After they started off, everything had been quiet. They could hear the occasional Natsu shouting, but no enemies were seen so far. Wendy was happy about this, but Ryuga was suspicious. Too much silence is never good.

Sure enough, he was right. Ryuga saw something shine and fly towards them. Wendy's face went from happy to terrified in a split second, when she saw a spear coming towards her face. Ryuga grabbed it before it pierced her skull. Hibiki was put on guard, and Wendy was left staring at the spear that almost killed her. Ryuga tightened his hand and crushed the handle of the spear. Wendy watched the spearhead fall to the ground.

Ryuga: "Come out, unless you want me to burn this entire forest down."

Groups of magicians came out from behind trees, within trees, and some out of holes in the ground. They all looked like C-Rank magicians at best, but there was an overwhelming number of them.

Ryuga: "So, who are you all?"

???: "We are the dark guild, Naked Mummy. I am Marcus Shienfled."

A man wearing dark red clothing and pitch-black hair walked out from amongst them. He looked to be about A-Rank, and the leader of the now named Naked Mummy.

Ryuga: "Haha, ridiculous."

Marcus: "You dare call me ridiculous?"

He let out a bit of his aura, causing the trees to sway and Wendy to make a cute "eek" sound.

Ryuga: "Not necessarily, just your guild name. I mean, seriously, Naked Mummy? A mummy without being wrapped in cloths isn't really a mummy at all... What I'm trying to say is, you're all pushovers."

The dark guild members got scowls on their faces, and they started drawing out their weapons. Some started chanting magic circles, but Ryuga just stood still with a mocking look on his face.

Ryuga: "What? That get you mad? Well then, let's see if you can do something about it hmm?"

He lifted his hand to them and raised his finger. His index finger pointed towards them, and they started laughing. Soon, they're laughing turned into screaming, as walls of flames encircled them and started burning them alive. They launched all they could at Ryuga, but he raised his other hand. All of the weapons, spells, etc that were heading towards the group of three disappeared. Marcus screamed through the flames.

Marcus: "H-How!?"

Ryuga: "Simple. You are not powerful enough to touch me."

Marcus and the rest of Naked Mummy could do nothing but beg as the fire ate them alive. Once it was finished, Ryuga looked behind him, to Wendy and Hibiki, who were speechless.

Ryuga: "Cat got your tongue? Let's go."

He grabbed Wendy's shoulder and gently guided her forwards. She stumbled a little bit and covered her nose as she walked past burning trees, plants, and bodies.

Wendy: "Y-You killed them?"

Ryuga: "Did they not try to kill us? I only did what I thought was necessary. If I didn't stop them, would you have killed them? Would Hibiki?"

He glanced back to Hibiki, who shook his head. Wendy wiped some tears out of her eyes and looked up at Ryuga's cold but kind gaze.

Wendy: "So, you did it to?"

Ryuga: "Protect you. I won't let you go into a fight you have no chance of winning."

Wendy: "Thanks."

She sniffed a little bit before wiping the rest of her tears out of her eyes. She started walking again, and Ryuga closely followed, with Hibiki in tow.

Meanwhile, while they were walking, Racer delivered a coffin to Brain. After delivering it, he went out to fight the first person he found first. Brain smiled evilly to himself, as Midnight slept in the corner of the cave.

Brain: "Midnight."

Midnight's eyes opened.

Brain: "Kill them all."

Midnight: "Yes, father."

He walked out of the cave, towards the nearest sign of an enemy.

After walking for about another hour, Ryuga, Wendy, and Hibiki finally found who they wanted to find. Cobra was sitting on a log, with his back turned toward them. Wendy and Hibiki got ready to fight, but Ryuga was, once again, suspicious.

Cobra: "So you've finally come. Haha, I've been waiting for you."

Ryuga's eyes widened a little before he forcibly calmed himself down. Something jumped out of the bushes and bit Ryuga's side. He looked down to find the same snake that bit Erza latching onto his side, injecting venom with every second.

He grabbed it and ripped it off of him, tearing some of his skin along the way. He crushed it into the ground before falling on one knee. Wendy saw that he started to breathe heavily, and he was bleeding quite fiercely.

Wendy: "Ryuga! Ryuga! Are you okay?"

Far away, near the opposite side of the forest, Lillian suddenly stopped moving. Erza looked back, confused to see the lady stop walking so quickly.

Erza: "Is everything okay, Ms. Lillian."

Lillian didn't say anything, but she looked off to her left, gazing into the forest. Another body of her, translucent in form, burst out from her. Erza couldn't see it, but this was Lillian's astral body. This was a highly valuable magical skill that not many could master. Lillian's astral body flew in the direction where she was looking at incredible speed. It soon came to a stop next to where Ryuga and the others were. She looked down at her wounded son with a curious look. Ryuga looked up to her and winked. Her astral body chuckled and she retracted it. Once she was back into her normal body, she shook her head and smiled.

Lillian: "Ah, yes. I just saw something. Let's keep going."

Erza: "What did you see?"

Lillian: "Ryuga."

Erza perked up and started looking around like a pirate searching for treasure.

Erza: "What? Where? Where is he? I don't see him?"

Lillian chuckled and started pushing Erza forward.

Lillian: "He's not here now. Keep going."

After that happened, Ryuga continued to ooze out blood, and he had a dim look in his eyes. Wendy was trying her best to heal him, but Cobra kicked her off. She tumbled for a bit until she landed against a tree. She held her shoulder in pain, and Cobra leaned down to Ryuga.

