[X784, Cathedral atop Nirvana]
— Dannis Martell —
"So the maggots have arrived…"
The voice oozed disdain as it echoed through the ruined cathedral. Dannis and Mira landed inside, gazing at what used to be a grand and resplendent building.
But now all it was were half-shattered stained glass windows and broken pillars. The only interesting thing being the strange floating screens that depicted all kinds of diagrams and data that Dannis couldn't even begin to comprehend, all surrounding the man who stood at the center of the chamber.
Brain's features were cold and scholarly. His face was covered with intersecting black lines that criss crossed with one another. Though what caught Dannis's eye was how some of those dark lines seemed fainter than the others, as if partially erased.
"I must commend you," Brain continued, lips curving into a smile. "To have defeated three of the Oración Seis. You Light Mages sure are persistent."
Dannis tilted his head, hand casually resting on his sword hilt. "So what is all this? You activated Nirvana, congrats. But what exactly is the final play? Where are you heading that's so important that you neglect the Wizard Saint in our number to pursue it?"
Brain just smiled, ignoring the question. "Tell me, Black Blade. Were you the one who defeated Ivan Dreyar and destroyed Raven Tail?"
"Nah. That was the portable battery. He had some personal business with his old man, you see?" Dannis idly said. "Raven Tail worked for you right? Ivan certainly did his job. He was the one who gave you the coordinates of Nirvana from Jellal, right? That was why he was in the Tower of Heaven."
Brain's smirk widened. "Ivan was a most useful tool. Unlike Jellal, who perished far too soon. Such a shame really. That boy contained knowledge I would've loved to dissect. Such a waste."
"Well too bad about that." Dannis quipped, feeling Jellal's emotions from his connection to the Wraith. He kept his face impassive, letting only the faintest amusement show. "You're a pretty interesting guy. I heard an odd rumour once. Is it true that you were once a member of the Bureau of Magical Development?"
"Why, yes." Brain spread his arms, clearly enjoying the recognition. "The Bureau birthed many of the great magical innovations of this age. It is there I mastered the craft of runic formulas…and where I learned to do this."
At a snap of his fingers, glowing runes surged outward, forming a barrier that surrounded Dannis and Mirajane.
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Is this Jutsu Shiki?"
"Yeah," Dannis replied dryly, "though I've seen better from Freed."
Brain scoffed. "I doubt it. This array is special. You see, I've studied you, Black Blade. Your ability to nullify magic—just like Grilthos the Wizard Killer—fascinated me, and you're hardly the only one to have it. Aria of the Great Sky with his Airspace Zero, Yuka Suzuki of Lamia Scale with his Wave Motion Magic."
"Your point?
"By studying about them," Brain's smile widened. "I've learned to replicate and refine it! Observe!"
The barrier pulsed, siphoning at Dannis's magic. He felt the tug immediately, like leeches against his veins.
"Dannis." Mira glanced at him, her brow furrowed as a bead of sweat fell from her head.
"Yeah. I've had enough of this."
He unsheathed his blade as Mira cocked back her fist. Their movements were perfectly in sync. With a synchronized punch and slash, the barrier shattered like
"What—?!" Brain staggered as the backlash hit. He barely leaned aside as Dannis blurred forward, the black edge of his sword grazing across his chest and leaving a searing line of blood.
Then Mira appeared behind him, her fist covered in demonic scales cocked back. "Explosion Release!"
Her fist struck like a cannon, unleashing an explosion that slammed into his back. Brain lurched forward, coughing blood as he skidded across the stone floor. Smoke curled away. He pushed up on one hand, grimacing. Another tattoo line across his face faded.
"So… Hoteye is defeated," he muttered. His tone cracked into alarm. "This cannot happen! If all the seals are broken—he…!"
Dannis's eyes narrowed as the black sigils of his Devil Slayer magic crawled across his skin. His vision shifted, focused on Brain's form.
There was something odd about him, as if two souls exist inside of Brain. No, more accurately, it's like one soul has split into two. One bright, fractured but in control—the man called Brain. And another… darker. Writhing and chained in the abyss. Its presence pressed like a storm barely held at bay.
'Another personality? This one feels at least twice as powerful as Brain.'
He set his jaw. "Mira. We need to end this. Fast."
"Got it."
Brain's hand shot forward, darkness gathering into a rotating orb. "Dark Rondo!"
Dannis' blade came up, cutting the spell in half as the dark energy vanished into the black hold behind him. Brain's eyes went wide.
"Impossible. You ate my magic?!"
Before his shock could fade, Mira was already in his face, her black wings flaring wide. Her fist crashed upward into his jaw in a brutal uppercut, sending him reeling off the ground.
Dannis vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he was above Brain, sword drawn across his chest. Darkness coiled around the blade, twin arcs of darkness burning against the air.
