(A/N: It has been far too long. More than half a year in fact. And, I'm sorry. A lot has happened. I lost my job back in January. I've been scrambling to find a new one and Dueling Trigger Finger just took off like a rocket storm. 100 Years Quest, while…passably enjoyable has done nothing to really spark my creativity until the weekly October Rush. I also was dreading this chapter because I knew just how labor intensive it was going to be.

Additionally, I'm going to ask this politely: Please do not send me messages asking if X, Y, or Z from 100 years quest is going to be implemented into this story or how it may affect this story. People, I have barely figured out how Avatar Arc is going to go. You think I'm planning that far ahead? I have vague ideas of what Alvarez looks like at best! And a lot of rewrites at worst! I know you're all excited, but calm the hell down.

That said, let's get into it and you'll see why I was dragging my goddamn knuckles this whole time. Though, maybe you might have an idea from the chapter title. Brace yourselves. It's gonna be a bumpy ride).

"When faced with certain death, don't embrace it. Make sure that if death comes knocking, you punch it in the face first."
– Juren Rakkan

February 25th, X793

Kasumi sat on one of the many staircases of the manor looking downtrodden and feeling incredibly worried. Her daughter, her true only living family, had taken a risky action to become a spy against Tartaros. If she was found out, Kasumi wouldn't know and she couldn't save her baby from whatever cruel fate Tartaros planned for her. She sweated bullets as visions of unspeakably cruel acts against her daughter raced through her brain.

She was clutching her head and breathing heavily when a coffee mug with steam rising out of it appeared within her range of vision. She looked up along the black sleeved arm that was holding the mug out for her. Archer was standing nearby.

"You look like you could use this," he said.

"Thank you," Kasumi said and took a sip. It turned out not to be coffee, but hot chocolate. She couldn't help, but let out a pleased "Oooh" before drinking more.

Archer took a seat next to her with his own mug. "Nessa blended it with Jellal. It's good," he said, taking his own sip.

Kasumi turned her head away from Archer. She knew what he was doing and she didn't much care for it.

Archer, however, would not let Kasumi sink herself into a private pity party that easily. "Kalina won't do anything rash. She always seemed to me like a smart girl."

That got Kasumi's attention. She stared at Archer like he had two heads. What would he know about her daughter?

"I know how I would feel if Pyrrha was in her position right now." He stared down at the mug. "Parents can't help but worry about their children, even when those children are old enough to take care of themselves. We always want to protect them from everything. We would even die for them if it was the only way to protect them. That's probably why Lady Marianne took the fall for Lelouch."

Kasumi nodded. "She was a good woman. I never believed she was Zero. I always suspected that Lelouch was somehow involved."

"But the world needed Zero, so you said nothing. I felt the same." Archer took another sip of his hot chocolate. "I understand how you feel, but I also know how my daughter would feel and so I ask you, would Kalina want you to be worrying yourself sick about her, or would she want you to have faith in her?"

"I…"

"If it's too difficult on your own," Archer said, standing and reaching a hand down to her, "I'll be more than happy to lend you a hand. Having people lean on me is what I am best at. That's why I'm a guild master."

Kasumi took his hand and got to her feet.

Archer looked out at the stained-glass window over the front door at the bottom of the staircase. "I have no idea where Alice and Natsu are right now, but…I trust Alice. I know that whatever they're doing, they haven't run away. And when they come back, I know that will be our best chance to turn the tide of war."

Inside Wonderland, Natsu was under an intense increase in gravity. His body felt like it weighed several tons and he was bathed in his own blood. How long had it been? How many endless times had he been battered, bruised, beaten and torn down to nothing? His hair had grown wildly. His precious scarf so caked with dried blood it would be a miracle if it ever got clean again. He was pushing up off the ground with one arm that didn't feel like it was broken. With great effort, he managed to tilt his head up towards Alice as the older dragon slayer stood nearby.

One side of Alice's face was consumed with dragon scales and she bore fully functional dragon wings and a tail. The malevolent aura radiating from her was deliberately designed to make her seem like an unstoppable, unbeatable foe, just like with Roxanne.

And Natsu…would not…let her…beat him!

Rising to his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs, Natsu charged at Alice with a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist already ablaze. However, with but the flat of her hand, Alice swat him aside and caused him to crumple to the ground on his left shoulder.

"Your determination is admirable, but determination alone will not avail you any against an opponent of my caliber," she said without looking at him. "You will never reach the level you want if you try the same tired tactic over and over."

"Dammit! I'm trying!" Natsu exclaimed, getting on his hands and knees, punching the ground. "I'm trying to activate Dragon Force like it's second nature, but I either can't muster enough strength or—"

"Excuses," Alice said calmly and blasted Natsu along the ground with a blast of wind. Natsu banged his entire body along the ground and then struggled to his feet.

Alice stepped towards him slowly. "Are you afraid to become like me? Are you afraid to lose control?"

Natsu gasped as he vaguely remembered the two times he'd become a dragon and hurt his friends.

"A dragon is a wild, rampaging monster of unimaginable power. They are the strongest beasts in all of history. But what's more important right now, Natsu? You're sense of self…" Alice said as she began to charge a dark energy blast intended to really cripple Natsu, possibly kill him. "Or your life?"

Natsu's heart pulsed. Alice was going to kill him. He felt the chill in his body just now. No, he couldn't die. He had to get stronger. He had to finish this training, master Dragon Force, defeat Roxanne and save the world from Tartaros. He had to.

Without naming the technique, Alice fired the twisting blast of pinkish dark energy at Natsu and the attack hit him square on as he held up his hands and projected raw magic in front of them to stop the technique, trying to dispel it with sheer force of will.

Natsu snarled. I won't!

Flame shot out of his ankles as he skid back.

I refuse!

Natsu gnashed his teeth as he bared his fangs.

I will be me!

Natsu reared back a fist as his human flesh took the appearance of scales.

"I'M NATSU DRAGNEEL, SON IF IGNEEL! AND I AM A DRAGON SLAYER!"

With a powerful punch, Natsu dispelled the power of Alice's attack. She could see it. Conviction. Strength. Determination. A wild, rampaging torrent of willpower, focused through his entire body.

"And I'm…" Natsu said, wobbling. "Gonna kick your…buh…" Natsu toppled over onto his chest, arms limp, falling unconscious.

Alice smiled. "Remember that feeling, Natsu because you're going to need it from here on out." Using Wonderland, Alice healed Natsu's wounds and mended his clothes. Natsu began snoring like a dragon. "When you wake up, the real training begins."

Inside of Cube, END had begun a large celebration with all of the major members of Tartaros at the table. "To our newest member," END said, raising his gilded goblet. "Kalina, may your time with us be a true testament to your demonic heritage and may you always cherish the blood in your veins."

"HUZZAH!" Many members of Tartaros exclaimed as they raised their goblets and began drinking whatever was in it.

"Really, Kalina. I'm proud of you," END said, staring at her far down the table. "You are living proof of understanding the superiority of demons."

"Y-yeah," Kalina said, raising her own goblet. "Cheers." She drank from her cup. The flavor hit her taste buds and she smacked her lips. That…that doesn't taste that bad actually. She began drinking more of…she couldn't tell if it was wine, juice or something else, but she knew she liked it.

The food was good too, relatively normal. She half-expected to be dining on human heads stuffed with maggots, but here in front of her was roast chicken, mashed potatoes and peas like it was some kind of festival celebration. And it tasted no different from any other time she'd had the food.

