Chapter 10: First Quest Of The S Class Mage

Chapter 10 for your enjoyment. Read, review, tell your friends too. I hope it lives up to your expectations.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Bleach. Shame, it would be great if I did.

Protector Of The Fairies

First Quest Of The S Class Mage

Ichigo peered over the edge of the rocks down at the valley below. Quiet. That was the only way to describe it. Too quite though.

Team Fairy had been on this quest for almost two weeks now. For what they were hunting, it was far longer than they had expected.

Ichigo sighed as he pulled back from the cliff edge and headed back down the slope. The others would be waiting back at the camp, hoping for some good news.

Their first S Class mission was far different than they had expected. So far, it had been nothing more than a glorified tracking mission. Looking for Magic residue from their target, asking around towns for rumours of sightings, and basically hoping one of the leads would work.

Really, they should have seen it by now. A massive Demon wasn't hard to miss.

All they had to go on was that the Demon was meant to be powerful and hard to find. Not on the level of one of Zeref's but still dangerous. They had seen its work a few towns back and it looked recent. They couldn't be too far behind.

Ichigo weaved around the trees before arriving at the camp. Laxus looked up at him and looked down again in annoyance, probably noticing his mood. Levy didn't notice straight away, fiddling with her new clothes.

They had insisted she get some new stuff after a few of their experiments with her Magic. While it seemed she could enhance her clothes and herself normally with her Magic, the material wasn't a good conductor for it and it soon fizzled out far too quickly. It was okay for emergencies but in a real fight, you didn't want you Magic to fail you at the last moment. That would be suicide.

Of course while Levy wanted stylish stuff, they wanted her to have practical stuff. Laxus had been all for a suit of metal armour like Erza, something Levy had protested heavily at. Too little protection though and even the enhancements wouldn't be enough.

In the end, they had managed to get her a few pieces of leather like armour, mostly consisting of arm guards, new boots, and a short sleeved jacket. It hadn't been cheap for what they were made of but they would be much more effective than her normal clothes, and she could still wear that stuff as long as she wore the armour over it on their missions.

They had also insisted she had something to defend herself at close range. She wasn't the Close Combat type of Mage as her Magic was more suited to range currently. To overcome that, they had forced her to choose some kind of weapon that could at least give her a helping hand.

It was attached horizontally behind her back on her waist now. A small cylinder that seemed like nothing of significance. It was much more than it seemed though and was good at conducting Magic like her new clothes. At least now, they could let her fight more easily on a mission like this.

There was no way they would leave her alone right now though, despite her quick improvements. She was here to learn firsthand about strength and power in battle and the best way to become stronger was through experience. Alone, she would never beat the Demon. That was what they would be there for.

She finally noticed him, raising a hand in greeting. "Anything?"

Ichigo shook his head. "Nothing. This Demon's good at hiding. I can't see anything."

Laxus sighed. "I thought I couldn't sense anything nearby. A Demon of this size should be like you. A beacon to everyone everywhere."

"Should I hang back for a while?"

Laxus shook his head. "No. I'm not fighting this Demon alone with Levy." He turned towards the girl. "Sorry squirt but I'd rather have Ichigo by my side."

"No offense," said Levy, not letting it get to her. Laxus didn't mean anything mean by it. It was just his way of talking. He sounded insulting but he was simply being honest. She had no doubts that she wouldn't be a match for the Demon and that their best chance was with Ichigo and Laxus's teamwork.

Ichigo pulled a map out and crossed off another location. "So what is this? Site twelve? Thirteen?"

"I think we hit fifteen three days ago," muttered Laxus. "We can't have many leads left do we?"

Ichigo checked the map, counting off the remaining circles on it. "From the look of it, there must be twenty left. Too many leads, not enough time."

Levy joined them in their sighs. "Should we ignore the earliest ones?"

Laxus nodded. "She has a point. By now the Demon would have moved on from them. Unless you think it continued on in that path and the latest rumours were wrong that is."

