Chapter 10

Chapter 10. Return to Onibas.

All roads lead to Rome.

Apple cards.

Lucy Heartfilia. Morning.

Lucy was awakened by the sunlight hitting her eyes. Mmm ... I need to go to wash ... the girl got out of bed and wandered into the bathroom. There she saw her reflection in the mirror. Strange, why am I wearing clothes? Stop! Why am I even at home? The last thing I remember ... so, some crazy people grabbed our flying shawarma and wanted to use it for its intended purpose, but were stopped by the guys. Lucy sighed heavily. Upbringing did not allow her to express everything that she thinks about the dragonseer and his pet, but sometimes she wanted to ... Hmm, what happened next? And then she sat down in a clearing and closed her eyes - she was not used to long pedestrian crossings, so she was exhausted. Logically, if she woke up at home, although she fell asleep far from Magnolia, someone brought her. Natsu knew her address for sure (I wonder where, by the way), but Lucy could not suspect him of a gallant attitude towards the fair sex. Gray seemed more educated in this regard, but he would rather gently wake up. Sephiroth remained. Realizing that it was he who brought her home and stripped, the girl blushed. Well ... he just showed gallantry towards the weaker sex ... hmm ... but his manner of moving and speaking is very different from the rest ... and that was the case with the appearance of the Master. She thought that she would die of fear, suppressed by the power of the magician, but he did not even raise an eyebrow. Who is he really? The intrigued girl twirled a little in front of the mirror. Mmm ... good, very good (you can't praise yourself - no one will praise). Okay, it's time to go to the guild.

In the guild, everyone was just discussing the recent incident - a certain newcomer, who had just joined the guild, managed almost single-handedly to clear out the dark guild and get a comrade out of the dungeons, simultaneously receiving gratitude from the city magistrate and the Council, and then he piled Elfman, having won the title of magician A rank. The newcomer's name was Sephiroth. This news caused a slight shock to the girl - not every day you are carried in your arms by a high-ranking magician, but Heartfilia wasn't allowed to think for a long time, another interesting detail was revealed - everyone was looking forward to when the battle between Elsa and Sephiroth would take place and even started accept bids. They bet mainly on how long the newcomer will hold out against Titania herself. After a little thought, the girl put a thousand precious ones on the victory of Sephiroth (with 100 to 1 odds, why not bet?), Simply obeying the famous intuition of her family, however, when the accepting of the bets Wakaba looked at her with some sympathy, she still doubted. And yet it is interesting, but what is the real strength of this person and why he hides it. Riddles became more and more, and curiosity grew stronger. Having ordered breakfast from Mira (hmm, Mirazhana didn��t seem to smile as warmly as usual, or seemed?), The girl began to speculate about her new acquaintance, when this acquaintance showed up at the guild with a huge basket in his hands and ... invited Mira to a picnic ... For some reason, such a prospect did not make Lucy very happy, she wanted to somehow stop them. Natsu was hanging out nearby. Heartfilia recalled his tender passion for food and the plan ripened by itself, whispering just a few words to the dragonller, the girl achieved an amazing result - almost all of the young generation of fairies suddenly went to a picnic. If Happy had seen her at that moment, he probably would have said something like 'Lucy is terrible', but alas, the cat was busy knocking the fish out of Sephiroth ... yeah, so this is how he found out where she lives!

The picnic went very well - a friendly atmosphere reigned in the clearing, the girl got to know the fakes better (the blue-haired sorceress, Levi, it seems, somehow incredibly found out about the attempts to write a novel and already demanded that she read it, I had to agree, although it was terribly ashamed ). I managed to find out a couple more little things about Sephiroth, it turns out that he can play the guitar and has a good voice. This is what I did not expect, I did not expect. Well, at the end of the picnic, the guy offered to have dinner together. It was ... nice, however, it was somewhat strained by Mira's strange look, which she gave the guy, and I got it too. What is it with her, is she really jealous?

The dinner was also great, you don't often come across guys who are really interested in communicating with a girl, and not trying to get under the skirt, but there was a nice exception. We exchanged stories of their adventures and impressions of the guild (a couple of moments had to be silent - it's a shame), the couple went home.

And the next morning Elsa arrived.

