Hi everyone. Thanks again for waiting. So, this is it. The epic conclusion to the war against Grimoire Heart begins now. Before we begin though, let me take a moment to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for supporting me and my story since it began. You are all amazing and I'm grateful for your support. But our journey is far from over, I've still got lots of fun and action planned for after Tenrou Island.

With all that being said, let the final battle continue.

Out of the Abyss - Into the Daylight.

The Magic Council ship continued to sail away from the besieged Tenrou Island as the storm raged on. However, despite their retreat, Doranbolt couldn't feel any more frustrated and disgraced with what they had done.

"Was this really for the best?" The spy of the Magic Council asked Lahar as he gave one last look to Tenrou Island.

"Look, I know how important the mission is." Lahar answered. "However, I'm also responsible for the lives of our shipmates. Retreat is the only option."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Doranbolt said in frustration, though it was more to himself than anyone else. "We left so many people behind! We could have easily pulled them off the island… but instead…"

"I understand…" Lahar replied. "I originally felt Fairy Tail was a nuisance, however I have come to respect them. Despite that… we still have an obligation to the Council…"

"That's bullshit and you know it, Lahar!" Doranbolt exclaimed. "We didn't even bother to try and help them against Grimoire Heart! Now we're running away and leaving them to die at the hands of something far worse!"

"It's obvious you're letting your emotions get the better of you." Lahar tried to maintain calm, even though he didn't like the idea of leaving even the likes of Fairy Tail behind like this either. "If blaming me will ease your guilt, then by all means, take out your frustrations and be done with it."

"No… it's just… I don't even know if I can make things right ever again after this…" Doranbolt confessed honestly as he looked up toward the raging storm.

Basecamp

"Dark Ecriture: Pain!" Freed swung his sword to send a series of runes straight for the demonic Yomazu, however he was able to use his demon-light-katana sword to easily slice through Freed's runes, much to his shock. Freed was quickly put on the defensive as he used his sword to block and parry the rapid strikes of Yomazu's light-sword.

"Line Formation!" Bickslow's dolls stacked on top of each other to blast a wave of green energy at the demonic Kawazu, but he moved with such insane speed that he was easily able to avoid the wave before slicing his light-talons at Bickslow's chest, cutting him and sending him skidding across the ground.

"Bickslow!" Freed exclaimed at seeing his friend down, but this left him vulnerable for the demonic Yomazu to get in close and blast him with a point-blank light-based explosion from his light-katana.

However, Elfman tried to charge in at Yomazu from behind, his right arm transformed into its iron-bull form. But he was then blasted in the back from an attack of Kawazu who shot multiple light-beams from his mouth almost like a gatling gun. The injured Elfman was sent skidding along the ground next to Freed and Bickslow.

"What kind of freaks of nature have these guys turned into?!" Elfman exclaimed.

"They're nothing like the guys we fought before!" Bickslow stated as they tried to pick themselves. "Not just their magic, but the way the move… they're like rabid animals!"

"No…" Freed said gravely as they faced the demonic Yomazu and Kawazu who looked ready to rip them to shreds with their bare hands and teeth. "Not animals… demons."

"Steel Devil Bullet Barrage!" Lady tried to blast a point-blank rapid-fire gun-attack at the crazed Job, but he quickly brought up a chaotic-light shield to block the attack before he teleported behind Lady to blast her in the back with a light-beam.

"This is what you get for daring to stand against Grimoire Heart and our lord Mundus!" The maniacal Job exclaimed with a sinister laugh. "Eternal damnation and everlasting torment are all that awaits you!"

"I don't think so!" Modeus tried to rush him with his swords, but Job quickly created a pair of light-swords in both his hands to block Modeus' blade attack. This appeared to leave him vulnerable for Trish to surge up into the air with a lightning-aura around her to provide a speed-boost before she drew the Devil Sword Sparda and tried to strike down at him with lightning-surging through the blade. However, Job saw this coming and generated a powerful light-burst attack from his body to create an explosion and send both Modeus and Trish skidding on the ground.

"The hell do we have to do to put this freak down?!" Trish exclaimed out of frustration.

"His movements are erratic!" Modeus stated as Lady ran to his side. "I can't predict them!"

"They're really having some trouble." Cana observed as she, Levy, and Lisanna stood on the side.

"We can't just stand here doing nothing." Lisanna said, hating being left on the sidelines.

"I know, but fighting that big guy drained the last of our magic power." Levy replied.

However, Job had heard what they said. "Oh, don't worry ladies, I've got plenty of holy light for all of you!" Suddenly, a giant glowing cross made of yellow and red light shot out of the ground and was already shinning like a bright sun, forcing nearly every Fairy Tail member nearby to close their eyes.

Lady's eyes however were filled with dread as he recognized this attack. 'That's the same thing that took down Dante…!' She then shouted to all her friends. "EVERYONE! GET CLEAR NOW!"

But it was too late. "Holy Devil Retribution!" The light-cross exploded, sending multiple piercing beams of light in virtually every direction, exploding along the ground, while also hitting nearly all his enemies in the process as they each were sent flying and skidding along the shaking ground, hitting either large rocks or the trees in the area as the attack finally stopped.

Lisanna found herself struggling to pull herself back up again. 'I'm almost drained… did I really use my Dragon Soul too much during this mess…? Porlyusica tried to warn me…' Her thoughts however were interrupted as Job appeared in front of her and picked her up by the throat.

"Lisanna!" The downed Elfman exclaimed in shock as he tried to pick himself up, only for the demonic Kawazu to pin him to the ground with his foot.

"I remember you…" Job chuckled as he held the struggling Lisanna. "You and your little Dragon Slayer boy-toy were a real pain for me. So, I plan to cause you some pain to." A light blade appeared in his free hand as he brought it close to her face, her eyes shaking with fear. "I'm going to cut you up, piece by piece, as slowly as possible, savoring every one of your screams." He chuckled as Lisanna couldn't help but look in terror. She would have given a scream as Job pulled back his sword, but a powerful force had managed to hit him in the face, which was enough to send him skidding on his feet along the ground, while also dropping Lisanna.

Both Job and Lisanna were completely stunned to see none other than Mirajane standing protectively in front of her youngest sibling. "Don't you ever threaten my little sister!" She exclaimed as she gave the crazed Devil Slayer a death glare.

"Mira!" Lisanna was quite stunned herself, but it was a welcomed surprise to be sure as she smiled.

"Iron Dragon Club!" A familiar metallic pillar had struck the demonic Yomazu from behind.

"Fairy Bomb: Gremlin!" A series of sparkles had formed around the demonic Kawazu, causing an explosion that blasted him off Elfman.

All the Fairy Tail members looked with either surprised expressions or relieved smiles at the sight of Gajeel and Evergreen standing on their own two feet, still covered in bandages and injured, but nonetheless, ready for action.

"Gajeel!" Levy exclaimed with relief with tears of joy already in her eyes.

"Evergreen!" Freed smiled as well.

"Thought you guys were down for the count." Lady smirked as everyone from Fairy Tail began to stand up.

"You really think we'd sit this out while our friends fight for their lives?" Evergreen said as she gave her usual arrogant façade while flipping her hair. "No way in hell."

"I take a nap for like two minutes, and you guys are already falling apart. Geeze." Gajeel cracked with a grin.

"I'm relieved to see the three of you back on your feet again." Modeus commented with a smile as they all regrouped together.

"You guys all did well trying to protect us." Mirajane said with a serious expression as she, Modeus, Trish, Lady, and Gajeel stood at the front with Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Elfman right behind them, along with Levy, Lisanna, and Cana in the very back. "Now it's our turn to protect you!" The entire group faced the crazed Job as he still had the demonic Kawazu and Yomazu by his side.

"Ah, isn't that sweet!" Job chuckled. "Well, if you all feel that way, you can all have your happy little reunion in the deepest pits of Hell! Right boys?!" He exclaimed to the two demonic wizards next to him as Yomazu and Kawazu gave growls of their own.

"Someone's going to Hell and it sure isn't us!" Trish stated as she began to pull out all the demonic power she had left. A powerful surge of lightning generated around her body that gave off multiple colored bolts such as purple, yellow, blue, and white before the flash subsided and Trish had taken on her Devil Trigger.

"Take Over: Satan Soul!" A dark magic circle formed underneath Mira as she had donned her Satan Soul form once more.

At the same time, Modeus' body was surrounded by a white aura as a powerful whirlwind blew around him. His body was suddenly engulfed in a brief flash of white light before it subsided, and he had transformed into his own Devil Trigger as well. "This ends now!"

Grimoire Heart Airship

Natsu in his Lightning-Flame state was the first to land a powerful punch to Hades' face, fire and lightning surging together in his fist before he sent Hades flying straight towards the Devil Trigger Dante who appeared behind Hades to slam his sword into the dark guildmaster's back and send him crashing up into the ceiling.

Their comrades could only look in surprise and awe at the fight that was unfolding in front of them.

"Natsu… has Laxus' lightning?" Lucy voiced in surprise. "But I thought eating anything other than fire makes him sick…"

"It's enough for him to keep up with Dante…" Gray observed in shock as well.

"Dante… Natsu…" Wendy muttered in awe, while also praying for their victory.

'This is just like when Natsu ate a shard of Etherion.' Erza recalled that particular moment from the Tower of Heaven. 'And Dante is now taping into all the demonic power he has left. We'll just have to hope that all of this is enough to end it.'

Hades shot down from the ceiling on the attack once more as he shot multiple chains at the pair, but they both easily shot straight up and proved fast enough to dodge each of them as Natsu came in with a kick from the left side as Dante gave a sword-strike on the right side. The attack from Natsu both burnt and electrocuted Hades while the force of Dante's strike had shattered most of his ribs before Natsu gave a powerful kick to Hades head to send him crashing straight toward the ground.

"Don't even give him time to counter!" Dante exclaimed to Natsu as he hovered in the air and held Natsu by the shirt. "Hit him and keep hitting him till he's down for good!" He spun his body rapidly and threw Natsu at their mutual enemy.

Hades tried to block it with both his arms, but the speed from Dante's throw combined with the strength of Natsu's punch was enough to break both his arms, causing Hades to cry out in pain before Natsu gave a yell as he dealt a dual-elemental charged roundhouse kick to Hades chest and send him skidding across the ground. He tried to pick himself up, but the Devil Trigger Dante appeared from behind, grabbed Hades by the back of his head and slammed it on the ground before flying at super-speeds, dragging Hades face into the ground as he flew along the ground, up the wall and back to the ceiling.

