#me rendering yura: does he look dead inside yet

[jenceno4848]

Screencap redraw of my favorite scene from 100 Epitaphs by the famous Ferry

[pyropsychiccollector]

            - A short time ago… -

            Brandish clenched her fists and she stared down at the all-out chaos going down below… Fairy Tail was making great progress in making their way back to their Guildhall, but they had a ways to go still. She didn’t know if she had it in her to go down there and… annihilate them. Invel had ordered it… But her heart could not be swayed. These people were the least deserving of genocide, and Invel still wanted to destroy them out of a misguided sense of vengeance.

            “Brandish.” … Speak of the devil. “Why have you not yet stepped in? With your power, we would quite easily crush them underfoot… So why do you hesitate? Well?”

            At the ice mage’s prodding, Brandish could only shake in a mixture of anger and grief, tears spilling from her eyes.

            “… I can’t. No matter how much you order me to, I… can’t…” The green-haired woman sobbed. Invel narrowed his eyes.

            “You… can’t?” His voice grew frigid and his face hardened. “Neinhart’s Historias are nearly eliminated. Jacob has fallen a second time, and Ajeel is soon to join him. August only watches. Irene is obtaining the Fairy Heart. It falls to you, Dimaria, Neinhart, and myself to stop the bleeding in our once healthy ranks. I shall not tolerate insubordination from you or August… And I do believe I have found a way to spur him into action.”

            Brandish gasped as she felt Invel’s enslavement collar appear around her neck once more. She stared at him wide-eyed and tearfully, even as her mind slowed to a crawl and she became but another of his puppets.

            “Since your mind is telling you to defy your orders as a soldier, I have taken the liberty of relieving you of your free will. You will go down there… and you will kill the mages of Fairy Tail and their allies without fail. Even if you kill our own soldiers in the process… you will do your duty to exterminate the enemy! Now go!”

            Compelled to obey, Brandish leaped down the hill and into the fray. Invel stared after her dispassionately. A few moments later, Dimaria stepped out of the shadows and glared angrily at Invel.

            “Subjugating Randi… I should kill you where you stand.” Dimaria hissed.

            Invel kept his back facing her.

            “But you won’t… Because you know I can remotely order her to kill herself. You wouldn’t risk her life, even with your time-based Magic…”

            Dimaria’s body twitched with rage, but she knew he was right.

            “This isn’t over…” She vowed.

            “It is.” Invel brushed off her warning. “With the Country Demolisher released from her shackles, this war is all but finished. However, you and I should step in as well. We need to ensure not a single Fairy will escape execution…”

            A cold wind followed Invel as he strode down the hill without another word to the Valkyrie. Tears blurred Dimaria’s vision and burned her cheeks as she wiped them away. As bad as it was to enslave Randi like that… She had to agree that it was probably for the best. Brandish was not acting like herself… And she was going to figure out which of the suicidal Fairies had brainwashed her Randi.

            She would make them suffer because making their death slow and agonizingly painful.

            ~*~

            - Present… -

            Erza knew something was wrong when people started exploding… At first, it was just a few Alvarez soldiers; the scarlet knight had assumed the soldiers were trying to use a Spell that had gone awry for them. However, when it started happening to some of her lesser known Guildmates… That’s when she knew for certain that they were no accidents or botched Spells. She could tell from a glance that bones and other internal organs had been enlarged way past the norm. That those poor, hapless souls had been killed off intentionally… perhaps even maliciously.

            It all came together when the Country Demolisher entered her field of vision,

            “B-Brandish…!?” Lucy gasped as she saw the buxom woman kill one person right after the other, not even pausing to take a breath. ‘Cold and efficient’ captured the essence of Brandish’s swift movements.

            Erza narrowed her eyes before whipping her head around to address as many Guildmates as she could.

            “Everybody fall back…! Do not engage that green-haired woman! She is Brandish Mu of the Spriggan 12!”

