196 This is War

The guild was silent as they read the news with what happened to the council over the past two days.

"Who would have thought Meliodas being called to trial by the council would actually save them from complete destruction." Laxus commented.

"Those Tartaros bastards! Let's bring the fight to them!" Natsu shouted as he cracked his knuckles.

"Natsu, we shouldn't rush in so hastily. We don't even know where they are." Erza responded. She turned her attention to Makarov. "Master, what do you suggest?"

Makarov remained quiet, with a serious expression on his face as he was in deep thought. Suddenly, a figure appeared right in front of him.

"Doranbolt?!" Natsu shouted.

"Mister Doranbolt, what are you doing here?" Wendy asked.

"I've come with news from the council. We've identified what Tartaros is after and we are formally requesting the help of Fairy Tail." Doranbolt said.

"Wait hold on! Where the hell is Meliodas?! Are you still keeping him locked up somewhere?!" Natsu shouted.

"No. He's been pardoned and was hired officially to serve as a bodyguard while the council rebuilds." Doranbolt said.

"Tell us everything that happened first, then your request." Makarov said.

Doranbolt took a seat at the bar and turned to face everyone as he sat on the stool. "Fine, but it will be quite the story."

—

Wings of darkness sprouted from Meliodas' back as he stood in front of the council building. Just as he was about to jump into the air, he heard the voice of someone calling him from behind.

"Hold on Meliodas!" Praetor shouted as he ran towards him. Meliodas turned around and waited as Praetor approached him.

"It would be wise to take me with you. I'm the only one who can keep track of Tartaros' location. My talents would be wasted here at the council."

"Sure. I don't mind bringing you along." Meliodas said with a grin.

"Okay. But just so you know, I don't do well with heights. So if you could fly not too far from the ground or too fast then that-" Praetor was immediately lifted off the ground with Meliodas holding him by his arms under him, taking off and flying upward towards the clouds.

"AGGHHH!! NO WAIT THIS IS TOO HIGH!" Praetor screamed.

—

"So all of that has been going on…" Erza commented. In her heart, she felt a sense of relief knowing Jellal's standing with the council had been increased. The rest of the guild remained silent as they were still in shock from Doranbolt's story.

"So then it's time we go to war!" Makarov declared. The guild immediately became riled up and started shouting.

"Yeah let's kick their asses like we already did with the Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart!" Natsu shouted.

"You know if I recall, Meliodas did most of that work." Gray said.

"Well he's not here right now! So I'm gonna be the one to do it!" Natsu retorted. "So you just sit your ass down and let me do all the work snowflake!"

"Or maybe you should chill out a bit and not go in recklessly you oversized matchstick!" Gray shouted. The two of them immediately butt heads and glared at each other but stopped as they noticed someone walking in through the entryway. Doranbolt's face grew pale and his eyes grew wide.

"J-Jackal?!" Doranbolt exclaimed.

"Wait, is that the person Meliodas fought? I thought you said he blew himself up." Lucy questioned.

"Heh, so this is the guild that Meliodas comes from." Jackal said as he looked around. "I can't wait to turn this guild into-"

Jackal went silent as he felt a sharp pain in his face as Natsu appeared in front of him, sinking a flame-covered fist right into his chest and sending the demon flying high into the sky and into the canal in front of the guild.

"You got some nerve coming straight here you bastard!" Natsu shouted angrily.

"Natsu be careful! If you touch him, he puts his curse on you that will cause you to explode!" Doranbolt exclaimed.

Natsu looked down at his right fist he used to punch Jackal and noticed it was beginning to glow.

"Hah! Not a problem!" Natsu said with a grin as he immediately shoved his hand into his mouth. The rest of the guild looked at Natsu with horror on their faces as to what he was about to do.

Natsu's cheeks puffed up and smoke covered his face as the sound of a muffled explosion echoed through the hall.

"Ahh! Thanks for the meal!" Natsu said with a grin.

"Well I suppose explosions are flame based after all." Happy commented.

"So if we can't touch him, we'll just have to use long ranged attacks." Erza stepped forward right next to Natsu, donning her Heaven's Wheel armor as multiple swords began to materialize behind her.

"No wait! That's not the problem. You need to destroy his body entirely now! Or he'll blow himself up and the rest of the town!" Doranbolt said.

Jackal slowly tried to stand up. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and immediately knew that a single punch from Natsu broke his ribs.

"D-dammit! Are all of the Fairy Tail members that strong?!"