"I swing my sword like a neanderthal, huh?!" Dante pulled Hades out of the ceiling and threw him away before slicing with his black Rebellion at Hades to send him crashing to the ground. But he wasn't finished yet as Dante aimed his sword at the downed Hades and unleashed his million-stab technique, further enhanced by his Devil Trigger, to send multiple red energy bolts at him at a rapid pace equivalent to that of a gatling gun. "Well it's this neanderthal that's about to kick your ass!"

Basecamp

The demonic Kawazu unleashed another attack from his mouth, blasting multiple light beams at Freed who tried to defend himself with a shield of runes. Evergreen hovered above Kawazu to shoot multiple magic bolts at him, sending him skidding along the ground as the Thunder Legion stood together.

"Evergreen you shouldn't push yourself." Freed advised his teammate.

"Seriously, you're gonna drop dead if you keep this up." Bickslow also said. "You should have stayed down."

"Stay down?" Evergreen questioned as she tried to stand tall despite her injuries. "My partners, friends, and family are fighting tooth-and-nail against these monsters and you want me to stay down?! No freaking way! I'm a member of Fairy Tail and the Thunder Legion! I don't care if I don't even have any magic left! I'll beat this guy down with my bare fists if I have to!"

Freed and Bickslow were both surprised before smiles from on their faces. "Oh yeah! The Thunder Legion is back baby!" Bickslow exclaimed.

"We'll fight together as one unit, as we always have!" Freed exclaimed. "Dark Ecriture: Absolute Shadow!" He covered himself in his dark knight armor once more as he shot toward the demonic Kawazu who tried to blast him with his beam attack again, only for Evergreen's fairy-like glitter to fall in between them and tank the attack, letting Freed come in with a solid punch into Kawazu's gut, piercing through his stomach before sending him flying straight into the air.

"Time to fry this chicken, babies! Baryon Formation!" Bickslow shot his dolls up into the air where they met the airborne Kawazu.

"Fry that chicken!" The dolls all shouted as they circled together to form a ring of green energy before firing a powerful green magic beam at Kawazu that completely engulfed and disintegrated him.

At the same time, the demonic Yomazu shot his light-sword toward Gajeel to blast a light beam in his direction, which he rolled to the side to avoid though he did get skid a bit. Elfman tried to rush him with his Iron-Bull arm, but Yomazu ducked underneath the attack and sliced at him with his sword again to bring him down to his knees before trying to slice at his neck area, but Lady had appeared in front of him, her arm converted into a steel sword to block the attack before slicing at Yomazu who leapt back to avoid the slice.

"Since when the hell have you been able to use magic?" Gajeel questioned to Lady as he met up with her and Elfman.

"Long story, no time!" Lady stated. "This bastard is jumpier than a freaking frog! Gotta get him to stay still!"

"You leave that to me." Elfman said seriously as he stood up, brandishing his Iron-Bull arm. "It's caused a lot of pain, this arm. It hurt Lisanna, made Mira cry, and it failed to protect my partner when she needed it. It may be pathetic, but I'll put every bit of power I have into it and beat this barnyard freak into next week!"

Gajeel smirked. "Spoken like a true man."

Lady smirked as well "Just knock him down and we'll finish the job."

Both of them leapt behind Elfman as the demonic Yomazu charged forward with his light-sword again. Using all the physical strength they could muster, Gajeel and Lady gave Elfman a powerful push that sent him soaring straight at the charging Yomazu who slashed his blade at him while Elfman also threw out his Iron-Bull arm. When both attacks met, the arm shattered through the light-sword before it landed a solid punch into Yomazu's face to send him skidding across the ground.

While he was down, Gajeel and Lady leapt into the air above him as they unleashed simultaneous attacks.

"Iron Dragon Roar!"

"Steel Devil Rage!"

Both breath-attacks mixed together in a cluster of iron and steel before landing directly onto Yomazu to tear him to shreds and obliterate him completely.

"Holy Devil Starburst!" Job unleashed a powerful burst attack that sent multiple light-beams at Mira, Modeus, and Trish who flew around them with intense speed in their respective Satan Soul and Devil Trigger forms before appearing in front of him.

Mira was the first to land a solid attack in his gut, causing him to hack up a great deal of blood before sending him rolling across the ground where the Devil Trigger Trish met and sliced her Devil Sword Sparda at him, charged with her multi-colored lightning. He tried to throw his arm out to block the attack with his own magic, but Trish was too fast as Job's whole right arm had been completely severed, while also creating an electrical explosion that sent him flying toward Modeus who swung down his right sword onto Job's back to send him crashing hard onto the ground.

"No… this isn't happening…!" The crazed Job tried to pull himself back onto his feet. "I am a chosen servant of Mundus! I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY THE LIKES OF YOU!" Having lost all remaining sense of sanity, Job's body radiated and exploded with multiple chaotic light beams; forcing everyone in the area to dodge and take cover to avoid getting blasted. However, Trish and Mira were both struck, being those closest as they rolled across the ground, Mira having lost all her remaining magic as she turned back to normal before the Devil Trigger Trish swooped in to fly her away, while Modeus crossed his blades to create a transparent moon shield to protect himself before he shot into the air where the crazed Job set his sights solely on him.

"You! Apprentice of the heretic Sparda! YOU SHALL MEET YOUR END FIRST! HOLY DEVIL RAGE!" Job sent out arguably the most powerful breath attack he could muster in the form of a powerful light beam that was gunning straight for Modeus, but he didn't seem the least bit intimidated.

'No… I will not!' The Devil Trigger Modeus brought both his blades together as they shined a bright white light that appeared to merge them into a singular weapon. 'Sparda… my mentor… I will use the will and strength you gave to me to protect my family! I will not let Fairy Tail fall at the hands of a monster like Mundus!' As Modeus concentrated all his power into his glowing swords, the aura around them turned from a bright white to an even brighter red as the blades merged together into a single sword. It was a long red demonic broad sword, which Modeus lifted up just as Job's attack was about to hit.

"Hunter's Moon: Crimson Eclipse!" The Devil Trigger Modeus swung his glowing red sword onto Job's breath attack while also shooting himself through it at insane speeds that even outpaced Job's light-speed. Modeus had shot and cleaved through the breath attack before shooting past Job and sliding on his feet along the ground, holding his new crimson sword out dramatically before a vertical red line appeared in-between Job's eyes and all the way down his body right before he exploded in a flash of red light.

"They did it!" Lisanna exclaimed with a smile.

"Incredible!" Levy also exclaimed.

Cana's eyes were wide with pure amazement. "Wow… that was just… wow…"

Once that was all done; Modeus and Trish had dropped their respective Devil Triggers as they, Mira, Elfman, Freed, Gajeel, Bickslow, Lady, and Evergreen all sat down in exhaustion.

"It appears we've won…" Freed said, quite exhausted himself.

"I can sleep a week after that." Bickslow commented.

"Same here." Trish said as Elfman and Evergreen shared smiles with each other.

"Hey buddy." Gajeel spoke to Modeus directly. "That is one sick sword." He smirked as he saw Modeus' red blade.

"Yes…" Modeus said as he held his new sword in his hands. "I think I'll call it… Hunter's Moon."

"Now that's a manly sword name." Elfman smirked.

"I like it, it's very fitting." Mira smiled.

"Don't get too comfortable, it's not over yet." Lady said seriously. "Dante and the others are still fighting."

"They'll pull through, they've never let us down before." Mira replied as she looked toward the stormy sky. 'Natsu, Dante, we believe in you.'

Grimoire Heart Airship

The entire vessel rocked back and forth as the Devil Trigger Dante and Lightning-Flame Natsu hit Hades with everything they had, not even giving him a chance to counter or recover as they pressed on their attack. This battle was very personal for both of them as Hades and his guild had hurt and nearly killed their friends and family; all the painful screams their friends gave served as fuel for their anger as they unleashed all that pent-up rage on the man responsible.

"This is what happens to anyone who messes with Fairy Tail!" Natsu exclaimed as he punched Hades across his face with a fist surging with fire and lightning, sending him soaring to Dante who sliced Rebellion at him at such insane speeds it almost seemed like a blur before Hades was sent flying and crashing into the wall. Before Hades even had a chance to recover, both Dante and Natsu shot into him, thrusting sword and fist respectively into him as their enemy was caught in a mix of overlapping fire and lightning mixed with red demonic energy.

"Only a failure would throw away and turn on his own family!" Dante shouted at the former master of the guild he adopted as his home. "You really think a looser like you stands a chance against us!?" Dante sliced Rebellion at Hades again, sending a powerful wave of his demonic red energy to completely engulf him before leaping back and allowing Natsu to unleash a Brilliant Flame attack filled with both fire and lightning which he struck at Hades dead-on.

However, Hades leapt out of the smoke to unleash two magic chains from his hands. One wrapped around the Devil Trigger Dante's neck, while the other pinned Natsu's hands together. "I won't fall that easily!"

"Neither will we!" Natsu yelled as he pulled his hands free from the chains, much to Hades' shock. But he didn't have time to react as Dante grabbed onto the chain around his neck and used his own demonic strength and power to pull on it, pulling Hades right towards him where Dante sliced at him again in his chest to not only cut Hades even further but send him crashing into the wall.

"HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, NATSU!" Dante yelled as he channeled all his demonic power into Rebellion, which already began to surge with brilliant red energy.

At the same time, Natsu inhaled and drew in all the magic he could muster as he prepared his most powerful breath attack yet. "LIGHTNING-FLAME DRAGON ROAR!" Natsu had unleashed a breath attack that was at least three times the size of all his previous ones.

Dante had followed his lead as he shot Rebellion forward to blast a massive beam of pure demonic energy which had already mixed with Natsu's breath attack to create a powerful Unison Raid of fire, lightning and demonic power; causing it to grow even further. The attack hit Hades and completely engulfed him as it blasted through the walls of the ship.

Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Wendy were all sent flying from the residual force of the combined attack as it blasted out of the ship and even blew away the water from the ocean, exposing the ocean-floor underneath.

