Arc of Embodiment

Earth Land, Ishgar, Unknown Mountain Range.

December 15, x784.

A great distance from Tenrou Island, a large number of wyvern's corpses lay scattered around a mountain path. Sitting in the middle of all this with his back resting against a mountain wall and his eyes closed was a rather tall, muscular man with long, dark blue hair, dark skin, and a sharp gaze.

On the man's body, there are what appear to be light blue tribal markings while he wore a black, high-collared cloak bearing the same tribal markings, red dragon claws around his neck, a black sash around his waist, baggy white pants that also bore the same tribal markings, and a golden armlet around his right upper arm.

"I can feel it." The dark-skinned man said as he slowly opened his eyes. Then, while leaking an incredible amount of killing intent, he turned his head in the direction of Tenrou Island. "I can feel the abominable power of dragons."

Thanks to the power Gajeel displayed in his fight against Yamazu and Kawazu, Wendy's output from her attacks against the members of Grimoire Heart, and Natsu's fight with Zancrow, this dark-skinned man's instincts flared. Though, this would not be a good thing for the members of Fairy Tail.

"Dragons no longer have a place in this world." The man said as he stood to his feet. "Now, they only have one fate."

As he spoke, the man's body began to glow. Then, his silhouette began to expand. And as his silhouette expanded, it took on a much beastlier shape, now having four legs instead of two, a long tail, and what appeared to be wings on its back.

Eventually, when the growth concluded, the glow also faded. Now, standing where the dark-skinned man once stood was what could only be described as a dragon with round, pitch-black scales with blue spiral patterns, a grey underbelly, a roundhead with four, long, scaled plates extending backwards. On its chin, there was an arrowhead-shaped protrusion, while the wings on its back were white and feathery, much like those of birds. Also, its tail ended with a stinger-like shape after the scales came to an end.

"And that fate is to die at my hands." The dark-skinned man turned dragon said, revealing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth as he spoke.

A moment later, the large, black dragon flapped its wings and slowly ascended into the air, before flying in Tenrou Island's direction.

"Can you believe someone found the grave just before the emergency flare went up?" Bickslow asked. "I mean, seriously, what kind of luck is that?"

"Good luck! Good luck!" Bickslow's dolls cheered.

"Indeed." Fried replied with a nod. "Just a minute or so longer, and it would have been all for naught."

Currently, Bickslow and Fried, who were participants in the S-Class Promotion Exam, were on their way back to the base camp after seeing the flare signifying that there was an emergency on the island. Unfortunately, like most of the people on the island, they had no idea what kind of emergency had befallen them.

"Someone's approaching." Fried said as he came to a stop and placed his hand on his sword's hilt. "And I don't recognize the magic power signature."

Hearing that, Bickslow leapt into the air, only for one of his dolls to swoop below him and catch him. As a result, Bickslow was now levitating next to his longtime friend.

"Oh my, to think you detected me so quickly." Said a male voice from the direction where Fried and Bickslow focused their gazes. "To think the reputation of Fiore's strongest legal guild would ring so true. Though, being a strong legal guild means nothing to us."

As the voice spoke, a silhouette could be seen approaching the spot where Bickslow and Fried waited for the intruder. Then, a few moments later, they could see that the speaker was a young man with silver hair styled into a pompadour that pointed upwards. On his body, he wore silver framed glasses, a dark purple jacket, a grey shirt, a black belt, black pants, blue shoes, and a pair of white gloves on his hands.

And although the young man's appearance seemed a bit androgynous, the thing that caught the two Fairy Tail wizard's attention the most was the band on the young man's left forearm. More specifically, the symbol on the band.

"So, you're from GrimoireHeart, huh?" Fried asked while narrowing his eyes as his right eye changed color, with its sclera turning black and pupil turning purple. "Who are you? And why have you come here?"

"Because, there is someone on this island necessary for our plans." The young man replied while spreading his arms in a grand gesture. "And once we have him on our side, we will be able to create the magical utopia we have always dreamed of."

A moment later, the young man flourished his arms before taking a bow.

"And to answer your other question, you can call me Rustyrose." The young man, Rustyrose, said with a smile that quickly turned dark. "Your executioner."

"It sounds like you intend to take one of our guild mates." Bickslow said, not knowing that Zeref was currently sleeping on Tenrou Island. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen."

As Bickslow spoke, the doll he stood on ascended into the air as the other four positioned themselves below it in a line.

