Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Galuna Island.
July, x784.
On the crescent moon-shaped island of Galuna, other than trees, vegetation, a beach, and steep cliffs, there are only two things that were not created by nature. One was a small village encircled by high walls and an even larger gate with a sign that reads, "Keep Out!" As well as spikes surrounding the gate.
Inside those walls were a number of houses and four watch towers that watched over them. The torches in the towers provided light to the village even on the darkest of nights. These torches also served to illuminate the area around the walls, as well. Unfortunately, the sight around the walls was something that most people would hope they never had to see.
In the area between the tree line and the walls of the village were at the very least two hundred fifty centipedes who rushed toward the village walls. With the smallest of these centipedes measuring at least six and a half feet (approx.. 2 m) in length while the largest was around 27'9" (approx.. 7 m) long.
Meanwhile, standing atop the walls of the village were the villagers capable of fighting. Mostly young and middle-aged men with several women mixed in their numbers, there were around seventy villagers defending from the attacking centipedes by firing condensed blasts of pure magic power.
"We can't let up!" The tallest of all the defenders shouted from the top of the wall. "If we do, those damned bugs will kill everyone in the village down to the last child!"
"Rah!" The other defending villagers roared as they two fired their magic power shots at the incoming centipedes.
"But why are they attacking now?" One of the women near the tall man asked after firing a magic power blast that knocked a centipede off the wall. "There's still time before the sun sets completely."
"Who knows." The tall man replied while firing another blast.
"They seem much more agitated than usual, too." Another man pointed out from atop the wall. "They're much more aggressive…"
"Like they're out for blood." A third man chimed in, finishing the second's sentence. "But why?"
"Maybe Bobo returned with wizards from the mainland." The woman said, the hope in her tone clear for everyone to hear.
After that statement was made, it was clear that the other nearby villagers were thinking the same thing. Unfortunately, the centipedes had no intension of letting them bask in that feeling. Rather, it seemed as if they were looking to crush it. At that very moment, the centipede's offensive seemed to intensify and in a matter of seconds, the lower half of the wall was crawling with centipedes hell bent on scaling the walls and entering the village.
"Stay focused!" The tall man shouted. "We don't have time to indulge in our daydreams! Keep firing!"
Like that, the villagers focused their attacks on the centipedes on the walls, knocking many of them back to the ground. While they were able to end the lives of a few, even more took their places.
"Thread Magic: Impaling Twisters]." A female voice chanted just as a centipede reached the top of the wall.
In the next moment, numerous threads spiraled together and pierced through the centipedes near the top of the wall before flinging them back towards the tree line. As they flew away, the threads that pierced them were dissolving.
In the next instant, a brown-skinned woman with short, straight black hair, dark brown eyes, a good figure with wide hips and long legs wearing a baby blue sleeveless shirt, a matching skirt, a black corset, black stockings and elbow-length gloves, and black and baby blue, short boots flew from the tree line and landed on top of the wall.
"Tch! This corrosive blood is annoying." The brown skinned woman, Elicia, said with a pout. "So many of my threads are dissolving."
"Focus, Elicia!" Shouted a scarlet red-haired woman wearing a silver armor, with a feather and wing motif, with a sword in each hand and surrounded by at least thirty more flying swords. "Focus on killing this vermin first! Dance, my swords! [Heaven's Wheel: Circle Sword]."
As the red-haired woman, Erza, chanted her spell, she descended from the sky in her armor that exposed much of her breasts and cleavage, as well as her abdomen, consisting of a very revealing breast plate, a long armored skirt that reached to her ankles, short boots, gauntlets, a neck guard, a tiara, and a pair of silvery metal wings.
Landing in the middle of a horde of charging centipedes, Erza's many flying swords began to rotate around her. Then, they were all fired outward, piercing through the centipedes as they continued seeking other targets.
"You're such a showoff, Erza." Elicia said from the top of the wall as she swung the threads extending from her fingers at the incoming centipedes.
"[Ice-Make: Rose Petal Rain]" A third female voice sounded from the opposite side of the village.
In the next instant, ten giant ice roses sprouted from the ground around the village. Then, once they all bloomed, they broke down into sharp, rose petal-shaped, ice shards that rained down on the incoming horde of centipedes.
A moment later, a path of ice was formed from the tree line and weaved through the screeching and thrashing centipedes. Then, it extended to the top of the wall. Another moment later, a beautiful woman with long black hair wearing red lipstick, a white skin-tight body suit with a black cross on the chest, black knee length boots, and a blue cape with a white cross on the back slid along the ice path until she reached the top of the wall. Then, the ice path shattered and shot toward the centipedes, knocking them away.
"And I thought Erza was showing off." Elicia said with a pout. "But Ultear is even worse."
"It's not my fault your magic is better suited for silent takedowns." Ultear said, controlling the ice shards to continue attacking the centipedes.
"Either way, it's time to end this." A male voice said while descending in the middle of the village.
"What the hell are you, Kid?" A second male voice shouted in panic. "How are we flying?"
That question caused the first man, Alfonzo, to roll his eyes.
'Your whole village is composed of winged demons and you act surprised about flying?' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'You're really dedicated to your roll, huh?'
