Dragonslayers
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
I do not own either Berserk or Fairy Tail. They are each owned by their respective companies. This story is for fun only, no copyright infringements intended.
The Black Swordsman. Appearing from nowhere within Lord Mont Held's estate this criminal is charged with murdering two dozen guards who tried to apprehend him. He is over six feet tall and wields a huge sword of almost the same height. Seen to have black short and spikey hair and brown eyes, as well as wearing a cloak that covers the rest of his body. No known magical abilities, although strength and speed enhancement magic likely.
Wanted alive.
Reward: 1000000 jewels.
That's what the contract said.
"One million jewels!" A certain pink haired boy shouted. "Wow easy money!"
The notice was quickly ripped off the Fairy Tail mission board and the boy began walking out the door in a hurry, a goofy smile on his face. Aside from pink and spikey hair, the boy wore a black, sleeveless waistcoat with gold trimmings along its edges. A white set of baggy shorts reached just below his knees, and a pair of black sandals clung to his feet. He got as far as the door before a gauntleted hand yanked him backwards and into the air, the white scale patterned scarf he always wore flapping forwards at the sudden change of momentum.
"Natsu did you even read the contract?" Said the offending redhead who held him above the ground.
Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon Slayer panicked and began trying to run away on thin air, his legs flailing about the place. A few of the guilds members looked up and chuckled at his antics. This was becoming more and more common now that he and Erza, the armoured woman who stood at the guilds entrance had joined the same team.
"Of course!" He quickly stuttered out. "Gotta capture this sword guy and…" He tried to look back down at the contract.
Erza quickly shook him and the contract fell to the floor, out of reach and too far away to read. "And?" She pressed.
Natsu began to sweat and his eyes darted around the room for help. Of course he found none. "And then I get a million jewels."
Erza raised an eyebrow at that. A million jewels just for bringing in a man with a sword? She dropped Natzu and picked up the contract. "Stay put."
"Yes mam!" Natsu answered and kneeled on the ground.
Erza read the document and her earlier thoughts were confirmed. She turned to Natsu.
"As tragic as it is, his crimes don't add up to a million jewel bounty. There must be something more to this than the contract explains." Erza explained.
"So?" Natsu asked.
"So I'm coming with you."
"But…" Natsu started.
"Is that a problem?" Erza's aura pulsed threateningly.
"No mam!"
After a few farewells, the pair packed their bags and headed out into Magnolia. The Lords estate wasn't too far from Magnolia and therefore a train ride wasn't necessary. To the motion sick Dragon Slayer this was a source of infinite relief.
"Hey!" Came a shout from the guild.
Natsu and Erza turned to see a small girl running towards them, waving and smiling. Fair skinned, with dark blue hair wrapped in pigtails, she wore a long sleeved red top complete with a dark blue skirt with white trimmings. She came to a stop next to the two guild wizards.
"I need a mission, but I would prefer some help company and I saw you guys leave. Can I come with you?" She asked.
"Sure thing Wendy!" Natsu replied.
"I see no problem with it." Erza agreed, and then looked around. "Where's Carla? She's usually always with you. And speaking of which where's Happy, Natsu?"
The pink haired boy shrugged his shoulders. "He said he was going off into the forest with Carla to fish."
Wendy nodded in confirmation.
"Very well then. Your help will be most welcome."
Natsu laughed. "The Black Swordsman won't know what hit him."
One day ago, in another place, another time.
"Guts, you have been a pain in my side for too long. Yet I still cannot bring myself to kill neither you, or Casca." A voice, so fair and smooth spoke "I am going to send you somewhere far away. Even I don't know where you will land. It maybe your salvation it may be your death. I no longer care for your fate."
The demon stood above Guts and Casca, an armoured man clutching and protecting a ragged woman. It held a sword made of vines, thorns, eyes and madness, the blade flowing and pulsing seemingly at random. A blue ethereal glow emanated from its very being.
"You bastard! I'll kill you! I don't care what you do to me, or where you send me, I will claw myself out of hell and end you!" Guts screamed back, a hand clutching against his neck, blood pouring uncontrollable from a jagged brand.