Everything started as usual - a cheerful hubbub in the hall, a showdown between Natsu and Gray, but Loki with an expression of sincere horror on his face broke into the guild with a yell of 'Atas, Elsa is coming', how everything has changed rapidly. The people were quiet. Someone straightened their clothes, someone frantically tried to clean the table, and someone in general tried sideways to get out of the building. But then the doors opened and SHE entered the hall. On her shoulder HER had a horn of some kind of monster that exceeded the girl's dimensions by a good half a meter (however, Natsu and Gray somewhat exaggerated the height and width of Elsa's shoulders, but the Force aura was still suppressing). And then a real review began - the girl found a couple of words for everyone, and not particularly flattering ones. It was rather strange to see how her peer scolds a magician who is almost twice as old, and he only pulls his head into his shoulders and tries to hide from sight. Yeah, even though in terms of appearance, the guys lied. But otherwise they were right - Elsa is a terrible woman. Without letting those around her come to their senses, the red-haired Valkyrie began to demand the Master, it seems that there was something urgent. However, the Master went to the meeting of the heads of the guilds in the morning and will only return in a few days, so the girl was out of luck here. But then the doors opened again and Sephiroth appeared on the threshold and almost immediately said this to the warrior ...

Is he crazy? Doesn't she feel that crushing Force from the girl? Vaughn, even Natsu and Gray are almost stretched out and play the best friends (it turns out, however, not very much, but they try). Oh, sorry for the guy, he will die in the prime of life, and I have already started to get used to him ... But to say this in the eyes of the strongest girl in Fairy Tail, what did he expect? Hmm, why isn't he being killed right here? Blamed it all on Dragneel and Fulbuster? And they believed him? Oh, judging by the promising glances towards the sweet couple - quite. I wonder why he is so?

Mira's voice pulled out of Lucy's thoughts.

-Lucy, go with Gray and Natsu, if they start quarreling again, you can calm them down, and Elsa sometimes ... gets too carried away, - after a little hesitation and hesitation, the waitress turned to the guy, - Sephiroth, but you could to look after them too, if (although the voice would be more like 'when') Lucy can't handle them? - hey, what is she hinting at ?! Yes I...

"For you, by all means," the magician broke into a smile, "I have long dreamed of seeing the style of work of Titania herself. True, based on the descriptions, I imagined it a little differently. So, we have another hour before departure, I think I will have time to prepare a little. We'll meet at the station - and the guy ran away somewhere, Lucy was left to think about what happened.

The events developed very strange, the relations in the guild were clearly much more complicated than they seemed at first glance, and even that look of Mirazhana ... did she really like Sephiroth? Although, the guy is pretty cute and courteous, and, as it turned out, he is quite strong. Oh, what am I talking about? You still need to prepare for the trip, there are only 40 minutes left.

Sephiroth. House.

So, there is not much time, but a lot of things need to be done. More precisely, one, but global. We are waiting for a meeting with an air magician and it may happen like this. That I will have to disassemble it. But how to disassemble an enemy outside your attack zone? Difficult task. But let's think about it. Air magician, I remember. With a strong desire, a comrade (although what kind of comrade is he to me?) Pulled the surrounding streams towards him, creating a kind of armor. I'm not sure if I can pierce it, there is a possibility that the weapon will simply be pulled aside. Poisons will not go either - you will not be able to deliver them. But then what remains? Hmm ... why not? It can work, and it is not particularly difficult to do, however, the connection will not work out and will hardly last more than 2-3 minutes, but in urban conditions. This is more of a plus than a minus. Heh. A suffocated airbender, it will be quite ironic ...

Having decided on the task, I went to my kind of laboratory - I have to sweat a little, synthesizing the necessary substances. My goal was to create Zarin, a colorless and odorless gas capable of killing an unprotected person in less than a minute. The funniest thing is that even a schoolboy will not be a problem to prepare it, only a little technical alcohol is required ... and a couple more fairly common components, probably precisely because the recipe for this BOV (Combat Poisoning Substance * author's note) is not so easy to get on the Internet, but this is so, by the way - I knew the composition and preparation of this gas. And Simba helped a lot in carrying out the necessary reactions. And now, after only 40 minutes, in front of me were five cones with concentrated death inside, I had to add a few bitten nails and explosives there - let the enemy think that the bombs are designed to be hit by shrapnel. Having prepared in this way, I went to the station.