What makes us so different? In the end…we all eat the same food, She said, forking a piece of chicken and chewing on it. As Kalina ate though, she was unaware of the constant glances sent her way by Enasu. She was also incredibly quiet, opting to try and listen to all the conversations at the table, but there were so many that it all sounded like jumbled noise. She noticed that all of the members at the table seemed to show varying levels of respect to each other. Tartaros was…just like a guild…like a family.

No…it is a guild, Kalina thought. She felt a pit in her stomach. She never thought that the atmosphere inside a dark guild could be so…cheery and light-hearted, genocidal comments aside of course. She'd fought Oracion Seis and other minor dark guilds. There was either no honor among thieves, or the interaction between members was virtually non-existent, mutual cooperation was the name of the game. And even if there was comradery between members, it certainly didn't spread to the whole guild like this.

Selina took note of this. She'd discovered the same thing, but her long life experience had led her to accept this situation pretty quickly. Kalina, however, started to look less and less hungry, barely finishing what was on her plate. Selina had a pre-made excuse ready if someone questioned it, but thankfully no one did.

At the end of the banquet, Kalina made her way for her room, only to be stopped in the hall by Enasu, Ester stalled not far behind him.

"Excuse me, Kalina, do you have a moment?"

"Oh…hello. …Enasu, right?"

He nodded. "Quite. I've noticed you in the archives looking at books on the demonic realm."

Kalina winced inwardly. Had she been found out?

"I've never been to the demonic realm, myself. It's said to be the home of our spiritual ancestors. If it's your intention to go there, I'd be happy to help with your research."

It was like a light bulb could be seen over Kalina's head. She smiled. This Enasu fellow could be quite useful to her. If she played things right, she could lure him and his sister into her father's realm and sick him on both of them, ending two major threats easily.

She smiled sweetly. "Sure, Enasu. I'd love the help," she said.

"Great, please permit me to escort you back to the archives then." Enasu took the lead down the curve of the intersecting hallway and Kalina made to follow. However, as she did, Ester grabbed her shoulder.

The pink-haired demon stared at Kalina with a narrowed gaze, growling at her and then shoved her towards Enasu, following behind Kalina. Not suspecting the true depravity in Ester's brain, Kalina just shook off the implied threat as best she could and followed Enasu back to the archives.

Later that evening, a meeting was held at the summit within Markov Manor. Lelouch and Sindel were in attendance in order to discuss the new advantage the guilds now had.

"So you can pinpoint FACEs across Fiore?" Lelouch asked.

"I took a trip out to Crocus earlier and I was able to sense seven of the remaining twenty-three," Sindel said. "If the summit permits it, I could go on a one woman crusade and destroy all of the remaining FACEs. It would take about a day or two given travel and the amount of magic I'd have to unleash. The range I'd have would be too far for most enemies to know what hit them."

Lelouch contemplated this. On paper, it sounded like a great idea. However…

"Belay that order," he suggested.

"Any particular reason?" Cornelia asked him.

"The demon, Tempester, was alone, when Sindel annihilated him. It's possible they may not know that she's returned to full power, especially since they're go-to scout, Enna Elsa, had been given orders to retrieve the map from this very location. Chances are safely high enough that she hasn't realized just what's become of Sindel and reported back. If Sindel begins utterly laying waste to FACEs nationwide, the enemy will grow wise to it quickly and we have barely any knowledge of what their true top threats are like. Jellal barely had enough time to experience what he claimed was a doppelganger to Gajeel and that worries me. Not to mention there's also the Sting lookalike you claimed to have faced."

"You're worried that if they ganged up on me, we'd lose our only advantage," Sindel said.

"Not only that, the enemy could choose instead to fortify their defenses. Even if we stop their FACE plan, they still have Princess Hisui hostage. They could, at any time, change the terms of our surrender the minute we show we have the firepower to end their charade. Furthermore, if we put a stop to FACE instantaneously, Hisui will become useless as a hostage. And if she dies, that's not a victory."

"Lelouch, prioritizing Princess Hisui's life over the fate of magic everywhere is—"

Lelouch cut Archer off. "I'm not saying to prioritize Hisui, I'm saying that we need to be smarter in how we use Sindel. In an emergency, we could still access Etherion. It's just as much of a cataclysmic air strike. Worse, we still don't know what the enemy's movement is like. What if, just to be safe, they've put three of their best around one FACE so that we get impatient and then they move in with an army before we can lick our wounds."

"You don't know that that's their plan," Nessa said to him.

"But I also don't know that that isn't their plan. Tartaros has pulled too many counterintuitive maneuvers for me to really nail down their tactics. We're the ones on guard now, that's what they'll be thinking. We'll have Hibiki continue to maintain a country wide map of Fiore and keep track of any demonic activity. If we sense the enemy on the move, only to stop and hold their position, we will know exactly what their forces will be like against each individual FACE. And, if they spread out too thin, that will leave their headquarters undermanned. Under the correct circumstances, we could send a small, strong force to rescue Hisui. Until then, we wait."

"And what exactly do you want to wait for, Lelouch?" Phelia asked him.

Lelouch smirked. "Opportunity."

It was incredibly late at night when Kalina finally finished her research for the evening. She'd found a possible way to into the demonic realm, but she was too tired to begin testing now. She needed sleep and lots of it. Unfortunately, it seemed fate wasn't going to give her the sleep she so desired quite that easily.

For as Kalina approached her bedroom door, a new figure stood in front of it, barring entry until she had a chance to speak with the girl: Enna Elsa.

"Could I trouble you for a little bit longer, dear?" Enna Elsa asked.

Kalina yawned. "Can it wait until morning?"

"Honey, I've been standing here for the last hour. The least you can do is hear me out," Enna Elsa replied.

Despite her exhaustion, Kalina nodded. What harm was there in hearing what she had to say? If it was boring or a sex joke, she could at least just nod her head and pretend to be listening.

"Come with me."

Oh joy. Walking. That was what she needed more of right now.

Kalina tiredly followed Enna Elsa to a bedroom where the door was open and the lights were off. However, by adjusting her vision, like most demons, Kalina could see rather well in the darkness.

There, in a circular shaped bed, curled up like a cat was a little lamia girl with white hair and purple skin.

Kalina gasped. "She looks like—"

Enna Elsa's hand dropped onto Kalina's shoulder. "This is Aisha Fateburn, the daughter of Alysha Fateburn and Travis Fateburn. I've kept watch over her for decades."

"I heard the story from mom. Alysha said you kidnapped her."

"I did, but I had my reasons."

Kalina put her back to the doorway, throwing her arms in front of it. "Explain now."

Enna Elsa knew she could throw Kalina through the wall behind her by the shoulder. Her actions had no merit, but their meaning was clear as day. Enna Elsa nodded. "I suppose you're owed an explanation. I brought Aisha and Skyler here when they were toddlers. Travis' killer, Sabine…she was out there somewhere and Alysha, in her withdrawn state, wasn't doing nearly enough to protect her own children. Furthermore, if Tartaros knew about Aisha, they'd send their own entourage, maybe Alysha and a bunch of innocent humans would get caught in the crossfire." Enna Elsa put her fist against her chest. "I couldn't allow that to happen. So I grabbed them when Alysha was too mentally weak to stop me. When I realized Skyler was completely human, I returned him to the humans. Tartaros would've murdered him once they realized he couldn't transform. But Aisha has remained here. And even though END treats her like his own, it may as well be a gilded prison. Aisha can't be with her brother, or her mother. She sits here day in and day out, with me, being fed lies by demon kind. I worry that if her innocence doesn't last, she will be made to join the fighting.

