A/N: All characters and places belong to Mashima… except for the ones that don't.

Sorry for the long wait, here is a long chapter.

Beta'ed and edited by- lubabpaul

Chapter 4- Demon Hunt

FairyTail Guildhall, Magnolia, Year-X771, August 29th, Mid-Afternoon.

(4 months later)

-Makarov-

Makarov Dreyar watched his children go by their day as he sat on the guildhall's bar and had his beer.

Some were by the Request Board, probably searching for what job they wanted to take. Some were by the bar, drinking and chatting. And some were by the benches that were stretched across the hall, doing their own thing.

To sum it up, it was a peaceful day, which was a rare occurrence in FairyTail. So, he was going to enjoy it while it lasts.

BOOOMM!

Of course, something had to happen at this very moment he thought.

The wall which was facing the beach exploded, bits of the wall flying across the hall. Someone had smashed through the wall and crashed into one of the benches in the hall.

"Ugh…"

Then Gildarts came through the already present hole in the wall, thankfully not creating a new one. He had some bruises here and there but overall, he was fine. He walked towards the crashed figure and grabbed him by the leg and lifted him up to reveal the newest member of his guild, Alex.

Makarov also noticed Alex's pet tiger cub also came through the hole in the wall. He lazily strolled towards the bar where Makarov was sitting, then he jumped on the counter near him, laid down and closed his eyes to take a nap.

The kid was right. His tiger doesn't give a shit.

Makarov turned his attention back to Alex.

He was battered and bruised. His shirt was all torn up, letting him see the white Fairy Tail guild mark on his right bicep. All in all, he looked like the kid had been through some tough beating, definitely from Gildarts.

Turning his attention back to Gildarts, he saw his Ace give the kid's body a little shake, still lifting the kid with his leg.

"Had enough, kid? Or are you still rearing to go?" Gildarts asked with a friendly grin.

"...ot..u."

"What? I couldn't hear you, brat. Speak up." He said as he brought Alex's face closer to his ear.

"I said, I GOT YOU!"

Then the 'brat' threw sand at Gildarts's eyes. Makarov was caught off guard by the cheap trick and judging by the wince that escaped from Gildarts as the sand entered his eyes, he was as well.

Seeing Gildarts was distracted and his eyes closed for a moment, the kid took his chance and kicked Gildarts hand with his free foot. Hard.

Gildarts let go of his leg. His mistake. Alex saw the opportunity and immediately brought both of his hands forward with fists already formed and aimed them at Gildarts's torso, while still mid-air.

Makarov watched in fascination as a sphere of pressurised air formed just a few centimetres away from his fists. While he had seen pressurised air attack before, Alex's was more interesting because like many of his tricks, it didn't use an ounce of magic. Makarov's attention went back to the fight when-

BOOOOOMM!

A devastating shockwave was sent from the sphere towards Gildarts. It was very close-ranged, Gildarts could not hope to dodge it. The blast was so powerful that his Ace was sent flying through the very hole he came from.

But Alex didn't come out of it unscathed. He was blasted backwards, due to his attack's reaction. He had crashed into the wall, just beside the entrance door. He then slumped back on the ground with a thump, leaving an Alex-shaped imprint on the wall.

Slowly getting on his feet with ragged breaths, he held out his hand. In a second, a black dagger came sailing through the wall-hole like a boomerang, towards Alex. He caught the dagger. Then the dagger started to glow with blue light and vanished with motes of light scattering away.

Alex was quickly becoming proficient in Requip Magic, he thought.

Then the kid slowly strolled towards the Request Board. Checking out the board for a few moments, he snatched a job request flyer and came to him.

"I'm going out for a bit, master." He said as he showed him the flyer.

He took the flyer from him and read through it.

"A Wyvern Elimination, huh? You sure about it, Alex? You just had… let's just an 'intense' training session with Gildarts. If you are exhausted, I would say even this A-Class Job would be dangerous for you. You could wait or take another less hazardous job, my boy." He asked with concern.

"I'll be fine. And I'll have Ko with me, so it will be alright." Alex waved off his concern as he petted his tiger.

purr~

"And I need to get out of here anyway before Gildarts comes back and decides to get serious and kick my ass. I'm guessing he will not be happy that I sent him for a quick bath in the ocean."

Well, let no one say that Alex doesn't know when to back down.

"Well, if you are sure…" He said as he gave the flyer back to the kid. "But before you go, put on a new shirt. I don't want people spreading rumours around about Fairy Tail sending kids on job naked."

"Eh?" Alex then looked down to his torso confused. "Oh, come on! It was a new shirt! I had just bought it three days ago! Stupid Gildarts and his stupid Crush Magic!"

Then Makarov felt a pulse of magic from Alex. Kid's torso glowed with blue light for a second but the light vanished and nothing happened.

"Still can't do it, huh?" Alex said to himself. Then he outstretched his right hand and space above his glowed with blue light and a red t-shirt appeared.

"Now, now. Don't be discouraged, brat. I have seen mages taking years to reach the mastery of [Requip] that you have achieved in four months. Take pride in what you have accomplished." He said after looking at Alex's despondent face.

"I guess." Alex said, unsure of himself as he put on his shirt.

CRASH~

Then as Alex reached out to Ko and prepared to leave, another hole exploded into existence just beside the previous one.

Damnit, Gildarts! Couldn't he come through the first hole!

Gildarts walked through the broken wall, drenched with ocean water.

"You damn brat! I got caught in a fishing net after you sent me flying in the sea. Now all my clothes are soaked, and I smell like fish!" He complained.

Alex didn't look fazed at all at Gildarts's ranting.

"You destroyed my new shirt, shitty Shanks! So, I think smelling like fish is a fair trade-off. At least I did the world some good. Now women will know to stay away from your fishy self!" He shouted back.

