Fairy Tail Origins Episode 1: The Eternal Journey

The man easily leaps out of the way of the needles, but the gust catches him off-guard and sends him reeling. He slides to a halt beneath the enraged dragon slayer.

He picks himself up, knocking away the dirt covering his cloak.

"Alright, I'll indulge you a bit. What's your question?"

"Leone, huh? Yeah, no, sorry. Name's not ringing a bell. Can you describe her for me?" the man asks.

The man rolls forward to minimize the impact, but he's still left seeing stars.

"You're... new at this, huh?  If you're trying to beat information from someone, you avoid the head if you want to get coherent answers...!"  He shakes his head groggily.  "Oh, man.  I don't even remember who I am anymore."

He pulls down at the neck on his shirt.  "Oh, right."  He gives Hecate a glimpse at the stamp on his chest.

"...But you do have one thing wrong," the man says with a smirk.  "I really don't know who you're talking about.  Because you don't seem to know who you're talking about."

He finishes that statement by hurling three knives from beneath his cape at lightning speed.

The man barely manages to avoid having a blade embedded in his kneecap, but it still leaves a deep cut across his shin.  "Oh! K.  That really hurt.  Anyway, Leone Vallast is already gone.  And I don't just mean 'no longer here,' I mean 'no longer exists.'  A quick little blast from a nullification field saw to that.  ...Or don't you know her little secret?"

Two hours later...

Orion woke to a knock on his door. Eden had fallen asleep next to him, her head on his chest, and she jumped, startled awake. "Zalia's back and she wants everyone downstairs." It was Velia.

Orion nodded groggily, and rose to his feet. He quickly washed his face and then grabbed his staff and, on a hunch, his sword. He and Eden walked downstairs, and found everyone else already present, sitting around the table. Once he and Eden took their seats, Zalia spoke.

"Ryner regained consciousness a short while ago. For those of you who aren't aware, he and Jurian undertook a certain SS Class job just over a week ago. The job was to hunt a certain Abnormality. This particular Abnormality is the strongest monster recorded to date. It is an extremely large Wyvern, reported to be dozens of times larger than a normal Wyvern, and it's reported to be capable of high level Wind and Fire Magic. What's more, this Abnormality has apparently subjugated all of the local Wyvern population in the Serpent Spine mountain range. According to Ryner's report, he and Jurian stumbled upon the monster by chance and they followed it back to its lair. There, they were overwhelmed, and Ryner was gravely injured. Jurian used his only Teleport Stone to send him back here, to us, which saved his life. Unfortunately... That means Jurian is trapped battling the strongest monster in recorded history, and an entire army of Wyverns by himself. I am declaring this a priority one mission, and establishing a rescue team; a five Wizard team that will journey into the heart of the Serpent's Spine, rescue our comrade, friend, and family member, and if possible, slay the monster known as the Wyvern King."

She paused and looked around at those gathered. Then her eyes settled on Orion. "Orion, you've encountered this beast before, have you not?"

All eyes turned to him, and Orion nodded. "Yes. I encountered it almost three years ago. It attacked me, unprovoked, while I was traveling through the mountains... I fought it for almost an entire day straight, and very nearly lost my life. This monster... It is something else entirely. My encounter with it... Is the very reason I became so obsessed with learning about Abnormalities. I know the general area where it's lair should be, I know its hunting grounds, I know how it fights, and I know those mountains like the back of my hand."

"Then it's safe to say you know more than anyone else here," Zalia replied. "I'm naming you in charge of the rescue mission, Orion. Velia, Eden, Cenric, and Grigori. You four will be accompanying him. The mission has already been cleared by the High Council, and you five are being given the quest. If you succeed, the original reward for the quest will be yours, plus a bonus, and most of all, you will have saved the life of someone we all care dearly for. Are you all ready to leave? The Seraph Knights have been ordered to teleport you to the Ambrosia train station, and from there, you will be travelling to the station in the mountains."

"I'm ready. We need to find Jurian quickly, so he doesn't end up in as bad shape as Ryner did. I just hope he's still okay..." Eden said, suddenly quiet.

Jurian, you better be alright. You better come back home in one piece...

"Wha-"Hecate's body begins to spasm from the shock. She drops to her knees, trying to scramble away, but her body locks up then and there, and her head hits the ground silently.

"I'm not saying to leave him there!" Grigori argued with Eden. "If we rush in without preparations, we'll lose him and ourselves! Orion said that he couldn't beat that thing, and we both know what he's capable of."

Zalia quickly raised her hand, silencing them both. "You will not be going completely unprepared. You will have the majority of our Antitoxin supply- over two dozen vials- and an assortment of Artifacts from my personal collection, as well as plenty of medical supplies. I already have everything stored in five leather backpacks, ready to go."

"And I have another twelve vials of Antitoxin," Orion added. "Most weapons will be useless against this thing, so bringing along an armory will only slow us down. And Grigori, when I fought the Wyvern King before, I was... Different. Now, with all of us, and how I am now... We might stand a chance. That being said, our priority is to rescue Jurian. Once that is accomplished, the mission is over. I have no intention of fighting that thing unless absolutely necessary."