The entire night sky had lit up with this bright and powerful power as those at basecamp could only look up in shock and amazement at the massive column of rage-filled power shooting up into the sky and load thunder-like roar echoed throughout the air.

"Holy shit…!" Gajeel breathed.

"What… is that….?" Elfman was in awe as well.

"Such power..." Even Modeus was left in awe

"That's fire… lightning… and demonic power all mixed in one…" Mira was beyond shocked herself.

"Natsu…" Lisanna knew who was responsible, as did Lady as they both shared concerned looks.

'Dante… don't you dare die on us…' Lady pleaded with her thoughts.

Likewise, Gildarts had been laying on the ground after his battle against Bluenote as he saw the attack sail over him as well. He couldn't help but smile in pride at seeing it himself.

Back inside the Airship, once all their power had been unleashed, Dante had turned back into his human form as he stood alongside Natsu, both of them were barley on their feet as they were completely out of power. They looked at the massive hole they had made from their combined attack, and at Hades' broken body that laid on the ground. His body appeared scorched from head-to-toe as some residual static surged on small areas on him.

Their friends were nothing short of shocked at what they had just seen. Gray and Wendy's jaws had dropped as their eyes widened, Lucy mouth hung open as her own eyes wavered, and Erza had a warm smile on her face.

Natsu fell on his hands and knees in exhaustion. "That's what… he gets for… messing with us…" He muttered.

Dante was so exhausted himself that he dropped Rebellion and let it fall on the ground and was about to fall backwards into the hole behind him. However, as he fell, he felt something grab onto his arm, he weakly looked up to see Lucy, Erza, and Gray holding onto him.

"Need a hand?" Gray asked with a smirk as Lucy and Erza smiled warmly. Dante chuckled as they worked to pull him back up.

"Big brother!" Natsu was caught off-guard as Wendy ran and wrapped her arms around him, shedding tears of pure joy. "You were amazing! Both of you!" Natsu gave a weak smile himself as he wrapped one single arm around her.

"You know what's funny?" Dante gave a weak laugh as Gray, Erza, and Lucy helped him sit up straight. "My whole life… I fought all kinds of… nightmare fuel demons… and barley broke a sweat. But… it takes a cranky old man… to knock me down like this… pretty damn funny, huh?"

Everyone else couldn't help but laugh alongside Dante. "Yeah, another bad guy bites the dust." Gray smirked.

"We won!" Lucy cheered.

"Hey Dante…" Natsu got his attention. "We make a badass team, don't we?" He gave him a thumbs up. "Just like our dads, huh?"

"Got that right." Dante gave a thumbs up of his own.

Meanwhile, deeper inside the airship, Happy led Carla and Lily as they crawled through a narrow air-vent. "Looks like finally lost that guard dog." Happy observed.

"Let us hope it doesn't shrink so it can crawl after us." Carla said.

"But we still have to find Hades' heart." Panther-Lily stated. "And so far, we've come up empty."

"Maybe he has locked up in a chest somewhere." Happy guessed.

"I'm still wondering as to how he was even able to remove his own heart in the first place." Carla stated.

"Demonic power, I'm assuming." Lily replied. "From what I've seen that stuff seems to allow people to do the impossible."

"Yes, but it always comes at a great cost. I've seen that myself as well." Carla said.

Happy however came to a stop as he saw a faint glowing light from an opening, but Carla ended up bumping into his rear, and Lily did the same as well.

"Geeze, you could at least give us a warning before you stop." Carla scolded.

"Lily." Happy directed his gaze towards the black Exceed in the rear.

"What now?"

"Did you touch it?" Happy asked as he glared at Lily, who only looked confused. "Carla bopped into my butt, which means you must have gotten a face full of her cushy-tushy."

"It's not my fault!" Lily exclaimed as a comic anger mark formed on his head. "You're the one who stopped without any warning!"

That only seemed to make Happy even more angry. "Oh, so it's my fault that you couldn't stop yourself from copping a feel?!" He flashed him a comic-death-glare. "Lily, prepare to die!"

Carla looked unamused by this while Lily simply looked more annoyed. "Would you quit acting like a child and focus on the mission at hand! Besides, it's not even a big deal!" Lily shouted.

"It might not be a big deal to you, but it is to me!" Happy exclaimed. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"Would you knock it off already!" Carla exclaimed, having enough of this as she looked toward the blue Exceed in front of her. "What made you stop in the first place, Happy? Did you see something?"

Happy got serious again as he looked down the opening at the ominous glow. "Yeah… I… I think we found what we were looking for…"

Carla and Lily got a look themselves as they both looked in sheer terror.

Back on the bridge, despite his body appearing burnt and broken beyond any hope of repair, Hades' uncovered eye suddenly shot open. "I'm impressed."

Everyone gasped as they heard Hades' voice. The six members of Fairy Tail looked in shock and disbelief as they saw Hades stand back up on his own two feet, a dark aura around formed around his body, causing all his injuries to vanish as he even repaired his clothes, along with his long black cape and black armored gauntlets.

"I will be the first to admit I underestimated you, Dante." Hades said honestly. "If your father could see you right now, I guarantee he'd be nothing short of proud. And the same goes for the rest of you, Makarov has raised you all quite well."

"There's no way…" Wendy muttered in shock.

Even Dante couldn't believe. "Are you… kidding me…?"

"I can't remember the last time someone left me torn and tattered after a good brawl." Hades said as he brushed the dust off his shoulders.

"How the hell is he standing…?" Gray questioned.

"I appreciate the entertainment, but I must get back to work." Hades said. "Seeing how you and your friends had gone all out and unleashed your full power, I will extend the same courtesy."

"You're kidding… he was holding back this whole time…" Lucy stuttered in fear.

"What kind of monster could survive that?!" Even Erza began to shake as Natsu and Dante looked a bit nervous, both of them having a bad feeling what was going to happen next.

Hades had removed his eye-patch to reveal his right eye completely closed. "Devil's Eye… Open." His right eyelid had slowly but surely opened to reveal the glowing red eye that laid underneath it. The minute that eye was revealed, they could all feel it. An ominous dark aura had formed around Hades as his power shot up even higher.

"Allow me to show you… the source of my power… the Abyss of Sorcery… my lord and master Mundus is with me even now, and I mean that quite literally." Hade explained as the dark aura continued to flow around him. "Though he is not physically with us, his power and by extension his very being, flows through me. You should all feel honored, for you now stand in the presence of the being who stood at the very beginning of time itself."

Though Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, nor Wendy could recognize the power, they could feel the intense and suffocating malice that had already filled the air. Dante felt it as well, and he recognized it all too well.

"That power… he's not bluffing…" Dante shook as a cold sweat drenched his body, while Lucy clung to him even more. "It is Mundus…!"

"This… is Mundus' power…?" Gray muttered as fear already swelled inside his gut.

"It's not real! No, it can't be!" Wendy cried in terror as she held onto Natsu who was shaking as well.

Even Erza was shaking with fear. "I've never felt such darkness and malice before… such evil…!"

"And it's getting bigger by the second!" Lucy exclaimed as she was just as terrified as everyone else.

"I am my lord's harbinger of death." Hades said as the demonic power swelling inside him only grew.

Dante tried to grip onto Rebellion in front of him, but he could barely even move. "Damn it…" Dante slammed his fist onto the ground. "I'm drained… I don't even have a drop of power left…"

"Yeah… that last attack did me in to…" Natsu muttered in both fear and frustration as well.

Meanwhile, Happy, Carla, and Panther-Lily found themselves in what appeared to be the airship's engine room, as the Exceed trio stared at the enormous and beating heart that hung behind the thick glass. The heart was pitch black as it beat with all sorts of tubes connected to it, allowing the fluid behind the glass to flow inside and out.

"Is… is this Hades' heart…?" Happy asked.

"It certainly looks like a heart but… it also looks like it's the ship's power source…" Carla noted all the tubes connected to it.

"But it's a lot larger than a human heart should be." Lily observed. "Could this be a result of the demonic power Hades' uses?"

Carla's eyes widened as she was hit with realization. "Of course." Happy and Lily looked toward her with surprise. "Back when Dante, Natsu, and I followed Arkham into the Underworld via Temen-ni-gru, the madman had managed to absorb the power of Sparda, and while his appearance initially changed to look identical to the Dark Knight, it underwent a transformation before he became something truly hideous."

"Yeah, Natsu told me about that." Happy recalled. "Didn't Arkham turn into some kind of huge blob?"

"Yes, he did." Carla confirmed. "Despite the demonic power he accumulated, Arkham's body was still physically human and it couldn't handle the demonic energy that flowed through him."

"Could that be why Hades removed his heart?" Lily wondered. "To avoid his body undergoing a similar transformation?"

"Perhaps." Carla answered. "He did supposedly receive his power from Mundus, the Demon Emperor who's said to be even more powerful than Sparda."

"So, this is the 'Grimoire Heart'." Lily said as they looked at the black demonic looking hear that continued to beat above them.

However, their attention was caught by a growl behind the large barred gate behind them, which was followed by a series of voices from behind the door as well.

"Hey, Baskerville found something!"

"How could anyone get in!?"

Happy gave a scream as Carla looked in alarm. "Looks like they found us!" The white Exceed exclaimed.

Lily picked up a wrench from the ground. "I'll try to keep them occupied! You two hurry and put that thing out of commission!"

"Any ideas?!" Happy asked as he and Carla looked at the enormous heart.

"Break it, of course!" Carla replied.

Panther-Lily had stepped outside to see a large group of at least two dozen Grimoire Heart grunts, along with the same demonic guard dog from before, apparently named Baskerville as it snarled and brandished its saliva-drenched fangs.

"How the hell did a cat get in here?!" One grunt questioned.

"Who cares, just stomp it!" Another grunt said.

"Stomp this!" Lily threw the wrench out at the masked faces of the two front-most grunts before Baskerville leapt at Lily to bite on him, but Lily shot in the air with his wings to avoid the bite before he grew to his muscular form and shot down with a punch to Baskerville's face to send the demonic dog skidding on the ground on its front paws as Lily faced the demon specifically.

"How'd he get so big?!" One grunt questioned.

"Nobody touch him! Let Baskerville chew him up!" Another grunt stated as Baskerville growled.

"So, your name is Baskerville." Lily spoke to the demon dog directly. "Normally, I don't have a problem with dogs." He then took a sword from a random grunt.