"Oh, heavens no." Rustyrose said as he raised his head. "Getting rid of you is just a bonus. And before you ask, it doesn't matter who we came here for. Especially since you won't be alive long enough to see our plans come to fruition."

"We'll see about that." Bickslow replied with his eyes narrowed. "[Line Formation]."

Immediately upon giving his command, Bickslow's dolls fired an energy blast, that took the shape of a straight energy blade, at Rustyrose. To Bickslow and Fried's surprise, however, the silver-haired young man did nothing to avoid the incoming attack. Instead, Rustyrose held up his left hand in the path of the incoming attack.

"*Sigh* By attacking me so abruptly, you've only sped up the inevitable." Rustyrose said as magic power gathered on his left palm. "Now, the death of the Fairies in the Garden of Eden shall commence at the hands of the demons. [Arc of Embodiment: Golden Shield]."

With Rustyrose's chant, the magic power on his palm materialized into a large golden shield that protected him from Bickslow's attack. On top of that, it seemed that the shield took no damage, despite the power behind the attack.

In the next instant, Rustyrose dispelled the shield. Then, he swiped his right hand in front of him. Along the path of his hand, several black swords appeared. Then, with a thought, they were fired towards Bickslow and Fried.

"[Dark Écriture: Reflection]." Fried chanted.

Like Rustyrose, Fried also had no intention to evade. Instead, he erected a transparent barrier that returned Rustyrose attack back in his direction.

"Oh, a reflection barrier." Rustyrose replied with an emotionless expression. "How quaint. [Arc of Embodiment: Pegasus Wings]."

A moment later, a pair of white feathered wings appeared on Rustyrose's back, before he flapped them and flew out of harm's way.

"Where is all this stuff coming from?" Bickslow asked in an irritated tone as he formed his dolls into an X-shape. "[X-Formation]. Just what kind of magic does he use?'

"I have no idea." Fried replied as he used a finger to write an enchantment on his own body. "But we can figure that out later. For now, we have to defeat him. [Dark Écriture: Wings]."

A moment later, a pair of wings formed from runes appeared on Fried's back as he flew into the sky to try and engage Rustyrose in close combat.

"Curious about my magic, are you?" Rustyrose asked as he materialized a black longsword in his right hand. "Well, as a parting gift, I suppose I can tell you."

As he finished speaking, Rustyrose raised his sword to block a slash from Fried.

"I use the [Lost Magic] known as [The Arc of Embodiment]." Rustyrose replied while returning a slash of his own. "With this magic, I can bring anything that I can imagine into existence. It's quite the magic for someone like me, I must say."

AS he spoke, Rustyrose continued exchanging sword strikes with fried. And despite the fact that he seemed so relaxed, he was slowly being pushed back due to the difference in sword skills.

On top of that, he had to constantly dodge the energy blasts from Bickslow's dolls, who had been separated to surround Fried and Rustyrose.

"These things are annoying." Rustyrose muttered as he blocked another slash from Fried. [Arc of Embodiment: Sacred Guardian Beast: Belfast the Hurricane]."

"Not so fast." Bickslow said from atop one of his dolls. "Gather, my babies. [Baryon Formation]."

As he chanted his attack command, Bickslow's five dolls gathered in a pentagram formation before they started rotating. As a result, an orb of energy was created in the center of their rotations. At the same time, a large, black, wyvern-shaped monster was manifested from Rustyrose's magic, before roaring loudly and flying towards Bickslow.

Before the beast, Belfast, could reach its target, however, the orb created by Bickslow's dolls discharged all the accumulated energy in a destructive beam towards it. As a result, after the beam passed, Belfast was no more.

*Clang!*

At the same time, Fried, with his superior swordsmanship, managed to disarm Rustyrose.

"After all that build up, that thing went down surprisingly easy." Bickslow said with a smile.

"Indeed." Fried replied with a nod. Then, with his sword pointed at Rustyrose, he continued. "And now, it's your turn."

"Oh my, it would seem I'm at a disadvantage." Rustyrose said sarcastically without changing his expression. "[Arc of Embodiment: Jet Black Sword]."

"Have you not learned your lesson?' Fried asked as he lunged forward after hearing the name of Rustyrose's spell. "The difference in our level of swordsmanship is quite apparent, is it not?"

"Oh, I assure you, this sword is nothing like anything you've ever seen before." Rustyrose replied as his right arm glowed for a moment before transforming into a long, claw-shaped, black sword.

