Haruka & The Fairy Tail Guild
Concerning Living Magic:
Living Magic is, in many ways, a very vague description. There are a great number of different spells and enchantments that can create and modify life, but nevertheless the art itself is considered one of the darkest forms of the Black Arts.
It is often underestimated just how dangerous Living Magic truly is. Magic that is alive, with sentient thought and willpower, cannot be controlled. While other Magic fades with time, Living Magic simply grows stronger. Living Magic can mutate and expand, turning against its creator and devouring them. Four hundred years ago, the Black Wizard Zeref created many 'Demons' using his particular power. It is a sign of the potency of Living Magic that many of those Demons still wreak havoc in the world today. Only the most foolish, insane or evil Mages dare to dabble with such power…
***
"Stay calm… !" Kageyama muttered in a panicked whisper, staring at the monstrosity unfolding in front of this. "I can fix this!"
The rest of the guild was deathly quiet as they watched in terror. The building of the Dark Guild Eisenwald was shadowy and gloomy, a looming structure of grey stone in a forest of dead trees. The Dark Mages could only stare as they watched their strongest member, Erigor, thrash madly as he clutched the demon flute, Lullaby.
The sounds were terrifying. Kageyama could feel the Magic flowing from the flute, and it was dark, powerful and sickening. Erigor looked like he was dying, screaming in agony all the while he clutched Lullaby tightly. No one dared to approach, even while the shadows flowed from Kageyama as he desperately tried to restrain the Demon.
"I can fix this… !" Kageyama gasped, using his Shadow Magic to hold Erigor in place as the tendrils of shadows tried to pry the flute from his fingers. "I can fix this!"
His heart was pounding. Lullaby was an old, twisted wooden flute nearly 50 centimetres in length, with a three eyed skull on the end. Somehow, the skull looked like it was grinning. All three eyes were glowing with an ominous purple glow. Erigor thrashed on the ground madly, the flute still trapped into the palm of his right hand.
Slowly, Kageyama was beginning to realise that Erigor wasn't holding onto Lullaby anymore; the flute was holding onto him .
Erigor looked like he was having trouble breathing. The so-called 'Death God' was left writhing onto the floor in pain as the Magic from Lullaby invaded his system. He was tall, lean-built and muscular, bare-chested and covered in tattoos, but his muscles were bulging as his body trembled in pain. His long silver hair was a mess across the ground. His dark eyes, elongated face and sharp features, normally so smug, were twisted and contorted with pain.
This isn't supposed to happen, Kageyama thought desperately. Kageyama had Dispelled the demon flute and Erigor was planning on using it against the legal Guilds. It was never meant to happen like this…
Around him, the rest of Eisenwald stared in silence, no one barely even breathed. The sounds of the screams echoed around the old, decrepit building. Erigor looked like he was dying. They were all glancing towards Kageyama to do something. The dark haired Shadow Mage could only gulp with panic.
Perhaps Lullaby is broken? He thought desperately. The flute was supposed to kill anyone but the user when it was played, but Erigor had only touched it. It was an old artefact from the Books of Zeref, so perhaps the Curse had been damaged over time. It had been Kageyama's job to dispel the wards so that Lullaby could be used again, but he was sure he had done his job correctly…
Then, slowly, Kageyama realised that Erigor's right arm was gradually changing colour and texture, as his skin transformed into bark and his muscles turned into tangled wood. The dread fell over Kageyama suddenly as he realised the shadow binds and stumbled backwards.
No… Kageyama thought in horror. Lullaby is working just fine. I did my job too well…
This is the power of Living Magic. Normal spells would decay over time, but Living Magic could grow. This Magic was alive; it could feed, it could grow, it could think, and it could adapt.
And anything that could adapt, could evolve.
All of those wards had been keeping Lullaby restrained, Kageyama thought slowly, backing away towards the door. I took too many of them away. And now it's free…
They had been fools to think of Lullaby as just an object that they could use. The flute was a Demon of Zeref. Erigor wasn't screaming anymore, but the wind was howling furiously through the building, shaking the doors and windows. Tables were upturned while paintings were thrown off the walls. The Dark Mages of Eisenwald could only duck for cover, while Erigor continued to transform.
Erigor barely looked human anymore. His right arm had transformed into demonic wood, while the flute fused with his flesh. His whole body was morphing as Living Magic invaded his body like a parasite. His eyes started to glow purple.
Kageyama's courage failed him. He turned and ran for the door, but then a wall of wind took him off his feet. In an instant, the entire building was surrounded by a furious tornado, trapping Eisenwald inside the building. Inside with a Demon…
Erigor wasn't screaming anymore; it was a throatier, more terrifying sound, like laughter. Kageyama felt his whole body tremble as the sweat poured down on him. "You've got to fight this, boss," Kageyama begged. "Lullaby it's… it's Taking Over your body!"
The sound of laughter just intensified. Erigor didn't even look the same anymore. His limbs twisted into mangled branches of wood, while his hair transformed pitch black. His face was slowly transforming into wood. Two long horns began to grow from his forehead, curving backwards, while his body grew larger. His mouth twisted into an inhuman, maniacal grin. A large hole appeared in his stomach.