"Kalina, you're looking for a way to tunnel through the demonic world and back to your mother, right? I beg of you..." Enna Elsa said clasping her hands together, looking desperate. "Take Aisha with you."

"Ah…I don't…"

"True, I've had plenty of opportunities, but I can't take the risk. If Tartaros knew I was no longer on their side, they'd hunt me down. They'd hunt her down. They'd kill her and everyone involved with her just to keep her because it's their way of showing love. But…it's different now. War is upon us. If you bring Aisha to her family, and before Fairy Tail, they will keep her safe." Enna Elsa thought of Natsu and his determined temperament. "I know they will stop at nothing to protect her."

"You're asking me to take an awfully big risk."

"I'll cover for you."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Kalina asked. "I heard about what happened with Serpent's Heart, not to mention you're one of the fabled Brides of Zeref. You're even wilier than Selina."

"I…suppose that's true," Enna Elsa said and dropped to one knee, bowing her head to Kalina.

"What…are you doing?"

Enna Elsa put one hand on her knee, leaving the other hand flat on the ground. "In the name of the Demon King, I will close the gates of hell."

Kalina jumped. "Th-that's…"

"Do you believe me now?"

"If…if daddy trusts you, then…so will I."

"Thank you, Kalina," Enna Elsa replied.

The two then heard footsteps approach.

Enna Elsa froze, as did her blood. She knew the danger of talking out in the open, but the emotional appeal, she felt, was worth it. However, her heard stopped pounding when the person that approached was none other than Charles Lamperouge.

"I couldn't help, but overhear your plight," he said.

Enna Elsa got to her feet. "Eavesdropping is unbecoming of a man of your caliber," she said whimsically.

"Are you going to report us to Keyes?" Kalina asked.

"I'm not under any direct orders for Keyes than to fight for Tartaros. Reporting isn't exactly in my job description," he said with a smirk. He looked at Kalina. "I hear you know my son."

"Your…son?"

"Ah, right, I suppose I haven't introduced myself," he said, bowing in apology. Then, standing rigidly, he stated, "I am Charles Lamperouge, former S-class mage of Fairy Tail, the Quaker Man, the man behind the man that once called himself Zero!"

Kalina was certainly wide awake now if she hadn't been already as she jolted back, hands covering her mouth in shock. "You're…Lelouch's father?"

He smiled at her. "I am. For many years now I have been forced to live this un-life, to bend the knee to Tartaros, but I feel the time is quickly approaching when I will finally be able to truly rest in peace."

"What do you want?" Kalina asked, still a little shaken up.

"I've a message for you to bring Lelouch when you see him," Charles said to her.

"A message?" Kalina asked. She expected to be handed a scroll.

However, Charles intended to tell it to her verbally. "Tell him War has always been an action favored by idiots."

Kalina seemed less than impressed. "That's it?"

"When you see his reaction, you will understand and if you understand," Charles said with a smile. "Then tell him that I am proud of him and that I believe in him, that, should it come to it, I am okay dying by his hand."

Kalina nodded resolutely. "You can count on me."

"Well then, I think we've done enough midnight scheming for one evening. Let me escort you back to your room, Kalina. Charles, you'd best pretend as if you were never here."

Charles nodded and the trio separated by sex back to whence they came.

Enna Elsa gave Kalina a little nudge as she helped her into her room. "If you need anything, you can always ask me, sweetie."

Kalina smiled. "I know. And…thank you."

Enna Elsa then closed the door on her.

As Kalina settled in, she thought she'd have a difficult time falling asleep after everything she learned, but she was soon snoring soundly and would not awake until morning.

February 26th, X793

Mid-morning, END sat with his most trusted around a round table—himself, the Five Demon Dragons, Seilah, Kyouka, and Mard Geer—discussing the current situation. Thanks to combined efforts, the guild now knew where the last of the FACEs were located. However, thanks to scouting efforts, it didn't seem as though the humans had begun any kind of action against FACE.

"Mard Geer is not pleased. Why are they doing nothing?" Mard Geer questioned.

"They are buying themselves time," Nebula said. "We gave them a week and they are taking advantage of it. The enemy must know that without Suzaku Kururugi's key or the king's password that we are unable to activate FACE."

"They've called our bluff," Vennus Nimbus stated.

"Bluff nothing, I will kill the princess if they don't comply," Kyouka stated.

"We've been at this for centuries," Apollo stated. "What's a few more days?"

"A few more days to us is different than a few more days to them," Seilah responded. "They will formulate a plan and I don't think we want to find out exactly what it is."

"Then we're going to strike first and break this stalemate."

Everyone looked at END. His brow was furrowed and he was leaned back in his chair. His gaze and tone suggested that he was ticked off, but not furious. "You've an idea?" Nocturne asked him.

"According to Elsa's report, their best are gathered at an old manor in Unistrad. I say we blitz them hard."

"We tried that with Fighting Spirit and look where it got us. Morrigan is threatening us with—"

"If Morrigan wanted to release FARAM, she would've done so when Ingot fought Jellal, or when Nebula used her Eclipse spirits. I guess you could call it…intuition that I know she won't retaliate."

"So…what do we do then?" Ingot asked.

END put his hand flat on the table. "We fight, like we did centuries ago." He looked at Apollo, Nocturne, Vennus Nimbus and Ingot. "I know it's been a long time since we did anything like this together, but…"

Apollo put his hand on top of END's. "I got your back, buddy. Let's go kick some ass."

Ingot's hand went on top of both of theirs. He was grinning like the demon he was. "Hey, all ya had to do was ask."

Nocturne's came next. "We made a pact years ago. I'm not abandoning it now."

Vennus Nimbus' dainty hand followed suit. "We fought together. We died together. We were resurrected together. And through the centuries, I've always thought the same thing: that our bond is stronger than steel, and I would make the same decisions all over again." She smiled as innocently as her daughter might. "You guys are my friends."

END lowered his head. "Thank you, everyone."

"Such a shame to see you all behaving this way after all the time that has passed," Nebula said.

"There's nothing that can be done about it anymore. You cut your ties with sis, and us with Mom, a long time ago," END replied. "It's the world that's gone crazy."

"You'd chicken out if she showed up," Seliah said, filing her nails.

END turned pale. "I-I mean…y-yeah, b-but sh-she won't!" he said vigorously as if trying to convince himself of that. "No one's seen her in decades!"

"We know she's alive though," Kyouka said. "Master, be careful."

"We'll be fine," Vennus Nimbus said. "Because it doesn't matter what happens next, because we'll face it together."

It was the middle of the afternoon, approaching 4 o' clock. Markov manor was abuzz with activity of all kind, both mundane and important. One would not think, from viewing it, that the world was in the middle of a war between demons and humans.

And, as Cornelia discussed war plans and status reports with her fellow guild masters, no one expected that the peaceful manor would soon become a war zone itself.

With all the subtlety of a nuclear warhead, the manor was suddenly set ablaze, along with a gale of wind and a flash of light. Mages were scattered, those caught close to the blast were able to be protected by shields and their own magic, but they were tossed about like a swimmer in a rip tide.

Those far from the blast were thrown into the woods and instantly everyone knew that an attack had begun.