The woman moaned and wept, clutching tighter to Guts. The demon raised the sword, laughter and shrieks coming from the blade, as the very walls of reality were parted at its passing.
"Farewell Guts. May we never cross paths again."
The blade fell, a wailing portal of whirling, moving, flailing nothing enveloping the two, but not before one last death note. There was nothing that could compare to that scream. That roar. Untold pain and rage fuelled it, the voice of a man broken twice over. Suffering and agony unimaginable echoed through the world, all directed at one man, one demon. Unforgiving, unending irreproachable fury, such that the universe had never seen before. Sent from one monster to another.
"GRIFFITH!"
The clink of chains was what awoke Guts from unconsciousness. The smell of death, sweat and excrement was what hit him next as he opened his eyes.
"Ah finally he awakes."
Guts raised his head to see a man twirling a long handlebar moustache, wearing the expensive cloths of a nobleman. He was flanked by two guards in half plate and wielding spears and shields. Gut's memories were foggy, he couldn't remember how he got here.
"Would you mind telling me how you infiltrated my castle with that woman and got into my private dungeons?" The noble asked.
Guts looked at the man absentmindedly and ignored him in favour of looking round the room and trying to jog his own memory's. He was in a barred prison and chained to the wall by his hands. He still had his artificial limb attached and that reminded him of his past. The cell was open and his three supposed captors stood just outside.
'I cut my own arm off. Why? It was for someone.' Guts thought.
He was naked except for a torn set of trousers. Scars and burns covered his body. He couldn't see out of his right eye and kept it shut.
'What did these to me? Demons, Dragons, soldiers. I killed them in return. What did I kill them with?'
Guts saw a titanic blade propped up against the wall. That thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too heavy and too rough; it was more like a slab of raw iron.
'With that."
Armour pieces, knives, small spiked balls with fuses attached and a strange looking crossbow lay on a table next to the massive blade.
'And those.'
"Not willing to speak? Very well then. Guards hand me that whip."
"Yes sir." The man to his left answered, handing the nobleman the tool.
The nobleman stepped forwards into the cell and begun to thrash the whip against Guts. Cuts and gashes began to open up into his flesh, crisscrossing over the scar tissue on his chest. He grunted at the pain but no words would pass from his lips.
'I was with someone. Who? Someone sent me here. Who?'
"Take that! And this! And…" The man paused in his barrage for a moment; sweat pouring from his face, his breath heavy. He looked up at Guts again, to see that once again the chained man was ignoring him. "Guards!"
The pair of armoured men stood to attention. "Yes sir."
The noble turned to his men, and walked out of the cell. "This man will have no food or water for three days. For one hour every day he shall be whipped, with another hour of respite. Is that understood?"
"What about the girl sir?"
The noble man smiled, white teeth shining maliciously, and looked back at Guts. "Kill her, torture her, share her amongst the rest of the guards. I care not. She has nothing but the mind of a child."
Guts' head snapped up. "What did you say?" He suddenly spoke.
The noble stepped back into the cell. "Oh did I pull a few of your stings. Who are you and who is that girl? And how did you get into my estate. Who sent you? Tell me or I will personally-" The nable threatened but was interrupted.
"Casca."
"What?"
"Her name…" Gut said, his feet spreading slightly apart to brace himself against the floor and the wall. "Is Casca."
Guts began to strain against the metal chains holding him. Runes lit up on the restraints, glowing blue from the cryptic letters etched into the surface. The chains grew taut against the wall, as Guts pulled against them, testing metal against flesh.
"Ha! A wasted effort. Those chains were inscribed by a master rune knight. Whatever magic you possess cannot help you while entrapped by them." The noble laughed.
Guts ignored him again and continued, his body pushing forward, while his arms began to shake, muscle, sinew and tendons bulging and popping.
"I was sent by…" Guts whispered.
The chains began to bend and the sound of rent metal began to fill the prison cell. The noble took a step back as he saw one of the chains split close to the wrist cuffs, releasing his right arm.
"I was sent by…" Guts repeated, grabbing the remaining chain and using his combined strength to rip them from the wall behind him, a piece of stone still attached to the end.
