Chapter 21 - The Inquisition

Several years ago a former colleague of theirs discovered that Layla was actually a Celestial Wizard. Layla's bloodline was almost entirely Celestial Mages, and they had gone to great lengths to hide their magic from the public eye. Using her secret against them, their colleague demanded a large sum of money for his silence.

"It isn't well known, but Celestial Mages are branded as heretics by the Church of the Eternal Fire. The Church claims the reason our world is full of monsters is because of them. Their ability to summon spirits from what people consider another world is why...", Jude stated with a grim look, "Instead of paying him we told him that he was mistaken and that Layla and Lucy weren't Celestial Mages but actually Illusionists. A few weeks afterwards, the Church sent an Adjudicator to our home with several knights to determine what magic they really used."

It was quickly discovered they were in fact Celestial Mages, and were immediately branded heretics on the spot. Instead of abandoning his family, Jude attacked the Adjudicator alone out of desperation. Buying time for them to flee with Grammi and Brandish, Jude ended up with the scar on his face and lost part of his leg as he was beaten to pulp by the Adjudicator's guards. After that the five of them wandered from place to place trying to avoid being captured as they would all burn at the stake if they were caught.

'No doubt this is tied to the Eclipse Gate...', I thought, 'It is the only logical reason for them to be branded heretics immediately without any real reason. The Church either wants to eliminate the possibility of radicalized mages going back to help in the War, or they want the keys to do the same for their side.'

The fact that Celestial Wizards were branded heretics automatically gave me pause for thought, I had concerns about the Strauss siblings now too. All three of them could turn into monsters, and it wouldn't be that difficult for the Church to brand Take Over Magic as Dark Magic as well. If they did so...the three of them would have targets on their backs for their entire lives.

'If they decide to go that route...the Church of the Eternal Fire is going to cease to exist. Just seeing the Heartfilia Family in the position is already strong motivation for me to show them who runs the show here.', I thought thinking of ways to punish them, "Where will you go from here?"

"We are out of options in Fiore, we will have to go abroad.", Jude said, "There are a few Magic Friendly countries out there that aren't connected to the Church, but it's difficult to get in."

"What about your kids?", Irene asked, "Surely they can't keep up with you."

"What do you suggest then? I am not about to abandon my daughter to those monsters!", Jude spat in anger, "I would rather burn at the stake than let me daughter die at their hands!!"

"No one is suggesting that, but you do see the problem right? They don't have the same endurance you do, and they are only seven years old.", I reminded him, "I don't know where you are headed next, but do you think you can get there safely with them? You have to understand that you can't keep running with them forever, eventually they won't be able to continue."

Looking at Lucy and Brandish, Jude understood what I was saying. The two girls had done a lot better than any of them expected. Lucy and Brandish had been brought up spoiled by their parents, so they weren't that physically fit to begin with. Even though they weren't, they did everyone they could to keep up...even abandoning everything they cherished and keeping a single toy to play with. Not wanting his daughter to have a childhood like this, he asked what I had in mind.

"We can take them back with us to our Guild, and add them as Guild Members. Fairy Tail is Fiore's Strongest Wizard Guild, the Church won't want to start a fight with our Guild.", I stated with a serious look, "And if the Church does decide to pick a fight with us, I give you my word that they won't lay a finger on them."

"Especially if we send Mael out.", Irene laughed, "You may not realize it, but recently management in the Magic Council changed after Mael tore the place apart...after slaying seven Demons. He is an S-Rank Mage, your children will be safe with Fairy Tail."

Looking at his wife and Grammi, Jude didn't know what to do. All three of them already had posters out with their faces on it, Lucy and Brandish didn't as they were just children. If they let them go with the Mages in front of them, it would give them a chance to have a normal life but it meant leaving their only children behind. The thought of leaving their children behind was painful, but they wanted the best for their kids.

"Dear...", Layla said with a nod.

"Master Jude, I think we should trust them.", Grammi agreed, "Life on the run is no life for a child. I am willing to take a leap of faith that they will protect them in our stead."

Hugging their children tightly, they told them they would come back one day for them. For now though they wanted the two of them to follow us, and enjoy a life they couldn't give them. Handing them the supplies we were supposed to drop off, I told them to go and that I would handle the Church's Knights. Nodding their heads they gave their children a kiss on the forehead and left as quickly as possible. Hearing them start to cry as they ran away, I couldn't imagine the pain they were feeling leaving them behind.

"So we are going to fight the Church?", Macbeth asked.

"No, I am going to do it.", I replied with scowl, "They ruined their lives over a stupid myth that isn't true. Not only that, how many other Celestial Mages have died because of them? Any number above zero is inexcusable, they are going to pay dearly for this."