A little later at the station.

-Why did Elsa need us ?!

-How do I know ?! There is much more help from me than that! ..

-Well, go alone, I don't need it !!!

-That's great and let Elsa deal with you later !!!

The highly intellectual dispute between Senor Fulbuster and Don Dragneel had been echoing over the station for five minutes. In addition to conducting small talk, respectable magicians deigned to smash two traders' trays, four benches and overturn three urns to pieces, and all this with sincere aristocratic negligence, without stopping the dialogue ...

-Yes, that's enough already, really !!! - She expressed her displeasure with Lady Heartfilia, slightly overlapping the general noise of the station with her voice ... Hmm, powerfully, I did not think that she could do that.

I stood by the wall a few meters from this booth and looked sadly at what was happening, mentally commenting on it. True, no sadness was displayed on my face, and an outside observer might think that I was just thinking about something. Those whose faces were truly sad, it was the staff and the affected merchants, I had not seen so much sadness and doom in their eyes for a long time, although there was also something like resignation to fate, obviously, Fairy Tail mages have long been accustomed here. I just do not understand one thing, but who will compensate for the damage? More precisely, not so, what then the Master will do with this couple?

-Why do you have to fight ?! - Continued exhortations to Lucy.

- Huh? .. Lucy. What are you doing here? - On the third day, Sharp Sokol noticed that the house has no wall ...

-Myra asked me! I went with you from the guild itself!

-Aaa ... - He already forgot what he asked ...

-And anyway, if not for that I would not be here!

-Lucy, do not try, they no longer listen to you, - I decided to give a voice. And rightly so, Natsu and Gray again rested their foreheads against each other, like pure-blooded rams, continuing the interrupted 'highly intellectual' dispute on the eternal topic 'What are you ?! What are you doing ?! '

- But you need to do something, because Mira asked ...

-Relax until they fight - everything is in order, moreover, everything that could be broken in the next ten meters, they have already broken.

-Aggas! It's too late to twitch, you've lost everything! - Unexpectedly confirmed my correctness Happy, full of happiness voice. I wonder if he just wants to die young, or does he not understand that insulting magicians is dangerous to health? Although, what am I talking about, what kind of owner, such a pet, let alone something, but Natsu definitely cannot boast of manners.

Heartfilia pouted with displeasure, trying to incinerate the sweet couple with her eyes. Then her face smoothed, and devils danced in her eyes. Good devil, very good.

-ABOUT! Miss Elsa! We are here!!! - shouted this charm in a sweet voice towards the nearest exit. Lucy hadn't finished her sentence yet, but Natsu and Gray had already made a stand, starting to yell something like 'Love your neighbor!' - Gray and 'Agas!' - Natsu. Clear victory.

-Weeeee-hee-hee-hee! Here's the hilarity !!! - The joker bent in half, I also could not help smiling.

-FUCKING!?! - Two cries of the soul merged.

-And you get along well, as I see, hee-hee ... - and what a happy muzzle.

Gray dropped his head and stepped aside gloomily under his breath, but Natsu ...

-Lucy, why are you here?

Natsu was Natsu ...

- Didn't you listen to me ?!

-Hi, Elsa, you quickly - noticing the familiar empathic background, I turned to the girl. Obviously trying to sneak up unnoticed, which, surprisingly, she almost succeeded, despite the monumental trolley with things behind her back. Well, exactly, look how annoying phonetics. I wonder if she just needed an excuse to knock on Natsu and Gray's heads, or was it some kind of test?

- Hello again everyone. What are you doing here? - it seems that she is still not in the mood, and here I also spoiled the plans.

- Mira asked us to go with you! - it seems that Lucy did not quite like such a harsh treatment. There was a pause.

-Hmm, I think I saw you somewhere ... - my hand involuntarily reached out to my face.

"I'm Lucy, just recently joined the guild, and in general, not later than an hour ago, we saw each other in the Fairy Tail building," the blonde said somewhat offended.

