Conclusions

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...

[X784, Magnolia, A week later]

— Mavis Vermillion —

"So what do you think, Master Mavis?" Levy asked.

The First Master of Fairy Tail stood with her gaze fixed on the wooden flute that held Lullaby. It rested inside a glass box, surrounded by dull red runes. From their investigations, they had determined that Lullaby wasn't truly dead. When Dannis defeated him, he merely forced Lullaby to deplete all his power to the point it was forced to turn back to its flute form. 

However, Mavis had noticed something troubling. Since Erza's team brought the flute back, its energy had slowly begun to recover. It was absorbing the ambient ethernano from the air. Which means that if left unchecked, Lullaby could eventually regain its full strength.

That was when Mystogan had an idea. The anima itself was a magical phenomenon meant to absorb magic. All he needed to do was tweak the specifics a little bit to isolate the effects. Rather than absorbing a specific target, it would instead absorb magic from the idle ethernano in the air. 

After a day of research, and with Levy's assistance, Mystogan successfully created a rune capable of achieving this effect. The red runes now surrounding the glass box were the result of that work.

"Dannis was right," Mavis said at last. "It seems Lullaby's core power was the curse of death, which is delivered through it's use of Sound Magic. A Mass Murder Curse Magic. It's truly frightening." 

"To think such a spell exists…" Mystogan shook his head. "This Zeref truly was twisted indeed, to have created magic like this."

Mavis remained quiet, despite feeling dejected. She knew the truth of the matter. Zeref created these beings to find a way to kill himself. It was an attempt made by a desperate man who was forced to walk the Earth alone for centuries. However, the Curse of Ankhseram isn't so easily broken.

"Then I suppose we should be grateful that Dannis took Lullaby down," Levy added. "I can't imagine the destruction Erigor would have unleashed if his plan had succeeded."

"According to the rest of Eisenwald's members, Erigor's plan was to go to Clover Town and use Lullaby during the Guild Master meeting." Mavis mentioned. "Had that plan worked, it would have crippled the entirety of the Light Guilds in one strike. As cruel as the plan was, I won't deny that it was a bad plan." Her eyes narrowed. "What concerns me, however, is how Eisenwald knew about the meeting in the first place.That information is supposed to be restricted to the Council and a few high-ranking guild members."

"Then I believe our theory of the council being infiltrated by dark mages is a certainty at this point." Mystogan said.

Mavis sighed. "I'm afraid so. I'll speak with Makarov soon—we'll need to adjust our plans accordingly."

Levy crossed her arms, glancing back at the flute. "So what exactly are we going to do with this thing? Dannis wanted us to study it and learn more about Zeref's demons, but how are we supposed to do that without risking Lullaby's return? We can't exactly research it in depth while it's locked in that glass box."

"I may have an idea," Mavis said with a small smile. "Come in, Mira."

Mirajane entered through the doors, a determined look on her face. 

"Is it time?" she asked.

Mavis nodded. "Yes."

"Wait, what's going on?" Levy asked, confused by the ordeal. Mystogan just raised an unseen eyebrow beneath his hood.

Mira just smiled. "Just watch and see, Levy."

Without hesitation, Mira opened the glass box and held the flute in her palm. A dark purple aura flared around it as she summoned her magic.

"Takeover!" Mira declared, her own magic power flaring as she activated Satan Soul. There was a clash of energy as Mira and Lullaby battled for dominance. The flute trembled violently before vanishing in a flash of light. "Satan Soul: Lullaby!"

In a flash of light, Mira's form changed. Her usual attire was replaced by a bark-colored leotard, embedded with dark wood streaked with glowing purple veins. A jagged crown adorned her head, centered around a three-eyed skull. Her arms were encased in wooden gauntlets, while thick wooden boots extended up to her knees. She opened her eyes, revealing dark purple orbs that glowed with power.

Mavis's eyes widened at the phenomenon. Levy was slack jawed while Mystogan merely chuckled.

"How do you feel, Mira?" Mavis questioned. 

Mira lifted her arm as she clenched it experimentally. "It's…different from my regular forms." She grimaced. "I guess demons from the Book of Zeref are on another level than ordinary ones. Whenever I use Satan Soul, there is always this lingering presence at the back of my mind that's trying to take over. I can usually just brush them off, but this one takes a little bit of effort. This is gonna take some getting used to."

Mavis frowned, concern flickering across her face. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Mira grinned. "Oh yeah, Once I get the hang of this, it'll be a powerful form to add to my arsenal." Her lips curled mischievously. "I can't wait to show this to Dannis."

"I'm sure your boyfriend would love to see you in this form." Levy teased as she gestured her head to the obviously sultry and revealing look that the Lullaby form gave Mira.

Mira's smirk widened as she winked. "Oh don't worry, I'll make sure he gets a personal viewing once he gets home."

Levy blushed red immediately as she stammered. "I was just joking, gosh! What you two do behind closed doors is none of my business, Mira!"

Mira laughed, then with a flicker of magic, returned to her normal state. "So, what's next, Master Mavis?"

"Now, you need to master this form," Mavis said. "Once you do, we'll be able to study Lullaby in detail without risk. But make sure you have full control before anything else—we can't afford any accidents."

"Understood," Mira replied with a confident nod.

