ASS 25

Will felt anxious as he sat opposite of Ultear on the small table, his stomach a whirlwind of emotion. She was terrifyingly powerful, and as he informed Loke, she was a bitch.

They were in his store, which was protected by Freed's barriers, Makarov was just outside the building, and Erza and Mira should be next door as it was already late in the evening. For all intents and purposes, Will should be the one in power in this situation, yet he was the one that appeared more nervous out of the two.

Ultear... she just stared at him with an amused smile, though she didn't touch the cup of tea placed in front of her. Her confidence really put him on edge, and he would've felt a lot more scared if he hadn't seen her panic for a very brief moment. That happened when Ultear realized she couldn't use her magic inside the building. At least, he assumed as much.

The barriers set by Freed were truly something else, and they were worth every single Jewel he paid for them. Still, they weren't a perfect defense, and Will was happy Ultear hadn't attempted to force through them yet. In theory, Freed could set up barriers strong enough to even capture a Wizard Saint for some time, but this wasn't the case here. The ones set up in his shop were meant to last for a long period, not to stop one of the strongest mages on the continent.

"And what's the plan now?" Ultear asked, lacing her fingers in front of her and resting her head on top of them, her amused smile never leaving her face. "Do you really believe this... farce would win you any bonus points with the Magic Council?"

Will chuckled in response. She was still acting like a member of the Magic Council, not aware of how much he knew about her. This made him feel a bit better, boosting his confidence ever so slightly, and making him feel he had the high ground for the time being.

"You do know they are aware I came specifically to meet you, right?" Ultear asked, pushing her advantage. "If anything happens to me..." she paused as a wicked grin grew on her face. "Well, even Fairy Tail will have trouble protecting you then."

Ultear leaned back in a moment, composing herself while her red, mischievous eyes stared at him. Confidence practically oozed out of her in a visible aura as she continued. "And even if you chicken out," she said, baiting him to take action as she licked her lips. "You will still be in a world of trouble. Do you even understand how easily I can ruin your business and life with just a few words to the Magic Council?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can," Will replied, catching her off-guard by how composed he was. "Especially since you are such a talented woman, climbing up the ranks with absolute ease. I can even envision how you will become one of the seated members within less than a year from now."

"Then pray tell," Ultear leaned forward, her expression more confused than confident. "Why did you think this was a good idea? Do you believe your connection with Fairy Tail will keep you protected? Is that where your confidence stems from?"

"Oh, I don't believe I stand a chance against you on my own," Will smiled as he leaned closer as well. "Or against your buddy Jellal," his following words made her eyes quiver in surprise.

However, Ultear quickly recovered her composure as if that name didn't mean anything to her. "I don't know who you are talking about," she replied as she shook her head in ignorance.

"Ohhh!" Will exclaimed and tapped his head. "How could I have possibly forgotten? He goes by "Siegrain" now, doesn't he?" He asked, doing air quotes as he mentioned that name. "The twin brother of Jellal Fernandes."

"Siegrain has a twin brother?" Ultear replied, acting nonchalant. "I wasn't aware of that."

"Of course, why would you?" Will asked, chucking at her now blank expression. "Though I do have to ask," he continued with a grin. "How's his little project doing?" He asked as Ultear narrowed her eyes, but his following question made the atmosphere... frosty. "Is the tower coming along nicely?"

"Who are you?" Ultear said, her tone as chilly as her expression. "And more importantly, which guild are you from?" She asked, dropping her act, figuring out it was pointless to continue the farce.

"Well, I'm not part of any guild, really," he replied, feeling confident as he gained momentum. "Obviously, I'm not part of Oracion Seis since they wouldn't be six otherwise, right?" He continued, deciding to showcase part of his knowledge. "Or seven, to be exact."

For the most part, Will felt he was quite weak in comparison to everyone else. Even after consuming the Heart-Shaped Herb, he was still far from being able to match the stronger wizards out there. In time, maybe it was possible for him to reach that level, but at the moment, his strength lay in his knowledge and information.

