These Blood-Soaked Pages (Fairy Tail) [Book 1 of Reaper's Scythe]

XII - The Ruins

"Did you really murder everyone there, Zeref-san?" Wendy asks as the group treks up the hills to the Ruins of Mildian.

"That story's grossly exaggerated. I was studying at the academy in Mildian when I was cursed, so yes, everyone at the academy died, but the general population of the city was fine." Natsu is surprised Zeref isn't crying, although he looks like he might. "They warned me, but there was no way I was going to stop work on Eclipse without proof of what would happen."

"Right, the entire Eclipse incident was your fault too. Forgive me if I think your country should have paid for the repairs," Lucy remarks sarcastically.

Zeref looks startled. "What happened?"

"Rogue- the Shadow Dragon Slayer- came from an alternate future where Acnologia rules the world, and he thought he could fight him with an army of dragons! Lushee closed the gate, but seven still got through and we had to fight them."

"Happy, what do you mean by 'we?' I don't remember you doing anything!" Natsu scoffs.

"That's because your memory is worse than Frosch's!"

"Who?" Natsu feels like he should know the name, but I can't remember.

"Rogue's cat, with the frog costume! Sheesh, you're stupid!"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

Happy flies away and the dragonslayer gives chase, but in practically no time at all they arrive at the crumbling city gates.

When the others catch up, Erza calls everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone! These ruins cover a large area and we don't know where the monster is, so we're going to split up. Wendy and Charle; come with me to the south. Natsu, Lucy, Happy and Zeref; you should search the northern area. If you find the monster, send up a flare with your magic. If nobody finds it, we'll meet back here in two hours."

"Aye, sir!"

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"So, the fairies came, just as you predicted."

"Of course. I've never been wrong before."

"Good... Don't do anything yet, just observe."

"I know. But when will we strike?"

"Let's see how Dragneel does against this foe first to gauge his strength..."

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"Great," Natsu quietly mutters to Zeref. "This would have been a great time to practice my transformation if Luce and Happy weren't here." The foursome walk through the crumbling buildings of the northern ruins. Some of the stone buildings are in surprisingly good shape, while others are just rubble.

"Yeah, you can't control it well yet so it would be too dangerous."

"Plus I'd prefer if nobody knew..." He sighs.

Happy flies up to the brothers. "Whatcha talking about?"

The Dragneels look at each other quickly. "Um, food!" Natsu says. Considering that's often on his mind, it's actually believable.

A loud growl followed by an eerie shriek up ahead distracts the four of them. "Do you think that was the monster?!" Lucy asks, panicked.

Zeref's face turns pale as a ghost. "No... it can't be... that noise..."

The others exchange worried looks. "Do you what it is, Zeref?"

"I hope not. Because if is what I think it is, then the kidnapped villagers are most likely dead..."

Natsu sniffs the air and frowns. "I can smell it, whatever it is. It smells like blood..."

With a shriek, Lucy jumps and hides behind a pile of rubble. "That's seriously creepy! I don't wanna die now, thank you very much..."

A creature emerges from behind a building. It looks vaguely like a wolf, but covered in dark purple scales. Its eyes glow an eerie red, and a shadowy aura surrounds it, seeming to darken the landscape even over where the wizards are. Natsu sends a puff of fire into the air to signal the others, and then shifts into a more battle-ready stance.

"Of course I had to be right... At least it shouldn't be too hard to subdue, then," Zeref sighs. "This thing is called a Shadow Beast. I've encountered these before, so I know its strengths and weaknesses. It has a taste for blood, but luckily it's not very strong. And furthermore, its glaring weakness is light magic! Lucy, I don't suppose you have any spirits with those capabilities?"

"Actually, I do." She pulls a golden key out from her pouch. "Open, Gate of the Lion! Loke!"

A flash of light, and then Loke appears in front of her. "I assume you need me to take care of that wolf monster?"

"Yes, please!"

Loke nods and springs forwards, his fists glowing. The beast snarls as he closes the distance, but the shining light does seem to deter it. "Regulus Impact!" Bits of dark scales go flying as Loke brings his fists down upon the Shadow Beast. When it flinches, Natsu rushes in and joins the fight with a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.

In a short time the others catch up, thanks to Charle carrying Wendy and Erza using her Black Wing Armor. With their added help, the monster is finished off with ease. It never stood a chance under their combined assault. The Shadow Beast's corpse seems to melt into a shadow once it falls lifeless to the ground.

"It's not time to celebrate just yet, we still have to find the missing villagers," Erza cautions.

Natsu sniffs the air. "I can smell an unfamiliar human scent trail leading that way." He points to the left. "Most likely someone tried to make a run for it while we were finishing off the monster."

When they round the corner, they encounter a small girl and an older boy cowering in the alleyway. "Is the big monster gone?" The girl asks, her voice trembling.

"Yes. It won't bother you again, I promise." Erza steps forwards and kneels down, keeping her voice soft and reassuring. "Do you know what happened to the others? We were told five people were missing."

The girl shrieks, covering her ears; and the boy next to her tries to calm the poor child down. "All three of them were eaten. We only saw the death of one, but we did see the remains of the others..." His eyes look gaunt and hollow, as if trying to ward of painful memories but instead blocking out all emotion.

"Don't worry, it's safe now. We'll get you home."