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— Start of the Road to Glory arc —
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— Dannis Martell —
When news came out of Laxus and I's falling out, most of the other members just took it with a grain of salt. It wasn't rare for guild members to have spats once in a while. But when it became known that I had officially left the Thunder God Tribe, then people started to take it seriously.
The master tried to make us both apologize and make up, but with how recent the fight was, neither of us wanted to give that olive branch.
Freed ran after me that night, asking what they were supposed to do.
"Look after Laxus. He's not in a good place right now, I'm worried that sooner or later that big head of his will run into more trouble that he could handle."
Freed nodded reluctantly. "And what about you, Dannis-Sama? What will you do?"
I sighed. "I need to get away from all this. It's obvious Laxus and I can't be in the same room as each other or things would escalate. I need to cool down a bit and so does he."
"If you need anything Dannis-sama, please tell us. I don't want it so seem like we're abandoning you for–"
"You're not abandoning me, Freed." I let out a small smile. "If anything, it puts me at ease to know that you three are looking after Laxus. I'll be fine, trust me."
I said nothing else before I turned around and left.
The next day, I came to the guild and grabbed as many mission requests as I could from the mission board. I had it all signed with Makarov before leaving through the guild doors. I felt the eyes of the master and everyone else on the guild at the back of my head as I exited the building.
No one barring the Thunder God Tribe really knew what caused me to leave the team. If I had it my way, no one would know. This was between me and Laxus, something that we had to deal with ourselves.
I'm sure Master Makarov has some semblance of knowledge of what happened. After all, this all started from the fights between him and Laxus. He just didn't know the true cause of it.
And that is Laxus being determined to change Fairy Tail at its core. Like I told him, Fairy Tail is my home. The essence of the guild doesn't come from its strength, but rather its heart. Laxus's sudden mindset of 'might makes right' will not fit in with the guild. If every member knew of this, no one would want him to be the next guildmaster.
It was this reason that I made sure that no one knew the true reason of my and Laxus' fight.
I still believe firmly that he would one day succeed his grandfather as the next master of Fairy Tail. When that day comes, I would stand beside him as his ace. But that day is a long time coming.
For now, the both of us need distance from each other to clear our heads.
I know that one day, we would look back at this moment and laugh at the situation. But until that day comes, my days as a member of the Thunder God Tribe has come to an end.
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[A few months later]
'This must be the place.'
I thought as I took a puff from a cigarette. One of the missions I took from the guild was a high B-rank. A cave filled with devils was recently discovered by a hiker who stumbled upon it when they tried to climb the hills of Mount Valcona.
When they tried to investigate, the hiker said that he saw swarms of tiny red horned demons with wings. After getting a proper description, the magic council quickly identified them as Cacklers. Demons that are known for their high pitched cackling and the ability to breath out fire from their mouths.
Throughout these few months, I've made sure to only take quests that took me far from Magnolia. It was my attempt to avoid the loud swinging thunderstorm that is Laxus Dreyar.
There were a few times that I ran into bandits or even slavers, but I just beat them black and blue like always. This was the first time I would take on a demon. Not once in the years that Laxus and I did jobs as a duo did we ever encounter demons, nor did we ever do it with the Thunder God Tribe. I wouldn't lie and say that I was pretty excited.
Sure, Cacklers were known to be weak individually, not even a C-rank monster. But they were classified as a B-rank threat due to their tendency to hunt in swarms.
Stepping into the entrance of the cave, I take another puff as I study my surroundings. The interior was dark, very dark. The light from the entrance only lit up a few meters into the mouth of the cave. Anything beyond was covered under the blanket of darkness.
While this would prove to be a problem for most mages, it wasn't much issue for a mage specializing in Darkness.
I stepped confidently into the cave with one hand resting on my sheathed sword, ready to swing at a moment's notice.
"Darkness Magic: Eye of Midnight."
My right eye glowed as the black pupil took on a slight purple tinge, the once dark chamber now lit up in whites and grays as this new spell grants me the power of darkvision. I could see the entirety of the interior now, solid earth surrounded me as the sounds of water dripping from stalactites echo across the cavern.
The cave itself stretched far into the depths of Mount Valcona. It was after walking for 2 hours straight that I finally found what I was looking for.
I walk through an opening in the cave to see a large cavern the size of Fairy Tail's guild hall. I shut off my Eye of Midnight as I realized I could see just as well in this cavern as I could outside.
A quick scan showed me the reason why. Glowshrooms dot the walls and roof of the cavern, showering the entire chamber with a light blue light. I remember reading about them in a book once. Glowing mushrooms that could only be found deep underground, it was the reason why most fossorial creatures don't evolve into blindness. They were magical in nature, being one of the more common ingredients for potions or magical items.
A cackle in the air made me instantly duck down behind a large boulder. Looking towards the source of the sound, I found the reason for me being here.
Behind some rock formations, a few Cacklers fly from a hole in the ground as they start moving all over the cave. I study them idly as they gather some glowshrooms before flying back into their hole.
[Cackler image]
I raise an eyebrow as I ponder this new phenomenon, from what I remember, Cacklers were never noted to have a special interest in glowshrooms. Their palette usually consisted of human or animal flesh.
Whatever this was, it was new. And I knew enough to know that demons getting their way was never a good idea.
Taking a deep breath and flicking my cigarette to the side, I stepped out from behind the boulder, my hand gripping the hilt of my sword.
"Dark Cloaked Blade." I whispered, feeling the familiar surge of dark energy enveloping my sword. The blade extended, shimmering with a black aura as I readied myself for the fight.