            Macao and Wakaba’s eyes widened as they turned to each other.

            “That hottie we were guarding?” Wakaba muttered.

            “That Brandish?!” Macao exclaimed, horrified.

            Kagura held out her blade in front of her as she trained her eyes on Brandish.

            “She’s one of the Spriggan 12 we haven’t encountered yet… We should take her down as quickly as possible. There are five more of the Spriggan 12 we haven’t located yet…”

            Lucy shook her head wildly and tried to obstruct Kagura’s path.

            “N-No, no, no! Cobra and I got her to negotiate with August earlier…!”

            Seeing that Brandish was still mercilessly killing in the background, Erza lightly, yet firmly pushed Lucy aside.

            “I’m sorry, Lucy, but you need to withdraw with the others. Allow me and Kagura to handle her;”

            “Just let me talk with her, please!” Lucy pleaded desperately, only for her words to fall on deaf ears.

            “She is single-minded in her movements, Lucy…” Kagura explained. “I do not know what transpired, but you will not be able to reason with her in this state. You’ll only get yourself killed.”

            When Lucy still didn’t budge, Erza’s voice grew harsh, even while she kept her gaze locked on Brandish.

            “Go, Lucy! We will do our best not to kill her!”

            Lucy remained rooted in place, stuck between her desire to trust in her teammate and fret over Brandish, who wasn’t acting like herself.

            And then another voice snapped her out of her stupor.

            “Droy…!” Jet screamed.

            Lucy and Erza gasped, while Kagura watched in silent horror as the portly member of Team Shadow Gear exploded from the inside… There was no doubt he was dead. And he wouldn’t be the only one…

            “D-DAD!!!” Romeo wailed even louder than Jet as his father met the same gruesome end as Droy; Wakaba and Laki followed in quick succession.

            Erza’s eyes hardened as far too many dear friends had lost their lives in the span of mere seconds.

            “Kagura!” She called out as she began to move. Kagura nodded rigorously before running in tandem with her.

            “Right…!”

            Lucy covered her mouth in a muffled scream and sob as she sank to her knees helplessly. All she could do was stare at the empty, bloodied, mangled husks that were once her friends… All gone. She wanted to hug Romeo desperately, but she didn’t have it in her to tear the boy away from his father’s lifeless body.

            Cana did, apparently. Of course Romeo struggled within her grip, as he wailed and sobbed for Cana to let him go, but the woman’s grip was like iron. The other members of Fairy Tail nearby were retreating far back to give Erza and Kagura a wide berth to fight Brandish… But no one looked happy about it. Lucy herself, though… she was frozen in place. And that painted a bright red target on her back…

            “So, you’re the one that tainted my Randi…!” Dimaria hissed as she appeared behind a shell-shocked Lucy. She clutched her fellow blonde by her ponytail. “You’re coming with me…”

            And before anyone could interfere, Dimaria whisked Lucy away in the blink of an eye. Cana, her hands full with Romeo, could only scream out hysterically. There was no sight of where that Spriggan 12 member had taken the Celestial mage…

            “LUCY!!!”

            ~*~

            “Water Slicer!!!” Juvia screeched, wiping out another squad of soldiers. Gray, Lyon, and Meredy were fighting alongside her. As the Water mage prepared her next attack, she was shocked when all the water froze up. Turning to the other Ice mage in the group, Juvia glared heatedly at him. “Lyon!! Juvia does not appreciate your interference…!”

            Lyon held up his hands peacefully.

            “I-It wasn’t me, my love! I swear!” He wept tears as Juvia continued to glare at him disbelievingly.

            Gray narrowed his eyes as all of them felt a severe chill flood the area.

            “Come to think of it, this cold…”

            Meredy rubbed her arms as she hugged herself.

            “B-Brr… I’m freezing…”

            Juvia couldn’t help chuckle at Meredy’s words.

            “Th-That’s what you g-get for wearing a skimpy outfit like that…” She grinned even as Meredy pouted at her.