That reminded him of what the Ancient One told him. "Knowledge is power in the right hands." Will wasn't sure if he was the best person for it—most likely not—but he was trying to use it as best as he possibly could.

"Neither am I from Tartaros since, you know, I'm a human, and they are all demons. And I'm obviously not from Grimoire Heart since, well, you would've known, right?" Will continued, watching her with a grin as Ultear quietly stared back. "Precht would have informed you if I was a new recruit, after all. Or does he prefer Hades now? He is strong, but don't you think it's arrogant of him to name himself after a God of Death?"

"What's the point of all this?" Ultear demanded to know, staring at him with an intent look in her eyes. She seemed to have realized exactly how informed he really was.

"The point is that I know who you are, who you work for, your past, and who your mother is," Will slowly told her, and Ultear didn't react to anything until the last part.

"Do not mention that woman!" She roared, her entire body visibly shaking as the barriers in the store activated. Ultear barely reacted to everything he said, but the moment he mentioned her mother, she exploded.

"It's funny how misguided you are," Will continued, feeling a bit anxious, but he kept going on. "You think Ur abandoned and replaced you-"

"I. Will. Kill. You," Ultear interrupted him, slowly uttering each word to accentuate her point as the barriers flickered more and more by the second.

"-while in reality, it was someone else who not only prevented her from seeing you, but also lied to her, telling her you had unfortunately passed away," Will resumed his talk as if he hadn't been interrupted in the first place.

He was putting on a confident act, but inwardly? He was just praying. 'Please don't break, for the love of god, please don't break!'

A flicker of doubt flashed in her red eyes as she contemplated his words. "I don't believe you," she said in a moment, not having any reason to trust him.

"You really don't have a reason to believe me right now," he admitted with a nod as he took a sip from his tea without saying anything else.

"So again, I ask, what is the point of this when you know I wouldn't believe your words?" Ultear questioned, gritting her teeth in annoyance.

A part of him cheered that he was able to push her to such an extent and get her to drop her act. However, it wasn't the time to be happy yet as he had to turn this in his favor, and he had just the right thing for that.

"Well," he raised his hand as he activated Requip, causing her to tense up. "What if I gave you a reason to believe me?" Will asked as the Judgment Field appeared in his grasp.

"And this will give me a reason to trust your words?" She queried, inspecting the little cube in his hands with caution. "What even is this?"

"A magical item-"

"Obviously," she interrupted him with an eye roll.

"-that has only a single purpose. When activated, everyone inside its radius can only tell the truth and nothing else," Will explained, watching her narrow her eyes in suspicion. "It's called Judgment Field, and Precht should be familiar with it. Maybe you heard a thing or two about it from him," he added as a glint of recognition flashed in her eyes. "You've heard of it, haven't you?"

"I have," Ultear admitted. "But not from him. I found a report about the council gathering all Judgment Fields on the continent. However, they all mysteriously disappeared after they were collected."

"Considering how many spies there are within the council's ranks," Will shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not surprised."

"There are..." Ulter seemed interested in the spies remark, but she paused and shook her head. "And why should I trust that this is a Judgment Field?"

"You can test it out," he said, placing it right in front of her.

"No, thank you," Ultear quickly denied his offer, not even touching the magical cube.

"Well then," Will took hold of it once more. "Why don't you try telling me a lie once I activate it," he said and poured his magic power into it.

"Wait! Stop!" Ultear yelled, but it was already too late as a green light erupted from within it, surrounding them in a radius around them. She froze like a deer caught in the headlights, intently observing the green light and making sure it wasn't harmful. After a few silent moments, she shot him an annoyed glance before standing up and walking around.

Ultear appeared satisfied with her inspections as she stopped her pacing and turned to him. She opened her mouth, but no matter how much she tried, not a sound or word escaped it. With a frown, she attempted it a few more times, but ended up shaking her head in defeat.

