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[Fairy Tail Guild Hall]
— Makarov Dreyar —
He had never felt as much rage as he did right now.
Veins threatened to burst in his forehead as he looked at the prone body of the first master, cuts and bruises littered her back as her translucent form flickered in her attempt to not lose her anchor in the physical world.
He extended his senses to the entire building, his rage immediately changing to righteous fury as he could not detect any of his children.
"HOW DARE YOU?! WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN?!"
In the skies above, dark clouds appeared as thunder boomed. The weather itself is impacted by the sheer power that is emitted from his body.
Ahead of him, near the shores of Lake Sciliora, the man who had brazenly attacked Mavis now stood on his two legs.
"You are Makarov, Guildmaster of Fairy Tail." The man said. "I am Jacob Lessio, the Assassin, member of the Emperor's Spriggans." He introduced himself before giving Makarov a respectful nod. "I will extend to you the same courtesy I gave the girl. Give me Dannis Martell, the Dark Swordsman. Tell me where he is, and I shall spare the lives of the lives of the rest of your guild.
"As if!" He lifted an arm that grew bigger by the second. The moment it grew to be titanic in proportions, half the size of the Guild Building, he slammed it downwards towards Jacob. "Fairy Tail never betrays our own!"
Credit where it's due, the self-proclaimed assassin didn't even flinch as he met the attack head on, his form disappearing from view as Makarov's fist crashed towards ground, dirt and dust being upturned from the force of the slam.
"M–Makarov!" Mavis's cry earned his attention as he looked towards the First Master. "He's telling the truth! The others aren't dead, they're being kept in some kind of spatial spell! I can feel them."
Makarov's eyes narrowed in determination. If they were taken away by a spell, then he knows just what to do to bring them back. The only problem is that this particular technique needs sight to work, the assassin's invisibility would render it mute.
A small cut on his thigh caused him to grunt. Another appeared on his lower abdomen, as a loud snapping sound cut open his shirt from where it was hit.
They were flesh wounds at best, nowhere near enough to take him down. So Makarov simply ignored it as he lengthened his arm once more before sweeping around him. The winds caused by his appendage were strong enough to uproot the trees near the lake, sending them splashing towards the large body of water.
He felt another object pierce into his back, a knife from the looks of it, as he immediately swept his arm in the direction where the knife was thrown.
A grin appeared on his face when he felt his palm hit a solid object. The sudden appearance of Jacob and his invisibility dissipating caused him to immediately snap his other hand forward, catching the man in his large fist.
Shrinking back to original height while keeping Jacob held in his enlarged hand, Makarov's other arm adopted a hand sign—two fingers pointed outwards towards Jacob.
"Dispel!"
He could see the black-clothed man's eyes widening, as he grunted and wiggled in his attempt to break free from the hold.
A burst of magic was released as two people made their appearance. Bursting through the broken doors of the guild were a red-haired mage whose armor glinted in the sunlight as she brandished her sword, and a bat-winged woman with her white hair flowing freely as she floated to the ground.
'Erza, Mira!' Makarov thought with relief. His eyes widened then as his palm flared with pain. He released his fist as a large cry was emitted from his mouth.
"Master!" Erza screamed with worry as she dashed forward with Mira in an attempt to subdue the Assassin.
Makarov forced himself to stand straight as he lifted his hand, blood and ash coated his palm as second-degree burns and blisters could be seen all over it. Looking up, he saw Jacob dodge a series of dark beams before going invisible once again.
Erza who was skirting around Mira's blast range was suddenly launched back as if she was kicked away.
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— Jacob Lessio —
He underestimated Makarov.
Jacob grunted as he dodged small bullets of darkness that the She-Devil was shooting all over the field. He pulled out his whip and retaliated, a red thin line that stretched from her neck to abdomen appeared on the white-haired mage as he snapped it towards her.
His knees shook as the movement disturbed the injuries that he caused himself in the attempt to get out of Makarov's hold.
Lacrima bombs, small spherical crystals capable of inducing explosions when activated. They were powerful weapons, considered to be a rarity in Ishgar, yet they were standard issue amongst the military of Alvarez.
He hated the fact that he resorted to such barbaric ways. An assassin works cleanly, never having an ounce of dirt or injury on their body as they finish the mission they were tasked to.
But now, covered in his own self-induced injuries, first and second degree burns with his pristine suit already turning a darkish red from the blood. He couldn't believe a single guild could push him this far.
As of right now, the only thing saving him was his invisibility. Transport is a one-time use spell, capable of taking in anyone within range into his pocket dimension and rendering them incapable of fighting back. But he could only do so when it was empty.
If a person is stuck inside, it becomes inaccessible to him to bring in anyone else. It was a weakness of his magic that he tried his best to curb. It was why he didn't just bring Makarov in when he showed up. It was why he couldn't do it again when he somehow brought out Titania and the She-Devil.
Speaking of Titania, he hurled another knife, his accuracy proven true from the cry of pain from the armored mage as it stuck into her unguarded underarm.
"There!"
The She-Devil then pinpointed all her strikes to his location, determining it from the angle in which he attacked the Titania. He couldn't believe how quick she managed that. From the intel he received, the Take-Over mage wasn't even S-Class.
Injured as he was, Jacob failed to dodge the shower of dark bullets as a few managed to clip him in the back. His invisibility faded then, and he was instantly tackled by Erza Scarlet who had changed into another armor, now wearing one colored a pure black with silver trimmings.