            The chill got so bad, the girls could feel their bodies begin to stiffen. And soon enough, their whole bodies did freeze over with a layer of ice, rendering them incapable of moving.

            “Meredy! Juvia!” Gray and Lyon called out in shock, whipping their heads between the two girls in shock and horror.

            A new figure approached the two Ice mages. He was unaffected by the cold that froze Fairy Tail mage and Alvarez soldier alike.

            “Oh? You two seem to be immune to this cold. Fascinating…” Invel mused as he stared down his remaining opponents.

            Gray growled, forming an Ice Make attack.

            “So, it’s you…!” However, before he could complete his attack, Invel struck Gray with his own variation of Ice Magic that proceeded to smash Gray into a wall. Gray attempted to get back up, but was pelted by large balls of hail that kept him pinned down. ‘This feeling…’

            “Gray…!” Lyon called out, getting into his own stance for Ice Make Magic, but Invel struck him down with Ice Magic as well. With the two Ishgar mages reeling from Invel’s swift onslaught, the Spriggan Shield spoke up once again.

            “You two may address me as Invel Yura. I am he who brings winter’s wrath to all! Your paltry chill is naught before my winter…”

            Lyon and Gray both winced as they glared down their enemy. Both of them were shivering as the temperature in the air dipped even more.

            ‘This man…!’ Lyon trailed off in disbelief.

            Gray gritted his teeth.

            ‘Me, of all people… He’s actually making me shiver from the cold… My body is… freezing solid…!’

            “Lyon…!” Gray called out in good faith as he stood up and ran forward. Lyon nodded stiffly and followed after him.

            Invel attempted to impede their progress, but Lyon managed to block the attack.

            “Ice Make: Shield!!!” A shield in the form of flower petals formed in front of the two of them, taking all the impact of Invel’s attack.

            Gray raised his fist high and brought it down on his open palm.

            “Ice Make… Ice Impact!!!”

            A giant ice formation was brought down on Invel, but the man was able to raise his arm in the air and stop its descent, freezing the whole construct. Gray and Lyon were shocked by this.

            “I see, Ice Molding Magic… No wonder you were able to withstand my cold…” The ice above him then began to crack.

            “My Molding Magic…!” Gray said with dismay. His attack then crumbled apart. “He froze and then shattered it?!”

            “I am the purest of Ice mages…” Invel revealed with a cold gaze. “I do not simply make toys out of ice. I use the very essence of ice itself to freeze all. Your derivative flailings could never hold a candle to me! I will break them as easily as I would a child’s plaything.”

            Gray narrowed his eyes as he raised his arm, showing off the black markings that soon overtook it.

      ��     “Then how about this stuff? I inherited this power from my Old Man! The power to slay Devils… A power for defeating END itself…”

            Invel’s eyes widened as Gray surged forward, cutting through him with some ice blade.

            “Ice Devil’s Zeroth Long Sword!!!” Gray roared, generating an explosion from his single strike.

            Invel gnashed his teeth as he clutched his wound. Lyon looked on in wonder and respect.

            “This… This power… Devil Slayer Magic?!” Invel took deep, steady breaths. ‘He uses this power to mold ice weapons?! This power eats away at the soul. Those who hunt devils cannot long retain their sanity.’

            Invel scowled sternly, eyes narrowed into slits.

            “… You have my attention.” He approached Gray and touched the large sword Gray crafted, freezing it over and shattering it. Though this time, by shattering Gray’s attack, he conjured a blizzard that overtook a very large area of the battlefield.

            From within the Guildhall, Irene looked in the general direction of the explosion of Magic she felt go off outside.

            “I see you’re starting to finally take things seriously, Invel…” Irene hummed, not letting the battles outside distract her from extracting Fairy Heart.

