07x246 - Tartaros Chapter – Underworld King

[bunniefuu]

Can I get you some

water or anything?

I'm fine. Thanks.

[HOTEYE]

Hmm.

His eyes.

[HOTEYE]

His eye injuries aren't severe.

He should be able to

see again before long.

That said, many of his other

injuries are far more serious.

He fought four members

of the Oración Seis alone.

He can't have expected to

come out of that unscathed.

Yeah, I guess not.

Looks like it's

headin' straight for us.

I don't suppose you'd want to

hole up in there with Jellal.

[RACER]

Don't be stupid.

[ANGEL] Should we find

a different house then?

There are plenty around.

This place is a ghost town.

That's not what I'm gettin' at.

This storm's our chance

to make some distance.

It could very well be, but

where do you think we should go?

[RACER] Long as it ain't here?

I couldn't care less.

[RACER]

Come on!

What? Is freedom

too much for you?

Can't handle the idea

of not havin' a boss?

[ANGEL]

No, but--

"No but," what?

We just got outta jail.

And we got free of Brain.

Finally, no one

tells us what to do.

You already wanna give

that up? Cobra, talk to 'em.

We have no boss, remember?

You don't choose for her.

Fine. What about you, Midnight?

[RACER]

Hey.

[RACER] Hey! Somethin'

wrong with your ears?

Stop runnin' your

damn mouth, Racer.

It'll force you

to think for once,

and you might actually like it.

[RACER]

I'll shut up when I'm finished.

Now listen--

I've decided.

I'm joining Crime Sorciere.

You're swapping one

master for another?

At least give freedom

a try. We don't need him.

We've been imprisoned in

some way our whole lives.

We don't owe this world jack.

Think about what it did to us.

[ANGEL]

I've thought this through.

And I'll be going with Jellal.

[RACER]

Nothin' to say, boys?

Heh, I get it.

Well, suit yourselves.

As for me--

[MIDNIGHT]

Never again.

I'll never be a pawn in

someone else's game again.

I'll live and die just

as free as I am now.

There we go!

[MIDNIGHT]

But.

[RACER] Ever tell ya

how much I hate that word?

[COBRA laughing]

[RACER]

You laughin' at me?

Naw. I just heard a voice

from old times is all.

Hey, there. Thought

you'd kicked the bucket.

[RACER gasps]

[RUSTY]

Is that so?

I'd accuse you of faithlessness,

but I thought you'd

be in prison right now,

and for the rest of your

lives, for that matter.

So, what brings the

Oración Seis here?

[RACER]

Rusty?

[ANGEL] You were with

Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin.

Rustyrose! Is that really you?

[RUSTY]

You're here, Meldy?

Where have you been?

Why are you with them?

It's hard to explain. You look

terrible, what happened?

Trust is like iron,

for if it's neglected,

it corrodes over time.

I'm leaving.

[MELDY]

No, wait! Stay a while, please!

I no longer have

business with you.

I know.

But could you talk to me,

for old times sake?

[RUSTY]

Hmph.

The past is dead. Bury it.

Slow it down.

Your old friend's not the only

one who's got questions.

Somethin's got ya scared,

Rusty. It's in your voice.

And I never took you

for a pushover, so,

I'd like to know what that is.

Now talk.

[MELDY] Wait. Is this

what I think it is?

Doesn't feel like I have

much of a choice here.

Well, you have two options.

One just sucks.

[RUSTY]

I've been to Tartaros.

[COBRA] Tartaros?

With the Nine Demon Gates?

[RUSTY] Well, yes, but that

guild is more than it appears.

[JELLAL]

Hm?

Seven years ago, after we lost

to Fairy Tail on Tenrou Island,

Hades, Kain, and

I tried to escape.

That's when Zeref appeared.

The rest followed quickly.

Master Hades was k*lled

before my eyes.

I was knocked unconscious.

Woke up drifting in the sea.

Obviously, I managed to survive,

but I couldn't find

my old guildmates.

I wandered everywhere,

searching. Trying to heal.

So you never found Kain?

[RUSTY] No, I don't know

where he is or what he's doing.