"Hold him!" Makarov commanded as he prepared another dispel, causing the Titania to pin him down using all her strength. Jacob pushed back immediately, his superior strength winning against the woman before his injuries flared once more, causing him to gasp as a gout of blood was ejected from his mouth.
"Dispel!"
Another burst of magic, as his energies waned and waned once more. In true desperate fashion, he kneed Titania in the gut and pushed her off, grabbing her in the leg and throwing her towards the She-Devil.
He only had a second to move before the rest of the mages he captured came through the doors of the guild. Distracted as they were, now was the only chance he had to escape.
Pulling out a handful more of the lacrima bombs, he expertly threw it to each of his opponents. Two each to the Titania and She-Devil, and three to Makarov.
"No!" Makarov's cry went ignored as the sounds of explosions went on behind him. Once again Jacob turned invisible and began his trek in leaving Magnolia, no sounds coming from his steps nor his ragged breath.
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— Mirajane Strauss —
She hissed as Lisanna wiped her injuries with a cloth before applying a salve made by Porlyusica on the cuts and bruises that she suffered in the fight. Not to mention the few burns that were caused by a lacrima bomb blowing up in her face.
It was a total disaster. It was only a few hours after they fought off the assassin. When Master Makarov managed to hit him with the dispel magic, the remains of the doors to the guild exploded outwards as every member of Fairy Tail present rushed outside to help in the fight.
Unfortunately, they were all too late. Jacob had turned invisible then, and nothing they could do managed to track him. Natsu even raged since the assassin apparently had no smell to track. It was as if he simply vanished. Cana even tried to find him through her divination cards, but again failed to get any results.
As she looked around the guild, all she could see were sullen faces and the general mood being down rotten. She wasn't surprised really, after all, she felt exactly the same way. They all felt like failures.
Never had there been in Fairy Tail history, that a person just brazenly came to the guild by their lonesome and nearly threatened the lives of every member inside. Not even she nor Erza, the strongest members they had at the time, could do anything against Jacob's spatial magic.
If it hadn't been for Master Makarov coming back at the right time, then they would all be dead by now.
She clenched her fists so hard that the knuckles turned white. Why was she so weak? She made a promise to herself to become strong. So strong that no one could ever harm anyone she cared for ever again. Yet the moment when a person came in and threatened to take away Dannis, her friend and savior, she couldn't do anything to stop it.
Fairy Tail always prided themselves to be a family. In the three years she's been here, it was proven true. Mirajane would struggle to find any other place as accepting as the guild.
So when a person came and threatened to take away one of their own, anger and fury weren't even close to describing the emotions they felt.
"Are you okay, Mira?" Lisanna asked in a worried tone. Her sister, her sweet little sister, was probably the only person keeping everyone in the guild with high cheer as she worried over everyone.
She kept badgering everyone to go check up with Porlyusica, even when she herself was caught in Jacob's spatial technique. Lisanna took it upon herself to man the bar and help give out everyone's drinks to lighten the mood.
Her smile and jovial personality caused everyone to slowly but surely calm down and bring back a much needed hilarity. She knew Master Makarov appreciated it, as he stood on one of the tables, his hand being checked and bandaged by Porlyusica.
It was at that moment that Wakaba approached the Master, flanked by Macao.
"What the hell are we gonna do now, Master? This Jacob guy is going after Dannis of all people. Why does an Emperor of another nation want with him anyway?"
The Master of Fairy Tail let nothing slip as he adopted a completely blank look. "For now, we wait until Dannis and Mystogan get back from their mission. I know the brat can take care of himself, but I'd feel much better if he were here for now."
He then looked towards the two men. "Up in my office, you should find a communication lacrima on my desk. Get the one labeled to Dannis and bring it here. It's best if I tell them what happened so he can make haste. Get the one for Gildarts as well."
"Sure thing, Master."
As Macao and Wakaba went up to fish the lacrima, Makarov then addressed Erza, the red-haired mage, bandaged as she was from her injuries, standing in attention with a scowl on her face. "The sounds of our fighting must've worried the citizens in Magnolia. Talk to the Mayor and tell him what's happening. At the very least, the higher ups of the city should know about the situation just in case another attack comes to our doors. Take Levy and her team with you."
Erza nodded as she looked towards Team Shadowgear, one of the few teams established within the guild. Levy, Jet, and Droy return the nod before following Erza's steps as she walks through the doors.
"The rest of you…" Makarov stood up as Porlyusica finished bandaging his hand, who by then stood beside the Master in a show of support. "It's clear that this attack was a declaration of war. I will be meeting with the council in a few hours to tell them of what happened. But I assure you, I won't let this stand. They wanted to take away a person from our guild, they tortured our First Master, they hurt our comrades! Dannis is a member of our family! I would die before I let Alvarez do whatever they want with him. This empire had just made a mistake, and they will rue the day they made enemies of Fairy Tail!"
A large cheer was met at the end of the Master's speech as everyone in attendance bore looks of determination and defiance. Mirajane looked down at her hands before clenching it. 'I'll do my part. I'll get stronger. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise.'
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AN: I count Jacob to be a mid-bordering-high S-Class mage. His true power comes from his resourcefulness, combat ability, and near-broken stealth ability. In a true one-on-one fight, with Makarov not having worried about the state of Mavis and his children, he would've come out on top.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the fight. Cheer lads.