THE FAIRY WITCHER

§ § § § §

The wind howled menacingly, rocking the trees while dark thunders could be heard in the distance, foretelling an imposing storm that would wash the sick earth, now covered with bodies, blood and who knows what else.

The glittering black and golden armors of the Alvarez Empire were now covered in mud and dried blood as well as the less elaborate ones of the Kingdom of Fiore along with their weapons. Wooden carts cut in pieces lay at the edge of the road, next to large wooden spikes driven into the ground.

In the distance, something moved in the shadows. Four small and stubby figures but with teeth too sharp to belong to humans, especially when some pieces of meat were stuck between them.

"Ghouls...the battlefields are a godsend for them."

The figure, intent on advancing on horseback at the edge of the expanse of corpses, glanced quickly at those creatures, scrutinizing them with his yellow eyes similar to those of a cat with an expression devoid of any emotion. His horse neighed nervously and stopped suddenly, sensing hostile presences near him.

"Calm down Happy, calm down." the boy said, moving the fingers of his right hand, creating a white triangle in midair that dissolved against the horse's head, calming it instantly. Tapping the heels against the belly of the animal, the boy made it advance again but his hand went to grasp the handle of one of the two swords he carried on his back, both with the handles that protruded behind his right shoulder. One of them had a V guard and it was that one the young man seemed to be willing to use, while the other had a more common guard, although both blades were quite long, definitely impossible to use them with one hand.

The armor that protected him was made of brown leather but with chainmail attached to the pectorals as well as to the shoulder straps, while some iron studs were present on the gloves, precisely at the height of the knuckles. The trousers were like the rest of the armor but without reinforcements, just like the boots.

The only object that seemed valuable was a strange medallion representing the head of a wolf with open jaws, and with a look that was anything but friendly, that the boy with particular pink hair wore hanging around his neck.

After a few meters he released his weapon. The Ghouls had not come any closer, probably because of all the food around them that must have looked more inviting than a living, well-armed human.

Other thunders were heard in the air and a few drops of water began to fall from the sky, causing the boy to sigh and look up silently cursing various deities now forgotten in those desolate lands devastated by war.

Giving a new light blow into the sides of the horse, he urged it to gallop very quickly. Within a few moments they both found themselves under a downpour with lightning and thunders in tow. The boy continued however to keep his gaze pointed forward, trying to scan the horizon in search of some shelter.

'Leaving Magnolia was really an excellent idea...' the boy thought sarcastically, turning his head to the right, identifying a lonely house among the trees. Several windows were broken and looked abandoned but for him it was fine. Pulling the horse's bridle, he made him change direction and in a few moments he reached that hovel, tying Happy to a small tree near the entrance.

The door was, as expected, rotten and the handle was rusty, so it was enough for him to push it open, looking intently at the interior: a large room with some cloth sacks thrown in a corner, a dilapidated fireplace, a table and chairs of wood, some furniture covered with dust and visibly damaged by time.

Slowly, the boy entered the little house and let go of the door that closed behind him. The roof was full of holes so he was not surprised to see the wet floor but he was fine with it. He would ignite a fire and wait for the end of the storm or at least that was his idea, but first he had to figure out who was hiding in that house with him...

His enchanted senses had immediately warned him of the presence of someone: first of all, small footprints on the ground quite evident given the contours of mud; the second clue was the smell barely perceptible in the air, a mixture of sweat, old wood and blood; the last factor that had made him understand that he was not alone was an agitated but still slow breath that he could hear even in the midst of those noises caused by rain and thunders.

He turned to the cloth sacks and crossed his arms over the chest "You come go out, I don't want to hurt you."

Whoever was hiding must have taken a big fright because the boy heard the heartbeat of that person suddenly accelerate.

"Come on, I know you're hiding behind those sacks, do not make me move them one by one." said the boy without moving. After a few seconds, a trembling voice asked "W-who are you...?"

'A child.' the boy deduced before introducing himself, "Natsu Dragneel, I'm a witcher."

