement. “Yes. There's something odd about him. But I know for certain that he is definitely not human...”

“Then what is he?” Meredy asked, shocked at Ultear’s response.

Ultear remained silent for a moment. “Well, it doesn’t matter what he is. He’s a member of Fairy Tail and we owe a debt to Fairy Tail.”

Meredy nodded. By the time they finished their conversation, Meliodas’s figure had already disappeared into the distance.

---

Meliodas wasn’t initially too far away from Magnolia Town, as he had spent his time resting in the abandoned cabin that was in a forest close to Hargeon Port. Meliodas took his time flying back to Magnolia as he thought about his next plans.

‘I couldn’t help those who were with me on Tenrou...but while I’m still here, I need to help those who are still in the guild as the key members of Fairy Tail are now all gone…and in order to do that…’ Meliodas thought about Mel Force, having broken it when he clashed against Acnologia. ‘Hmm...Now that I think about it, I don’t remember holding onto it when I got slashed and launched across the ocean. I’ll definitely need another sword like that for future fights.’

Meliodas landed in front of the guild hall entrance. His black wings of darkness dissipated and he walked into the guild. The guild hall was silent and with far less people. However, there were still a few faces Meliodas recognized.

Wakaba, who was sitting alone at one of the tables, noticed Meliodas walk into the guild. His eyes opened wide as tears began streaming down his face. He immediately jumped up from his seat and ran towards Meliodas.

“Meliodas!” Wakaba exclaimed. Some of the other guild members there turned their heads towards Wakaba and upon seeing Meliodas, immediately ran towards him.

“It’s really Meliodas!” Nab shouted.

“Y-you survived?!” Max questioned.

The group gathered around Meliodas, hugging him as Meliodas stood uncomfortably in the middle.

“What’s going on?” Macao shouted as he walked out of the Guild Master’s office. Meliodas squeezed his way out of the crowd that was smothering him and looked at Macao.

“Meliodas?!” Macao exclaimed. “You’re really alive! Then that means everyone else is-”

“No.” Meliodas said solemnly. The cheers of the other guild members immediately quieted down upon hearing Meliodas’ statement.

“As far as I know...I’m the only one who survived. It was pure luck that I’m still alive here today…” Meliodas continued.

“How did you even get out of that?!” Wakaba questioned. Meliodas thought briefly about bringing up the fact he was rescued by Ultear and Meredy but decided against it as he knew they were still wanted criminals.

“Well a few fishermen found my body floating in the ocean.” Meliodas responded.

“I see…” Macao responded. “Well since then, the past couple of weeks have been rough. We’ve sent people to Hargeon to try and locate Tenrou after the council informed us of what had happened, but we found no trace of the island. Right now, Reedus, Vijiteer, and Warren are out there.”

“By the way, who is the new guild master now?” Meliodas asked.

“You’re looking at him.” Macao said smugly. “Although-” Macao held his tongue at what he was about to say to Meliodas. He knew Meliodas’ situation with being from another world and wanting to return back to it. Even if he felt Meliodas would be a better fit for guild master, it would have felt wrong to place that kind of burden on Meliodas.

“I’m his advisor.” Wakaba added. “It’s probably a bit out of place to ask this but...did the S class trials ever finish?”

Meliodas nodded his head in response.
“Makarov promoted me to S class.”

“Congratulations! It would be a time to celebrate but…” Macao paused.

“It’s fine. Now that I'm in S class, I’ll do whatever I can to help this guild thrive.” Meliodas said.

“The S class board has gone quite empty due to our lack of ability as of late to complete those kinds of jobs, but we still have a couple left on the board if you decide to take those.” Wakaba said.

“I’ll do what I can to help you guys out. But I broke my sword when I fought Acnologia so I’ll be going to get another from Musica first before I take on any missions.” Meliodas said as he began to make his way back towards the guild entrance. “Tell the others I’m back once they return from Hargeon.”

“Will do Meliodas.” Macao responded as he and the other guild members watched Meliodas leave.

“Don’t overwork yourself!” Wakaba shouted as Meliodas was walking out before turning to face Macao. “He’s really changed. That lighthearted tone he always talks in is...colder...”

“I hope he’s not blaming himself for what happened…” Macao responded.

---

Meliodas stopped by his house and knocked on Schneider’s door. The door opened and Schneider’s eyes opened wide with surprise upon seeing Meliodas.

“You’re alive?!” Schneider exclaimed.

“Sorry I missed last month’s rent. This is for you.” Meliodas said as he handed Schneider the jewels. Schneider looked down at the money he was payed before looking back up at Meliodas. Without even a chance to even get a word in, Meliodas had already run off.

“O-oh...thanks.” Schneider responded, trying to comprehend what was happening. ‘He even included an extra 25,000 for the late fee...I wasn’t going to charge him for that considering what had happened…’

---

The warm afternoon sun shined down over Meliodas as he flew north towards Clover Town and landed right in front of Musica’s house. Sitting on a chair on the porch was Musica with a bottle of ale in hand. He immediately stood up from his chair upon seeing Meliodas.

“Meliodas?!” Musica shouted. He momentarily froze and dropped the bottle of ale in his hand, causing it to crack and spill the contents inside as it hit the ground.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted with a wave.

“Don’t just greet me casually like that!” Musica shouted as he ran towards Meliodas. “I heard that you were dead! I don’t know the details, but apparently something happened at your guild’s S class trials and the guild master along with a bunch of other members had died…including you…”

“Well it was a stroke of luck that I got out of it…” Meliodas replied somberly. Musica saw the sadness in Meliodas’ eyes and immediately changed the subject.

