A/N: Heya guys. wiErD here. I'm back with a new chapter. Have fun and Happy reading everyone!

Hope you like it ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Mashima owns them all except my plots.

- The World Beyond -

The ancient land of Ishgar was one teeming with riches. Riches consist of bountiful lands and beautiful sceneries that could make any place on Earthland pale in comparison. Some say that the early dwellers took to calling it the land of the faeries due to its forest-like ecosystem. Trees grew ample from the roots, providing shelter to the animals as well as a habitat that connects to all forms of life around it.

Mard Geer never got used to the scenery. The lush trees and greenery captured his vision only for a brief period as he dashed through the air towards faraway lands with extreme speed.

It's been days since he departed from Plutogrim and journeyed himself far to the east of the continent. He had left his care of the boy to Sayla and the others in order for him to assess the current world outside. Aside from the affairs of Tartaros, he also took consideration in familiarizing the affairs of the outside world as well.

Ever since the end of the dragon war, groups began to form among places. Factions, guilds, kingdoms, and even countries in this continent. It was a time of rebuild and the beginning of humanity's era. The dragon age has already passed.

And of course, there's also the Etherious side of things.

While he declared Natsu to be the sole master of the newly-founded guild, he is still a young boy and knew little of the affairs and the roles of his position. It was obvious that someone would have to take his place in the meantime.

That, and among other things like bolstering their force to ensure their safety against all enemies that might threaten their master.

As those thoughts occupied him, the demon eventually stopped as soon as his eyes sighted traces of smoke over the near distance in front of him. His sharp hearing picked up signs of battle and explosions in that area.

'A battle in these parts?' He thought.

It's been a few months since the war ended. Pretty sure that it was still a time of rebuild and recovery for most of the humans affected by the war. No one has ever seen a dragon ever since the end of the war, except Acnologia who was reported have departed from this continent. How could there still be signs of war at this point of time?

Mard Geer continued his approach, wanting to investigate the commotion. The sounds grew fiercer as he came closer. Traces of burned human bodies are found, some of them torn brutally as if they were blown apart?

At that moment, he suddenly felt a strong burst of energy coming from the left of his direction. He glanced his eyes towards its direction, spotting a faint glow of red from the distance before fading a few seconds afterward.

He stopped his previous venture and instead, focused on the direction towards a hill obscuring the source on the other side.

Within moments, another glow erupted from the distance. Mard Geer already urged himself to head towards it and investigate. The explosions grew louder as he neared towards it. He crossed the elevated ground and that's when he saw it.

Two sides bore battle against each other. One is a group of humans who were at their wits' end, having to suffer heavy losses due to the amount of dead bodies surrounding their position. The other one, however, was only one person.

Even from a distance, he could hear the conversation coming from both sides.

"What's wrong?! What happened to that confidence earlier? I thought you were all gonna kill me?" The lone person mocked as he shouted across the battlefield to let his enemies hear his response.

The man stomped his foot, sending a short rumble to the ground.

Mard Geer immediately deduced the lone figure standing in the middle of the battle to be one of his own. The curse signature emanating from him was easy to detect. On the other hand, the group of humans seemed to pique his interest.

He analyzed their body movements. All of them exhibit barbaric movements judging from how they confront the lone man. None of them had notable physical prowess either since they all move together in a group. It could be none other than mages as they wore robes or lighter clothing.

This is the first time he'd seen mages as it was still a new branch of profession. Back then, during the dragon war, they'd only have knights with little magic training to aid themselves in battle. It was only this time that humans had started exploring the knowledge of magic and its capability.

An array of staves were raised from the human crowd with all matter of magic charging up to their fullest potential. Screams of fear and frustration were hailed along the torrent of magic in a desperate attempt to fend off the lone threat. "Don't let up! Keep firing!"

"In the end, you're all just talk, aren't ya? Well, whatever." The lone man sighed, seeing he was tired waiting for anything to come out from his opponents. Their attacks were simply not threatening enough for him.

"I'm already getting bored."

Flailing his arms in a circular fashion. An invisible wave swung past the remaining humans before an array of massive explosions erupted out of nowhere, enveloping the area surrounding the figure in a sea of explosions that sent shockwaves all around.

The previous area was once again reduced to a smoldering patch as the explosions left multiple craters around which the humans once stood. Not a trace of their bodies were found as a result of massive bombardment that incinerated everything.

The man scratched his head in disappointment. "Haaaaaah, this is boring."

He walked towards the spot where the humans once stood, stopping just a few inches in front of the crater with smoke rising from the ground. He stood waiting for a moment before turning his eyes behind him where he noticed the unfamiliar spectator.

"Had your fun watching me? Why don't you show yourself? You smell a lot similar just like me. Are you one of those pesky demons who want to try to pick a fight with me?"