Guts looked up at the three men infront of him, cowering in horror. Memories came streaming back to him. His battles, his friends, his enemies, his demons, his betrayal at the hands one closest to him. It all came back to one person.
"Griffith!" Guts roared jumping forwards, no longer seeing a noble and his guards, but the faces of Griffith, one pure and white haired, the other covered in the black eagle helmet, eyes corrupted by the crimson behelit, that turned him from the light.
"No stay back! Stay-" The Noble man screamed trying to back away, but was interrupted, when guts whipped the chain still attached to his artificial arm into the man's face.
The rock attached to the end shattered the nobleman's nose and hit with such force that the stone shattered, revealing the metal emplacement that had once attached Guts to the wall. It continued on its path and imbedded itself within the man's skull killing him instantly. As the noble fell to the ground, the two guards were able to react. Not fast enough however. Guts wrenched the end of the chain from out of the noble's skull with a sickly pop, and whirled it around the guard's to his lefts neck and pulled him down to the floor. The second guard tried to stab at him with a spear, But Guts caught the haft of the spear with his free right hand, stopping the approaching blade. With a twist, he broke the wooden handle and buried the shortened spear into the man's eye. The guard screamed and fell away from Guts to fall silent as he hit the floor.
The guard on the floor with a chain wrapped around his neck tried to get up but Gut planted a bare foot against the flat of his back. The man began begging while trying to escape at the same time. Guts gripped the chain with both hands, the familiar feeling of his artificial hand magnetising itself to the metal was a familiar sensation.
"No please! Don't! I'll do anything!" The man cried, feeling the chain around his neck begin to tighten around him.
"Casca. The woman. Where?" Guts asked.
"She's with the others. Across the hall, the door opposite this! Please. Let me go!"
Guts pulled harder and broke the man's neck, ending his pleads.
Across the hall, the door opposite his own. Gut quickly ran to the corresponding door, having recovered most of his gear and tore it open. It was a prison cell not too dissimilar form the one he was kept in, but this time it was full. Casca sat on her knees and looked up at Guts. Her face was smiling and was so full of joy. A sharp contrast to the scene behind her. Bodies piled high against the walls. Men, women, children. Some were cut open and bleeding, while more were long dead. The most horrifying were the ones that were alive. Eyes blank and empty, Guts had seen the signs before. They were no longer themselves. They had experienced so much pain and mental torture that their bodies had shut down as a protective mechanism.
'What had that noble been doing to them?' Guts thought.
But he no longer had time to contemplate. He could hear alarms and bells ringing from above. Someone had discovered his break out and the noble's death. He needed to escape. Guts grabbed Casca and ran for the stairs, abandoning whoever still lived in those dungeons.
'Nothing can be done for them now.' He justified to himself. It didn't make the bad taste in his mouth go away however.
Casca began to scream and pull Guts back to the dungeons, but Guts simply threw her over his shoulders. She continued to wail and batter her hand against his armour, but Guts ignored her as he made their escape into a courtyard. Well over two dozen guards were assembling before him. Guts grunted. This was not going to be easy. His artificial arm pinning Casca too him, he gripped the hilt of his sword. It occurred to him that he had forgotten his own weapons name. As he ran forward, the huge blade, cutting through weapons armour and people alike, and the screams began, he was suddenly reminded.
'Dragonslayer.'
Present day
Natsu, Erza and Wendy were walking towards Lord Held's estate in order to gather more information on the Black Swordsman. It would take them just over a day to reach the estate and already Natsu was bored. He had tried running off to fight monsters. He had tried picking a fight with Erza. He had even tried picking a fight with Wendy, although only for a friendly spar. Each had been met with a metal gauntlet smashing down against his head. Curtsey of Erza. By now he had almost given up on anything exciting happening on this mission. Almost.
As they walked along the beaten dirt path, a scream echoed out from deep within the forest to their left. Birds scattered from their branches and the team all looked at one another.
"What was that?" Wendy asked, shivering slightly.
Her question was answered when a woman burst out from the treeline and sprinted towards them, screaming and babbling.
