Continuing the Hunt

Word Count : 453 | Total : 453 | Target : 3,500
Job, Approval

It had been quite the job. Mythal had to admit -- that certainly had been the most exciting job he had been on to date. Well... second most exciting. As the cottage faded away in the distance, the pained and angered howl of the vampire screeched through the immediate area one last time before it faded away like a fleeting nightmare. Mythal looked back, the book clutched tightly in his hand, to catch one last glimpse of the structure before putting it in the back of his mind.

Now he could relax. He let out a sigh and groan, feeling the stab wounds from the hardened blood itch and burn slightly. They had been right; this entire job had been much more than it looked on the face of things. He reached back and touched the closest hole, feeling the slippery feeling of his blood on it. Luckily they weren't deep -- they had escaped with enough time and speed to avoid any major injuries. They were just going to sting for a bit. He opened up his knapsack and put the book inside, locking the buckle in place and yanking it tight. Then his gaze lazily drifted over to Markus walking beside him.

"So..." he started, unsure of himself. He wasn't used to being the one that asked the questions -- they always seemed to be directed at him. But this other Fairy Tail wizard had magic that was almost identical to his, though it was used in an entirely different fashion. Mythal kept a cap on his magical output by rooting it through his body, making classifying it very difficult. Markus, on the other hand, seemed to steer right into the thick of it, almost glowing with dark pride over where his magic came from. He just had to know. "Fallen God Slayer," he remarked, crossing his arms over his chest as he walked along.

Mythal turned his attention the small fairy disguised raven on as she spoke, as chipper as ever. Yet as she began to reveal something possibly interesting, the other God Slayer knocked her away and caused her to flap off. Mythal watched after her before turning his gaze back to Markus. Chaos... what was that? He wondered about it but not too long; Markus seemed ready to open up and explain a bit about the source of his power. So he hadn't gained his power by slaying or learning under a God but rather he'd had a lacrima possessing the magic essence within his body. Mythal had heard about such things but hadn't ever really considered it as something viable. Yet it had apparently accented Markus' strengths further than they were before.

Yet as he was wrapping his head around the fact that there were two of his magical type, Markus continued and revealed that there was, in fact, others. He'd even met another one who utilized their powers even different from the two of them. Had the lacrimas been filled by Faera's powers? And if so, did that mean there was a bit of her taint within them? He'd never felt any sway to follow her paths and he had her magic straight from the source. Had someone else managed to take a bit of her power and create lacrimas out of it? He had so many more questions now than he had expected to have. "Yeah it's uh... nice, to have someone relatable," he said, offering a rare smile. Markus using shadow magic had been well enough but knowing that he utilized a power nearly identical to his was... comforting.

His short reverie was broken as Markus turned the questioning on him, though it had nothing to do with his magical source. In fact, it wasn't even on the same topic -- he was curious if Mythal had joined a team? He blinked, a bit confused as he met the man's gaze. "Uh... I mean... I'm Nessa's mentee. Does that count as a team?" Once he got his confirmation that the mentor/mentee system was not a formation of a team, he shrugged. "Never thought it was a thing." And then the question; was he interested? Markus didn't come outright and ask him to form a team with him; such a thing would have been rather corny. But he had asked him if there was even a slight chance of being interested in such a thing. Normally, and perhaps to anybody else, he would have said no without restraint.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "That might work." He wanted to know more about Markus' power, to see the full range of his abilities, if only to help him better understand his own. He had reworked the God Slaying magic into his martial arts but he hadn't ever really explored it. There had been a part of him that was fearful that doing so would draw attention to him or, worse yet, make him more sympathetic to Faera's dastardly cause.

A little bit after that, they found themselves before the compound once again. The guards met them at the door and Mythal reached into the pouch, pulling out the book and waving it as their new invitation. It was time to finish this job...

Or so they thought.

Silent Cemetery	Fairy Tail
1198/3500

Mythal frowned a bit as Markus mentioned that keeping the news of his return a secret was important, especially concerning Nessa. She was his mentor and by virtue alone he should have disagreed. But he felt there was something else there; something that was more personal between Markus and Nessa that he had no right to be between. "Alright, no worries,” he said simply, shrugging and letting the topic go. Whatever… thing involved the two veteran members of Fairy Tail was none of his business. And as long as it didn’t affect his working and making jewel, he wouldn’t intervene. They would work it out in their own time.