The Cacklers noticed me almost immediately, their high-pitched cackling filling the air as they turned their attention towards me. In an instant, they swarmed, tiny red demons with wings flapping furiously as they darted in my direction.
"Avidya Slash!"
With a swift swing, I sent a crescent-shaped wave of dark energy slicing through the air, cutting down a few Cacklers in its path. But the swarm was relentless, more of them pouring out from the hole in the ground. The ones that survived opened their jaws wide, streams of fire being launch towards me, the fiery breath casting an orange glow across the cavern,
I ducked behind a stalagmite, feeling the heat of their flames lick at my skin. With a quick glance, I saw an opportunity. Swinging my sword upwards, I severed a stalactite from the ceiling. The large, pointed rock fell, crushing several Cacklers beneath its weight.
Using the temporary distraction, I dashed forward, slashing through the swarm with a series of swift, precise movements. Each swing marked with the drops of yellow demonic blood.
The dark energy of my blade cut through their small bodies like butter, but the sheer numbers were overwhelming. Every time I took down a handful, more seemed to emerge from the hole.
"Hell's Accompanim-woah!" The sphere of darkness sizzled in my palm as I canceled my attack, having to duck from a ball of fire that flew over where my head would have been.
The amount of Cacklers in the air is preventing me from unleashing any of my bigger moves, since those take more than a second to cast. In that case, a quicker spell meant for defense would fit better in this situation.
"Darkness Magic: Dark Cloaked Armor!" I uttered feeling the protective black sheen cover my arms and chest. The next wave of fiery breath hit me, but the dark armor absorbed the heat and impact, allowing me to press on.
The Cacklers closed in, their claws and teeth gnashing as they tried to overwhelm me. I spun in place, my blade cutting through the air in wide arcs, taking down any demon that got too close. Despite their size and weak individual power, the sheer number of them began to wear me down.
Breathing heavily, I backed up against a wall, trying to catch my breath. It's been a full hour since the fight started. My dark armor had taken several hits, and I could feel the strain of maintaining the spells. Since their fire breath was an innate physical ability and not magical in nature, I couldn't absorb their magic for my own.
Just as I prepared to launch another attack, a deep, guttural roar echoed through the cavern.
From the hole in the ground, a massive figure emerged, towering over the remaining Cacklers. The Cackler Prime. It was easily five times the size of the others, with larger wings and glowing red eyes that locked onto me with predatory intent. Its scales shimmered with a darker hue, and two large horns emerged from the sides of its head.
[Cackler prime image]
"Great," I muttered, wiping sweat from my brow. "Just what I needed."
The Cackler Prime spread its wings and let out a deafening roar, causing the smaller Cacklers to scatter. It charged towards me, claws outstretched and mouth open wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth. I barely had time to react as it swiped at me with a powerful claw. I managed to dodge to the side, but the force of the swipe broke the ground beneath me and sent me tumbling across the cavern floor.
Gritting my teeth, I got back on my feet, my sword still at the ready. Seeing the demon take a deep breath, its throat glowing an orange hue, I immediately raised both my arms.
"Black Cocoon!" I shouted, creating a spherical shell of darkness around me just in time to block a stream of fire from the Cackler Prime. The intense heat made the cocoon shimmer, but it held firm.
As the flames died down, I dropped the cocoon and charged forward, my dark blade aimed at the demon's heart. The Cackler Prime swung its massive claw again, but I ducked under it, abandoning my original target and instead slicing at its exposed belly. Dark yellow blood oozed from the wound, but the creature barely flinched, its eyes glowing with fury.
'I'm going nowhere with this, looks like it's time to try out that new spell.'
"Darkness Magic: Darkhold!" I raised my hand, a dark aura emanating from the Cackler Prime that forced the demon to hold in its place.
This was a magic that I had attempted to perfect during my days after I left the Thunder God Tribe. To utilize the telekinetic and gravitational aspect of my magic to control the movements of my target. It was far from perfect yet, and someone with significantly more power than me could easily resist it.
The massive demon roared in defiance, but I could feel its movements slow as I exerted my will over it. With a tremendous effort, I forced it to kneel, the dark mark of my handprint burning into its chest.
[The mark of the Darkhold image]
I panted heavily, feeling the strain of maintaining the spell. "This ends now," I growled, raising my sword high.
"Avidya Slash!"
With a final, powerful strike, I brought my dark blade down on the Cackler Prime, cleaving through its neck in a single, decisive motion. The demon's head rolled to the ground, its body collapsing in a heap of dark scales and lifeless wings.
The remaining Cacklers, now leaderless and demoralized, scattered into the depths of the cave. I stood there for a moment, breathing heavily and taking in the aftermath of the battle. The cavern was littered with the bodies of demons, the blue glowshrooms casting an eerie light over the scene.
I flicked my sword to clean it of any blood before sheathing it and took a deep breath, feeling a sense of satisfaction wash over me. That was the toughest fight I've been in in a while. But I had emerged victorious. The mission was a success.
I couldn't help the sad smile that took over my face. For the past three years, I had always gone on missions with the Thunder God Tribe. This sense of accomplishment would usually be shared amongst us.
But not anymore.
And that realization stung like a bitch.
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AN: Hope you guys like some independent missions like this. Dannis will be going out by himself for a while, at least until he and Laxus both swallow their pride and fix things with each other.
But till that day comes, he'd be riding solo.
Hope you enjoyed the fight, took a while to write it properly. Fight scenes are hard.
Leave some comments and drop some stones pls, thank you.