"We saw the damage." Ichigo gestured down at the towns on the map. "Each one was taken down one by one, and the destruction pattern keeps fitting the original description. A rain of fire called down from the sky and winds strong enough to topple the walls. It has to be nearby.

Laxus looked down at the map before something seemed to click. "Pass me the pen."

Ichigo frowned but did as he was asked. Laxus slowly leaned down and crossed locations off, one by one. Each movement was slow but done as if he was confirmed details first off to be sure of what he was doing.

After a few minutes of silence, the only noise coming from the occasional scratch of paper and pen, Laxus finally finished, leaving three points left on the map.

"Are you sure about theses ones?"

Laxus looked at him with confidence. "Of course." He gestured at the earliest locations. "As Levy suggested, the earliest ones are no good. We should have heard about more destruction from that direction otherwise. It people say it went that way, perhaps it did and they doubled back. Demons can be quite tricky after all."

Laxus now showed them the points nearest the middle of the map. "Now look at these ones. Too close to each other yet nothing. We should have seen something in the distance or at the very least, we should have sensed something. Demon Magic has a certain trait to it, making it easily recognisable."

Laxus finally gestured to the three points left. "Now we have three left. The closest one is because this path could still be correct to an extent and we just aren't far enough yet. The other two are similar situations. Three choices yet only one direction."

Laxus had thought it all through well. He doubted he would have managed to do it so well.

"It's this one."

The two boys turned to Levy in shock, the girl looking extremely nervous at all the sudden attention.

"I… I mean…"

She waved her hands in embarrassment, aiming them at Ichigo. Laxus got the message.

"So this one?"

Levy nodded at the location on the map. It was the furthest from them by how were the two sure.

"Go on Levy." Levy looked up at Laxus in surprise. The Lightning Mage had an impressed look on his face. "You figured it out first."

"Um…" Levy looked up at Ichigo. "You're Magic… It's massive."

"Yeah?"

"So… Couldn't the Demon be afraid?"

"Afraid?" The word sounded foreign with Demons. Why would they be afraid of him?

"Not you personally," said Laxus when he voiced those words out loud. "Right now, the Demon would be able to sense you like a beacon, just like its Magic would be for us if we got close. Demons both respect and fear those stronger than them, and even if it is tougher, your Magical Power is enough to ward it off."

"So it's what? Running scared."

"Yes." Laxus pointed again at the location on the map. "If you sensed a massive source of Magical Energy, one possibly greater than your own, would you stay and risk fighting it?"

"Probably."

"If you weren't you?"

Ichigo tilted his head to the side. The idea of running away always sounded strange to him. If he hadn't been taught as he had been though, he may have considered it as a possibility.

"Think about it this way. Right now, it doesn't know what you are capable of. Magical Power doesn't mean squat if you can't control it but at a distance, you can't know what level of control someone has. The Demon is powerful but no Demon wants to face a fight they could lose. They enjoy being top dogs."

Ichigo looked at the map carefully. "So let's assume he is here. If he continues in that direction from the city, he will end up here."

Laxus examined the map. "Hopefully. Looks like a city is right in its path and we've seen it can't resist attacking them. It's the best time to attack. While the Demon is distracted, we can buy time for evacuations and then once everyone is clear, we can fight seriously without risk of injury from collateral damage."

Levy raised a hand. "Aren't you two always going on about avoiding damages?"

"The cost of them," muttered Ichigo. "They can't sue you for damaging the ground and in this case, they won't care if we level the town or not. It's going to be destroyed either way by the Demon and many lives would be lost so the best we can do is try and kill it before too many die."

Laxus nodded at his words. "If we are lucky, we may even get there before the attack and can lure the Demon further away, but I doubt we will make it in time. This Demon is fast for its supposed size."

Laxus stood up and grabbed his pack. "Let's head out now. Better to get as much ground covered as we can beforehand. This Demon will need to rest as well and we can hopefully use this chance to catch up a bit. You can't sense Magical Power while you're asleep after all."

The three headed out, the eyes glued to the path. They had to move fast. Lives were in the balance here, and seconds could make all the difference.

