Fairy Tail: The Dark Swordsman

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Around 4-10 chapters are available if you want to read them ahead. Chapter 44 should be available by the time this chapter was uploaded.

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[X781, A year later]

— Mystogan —

"Is this the place?" Dannis asked him the moment they arrived. They were located in a remote corner of Fiore, near the border with the Kingdom of Seven. The landscape around them was barren, as if even nature itself had abandoned this cursed land.

An abandoned castle lay ahead of them, one of the many relics left after the Great Dragon War that had ended nearly four hundred years ago.

"I believe so." Mystogan replied.

The mission details mentioned a traveler that heard inhuman wails emanating from within the castle walls. The local lord of a nearby town sent in men to investigate, None had returned, their remains found only as a pile of bones.

It was originally Dannis' mission, a low S-Rank, but Mystogan asked if he could tag along and Dannis agreed.

It's been a year since he's joined Fairy Tail and not a day goes by where he doesn't regret that decision. Dannis was right back then, having comrades to watch his back made his job much easier. It also helped that both Dannis and the Master knew of his true identity and agreed to keep his secret. 

It was when he revealed his identity to Master Makarov did he finally find out about his counterpart here in Earthland. A Wizard Saint named Siegran. Makarov said they looked too much like each other for it to be anything else.

Mystogan accepted it. While quite unusual for counterparts to have different names, it wasn't exactly rare. 

Meeting Porlyusica was also one of the more memorable moments he's had. Knowing that another person was from Edolas helped him in getting used to the new environment. He even struck up an odd friendship with the older woman, with them both sharing stories of their youth.

It was quite funny to see the reactions of the other members of Fairy Tail. Seeing the most recluse member of the guild actually befriend the human hating medical expert caught everyone by surprise.

If there's anyone else he could call a friend though, it would most likely be Dannis Martell. The Darkness Mage was the person who invited him to join the guild. The person who he's shared his story with. 

He was really glad that he stumbled into that fight with the Vulcans a year ago. His life had definitely changed for the better since then. 

As they approached the broken castle, Mystogan couldn't help but marvel at the sheer scale of the fortress. After over four centuries of its abandonment, signs of wear and tear could be seen all over the once magnificent fortress. 

"It's hard to believe a castle like this fell to the dragons," Mystogan mused as they walked past a section of wall that had been melted and warped by dragon fire. "They truly were fearsome beings."

"Don't forget that at one point, the most powerful dragons were considered gods. It's quite terrifying to think that one being would have that much power. But at least the dragons are dead now."

Mystogan said nothing, his thoughts drifting to the rumors he had heard of his father's creation. The Dorma Anim, a colossal magical construct said to possess the power of a dragon. 

They reached the keep, its massive iron doors hanging ajar, creaking softly in the wind. Dannis' eye glowed a faint red.

"Be careful, Mystogan. We're about to walk into a trap."

Mystogan nodded, well aware of his ally's abilities. Without another word, they both stepped inside, the darkness of the castle swallowing them whole. As they crossed the threshold, the doors suddenly slammed shut behind them with a deafening crash, the sound echoing through the empty halls.

Mystogan and Dannis exchanged a glance. There was no turning back now.

They moved deeper into the keep. There was a stench of decay and rot in the air, something that made Mystogan grateful for the mask covering his face. While not exactly impenetrable, it at least provided enough of a filter for him to not be bothered by it. 

His eyes glanced towards Dannis to see him not minding the smell at all. Mystogan shook his head. 'That's an S-Class mage for you.'

As they rounded a corner, they were forced to a stop as figures in dark robes emerged from the shadows. These were no ordinary mages, they were Zeref Worshippers, a cult of dark mages devoted to the Black Wizard, and their leader stood at the forefront, a man with a sinister smile and an aura of death visible around him. 'Some kind of necromantic magic perhaps? He must be quite strong.'

"Alec Darkshadow," Dannis muttered, recognizing the man. "I've heard of you, a former priest who converted to worshiping Zeref after the death of your daughter. You learned the magic of Necromancy in hopes to revive her. How did that work out for you?"

Mystogan curled an eyebrow. That was quite the backstory.

"You're well informed, mage." Alec sneered, his voice dripping with malice. Mystogan saw his eyes linger on the mark located on the back of Dannis' hand. "Fairy Tail. Of course it's you privileged people who came to stop me." 

With a wave of his hand, the ground trembled, and crawling from the earth rose an army of skeletons, their empty eye sockets glowing with blue light. As they appeared, the stench of rot from before nearly doubled.

"This is the power given to me by Zeref! Now die!" Alec raised his hand, the army of skeletons charging forth. The dark robed mages around them moved in unison, preparing their own spells and attacks.

Mystogan and Dannis sprang into action. Dannis summoned his wraiths, the inky black figures emerging from the shadows to engage the skeletons. Mystogan held his staff and began weaving powerful illusions to disorient the human mages, distorted images appeared in the air as they shimmered with magic.

As they were distracted, he lifted another staff as magic circles covered in runes appeared above the room. 

"Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song."

A concentrated beam of magic power emerged from the runes that was launched towards the disoriented mages. The strength of the beam is enough to break through the floors beneath them, forcing them to the floors below.

He had to quickly duck his head, dodging a swing from a skeleton wielding a rather sharp sword. A quick swing of his staff immediately fractured the skeleton's skull, the light in its eyes dimming into nothingness.