Hell, I don't even know

if he survived that mess.

I see.

[RUSTY] The Baram Alliance

was the political spine

of the Dark Guilds.

Between our factions and

Tartaros, there was balance.

But Grimoire got

its heart cut out.

Its body scattered to the winds.

And your whole guild was

tossed into some dungeon.

Which left Tartaros, and a

power vacuum the size of Fiore.

What exactly are

you tryin' to say?

Everywhere I traveled,

I was followed by a rumor

I didn't want to believe.

The Dark Guilds that had

once followed Grimoire

were being annihilated,

one by one.

The fatality rate from these

att*cks made one thing clear.

Tartaros was responsible.

[SOLDIER A]

At your stations!

[SOLDIER B]

Who are you people?

[RUSTY] No one. Just a few

messengers of darkness.

We came here in the hopes

we could meet with the leaders

of Tartaros, if they're free.

[SOLDIER C]

Messengers of darkness?

Identify yourselves at once!

We're men who don't take

questions from cowardly dogs

that turn on their allies the

moment they sense weakness.

[ZANCROW] Look, we've got no

interest in you minion types.

But we're in a pretty crap mood,

and you're in our way.

[SOLDIER D]

k*ll 'em!

[SOLDIER E]

No one gets through!

Well, I suppose that this

gate is as good a place

for you to die as any.

Bleve.

I was hopin' I could save

all this rage for your bosses,

but screw it.

Flame God Bellow!

[SOLDIERS yelling]

Ha! That was like

stompin' on maggots!

I can't even call

that a warm-up.

[SOLDIER F] You. Why are

you here? Who are you?

We're from Grimoire Heart.

Your former confederates.

Bleed quick now!

Forgive us, we're unaccustomed

to such churlish visits.

That this may be,

but it doesn't hold a candle

to the cannibalistic att*cks

you've been launching

on the guilds beneath you.

[KYOKA]

Hm.

Let us introduce ourselves.

I am Kyoka, one of Nine

Demon Gates of Tartaros.

And I am called Rustyrose.

I am one of the Seven Kin.

We belong to a member guild

of the Baram Alliance.

Grimoire Heart.

My name is Azuma.

Mine's Zancrow.

[KYOKA] You're from Grimoire

Heart? Of the Baram Alliance?

Both the alliance and that guild

are long forgotten relics.

You having trouble

with your eyes?

I'll give ya the

"forgotten" bit,

but if we're a relic, then

what k*lled all your guards?

[KYOKA]

Three bitter failures.

The Baram Alliance is gone.

It dissolved when Tartaros

became the last guild standing.

What do you mean

"last guild standing"?

We're standin' right

in front of ya!

Tell me something. Do you

know what you've done?

Did you willfully violate

the most basic

principle of alliance?

Am I on trial, then?

The verdict is in.

You've assaulted our

subordinate guilds, one by one.

You k*lled most and

abducted the rest

for Zeref knows what purpose.

This treachery begs vengeance.

[KYOKA chuckles]

[KYOKA] I'm quite busy. If it's

appeasement you're after,

I suggest you look elsewhere.

I've neither the time

nor interest needed

to continue this little talk.

[chuckles]

We didn't come here to talk.

But you already knew that.

That takes some guts, stormin'

Tartaros just the three o' ya.

Guts or insanity,

I'm not sure which one.

I don't get it.

How could those two--?

So, could someone wake me up

once Rusty's finished bragging?

That sass needs an off

switch. Just ignore her.

Go on. What happened next?

I'm listening.

Your guild is at fault for

the broken peace between us.

To restore it, you must

first make reparations.

[KYOKA]

Really? Must I?

[RUSTY] Children fear no

flame till they get burned.

That's why you must pay

for what you've done

to prove you won't repeat it.

Hm. And what's your price?

You have me curious.

We want half of the dark guild

members you abducted returned.

As a show of our goodwill,

we ask nothing for the dead.

I was against offerin' your

guild a deal in the first place.

But the sooner we're out of here

the better, so just take it.

[KYOKA]

Hmm.

[RUSTY] All things considered,

this is a lenient offer.

