Chapter 76: The Assault Begins! Fairy Tail vs Grimoire Heart!

Chapter 76: The Assault Begins! Fairy Tail vs Grimoire Heart!

 "What is that red signal in the sky all about Mest, do you know what it means" asked Sorano in a curious tone as she looked up into the sky where a giant red signal was floating.

 "No, I don't know what it means" Mest started to say wondering if his cover was blown and the signal was somehow related to his infiltration of the Fairy Tail guild. Both Sorano and Mest were too concerned with the red signal that they did not notice Dante hovering in the air behind them. Dante landed on the ground behind them as he started to speak, drawing both of their attention to him.

 "That signal means an enemy attack has been spotted but I wonder why a supposed member of the Fairy Tail guild would not know this vital piece of information" responded Dante in a serious tone as he stared daggers at Mest. It was obvious that something was wrong with him, and Dante was determined to get to the bottom of it.

 "Master! What are you doing here and what do you mean an enemy attack has been spotted" asked Sorano in a happy tone since her the man she loved was near but also nervous at the prospect of an enemy attack. While still staring daggers at Mest, Dante motioned for Sorano to stand behind him. Getting his signal, Sorano quickly moved behind her master as he continued to speak to Mest.

 "Sorano, I understand not knowing about the signal since she just joined the guild, but you should know better Mest. That is unless you aren't actually a part of the guild" stated Dante in a serious tone. Mest visible sweat as he took a few steps back as Dante looked at him menacingly while in his Angel Soul Gabriel form.

 "W-what? Of course, I am in Fairy Tail! I was Mystogan's pupil don't you remember" asked Mest in a nervous tone hoping he would be able to lie his way out of being discovered. Just as Dante was about to respond, he heard Panther Lilly speak as he landed beside Dante. Panther Lilly quickly transformed into his combat form and punched the boulder directly behind Mest as he started to speak.

 "Don't lie to us! I find it very suspicious that my prince would take on a pupil in this world. It's convenient that the only person that can confirm your story no longer lives here" stated Panther Lilly in an intimidating tone. While it was a surprise to Dante to see Panther Lilly on the island, he was glad for the back up as well as a confirmation that his suspicions of Mest were well founded.

 "If I were you, I would start telling the truth" stated Dante as he stood beside Panther Lilly. Mest was nervous as the two towering and powerful wizards stared daggers at him, it seemed his cover was blown. Just as Mest was about to speak he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Reacting quicker than Dante or Panther Lilly, Mest teleported away and then appeared in front of Sorano.

 "Damn teleportation magic" asked Panther Lilly as both he and Dante turned around. Dante felt panic fill his body as he watched Mest wrap his arms around a stunned Sorano.

 "SORANO" yelled Dante as he tried to close the short distance between him and Mest but was too late.

Mest used his teleportation magic to transport himself and Sorano some distance away. As Dante and Panther Lilly were trying to locate where Mest had gone to, they were assaulted with powerful explosions. Dante grunted in pain along with Panther Lilly as they were blown backwards from the force of the sudden attack. Using his wings to quickly dispel the smoke cloud that had formed, Dante was relieved to see that Panther Lilly was largely unharmed. Once they were both able to see again, Dante and Panther Lilly found Mest and Sorano some distance away and flew over to their location.

 "Sorano are you okay" asked Dante as he raced over to her side. Seeing that she was unharmed, Dante then realized that Mest had just saved her from the earlier attack.

 "Yes, master I'm okay, Mest saved me" responded Sorano in a warm tone happy to see her master so concerned for her safety. Dante had to look at Mest and rethink his opinion of the man. He might not be who he says he is, but he just saved Sorano and for that Dante would be forever grateful.

 "You still have to explain yourself but thank you" stated Dante in a thankful tone as he looked at Mest. Mest nodded his head as he turned it towards a tree before he started to speak.

 "Show yourself" yelled Mest as a figure emerged from the nearby tree. Dante and Panther Lilly readied themselves for action, this must be the enemy that the red signal was warning them about.

 "Very perceptive of you" responded the figure as he emerged from the tree.

 "Who are you and what is going on" yelled Panther Lilly demanding answers from their attacker.