"Hey, that's my sword!" The grunt complained before Lily kicked him down and faced the demon dog again.

"But when said dog tries to eat my friends alive, then we have a problem! So, come and get me!" Lily challenged.

Baskerville roared as it leapt towards Lily who swerved around the large dog and slashed at its side, causing Baskerville to grunt before it turned and slammed its head into Lily to send him crashing into a wall as the Grimoire Heart grunts got out of the way in time. Baskerville leapt to pounce on Lily, but he used the flat of his sword to push against the neck of the demon dog and keep him back as it tried to bite down on his face.

Lily struggled for a bit, but he was able to use his legs to kick at Baskerville's belly and with pure strength alone, Lily had kicked Baskerville off before Lily regrew his wings and shot above Baskerville before slamming the blade down on his head. Though he did cut through the outer-layer of skin and cause a bit of bleeding, Baskerville wasn't done as it thrashed its head about to shake Lily off, which he did as he wrenched his sword free and slid on the balls of his feet along the ground to face the demonic dog again.

"Impressive." Lily wiped his mouth slightly. "However, as much as I would love to draw this out, I'm afraid my mission takes more pressing matters." Baskerville gave a roar as it leapt at Lily again who ducked underneath him and shot his blade into Baskerville's belly, stabbing him before throwing him away to the side as the Grimoire Heart grunts cleared away just in time. With Baskerville down, Lily didn't waste any time as he flew with his wings at super-speeds and impaled the blade where he struck Baskerville the first time in the head, piercing through its skull to bring the demon dog down for good.

"I don't believe it…" The grunts looked in disbelief. "He killed Baskerville…?!"

However, theirs as well as Lily's attention was caught by the red aura that glowed around Baskerville's body before it spread to Lily's sword. In a flash of dark red light, Baskerville's body had vanished as the light shined onto the sword, which underwent a transformation of its own. The blade was now ebony black with a serrated end, almost like dogteeth as it was almost twelve feet long in length, and the handle looked like an open dog's mouth with the blade coming out of the jaw.

Lily looked in amazement at the transformed sword in his hands as the grunts were beyond surprised as well.

"No way… that's a Devil Arm!"

That took Lily by surprise. "A Devil Arm…? Baskerville…" A smirk formed on his face. "I think I'll keep it. It'll make a suitable replacement for Bustermarm." He swung his newly acquired Devil Arm at the charging grunts, the force of that one swing was enough to not only knock down all the grunts in front of him, but even blow away the gate leading into the engine room as Happy and Carla were blown back against the wall.

"Hang on Happy!" Carla tried to tell him. "This isn't over just yet!"

"Why does everything we do involve hurting?!" Happy comically cried.

More grunts continued to try and charge Lily, but he swung his Baskerville sword down onto the ground to send a shockwave to blow them back, while the force also blew behind into the engine room some more; Carla struggled to hold onto a pipe built into the ground while Happy was further pressed against the wall, as he was now comically flatter than paper.

"That's it… next time Natsu wants something destroyed… he can handle it himself…" Happy muttered.

Back on the bridge; Dante, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Wendy continued to stand powerless and even helpless at the sheer power that Hades was just beginning to show, the power that he claimed to belong to Mundus himself. The dark aura causing his cape to blow with an invisible wind, his red right eye glowing menacingly, his hair pointing upward and curving to look almost like devil horns.

"This… is Mundus…?" Gray muttered.

"Yes, its power is overwhelming…" Erza grimaced.

"Believe it or not…" Dante stuttered. "This… is only a fraction of it…" That took everyone by surprise.

"How perceptive." Hades acknowledged. "Yes, while I do wield the power of the great one, this is but a tiny decimal of what Mundus is truly capable of."

"You're kidding…" Lucy muttered in clear fear. "This… this is only a small piece of it…"

Wendy clung to Natsu even more as her eyes shook. "Natsu… I'm scared…"

"Me to..." Natsu confessed as he also shook in place while keeping one arm wrapped around his surrogate sister.

"In order to walk the path of sorcery, one must sink into the abyss of eternal darkness." Hades began. "Within that darkness is the great and powerful Mundus, who gave life to all of existence itself. All power stemmed from him. People often try to differentiate magic from demonic power, by claiming that only humans can wield magic, and demonic power belongs only to demons, but that is not true. Magic and demonic power are one-and-the-same, there is no difference between them. This is power in its purest form." He extended his hand as more dark energy began to emanate from it. "Can you feel it? The One Magic, the true origins of power? Can you feel Mundus himself? His body so far away in the Underworld, yet his presence is here with us." He clenched his fist and the demonic power inside. "And it is our lord and savior Mundus who will bring about the Grand Magic World, through the union of our world and the demonic one. And Zeref is the key to bridging that gap, he is the herald of the dark one; tonight I shall awaken Lord Zeref's true nature, and together we shall free Mundus from his two-thousand-year long imprisonment and our worlds shall become one as they always should have been!"

"We cannot allow that to happen…" Erza said as she tried to stand up, but she barley had the strength to do that.

'I know I've heard of this 'One Magic' before…' Lucy thought to herself before her eyes slightly widened. 'Mom?'

"But you will be ostracized." Hades continued as he began to twirl his hands, generating even more dark magic and demonic power as he did. "Only the strong will be allowed to live, and you lack the resolve necessary to reach into the abyss."

"Things are about to get way worse!" Gray voiced with worry.

The entire chamber began to shake as a dark veil fell on all of them, the ominous and dark aura around Hades began to grow even more. "Chapter Four, Verse Twelve from the Book of Zeref: Arcane Magic: Nemesis!" Once that spell was casted, masses of darkness rose from the rubble around Hades before they took the form of at least half a dozen demonic-like entities, each one of a different shape and size as they appeared to be made from some dark demonic fluid and red veins swelling inside their bodies.

"Holy shit…!" Dante looked in pure fear as each of these demons had power that rivaled the ones he initially defeated and got his Devil Arms from before joining Fairy Tail.

"Did he just make demons out of thin air?!" Gray exclaimed out of shock as Wendy and Lucy both looked in pure terror as they clung harder to Natsu and Dante respectively.

"Even with the tiniest spec of the great Mundus at my command, I can create nightmares from the tiniest spec of dust!" Hades boasted. "devilish dancers and heavily arbiters such is the supremacy of arcane magic!"

Even Erza shook in her spot, fear flowing through her veins. 'Each one of these demons is overwhelmingly lethal in their own right… how do you kill pure magic power…?!'

Lucy cried as she tried to hold onto Dante who was shaken with pure fear himself, having lost all the power he saved up, only to learn that he virtually just wasted it. Even Wendy continued to hold onto Natsu harder, burying her face into him.

'Grandeeney… Modeus… please… make them go away!' Wendy thought in pure terror.

'Why do I feel so afraid…?!' Gray was shaking as he was on his hands and knees. 'Snap out of it…!'

"I'm sorry…" Dante muttered as Lucy looked toward him and was shocked to see tears running down his face. "I'm sorry… I can't… I'm sorry…"

'Even Dante can't stop this! We're done for!' Lucy held onto Dante closer, if only to provide comfort as she seemed willing to accept her fate.

'This monster…' Even Natsu shook. 'Not even Arkham or Vergil could stand up to this!' However, something in those words also caused Natsu to remember something Gildarts told him when the S-Class Trials began.

"It's perfectly fine to feel fear, Natsu. Without fear, we can't hope to know our own weaknesses. You need to know them in order to become a stronger and gentler person."

This seemed enough to pull Natsu out of his despair for a moment as he looked at Hades' red eye before glancing towards Dante's pistols as an idea came to him. "Hey, Dante." He spoke in a small whisper that only he and Dante could hear with their respective senses, though Wendy heard a bit of it herself as she gazed up slightly. "Those bullets you got can kill demons, right?"

"But I'm drained…" Dante muttered in a whisper himself. "…and I don't think I've got enough ammo for all these guys."

"I'm not talking about them." Natsu whispered back as he gestured toward Hades. "What kind of eye does he got again?"

Dante seemed to get what his friend was implying. "He'd see me coming. I'd have to get close enough…"

"What if he didn't see you?" Natsu asked, still whispering. "How much time would you need?"

The youngest Son of Sparda's eyes narrowed as he got serious. "One second… two at the most…"

"You got it." Natsu smirked as he still whispered. "But I'll need to borrow your jacket."

"You really think we can pull it off?" Dante asked, still whispering. "Even though we're out of power."

"Yeah, like you said, time to ride the freight train into hell." Natsu replied as he slowly began to speak up. Dante was caught off-guard by how Natsu was speaking. A few seconds ago, he was terrified, they all were, yet Natsu was still willing to stand with no power at all and face this monster that had more than enough power to kill them.

This caused Dante chuckle, which got his friends' attention, as well Hades who looked curiously as Dante slowly began to stand up albeit shaking, while placing a hand on Lucy's head, much to her surprise, as he allowed his jacket to slide off to expose his bare chest, his half of the Perfect Amulet hanging off his neck like a necklace, and the crimson Fairy Tail emblem on his right shoulder, while holding onto Rebellion in his other hand.

"Care to tell me what you find so funny, boy?" Hades questioned.

"Cause you're right." Dante began as he stood up. "Maybe we are weak, at least compared to you and your boss, but you say that like it's a bad thing. What's wrong with being weak? What's wrong with being human?" All his friends looked in surprise while Natsu smiled as he stood up as well.

"Being weak ain't so bad." Natsu also said. "You know why? Cause we can grow stronger! Power or not, we're not going to stop until you're done! We'll send you to hell even if we have to drag you there ourselves! I ain't backing down! None of us are!"

Hades only looked more annoyed. "Still holding onto the light? Onto Sparda's teachings? You fools! Your future is nothing but darkness!"

'So many people are counting on us…' Erza thought as she tried to stand up as well. 'It's not just about Fairy Tail….'

'If we let this bastard win… countless people are gonna die!' Gray was already on his feet.

'We won't let so many people suffer at the hands of these monsters…!' Lucy was also back up.

'Even if we have no magic power left…' Wendy struggled a bit, but she also stood on her feet as well.

'We keep fighting until our last breath.' Dante thought with a deathly serious expression on his face before kicking his jacket back towards Natsu who caught it in his right hand. "Let's show this son of a bitch what makes Fairy Tail so great." He said to all his friends.