Turning around, a figure stood in front of him which wasn't there just a few moments ago. The man narrowed his eyes in caution, seeing that he was only able to sense his presence as soon as he neared him.

"It was not my intention to watch from a distance. I happen to encounter your presence while pursuing my objective." The figure replied.

"Pretty suspicious coming from someone who's been there for quite awhile. I can tell you're no ordinary Etherious. Walking around undetected behind my back is no easy feat. Who are you?"

"And if I tell you, what will you do?"

The man stood for a moment until all of a sudden, he quickly dashed forward towards him with his right hand open, seemingly to grab the man's head. A flash of bloodthirst drowned his face with a wicked grin as he attacked the man behind him.

In just a fraction of a second, he closed the distance between them and his hand closing into mere inches away from his face.

And at that moment, an explosion blasted the two.

It only took a couple of seconds for the blast to die down as the man smirked in satisfaction at the result. The smoke in front of him slowly cleared, giving him zero assurance of the state of the man in front of him. However, his hand felt the touch and the blast was enough to assume that he would not go unscathed from it.

At least that's what he thought.

When the dust cleared, the man stood in shock as soon as he saw his hand surrounded by an array of thick thorns that seemingly negated the force of the explosion. Not only that, the thorns stretched all the way a few meters upward, forming into some sort of a crescent shape.

The appearance of the thorns were rooted from the ground below as it was seemingly brought up by some unseen force. The damage that he inflicted to the unknown man was only limited to the small area around his hand which completely blocked most of the blast and kicked up empty dust as a result. However, that was not that shocked him.

His neck, now at the mercy of a sharp thorn which appeared out of nowhere caught his eyes in the process. He was just looking away for a moment when it appeared next to him without much of a second. He gritted his teeth at his own predicament and was even gritting even further as he found the person whom he assumed to be dead right behind him, now holding his life.

He thought about moving until he felt the thorn slowly prickle to his neck, preventing him to move in the process.

"I'd rather not do that if I were you. While I'm tempted to mercilessly kill you for doing just that against me, I would rather not waste a life of a fellow demon."

"Tch… Monster."

"Quite amusing to be called by one of my kind. Your powers are no laughing matter either." He chuckled at the thought. His eyes turned towards a piece of his clothing on his collar burnt away. "Those explosions are hard to escape unscathed."

"Heh, you kidding me? I might as well just use my power to blow up rocks…" He paused. "... Well, what are you waiting for? Finish it. Or are you expecting me to owe you a favor just because you spared me?"

"No. In fact, I do have something in mind that is more valuable than making favors. I could use someone of your caliber." He said, withdrawing his thorns away and vanished into the ground.

The man idled for a while, briefly checking his neck before staring back again towards him. "So what's this deal you have in mind?"

"Easy. Just a few questions I needed to ask from you. Depending on your answer, I'll see for myself if you're fit enough."

"Just that? I was thinking something even greater. Not that I'm complaining…" He said, mildly confused. "Wait, what do you mean 'fit enough'?"

"First, what's your business here around these parts? I've never encountered an Etherious this far out of Ishgar."

"Well, I really don't know where I am. I just followed my instincts and landed here in these parts. I was looking for someone I can fight but all I get are idiots and some wild monsters. Kinda waste of time, if you ask me."

"Humans." Mard Geer repeated.

"Yeah, the stupid bunch of them. They came to my place thinking they can kill me for terrorizing their town or something. Fucking bastards just turned my home into a smoking wreck." He said, glancing over to the area covered in burnt woods and ashes. "Heck, I never even saw any town around these parts, just villages." He said, explaining a bit of his backstory before coming here.

"I see. Then the next question, have you heard anything about demons forming a guild, specifically called Tartaros?"

As he said that, the man made a pondering look as he tried to recall anything related to his question just now.

"Oh, I heard about it. Not that I have time to care since I was busy making my way here. If I heard it right, some demon called together a bunch of other demons and formed a guild, am I right?"

"Correct."

"And that group formed under the banner in hopes of bringing all Etherious together."

Mard Geer nodded further, awaiting his next reply.

"That demon... It was you, wasn't it?" He nodded once more, getting a bit of a surprise from him in response.

"Well, I'll be damned. To think that the leader of Tartaros came running all the way here in these parts. I can see why you're stronger than me. I'll admit." He shook his head while crossing his arms as he put the pieces together.

"...However, I do not like that kind of idea. We are disasters incarnate. We don't need the likes of other demons joining in our own fray. We establish territories. We do as we please. That idea of a guild is something a weak demon could do. I don't know how or why you tried forming a group of demons despite your strength but I'm not some cheap ass demon you can force to join if that's your intention." The demon declared with a hostile look, despite his prior loss. It would seem as though he was against joining them in that regard. He made that clear by boasting the power they possess.

But just as he was about to continue, he was abruptly cut off mid sentence.

"I see. Then we're done here."