"Casca!" A man shouted from out of sight.
The woman grew closer to them, but tripped and fell into the path. She was wearing brown ragged robes that covered most of her body, while her hair was long unkempt black, that messily flowed across her face. Wendy was the first to reach her and tried helping her up.
"Hello? Are you ok?" She asked shyly, unsure of what to do in this situation.
The girl only gripped onto her leg and wouldn't let go, shivering and mumbling. Wendy looked back to her friends for assistance, but as they approached to lend a hand, another figure emerged from the treeline. The black haired woman turned her head and screamed again, holding tighter to Wendy's leg. Erza and Natsu looked up from the girl and saw a man thunder out from the forest.
Trailing behind a thick black cloak, the man wore a suit of black plate mail. Finishing at rough layered edges all over his body, each individual plate seemed to overlap another. The man's face was visible revealing black spiky hair. He had his right eye closed and was gritting his teeth as he ran towards the group, obviously focused on the fleeing woman. Erza began to connect the dots and it seemed Natsu had as well. She could see a thick, bandaged hilt rising just over the man's right shoulder, ending at a large angular pommel. It signified a large weapon was attached below. She also noticed that the man had a metal left arm that was closed into a fist. Black spikey hair, thick cloak, large weapon.
Erza and Natsu nodded at each other and jumped in front of Wendy and the shaking woman. The Black Swordsman came to a stop a few paces away from the two, his face contorted in annoyance. He growled and them, a hand reaching up to his shoulder to grip the weapons haft.
"Give me Casca. And get out of my way."
It was always the same. Guts only had himself to blame. Every time he tried to reach out to Casca, to fix her, to remind her of the past as hurtful as it may be, she would always run screaming from him. And now he was in this mess. Casca had run straight from their camp, out of the forest and into the path of whoever these three were. A woman, an older boy and a little girl. His first impression was that these three were magic users. The only person who he knew that had such a unique hairstyle was Schierke, and her hair was closer to brown than green. This boy's hair was pink, and the girl with Casca had dark blue hair. Even the woman in armour had such a vibrant colour of red hair that it seemed unnatural.
But Guts quickly dismissed these thoughts. It didn't matter what they were. They were in his way. He quickly drew Dragonslayer, and as usual his opponents blinked in surprise at the sheer size of the blade. Guts smiled.
"If you won't get out of my way, I won't give you time to regret your decision."
His two opponents readied themselves none the less.
"Black Swordsman, if you refuse to surrender we will force you to." The red head ordered, drawing a long sword.
"With force!" The boy added, smashing his two fists together, smirking.
Guts readied himself. He didn't know what that kid was gonna do with just his fists, but he reminded him of that little brat, Isidro. The real threat was that woman. She held herself like a true knight and seemed well trained and well equipped. The little girl was busy with Casca for now, with the added benefit of keeping Casca in one place, so he would ignore her. The Black Swordsman roared and charged, focusing on the knight, who readied herself to block. The titanic Dragonslayer connected with the raised blade, and would have simply shattered on impact. It was only the quick reflexes and reaction of the knight that allowed her to deflected Guts' blade aside. The woman stepped back and looked to her blade.
"My celestial blade!" She shouted, staring at her sword.
Even though she had deflected most of the force away from her, the initial impact had caused deep cracks to run through the metal, and after a few seconds the sword shattered, leaving only a hilt.
"Erza look out!" Came a cry from Wendy.
Erza looked up to see Guts rushing forward, his blade already swinging. She ducked underneath it, but Guts instantly turned the weapon around and struck down at her. Erza was able to get what remained of her sword in the path of Dragonslayer, but the sword shattered into even more pieces and the weapon bit into her armour. Erza jumped backwards at the force of the blow, her armour crumpled and rent. A deep gash had opened up in her shoulder and if she hadn't moved when she did it would have likely taken her arm off at the shoulder.
"Hey! How about fighting me?" The pinkhaired boy roared, aiming a punch at the Black Swordsman.
"Be careful Natsu." Wendy called again, still struggling to move with a fully grown woman wrapped around her leg.