“So what brings you here?” Musica asked.

“I broke Mel Force.” Meliodas responded bluntly.

“WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COULD ONE OF MY SWORDS BREAK?!” Musica shouted angrily.

“Well I was fighting Acnologia.” Meliodas continued. Musica flinched upon hearing the name of the black dragon.

“I suppose even my creations would be no match for that damned dragon…” Musica said. “To think you would be fighting something like that…where are the remains of Mel Force now?”

“I don’t have it anymore. Acnologia nearly killed me so I must have dropped it in the ocean somewhere…” Meliodas responded.

“Well...it can’t be helped...I’ll craft you another Mel Force as I still have a few anti link crystals leftover from the last time.” Musica said. “Although if you’re going to be fighting something like Acnologia...I’ll need a different material than typical steel and iron…”

“What would that be?” Meliodas asked.

“Neotite. It’s an incredibly rare metal that is far stronger than steel. It’s an augmentor type metal, meaning that the more magic you pour into it, the stronger it becomes and can conduct magic better than steel ever could.”

“And where do I find this metal?” Meliodas asked.

“Northwest of Crocus is a mountainous area. The highest mountain there, Tremolo Mountain, is the only place in Fiore that I know of to get this metal.” Musica answered. “I tried going there a couple of weeks ago but I was denied entry by the council. They’ve set a perimeter around the area and wouldn’t tell me why.”

“Hmm...that is quite problematic. But I think I know someone who might be able to get me in.” Meliodas responded.

“Really? Who?”

Chapter Text

January 3rd, X785

‘It’s been a while since I was last here.’ Meliodas thought, recalling his last trip to Lamia Scale several months ago.

He looked around the guild, which compared to Fairy Tail, was brimming with people. Meliodas had even recognized several guild members who, despite not knowing their names, he had seen around Fairy Tail. ‘It’s only been a couple of weeks and quite a few of Fairy Tail’s members have left…’

“Meliodas?!” Lyon exclaimed with shock written all over his face.

“Yo!” Meliodas greeted with a small wave.

“I can’t believe it, you’re alive!” Lyon shouted, catching the attention of several other guild members.

“I shouldn’t be surprised you made it out of Tenrou.” Jura said as he approached Meliodas. “I’m glad to see you’re alright. What brings you to Lamia Scale?”

“Actually, you’re just the person I was looking for, Jura. I need your help.” Meliodas answered. Jura’s eyes widened, surprised that someone like Meliodas would request his help.

“What can I help you with?” Jura asked.

“I need access to Tremolo Mountain.” Meliodas continued.

“That place? I don’t know too many of the details, but I believe the council quarantined the area due to one of Zeref’s demons showing up there. But why would you need to go to that mountain?” Jura asked.

“There’s a material I need to get there for a new sword.” Meliodas responded. Jura looked at Meliodas’ back and realized Mel Force was no longer mounted there.

“Originally the council had their own measures for dealing with the demon, but that would take weeks. I suppose they won’t mind if I brought you there with me in order to speed things up in dealing with the demon threat as I am a Wizard Saint after all.” Jura commented.

“Speaking of being a Wizard Saint, I think I’d be interested in becoming one.” Meliodas said.

“Hmm…” Jura stared at Meliodas in silence for a moment. ‘With Makarov and most of the members of Fairy Tail gone, Meliodas becoming a Wizard Saint wouldn’t be out of the question, especially since we still have several slots open.’

“I suppose it’s possible with the way things are now.” Jura said. “This wouldn’t happen to be about your “unique situation” would it?”

“You know about that?” Meliodas asked, surprised at Jura’s inquiry.

“I got a few hints from Makarov in our post meeting conversations. Don’t worry, only I know about it in the council.” Jura said reassuringly. “You becoming a Wizard Saint wouldn’t necessarily mean you get access to the council’s library of magic. That kind of thing is on a need to know basis so even I know nothing of the magic they may be hiding. Not only that, but you would have to prioritize your work with the council above all else.”

“Which is why they didn’t like Makarov.” Meliodas remarked. Jura nodded his head in response, knowing the truth behind what Meliodas said, as Makarov cared far more about the guild than the council’s work despite being one of the Wizard Saints.

“So joining the Wizard Saints might actually impede me then…” Meliodas continued.

“Perhaps. But I can tell you more things about the council and the Ten Wizard Saints on the way to Tremolo Mountain. Shall we get going?” Jura inquired.

“Sounds good to me.” Meliodas replied.

---

Half a day later, Meliodas and Jura arrived at Ska Village, a small village that was just at the foot of the mountain. Council members swarmed the area with many of their tents set up just outside of the village. The village was noticeably empty, indicating that the council had already evacuated the villagers. A few of the councilmen walking nearby noticed Jura and Meliodas approaching.

“Is that Jura?!” One of them exclaimed.

“It is! But who is that with him?” Another councilman questioned.

“I think that’s Meliodas from Fairy Tail. But why are they here?!”

A councilman wearing glasses and long tied up hair approached the two of them as he heard the commotion.
“What’s going on here?”

“Hello Lahar. What’s the situation here?” Jura greeted. Lahar looked at Jura with a confused look and glanced over at Meliodas who was standing next to him. ‘I haven’t even sent out the reinforcements request...why is Jura here along with Meliodas? No matter, I suppose them being here will help us.’

“Currently, we evacuated all of the citizens from the area. We’ve had no casualties in the past week.” Lahar answered.

“I see. Well you can leave everything to Meliodas and I. We’ll deal with this threat.” Jura said.

“Of course.” Lahar said as he bowed his head in respect to the Wizard Saint.

