Fairy Tail - Twilight Empire

Chapter 11 - The Games Begin!

Hisui slammed Rufus against one of his many diagrams that helped him memorize spells. The man had no resistance to the assault.

"You sent them to Torafuzar?" Hisui barked. "You knew he was there and let them go straight against one of the Demon Gates?"

"I did," Rufus said. "Because of what I remember of Mirajane Strauss."

"I remember a lot of the old world too, you fool, but that doesn't meant the rules there apply here," Hisui said, the words seething through her teeth. "They are untested, they are unaware of what's going on."

"Who else, then, would you have sent against a demon but one with a similar power?" Rufus asked. "Mirajane Strauss has much of her abilities that she has not yet revealed as well, and she cannot do so behind the fragility of whatever training you want them to do. We do not have the luxury of time you think we do, Hisui."

Hisui let Rufus go.

"He's right," Mest said as if to twist the dagger. Hisui snarled. Mest continued, "If everyone else in Fairy Tail is busy, and Mirajane is so strong, we can let her go do this."

"If she is able to defeat Torafuzar, and if she can disrupt the business at Cedar Airfield, that will deal a significant blow to the Empire in the eyes of other nations and their overseas constituents in Alikitasia," Rufus said. "The Empire has become stagnant since folding Stella in. The Emperor is silent. For the first major news overseas to be of a loss of one of their critical trade ports?"

"Not to mention the loss of one of Zeref's precious demons," Mest said.

"You're speaking confidently about their victory," Hisui said. However, perhaps she was being a tad negative.

She'd been ready to throw Mirajane at entities far stronger, though at least she accepted how those fights could go. Against Torafuzar, the other two's magic would fall woefully short. Mirajane would stand definitively alone.

Then, Hisui thought, let this indeed be a test of Fairy Tail's strength, and worth, against the Empire.

***

Mirajane sheepishly bowed in front of the sergeant in charge of the guard. Levy and Lisanna followed her in doing so. That monster, Torafuzar, was not far off but was not observing the situation at all.

"I didn't think we'd missed any villagers," the sergeant said.

"We've come to aid the Empire," Mirajane said. "Our village was destroyed by some rebels."

She maintained the soft smile she'd mastered in the hard days of serving at Fairy Tail. There was no story, no phrase, she could not at least spin into a positive light for their sake.

The sergeant, like all other guards, had a mask draped over his face. The only denotation of difference between him and other guards was the lapel bearing his rank. All the uniforms were woefully drab, fitting for an oppressive, ruling state.

"You look young and fit enough for tasks at the hangars, then," the sergeant said. He pointed to a man standing off on his own, inspecting one of the airship wings. "That one can help you. We've had trouble with the attachment of one of our systems. You'll help him. Have it reattached by sundown or you'll receive lashings."

He said it so calmly and casually as if it were almost expected for them to receive their beatings. Mirajane nodded. With a swift move, the Sergeant held out his hand and hoisted the three into the air. Each of them froze as if they had much other choice. Mirjane found strength enough to possibly break out of the magical bind but made no such move.

From behind the mask, purple eyes flashed, and a mark appeared on their hands. They gently fell to the ground.

"There," he said and sighed. "Tracking glyphs. Try to escape and we'll kill you."