The community hut, with its lingering smell of damp goat and wet wood, had been unwillingly promoted to an improvised courtroom. Outside, the village on Galuna Island was immersed in an almost sinister silence. Just crooked, empty huts, a faint aroma of burnt wood from the recent attacks, and the quietness of the villagers who, with a wisdom born of fear, were clearly pretending not to hear the shouting coming from within our little tribunal.
Inside, the scene was a spectacle of pure, crystalline tragicomedy: Natsu and Happy, to my immense and private delight, were trussed up like two particularly noisy and indignant Christmas hams, writhing uselessly against their magical bonds. Lucy, the personification of anxiety on legs, was cowering behind a chair as if expecting a missile strike at any moment. Gray, as always, was shirtless and had his arms crossed, trying to maintain a pose of "I'm too cool for this situation," but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him. And I… ah, I was in the most… interesting position of all. Bound on the floor, my arms pinned firmly behind my back with scarlet ropes that seemed alive, and, as the cherry on top of a cake of humiliation (or was it pleasure?), the great and fearsome Titania was sitting on top of me, using my body as if I were a conveniently placed, rustic bench.
Erza, the judge, jury, and executioner of this makeshift court, took a deep breath, visibly trying to contain the fury that simmered beneath her surface of forced composure. Her sword was casually propped against the wall, but her presence, in that moment, weighed on the room more heavily than any steel blade.
"You. Took. An. S-Class. Mission. Without. Any. Permission," she declared, her voice cold, metallic, and as sharp as her finest blade. Each word was a sentence. "That is a direct betrayal of Fairy Tail's most fundamental rules. An affront to the Master. And a display of pure and utter stupidity."
Natsu, incapable of staying quiet for more than three seconds, tried to protest, the sound muffled by the ropes. "B-but we were only trying to help! And Azra'il didn't even actually kill anyone!" The rope hissed and tightened in response, likely enchanted by Erza herself. "Argh! This hurts more than being crushed by an angry dragon, Erza!"
"It's supposed to hurt, you idiot," she retorted, with a coldness that made even Gray flinch.
Lucy, on the verge of tears as usual, tried to appeal to sentimentality. "We just wanted to help the villagers… it was a terrible curse…"
"Silence, Lucy," Erza cut in, without even granting her the benefit of a glance. Then, her attention turned to Gray, and her tone dropped half an octave, enough to freeze the very ice that emanated from him. "Gray. You. Of all people here, the one supposedly with the most sense. You should have dragged those two back to the guild the moment you learned of their madness. But not only did you fail to stop them, you decided, of your own free will, to join the mission. Do you have any idea what that means?"
Gray, with the stubbornness of a boy caught red-handed, crossed his arms tighter and looked away. "It means I care about my friends and I'm not about to let them die alone on some godforsaken island, perhaps?" His voice was a mixture of defiance and a loyalty that was both stupid and admirable.
"It means you will receive the exact same punishment as them," Erza sentenced, without the slightest hesitation.
"...Tch." Was Gray's only, eloquent reply.
Then, as if saving the best, or the worst, for last, Erza's eyes, those intense, burning brown eyes of hers, turned slowly to the real spectacle in the room. Me. Still comfortably (or not so comfortably) bound on the floor, with Erza sitting upon me as if I were her personal throne.
[This is, I must admit, an unprecedented development in your numerous incarnations, Azra'il. You have been officially and gloriously promoted from "secret weapon with an attitude problem" to "multifunctional and surprisingly sturdy human furniture." Congratulations on the promotion. Or my condolences. I am still processing the data,] Eos commented in my mind, her digital voice dripping with an inappropriate and sadistic delight.
With a sigh that was a mix of boredom and a strange, wholly inappropriate feeling of… satisfaction, I murmured, loud enough for Erza to hear, "This is terribly degrading, you know?"
Erza adjusted herself on my body, with the naturalness of someone finding the most comfortable position in an expensive armchair, causing her weight to shift in a most… interesting way. "This, Azra'il, is called discipline."
And it was then that something inside me, something ancient, primordial, and which I usually kept under seven locks and a few containment spells, gave a dangerous and wholly unexpected shiver. The firm pressure of her body on mine, the authoritarian coldness in her tone, the weight of her momentary domination… it all mixed into an electric thrill that had absolutely nothing to do with fear. I swallowed hard, feeling my heart give a stupid, treacherous lurch.
[Preliminary Diagnosis: Excitement detected. Adrenaline and dopamine levels are rising. Category: selective and situational submissiveness. Apparent reason: chronic weakness for beautiful, strong, dominant women with vibrantly coloured hair,] Eos reported, with the clinical calm of a doctor announcing a rare and incurable disease, which, somehow, only made everything worse.