After touching down, Alfonzo let go of the second man, Bobo. Then, he floated up into the sky once again. Once he was above the highest point of the wall, he stretched his arms out.
"[Electromagnetism/Metal Combination Magic: Electrified Wire]." Alfonzo chanted as a few thin metal wires extended from his hands toward the centipedes. Making sure to use corrosion resistant metals, they did not start to dissolve when the wires pierced the centipedes. Instead, they split and shot toward the nearest centipede before repeating the process again and again. Some of the wires even shot underground.
Then, once Alfonzo was satisfied with the coverage, his entire body started crackling with electricity that surged along the wires.
*Screech!*
With that, the sound of pain filled screeches and the scent burning centipede flesh filled the air.
Meanwhile, in an underground cavern located below the only other man made structure on the island, a large, ancient temple that clearly showed the vicissitudes it had endured, was a nearly thirty three feet (10 m) long centipede with sharp mandibles, horns, and spikes jutting out all over its carapace lying docilly.
Considering the state the island was in and the quest the Fairy Tail wizards accepted, seeing a centipede like this would have surprised no one. However, the small being, a small, half-black/half-white bear standing at 2'1" (approx.. 65 cm) tall with a protruding white belly, a round black eye and a pleasant smile on its white, right side, and a jagged red eye and sinister smile on its black, left side, sitting on its head would surprise anyone who saw the scene.
"Hmm…" The strange little bear hummed in contemplation while rubbing its chin with its black paw. Then, in a high-pitched male voice, it spoke to itself. "I let that one demon go to look for help about a week ago. It should be time for him to return now, right?"
At that moment, the large centipede began to stir uncomfortably.
Looking down at the creature below him, the bear mused aloud once again.
"Hmm… I guess that answers that question." The bear said with a nod. "Quite a few of the centipedes died just now. He must have found some very strong helpers. Still, that won't do. Does he have any idea how much trouble it was getting these centipedes here?"
With that, the bear patted the centipede on the top of its head.
"Why don't you call them all back?" The bear asked in a gentle tone. "For the next few nights, we'll send a few dozen… No more than a hundred at them to test their capabilities and give them a false sense of security. Then, when the time is right, we'll give them a taste of true despair."
*Screech!*
The giant centipede let out a screech that could be heard all over Galuna Island. As soon as not only the centipedes that were attacking the village, but all the centipedes on the island heard that screech, they stopped whatever it was they were doing and rushed back toward the nest below the ancient temple.
"What's going on?" A woman participating in the village's defenses asked as she watched the centipedes retreat.
"I don't know." A man with burns from being splashed with centipede blood on his torso replied.
"Is this a trap?" The tall man that led the village defenses asked with a frown. "They've never retreated so early into the night before."
"Maybe because of how many died?" A second woman asked.
"We've definitely killed more than this before." The tall man said once again.
"It's probably because of how fast they died." Elicia said, cutting into the conversation.
Frowning at the outsider's interruption, the tall man glanced at Elicia. After noticing the guild emblem on her shoulder, he turned his attention towards Alfonzo who was once again lowering himself to the ground in the center of the village. Then, he looked down at Bobo, who was wearing a wry smile while being berated by an elderly man, causing the tall man to smile wryly as well.
"I'm guessing the four of you are the wizards who accepted the chief's request for aid." The tall man asked, looking at Elicia once again. "I'm Adramelech, the captain of the village guard."
"Hi! It's nice to meetcha!" Elicia said with an energetic tone and a happy smile on her face. "I'm Elicia Taylor. The black-haired girl on the other side of the village is Ultear Milkovich. The red-haired one outside the village is Erza Scarlet. And the oh so sexy guy in the village is my… No, our fiancé and the leader of our party, Alfonzo Marcus."
Looking at Elicia with a strange gaze, Adramelech didn't know what to make of her upbeat personality. They had just finished fighting with a horde of murderous centipedes. He was completely unable to understand how she could be so energetic.
The truth of the matter was, Elicia was just excited about the feast that Alfonzo would cook with the aquatic magical beasts they killed on their way to the island. And, in order to not have them damaged by the centipedes or other wildlife on the island, Alfonzo, after wrapping them in a case made of adamantite and having Ultear add some ice to keep them cool, buried the corpses. That's the whole reason why he and Ultear were the last two to arrive at the village.
"*Cough* Anyway, get the injured to the medical station!" Adramelech shouted, deciding that he wouldn't think about the energetic girl in front of him anymore. "I want half of those who can still fight to take the first shift on watch. We'll switch shifts every four hours!"
"Understood." All the defenders saluted before carrying out Adramelech's orders.
"Impressive." Erza said as she flew to the top of the wall and landed next to Elicia. "They are quite well trained and very disciplined. If only the members of our guild could show a fraction of their discipline."
"Says the one with one of the highest property repair tabs in the guild." Ultear said as she approached the group.
Instead of replying, Erza looked away, not acknowledging Ultear's comment. Then, she [Requipped] into her normal armor.
"Besides, if the wizards of Fairy Tail were so disciplined and restrained, would they really be Fairy Tail anymore?" Elicia asked with a smile. Then, she grabbed Ultear and Erza by the hands and started pulling them towards Alfonzo. "More importantly, I'm really hungry. Let's get Fonzie to cook that seafood feast."