            Outside, atop Kardia Cathedral, August narrowed his eyes as he observed the blizzard that had suddenly appeared. His eyes also panned over to Brandish, who had grown to the size of a giant in order to overwhelm two opponents – two swordswomen. As he feared, Invel’s ice collar had grown along with Brandish… He could not step in yet.

            From their respective places on the battlefield, Dimaria and Neinhart also observed the sudden blizzard with a cruel indifference.

            The worst of the blizzard was at the heart of it, where Gray and Lyon were confronting Invel.

            ‘It’s cold! Cold enough to freeze!’ Gray hissed as he thought to himself. ‘But…’

            “At one time, you would have had what it takes to stand beside me as a comrade…” Invel sighed, causing Gray to widen his eyes. “I fear you are unaware of it yourself, but… Your heart is slowly being tainted by darkness.”

            “Eh?!” Gray exclaimed.

            “What are you blathering on about?” Lyon demanded.

            “The powers of darkness are the seeds of Black Magic itself. Proof of the reality of the powers of the Emperor himself.” Invel explained. Gray did a double-take.

            “What the…? So you’re basically telling me you know that you’re the bad guys?”

            “Darkness is a fearsome power that resides in the hearts of all. Darkness is neither good nor evil.” Invel refuted. “Your darkness is on the brink of releasing itself into the world.”

            “You’re starting to make my ears bleed…” Gray growled, clenching his fists. “I ain’t trying to play Mr. Superhero over here either, you know. If it’s my family on the line, I’ll be as dark and black a villain as I need to in order to protect ‘em!”

            Invel’s face darkened at this heartfelt declaration.

            “Even if that is your opinion… I did say that at one time you could have stood at my side as a comrade… You lost that opportunity when you allowed END to kill His Majesty. The only fate that awaits you now is the grave…”

            Gray narrowed his eyes at the implications of Invel’s statements.

            “That so? Well, if you did your homework, the guy that killed Zeref was Natsu, not END. I figure you were there to see it yourself.”

            Invel glared back at Gray unyieldingly.

            “You are a fool. Etherious Natsu Dragneel is END. His Majesty created END for the sole purpose of killing him… If you had just snubbed that Dragon Slayer out of existence, your Guild would not have made this war so personal. Your deaths could have been quick and painless… But now I will make you feel every inch of agony as I tear the flesh from your bones…”

            Gray’s eyes widened at the revelation that Natsu was END, as did Lyon’s. They didn’t even have an inkling… But before that revelation could hit them with its full weight, Invel made a flourish with his arm, snapping two collars onto Gray and Lyon; the collars were connected to each other by an icy chain.

            “Gray…!” Lyon exclaimed, looking to him in alarm. ‘My body… won’t do what I tell it...!’

            “Lyon?!” Gray returned his distressed look. ‘What the…?! Everything’s going dark…’

            “Ice Lock.” Invel revealed. “A Magic that seals a person’s heart and makes them my willing puppets. You two will now fight to the death. You have zero say in the matter.”

            Gray trembled with rage.

            “What’d you just say?!”

            “This chain cannot be removed until one of you lies lifeless.” Invel stated coldly, not caring about the predicament he set them in.

            “There’s no way this crap could ever…!” Lyon hissed as he felt his mind going numb.

            “My head…!” Gray exclaimed.

            Invel clasped his hands behind his back as he observed the soon-to-be gladiators. His gaze was cruelly indifferent.

            ‘As I see it, the Devil Slayer will emerge victorious… The moment he kills his friend and ally, his darkness will fully awaken…’ Invel suddenly smirked. ‘Of course… I don’t care to make an ally out of him anymore. I just want to see his face of anguish before I slay him myself. To avenge Zeref… killing and traumatizing this man is absolutely critical.’

            Gray and Lyon’s feet slid along the ground as they unwillingly turned to face each other, preparing Ice Make attacks…

            ~*~

            “This is… much harder than I thought it would be…!” Kagura hissed as she clutched her bruised side. She and Erza had attacked Brandish to keep her from killing anyone else, but… in response to getting attacked, the woman had increased her size significantly.

            Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. Bigger size meant a bigger target, especially when that target wasn’t wearing armor… However, Brandish could control the mass of objects. That meant any injuries they inflicted could be shrunken down to the size of pinpricks…

            To put it in blunter terms. They were mosquitoes, trying to suck blood before getting squished… That was how much effect they were having.

            Erza slid down Brandish’s left arm, using a sword to slow her momentum and leave a big gash in her wake. Much to her dismay, though, the large slash shrunk in on itself like all other previous injuries on the Spriggan 12 member.

            “How about this, then…?!” Erza brought forth her Sea Empress Armor and swung her blade right at Brandish’s face, generating a large whirlpool that circled up toward her opponent. Mid-attack, Erza transitioned to her Lightning Empress Armor and channeled lightning into the whirlpool, aiming to hit Brandish in the face with a collaboration attack.

            Seeing Erza concentrate on the head, Kagura decided to aim for the stomach. Drawing Archenemy from its sheathe, Kagura made a broad swiping motion once she got close enough. The slashing attack unleashed the full cutting force of her blade, and it did indeed manage to leave a deep gash as a massive amount of blood leaked from Brandish’s stomach and guts. As a result of the pair of attacks, Brandish hacked up blood and stumbled backward, taking the full force of Erza’s combination attack without doing anything to counter it. As a result, there was an explosion around her head, and the giantess fell backward, crashing to the ground unceremoniously. Erza flew back to the ground with the aid of her Flight Armor, and together with Kagura glared down their fallen foe.

            “Nice hit, but she’s not going to stay down…” Kagura observed warily, holding up Archenemy again.

            “No, she’s not… She holds more Magic power than Master Makarov, so she’s not going to be taken down by just a few hits. We have to aim to kill, or she’s going to make a lot more people suffer…”

            Kagura tensed as she detected movement from the giantess. She was starting to get up again.

            “Lucy won’t be happy if we do end up killing her…”

            Erza adopted a stern expression, holding her sword out in front of her in a battle stance.

            “I won’t sugarcoat it… But we may have to kill her, to prevent any more senseless deaths. It would be a tragedy if she died… But it would be even worse if she lived to be a monster that slaughtered all of Fairy Tail. I know that would devastate Lucy even more.”

            Kagura couldn’t help nodding in agreement.

            “You’re right, of course…” She trailed off, unsure of what else to say. Erza smiled with a grim reassurance at her as Brandish used her arm to steadily raise her upper body into a sitting position.

            “Still, I’m sure it won’t come to that. We’ll find some way to bring Brandish to her senses, if something has indeed happened to her.”

            Kagura nodded again.

            “Right…” She blinked as she and Erza heard someone tossing off their cloak. Turning in the general direction of the noise, they spotted Makarov slowly walking toward Brandish.

            “You have shed the blood of my children, and that will not be forgiven… I will not allow you to lay a finger on them anymore…!” Makarov bellowed as he used his Titan Magic to grow in size to rival Brandish.

            “Master…!” Erza called out distressfully, seeing the giantess narrow her eyes at Makarov.

            “We should back him up. Between the three of us, we might be able to take her down!” Kagura advised. Erza clenched her sword tighter.

            “Right…!” With a burst of speed from the Flight Armor, Erza took off. Kagura trailing just behind her.

            She would not let Master Makarov die.

            “I don’t think so, Lady Erza…!” Neinhart exclaimed, blasting the scarlet knight off-course with some kind of strange power.

            “Erza!!” Kagura cried out distressfully. Erza shook her head and regained her bearings, glaring down the new foe in their way.

            “Kagura, you go assist Master Makarov! I can handle this one!”

            Kagura tensed. The more she looked at Neinhart, the more she got a bad feeling from that man…

            “I don’t like this…” Kagura made her opinion known. But Erza shook her head again.