(Shut your damned mouth, you meddling rust bucket,) I snarled mentally, trying in vain to control my body's traitorous reaction.
[I said absolutely nothing. I merely presented the data. And the data, my dear, indicates a clear and growing… 'animation'.]
Erza sighed loudly, the sound echoing through the silent hut. It wasn't a sigh of anger, which would be manageable. It was worse. It was the sigh of someone who is genuinely disappointed, one that acknowledges that even the supposedly responsible S-Class mage of the group needs a lesson. "And you, Azra'il… an S-Class mage. The Master sent you to supervise them, to be the voice of reason. And what did you do? You should have stopped this madness from the very beginning. But instead, not only did you allow it, you apparently participated in the chaos. What kind of example do you think you are setting for the others?"
I raised my eyes to look at her over my shoulder, with the lazy slowness of a cat that has just woken up, and with a lopsided, dangerous, and wholly inappropriate smile playing on my lips. "Hmm… honestly? If being negligent, lazy, and a terrible example means I'll be tied up and used as a bench by you again… maybe, just maybe, I'll do it more often, Titania."
Silence. Absolute. The kind of thick, heavy silence where even the wind outside seems to have held its breath in pure and utter shock.
The face of our dear, stern Erza, for one brief, glorious instant, froze. And the blush that rose to her cheeks had absolutely nothing to do with anger and everything, absolutely everything, to do with a deep, overwhelming embarrassment. She was utterly speechless. And beautiful. "S… s-shut up, you… you idiot! This is no time for your stupid games!" Her voice, once so firm and commanding, failed miserably mid-sentence, trembling between the attempt to maintain authority and an almost palpable awkwardness.
"Games?" I arched an eyebrow, my tone now low, slow, and laden with a lazy, suggestive malice. "I'm not playing, Erza. And frankly, you don't seem quite so angry now. In fact…" I let my voice drop to a hoarse, intimate whisper, just loud enough for her to hear, "you look absurdly, incredibly, and dangerously beautiful when you're furious and trying to be dominant. That red face of yours, those eyes burning with anger... honestly? It almost makes me want to provoke you a little more, just to see how long you can last before you… lose control."
Lucy, who was nearby, let out a sound that was a cross between a choke and the squeak of a frightened guinea pig. She was probably on the verge of fainting from pure second-hand embarrassment. Gray, for his part, widened his eyes with an expression of "I can't believe she actually said that." And Natsu and Happy, even gagged, were clearly laughing under their ropes, their bodies shaking in a way that almost made them suffocate.
"You… you are completely insufferable, Azra'il!" Erza's voice failed again, breaking between the authority she was desperately trying to maintain and an embarrassment so deep it was almost tangible.
With a small, deliberate movement, I stretched beneath her, forcing even closer contact and feeling her stiffen in surprise. "Insufferable? Perhaps. But let's be honest, you haven't stood up, have you? You're still there, quite comfortable, using me as your personal bench. I'd wager that deep down, very deep down, you enjoy this more than you let on, don't you, my dear disciplinarian?"
Her hands, which were resting on her knees, trembled visibly for an instant. Her neck and ears turned red right to her hairline.
[Scenario analysis in progress: spontaneous combustion of Unit Erza imminent. Estimated probability: 73.8%. Other possibilities include: 50% chance of attempted homicide against Unit Azra'il. 50% chance of a forced, violent, and probably very confusing kiss. I suggest, as a contingency plan, flipping a coin to decide which outcome to bet on,] Eos teased in my mind, her voice utterly sarcastic and clearly revelling in the situation.
I laughed softly, letting out a tone that was almost... lascivious, just to provoke her further. "If you like, my dear Titania, you can tie me up again after all this is over. Alone. Who knows, maybe even a little tighter this time. I solemnly promise… not to resist."
"AZRA'IL!" she almost screamed my name, but the firmness failed miserably again. Her voice came out more like an embarrassed gasp, a desperate plea, than a furious command.
"Shhh…" I closed my eyes, feigning complete and utter indifference, but keeping that dangerous, suggestive smirk on my lips. "You don't have to pretend for me, Erza. Nor for yourself. You absolutely love being in control of the situation… and I, I must admit, love it when you finally take that control and show everyone who's really in charge."
That was the last straw. The redhead, with a muffled cry of pure and utter frustration and embarrassment, leapt off me as if my words and my body had suddenly caught fire. With her sword now in hand, her face a scarlet red that would make a poppy envious, and her breathing heavy and ragged, she seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown or a fit of rage.