The whole guild erupted into laughter at that.

"How many times have I told you that my name is not Shanks! It's Gildarts! They don't even sound remotely close!"

"Whatever, Shanks. Tell that to Oda."

"Who the hell is Oda?"

"Oda is Goda."

"What?! What does that even mea- Hey! Don't ignore me!" Gildarts frustrated cries fell deaf on Alex's ears as the kid ignored him.

He grabbed his tiger and placed him on his shoulder.

"See you later, Master." Then he turned towards the two members sitting near him and nodded to them. "Macao, Wakaba." Then disappear without any use of magic. Again.

Turning his attention to his Ace, he found him sitting near him. Makarov scrunched his nose and covered it with his hand.

Gildarts really did smell like fish.

"You need to take a shower, Gildarts."

Gildarts rolled his eyes at his remark.

"Yeah, yeah. I was going home anyway. Just let me have a drink first." Then he raised his hand to call out one of the hired barmaids. "Millgana, would you mind?"

"Of course not, Gildarts. I'll be back in a minute." Millgana replied cheerfully.

As she went away, Makarov saw Macao and Wakaba getting up from their seats and sitting beside Gildarts. They both had their palms covering their noses.

"Man, the kid was right. You really do smell, Gildarts." Macao commented with a snicker.

Makarov saw Gildarts's eyebrow twitching a little.

"What is this? 'Stating the Obvious' day?" He grumbled as he took a gulp of beer from the bottle that Millgana had just brought him.

Makarov noticed his Ace winced a little when he had his beer, but it was very subtle. Macao and Wakaba who were sitting just beside him didn't even notice it.

"Oh, come on. Don't be so grumpy just because a kid one-upped you." Wakaba said with a teasing grin.

"...You guys are gonna milk it until the end, aren't you?" Gildarts asked with a resigned tone.

"Oh, we definitely are!" Macao said while laughing.

"Gildarts's grumpiness aside, me and Macao are also going on a job, Master." Wakaba said as he passed a job flyer to Makarov.

He read through it quickly.

"Alright. Stay safe, you two." Makarov said as he gave the flyer back.

"Thank you, Master." Wakaba replied as he took the flyer back. Then he patted Gildarts back. "Well, see you later, Gildarts. Be sure to take a shower when you get home." He commented with a laugh as both him and Macao went out to their job, leaving Makarov and Gildarts alone.

"Is your stomach alright, Gildarts?" Makarov asked after a moment of silence between them.

"Damn, you noticed it? I thought I was doing a good job of hiding it." Gildarts replied with a defeated chuckle but he winched again, and this time placed his hand on his stomach.

"Old age does have some advantages, my boy."

"Ha, I guess you're right." He replied as he took a chuck from the bottle.

"That rascal's shockwave attack didn't do much external damage but internal damage… that's a whole different story. If I didn't use Crush to cushion down the impact, the damage would have been severe." Then his Ace looked at him and gave him a suspicious look.

"Have you been teaching him other magics?"

"Oh? Did he use it in the fight?" Makarov asked curiously.

"He blinded me with [Archive] by summoning the screen right in front of my face and then he detonated that screen, then he distracted me with[Telepathy]by shouting in my head. While I was distracted, he got behind me and pulled a knife out of nowhere, which now that I think about. He probably used [Requip]. His attack definitely would have succeeded and left a scar if I didn't see through his manoeuvre." Gildarts said as he regaled a glimpse of his fight with Alex.

"Huh. I didn't think he would use those Magic in that way. Well, I did find it weird he said something about 'being a Gamer' when he started learning [Archive], but I didn't think he would use those Magics this way. That brat continues to surprise me." Makarov mused.

"... Did you know that some of his spells don't use magic at all?... Wait, can they even be called 'spells' if they don't use magic?" Gildarts asked him.

"Heh, so you finally noticed, huh? I warned the brat to mask those techniques with magic. If the Magic Council finds out about it, they will not leave the kid alone." Makarov mused to himself.

"That kid… he is something else. His magical reserves are as big as mine and he is what? Eight years old? And it's just not his magic power. Good judgement, amazing reflexes, terrifying mobility and the most creative magical application I've ever seen and that's not even accounting the magic-less techniques he has combined with his fighting style… Where did that little devil even learn those techniques anyway? It's the first time I have seen or even heard about it." Gildarts asked curiously.

Makarov shook his head. "Not my story to tell, Gildarts. The best I could tell you is that those techniques are the last thing he has left of his family." He replied solemnly to his Ace.

They remained silent for a while, enjoying their drink before Gildarts stood up after finishing his drink and said his farewell for the day.

Makarov watched his Ace go as his mind went back to the subject of the topic they were discussing.

His newest guild member was an enigma. From his name to his magic power, combat ability and even his pet tiger, it was … he would not say mystery but the circumstances around it all were intriguing, to say the least.

First was Alex's pet tiger. When he had first seen Ko, he had not thought much about it. But after he dug through some files and gathered some info through his contacts, he found out that Ko belonged to species of white tigers that resided on the mainland Ishgar called Tiger Gods by the locals in the area.

He also found out that they were very aggressive and territorial, but they don't tend to wander around out of the area where they live. The Magic Council had declared the area where they lived as a Forbidden Zone. Which was probably the logical thing to do as Tiger Gods were classified as SS-class magical beasts.

But when he compared his information about aggressive and territorial behaviour with tame and calm Ko, he let the matter go. After all, the tiger has not given him any reason to make him worry about the safety of his children and of the people of the Magnolia. And well, Ko seems pretty attached to Alex. So, there was also that to consider.