Despite the demons they were facing, not to mention the raw and overwhelming power Hades had at his command, none of the six heroes were going to back down. Not now, not ever!

Dante shared eye-contact with Natsu, both nodding before Natsu led the charge, holding onto Dante's jacket. "LET'S GO!" He ran forward with Erza and Gray up front, Lucy and Wendy behind them, and Dante at the very back, as part of their plan.

"What can you possibly hope to do without any magic power?!" Hades questioned. "NOW DANCE! MY DEVILS OF THE EARTH!" Hades ordered his demons as they opened their mouths to blast dark breath attacks and similar attacks from their hands at all of them, though the heroes were quick and nimble enough to avoid each blast as they got closer to their target.

Dante was quick to give Natsu a push towards Lucy and Wendy as they grabbed onto his right and left wrist respectively. Wendy had heard Dante and Natsu's plan and would put her faith in it as well as them, and while Lucy didn't know what the plan was, her faith in Natsu and Dante would never waver. They both smiled to Natsu as they gave him a throw, causing them both to fall on the ground. Natsu flew over towards Gray and Erza.

"Get me right in his face!" Natsu shouted to both of them, Erza noticed that he held Dante's jacket and was quick to figure out what he was trying to do. She looked to Gray and they both nodded as they stopped and placed their left and right feet respectively on both of Natsu's feet and gave a shove that proved to be enough of a boost to get him close to the dark guildmaster.

However, it seems Hades was ready to end Natsu right then and there. "I SHALL SEND YOU INTO THE DEPTHS OF DARKNESS! IT'S TIME FOR YOUR SUN TO SET, FAIRY TAIL!" He shot a powerful attack that took the form of several bolts of pure demonic power straight at Natsu. However, right before they made contact, Hades saw something else in Natsu's place, or rather someone else.

For one brief second, Hades saw the transparent image of the Dark Knight himself in his demonic form glaring at him. "Sparda…?" This surprised triggered some kind of instinct within Hades that caused him to hesitate and allowed the attack to veer past Natsu and hit the ground behind him.

*BOOM!*

A massive explosion had blown away the entire roof of the bridge, and most of the upper portions of the entire Airship. However, in that one instant, when Natsu noticed Hades' hesitance, he threw the red jacket right in front of Hades which covered his entire face and obstructed his view.

"DANTE! NOW!" Natsu yelled as he fell on the ground. Hades was caught by surprise as he tried to shake the jacket off, but right before he could…

*PIERCE!*

Rebellion's blade had pierced through the jacket, and through Hades himself as the tip of the blade shot out of his back with blood soaking on the end.

"That Devil's Eye of yours might give you an extra power boost…" Dante commented as he had run Hades clean through with his sword. "But even a devil can't dodge an attack, if he can't see it coming!"

Hades coughed up a bit of blood as his eyes widened with shock and rage. "You… you insolent little…." He was surprised as Dante pointed is Ivory pistol right at the glowing red eye that was Hades' Devil Eye and gave a smirk.

"Jackpot."

*BANG!*

The bullet not only obliterated Hades' eye, but even went through the back of his head. Hades screamed in agony as he reeled back as Dante pulled out Rebellion and landed flat on his back, Hades falling onto his knees in agony as one hand held over the hole where his right eye would be, the other hand trying to close up the stab-wound on his chest.

Lucy, Gray, Wendy, and Erza had seen what had transpired as the literal dust from the explosion began to clear, they were each on their hands and knees as they were completely stunned by what they had saw. Natsu, tried to pull himself up as he chuckled, not noticing that his scarf had been blown away. "Eat it, asshole." He mocked the downed Hades.

"Did they… beat him…?" Lucy voiced hopefully with a smile, but it turned into surprise once she noticed Natsu's scarf about to be blown away by the wind, fortunately she was quick to try and grab it before it fell off the ship.

Hades shook with pain and rage as he glared with his only eye at the downed Dante with his demons regrouping behind him. "You wretched… half-breed filth! You think this will stop me?! Haven't you learned anything?! I can regen…!" However, Hades quickly noticed that his wounds weren't healing, in fact, his power had begun dropped substantially, both his magic and demonic power. "What…?! Where's my power…?! How could it…?!"

Dante chuckled as he tried to pull himself up. "What's the matter, old man? You look like you're about to have a heart-attack." A smirk formed on his face. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that's what happened, didn't it?" Hades' only pupils shrunk as he felt it, which was all the confirmation Dante needed. "Way to go, you furballs."

Happy and Carla stood with proud smiles on their faces as they had successfully destroyed Hades' black heart that also served as the Grimoire Heart airship's power source. The glass had been shattered, the fluid leaking out, and the heart itself had been pierced as Panther-Lily had wretched the Baskerville sword out from the demonic organ as he stood alongside his fellow Exceeds to smirk at the frightened and panicking enemy grunts.

"They destroyed… my Devil's Heart?!" Hades muttered in disbelief as all his arcane demons he summoned began to crumble and fall apart into the literal dust and rubble from where they were summoned from.

"Look at that, all the demons are starting to crumble!" Erza voiced in surprise.

"They're disintegrating!" Gray also observed as he saw what was left of the demons blown away in the wind.

Soon, a large tremor began to shake throughout the area, the source coming from the island as all the members of Fairy Tail, and even the injured and drained Hades himself looked in absolute shock and disbelief at what laid before their eyes.

"Wow…" Wendy looked in absolute awe.

Erza and Lucy both gave audible gasps. "You kidding me..?" Gray looked in disbelief himself. Even Dante and Natsu were more stunned than ever before.

"The Tenrou Tree?" Dante voiced in surprise as they had saw the mighty tree that served as the protector of Fairy Tail's sacred ground, once fallen, had now risen and restored itself, almost as if it was never tipped over to begin with.

"How'd it get back to normal?" Lucy asked in a state of awe herself.

Ultear had three Arc of Time magic circles in front of her as she spent nearly every single drop of her magic power to restore the mighty tree to its former glory. Even though she knew this could never make up for all the atrocities she committed, not just against Fairy Tail, but as one of the deadliest people in the entire land, but it was at least a start.

"Thanks to all of you… I've been given a new lease on life…" Ultear voiced aloud, quite exhausted from her endeavor. However, she failed to notice that she wasn't alone. Meredy was standing behind a smaller tree behind her as she had an odd look on her face, it wasn't the kind of look she'd normally give Ultear, but rather one of distrust.

Suddenly, all six of their Fairy Tail emblems begin to glow with a brilliant light. Lucy's shined pink, Wendy's glowed a sky-blue, Erza and Gray's both glowed a bright blue, and even Natsu and Dante's respective emblems began to glow bright red.

"What's happening…?" Lucy looked in further awe.

"Our emblems are glowing!" Wendy stated in surprise.

They could all feel it, their power had returned, as did the blessed protective spells bestowed from the Tenrou Tree before it fell.

"Our magic power… it's back…" Erza stated.

"Well it's about time!" Gray stated.

Dante and Natsu were both able to pull themselves back on their feet as their emblems finally stopped glowing. They both exchanged serious looks as they set their sights on the weakened and injured Hades. Natsu was the first to land a punch in his face.

'How could I… the all-powerful Hades… servant to our Lord Mundus… be bested by Sparda's son and Makarovs children?!' Hades thought as Dante purposely gave a punch to Hades chest-wound to knock him down as the youngest Son of Sparda lifted his blade with the intent on ending him.

"This is what you get for screwing with Fairy Tail!" Dante tried to bring it down, but Hades clapped the blade in-between his hands with his physical strength before sending what remnants of his power he had in the form of a small explosion to blow Dante back.

"Stay back!" Hades exclaimed as Natsu tried to come in next with another punch, but Hades caught him by the wrist and landed a kick of his own to Natsu's jaw and knock him down. "Until our lord and savior Mundus is freed…THE DEVIL IN ME WILL NEVER SLEEP!"

"Oh, will you just shut up!" Laxus suddenly appeared as he landed a powerful punch on Hades' face, specifically on his bleeding eye-socket where his right eye once was.

"Laxus!" Natsu exclaimed as he and Dante were both stunned by his reappearance.

"ATTACK! COME ON FAIRY TAIL!" Laxus yelled.

Though surprised, they were quick to get serious as Natsu channeled all his newly restored magic power to reignite is Lightning-Flame Dragon Mode, while Dante did the same to enter his Devil Trigger once more.

Hades had lashed out with another point-blank dark explosion to knock Laxus back, only to see Erza, Wendy, Lucy, and Gray charging right at him, they're power full restored as well.

"This might be our last chance, so let's make it count!" Erza said to everyone.

"We gotta blast this son of a bitch with everything we have!" Gray exclaimed.

"If you come any closer you shall feel my wrath!" Hades shouted desperately as he shot another explosion with the remnants of his own power to blast all four of them back, only to look in shock as the Devil Trigger Dante shot out of the dust.

"You're wrath ain't worth jack-shit!" He shot Hades with a point-blank Million-Stab technique, blasting Hades back all the way to what was left of the wall on the other side of the deck.

Lucy, while still holding onto Natsu's scarf pulled out her newest golden key. "We don't have a contract yet but… Open! Gate of the Sea-Goat! Capricorn!"

Her newest spirit, Capricorn, had appeared next to her. This time, he was dressed in a formal tuxedo as opposed to what he wore previously under Zoldeo's control. "At your service, my lady. Do you need assistance?"

"Take him down!" She ordered.

"Right." Capricorn wasted no time in charging Hades.

"How dare you…!" Hades exclaimed, still thinking Capricorn was one of his subordinates but was quickly silenced with a punch to the face.

"I have rid myself of Zoldeo!" Capricorn said as he landed a roundhouse kick to Hades. "I am now Lady Lucy's Celestial Spirit: Capricorn!" He landed an elbow to Hades face to knock him back even further.

"My turn!" Wendy suddenly appeared behind Hades as she unleashed her most powerful attack yet. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Shattering Light: Sky Drill!" She sent a fast and powerful vortex of wind in Hades direction to completely engulf him before the vortex contracted inwards to hit the dark guildmaster dead on and send him flying into the air.

