A/N: Episode 181.

Enjoy!

edited on november 1st, 2024 @ 8:51pm

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚈-𝙴𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃,
𝓕𝙰𝙸𝚁𝚈 𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙻 𝚅𝚂. 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙴𝚇𝙴𝙲𝚄𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚁𝚂.         

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗧, Wendy opened her eyes. "Huh? What's happening to me? What is this? I can't move!" She said to herself.

"Beautiful dancing doll, it's a skeletal flower that blooms in blood." Cosmos explained.

"Hold on, Wendy! I'll get you outta there right away!" Natsu exclaimed before he tripped on a plant.

Cosmos laughed. "What a klutz!" She insulted. "It's too late. The girl will be digested and the exeuction will be complete."

"Not as long as we're around!" Carla claimed.

"Don't go over there. It's too dangerous!" Happy warned.

"But be at ease. After she's digested, she'll be reborn as a beautiful flower." Cosmos narrowed her eyes.

"What?!" Happy said as he imagined Wendy as a flower.

"Stop it!" Carla shouted.

"What's wrong? It seems your partner is in a pinch." Knepper claimed.

"Lily, Samuel and I'll go. You take care of this guy." Mira informed.

"Yes. Count on it." Lily stated.

"Don't count your chickens!" Knepper taunted.

"Come and get me with your colors!" Lily challenged.

Knepper's fist got covered in purple acid. Lily dodged his attack before sending him back.

"We're coming, Wendy!" Samuel shouted.

Mira was in her Sitri form as she blasted Darkness Magic before flying forward. "Huh. Not bad." Kamika complimented.

"Quite beautiful." Cosmos added.

"Wendy!" Mira exclaimed as she punched the plant, releasing Wendy. Samuel grabbed Wendy before she collapsed.

"Mira-san! Samuel-kun!" Wendy spoke in relief.

"You two did it! I knew you could!" Lucy cheered.

"Wow..." Yukino muttered.

"Can you stand?" Samuel asked, holding Wendy in his arms.

"Yes. I'm fine." Wendy reassured.

"All right!" Natsu exclaimed.

"That's Mira-san?" Yukino muttered to herself.

"Hey, everyone, don't you think she kind of looks like Lisanna?" Mira asked.

"Now that you mention it..." Lucy trailed off.

"Who's Lisanna-sama?"

"She's my little sister."

"What?!" Cosmos said in shock.

"This Magic is..." Kamika realized.

"Take Over... She uses fantastic Magic."

"That's Mirajane's other form!" Carla noticed.

"Satan Soul!" Happy said. "Inside of her is the strongest wizard, Mirajane Sitri!"

Mira smirked. "Certainly, that girl is..." Arcadios trailed off.

"That's right! The former S-Class Wizard, Mira-san!" Lucy finished. "When she uses Take Over, we've got nothing to fear!"

"Well, I fear Mira!" Happy claimed.

"Yeah. She may be the scariest person here." Carla commented.

"Freeze all of them!" Kamika shouted, releasing white confetti.

"Not today!" Natsu exclaimed, letting out his breath attack.

"We've got them on the ropes!" Lucy said as plants soon appeared behind her, Yukino, and Arcadios.

"Lucy!"

"I'll handle this!" Lily reassured. His sword grew large in size as he sliced at the plants, keeping them from attacking the three.

"That cat is using a sword that can change its size."

"Seems like we've got an all-out battle now." Lily claimed, resting his sword on his shoulder.

"Hey, big cat! I'm gonna melt you down to size!" Knepper said.

"I'm gonna cut you down the middle!" Lily stated.

Kamika raised a piece of purple confetti. "Confetti... Purple Dance!" She called out.

Purple confetti soon appeared on everyone. "What the...?!" Natsu stated.

"I can't move!" Mira exclaimed.

"Is it this paper's fault?!" Lucy wondered.

"It's Anomalous Conditions Magic!" Wendy informed.

"Purple paper is the god of binding." Kamika said.

"And now we can do a beautiful combo, Grow Flow!" Cosmos called out as a plant with a blue tip sprouted up and opened.

"It's huge!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Is that a plant?!" Wendy questioned.

"Summoning-type Magic?!" Lucy added.

"Feast on the criminals' lives." Cosmos said as the wind began to pick up and the Fairy Tail Mages began to go into the air.

"We're being sucked in!" Lily said.

"Getting away? Oh, well, you don't have what it takes to beat me anyway." Knepper claimed.

"Bastard!" Lily stated.

"Yukino!"

Mira grabbed onto Yukino. "Wendy!" She called out.