The other thing that had intriguing circumstances behind it was the brat's name. Alex wasn't even his real name. As it turns out, the ability to hop to different worlds did not come without a severe price. The kid doesn't remember his own name or the name and face of any person he knew personally.

Seriously, to not even be able to remember the name of yourself and not even remember what your loved ones looked like. What a tragedy.

He could still remember the moment when he asked the kid his name. The kid's face had blanked out as he came to the realisation that he couldn't remember the name of any of his loved ones.

The kid later told him that he knew that there was a cost of world-hopping, but he didn't know [hadn't known] what it was. He didn't even realise that he had forgotten something important until Makarov had asked him about it.

At least he remembers his family name.

Then later when they were on the train, going back to Magnolia, that little rascal decided to name himself. He decided on 'Alexander' after one of the most famous emperors of the world that the kid belonged to. At least that is what Makarov could gather from what the kid told him.

That is how the kid got his new name.

Alexander K. Bloodborn.

Makarov had been curious about the 'K' in his name. From what Alex told him, it was a long-held tradition, when the Roman Empire was still the Roman Kingdom, that the ruler of the state would have K. in his name.

Since Alex is the last member of the Royal Family, he is technically the ruler of the Roman Empire, even if he is in another world.

Interesting tradition, Makarov had to admit. But it's nothing compared to the reason behind the kid's magical and physical power.

Apparently, in Alex's world, being a Royal meant being better than the rest of the population at everything. This included magical power. To ensure that the Royal Family is always a step ahead of the rest of the population, every member of the Royal Family is made to go through an enhancement procedure when they are in their mother's womb to make sure the child born is up to the standards of the Royal Family.

And even among the enhanced individuals of the Bloodborn Royal Family, Alex was far above them in physical, mental and magical capabilities.

Now that he thinks about it, this may be the reason why Alex had an adult-like maturity even while he is an eight year old brat.

Seriously, if Alex was a little older, Makarov would have selected him as a candidate for the S-class Exam. He was sure the brat would have passed the exam in his first try. But he could wait a couple of years to welcome a member to their S-class roster, so he didn't think about it that much.

During their train trip back to the guild, Makarov had also asked him about those magic-less techniques that he used in his fight with the pirate dark wizard.

What Alex told him was surprising, to say the least.

It seems that the Bloodborn Royal Family were very paranoid. That is why they created a whole martial arts style that could be used for combat if they ever for some reason or another were unable to use their magic. And since the Royal Family were composed of physically enhanced individuals, this new martial art style could be very easily learned by the family members compared to any other individuals. That isn't to say it is easy to learn for the Royals but just that it is relatively very easy compared to others.

Not that others could learn it even if they worked to their bones. Because as Alex told him, the Bloodborns hoarded all the knowledge needed to learn the Six Styles, as they were called.

Makarov doesn't know what to think about Alex's family.

On one hand, he was disgusted with people that would perform experiments on unborn children just to make them acceptable in their eyes. On top of that, from what he had gathered, the Bloodborn Royal Family were definitely tyrannical in their time as rulers of the Roman Empire. That is not even accounting the fact that Alex is a child. There must have been other atrocities that the Royal Family must have committed. After all, he knows that one, be it a person or an empire, does not conquer the entire world by being a perpetual force of good.

It's safe to say he doesn't have a good impression of them.

On the other hand, he does not know much about MiddleEarth,but little of what he now knows paints that world as a cruel place. So, he can't just judge them based on the word of a child, no matter how mature he may be.

But other things aside, he was glad and relieved that Alex had left that place. That toxic environment is not a place for a child to grow.

Makarov could already tell the kid's upbringing in his previous world has affected Alex. While he could tell that the brat had a good heart, his moral compass was somewhat skewed.

He could still remember how the kid dismembered the hand of that dark wizard in Shells Town without even a little flinch.

He had hope that growing up in FairyTail's loving and caring environment would have some positive effects on Alex.

Makarov took another gulp from his beer mug and rubbed his head to relieve him of his headache. The brat was not even here and he was still causing him headaches.

Why was he having a feeling that this was going to be a common occurrence in the future?

Magnolia, Year-X772, May 21st, Mid-Afternoon

(9 months later)

-Alex-

"Could you tell me why does this whole damn place have to rearrange itself just because you are entering the town?" I asked Gildarts as I walked beside him and witnessed the famous 'Gildarts Shift'.

Seriously, why is 'Gildarts Shift' a thing? This makes no sense!

rawr~

Even Ko agrees with me!

I petted him for support. Today he was resting on top of my head.

purr~

"Because I'm careless?" Gildarts questions?

So even he doesn't know, huh? I mean sure, he could cause some accidental damage but this guy is loaded! He could always pay for those damages.

The response should not be to rearrange the whole damn town.

I can just smell Makarov's hand in this. I need to talk to him when I get back.

And what's with Gildarts's response. Is asking me or telling me?

"...You are an embarrassment. I don't even want to be seen walking with you right now." I said with a disappointed tone.

"Hey now! You don't need to be this harsh." Gildarts replied.

"Whatever. I'm going ahead. See you later, Shanks."

"My name is GILDARTS!"

"Sure. Bye-Bye." I waved him goodbye and appeared in front of the Guild Building with the help of super speed.

As soon as I entered the guild building, I noticed that everyone was looking at me.

Or rather they were looking behind me. That seems right, they can't see me while I'm in super-speed state.

Are they waiting for Gildarts?

Eh, whatever.

Navigating through the crowd, I caught sight of Makarov drinking his beer while sitting atop the bar counter. As always.

Cutting off my connection with [Speed-Force] along with turning off my [Lightning Magic], I settled on one of the seats near him.

Makarov had told me to mask [Six-Styles] with magic so that no one would find out that I have the combat techniques that could be used without magic when we were coming to Magnolia prior to me joining the guild, on the train.