- I see, then welcome. I propose to go, our train is leaving soon, - and without another word, the warrior headed to the platform, dragging a monumental-looking cart behind her. Still, I wonder what is she carrying there?

-Hey, Elsa! Wait ... - the dragonsler interjected, - I will go only on one condition! - it seemed to me or did Gray really sit down a couple of centimeters? It's a pity I can't see my face ...

-What do you want? - Elsa sighed heavily, it seems that she already understood everything.

-As we return, brush it off with me! - Hmmm, there is no way to invite a girl on a date, although, what I mean, it's Natsu. 'I will work on you only if you promise me to pile on!' Delightful position ...

- Hmm, okay, you really have grown lately ... Gray, don't you want to? The ice mage just shook his head violently. Here, that's who correctly evaluates his strength and has common sense.

- Well, once we figured it out, let's go! - and not paying attention to Natsu, who had flared up in the most literal sense, we went to the cars ...

A little bit later. On the train.

While the honorable gentlemen and ladies were discussing the full extent of the ass, where they ended up (or rather, where they diligently climb), I reflected. There was something to think about. For example, when I get the Lullaby. You can intercept it from Kageyama right on the train, after eliminating the previous owner. On the one hand, this way I will avoid a lot of problems and fuss, then I can quietly absorb the flute, performing a complete ritual and minimizing the risk. But on the other hand, this move of mine will not be understood in the guild - having the opportunity to calmly get rid of the artifact by handing it over to someone, not to do it ... this looks, to say the least, suspicious. And if not talking about the flute? Kageyama will not be able to tell anyone, where he did the artifact, again, it will remain a mystery. But, to my great regret, local magicians, for all their eccentricity, are still not idiots (with the exception of especially difficult cases, of course) and draw parallels between an incomprehensibly missing artifact and a force that has grown in strength (and very dark and evil) newbie magician can very, very quickly. Wait half a year until the hype dies down and hawala it then? Also not an option, I remember, at one fine moment, the demon in the flute woke up completely and almost multiplied the whole honest team by zero, I think if this would come out in the center of Magnolia. And even from my basement ... nope, you can't do that either. What's left? It remains to arrange so that the demon wake up ahead of time, for example, in Onibas, when Elsa's entire team will be behind the air wall, and the girl will also be pretty exhausted. So, what can awaken the animated Death Magic? It can be assumed that near death, just one extra Erigor is there. What if it doesn't work? So, what did I manage to understand from the theory? Out of the corner of my eye I read about the resonance of magic, but what could work? The death of a rather strong magician, then a little bit of Dark magic from me (although I don't know how to fully use this element in spells, but for the usual splash of my skills) - why not an alarm clock for an already almost awakened demon? Uh-huh, this handsome man appears in the center of the city, from the magicians outside the barrier there will be only me. And behind my back is a populated city. I will not have enough strength to defeat this creature (even if in fact this is ... not entirely true) and it will be possible to use the 'last trump card' - absorption magic. True, I am not happy with the prospect of facing a real demon in the inner world, but after so many years under the seal, he is greatly weakened, I think it will work out. Well, the plan is becoming more or less clear. Then, it is worth giving Natsu the opportunity to intersect with the shadow player, let him see the flute. Although, you can just talk about her, showing himself to be a rather well-read person, hmm, why not? So, what's this? Incredibly, she did it after all!

From the reverie I came out of the strange sounds, my surprise was caused by the scene, which was almost completely repeated, as in the anime. Elsa knocked out Natsu so that he would not suffer on the train and put his head on her lap, Lucy had to change seats and was now on my right, Gray was on the left. Hmm, and I thought this moment was added just for fun, but no, that's what happened. I again plunged into thought, on the one hand, now you can envy Natsu - he settled down very well, but here's how he got this place ... a plate glove in his chest must be painful. In any case, now the dragonsler is more concerned with the problem of breathing restoration than with the struggle with his own stomach. Meanwhile, the Valkyrie was enthusiastically talking about something, accompanying her words with gestures. Auch, now with a steel fist on the back of the head ... no, perhaps you shouldn't be jealous of the pink-haired woman (though there are suspicions that the girl's 'accidental' hits on the head of the guy who spoke about her so much are not so random - it hurts often he flew in, and Gray somehow turned pale ...) Hmm, why is Lucy so nervous? And of course, they described the situation to her and she was imbued, she wondered, even shakes ... or is it not her, but that funny stuffed toy in the form of a snowman under LSD? Uh, don't tell me this is one of the younger spirits? Hmmm, like a crazy world.