"IS EVERYONE ALL RIGHT?!" Erza shouted, loud enough so that she could hear herself over the ringing of her ears. The heat caused by the blaze was keeping her eyes half-shut. She could see Cornelia pinned under a bunch of rubble at her mid-section. Undine, Nessa, Kasumi, and even Archer appeared to be down for the count. And, worst of all, Erza could see her attackers: all five of them. Worse, they all looked familiar and the one in the center of the formation looked the most familiar of all.

Erza's blood ran cold, despite the blazing heat. "N…Natsu?"

The pink haired individual before Erza took a good look at her. Despite the blood covering her, despite the light cast by the blaze and the wrecked building, he could make out her hair color as clear as day.

"Scarlet hair," he said. She's just like Isabella.

Erza quickly put on her Armadura Fairy armor.

"Put your toys away," the woman resembling Wendy said. "Lest you feel like dying." With but a flick of her index finger, Erza's body was sliced up like it had been caught in a caravan full of razor wire. Yet, despite the damage to her armor and body, Erza did not falter. She screamed for sure, but she didn't budge an inch.

"Belserions," her pink haired foe said. "They're all the same." He raised a hand to the air as a big ball of fire began to form above his palm. "Gotta admit, looking at you brings back some happy memories. I'll remember that face, Erza Scarlet, or whatever you're calling yourself. But this is the last day of you humans. We, the Five Demon Dragons, will utterly destroy your union and claim this world for all of demon kind."

"Five…Demon…Dragons?" Erza asked with tremendous effort. "Are you…Tartaros' strongest?"

"Not just its strongest, I'm its guild master. My name is END. Let it be the name you remember scorching your very body out of existence! Demonic Fire Dragon's…" END said, shaking Erza to her core as he swung his arm down, "BRILLIANT FLAME!"

The attack slammed into the ground, burning everything outward, intending to destroy the Markov Manor, or what was left of it, and anything within a 5-mile radius of it.

However, as Erza stood there, braced for impact, having switched to Flame Empress on a dime, she felt not even the least bit singed…or even warm.

As she opened her eyes, a new entity had stepped onto this god-forsaken battlefield. With blond hair, a single cowlick sticking almost straight up, garbed in blue with a black scarf and yellow boots, he stood with his back to Erza.

"I see several centuries have passed and your one-liners have at least improved, Natsu," the being said.

"My name is END!" END raged.

His name is Natsu? Wait…could the ND in his name stand for…

Erza was jarred from her thoughts by the newcomer's voice. "Erza Scarlet, right?"

"Ah…"

"Get everyone else out of here." The individual drew a blade out from behind his back and pointed it at the Five Demon Dragons. "I'll go it alone from here."

"What?! Are you insane?"

"Nope," the individual smirked. "I'm Ratatosk."

Erza gasped. She hadn't seen Ratatosk when Lucy summoned him on Tenrou Island. She'd never even met the demon king like Mirajane had, so she hadn't really recognized him.

"I'll not say it again. I'll fight them. You get everyone else out of here. My chaos curse can manage that much." He looked at END. "That is all right, isn't it?"

END growled. "To hell it is!" He blasted flame at the downed Cornelia, but the attack missed by a mile, hitting a tree far, far behind her location.

"I see someone's forgotten how my chaos curse works," Ratatosk stated. "Why don't we take a few minutes to cool off and let the humans scurry away?" He stopped smiling and glared at END. "This is a fight between demons."

END stared back at Ratatosk, displeased. "Fine. Get them out of here. We'll wait."

It took nearly an hour, even with Ratatosk's help, but the humans were eventually cleared from the area. With Rakkan still in Veronica, Serena guarding Crocus, and Gildarts' whereabouts currently unknown, no one wanted to stay and fight these monsters after what they just did to Erza and the others.

"You all right?" Lelouch asked, shouldering Erza as they walked away from the blazing heat into the forest.

"I'll live," Erza said. "That guy…he looks just like Natsu. And not just him…the others…"

"Tell me more about it when you're not bleeding from every major limb," Lelouch said. "Stay with me, Erza. And let's leave the situation to Ratatosk."

"Do you think he'll win?" Erza asked.

"No, I very much doubt that," Lelouch said. "If I had to guess," he said, tilting his head towards the sky. "Today will be the last day of the Demon King."

With a gentle breeze blowing away some of the flames, the rubble that was Markov manor, as well as the trees that had caught fire, had become the backdrop to the battle between Ratatosk and the five strongest demons to have once been human.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Natsu," Ratatosk said.

"Yes! It! Does!" END exclaimed. "The humans…I'll never forgive them!"

"You used to be human!" Ratatosk shouted at him. "Does that mean nothing to you? All the lives you saved, the journey you and your friends went on for fun! Is it all pointless to you now? Do you only care about revenge?"

"It's not just about revenge," Vennus Nimbus said. "It's about supremacy. The humans murder each other and live a life of malice, crime, debauchery and greed. Demon shall not kill demon. That was the oath we made when Tartaros was founded."

"But demon can kill demon," Ratatosk stated. "I've done it myself. To exert our strength is our closest calling. How we exert it is what separates us. There is no difference between us and humans. We still bleed red. We eat the same food. We sleep in similar beds."

"ENOUGH!" END roared. "I know you're right. We know you're right, but the humans refuse to see it that way! I don't want to live in a world where I can't live how I want! So, I'll take the world for myself! I want my children to live safely! I want the world to understand exactly what you just said!"

"More than twenty years ago, a man named Travis Fateburn—"

"We know all about Travis," Apollo said. "He failed because the humans don't care about peace. They only care about making war."

"You would judge them based on the selfish actions of one insane human and her guild?"

"Where there's one, there's bound to be more. Sure, maybe some humans can be good, but the humans in general don't want to co-exist. It's the ones that don't want to that do nothing but complain about it. The ones who want to get along with us are too few and far between," END growled.

"And despite that, you'll take everything from them?" Ratatosk asked. "Your own actions hurt your cause."

"Ratatosk, I'm done coddling to these humans. I've thought too long and hard about this and I've made up my mind, and there isn't a thing you can say that will stop me!"

"Then I'll use the only way you've ever been able to comprehend," Ratatosk stated and let his magic power feel as if an ocean around the battlefield. "Brute force!"

"Bring it," END replied. His group did the exact same and the battlefield seemed to buckle under the weight of their power.

"You know, when we're done here, the maps will likely have to be redrawn. They'll start calling this place Markov Crater," Ratatosk chuckled.

"You gonna fight or are you going to stand there joking all day?" END asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I figured someone as fiery tempered as you would make the first move," Ratatosk stated.

Growling, END tensed up his fist. "If that's how you want it, then I'm more than happy to oblige." END charged at Ratatosk, shouting "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Too fast to see his feet moving, Ratatosk shifted to one side, avoiding END's strike, the head of Tartaros, whiffing the air. However, Ratatosk had no time for a follow-up attack. Apollo and Nocturne were trying to gang up on him with their own light and dark fists. With his palms, Ratatosk pushed back against their fists and then leapt into the air.

"Wrong move," Vennus Nimbus stated, "Demonic Wind Dragon's Roar!" However, she missed, the attack angling far and away from Ratatosk as he then brought his foot down into her face, leaving a shoe print as she skidded back. He then, instinctually, held up his palm to block the incoming Iron Dragon Club from Ingot. By applying pressure with his fingers, he began to crack the iron and then swung his sword towards the Iron Dragon Slayer, the air pressure slicing up Ingot's chest. His curse quickly compensated, tying the pieces of his flesh together with metallic mesh.

"Don't you all see how pointless this is?" Ratatosk asked. "Your attacks will never reach me."