Protector Of The Fairies

A bald man stood at the outskirts of the town he had recently arrived at. He stood there silently and without moving, as steady as a rock. A strange staff with a crystal globe resting on the top was held strongly in his left hand.

He was waiting. He could sense it getting closer. A Demon.

When he saw the request about the Demon, he had originally planned to take it. Unfortunately though, the mission had already been accepted by another guild. Fairy Tail if he had heard correctly.

He was familiar with the name but he hadn't had the luxury to meet many Fairy Tail Mages before, especially S Class ones. He was one of Lamia Scale's few S Class Mages and like Fairy Tail, the guild had few to start with. He kind of wished to see what kind of people these Fairy Tail Mages were like.

He had no right to interfere with their mission though so he had decided he could easily visit the guild later on. He was sure his Guild Master could get permission from Master Makarov to allow him to visit. The man was known to be a kind and fair person from what he had heard.

As luck would have it though, he got his wish to meet the Mages sooner rather than later. A new S Class request appeared only a few days back that requested protection from a Demon.

His mind immediately connected the dots and had accepted the mission before he could think. It was rare that he gave into impulse and he hoped he wouldn't regret not thinking it through first.

It would be worth it. From what he had predicted, the Demon would likely pass by this town. The city had already been evacuated to an underground bunker in the centre, left over from the days of Zeref's terror. While he would try and fight the Demon away from the town, he couldn't guarantee the town would be left unharmed.

It seemed too quiet. He looked and looked but nothing. From the reports of Demon sightings, he had expected a massive beast. So where was it?

He could sense a massive source of Magical Power approaching but something unnerved him. If it belonged to the Demon, why couldn't he see it yet? It didn't make sense.

The sound of crashing filling his ears and he turned, fear on his face. The walls surrounding the city had collapsed, even when supported by his Earth Magic. But where was the attack coming from? Was the Demon invisible?

Fire rained from the sky and it was only then that he realised the Demon's trickery. That Magical Power approaching wasn't the Demon's because the Demon was already here, miles above the city itself. It could fly.

The Magical Power had to belong to whoever was tracking this Demon. Hopefully it would be the Fairy Tail Mages. He had doubts that he could pull a battle like this off alone now.

Still, the intelligence of this Demon was surprising. It used its pursuers to trick the defenders so it could launch a surprise attack on the city. It had to want to take down the city as fast as possible to keep ahead of those chasing it. This Demon wasn't a dumb brute.

Fire seemed to be its main power. The winds could have been generated from the wings. Enhanced beats of them could do such a thing in theory.

At least the warnings of Fire being rained down from the sky had a basis now. He could wait for the other Mages but he couldn't risk it. He would just have to hope they would make it in time. Until then, he would hold out. He wasn't called Iron Rock Jura for nothing.

He raised his right hand and extended his middle and index fingers towards the Demon. From around him, pillars of earth rose from the ground and extended high up to the sky.

The Demon wasn't harmed. It seemed it was too high up. The pillars of earth would only go so far. The further he sent them, the weaker they would become. No matter. He would use this to his advantage.

The Demon raised one of its clawed hands and fire appeared. It brought its arm back and threw the flame, the fire multiplying as it split of into smaller blasts.

Jura swiped his hand to the side and the tops of the pillars extended to the sides, joining together and forming a small barrier over the town. The fire connected and destroyed the quickly constructed barrier but it was enough. He only needed to block the attack.

Still, he couldn't afford to waste Magic like this. He would have to maximise what he had and hold out.

He slammed the staff into the ground and brought his hands together in prayer. Earth rose all around the town, climbing higher and higher as it sloped towards the centre. The walls of earth reinforced themselves as layer after layer appear until the rock eventually met at the top of the town.

Jura didn't once release his hands from their prayer position. This defence would last as long as he kept supplying Magic. Now the question was who's time would run out first. His or the Demon's.

Protector Of The Fairies

Ichigo and the others sped through the trees, getting closer and closer.

"You're sure you sensed something?" asked Ichigo.