“So tell us what we’re dealing with.” Jura continued. The three of them began to walk through the small camp that the councilmen had set up as they talked.

“I’m sure you're familiar with the instruments of Zeref, a group of demons Zeref created that are based on instruments. Lullaby was one of them that Fairy Tail assisted in destroying in the past if I recall.” Lahar said as he glanced over at Meliodas.

“I don’t think I was in the guild yet when that happened.” Meliodas responded.

“Well these instrument demons are very dangerous. Lullaby was one where those who heard the sound of its flute would be put into a deep sleep, never to wake up.” Lahar continued.

“So death then.” Meliodas said bluntly. Lahar nodded in response.

“What’s this one’s ability?” Jura asked.

“This one is known as Debilis. It is based on the violin. Those who hear the sound of its music will lose their five senses.” Lahar answered. “A few of the councilmen were afflicted by this as they tried to scout near the top of the mountain. It took them several hours to gain their senses back.”

“That sounds quite troublesome. We may have to deal with it outside of its range.” Jura inquired.

“Have you guys tried earplugs?” Meliodas asked.

“Another scouting group attempted this with specialized magical earplugs meant to block out sound based magic. Even with the magic earplugs, the sound is only muffled, not fully negated. Earplugs only serve to stall the effects for a few seconds before you gradually start to lose your senses.” Lahar said.

“Is there ever a time where the music isn’t playing?” Jura asked. “We may be able to sneak up on the one playing the music.”

“That may work. We haven’t tried that yet as we currently lack the power to do so. But with you two here, that shouldn’t be a problem. The best time for that would have to be before the sun rises according to the reports.” Lahar stated. The group stopped walking as they arrived at a large tent filled with many cots. “You two are free to stay here until then.”

“Excellent.” Jura said. “It’s best we get some rest then since we will be waking up early tomorrow morning.”

Chapter Text

January 4th X785

Meliodas stared at the full moon above him as he sat atop a large tree in the middle of the village. As he stared at the moon, he thought about his friends in Tenrou and their unfortunate fates. ‘I failed to protect everyone again…’ Meliodas thought as he continued to stare silently at the clear night night sky.

Nearby he heard the sound of a branch cracking followed by footsteps. To his surprise, there was a cloaked figure holding a black, wooden violin in his hands.

“For you, I will play the tune of Debilis.” The cloaked figure said.

As Meliodas jumped down from the tree, the mysterious man began playing the violin. A soothing melody played throughout the village. Meliodas could feel his senses starting to fade and he immediately leaped towards the man. The man jumped out of the way in time as he continued playing the violin. Meliodas’ vision began to grow dark until it was pitch black. He couldn’t hear anything, see anything, feel anything, smell anything, or taste anything. All he had were his own thoughts.

The man stopped playing the violin as Meliodas stood completely still right in front of him. The mysterious man laughed as he could hear the screams of the council members nearby, as they could not comprehend what was going on, having lost all of their senses.

The man took a few steps forward and reached out towards Meliodas. At that moment, something within Meliodas stirred, an all familiar feeling he had not felt since Purgatory. Purgatory, the land that ate away at both the flesh and soul. The land where your senses no longer mattered and you could only rely on your sixth sense as you tried to adapt before the land transformed your very being.

The cloaked man felt a sharp pain in his arm and his eyes opened wide as Meliodas grabbed his forearm. A loud cracking sound echoed through the village.

“AAGGGHH!” The man screamed in pain as he hunched over in pain, unable to escape from Meliodas’ grip. Meliodas leaned forward and wound his fist back, sending a swift punch to the man’s torso. Blood leaked out of the man’s mouth as he heard the sound of his own ribs shatter and was sent flying into a nearby wooden house. The man slammed into the house, causing large planks and sticks to go flying and scatter across the ground.

At that moment, Meliodas began to regain his senses. His blacked out vision became clearer and clearer and he could hear the screams of the councilmen around him. Meliodas looked ahead of him and saw the man still firmly holding onto the violin despite falling unconscious as blood dripped from his mouth.

Meliodas could feel a dark magical presence begin to stir from the violin. It’s shape began to morph into that of a towering beast, one that was over fifty meters tall. It’s body appeared to be made entirely out of bone and six spikes appeared on its back, taking the appearance of bone wings. Its giant clawed feet stepped on the building beneath it where the cloaked man was, its sheer weight shattering the very ground. It opened its gaping mouth and a bright light was emitted as it began to charge a massive blast of magic at Meliodas.

‘So that’s Debilis…’ Meliodas thought as he instinctively reached for his back but realized that he no longer had Mel Force with him. Meliodas looked around. On the ground next to him was a stick that fell near him when he launched the cloaked man into the wooden house. He picked up the stick and prepared himself as he took a stance.

Debilis fired the blast from its mouth, a blast that could have even surpassed the Jupiter cannon’s firepower and wiped out the councilmen as they were still in no state to defend themselves as well as the entirety of Ska Village. Meliodas swung the branch in his hand just before the blast made contact with him.

“Full Counter!”

The beam redirected back at Debilis, shot upward and engulfing the demon’s upper body in a massive explosion that made its way towards the mountain behind it. In that instant, the summit of the mountain exploded, causing large rocks to come falling down from the skies.

“Oops.” Meliodas said as smaller bits of rock landed near him. A few particularly large rocks headed towards the town. With the councilmen in the current state they were in, they were unaware of the danger of being crushed.

Meliodas dropped the stick on the ground and raised his left arm up. A veil of darkness formed in the shape of a large blade as he leaped towards the oncoming rocks. Meliodas spun around in the air and dashed between the rocks heading towards the town. As he landed on the ground again, the boulders broke down into hundreds of smaller pieces that harmlessly bounced off the tops of the houses.

