This is new...that's all Mikoto could think as she struggled to endure the intense pain that was coming from the stump where her leg used to be. Never before had she had an entire limb blown to bits before. She didn't feel any incredible sense of loss like she would have expected when she had a limb taken..then again, Twilight Prankster did put something that would grow the leg back after 4 hours...either that or cause a Xenomorph to hatch out of her chest, when somebody joked all the time, it was exceedingly difficult to tell when they were serious.1
"Hold on Mikoto." said Natsu who was still carrying her. "We're almost there...we just gotta swim there somehow."
The entire group was standing on the edge of the ocean. The surf crashed on the edge of their feet as they looked on at the ginormous gate which was 3 minute's swim from shore.
"I don't know Natsu." said Lucy. "Mikoto's got one leg missing, you don't get a more open wound then that..and if she swims through salt water.."
Mikoto's injury was currently glowing purple as Nicole had sent in some spirits to stop the bleeding as much as she could..however, they weren't completely successful on keeping the wound free from the environment.
"We're running out of time." said Shiage.
"Righto on that one." said Loke as he dropped the unconscious Minerva in the sand. "The plague should be here in about 2 hours if I estimate correctly."
Loke was right, in the far distance, the night seemed to grow a much more solid black, as if there was some sort of darkness creeping over the horizon.
"We don't have a choice then." said Natsu. "Come on Mikoto, you can ride on my shoulders..I'll try and keep above water aas much as possible."
"No wait!" said Elli. "I can just fly her there."
"Aye!" said Happy. "Where there are Exceeds there is a way!"
"Oops sorry!" said Natsu with a sheepish grin. "guess I forgot about that."
"You've come far...Natsu Dragneel." said a voice.
"That smell." said Natsu suddenly. "I know that smell."
The group turned to find the black haired and black robed youth with red eyes staring at them from where he stood in the sand and surf. It was Zeref.
"You defeated me once Natsu." said Zeref. "You'll have to do it again. The Railgun cannot defeat me with only one leg."
"Don't bet on it." breathed Mikoto as she struggled to stay conscious.
"Determined as ever to protect her friends.." said Zeref. "I once revered life..saw it all as precious..but that was taken from me..now..I must do as Hydra Head commands me..I am sorry Fairy Tail, but your road ends here."
Zeref raised his hand in the air as a large black sphere of death magic began to form above it, growing so large that it blocked out the moon that was in the sky.
"Th-that...I can feel such death coming from it." said Shizuri.
"We won't be able to counter that." said Loke. "None of us will."
"Natsu..." Mikoto murmured as her eyes began to close. "I can feel him nearby...do you think he can feel me?"
Natsu opened his mouth to ask what Mikoto meant, but then he closed his mouth and grinned in understanding..after all, he could smell who it was quite clearly, even though he couldn't quite 'feel' it. "Yeah...I think he can."
"BRACE YOURSELVES!!!" Shouted Maverick as the massive black sphere of death flew down at them.
Suddenly the black magic shattered like glass, dissipating into nothing. Standing in front of Mikoto and Natsu, with his right hand held out towards Zeref, was a familiar spikey black haired boy. His body was covered in scars and bruises and he was wearing a military combat vest and torn jeans as well as a scarf.
"You...who are you?" said Zeref as he watched the boy with interest. "I have never seen anyone counter my magic before."
"My name is Touma Kamijou." said the boy raising his head to look at Zeref with a determined glare. "And last week, I just became a member of Fairy Tail."
"Wait.." said Lucy. "YOU WHAT!? Why didn't we hear about this!?"
"Well it's a long story.." said Natsu grinning.
"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS!?" said Lucy gaping at Natsu. "Okay, next time, you keep me in the loop!"
"T-Touma.." said Mikoto. "How did you...get here so quickly?"
"Turns out the plague thing doesn't affect Twilight Prankster either." said Touma. "He brought me here in that weird cartoon bus of his...kept on spilling bottles of beer all over his face...not that he could drink it."2
"Touma Kamijou." said Zeref. "You speak that name as if it has some great significance. Yet...I sense no power in you...none at all, no magic, no esper power...nothing...yet you somehow destroyed my magic...who are you?"
"I'm me.." said Touma simply. "And that's all I'll ever need to be."
"Noble words." said Zeref. "But can you live up to them?"
Zeref waved his hands outwards, and a massive blast of dark energy blasted out from all around him. Touma swiped his right hand through the black magic, and instantly it all shattered into nothingness.
"Like I said...I'm Touma Kamijou.." said Touma. "And right now, all I need to be is me...protecting my friends...and everything I love.."
"Once again...I sensed no power from you.." said Zeref looking absolutely astounded. "But you broke my power with nothing...how?"
"Everyone..go.." said Touma. "I'll hold himi here."
"N-no Touma." said Mikoto as her eyes struggled to stay conscious. "Come with us..please."
Touma walked over to where Natsu was carrying Mikoto and put his hand on her head. "You know I can't do that...Twilight Prankster told me everything...once this place is covered in darkness, I'm the only one who'll be able to take out Plague's spell."
