Cursed (Zeref X Reader)

Chapter 17

You turn back toward the town and begin walking out of the forest. You refuse to return to the guild after what Makarov said to you, so you make your way toward your apartment.

Entering the building, you take a shower, change into more comfortable clothes, and settle into an armchair to read. You lose track of time, and when your communication lacrima lights up with an incoming call, you look up, startled to see that the sky outside has darkened.

"Hello?" You ask cautiously.

"(Y/N)!" A certain blonde Celestial Spirit mage's face appears in the lacrima. She's smiling widely, her brown eyes sparkling as she waves excitedly. "We defeated Oracion Seis and their plan to unleash chaos upon the world," she informs you.

You force a smile at her. "That's great, Lucy."

She continues on, oblivious. "There's a celebration at the guild tonight, you should come!"

You pout at her. "But I'm tired..."

The blonde rolls her eyes at you. "See you there!" And the lacrima goes dark.

You sigh in defeat and roll out of the chair onto the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Well I guess someone has to keep those idiots from getting dead drunk.

*        *        *

You mentally facepalm as food, beer, and wizards fly everywhere, the cacophony of noise hurting your ears.

After meeting the Legion of Zentopia and witnessing some, ah, disturbing scenes between Dan and his momentary attractions and Sugarboy's obsession with Gray, the guild finally quiets down enough for some conversation to ensue.

You listen as Romeo speaks animatedly to Natsu and Gray, telling them about the new number one guild in Fiore: Sabertooth. Fairy Tail, unfortunately is now the weakest. Natsu laughs at the news, delighted in the prospect of working his way to the top.

The guild quiets to a murmur as the mages disperse into groups, muttering about ways Fairy Tail can become number one again. Suddenly Romeo leaps onto the table.

"I know! There's a way for us to become the number one guild in a hurry!" he exclaims, ignoring Macao's shout of protest.

This "way" quickly becomes forgotten as Romeo engages in an argument with his dad. Everyone stands and watches for a few minutes until you decide it's been enough.

You roll your eyes and step forward between the bickering duo. "Spit it out, what is this thing that we may or may not be participating in?"

Romeo turns. "While you guys were gone, they started a festival to decide the number one guild in Fiore. All the guilds in Fiore gather and compete against each other with magic. It's called the Grand Magic Games!"

Natsu jumps up and down like an excited little kid, "That sounds like fun!"

Everyone else voices their agreement, the excitement in the room tangibly rising. Makarov twists his mustache doubtfully. "I'm not sure you guys are strong enough to pull that off..."

"The winning guild gets 30 million Jewel."

"We're in," Makarov decides.

*        *        *

The next three months before the Games passes in a flash, and the guild is once again gathered in front of Makarov, waiting for him to choose the team members. You feel reminiscent of the S-Class Trials, but this time you don't want to be chosen.

"I will announce the five members who will participate in the Grand Magic Games," the master declares.

"Natsu!"

"Gray!"

"Erza!"

"Lucy!"

"And (Y/N)!"

Half the guild is celebrating, the other half sulking. You look Makarov in the eye: "No thanks."

He blinks, confused and thrown off by your refusal, "Eh?"

"I'd prefer not to participate. Wendy can go instead."

The Sky Dragon slayer is in shock. "Why me? You should choose someone stronger, like Laxus!"

Makarov shakes his head, "He's not back yet... unfortunately."

You grin at Wendy, thankful that you don't have the pressure of the whole guild riding on you for the duration of the games. You can sit back and watch.

*        *        *

The capital city, Crocus, was beautiful and also very large. You followed the master and the rest of the guild to the hotel where you would stay and watch the games.

The excitement began with the elimination round: Sky Labyrinth. As many teams fell out of the giant maze, Team Fairy Tail barely made it in last place.

The first day of the Games began with an introduction of the teams and the game Hidden. Another surprise was the appearance of the First Master, Mavis, in the form of a spectre.

The second day followed with the event Chariot, which the Dragon Slayers unsurprisingly lost.

The third day was Pandemonium, and Erza dominated the competition helping Fairy Tail rise higher on the leaderboard and in the audience's perception.

Naval Battle was the fourth day, ending with Lucy injured and a severe hatred of the cruelty of Sabertooth.

The next few days were team battles with the final battle including all the members of every team taking place in the city. With a lot of pain and determination, Fairy Tail finally won as the new number one guild in Fiore.

However, there was no time to celebrate. The doors to the Eclipse Project opened and released dragons, death, and despair from the future.

The Eclipse Gate, another creation of Zeref that unleashed evil into the world. Zeref, the man who was known as the most evil figure in history, who created and spread evil everywhere... You could not understand how someone like him could be so kind and gentle in person. You refused to believe that the stories were true, yet as you witnessed the widespread destruction caused by the Eclipse Gate, you felt your faith in Zeref slipping away.

*        *        *

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! (Severe case of writer's block ._.) This chapter is literal trash because I didn't want to write GMG but on the bright side the next update will be soon I promise! 

Apologies for this trash filler chapter. Thanks for reading!