From what he told me; experienced mages would know that something was wrong about the Six-Styles. And with enough time, they would be able to deduce that I wasn't using magic while using them.

Going by that logic, I had strong feelings that people would also be able to tell that [Speed-Force] isn't exactly magic. That is why I had made a habit of using [Lightning Magic] whenever I used [Speed-Force], to mask its true nature. This made it seem like I was using some version of [High-Speed Magic].

I don't want people coming after me or collecting my DNA to make a clone of myself that can also use [Speed-Force].

… I know it's a far fetched idea, but you can never be too careful.

I picked Ko up from my head and settled him on the counter.

Then I summoned a big chunk of meat and a plate through [Requip] and placed it in front of the tiger.

He had been well behaved today and I make sure to reward good behaviour.

"Ah. You are back? How did the job go? Any problems?" Makarov asks after he sees me handing Ko his treats.

"Eh. I don't get what is the big deal about S-Class jobs. It was pretty easy. It would have been easier if Gildarts would have just let me carry him to the Pergrande Kingdom. The journey time would have been reduced minutes instead we wasted two months just getting there and coming back." I complained.

Seriously, there was no need for me to waste two months just to do my first S-Class job.

Speaking of S-Class jobs, I turned on my X-ray vision and took a peek at the second floor of the guild.

While this was happening, Makarov was laughing at my serious concerns.

"Hahahaha. Gildarts being carried by 9-year-old. What I wouldn't give to see that? Just enjoy your childhood for now, my boy. You know what they say, the journey is more important than the destination. So, relax and enjoy!" He replies while laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Then I looked around, searching. "Hey, Master. Where is Laxus?" I enquired.

Laxus was the only member of my 'age group' right now in FairyTail. He was about 11 years old.

By kids standard, we could be called friends.

Well, the friendship mostly involved me pranking the hell out of him and him utterly failing at doing the same to me.

And Ko likes him, mainly because he feeds him lightning. So, there is that.

But make no mistake. There was no rivalry going on between us. The difference in our strengths might as well be the distance between sky and earth.

He was pathetically weak right now, compared to his canon self. If I would have to guess, I would say that he hasn't got his Dragon Slayer Lacrima implanted in him.

"Ivan took him out of town a few days ago. Said he had some serious business. They should be back in a day or two." Makarov replied.

Ahh. Ivan Dreyar. Makarov's Son and Laxus's Dad. I don't know when he was excommunicated from the guild but judging by the frequent quarrels he has with Makarov, I would say soon.

Apparently, he is an S-class mage, which now that I think about it, should have been obvious. He was decently strong and was Makarov's son.

And while I'm not saying Makarov was biased towards his son and his grandson, but it would be a lie to say that he didn't have a soft spot for them.

Anyway…

"Ahh… That's a shame. And here I thought I won't be bored now that I wasn't travelling with Gildarts." I complained to Makarov.

"Well, maybe you could chat with our newest member to get rid of the boredom." He said while gesturing at one of the tables.

Newest member? What is he talking about? I thought I was the newest member.

Turning to where Makarov was pointing, I saw a young girl sitting with some of the older female guild members. She was maybe about 6-7 years old.

She had brown eyes along with brown hair which were cut short and they reached her shoulders. She also wore a red sleeveless t-shirt with a blue skirt.

She was looking in Gildarts's direction, who had arrived a few seconds before and was talking to some of the guild members.

Wait. Isn't that-

"What is she doing here?" I ask Makarov curiously.

"So, you remember her, huh? I found her in one of the church orphanages in Magnolia. Her grandfather died a few weeks after we left Shells Town. Her mother died four months ago." Makarov said as he sighed sadly.

"I haven't asked her how she got from Shells Town to Magnolia but my guess is that she ran away after her mother's death. It's a good thing the church took her in. It was by chance that I found and remembered her. And luckily, she had magical potential, so I took her in the guild. This place should be good for her to grow up." He told me her circumstances as he took another chug from his beer mug.

Ah shit. Cornelia is dead? I would have tried to save her, but I didn't expect she would have died this soon. I knew that Cana joined the guild when she was young, but I didn't know she was this young when this happened.

...Oops?

"Did you check at her hometown that her family really is gone and that she had not just run away from home for some childish reason." I asked Makarov.

"Of course, I did. I'm not that old, ya know." He said indignantly.

"Could have fooled me, old man."

That earned me a bump on the head.

"But man… You are really bringing them young, huh. She couldn't be older than 7 years old." I said in wonderment which earned another bump on the head, courtesy of Makarov Dreyar.

"Brats these days. Always being smartasses." He grumbled.

I rubbed my head as I watched Gildarts's daughter unable to muster enough courage to confront her father.

She had guts. To come to Magnolia to meet her father alone, even if she is what? Like 7 years old? But it seems like she didn't have enough guts to do what she actually came here for.

And it was not my place to interfere nor my problem as I couldn't give less of a damn about it.

But she seems sad.

Ugh. Curse my heart.

I walked up Ko from his slumber. He looked at me questionably, as if asking why had I awakened him from his sleep?

I tilted my head in Cana's direction and gave the tiger a meaningful look. He looked to where I was gesturing for a moment. Then he hopped out my hands and strolled towards where Cana was sitting.

When he reached her, he hopped on the table, which surprised Cana as she seemed distracted and was surprised by the sudden appearance of the cub.

Ko licked her face and rubbed his face against her, comforting her.

She giggled at Ko's sudden affection and started petting him after holding him in her arms.

Then sudden realisation appeared on her face and she started looking around, probably searching for the cub's owner.

Not that she would find him. I was already out of the guild after saying farewell to Makarov for the day.

I had a business to attend to and unfortunately, I can't bring Ko.

