(Royal Chocolate Factory, Hargeon Town, Kingdom of Ishgar, Ishgar, Earth-Land, Fairy Tail Universe)
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(Guiliano Augiliar POV)
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Guiliano put one hand on the brick wall of the Chocolate factory. Mirajane stood behind him, Cana was…somewhere, he'd asked her to do some scouting around the brewery. Find points of entry, that sort of thing. While he had had a part in the initial construction of both buildings, the Chocolate factory was the one project he'd personally overseen in its entirety. Every renovation, every update or retrofit. He'd overseen it all. The Chocolate factory was his golden goose.
''I remember when the first brick was laid, it was this very wall. We'd just broken ground, it'd taken decades of cutting through red tape and it was that day that the first true alliance between Drago Konzern and the Heartfilia Family was struck. We didn't officially make a permanent deal until the year X767. Since then we've carried the weight of the partnership, Heartfilia Konzern has been suffering setbacks the last few years. The Junelle Corporation has been aggressively expanding and has been trying to buyout Heartfilia Konzern. We're getting to the point where we have to seriously consider a merger with the Heartfilia's.'' Guiliano told Mirajane.
''What is Anna to you?'' Asks Mirajane.
''We're distantly related. As for how far back does it go? Well, I like you Mirajane, but I don't know you well enough to spill my guts to you. Besides, I wouldn't be S-Class if a pretty face and a smile was all it took to break me.'' Says Guiliano.
''Pretty face?'' Mirajane asked, a surprised look in her eye.
''Don't be so surprised. There's a certain appeal for a deceptively strong, exceptionally beautiful woman. You could easily be seen as just another pretty face. But that hides your true power and the respect you deserve.'' Guiliano says as he enjoys complimenting Mirajane. She's blushing, and it's very cute.
''You're flattering me.'' Says Mirajane.
''I'm being honest. I've seen many beautiful women, thousands throughout my long life, but you Mirajane… You top them all.'' Says Guiliano.
Mirajane is a deep crimson at this point, and Guiliano - through decades of practice - keeps a straight face, only making Mirajane blush even more. Turning away, Guiliano smiles lightly as Mirajane can't see him smiling.
Looking back to the building, Guiliano summons the Celestial Spirit Key of Pixis. He inserts it into the first first brick, a keyhole appearing as the key touches the brick. ''Open! Gate of the Compass! Pixis!'' Guiliano says summoning Pixis after withdrawing the key.
''What's the matter?'' Mirajane asked.
''This is a secret passage. There is a vault at its end. What's inside cannot fall into the wrong hands. I must retrieve it. Pixis, take Mirajane and retrieve Cana.'' Said Guiliano.
''If it's so important shouldn't we go together?'' Mirajane asks.
''...''
''...''
''...''
Guiliano opens and closes his mouth several times.
The wrong hands constitute any one not related to him by blood or marriage. Thing is though, he trusts Mirajane and Cana. His instincts are at odds with each other. His Draconic instincts insist he takes the leap of faith, while his human instincts insist he takes no one with him.
''Very well.'' He decided at long last. ''I really shouldn't, but I trust you Mirajane.'' Says Guiliano as Mirajane smiles at him. He feels some of the tension leave him at that.
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Finding Cana had been easy with Pixis. Getting to the vault would be the problem. He was breaking a lot of rules letting them into the vault with him, but there was a distinct advantage in taking them through the passage. They could more readily observe the Gonlins in the Factory. The interior of the factory had been designed well, and every wall, corner, and room had some form of a one-way mirror.
Enchanted to appear as an otherwise unremarkable and normal part of the structure. The surfaces of the walls and roofs, had been Enchanted To allow anybody behind them to - with the proper Magical Key - allow covert spying of everything that went on inside the factory. There were was only one way to get into the passages that lead to these enchantments, and that was in the vault they were currently headed to. The Vault itself had five entrances overall, but only one of them wasn't a secret point of entry. The Vault door itself could never be penetrated as it was made from an ore found only on his home continent. When imbued with Earth Dragon Slayer Magic the Ore was virtually impenetrable after it was crafted into a solid object of course that meant that it was weak to individuals who were Water Dragon Slayers, or were Dragon Slayers of an Earth Dragon Sub-Element. So He'd imbued the Vault door with all of his Dragon Slayer Magics during the various stages of crafting. It was kind of pointless if he hadn't since he'd needed to use his Hell-Flame Dragon Slayer Magic to melt the ore back then. Metallurgy wasn't half as advanced as it was now as opposed to when the vault door was first constructed.