"Then we'll just have to change our tactics!" Vennus Nimbus said. Her hand glowed dark blue and a malevolent aura surrounded Ratatosk, surprising him. "Your chaos curse might be able to deflect moving objects, but it can't affect on-target magic and curses."

"Hmm, you might be right about that. However…" Ratatosk said as he took a leap into the air and avoided the perpendicular Fire Dragon Roar screaming across the floor, tearing up the manor. Nimbus then launched a follow-up attack into the air just as before, only for Ratatosk to fly straight through it and slice her in a cross pattern, once with each arm using the same sword. "I've never relied solely on my curse."

"Neither have we!"

Ratatosk looked down to see that Nocturne had possessed his shadow and was now crawling up Ratatosk's body to hold him in place. "I've got him! Apollo! Now!"

"Demonic Holy Dragon's Roar!" Apollo shouted, unleashing his holy blast at the immobilized Ratatosk.

However, much to the surprise of all five Demon Dragons, Ratatosk simply flexed his magic power, causing it to spike, ripping himself free of Nocturne's immobilization, and then, holding up his palm, made the attack peel away from his immediate vicinity, even though the rest of the attack sailed straight into him.

However, END was now above him. "Demonic Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Ratatosk hadn't the chance to get out of the way while Apollo's attack was still passing around him. With his other hand, he tried to deflect Natsu's attack as well, but then Ingot got behind him.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" The metallic, wind-like energy blast slammed into Ratatosk's back, putting pressure on the Demon King from three directions. Eventually, the pressure from three high level demons was just too much for him.

"GYAAAAAAAAGH!" An explosion of iron, fire and light erupted on Ratatosk's position, created a dust cloud that was like dynamite going off in a mine.

With a wave of his arm, Ratatosk blew away the dust and he was bleeding from his forehead. "Well, how about that. You actually managed to injure me." Ratatosk took his sword and, surprising the five of them, hurled it hundreds of yards away over the horizon. He then beat his right fist against his chest and bent his knees, sinking into a stance with his left palm out. "Guess I better take this seriously."

"He…tossed away his sword?" Apollo blinked.

"He doesn't need it," Nocturne said. "It's just an ordinary long sword for the most part. He's more adept fighting unarmed."

"How do you know that?" Ingot asked him.

"Remember when I fought him nearly a decade ago because a certain guild got too close to our territory?"

"Ah," Ingot responded.

"And you didn't think to share that with us because…?" Apollo asked, trailing off.

"Slipped my mind," Nocturne said.

"Look, at least we have that information now," END said. "Be careful you guys. I don't want to lose any more friends and family."

Vennus Nimbus put a hand on his shoulder. "We're here with you. We're not going anywhere."

END sized up Ratatosk and the serious stare in his eye. He then broke out into a wide grin, flame shooting out of the left side of his mouth as he grinded his molars together, punching his hand into his palm. "Yeah, I'm all fired up!" END shouted and charged straight at Ratatosk.

END's flaming fist connected with Ratatosk's palm as the Demon King vaulted Natsu over his head, but the flame demon moved with the deflection. He landed right behind Ratatosk in his intimate space, landing him and turning while performing a sweeping kick down by his ankles, imbued with fire. Ratatosk leapt over the kick, only to take an Iron Dragon's Club to the eye, or so it seemed. In reality, Ratatosk tilted his head back with mere milliseconds to spare as he then kicked up to deflect Ingot's arm into the air and then planted his foot in END's face as the demon tried to unleash a Fire Dragon's Roar. He kicked him so hard he went flying down onto the grass below the torn-up manor. Ratatosk flung himself at Apollo, who dodged Ratatosk's incoming left hook.

"Shadow Dragon's Wing Attack!" Nocturne shouted, creating a wing over his arm made of pure shadow and spread it out towards Ratatosk. The demon lord was knocked back towards Vennus Nimbus who swung her arms out in a cross pattern.

"Sky Dragon's Wave Wind!" Vennus Nimbus shouted, unleashing a small tornado below Ratatosk's feet. However, as the tornado lifted into the air, it completely missed its target. Then, with speed unprecedented beforehand, Ratatosk moved faster than the Demon Dragons could react and sent them flying with a multitude of punches and kicks, scattering them like pebbles in a hurricane.

The five friends quickly got to their feet though and were revitalized by a healing spell from Vennus Nimbus. However, the blue haired dragon slayer soon found Ratatosk's hand covering her whole face as he lifted her up, dark energy coursing through his palm.

Without remorse or mercy, Ratatosk overloaded dark energy through her entire body down through her face, causing her to scream in pain.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" END shouted and delivered a fiery kick the side of Ratatosk's torso that send him flying into the wilderness.

"Are you all right, Wendy?" END asked, helping up his fallen comrade.

"It's Nimbus," she said, pouting.

"Right…sorry…I just…"

Vennus Nimbus pulled her arm away and gazed at the forest. "But…thank you," she said, blushing. "For just a moment…I remembered the good old days."

Inside the wilderness, Ratatosk shook off being thrown into a tree and charged back towards the manor. Ingot stood in his path, creating his vibratory Iron Dragon Sword. He swung at Ratatosk as he approached, but he missed and Ratatosk vaulted over Ingot's shoulders with his feet like he was playing leap frog. Then he turned and kicked at the Iron Dragon Slayer, the air pressure from his foot delivering a hard, bone cracking blow to his back. Ingot doubled over as Ratatosk grappled a tree branch to then spin around and send himself flying back into Ingot's back, cracking bone and launching him far and away from the battlefield.

"Unison Raid!" Ratatosk then heard.

"Burning!" END shouted.

"Gale!" Nimbus finished as a massive influx of fire and wind dragon slayer magic tunneled towards Ratatosk's location, so wide and powerful it didn't seem to care about where he was, the pair just seemed to know he was in the forest and so launched a widespread attack he simply could not escape.

I have no choice, Ratatosk thought. Eyes glowing, the world seemed to slow for Ratatosk as energy glowed in his right hand. And that energy was growing at a rapid pace. "With the power of one hundred thousand demons in the palm of my hand," Ratatosk said as the ball became enormous in front of him in front of the gigantic, incoming blaze. "The darkness shall devour the light! AIN SOPH AUR!"

The gargantuan ball of curse energy rocketed through the battlefield and fought against the power of END and Nimbus' combined attack, giving Ratatosk the space he needed as the rest of the forest was set ablaze, the wind fanning the flames even more.

With all this fire…damn it!

It was too late! Ratatosk could see the shadows cast by the flames and ash being sucked towards a single point, empowering Nocturne.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Lunar Eclipse – Shadow Dragon Slam!"

A dragon-shaped energy being of shadows rocketed towards Ratatosk at an ungodly pace and after the energy he just poured into Ain Soph Aur, he hadn't the reflexes or strength to take the attack head on.

The attack slammed into him, damaging him further as Apollo came up from behind and kicked him in the head. "Holy Dragon's Claw!" Ratatosk was knocked into a nearby tree as END and Nimbus came into the forest and Ingot returned from where he'd been flung. The surrounding flames, generated by END's magic were untargetable for the guild master's consumption, leaving all six combatants in a blazing, ashen forest.

"You realize if we keep going, we could end up killing each other," Ratatosk said. "Is that worth it? We are demons. Your target is humans. I let them all get away. I had hoped this battle would let you blow off steam, but think about the consequences of what your actions could cause today."