Nearby, Gray, his eyes wide, muttered quietly, almost to himself, "This… this is definitely going to end badly…"
"It already went bad a long time ago, my friend," Happy replied, his voice muffled by the gag, but still full of an almost palpable panic and amusement.
Erza turned her face away from me, breathing deeply and visibly trying to regain control of her emotions and the situation. And it was in that precise, precious instant of distraction that Lucy, nervous, but seeing a chance to perhaps avoid severe punishment, summoned her courage and intervened.
"Erza… please, listen! This isn't just any mission we took without permission! The village... the entire village is truly cursed! The villagers turn into horrible monsters at night… and we found out it's all connected to that strange temple at the top of the island!"
Erza narrowed her eyes, her fury and embarrassment slowly giving way to her commander's seriousness. "Explain. Now."
With the attention finally off me, Gray, his face pale and his voice heavy with an old pain, confessed everything.
"It's Lyon. My old training partner under our master, Ur. He… he's here, Erza. And he's using the forbidden Moon Drip ritual to try and revive the demon Deliora."
The word echoed through the small, silent hut like a clap of thunder, or the harbinger of the end of the world. Deliora. One of Zeref's demons. The monster that became a legend of mass destruction, a bedtime story to frighten children and experienced mages alike.
"The same demon that… that completely destroyed my hometown when I was a child," Gray continued, his fists clenching so hard that ice began to form around them. "The same one that killed Ur. He… the demon is here, on this island. Trapped in her ice. And Lyon, in his madness and arrogance, wants to free it, just to try and prove that he's stronger than our master. That he can surpass what she could not."
The room plunged into a heavy, deathly silence. Even I, with my usual detachment, arched an eyebrow. Deliora. So that was this so-called 'legendary monster'? I let out a long, almost bored sigh. (Hmph. A demon trapped in ice… I've seen far worse terrors having afternoon tea.)
Then, with the dignity and authority of a true queen, Erza stood tall. Her entire posture changed. The irritated disciplinarian and the flustered teenager vanished, replaced by the born commander.
"So it's not just an illegal S-Class mission," she declared, her voice resonating through the hut with a cold, unquestionable authority that silenced even the creaking of the wood. "It's a catastrophic-level threat to this entire island and, potentially, the entire continent. A threat that, if we fail to stop it, could cost far, far more than just our guild's questionable reputation." She looked at each of us, one by one, her flaming brown eyes fixing on each face with an intensity that demanded obedience. "Your punishment is, for the time being, officially and temporarily postponed. From this moment on, this mission, which you stupidly stole, is officially under my leadership and my command. And our absolute, unquestionable, and non-negotiable priority is to storm that damned temple and prevent Deliora's revival, at any cost. Understood?"
Gray just lowered his head, a gesture that was a mixture of gratitude, relief, and respect. "Thank you, Erza…"
Lucy sighed, an audible sound of pure and utter relief. And Natsu, who was still tied up like a badly wrapped Christmas present, broke into a wide, savage grin. "FINALLY! NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A REAL FIGHT! UNTIE ME RIGHT NOW, ERZA, I'M GONNA GO KICK THAT LYON GUY'S ARSE UNTIL HE TURNS INTO ICE DUST!"
Erza, as expected, ignored him completely, her focus now entirely tactical. She began to pace the centre of the small hut, her mind clearly drawing up strategies and calculating probabilities.
"Gray, you know Lyon and his fighting style better than anyone here. You are our main and most valuable weapon against him. What is the exact situation at the temple?"
Gray, now free from the imminent pressure of severe punishment and fully focused on the critical mission ahead, answered promptly, with the clarity of a soldier at a briefing. "The temple is ancient, unstable, and full of traps. Lyon, from what I saw, is in the basement, on the lowest level, where the enormous block of ice imprisoning Deliora is located. He and his followers are using the ancient and forbidden 'Moon Drip' ritual to melt Ur's Iced Shell seal. The light from the illusory purple moon is somehow being channelled through the temple's entire structure and focused directly on the ice."
Erza nodded slowly, her eyes closed for an instant, processing every detail of Gray's information. "So the objective is, in essence, simple and direct: we need to invade that basement, stop Lyon before he completes the ritual, and completely destroy the mechanism that is channelling the moonlight." She glanced briefly at the other hut, where Lyon's three incompetent followers were still tied up and, hopefully, unconscious. "With his subordinates already out of commission, that only leaves him in the temple and, in the worst, most catastrophic scenario, Deliora itself."
Gray, with an even more tense expression, corrected her, his voice grave. "Not exactly, Erza. There was one more with them, one we couldn't capture. A masked man who uses a strange and very, very dangerous magic. His name is Zalty."