"T-Touma.." tears spilled down Mikoto's face. "You idiot...always sacrificing so much...That time with my Sisters...when I level shifted...so many times...Why?"
Touma smiled, and as he did, Mikoto suddenly remembered that one time, before all of this, before Fairy Tail, when she was walking down the street, and Touma was seen walking in the opposite direction, looking half dead, and barely conscious as he went to fight the magician Acqua of the Back, (Acqua made a brief appearance at the end of the last season of the Index anime, and will appear, or so the rumors claim, in season 3, which is currently still in the process of being made according to rumors).
Mikoto had begged Touma not to go...she had told him that she would go fight in his place...she didn't even know what in the world was going on, yet she said she would go herself. But Touma had refused..saying that this was his fight...
"You want to know why I do this?" Touma asked softly.
Touma gently took Mikoto from Natsu's arms and carried her close his arms. "It's because I love you."9
Before Mikoto even knew what was happening, Touma's lips were kissing hers, and she was kissing him back. Nothing else mattered, not the gates, not Dravis, not Zeref, Diablo, the moon, the stars, the beach, or even her missing leg...all that mattered was this stubborn idiot before her who she wanted to be with till the Universe died and Hell froze over.8
Touma disconnected his lips and whispered in Mikoto's ear. "I'll be close...even when you don't know it."
With that Mikoto fell unconscious and Touma placed her back in Natsu's arms. "Look out for her...got it?"4
Natsu grinned. "You can count on us."
As he said this, Happy flew down and grabbed the two before flying off, Elli in the meantime took Lucy as Maverick took Nicole.
Touma turned to look at Shizuri and the rest of ITEM. "Shouldn't you guys start swimming?"
Shizuri smiled a little sadly this time. "No..I've finally realized my role in all of this...I'm not the protagonist in this story. The real hero is heading towards that gate...I'm heading somewhere different."2
Shizuri began walking up the shore..in the direction of the battle between Twilight Prankster and Diablo. "He said there was no way he could defeat Diablo eh? Well let's even up the odds!"
"Sounds SUPER fun!" said Saiai running after Shizuri.1
"Oh we are so dead." Shiage muttered. But he followed anyways.
Now all that was left was Loke, Touma, Zeref, and the unconscious Minerva.
"You've got guts kid." said Loke with a grin. "It's no wonder you're a lady magnet...do me a favor, and kick his butt."
Loke dissapeared in a golden light as finally the magic that was keeping him in the human world dissapated.
"So it's just you and me." said Touma clenching and unclencing his right fist as he and Zeref began to circle each other.
"You are...intrigueing.." said Zeref softly. "Your power...I have never seen anything quite like it.."
In a flash, Zeref slammed his fist against the ground, and massive black beams of energy erupted from the ground behind Touma.
Touma ran out of the way just in time as the beams hit the sand near him.
The shockwave propelled Touma off his feet as tumbled into the sand. Touma dashed back to his feet quickly as several more black beams fired at him.
Touma then turned around quickly and back handed the blasts with Imagine Breaker, causing the attack to shatter into nothing. But before Touma could react again, there was a terrible burst of dark magic, and Touma was instantly surrounded by a horde of black demons, each of them being completely back with multiple red eyes.
The creatures lunged at him, determined to tear him apart. One demon grabbed Touma by the back as the others converged on him, ready to devour his flesh.
"Oh no you don't!!" Touma shouted angrilly. Touma punched his right fist into one of the demons, which of course, shattered into nothing. Touma then smacked the demon holding him with Imagine Breaker, then jumped up onto one monster's face, kicking off of him and dashing towards Zeref.
Zeref swiped a hand, and a powerful blast of death magic which would have defeated even the most powerful wizard saints was shattered apart, as Touma punched through it with his right fist.
Zeref moved swiftly, his red eyes glowing in the moonlight as he grabbed Touma's hand with his own.
"You can't escape now." said Zeref pointing his other hand at Touma.
There was a pause...nothing happened.1
"What? My magic..I can't feel my magic.." said Zeref as his eyes widened slightly.
"WHAAAAMM!!!!!" Touma's left fist came down hard on Zeref's face.
Zeref staggered back, letting go of Touma's right hand while looking bruised as a drop of blood came out of his mouth.
"Your punch...shouldn't have had that much power..you bear no magic..yet you managed to hurt me with a normal punch."
"Way I figure it." said Touma. "Guys like you and Natsu have some sort of constant magic going through your body, making you stronger, faster, more durable...but when that power's negated, you become just as vulnerable to one punch as any other normal guy."
"Negation of power." said Zeref. "That is your ability. And from what I can see, it is limited to what you can touch with your right hand..."I see now...if it's only your right hand that posseses this ability..."
Zeref raised his hands, and the sand turned into a black swirling darkness all over the beach. black formless demons rose from the darkness and turned their fanged and drooling faces towards Touma.
"Then you are not invincible." finished Zeref. "Without that right hand...you are just a boy."
The demons rose out and converged on Touma at lightning speed.
"Aw crap!" Touma rolled out of the way as several demons collided against each other in an attempt to get at Touma.
