~Gajeel~
The air whipped around my face as I soared through the sky, a smile on my face. These past twenty years have been some of the best in my long life, and it was all thinks to Levy and Waylen. After everything happened with Lucifer, everyone had gone their separate ways but we still kept in touch. The only ones we saw on a regular basis were Natsu and Lucy, as well as Laxus and Cana, along with their daughter Karyn. Karyn was older than Waylen by two years, and she was loved Waylen like Cana loved Levy. They went everywhere together, and were nearly inseparable. Little Karyn was a surprise to all of us, as succubi generally wern't able to produce. It was something else when a tear filled Cana broke the news, so over joyed it was almost scary. Laxus was a proud father, giving his girls everything and making sure he was home as much as possible. Though days like this one still came up where he had to travel to take care of demons, and the two of us would meet up to take care of it together. Then like always, we would go back to my house, where our wives and children would be waiting and spend the rest of the evening together.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of flapping wings, and I looked to the side as Laxus drifted down to glide beside me. "Hey man," I said with a grin which Laxus returned. Since being with Cana, he seemed to loosen up, making him more relaxed. We flew in a comfortable silence until we reached the wide expanse of forest in the center of Canada, gently touching down. "Rakshasa right?" Laxus asked, his golden blade slowly appearing in his hand. I nodded, glancing around the forest.
Rakshasa were typically Hindu demons, shapshifting cannibals that prayed on large groups of people, usually on battlefields. The one had gotten seperated from a large group we had recently captured and was praying on campers and hikers, leaving nothing but bloody campsites and trails in its wake. On top of shapeshifting, they were also master illusionists and they had a ready supply of venom in their claws. Thanks to the various run ins with poisons and venoms we had been having, Juvia had come up with a quick antidote. A small pouch of the viles rested on our belts, they would weaken the poison enough for our speeded healing to take care of it, but it would be a rough night.
We quietly made our way through the woods, keeping all our senses open as we headed in the generally direction of the demonic power. I had expected a silent walk when Laxus spoke up, "How's Levy doing?" I was almost startled by the question and I looked at him with my eyebrow quirked. "She's doing fine. She's been having some nightmares lately but than that. Why?" He shrugged lightly as he easily jumped over a fallen tree. "My wife is her best friend and constantly worries about her. Plus, she's my friend too. Can't I worry a bit?" I snorted lightly, a small smile on my face. "You know, if you would have told me five hundred years ago I was going to marry a demon and have a beautiful son with her, I would have laughed and kicked your ass down to earth." I said, earning a chuckle from Laxus. "No kidding. My girls are definitely a handful." We chuckled quietly before falling into a tense silence, a strong force emanating ahead of us.
We broke through the tree line, coming onto an open camping ground that was scattered with shredded tents and reeked of blood. I gripped my own sword, my white armor forming over me as my eyes landed on a hunched over woman in the center of the mess. What had my nerves on edge was that she was not alone. She was obviously our demon, she was too busy tearing into flesh to notice us. The other being beside her looked human, but the power coming off him suggested otherwise. It was then I realized we were also dealing with a wendigo. They began as humans that turned to cannibalism when things were dire, and they find the taste of the flesh to good to stop. The more flesh they ate, the more demon like they became until the were unrecognizable. My guess was the campers had been lost, and the Rakshasa had found the poor man panicking and helped him devour his friends.
The womans head suddenly snapped up, her eyes locking onto us before she let out a loud screech, drawing her companions attention. She was up and dashing towards us in an instant, her claws poised to strike. Laxus dashed around her, taking after the fleeing wendigo and leaving me to deal with the woman. She immediately slashed out and I could almost smell the poison that came from her. I easily side stepped, taking my sword and bringing it down towards her neck. She was quick though, and quickly rolled beneath the strike and springing to her feet. Her formed shifted, and she stood before me as a giant wolf, nearly as tall as myself. In reality, she was trying for a crude imitation of Cerberus, the three heads snapping and mashing. Having know the feline demon personally, I found it almost comical. She roared and dashed for me again. I simply waited, when she was close enough I lept skyward, flipping upside down and bringing my sword across all three of her necks.
There was a screeching sound as she collapsed, her body convulsing as her blood spilled onto the grass. Where her blood touched, the grass slowly died and I had to back up as the gore spread slightly. I wrinkled my nose at the stench as I waited for the body to finish disintegrating. I looked in the direction Laxus disappeared to and called out, "Oi Laxus! You done playing yet?" I could make out the sound of struggling and I was about to move to help him when everything went silent. I watched the tree line until Laxus made his way back, his armor splattered lightly in blood. "I don't get it." he suddenly said, wiping his sword clean as he approached me. "Two canibles from completly seperate regions. Why would they settle eating together? Even if he was newer, she would have eaten him too." He said with a frown. I shook my head with a frown, "I havn't a clue, but Mavis knows. She'll let us know if its something we need to look in to," I said as I looked to the sky. Even in the late afternoon sky, a single star shot across the sky and I knew she heard me.
"Let's just purify this place and get going," Laxus said as his armor faded away. I nodded and kneeled at the edge of the dead ground and sunk my blade a few inches into the ground. I focused sending some of my energy into the blade. It glowed gently and the gore slowly faded away, leaving nothing but a path of dirt in its wake. I stood, my armor and sword vanishing as I stood beside Laxus. We bot bowed our heads and prayed that the souls here would have a safe voyage. Once finished we took to the sky once again, heading back home. I couldn't help but smile slighly, Home. Still such a new concept to me, but I wouldnt trade it for anything.