Guts ignored it. The woman was the threat. She had avoided being killed by Dragonslayer. Twice. That was no small feat.
But to his surprise as the boy's fist connected with his shoulder, it ignited and a huge force knocked him to the side. Guts cursed. Definitely magic. He could feel the heat from within his armour. Guts rolled and got back on his feet, instantly recovering and attacking this new threat. Magic-users were always the priority target in Gut's book. He stabbed his sword forward, the huge length of the weapon allowing it to function as a lance. Natsu leapt above it and ran along the flat of the blade, to deliver a flaming kick across Gut's face. He flinched backwards from the blow, but as Natsu landed behind him, Guts span around, whirling Dragonslayer around with him. It was too fast for any human to see. Natsu however saw it coming and aimed to grab it. He succeeded in keeping the cutting edge away from his body, but the remaining momentum sent him flying backwards. Guts quickly followed him, metal boots crushing rocks and pebbles into dust along his path. Natsu got back up and turned to the charging Guts. He held his hands up to see blood flowing from the cuts where he had caught the blade.
Guts stopped and placed his blade into the ground like a huge battle scared monument.
"No one. Touches me." He growled at Natsu, grabbing a barrel of something from his belt and attaching it to his metal arm. "Especially not with god damned magic!"
He pulled a cord on his arm and his fist swung down. Natsu could see down the barrel and saw a small flame at the end. The fire suddenly spread and a huge torrent of fire spewed from the barrel. Guts continued to pour the rest of the fuel into Natsu and stopped only when it ran out and the fire began to stutter and die. However, as he pulled back his artificial fist into its original position, the fire began to swirl and shrink. The fire was being swallowed and absorbed by the boy.
"Well damn that was good fire!" Natsu smiled at Guts. "Although it tasted like oil and smoke at the same time."
Guts scowled at the boy's antics. Grabbing back his sword he ran forwards. Natsu raised his hands to his mouth and cupped them into a funnel and his cheeks blew up.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
An even larger torrent of flames shot out from the boy's mouth enveloping Guts. He was able to put Dragon slayer in front of him like a shield, but the flames licked against his sides and the heat threatened to cook him in his own armour. Guts began pushing forward towards the source of the blaze, his sword still held like a shield. He got close enough that the moment the flames shut off he smashed the flat of Dragonslayer into Natsu's face. His nose bleeding the pink haired boy was sent reeling back, only narrowly avoiding a swing from Guts. The Black swordsman was smoking and his face showed minor burns. His artificial hand was glowing from the heat and a hissing could be heard where the metal met skin.
Guts once again tried to cut him in half, but the pink haired boy was able to evade his strikes. Barely. Guts wasn't fooling around and Natsu was having trouble dodging. Every other strike was opening up another cut on his arm, or along his face. Soon he began to tire and was knocked to the ground when he wasn't fast enough to dodge. Guts had luckily only used the flat of his sword, but the force and weight propelling the weapon crushed Natsu's bones and sent him rolling across the ground, unearthing grass and creating small droves in the earth. Guts aimed to finish the job but was interrupted when he felt more magic in the air.
"Sky Dragon's Healing!"
Guts turned to see the little blue haired girl raising her hands to the sky. A light blue circle appeared over the red haired knight and in a flash, the wound in her shoulder disappeared.
"The fast wind that runs through the heavens! Vernier! And the power of stout arms that tears through the heavens! Arms!"
He watched in surprise as two additional circles hovered above Erza's head, each bigger than the next.
"The little girl is a magic user as well?"
Guts could feel a pressure building in the air as the knight approached him again. He readied his sword. He felt like this woman had gotten stronger through the girls use of magic.
"Thank you Wendy. Requip!" The woman shouted, and before Guts' very eyes she began glowing gold, her armour melting an vanishing.
The golden light expanded into the silhouette of a four winged angel until it disappeared revealing Erza clad in shining silver armour. She now held two more longswords in her hands and a dozen more different swords floated in the air around her.
'They can all use magic?' Guts thought to himself.
"Heaven's Wheel Circle Sword!" Erza shouted, her voice echoing with magic power.