"Right! I'll free your bodies of paralysis!" Wendy said as a green glow came from her fingers. "Anomalous Conditions Healing Magic... Laser!"

Everyone's bodies soon began to have a green glow. "We're glowing..." Lucy pointed out.

The purple paper soon disappeared. "It worked!" Natsu said.

"All right, I can move!" Lily said.

"But now that!" Lucy exclaimed, referring to the plant.

"What do we do?!" Lily asked.

"Only one thing we can do! Destroy it!" Natsu replied.

"Okay!"

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu shouted.

"Wait! I have a bad feeling about this!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah..." Samuel sighed in agreement.

An explosion soon appeared as Hisui was looking out towards Domus Flau.

"Is that true?!"

"We just received the report!"

"That sounds promising."

"We don't need to worry anymore!"

"Princess! The Garou Knights went in to execute the criminals!"

Hisui turned around at the mention of the executioners, a worried look etched onto her face.

"No one can escape them!"

"They're the kingdom's strongest executioners!"

"All of my plans are backfiring." Hisui clenched her gloved fist. "Please be safe, Arcadios."

Back in Hell Palace, Natsu sat up from the debris. "We fell another long way." He muttered to himself.

"Hey! Is everybody okay?!" Natsu shouted.

"It seems that shockwave scattered everyone. But my knights are highly capable. None of you people will live to go home." Kama claimed.

"If Lucy and I get separated here, what's the point anymore? Sorry, but I need to put off our fight." Natsu said. "Although I guess you won't go for that, huh? I'll ask your name at least."

"I don't give my name to criminals."

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Wendy was walking alone. "Everyone! Where are you?!" She called out. "What should I do? I don't see signs of anyone else."

"Beautiful..." Cosmos appeared on a plant, getting Wendy's attention. "No. Sweet rather than beautiful. But I'm going to execute you."

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Lily came face to face with Knepper. "Dammit! I got separated from everyone. Stupid of me!" Lily scolded himself.

Knepper laughed. "Right now, neither Lucy nor Yukino can use their Celestial Spirit Magic. I have to settle this quick and then go off to help them!" Lily said.

"What's that? Huh?" Knepper taunted as his bottle glowed. "Settle this quick?"

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

"Lucy! Yukino! Where are you?!" Mira called out as she looked around. "This is no good. It looks like I'm totally separated from them."

Confetti soon fell as Kamika appeared behind Mira. "You need to be paying attention." Kamika stated.

"Kamika-san, is that right? Do you know where my friends went?" Mira questioned.

"Yes, I know. To the afterlife." Kamika responded.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

"Ouchie..." Happy mumbled.

"What is this? Jeez..." Carla muttered.

"Natsu went overboard!" Lucy complained.

"He's as destructive as I remember." Samuel mumbled.

"I wonder how far we've fallen."

"Is this Hell Palace too?" Happy wondered.

"Are we separated from everybody else? That can't be good, right?" Lucy asked.

"And of all things, only one of us can use Magic..." Carla stated.

"Without our keys, we can't summon Celestial Spirits." Yukino pointed out.

"Let's search for the others." Happy suggested. "If we don't meet up with them, we'll be..."

Happy began to get raised into the air. "Happy?" Lucy questioned.

"What are you playing at?" Carla asked.

"I'm not playing! My body is floating on its own!" Happy replied as they spotted it was Uosuke's doing.

"Him!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Caught you-tai!" Uosuke said.

"I'm not a fish!" Happy said.

"Tai? Liar!"

"I'm a cat! How can you see me as a fish?"

"You're hiding fish!" Uosuke claimed as a fish appeared from Happy's backpack.

"Cut it out! That's for my lunch!" Happy shouted as Lucy, Yukino, and Samuel sweat dropped.

"What's with this guy?" Lucy asked.

"Even amongst those executioners, he's high-spirited." Samuel pointed out.

"The same level as Happy!" Carla added.

"But..." Yukino trailed off.

"W-What?!" Happy said.

"Release!" Uosuke released Happy, causing him to let go of the fish and being sent to the ceiling.

"Happy!"

"What's he doing?!" Carla wondered.

"I'm Uosuke the Executioner!" Uosuke introduced himself.

"That's a lovely name." Lucy said.

"I think we can win this even without Magic!" Happy said in irritation.

"Could be..." Carla muttered.

"Saying things like that... is gonna make me mad." Uosuke claimed.

"Hard to hook him..."

"But we may be able to beat him yet. He seems like the weakest link." Lucy said.

"Yukino, can you fight?" Samuel asked.

"Yes. I've been trained for combat, even without Magic." Yukino replied.

