[X784, Bob's Villa]
— Dannis Martell —
"Thanks to our friends from Fairy Tail, we have learned exactly what Oracion Seis is after."
Ichiya started the briefing, standing atop a makeshift podium surrounded by spotlights with his hands folded into finger guns.
Dannis stood near the back of the group, arms crossed, his gaze coolly sweeping across the faces of the assembled mages. He wasn't impressed by Ichiya's theatrics, but he was paying attention. The stakes were far too high to miss a single detail.
"North from this villa lies the Worth Woodsea," Ichiya continued. "A forest vast and ancient, once home to the Nirvits—an extinct civilization of powerful magic users. And it is within that forest that Nirvana sleeps!"
Hibiki stepped in then, fingers flying across a glowing interface of his Archive Magic. The golden screen behind him flickered and shifted as he displayed the relevant information.
"Nirvana," Hibiki said, more professionally, "also known as The Magic of Reversal. A spell that does not destroy the body, but the soul—flipping a person's alignment from light to darkness… or darkness to light."
"How does the change happen?" Erza asked quietly.
"Through wavering emotion and fluctuations in their intensity." Hibiki answered. "Anger, greed, jealousy… Anyone who succumbs to these emotions will have their personalities forcibly rewritten."
"What a terrifying piece of Magic." Mira muttered, shaking her head.
"Indeed," Jura said gravely. "Which is why strength of will is paramount. Purge all negative thoughts from your minds. If Nirvana takes root in weakness, we may find ourselves turning on one another." His eyes swept across the room. "Am I understood?"
A collective nod from all present. The atmosphere grew heavier, the reality of their mission settling in.
"This is great and all, but what's the point if we can't find it? Do we even know where Nirvana is?" Lyon cut in, arms crossed.
Dannis was the one who answered. "No. But we know someone who does."
The shadows beneath Dannis's cloak shimmered. A humanoid form rose from within, the Wraith of Jellal Fernandez.
"Jellal…" Erza whispered, her voice soft. The Wraith met her gaze as it gave her an eye smile.
"Jellal supplied Oracion Seis with the information on Nirvana," Dannis explained. "Even now, his memories persist through this fragment of soul. If anyone knows its location, it's him."
The Wraith gave a solemn nod.
"Well done, Dannis-dono," Jura said respectfully. "This will make our task far more efficient."
"Then we have a plan." Hibiki jumped in, pulling up a new interface. "We've got the numbers advantage—twenty of us against six of them, but don't take them lightly. While we have no intel on the types of magic they wield, we've gathered a bit of information from informants and survivors of encounters."
Hibiki threw his hand to the side as the single square of light turned into six larger squares, each one depicting the faces of the members.
"The mage who controls venomous snakes, Cobra."
"Racer, a man that lives up to his speed-based magic."
"Hoteye of the Heaven's Gaze."
"Angel, the woman who can see into your heart."
"We have very little information on this one except for his name, Midnight."
"And finally, Brain—their Guildmaster, and a master of unknown destructive magic."
Everyone studied the images in grim silence. There was tension, but also purpose. Focus. These weren't faceless enemies anymore—they were targets.
As the discussion began in earnest, with Ichiya saying that their plans involve a targeted bombing strike with the sky steed—the Christina—Dannis looked up suddenly, his eyes narrowing.
Unseen to everyone, his left eye glowed as something in the immediate future caught his attention. He saw Ichiya's body bleeding out in another room, with Dannis standing over him in confusion. A sound would have him look back, to see another Ichiya enter. Dannis would raise an eyebrow before the Ichiya dissolved into two small creatures, as a woman with long silver hair walked in.
Dannis blinked and the vision disappeared. His eyes went to the current Ichiya, who remained in his regular pose of having his hands crossed with finger guns.
Dannis sweatdropped. 'If he really is an imposter, then he's doing a damn good impression.'
He walked forward to Jura to warn him, only for the man to meet his gaze and nod. Dannis raised an eyebrow, before the edge of his lips quirked.
Jura must've already noticed something was wrong, but decided to not show it. Wizard Saints sure are capable.
Casting a gaze at the others, it seems they weren't the only ones who figured it out. Natsu and Gajeel had frowns on their faces while Wendy had her head tilted, a look of confusion on her face.
'Dragon Slayers could smell magic.' Dannis remembered. 'They must've realized Ichiya smelled different.'
While letting the enemy listen in on all their plans was a cause for concern, it could easily be turned around with the fact that they know their plans were compromised. Which is why it was a good idea to simply let this fake Ichiya be while they think up countermeasures.
"Hey, why do you smell different?" Natsu suddenly asked.
Everyone turned. Natsu was squinting at Ichiya, frowning. "You don't smell like before. You smelled like cheap perfume before. Now it's… off."
Dannis smacked a hand to his own forehead before dragging it down his face. 'This is why I never go on missions with Natsu.'
Gajeel grunted. "I noticed it too. You reek of strange magic. Didn't say anything 'cause I thought I was imagining it."
