Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail or Sword Art Online

Traveling to the floating castle took a lot less time than Gildarts expected it to take. August's airship was a far faster method of travel than the boats, walking, and trains Gildarts had taken to get into Alvarez. However, that didn't mean he still didn't have his fair share of worries during the trip. The old man didn't strike Gildarts as a pilot, not when he clearly showed he was more masterful in magic than anything else. Yet, his worries proved to be unfounded when August flew with little issues, letting Gildarts sit in the co-pilot's seat of the airship for the ride.

Overall, the elderly man was quiet. Gildarts didn't know much of what to make of him. He was kind, yet he seemed determined in an odd way. The crease in his brow and the frown on his face only emphasized his concern for this emperor he was searching for. Meanwhile, Gildarts wasn't certain how to feel about the guy. If he had trapped Gildarts' friends, shouldn't this emperor be his enemy? Yet, it was also August's friend, and he owed the guy for taking care of him after that black dragon's attack.

Either way, just thinking about it in silence wasn't helping. Traveling wasn't either, but it was at least moving forward. So, with Gildarts directing August towards the area where the castle was still located, they arrived in almost record time. As the airship landed, they seemed to have startled the group of rune knights gathering around and setting up camp to keep an eye on the massive thing. Gildarts walked out, with August following shortly after. Approaching the ship was a man with dark black hair and violet eyes, gazing at them steadily with a small frown. "What business do you have here? This spell is under the watch of the Magic Council, and we do not appreciate having random wizards interfering with our work."

Waving at him, Gildarts gave a small smile. "The name's Gildarts, and I'm from Fairy Tail. I'm here in response to the job request sent out about this thing?"

The rune knight studied him for a moment, glancing towards the other man before sighing and inclining his head. "Right. I had forgotten it was still out, considering how we never received a response to such a request. I am Captain Lahar, and we are currently attempting to ascertain exactly what form of spell allows for entry and exit to this castle. Teleportation is obviously key, but there appears to be some form of ward interfering as well. Do you and your companion have some expertise in the field of identifying unknown spells?"

Glancing towards August, Gildarts hesitated. The elderly man inclined his head, watching the rune knight carefully. "While I am not involved in a guild myself, my companion came to me and requested my aid for this very reason. The spell you are investigating is actually more complex than what you are likely imagining. Tell me, just how much have you uncovered?"

The rune knight seemed to look uncomfortable, glancing behind him at the swarm of bodies seeming to be standing guard at the castle. In their midst, however, a single man stood out as the only one not dressed in a rune knight's robes. Dark blue hair hung down over his forehead as the man seemed to sit on the ground, leaning over sheets of paper that had been scattered in front of where he rested. A pencil was in his hand, being used to expand upon whatever was written down in the sheets, but as Gildarts watched him write, he spotted the linked cuffs connecting his arms together as he continued his work under the watchful eyes of his captors.

Sighing, Lahar seemed to cave in and began walking towards them. "You'll have to inquire him about that. While he has spoken to us about what he has uncovered…he is the one who has been working more hands on with the castle than us. Unfortunately, his ability in identifying unusual magic does exceed that of most of our numbers…so we had no choice but to make a deal with him."

"So long as you gain that which you seek, is it not worth the sacrifice?" August studied the rune knight for a moment, who met his gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"You say that like you don't care that a wanted criminal is no longer facing the justice he deserves."

Shrugging, August moved closer to said criminal, with Gildarts and Lahar following close behind. "That is because I find there is little that can't be forgiven, if given time. What one person calls justice is often vengeance in disguise, and punishments of that nature can be cruel and prevent forgiveness from being earned."

Looking up, the criminal seemed to have heard his words and frowned slightly. "An odd perspective, to say the least. Who is to say that vengeance would not be deserved as well? For even I must admit, there is no atoning for the things I have done."

August studied him for a moment, before smiling faintly in amusement. "How interesting. You seem to hold the same mindset as my emperor in that regard." Holding out a hand, August sat down in front of him. "I am August of the Alvarez Empire. It is a pleasure to meet the one attempting to unravel the secrets of this spell before us."