You see, I wasn't a huge fan of ideally wasting time. The last 9 months, which frankly amounted to years in [Speed-Force] time, were spent learning some new magic styles and improving the ones I already had.

One of the magic styles that I learned about was [Take-Over Magic]. From what I could gather the grimoire I was learning from [Take-Over] allows the user to, essentially, "take over" the power of an entity (this doesn't include humans) and use it to fight. It can increase the power, strength, and speed of the caster, sometimes adding a new skill, such as flying or breathing underwater.

Magic abilities sometimes transferred over from the take over form to the base form, and you gained part of the life form's own magic power added to your own when you took them over.

Another important thing about it is that the first life form you took overset you into that type of path. Like if you first took over a magical beast, you gained a [Beast Soul] and could only take over living beings of that ilk.

Honestly, the first thought I had after I found this info was to go to the [Dragon Soul] route. But after thinking over it for some time, I abandoned that idea.

First, I could just find and implant a [Dragon Slayer Lacrima] for dragon related power-ups.

Secondly, there were not many dragons alive in this day and age and those who were are far beyond my level… for now.

And then there was a fact there was a risk involved when using [Take-Over]. You essentially had to beat the "will" of the entity that you were trying to take-over. And as much confidence I had on myself. I don't think I will be able to win a "fight of will" against a dragon.

So, after much deliberation, I decided to go along the next best thing, the [Satan Soul] route. Demons were pretty strong and I knew quite a few demons here with some very interesting abilities, to say the least.

And that's where the problem began. While I knew a number of powerful demons, they weren't very common. In fact, they were very hard to find. Of course, I'm not counting the ones on Galuna Island.

While I could use them, I don't want to. I don't know what it is. Maybe it is my Homo Primaa side or just my pride but I don't want something weak as them to be a part of me.

I didn't want to go to the [Beast Soul] or [Animal Soul] route. Because while there was a large variety of them on EarthLand, in my opinion, they paled in comparison to the advantages of [Satan Soul].

And don't even get me started on [Machina Soul] or [God Soul]. I don't even know where I would find them.

Anyway, the reason I practically forced Gildarts to take me to an S-Class was to determine it's threat level and see if I could handle it. That was mainly because I didn't want to be heavily reliant on my Meta-Knowledge for threat assessment.

That is why I had turned on my X-ray vision and was looking at the second floor of the guild. I was hoping to do some of them. You know, for… experience? Yes! I was doing them to get some experience.

Definitely not because I was bored doing other lower-class jobs. Definitely not.

Leaving my perfectly valid reason for going to an S-Class job aside. I must admit, I am a lucky bastard.

When I was looking out the S- Class job flyers on the second floor's Request Board, I could count at least a dozen of them. But I didn't pay them any mind to any of them because my attention instantly zeroed on the one about Demon Extermination in some ancient ruins in the Kingdom of Enca.

I had spent almost 7 months searching for demons without any success and now I get the info served on a silver platter.

… I feel cheated.

Bah. The important thing is that I would finally be able to advance my [Take Over Magic]'s progress.

Now I just need to take a shower before going on a demon hunt.

I spied my home as I walked through the woods. I had built the house myself. Magic makes everything pretty easy. And it wasn't like I was short on money. Being a wizard paid pretty well. So, I didn't have to compromise while buying materials.

It was a modern house which would heavily contrast with the Victorian-Style building of Magnolia. It had black outer finish coupled black stones that made the chimney.

I had made use of magically reinforced glass for the glassworks.

All in all, it was a thing of beauty.

I had specifically chosen the place in the woods because it provided a quite isolated environment away from the bustling town. This also had the advantage of me having a good place to train.

It had been a tough job to get Makarov's approval for me living alone.

The guild had a patronage system in place which basically amounted to older members of the guild taking in the younger members who couldn't support themselves until they reach adulthood by providing them sufficient aid and a home.

But I really didn't want to live with anyone, and I don't want to owe anyone anything.

Anyway, leaving my emotional insecurity aside, it's time to freshen up.

Unknown ancient ruins, Year-X772, May 21st, Mid-Afternoon

(1 hour later)

After taking a shower and relaxing for a while, I had immediately set off for the island nation of Enca. It took more time than I would have liked to reach my destination, but I had to make sure that I was going the right way.

So, here I was standing outside the ancient ruins, which according to job info that was seeing on screen with the help of [Archive], should be the residence of a demon.

I pulled up the photo that I had seen on the job flyer on the screen and compared it to the ruins in front of me.

Even though I have photographic memory, it is always better to make sure.

Hmmm… seems like I'm in the right place.

[Archive] is pretty useful.

Another magic that is useful is [Transformation Magic].

I wasn't highly proficient in it and I was a joke compared to the masters of this magic. But I was proficient enough to change the colour of parts of my body and my voice.

I don't want anyone to associate me with this job. And while I know nobody is here to see me, I rather not risk it. Who knows what could happen? I rather prepare myself than curse myself afterwards for not preparing enough.

That is why I had changed my skin tone from tan to caucasian. This also helped in concealing my guild mark. My hair colour was changed from snow-white to golden-blonde and I had turned my pupils from blood-red to deep-blue. For extra measure, I had turned my sclera to black and put on a magically reinforced mask which I had commissioned to be made under an alias by a famous magical tool creator from the country of Minstrel.

The mask was black in colour with blue highlights which gave a soft glow. It kinda looked like a hollow mask. It even had those teeth pattern which was in Ichigo's hollow mask. The colour scheme could be changed when desired.

This mask had the additional function of keeping my transformation in place no matter what.

The mask cost me quite a bit of money, but it was worth it.

I had changed my wardrobe. I am now wearing a deep blue t-shirt with grey shorts.

I had even left a [Thought Projection] back in Magnolia so that I would have an alibi.

