[X784, Edolas, Royal City]
— Mystogan —
Mystogan rushed through the upper districts of the city in silence, his cloak fluttering behind him as distant explosions rattled the streets. Smoke rose into the sky in black columns while alarms rang endlessly across the capital.
This city… was his home.
Even after everything, some part of him still felt pain watching it descend into war. He knew these streets. He had walked them as a child. He had hidden within these alleys while his father's kingdom slowly drowned itself in greed and cruelty.
And yet, as he watched squads of Royal Army soldiers get overwhelmed by the Black Band Rebellion, he couldn't deny the quiet satisfaction stirring within him.
For years, the people outside the capital had suffered while the palace turned a blind eye.
Now the walls of comfort surrounding the Royal City were finally breaking.
Mystogan vaulted onto the rooftop of a tall tower overlooking one of the inner districts. Below, rebels clashed fiercely against the Royal Army. The blue-and-black banners of the Black Band fluttered through the smoke as fighters pushed forward street by street.
At the center of it all stood Edolas Dannis.
"Push forward!" Edo Dannis shouted as he drove his blade through a Royal soldier's spear. "Take them down! Don't harm the civilians!"
The rebels answered with renewed fervor.
Mystogan watched silently.
For all their differences, his Earthland counterpart and this version of Dannis shared the same terrifying ability to inspire people.
A soft caw pulled Mystogan from his thoughts.
Perched beside him was a familiar black crow. The bird stared at him with unsettling intelligence before squawking once.
Mystogan sighed softly beneath his mask. "You really do send this bird everywhere, don't you?"
The crow tilted its head before taking flight once more, vanishing into the smoky skies.
Mystogan shook his head.
Right now, my priority should be freeing the others.
His gaze shifted toward the massive lacrima visible even from this distance. It towered over the city like a crystalline mountain, glowing with pale blue light. Somewhere inside that prison were the souls of Fairy Tail.
To free them, they needed a Dragon Slayer.
Mystogan drew one of his staves.
'Air Walk.'
Magic swirled beneath his feet as he stepped into the air itself. His body vanished moments later, becoming nothing more than a ripple in the wind as he crossed the city rooftops.
'Natsu, Wendy, and Laxus are inside the palace', he thought. 'That leaves only—'
BOOM!
An explosion erupted from the central district below.
Mystogan's eyes narrowed.
He immediately changed direction.
The battle came into view moments later.
Entire streets had been torn apart. Carriages were overturned, windows shattered, and the cobblestones cratered from impacts. Edolas soldiers wisely kept their distance now, retreating from the sheer intensity of the fight happening in the middle of the district.
At the center, Gajeel and Levy fought desperately against a lone warrior clad in crimson armor. The Edolas version of their Erza was just as strong as the Earthland counterpart. The few memories Mystogan had possessed of the moment showed a fierce and unrelenting warrior, earning her the apt name of Knightwalker.
BAM!
Gajeel was sent hurtling through the air by a brutal kick to the chest. He crashed into a storefront, shattering the doors and windows as plumes of dust exploded into the street.
"Gajeel!" Levy shouted.
"Don't lose focus, Shrimp!" Gajeel barked as he trudged out of the wreckage, wiping blood from his mouth. "She's strong."
Ahead of them, Erza Knightwalker calmly spun her spear once before leveling it toward them again.
Even Mystogan had to admit it, she was powerful.
Not just physically, but mentally. Her stance never wavered despite facing two Fairy Tail mages simultaneously. Her eyes remained sharp and disciplined, scanning constantly for openings.
'She really is this world's Erza', Mystogan thought grimly.
Mystogan chose that time to intervene. He dropped between them, invisibility fading as thick mist rolled outward across the ruined street.
"Mystogan!" Levy exclaimed in surprise.
The staves on Mystogan's back floated upward slowly, orbiting around him.
Knightwalker narrowed her eyes immediately. "Another one of you?"
Her grip tightened on her spear.
"Fine then," she declared coldly. "I will defeat every single one of you in the name of Edolas."
Mystogan grabbed one of the floating staves in response, as mist thickened. "Gajeel. Levy. I will handle her. The two of you get to the lacrima and—"
"Guys!"
Everyone turned.
Lucy came rushing down the street while Happy carried her overhead. Carla flew close behind them.
"Lucy," Mystogan said immediately. "Perfect timing."
He turned slightly toward the group without taking his eyes off Knightwalker.
"The five of you need to reach the lacrima and free whoever's trapped there. Things are escalating far quicker than expected. We need reinforcements immediately."
"G-Got it!" Lucy nodded quickly.
Gajeel clicked his tongue irritably. "Tch. Don't die while we're gone."
Carla flew over and grabbed onto Gajeel's shoulders while Levy conjured glowing wings of script magic behind herself.
"Be safe!" Levy called out worriedly. "We'll come back as soon as we can!"
Mystogan gave a small nod.
Soon, they disappeared into the skies and alleyways, leaving only the distant sounds of war behind. The two remaining warriors stood opposite one another amidst the ruined street. Smoke drifted between them.
"That was kind of you," Mystogan said quietly, spinning his staff once into a ready stance. "You could have attacked them while they fled."
"You are strong." She planted the butt of her spear against the ground. "An opponent I cannot afford to underestimate. Had I went for them, you would have struck me from behind."
Mystogan sighed faintly beneath his mask. "If only things had turned out differently…"
"Your friends called you Mystogan." Knightwalker's eyes sharpened. "Are you an S-Class mage of Fairy Tail?"
"I am." He answered.
An excited grin slowly spread across Knightwalker's face.