-Sephiroth, what do you say? - Lucy looked at me with some hope, I'm sorry, but now you will become even more uncomfortable.

-Well, the Frozen Forest itself is not such a problem, but I was wondering how I could hear about 'Lullaby' ... Only Zeref's flute comes to mind, according to legend it kills everyone who hears it, but it seems to be lost centuries ago and it is unlikely that the Forest of Frost could find it ... at least, without outside help.

-Z-Zerefa? ... Yes, no, probably it's just a coincidence, a killer maniac who got hold of the magic of mass destruction ... brrr - Heartfilia answered, laughing slightly nervously.

- In any case, it is worth eliminating the threat of the Frozen Forest, and then finding out why they needed the Lullaby and what it is. Elsa concluded gloomily.

"It will be fun," Fulbuster chuckled.

-Aggas! - who would have doubted, without a cat, then certainly nowhere.

- It would be better if I didn't go, - but the blonde was clearly not eager to climb into the heat. Heh, it means that people with common sense appeared in this guild, although ... not a fact. I hug the girl slightly, soothing her.

-Don't worry, some of the strongest magicians of Fairy Tail are gathered here, I don't think that the second-rate dark guild will be able to oppose us with something.

"It's easy for you to say, with A rank," muttered Lucy, but did not move away.

-Sweet steam ..., - the cat stopped under my kind and all-forgiving look.

-The Sephiroth is terrible ... - and the faithful friend of delirium tremens hastened to move somewhere far away. I drew attention to the strange look that the warrior threw at me.

Then there was a small stop, hawkers walked through the carriages a couple of times, offering snacks, Lucy was trying to buy something for our company, but I got ahead of her, I remember that she would have problems with money so soon, if they hadn't already started, but I these heels of thousands of special weather will not (the Toad was strangled by the tentacles that appeared). During the meal, the conversation changed to who owns what magic, I was touched by the description given by the cat about Elsa's abilities. So, rivers of blood of enemies, right? And although it is logical, in the anime, a blow of a lorry on an unprotected carcass leads to stunning, but here it is still the real world, do not forget about it, finding constant similarities with the canon. Maybe well nafig this Lullaby? The risk is still very high. No, this Power is worth the risk, otherwise then there was no need to bother with Fairies and magic at all - I would have lived quietly on the outskirts and lived. Once again I was pulled out of my thoughts, this time Titania herself.

-What do you own? - and such a gaze, as if I was being interrogated, and the investigator had a not very good day.

-Repairing and some alchemy as a hobby, cake? - the surest way to cheer up Titania is to offer something delicious, at the same time, this is the perfect way to get off the topic that is slippery for me. So, well, Gray now what is looking at me like that? And Lucy ... damn it, the impression is that I'm going to feed the tiger, and not with a pretty girl I'm talking to. Elsa, too, gave me a suspicious look, but the passion for confectionery won out and the cake was still accepted. Well, that's good.

So we got to the glorious town of Evriala, where we disembarked, safely 'forgetting' Natsu in the car. Yes, today is definitely not his day, hehe. However, we were not allowed to enjoy the peace and quiet for a long time.

- Where's Natsu? - asked the cat, who was at ease on one of the suitcases in the Valkyrie cart.

A little bit later.

Interestingly, our actions can be characterized as terrorism, or is it just hooliganism on a particularly large scale so far? Although, is it possible to call the attack on the station employees, the deliberate damage to property (and this is what the emergency stop is) and the theft of the magokat (the Fairy Queen had neither the time nor the desire to draw up all the papers) hooliganism? I was pondering the question while sitting in the passenger compartment of a typewriter, very cheerfully (about eighty kilometers) rushing after the train. Gray was trying to get out on the roof, but was stopped in time - he had nothing to do there, except to arrange a concussion on the dragonleader. Aha, and here is the train, already picking up speed again. Where is Natsu? Uh-huh, the guy calmly got out and jumped off the railway embankment, to see the fact that I jammed the stop lever a little gave him an extra couple of minutes to knock out Kageyame's brains and a normal evacuation. It's funny how, in fact, a little thing can change the course of further things. True, Elsa almost hit him with a car, but she still managed to slow down (as a result, we flew forward in the cabin, remembering the driver with a kind word, in the resulting commotion, we managed to study Lucy's merits a little while she got out of the blockage of bodies, quite by accident, of course.

