Fog clung to the pines of Misty Peaks, cold beads on every needle. Ryuji moved in silence, breath a thin ribbon in the chill.
A tall figure stepped from the haze, coat hem whispering, a crescent scar cut across his cheek.
Veldor, the Rune Weight.
Veldor (flat): "Ryuji Kazuma. Come quietly."
Ryuji set his stance. "No."
Veldor's fingers carved symbols; ink-black light stitched itself together.
Veldor: "Black Sigil: Shackles."
Chains lashed. Ryuji's boots kissed ice.
Ryuji: "Winter Dragon Frost Step!"
He slid past one coil, caught the second, and ripped free with a driving hook.
Ryuji: "Winter Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Veldor staggered, eyes narrowing. His hands spread; the air turned heavy.
Veldor (low): "Graviton Press."
The ridge groaned. Ryuji's knees dipped; frost gathered and shaped to a slanted sheen.
Ryuji: "Frost Veil."
The pressure split and slid off. He surged and raked Veldor's ribs.
Ryuji: "Winter Dragon's Claw!"
A second voice drifted in, cool and precise.
Nyxen, the Night Sting.
Nyxen: "Adjust."
Needle sigils winked along her sleeves.
Nyxen: "Night Sting: Widow Weave."
A net of glittering pins stitched the air.
Ryuji's eyes narrowed—he knew that pattern now.
Ryuji: "Frost Step!"
He cut a quick S-curve through the gaps. A single black pin hissed past where his side had been.
Nyxen glided in, two fingers aimed for a nerve point—
Nyxen (soft): "Somnus Pin."
A rush of wind broke her line.
Wendy (firm): "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Air swelled and shoved Nyxen off-angle. Wendy landed beside Ryuji, breeze humming at her palms.
Wendy: "I won't let you take him."
Ryuji's mouth tipped—brief, grateful. "Together."
Veldor planted—runes above and below.
Veldor: "Umbra Lattice."
A dark grid snapped up like a cage.
Wendy swept wind along the ground, rippling the sigil lines. "Keep it moving—don't let it set!"
Ryuji palmed the earth; frost bloomed outward.
Ryuji: "Winter Dragon Frost Spikes!"
Ice lances erupted beneath the lattice posts—anchors cracked, the frame tilting. Nyxen fanned her sleeve.
Nyxen: "Black Hemlock Rain."
A storm of fine needles poured down. Ryuji angled his sheen.
Ryuji: "Frost Veil!"
The rain skittered away and pattered into stone. Wendy drove wind through the opening.
Wendy: "Now!"
Ryuji burst forward.
Ryuji: "Winter Dragon's Talon!"
Cold claws raked Veldor's chest—cloth tore; air left him in a grunt. Wendy drew, voice rising—
Wendy: "Sky Dragon's Roar!"
Wind tunneled, slamming Veldor into a frost-slick boulder. He sagged to the ground, runes sputtering out.
Nyxen's lashes lowered. A single midnight needle gleamed between two fingers.
Nyxen (whisper): "Banshee Spine."
Ryuji shifted half a pace; it sang past. He iced her footing with a thin glaze, caught her wrist, turned the arm, and hammered the sleeve seam.
Ryuji: "Winter Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The cuff burst; needles spilled uselessly. Wendy pinned Nyxen's balance with a tight gust. Nyxen clicked her tongue and stilled, eyes sharp—no quip, no plea.
Ryuji and Wendy backed off together, chests heaving. Cold and wind settled around them like a shared mantle.
Wendy (smiling through breaths): "We... did it."
Ryuji nodded once. "Thanks to you."
She puffed her cheeks—and swatted his shoulder. "For leaving us behind."
Ryuji winced, contrite. "Yeah. Sorry."
Boots thundered through the fog.
Makarov's voice carried first, warm and iron at once. "You two did well. Next time you call us—understood?"
Shapes resolved out of the gray: Gajeel cracking his neck; Mirajane calm and focused; Elfman rolling his shoulders; Cana spinning a card; Juvia with water already gathering; Levy with a satchel of notes; Jet and Droy flanking; Bisca and Alzack checking sights; Macao and Wakaba bracing the line; and behind them, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, Carla—the vanguard of Fairy Tail.
Natsu jabbed a finger. "Bolt off alone again and I'm dragging you back by the scarf!"
Gray snorted. "If I don't freeze your boots first."
Erza stepped close—no armor change yet, just that steady gaze that cowed brawls at twenty paces. "You scared Wendy half to death. No more solo charges. We move as one." A beat, softer: "We're here."
Mirajane's smile gentled. "We were worried."
Gajeel tilted his head at the downed elites. "Huh. Guess you can scrap."
Cana flicked a card, smirk softening. "Don't make a habit of it, kid."
Makarov planted his staff. "Form ranks."
Cries rose below. Cloaked lackeys poured from cut-stone corridors, sigil-brands glowing.
Makarov (crisp): "Sweep them!"
Gajeel: "Iron Dragon's Club!"
He cleared the front rank with a single brutal swing.
Juvia: "Water Lock!"
A press of water pinned three robed mages to the stone.
Elfman: "Beast Soul!"
Claws flashed as he shielded Levy's flank.
Levy sketched symbols. "Solid Script: BIND!"
Glowing chains snapped around fleeing feet.
Bisca: "Left balcony."
Alzack: "Right sighted."
Two precise shots clipped casters priming hexes above.
Macao: "Purple Flare!"
Wakaba: "Nicotine Blast!"
A violet lash and a smoke-snap scattered the next wave.
Erza strode through the center, Black Wing Armor flaring into place. "Hold the funnel!"
Gray slammed his palms down. "Ice-Make: Rampart!"
A low wall curved the enemy into Natsu's path.
Natsu grinned wide. "Perfect! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Lucy raised a key, breath steady. "Open, Gate of the Maiden—Virgo!"
Virgo surfaced with a bow. "Punishment time, Princess?"
Lucy (red): "D-dig trenches—cut their route!"
Virgo vanished; the ground sank in clean channels. Wendy lifted her arm—
Wendy: "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Wind shoved the front rank into Gray's ice.
Ryuji skated the edge, dropping stragglers with tight, efficient strikes, Frost Veil glinting as cover for those behind him.
They drove through the corridor—torches guttering, stone narrow and cold—until ironwood doors loomed. Two lackeys heaved them open and fled.
The hall beyond spread wide—pillars ringed with old lacquer, a cracked banner hanging like a bruise. Waiting beneath it:
Four elites in a shallow crescent—power coiled close to the skin.
Behind them, bound Veldor and a guarded, kneeling Nyxen; both conscious, both silent.
A man in crimson stepped forward—poise like a knife on velvet, eyes bright with patient hunger.
Darius Crimson.
Darius (pleasant): "Fairy Tail. Welcome. You've brought back my pawns... and yourselves."
Natsu's flame rose; Gray's hands flexed; Juvia's water curled; Gajeel's iron groaned; Elfman's claws cracked; Cana's card flashed; Levy's script lit; Bisca and Alzack set angles; Mirajane's gaze steadied; Macao and Wakaba braced; Lucy held her key; Erza's sword leveled; Wendy drew a breath; Ryuji's frost edged the flagstones at his boots. Makarov stepped once, staff ringing the stone.
Makarov (quiet, immovable): "If you're after the boy, you go through all of us."
Darius smiled, slow. "I was hoping you'd say that."
The four elites shifted; power pressed outward.
The doors boomed shut behind Fairy Tail.
—To be continued.
Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima/Kodansha. I only own Ryuji Kazuma and this fan story. Non-commercial fan work.