Lucy, remembering what she had witnessed at the ruins, added with urgency, "His magic… it was bizarre. It looked like he could distort things. When he touched the broken ruins, they fixed themselves in an instant, and then crumbled to dust again. He… he said something about it being 'Arc of Time Magic'."
Erza narrowed her eyes, a glimmer of recognition and concern in her gaze. "Arc of Time… I've read about that in an old book somewhere. It's a Lost Magic, one of the rarest and most powerful in existence. This… this complicates things. A great deal." She paused, her fingers drumming on her armour, her brilliant mind working at high speed. "A mage of Lyon's calibre, who, according to you, rivals your own power, Gray… plus a user of a Lost Magic. That means we effectively have two S-Class level opponents. A careless, ill-planned, or divided attack would be suicide. And we will not make that mistake."
She fell silent for another long moment, the air in the hut crackling with tension and the force of her concentration. I could almost see the cogs of her tactical mind turning. And then, she spoke.
"Right, we need a new plan," she declared, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "Two powerful and dangerous opponents. A disorganised frontal assault is foolish and a one-way ticket to the cemetery. We need to separate them and eliminate them quickly and decisively. The plan will, therefore, be a high-speed infiltration, with three teams and three simultaneous, interdependent objectives. No mistakes. No hesitation."
Her commander's gaze swept over the small group, assessing the strengths, weaknesses, and potential of each of us with an almost frightening precision.
"Objective One: Divide and Conquer." She turned to Natsu and Gray, her two biggest problems and, paradoxically, her greatest offensive force. "You two, the duo of chaos and destruction. You will be our main strike force and our loudest diversion. You will enter the temple together, making as much noise and causing as much damage as possible. Your objective is simple, direct, and probably very entertaining for your primitive brains: find Lyon and engage him. A two-on-one fight, fire against ice, stupidity against arrogance. Natsu, your brute force and uncontrollable fire are the perfect distraction and the ideal counterpoint to his ice creations. And Gray, you, more than anyone, know the fighting style, the habits, and the weaknesses of your old training partner. Use that to your advantage. Work together, for the first time in your lives, and press him until he breaks."
Natsu and Gray glanced at each other for an instant. And, for the first time I could remember, the usual childish rivalry was replaced by a mutual understanding, a reluctant respect born of necessity and a common goal. "Leave it to us, Erza. We'll freeze, melt, and fry that guy until he regrets the day he was born," Natsu said, with a fierce grin and a fist already wreathed in flames.
Gray, more restrained but with the same intensity in his eyes, just nodded. "Lyon... Lyon is ours."
Erza, satisfied with their response, continued, the plan forming with impressive clarity and precision. "Objective Two: Neutralise the Unknown Threat and the Dangerous Variable." Her gaze, now serious, focused, and intensely piercing, fixed on me. I already knew what was coming. "Azra'il. That masked mage, Zalty, and his unpredictable Arc of Time Magic are, in my opinion, the greatest and most perilous of the dangers. The biggest variable in our equation. His ability to reverse and advance the time of objects could, theoretically, nullify any of our conventional attacks and repair any damage we cause. That is why you will go after him. And you alone."
She paused dramatically, letting the weight of that crucial task settle on me. I just met her gaze with a faint, knowing smirk.
"I don't know the limits of your magic, Azra'il, nor the true extent of your power. No one here does. But of all of us, you have repeatedly demonstrated a power that seems to defy the normal rules of this world. Your mission, therefore, is simple and direct: find this Zalty, preferably before he finds us, and neutralise him. Permanently, if necessary. Do not, under any circumstances, let him interfere with Natsu and Gray's fight. I believe you are the only one here who can face such a powerful Lost Magic without the slightest hesitation." There was a faith in her eyes, a trust in me that was both flattering and a little… heavy.
With a slow, lazy, and perhaps slightly cruel smile, I took a step forward. "Time-manipulation magic? Oh, how cute. How adorable. It's been a very long time since I've seen someone play with such... delicate and dangerous concepts. Consider your masked man with a dangerous hobby... politely retired from his duties. I'll give him a short and unforgettable lesson on the true nature of time."
Erza seemed momentarily surprised, perhaps even a little shocked, by my casual confidence and utter lack of concern, but she quickly recovered her commander's composure. "Objective Three: Tactical Support and Final Interruption of the Ritual." And with that, she turned to the last and crucial pair of our improvised team. "Lucy and I. While the two main battles are taking place and keeping our enemies occupied, our task will be the most critical of all. We, together, will find the power source fuelling the Moon Drip ritual. With my combat strength and the incredible versatility of your celestial spirits, we will, without a doubt, completely destroy the mechanism channelling the light of that cursed moon. We will be the tactical support for the other two fights, ready to intervene, to help, and to ensure that the structure of that ancient, unstable temple doesn't collapse on our heads in the process."