"N-No. Don't do it!" Arcadios warned, making Lucy, Yukino, and Samuel turn around.

"Arcadios-sama..." Yukino muttered.

"You mustn't fight him! He's... Uosuke is... a terrifying wizard who doesn't even leave behind the bones of the people he executes." Arcadios said.

"You're kidding, right?" Samuel asked.

"That?" Lucy questioned, also not believing it.

"You're making me mad!" Uosuke exclaimed.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

"Life is fleeting. Sing of your crimes." Kama said.

"I don't remember doin' anything bad, though..." Natsu stated.

"Put your hand on your heart and look back on your past. I'll give you time to recall your sins."

"Man, you're pushy. I said I don't remember us doin' anything wrong." Natsu claimed.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Back at the stadium, Makarov's body twitched in irritation. "What's wrong, Master?" Romeo asked.

"Nothing. For some reason, I just recalled all the letters of apology I've written." Makarov responded. "Come to think of it, we've caused our share of problems here and there."

"Where is this coming from? Don't bring that up now!" Bisca said.

"What's a 'letter of apology'?" Asuka asked her parents in confusion.

"You don't have to know just yet." Alzack answered.

"We haven't heard anything since Natsu and the others left. I hope they're okay." Romeo pointed out.

"All we can do now is wait and have faith." Makarov said.

"We have to think that they're going to return safely. If we win here, we'll have an audience with the king and can explain the circumstances... but I doubt a letter of apology will cut it." Mavis stated.

"Yes. If only a letter of apology could resolve it..." Makarov muttered.

"Now that you mention it, I was also burdened with letters of apology. Once, the guild's storehouse was filled to capacity with bundles of them piled high." Mavis deadpanned at the memory. "There were also claims for ruined items, bills for damages, written repair estimates..."

"It was rough for you too, huh, Number One?"

"But that's also the guild master's duty..."

"The first master knows all kinds of things! She's cool!" Asuka exclaimed.

Mavis turned around and smiled. "Well, that's only because I'm an adult..."

Asuka had sparkles around her. "You're beautiful even though you're little! Cool!" She exclaimed.

"Little?!" Mavis repeated as she sweats nervously.

"H-Hush, Asuka!" Alzack said.

"I'm sorry. Our daughter didn't mean to be rude..." Bisca apologized.

"I-It's fine! I don't take what a child says seriously! Because I'm an adult!" Mavis claimed.

"You're a kid, aren't you, First Master?" Asuka asked.

"I'm older than anyone here. I'm nothing if not an adult. What you see is an astral body." Mavis responded.

"What's an astral body?"

"Like a ghost or a soul... Along those lines." Mavis explained.

"That's a pretty general explanation." Bisca whispered to Alzack.

"Well, it's not like we know about it." Alzack whispered back.

"Even though you're little, you're not a kid?" Asuka questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

"I'm not little! Look at Tenroujima! It may be a small island, but it has a humongous amount of Magic Power..." Mavis responded as Makarov pretended to be asleep.

"The first master has gotten serious, and Master is pretending to be asleep." Romeo said before looking at the screen. "Anyway, the match hasn't progressed."

"That's because the imperial capital is huge, and there aren't many people left." Takashi responded.

"And only the strong ones have made it this far. Running into the wrong opponent could suddenly put the team at a disadvantage, so they're probably being careful." Kali added.

Millianna was peeking behind a wall. "No one's here. Okay, okay..." She then looked at the screen that showed the points and how many people were left. "That being said, it's suddenly down to me and Kagura-chan! And the odds are totally against us. What should I do? Maybe I should look for Kagura-chan and team up with her..."

Millianna then heard a cat nearby. "A cat! Come here, kitty-kitty-kitty! So cute! Come here, I said!" She exclaimed, unaware that Minerva was watching her from a rooftop.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

"Criminal, are you prepared? It's time for your execution." Kama said.

"I got no choice then. The only way to get by you is kickin' your ass!" Natsu claimed, getting into a fighting stance. Kama took his swords out, with Natsu being able to dodge on time.

"This guy..." Natsu muttered as he leaped into the air.

"Why do you dodge me?" Kama asked.

"It's the normal thing to do!" Natsu responded.

"I'm only after the heads of criminals." Kama claimed.

"You're a scary son of a bitch." Natsu commented.

"No. A criminal like you who doesn't recognize his own sins is what's scary." Kama stated.

"Are you still harping on that?!" Natsu asked as he charged forward.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Knepper slammed his acid-covered fist on the ground as Lily was able to dodge on time. "What's wrong? Weren't you gonna cut me in half?" He taunted.