While everything is going according to plan, Natsu told about the flute, got warm thanks from the warrior and was put in a magokat. Now we were rushing to Onibas at full speed, the dark ones captured the local station and were going to arrange a concert, in the anime, of course, they gave up on this matter and immediately went to kill the Guild Masters, but here they can also 'test' the weapon for easier targets.

-I have an idea, we will meet at the station, - with these words I just jumped out of the transport at the entrance to the city. It was unnecessary to find out what exactly happened to me, and while the rest of the fairies get to the station, I will have time to pull off one cunning plan. But first, it's worth getting to the station.

Hmmm. and no security, have they all rested on the main entrance to meet the delegation? Stupid. I passed quite calmly, just walking on the sleepers. The whole 'Forest' was crowded on the platform, and Erigor himself sat on the roof of the train, as if on a throne. So, and now we will even stop breathing and remove all the smells, you never know how he can smell me. And then I myself smelled. The flute ... she seemed so close, so dear. The Magic of Death, revived with the Magic of Life, with a small pinch of Darkness, in order to unite the opposite elements in one object. The work is truly a Master. And the Lullaby called me ... feeling ... kinship? Yes, perhaps something in me also answered the flute, magic unknown to me before the village ... Life and Death.

Yeah, and here is the distraction in the face of Elsa and the rest of the team. Erigor broadcasts from the 'throne', casually waving his scythe, some badly beaten type (Kageyama?) Grins towards Dragneel. Good point, the pockets clearing skill that the thief gave him came in handy. I sneak up on the airman, enthusiastically telling the 'pathetic flies' how stupid and worthless they are (that is, we are), on the other side of the train. A small effort to fix on the wall of the vogon, seeing its back, and then everything went as if it had been written - the flute itself seemed to jump into my hands (a little help from the probe created by the Symbiont does not count), but this type did not even notice that he lost the artifact, he also thought of keeping it in his bosom. Hey, now, we make legs, until I was locked up with the others.

Fuh, I had time, a little more and I would have had to dig a tunnel, and now everything is in place - fakes are sitting behind an air vortex (a strange thing, it normally passes sounds, but it's impossible to go through it.

-Well, that's all, flies, it's nice to stay, but I'll probably fly.

-What, buddy, are you going to arrange a concert on request? Have you lost your musical instrument? - I leave from behind the building, twirling the 'Lullaby' in my hands, she is almost awake, just one stroke is missing. The air vent convulsively stretches for the bosom. But he finds only emptiness there.

-You ... how are you ...

- Difficult childhood, toys nailed to the ceiling, you seize it, as it happens - I put the flute in my coat pocket.

-Sephiroth ... The demon from Onibas, you know, but rumors are already circulating about you in certain circles, - the airman diligently spoke to me with his teeth, preparing an attack? It seems not, he just decided to get worn out? Hmmm, okay, since he's not doing anything yet, I should prepare already, but I need a little more time - I even wanted to invite you to join us. What do you say, together we could do such things - yeah, go to the dark side of the Force, we have cookies.

-Excuse me, but I'm already with the Fairies, they will somehow be more fun.

- Just think, I killed only a couple of dozen people and that, exclusively on assignment, and I was declared a criminal, and on your hands there are already several hundred blood and you are 'fair'. Or are your new friends unaware of the very recent past? - is he like he wants to piss me off? Or something else?

- Everything is within the limits of self-defense, - I grin, - and so I am a peaceful creature, one might even say positive. All the time I try to put something (preferably valuable) somewhere (preferably in my pocket) - great, the preparation is complete.

A bottle of poison gas flew out of my pocket in front of Erigor and exploded, releasing the poisonous contents, interspersed with shards of glass and bits of nails. The air vent did not have time to react and received a couple of gifts in his hand and thigh.

