Magi x Fairy Tail crossover: prequel

Chapter 40

  Outside the Dungeon were standing Armakan, the bird man, Narmes, and the girl, awaiting for their return.

"It's been an hour since Sinbad and the other entered the Dungeon. Lord Armakan, was it really all right to leave this to them...?"

"...I don't know. But, no matter how you look at it, relying on them was our only choice." Armakan clutched his staff, tightly. "Heliohapt has been split in two by the conflict between the two kings' factions. This divide is only weakening our country. In order to bring an end to this strife, we must confirm what is carved into the sarcophagus of the former king...and even if the name carved there is not mine but the name of my little brother...then I will accept that as the will of the former king and abdicate the throne. Understood, Narmes? We cannot participate in this senseless conflict. We must help rebuild Heliohapt from the isolationist decline it has suffered and form new connections with the outside world. That is the duty of the Heliohapt Royal Family and its centuries of tradition. To protect the future of this country, it is my responsibility as king to open our country to the world." Though his eyes were closed, they could sense his determination. "No matter who they may be, I won't let anyone stand in the way." They smiled at their King's words.

"As you wish, my King...!" Narmes said, smiling along with the others.

  Faraway, were Patra, Sharrkan, and Gafra. She was sitting in a chair while Gafra was standing next to her with Sharrkan sitting on his throne.

Laughing, she spoke up. "Finally."

"Yes, Dowager Queen, Lady Patra." They were smirking.

"I never dreamed that the former king would choose Sharrkan as the heir to the throne... If we had known that, we could have saved ourselves the trouble of this roundabout strategy and just gotten rid of the Dungeon so we could enter the Royal Tomb."

"Yes, Lady Patra, but thanks to that Dungeon's existence, the legitamacy of Lord Armakan's reign has been called into question, and now there's the possibility that Lord Sharrkan may come to power. Moreover, the conflict between the former king's faction and the current king's faction has allowed us to spread the rumor of the curse throughout the country. That Dungeon is the only reason we were able to make such progress in just a few months... In other words, there really couldn't have been a better set of circumstances for us." As he laughed, along with Patra, Sharrkan clenched his staff, tightly.

"...With this, we'll finally be able to make Sharrkan king."

"Yes. But that's only one piece of the puzzle. Our real goal surpasses that..." They both had the same idea.

As Patra smirked, along with Gafra, she thought, 'That's right...we can't just leave this country to Armakan. We can't defy the policies entrusted to us by the former king. That is the way we do things in this country...it is the way our small country has survived all these years... That is the duty of the Heliohapt Royal Family and its centuries of tradition. To protect the future of this country, it is our responsibility to preserve our customs. That is something...you understand nothing about...Armakan!'

  Back with Armakan and his comrades, they saw the Dungeon collapsing. 

"Look! The Dungeon is...!" Narmes pointed towards it with the others shaking from the force. Once it was completely gone, they saw Sin and the gang with Seren and her comrades.

"Did everyone make it?" Ja'far asked

"Ugh...there's sand in my mouth!" Mystras complained

"Ouch! Who's stepping on me?!" Hina said

"Oi! Quit yellin'! It's hurtin' my ears!" Sora yelled, since she was right next to Hina

"...That's!" Patra started to run, for she was shocked that they survived. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Your Majesty..." As everyone got off of the bags, Sin stood in front. He put his hand in front of his chest. "We've conquered the Dungeon and returned the Royal Tomb to its former state just as we promised." Everyone was smiling. "Now the rest is up to all of you...the Heliohapt Royal Family..." Everyone was shocked.

'Sinbad...you...' Narmes thought as Armakan was in silence.

  As Armakan and his colleagues talked to Sin, Ja'far looked at him.

'...Sin.' Hina and him started to get the bags of gold. "It seems like we'll be arriving soon. Prepare yourselves-" Mystras walked to him, interrupting him.

"Umm...Ja'far..."

"What is it, Mystras?"

"Well...it might be better not to ask this, but...what will we do after this? We've taken care of the Dungeon, but once we return, we'll be back in Heliohapt. The whole reason we came here at the beginning was to head to the Dark Continent, right? But, as Miss Serendine said, that undeveloped area isn't really a suitable place to build a country... So, what's going to happen to our search for land to establish a country on...?"

"W-well, that's..." Ja'far didn't know what to say.

"I still wanna go, though!" Sora said

Before Ja'far could say anything, Sin beat him to it. "What are you saying? We're still going to the Dark Continent."

"Sin?!" Ja'far turned towards him.

"...It's true that there's only a slim chance of us finding what we're searching for. King Rashid said so himself, didn't he? 'I can't guarantee that it's the type of place you're looking for'. So, it doesn't matter if we discover land for our country or not what's more important is that the Dark Continent is Masrur's homeland. The land of the Fanalis. That alone is reason enough for us to go there. Besides, Sora really wants to go, and if I were really the type to give up before seeing for myself, we never would have come this far in the first place." He put his hands on his hips. "I'm not giving up anymore. The same goes for my dreams." As Sin said this Sora ran to him and jumped on his back, hugging him. He tried holding her steady but she was hanging off of him. "Sora..."

"Thanks, Sin! I really wanted to go there! Plus, when have ya ever givin' up?"

"Huh?" Sin tilted his head.

"Last I remember, you've never givin' up on anythin'..." She thought back at all the times she's been with him.

"Sora...how could you agree with him...?" Ja'far was tired out just from hearing her. He bended over.

" 'Cause, going to Mas' homeland sounds fun. 'Sides, I wanna meet more Fanalis!" Ja'far fell over.

Smiling, Sin said, "Let's return to Heliohapt." Everyone smiled. 'And see for ourselves the outcome of this country's conflict... Now, to the Royal Tomb...!' They were finally off to the Royal Tomb.