Fairy Tail: Swallow the Fire

48. Someone Has To Clean Up This Mess

A/N: Chapter ended up longer than I expected but that just means the good stuff will come out with a whole chapter dedicated to it. *cough* 6316 words *cough*

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Ultear observed with amusement as the Rune Knights darted about like frantic bees in a disrupted hive.

Twenty minutes ago a large-scale battle had taken place only a few kilometres from the sorcerous city of Era. The Magic Council immediately began to order around their forces to set up defences while scryers were tasked with trying to determine the battle's source.

Apparently, it was an armoured train being guarded by their own men, as well as some freelance wizards. It carried important cargo, but she couldn't ascertain what just from the murmurings around her.

But her current focus was more on the small legion of twenty being sent as scouts. She slipped in with the group amidst the chaos, easily hiding in plain sight thanks to being able to act naturally.

Even if they realised she shouldn't be with them, they weren't going to question her presence.

Similarly, with Jellal, or rather as they know him as Siegrain, she was a prodigious recruit. Unlike him, however, she joined directly.

The Rune Knights allow recruits to join at the young age of sixteen with the expectation that the years leading up to their adulthood would be spent studying. They would then be expected to serve a minimum number of years in service as compensation for the knowledge and resources divested.

She didn't need any of their resources, however. Hades' library eclipsed anything they could possibly give her, and her Arc of Time magic and mastery over it was a testament to the fact.

She skyrocketed through the ranks, easily earning a high position that gave her both freedom and status. Slowly, she had been worming her way into their political ranks alongside Jellal with the intent to gain seats as chairmen on the Magic Council.

She was known. She was powerful. No one with a rank below her would dare question her.

The platoon made their way to a large room in the centre of the main complex. To the sides were several operatives navigating a large console connected to the rune-laden platform.

A teleportation circle, she recognized.

As she lined up with the others on the platform, she took up the front position right next to a woman.

'Captain Ulder. Niece of the second Chairman. How fortunate.'

"We're ready," Ulder said to one of the operators who nodded in kind.

They raised up their hand, lowering fingers as they counted down.

"We're sending you outside of the estimated combat area by half a klick. Relaying in five. Four. Three. Two."

As the last finger from the operator was lowered the space around them was distorted, leaving them with a slight sense of vertigo before the warp was completed.

The sight before them silenced a large majority of the platoon before they could even move into action. The chaotic sight of a hell-strewn landscape bathed in pinkish-purple flames was not what they were expecting, especially considering the distance they were sent.

What was previously a beautiful mountain had been completely levelled into a small plateau. What areas that would have been rubble from the destruction had long been turned into lava and the heat made it difficult to breathe.