"I'm a part of Grimoire Heart," she muttered and frowned in annoyance as she sat back down. "That still doesn't mean I will trust you. For all I know, the cube might not work on the user."

"Fair," Will nodded as he deactivated the Judgment Field before placing it in front of her once more. "Which is why I want you to be one to activate it."

"I don't know if you are forgetting," Ultear said as she picked it up. "But I happen to be unable to use my magic."

"You don't need to use your magic," he shook his head. "You just need to activate the harmless cube."

"Huh, I see," Ultear muttered as she turned it around, inspecting it from this and that side. She took her time, not rushing the slightest as she made sure there was nothing wrong with the cube.

Moments later, she activated the Judgment Field, and she tested it out first before asking him any questions. She tried for half a minute or so to utter a lie, proving that the magical cube worked even on the user. Letting out a sigh, she turned to him, her eyes narrowing as her expression turned chilly. "Is what you said earlier the truth?"

"Yes," Will replied with a nod.

"Name!" Ultear growled. "Give me a name and a reason!" She demanded as her look twisted itself in anger.

"Brain, leader of the Oracion Seis," he calmly answered. "He experimented on you as he wished to use you as one of his keys that sealed his alter ego. However, your potential and immense magical power were too great, and Brain realized he wouldn't be able to make you one of his keys. Instead, he left you as an offering to Hades."

Ultear's entire body visibly shivered as she clenched her fists. Her breathing grew heavy, and she looked like a volcano ready to explode any moment now.

"How do you know this?" Ultear asked in a moment, still looking as if she was about to snap.

"I..." Will paused, wondering how to answer. Under the Judgment Field, he couldn't use the excuse of knowing this due to his magic. "I'd rather not say, but I can tell you that I've seen part of the past and the future."

Informing the people here that they were part of a story just didn't sit right with him, especially after he had lived there for a couple of months now. After interacting with everyone, getting to know them, and even getting attached to some, he couldn't see them as anything but real. To him, they were just as real as him, and there was little that could change his mind on that point.

Earthland was his home now, and even if a part of him missed his life on Earth, he had already settled his mind. He was here to stay, and there was no going back.

Will did have the option of traveling to his old home with the ticket system, but… he was afraid to do so. He wasn't sure what he would find and even when he would appear there. The tickets didn't guarantee that he could return the moment he had disappeared, after all.

Ultear just switched her gaze back and forward between him and the cube, making sure that the Judgment Field was still active. She narrowed her eyes at him, seemingly ready to question him more on that, but he continued on.

"Anyway, I have more... advice for you," Will diverted the topic. "Zeref is not your key to salvation."

"What did you just say?!" Ultear stood up, her hair wildly swaying behind her as she attempted to slam her hands on the table, but the barriers in place prevented her from doing so.

"Zeref is strong, but he is not powerful enough to remake the world anew," he informed her as a tired sigh escaped his mouth. Zeref and Acnologia were monsters, but the gods? Those guys were even more powerful. "Have you perhaps heard about Ankhseram?" He asked before she could get a word in.

"No," she answered simply. "What's so important about this Ankhseram?"

"A god that placed the Contradictory Curse on Zeref hundreds of years ago. It turned him immortal, but he also uncontrollably kills all life he touches. The only way to prevent that from happening is for him to forget the value of life. Someone in his position would have no reason to help you even if he could," Will explained, unsure how to feel about Zeref.

The man was just trying to revive his brother in a world with magic, but that obviously made someone very unhappy with him. He didn't know why Ankhseram cursed Zeref, but from that alone, he deduced he wasn't the friendliest of gods. Certainly not like the cheerful Korakora, though… maybe comparable to the Eldest. Will was sure that if he hadn't had those herbs on hand, that meeting with the nature god would've taken a very different turn.

