The Strongest of Grimoire

Meliodas flew over the coast of Tenrou Island. He looked at the oceanside, looking for any possible sign of the enemy ship. As he continued flying over the coast, he noticed a black ship docked on the beach in the distance. As he got closer, he noticed the sheer size of the ship. The ship was enormous and split into three sections with a main hull and two separate small hulls attached to the sides. Meliodas landed on the ground in front of it to get a closer look.

A door at the front of the ship opened and a mysterious man walked out. The man was very tall and appeared to be middle aged. He had long black hair that was gathered together behind his head by a green band. He wore a purple and black robe with a black sun design at the front below his waist and had a large white coat draped over his shoulders.

The man noticed Meliodas and walked towards him. Meliodas remained standing in place as the man walked towards him. The man raised his right hand up and Meliodas immediately felt a large surge of magical power coming from the man.

"Fall." He said.

Meliodas felt a tremendous pressure on top of his body pushing down on him. The surrounding area around him immediately caved in with Meliodas being pushed down as well, causing him to take a knee. The man walked towards Meliodas as Meliodas kneeled on the ground, with the ground around them continuing to sink and take the form of a massive crater.

"Where is the grave of Mavis Vermillion?" The strange man asked.

"Sorry but I don't actually know where it is. Why are you looking for it anyway?" Meliodas replied with a cheeky smile as he kneeled on the ground, with the pressure that was placed on top of him growing increasingly stronger.

"Within that grave, lies one of Fairy Tail's Three Great Magics, known as Fairy Glitter." The man continued with slight agitation in his voice towards Meliodas' indifference towards the gravity magic.

"Yeah... I don't know what that is. You think you could let off on this gravity now...uhh what's your name?" Meliodas asked.

"Bluenote." The man commented as he continued walking towards Meliodas until he was standing right over him.

"Now tell me-" Before he could finish his sentence, Bluenote felt a sharp pain to his chin as he was launched into the air, causing the intense gravity in the area to vanish momentarily. Bluenote regained his balance and landed on the ground. He looked at Meliodas with a puzzled expression as Meliodas began slowly walking towards him.

"You can stand in MY gravity?" Bluenote questioned.

"Well your gravity is stronger than Zero's I'll give you that." Meliodas replied. A vein formed on Bluenote's forehead as he glared at Meliodas.

"Can you fly?" Bluenote asked. Meliodas raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Well that's how I got over here." Meliodas replied, not aware of Bluenote's true meaning behind the question. Bluenote grew noticeably angrier upon hearing Meliodas' answer. He charged at Meliodas with his right hand out. Meliodas felt an even heavier weight on his body, causing his legs to sink into the floor until the ground was at his knees.

"Woah…" Meliodas grunted as he found his legs stuck in the solid ground. Bluenote continued forward and threw a punch at Meliodas' face. To his shock, Meliodas jumped out of the hole his legs were stuck in, high into the air.

"You...moved within MY gravity again!" Bluenote shouted angrily. He raised both his hands out in front of him. Meliodas felt a large amount of magic energy being gathered into a single point. A dark orb appeared in front of Bluenote. Meliodas felt his body beginning to get pulled into the orb while he was still in the air.

"This...is a point of infinite gravity that-" Bluenote stopped his explanation as he saw Meliodas' features change. Meliodas pointed his hand cloaked in darkness at the orb. A mass of darkness shot out from Meliodas' hand, enveloping the dark orb. The suction effect in the area stopped as the orb was fully covered.

"W-what did you-" Bluenote gasped as he tried challenging more magic into the orb. Despite his best efforts, the black hole would not start up again as the orb remained in front of him. He looked up in the air as Meliodas charged at him.

With a darkness-covered fist, Meliodas delivered a punch straight down on Bluenote's chest. Bluenote coughed up blood as the earth around them shattered, kicking up large portions of the ground into a large crater within the crater they were standing in.

Meliodas jumped out from the crater and looked behind him with his demonic features gone. Bluenote was unconscious, with his body stuck between several large rocks while blood leaked out from his mouth.