While airborne, Gray had leapt to meet him as he prepared an attack of his own. "Ice-Make: Ice Bringer!" Gray created two large curved ice-blades in his hands before slashing with an x-formation at Hades, hitting him with enough force to shatter his blades as Hades was sent flying directly at Erza.

"Requip! Heavens' Wheel!" She quickly donned her titular Heaven's Wheel armor, a sword in each hand, as she slashed at Hades repeatedly. "Pentagram Sword!" A large pentagram-shaped target was struck on Hades, causing him pain as it cut him even further before he skidded to a halt on the ground.

Dante roared in his Devil Trigger as he shot at Hades who desperately tried to use his last trump card. "Grimoire Law!" He tried to unleash the darkened version of one of Fairy Tail's most sacred spells, but Dante moved too fast for him to fully unleash it.

*SLICE!*

The Devil Trigger Dante slid past Hades, his black Rebellion sword out, as both of Hades arms were severed at the elbows, causing Hades to scream in absolute agony as blood was already pouring out.

"FINISH HIM, NATSU!" Dante yelled toward his friend.

Natsu was already on Hades, his right fist engulfed in flames, his left fist surging with lightning "Advanced Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Flame Lotus Exploding Lightning Blade!" He twirled both his arms as he sent a massive vortex of fire and lightning to completely engulf Hades, burning and electrocuting him at the same time as he was finally sent crashing into the rubble to lay in defeat.

With that, it was over, they had defeated the guildmaster of Grimoire Heart, arguably the most dangerous adversary they had ever faced yet. The sun had just begun to rise as the dark clouds began to clear, a warm and welcoming light shining on all of them. Lucy smiled warmly as she held Natsu's scarf close to her, Gray had a satisfied smirk on his face, Wendy had a wide smile, and even Erza smiled with happiness and pride. Dante's Devil Trigger form had vanished as he and Natsu both gave on final look to see that Hades was down for the count. His right eye was blown out, both his arms were severed, he had a gapping chest wound, and his body was covered in second-degree and third-degree burns.

Natsu fell on his hands and knees in both exhaustion and relief, while Dante stood tall, despite his body yelling at him to fall over, he didn't want to though.

"You watching… old man…?" Dante muttered, hoping his father was somehow watching over him, same with his guildmaster and his mother. "What about you… gramps…? Mom…? Did… did you see that…?" He used Rebellion to support himself and keep him from falling. "We threw everything we had… at that bastard… and won…" He chuckled before it turned into a full-blown laughter as he raised Rebellion up high over his head, the sunlight glistening and shinning brilliantly off the blade as the light reflected over himself and his friends.

Natsu himself gave a roar of victory as he raised his fists alongside Dante who still held Rebellion up high. "YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH! FAIRY TAIL IS THE GREATEST!"

"Damn right…!" Dante laughed as Lucy and Wendy both rammed him for a welcoming embrace as he finally fell flat on his back, dropping his sword as he wrapped his arms around both of them as well. Erza and Gray both leaned down to Natsu's level and placed congratulatory and comforting arms on his back, causing Natsu to wrap his arms around both their heads as he pulled them in for a celebratory embrace of his own. Even Laxus gave a smile and nod of approval.

The sun had now fully risen as the brilliant blue sky hung over the group as they took the moment to rest and collect themselves.

"I'm glad that's over." Gray said with a smile.

"Yeah" Erza agreed as she changed back into her causal Heart Kreuz armor.

Lucy handed Natsu back his scarf. "Here, you might want this."

Natsu smiled as he took it back. "Thanks, it is a little chilly."

"Hey, uh Dante…" Wendy walked up toward him with his jacket in her arms. "Your jacket um… well…" His red trenchant had mostly been torn up, aside from the gaping hole where Rebellion had pierced when he stabbed Hades. "I'm sorry…"

Dante gave a sigh as he took it back and put it on. "Don't worry about it." He smiled. "I'll get a new one later. Maybe have a guild emblem stitched onto the back, along with those girl silhouettes you'd see on those mud flaps on a guy's truck." He cracked.

Lucy cracked a joking grin. "Right, cause those would be the only girls that'll get that close to you."

Wendy and Natsu each gave a laugh as Gray and Erza smirked, even Dante gave a half-smile and a hand-wave to brush it off.

Suddenly, Happy's loud scream got everyone's attention as they turned around to see Happy, Carla, and Lily, who had turned back into his smaller form with a shrunken Baskerville sword strapped to his back, all running toward them.

"Please! Help us!" Carla called to them.

"You gotta save me Natsu!" Happy also called as he comically cried.

"What is it now?" Natsu groaned.

"Who's that behind them?" Lucy asked as it turned out to be at least two dozen Grimoire Heart grunts, each one baring a hammer, sword, or some other kind of weapon. And they didn't look the least bit happy.

"You gotta be freaking kidding me." Dante groaned in annoyance.

"Talk about crappy timing." Gray winced.

"Oh no, I've exhausted my magic power." Even Erza looked worried.

"Me too!" Wendy added, just as worried as everyone else.

"I'm afraid I don't have any power left either." Lily said as Happy and Carla hid behind Natsu and Dante respectively.

"They all look so angry!" Happy shivered.

"Well yes, but can you blame them?" Carla replied.

"Damn it…" Dante stood up. "Can't these bastards give us a god damn break already?!"

"Stay right where you are!"

The Grimoire Heart grunts halted their charge as they, and the members of Fairy Tail turned around to see Makarov back on his feet with most of their friends right behind them. Trish, Lady, Modeus, Lisanna, Mira, Elfman, Gajeel, Levy, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Cana all stood together alongside Makarov, and though they all appeared to be injured, with many of them wrapped in bandages, they were more than ready to step in and defend their comrades, who couldn't look any more happy to see them.

"Gramps… Lisanna…" Natsu smiled.

"Looks like the calvary's here." Dante smiled as well.

"Everyone came…" Lucy was tempted to shed tears of joy.

"Master, Modeus, and Gajeel… they're all okay!" Wendy was elated to see all of them.

"Good to see you guys." Gray also smiled.

"Indeed." Erza said with relief. "The Tenrou Tree has returned to normal, and so has its blessings."

Lily smirked while Happy and Carla gave joyous laughs at seeing their friends again. While Laxus had a neutral look on his face at seeing his grandfather and former comrades, though he was inwardly relieved as well.

The master of Fairy Tail, and all his children stood in defense of their friends and allies as they glared at the enemy grunts, their eyes telling them not to take a single step forward while also daring them to even try. Despite being injured and exhausted, they were more than willing to fight with everything they had at a moment's notice.

"There's more of them?!" One grunt exclaimed out of fear.

"Isn't that Makarov?!" Another grunt questioned.

"Whoa, look over there!" A third grunt pointed to the side where they all gasped at the sight of their guildmaster laying broken and bleeding.

"Master Hades! He's been defeated!"

"I order you to get off this island immediately!" Makarov shouted to the enemy soldiers.

With that declaration, all the Grimoire Heart grunts ran for their lives away from the sight.

Once they were all gone, those of Fairy Tail cheered and erupted in joyous celebration at their hard-earned victory. Happy, Elfman, Evergreen, Levy, and Bickslow all cheered as Elfman embraced both his sisters. Gajeel comically embraced Lily while Wendy picked up Carla and embraced her as well as Modeus. Lucy hugged both Trish and Cana as Natsu shared dual arm-bumps with Dante and Gray, and even Lady shared a fist-bump with Erza.

"Natsu!" Lisanna quickly ran to him and wrapped her arms around the Salamander before kissing him right on the lips. Though surprised at first, Natsu pulled Lisanna in closer as he returned the kiss. Lucy and Happy both shared smiles as they saw this exchange as well.

Dante chuckled as Lady had helped him up. "Lucky little fireball." He commented.

"Yeah, well he's not the only one." Lady said as she gave Dante a kiss on the cheek, causing him to smirk.

"How about one right here?" He teased as he directed toward his lips.

"Don't push it." Lady smirked back.

Freed smiled in relief at their guild's victory as well but quickly noticed Gray's smile had faded. "Something troubling you, Gray?"

"Well yeah, where's Juvia?" Gray asked as she, along with Gildarts, were the only two guildmembers who didn't make it back yet.

"We don't know. She never returned to basecamp." Freed answered.

'I hope she's alright.' Gray thought with concern. 'And what happened to Zeref?'

Makarov had walked past Laxus somewhat before giving a sigh of acknowledgment at his grandson's presence before glancing in his direction, while Laxus simply looked away.

"I'm proud of you for coming back." Makarov said before his head grew to enormous and comic proportions, complete with an anime anger mark on his forehead. "IS THAT WHAT YOU EXPECTED ME TO SAY!? HOW DARE YOU SET FOOT ON TENROU ISLAND AFTER I KICKED YOU OUT OF THE GUILD! WHAT WE'RE YOU THINKING?! YOU'RE STILL EXPELLED, YOU KNOW!"

Laxus looked more annoyed than anything else. "Geeze, you're gonna have a heart-attack old man."

"Please, try to calm down master." Levy tried to ease Makarov.

"That's a big head." Lily commented in a startle.

Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow looked in complete and total shock at seeing their former leader again. "It's Laxus…" Freed muttered as Evergreen covered her mouth and Bickslow's jaw hung open.

In no time at all, all three of them wrapped their arms around Laxus in pure joy as they all shed their own tears of happiness.

"YOU CAME BACK TO US!" Bickslow cried.

"WE NEVER THOUGHT WE'D SEE YOU AGAIN!" Evergreen cried as well.

This only seemed to make Laxus more annoyed. "Get off." Though there was a part of him that was happy to see them as well.

"That's Laxus?" Modeus looked in surprise as he stood alongside Wendy, Elfman, and Mira. "The master's grandson?"

"Yeah." Wendy nodded with a smile. "He really helped us a lot in our fight against Hades."

"Even when he's hurt, Master's as strict as ever." Elfman commented on Makarov's behavior.

Mira smiled as she shook her head. "Maybe, but I'm sure he's crying deep down."

"Now, let's get back to the trial!" Natsu suddenly shouted eagerly, much to the surprise or annoyance of Lisanna, Happy, Dante, Lucy, and Lady.

"Are you kidding me?!" Happy exclaimed.

"You're joking, right Natsu?" Dante asked with an annoyed sweatdrop on his head.