If all these precautions won't help me in hiding my identity, nothing will.

Dismissing the screen, I walked inside the ruins.

Looking around, I noticed that this place looked even older than the ruins back on Tenrōu Island.

I continued to slowly walk deep inside the ruins while admiring the architecture of this place until I finally arrived at what looked like a hall of some kind.

There were some broken pillars, vines and roots of trees adorned the still-standing walls and some statues. But what immediately caught my attention was the figure standing at the far end of the hall.

He had grey coloured skin with a number of sharp bones coming out shoulders and chest. He didn't have any hair, instead, he had two large horns that were bent backwards along with some pointed bones that were jutting out of his head.

His face was… unique. He didn't have a nose nor a chin or a jaw, making it hard to say where his neck started. He had a mouth, but it was difficult to see as it was shadowed. But the most striking thing were his glowing blue eyes.

Also, he didn't have ears. Or at least they weren't visible. Instead, he had small horns that were bending forward where his ears should have been.

He wore obsidian-coloured armguards and boots which were coming just short of his knees. Both the armguards and boots were kind of draconic in style along with the belt-like thing that he wore around his waist, which I guess supports his blue pants?

He was standing with both of his hands resting on the hilt of a cleaver sword that was embedded on the ground just in front of him.

Did I mention that a meter-long solid chain was connected to the hilt of the sword?

"Leave trespasser. The Temple of Afeyar only welcomes the creations of Zeref. Leave or pay for this transgression with your life." The demon said in a monotone but with a monotonous gravelly voice.

Huh. It gave me a warning. So, this must be one of those 'reasonable' types.

I guess this is how this job was able to be posted. If this guy killed everyone that entered this place, how would they have known that there was a demon here?

Or maybe someone was strong enough to fight it and escape.

Hmmmm….

"So, this place only accepts Etherious?... Well, that's racist." I said as I stored away my shirt with the help of Requip… I do not want to go shopping, again.

"You know of my kind." He drawled out.

It should have sounded like a question but from this guy, it just seems like he is saying a statement.

"Well, yeah. But I would have thought you guys would have been banded together under Tartaros by now. Was Mard Geer not able to convince you to join?" I stated while doing some stretching exercises.

"Mard Geer is a fool. He dreams of grandeur when he is but a frog in a well, unable to see the truth of the world." He then removed his right hand from the sword and pointed with it at me.

"Tell me your name intruder, so that I may carve it upon your tombstone as a warning to other interlopers." He said but there was a hint of steel in his voice.

… There was no way I was going to tell him my name. That would defeat the purpose of coming here in disguise.

"My name is Nero Bloodborn." I stated. Might as well have a backstory for the new personality in case someone sees my face.

Hmm… Nero Bloodborn shall be the half-brother of Alex Bloodborn.

… I should have played fewer games in my previous life.

"Very well, Nero Bloodborn. As you have given your name, so I will return the courtesy. I am Urgrarath, the Guardian of the Temple of Afeyar and the First Etherious." He said.

I felt a sudden chill. The temperature of the room had dropped suddenly causing me to be on edge.

Urgrarath then lifted his board sword up with a single hand andsmashed it on the ground on its bladed edge.

Crystals started coming out of the ground and they were coming towards me.

Even though I was already on edge because of the sudden change in temperature, I was still only able to escape the crystal attack by a hair's length.

I touched the crystal wall that had been erected beside me.

It was very cold to touch.

Wait. Is this ice?

Well, that's… a pretty good thing actually. I haven't learned any ice-based magic yet. So, I could maybe gain some kind of ice magic after Urgrarath's Take-Over.

I had too many questions for this Etherious because there is a lot to unpack about what he said. He just said that he was the first of Zeref's creation. If he is telling the truth, he would be at least 400 years old.

And what is with the 'guardian' title? I'm guessing the name of this place is 'Temple of Afeyar', but why is he guarding this place?

Too many questions and I don't know if I will get any answers.

Sending a [Tempest Kick] at my opponent, I appeared behind him with the help of [Shave].

Aiming a powerful kick at the back of his head while in mid-air, I was surprised when he caught the kick with his right hand while swinging his sword with his other hand which created an ice wall that blocked my air blade.

My surprise cost me as I felt my leg being squeezed. I kicked his hand with enough force that it would have generated a [Tempest Kick] but Urgrarath remained unfazed.

Not only did he remained unfazed, but he squeezed my leg even more and I could feel the area where he grabbed me being frozen.

Shit.

Is he trying to turn me into a popsicle?!

I summoned a [Archive] screen in front of his face and another one near the wrist of the hand that was holding my leg and detonated them.

At the same time, I discharged a huge amount of [Lightning Magic] to my grabbed leg.

My gamble paid off and I felt his hold easing.

What finally freed me was a [Finger Pistol] on his wrist.

I immediately made some distance between us with the help of [Shave].

I looked at my hand at the finger which I used for [Finger Pistol]. It was broken but it was slowly healing.

I could also feel the frostbite in my leg slowly healing as I watched the smoke from the detonation slowly fading away to reveal an unscathed etherious.

So, he can use ice magic. And on top of that, he is super-strong and super-durable.

I felt a smirk grow on my face behind the mask. I couldn't help it. It had been quite some time since I fought a strong opponent. Let alone a life and death fight. I think it might be Primaa blood talking but being in a death battle just felt… right.

God knows that I wasn't like this on Earth.

Using [Speed-Force] now would take out all the fun I'm havin-

Urgrarath started shooting ice arrows, interrupting my thoughts.

Dodging his attacks, I started shooting lightning bolts at him while running around the hall, trying to find any openings.

He created multiple ice shields to block off my attacks which were blown-off on contact and started his using sword as a throwing weapon which he masterfully controlled with the extendable chain connected to the hilt of his board sword.

