Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.
December 15, x784.
"[Fairy Law]." Makarov chanted.
"[Grimoire Law]." Hades chatted shortly afterward.
With the two elderly men's chants, two similar, yet opposite, forces collided between them.
While Hades wore a malicious grin as he looked down at Makarov from the top of Grimoire Heart's airship, Makarov looked up at his opponent with shock written all over his face.
"Why are you here… Precht?" Makarov asked while maintaining his spell.
"Precht?" Hades asked while raising an eyebrow. "Have you grown so much that you don't even call me Master anymore, Boy?"
Hearing Hades words, Makarov could not help but think back to the day when Hades, or rather Precht Gaebolg, retired as the second guild master of Fairy Tail, and passed the position on to him.
===Flashback===
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
August, x736.
"Listen, Boy." Precht said while standing with his back to Makarov at the original Fairy Tail guild hall's entrance.
"Why are you still calling me, Boy?" Makarov asked in a disgruntled tone. "I'm already forty years old."
"Hahaha!" Precht laughed hardily after hearing Makarov's complaint. "No matter how old you get, Boy, you'll still be a boy to me."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Old Man." Makarov replied while looking away.
"Anyway, I'm going to go out to find a solution to that problem." Precht said, ignoring Makarov's pouting. "So, from this day forward, you are the third master of Fairy Tail."
With that, Precht walked through the guild's entrance and never turned back.
"Wait! What?" Makarov asked in a shocked tone. "Are you serious?"
Instead of answering Makarov's question, Precht only waved his hand as he walked away from the guild hall.
===Flashback End===
"I thought you were looking for a way to save her." Makarov said in an irritated tone. "Instead, you've created one of the three worst Dark Guild's on the continent."
"Don't question me, Boy." Precht said as he pushed more magic power into his [Grimoire Law] spell. "I still haven't given up on finding a way to save her. And I have actually found one. The key is [The One Magic]."
Hearing that, Makarov could only look at Hades skeptically. Though the legends about [The One Magic] suggest that it is the source of all magic, meaning it would be able to save the one Hades hoped to save. The fact that it is just a legend is commonly accepted in the wizarding world.
"But for now, that is not important." Hades said. "If we continue with this power struggle, eventually both our spells will destabilize and destroy our surroundings completely.
Makarov could not help but agree with Hades assessment of their current situation. Though, he was not willing to dispel his [Fairy Law] in fear that Hades would not dispel his own spell. Unfortunately, his indecision left him open for another attack from the older wizard.
"[Amaterasu: Formula 28]." Hades chanted as he used his magic power to write a formula around Makarov.
Seeing the activation of Hades' spell, Makarov's eyes opened wide in surprise. Still, due to his years of experience, he was able to react quickly.
"[Three Pillar Gods]." Makarov chanted in response.
In the next instant, three ethereal pillars covered in dark colored seals appeared around Makarov with two in front and on either side of him while the third appeared behind him.
Just after Makarov's spell materialized around him, Hades spell completed its casting, as well. A moment later, the area around Makarov was covered in a spherical blast where shockwaves continuously bounced around. Yet Makarov's defensive spell held strong.
"Quite impressive." Hades praised as he saw Makarov unharmed after his spell finished. "But what about this? [Amaterasu: Formula 100]."
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*
With Hades' chant, the area around Makarov was once again covered in a sphere of bouncing shockwaves. Though, this time the area was much larger, and the spell scaled in destructive nature based on the number of the formula.
And with the increase in power, the explosion caused by all the shockwaves bouncing around the sphere was loud enough to be heard anywhere on the island. On top of that, the barrier surrounding the island that obscured it from the view of anyone not bearing the Fairy Tail guild mark was destroyed.
Not only that, but both Makarov and Hades were forced to cancel their [Law] spells as the consumption from the other spells was too great to support both.
A moment later, once the dust from the explosion settled, Makarov's [Three Pillar Gods] spell had been destroyed, as well. Despite that, Makarov suffered very little damage, receiving only minor injuries.
"It would seem I underestimated you, Boy." Hades said, genuine praise in his tone. "That spell was more impressive than I expected. But it seems it used up more magic power than you expected. In fact, I doubt that you even still have the power to defend yourself."
"*Pant *Pant* You'll see... *Pant*that I have… *Pant* more than enough power to protect my children!" Makarov bellowed.
"Then why don't we put that theory to the test." Hades said as he raised his hands in Makarov's direction. "[Grimoire Chains]."
A second later, a pair of magical chains grew from Hades' hands and sped towards Makarov.
In response, Makarov, using his [Giant] physique, swatted away the first chain to approach with his left hand. Then, he took hold of the second chain with his right. Unfortunately, before he could yank the captured chain towards himself in an attempt to pull Hades from the top of the airship, more links grew from the end of the chain and wrapped around Makarov's wrist and forearm.
"What?" Makarov exclaimed, having not expected the chains to grow in the way they did.
In the next instant, Makarov swung his left hand at the chain wrapping his right arm in an attempt to break it. However, before he could strike the chain, the one he swatted away wrapped itself around his left arm, as well.
"Damn it." Makarov said with a scowl.
"You disappoint me, Boy." Hades said while shaking his head. "The first thing I ever taught you was to never allow yourself to be captured. Now, I'll let you experience the consequences of that mistake."
With that said, Hades balled his ring and pinky fingers while leaving his index and middle fingers extended and pointed at Makarov. Then, he created spheres of magic power in front of his out stretched fingers and fired them towards Makarov's chest.
"It's not that easy to get rid of me, Precht!" Makarov shouted as he cancelled is [Gigantification].
Now with his size reduced drastically, Makarov was no longer restrained by Hades' chains. However, before he could even cast his next spell, the chains were upon him once again. On top of that, Hades was still firing his [Magic Bullets] from atop the airship.