"O-one of those m-monsters?" the girl asked, and Natsu could hear the fear in her voice. Sighing, the boy nodded slightly "I'm also called that way, but I kill monsters, so you do not have to be afraid of me. Now, would you please come out? I will light a fire so we can warm ourselves."

For a few moments nothing happened, but eventually the sacks of cloth were moved and a little girl with black hair gathered in two low braids showed herself to the witcher, still maintaining a wary, but above all frightened, attitude.

Natsu crouched down to bring his face to the same level as that of the little girl "What's your name?" he then asked with a little smile.

"Asuka..." the little girl whispered, torturing the black cloth pants she wore together with a sort of white wool sweater.

"Asuka, it's a nice name." the boy admitted "Why were you hiding in here? Are you lost?"

The little girl shook her head and the boy nodded imperceptibly "Are you looking for something or someone?" and this time the girl nodded "I wanted to find my dad...he's a hunter but he's not been home for days and when I came here soldiers were fighting and all those people were screaming like mad men..." she tried to catch her breath holding back sobs "In the end I hid here after crossing the grove."

Natsu nodded and pointed to the fireplace "Now I will light a fire so that we can warm up, I also have supplies with me, so we can also fill our stomachs." and went out soon after, going to get a bag hanging on the side of Happy. After bringing it in, he put the bag on the ground for a moment, before breaking up a wooden chair. After throwing the pieces of wood into the fireplace, he snapped his fingers and sparks sparked from his hand, instantly firing up what was left of the chair, illuminating the entire room. Natsu then took a cloak that he kept folded in the bag and put it on Asuka's shoulders, then making her sit in front of the fireplace while he took loaves of bread, a bit of dried meat and two wineskins full of water, giving one to the child.

The two ate quietly for several minutes, while outside the storm still raged. Natsu revived the fire when it was about to go out while the little girl kept staring at the witcher.

"Why do you have two swords with you?"

"One of steel for men and one of silver for monsters." Natsu explained "My job is to kill monsters, but sometimes humans are far worse than them."

"Because they make war among themselves?" she looked small but apparently understood much more than a normal child.

"That is one of the many reasons but sometimes the most monstrous men act far from war, precisely in the courts of kings." the boy explained with a neutral expression, then decided to change the subject "You said you ended up here while looking for your father, right?"

Asuka slowly nodded "We live in Blackbough and there is a big forest not far away but since the war came near us rabbits and other animals have ran away and my dad decided to look for something a little further from our village, going towards the center of the forest to try to hunt some deer."

"What did he use to hunt?"

"Bow and arrows, but he also had a small crossbow that my mommy gave him for their anniversary." Asuka smiled thinking about when her father had received it as a gift, but that thought did not allow her to catch the worried look of the witcher 'In the woods there are not only deer and hares...something must have found his father...'

Sighing, the boy bit a piece of bread "Once the storm is over, I'll take you home. If the Ghouls were to find you they would not have a problem attacking you and I do not want your mother to worry too much."

The little girl did not seem particularly happy about it, but nodded in silence, aware that she had gone in search of her father without saying anything to anyone. The two ended the meal in silence and, under Natsu's advice, the child went to sleep, managing to fall asleep relatively quickly despite the constant thunders that made the walls of their shelter shake.

After several minutes, the witcher made sure that Asuka was sleeping deeply and, trying not to make any noise, got up and left the house, closing the door behind him.

The rain soaked him from head to foot in a matter of moments but he did not care. With a smooth movement of the arm he unsheathed his silver sword and looked around, identifying five figures approaching him. Happy began to get nervous so Natsu untied him and gave him a light slap with his free hand to make it escape, turning then to face the Ghouls that by now had already surrounded him.

Those necrophages walked on all fours and were big a little less than an adult man but they were much stronger and fierce. Their faces vaguely resembled those of a human, but their 'hands' were provided with grotesque claws, and their bodies resembled little to that of a human.