Agree to our demand,

and the Baram Alliance

could live once more.

That's quite enough.

[KYOKA]

You pitiful fool.

How dare you.

[RUSTY groaning]

What did you do to him?

I hope you're ready

to fight a real w*r!

The art of enhancing human pain

grants such a sense

of exhilaration.

[yelps]

My comrades.

[yelps]

The Arc of Embodiment, correct?

What a desperate ploy.

Grimoire Heart's

a relic after all.

Rise from the underworld!

My Jet Black Sword that

cleaves through all!

[screaming]

Who is that man?

Disgusting. Begone.

[RUSTY screaming]

[KYOKA] Zeref's return

is quite close at hand.

And the beginning of his new era

shall mark the end of mankind's.

[KYOKA] Why so scared?

You've nothing to lose.

So utterly broken.

You're not worth torturing.

Scurry on home with

your imaginary friends.

[RUSTY] There's more in Tartaros

than the Nine Demon Gates.

I saw something there, in the

shadows. Something far worse.

[COBRA]

That's a strange story.

Wish I cared.

[JELLAL] She said Zeref

was coming, did she?

Said it with certainty.

Meaning that Tartaros is trying

to make contact with him?

You'll have to find

out for yourself.

I'd rather face the fires

of hell than that one again.

Good talk. Guess I'll

see you around.

Wish I'd known.

I'm heading out.

To find Tartaros.

No, you can't.

You're in no condition

to travel, or to fight.

That may be true.

Still, I must do this.

There's no choice.

[MIDNIGHT] We won't go with you.

Not to attack Tartaros.

[MIDNIGHT] They may have broken

their pact with Grimoire Heart,

but they haven't with us.

We gave our word that

we wouldn't attack them.

Even now, that word is binding.

[MELDY] That's where you

draw your "moral" line?

Our guild may

have been unlawful,

but for all our

many transgressions,

never once did we betray a pact.

We won't forsake the one

source of integrity we had.

[JELLAL] That's disappointing,

but I must go regardless.

Even if that means I go alone.

For now, I'll say farewell,

but I will come for you again.

I swear it.

Careful, there're lots

of roots to trip on.

Thank you.

[MELDY]

So, I was wondering.

[JELLAL]

Mm?

[MELDY] Why do you care so

much about the Oración Seis?

Is it because of something

Doranbolt said?

They're all prisoners.

They were captured as children.

Held against their will

in the Tower of Heaven.

Their circumstances are my own.

That's where the seeds

of our sins were planted.

That's where we lost

our childhoods together.

[JELLAL] No matter what,

there's some part of each of us

that will always be

locked in that tower.

That bond is irrevocable.

None of us who shed sweat

and blood in that place

would deny it.

No, not even Sawyer.

You share that pain,

that burden.

[JELLAL] Pain and prayers

were all we had there.

The Seis prayed for Nirvana to

take the darkness of their lives

and give them light.

Nirvana's spell has faded.

Their prayers remain.

[MELDY]

What prayers?

[JELLAL] Richard prays

to find the brother he lost

when he was first taken to

the Tower all those years ago.

Sawyer prays to be so fast

he can never be caught again.

Sorano prays to be free of this

earth, to vanish into the sky.

Erik, he prays to hear

the voice of the one friend

who might listen to his story.

And Macbeth, he prays

to sleep quietly,

in a world that rings

with screams and sobbing.

Their prayers granted

them great power.

Zero twisted that.

Turned the pain of

unrequited hope to anger.

He took advantage

of them. As did I.

[MELDY]

That wasn't you.

I'm done searching for excuses.

Regardless of what

Ultear believed,

darkness can only

engulf the ones

who let it inside their hearts.

Natsu told me something

in that Tower.

I still think

about it even now.

You'll never know what

it means to be free!

As long as you're

possessed by that spirit,

you'll always be a sl*ve!

You can do it, Jellal.

Free yourself!

[JELLAL]

Helping them to free themselves,

like Natsu did for me,

it's part of my atonement.

[MELDY]

I understand.

Tch.