"N-no," Ultear muttered, looking devastated at that revelation.

"We can talk about that next time," Will added as he shook his head. It wasn't the time to think about Zeref at the moment. In the future, he would have to prepare for him one way or another, but right now, he had to focus on the present.

"No, no! You can't tell me that, and then say we can talk about it next time!" Ultear furiously rushed over and reached to grab onto him, but the barriers in place prevented her from grasping his clothes.

"I won't be going anywhere, so you don't have to worry about that," he said as he looked away. "We can continue the Zeref discussion later, and..." he paused, looking through the options in the system store. "I might be able to offer you an alternative," he added, smiling in delight as the Judgment Field hadn't prevented him from saying that.

"W-What?" Ultear's head snapped back, staring at the magical cube to make sure it was still working. "What?" She asked again as she turned to him.

"Again, we can talk about it next time, but now, I do believe you'd want to get some answers from Brain," Will said, seeing her harden her expression. "As a gesture of goodwill," he pointed at the cube. "I will give you the Judgment Field to make sure he is telling the truth."

"I was going to take it even if you weren't willing to hand it over," Ulter replied as she composed herself before grabbing the cube. "For your sake, I do hope you haven't lied somehow," she started walking out and stopped to look at him. "Because no one, and I mean no one, would be able to save you from my wrath," she threatened with a chilly tone before walking away.

"Where are you going?" Will stopped her with a smirk on his face. "We still haven't finalized the deal we came here for."

"You're right," Ultear promptly turned around and walked back to her seat without a hint of embarrassment. "My refreshment has gone cold," she pointed at the tea she hadn't touched. "Please be a good host and get me another one."

"Now you want to drink," Will rolled his eyes as he stood up.

"You thought I was stupid enough to drink something from a man that makes magical drinks when he lured me into a trap?" Ultear simply asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Good point," Will nodded. "I'll be right back."

After entering his alchemy room and shutting the door, he let out a sigh of relief. His entire back was drenched with sweat from how anxious he had felt during the conversation, but a satisfied grin appeared on his face. Converting Ultear to his side would've been impossible without the Judgment Field, and even with the magical cube, she still didn't fully trust him.

However, Will made some progress, and more importantly, he pointed her at one of three big Dark Guilds. He'd have one less enemy to deal with in the future if she handled Oracion Seis. Tartaros might not even bother with him, but the other two had more reason to be interested in him. Brain especially was a researcher by nature and would have no qualms of capturing and torturing Will for his secrets.

Letting out another sigh of relief, Will used his alchemy workshop to prepare tea, of all things, before grabbing a few of his improved potions from the cabinet. He returned to the main part of the store shortly after, only to see Ultear staring off into the distance. She shook her head and looked at him sharply, daring him to comment on what he saw.

"For you," he placed the tea in front of her. "And this as well," he summoned the potions from his pocket space and lined them on the table.

"Those are improved versions of the ones I'm currently selling, and they are twice as effective and last for double the time. You can present them to the council and say you are working on making a deal for those," Will informed her before she could ask. "The second set is for you to have when you go after Brain," he continued, seeing her raise an eyebrow in surprise. "It's in my best interest that you don't get hurt."

"You could also mention that I'm currently unable to produce those due to lack of ingredients," he was still missing a powerful magical reagent for that. "But starting somewhere next week, I could start mass producing them," he truthfully said since there was a location nearby where he could grab the required ingredient. "Could say you are waiting to confirm that before formalizing the deal with me."

"Huh," she muttered as she studied them one by one. "This would certainly grab their attention. They've been studying your regular potions for some time now, but I don't think they've made much progress figuring them out."

"I'm not surprised," Will muttered, both about them studying his potions and that they hadn't made much progress with them. "Anyway, I have to ask, who were the people that attacked me, and were they hired by the Magic Council?"