Leaving the group at the campsite, I headed towards the Knights who were only a mile away by now.

---3rd Person POV---

Going as fast as they could up the mountain trail, the Knights were having a tough time making progress. Their heavy armor and equipment made climbing incredibly difficult for them, and progress was very slow. Watching sun start to drop below the horizon, the men were going to light some torches to see but suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of dread come over them. Watching a cloud of dark fog envelop the area around them, the men became very skittish.

"You lot have some nerve claiming to be in the Service of God.", a voice said from somewhere in darkness.

Drawing their swords, the men immediately went back to back ready to fight at the first sight of the enemy. Frantically looking around for the source of the voice, they couldn't see anything but darkness.

"Celestial Mages are, by the order of Pope Francis, to be killed on sight!", the leader shouted, "Show yourselves you Devils!! Face your death with dignity!!"

"Celestial Mage? I am no Celestial Mage.", the voice replied with a dark, "Mortals have such a sense of humor."

"...Mortals?", he remarked, "Wh...what do you mean Mortals!?"

Stepping out of the black, the men saw an eight foot tall man dressed in black before them. Staring them down with fiery red eyes, several of the men started to shake in fear. Pointing their swords at the entity, they pulled out their Anti-Magic equipment and attempted to use them on him. Hitting the entity with Anti-Ethernano bombs, they watched in horror as he walked right through the cloud of Anti-Magic.

"That isn't going to work on me.", he mocked them, "Want to try again?"

Using Dimeritium next, it to was ineffective against the entity. With their primary anti-magic weapons ineffective, several of the men tried to runaway to save themselves. Cracking a smile on his face, the entity raised it's hand towards them.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you should know better than to turn your back on the Demon King.", the man snickered.

Seeing an unknown symbol appear on his forehead, red spheres shot out of him and hit the fleeing men in the back. Taking a few more steps, they came to a stop without uttering a word. Afraid to look back at them, the Knight Commander started shouting out to them.

"T...Timothy...are you okay?", he shouted.

Getting no response, he knew something had happened to them.

"Anyone who turns their back to me will become my obedient slave.", the man claiming to be the Demon King replied, "Timothy and company, kill these men then yourselves."

"Timothy, don't listen to him!!", the leader barked.

Turning around, the men that had fled came rushing at them. Finding themselves between the man claiming to be the Demon King and their former comrades, a few men turned to face them...only to become slaves themselves. Deciding that fighting the Demon King was the only option now, the leader was about to rush him when several black spears pierced him from behind. Seeing them protruding from his chest, he coughed up a large amount of blood.

"This was too easy, your weakness disgusts me!", the Demon King mocked him.

Hearing his remaining men dying around him, the leader stared into the Demon King's eyes. Stretching his hand out, the man pulled a white sphere out of his chest.

"Do you know what this is?", he asked him, "This is your soul, the very thing you need to reincarnate into a new life. Have fun in Oblivion."

Watching his own soul get devoured, the man's consciousness faded into nothingness.

---Mael POV---

"Disgusting...", I said as the taste of his soul hit me, "Fucking piece of shit, they were here to capture Lucy and kill everyone else including us."

The few remaining troops that fell under my control during combat, I sent them on a suicide mission back to their base of operations. Giving them orders to kill as many of their colleagues as they could, I wanted those bastards to pay dearly for attempting to harm my friends.

"Even if they die immediately, it will serve as a warning. Sure Grammi, Layla, and Jude may take some heat from the Church, but they are already facing death as it is.", I mumbled as I scorched the area to remove the blood and corpses.

Returning to camp, Minerva asked if the Knights were gone. Telling her they had an unfortunate accident, Irene snickered before hiding her smile. Pulling out my cooking equipment, I got to work making dinner with some help from Sorano and Lisanna.

---Two Days Later---

"You sure are a magnet for attracting trouble...", Makarov chuckled seeing the four people we brought back, "That doesn't matter though, you are following your heart and sense of adventure!!"

Getting them registered as Guild Members, we took them back to my house and got them set up in their own room. Going back to my room, I plopped onto my bed with a sigh. Now that I had some time alone, I wanted to review the information the leader had.

Based on what he knew, it appeared that the Pope wasn't really in charge. The Pope just a cover for someone else that made the real decision. From what the memories showed me, no one had actually ever met the person face to face. His instructions always arrived at 8am every morning for the Pope to follow. In the event a Pope didn't follow the instructions or failed to show up at that time...they were usually found dead under mysterious circumstances.

'For now, lets see what sort of damage my puppets do to the Church.', I thought with a smirk, 'Serves those bastards right for pulling that shit on us.'