His right arm was a mess of mangled wood, while his hand transformed into an arcing blade, like a scythe. There were holes running across the back of his wrist and arm, like a flute. Slowly, Erigor started to stand up.
The Dark Mages were all terrified. They were used to grizzly assassinations and murders, but nothing like this. Hesitantly, Karacka stepped forward towards Erigor. The short, fat man was sweating madly, his thick lips trembling. "Umm… Boss?" He muttered weakly, wiping his green hair down nervously. "Are you alright?"
Erigor's inhuman grin widened even further. A purple eye appeared on his forehead. He was still wearing his tattered robes and sandals, but he was so tall his horns pressed up against the tall ceiling.
"Never better!" Erigor said cheerfully, flexing his wooden limbs. "But I am hungry!"
Karacka blinked uncertainly. Around him, the members of Eisenwald were littered around the floor, in a terrified huddle. Kageyama hid behind a bookshelf, trembling madly. "…Well then…" Karacka said in terror. "…We'll get you something to eat…"
"Don't bother," Erigor said with a glimmer in his three eyes. "I'll eat your souls! "
In an instant, the Death God took a deep breath. Kageyama reacted quickly and used his shadows to form a protective bubble around his head, blocking off all sound. The rest of Eisenwald weren't so lucky.
The sound ripped straight through them as Erigor screamed. It was a sound vaguely similar to nail on a chalkboard, yet magnified a thousand times. Dozens of bodies collapsed to the ground as the Curse Magic echoed around the air.
Even inside his protective bubble, Kageyama could feel the sound leeching his Magic, cutting straight into his soul. The members of Eisenwald were limp and motionless, even while Erigor continued to inhale. Kageyama glimpsed silvery, translucent shapes leaving their bodies, only to be sucked straight up into Erigor's mouth.
He's eating their souls, Kageyama realised in horror, feeling his own Magic starting to drain away. He's draining their Magic and sucking out their souls…
Erigor just kept on inhaling. The air was going in his throat and out through the holes on his right arm as he played the terrible melody. He just kept on huffing inwards, even as he devoured the souls of his former comrades. His mouth was twisted into a grin.
It wasn't the normal way that Lullaby killed. Instead, the Demon was combining Erigor's Wind Magic with its own Curse, magnifying the sound with wind as the air sucked away all the Magic from the room. It didn't need anyone to play it; it was playing the melody itself.
After what felt like a lifetime, Erigor stopped. Kageyama collapsed to the ground, but he barely had any Magic left. I'm the only one left, Kageyama realised, staring at the limp, soulless bodies of his friends, their faces twisted in horror. With loud footsteps, Erigor approached him slowly.
The fear was paralysing. "…Please… Please…" Kageyama begged, scuttling backwards on the floor until he hit the wall. "Erigor… you've got to fight it! The Demon is possessing you! You've got to fight it!"
Erigor smirked, his wooden fist twisting into an evil smile. "Fight it?" Erigor muttered in a voice that was disturbingly familiar. "Now why would I want to do that?"
Kageyama's eyes bulged as he realised his mistake. He recognised that stance, that smug grin, those cold eyes. Lullaby wasn't possessing Erigor's body, instead they must have… well, it was like they had merged…
The brute strength and evil desire of a Demon combined with the skill and murderous intent of an infamous assassin. Raw power and expert Magic. An evil being with Erigor's own personal vendetta. Erigor longed to kill and Lullaby longed to eat. Erigor would be a gracious host and Lullaby a grateful passenger. A mutually beneficial possession.
Oh, they would get along perfectly, Kageyama realised in utter dread.
"Don't you see?" Erigor laughed, his demonic body trembling in glee. "This power is a gift! Lullaby is so much more than I could have ever hoped. This is the power that can deliver punishment against the legal Guilds that banished us to the darkness! With this power, I can deliver justice against those that oppose us!"
Kagayama's eyes bulged in fear. The pure insanity in Erigor's eyes had never been so obvious. The wind howled around him, screaming in his ears. He glanced towards the fallen members of Eisenwald.
"But… But…" Kageyama stammered pleadingly. "…You murdered our comrades! Where is the justice in that?!"
Erigor just smirked. "Murder?" He said coldly. "Why, I would never murder them…"
Around them, gradually, the bodies of the former members of Eisenwald started to twitch. Kageyama finally lost control of his bowels as he saw his former friends rise off the ground, with a cold, dead gaze in their eyes. The horror of the situation fell over him like a cold sweat as he saw the skin of the Dark Mages transform into wood.
His friends had been left soulless, empty husks, powered only by Lullaby's melody.
Demonspawn.
"Welcome to the new Eisenwald," Erigor murmured quietly, before raising the scythe on his right arm and chopping downwards. Kageyama slumped to the floor as the wooden blade cut into his chest. His eyes bulged as he saw the blood gush out of the wound, even as his skin started to turn to bark.
The world is doomed, Kagayama thought in dread. And it's all my fault…
That was the last thought he would ever have.