The thugs seemed weak enough that maybe he could've won against them with Loke assisting him. But the invisible enemy? If his senses weren't enhanced from consuming the herb, both of them would've stood absolutely no chance against him.

"I have no idea," Ultear shook her head in denial. "The Magic Council isn't as chivalrous as it portrays itself as, but they wouldn't stoop so low as to send thugs to attack you."

"Really now?" Will asked, doubt leaking from his tone.

In response, Ultear just rolled her eyes before activating the Judgment Field and repeating her previous words. "The Magic Council just used this opportunity to get an advantage over you. The Rune Knights were ordered to use a Communication Lacrima the moment anything concerning you happened," she shrugged her shoulders. "I was just the first to snatch the opportunity and rushed over."

"Because if you made a favorable deal with me, your chances of advancing improve that much more," Will nodded in understanding. If she made a deal that outfitted their puppet army, that would be a great boon to the Magic Council.

"Oh, wow!" Ultear exclaimed with a fake smile. "You're not as dumb as you look, aren't you?"

"Thank you for reminding me why I thought you were a bitch," he replied, hiding his damaged pride behind the fake smile he put on.

"You've noticed?" She asked, looking very pleased as she placed her hands on top of her heart. "How observant of you," she said with a sweet tone before narrowing her eyes. "Is that all? I have a meeting with a dead man awaiting me."

"You could say so, but before you go," he cleared his throat before grinning. "Hoteye uses Earth Magic and Heaven's Eye. Racer uses Slow Magic and some kind of Vehicle Magic. Angel uses Angel and Celestial Spirit Magic. Cobra uses Poison Dragon Slayer, Hearing, and Sound Magic. Midnight uses Reflector and Darkness Magic. Brain's staff, and actual sixth member, could shapeshift and use Lightning Magic, and the Guildmaster himself uses Archive, Darkness Magic, and a spell called Square of Self Destruction."

Ultear just stared at him as he rattled off the magic of all the members under the Judgment Field. "Damn," a low curse escaped her mouth as her opinion of him shifted once more.

"Midnight is the strongest of them all," Will continued, grinning at her astonished expression. "However, that is only under the condition that Zero—Brain's alter ego—remains sealed," he added and just stared at her with a smug look.

"Fine," Ultear sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Go on, tell me how I can avoid unsealing his alter ego," she spat out with a frown. Fighting against the entire guild—even if it had only six, err, seven members—would be an ordeal. There was no need to make her life harder when she could avoid that.

"If all six members, including the staff, are defeated, Zero would emerge," Will replied, seeing her right eye start twitching in annoyance. Ultear let out a deep breath and deactivated the cube as she stood up, but he quickly stopped her. "Before you go, I'd like to make a request."

"Speak," she urged him with a frown. "I'll decide if I would grant it."

"I..." Will took a gulp. What he was about to say was something he would've never even imagined before. "I don't care what you do to most of the members, but could you spare Cobra, his pet snake, and Angel?"

Pointing Ultear at Oracion Seis might've doomed them for good, and he was aware of that. They weren't exactly good people, far from it actually, with numerous crimes to their names. However, Cobra was someone he needed alive as the man had been essential in the last fight. Cubellios, his pet, on the other hand, was a human transformed into a snake by a malicious mage, and she didn't deserve... an unfortunate fate.

"Why should I?" Ulter asked with a raised eyebrow before quickly activating the Judgment Field once more, and a small grin appeared on her face as she saw him frown in response to that. This new item she got her hands on was already starting to become a favorite of hers with how useful it was proving to be.

"As a Dragon Slayer, Cobra plays an important role in the future," he informed her, leaving it only at that. "While the snake is a human who was maliciously transformed into one by a mage in the past."

"What important role?" Ultear pushed. "Speak, or I won't hold back against him."

"Obviously, it's a dragon threat," Will rolled his eyes in annoyance. "More specifically, Acnologia, someone even Zeref isn't confident to fight. Happy now?"