"There needs to be a new world order," END said. "If we don't defeat you now, you'll keep getting in our way. I won't stop until all the opposition for the demon clan is gone, even if that means defeating one of my own! I'm END! I'm the King of Tartaros! And I won't lose to anyone!"

Ratatosk shook his head slightly. "You've changed, Natsu. I miss the idiot who—"

"Natsu is dead! I'm END! I have thirteen children and I used to have twenty! I'm the leader of the guild Tartaros! It's been four hundred years since the fall of Guardian's Gate!" END gripped a fist. "And no matter how much time passes," he said, slapping a hand against his heart. "The pain is still real! You're right! I'm an idiot! I don't think very complexly or understand too many big words, but that suits me just fine! And for me, the simplest solution is to make every last human regret ever having made enemies of the demon clan!"

Ratatosk looked at END with pity. "The old you would hate yourself right now. Even your successor, Fairy Tail's Salamander—"

"He'll learn that same pain too, one day. I heard Elsa's report about Mordred. I know what kind of darkness the future can bring. And I won't let that darkness consume my family."

"You know," Ratatosk said, gazing up at the ash covered sky. "Maybe you haven't changed as much as I thought. You fight for the same people, and you charge ahead with barely a plan, but there's a big difference between the you from centuries ago and the you today."

"And what's that?" END asked.

Dark energy coursed through Ratatosk's entire body as the ground began to shake. "You're not a hero anymore."

The shaking made the five demon dragons short of breath.

"Natsu, no, END. I'm giving you one last chance. Turn around and walk away, or I won't be treating you like an old friend anymore during this battle. You'll be just another enemy to my wife and daughter."

"D-D-D…"

Ratatosk looked at END, but it wasn't him stuttering.

It was Vennus Nimbus. "Deus Max!"

Casting support magic, her comrades became full of vitality and strength, greatly increasing their physical attributes.

"So that's your answer. Very well then," Ratatosk said. "Come! I, the demon king, shall judge you."

Darting towards him at the same time, the five demon dragons were kicked away in the head by Ratatosk's incredibly quick feet and aura.

As he dropped to the ground, Ratatosk then avoided a Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang from Nimbus and Fire Dragon's Iron Fist from END. However, Apollo's incoming Holy Dragon's Crushing Fang slammed him right in the chest, knocking him back.

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Rogue shouted, following-up while Ratatosk was still sliding back. However, Ratatosk deflected the attack with his hand. Then he conjured chaotic energy into his palm and tossed it at Nocturne. END leapt in front of the blast, seeming to consume it with the palm of his hand.

"My curse burns away anything to ash, even magic and curse energy," END said. "I won't let you hurt them. Demonic Fire Dragon's Roar!"

"Chaotic Bloodied Howling!" Ratatosk shouted, unleashing a red blast of energy from his mouth that overwhelmed, END's attack and sent him slamming back into a burning tree. Red energy swirled around Ratatosk's arms. "Did you think I wouldn't learn how to hunt my own kind? Devil Slayer magic was invented by demons as a means of getting humans to do our infighting for us. Chaos King Devil Slayer Magic isn't exactly a proper art yet," Ratatosk said as he wrapped an arm around his body and over his shoulder, suddenly appearing right over END, "But I still know how to fight like it is! Chaotic Blade Strike!"

END had the sense to get out of the way as Ratatosk slashed through the burning tree END had been resting on. He then fired a ball of chaos energy at END, which the flame demon eradicated into ash.

"Status Effect: Immobilization!" Vennus Nimbus exclaimed.

Ratatosk suddenly found himself completely immobilized. He was struggling mentally and flexing both his curse power and muscles, but it was a struggle.

"Quickly!" Nimbus shouted. "I don't know how long I can hold it!"

Her four allies each charged up their most basic attacks, blasting Ratatosk in four directions with roar attacks, hitting him dead on with no chance for a defense or a counterattack.

Ratatosk broke free at the last instant, but he wasn't quick enough to dodge the incoming attacks. He was able to start getting a defense up, but it was inconsequential compared to the sheer power he was being attacked with. Screaming, Ratatosk powered through the attacks and eventually survived them, but he'd taken a real beating from the assault. He was bleeding profusely, panting amidst the fire and smoke.

"Give up!" END shouted.

However, Ratatosk, hunched over, bleeding and in pain, merely smirked. "Chaos Annihilation."

Ratatosk snapped his fingers in front of his stomach and suddenly red and black energy erupted below the entire battlefield, hitting all of the demon dragons with a powerful blast of energy that caused them to scream in pain. Ratatosk stood panting when then attack was over. The smoke remained, but many of the trees had been disintegrated in the attack and now he was standing in a large, two-foot-deep crater that went on almost as far as he could see with the smoke and fire spreading to the whole forest around Markov manor.

He looked at the downed forms of the Demon Dragons. He was hoping that was the end of it. He really didn't want to escalate this battle any further.

However, END got up. Ratatosk thought END would immediately retaliate, but the pink-haired demon limped over to Nimbus and helped her up onto his shoulder.

"Can you move?" He asked.

"I…think so. That attack knocked out most of my supports. I can only hold enough power to keep Ratatosk from using his redirecting chaos powers."

"Then we don't have another option. We'll have to go all out."

"Right," Nimbus nodded. Lifting one arm into the air, she revitalized her allies. Apollo, Nocturne, and Ingot all stood up.

"Ratatosk," END said. "I'm taking this fight to the next level!" Through sheer amped up willpower alone, END shouted, "DRAGON FORCE!"

Scales coated END's body. He hadn't just entered dragon force, from head to toe he was covered in spikey red scales, horns growing out of him like a truly vicious demon. A spiny tail swung out behind him as wings grew out of his back. His eyes glowed yellow like flames.

"Dragon Force!" Vennus Nimbus shouted, releasing her Etherious state as well, becoming a blue dragon to match END's red one.

"Dragon Force!" Apollo, Nocturne and Ingot shouted at the same time becoming demonic and draconic humanoids that were white, black and iron gray colored respectively.

"So, it's come to this," Ratatosk stated. "Very well." With a tempering of his magic power, Ratatosk transformed into his quadruped, demonic squirrel state. "I'll fight you with the power of my Etherious form as well."

Ratatosk gazed at his enemies, digging a claw into the dirt as he and END narrowed their gazes and then Ratatosk made the first leap, tearing towards the red demon, clawing him across the chest. END retaliated by kicking Ratatosk from underneath with his stomach, but Ratatosk curled up into a ball and slammed his whole body into the open wound.

Nimbus struck forward and unleashed a massive blast of wind at Ratatosk, causing him to get blasted into Apollo, who grabbed him by the neck. Apollo spun and hurled Ratatosk over the horizon, but Ratatosk righted his trajectory and landed on the ground, spinning in place he sped back towards his enemies. Ingot flew towards him and clawed at him, but Ratatosk veered to one side and avoided the attack and then sped straight towards Nocturne before spinning up at a 90 degree angle and ripping up through his torso. Nimbus quickly used her magic to heal the wound, but Ratatosk leapt from Nocturne's body and latched onto Nimbus' body, biting down on her skull, fang sinking through her skull.

Nimbus screamed in ungodly pain as Apollo blasted a shot through the side of Ratatosk's torso, injuring the demon king significantly. Ratatosk fell from Nimbus' face as she looked down with him with her good eye and punted him towards END.