Without a moment, Mard Geer had turned his back on the man and simply marched on towards the other direction, earning a blank yet shocked face from the man who stood there dumbfounded after hearing his response.

There was a short pause from the man, trying to process what just ended their conversation just like that.

A few seconds later, he snapped out of it and shouted at the fleeting demon.

"O-Oi! Did you just ditch me, you bastard! Hey! Wait! I said wait!"

…

"So what's your business here, err, Mard Geer, right? That's your name, right?" The man, named Jackal, who Mard Geer had discerned due to his unique ability to conjure up explosions out of nowhere, asked as he followed him from behind. As for the reason how he knew his name on the other hand is because he kept pestering about it until he gave up.

"That's not of your concern."

"Sheesh. After all that, you're still giving me the cold shoulder. It's about time you drop that attitude, you know. Care to be a little bit friendly, perhaps?"

"I have no time to associate with anyone who isn't a member of Tartaros. Etherious or not." Mard Geer finished with a sharp tone in his voice.

"Fair point but come on, it's been three days. It's not like I'm trying to kill you or something. I dunno about the less intelligent ones but we're the special kind of Etherious. At least, we can have some sort of common ground here." He explained.

Again, he was met with nothing but silence as the demon walked along the dirt path which seemed to have appeared after countless miles of nothing.

"Come on now, cut me some slack. I didn't put much thought about the whole guild thing. Honestly, I'm just wondering why you were so serious about that stuff." The demon, Jackal, walks sheepishly as he tries to pace the elder Etherious. "More importantly, you still haven't answered my question."

Mard Geer stopped and suddenly turned towards Jackal, seeing that ignoring him would not stop him from nagging all the time during the journey. In fact, he doesn't seem like he won't stop following him around if he continued ignoring him. While he exhibits a stern attitude, there's a limit how one's patience can hold out. He had every thought of just disposing of him right now but a waste of an Etherious is going to be costly as they're not capable of proliferating their kind.

On the one hand, he still doesn't trust the stray yet since he has no interest in joining their guild. However, he is already stepping into unknown territory and who knows what other Etherious that might've claimed this place as their own turf.

After all, it is not just them who had the idea of creating a guild.

A few weeks back just before the formation of Tartaros, there were suspicions about other Etherious banding together in the same way as they are. According to Torafuzar who was in charge of collecting information outside at that time, he came across instances of demons from the Book of Zeref working as a group. There were even times where he came into conflict with them due to the fact that they were seen as a threat just as they are to them.

Mard Geer had every intention of making Tartaros the sole unity of all demons. A symbol for all Etherious to bow under. He would never have thought of seeing another group tarnish that symbol. Unfortunately as of now, they are still in the process of achieving that goal. They are few in numbers and majority of the other Etherious would rather choose solitude over a united organization of demons. In order for that goal to become reality, he would need to dispose of these factions before they could get a chance to influence other demons.

Using Jackal might give him some information about the places he needed to explore and possibly deal with those groups along the way.

Affirming his thoughts, he released a short sigh as he looked at Jackal.

"I came here upon rumors of a group of other demons banding together. Do you know anything about it?" He asked the young Etherious who, on the other hand, scratched his head in response.

"Hmm... I don't know about any demons joining together except yours. Though I heard some rumors when I was passing by in a human village not far from here about something." He said, catching the elder demon's attention.

"And what is it?"

"Something about monsters and an offering. Those folks in that village are gathering their young for some reason." He continued.

"Is that so?"

"Oh, and here's the weird part. These monsters they keep telling about. They said they came from the mist and apparently, people got a nickname for them around these parts. The Ghosts of Dragons."

"Ghosts of Dragons?" Mard Geer inquired, a slight twitch from his brow upon hearing the name.

"Yeah, cause they seem to resemble the dragons that humans worship in the past when they first appeared in their village. Seems to leave a big impression on them since it's all human sacrifices just like the old times when they were still around. Oh, and I can tell you that it is no dragon. The air smelled a lot of ethernano." He said.

Mard Geer narrowed his eyes in suspicion as soon as he heard it from Jackal. Certainly, it is a work of an Etherious just like them. He didn't know what purpose these ones have by preying upon these human settlements. However, he had an idea of their motives.

Negative emotions can be used by the Etherious to harness their powers. Aside from their magical capacity to conjure their Curse power. The more of them affecting humans meant that there's a huge supply of power that any Etherious can feast upon just by instilling fear into them.

It is not an uncommon idea for them since the nature of their Curse enables them to utilize its ability through the manifestation of negative emotions from its user and its surroundings, though the former is much more practical. If his assumption is right, this group of demons are probably gathering power by terrorizing on human settlements and eventually using them as places as sources for their power. Just like how a pack of wolves function. They establish their territory and keep what's inside it as their own property.

It's been only a few months after the end of the war and the demons are already setting their foot right into this world. It will only take a few more for mankind to know about their existence and wage war against them.