 "I'm Azuma and I am one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory" responded Azuma. Dante and Panther Lilly was confused by this declaration while Mest seemed elated at this news. Dante did notice the look of horror on Sorano's face at this news and he wondered who this man standing in front of them were.

 "N-no please not them, not the seven sins" stated Sorano in a fearful tone. Just as Dante was about to ask Sorano what she knew, Mest started to speak.

 "He's one of the elite members of the Grimoire Heart guild" stated Mest in an elated tone. Dante and Panther Lilly both audibly gasped at these words.

 "Damn Grimoire Heart?! What are they doing on our sacred island" asked Dante in a nervous tone. He knew that Grimoire Heart was one of the most powerful dark guilds, much like the Oracion Seis were. It therefore made sense that Sorano would recognize the name of the Seven Kin since she was a former member of the Oracion Seis.

 "It doesn't matter what I tell you, because you all will die here and now" responded Azuma in an intimidating tone. Before Dante could respond, Mest started to laugh.

 "Haha this is too perfect. I infiltrated Fairy Tail working for the magic council in order to find dirt that would shut down the guild, but this is so much better" Mest started to say to the shock of Dante and the others. So that was Mest's motivation Dante thought as he continued to speak.

 "Imagine my reward for bringing down Grimoire Heart. For backup I have a felt of magic council battle ships on standby, once Grimoire Heart reach this island you will be destroyed" stated Mest as Dante noticed a fleet of battle ships in the distance. While Dante didn't like the idea of the Magic Council investigating Fairy Tail, he was relieved that the magic council's forces were here to help bring down the dark guild.

 "Those ships look so frail" responded Azuma not at all intimidated by the fleet of battleships. Just after Azuma said this, the battleships were torn apart from a large magical explosion. Mest looked defeated as his force was destroyed so easily.

 "W-what how is that possible" stated Mest with his jaw hanging open in shock.

 "No, all those people. How could you" asked Sorano in a worried tone as she watched the ships being torn apart. Azuma chuckled at Sorano's words as he responded.

 "To think a former member of the Oracion Seis would be concerned with the lives of insignificant people. How far have you fallen Angel" stated Azuma in a mocking tone. Seeing so many innocent lives taken and hearing Azuma mock Sorano for her past, rage filled Dante as he stepped forward.

 "I don't know why you are here, but you are going to regret ever messing with Fairy Tail" stated Dante as he stood ready to fight against Azuma.

 "Hmm Dante of Fairy Tail. You are one of the S-class and called the Angel of Fairy Tail. I wonder how strong of a warrior you are" asked Azuma with a smile as he stood against Dante. Dante noticed Panther Lilly stand beside him as he started to speak.

 "You're not alone Dante, I have your back" stated Panther Lilly as Dante gave him an appreciative nod.

 "Thanks Lilly let's take this guy down" stated Dante in a confident tone just before he took to the sky and flew towards Azuma with Panther Lilly following close behind him.

 "Right behind you" stated Panther Lilly as the both of them charged towards Azuma. Dante and Panther Lilly then began their assault on Azuma. Just as Dante and Panther Lilly were about to strike Azuma, Azuma raised his hand and produced a powerful explosion that would have enveloped both Dante and Panther Lilly. Dante was able to respond in time however and brought his hands forward and activated his magical power.

 "Heaven's Shield" yelled Dante as he produced a holy shield that blocked the incoming blast, thus protecting himself and Panther Lilly. Dante grunted as he felt a sizable drop in his magical power as his spell blocked the powerful blast of magic. Turning his head to Panther Lilly since he was still held in place blocking the blast, Dante yelled at him.

 "Panther Lilly get him" yelled Dante as he continued to hold his shield in place. Using his wings, Panther Lilly quickly flew behind Azuma before he swung his fist at him.

 "Take this" yelled Partner Lilly just before he tried to punch Azuma. Just before Panther Lilly was able to land his attack, serval explosive balls of energy formed around both Dante and Panther Lilly. The explosive balls of energy then donated before either of them could react in time. Pain filled Dante's body as he was sent crashing to the ground along with Panther Lilly.

 "Master are you okay" stated Sorano in a worried tone as she rushed over to his side.