The multitude of swords began spinning around her, faster and faster until they all blurred into one another. Guts had trouble tracking which one was which. Suddenly the blades began shooting forwards towards him. Gut's gripped Dragonslayer and proceeded to intercept every single sword blade. His own sword became a blur and it appeared as though Guts had eight Dragonslayers. At first blades he deflected and blocked only retreated and came at him again. But soon Guts learned to destroy these swords, either splitting them in half or shattering them against the flat of his sword. When each blade broke, they faded away into nothing, golden essence trickling back too Erza, who flew at Guts locking both swords against Dragonslayer. Guts underestimated her newfound magic strength and felt himself begin to all back.
"Who are you? And how are you able to break by swords?" Erza asked him over the grunts of the duel, her blades menacingly close to Guts.
His eyes lighting up with determination, Guts ignored the woman and firmly dug his heels in, forcing the woman back.
"What?" Erza said in surprise.
Guts roared in effort, and through gritted teeth, soon the tables were turned, Erza being pushed backwards. She tried to strain against him but his strength was incredible. Her foot tripped on a rock and she fell back, her wings and armour crushing against the ground. Dragonslayer was still pushing towards her, slowly but surely. Her two swords were crossed against it, in an effort to halt its advance but it continued to press towards her, slicing through her armour and piercing her skin. A last push made with desperate strength held the blade their for a moment, but it wouldn't hold for long.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
A tornado struck Guts in the side, blowing him off Erza and causing him to skid across the ground. The attack hadn't hurt him in any meaningful way, it had caught him unawares. Again he had underestimated his opponent and suffered for it.
Guts got to his feet at the same time as Erza who seemed shaken up at her near death experience, but she readied her self all the same. Natsu had also recover, and although bloodied he stood to Guts' right.
"Come on!" Guts roared at them and brandished his sword. "Come at me! Dragonslayer is thirsty!"
Natsu and Erza blinked at that statement, but decided to ask questions later. The two ran towards him at the same time, Erza summoning two fresh swords, while Natsu's hands ignited. The three clashed and Guts met them blow for blow. Dragonslayer swung back and forth, deflecting the knights swords and blocking Natsu's fists. The same couldn't be said for Natsu and Erza. After one of Erza's swords broke against Guts' own, and Natsu's hands became bloody trying to stop the blade, they could only dodge the massive weapon. And it didn't get any easier. Even with Wendy enhancing their movements, the weapon moved at speeds belying its size. They dreaded to know what would happen if Wendy hadn't been there.
Natsu ducked under the blade as Guts swung it with only his right hand, but was caught by a punishing blow from Guts' metal fist, knocking him out of the fight for now. The blade continued on its way and Erza moved away from it. But Guts grabbed hold of the haft with his metal arm and changed its direction. Too quick and sudden to move out of the way, Erza's armour vanished and was replaced with thick dark blue and white plate.
"Adamantine Armour!"
She slammed her arms together allowing the two bladed shields to lock together. Dragonslayer impacted against the shield and was stopped in its tracks. Erza sighed in relief, but it was short lived as Guts shouted out, bringing the hunk of steel down upon the shield again and again, each strike coming faster and hitting harder than the last. Erza had to take a knee from the force of each attack and soon she realised that her shield was bending inwards, and cracks began to form all around it. As the last blow came crashing down, Guts suddenly heard footsteps approaching, he turned his blade to the side ready to defend himself. He saw the girl Wendy a good height above him come flying down upon him. She had gotten free from Casca it seemed.
"Sky Dragons Claw!"
Her foot connected with Dragonslayer and a blast of air followed the impact, almost throwing Guts off balance. In response, he pushed against the little blue haired girl, sending Wendy flying back, although she landed on her feet.