"Demonic Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

END attempted to roast Ratatosk alive with the attack, but Ratatosk did not yield. Instead, he simply grew in size until he outgrew the attack and simply launched it off his furry back with a multitude of demonic fur spikes like some kind of furry porcupine. Bigger than any of his adversaries, Ratatosk let out a demonic roar and tried to step on the four currently present below him. They dodged and then he swung out with his tail, hardening it and making his fur like spines as he whipped it at them.

END, Apollo, and Nimbus managed to evade, but Nocturne was not so lucky, getting launched across the horizon. Ingot caught him like a football though and set him down.

Shrieking, Ratatosk began pounding the ground, creating quakes of chaos energy, forcing all of the demonic dragons into the air.

Kiting the massive squirrel beast, the demonic dragons fired blasts of darkness, light, fire, wind and iron energy, but the attacks just seemed to bounce off of Ratatosk's spikey fur.

"Subpar attacks aren't doing anything," Nimbus said, floating by END.

"I can see that!" END shouted.

Ratatosk faced Nimbus and END and then launched a red beam from his mouth so wide, powerful and huge that it pierced the clouds above and nearly reached the moon.

"Wh-whoa…" Ingot thought, sweating.

"You fought that?" Apollo asked.

"It…it was more like a skirmish," Nocturne gulped.

Spinning in place, Ratatosk sent furry spines into the air at his adversaries like a barrage of surface to air missiles.

"Incoming!" END shouted as him and his allies weaved through the air to avoid being hit by the attack.

While the rest of his team looked for, or were waiting for, an opening on the demon king, END charged forward recklessly, as was typical for him.

"END!" Nimbus shouted in alarm.

"You idiot! You're gonna get yourself killed!" Apollo shouted.

"Demonic Fire Dragon King's…"

Ratatosk barely heard the announcement while spinning as END came in.

"DEMOLITION FIST!"

With one mighty punch, END set the entire demon king ablaze in a towering inferno that consumed the entire forest, reducing it to ash. Even what remained of Markov manor was destroyed.

"Well, Ratatosk was right about one thing," Ingot said.

"What's that?" Apollo asked.

"They're gonna have to rename this place Markov crater."

Ratatosk, of course was far from done, and END knew it. Powering through the infernal blaze, his claw swept through the air and smacked END out of the air, slamming him into the ground and breaking a lot of bones.

"He's too far from my healing range," Nimbus said. "You guys distract him!"

"What are we? His backup?" Ingot asked.

"No!" Nimbus glared. "His friends!"

"She's got a point," Apollo exclaimed and dove down towards END.

"Wha—hey!" Ingot exclaimed, only for Nocturne to dive down with him, quickly catching up with Ratatosk.

Ratatosk saw them coming of course and unleashed lasers from his eyes, one from each eye, the beams moving with his gaze to try and catch the duo in their descent.

Flying apart and then close to each other, the two demons then declared, "White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!"

Firing beams upon beams of shadow and light energy, they pelted Ratatosk over and over, but the Demon King seemed to shrug off their attack and then, with an unholy growl fired back spikes upon spikes from his demonic fur. However, rather than impaling his targets, Ratatosk's attack was blocked by a giant iron shield created by Ingot's arms.

"You two are idiots!" Ingot shouted. "He's the demon king, you can't just rush in like that!"

"Pull back!" Nimbus exclaimed. She already had END in her arms and was healing him. Ratatosk glanced down at the ground, registering that he'd foolishly been distracted by his foes too much and now END was being brought back into the game. Well, this battle had gone on for long enough and he was tired of putting these upstarts in their place. It was time for him to stop holding back.

Growing to the size of a dragon, Ratatosk unleashed another blast of energy like the one that reached the moon from deep within his throat.

Panicking, Ingot, Nocturne and Apollo flew straight back, but by stomping the ground, they suddenly found themselves immobilized.

Nimbus panicked. His power has grown so much my curse can't hold him back any longer. "Deus Armor!" She cast the support spell on her allies. "Transform!" she shouted, urging her friends to turn into their dragon forms as she began to morph as well.

However, while dragons were immune to magic, they were far from immune to curses. She watched the attack consume Ingot, Apollo and Nocturne while they were still transforming. Nimbus looked at the still healing END getting smaller and smaller as she grew and grew. She would not be able to complete her transformation in time.

I can't let him get hit by this, she thought. END…no…Natsu. You've…you've always been our greatest hope. Letting go of all of her reserves, Nimbus pitched END towards the ground. "WIN, NATSU! YOU'RE OUR LAST HOPE!"

END, in a hazy state, opened his eyes just in time to see Nimbus get blasted by the remnant of Ratatosk's attack. Since the attack had to go through four dragons on its way up into the air, it didn't pierce the clouds like last time.

However, that was not on END's mind at the moment. He didn't care about power levels, or right or wrong, or anything like that.

As he watched Nimbus fall out of the air, body singed and returned to its normal human form, his primal rage was fueled and Ratatosk heard a mighty roar to rival even the unkillable Acnologia.

"RATATOSK!"

END caught Nimbus in his claw and set her down behind him, equaling Ratatosk in size as he completed his transformation all the way into a dragon. It was far more menacing looking, a darker shade, and far less noble than the form Fairy Tail's Natsu had taken, but they shared other similarities.

"So it's come to this," Ratatosk said, communicating telepathically. "You and me."

END charged forward, clawing at Ratatosk, who blasted him with the energy beam from before, but the attack disintegrated as it got within END's immediate vicinity. Ratatosk then took a nasty blow across the face that shredded straight through his right eye.

"My curse is the curse to burn anything away, no matter what it is!" END exclaimed, clawing Ratatosk in the other direction, though missing his other eye. "It doesn't matter if it's curses, blessings, or magic, I'll burn everything and anything with my flames!"

END then unleashed his fiery breath down onto Ratatosk's face as a barrier appeared right in front of the demonic squirrel. Lunging forward, Ratatosk's horn smashed into END's chest, knocking him back. Ratatosk then unleashed his beam attack and END blasted back with his flames, causing the two attacks to clash in midair and eventually detonate in the combatants faces. The two didn't let that stop them though and got up on their hind legs. They clawed at each other's backs, biting the other's neck until Ratatosk threw END into a mountain. END then took to the air.

Igniting his fist with flame, he tore down towards Ratatosk, who imbued his own claw with chaotic, red energy. The attacks met and END's won out, shredding into Ratatosk's arm as he then whipped his tail at his face. Ratatosk caught the attack with his teeth and then, with just his jaw muscles, whipped END at the ground and pounced on top of him before spinning into a ball, firing sharp spines into the dragon's back.

END heated up his body and flapped his wings against Ratatosk, trying to incinerate him. It was a wonder who would give in first, END's pain tolerance or Ratatosk's tenacity.

Heating the ground, END rocketed himself and Ratatosk into the air with flame propulsion. Now able to get some leverage from below, END twirled through the air, away from Ratatosk, sending the Demon King into free fall. END then clawed at Ratatosk as he fell, passing by the squirrel with each claw swipe.

However, after a few, Ratatosk was able strike back and slash END's jaw. The moment gave Ratatosk just enough of an opportunity to wrap his tail around END's leg and hurl him at the ground. END landed on his back as Ratatosk slammed down towards him with a shriek.

Unfortunately, END wasn't going to be taken off guard this time. He unleashed a massive blast of flame up at Ratatosk, putting his all into the attack, trying to burn the demon king to nothing.