“Now then…” Meliodas said as he turned back around. “Looks like I have to wait for these guys to get their senses back.”

---

A few hours passed and the councilmen stopped scrambling around as they regained their senses.

“You really fought that demon by yourself? How did you do it when all of your senses were gone?” Jura asked.

“I guess it’s a sixth sense.” Meliodas responded nonchalantly. “By the way, you recovered pretty quickly Jura. It only took you about five minutes after Debilis was destroyed to gain your senses back.”

“I suppose it’s based on one’s magical power. Which would explain why you gained yours back in a matter of seconds.” Jura responded.

He and Jura approached the corpse of the mage who was playing the instrument. When Debilis had grown to full size, it had crushed the mage in the process, leaving a splattered mess on the ground.

“Meliodas.” Lahar said as he approached Meliodas from behind. “The council will clean the rest up from here. I have to thank you for your assistance with this threat.”

“Of course!” Meliodas responded with a smile.

“But what brought you here with Jura?” Lahar asked. “I hadn’t sent the request out for reinforcements yet.”

“Oh that. Well I’m getting a new sword crafted and I need a material that can only be found on this mountain. It’s called Neotite.” Meliodas replied.

“Oh that material. I hear it's an incredibly durable yet hard to work with ore. The council attempted to mine it in the past but it was too difficult to forge properly into weapons. If I remember correctly, that material is found at the summit-” Lahar paused and his eyes opened wide as he was about to point to the top of the mountain.

“What...happened…” Lahar gasped. Jura remembered Meliodas’ technique “Full Counter” and couldn’t hide his amusement and a smile formed on his face. ‘He must have used that technique and the blast hit the mountain as a result.’

“Well I’ll be heading off now to get the material. Thanks for getting me here Jura! I owe you one!” Meliodas shouted as he scurried off to the mountain, leaving Lahar and Jura back in the village.

---

Later that morning as noon approached, Meliodas returned to Musica’s forge. He handed Musica the Neotite and Musica began working on the new blade immediately.

“By the way, Meliodas!” Musica shouted as he hammered down loudly on the blade. “I finished the swords both Erza and Pantherlily requested. I want you to hold onto them...just in case. They’re in my house mounted on the wall. You’ll recognize them immediately.”

Meliodas nodded and went into Musica’s house. As he entered the door, he noticed the two swords mounted on the wall above the fireplace. Meliodas approached the swords. A tight feeling grasped his chest and Meliodas clenched his fists.

‘They’ve already sent search parties out to find them...But that island had something special about it. I could feel it as soon as I stepped on it...so maybe they are alive…somehow...’

Meliodas took a closer look at the swords. The one mounted at the bottom was for Lily. It was a small, shrunken down greatsword, but Meliodas knew it would grow along with Lily’s size. It was double edged with a wide flat blade that was white on the edges.

Mounted above that was another sword, Erza’s. Its appearance was similar to that of Benizakura, except the blade was a lighter color with Musica’s signature music note symbol engraved near the handle. Meliodas grabbed the swords from the wall mounts, placing them directly into his requip inventory before stepping outside to see Musica again.

“What did you think of the swords? I tried a new method of making them and they turned out better than I expected. I dare say they’re even better than the Mel Force I gave you, although probably not better than this new one I’m making for you.” Musica remarked as he noticed Meliodas approaching.

“They’re really nice. Did you name them?” Meliodas asked.

“Of course! The one for Pantherlily I called “Ethernal.” A blade fitting of his stature as it can change its size according to the user’s whims. The other for Erza is called “Entenka.” There’s a secret behind that sword that I was hoping she would figure out one day.” Musica answered. Meliodas became noticeably saddened, thinking about the two of them again as well as the rest of the guild on Tenrou. Musica stopped what he was doing and placed a hand on Meliodas’ shoulder.

“Do you have faith in your friends?” Musica asked. Meliodas looked down at the ground, not only thinking about them, but also the Seven Deadly Sins. He had faith that the Seven Deadly Sins made it out of their battle with Cath without him. ‘Maybe...Fairy Tail could have made it out of it with Acnologia…’

“I do.” Meliodas said resolutely. “I’ll keep moving forward so that they have a place to come back to.”

“Alright then. In the meantime, I’ll be spending the next few days working on this blade of yours. Why don’t you come back later to pick it up.” Musica suggested.

Chapter Text

January 5th, X785

Meliodas sat down at the bar. It was the first time he had actually sat down to relax and get a drink. He looked up at the back door, expecting Mira to show up. A new barmaid instead showed up behind the bar.

“What would you like to drink?” The barmaid asked.

“Magnolia Berry Ale.” Meliodas said. As the barmaid poured Meliodas’ drink, he thought about his meeting with Ultear and Meredy. ‘Ultear seemed quite knowledgeable...I should have asked her if she knew anything about spatial magic…or possibly Selene.’

“Our financial situation is looking bad.” Macao said as he and Wakaba walked by. Meliodas turned his head as he listened into their conversation.

“We need to somehow get more people to participate in the higher paying missions so our guild can receive more money from having them posted here. The problem is, people have been leaving the guild. Those who are still around don’t do nearly enough missions to make enough money for the guild.” Wakaba said.

“At this rate, we might have to foreclose this building by the end of the year…we’re going to have to start digging into the guild savings pretty soon.” Macao sighed.

