Haruka & The Fairy Tail Guild
With a grunt of exertion, Loke slammed his fist into a demonspawn's face, just as his emerald ring flashed with light that sent the creature crashing to the ground. The street was a mess of debris and flickering flames, casting shadows across the night as Loke ran quickly towards the Guild Hall. The demonspawn seemed to be thinning, but somehow that wasn't encouraging. Not when that hideous noise rang through the town…
It was the worst noise Loke had ever heard. It sounded like bloody nails screeching on a chalkboard, scraping down to the bone. It was so intense the Loke felt like his ears were about to bleed, but somehow he kept on running towards the toppled ruins of the Guild Hall. The Magic was thick in the air, dark and unnatural, resonating with the music.
The guild had been torn to pieces. The roof was ripped off in the wind and the walls collapsed to rubble. Loke felt his stomach churn in dread as he scrambled over the ruins. The whole place seemed eerily quiet. It was like that sound was sucking the life out of everything around him.
"Master?!" Loke shouted loudly, squinted as he peered into the gloom. "Mira?! Anyone here?"
There was no response. I should have been here, Loke thought furiously, I should have been able to protect the guild. After being trapped so long from the Spirit World, Loke's Magic had almost completely depleted. Even without it, Loke was still a very capable fighter and he could hold his own with his Lacrima ring, but he never had the strength he once possessed as 'Leo the Lion'. He was weaker now than he had ever been, and it had taken so long to fight through the demonspawn.
There was a faint noise from inside the guild, barely audible over the hideous music. Loke's eyes widened, before quickly leaping down the rubble and running towards the noise. "Master!" Loke shouted in relief, watching the old man stagger against the ruins of the debris.
Makarov looked older than Loke had ever seen him. His face was gaunt and pale, while his eyes were red. The old man was panting heavily as he struggled to stand, as if a huge weight was pressed onto his shoulders.
"…Loke?" Makarov murmured weakly, taking an unsteady step. He had ripped his hat in half and was using it for earmuffs. His ears were bleeding. "…How…?"
There were other noises around him. Loke glimpsed Laxus on the second floor, cursing repeatedly as staggered to his feet. The other guild members were littered around the room, all unconscious and pale. Cana was trembling slightly, but the rest looked dead to the world.
"Bastard…" Laxus growled in a weak but angry voice. "… I'll kill the bastard for this… I'll scorch him into cinders…!"
Lightning sparked around him, but it was a weak crackle compared to his usual thunder. Realisation struck as Loke felt the Magic around him. Whatever this noise was, it was disrupting everyone's Magic.
"Your Magic…" Loke muttered, grabbing Makarov's shoulders to steady him. "It's being drained…"
The Guild Master gulped as he looked at Loke with desperate eyes. "…This Curse… Demonic Magic… It's powerful…" He said in a strained voice. His Magic was being depleted faster than he could focus it. Only Makarov and Laxus had enough raw power that they could still move despite their Magic being drained, while everyone else was knocked out cold. Makarov focused on Loke with wide eyes. "…How are you immune…?"
Because this is obviously a type of Magic that affects humans, Loke almost answered. Spirit Magic was made out of a different stuff. "It's complicated," Loke replied lamely after a second's hesitation. He bent down to pick Makarov up. "Come on, I'll get you out of here."
"No!" Makarov snapped, pointing behind him. "Save them! Their souls won't last long in this."
"Souls?" Loke frowned, focusing on the unconscious Fairy Tail mages. Magic was the power from the soul. This music was sucking out people's souls by draining their Magic. The thought made Loke's muscles twitch and his heart pound.
For half a second, Loke hesitated with the complete hopelessness of the task. He couldn't carry everyone, and he had no safe place to take them anyways. There was no telling how far the sound would travel. He couldn't save everyone.
"Save the ones I can," he muttered quietly, before rushing to check Cana's pulse. Around him, Mages were starting to tremor and convulse in sharp seizures. He tried covering their ears, but the sound cut straight down to the bone. Loke could only stare helplessly, mind racing in desperation as he struggled for some solution.
One by one, they all started to convulse. Laxus managed clamber outside weakly, while Makarov struggled to perform a protective ward. Loke tried desperately to place the thrashing bodies out safely, all the while that hideous noise resonated around him and his comrades thrashed madly on the ground.
And then, Loke slowly realised that there was only one person in the room that was completely motionless. He frowned as he turned to face the white-haired woman, leaning against the bar with her head covered by her hands.
"… Mira?" Loke asked quietly, but she didn't respond. He had thought that Mirajane was unconscious, but she was far too still for that. She was sitting on the ground, hair a mess, slouched forward with her long legs dangling on the ground. Her dress was tattered and dirty, and Mirajane looked completely helpless, but there was just something… off about the picture.
"Mirajane, are you alright?" Loke asked, moving closer until he saw the faint, barely visible tremble in her hands. Slowly, she raised her head slightly, and Loke glimpse a blood red pupil hidden under a curtain of white hair.
This sound is demon Magic, Loke thought slowly. Mirajane's fingers gradually began to curl into claws. The air was saturated with pure demonic energy…
Of course there was one person in the guild who would be completely immune to it.
"…Um… Mira?" Loke asked nervously, edging backwards. Sharp horns started to grow from the halo of Mirajane's white hair. Her whole body was rippling. "…Are you… uh… human…?"
Mirajane's bones cracked and shifted. She moved her hands away from her face, revealing blood red lips and razor sharp teeth. Loke's eyes widened in shock, just as two huge, leathery wings burst from her back. Loke gasped. The Demon looked bloodthirsty.
"Holy…!"