Unfortunately, or fortunately, for me, the crazy rockstar man happened to overhear my question, and he wasn't happy. "Did you do something to me, Taka? DID YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME!?" He grabbed his face with a maddened expression while glaring furiously at us, causing me to awkwardly shift in place as his eyes were intense. 'This dude is crazy!'
"Me! US! We were a part of Trinity Raven! A dark guild! One specializing in assassination! Oh, and I loved my job!" A sick, sadistic expression made its way onto Taka's face, causing me to deeply frown in anger, and I wasn't the only one upset at his words; Gray and Cana were also upset. "An assassin!?" "Tch, no wonder he's a crazy bastard."
"Hahaha! BUT! When my group and I returned from a successful mission, HE appeared." At the mention of 'HE', Taka's sadistic and crazy expression was suppressed by a fearful gaze, causing me to furrow my brows. 'He? Who could he possibly be?' "T-That bastard! H-He was a monster! A-All of us fought him! All 80 guild members, our ace team, E-Even our guild master! W-We were strong enough to even hunt a Wizard Saint!"
"Heh, I doubt that." I nodded in agreement with Gray's quiet remark. After being on a few S-class missions with Cooper, it let me really understand what it meant to be a Wizard Saint.
"W-We should've been unbeatable! B-But 'He' t-that monster, 'He' was a beast! O-Our attacks d-did not affect him; not e-even our g-guild master could m-manage to injure him. H-He just slaughtered us all, a-an unstoppable force r-rampaging within our o-own guild. A-And worst of all, h-he was s-smiling. T-That smile a-as he killed us. I-I can still remember his a-arrogant laughter, his d-dissapointed voice."
No longer did Taka look as if he was merely remembering a nightmare; he looked as if he was currently experiencing it. He was hugging his trembling shoulders, and his whole body was shaking; he was simply scared, he was horrified. Seeing him like that, I couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for him, but it was quickly washed away when I remembered he was an assassin, having killed who knew how many.
"Hmph, if this person slaughtered your guild, how come you're still here?" Furrowing her brows, Cana eyed Taka and folded her arms, two cards held firmly between her fingers, ready to attack at a moment's notice. "F-Fukuro, h-he saved us, t-that beast couldn't fly, w-we were purely lucky we s-survived… A-At that time, I-I didn't know who he was, o-only that he had a b-back of fairies—"
"Oh, he's talking about big bro guys." Snapping his fingers, Gray looked at us with a smirk, causing me to faintly widen my eyes as I quickly realized he was right. "Yeah, that makes sense, if it's big bro, everything checks out." "Heh, serves him right, I only wish big bro was able to finish the job." "Well, look on the bright side, Cana, we get to finish the job in big bro's stead. Might be able to blackmail him into doing us a favor." "Ho, I like the way you think!"
Staring at my friends in disbelief at how casually they were discussing blackmailing Cooper, the crazy Taka suddenly strung his guitar, causing us to groan in pain as we grabbed our ears. "And that's why I'll do what he did! I'LL KILL EVERY FAIRY TAIL MEMBER! Staring with you four!" His terrified expression had been replaced by the crazed look of a vengeful man who'd do anything to accomplish his revenge.
"Hmph, we won't give you a chance, you crazy bastard." As Gray stepped forward, the three of us, Cana, Juvia, and I, flanked him from behind, ready to attack on Gray's signal. However, just as he placed his fist atop his palm, from a window, Happy and a muscular man with a bird's head came flying through the room, kidnapping Gray before flying out through the other window, all in a span of one second.
"Eh, t-the hell?" Gulping, I turned and glanced at Cana and Juvia, who were just as surprised as I was. "Did we all just see Happy and a muscular man in a bird's head flying through the window with a jetpack?" "G-Gray!" As Juvia chased after Gray, Taka intercepted her, whipping his head and causing his hair to grow as it slammed into her stomach, sending her flying right into me. I managed to catch her just in time.