"I don't think you quite understand what "infinite" means." Meliodas commented with a cheeky grin. He turned around again with a serious look and faced the large ship in front of him. 'So their leader is in there.'

---

Meliodas entered the ship. The door to the ship was still left open by Bluenote initially. Meliodas walked up the large flight of stairs, up to the very top at the observation deck. There he saw a lone man standing in the middle of the deck, as if patiently waiting for his arrival. The man looked old, with slicked back, long white hair with a thick white mustache and a long curly beard. Over his right eye, was an eyepatch. Despite his old age, his body was well toned. He wore a dark red shirt tucked into khaki pants and black armored greaves and gauntlets.

"Meliodas was it?" The man asked. Meliodas stopped in place as the man began talking. "In case you don't know, I am Hades, the leader of Grimoire Heart. I didn't expect Makarov to have another person of Gildarts caliber in his guild like you. No...you might even be beyond Gildarts level."

"You're certainly a lot more hospitable than those guys I fought earlier." Meliodas commented. 'So this is the guy who defeated the Master…'

"And you're much more level headed than I anticipated. I expected you to recklessly charge in at me, much like what the rest of Fairy Tail tends to do. Let me ask you, Meliodas. Did you know magic was originally born into darkness as a power that was oppressed and feared?"

Meliodas remained silent at the question, prompting Hades to keep going.

"Looking past that, I delved deep into its roots, and that is where I found...Zeref. From there I saw the true essence of magic." Hades continued.

"So what exactly do you need Zeref for then? My understanding of the origins of magic are a bit different from yours, but from what I know, magic came from chaos." Meliodas said solemnly, remembering that his current situation in this world was a result of Cath using the power of chaos. Hades' eyes widened upon hearing Meliodas bring up the term "chaos."

"You...I see...my Seven Kin never explained to you my true plans but it seems you understand what is needed in the Ultimate Magic World." Hades responded.

"Ultimate Magic World?" Meliodas asked.

"A world where only mages can thrive. A world...ruled by chaos and darkness! I didn't expect one of Makarov's children to be so accepting of the concept of chaos." Hades commented. Meliodas shook his head, as his definition of chaos and Hades' definition were widely different.

"The way you speak about Makarov, it almost sounds as if you knew him at one point." Meliodas inquired.

"Know him? I was the one who appointed him as the third guild master. I was originally known as Precht in my time in Fairy Tail. But that time is no more. I now walk the path of darkness in order to obtain the Ultimate Magic." Hades answered.

"You're just like him…" Meliodas said to himself.

"Who now?" Hades asked.

"I knew a man who strayed off his path into darkness. That darkness changed him, and as a result, he abandoned what was important to him to get closer to that darkness. I can see him in you." Meliodas said.

"Oh? Are you perhaps suggesting that this path of darkness I'm walking on is evil and I should walk the path of light instead?" Hades inquired. "There is too much light in the world of magic and that needs to be changed."

"I'm not referring to what is good or evil. I don't believe in the slightest that darkness or light alone represent those. It's what people do in their pursuit of power in order to achieve that." Meliodas answered.

"You are an interesting boy, if I can even call you that. Your looks are not befitting of your true age I suspect. It's quite a shame that we can't come to an agreement on "The Ultimate Magic World,'' as I am willing to throw away everything for the sake of accomplishing that dream. If you are to stand in my way, I'm sure you know what that means. I will surely regret killing someone like you."

"I guess it has to happen this way then." Meliodas said as he clenched his fists, meeting Hades gaze with his own serious one.

"Do Fairies have tails? Or don't they? An eternal mystery and an eternal adventure. But your adventure...will end now." Hades declared as he assumed a fighting stance. Meliodas assumed his his own fighting stance with Mel Force drawn in front of him as a small smile formed on his face.

"I guess my adventure already ended long before you came along." Meliodas replied.

"And why is that?" Hades asked.

"Because Fairies don't have tails."