"Yeah." Laxus pointed up ahead of the group. "We're close now and I definitely sensed a large release of Magical Power up ahead. Two of them in fact, and one wasn't demonic. Someone else is fighting."

Ichigo frowned. "Did someone else take our job?"

"Doubt it. For one, few people can take S Class Missions. For another, no one else can legally take this mission unless we give up or can't complete the mission within a suitable timeframe. For something like this, it could range from a few weeks to two months. Demons are tricky."

"I see something," shouted Levy.

The two boys joined her in glaring forward, seeing the edge of the forest in view. Beyond it was something odd, which must mean they were getting close.

One final push and they were through the forest. Dead ahead was a large dome made completely of earth and rock, holding back the wrath of the Demon above it.

"So that's why it was hard to track," muttered Ichigo. "It could fly."

"We need to get it out of the sky." Laxus looked towards Ichigo. "You said that a Shinigami gains access to a whole range of abilities once they unlock Shikai. Something that would allow you to reach targets up high. Do you think you can use it yet?"

Ichigo frowned. "I haven't tried much. I've been getting use to Zangetsu's released form and how Getsuga Tenshou works with him."

"Give it a try anyway. My Lightning Form could reach him but I don't have the raw power to knock him down. You should."

"Let's hope Kisuke's lessons about this worked then."

Ichigo kicked off the ground. Instead of coming back down, he stayed in the air, rising higher and higher each time his feet kicked off something.

Levy looked up at him, shock on her face.

"How…"

"He's not flying. I don't even completely understand how it works. What I do know is that because he used pure Magic, it has different properties to our own."

"You mean like how your Magic has traces of Lightning in it."

Laxus nodded. "Indeed. But he doesn't have that filtered Magic. It's just raw power. From what he told me, this technique he's trying is a form of manipulation of pure Magic. He forces his Magic under his feet and uses it to create a platform to stand on. Then he uses that platform to jump from."

"So it's like he's climbing?"

"Yeah, something like that. Now we should focus on getting to the dome. Have you been practicing that suggestion we gave you before we went to the S Class Trials?"

Levy nodded. "I think I can do it."

"Then let's go squirt." Laxus's body shifted before he was covered in lightning and flying forward at speeds far greater than before.

Levy watched him go before she swiped her hands to the side. "Solid Script: Jump, Speed, Weight."

The words flew towards her clothes, 'Jump' attaching to her shoes while 'Speed' and 'Weight' attached to her jacket. Immediately, she found herself weighing a lot less than before as 'Weight' began to make her lighter. It wouldn't last long but it would allow her to move more easily and survive falls that would otherwise hurt.

That was where 'Jump' came in handy. A lighter weight and greater jumping power would allow her to manoeuvre over obstacles with ease by just jumping and she wouldn't have to worry about hurting herself when she hit the ground with 'Weight' active.

Finally, 'Speed' would allow her to move much faster, especially when combined with the other two. It would only get more effective over time as she gained more Magical Power and a greater control over her Magic but for now it would suffice.

Kicking off the ground, she felt herself flying through the air. She wasn't as fast as the others by a long shot but she wouldn't be far behind. She felt herself falling and the moment she hit the ground, she kicked off again, continuing her pace.

Ichigo watched from above at the two, a smile appearing on his face at Levy's progress. Now that was how to use Solid Script creatively.

Turning back to the Demon in the sky, he needed to work out how to get it down.

A normal Getsuga Tenshou wasn't going to be enough. This Demon was massive which meant it would have some extremely high resistances to Magical attacks. If he was lucky, it would be a lesser Demon. If it wasn't then they would need a Devil Slayer here to help.

This was only an S Class Quest though, not one that was higher than that. A high ranking Demon was normally only found on those missions so they should be okay here. Still, he needed to knock this Demon down far. Not only did he have to overcome that resistance but he would also need to knock it far enough down before it could recover with its wings.

He would have to release his Shikai then. Getsuga Tenshou was strongest there. Something about Zangetsu's blade being able to magnify the destructive power of the attack and release it in one swing.