Meliodas placed his now empty mug of ale down on the table and walked over to the mission board. There were a few A rank missions posted on the board. To his surprise, two of them happened to be in nearby areas. One of them was a monster subdual mission at a forest near Hosenka Town while the other was to stop a group of Zeref cultists just north of Hosenka Town. Meliodas noticed a third mission to deal with bandits to the west of Magnolia Town, which was on the way to Hosenka Town. Meliodas grabbed all three of them off the board and walked back downstairs over to Macao and Wakaba, who were sitting at their usual table.

“I’ll be taking these three missions.” Meliodas said as he placed the flyers on the table. Macao and Wakaba looked at Meliodas with a surprised look on their faces.

“Three A Rank missions?!” They both exclaimed.

“Normally, a mage only takes one mission at a time…” Wakaba commented.

“Well, the guild seems to be in a financially rough spot from what I hear. If I complete these three, it should help the guild out quite a bit.” Meliodas said. “They’re all in the same general area and I don’t feel like making a round trip.”

“Well...I guess we don’t have a choice. Just be careful out there Meliodas.” Macao said. Meliodas returned a grin to Macao before grabbing the flyers and taking off.

Within the same hour, Meliodas returned to the guild, much to the surprise of Macao and Wakaba.

“You’re already back?!” Macao exclaimed.

“I knew you were fast but...that’s insane…” Wakaba commented.

“I’ll go get more missions.” Meliodas said as he turned back towards the board.

---

January 9th X785

Meliodas sat by himself at a table with a mug of ale in hand. He stared blankly at the job bulletin board and thought about the past few days doing over a dozen different job requests and having to fly full speed across Fiore and back.

‘These jobs help with getting me money but that’s about it. I’m still not anywhere closer to finding any clues that will get me back to Britannia…’

Meliodas’ thoughts were interrupted as a strange young man he had never seen before approached the table he was sitting at. Meliodas looked curiously at the man who was holding a large box.

“Meliodas, right?” The man asked. Meliodas nodded.

“I’ve been looking for you. I’m from a small and upcoming guild known as Heart Spire in Clover Town. Got something I’m supposed to deliver. Your hands only.” The man said as he handed Meliodas the box.

Meliodas looked at the box, wondering who it could have been from. It was made of fine wood and had a music symbol carved at the top. As soon as he saw the music symbol, Meliodas knew who it was from.

“Thanks!” Meliodas said. The young man nodded before turning around and making his way out of the guild. Meliodas popped the wooden lid off the box and his eyes widened with surprise.

Sitting in the box was a brand new sword, one that was similar in appearance to his old Mel Force sword. Tied to the handle was a note. Meliodas opened the note and read it.

‘Something came up and I won’t be home for a while so I’ve decided to commission a nearby guild to mail this to you. I’ve fittingly named this sword “Neo Mel Force.” Try not to break it but with how much work I put into it, I highly doubt you could even if you tried.’

Meliodas let out a small laugh upon reading the note. He picked up the sword from the box which was still in its scabbard. He unsheathed and immediately he felt a massive difference between this sword and the original Mel Force.

“Nice sword you got.” Wakaba said as he approached Meliodas and took a seat in front of him at the table. “Also...thanks for doing all those jobs. You really got us out of that financial rut this month.”

“Well I’m just being a good guild member.” Meliodas said with a grin. “By the way, why is the board so empty today? Wouldn’t there be new jobs by now?”

“Well over the past few days, the rest of the guild saw how hard you were working and decided to work extra hard. You’ve been a real role model, Meliodas.” Wakaba said with a smile.

“Also, Macao wanted me to give this to you. I know the S rank board’s been empty since the Tenrou incident, but Macao managed to get this one job. It’s a dark guild job. Maybe that guild might have information on some crazy magic that can help you with your problem.” Wakaba handed Meliodas the flyer and Meliodas read over it.

[Subdue the Pirates! A dark guild of pirates known as Blue Guardians has been terrorizing the many fishing boats in Hargeon, making it impossible to go out and fish. 8,000,000 Jewel Reward.]

“I don’t quite remember seeing these guys on the Balam Alliance chart.” Meliodas commented.

“Well that chart is essentially out of date now, considering how you’ve taken down two thirds of them already.” Wakaba said.

“Well, I better get on it.” Meliodas said as he stood up from the table and grabbed the flyer.

---

Early that afternoon, Meliodas arrived at the main harbor of Hargeon Port. The harbor was filled with ships, not a single one ready to set sail. Dozens of sailors and fishermen stood idly by, some sitting on crates and talking to each other while others stared at the vast ocean. A large burly old man with a thick grey mustache in a white captain’s uniform approached Meliodas.

“You the one Fairy Tail sent?” The man asked. “You’re a bit different than I had imagined you.”

“Yup that’s me. I’m Meliodas.” Meliodas answered.

“They call me Captain Seadog around these parts.” The man responded. “I’m the proud owner of the S.S. Seadog, the greatest fishing boat in the last twenty years...at least I was until those damn bastards destroyed my vessel. Not only that, but they’re affecting all the other businesses at this port. Trade’s been stopped with Ca Elum and Minstrel cause of em.”

“That’s problematic. One of my favorite brands of ale is from Minstrel.” Meliodas commented.

“Really? What brand was that?” Seadog asked.

“Troubadour.” Meliodas responded.

“Well you got a good taste in ale my friend. Once you settle this problem, why don’t we go grab a drink together. And let me know if you need my help with anything. I’m no fighter, but I know my way around these parts.”

“I might have to take you up on that offer. If I want to lure out pirates, I’ll need a boat right?” Meliodas asked.

