(Third Person POV)
On the spot where Jason fought two of the Nine Demon Gates, a pile of bodies were stacked up. Members of the imperial army watched in awe as some of the dark mages were clumsily falling out of the pile.
"Who the hell did this?" One of them asked
Another pointed to the two Etherious that were unconscious, "Probably the same fucking monster who defeated those two." He said
"What the actual hell?" another soldier said
"Hey!!" one of them said, "What the hell is happening at the palace?! There was a massive explosion there!! It's been breached!!"
They then scurried around in panic.
Meanwhile, in Kagura's location, the mermaid heel mage shattered the ice with her gravity powers.
She swung her sheathed blade at Silver who merely summoned a wall of ice to shield to block it.
"You're quite strong." He said with a smirk, "However, I've come well prepared."
He then snapped his fingers, creating ice shackles. The shackles placed themselves on Kagura's wrists.
"What?" Kagura exclaimed as she felt her energy drain
"A little spell I took inspiration from another ice mage from the West." He said, "It's single-use only, unfortunately. So I'm glad you were standing still for it."
Silver the waved his arm, sending another wave at Kagura. It hit her hard and sent her crashing into the wall.
Kagura struggled to get up as the shackles drained her energy even further.
"What..." She managed, "Is defeat this easy for me...?"
Silver chuckled, "Don't beat yourself up." He said, "Did you really expect us to come here with half-assed plans? I knew that you strong mages would stand ready to defend Eclipse. So I devised a plan of my own. First, I had to make sure one of you was alone so I can capture you using those shackles. With that, we can use you to fuel our ritual."
Kagura widened her eyes, "Ritual?"
Silver chuckled again, "I can't believe it was this easy." He said, "Here I thought that we needed help from that guy in order to get to Eclipse. Although.....I think he did manage to breach the palace. Either way, it doesn't matter. I'll have Lamy drain your magic power. With it, it will complete the preparation for the refueling...."
Silver walked up to her and crouched down in front of her.
"With the ritual, The Nine Demon Gates would not only be refueled but enhanced further." He said, "Do you have any idea how many sacrifices it took for me to get that ritual ready? Dozens upon dozens of mages from other countries. Yours is the final one."
Before Kagura realized it, her arms were completely frozen. Her mind was going numb.
Silver chuckled, "With the ritual and Eclipse, our next step of the plan is coming closer." He said, "I have to say, this was much easier than antici-"
Silver was sent flying backward by a figure.
Kagura widened her eyes in surprise to see Jason standing in front of her.
Silver stood up as he wiped the blood off his mouth, "And who are you?"
"The guy who's beat the living shit out of you." Jason said, "Oh wait, you're already dead, aren't ya? You walking corpse."
Silver's eye twitched, "Oh?"
He then waved his hand, instantly freezing Jason.
"J-Jason!" She yelled out
Then, Jason broke free of the ice.
Silver's eyes widened, "What?" He exclaimed, "How did you-"
Jason then rushed him, "I'm just different." He said rearing his fist back
"Magic and Mind Sealing Fist!"
Jason hit Silver in the solar plexus, sealing his magic. He then struck him in the forehead, attempting to seal his mind.
The shackles on Kagura's wrists shattered due to Silver's magic being sealed.
"What the.." She said as she looked at Jason
Jason merely narrowed his eyes at Silver who rubbed his forehead.
"Something is wrong...." He said as Silver glared at him
Silver's eyes were pitch black. He let out a vicious icy aura. Jason noticed that his magic power was tainted with something very sinister.
Kagura stood up and walked over to Jason.
Jason placed his hand in front of her, stopping her in place.
"I see..." Jason said referring to Silver, "You're not just a human.....Your mind is that of a demon's....you underwent demonification, didn't you?"
Silver the began to chuckle as he calmed himself down.
"You certainly know a lot, don't you?" He said as he gave Jason a slight smirk, "I suggest you keep quiet."
Jason straightened up, "We can dance if you want, old man." He said
Silver shook his head, "Fighting you will be stupid. I know you beat Jackal and Torafuzar. You have some crazy spells in your arsenal if you were able to pull that off." He said as he took a step back, "If Kagura wasn't able to be captured, then I'll have to resort to plan b."
"And that is?" Jason asked
Silver chuckled, "None of your business."
He waved his hand, creating a massive dome of ice. Jason and Kagura covered their faces as the icy steam that was caused hit them.
Then, the ice shattered and Silver was gone.
Jason narrowed his eyes, "He used a teleportation spell?" He said
Kagura then fell on her knees.
"Oi." Jason crouched down and held her, "You alright?"
Kagura panted, "That spell he used on me, it was terrifying.." She said, "It drained my energy really quickly. But not my magic power."
Jason nodded, "I see." He said, "Take it easy."
"Thank you." She said, "If you hadn't shown up, I may have been killed, or worse."
Jason gently pulled her up as he stood up, "No problem." He said, "We have to get to the palace. It was breached by someone insanely strong. It wasn't a demon, it was a mage."
Kagura nodded, "Who would be strong enough to work with a demon?"
Jason shrugged, "Who knows."
*********************************
In the basement of the Royal Palace, Natsu, and Lucy lay on the ground defeated.
Natsu was bleeding from his abdomen as Lucy was clutching her arm that was bleeding.
Natsu struggled to keep his eyes open as he looked up with a glare.
Before them, a man wearing a kimono and wielding a sword stood in front of them. He had long and dark hair tied in a ponytail. He wore feather earrings. He merely looked at the Fairy Tail mages with a serious look on his face.
"W-Who....is this guy..." Natsu managed, "He's too strong..."
Lucy didn't respond as she focused on the pain more.
The man walked past them and looked at the massive gate before him.
"Mine apologies." He said, "It is not mine wish to work with a Demon....but these are orders from mine Master."
He then looked past them and at Kyoka and Seilah who were being hanged from a wall of thorns. They were bleeding profusely from their faces due to the razor-sharp thorns.
Before the thorns, stood Mard Geer. He merely had his arms behind his back as he gave the man a sly smile.
"Forgive the sight, Suzaku.." Mard Geer, "I simply had to teach these traitors a lesson."
Suzaku shook his head, "It is of no concern of mine." He said, "But I will say, these two will be spared by me."
Mard Geer chuckled, "I have no issue with that." He said as he walked slowly toward Eclipse, "I can use the Celestial Mage....with her magic power, I can use the Gate more proficiently."
Suzaku watched as Mard Geer walked past him and summoned a book in his hand. This was not the Book of E.N.D, but a different one.
"Why is thou focused on this Gate?" Suzaku asked
Mard Geer opened the book and smiled slightly.
"I need its power." He said, "To restore my Master."
"To awaken E.N.D."