But first, he needed to get closer. He needed to get above the Demon and it didn't look like it was going to let him past easily. The Demon slowly turned to him, its eyes widening as it saw the sword in his hand.

So even Demons feared Zanpaktou. The Demon bowed its head slightly before it created large spheres of fire in its hands. So the Demon respected his power it seemed. They were know for respecting power above all else.

The Demon threw the fireballs, each of the two spheres splitting again and again and again till it was nothing more than a rain of fire falling down at him.

This wouldn't be enough to stop him. This looked like an attack designed to bombard a group of enemies or a town. He would slip right past it.

There were a lot of fireballs to dodge but he managed it, weaving his way around the ones that got to close as he kept up his approach. The Demon threw down more fire only to get the same result.

They both came to the same conclusion. The fireballs weren't going to be enough to stop him. So the Demon changed tactics. It brought back its hands as fire surrounded each of the claws. Then it flew at him.

So that was its new plan. It was moving much faster than he was now with gravity on its side and those claws looked deadly sharp. The fire would increase the range of its swipes dramatically from the looks of it and he didn't want to know what would happen if he was hit by them.

This could work in his advantage though. He needed the Demon on the ground and he needed to get past the Demon first. All he had to do was dodge somehow.

But the Demon was getting closer and there was no way to avoid it without it adjusting itself to catch him. He needed to be faster and slip through its guard.

What was that technique Kisuke talked about? Shunpo. That was it. He hadn't used it before but he didn't have time to worry about that. He would just have to make do. He only had to travel a short distance so it didn't matter how many steps it took, just as long as he got past and could attack.

He waited till the last moment. The Demon got closer and closer till it was almost on top of him. Then he moved.

It was far easier than he though. One moment he was right in front of the Demon, and the next he had slipped right past its guard. It hadn't been hard to see a momentary hole in its guard and slip through it.

The Demon strained its head round as it looked up at him in fear. Why was it so afraid of what he had done? He had only used Shunpo. It should be afraid of what was coming.

At his command, his Zanpaktou changed, his familiar oversized trench knife appearing in his hands in place of the sealed form of Zangetsu. He brought the blade up at gathered energy around the blade, preparing for one massive strike.

The Demon swallowed whatever fear it had shown and attempted to stop him. He was forced to bring his Zanpaktou down quickly to block the strike of the claws.

The energy was still wrapped around the blade. Slowly, he increased the energy he was storing in the blade till it even swallowed him up in the aura. He hadn't tried this before either but it felt right. No one ever said to him that Getsuga Tenshou had to be fired as a long range attack.

"Getsuga Tenshou."

The energy exploded down in a massive blast. It seemed that since it didn't need to form the crescent shape to maintain the energy in, it could just release it all at once from the blade's edge.

From the ground, Laxus and Levy looked up. They had gotten to the dome and were now looking up at the cloud of smoke from the attack.

The Demon fell straight through it, heading down to the ground with no attempts being made to stop its fall. It looked like it was recovering but it wouldn't make it in time.

Their prediction was wrong. The Demon fell far but, before it reached the ground, its wings shot out and caught itself just in time. It was far lower but they would find it hard to battle it in the air, especially Levy.

"Damn," Laxus said quietly. "It wasn't enough."

Levy made to say something when a large rumbling sound filled the air. Before either of them could ask each other what was happening, the dome changed, large spikes firing off it at the Demon.

After falling so far and barely stopping itself from hitting the ground, the Demon didn't have the time to dodge. The spikes of earth smashed into the Demon one by one. Most crumbled on impact, not leaving much damage behind. One though got lucky and smashed into the weaker wings of the Demon, piercing it.

The Demon roared in pain as it fell from the sky, one wing not enough to support its massive body. It crashed into the ground and the two Mages could feel the shockwave from the crash from where they were standing.

Slowly, the dome of earth crumbled into dust and they saw a bald man leaving the town in the direction of the Demon, a staff in one hand.

They met him half way as they approached the Demon's crash site themselves. Laxus gave him a nod, instantly recognising who he was.

"Laxus Dreyar. S Class Mage of Fairy Tail."