            “Brandish is the bigger threat! Don’t let Master die…!” Erza yelled as she flew straight at the cackling Spriggan member. Kagura squeezed her eyes tight before she nodded begrudgingly, changing her course back to assisting Makarov.

            She would believe in Erza… She would. If Jellal could take out that man with one hit, Erza could manage the same!

            ~*~

            “Problem after problem today…!” Dimaria hissed, deactivating her separate space. The speeding man before her smirked as he paused for the briefest of moments.

            Racer smirked at the frustrated woman.

            “Ya don’t got much of an advantage if I can slow you down, huh?”

            Dimaria growled at the man’s impudence, bearing her dagger threateningly.

            “You won’t be saying that when I carve the skin off your flesh…!” The Time mage spat. “I had just wanted to kill off that woman that tainted Randi… But I guess I’ll have to end your life first!!!”

            Racer scratched under his chin thoughtfully.

            “Uh-huh… Well, I’m sorry to break it to ya, but you might wanna duck now.”

            Dimaria narrowed her eyes.

            “What…?” No sooner did she say that lone word than did the wall behind her crack and crumble apart, Jellal flying through the opening with Meteor fueling his movements. The blonde’s eyes widened right before he smashed into her, sending her flying through the next wall, where Cobra was waiting on the other side. Cobra brought his scaly arm down on the woman’s head, instantly stopping her momentum and smashing her into the ground, Poison Dragon Slaying Magic channeled into his hand.

            “You get it now?!” Cobra grinned as he pinned her down with his foot. “Just take a nap, and it’ll all be over…!”

            Dimaria moved to resist, but Cobra performed a backflip before crashing down on her face with his scaly fist, again channeling his Magic. He held the fist down for a few seconds, transferring poison into her body that would knock her out cold. Once Jellal confirmed with his own eyes that Dimaria was unconscious, Jellal moved to free Lucy from the chair she was tied to.

            “H-How’d you beat her…?!” The bewildered girl asked. Jellal just smiled grimly.

            “We’re using the full powers of Crime Sorciere… Erik can hear the enemy’s thoughts, learns their secrets, and we strategize from there. Sawyer was perfect for getting her to drop whatever Magic she had activated; the rest was up to us.”

            “Too bad she was beaten already…” Cobra lamented, getting off of Dimaria after tying her up. “The remaining Spriggan Shields ain’t gonna be a cakewalk like this one.”

            “At least we can count on those Fairies to take some of ‘em down, right?” Racer grunted.

            Lucy looked down in worry. Some of her Guildmates were dead because of Brandish, and she was concerned that her friends would want to kill Brandish in retribution. All she could hope for… was that whatever was afflicting Brandish got dealt with.

            Because she knew Brandish wouldn’t just kill her Guildmates… Not when she’d been willing to negotiate with August for them. Brandish had a good heart, Lucy knew she did. Brandish was loyal to her country, but she wasn’t blind to the damage they did to Ishgar.

            … So why did Lucy have a very bad feeling that events were going to get worse from here?

            ~*~

            Gray staggered away from Lyon as the chain link between them broke. The ice sword he’d most recently created… Lyon had sliced it in two with the spear he chose to create, and then… and then…

            “Why…? Why would you do that, Lyon?!” Gray whispered at first, before his voice rose into a desperate, shrill scream that only Invel heard. The dark-haired young man clutched both sides of his head, yanking out his hair as his friend’s… his brother’s… last words rang through his head.

            “If I had to choose which one of us lived, Gray… it would be you. That’s why, before my mind fades away completely, I’m going to end my life! With my own hands!” Cutting Gray’s sword clean in two, he smiled bitterly. “Ur wished for both of us to live… to not throw ourselves away… But that was rather hypocritical of her, don’t you think? She threw her life away because she could see no other solutions… And… I will be following in her footsteps. Just like I promised I would. All those years ago.”