However, this is bad news for Mard Geer.

Bringing another war to this land would attract Acnologia and decimate this continent to a lifeless wasteland. Not even Zeref could control the dragon and who knows what he's up to ever since their departure. At this point, he had to take matters into his own hands. He had to take measures to minimize any damage. That would mean convincing the other stray Etherious to serve under Tartaros… or die. He would need to accelerate his plans to get the others to their side.

He turned towards Jackal as soon as he found his next move. "This village. Can you lead me to it? I want to know more about these monsters that they were talking about."

Jackal looked at him for a moment before grinning. "Alright, but there's a catch. It's about time I get my end of the bargain."

"I never asked you." He turned his eyes towards him with a bit of enmity.

"Geez, stingy, aren't ya? Well, if you just agree to let me tag along with you on this little investigation of yours. Doesn't seem like a bad idea, isn't it?"

"Hmph, like I'd agree to some Etherious covering my back. Does your loss against me affect you that much? I have many reasons not to trust you." He reasoned.

"Ouch, that may be one part but come on. I'm not some backstabbing scumbag just like the rest of them. I just like fighting strong people. Heck, I'm already curious what you and Tartaros have in store after seeing you. I might just wait and see for myself if it's worth giving a shit about. Not a bad deal, ain't it?" Jackal proposed, a loosened expression present in his face which indicated no malice from his voice.

At first, Mad Geer had hesitations but after a while of thinking, he does not see the need to be hostile around him for now. This guy is a battle hardened demon who loves fighting aside from being… well, a demon.

He inwardly sighed as he had no choice but to tag this stray demon along with him. Plus, he had to be under his leash in the meantime since he already made enough attention back during his battle with the humans. Well, in the off case of being betrayed, he could just simply destroy him after he's done with his mission.

Turning to his direction, he looked towards the direction they were headed and continued further. "Suit yourself then."

"Alright! Now you're talking EmGee!"

"Call me that one more time and I'll erase your existence right here."

"Whew~ whatever you say, mister uptight demon."

…

"We're here." The duo arrived a few hours later into one of the villages that Jackal mentioned.

Mard Geer took a good look of the village itself as they stopped right in front of it. A dense mist covered the area, making it hard to see through much from a distance. Vague silhouettes of homes could be seen if they walked closer enough to fully see it.

The atmosphere feels like the whole place seemed ghostly as there are no humans still on sight. The number of people being taken away must've taken its toll on the village. It will also not be too long before the remaining population would diminish completely since demons have no idea just how long humans repopulate.

Most of the Etherious have little to no knowledge of human culture. The only thing that they needed to do is to kill and perfect their Curse magic in hopes of defeating their creator someday. It doesn't matter which methods one would use as long as it could fulfil the need to perfect their powers. In this case though, it seems like using humans is a way of attaining their Curse potential.

They kept taking and taking without considering the idea of their shrinking numbers. Only the elderly and the weak were left out and most of the young ones who were supposed to carry the next generation were simply taken.

They walked inside, seeing that the entrance was not guarded. Not even a single human was there to deter them from entering. Nevertheless, they continued.

A series of huts and makeshift houses are seen but even them outnumber the presence of humans who were around. The air was silent and a few of them didn't even take the need to notice them for some reason as they made their intrusion. They're probably not even aware that their entrance is guarded.

Still, their faces were dull and pale than a normal human would look like. It looked like they just got their life sucked out of their bodies.

"Man, I didn't know it was this bad already. I mean, I've been here a few months back. They used to be this many though." Jackal muttered. Even he was bothered about the current state. Though he looks more surprised than concerned for them. "...You should probably ask some of them about the ghosts. That's where you should probably start. It looks like they just came here recently too."

He whiffed the air and sure enough, it was littered with ethernano.

Mard Geer turned his attention to the square where most of the remaining villagers seemed to have gathered. However, they don't seem to pay attention to them judging from how they entered their village without much of a reaction.

For some reason, they just stood there unmoving, looking up at the open space.

He grabbed one of the villagers near to him and was about to ask. "Excuse me, can I―hmm?"

As soon as he tried to grab his shoulder, his eyes narrowed at the facial expression present in the villager's face. It was devoid of any emotion. It is as if they were snuffed out. He was no different than a puppet judging from the lack of response as he was grabbed by him.

The same thing seemed to have happened by the rest of the people around him. They were all standing idly, doing nothing. Their heads hung up high as if they were looking at some invisible entity above them. Some sat on the ground, staring at open space while others were lying on the ground doing the same exact thing.

"Oi, Mard Geer. What's taking you so long?" Jackal came up from behind, wondering what the fuss is all about. However, he too stopped from his tracks, noticing the look on the human's face. "... What's wrong with him, huh?"

"Not just him. All of them." He said, gesturing over to the rest of the villagers to which he also noticed as well.

