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CHAPTER START---
---11 AM, Great Reef Range, West Fiore…
Buried deep within the massive green and pink mountains of coral and other oceanic formations rests the Guildhall Fortress of the Great Reef Wizard Guild. Under the scorching sun, they stand idle, moving about the small town of similar coral structures that have been grown and shaped into buildings.
Nestled safely behind a powerful wall that spans the perimeter of the village, centered around the dome-shaped fortress in the middle. The two mountains on either side of the fortress form a massive and dangerous valley for all who approach, and every step of the way is infused with green and pink coral.
For over one hundred miles in every direction, everything exists within the domain of Wizard Saint Coral, who renamed herself after this attribute of her Great Reef Magic.
Now she sits on her throne within the highest chamber of the fortress, carefully observing the Book of Zeref on the massive altar in the middle of the room. It rests atop a runic array, taking in all the Magic Energy flowing toward it as if it were nothing. Drinking with an unquenchable thirst for power.
And Coral couldn't be happier, imagining the other Wizard Saints, and even God Serena succumbing to its power. She glances at her guild's Ace, who is standing beside the table with her staff aimed at the book, ready to stop the ritual at a moment's notice.
The older woman senses her guildmaster's impatience, but ignores her for a while.
"Do we at least know which this is, or what it does?" Coral asks after her thin patience snaps. "I'd rather not go in blind, although I'm sure I could tame it if you let me get more hands-on."
"Not worth the risk," her Ace, Avsala of the Shimmering Crystals, says. "We may need more Lacrimas. This thing demands far too much."
"We've already depleted all we could legally get, so…" She looks to the window, where an armored man sits in the open frame.
Fulmer, the deserter, is dressed in his full heavy armor, everything one would expect of a knight. Heavy metal alloys painted in red with golden accents. Beside his perch is a matching tower shield and broadsword leaning against the wall.
He glances over at Coral, then closes his eyes and connects telepathically to the logistics department.
"They say no news has come in from any of the guilds that we hired to raid the caches."
Coral frowns. "This doesn't make any sense."
Avasala shakes her head. "They suspected we were up to something, that was enough reason to exclude us from any plans. They clearly hit all the lesser guilds simultaneously. This doesn't change anything, we simply have to extend the timeline."
"Bad idea," Fulmer says. "You're thinking like Wizards, stop that. This isn't a matter of Magic, it's war. If you crush all the little fish, then what's left?"
"You think they're gathering a force to siege us?" Coral asks.
"We should assume as much. After all, what bigger fish is there than a Wizard Saint? Especially considering how many Dark Guilds the Light Guilds have arrested in these past few months. Things are getting stable, but they need a push to take a real lead."
Avsalan turns to face Coral. "He's right, so we should stir up trouble elsewhere."
"We could inspire a Dark Guild Alliance somewhere up north, but not in the territory of the East Guild Alliance. The Magic Council loves sending its new dog to go handle those things, and most guilds can't stand up to him. Maybe another country? Have the Dark Wizards overthrow a government or two…"
"Pergrande?" Fulmer asks excitedly. "I can give them the intel they need to—"
"No," Coral cuts him off. "The time will come to destroy all borders, but not yet. And making such a move would lead people to believe they have a powerful backer, like us."
Fulmer frowns and turns to look out the window, ignoring both women as they continue planning. Minutes later, he's staring out at the beautiful coral valley leading away from the fortress and base, off into the mountains following the road.
Then a sudden alert reaches his mind, from one of the scouting teams stationed at the perimeter wall. Fulmer hops to his feet and moves to his sword and shield.
Coral and Avsala are both standing at the table discussing the Book of Zeref and turn to him, seeing him attach the rectangular tower shield to his left shoulder and arm, and clip the sword onto his back.
"A team on the wall reported someone approaching the main gate," Fulmer says.
"Impossible, I don't sense anyone." Wizard Saint Coral waves her hand, and on the far wall, the coral structure shifts to create a smooth and solid surface, releasing a pool of water to form a thin screen and display the view from the gate.
"Stealth Magic?" Avsala absentmindedly asks while staring at the screen. There, they see a figure approaching through the middle of the street, body hidden under a green cloak and hood. "No, you can sense anyone walking on the corals you make. It must be something else."
Fulmer frowns. "If nobody can sense it, then it's just an illusion. They must be casting it from an item that got brought into the compound. I'll go handle it."
Coral raises a hand, halting him without a word while keeping her gaze on the screen. "The air pressure around him is distorted, moving. That's a person, one capable of hiding not only from my senses, but my Magic as well."
Fulmer smiles. "Useful Magic, I'll interrogate it out of them later." He then sends a mental command to the entire guild, all of whom are present in the base, to defend the ritual. The two hundred members are instantly rushing about, preparing for a fight and moving toward the front of the base.
Two dozen men find themselves atop the main wall, above the large gate at the front of the base, raising their weapons and Magics to threaten the approaching individual.
"Stop right there!" One of the men yells at the figure a few dozen meters away.
Only for the figure to throw the cloak aside, revealing a casually dressed Oberon. Wearing long blue pants and a short-sleeved black t-shirt with matching boots, leaving the black Fairy Glitter mark exposed.