Ratatosk soaked up the heat, feeling it burn him, but he powered through it. He could feel his strength waning and so, in an attempt to unleash all of his energy in one go, Ratatosk unleashed his chaotic beam with all his might. The attack trailed down END's flames and blasted him in the face and then all over his body. END screamed in pain, the attack wracking him with immense damage as Ratatosk then collapsed next to END.

Exhausted and wounded from their clash, both began to revert back to their normal states, Ratatosk getting up off the ground first. He was covered in blood and burn wounds. He clutched his shoulder and closed one eye, panting. He looked back at END, laying on the ground, forehead and eyes soaked in blood, in a heap.

Kasumi, Ratatosk thought. He began to limp out of the battlefield. If no one else, he had to see her. He had to let her know that he had won.

However, the tumbling of a few small rocks alerted Ratatosk to END getting back up. The leader of Tartaros was in terrible shape, but he wasn't going down it seemed. Blood acted like a mask over the top half of his head. His body was a mish mash of skin and scales he was panting heavily as he stood with one arm seemingly busted up and bleeding, while he raised the other above his shoulder into a fist.

I can't even use my curse anymore, Ratatosk thought. If he attacks, I'll have to match it head on. "END," he panted, "Enough. It doesn't have to be this way."

"Yes it does!" END shouted. "For hundreds of years, I lived in fear of you! For hundreds of years, you were the strongest! You were the demon king! Well, I'm the strongest now! And I'm going to set the demon clan on the path to glory! I won't let you or anyone else stop me!"

"I see," Ratatosk said.

"Fire Dragon's…"

END watched Ratatosk raise his arms.

"Iron!"

Ratatosk closed his good eye and folded his arms in front of his chest, tempering himself.

"FIST!"

END punched Ratatosk hard in the stomach, the flames shooting up the Demon King's body and flames shot around everywhere. Ratatosk grunted and then just stood there, legs spread apart, red blood dribbling from his mouth.

"Ugh, hey, END?" Apollo asked, looking over as END was now walking away from the still standing Ratatosk.

"Aren't you gonna finish him off?" Ingot asked. "He's still standing."

"Let's go," END said.

"Go?" Nimbus asked. "You're done?"

"It's over," END said. "Come on. Let's head back. I don't want to be here anymore."

"Hey…is this okay?" Apollo asked, eye twitching. END kept walking. "Is this okay?" After a brief pause he then asked. "Did we do the right thing?!" END was now past him and limping away from him. "ANSWER ME END! DID WE DO THE RIGHT THING?!"

"There's nothing we can do about it now," END responded. "Let's just go."

The five of them walked off together, END, and even Apollo taking one last glance at the unmoving Ratatosk, and then they walked away, going back to Tartaros.

Hours passed, and the smoke eventually cleared. The Five Demon Dragons had left, but Ratatosk still stood there, arms folded, not moving, fresh blood still dribbling from his mouth. Crows cawed at the sun eventually began to set.

The guild leaders of the Fiore alliance were starting to approach to inspect the area.

"They're going to have to rename this location Markov Crater," Phelia said.

"No kidding," Undine said, "This place looks eradicated off the face of the planet."

As the group looked around for any sign or explanation of what happened here, it was Kasumi who spotted Ratatosk's shadowed image from the cowlick standing up above his hair. "Ratatosk!"

Kasumi rushed over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder. He was warm, still breathing, but she could see the damage to his body.

Breathing out with a hoarse voice, Ratatosk opened his eyes. Kasumi could see the immense damage done to one of them. "Kasumi?" With a weak cry, he the fell forward. She caught him as his face smacked into her chest.

"Ratatosk!"

She helped him to the ground, his head resting upon her knees. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, comforting him.

"No sign of the others," Cornelia said, walking over. "What happened? Did you win?"

"No," Ratatosk said. "I lost."

"Nessa!" Kasumi shouted in alarm. "Nessa help him!"

"I can't," the nature dragon slayer said. "he's too far gone. If I gave him ethernano in his state…as a demon…he'd…"

"No," Kasumi said, getting choked up.

"What happened to our enemies," Archer said.

"Licking their wounds," Ratatosk said. "Whatever you do, don't fight all five of them at once by yourself."

"You're an idiot," Kasumi said, getting further choked up.

Erza looked down at Ratatosk. I wanted to ask him more about that Natsu lookalike, but…if these could be his final moments…

"I know I am," Ratatosk said. "But I was able to protect all of you. I was able…to protect the future."

"If even Ratatosk is no match for Tartaros' best then what chance to we—"

"If you think you can't, you never will," Ratatosk said, cutting Archer off. "I took their measure today. And though I am powerful, and though they are powerful, they are not invincible. You have the tools to beat them."

"We do?" Cornelia asked.

"They aren't called the Five Demon Dragons for the novelty of it. You have dragon slayers of their elements. If you can isolate each one of them during the final battle, you can work together. You can defeat them, just like they…defeated me."

"Ratatosk…" Kasumi's tears splashed onto his face.

"Tears for me, Kasumi? I thought you didn't like me."

"That's not true," Kasumi sobbed. She held him tighter. "That's not true."

"I feel fortunate to have met you and your kind heart, Kasumi." Ratatosk brushed her hand with his, and his body temperature was dropping rapidly. Kasumi gasped and then only cried more.

"What will happen to the demon world?" Erza wanted to know.

"That's for you all to figure out. Maybe it needs a new ruler, maybe it doesn't, but you have more pressing matters to focus on," Ratatosk said. He looked at Erza, studying her face. "That boy in your guild, Natsu, right?"

"Y-yes, what about him?" Erza asked.

"He reminds me a lot of END in his youth. He's got a lot of potential," Ratatosk said, smiling. "That kid will be a real hero one day. And so will you. Just like—" he began to cough hard, blood coming up with each hacking of his lungs.

"Just like what?" Erza asked.

Ratatosk shook his head. "Sorry, I'm out of energy."

"What? Hey! Hey!" Erza shouted, but Cornelia pushed her back with her arm. Ratatosk's lack of a response and the smile on his face was indicative that he barely had any strength left and shouldn't be talking.

"Ratatosk," Kasumi sobbed. Even if their relationship was complicated, even if sometimes she felt like he had made her love him, the fact that she was sobbing her eyes out for him on his death bed…she knew for a fact that she had always loved him, truly and deeply. And it upset her to know end that it took this long to realize that.

Ratatosk lay in Kasumi's arms as his body went pale and cold, his heartbeat getting slower and slower with every few seconds.

The sun on the horizon began to dip and its warm rays touched Ratatosk's face. Then, he relaxed his entire body. This was it. He could feel himself lifting away. Even Kasumi's arms were but a fleeting sensation and her cries were becoming muffled.

"Thank you, Kasumi…for your love," he said, unable to hear or see if she said anything back. And as he felt himself finally leaving the mortal world, he spoke one last sentence. "Ah, the sun…it's so warm."

And just like that, the life of Earthland's second demon king had finally come to an end.

"War has many great heroes that die fighting for what they believe in. And some of them, for one reason or another, never make it into the history books."
– Lelouch Lamperouge

(A/N: So yeah, this is why I was dreading this chapter: the death of Ratatosk. This was going to be his Last Stand as it were and so I wanted a battle fit for the demon king to really give him a proper send off. And while he didn't manage to kill any of the Five Dragon Demons, he certainly gave them significant injuries. Additionally, we've now seen a second or third dimension into the Five Dragon Demons themselves. Even as wicked as they are, they are still true to each other at heart.

From here, the arc kind of picks up, at least I'm hoping so, in pace. It's all fighting all the time for a while so get ready. And until, next time, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)