-Bastard ...

-You also say that you expected a fair fight head-on, birdie. Although no, you are from the 'freezing forest', then, a frostbitten bear? And no, no, rather a chilled forester - childish teasers, but for an already enraged magician, more than enough. While he was drawing more air into his chest, I summoned a second bottle and blew it up from the other side, so to speak, for symmetry.

-Well, die! - A cutting wave was sent to me, simultaneously covered with protective vortices, yeah, he pulls all the air on himself, so it's time. Next to Erigor, three more flasks are thrown out, merrily exploding almost point-blank - it's useless, this defense cannot be broken, just don't move and I promise you a quick death.

- As soon as possible, but you know what? - so, now we make a stone face and mysteriously smile.

-What? - ohrenet, well, who in battle will be distracted by conversations, but oh well, it's better for me. It took 40 seconds.

-You are already dead, - and a sweet smile, for which they called me a demon.

-What ... khhh ..., - the air vent, clutching at his throat, began to fall rapidly onto the square. He hit the ground without protection, but the height was decent. Suffocated airbender, there is something ironic about this. So now it's time to start the second act. A light pulse of magic went to the flute.

-GRAAAAA, - damn, why bawl like that, you can definitely throw back your hooves from such roulades, although strange, there was definitely no magic blow ... at least for me. However, purely sound effects are enough for me. Okay, it's worth summoning a couple of items needed for the ritual.

Elsa 'Titania' Scarlett.

Damn it, Erigor managed to trick us all. The girl tried to break through the barrier, but in vain. What to do. But nothing had to be done, a newcomer came out to meet the wind magician. A strange type, it seemed that he did not care at all. The Dark Guild, a weapon of mass destruction, even she herself felt a little uncomfortable, and this Sephiroth did not even take an ear. And that incident in the guild itself? He easily drew attention to himself, in passing set up Natsu and Gray, then the girl felt a little ashamed - she did not immediately realize that the newcomer had deliberately `` passed '' his comrades, however, it is not entirely clear why, and Gray, when he thinks that Nobody sees him, somehow looks at him guiltily. And he did not shy away from her, which was a novelty, he even called her cute. The girl shook her head, not about that now you need to think, but how to get out of this trap. Gradually, the others pulled up, having dealt with their opponents, and the newcomer continued to talk to the head of the 'Forest'. And they had something to talk about, the guy's past, apparently, was very bloody, however, this is not particularly surprising, although the number of corpses was alarming. The girl herself also had to kill, but she tried to do so only as a last resort, restraining herself the rest of the time and striking blows with the flat side of the blade. But then the battle began, which lasted less than a minute. What Sephiroth did, Titania did not understand - at one moment his opponent simply grabbed his throat and fell to the ground. Well that's all, it's over. It remains to wait until the barrier falls - after the death of the mage-creator. The make-up has stopped, another five to ten minutes and it will be possible to pass. But they did not have ten minutes - a huge figure appeared next to the winner. Demon, the girl realized with a shudder. A very hungry and angry demon. The surroundings were struck by a monstrous roar, and the magic blow that came after him made the exhausted warrior fall to her knees. So this is what it is ... the magic of Death - simply deprives you of powers, both magical and vital. Worst of all was Sephiroth - he was close to the creature and just fell to the ground from the blow. Is it really dead? The Valkyrie rushed through the barrier, but rolled back - too little strength remained and the barrier was still too powerful. But then the silver-haired figure rose and the girl heard the slightly hoarse voice of the magician.

`` Damn ... it seems that we will have to go to extreme measures ... '' taking out the blade, Sephiroth very quickly drew something on the ground, taking advantage of the confusion of the demon, obviously not in a normal state for a long time, in any case, some stupor of the creature can be explained was just that. And then, standing in the drawn figure, cut his hand and poured blood on the drawing and the demon's leg. The girl's eyes widened, he's not going to ... You can't absorb Zeref's demon and survive. The creature itself will devour the magician and become stronger. But for thirty minutes it will be almost helpless, 'digesting' the received soul and it will be easy to finish it off.