"They looked like they just got their life sucked out of them. They won't even respond to anything." Jackal affirmed, approaching one of the dazed villagers waving his hand in front of their faces to see if he could get a reaction from it. "... No response. What's going on?"

"I assume this is the same for the other villages around these parts. It looked like they were possessed but they don't seem to be any use to a user if this is all they can do." Mard Geer pondered.

"Yeah. I bet necromancers can do a better job in controlling their undead than this one. These people though, they don't seem dead to me, at least on the outside."

Mard Geer couldn't help but agree to the demon's words. He had seen other Etherious perform possession abilities against their opponents but not this kind. He took closer inspection to the villagers once more, noticing the lack of spirit in their eyes. He could sense their vitals working normally as usual so they're not undead.

"There's nothing wrong with their bodies. I don't sense any presence of possession from them as well."

"You sure? I ain't psychic but all I could see is that they're being controlled, judging from the thickness of ethernano in here." Jackal replied.

However, Mard Geer made a realization upon hearing his answer.

That's it.

It's the ethernano in the air that's causing this.

Turning his eyes away from the dazed villagers, he opened his right palm as small particles began appearing from the center. Bits and pieces of black soot began forming, kind of like a patch of sand. He narrowed his eyes as soon as he realized what the contents of the black sand is composed of.

"I see."

"What are you saying? Did you find anything?"

"I do. And I have a suggestion. Conjure a big explosion above this area."

"What for?"

"You'll see."

"You know what, I don't like that part of you being mysterious and all. Well, whatever." Jackal said. He turned his attention to the open space and went into a stance with both arms raised on his eye-level. With a single flick, he spun his arms in a circular fashion as winds followed at the direction of his arms.

Then, a sudden boom exploded from above as a series of explosions appeared from thin air and sent powerful shockwaves that rocked the ground despite having exploded from above. The blast was felt from afar as the dazed villagers were all put down to their knees due to the force.

Soon afterwards, the explosions died down and the flashes faded after a few seconds. Jackal turned towards the elder demon who had been standing after demonstrating his powers for some reason.

"So can you tell me why you needed me to blow up from absolutely nothing."

Mard Geer turned his eyes for a moment as he tried stretching his right arm. He gave it a few swings and a smile went up to his lips before simply crossing his arms and answered. "Nothing? I wouldn't exactly call it like that. In reality, you did quite well in making it big enough to make him appear."

"Him?" Jackal repeated until a vortex of scattered ethernano that was done during his display began appearing in front of them in a single form. It took a few seconds until the vortex formed into some kind of an apparition though it would seem like it had been unable to fully form due to the particles of ethernano being incinerated at the intense heat of the blasts around the area.

"What the―?" He muttered in surprise.

"It looks like we found our Etherious." Mard Geer said, walking over to the struggling apparition who could only form half of its body as the traces of the ethernano were burned out from existence.

"W-Who are you?"

"Oh it spoke?" Jackal said.

"Well, at least it is capable of using language." Mard Geer deduced.

"E-Etherious? What business do you have to have come here to our territory?" The apparition spoke in gasping breaths.

"Our? I guess, it's not just one of you doing this to these humans."

"I don't recognize you two. For what reason would you interrupt our harvest?"

"I've come here to ascertain rumors of a group of Etherious joining together. Though perhaps I don't need to confirm it after hearing all that." Mard Geer started.

The apparition went silent, seeing that the assumption had struck him and the silence was all that Mard Geer needed that it was true.

"S-So… you have come here just for that?"

"Just him though." Jackal interjected. "... I got pulled along with his little journey but I kinda wanted to see it as well."

"Well, I can also assume that the rumors aren't just the only reason."

"Indeed. I'm also quite interested in this sort of activity you got here with these humans. I want to know their purpose. And your reasons for doing so." Mard Geer answered back with finality in his voice.

"I see…" The apparition shook its head. "Then in that case, you won't find your answers from me."

In a sudden turn of events, the apparition planted its hands to the ground as a wave of thick ethernano brushed past the two and then all over the village like some sort of wind.

"W-What the hell?!"

Jackal stumbled at the sudden attack, regaining his footing as he tried to fighting the gale and quickly snap his finger as two explosions erupted above them, dispelling a short area and revealed the apparition who was making its escape by using the ethernano to materialize the missing lower part.

"Oi, he's getting away! Kuh—" He shouted as the wind soon grew fiercer and tried to move his legs to catch the fleeing Etherious but was unable to as he suddenly lost his balance and stumbled into his knees as the wind blew. His body wouldn't listen and would not follow him for some reason.

He tried to force his body up and lift his right hand to conjure an explosion towards the fleeing Etherious until a swarm of thick thorns zoomed past him and went towards him before he could.

"Guuuaaaaaaaaaarrrrghk—!"