"The second round was interrupted by Grimoire Heart, so it doesn't count!" Natsu said to the exhausted pair as he eagerly smirked and motioned a couple of punches. "I say we simplify things and have an all-out-battle!"

Gajeel butted his head against Natsu's "You must have been hit in the head one-too-many times if you think you stand a chance against me when you're all busted up like that!"

"Chill out, Gajeel." Levy tried to get in-between them.

"Can I please shoot him?" Lady asked in annoyance.

"Tempting, but now." Dante shook his head.

"Natsu, you should really take a break." Lisanna tried to ease him, but he didn't appear to be listening as he brandished a comically evil grin at Gajeel.

"Whatever, it'll be a synch, cause I'm a Lightning-Flame Dragon…!" Natsu's ranting was cut off as it appeared, he was having some sort of seizure.

"Hey, you alright?" Gajeel asked before Natsu fainted on the ground.

"Natsu!" Lisanna and Levy exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah don't go passing out on me ya wimp!" Gajeel ranted.

"Guess that's what he gets for eating lightning." Dante shrugged with smirk.

"He ate lightning?!" Trish questioned in surprise as eh appeared next to him and Lady.

"Yep. From Laxus over there." Dante answered, gesturing to the lightning-user that Freed and Bickslow were helping up.

"I thought eating anything other than fire makes him sick." Lady recalled. "Though he did eat demon-fire before."

"I guess it's because Laxus is also a Dragon Slayer." Dante guessed.

"Anyway, I think it's about time we go back to basecamp." Wendy said as she held Carla with Modeus standing behind her.

"Yes, that is a good idea." Modeus agreed with his student.

"If we don't get some rest soon, our bodies won't be able to hold up." Carla commented as the entire group began to walk back; save for Lisanna and Lucy, both carrying the unconscious Natsu, while Trish and Lady held Dante's arms over their shoulders as well.

"Hey guys hold on! Don't leave us behind!" Lucy tried to call to them.

"No offense to Natsu, but he's not the lightest person out there." Lisanna added.

"You think you guys have it rough? Dante isn't exactly light as a feather either." Lady commented.

"Yeah, I'm still conscious and I can still hear you, ya know." Dante pointed out.

"Don't worry guys, I'll be here to cheer you all on!" Happy stated.

"So, you'll cheer but you won't help to carry anyone?" Trish voiced in annoyance.

"May I be of assistance?" Capricorn suddenly appeared as he carried Lucy and Lisanna in his right arm, while holding the unconscious Natsu in his left arm. "Please allow me to carry all of you."

"Natsu's really getting the short-end of the stick, huh?" Happy commented at seeing Natsu hanging from underneath Capricorn's left arm.

Though Lucy was relieved, Lisanna looked somewhat confused. "I'm sorry but, who are you?"

"Oh right, you guys haven't met yet." Lucy introduced. "Lisanna, meet my newest spirit Capricorn. Capricorn, meet Lisanna."

"Oh, well nice to meet you." Lisanna smiled.

"You as well." Capricorn nodded.

"Hey goat-man, nice to see you again." Trish smirked upon seeing him. "Digging the new threads."

Capricorn turned to greet Trish with a smile as well. "Lady Trish, a pleasure to see you once more to."

"Friend of yours?" Lady asked.

"It's complicated." Trish answered. "I'll explain everything later."

Cana chuckled as she walked alongside Gray. "You know, it was only a few hours ago those two were trying to kill each other." She said, referring to Trish and Capricorn.

"That's Fairy Tail logic for ya." Gray joked.

Cana's smile however faded. 'I hope my father's alright.'

Gray seemed equally concerned for another comrade. 'Juvia.'

As Capricorn walked away with Lucy, Lisanna, Happy, and Natsu; Dante was about to helped alongside Trish and Lady when the trio heard a faint groan, causing them to turn slightly as they saw that Hades, despite the terrible shape he was in, was still alive.

"After all that, he still hasn't kicked the bucket yet?" Dante questioned as he pulled himself away from Lady and Trish slightly and pulled out his Ebony pistol to aim at the downed dark guildmaster. "I can fix that."

However, before he could pull the trigger, Makarov had appeared to put his hand on Dante's, it was a firm yet gentle grip. "Go with the others Dante, I can handle this."

"You're not thinking about giving him a free-pass, are you Gramps?" Dante questioned. "After everything this bastard has done?! You didn't have any problems with me killing Faust in Edolas, or Lady putting Arkham down. How should this be any different?!"

Makarov gave a sigh. "I understand how you feel, believe me, I do. But I don't think he's going to be a threat to anyone anymore. I sensed it when his power dropped, he lost the source of all his dark powers, both his hands, and even his eye, not to mention the amount of blood he's already lost. He won't be a threat anymore. Now, go get yourself some rest, my boy."

Though it was reluctantly, Dante pulled his pistol away. "Alright." He limped away slightly as Trish and Lady hoisted his arms over their shoulders and helped him to walk away from the scene, leaving Makarov alone with the gravely injured Hades.

"Makarov…" Hades muttered as the current guildmaster of Fairy Tail kept his back on his predecessor. "You should have… let him finish me…"

"Like I've told Dante, your body looks like it went through the wringer, not to mention all the things you've taught me." Makarov answered. "Don't misunderstand, I haven't forgiven you and I likely never will. You will leave Tenrou Island right now, and never come back to Fairy Tail, or I'll show no mercy!"

"How can you be… so naïve boy…?" Hades questioned as his only remaining eye opened. "Even in the poor shape… that I am… so long as I live… I won't stop till I complete my master's mission…"

"Go ahead and try." Makarov replied. "You may have defeated me in battle, but you have proven to be no match for the children that I raised."

"You're wrong…" Hades responded. "I was weakened because my heart was destroyed… not to mention all the strokes of luck that befell their way… and the Tenrou Tree's empowerment… it was nothing more than blind luck… otherwise I would have slaughtered all of your children."

Makarov still found it impossible to believe this madman was once his predecessor and mentor. "Why did you turn to the dark side?"

"I already told you…" Hades began. "Mundus… is the source of everything… magic and demonic power are fundamentally the same… it all stemmed from him… this world and the Underworld are meant to be joined together… two sides of the same coin… they were never meant to be separated. This world of light… this world that Sparda helped to create and protect… was a lie… the Grand Magic World… born from the union of Earthland and the Underworld is the true world of magic. I began to collect the keys to revive the chosen messiah of Mundus… the Black Wizard Zeref…" He raised one of his stubbed arms, despite his hand being severed, he reached out to the sky as if he still had his hand attached. "I was so close… so incredibly close…primordial power… the One Magic… it was within my reach…"

"Even if what you say is true, it wouldn't have changed anything." Makarov began, surprising Hades. "If it is true that magic was born from Mundus' darkness, I can accept that. And if it's true nature is light, a counter-force to the darkness, I can accept that to." Makarov held a sphere of brilliant golden light in his hand. "Because magic is alive, so too is demonic power; I guess in a way, they are similar, because they both grow along with the people and demons who use it. Darkness does not always mean 'evil'. The Dark Knight Sparda came from the Underworld just as Mundus did, yet he choose to defend our world, he chose to embrace the light. And if it's true that he was indeed a founder of Fairy Tail and we've been unknowingly following his principles all this time, than I am nothing short of honored. There is no definition of power because everyone thinks of it differently, be it darkness or light, what's most important is how that power is used, not where it comes from. Fairy Tail is free to use our magic, power, and strength however we choose." Makarov then began to walk away. "These are all things I learned from you, Master Precht."

After he left, Hades was left alone as the words Makarov spoke to him appeared to sink in. He then closed his remaining eye to allow his body to rest before he would leave Tenrou Island.

Basecamp

All the heroes had made it to basecamp where they immediately sat down to rest and take a load off. Natsu, properly wrapped in bandages, was already sleeping and snoring rather loudly as Lisanna laid his head on her lap and she smiled warmly at him.

"How am I supposed to relax with Natsu sawing logs like that?!" Elfman exclaimed, annoyed by his comrade's snoring.

"Now, now, he needs his rest as much as you." Mira told her brother.

A smirk fell on Lisanna's face. "Hey, I just got an idea." In less than a second, she had tied the sleeping Natsu's hair back in the form of pig-tails. "It's pig-tail Natsu! Isn't he the cutest?!" She laughed along with Mira, but Elfman didn't find it funny.

"So unmanly."

"You got a Devil Arm?" Lady asked Lily as she sat down with the Exceed trio.

"Yes." Lily brandished his sword. "Baskerville, and I have a feeling it'll be of good use to us."

"Aye sir! That sword does look really cool!" Happy complemented.

"Just try and be careful with it." Lady advised. "Demonic power can be pretty overwhelming if you let yourself get carried away."

"Yes, I agree." Carla also added. "You wouldn't want to lose yourself to that power."

Lily nodded. "Thank you for your concern. I'll work hard to master this weapon so that it can protect our friends."

"Hey Lily!" Gajeel walked up. "What do you say we take that fancy blade out for a test run… OW!" Gajeel held his acing chest; much to amusement of Lady and Trish.

"How about after you've recovered?" Lily suggested to his Dragon Slayer companion.

Dante and Wendy meanwhile sat down next to Modeus as he showed them his new red sword, Hunter's Moon. "Okay, that thing looks awesome!" Dante smirked.

Wendy looked at the red blade with stars in her eyes. "It's so bright and shiny, and I just love the red! It looks amazing!"

"Thank you." Modeus smiled as he brandished the blade. "I call it Hunter's Moon."

"Nice." Dante gave a thumps up.

At the same time, Laxus sat down in a tent with his former companions in the Thunder Legion next to him. "We really missed you Laxus. Welcome back." Bickslow smiled.

"Welcome back!" Bickslow's dolls repeated.

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself there, pal." Laxus said.

"I can't hold back my tears of joy!" Freed exclaimed as he continued to comically cry, much to Laxus' annoyance.

"Come on."

"Laxus." Evergreen addressed him with a mischievous smirk. "You wouldn't believe all of the terrible things Elfman did to me while you were gone. Would you please punish him?"

"WHY YOU LITTLE?!" Elfman exclaimed in comic anger.

"Oh yeah? So when did you two hook up?" Laxus asked as he walked up to Elfman.