- Stop, idiot! Don't you dare - but the guy either did not hear, or he simply ignored the cry, and then the words sounded.

-Magic Absorption. Devouring the Essence - and the city square was lit up with a flash of light. Recoil from the ritual, and a very rough one, tore apart half of the area, the barrier collapsed, unable to withstand the pressure of the raging magic. Before the dust had settled, the team of fairies rushed to the epicenter, hoping for a miracle, but fearing the worst. In any case, it was worth finishing off Zeref's spawn before it came to its senses. But there was no one to finish off. Only Sephiroth lay in the center of the funnel, and his body twisted in terrible convulsions.

-It is necessary to deliver him to Polyushka, - Elsa put the body of the surprisingly heavy guy on her shoulders.

-Magnolia is half a day's journey, even by train. Let's go to Clover - the Masters should gather there, one of them will be able to help, and it will only take a couple of hours to go, "objected Gray. The girl was surprised, they didn't often object to her, however, it didn't matter, now Fulbuster was talking, which means we need to get to Clover. And you can relax later. The company carried the body of their comrade to the magokath, a very urgent trip was ahead ...

Sephiroth.

After the first roar, the Lullaby calmed down, I don't know if it was due to some shock from the change of states, or my order not to move (I know that I was most likely ignored, but suddenly?), It would be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity that came up. I could have tried the takeover without the ritual, but to be honest, I wasn't so sure of myself yet, so I decided to play it safe a little. The more complex the ritual, the less strength and concentration will be required from the magician later, but I was forced to confine myself to the simplest - symbols of focus and affinity on the ground, and my blood, as a link between the magician and the victim. It remained only to pronounce the words-activator and prepare for battle in the inner world.

- Stop, idiot! Don't you dare - forgive me, Elsa, but if you don't take risks and don't walk along the edge, then you will never gain real strength, don't you know?

-Magic Absorption. Devouring the Essence, and the ritual began. Just a second ago, I was standing in the town square, but now I am already in some kind of night city. Lights are burning on tall buildings, the noise of cars is heard somewhere in the distance. It's raining. And why would anyone say that rain is discouraging? Personally, on the contrary, I really like the water pouring from heaven. She evokes some kind of light sadness and adjusts to a lyrical mood. However, this is a matter of taste. But where is my opponent? Yeah, here she is - the size of a five-story building, a hefty creature, clearly not delighted with the fact that she found herself here. Well, let's see. Am I the kind of God here? Dozens of lightning bolts struck the Lullaby from heaven, crushing and setting the demon on fire. The creature tried to scream, but I stopped this action by simply removing the air in the indicated area. Oops, but somehow I didn't think about the fact that a new one would immediately take his place, rushing into the void with terrible force. But it turned out even better than I expected - the demon was simply ground to pieces. Hmm, is that all? Why did the books say it was so difficult? Or ordinary magicians cannot so freely dispose of their inner world? Then why can I? But then my thoughts were interrupted by the stream of Power pouring into the body - a reward for the devoured demon. Yes, he was monstrously weakened, but his essence was unharmed and now it was rapidly dissolving in me, hmm, in theory, I could open new schools in myself ... only it suddenly turned out that both Darkness and Death with Life in I am and so, then what will happen? I received the answer together with a flash of monstrous pain - there were already schools, and, most likely, they were in me-symbiont and now they were being initialized. And everything would be fine, but there is one small 'but' - my 'dragon killer' genome, which is not attached to any of the schools. Now three poured into me at once. H-damn, how bad it is, the body twisted and broke, some new energy structures and ligaments were formed. The reserve jumped almost by two orders of magnitude, at the same time almost organizing my death from pain shock. Wow, I think I now understand why all dragon slayers are so bruised - not everyone is able to endure initiation by magic and remain in their mind, especially in childhood. Yes, it was the initiation that was happening right now - I felt how physics and magic coalesced in my body, slightly changing and complementing each other. Darkness, Life, Death - it came from the Lullaby, Fire - a gift from a rebuilt body. In the stream of changes, my genetic code has been transformed beyond recognition. I am now a full-fledged Dragon Slayer. Or, more correctly, a Demonic Dragon Slayer? I opened my eyes with a crimson vertical pupil and laughed.