            “LYON!!!!!” Gray cried out in anguish as Lyon drove the spear through himself. The silver-haired ice mage gave a bloody grin as he coughed up blood, his chest caked in it.

            “You’d better live a long, happy life, Gray… I’m… going on ahead to see Master Ur… and I don’t want you joining us just yet…” Having spoken his peace, Lyon lost his balance and fell forward, whispering but one more word. “Goodbye…”

            Landing on the ground, the spear was driven in further, ending Lyon’s live for certain. Gray’s anguished screams rent the air…

            Gray shook his head vigorously, still pulling at his hair. He didn’t want to believe it, but no matter how many times he blinked, Lyon did not rise again. He breathed heavily as memories of Ur resurfaced again. He almost didn’t register Invel’s cold, condescending voice.

            “Now you know a fraction of what it felt like to lose His Majesty… It was quite a shock that you almost attempted suicide yourself, but it seems your friend was looking out for you to the very end. But it’s of no consequence… I shall end you here and now, as you wallow in despair.”

            As he half-listened to those cruel words, something in Gray snapped. Rage bubbled up inside, and all he could think about was how much he wanted to see Invel dead on the ground, a mutilated corpse…

            Whipping around too fast for the blue-haired man to counter, Gray slugged him in the face hard enough to smash his glasses and send him flying back several meters into a wall. Invel looked up in shock at seeing the look of utter hatred pasted on Gray’s face. Shock melted away into grim understanding.

            ‘I see… He seems intent on forcing me to unleash that…’ Invel thought to himself. Focusing in on himself, he conjured an intricate armor of ice around himself. “True-Ice Kamui…!”

            Gray roared as he rushed Invel again, fist poised to deliver another brutal strike. Invel stood his ground without a shred of fear.

            “This is ice from the depths of the underworld itself… All things unlucky enough to graze it shall freeze instantly!” Gray’s fist collided with him, full force. “Even the likes of you… and your body’s immunity to ice… it matters not!! This unholy armor freezes anything and everything without fail!

            As Gray continued to mindlessly scream, even as his arm did indeed develop a layer of ice around it, Invel spoke in a condescending tone.

            “Be forever frozen in time… shatter to pieces!!!” However, Gray’s fist did, in fact, inflict massive damage to his armor as he was punched back several feet. Part of his face was now exposed, as was his whole right arm. Invel looked back at him, stunned. “Wha… This cannot be!! You’re… utilizing ice of the same property… and molding it?!”

            Gray held his fist up as he began casting another Spell.

            “You stole away Lyon’s future! And that’s unforgivable!!!” Gray charged Invel again, channeling more of the same Magic, albeit in a higher amount of concentration. “You’re the one who’s going to shatter to pieces, you son of a bitch! Ice Devil’s Zeroth Destruction Fist!!!!!”

            The punch this time was hard enough to shatter all of Invel’s armor, as well as a good number of bones and organs in his body. Invel hacked up blood midair before unceremoniously crumpling to the ground in a boneless heap. Instantly, the blizzard around them died down, and the people around them began to thaw. Gray walked up to him as he was sprawled out, defeated. Invel’s regal clothes were torn and shredded.

            “I can stand here… and pound away at you all day and night… It won’t bring Lyon back! He’s… never coming back…” Tears pricked at his eyes again, hands balling into fists.

            Invel could only stare up at the sky, feeling an immense emptiness within himself. He did not sympathize with Gray, nor did he regret a single action taken against Ishgar… What he did regret… was being unable to take revenge for Zeref’s death with his own two hands. He was defeated. Beaten within an inch of his life. His purpose was to destroy Ishgar… But now even that was slipping away from him. At this point, only Alvarez’s mightiest mages could fulfill his purpose, and he’d already alienated himself from one while the other was busy with extracting Fairy Heart…

            He could only hope… that they’d bought Irene enough time to finish her job. There was no telling what Brandish and August would do now that his coercion was at an end.