"Damn it, I don't' know how much longer I can hold out." Makarov muttered as his breathing became more and more uneven as time passed. "I'm really getting old, aren't I? Still, as long as my children have time to get to safety, I would even sacrifice this old life of mine."
Going back a few minutes, just after Alfonzo left the base camp, he flashed across the island covered in blue electricity.
"I can feel Gramps heading towards the airship." Alfonzo muttered as he moved around a large bolder. "With all the extra training, he should be able to hold out against Hades for a while. Hopefully, he'll give me enough time to check all the preparations I made for today before I go to take on Hades myself. With his [Devil's Heart] housed somewhere in the airship, I'm not really worried about him. Still, I wonder who the replacement members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory will be. Since Ultear and Meredy are already in our guild."
While continuing to mutter to himself about the scenarios he could think of, Alfonzo eventually reached the Sixth Sense to get Gildarts to help with the attack.
"Hey, Gildarts, what the hell are you doing?" Alfonzo shouted since he could feel Gildarts' presence on the ship. "The island is under attack! We gotta make sure everyone is safe and all that shit!"
To Alfonzo's surprise, even after all his shouting, Gildarts did not respond. And he knew that it was not because the older man could not hear him as he was using his magic power to amplify his voice.
Seeing that he was not getting a response, Alfonzo shook his head as he walked into the ship's cabin towards the spot where he could feel Gildarts presence. Eventually, Alfonzo came across a certain room with the door wide open. But when he entered, all he could do was face palm in exasperation.
"Are you fucking shitting me?" Alfonzo asked in a tired tone. "It's only been, like, forty-five minutes since he left the camp, how the hell did this happen?"
The thing that made Alfonzo so exasperated when he entered the room was the fact that there were dozens of empty liquor bottles scattered on the table and the floor of the room. On top of that, Gildarts, the culprit behind all the empty bottles, was sprawled out on the table with a big, goofy grin on his face. The older man was even talking in his sleep.
"That's right, Cana…" Gildarts mumbled happily. "Daddy knew you could do it…. Now, just find that grave and become S-Class…"
"*Sigh* I guess I should have seen that coming." Alfonzo muttered while shaking his head once again. "Seeing how much Cana has grown really took him up to cloud nine. Unfortunately, he missed the moment when Cana passed the exam. I bet he'll really kick himself when he realizes that."
Deciding that waking up Gildarts when he was this plastered was a fool's errand, Alfonzo left his ship. But not before engaging a one-way barrier that would protect everything inside while allowing things inside to leave the barrier unhindered.
"Well, when he wakes up, he'll know something is wrong." Alfonzo said as he flew away from Sixth Sense. "For now, I need to check all the spots where I buried the fruits of my research. I just hope it works when that big son of a bitch shows up. If he even shows up, that is."
Like that, for the next few minutes, Alfonzo flew around the island checking the magic items he made just for today. Then, once his final check was complete, he flew towards the place where Makarov and Hades were fighting.
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*
"Well, I guess shit's really heating up on that side, huh?" Alfonzo muttered as he picked up the pace.
A few minutes later, when Alfonzo arrived at the battle between Makarov and Hades, he noticed that the Grimoire Heart airship had landed and most of the dark wizards who would be fighting with Fairy Tail had already left the area. He even noticed Zankrow, the wizard who attacked Natsu, running in the [Fire Dragon Slayer's] direction.
'Well, all our guys are stronger than the canon.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he materialized a pair of kunai over his shoulders. 'So, I'm really not worried about them winning. Still, we have a lot more S-Class wizards this time around, too.'
A moment later, Alfonzo used his [Electromagnetism Magic] to boost the speed of the kunai as he launched them at Hades' chains and pinned them to the ground.
'Who's there?" Hades asked as his chains were forced to a stop.
"Alfonzo? What are you doing here?" Makarov asked after recognizing the magic used to stop Hades' chains, though he was clearly exhausted. "You should be protecting the others."
"Don't worry about them, Gramps. You know our guys are strong." Alfonzo said as he landed next to Makarov. "I think it would be better if you went back to the camp. It would reassure everyone much more if their guild master was nearby."
"Are you saying you'll fight me in his place, Boy?" Hades asked with an amused smirk on his face. "I don't know if you're arrogant or just too young to know the difference between us."
"Neither, actually." Alfonzo replied casually with a smile. "I'm just trying to be a good citizen. It's not good to let the elderly work too hard, after all. So, I thought I'd help you get some rest."
"Although I abhor your insolence, I must applaud your bravery, Boy." Hades replied in an even tone. "But now, I'll show you the consequences of your youthful indiscretions."
With that, Hades flared his magic power, trying to put pressure on Alfonzo. Seeing this, Makarov quickly stood in front of Alfonzo to shield him from Hades' pressure with his own magic power.
"Gramps, it's okay." Alfonzo said as he reached down and patted Makarov on the shoulder before walking past him. "This isn't enough to stop me."
Seeing Alfonzo's actions and the ease with which he moved under Hades' pressure, Makarov opened his eyes wide in surprise. Then, he smiled wryly.
"I guess I really am getting old." Makarov said while shaking his head. "Even though I haven't seen you go all-out in a while, I can't believe I never noticed how strong you've become. You're almost on par with Ur at this point."
"What can I say." Alfonzo replied with a shrug and a smile. "I've been training really fucking hard, after all. Unfortunately, there are no good places for me to have a fight with Ur or Gildarts. Otherwise, I'd know exactly how close to them I am."
With that, Alfonzo pulled his [Soul Weapon], his tonfa, off his back and took a fighting stance while facing hades.
"Now, why don't you go back to the camp, Gramps." Alfonzo said, his smile turning into a solemn expression. "I'll take care of this old fossil."