The color drained from her face as she stared at him speechlessly. For a very long moment, her gaze didn't move away from his eyes before she slowly looked at the cube in her hands. "And Angel?" She asked after regaining a bit of her composure.

"She... her Celestial Keys are important. The golden ones," Will answered after struggling for a moment. "Though I'd appreciate it if you kept her alive."

"I'll think about it," Ultear said as she turned around, quickly walking away. However, she stopped and looked back at him. "I do have to ask, if this meeting had taken a sour turn, what would have the outcome been?"

Will stayed quiet for a moment. He thought about how to respond over and over in his head and took a good look at his credits and system store. "You would have died, or both of us would've perished."

A moment of silence followed as Ultear's eyes opened wide. The Judgment Field was still active, so that meant what he said was the truth. Or at least he believed it to be the truth. Though, the latter didn't make her feel better after she found out how much information Will had about... seemingly everything.

"Huh," she just muttered as she deactivated the cube and pocketed it under her clothes. "Oh, and one last thing," she grinned before a teal orb flew out from underneath her robes, rushing straight for Will's head. However, before it impacted, the barriers came to life, stopping it right in front of his right shoulder.

"I thought that might work," she whispered under her breath, but unfortunately for her, Will caught that.

"You're not as intelligent as you portray yourself as," he said, smiling sweetly at her.

Ultear just snorted in response as the orb returned back to her and walked away as if she hadn't just attempted to attack him. "I will be back in a week at most," she said just as she left.

"Finally," Will dropped down in his chair like a sack of potatoes. He was so relieved this was finally over since he felt like he had sparred with Erza, maybe even worse than that, and all they did was just talk.

"Oh, shit!" That reminded him that it was way past six o'clock. Quickly he got up and gulped down an Inferior Stamina Potion to get back some energy before rushing over to his house. On the way, he waved off the suspicious-looking man that was pacing in front of his buildings just before opening his front door.

"I can explain!" The words left his mouth the moment he was greeted with the sweet smile of Mira and the dangerous look of Erza.

"I'm sure you can," Mira said, her words causing him to tremble uncontrollably. "You can tell us all about what happened earlier and why you spent the past half an hour with that lady in your store while eating the dinner that I prepared."

"Did you have sex without me?" Erza asked with trembling lips, looking like a hurt little puppy.

"No!" Will quickly denied. "Nothing like that! I promise. Just..." he paused. "Had to deal with something way sooner than I anticipated."

"Yes, yes, you can tell us more while we eat," Mira pulled him towards the dining room, and he couldn't help but feel he wouldn't have a good time.

"Oh, I need to ask," Will frowned as he stared at them with a fragile look. "Do I look dumb?"

"No!" Erza was quick to state. "Not at all."

"Mhm," Mira nodded. "You don't look dumb…" he smiled hearing that, regaining his lost confidence. "Just gullible," she said, smiling sweetly and not helping the slightest.

Will had been correct to assume that Mira wouldn't grill him for being reckless. He couldn't even count how many times she pointed out he could've just contacted the both of them, and they would've come rushing to his aid.

It made him feel happy that they would drop whatever they were doing just to help him, but... Will really wanted to prove to himself, above everything else, that he wasn't weak, that he wasn't useless in a fight. He admitted as much to them, and, well, Mira was now also interested in training him...

Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes. 'I'm definitely not looking forward to this afternoon.' For now, however, he planned on dealing with the crazy amount of piled work, and it was time to get a... helping hand.

"Damn, you are an expensive bitch," he murmured as he used a majority of his points, and a Black Key with tiny snakes littered all over it appeared in his hands. He was coming close to fulfilling a few of his contracts which would net him a good amount of credits, plus he currently had nothing else to spend them on since he had everything he needed for the time being.

"Well, I hope this works," he muttered before pouring his magic into the key. "Open Gate of the Snake Mistress! Cassiopeia!"

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Edited by Ehbon.