A sound of piercing flesh sounded his ears, followed by contorted screams as the wind suddenly died down and the ethernano quickly dispersed in the process. He turned around, seeing that Mard Geer had not moved from his position but the thorns that went to capture the Etherious erupted around his vicinity.

He wasn't even fazed by the attack as he calmly walked past him and approached the wounded Etherious.

"Manipulation of both ethernano and the wind. Also the ability to severely disrupt movement of the body by use of modified ethernano. Only one Etherious fits that has the ability to do such things. Anol, the demon of the wind." He stated, revealing the identity of the Etherious.

"H-How did you know my name?!" Anol could only stutter in disbelief as he was being approached. His true form now on full display is that of a half-bull and half-human with the head of a bull and the body of a human. His size was twice the size of an average human, making him larger. The injuries he sustained from the thorns caused him to lose his intangible form and reverted him to his true form.

His abdomen, shoulders, and legs were all pierced, showing holes in them as blood gushed out like a fountain due to the size of those thorns.

"I've studied every demon from the Book of Zeref, their curse abilities and their potentials. I know everything about the Etherious. Your ability to manipulate the air compound with ethernano that impedes motor skills is probably the result of your perfected curse magic." He explained.

"Wait, so does that mean that what happened earlier is not because the wind is strong."

"It's because the ethernano in the air in which you inhaled contains some compounds from his curse that attacks our body from the inside, specifically your brain. It makes you unable to command your own body since the curse was disrupting your motor skills in the process." He finished, realizing the extent of the Etherious power.

He already noticed it ever since taking a look at the ethernano in the air a few minutes back and testing how his movements are somewhat affected in this mist when they came into contact with it. He felt his sharp senses somehow losing their edge when they entered the village. It's also the reason why the people in this village look like unresponsive puppets is due to this surrounding mist that rained down on them.

Jackal could only gape in shock from his explanation. Though he was mostly shocked rather than impressed judging from the incredulous look on his face.

He turned his attention back to Anol who was slowly bleeding to his death.

"Now then, let's get back to our topic. Who is your leader?" He asked, this time a dark expression was present on his face as he looked down on him with such authority and intimidation.

Anol could only shiver at the thought of getting away at this moment. He was at the mercy of another Etherious. His arms and legs were severely wounded and he could not move anything but his head. The thorns stuck themselves unto him as he was held in front of the demon who had every chance to dispose of him if he ruined his mood.

That was not the only thing that was pressing on his mind right now. At his current state, he would eventually die of bleeding out if he wasn't able to treat himself as of now so he had no other choice.

"I-I don't know! I-I don't know his name! H-He only appeared to tell me to gather as many humans and take them to his altar. It was him who wanted to gather as many humans since he said it would perfect our curse and defeat Zeref!"

Upon his confession, Mard Geer narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"That doesn't sound like a good explanation." Jackal said.

"What did he look like?" Mard Geer continued to ask.

"H-He doesn't have a body. H-He was like some sort of grim reaper! T-That's all I know, I swear!"

Seeing that he won't be able to tell enough, Mard Geer shook his head. His eyes no longer wearing its usual calm demeanor. The mention of their leader's description is somewhat unknown to him.

"Like a grim reaper? Any idea what demon looks like just what he described, Mard Geer?" Jackal asked.

"No… I don't recall." He said, his head disproving at the answer.

At the same time, the thorns holding Anol vanished. The wounded demon fell to the ground as he tried to heal his wounds while the other two pondered about what they just learned from him.

"Where is this altar you speak of?" Mard Geer then turned towards him again.

"A-Are you going to let me go?"

"That depends on your answer." He threatened.

"A-A massive cave system just past the mountains from here. There's an entrance on the mountainside that will lead you to it."

"Is that so?"

"S-So… you're gonna leave me alone? Y-You're going to let me go just like that?"

Mard Geer made no response but gave a snippet of his threatening gaze that made Anol squirm and decided to make for a sprint away from them.

"Hey, you sure about letting him go?" Jackal said. "...You know, he might be just lying to buy his freedom or worse, tell the leader he works for."

"I did say that it will depend on his answer." Mard Geer smirked before turning his attention towards the mountain from the distance outside the village. "... Now then, it's time we should be on our way as well. We should look into this league of demons we heard about."

"Great! Now I'm gearing up for some fight. Still, a grim reaper, huh. Sounds like trouble. Just what is his deal with gathering all these Etherious and collecting up some humans?"

"We'll learn it when we get to him." He said.

"I guess, you're right about that. Here's to another interesting journey, Mard Geer!"

The two go on their way as they try to make their way to the mountains. Mard Geer steeled himself of what's to come. Ever since hearing about the mysterious demon, he had felt nothing but uncertainty.

There's never an Etherious who dons a form of a grim reaper. He knew every true form of every demon from the Book of Zeref since he was one of the earliest if not the first among demons created by the Black Mage. He was formidable not by his power but his wisdom and intellect to know every Etherious.