The man nodded in kind. "Jura Neekis. S Class Mage of Lamia Scale." Jura looked down at Levy. "And you are?"

"Levy McGarden. Fairy Tail Mage."

"Pleasure to meet you."

Levy looked at the body of the Demon in the distance. "How did you do that?"

Jura looked at his handiwork. "You mean piercing the Demon's wing? I couldn't do anything before as it was far too high. Once your friend knocked it down far enough, I could reach it."

"I meant getting past its Magical defences?"

Jura smiled. "It isn't anything much to brag about. My Earth Magic is very dense and this Demon doesn't have the strongest defences, especially on its wings. I would make a guess that it never needed them so it focused on other strengths."

Laxus looked at the man with respect. "Just what I would expect of Iron Rock Jura. Your Magic hardens the earth if what I read was correct?"

Jura nodded. "Indeed." He leaned back slightly and spotted Ichigo in the sky. "Your orange haired friend. Who is he?"

"That guy up there? That's Ichigo. Fairy Tail M-"

"Shinigami."

Laxus scowled at the interruption. "Yeah."

Jura released another smile. "Incredible. I never thought I would meet one, especially not one so young."

Ichigo appeared in front of them suddenly, out of breath.

"You okay?" asked Laxus. "That was a big attack there."

"I'm fine." Ichigo took a few deep breaths. "Haven't used Shunpo before so I'm not use to using it for large distances."

Ichigo looked at Jura. "Who's the bald guy?"

That seemed a bad thing to say as Jura almost immediately went into a depression.

"What did I say?"

"Ignore him." Laxus looked towards the Demon. "He's our ally at least."

"Indeed." Jura snapped out of his depression as the Demon slowly started to rise. "You may call me Jura. For now, we have an enemy to face."

Ichigo looked at the Demon and brought up Zangetsu ready. "He's a tough one. Took the full blunt of one of my strongest Getsuga Tenshou attacks and still caught itself before it fell too far."

Levy reached behind her back and pulled out the cylinder. As she brought it out, it extended till a large pole like staff was in her hands. "Solid Script: Steel."

The word attached itself to the staff and the staff glowed for a moment till it disappeared. The staff would hurt a lot more now than before.

Laxus slammed his fists together as he activated Dragon Force, his body expanding as his muscle mass increased. His canine teeth sharpened and the scales appeared on his arms. The lightning flickering around his body intensified with the increase in power and a growl escaped from his throat.

Jura stabbed the staff into the ground behind him as the orb on top glowed. He shifted himself into a combat stance and focused his eyes on the target. He was ready to launch an attack the moment the Demon moved.

And move it did. The Demon rose off the ground and stood up, towering over them. It looked down at them in anger and fire covered its hands completely.

"Reminds me a lot of Natsu," Laxus muttered to the others. He clapped his hands together and lightning sparked between them before it increased in intensity to form a large spear of lightning.

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd."

Gripping the spear carefully, Laxus threw it at the Demon. The attack flew at great speeds towards the Demon who simply crushed it with one swipe of its fire claws.

It had moved though. As one claw came down to destroy the attack, Ichigo appeared behind the arm with his sword raised high. "Getsuga Tenshou."

The attack flew down at the Demon and impacted on the same arm the Demon had just attacked with, forcing it to stumble.

Jura was already next. He pointed his index and middle fingers at the Demon and swiped upwards, spears of earth flying up from the earth and impacted on the Demon's chest.

Before it could try and get up, Levy brought back her staff. "Solid Script: Weight." The word appeared at the edge of the pole before she swung, sending the word flying above the Demon. It fell and crashed on the Demon's back, pinning it to the ground.

Levy inwardly smiled proudly. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to get the right meaning for weight in her Magic after using it to lighten herself so she was glad it had been successful with the opposite meaning.

Ichigo dropped down to one of its arms before holding out his left palm and drawing a triangle in the air.

"Bakudou Number 30: Shitotsu Sansen."

The three beaks appeared at each corner and flew into the arm of the Demon, piercing it and holding the arm tightly to the ground.