I sometimes parried his sword with my black dagger which I had taken out through [Requip] but most of the times I moved the hell out of its way.

This went on for a few minutes… and allowing our fight to continue this was his mistake.

The hall was now filled with mist. I turned my vision to X-Ray.

Already used to the sudden change in visions, I threw a lightning bolt at him and the bolt was followed by a [Tempest Kick].

But what was following both of them was my black dagger which I had been heating up for some time now.

The dagger sailed through the air like a boomerang, following my previous two attacks.

As soon as the handle of the dagger left my fingers, I caught sight of the board sword coming my way from my left.

Fuck.

Too close.

Can't dodge.

The sword sliced through the leftmost side of the body, where the intestine would have been.

I immediately brought my hand to the wound. I don't want my organs to spill out of my body and until my healing factor kicks in, I need to keep them in place.

While that was happening, I watched as my lightning bolt destroyed his ice shield and behind the ice shield, there was another ice wall which was destroyed by the air blade.

He hadn't pulled up any other defensive measure, which gave the red-hot dagger and unblocked path.

The dagger went straight through where his heart would have been, coming out his body and embedding itself in the wall behind him.

Finally!

Blood came out of his mouth as his hand reached for the now cauterized gaping slash that was left behind by the black dagger.

He seemed confused for a moment but then an expression of realisation appeared on his face.

"It seems I've been underestimating you, Nero Bloodborn. You are strong… and you are threats to etherious all around the world. I can see it in your eyes, the neverending thirst for power. You will hunt down my kind for more power… For the survival of my race, you can't be allowed to live."

I'm not saying he is wrong… but he could at least be less blunt about it.

My thoughts were interrupted when I felt Urgrarath flexed his magical aura. This caused a shockwave of magical power which cleared away the mist and swept away the debris around him.

He jerked his hand and brought back his sword and then… proceeded to eat it?

Nani the fuck?

He finished eating his sword and slurped the chain like noodles.

More magical power exploded out of him after eating his weapon.

"[Etherious Form]"

Well… that's not good. I can't even do anything. The wound hasn't healed yet.

Then he started to change. His horns, which here facing his back, curled and now pointed up. The small bones he had jutting out from his shoulders and back grew at least a foot and turned black and they looked very sharp.

He himself grew from his previous 6 feet tall self to almost 9 feet tall. Before, where he had a slim build with defined muscles but now he looked like a member of the Hulk family.

His gauntlets broke under the pressure of his new bulked up arms, revealing taloned fingers on both of his upper limbs.

Both of his arms had a spine of black spikes coming out of them.

Even with all this, the most prominent change was his face. He now had a well-defined face where neck and face could be differentiated.

His mouth didn't have any lips and I could see the sharp teeth.

He still didn't have a nose or any physical signs of ears.

All in all, he painted a pretty terrifying picture. I guess that is to be expected from a demon.

My eyebrows twitched in irritation when I saw that the hole in his chest has closed on itself.

Well, that's unfair. So he can just shrug off life-threatening injuries?

… In retrospect, this might not sound so good coming from a guy whose body itself just healed a life-threatening injury.

… Whatever.

In response to his transformation, I summoned twenty sacks, each filled with 10 kg iron sand.

If he won't die from having his heart pierced, then I'm going to take his head.

Urgrarath then stomped his foot on the ground which sent a wave of magic around the hall.

"[Cocytus]"

The moment those words were uttered, a wave of ice burst from his foot and covered the whole hall. From the floor to the walls and even the ceiling.

Two tonnes of black sand burst from the sacks, which I used to lift myself up from the ground.

...This fucker. He covered every surface with ice so I won't be able to use [Shave].

Then he flicked his hand and a fucking glacier rushed at me.

Fuck.

I can't move because my body still hasn't healed yet.

Why do I have a frostbite where that sword injured me?

What the fuck was the deal with that sword?

Black sand covered me by forming a protective dome and I rotated the surface at high speed for good measure.

The attack ceased and I relaxed my defence.

What greeted me wasn't simply an ice wall. It was black ice wall.

On closer inspection, I noticed and realized that the sand that was on the surface of the dome was frozen and sealed inside the ice.

I tried to pull the sand out and even tried melting the ice by vibrating the sand particles, but nothing worked.

My thoughts were interrupted when the ice walls of the confined space I was in started closing in on me.

Behind me was the wall of the hall which was coated with ice and the ice was somehow being generated from the surface of the wall.

On both my left and right side were ice walls left behind by Urgrarath's attack.

And in front of me was the ice wall in which my sand was sealed.

And they were all closing in on me. Fast.

I tried attacking the walls with lightning bolts and bombing them [Archive] but they weren't causing much damage.

Did his transformation level upped his ice magic?

Fuck.

I activated [Speed Force] with a bitter sigh. Looks like I can't defeat him without using it... I need to train more.

My body started vibrating as the walls closed in on me. I walked out from the death trap, leaving the sand behind. I had to leave it behind, I couldn't control the sand as I controlled my body with [Speed Force].

I have to give Urgrarath my compliment this time. He shut downed my weapon as soon as I brought in the fight.

As soon as I was out from the ice, I saw that his attack had filled one-third of the space in the hall with ice.

Damn, that was a powerful attack.

Well, the good thing is that my injuries are now healed. I checked my face to confirm that I still have the mask on. Oh good, it's still on.

I have gotten better at phasing it seems.

I turned off the [Speed Force] and had to immediately use [Paper Art] to dodge the incoming ice attacks.

This fucker isn't even giving me a second to breathe.

After dodging the attack, I used [Razor] to reach the spot where my dagger was stuck in the wall.

I barely managed to retrieve my weapon before a barrage of ice attacks decimated that spot.