This grim reaper is something else.

And whatever they find in those mountains would not be as they expected it to be.

The demon could only prepare for what's to come as they continue to find answers towards the mountains before them.

…

Anol continued to sprint his way out of the forest. His body still battered from his injuries despite being healed. The holes in his body left scars as a result and that painful sensation of being subjected to multiple thorns assaulted his mind.

He felt fear.

This is the second time he had felt fear. The first one was when he first encountered the grim reaper. He could still remember that time when he was approached by the unknown entity and demanded him to join him in his path to perfect his curse.

Of course, any normal demon would rather take it to his own self to hone their curse powers without the need to help each other. In fact, they're not only drawn to fight against other species but also to their own.

Anol was a proud demon. He boasted his own powers and would not dare any other demon control him.

However, it was not the same as him and several other ones who would follow this grim reaper's bidding.

And now, he was shown yet again of his uselessness as he was beaten by another Etherious. But if he would compare those two to that grim reaper, he would be sure that they won't stand a chance against it.

They've yet to see what that grim reaper is capable of. The reason why he and other demons follow him.

However, now is not the time to be dwelling on those thoughts. He had to get a way to inform his leader of the two intruders. As much as he didn't want revealing their hideout, he valued his own life over them.

After all, demons are not immortal—Yes, they can be immortal in a sense but they're not invincible in all matters of physical harm. Things like sustaining wounds and severe injuries could kill them.

And Anol was afraid of death. He never experienced being so close to his death at that time. Had he tried to cover up for his boss, he would've died by now.

Nevertheless, it was quite an easy trick to let those two release him. He wasn't sure if those two are really demons or just plain idiots. No one in their right mind would trust a demon's word, let alone see to it that it was fulfilled.

He swore revenge.

This time, he would take it upon himself to kill those two. Especially that demon who humiliated him.

First he would have to report to the grim reaper. Yeah, he'll do just that. And after that, he would get back to those two lowlives.

"Hahahaha! Just you wait! Once I'll get more people under my control, I'll come back to yo—"

In the midst of his declaration, a gush of blood sprayed all over his right body. A phantom pain surged within it as his bloodied eyes turned towards the ground, seeing his right arm, unmoving.

Looking further more, he saw a rose dyed in his blood and along with it a branch of thorns sprouted out and exploded within his innards.

His face paled as the blood quickly drained from his body as almost half it was ripped off by the growing thorns which were also drenched in his blood. His mind was cut off and in a few seconds, the wave of pain finally rebounded back to the rest of his intact body.

"OooooOOAAAAHHHAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAaaaaaaa—!" His deranged scream resounded all over the silent forest.

Impossible. It can't end here… He still had to take his revenge on those two and also to that grim reaper who both humiliated me.

I can't die here.

Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.

"CUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRSSSSSSEEEEEEEE YOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU—"

As he screamed, the rose exploded in an array of thorns, ripping the rest of his body as the explosion resulted in a massive tree that grew in a sea of blood beneath it. Beautiful roses bloomed from its trunks in a shade of the color of crimson blood.

…

Omake:

Kyoka was bored out of her mind. Ever since Mard Geer had left Plutogrim, there had been no new orders to carry out since most of the affairs of Tartaros had been issued by him. She, Sayla, and Torafuzar would then carry out these orders and have them completed until the next.

Suffice to say, there was nothing she could do.

Of course, she had a task at hand. One that she is absolutely horrible of handling.

To babysit the future master of Tartaros.

If there's one thing that she's not good at is that she's not good at parenting. Or any other human-related ways of raising a child. Mard Geer had laid out specifications in making sure that Natsu would be raised normally as a child as he would be raised to be a proper Etherious.

Those are the two things that she needed to divide in order to make sure that this task is carried out perfectly without fail.

However, it turns out that it was harder than she thought.

She doesn't have any experience in raising a child. Let alone look after one.

It's one of the missing aspects of her that she wanted to fill in so that she would no longer find herself troubled with the same experience.

But alas, this inexperience cost her the chance to take over as caretaker of the pinkette.

As for why? She rolled her eyes towards the other female demon beside her.

Sayla had every knowledge in this field of expertise as she had the young pinkette sitting in her lap, enjoying their idle time together by singing and talking about things. The demon had demonstrated her skills by being a sister-type figure for the pinkette much to her anger.

After all, Natsu was the first one to have called her onee-san.

Why this she-demon had the audacity to steal her position as his sister.

If the young master wasn't here, she would've tortured the demon in her chamber about stealing her position. What's even more infuriating is that she would catch glimpses of her smug smile when the pinkette was not looking. As if mocking her of her ineptitude to be the sister.

Oh, she is so dead the next time she sees her.

