Fairy Tail: Black Blood [Book 2/2]

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Black Eyes

     Tumashu

     Meanwhile, above the scene, Tumashu stood guard by the cavern entrance while Sayla healed the others. Sayla was doing remarkably well healing her comrades, though things couldn't really be the same with Franmalth, who had almost been mauled to death by just being swallowed by Tumashu. True, Tumashu had intended to kill them and it really didn't bother them that they had nearly killed the little cyclops, what did bother them however was how the others reacted to it. They couldn't quite grasp the idea of any death as insignificant as Franmalth's being worth starting up a huge argument over! Everyone dies eventually, so what's the point of starting a big fuss over something inevitable!? Or, more accurately to say, something that was inevitable for them. Tumashu was cursed to live the rest of their miserable life as an immortal demon tasked to guard this stupid hell gate that NOBODY EVER COMES TO.

     Tumashu looked over their shoulder at the demons and saw that Sayla has finished healing everyone but has now moved onto Franmalth, a look of hopeless fury was written on her face and Tumashu thought (with the smallest hint of satisfaction) that the demon would die. Trying to seem as if the demon wasn't interested in them, they held out their wings like a human would their hands and casted a spell. The tunnel trembled slightly as if under an earthquake and the ground on Tumashu's right and left suddenly split open. Two large serpentine heads popped out of the ground and hissed, one head was red and the other blue, they dragged their long bodies out of the ground and stood at Tumashu's attention.

    "Azure, Inferno, I have summoned you here today to ask of you two deeds," Tumashu said lowly. The two megalo donti  tilted their heads and watched their superior and creator with unwavering intent. "You are to go on ahead and scout the tunnels that lead to the surface. Report back to me via telepathy and let me know if there are any... issues." The two demons nodded their heads and slithered up the tunnel quickly. Unlike Tumashu, these demons consisted of only one color with white eyes rather than black, they do identify a gender, they own no wings and they could only control one element, in this case being fire and water.

     Tumashu slithered back to the demons just as Sayla laid down her hands in defeat, watching Franmalth with an expression that said "I failed". Tumashu snickered. They stopped before Franmalth and saw that the demon had suffered from large paper cuts that appeared to have come from swords at first glance, Tumashu felt a small pang of guilt. The demon was already dead.

    "Now what?" Sayla turned away from the corpse and looked at all of the other demons- including Tumashu- in the eye. "END has gone under and Franmalth is dead. Shall we retreat to the surface?"

    "Probably," Torafuzar said, scratching the back of his head slowly. "I mean, it sounded great at first. Going out there, meeting Zeref, taking down a common enemy... saving the world... But now that I know what we're in for, it suddenly seems like a good idea to go home. What do you think Jackal-kun, Zaura-kun?" He turned to the blond demon and the black cat. The two exchanged golden glances of uncertainty.

    "Eh, I dunno to be honest," Jackal said. He looked down at his arms where his hands used to be, they were now replaced with prosthetics (courtesy of Tumashu) that matched his former hands and they moved to his will perfectly, as if his hands were never blown off in the first place. He clenched and unclenched them, deep in thought. He seemed to have made up his mind and he used the wall to help himself up. "I'm goin' after Zeref."

    "Are you sure, Jackal-kun?" Sayla asked just as Torafuzar said, "Are you sure? It's not too late."

    "I said I was gonna slay a dragon, did I not?" Jackal said casually, rolling his shoulders. "And I'm gonna do it."

     Tumashu looked away from them and to the tunnels where their minions had gone, a sudden tension filling the air like toxic gas. The other demons must have sensed it, for they followed Tumashu's gaze. The air felt wrong, the tunnels became all too quiet, the drip-drip of the water in the room suddenly became unbearable to hear. And up this very hallway, something was definitely amiss.

    "Do you feel that?..." Torafuzar said, his voice hushed. The others nodded and brandished their curses. Tumashu reared back and fanned out their wings like a cobra would their hood. Silently, they listened.

    Azure, Inferno, do you hear me?  Tumashu asked.

    My liege, I apologize, Azure said, her thoughts in a disarray. Three of them showed up-- we fought-- we almost won until a child with spikey blond hair-- Inferno and I are fleeing--- They're coming for you now! Be prepared! They seek the man with hair of cherry blossoms!  Tumashu's gut fell at the description of the child and a sense of something new crawled over their scales, a sense of something terrible that Tumashu hasn't felt for a very, very long time. Dread.

    Are you and Inferno alright?  Tumashu demanded, their voice coming out harsher than intended.

    We are, my liege, Inferno answered, Tumashu let out a small sigh of relief. We fled just as the humans began scolding the child, we are heading through a secret passageway towards the Naga city. We apologize for failing you.

    No need to apologize, my children. What magic does the child use?

    My liege... The child is the one.

     Tumashu cut off the telepathy there and then and they backed away from the tunnel, their wings clattering together in fear, dark eyes wide and wild. The demons watched the megalo donti  with a newfound concern, as if whatever had caused this creature of all things to tremble, they would be pretty much screwed.

    "I see, it is  him," Tumashu said quietly.

     Tumashu felt the collar around their neck vibrate a bit, when the creature looked down the collar began dissipating until it vanished in a golden mist, leaving Tumashu free from their bounds to the underworld. Tumashu had no time to think over what had just happened when four figures before them began moving through the shadows. Tumashu set their jaw and the demons prepared themselves just as four people-- three adults, one child-- stepped out of the shadows.

     The first one to appear was a young woman with pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes wearing a light green dress and sandals; the next one was a buffed man with blond hair and a lightning-like scar over his right eye, he had a large jacket drapped over his shoulders with maroon colored jeans; the other one was a man looking to be in his late forties with orange hair, a beard and moustache, with a black cloak over his shoulders and a prosthetic arm and leg; then there was the child. Tumashu had seen this boy in visions before, though he was often seen with a younger girl with pink hair.  That spikey blond hair, that emotionless face, those empty black eyes... There was no doubt that this child...

    "Tartarus!" the orange-haired man shouted, a tsunami of magic power radiating off him. "What are you doing here?! What have you done with Natsu!?"

    "That's none of yer concern!" Jackal shouted.

    "Oh it is!" the white-haired woman shouted, her body warping into that of a demon with black wings, a dragon-like tail, and golden claws. She screeched an unholy howl of rage and glowered at them with dark eyes. "You're going to tell us where he is right now!"

     Torafuzar just smirked and the demons moved as if they shared one mind. The demons of Tartarus charged forward with Fairy Tail running towards them with battle cries. The demons and the fairies collided with a clash of magic and curses, spells flying and bodies thrashing. Tumashu lifted into the air and watched the proceedings from up above, watching the humans quietly. The girl, who was fighting Sayla, used transformation magic, namely Satan Soul; the orange-haired man used crash magic, which was pretty obvious since he left Torafuzar's attacks in shambles; the lightning mage was clashing with Zaura's combat form and appeared to be using lightning dragon slayer magic; the boy was just watching Tumashu with his unsettling black eyes, his eyes as dark as the magic he uses.

     Dark Matter.