Three demons rushed at Touma from the front, their talons bearing nothing but malice and hate. Somehow Touma knew if those hands touched him..it would all be over.
"Don't mess with me!!" Touma yelled as he lashed out Imagine Breaker and swiped his right hand through all three demons at once, destroying them like shattering a window.
Suddenly the demons Touma had avoided before lunged at him from behind and piled on top of him. As Touma fell to the dark sand, he could feel his life force draining away quickly. In a panic, Touma smacked aside the demons, shattering them as well as he staggered to his knees panting. On his left arm, he could see a darkness creeping across his skin at an alarming rate.
"This is the end for you." said Zeref as he approached Touma and stood over him. "You can feel it can't you, the death magic that cannot be negated by any power creeping through your veins. It is a spell I invented my self, none has ever survived it. Diablo, in his battle with me years ago, was smart enough to avoid it. It is a spell, that once it hits...you're dead...no matter what."
"Really? You think none can break this spell of yours? Well..." said Touma. "I'LL BREAK THAT ILLUSION OF YOURS!!"
Touma touched his shoulder with Imagine Breaker, and immediately the darkness on his skin dissapeared as life surged back through his body.
"Impossible.." Zeref breathed in absolute disbelief, right before Touma raised Imagine Breaker and gave Zeref a massive uppercut to the jaw.
As Touma dashed at Zeref and began to repeatidly punch and pummel him, Zeref's mind was in the middle of a curios debate.
A powerless boy...defeating me...one who was regarded as the strongest dark mage...It is because this boy makes all who fight him just like him...powerless...with that hand...he brings all who face him down to his level. It isn't Magic...it isn't Science....it isn't reishi or any spiritual power....it is beyond my understanding....for once, I fight an enemy beyond my reasoning.
"WHAMM!!!" Touma let out one final punch into Zeref's face as one of the most powerful dark mages of all time fell to into the surf of the tide, defeated by a mere level 0.
"You.." said Zeref as he lay there. "It was you wasn't it..? The one who freed the Index Librorum Prohibitorum?"
"You mean Index?" said Touma as he stared down at Zeref.
"Yes..the girl who bears the Grimoires in her head." said Zeref. "When I wandered across the sands of Hueco Mundo..the world of darkness...after I died..I sensed that she had been freed from the control of the church..her memory allowed to run free...but I could sense no power that freed her...it was you..you and that right hand."
"Yeah.." said Touma. "Though don't ask me how...I don't really remember it...I lost my memory right after."
"Listen closely Touma Kamijou." said Zeref. "That girl...the church said that she bears 103,000 grimoires in her head. But that is not the entire truth..in reality, she holds over 2,000,000.."2
"What!?" said Touma. "But that's impossible! Nobody could hold that much in their head."
"I expanded her mind with magic, so that she would have the neccessary cappacity." said Zeref. "The rest of the books are locked in a place of her mind that few have access to. Those books...they are mine, demons that have long been forgotten, death magic that would destroy entire planets upon a single casting. Before you go to stop this plague Touma Kamijou...remember the real significance of that girl...she is not safe with anyone...not her church...not Academy City...and especially not me."
Touma nodded.
"One more thing.." said Zeref. "You must finish me Touma Kamijou....finish me and be done with it...I cannot go on existing...should I continue to exist, Hydra Head will keep on using me to perform terrible things...you must destroy me."
"I'm no killer." said Touma.
"Can you really call honoring a suffering man's last request murder?" said Zeref as he took a trembling hand and opened up his robe near his chest area. Imprinted on his chest like a burn, was a black and white tattoo that looked like Night Reveler's mask (or Twilight Prankster.) "This is the seal used to keep my soul anchored to this life...the spell Diablo copied from Night Reveler that time on Fulmen..you must touch it with your right hand...before I recover.."
"But I..."
"Do it.." said Zeref. "My time in this world must end."
Touma hesitated..then he moved his hand over to the mark and touched it...immediately the mark vanished..and there was the sound of something breaking like glass.
Zeref's body began to dissapate into wisps of smoke from the feet up...as Zeref began to finally dissapear, he looked at Touma and said his last words. "Tell Fairy Tail...that E.N.D. 's second copy, lies within Index.."5
With that...the most dangerous dark wizard next to Diablo Etwatia vanished....for the last time.3
Hello my readers!! Man, it's been a long series hasn't it..but finally, this book is almost done, and the last book will soon be on it's way. But I would like to officially announce that while after the 7th book it will be the end of Mikoto's fight against Dravis, it won't be the end of the Railgun in Fairy Tail universe! I am proud to say that I will start a sequel series called LEGEND OF RAILGUN THE THUNDER GOD: The Soul Slayer Chronicles. Some of the pre plot to the sequel series is already being set up in the 6th and 7th book of this series, but other then that, the only spoiler I'll give is that there will be Bleach characters appearing...that's right, it's a three way crossover, you'll meet Ichigo, Rukia, Kenpachi and everyone else. Before I go, I would like to thank all the readers who are continuing to stick with this series to the end...it's been a long ride...but you guys stuck with me.. NEWGENERATIONNOVEL LOVES YOU!!!