"Magic acid is a pain in the ass. I can't defend against it with my sword!" Lily claimed.

"My acid can melt anything! Soon enough, that sword will be a puddle!" Knepper stated.

"Is the source of this Magic the contents of that bottle? Although it doesn't look like he's gonna run out... Anyway, I can't win this if I don't get close!" Lily thinks to himself.

"Melt! Melt!" Knepper exclaimed as Lily hid. "You don't know when to give up! But prepare yourself... for execution!"

Knepper melted the ground again as Lily came out of hiding as he tried to strike at him, kicking up the dust.

"Are we playing hide-and-seek?!" Knepper asked as Lily appeared from behind him.

"Even when you're at a disadvantage, you should use that to your advantage!" Lily thought.

"You're naive!" Knepper insulted as the ground split. "Petty tricks don't work on me. You can't run or hide! Now Knepper-sama is going to melt you!"

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Red confetti surrounded Mira. "I remember you. The Demon, Mirajane. You used to be an S-Class wizard, right? But you're totally different from the rumors I heard. I heard you were extremely strong and scary." Kamika said.

"I don't understand. You can use all this multi-colored Magic and you're an executioner?" Mira questioned.

"What? You're going to lecture me instead of fight? That's pretty cheeky for a criminal. I'm going to give you the rough treatment before sending you to the other side." Kamika spoke while smirking.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Plants charged forward at Wendy, causing her to leap into the air and dodge. "I'm Cosmos. What's your name, beautiful criminal?" Cosmos asked.

"I'm Wendy Marvell!"

"Oh, that's a lovely name. I'll remember it. Even after I execute you, Wendy-san." Cosmos claimed.

"That's not going to happen. I'm also a Fairy Tail wizard." Wendy said. "After I take you down, I'm going to look for everyone else."

Cosmos laughed. "Then I shall also fulfill my duty as an executioner." She stated as roots grew around Wendy.

"What is this?!" Wendy questioned as dried plums soon appeared. "D-Dried plums?"

"Too bad! They resemble dried plums, but they're different. They're magical fruit, so fill up!" Cosmos offered.

The plums soon attacked Wendy as she ran away. "Oh! Maybe you hate sour food?" Cosmos guessed, causing Wendy to halt in her tracks.

"N-No. That's not true. I love... dried plums!" Wendy responded.

"I'm glad to hear it! I love things that taste sour, too! Incidentally, this fruit is ten times more sour than dried plums." Cosmos informed, taking a bite out of the plum.

"Ten times?! It's that sour?!" Wendy exclaimed.

Cosmos lips puckered. "I can't get enough of this sourness!" She stated. "Here, you try one, too! Come on! Come on!"

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Uosuke stomps on the ground. "Topography effect! Lava zone!" He called out as the ground trembled before having a red glow to it.

"Something's coming!" Lucy informed.

"Yes!" Yukino said.

"Be on guard!" Samuel warned.

"Carla..."

"What is this? The ground is..." Carla looked around.

"... burning?!" Arcadios finished.

The ground soon split, causing lava to appear through the cracks as Lucy, Yukino, and Samuel got separated.

"Yukino! Lucy!" Arcadios shouted out, getting separated from them as well.

The two women plus Samuel were holding onto the ledge of a slab.

"There they are!" Carla noticed. "Hold on, you three!"

"We're on our way!" Happy added.

Uosuke soon caught Happy and Carla. "He caught me again!" Happy shouted.

"I'm not a fish either!" Carla complained.

"Topography effect! Gravity zone!" Uosuke shouted, sending Carla and Happy to the ground.

"Happy! Carla!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Body's... heavy..." Happy managed to get out.

"Is this gravity-manipulating Magic?" Carla wondered.

"Yukino, Sam, hang in there!" Lucy told them.

"Okay! But if we put some muscle into it, I think the rock is going to give way." Yukino informed.

"Criminals will be executed and not even their bones will be left behind-tai!" Uosuke exclaimed.

"Lucy! Yukino!" Arcadios called out, watching from a slab of rock.

Lucy and Yukino's boots began to burn. "Stay alive! You two are our only hope!" Arcadios claimed.

"Arcadios-sama..." Yukino muttered.

"You're talking about that again at a time like this?!" Lucy scolded. "Sorry, but I'm not going to help you with that!"

Arcadios began to walk forward. "Eclipse won't work without the both of you. For that sake..." Arcadios stepped into the lava. "... I would gladly pay with my life!"

"What are you doing?!" Lucy questioned.

Arcadios continued walking in the lava towards the three of them.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

A/N: Another chapter is finished! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2950 words.