Taking his hand, the blue haired wizard seemed to frown. "I am Jellal…former member of the wizard council. I've heard much about your nation, August. Are you still the threat to Fiore I once knew you to be?"

"Perhaps. That is not for me to decide." He glanced towards the castle, while Gildarts wondered just what could be done in the first place. The thing was huge, taking up more space than anything he expected. Seeing it, he could understand why it would take such a large group to thoroughly explore it. However, the mystery remained of why no one else could enter and why no one had left since the job began. "What have you discovered about this castle?"

Looking towards it, Jellal frowned. "It is the strangest thing I've encountered. The structure seems to have been built using magic dampening stone, meaning it blocks magic for all within. Yet, there are spells interwoven on the outside…some seeming to manage to work around the very properties of the stone itself to allow specific spellwork to remain intact and actually usable throughout. As far as entering goes…there is little to see for a physical entrance, meaning magic is required. Yet, there are odd wards that interfere with teleportation spells, meaning we are unaware of what form of entrance is needed."

"Because his spell to enter created that very seal." Gildarts glanced up at it, frowning as he sighed. "That's what I would have done, anyway, if I wanted to trap everyone inside. Once I got everyone where I wanted, I'd make sure no rescue could come and interfere…which explains quite a bit, actually."

Nodding, August smiled faintly at him. "That would be correct. Though, it does not mean it is impossible to enter. One must simply unravel the ward first."

"And you think we haven't been trying?" Lahar interrupted, narrowing his eyes at them. "That ward is impenetrable, made using magic the likes of which we haven't seen in years. We've been pulling out ancient journals from the Council's library to even interpret the form of ward made, and we haven't even gotten that far quite yet."

Nodding, Jellal folded his hands in his lap. "Indeed. To put it simply…whoever made this is an expert in magic and wards. There is no denying the skill level of the enemy before us, if they could construct something this powerful without anyone even realizing what was being done."

"And I'm willing to bet that ward physically protects the castle too, right?" Gildarts glanced towards them, seeing Jellal nod. Rubbing the back of his head, the crush wizard sighed and closed his eyes. "Great. Then it looks like I might not be all that useful here. My specialty lies in destroying things, which means until that ward is gone, I'm pretty much useless."

Looking upward, August seemed to frown. "Actually…I see no issue in unraveling the entire castle."

Silence seemed to fill the air for a moment. Jellal blinked at him, slowly shaking himself out of his daze. "Pardon? You make it sound as if the structure itself is magic."

"It is." August stared at it, smiling faintly. "That was what it was designed to be, in fact. An entire structure, with the entrance and exit sealed utilizing bio-link magic. Upon the death of a specific individual, it is meant to trigger a self-destruct magic circle, which will destroy the entire structure before us. All we must do is trigger it before that individual's death and the castle will vanish, freeing those within." He paused for a moment, looking back at the others. "That is, if you believe you can determine a method of protecting them from the free fall that will result from the loss of the building keeping them airborne."

"And how would you know of this? You have barely been staring at this castle for five minutes." Lahar narrowed his eyes at the elderly man. "We've been here for months, and if there was any spell of the nature you are describing, we would have—"

"I know the man who made it." August interrupted, meeting the rune knight's narrowed eyes. "He is misguided, and if you choose to persecute him for this, I assure you it will be your biggest mistake. The only reason I came to assist is because I wish for his safe return. Now, do you think yourselves capable of saving those within if the castle crumbles into nothing?"

"Wait…you make it sound like you can undo this spell already without even taking the time to think out the procedure or anything." Gildarts blinked at him, while August smiled faintly.

"Because I can."