He has the advantage in a long-range battle. At first, I thought I could handle him but it seems like I was wrong. I only have half of my magic power right now since the other half is within my [Thought Projection].

I can't keep spamming magical attacks for too long and most of my heavy-hitter attacks are close-range ones.

With this thought I started engaging him in close combat, knowing I was a disadvantage because of my small size and short reach. And what do you know? The fucker is good in close-quarters combat too.

Jab. Fient. Slash. Dodge. Counter. Block.

Rinse and repeat.

It was at the moment when I was in mid-air preparing to take a punch from the Etherious that I conceded that I can't defeat him with half of magical power without getting some kind help from [Speed Force].

It left a bitter taste in my mouth but that was the truth.

I tapped into [Speed Force] resulting in the generation of blue sparks from my body. Then my body started vibrating.

Urgrarath's hand phased right through me. Just as planned.

I overcharged my right hand with [Lightning Magic], causing my skin on the hand to burn while simultaneously being healed because of my healing factor.

This also resulted in the generation of condensed lightning blade to form on my hand which created the sound of chirping of a thousand birds. My right hand was aimed to go directly through his head.

My left hand was holding my black dagger which had turned hot-red while giving off steam and it was on the path of cleaving the etherious's head off.

My opponent couldn't dodge either of the attacks as I could change their direction to suit my needs.

His only option was to block them. He couldn't use his hand that he had used to try to punch me as it was electrocuted when it phased through me. And even if it was workable, by the time it would be in a position to block my attack, it would have been too late.

Only his left hand was free to try to block my attacks, but it could only either block the [Chidori] or my dagger as they were coming from direction.

This was a checkmate.

Then everything went to shit.

"Frost Devil's-"

What The FUC-

"-RAAAAAAAAAAGGE!"

Magic learned by Alex thus far-

-[Lightning Magic]

-[Archive]

-[Telepathy]

-[Transformation Magic]

-[Thought Projection]

-[Requip]

Report 3 - Model 'Homo Primaa'

Internal Structure and Morphology

Various organs and organ systems have been modified from the standard human pattern. These modifications occur at the subcellular level all the way to structural and design changes in the major organ systems of the body.

The basal metabolism of all the changes has radically altered requiring anywhere from 7000 to 14,000 calories a day. Water requirements are approximately 4-5 times the standard needs of a human. The Primaas are excellent specimens of bioroid manufacture compared to Humans work but they are also very high performance and fuel consuming flesh and blood machines.

Regeneration and regrowth are just two of the characteristics their bodies are capable of. Thanks to telomere regeneration and various anti-agathic naturally produced in the Primaa endocrine systems, ageing is something the Primaas need not worry about. Enhanced platelet and scar tissue formation allow for rapid healing and regeneration of any lost or damaged tissues.

The haemoglobin module that produces the red in blood has been engineered for greater capacity and myoglobin reserves in the muscles have been created to allow Primaa to hold their breath for much longer times than unmodified humans. 30 minutes of swimming seems to be the limit or up to 4 hours of sitting motionless and not exerting any muscles. This also results in a very efficient respiratory system that recovers and eliminates most lactic acid and body wastes before they ever impair the functioning of the body.

The flora that is commonly found in the human digestive and integumentary systems has been eliminated resulting in a sanitised metabolism throughout the body. White blood cell counts and other T cell structures have been elevated to almost unseen levels. The immune response is much faster and more varied than normal humans. Prima's children are born with the protein signatures of all known (at the time) viral and bacterial diseases written into the leucocyte's 'memory'. As a result, the disease is a thing of the past.

The Primaa circulatory system is also enhanced as the arterial and vein systems are developed to a degree where any point in the body will generally receive blood from 8 to 10 points. Several small clumps of ganglia are clustered about a secondary heart and autonomically monitor the blood vessels. When a drop in blood pressure is detected the body will selectively cramp a small amount of smooth muscle that lines the veins and arterial structures of the body.

All of the regenerative and recuperative systems of the body have been enhanced to produce results on the scale of minutes instead of hours of days in the scope of healing and bodily damage control in the case of injury.

Nerves

Homo Primaas have extensive neurological modifications and enhancements. The nerves themselves have been altered so that the electrochemical borders inside nerves (which slows nervous transmission rates) are much less prevalent than before modification. This has significantly reduced reaction times involving fight or flight instincts. Feline genes have enhanced reflex and agility throughout the body and ganglia were designed to straddle the tri-spinal cord to record and remember reflex actions. The spinal cord is split into 3 sub-structures and 'cross-wired' to prevent one single break from disabling the whole nervous system.

The brain structure and composition has been changed as well. Glial ratios to neurons are radically altered and the convolutions of the Primaa's brain are present to a greater extent. Human IQ tests pass their most impaired citizens at the sub genius category (170IQ). This figure can and does send their best and brightest right off the charts. Also present is a photographic memory to a degree rarely seen among standard humans. Math functions are much more ingrained into their minds to the point that they are frequently as fast as our handheld and sometimes even astrogation computers.

In addition to standard structural modifications, several mutations have been affected in the hormonal and instincts of the Primaas. The fight or flight reaction has been edited to favour the fighting aspect. The hormonal level is extremely high in the Primaa mindscape and figure prominently in their psyche.

Both hands have four fingers and an opposable thumb. This enables practical tool use and grip. The arms are jointed at the elbows, shoulders, and wrists. The legs are similar, being joined at the hip, knee and ankle. The joints are different in that they will constantly regenerate and replace any tissues or fluids that may be lost from ageing or from repeated injury. The bum knee syndrome is almost mythical to a Primaa.

Posture is upright.

Skin tone varies from white to dark brown with all shades in between.

They are ambidextrous.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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