As Sorano was running towards Dante, serval more balls of explosive energy formed around her. Seeing this panic filled Dante as he used his magical power to increase his speed. Taking to the air Dante flew at top speeds towards Sorano and he was able to push her out of the way before the explosive detonated. Screaming in pain as Dante took another powerful assault, Sorano looked on in horror as Dante went crashing back to the ground.

 "M-master no" stated Sorano hoping that Dante was okay. She felt guilty that he just took so much damage protecting her. Dante in response shakily rose to his feet and turned towards Azuma while he spoke back to Sorano.

 "Sorano, you have to get out of here" responded Dante in a serious tone as his body was screaming at him in pain from the attacks he just took. Not wanting to leave her master alone to face Azuma, Sorano protested.

 "Master I can't" Sorano started to say before Dante cut her off.

 "GO! I won't forgive myself if something happened to you! Go, I can handle this with Panther Lilly. You need to make sure the others are safe" yelled Dante in a serious tone. After Dante said these words, however, Azuma charged up a large amount of his magical power as he started to speak.

 "None of you are making it out of here alive. Tower Burst" stated Azuma as he extended both arms out to his sides and summoned forth a great deal of magical power. An enormous tower of explosive flames erupted in the area. Seeing that his friends would not be able to react in time, Dante summoned his own magical power.

 "Guardian Angel" yelled Dante as he activated his spell. Both Sorano and Panther Lilly were enveloped in a white light as Dante breathed a sigh of relief. At least they would be safe, Dante even made sure to cast the spell on Mest since he saved Sorano.

 "W-what is this spell" asked Sorano before Azuma's attack enveloped all of them.

Sorano closed her eyes as she prepared to feel the pain of being blasted apart. She, however, was surprised when she felt no physical pain from the attack. Despite feeling no physical pain, her heart broke in two as she heard Dante's screams of pain as he was torn apart from the powerful blast. The earth beneath them was torn apart as the magical blast continued to destroy everything. Once the magical blast was gone, Sorano opened her eyes and dread filled as she saw Dante on the ground; he was out of his Gabriel form.

 "Dante" yelled Panther Lilly as he ran over to Dante while Sorano did the same. Looking around for a moment it seemed that Azuma assumed the blast killed all of them because he left the area in search of his next victims.

 "Master! Are you okay?! Why did the blast only affect you" asked Sorano with tears in her eyes as Dante weakly looked up at her.

 "The blast only affected me because of my spell" responded Dante in a weak tone, his entire body was screaming in pain from taking the powerful blast four times over.

 "I d-don't understand" responded Sorano in a worried tone.

 "The Guardian Angel Spell makes it so any damage the target of the spell would take is magically transferred to the caster instead. I activated the spell just in time to save all of you" responded Dante with a weak smile on his face. Sorano's tears were falling from her face at her master's words. Looking over at Panther Lilly he was also crying over his hurt comrade.

 "I really hate that spell; how could you master? Don't you know how much you mean to me" asked Sorano feeling guilty that the man she loved risked his life to save her.

 "Haha that's what everyone says about that spell, and you know why I did it Sorano. You mean so much to me as well, I will do whatever it takes for you and you as well Panther Lilly. I would do anything for my guildmates, you guys are my treasured family" responded Dante with a smile despite the pain coursing through his body. Dante was then surprised when the pain in his body lessened as Sorano used her magic to envelope him in a green light.

 "You idiot don't ever do anything like that again! Hold still and let me heal you, I have been practicing this magic since I lost my spirit keys" responded Sorano as she used her new magic to heal her master. She was glad that she chose to learn healing magic since she was no longer a celestial wizard. Feeling her magical power drain, Sorano was forced to stop before Dante was fully healed. Despite not being fully healed Dante found he was able to move his body again. Sitting up Dante looked at Sorano with a grateful look.

 "Thank you, Sorano," stated Dante in a grateful tone. Sorano responded by tightly hugging her master as she spoke.

 "I should be thanking you master" responded Sorano while crying tears of joy that Dante was going to be okay. Dante returned Sorano's embrace as he thought he would need to get a move on soon. Despite the damage he suffered, Dante knew he would still be needed in the fights to come. Thankfully thanks to Sorano, Dante was healed enough to fight once more, and he would destroy everyone that dared to hurt his guild. 

 End of Chapter 76