He gave no further explanation, leaving Gildarts glancing at the others with uncertainty. Sure, he trusted August's abilities. Yet, this was beyond what he had expected from the other man. However, Jellal slowly rose to his feet, nodding in agreement. "We should be able to make do. Lahar, have the air users prepare a wind barrier beneath the castle. That should slow their fall. I will use my meteor to catch them as they drop. Any that near the ground…I believe you mentioned wizards with plant based magic here, correct?" Lahar nodded, while Jellal glanced up at the castle. "They will assist in catching the falling wizards then. Any who possesses magic of a soft nature…something that could cushion the fall should line the ground with whatever it is they wield."

"I do believe we have a few unusual wizards in our numbers. One actually controls and creates cotton…and I believe there is another that specializes in feathers."

Gildarts had never heard of such a thing, but Jellal simply nodded and orders began heading out. The rune knights sprung into action, and before long, the grassy plains in front of them were covered in white fluff, a mixture of magic forming an odd barrier. Gildarts could see the feathers and cotton, sure, but there was also what looked like fluffy clouds on the ground with water pooling beneath all of it. Overall, it looked like it would at least lessen the pain, if not stop them from hitting the ground if they did not get caught beforehand.

Giving August a quick nod, Jellal stood his ground in preparation to help. The elderly man raised his hand, a focused expression growing on his face. For a moment, he did nothing but bow his head, speaking quietly under his breath. "I am sorry…I know this is not what you desired, but it is what we need. Return to your rest…and to us."

Then, the man lifted his gaze, light erupting in his hand. It shot forward, slamming into the castle and sending an odd shimmer throughout the air surrounding it. Something seemed to shudder, coming down as if unwrapping the castle from a casing of light. When the light began to drop further down, a massive dark purple magic circle was revealed to exist underneath, pulsing and glowing in front of them all. Gildarts stared at it, feeling an oddly ominous aura from the magic it held just before it activated. A massive burst of light seemed to fill the sky as the castle itself seemed to just vanish. It wasn't as if it exploded, or the pieces crumbled away. Oddly, it just looked as if the castle was there one moment, and then gone the next with a flash of light. In its place, Gildarts could see the wide eyed expressions of wizards filling the sky. However, that was when August vanished from his side, leaving Gildarts lost as to what was going on.

Jellal got to work quickly, moving to begin catching them as they fall. His magic really was something special, but it was nothing when compared to the sickening feeling he got at the growing power somewhere in the middle of the wizards above them. Looking up, he finally spotted what was bothering him, seeing a speck of darkness growing off to the side of the majority of the people there. August seemed to be near him, with the crazy old man holding out his hands, glowing with a white light that seemed to be fighting against the darkness trying to spread out from the man he was near. Meanwhile, wizards above them that had the ability to do so joined in helping the rescues. Teleportation magic was used rather swiftly to bring everyone safely to the ground, rendering the magically created cushion of random material useless.

"Get back!" A voice began shouting as soon as it was on the ground, coming from a young male with black hair and two swords hanging on his back. "Everyone, get away from here now!"

Those closest to him seemed to listen, moving away and warily glancing at the man August stood near. Surprisingly, Gildarts could see Natsu and Erza near that guy, making him wonder what kind of friends they had made on this adventure. Still, that ominous feeling was enough to make him take a few steps back himself, not wanting to get caught up in the mess that was about to explode before them. As the crowd began to do as requested, a space was cleared in the field. With that space, August seemed to move away himself, reappearing back by Gildarts' side with a dark look in his gaze. As soon as he vanished, that black magic exploded, encompassing the entire area that had just been covered in shadow from the castle that once floated above it.

"What the hell just happened?" A familiar voice spoke from his other side, making Gildarts blink in surprise at Natsu. "We finally got to the next floor! This is so disappointing…all that fighting for nothing. At least we got to show Zeref that he could get out alive too, anyway."

"Yeah…but what exactly did we do?" A brunette by his side spoke, dressed in a white uniform with a rapier in her hand.

Shrugging, the dragon slayer looked around, before blinking in surprise at the man by his side. "Dunno—wait, Gildarts? You're back! Come on, fight me already and show me how strong I've—" Gildarts slammed a fist on his head, not in the mood for his antics already. Sighing, he glanced towards August and raised his eyebrows.