"Ugh." Setting Juvia down, I grabbed the Saggitatrus key from my pouch and glanced at Juvia and Cana, who both nodded before I shifted my gaze to the crazed Taka.
___
___
3rd POV
Despite nearly thirty minutes having passed, Siegran was only able to persuade another two people to use the Etherion, Gran Doma, and Org; he was still one vote away from achieving his goal, but none of the other magic council members were budging. "No, I can not agree to using the Etherion, Siegrain! Nothing you say will change my decision, to kill so many innocents just to correct a mistake, I can't allow that." Yajima, the fiercest among the magic council to oppose Siegran's desire, firmly shakes his head at him.
Seeing Yakin's firm refusal, Siegrain stops trying to persuade Yajima and his group as he lowers his arms with a heavy sigh. "Haa, I see. Then, I've got no choice but to inform you of Jellal's true plan." Siegran's words sparked intense interest within the magic council; even the two members who had ultimately agreed to use the etherion were gazing with intensity.
"The truth is, Jellal, the reason he had constructed his 'Tower of Heaven', was to none other revive the FIRST Dark Wizard… Zeref." Siegran's words weren't just shocking to the seven others; it was as if an Etherion had been shot at them. The Dark Wizard, Zeref, was a being of immense, powerful magic, yet he was considered the ultimate evil of the magic world. Even mentioning his name was forbidden; he was an evil that the world would be better off if it had forgotten.
"W-What? W-What did you just say?" Gran Doma stared at Siegrain with a hint of fear, his gulp audible echoing off the walls within the dead-silent room. "Jellal plans to revive the Dark Wizard." Only now did the reality of the situation finally hit the others as their expression turned uncharacteristically grim, as if they were facing their own deaths.
"A-Are you sure?" Michello, a strong supporter of Yajima's group, gazed solemnly at Siegrain, who surprisingly shook his head. "No. I've only received evidence that Jellal wishes to revive a being of pure evil… If such a being of pure evil isn't the Dark Wizard, then I couldn't even imagine what that being could possibly be."
Siegrain's 'honesty' didn't raise any suspicions from the other members as they all lowered their gaze, clearly deep in thought; however, after several minutes, the silence was finally broken.
"We. We will have a revote… All those in favor of using the Etherion, say 'I'." Gran Doma, scanning the eight other magic council members, raises his hand and opens his mouth, alongside a few others. "I." "I." "I." "I." "I." "I." "I." "I." With the new, critical knowledge, everyone, even the opposing supporters, was now agreeing to use the Etherion; the only one still refusing was Yajima.
"Siegrain… Are you ready to accept all the death firing the Etherion will cause?" Yajima, looking as if he'd just aged a decade, stares deeply at Siegrain, whose gaze hardens before he firmly nods. "To keep Fiore, no, all of Ishgar safe? I am."
___
___
Gray, having endured a tough battle against Fukuro to save Natus, whom he had eaten, glares intensely at him, his desire to save Erza outweighing any pain and exhaustion he felt. "Erza! She belongs home! AT FAIRY TAIL!" Roaring with all of his furious, burning emotions, Gray swiftly freezes Fukuro's beak and swiftly lunges at him while ice spikes erupt from his hand and elbow.
Reaching Fukuro, who raises his arms, entering a clear defensive stance, Gray rapidly spins and slashes, staining his clear blue ice red in blood as she repeatedly cuts Fukuro's arm before breaking his defense and leaving a deep, bloody but frozen gash across his chest, knocking him unconscious as he was sent crashing into the wall.
Landing, Gray heavily breathing, stares at Fukuro's unconscious body before averting his gaze. "I-I've got to f-find Er-" However, just as he took his third step, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he also fell unconscious, though Simon was there to catch him in his embrace.
'You're stronger than my original investigation deduced.' Staring at the bloody, wounded Gray in his arms, Simon, with a grunt, hoisted him over his shoulder and walked away, heading down the path Sho had taken. "I'm glad Erza joined such a great guild."