"Cross Sever."
Both strikes landed. The impact slammed Brain back to the earth, stone cracking beneath him as dust burst upward. When the haze cleared, he lay crumpled, his chest heaving shallowly.
Dannis quickly knelt beside him and inspected Brain's body. His gaze turned inward, to the sight of those twin souls.
Mira approached, brushing dust from her arm. "That wasn't so bad. I expected him to be stronger."
"Because he should be," Dannis murmured. His eyes followed the inner image, the darker soul's chains were nearly all gone. Only one link remained.
"This guy isn't just one man. He's two."
Mira blinked. "Two what?"
"Two personalities," Dannis said flatly. "And he locked one of them away with a seal. The darker one."
"What do you mean personalities?" Mira will ask, perplexed.
That's when Brain stirred weakly, murmuring in his half-conscious state. "Midnight... do not vanish... no matter what... that is my prayer." His head slumped. He was out.
Dannis' eyes widened. "So that's it… Organic Link magic. Each seal tied to another member of Oración Seis. Once they fall, this thing…" His voice dropped. "This Zero, is unleashed."
He rose slowly, one hand on his sheath. His magic flared dark and sharp, curse energy bleeding off him in waves.
"Well too bad. You're fighting me."
Black light coalesced along his blade. He drew in a blur, a single arcing strike that ripped through flesh and soul alike.
"Soul Rend."
Brain's body convulsed, his tattoos erasing in a violent rush. His complexion shifted from dark skin to tanned pale, the sclera of his turning red. His body jerked upwards before falling back down, still unconscious.
Mira's wings curled slightly as she stared. "Is that…?"
Dannis slid his sword back into its sheath with a click. "The true Guildmaster of Oración Seis, I assume. Must be one hell of a personality if Brain sealed it away himself. Though he won't be a problem anymore."
…
[X784, Worth Woodsea, one minute earlier]
— Wendy Marvell—
Wendy had never seen battles like this before.
Everywhere she looked, the forest was torn apart by clashing magic. The ground quaked from Jura's fight with the walking city. Flashes of magic could be seen through the thicket of leaves from Elfman and Lisanna's clash with the Dark Mages. Even Lucy and Erza's battle with Racer was a sight.
The air was so heavy and thick with magic it began to sting her nose and lungs.
She had initially wanted to help, but Wendy knew very little offensive magic. She had been raised by Grandeeney with lessons of healing, support, and the importance of protecting others. But here, watching everyone fight with their lives on the line, she realized just how small she felt.
Hibiki was the same, as his Archive magic made him strongest in logistical support and information gathering, but barely any combat potential.
That didn't mean that Wendy was powerless. Far from it.
"Arms! Armor! Vernier!" Wendy's chant rang out as a warm breeze wrapped around Ichiya. Her enchantments flowed into him, brightening his aura with strength, defense, and speed.
"Wendy! Your perfume is as wonderful as always!" Ichiya twirled dramatically, still incredibly buff from the strength perfume he had consumed before. "Pain Perfume!"
He darted forward, far quicker than Wendy would've believed possible. A vial shattered against Hoteye, and the dark mage staggered with a groan of agony.
"Now, Thunder Perfume!" He shoved the vials straight into his nostrils as lightning began crackling across his skin. "Take this! Justice Thunder Men!"
A gigantic bolt of electricity was released from his fingers that flew towards Hoteye. The Dark Mage wanted to call on a defense, but failed as the Pain Perfume intensified.
The colossal bolt erupted, splitting the canopy and slamming into Hoteye. The man collapsed in a heap, finally defeated.
Wendy's hands tightened against her chest. For all his ridiculousness, Ichiya's precision and creativity in combat were undeniable.
"He's…better than I expected." Carla admitted.
Hibiki chuckled at her words. "He may not look like it, but Ichiya-san is the Ace of our guild for a reason."
Soon after, Erza and Lucy returned from their own fight, battered but victorious. Wendy had glimpsed a bit at their fight and it was no less impressive than Ichiya's own. Their presence alone made Wendy's heart lift.
But then her gaze wandered past them toward the horizon.
Jura.
The Wizard Saint's colossus of stone wrestled against Nirvana itself, the ancient city's titanic legs crushing through forests as if they were grass. Each clash of the golem's fists against the city made the land quake. The sheer scale of it stole Wendy's breath.
She knew that Jura is an S-Class mage, but this was really the first time she had ever heard of the title Wizard Saint. The way he had created the massive golem just as big as Nirvana was incredible, and the way he was using it to hold back the ancient city from destroying her guild made her teary.
But Nirvana was unyielding. Even with the many punches and strikes from the titanic golem, not even a dent was made on Nirvana.
Jura switched tactics then, trying to push the city back and slow it down instead of destroying it. Large earthen spikes rose from the ground to hold it back, only for Nirvana to break them apart with a single swing of its legs.