Coral, Avsala, and Fulmer eye him with curiosity through the screen, not thinking much of this.
Until he requips a baseball-sized Lacrima Crystal boasting the symbol of the Magic Council, and tosses it backward behind himself.
Coral frowns, already annoyed at this great interruption. Avsala and Fulmer feel the same way, but while she continues to observe through the screens, they both turn and move to leap out the window and join the fight.
The Lacrima glows, but before anyone could destroy it, Oberon moves in a blur and places his hand on the massive gate. He uses his Cosmic to modify the gravity of the structure itself, giving it a personal orbit with an intense pull.
All before launching it away with Gravity Magic, into the base.
A massive wave of destruction flows through the main street of the base as the gate rockets toward the fortress. It pulls everything and everyone on the main street and the nearby buildings toward itself along the way, gathering it all into a rough and growing planetoid.
Along the few hundred meters to the base, it grows from gathered debris until the orbit of a few meters is full, at which point it merely unearths everything nearby while hurtling forward, causing a storm of dust and debris in its wake.
The planetoid falls apart seconds later, unable to sustain itself as Oberon still doesn't fully understand this application of Cosmic. But the damage is done, and a swath is torn through the base.
"Clear the air!" Avsala commands as she and Fulmer drop to the streets below, standing in alignment with the main gate and destroyed street, noting that the attack reached halfway to the fortress on its own.
On her command, a few Wizards use Wind Magic, forming a massive gust to push away all the dust and debris, confirming what many of them had already sensed.
Rushing out of the dust cloud is the Light Titan, Wizard Saint Makarov Dreyar, dressed in his formal cloak with a scowl on his face. He flies at the head of the trinity, releasing waves of destructive neutral Magic Energy that shake the surrounding area.
To his left, destroying the coral ground with each heavy footfall, is Gildarts Clive, the disaster of Fairy Tail. Sprinting to keep up with his Guildmaster as they rush deep into enemy territory.
And to Makarov's right, is Oberon Alkwan, Fairy Tail's golden boy, hailed as the prodigy of the age. Flying a step behind Makarov Dreyar and laser-focused on the fortress ahead.
The many members of The Great Reef Guild are awestruck by the sudden appearance of these monsters, but before they could overcome their fear and doubts to charge in, Wizard Saint Coral sends a telepathic command.
She puts their minds at ease, reminding them that they have battles far more appropriate for their station, to let the monsters play with monsters.
They all turn away from Fairy Tail's strongest members, toward the destroyed gate and beyond. There, they see all the combatants of the Fairy Tail Guild charging toward the base, already in ranged combat with the sentries.
The Lacrima Crystal Oberon brought with him was an Anchor Lacrima, a special device designed for the Magic Council's teleportation array. It is a single-use item that allows them to send aid where needed, but it comes at a high cost, and thus is rarely used.
In this instant, the Magic Council approved its use to bypass the defensive barriers within this fortified artificial valley, allowing them to bypass many defenses and reach the fortress almost instantly.
However, to do this, they also took advantage of Oberon's unique isolation from other Magics, storing the special Lacrima within his Requip Dimension, making it impossible to sense.
And now the members of The Great Reef charge into combat against all of Fairy Tail's combatants, who are supported by dozens of Rune Knights and logistical units prepared to arrest and bind anyone captured.
But Oberon and the others don't bother worrying about those matters. They have faith in everyone at their backs to get their job done, and perhaps more importantly, they have formidable opponents of their own.
A few enemies rush to block their rapid approach, but with a thought, Makarov blasts them away with his Light Magic, sending them crashing into or through coral buildings.
Avsala narrows her eyes at the man and gives in to her curiosity about his legendary strength.
'How much distance is between us?' she wonders while lifting her staff and aiming at the trio. She forms three floating crystals using Shimmer Crystal Magic, then launches them at the Fairy Tail Wizards.
Each crystal curves through the air, making its target clear while accelerating forward. Beside her, Fulmer draws his blades and takes a combat stance, ready to leap forward, though there are dozens of meters between them all.
Makarov's crystal shatters before touching him, his Magic Energy destroying it with ease.
Gildarts reacts quickly enough to surprise her, punching his aside, not losing a step.
But Oberon is surprised by the speed of the crystal, barely raising his arm in time to shatter it, bruising his arm as it easily breaks through his Cosmic Barrier.
Fulmer and Avsala instantly rush forward, leaving a space between them as they strike out at their targets.
Fulmer raises his blade high and brings it down on Oberon, but the boy is able to react and instantly stop his own flight, backing away. The blade hits the ground, splitting the street in two for dozens of meters.
Avsala strikes out with her staff, covered in a thin layer of Shimmer Crystal, and Gildarts matches her strike with a punch. Their clash shakes the area and cracks the ground, but neither Wizard gives an inch of ground.
All while Makarov Dreyar is unimpeded en route to his fellow Wizard Saint, because as Coral commanded, monsters should fight monsters…
CHAPTER END---
Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
You.tube: @KeanuEugene [Giving away all my writing knowledge]