Lucy, who until then had seemed a little intimidated and frightened, held her golden keys with a new, firm determination, her large brown eyes shining with a newfound courage. Fighting alongside Erza, her idol and friend, was a responsibility that she, I knew, would take with the utmost seriousness. "Understood, Erza! We will not fail in our mission!"
The plan was laid out. Clean, direct, audacious, with each team member assigned a specific task that maximised their individual skills and minimised their collective weaknesses. Natsu and Gray as the brute force, the hammer of the operation. Me, Azra'il, as the specialist in "exotic problems," the silent dagger. And Erza and Lucy as the strategic demolition team, the heart of the mission. It was a surprisingly good plan, for something that had been improvised in less than five minutes in the middle of a crisis by a 19-year-old mage. That redhead really had talent.
"The purple moon is at its zenith," Erza said, her voice resonating with an urgency that put us all on high alert. "We don't have a second to waste. Infiltration of the temple is immediate. Lucy and I will enter through the main entrance, creating the first diversion. Natsu and Gray, you will enter from the flanks, as fast and as loud as possible, to draw Lyon's attention. And Azra'il..." she looked at me, with a mixture of trust and a concern she tried to disguise, "use that supernatural speed of yours. Find him, this Zalty, before he even knows we're there."
"Oh, you can count on it, Erza. He'll know I'm there when his pathetic magic stops working and time, for the first time in his life, finally catches up with him," I replied, with a cold smile, already beginning to dissolve into the hut's shadows, my body becoming one with the darkness.
As Natsu and Gray ran stumbling out of the door, already trading insults and threats that barely disguised their newfound teamwork, I saw Erza stop Lucy for a second, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "Stay close to me at all times, Lucy. And, most importantly, be ready for absolutely anything."
I watched the scene from a distance for another brief instant, a genuinely satisfied and perhaps slightly cruel smile playing on my lips. Erza, without knowing, without having the faintest idea of my true nature, had just handed me, on a silver platter with a ribbon on top, the most interesting, most stimulating, and potentially, most amusing mission of all. To face, alone, a mage who fancied himself the grand master of time, when I, in my long and tedious existence, have seen entire galaxies be born, live, and die in a cosmic blink of an eye.
[Final analysis of combat mission with specialised, high-risk confrontation confirmed, Azra'il. Designated opponent: a supposed and arrogant user of Lost Magic, with a probable god complex. Probability of said opponent suffering a profound and potentially irreversible existential crisis upon realising the total and absolute insignificance of his pathetic power before an entity such as yourself: approximately 98.7%, with a minimal margin of error,] Eos commented in my mind, with her usual scientific precision and a touch of sadistic anticipation.
"Let's just hope, my dear and objective Eos, that he doesn't cry too much in the process," I murmured into the dark and silent night, as I moved with the speed of a ghost through the ancient, shadowy ruins of Galuna Island, towards my solitary and utterly unsuspecting target. "I honestly, from the bottom of my heart, hate it when they cry. It's so... ungraceful. And messy." The hunt, at last, had begun. And I was hungry.
----------
💬 Author's Note 💬
----------
So… yes. Azra'il was tied up, used as a bench, and still had the audacity to flirt with the judge in the middle of her own trial. But let's be honest, you all knew she had a type, didn't you? 😏
Azra'il might pretend to be a superior, ancient entity full of self-control, but the moment a beautiful, powerful woman who looks like she's in charge appears, the poor girl is already emotionally on her knees before she even realises it. Titania was just following the natural script of her life.
This is nothing new for Azra'il. In past lives, she's got involved with this same dominant archetype more times than the universe would care to admit, with women like Esdeath, Emma Frost, Poison Ivy, Bayonetta, Sindel, Kerrigan… and probably ten others. 💅
In other words, Erza is just honouring a long and illustrious tradition of emotional ruin caused by strong, dominant women. Azra'il was born to suffer at their hands, and even if she won't admit it, she enjoys it.
Oh, and another little tidbit. While I was writing this Fairy Tail fanfic, I was planning on writing an Akame ga Kill story where Azra'il gets involved with Esdeath. In that version, Azra'il would probably be a villain, and the romance would be as intense as the moral collapse of the entire Empire. 😈
But for now, enjoy the chaos of Galuna Island, the righteous Titania, and our favourite reincarnate sorting out the mess made by the guild's four idiots. 🤗