“I got an extra boat from my old navigation days. It’s nothing spectacular but I’ve been maintaining it. Those pirate bastards must be hurting since we haven’t sent a ship out in days. I’m sure they’ll jump on any boat they see at this point.” Seadog said. “Just give me an hour or so to get the ship prepped for ya. I’ll meet you back here.”

“Sure thing.” Meliodas said as he waved goodbye to the old captain. Meliodas looked around the docks and began walking around, looking at the ships. He eventually arrived at the spot where he and the participants of the S rank Trials stepped on board their boat to Tenrou. Meliodas paused for a moment and looked out to sea. Musica’s words echoed in his head.

“Hey you’re the guy from Fairy Tail right?” A young man said as he approached Meliodas. Meliodas turned around and looked at the young man. He was a fair skinned young man who appeared to be in his early twenties and wore a tunic with rolled up sleeves and baggy pants tucked into black rubber boots. He wore a blue and white striped bandana over his head.

“Yeah that’s me.” Meliodas replied.

“I saw you talking to Captain Seadog already. I’m Duke, one of the fishermen of the Seadog Fishing Company. I was on his boat when those pirates attacked us. I know this isn’t part of your mission description but can you do me a favor? I’ll pay you extra if you want.”

“What is it?” Meliodas asked.

“I had a necklace on me that they stole. It was a sapphire necklace that my wife gave to me. If you find it, can you bring it back to me?” Duke asked. Meliodas looked into his eyes and could see the desperation in them.

“I’ll see what I can do. Free of charge.” Meliodas said with a grin. ‘I wouldn’t like it if someone took something from me that Elizabeth gave to me.’

“Thank you so much!” Duke said as he bowed his head. Meliodas nodded and turned back around to face the ocean as Duke left. Across from Meliodas at the dock next to him, Meliodas noticed a familiar young man. He had black spiky hair and wore a white, sleeveless t-shirt and grey sweats. Wrapped around his head were bandages. The young man glanced in Meliodas’ direction and his eyes lit up immediately.

“Meliodas?!”

Chapter Text

“Yo, Lance!” Meliodas greeted with a small wave. Lance immediately jumped across the gap between the two docks, landing next to Meliodas.

“I didn’t expect to see you here!” Lance said with a large grin. Meliodas returned a smile back at him.

“Yeah, I could say the same about you. Weren’t you heading west?” Meliodas asked.

“Well, we were…” Lance replied, his cheerful mood gone. “Me and Goodwin spent the past month sightseeing a bit longer and a couple of days ago we tried to take a boat to Caelum. But these pirates showed up. And lemme tell you they’re really strong! I tried to fight them off but there were five of them who were especially strong and I don’t think I could beat them even in a one on one fight. They ended up sinking the ship and Goodwin got injured. So I swam back hauling Goodwin with me and he’s still in the hospital…” Lance said as he clenched his fists. “Damn...if I had the chance, I would fight them again for what they did to Goodwin but I’m not strong enough by myself…”

“Well I’m here doing a mission for Fairy Tail to stop those guys. They’re a dark guild named Blue Guardians.” Meliodas said.

“Really? That’s awesome!” Lance said, his eyes bright, only for his expression to quickly turn dull again. “But...they’re crazy strong. I mean...you’re crazy strong too but…”

“Don’t worry about me.” Meliodas said in a reassuring tone.

“You wouldn’t mind if I came with you right?” Lance asked. “I know I couldn’t fight them by myself before, but I want to help in any way I can while Goodwin is healing. And my physical enhancement magic can be used on other people! I can show you if you’d like!”

“Alright then.” Meliodas said. A large grin formed on Lance’s face as he placed his hands out in front of him, his palms facing Meliodas. Meliodas suddenly felt a large surge of power enter his body.

“Woah.” Meliodas said. ‘In terms of potency, it’s almost as good as Wendy’s “Arms” enchantment.’

“So what do you think?” Lance asked.

“Alright, you can join me.” Meliodas responded.

“Yeah!” Lance shouted out. “Let’s go kick some Blue Guardian ass!”

---

An hour went by and Meliodas took Lance with him to meet Captain Seadog. Seadog looked at Lance with a puzzled look.

“Who’s this?” Seadog asked.

“Friend of mine.” Meliodas responded.

“I’m not with Fairy Tail, but I’d also like to help in fighting Blue Guardians.” Lance added.

“Hahaha! The more the merrier I say!” Seadog laughed. “Come with me. I’ll show you the boat we’re getting on.”

Seadog escorted Meliodas and Lance to the boat. It was a small wooden sailboat with the symbol of a half dog, half fish insignia painted onto the sail.

“This was my first sailing boat. Do any of you know how to sail a ship?” Seadog asked.

“Nope.” Both Meliodas and Lance responded.

“Then it looks like I’m comin with ya! I don’t mind watching you two beat those pirate bastards up!” Seadog said with a large grin.

Meliodas and Lance hopped onto the boat, with Seadog making the last preparations to set sail as Meliodas stared off into the sea.

“Here we go boys! I hope you don’t get seasick easily!” Seadog remarked as the ship began moving. Meliodas immediately thought back to Natsu on the ship to Tenrou.

“Something wrong?” Lance asked, noticing the shift in Meliodas’ mood. Meliodas immediately snapped out of it and grinned at Lance.

“Nope.”

“Oh good. I thought you were getting sea sickness or something.” Lance retorted.

“Well if any of you do get seasick, do it overboard!” Seadog shouted.

The ship continued sailing for half an hour. Hargeon Port was barely in view behind them and the wide sea was out in front of them. Meliodas looked back behind them and noticed a large ship following them.

“When did that start following us?” Meliodas commented out loud as he pointed behind the ship. Both Seadog and Lance turned around and looked at the large ship getting closer to them.