Jackal looked back up and froze in horror as a figure all too familiar to him was standing right in front of him.

"M-Meliodas?!" Jackal shouted.

"Hey Meliodas, back off this one's mine!" Natsu began to run towards them but Meliodas put up his hand, signaling Natsu to stop.

Meliodas raised his right hand up towards Jackal, his palm right in front of his face. Darkness began to surround Jackal's body, forming around him into a small sphere. Meliodas swiped his right hand upward, causing the ball of darkness to shoot up into the sky. He clenched his open hand into a fist, causing it to light ablaze with black flames and explode. The darkness in the sky faded, with not a single trace of Jackal's body found.

"Dammit! I was gonna take him down!" Natsu grumbled. Meliodas turned around and smiled at Natsu.

"I know you could have beaten him. But I couldn't afford to let him blow himself up just in case."

"Fine. But I got dibs on their leader then." Natsu responded.

"We'll see about that." Meliodas said with a cheeky smile.

"Meliodas, weren't you at the council? What are you doing back here?" Doranbolt asked.

"There was a change in plans. Also I'm not alone." Meliodas pointed to the roof of the guild where a lone purple haired figure was clinging onto the roof.

"MELIODAS GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" Praetor shouted.

"Why is he on the roof?" Doranbolt questioned. He immediately teleported up, placing his hand on Praetor then teleporting back down to ground level.

"Phew…" Praetor sighed as he slumped down onto the ground, still shaken up.

At that moment, all of the mages in the area froze as the ground beneath them began shaking violently. Meliodas looked to Praetor and Praetor pulled up his interface.

"What's going on?!" Erza questioned.

"Tartaros…" Praetor clenched his fists. "They…activated Face…"

"That's impossible!" Doranbolt exclaimed. "Don't they require all of the keys?!"

"Well you can ask them yourself. They're heading this way." Praetor pointed at the sky and everyone focused their attention on a floating cube in the distance, quickly approaching them. As it got closer, the mages could comprehend the sheer size of the cube.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Natsu questioned.

"That's…Tartaros' base of operations." Praetor replied.

"So they've come to us instead…" Makarov said as he looked at the cube getting closer. As it got closer, its looks became more apparent. The cube resembled more of a planet, with many rocky formations scattered across what appeared to be a blue substance that looked like an ocean.

"Master, get the rest of the guild ready to fight! Tartaros won't win here!" Wings sprouted from Meliodas' back and he launched himself into the sky straight towards the cube that was now hovering over Lake Sciliora.

—

Mard Geer sat on his throne, his cheek resting on his palm as he sat with one leg crossed over the other. In his other hand, held close to his side, was the book of END. Around him in the hall, were the nine demon gates kneeling before him with Crawford standing at the corner of the room.

"Lord Mard Geer." Kyoka said. "We have just arrived at Magnolia Town."

A small, confident smile formed on Mard Geer's face. "All is going according to plan. Now all there is left is to-"

"Lord Mard Geer!" Crawford interjected. "There's a massive magical presence heading towards us! It's going to collide right into-"

A deafening crash echoed throughout the large hall, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. The shadow of a short figure emerged from the hole as light shone from behind. The figure began to walk closer and down the hall. Jackal, Kyoka, Torafuzar, and Silver could not hide their frightened expressions. Mard Geer's eyes widened as he felt intrigued.

"The Blond Demon they call you, isn't that right Meliodas?" Mard Geer questioned. "You've done quite a number to my-"

Mard Geer froze as he felt the huge spike in magical power. A shiver ran down his spine and a look of disbelief formed on his face. 'Am I…trembling before magical power?! Me?!'

A black circular mark formed on Meliodas' forehead as he glared at Mard Geer with pitch black eyes. He raised his left hand out in front of him. Silver immediately dashed away towards the back of the room towards another exit as the other demon gates were completely fixated on Meliodas. 'He's…completely different from when I fought him. I can't afford to die here before I meet Gray. I can only hope Keyes doesn't die to him first.'

"Requip: Sacrifar." A black scimitar formed in Meliodas' left hand and darkness began to leak out from the handle, dripping onto the ground like a viscous liquid.

"Sacrifar?!" Mard Geer exclaimed. "No human can wield that blade!"

Without responding to Mard Geer's comment, Meliodas swung Sacrifar in a horizontal slash. Outside the cube, the bright sky darkened as if it were night time. A thin black line appeared for an instant across the center of the cube.

"Divine Slayer: Empty Night."