"You think that will hold it?" shouted Laxus.

He got his answer when the Demon started to move. It brought up its free arm and the claws sharpened beyond what they had before. With one swipe, the Demon plunged the claws into its trapped arm, the flames cutting through the skin and burning the wound shut with the flames.

Ichigo looked at the Demon in shock before disappearing in a burst of Shunpo, barely dodging the strike of the Demon. It may have lost its arm but it didn't make it any less dangerous.

The Demon forced itself up to its feet, Levy's Solid Script: Weight doing nothing to stop it.

"We can't let this Demon get the upper hand," said Jura as he extended the rest of his fingers on his hands. "Use everything you have. We need to finish this in one shot."

Levy turned towards Laxus. "Have this to help. Solid Script: Lightning."

Laxus nodded at her in gratitude before hungrily devouring the lightning word. He smiled in satisfaction. "That hit the spot."

Laxus leaned back and took a deep breath, small sparks flickering around his mouth.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar."

It was exactly as Laxus said. He fired a large blast of lightning as a massive beam from his mouth, just like the roar of a Dragon.

The Demon wasn't willing to give up yet. Fire shot out of its mouth and collided with the attack. The fire split into pieces as the lightning shot straight past it however, the hurried defence not able to stop the Lightning Dragon's Roar.

It struck the Demon dead on in the chest and left it paralysed along with the damage it inflicted. The Demon looked at him in rage as it tried to move.

"Getsuga Tenshou."

The Demon could just about look up to see the large arc of energy flying down at it and impacting, forcing it back down.

Jura swiped with his hands as large boulders of earth sprung out of the ground and collided with the Demon, swallowing it below the rocks. The moment the Demon was sufficiently trapped, Jura brought up his hands.

"Supreme King Rock Crush."

Two large hands of earth sprung out of the ground and smashed the pile of boulders together, attempting to crush the Demon.

The Demon survived but it looked extremely battered. It could barely move after the force of all three attacks and looked to be trying to crawl away.

"How pitiful." Jura shook his head at the Demon. "Even when facing death, I had hoped this Demon would show resolve. At least then, it could say that it went out staying true to what it believed in, despite that being human annihilation."

"It was weak in the end," said Ichigo as he appeared next to the man. "Its flight was its greatest strength because it isn't physically as strong as most Demons. If it was, it would have put up a stronger fight."

Laxus started walking over to the Demon. "We can't let this Demon go. It would just go on to kill more."

Jura joined him. "I agree. Let us finish this."

Ichigo stayed back with Levy and watched as the two older Mages went to finish off the Demon. He needed some rest anyway. Using Shunpo took a lot when you were new to it and he was finding it exhausting. That last attack had taken a lot of energy as well.

"Are you okay?"

Ichigo looked at the concerned girl. "I'm fine. Just need some more time to rest."

The girl nodded before they both turned their attention back to Laxus and Jura. Each Mage had reached the Demon's chest before Jura pinned the Demon down with pillars of earth. Laxus jumped up onto the upper body of the Demon and created another lightning spear. He carefully aimed and stabbed down, directly to where the Demon's heart would be found.

The Demon let out a large roar of pain before it stopped struggling, falling down to the ground. With its heart destroyed, it was gone. It was dead. The town was saved.

Protector Of The Fairies

"So you became an S Class Mage only a few weeks back?"

Laxus nodded. "The tasks were tricky but nothing too hard that Ichigo and I couldn't handle. This S Class Quest was more challenging."

Jura seemed interested in this. "You are Master Makarov's grandson are you not?"

"Hey." Laxus grabbed part of the man's robe and forced him to his feet. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing like that." Jura quickly realised his mistake with his question. "I meant that perhaps because you are close to your grandfather, he already knew you had the skills needed. The trial may have just been a formality to pass you if no other candidates were at par with his standards."

Laxus released his grip. "I see. Sorry about that."

"There is no harm done. It was my fault for my poor wording."

"So what's Lamia Scale like?"

Jura raised an eyebrow at Ichigo's question. "It is a good guild, though not as crazy as Fairy Tail is. Why?"