"Good," she declared as magic flared around her spear. "Then this should be a worthy fight."
Mystogan lowered himself into stance as the remaining five staves floated around him in a circle. Mist flooded the battlefield completely now, swallowing the ruined district whole.
Across from him, Knightwalker twirled her spear and vanished in a burst of speed.
Mystogan's eyes narrowed, trailing her movement from the parting of the mists and raised his staff, meeting Knightwalker's spear with clang.
…
[X784, Edolas, Royal City, Castle]
— Dannis Martell —
Dannis suddenly stopped mid-step. His left eye glowed crimson.
The world around him slowed as fragments of the immediate future flashed before his vision—burning streets, cloaked figures darting through shadows, black flames erupting through alleyways.
He frowned.
"…Those guys are here, huh…"
His jaw tightened slightly as the visions faded.
'I doubt they're here to openly interfere,' he thought. 'But Grimoire Heart showing up in the middle of a war? That's not something I can ignore.'
Laxus, Natsu, and Wendy were already regrouping within the castle. Between the three Dragon Slayers, there weren't many threats in Edolas capable of stopping them outright.
The only remaining dangers should've been King Faust… and whatever mysterious "project" Edo Dannis had hinted at earlier.
But Grimoire Heart was different. They were powerful enough to turn the tides should they join Edolas' royal army, though for the life of him Dannis couldn't figure what purpose that held.
Laxus had mentioned their presence before, but he didn't really have time to consider their goals. Well, there was only one way to find out.
Dark wings burst from Dannis' back once more as he launched himself through one of the shattered palace windows.
The skies above the capital had mostly cleared now. The Exceeds had either fled or been captured after the activation of the anti-Exceed operation Lucy had mentioned earlier.
"Code ETD…" Dannis muttered. "Whatever."
It didn't matter right now.
Below him, the city still raged with conflict. Entire districts burned while rebellion forces clashed against retreating Royal Army remnants. An explosion of wind appeared occasionally in the distance, which had to be Mystogan.
Dannis paused slightly, but chose to let it be. Whatever problem it was, Mystogan should be able to handle it. Instead, he followed the place where he saw in his crimson eye.
He flew low across rooftops until he finally spotted them.
Two figures cloaked in black darted through the alleyways below, deliberately avoiding the major battle zones. They moved quickly and carefully—not like soldiers or civilians.
'There you are.'
From the future glimpses he'd seen, their presence led only toward trouble.
Dannis folded his wings inward and dropped silently into the alley ahead of them. Shadows swallowed his figure as his boots touched the ground without a sound.
The two cloaked figures immediately halted.
"Black Blade…"
Ultear Milkovich stepped forward slowly, her hood falling just enough to reveal her face. Irritation and caution flickered in her eyes. "You're not supposed to be here."
Beside her, the blonde man snarled immediately. Black flames ignited around his arms with explosive force, illuminating the narrow alley in eerie darkness.
"The hell?!" he barked. "You wanna fight, bastard?!"
Dannis studied him carefully.
Blonde hair. Wild eyes. Black flames. A violent magical pressure that felt strangely unnatural.
'So this is the God Slayer Laxus mentioned.'
Even cloaked, the man radiated aggression like heat from a furnace, not unlike Natsu now that he thought about it.
Dannis' gaze shifted briefly toward the cloaks themselves.
Interesting. Even now, he could barely sense their magical signatures. The fabric itself was enchanted.
'That must be why I can't sense them at all. They're posing as Edolas citizens who have no magic.'
The alley around them trembled once again as dust fell from the buildings surrounding them. Smoke drifted overhead while sirens echoed through the capital.
"Edolas is already in enough chaos," Dannis said coldly. "I can't exactly allow Grimoire Heart to wander around unchecked."
Ultear narrowed her eyes.
"I don't know how you found us," she admitted, "but it would be wiser for both of us for you to simply walk away."
Her tone remained calm, but Dannis noticed how subtly tense her posture had become.
"Fairy Tail already has enough problems to deal with," she continued. "At this moment, Grimoire Heart is not your enemy."
"What?!" the blonde exploded. "The hell are you sayin', Ultear?!"
Dannis' eyes sharpened slightly. Ultear was actively trying to avoid conflict. That alone told him this situation was more dangerous than it appeared.
"I beg to differ," Dannis replied as darkness crawled along his blade. "There's something I'd like to ask your guild master."
The shadows around him deepened.
"Hades… right?"
The instant that name left his mouth, the atmosphere changed.
Zancrow's grin twisted into something feral.
"That does it!"
BOOOOM!
Black flames erupted violently around him, consuming the alley walls and blasting debris outward. The fire burned unnaturally—dark, hungry flames that seemed to devour even light itself.
"My fight with the Thunder God already got interrupted!" Zancrow snarled, manic excitement overtaking his features. "Now I wanna fight!"
Ultear clicked her tongue as she moved back. "Idiot…"
Dannis smiled faintly, then his killing intent exploded outward.
The alley cracked beneath his feet as darkness surged around his body like black lightning. Nearby windows shattered instantly under the pressure alone.
"Then be my guest."
He vanished.
At the same instant, Zancrow lunged forward in a torrent of black fire.
Sword and flame collided violently in the middle of the alley.
BOOM!!!
Darkness and godly fire exploded outward in a massive shockwave that tore apart the entire street. Buildings cracked, windows burst, and flames spiraled into the sky as the two monsters clashed head-on for the very first time.
…
AN: There we go! Edolas is quickly ramping up. Sorry for the late chapter, but I had some personal things to deal with.
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, cheers guys!