[MIDNIGHT] What'd you hear?

Anything to worry about?

[COBRA]

Naw, just Jellal.

I bet that I could

tune him out easy

if he'd stop sayin'

my real name.

[ANGEL]

He doesn't know how shy you are.

[COBRA]

Ugh. Shut it, Sorano.

[chuckles]

Look out!

[MELDY]

What is this?

How did the Tower

of Dingir get here?

[RUSTY]

Simply enough, my dear.

I summoned it using

my Arc of Embodiment.

[MELDY] Rusty? Were you planning

to attack us from the start?

[RUSTY] I'm not trying

to hurt you, Meldy,

I'm trying to rebuild!

Grimoire Heart can live

again through us! Together!

[MELDY]

What if I don't want it to?

[RUSTY]

Then I'll have to persuade you!

You'll join us if you

want him to live.

You'd be sparin' yourself

a lotta pain as well!

[screaming]

You aren't going to win

this, Meldy, so join us.

I don't want to hurt an old

friend any more than I have to.

What's the matter?

The girl I knew would've at

least tried to fight back!

You aren't even using

your Sensory Link!

[MELDY]

You're in so much pain already.

I refuse to cause you any more.

[RUSTY]

What do you mean?

You told me that the past is

dead, but you're trapped in it.

What does that make you?

Seven years I wandered!

Seven long years I never

gave up on finding you!

That hope was the only

thing I lived for.

But I've moved on, and you

can still do the same.

Don't let the past

constrain you.

Look to the future instead!

[growling]

[RUSTY]

Shut up!

[screaming]

Don't do this. Don't force me

to k*ll you. Join me and live.

There is no other path for you.

Come on back to us!

Just look! Everybody's waiting,

all we need is you!

I can't. That's not real,

Rusty. It's the past.

I haven't forgotten it.

[MELDY]

But I live now!

Every day, Jellal and I risk our

lives to atone for those times.

I found a guild that

strives to do better!

It's called Crime Sorciere!

Then that's what I must destroy.

You won't blow me off

once you have nothing else.

[JELLAL]

Leave her... alone.

[RUSTY] How're you gonna

fight me in that state?

You're holding Meldy back.

So begone from this world!

[thud]

[RUSTY yelps]

What's happened? Where is he?

[COBRA] How about you

ditch that scrap of cloth

and see for yourself?

[JELLAL]

Meldy.

Are your eyes back to normal?

What color's my hair?

I know that much blind.

[BOTH gasp]

[JELLAL]

You came.

Nothin' personal,

we just couldn't think

of anything better to do.

So, for now at least,

we've decided to tag

along with you two.

See how we like it.

To free the victim

in your heart,

you fight to build

a better world.

A world that victim can forgive.

I go my own way, but

I have respect for yours.

[JELLAL]

Right.

Rustyrose. You too will have

to find your own way forward.

However,

the isolation tormenting

you can finally cease.

When you find yourself

ready to make amends

for the sins of your past,

there's a place for you

in Crime Sorciere.

Until that day, farewell.

I gotta go fast!

Master Makarov needs to

know what's going on!

Hang in there, Natsu!

You too, Lucy!

Smell anything? Mira?

[NATSU sniffing]

Not yet. This place is

built like a friggin' maze.

Damn it!

Let's keep on

moving west for now.

Don't worry! We'll find

her, I can feel it!

Mira!

[LUCY]

Where are you?!

[MAN] The demons of

the Books of Zeref.

Also known as the "Etherious."

A human imitation doesn't stand

a chance against the real thing.

Isn't that right, Master?

This is naught

but the beginning.

So much darkness waits

to spill from our world.

Enough to smother the

waning light of this world

beneath a blanket

as black as night.

[LUCY] After casting

a Macro on herself,

Seilah unleashes the full

brunt of her power,

overwhelming Mirajane.

Faced with imminent death,

Mirajane recalls the most

important times of her life.

The times she got to

spend with her family.

The power of that

strong, gentle bond

summons the kind of miracle that

no demon can stand against.

Next Time:

"Tartaros Chapter Alegria."

She uses her strength

to protect her family.