The battle became much fiercer after that. Alec's necromancy allowed him to continuously raise the fallen skeletons, making it seem as though their numbers were endless. Dannis' wraiths certainly helped in evening out the odds, but there were only twenty shadows against the near hundred of Alec's skeletons. 

To fight against the numbers and avoid being surrounded, Dannis and Mystogan adopted a hit-and-run strategy, using the castle's dilapidated environment to their advantage. They dashed from room to room, using anything they could find—broken chairs, tables, even the remnants of chandeliers—to slow their enemies and create opportunities to strike.

In one room that Mystogan idly recognized as one of the kitchens, he kicked a table at a group of skeletons, shattering their brittle bones before using his staff to finish the job. In another, Dannis conjured a dark orb before launching towards a cluster of the undead skeletons.

"Hell's Accompaniment."

The resulting explosion of black light took out a good chunk of their number. Dannis' spell also destroyed everything it touched, meaning that none of the dead skeletons could be raised once more. 

At this point however, the rest of the dark mages had recovered and joined the fight. Though they all sported a bunch of injuries from his earlier attack. As Alec Darkshadow focused on replenishing his numbers, the other mages unleashed a whole bunch of spells that forced them both to constantly stay on the move. 

One of the mages was an earth mage, who caused the stone walls to turn into spikes before launching it towards them. Distracted as he was, one of the spikes managed to graze Mystogan's shoulder, leaving a large gash. 

"Mystogan!" Dannis shouted. He immediately created a black hole that absorbed most of the attacks that came at them before using his wraiths to distract the mages.

They retreated to a large hall, the centerpiece of the castle. The once grand room was now in ruins, with tattered banners hanging from the walls and the remnants of a throne lying in pieces. It was here that they made their stand.

Mystogan didn't know how much time had passed at this point, perhaps an hour? All he knew was that his breath had come in ragged gasps. More and more skeletons are pouring into the room from the numerous doors in this space. 

He knew that things would be really bad if this continued. They need to take down Alec as soon as they can before he overpowers them with numbers. It's a shame that his sleep spell can't work against skeletons. It's his usual trump card when fighting against a large number of weaker enemies.

His sleep spell loses effectiveness the more powerful the mage, but if he focuses it, it could potentially manage to affect a mage as powerful as Alec.

It was a long shot, but it was worth a try.

"Dannis, buy me some time."

"How long?" Dannis asked.

"Thirty seconds." 

Dannis nodded. "Got it."

Without another word, Dannis charged towards the veritable sea of skeletons with his wraiths behind him, leaving a few to stay behind for Mystogan's protection.

Mystogan focused. He took out another staff before focusing its power. Some people consider having no magic in a world where magic was the premier driving force of it would make them a cripple. 

He begs to differ. Having no magic inside him made it all the more easier to utilize a unique style of combat unseen to anyone else. Magical tools and programming. Learning the ins and outs of magic by himself, ways of twisting lacrima to do according to his wishes. 

It was what he's attempting to do right now. Instead of the usual area of effect spell, he's trying to twist the Sleep Spell to instead focus on one person instead. 

As he was working, he saw how Dannis worked through the army of skeletons like a hot knife through butter. He was clad in a full suit of darkness that took the shape of a samurai. Each of his wraiths gone to take down the individual dark mages while he fights the army all by himself.

Any attack that went past him merely clanged against his armor, not capable of piercing the defense. Dannis had accurately judged the entire scenario quickly, determining that the current biggest threat were the human dark mages. Their power, while nothing impressive to an S-Class mage like himself, was still big enough to at least be an annoyance in the battlefield.

Dannis knew that Mystogan was preparing something to take down Alec, so he decided to take on the army by himself knowing that they couldn't do anything to actually hurt him. 

Dannis' wraiths are unique in the fact they are totally immortal. Nothing that the mages could do would actually permanently harm them. So it wouldn't take long for them to eventually die out to the wraiths.

It was an incredible feat of tactical awareness, one that had made Mystogan's respect for Dannis go up a few notches. The Dark Swordsman indeed. What a fearsome but reliable friend to have.

As the thirty seconds had passed, Mystogan finally raised his staff as a dull grey glow appeared on the point of the staff. 

Ahead of him, Alec Darkshadow felt his eyelids close as fatigue and lethargy assaulted his body all too suddenly. He couldn't stop the drowsiness as his consciousness faded away into a deep slumber.

As the mastermind fell, all his skeletal summons immediately fell like puppets whose strings had been cut. As soon as that happened, Dannis disappeared from his position as he took down the remaining dark mages with brutal efficiency. 

When it was all well and done, Mystogan finally allowed himself to fall to his knees. Dannis, who was probably more exhausted than him, managed to stay on his feet as they regrouped at the center of the throne room.

"That was exhausting." Mystogan chuckled with a faint smile on his lips.

"It sure was. I'm impressed, Mystogan. I sure as hell didn't do this well in my first S-Class mission. I don't doubt that the Master would recommend you to take the next trials." Dannis retorted as he offered Mystogan a hand, which he took gratefully.

They took a chance to bandage their injuries, while Dannis suffered nothing more than scrapes and bruises, Mystogan's injuries were quite numerous, with the large gash on his shoulder being the most severe.

As they pushed open the heavy wooden doors, Dannis' wraiths carrying the Zeref Worshippers to be turned over to the rune knights, neither would know the event that happened back in the guild while they were both away.

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AN: This chapter was fun. I like writing Dannis and Mystogan. They bounce off each other rather well. 

Sorry this chapter took so long, had some urgent business I had to deal with.