“Shit! It’s them!” Seadog shouted.

“What’s that thing they have mounted at the front of their boat?” Meliodas asked.

“You can see that from here?!” Lance commented.

“You got sharp eyes. That’s their magic anchoring cannon. It shoots a magical chain that anchors onto our boat to bring us closer. In a sailboat like this, we’re just sitting ducks for them to use that on us.” Seadog commented. “All we can really do now is let them anchor us so you guys can fight them…”

‘Magic you say?’ Meliodas stared at the cannon mounted at the front of the pirates’ ship. He could feel a magical presence charging at the tip. Suddenly, a white chain with an anchored head shot out of the cannon, flying straight towards Seadog’s sailboat.

“Brace for impact!” Seadog yelled.

“I guess now’s a good time to try out the new sword.” Meliodas said with a grin. He placed his hand on Neo Mel Force’s handle and jumped up in the air right into the path of the magic chain. Both Seadog and Lance’s eyes widened as they witnessed Meliodas jump straight at the chain.

“Get out of there!” Lance shouted. Meliodas paid no attention to his words and gripped his sword tightly. Just as the chain was about to collide with him, he swung his blade.

“Full Counter!”

The magical chain immediately ricocheted backwards, instead heading straight towards the cannon that launched it. The anchor head collided with the cannon, causing a large explosion at the front of the ship. The group lost their vision of the enemy ship as it was covered in a cloud of smoke.

“You bounced it right back?!” Lance shouted out. “What kind of magic was that?!”

“Full Counter. I can reflect any magical attack at double the force. Although…” Meliodas held Neo Mel Force out in front of him. “This sword is a bit special so I can reflect it at triple the force.”

“Triple?! Well you definitely destroyed their ship then!” Lance cheered.

“That sword...I’ve seen that music note before...that’s a Musica sword isn’t it?!” Seadog exclaimed.

“Yup, I got-” Meliodas immediately stopped mid sentence and turned his head towards the smoke direction, prompting the other two with him to do the same. From the smoke, the ship emerged, the front tip where the cannon was mounted heavily damaged with the rest of the ship being completely fine.

“H-hold on it didn’t sink from that?!” Lance exclaimed. Suddenly, the ship began to slowly rise out of the water, taking flight and soaring in the air above their own.

“It’s flying?!” Seadog shouted in amazement.

Cannons mounted at the sides of the ship all pointed towards Seadog’s sailboat. Meliodas could feel a large amount of magical energy being built up in each one.

“They’re gonna shoot at us?! What happened to trying to plunder?!” Lance questioned.

“They must have deemed us a large threat after we sent their anchor right back at them. You really pissed em off , Meliodas.” Seadog said.

“I guess they don’t learn.” Meliodas responded as he jumped up into the air, right between the pirate ship and their own. The cannons charging their magic fired immediately, converging into a single point towards Meliodas.

“Full Counter!”

Meliodas swung Neo Mel Force, instantly reflecting the large beam back at the ship. Just as the beam was about to collide with the ship, it vanished, with not a trace of magic remaining. Meliodas landed back on the sailboat with a puzzled expression on his face.

“W-what happened?!” Lance questioned. “It just...disappeared! Did you do that Meliodas?

“No...that wasn’t me.” Meliodas responded.

From beneath the sides of the floating pirate ship, several ropes began to dangle and fall down below as dozens of pirates started to rappel their way down.

“They’re trying to board us since they can’t hit us with magic!” Seadog exclaimed.

“I won’t let a single one touch this ship!” Meliodas shouted. “Seadog, I’ll get rid of these guys and you sail out of here. Leave the rest to me and Lance!”

“Heh, having to run from these guys with my tail between my legs...you better show em hell Meliodas!” Seadog yelled.

“I’ll clear a path! Climb up the ropes Lance!” Meliodas shouted as he leaped up high into the air towards the dozens of figures heading towards the ship. Lance looked up in awe at Meliodas as he began climbing the rope. Without a chance to blink, Meliodas seemingly vanished from his sight in one instant and in the next instant, the bodies of the pirates went limp as they fell into the ocean.

[Lightning Sword Flash]

Meliodas swiftly jumped between each pirate, slashing them in the process before jumping to the next all in an instant. Meliodas ascended to the top this way, landing on the main deck of the ship with Lance showing up next to him shortly after.

Dozens of more pirates swarmed around Meliodas and Lance, the two of them getting into fighting stances.

“Hagghhh!!!” Lance shouted as his body began to surge with magic and his figure grew noticeably more muscular.

“Sorry Meliodas, I forgot to mention I can only enchant one person at a time.” Lance said with a nervous grin.

“Don’t worry about it. Just keep yourself safe.” Meliodas said. “I don’t want to lose any more friends.”

Lance glanced at Meliodas upon hearing the comment but decided not to pry as he focused on the enemies ahead.

“Let’s see who can beat more of these guys.” Lance said with a grin. A smile formed on Meliodas’ face.

“Okay. Loser has to buy the other drinks.” Meliodas responded.

“It’s on!”

Chapter Text

Meliodas and Lance both charged in at the large group of pirates, the pirates’ bodies going flying into the air as they crashed into them. More bodies of the pirates continued to fly off the sides of the pirate ship as Meliodas and Lance attacked them.

“And that makes twenty!” Lance shouted enthusiastically as he punched a pirate off the side of the ship.

“Sixty for me!” Meliodas responded with a cheeky smile as he launched three more pirates off the side of the ship.

“W-what?! Sixty already?!” Lance exclaimed as he launched another two pirates off the side of the ship.