Returning to the compound should have been the final step in their job and, in a way, it was. But as they entered and handed the book off to the leader of the rag tag group, she took a slight turn. She would pay them for their work so far but she also wanted their help with the next step of their plans. She would continue to pay them and even give them a token to sweeten the pot. The God Slayer was all for more jewel so he agreed, unsurprised by Markus agreeing right with him. They seemed to be operating a similar wavelength at this point.

Upon agreement, she went into further detail of their next step. The reason she needed the book in the first place was that a spell was inside of it; one that was imperative to their success. With it, they could bless a gathering of silver swords and give them the strength to kill the vampires that haunted this land. But apparently upon beginning the ritual, great amounts of magic would be released and basically give away their position. The vampire pack wouldn’t allow such a spell to reach its precipice and would most certainly send creatures of the night after them. She had a group of dedicated hunters willing to assist her but simply put, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the masses of horrors. They needed true wizards to assist them.

So it was a defense job. And by the way she made it sound, it would not be one where one or two creatures came stumbling out of the night towards them. This was going to be a melee that was worthy of being called a battle. But Mythal wasn’t going to back down now and nodded, agreeing to the insane plan. She led them and her personal group out of the manor and into the night, heading towards a large plot of graves called the Silent Cemetery. It wasn’t that far of a walk, their ears filled with the nocturnal noises that came after sunset. But as they stepped into the graveyard itself, everything fell as silent as the dead that lay interned. Even their footfalls on the ground didn’t seem to make any noise whatsoever. Like Markus, Mythal looked at the graves as they passed, most of the stones seemingly sanded clean from time and… well, perhaps something more supernatural.

As they came up upon a hill, they were greeted by the sight of a clearing among the graves. A massive runic circle lay in its epicenter, ready and waiting for the leader to begin her channeling. Each one of them took point, their eyes searching through the darkness in an attempt to discover any forces beforehand. It didn’t take long; a blood curdling howl tore through the night, breaking the eerie silence like a hammer through a glass window. As the God Slayer turned to see the source, he could just barely make out the form of running beasts along the plains. Lycans, of all things. Even before the ritual begun they would be fighting.

As Markus opened up his magic in a brilliant spectacle, Mythal pushed off the ground and charged. He separated himself from his partner, running diagonally towards the pack. Two of them tore off the other three, wanting to team up on Mythal themselves. As he ran, the God Slayer brought forth his magic and coalesced upon his right arm, creating a hardened, shadow gauntlet. He kept his pace, even as the first Lycan came upon him and opened its jaws to take a bite out of him.

It would find itself rudely interrupted, as Mythal slammed his armored fist into its jaw, knocking it to the side and away from him. He didn’t let up; his fist snapping back in a back fist strike to the other side of its jaws, causing it to stumble backwards further. By then the other Lycan had leapt around its friend, its bared teeth coming towards Mythal. He dove to the side, just barely avoiding the chomp that ripped through the space he had occupied. He was up on his feet again, leaping forward and thrusting his right fist into its neck, using his momentum to knock it down as well. He rolled over it and spun around to slam a hammer fist onto its skull, causing it to yelp in pain. With both the Lycans on their last legs, each one having taken two heavy strikes, Mythal converged the magic on his hand into his palm, bringing his fingers in to capture it. "Fallen God’s Chaos Blast!” He chanted, unleashing the beam of dark energy into and through both of the beasts, dissolving them from the waists up.

He spun to see how Markus was doing, only to find a large python engaging the Chaos Wizard. Just as Markus finished up his last attack on the creature and turned away, Mythal was already disappearing into the shadows that lay at his feet. He zipped unseen through the ground and reappeared underneath the snake, just as it was hissing angrily at its former foe. A fist smashed into it from below, the strength and momentum breaching the flesh of its lower jaw and into its brain. It snapped back violently and collapsed with a loud thud, shaking the entire area around them. Mythal landed on the ground, taking a single step forward to balance himself. It had been awhile since he had put out so much magic in such a short amount of time. He needed to get better about stretching out his stamina for such battles.

Silent Cemetery	Fairy Tail
2245/3500