Cobra: "Looks like the Violet Demon isn't so powerful after all. A little venom and he's down and out. Now, time to deal with you two."

Wendy stood up and clenched her fists, ready to fight for Ryuga's life. Cobra chuckled as both Wendy and Hibiki ran to attack him. He blocked both of their fists, then punched them in their stomach. They dropped to their knees, coughing vehemently. Wendy's eyes met Ryuga's, and she tried to stand once again. She barely got to her feet. Cobra leaned his back leg forward, ready to kick again.

Ryuga reached out and grabbed Cobra's ankle, preventing him from kicking. Wendy saw this as a chance to attack and threw a punch at his face. Cobra quickly swatted it away and grabbed her by her throat.

Cobra: "Weak! All of you are weak!"

He broke his foot free from Ryuga's grasp and stomped down toward Ryuga's hand. Wendy watched in horror as the foot connected with Ryuga's hand. A terrible crunching sound followed, and Ryuga screamed out in pain.

Cobra: "Hahaha! So weak!"

Wendy's face morphed from horror to rage as her hair grew longer and even changed colors from blue to light pink. Her fingernails elongated, and she drove them into the hand that was choking her. A huge gush of wind sprouted from behind her, uprooting trees and grass.

Cobra: "W-What the hel-"

Before he could finish his sentence, his wrist, that was holding Wendy, was cut off. He screamed in pain as the little girl disappeared from his sight. His ears started bleeding from the sound of the tempest surrounding him, but that soon stopped when both his eardrums burst. He dropped to the ground, wailing in pain, and, not being able to rely on his hearing, begged for mercy.

He looked in front of him to see the newly transformed Wendy slowly walking towards him. Her feet carried gales that seemed to push the dirt away from them. Her hair was violently waving up, down, back and forth with each gust of wind that emanated off her body. Cobra could do nothing but watch as Wendy's hand quickly moved forward. A small blade of air sliced Cobra's right eye, and he, finally, passed out from the pain.

After the confirmation that her enemy was incapacitated, Wendy's Dragon Force features retreated, and her hair turned into its normal color. Even though she was exhausted, she quickly ran over to Ryuga and checked his life-force. Surprisingly, it seemed normal. She felt a hand on her head, and she looked to see Ryuga smiling at her.

Wendy: "You were bitten?"

Ryuga sat up and showed her the wound, which was no longer there.

Ryuga: "Don't worry; I'm perfectly okay."

Wendy sighed in relief and fell back. Before she could hit the ground, Ryuga caught her. She could hardly keep her eyes open, but she managed to speak.

Wendy: "I'm glad you're okay. I was so worried. I didn't want you to leave me so soon after saying something no one has ever said to me before."

Ryuga: "Don't worry, Wendy. You'll be seeing a lot more of me. That, I can guarantee."

She chuckled a little before asking a question.

Wendy: "How did you heal so quickly?"

Ryuga: "Are you kidding me? That little bite could never kill me. The venom was extracted and the bleeding stopped as soon as I wanted it to."

Wendy: "Wait, so you were never really in any danger after all?"

Ryuga: "Yup."

Wendy: "Then why'd you make me suffer through that? I was so scared and worried."

Ryuga: "For motivation." Wendy looked confused. "So you could grow stronger and unlock your potential. You're the Sky Dragon Slayer, Wendy; you're more powerful than you think." Wendy chuckled within her tears.

Wendy: "That's horrible motivation."

Ryuga: "Alas, it worked, did it not?" He wiped her tears away. "Sorry Wendy, but I had to do it to make you more powerful. You, dragon slayers, rely on your emotions for power. You did a good job... Not sure if he would say anything about it though."

He looked behind him to see Hibiki, passed out in a tree, and chuckled.

???: "I think that's enough of you holding Wendy now."

Ryuga, confused, look to his left and right, but didn't see anyone.

???: "Down here."

Ryuga looked below him to see a white Exceed staring at him, with her arms crossed.

Ryuga: "Who are you?"

Carla: "I'm Carla, Wendy's partner. Now if you would please let go of Wendy. I've heard all about you, demon." She narrowed her eyes, glaring at Ryuga.

Ryuga: "Woah, hey, all right."

He gently laid Wendy down and put his hands up in defense.

Carla: "Hmpf. I don't approve of the way you used Wendy's emotions against her."

Ryuga: "Against her? I did it for her to grow stronger. I did tell her that I'd never let her get into a fight she couldn't handle. I was confident she'd win."

Wendy pet Carla and opened her eyes, feeling her fatigue slowly disappearing.

Wendy: "It's okay Carla. I'm grateful. Thank you, Ryuga." All of a sudden, she quickly blushed. "Oh! I'm sorry! I've just been calling you Ryuga without your consent. Sorry, Ryu-Uh I mean Mr. Violet Demon Sir!"

Ryuga: "Haha! Don't worry about it, Wendy. You can call me Ryuga, after all, we're friends, right?" Wendy smiled brightly.

Wendy: "Yeah! Thanks, Ryuga! You're the first friend I've had outside of Cait Shelter."

Ryuga: "Well I'm sure that you and Carla will get along with Fairy Tail. Why don't we rest up here a bit before heading off again, okay?"

Wendy: "Okay..."

After hearing an excuse to rest, Wendy quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the shortest but most exhilarating battle she'd ever been in. Ryuga stood up and started walking away. Carla was about to yell at him for leaving Wendy, before she saw him picking Hibiki out of the tree and healing his wounds. She let out another "Hmpf" before sitting down next to Wendy.