"We didn't… I mean, it's not like that… it's kinda hard to explain…" Elfman's stuttering was ended when Laxus put a simple hand on his shoulder and gave a nod. "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

As Lucy, Cana, and Trish talked with each other, Capricorn addressed them. "Excuse me, Lady Lucy, Lady Trish, I really must be going."

"I can't thank you enough for all your help today." Lucy smiled to her newest spirit. "I'll be counting on you in the future."

"Same, I look forward to fighting with you too, Lambchop." Trish cracked a grim.

Capricorn smiled at both of them. "And I you, to both of you. I endeavor to become Lucy's most valued spirit, as well as a faithful ally to her comrades. Oh, by the way, Lady Trish? You wouldn't have happened to tell Lady Lucy about…"

"I'll get right on it." Trish assured. "Just gonna let everyone get some rest first."

"Very well, I'll leave it to you. Farwell." Capricorn then vanished as he returned to the Celestial Spirit world.

Lucy and Cana looked toward their friend in confusion. "Trish, what was he talking about?" Lucy asked.

"I'll tell you in a little bit." Trish replied. "Let's just give our minds and bodies time to recover. We really went through hell here."

"Okay, I get it. I can wait." Lucy nodded in understanding.

"Oh wow! I feel so much better!" Happy exclaimed as Wendy finished applying her healing magic to him.

"You guys want me to take care of your wounds next?" She asked Dante and Modeus.

"Nah, you've been my nursemaid enough already." Dante replied. "I'll let my wounds heal on their own."

"Yes, mine should heal relatively soon as well." Modeus also said. "Perhaps you should take a break, Wendy."

"Nah." Wendy assured as she smiled. "I can't tell you how amazing I feel now that the Tenrou Tree's back to normal."

"But how did it get back to normal?" Dante asked as he spared a glance towards Gray and Erza who were close by. "Erza and I took down the guy who toppled it over, so it wasn't him."

"Yes." Erza nodded. "This is quite perplexing."

Gray however seemed to have an idea who was responsible. 'Ultear? No, it couldn't be…' The trio's attention was caught by some rustles in the nearby bushes. "Someone's there!"

Dante immediately stood up as he held his hands on his pistols. "Who's there?!"

"It's just me! Please don't attack!" Juvia literally crawled out of the bushes.

"Wait, Juvia?!" Erza questioned in surprise as she, Dante, and Gray were quite surprised to see her like this.

"Geeze, what the heck happened to you?" Gray asked upon seeing her in such bad shape.

She was already crying comically. "I'm so sorry! I tried to catch Zeref, but he ended up getting away from me!" She then brandished her rear towards Gray, much to his shock, as well as the surprise of Dante and Erza. "So you're gonna have to punish me! Come on Gray! Go ahead and spank me as much as you want!"

"Thanks, but no thanks! I'm not really into that stuff!" Gray was more than a little disturbed.

"Dude, do you have any idea how many men would kill to be in your position?" Dante commented.

"So, all we're missing is Gildarts?" Lucy said as she still stood alongside Cana and Trish.

"Guess so." Cana said as she was plenty worried for him while also drinking some coconut juice. 'Dad…'

"I wouldn't worry." Trish smirked as she looked in one direction. "Cause he's right over there."

"So, let me get this straight." Gildarts began as he sat next to Laxus before a trolling grin formed on his face. "You screwed up so bad, you got expelled by your grandpa?! Man, you're so lame!" He chuckled, much to Laxus' further annoyance.

"Not half as lame as you are!"

Cana spat out her drink in sheer surprise before Lucy and Trish both laughed, followed by Cana laughing along with them.

"There you are Gildarts!" Natsu exclaimed, his hair still in pigtails, as he burst through the trio. "Come and fight me!"

Gildarts responded with a fist to Natsu's head to knock him onto the ground. "You need your rest." He said simply.

"He's out now." Laxus commented.

Juvia continued to chase Gray as she was somehow still able to brandish her butt as she chased him. "Please spank me! I'm waiting Gray! Just do it!"

"Hey! No! Stop! Please! Quit it! I already told you, I'm not into that kind of stuff!"

"Wendy, help your big brother out, please!" Natsu squealed as he was in the back of a line forming in front of Wendy consisting of himself, Lady, Elfman, Bickslow, Gajeel, Lily, Lisanna, and Levy.

"You gotta wait your turn like the rest of us, flame-brain." Lady told him.

"Yeah, man-up." Elfman added.

"You can go next, Lily. Cause I'm more worried about you than me." Gajeel told his Exceed companion.

"Well I don't see why because you're the one who's covered in bandages from head-to-toe." Lily commented.

"Uh oh, looks like you got quite a line forming now." Levy winced as Wendy applied her healing magic to her while Modeus and Carla sat behind her.

"I could just let Mira bandage me up and save you the trouble, Wendy." Lisanna offered in an attempt to ease her burden.

"Oh, I don't mind at all." Wendy assured. "I'm just happy to be able to help out somehow."

"That's fine, but don't overdo it." Carla advised her.

"I would advise the same." Modeus told his student. "You don't want to use too much of your magic."

"I can take over for you." Erza said as she was now clad in a nurse's outfit. Dante gave a whistle as he saw this.

"What's with the get-up, Erza?" Dante smirked.

"Is there a reason you're dressed up like a nurse?" Modeus asked with curiosity.

"Wait a minute, you don't have any healing powers!" Carla pointed out.

"That's true, but differences in ability don't matter in battle." Erza replied. "It's our hearts that will be tested!"

Wendy actually looked intimidated by that declaration. "What do you mean, 'battle'?" She asked in a whimper.

"Now look what you've done! You've scared the poor girl half to death!" Carla scolded Erza.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Modeus wondered with worry.

Erza sat cross-legged on a box, getting the attention of nearly every guy present. "Alright gentlemen, who's up next? If you'll tell me where it hurts, I can decide whether to take your temperature first or just go ahead and give you an injection."

"Does she really think we're gonna fall for the hot-nurse-routine?" Gray questioned in annoyance alongside Gajeel and Natsu.

"We ain't that hard up." Gajeel commented with even Natsu in agreement.

"Your loss!" Dante was already in front of Erza, and a line suddenly formed behind him consisting of Gray, Gajeel, Natsu, Bickslow, Elfman, even Makarov, Gildarts, and Laxus.

"STUPID BOYS!" Carla comically yelled.

"Hey Wendy, try to look on the bright side!" Lisanna tried to assure the girl who just looked comically depressed. "At least you can take a break, right?"

"Is it because she has bigger boobs than I do?" Wendy asked.

"You're too young to be thinking about that sort of thing!" Modeus quickly said to her.

"If you want, I can go ahead and kill them for you." Lady already comically cocked her pistols.

Trish chuckled, however. "I think Erza's already got that covered."

Dante, Gray, and Gajeel were all tangled together in bandages as Erza seemed to have difficulty trying to apply them. "It would appear tying bandages is much more difficult than one might think!" Erza stated as she only appeared to make the situation comically worse.

"AUGH! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US!?" Dante, Gray, and Gajeel all exclaimed at the same time.

Lady smirked at the scene as she stood next to Trish. "You know what? You're right. This is pretty funny."

However, Juvia and Levy didn't seem all that entertained. "I'm in shock!" Juvia bit on her shirt in frustration. "I can't believe I've been begging Gray to punish me when he's the one who likes to be punished! I'm such an idiot!"

"Gajeel…!" Levy groaned in annoyance.

Panther-Lily stood alongside Happy and Carla as they observed all the commotion unfold before them. "It was only less than an hour when the fight of our lives came to an end, yet they all act as if nothing happened." Lily commented.

"You shouldn't really be surprised at this point." Carla rubbed one paw down her face in mental exhaustion.

"Yep! There's never a dull moment in Fairy Tail!" Happy stated in elatedness.

Though Makarov gave a sigh as he stood next to Mira, he couldn't help but chuckle at his children's antics. "Master? What do you wanna do about the S-Class trial?" Mira asked him.

"Ah, good question."

Meanwhile, what was left of Grimoire Heart's airship began to fly away from the island in defeat. The only ones left on the ship were Hades, who was completely wrapped in bandages save for his only remaining eye and mouth, and stubs at the elbow-areas of where his upper-arms had been severed. He sat on his throne as Kain Hikaru sat on the ruined dining table while Rustyrose stood next to him. This was all that remained of the mighty Grimoire Heart dark guild, one of the strongest dark guilds out there; everyone else was either dead or had deserted them.

"Crazy… I never would have thought we be defeated." Rustyrose said.

"Yeah, me neither." Kain added. "I still can't believe it's over."

"Lord Zeref was there right before our very eyes." Rustyrose laminated. "We let our Lord and Savior Mundus' Grand Magic World slip through our fingers. We're nothing more than a disgrace to our god's eyes."

However, it would appear that they weren't alone. The three of them heard a series of footsteps from the shadows in front of them as someone was walking towards them.

"Who goes there?!" Rustyrose exclaimed.

"Show yourself!" Kain demanded as well.

"It's people like you who made me what I am today." The person in question said as he stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself. Rustyrose looked in absolute shock as Kain Hikaru's jaw dropped, even Hades was stunned beyond belief. "And your wicked thoughts that have summoned Acnologia. This day shall forever mark the end of the current era. It can no longer be stopped." His eyes opened to reveal the soul-piercing red pupils that carried such a hateful aura to them. "This miserable will come to an end here and now!"

"Lord Zeref…" Hades stuttered as the Black Wizard they had been seeking now stood before them.

Done.

So ends the war against Grimoire Heart. Fairy Tail is victorious and back to their usual hijinks, with some prizes as well. Modeus now has a new red sword which he has dubbed 'Hunter's Moon', while Panther-Lily now wields my original Devil Arm called 'Baskerville'.

(Note: I know in the cannon DMC anime, Modeus always had a red sword with him, but when I wrote his first appearance a long time ago, I wrote Modeus having two black swords. A small mistake on my part, but I have now given him his red sword which he gained by using his power to merge his previous two swords into one. I hope you like it).

But, the Tenrou Island arc is not done yet. Zeref has snuck onto the Grimoire Heart airship and it seems he has a bone to pick with them. You might finally get some answers to some of your questions in the next chapter as certain people in Fairy Tail have their own revelations to give as well. But of course, that is just a small reprieve as something very big and very bad is coming their way, and we all know who it is.

I'll see you all soon with the next update. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there. Peace out.