''So where does this lead to anyway?'' Cana asks.
''A vault as old as the structure itself. I'm breaking so many rules allowing you to follow me in here. But that's besides the point. There are ways to observe what happens inside through hidden passageways connected to the vault.'' Says Guiliano.
''So why was I sent to scout for points of entry then?'' Cana asks pointedly.
''Because in the first place, there's no points of entry in the passages. Second, the only way to get into the factory from those passageways would be through the vault door. Third, that Door cannot be opened from the inside. And fourth, Mirajane convinced me to bring you two along well after I'd sent you to scout for points of entry.'' Says Guiliano.
''How do you even know about this passage?'' Cana asks.
''Can't tell you that. I can only break the rules so much. And no offense Cana, but I don't know you well enough to know how loose your lips are when you drink too heavily. So for now the secret stays with me.'' Says Guiliano.
''That's fair, I guess.'' Cana says, even if she's grumbling about it.
''We're almost there. The vaults just up ahead.'' Says Guiliano.
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(POV Shift: Mirajane Strauss)
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As they followed Guiliano just a little bit further in, they entered a large wide room. Behind several locked gates were piles of gold, stacks of Chocolate, and in the center was a stairway to a door, and the entire entrance was locked behind a gate.
''Incredible.'' She breathed.
''I'll be back shortly.'' Says Guiliano.
''Hang on, you agreed to take us with you, you can't seriously be thinking of leaving us anyway?'' Mira interrupts.
''I'm afraid that you two don't have the blood. Anybody without the blood of the founding Patriarch of the Drago family who steps through that door will be cursed to death… literally.'' Guiliano says seriously.
''You're related to the first Patriarch aren't you?'' Mirajane asks, suspecting based on prior conversations, he was the First Patriarch.
''In a manner of speaking.'' Says Guiliano. ''I can't get into details right now, but I'll be back in about three minutes.'' He says opening the gate and closing it behind him. ''The gates and cages are warded, any attempts to bypass them without the corresponding keys will end very badly.'' He adds, before walking down the stairs and disappearing out of sight.
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(POV Shift: Guiliano Augiliar)
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Entering the main vault, Guiliano approached the pedestal.
''Let's make this fast. In the name of Cardinal Zen, I offer this offering of blood. The archive is in danger, guardians awaken. Protect the factory and protect the maidens accompanying the First Patriarch. Excise the infestation.'' Guiliano says as he cuts his palm and slams it onto the ground, unleashing a burst of Magical Energy. The entire structure shakes, and the room hums with power.
Guiliano approaches the pedestal and proceeds to retrieve the book on it. This was too precious to leave behind.
''Time to go.'' Guiliano mutters as he leaves the secondary vault.
''What's happening?'' Mirajane asks him.
''I've activated the defenses. But we must still get rid of the Goblins. The guardians aren't infallible and they cost a fortune to repair or replace.'' He tells the duo.
''Then we should hurry.'' Says Cana.
''We've got ten minutes. It takes a while for the Guardians to awaken after so long. They'll need that long to regain full power anyway. So let's go watch the goblins scramble.'' Guiliano says.
''Lead the way.'' Cana says easily.
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(Author's Note:)
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And with that we've got maybe one or two more chapters before we begin the Eisenwald arc. Managed to finish about 55% of the chapter in two hours. The weather had been ungodly hot of late so as soon as it cooled down I was able to work properly. I've begun mapping out where Multiversal Chaos will take us. It's a big list, easily a few years worth of work. Luckily I have all volumes of the relevant Manga and episodes of relevant anime downloaded to my phone. Looking at the planned parts of that particular part of the story,my favorite overall Arcs to write and plan would be numbers 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 28, 29, 30, and 31. Those are the ones I'm most looking forward to. With heavy emphasis on number 31 since it's to be the final part of Multiversal Chaos and will likely be amongst the largest - if not the outright largest - Arcs within the Multiversal Chaos part of the fic. The finale chapters amongst that 31st arc are gonna be one of the biggest chapters I could think up ever. If anything the Hundred Years Quest and Alvarez Arcs will probably under-deliver by comparison if my expectations are met.
But the possibilities of that happening are a pretty close margin. So it may or may not be the case.
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Thanks to Mitchell Howard, David Martinez, ROGUE505 Saver, Mathew T Linderman, Luck George, Kyle Diano, Julien, Morgan Sinn, Tom A, and Joao Goncalves for their support on P-atreon.
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