His rage undoubtedly stoked, he swung his blade once more at a rising Erza. She was able to get her battered shield in the way again but the shield shattered and she was knocked back, her armour disappearing and reverting to a simple dress. Guts charged at Wendy, who shrieked in surprise and panicked. She sent a wave of air towards Guts, but he simple cut through the wind with a swing of his sword. Moving impossibly fast Guts shot forward, and standing over Wendy, his eyes brimming with rage, he brought Dragonslayer down upon the child. Time seemed to slow for Wendy. She couldn't move, her fear preventing her. It was though a demon was upon her, the aura of sheer terror he emitted. And she could do nothing as the colossal blade streaked towards her. Her imagination told her that she was going to be cut straight down the middle. And she could see no other scenario other than the one that was playing out before her. Natsu was running towards her his arm outstretched. Erza was trying to crawl her way forwards. But both had her name at their lips. The blade approached her. It was too fast. There was no way for her to stop it. Wendy Marvel shut her eyes waiting for the inevitable.
There was the sound of dirt and earth being thrown by the wind. A shockwave of force washing over her. And then nothing. Just silence. Wendy briefly wondered if this was what the after life was like. But that notion was abandoned when she opened her eyes to reveal the woman who had previously clung to her, standing in front of her. Natsu and Erza were frozen in awe and shock, mouths hanging wide open. The Black Swordsman had somehow stopped the momentum of his blade, and not a moment too soon. The man's arms were shaking and her friends could see why. His gigantic blade, too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too heavy and too rough; it was more like a slab of raw iron. And the point of it had stopped dead in the middle of the woman's forehead. A small pinprick that allowed thin lines of blood to flow down her face. Guts took a step back and his very being shaking he fell too his knees, using his sword to keep himself from falling further. He put a hand too his face and began to weep. The woman stood their for a moment, swaying and then wiped the blood from her face. She stepped towards the man who came so close to killing her, and kneeled down with him embracing him with a hug. She lifted up his head and smiled at him. Such a innocent bright smile, accompanied by a babies gurgle of contentment.
Erza and Natsu approached and looked at the pair. The Black Swordsman had been reduced from a towering demon to a crying man just by one woman. They saw him reach up with his metal hand and stroke the woman's face. And as quick as the moment came, it was obliterated into a thousand pieces. She stared at the hand and then started screaming, punching and clawing at the one who held her. She scrambled from the man's embrace into Wendy's, which seemed to calm and soothe her until she started cooing like a baby. The armoured man slumped back onto his knees, his sword falling to earth forgotten. Erza approached the Black Swordsman and looked into his eyes. She had seen them before when he had almost killed the woman. The fear and the self-loathing. Erza had seen the hope and the relief when she had comforted him. And now she saw the realisation within him that everything was not ok, and his hopes had been extinguished.
"She isn't supposed to be like that is she?" Erza asked the broken man.
"No." He replied, no longer resisting.
"Yet you still love her." Erza said. It was not a question.
He nodded.
"Are you trying to help her? Do you need someone to cure her?"
"Yes." He looked up at Erza. "More than anything." And then realisation snapped him back to reality. "You are magic users."
"We are." Erza answered.
"I don't care what you do to me. Whatever reason you were hunting me, I shall come quietly. But you must save Casca!" He pleaded to her.
Erza contemplated this. Whoever this man was, he was certainly dangerous and had the will to kill a person, even a child such as Wendy. But she had seen something in him that contradicted this. That contradicted her instincts and the information that the bounty provided on the Black Swordsman. Something told her that somewhere buried beneath his armour, his fury, his actions was a good man. And so Erza made a decision.
"We have a mage who is one of the best in her field. If you come with us peacefully we will see that Casca gets whatever care she needs. Do we have a deal?" Erza told him, reaching out with an open hand. Any complaint from Natsu was silenced with a stern glance.
The armoured man stood back to his full height, and for a second Erza began to regret her decision. It truly felt like this man could and would kill them in an instant. Luckily he reached out with his hand and shook on the deal.
"Errrm Mister Black Swordsman?" Wendy asked nervously, her legs shaking from her recent near death experience. Casca was hugging her and mumbling things. "What's your name please?"
The man in question reached for Dragonslayer and pulled it from the floor, attaching it to his back. Wendy flinched slightly as he raised the blade, and Natsu watched warily for any sign of hostility. The Black Swordsman smirked at them.
"My name is Guts."
Reviews and criticism is welcome.
Signed by Imperial Decree
BluePanedGasMask