Wendy tilted her head. "I… I smelled it too. It doesn't feel like Mr. Ichiya."
Jura chuckled lowly. "How perceptive, Dragon Slayers."
Before anyone could react, Jura vanished and reappeared behind Ichiya, slamming a brutal chop into the back of his neck. The man crumpled with a grunt.
His actions caught everyone by surprise except for Dannis, who was the only one in the room who managed to follow Jura's movements.
"Jura?!" Lyon asked, "What's going on?!"
"What did you do to our boss?!" Eve said in surprise.
But before Jura could speak, the fake Ichiya's form dissolved into twin lights—and suddenly two small, blue, bug-like beings floated in his place.
"Piri piri!" the creatures reacted.
Dannis frowned. 'Just like in the vision.'
"What the hell are those things?" Gray questioned.
Lucy's eyes widened. "I know them! That's Gemini, a Celestial Spirit!"
All of the Dragon Slayers moved suddenly, Natsu and Gajeel followed by Wendy, who was only driven by instinct. They rushed to a corner where a silver-haired woman hid herself in.
The silver-haired woman reacted, jumping over Natsu's strike before angling her body to dodge the iron spike Gajeel sent in her direction. Wendy didn't stand a chance as the silver-haired woman merely sidestepped made a rush for the entrance.
Before she made a few steps, she found herself tackled and pinned by Wraith Jellal, who moved in a blink, his spectral weight pressing her down.
"That's Angel!" Ren said, recognizing her from the picture they just saw. "What happened to our boss?!"
"He's in the bathroom," Dannis said, "Injured, though probably just unconscious."
At that moment, another Wraith appeared, floating the real Ichiya's body into the room gently. His breaths were shallow but steady.
"I… I can heal him!" Wendy said, kneeling down and channeling Sky Dragon Slayer magic. A soft green glow enveloped Ichiya's body as his wounds began to mend.
Angel, still restrained, let out a bitter laugh.
"You're too late. Nirvana has already been awakened! The world will drown in its black light!"
Suddenly—BOOM.
A pulse of dark energy erupted through the forest outside.
A massive pillar of black light exploded into the sky from deep within the Worth Woodsea. The villa's windows shook as every mage in the room turned toward the source, their faces reflecting horror.
"No…" Hibiki whispered, not towards Nirvana, but to something on Angel's waist that caught his eye. "Those keys… Where did you get them?"
"Oh this?" Angel smirked, unrepentant. "I took them off a weakling named Karen a few years ago. I grabbed them as spoils after she died—though to be honest, I didn't even have to fight her. The woman couldn't summon a single spirit when it mattered."
"That's Aries' Key.." Lucy gasped, "Which means… Karen and Loke…"
The Blue Pegasus members clenched their fists as shock and anger took over their faces.
"Y-You killed Karen!" Eve screamed, Ren followed suit.
A small echoing hum emanated through the room as the darkness of the light intensified. Dannis looked at it in shock.
Ren and Eve's magic surged, and something snapped inside them.
Their auras darkened. Their eyes twisted. Their expressions morphed into rage.
"Wait—!" Dannis words went ignored, Nirvana had fully taken root.
Ren and Eve rushed forward as snow and air materialized in their hands.
"Ren! Eve!" Hibiki shouted.
"Damn it!" Gray tackled one, Elfman body-slammed the other. They held them down as the two Pegasus mages raged and screamed, completely lost to their emotions.
Angel herself seemed to be shocked at the sight, "W-What the hell?!"
Gajeel turned, voice tight with alarm. "What the hell just happened to them?!"
"It's Nirvana," Hibiki shook his head, trying his best to curb his own anger. "It's already begun spreading its influence."
Dannis grimaced. "I can't believe how potent it is."
"Purge your thoughts!" Jura shouted. "Keep calm! Breathe! We no longer have time. Oracion Seis has made their move!"
He turned to Dannis. "Can you restrain her for now?"
Dannis stepped forward and, without a word, slammed the hilt of his blade into the side of Angel's head.
She dropped like a stone.
"Done," he said.
Wraith Jellal dissolved, leaving only Dannis standing over her unconscious form. The room was quiet for a moment as everyone processed what had just occurred.
Then Jura's voice rang out.
"We move now! The forest is already falling! Everyone, prepare for battle! We head for Nirvana!"
Every mage in the villa surged into motion, weapons drawn, eyes narrowed, hearts resolved.
They had no more time to waste.
…
AN: There we go, the Oracion Seis Arc now begins proper. I hope I do this one justice since I've noticed that this arc is the bane of many fanfics out there.
A major difference here, Nirvana was quickly activated since they already received the information from Jellal back in the Tower of heaven arc.
With news of Karen's killer, some of the Blue Pegasus mages couldn't hold back their emotions and turned.
I hope it was a fun twist as to how the major differences from previous arcs connected with this one.
A few chapters ahead on my P-word if you're interested. Check it out if you want to! I also posted the schedule of my posts on that site.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, cheers!