"I've gotta say…this isn't what I was expecting. What the heck is even wrong with that guy anyway?"

August looked sadly into the center of the magic, closing his eyes for a moment. Then, he looked towards Gildarts, a sad smile on his face. "That is exactly what makes him believe he cannot be forgiven for his own actions. Look upon this sight well…for no man can take on the role of god without feeling the suffering of a true punishment."

"He doesn't deserve it, though." The same boy who told everyone to run spoke, glancing towards the man. "I don't know who you think he is…but he doesn't deserve it. All that he did was try and help others. He knows what he did was wrong…and he's learned his lesson."

"Perhaps, but this world is cruel and does not forgive easily, despite us wishing it could do otherwise." Gildarts frowned at that, glancing towards August.

"Didn't you just say forgiveness was easy to earn? That's nothing but a contradiction, if you ask me."

Meeting the old man's gaze, the swordsman from before narrowed his eyes. "A contradiction, huh? I'm going to take a wild guess and say you know exactly what this is, then."

Nodding, the elderly man still wore his sad smile, even as the black magic finally began to fade away from sight. "Indeed I do. After all…I am his majesty's most loyal servant of all." Looking towards the boy, he frowned for a moment. "Though…I suppose I am glad he did manage to encounter one who did not hate him for that which he did. I was aware of what this spell was meant to entail…yet it appears as if he managed to make friends, rather than obtaining the death which he sought."

"Wait, what do you mean?" The strange girl turned around, glancing towards the swordsman who gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah…about that—"

Erza interrupted, however, moving forward and joining them. "Zeref was the one who the entire spell was linked to. Killing him would have freed us…but ending the life of any individual is an inexcusable crime…especially when it is the life of one who has already suffered so much." She lifted her gaze, nodding towards Gildarts. "It is good to see you again. Is everything well back at the guild?"

"As well as it can be without most of our members." He smiled at her, grinning as he saw others scattered throughout the crowd. "Seems like we're all here now, though. Did you manage to do anything interesting while I was away? Because I've got some interesting stories of my own to tell…especially to Natsu."

"And I have my own business to attend to." August looked towards them, nodding swiftly. "After all, his majesty is needed to avert the war. From here, you should be more than capable of returning home on your own."

Giving him one last look, Gildarts nodded and gave him a wave. "Take care, August. And…don't be afraid to stop by and say hello."

"You may regret offering me that invitation one day…Gildarts. There is much you do not understand about myself and his majesty's desires." He looked towards the others, sighing and shaking his head. "One day you will understand. Until then, I suppose I will wish you well in return."

He moved off after that, joining his emperor and speaking in a quiet voice to the man. Rune knights seemed to be trying to approach, but after seeing them, the two vanished completely, likely leaving in the airship August had arrived in. Meanwhile, August glanced back at the rest of the crowd freed from the castle. Natsu and Erza talked about how things were like inside, speaking of adventures of hunting monsters and attacks from dark guilds inside. Really, it didn't sound any different from their usual antics, which was good since it meant they hadn't really been harmed. Overall, he found himself still thinking about the mysterious man who had created the entire thing, the one that left with August after unleashing a haze of magic that killed the entire field in front of them. Sure, the rune knights were investigating it as Fairy Tail's wizards turned to go back home, but it didn't mean it wasn't something to wonder about. Overall, Gildarts realized that magic was just like the castle. It existed and caused a lot of strife, but in the end, there was no way to understand it without the man himself here to elaborate on what caused it. The only person with them that could have explained remained stubbornly silent, insisting that it was his friend's secret to tell and not his own. However, none of them would truly forget their experiences inside, even if they would never be able to understand the mystery behind the castle created by a wizard whose only wish had been to seek out his own odd form of peace in the world.

And we have reached the end! I'll admit, I feel like the conclusion of this story was a bit rushed. However, classes are about to start back up, so I didn't quite have as much time for revisions as I would have liked. Either way, feel free to review and tell me what you think! Thank you all so much for reading.