They snarled menacingly toward the boy and, one to his right, leaped at him trying to claw his face but the witcher stepped back and avoided the blow, then leading a quick slash from above that decapitated the creature with ease. Their flesh was soft despite appearances and the Ghouls did not possess any kind of natural defense, apart from numerical superiority.

Two more Ghouls tried to hit him from behind, jumping on him, but Natsu quickly turned around and, from his free hand, he generated a violent shock wave that caused the two creatures to fall to the ground. While the first was fast enough to get up and move a few feet away, the second was less quick and the witcher had plenty of time to pierce its heart from above, thrusting his sword into the ground through the ribcage, sending blood everywhere.

The boy momentarily let go of his sword before grabbing it in a reverse grip. Turning on himself, he intercepted another Ghoul at the last second and, hitting him with great force, amputated its left arm and cut the monster in two, making the torso fly behind him, while the legs of the creature fell to the ground splashing water, mud and blood all around.

Spinning the sword in his hand for a couple of times he grabbed it again in the right way and this time he gripped the hilt with both hands, staring intently at the Ghoul in front of him. The monster that had managed to escape before was still behind him. He could hear it.

The two creatures, despite their dead packmates, tried to attack Natsu in unison. The one in front of the witcher jumped on him while the other tried to hit him with a clawed hand in the back.

Without any difficulty, Natsu took a short side step, avoiding both attacks and, moving his sword with all the strength he was capable of, he attacked the Ghoul that had jumped on him. The body of the creature did not oppose too much resistance and was cut perfectly in half but the witcher's attack was not yet finished and he managed to behead the second Ghoul, making its head fly high.

After a deep breath, the boy calmly sheathed his weapon and returned to the hovel, immediately glancing at Asuka, who was still asleep, wrapped in his cloak.

Smiling lightly, the witcher sat in front of the fireplace and stared at the flames, keeping his senses alert to perceive the arrival of other Ghouls. Those beasts loved fresh meat, even that of their fellow packmates.

The storm stopped a few hours later, and only at that moment Natsu closed his eyes, lying on the ground while looking for a comfortable position to spend the night.

§ § § § §

The light of the sun woke the witcher very early, when the moon was still visible in the sky and some bats were still flying around looking for insects but luckily, shortly thereafter, the sun would have fully illuminated that land and all its fields covered of corpses, silent witnesses to the massacre that occurred the day before.

Once out of the hut, Natsu brought two fingers between his lips and gave a short but definitely noisy whistle, and after a few seconds, his horse came to him trotting. The witcher stroked his mane and then went back into the hovel to wake Asuka and give her some fruit for breakfast. After the meal, they immediately set off to reach Blackbough.

The ride lasted just under an hour and they did not encounter any kind of mishap. It was strange indeed. No soldier, no sign of clashes and not even a hint of military garrison.

"There seems to be no one here." Natsu said, looking around.

"It's because the soldiers have settled in a castle not far from here and come to our village just to ask for supplies for the front." explained Asuka sitting in front of him as he watched a field of corn spared from the war.

Natsu nodded in silence and continued to ride to the houses that were already visible in the distance along with small columns of smoke, probably coming from some chimneys. When they were about two hundred meters from the village, some farmers in the field nearby saw Asuka and were completely surprised to see her riding with a stranger.

"Asuka! For heaven's sake, we thought you were gone!" a man shouted running towards her with a narrow hoe in his hands. The girl seemed ashamed to talk to him "Sorry Macao...I went to look for my daddy..."

"I can understand that you are worried about him but to go away on your own without saying anything to anyone!" snapped the man and was stopped by another bearded farmer who chuckled slightly "Come on Macao, she's back safe and sound and this is what matters, we just have to inform Bisca."

"Tsk, you always defend her, Wakaba..." Macao commented dryly massaging his temples before shooting a quick glance at Natsu, who had not yet said a word.

"Well...I think it's right to thank you for bringing her home. We are grateful to you." said Wakaba, holding out his hand to Natsu, but he only looked at it with a detached look "Anyone would have done that. Just tell me where I can find her mother."