Both Meliodas and Lance took a deep breath as they looked around the now empty deck of the ship.

“Is that all of them?” Meliodas asked.

“No…” Lance responded. “Those were just the grunts. There's a group of six of them who are absolute monsters. They haven’t shown up yet. And I could barely fight one of them.”

“Huh...interesting.” A carefree voice said. Meliodas and Lance looked around, confused at where the voice was coming from.

“Right there!” Meliodas shouted as he pointed to a spot several meters away in front of them. A strange acidic mist was forming into the shape of a man. The man had short black hair with an anchor pattern shaved over the top. He was shirtless, except for a large admiral cloak that was draped over his shoulders and wore black pants tucked into bandages on his calves and feet. As he crossed his arms, two anchor shaped tattoos could be seen on his forearms.

“Oh no...it had to be him of all people…” Lance muttered with noticeable dread in his voice.

“Oh it’s you.” The man said indifferently. “I remember you putting up a decent fight against one of my men. So you actually escaped from that boat. Not bad.”

The man turned his attention towards Meliodas. A small grin formed on his face, revealing his sharp, shark-like teeth.

“But you...I know you. You’re Meliodas the “Blond Demon.” I’m Requin, the leader of the “Six Guards,” the elite pirates among Blue Guardian. I respect your power, but I don’t appreciate you destroying our cannon.”

“Wait...you’re the Blond Demon?!” Lance exclaimed, becoming noticeably starstruck.

“Worry about that later. We have to deal with this guy first.” Meliodas responded.

“R-right. Sorry.” Lance said, getting his composure back.

“As much as I want to fight you, you won’t be dealing with me. The other five of my group will deal with you first.” Requin said as his body began to dissipate back into a strange acidic mist. Suddenly, five more people walked out from below the decks and all stood in a row facing Meliodas and Lance.

The one at the far left was a tall and slim man with a lit cigar in his mouth. He had dark hair that was styled upwards into a pompadour and wore a light colored high collared jacket along with a giraffe patterned pair of pants and dark shoes.

The one to the right of him was a shorter woman with blonde hair styled into pigtails and her shoulder length bangs that fell to the sides of her face. She wore a sleeveless black top, a black spiked collar around her neck, and a leopard patterned bottom piece that resembled underwear. On her arms were large gauntlets that covered up to her forearms with three claws long claws on each one.

In the middle was a large mustached man with a very rotund body shape. He wore a white hare outfit that covered most of his body except for a wrestling belt around his waist and a black singlet.

To the right of him was a very short man, one who was even shorter than Wendy. He wore a bear costume with very long sleeves with a large black bear nose on his face and long black shoes.

At the very right was another huge man with a very round belly. He had a bald head that was covered barely by a small leaf on top of it and wore a black tank top that revealed his large stomach along with white pants and black shoes. He had a constantly sleepy expression on his face and long muscular arms that almost reached the ground. In his right arm he held a massive club.

“From left to right, they’re Girafe, Leopard, Lievre, Koala, and Chien.” Requin’s voice echoed. “Since today’s been a slow day for us until you guys, to show my gratitude, I’ll give you two an option. Would you like to fight them one on one, or all at once?”

“What do you want to do?” Meliodas asked Lance as he glanced over at him. Lance was staring at them wide eyed, his legs shaking and unable to move. Meliodas patted Lance on the shoulder, snapping him out of his daze.

“These guys are no joke. They’re all stronger than the Oracion Seis if you know who those guys are.” Meliodas said. “If you want, you can leave them all to me.”

“You’re comparing us to the Oracion Seis?! Hah! We could mop the floor with them!” Leopard scoffed.

“That kid with the black spiky hair nearly wet himself upon seeing us. You know I think I recognize him. Wasn’t he on that ship to Caelum we raided a few days ago?” Girafe commented.

“Yes. Yes he was! Yes!” Koala added.

“It’s a shame they’re not beautiful women…” Lievre commented.

“So what will it be? If you don’t make up your mind in the next ten seconds, all of them will attack you at once.” Requin continued.

“I’ll...I’ll fight one of them!” Lance shouted. “The one who hurt my friend Goodwin!” Lance pointed at Koala.

“Very well. You will fight Koala.” Requin said.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Meliodas asked Lance.

“I’m sure...I have to do this not just for me...but also for Goodwin!” Lance responded resolutely. Meliodas nodded his head.

“Okay. But if you’re in serious trouble, I’ll get you out.” Meliodas said in a serious tone. Lance stared at Meliodas wide-eyed as he remembered Meliodas’ past comment about not wanting to lose any more friends.

‘Now that I think about it, Meliodas was traveling with that black talking cat that could transform but now he’s not here...something must have happened…’ Lance thought to himself.

Meliodas separated from Lance and stood back as the rest of the Six Guards stepped away from Koala, leaving them ample space to fight on the main deck.

“Don’t worry about damaging the ship. When the ship takes flight, it is reinforced with heavy amounts of magic. Not even a Jupiter Cannon could bring down this.” Requin commented as his mist body began to reform into a human shape next to the fellow members of the Six Guards.

‘For all of them to listen to him without question, he must be far stronger than them.’ Meliodas thought.

Lance and Koala stood facing each other, Lance with a fierce expression on his face and Koala with a blank expression.

“Alright here goes!” Lance shouted as he flared his magic, enhancing his body.

“Yes...I can’t wait…” Koala muttered as his expression changed. His eyes narrowed and a large, sadistic smirk formed on his face. Out of his sleeves, several large gun barrels grew and he pointed them at Lance. “To see your face in pain! Yes!”