"Just curious on what other guilds are like and how they operate."

Laxus decided to join in with this conversation too. "How much damage does your guild cause weekly?"

Jura looked at the two in confusion. "Not much. Just the bits you would expect on high level jobs. Wh-"

The two Fairy Tail Mages in front of him weren't listening to him anymore. They had suddenly switched to whispers, occasionally eying him as if they were working out how he worked.

"Ignore them."

Jura looked towards the blue haired girl. "But-"

"They won't snap out of that for a while."

Levy let out a yawn but resisted the urge to sleep yet. "Those two really want to change Fairy Tail. I'm with them but I don't understand everything yet. I'm still new to their group."

"They want to change Fairy Tail?" A switch flicked in Jura's head. "You mean they want to change how it works? Try and avoid causing mass damage to the surrounding?"

Levy nodded. "They're always careful on missions but I don't think the others always are, or at least not the kids my age. They like causing destruction and don't realise the impact it's giving us. Laxus said that something needs to be done."

Jura frowned. "It is curious why the guild is still open if the rumours are to be believed. Fairy Tail must have a great ally in the Council to have lasted so long."

"He isn't much help," muttered Levy. "Ichigo does all the work. Even the supposed ally we have on the Council doesn't help as much as Ichigo."

Jura looked at the orange haired Shinigami. "I see. I wondered what I was feeling from being around you three. It's him."

Levy looked lost. "Huh?"

"Can't you feel it? That boy collects people around him and makes them his allies. It doesn't have to be many but the ones who join him acknowledge him like no others. They way I see it, he could ask you two to follow him straight to hell and you would do so."

Levy still looked lost.

"You haven't noticed it yet? You will in time. Even now, I already feel his pull. Give him a little longer and I would most likely follow him one day if he asked me to. He is strong, both mentally and physically."

Jura smiled. "I want to fight him myself one day. A matchup of two warriors, just fighting for fun. Tell him I look forward to it one day."

Jura stood to his feet, the two older Fairy Tail Mages snapping out of their arguments to focus on him. "I bid you all farewell."

Ichigo raised a hand in farewell while Laxus got to his feet and shook the man's hand. "Until next time Iron Rock Jura."

"And until next time Dragon Slayer, Shinigami, and Word Priestess."

Levy smiled at her new nickname before the S Class Mage vanished into the distance. Laxus eventually broke the silence that fell.

"So that's the end of the Quest. Much better than those lower ranked quests."

"I liked it too," said Levy quietly. "Though I wonder how I will find missions with Jet and Droy."

Ichigo answered for her. "Boring." She couldn't help but nod. After chasing down a Demon, helping clear up a park or deliver a parcel would be so boring after that.

Maybe she should take some more quests as a member of Team Fairy then. It had been fun this mission and the one before. And she couldn't imagine fighting in another team.

The three smiled at each other, letting all their worries vanish to the winds. What did it matter about the future at the moment? At least for now, they were nothing more than a team, having the time of their lives. And they weren't going to miss a second of it.

Protector Of The Fairies

There ends the Arc. We get onto the next one will a longer timeskip if I am correct. Next time reaches closer and closer to the inevitable conflict that causes Laxus's anger and why Ichigo was gone for so long.

Did you all like Levy here? I got some inspiration from Freed in abilities as we see him enhance himself with some Writing Magic but I knew it had to be done differently. Solid Script isn't as battle focused as the one Freed has so it has to be used a bit differently in how effects work.

Jura is here. I like that guy. Expect him to be stronger in the future too. He became a Wizard Saint after all, and Wizard Saints are meant to be stronger than I think he was originally shown. He isn't Makarov's level when we saw him first and he even said he wasn't close, but I still feel he should have been stronger than he was then.

Did you guys see the new chapter? Devil Slayer Magic. WHY! I now need to change all Demon Slayer Magic to Devil Slayer Magic. That's just so annoying. Why is it Devil too when they slay Demons?

Anyway, till the next time. I've been Takei. Thanks for reading.