"You will find her in the middle of the village near the water well. She is certainly preparing some arrows with Kinana." Wakaba said pointing at the village with a finger "Of course she will thank you too."

Natsu nodded and moved his horse forward, trotting quickly to the first houses, under the surprised look of other people who seemed relieved to see Asuka safe and sound. After a few minutes, Happy reached the center of the village and Natsu dismounted with a fluid movement, taking the little girl before placing her on the ground and seeing her running towards a young green haired woman who, seeing her arrive, threw on the ground an arrow and ran to meet her daughter, embracing her with tears in her eyes.

"My little girl...I thought I would never see you again..."

"Sorry mommy...I wanted to find daddy..." Asuka explained starting to sob while Natsu approached with a calm step. Bisca seemed to notice him and took Asuka in her arms, making a short bow "I don't know who you are, but I thank you for bringing my daughter back."

"Name's Natsu Dragneel, I'm a witcher." the boy said in a flat voice, receiving several glimpses of surprises from the people gathered nearby, followed by a slight rumor, but the young man did not seem to mind too much.

"I see...I guess you found her while you were chasing some monster." Bisca ventured, her gaze hardened slightly.

Natsu shook his head slightly "I have no contract for now and as for the girl, I found her in a hut not far from a battlefield infested by some Ghouls." then he crossed his arms over the chest "Also from what she told me, your husband mysteriously disappeared."

Bisca remained silent for a few seconds "Yes, that's right. He ventured into the woods not far from here and since then we have not heard from him."

"The woods don't offer shelter only to deer and hares but also to wolves, bears, bandits and monsters." Natsu explained impassively "Your husband may have come face to face with one of them. If you are interested in finding him, I can go into the woods and look for him."

"Would you really do that?" the young woman asked hopefully and Natsu nodded "With compensation, of course. From how you looked at me as soon as I said I was a witcher, I can tell that you know different things about us."

"For example, that you never work for free...I know." Bisca replied sourly and then nodded "Okay, I'll pay you. Just find my husband and bring him back home."

The witcher nodded once and then returned to his horse, mounting in the saddle and then approaching the group of people "Where can I find this forest?" and Bisca pointed to a direction "It's about an hour walk, on horseback you should get there in less time."

"How can I recognize your husband?" the boy asked then and the answer came quickly "Short black hair, leather clothes with a reddish cape. His name is Alzack."

Without saying anything, Natsu galloped towards the direction indicated by Bisca, leaving the village behind after a few seconds. Gray clouds were obscuring the sky and the young man could feel a new downpour coming towards him, moreover the thunders in the distance did not leave much doubt. Soon another storm would break out.

'I have to hurry...if yesterday's thunderstorm did not erase all the tracks, this could do it very quickly.' Natsu thought before spurring even more Happy, which increased the speed while small drops of rain fell from the sky.

§ § § § §

A hundred white trees stood out in front of the witcher as he tied his horse's reins to a tree near the main road. Looking to the right and left it was possible to see other dozens of trees that were going to form that huge forest which covered several hills and even a flat area.

Sensing the storm closer and closer, Natsu began to walk among those trees, paying attention to every sound, but the distant thunders, combined with the rustle of the shrubs, caused him trouble. However the noise of the crows did not go unnoticed to his enchanted senses and, after almost half an hour of walking, he changed direction for the first time. He was now in the thick of the woods and there was no kind of trail. Bushes, trees and various rocks represented the surrounding environment on which there was a slight darkness due to rain clouds.

After several minutes of advancing towards the spot where he had heard the crows, Natsu stopped suddenly, staring at the large rock at least three meters high in front of him without batting an eyelid. It was a little wider than him and looked like a normal rock but the deep claw marks that covered its surface seemed to indicate something else.

The witcher approached slowly and gently touched the signs "Long claws, very resistant. Whatever has scratched this rock is tall and tremendously strong. It could have used the rock to sharpen its claws or to mark its territory." then he looked down and saw absolutely nothing "No recent footprints...these must be old signs or the monster moves very stealthily."