It was at this point that the large cannon at the front of the city began to alight and charge up a huge amount of magical energy. Jura responded instantly, earth walls towering like mountains began emerging from the forest in a straight row for defense.
Wendy didn't know how far the range of the cannon was. All she knew was that Jura and the golem was the only thing left standing between Nirvana and Cait Shelter. If they failed…
She shook her head from that. Negative thoughts will only make her turn evil like Ren and Eve.
Hibiki suddenly screamed from beside them. "Guys, I know how to stop it! I know how to stop Nirvana!"
He began typing furiously on his holographic keyboard as Erza approached him. "How?"
Just then, Elfman and Lisanna arrived limping towards them from the canopy of the forest. Lucy and Loke rushing in to help them.
They had numerous wounds across their bodies, though there was no doubt of their victory from the relieved smiles on their faces. "We beat the rest of the Dark Guilds that worked for Oración Seis Seis around here." Elfman panted. "They won't bother us anymore.
"Good job." Hibiki said before swallowing, "though we do have a new problem." Ignoring their groans, Hibiki turned his screen so it faced Wendy and the rest, allowing them to read everything on it.
"I lost all contact with the people on top of Nirvana," Hibiki said firstly. "Something about that ancient city is making telepathic communications impossible, which means we need to get up there ourselves, which of course…"
He gestured to the two titans, where Nirvana just unleashed the massive beam of magic that tore through the earth walls Jura had set up between them. The beam carved through them one by one until finally it slammed against the golem's crossed arms, driving the stone giant back.
"No…" Wendy whispered. If Jura failed, Cait Shelter… everyone she loved…
Then Jura roared, and a pillar of stone erupted beneath Nirvana's cannon, tilting it skyward. The beam soared harmlessly into the sky, carving a hole through the clouds.
Relief flooded her.
"We somehow have to get up on Nirvana while that is going on." Hibiki continued. "Elfman and Lisanna are injured, not to mention we still need to keep watch for Angel, Ren, and Eve."
"Leave that to me." Lucy said resolutely. "I can't fly up there but I can guard. No one's getting past Loke and Taurus."
Erza chimed in then. "Ichiya and I could fly. So could Wendy with Carla. That leaves you."
Hibiki's eyebrow furrowed in thought. "I don't necessarily have to be on it to give you instructions. Realistically all I can do now is relay you information for you to give our allies that are already up there."
"Just tell us what we need to do Hibiki." Ichiya pushed.
"Okay. Okay. Then listen carefully," Hibiki said, typing faster. The others gathered around, Wendy clutching Carla close. She made sure to burn every detail into memory.
"The six mechanical legs of Nirvana draw ethernano from the ground, distributing it into six massive lacrimas inside the city. Those lacrimas act as fuel cells, storing excess energy and powering the cannon."
His fingers clicked one last time, and six holographic diagrams floated in the air, each marked with a glowing core. "Here's the catch. To destroy Nirvana, all six must be destroyed simultaneously. Otherwise, they would just regenerate using the ethernano from the other lacrimas. Just a second of difference will mean failure."
"Then that is a problem." Erza frowned. "How can we time it right if all six are located in positions far away from each other?"
"With this." Hibiki tapped another key. Suddenly, a small glowing display appeared in Wendy's vision, floating just above her sight. She gasped, blinking at the numbers glowing there.
"A timer?" she breathed.
"Exactly," Hibiki said. "I've synced each of you. You'll have eight minutes once you're on Nirvana. Enough to find the others, take down any remaining enemies, and destroy the lacrimas together. "
Wendy looked at the numbers, the glowing digits that ticked down with each second. Her heartbeat echoed them.
Eight minutes. Eight minutes to decide everything.
She tightened her fists against her chest. Everyone else here had fought with such courage. Erza, Lucy, Jura, Ichiya. Grandeeney had raised her to be a dragon, it was time she acted like one.
Wendy raised her chin, resolve burning in her chest.
She was a Dragon Slayer too, like Natsu and Gajeel. For the first time, she would face her fear head on.
…
AN: Brain is defeated and Zero is purged with no way of awakening. Dannis' connection to souls allowed him to see the threat of Zero before he awakened and was thus stopped before he could do anything.
Anyways, there shouldn't be too much left of this arc. Only a few more things to pick up and finish before Oración Seis is finished for good. Wendy is also resolving herself as a Dragon Slayer.
Also, since my Skyrim fic is taking a small break, I'll be spending some more time on Fairy Tail. I recently got the muse back to write mass chapters for this, so expect more frequent updates.
If you're into advanced chapters, check out my P-word if you want! There should be plenty of content there as well as other stories that should catch your attention. Chapter 96 for this fic should be available by the time this was posted.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, cheers!