On the other hand, Sayla ignored the growing evil aura from Kyoka as she indulged herself in the company of her young master as they continued their conversation. While she would want to teach the boy more about being an Etherious, she figured that she would rather act as her guardian as she was not too much into fighting.

She prefers books and knowledge after all so it only makes sense that she would help him teach about them as well as the outside world.

However, in this particular case, she had a different thing in mind.

"Say, Natsu. Have you ever said any bad stuff towards someone you hate?" She asked.

"No. I don't."

"Well, you see. There is a saying, 'Words can hurt'."

"Really?"

"Being an Etherious, it would make them stronger if you continue to say bad stuff because that's the way we are when dealing with bad stuff. Just like negative emotions."

"Is that so?"

"So in that sense, the more you say bad stuff, the more they become stronger."

"Really?"

"Of course! Let's try out your little Kyoka over there. Remember, you must put every feeling to it and repeat after me. When she says, you're lying, here's you're going to say..."

"Okay." Natsu nodded as Sayla began whispering something to his ear. Something that Kyoka seemed to catch on since she was there to make sure that the she-demon doesn't do anything weird to the young master.

"Oi. Just what are you telling our young master now, Sayla? You do remember that Mard Geer doesn't like him being influenced by your shenanigans."

Though as she said that, the two were done whispering and Natsu hopped off from Sayla's lap and stood before Kyoka.

"What's the matter, young master?" She asked.

With short breath, Natsu screamed with conviction.

"YOU USELESS DEMON! YOU LACK EXPERIENCE AS A WOMAN AND YOU WOULD NOT EVEN PLAY WITH ME! I HATE YOU, KYOKA! I DON'T NEED YOU!"

"W-Wha—! W-What's wrong? Y-You're lying, right?"

"NO. I JUST HATE YOU! I DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU ANYMORE!"

Kyoka felt her heart sink out of her chest as his words struck him hard. Even being aware that Sayla said something to him to be angry towards her, she could not help but feel hurt by those words.

She sank to her knees, her eyes devoid of any life.

On the other hand, Sayla was chuckling under her breath, watching as the scene unfolds.

Seconds later, Torafuzar came into the room.

"I heard our young master's voice. Is everything alright?"

Without a moment to waste, Sayla moved to whisper once more to Natsu and told her his next move. She watched as the pinkette moved closer to the demon before holding his breath.

"YOU UGLY PIECE OF SHIT! I HATE YOU, UNCLE TORAFUZAR! I HOPE YOU DIE! BLEEEGHHH" Natsu shouted, sticking his tongue out to add to the mockery.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Torafuzar also collapsed, his life taken away from him.

Sayla just couldn't take it anymore. She kept laughing secretly as she began to make her final move. Moving closer to his ears once again, she whispered her next phrase to the pinkette as he nodded in between.

After finishing, she backed away and watched as Natsu unveiled his final statement.

"YOU SUCK, PLUTOGRIM! YOUR INSIDES MAKE ME PUKE AND DIE! I HOPE YOU DIE ALONE IN A LONELY FOREST!"

It was at that time that Sayla couldn't hold her laughter anymore as she broke off her silence and laughed at the side.

"Ne, Sayla. Do you think that it made them any stronger? I don't think it had the same effect as you said." Natsu looked worried as the other two demons sat in their collapsed forms, unable to respond.

"It's okay. Natsu. They'll recover. I'm sure, the big guy won't take it pers—"

She was cut short as soon as she felt a rumble from the room. Natsu felt it as well as he grabbed the nearest study thing to hold himself together.

"W-What's happening, Sayla."

"I don't know." She tried to assess her surroundings, assuming that there was some kind of attack towards their home. She walked to the door, opening and saw a large wave of water rushing towards them.

'Oh shit.'

Without having the time to shut the door close, the water simply rushed over to the room, flooding the area as they were swept away by the current. Kyoka and Torafuzar's lifeless bodies were simply carried away by the flow while Sayla and Natsu hanged on for dear life.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

As they were dealing with the sudden water attack, the two heard a monstrous wail on the halls as the waters kept rising and rising.

Sayla formed a cold sweat over her forehead as soon as she realized it.

"You kidding me?!"

The house is crying.

She couldn't actually believe it. That Plutogrim of all people would take it personally.

I guess words really hurt in the case of Natsu and his family of demons.

It was only after the incident that the whole thing was cleared. They would never speak this up to Mard Geer ever. Natsu apologized to the three while Sayla was made to clean the whole guild littered with Plutogrim's tears with a brush as punishment

It took two weeks for her to finish it all.

…

A/N: And that's the chapter. Glad to see this updated as well. As you all know, I'll be inserting an arc for the unification part of the Etherious since this will have a lot of Mard Geer's exposure to the story and as one of the significant characters. I'm planning to have all the demons of Tartaros to have a more in depth relationship with Natsu as more than simply members of the same guild so that's that.

Anyways, that's it for now. I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

- The wiErDos send their regards…