...

—Lucy Heartfilia —

"I can't believe they're going through with this." Lucy said in shock as she stood by the crowd, her gaze shifting between the two figures preparing for battle. Natsu was grinning like a maniac, while Erza stood opposite him, her hand resting lightly on the hilt of her sword.

"Heh, Erza's not one to go back on her word. She promised Natsu a fight after the whole Eisenwald debacle after all." Gray said with a small smirk. 

"That's right! Erza's a man!" Elfman Strauss declared proudly, puffing out his chest, his booming voice drawing a few chuckles from nearby guild members.

"Erza is a girl, Elf-niichan." Lisanna sighed at her brother's antics.

"But there's no denying that she's manly," Alzack chimed in with a chuckle, adjusting his hat slightly as he leaned against a barrel.

"But isn't this really really dangerous? Aren't you, Natsu, and Erza among the strongest wizards in the guild, Gray?" Lucy said worriedly.

"Ha! I'll hand it to Natsu and Gray, they're tough little dudes, but neither of them come close to being the strongest, Lucy." Elfman pointed out.

Lisanna giggled. "It's always been a tough bet to determine the guilds' strongest wizard. Erza and my sister are the only real contenders for the strongest female, but for the guys, well…"

"You've already met one of them. Remember Dannis? There's no doubt on anyone's mind that he's among the strongest." Gray clarified.

"How could I forget?" Lucy said with a nervous laugh. Despite only seeing bits of it from a distance, Dannis Martell's fight against Lullaby was a sight she'd never forget for ages. 

"Then there's Laxus and Mystogan. Don't forget Gildarts as well." Gray added. "Mystogan's a bit of a recluse in the guild, he only really hangs out with Dannis and the Strauss Siblings. But there's no denying his strength."

"Aren't you supposed to go on a mission with him, Lisanna? Where is he?" Levy asked as she approached, flanked by Jet and Droy.

A small blush appeared on Lisanna's cheeks. "Master Makarov called him in for an emergency S-Class mission, and I've learned enough from the Beast Incident to know I'm not ready for those kinds of missions yet." 

Cana nudged the younger woman with an elbow. "Must've been pretty annoying, huh? Having your one-on-one time interrupted?" she teased, taking a casual swig from her ever-present barrel of alcohol.

Lisanna's face turned an even brighter shade of red. "It's not like that!" she spluttered, waving her hands defensively as the group chuckled around her.

Lucy tilted her head curiously. "The Beast Incident? What's that?"

Elfman's smile faded, his expression growing somber. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah, I guess you wouldn't know much about that, would you? A few years back, Mira-nee, Lisanna, and I went on an S-Class mission. Suffice to say, things didn't go well. I lost control after trying to take over the Beast, an S-Class monster, and Lisanna almost died." His fists clenched tightly at his sides, his knuckles white. "Dannis and Mystogan saved us. But despite everything, we all learned our lessons."

"I've said it hundreds of times, and I'll say it again." Lisanna gently placed a hand on her brother's cheek, "It wasn't your fault, Elf-niichan."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Elfman gave her a small, grateful smile.

The moment hung in the air, until Gray decided to break the silence. "Speaking of Mira, where is she?" he asked, scanning the crowd. "I assumed she of all people would wanna see Erza fight Natsu."

Lisanna giggled then, with Levy joining in. "She and Dannis went on a date. I heard they've been planning to go on a vacation for quite a while. It's also the perfect chance for Mira-nee to practice her Lullaby takeover away from prying eyes. Dannis is more than capable of looking after her in that state, after all."

Cana sighed. "Ah man. Those two lovebirds just keep going at it. When am I gonna find a partner to accompany me on dates?" She pouted, lifting her bottle for another hearty gulp.

Everyone just sweatdropped at her antics. 

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" Natsu bellowed from the center of the crowd as she stood opposite of Erza, who had a small smile on her face.

"I admit, I myself am curious how much stronger you've grown Natsu. How long has it been since you and I fought one another?"

"Too long!" Natsu grinned. "I'm gonna show just how much stronger I've gotten!"

"Alright, alright, kids." Master Makarov addressed as he and Master Mavis appeared through the doors to the guild. He went and stood in between the two fighters as Master Mavis joined the crowd in spectating. 

"As is customary in Fairy Tail fights, the first to go down, loses! Are you both ready?!" Makarov announced. Natsu merely lit up his fists in flames in response, while Erza requipped into her Flame Empress armor.

"3…2…1…" Makarov chopped down his hand. "Fight!"

...

— End of Beyond the Horizon Arc —

...

AN: No action this chapter, just good old Fairy Tail bonding and conversations. I hope y'all liked the twist of Mira taking over Lullaby. Had that one planned for a good long while.

This brings an end to the Beyond the Horizon Saga, which ended becoming far larger than I expected. This saga encompassed plenty, from the creation of the Balam Alliance to Alvarez's attack on Fairy Tail. Now here we reached cannon, which should change quite a bunch going forward.

The next plan should be the Phantom Lord arc, which is fun. After that, I got something planned for Laxus which should be pretty interesting. It's been a while since we've seen our beloved Lightning Dragon.

For those of you who stuck with me this far, thank you. I appreciate you guys a lot.

Cheers lads, see you in the next arcs!