*Shing!*

Rustyrose then swung his new arm at Fried, who positioned his sword to parry. However, with little resistance, Fried's blade was cleaved in two.

"What?" Fried exclaimed as he quickly backed away to avoid receiving the same fate as his sword.

"This sword…" Rustyrose said while stroking his right arm with his left hand. "Is capable of cutting through anything. Or, at the very least, I have yet to see anything it can't cut through. And now that you've lost your weapon, how long will it take to cut through you, I wonder."

With that, Rustyrose charged forward to finish off Fried. Before he could get too far, however, he was forced to stop when Bickslow's dolls fired on him once again.

"Like I said, annoying." Rustyrose said with a slight frown. "I suppose I'll have to make a playmate for you, then. [Arc of Embodiment: Belcusas the Thunderclap]."

A moment later, another creature was imagined into existence with the use of Rustyrose's magic. This time, however, instead of a flying creature, it was an enormous, heavily armored, physically powerful, bipedal creature. Meanwhile, Rustyrose stopped paying attention to Bickslow and continued forward to finish off Fried.

While Fried did all he could to avoid Rustyrose assault, Bickslow snorted disdainfully at the fact that Rustyrose tried to distract him with the same trick, yet again.

"Get rid of it, my babies." Bickslow ordered. [Baryon Formation]."

Once again, with Bickslow's order, the five dolls began to rotate and create an energy orb. Then, after a few moments, they fired it at Belcusas. Upon impact, Bickslow turned his attention back to Rustyrose, who he needed to stop from attacking his unarmed comrade.

*Roar!*

Before he could give his new attack orders, however, a thunderous roar echoed over the battlefield, causing Bickslow to snap his head in the direction the roar originated. And to his surprise, the creature he just attacked was still standing and radiating hostility as it glared in his direction.

"This could be bad." Bickslow muttered as he summersaulted onto one of his dolls.

From that point on, Bickslow and Fried were at a definite disadvantage. While Fried was constantly avoiding Rustyrose's attacks due to the loss of his weapon, and even his enchantments were having little effect in slowing down his opponent. Bickslow was forced to use hit and run tactics, as nothing he did damaged Belcusas in the slightest.

"Fried, I think we're in trouble!" Bickslow shouted as he avoided a swipe from Belcusas' massive arm. "Got any ideas?"

Unfortunately, Fried was unable to answer right away. Although he was able to avoid taking fatal damage from Rustyrose's latest attack, he was still slashed across the chest, spurting blood from the wound, as a result. And due to the pain of the slash, he flinched, giving Rustyrose the opportunity to kick him towards the ground.

*Bang!*

"Gah!" Fried grunted upon impacting the ground.

"Fried, are you okay?" Bickslow asked while avoiding another swing of Belcusas arm and flying over to his downed comrade.

"I'll live." Fried replied while wiping a trickle of blood from his lips. "But if you can give me a moment to activate [Darkness], I think we should be able to turn things around."

"I think I can manage that." Bickslow replied as he glared at Rustyrose and Belcusas, who had stopped pursuing them, for some reason.

"Well, I've grown weary of this game of cat and mouse." Rustyrose said. Then, he reverted his right arm back to normal and spread both his arms in a grandiose fashion. "So, I think it's time to end this fairy hunt. [Arc of Embodiment: Tower of Dingir]."

With his chant, a massive tower grew from the ground beneath Fried and Bickslow, immobilizing them as it brought them up into the air.

"What is this?" Fried asked as he struggled to move.

"I don't know." Bickslow replied. "But I can't move at all. I can't even control my babies."

"The Tower of Dingir]." Rustyrose said with a smile. "This tower was made to immobilize my targets. Then, after a short while, it will explode, devastating everything in its surroundings. And unfortunately, that includes the two of you, as well. Oh, but not to worry, I'll be fine. Besides having Belcusas to protect me, I'm quite immune to its explosion. So, you don't have to worry about me getting hurt. Hahaha!"

Hearing that, the two Fairy Tail wizards paled as they struggled even harder to free themselves.

"You're only wasting the little time you have remaining." Rustyrose said as he watched Bickslow and Fried struggle with amusement. "wouldn't it be better to simply accept your fate and contemplate what comes after death?"

With that, Rustyrose began laughing once again as the time for the [Tower of Dingir's] explosion drew near.