Returning to follow the noise caused by the crows, Natsu appeared in a small clearing covered with grass and flanked by a small river. The first thing, however, that jumped to the eye of the witcher wasn't the water nor the flock of crows rising in flight, but the corpse of a man stuck in the middle of some thick roots that came out of the ground, covered with his blood.

After looking around, the boy approached slowly and looked at the victim "Blond hair, at least forty years old, armor of the Alvarez empire. A desertering soldier probably, but certainly he isn't Alzack." after looking at the pale face, he focused more on the details "He lost a lot of blood from his mouth...an internal bleeding, caused by the roots. They bent the metal as if it were paper and they destroyed his ribcage and here..." he observed more carefully the left arm "Three big cuts that have torn the flesh and cracked the humerus, certainly this isn't the work of a bear but not even a werewolf...it was something bigger and stronger."

A sudden howl caught his attention and the croaking of dozens of crows followed the howl.

"Wolves, crows, a forest, roots used to kill...there are no doubts. A Leshen, one very strong among other things." Natsu recapitulated "As good as he may be, not even an experienced hunter could go unnoticed in a place like this." and resumed walking in the direction of the howls but stopped after a few steps.

He was there to find Alzack and couldn't waste too much time between wolves and crows, so he closed his eyes and concentrated intensely as the storm began to release water and lightning in equal measure, causing a deafening noise that did not deconcentrate the witcher. Thanks to his senses, he identified a different sound from the others, something soft was being torn to pieces or devoured by wolves and those beasts ate only one thing: meat.

Starting to run, he soon reached a small space among some large old trees that, with their foliage, sheltered the ground from the rain, keeping it partially dry. At the base of the largest tree there were two wolves intent on feasting with something, or rather someone.

Moving quickly, the witcher unsheathed his steel sword and with two powerful slashes killed the two beasts even before they could react, then glanced at the dead man on the roots of that huge tree.

Short black hair, dressed in shredded brown leather, a cape now completely red because of the blood and a small crossbow in his right hand.

Alzack.

Sheathing the weapon, Natsu crouched next to the man's body and carefully analyzed it "Huge cuts on the chest. The claws split the ribs but he died from the impact against the tree." he observed noticing the red splash on the trunk "The eggs of flies have already hatched, must have been dead for several days now but this hasn't discouraged wolves that have feasted with his remains." getting up, he noticed a small detail "The quiver for the arrows and the one for the darts are both empty...he fought until the end against an enemy impossible to kill with those weapons."

He looked around, deciding what to do "I found the father of the child but it makes no sense to go back and just tell her about his fate." and put a hand on the hilt of the silver sword "So it is worth killing the Leshen and avenge him, in the future probably someone would have asked to kill it. First I have to find the totems so I can kill him completely." so he started walking in that maze of trees, following the sound of the crows, the followers of the Leshen.

Thanks to them he quickly found the first two totems made up of some bones, a big skull and some wood, destroying them with well-placed sword strokes. The third and last totem was at the base of a hill and, as soon as he had set it on fire with a snap of his fingers, the air seemed to grow denser.

The storm was raging and now the light of day was gradually diminishing, leaving room for darkness. Natsu looked around calmly, knowing full well that, shortly thereafter, he would have company.

A sudden flash illuminated the forest and, along with it, a skeletal figure standing a dozen yards from the witcher who, however, recognized the huge deer horns as well as the large arms with sharp claws. As soon as the light of the lightning went out, leaving room for a powerful thunder, the figure of the Leshen seemed to vanish in the midst of all those trees.

Only a handful of seconds passed, but in the end another flash illuminated everything, including the outline of the monster standing just a foot from Natsu.

It was a creature at least two and a half feet tall that looked like it was made from parts of a tree. The head was the skull of a deer with huge horns, arms almost reaching the ankles and they were made of wood with bones tied on the forearms, while a strange worn garment covered part of the chest and the waist of the Leshen.

Natsu watched it for a moment, contemplating the creature with an incredibly calm air. He knew very well that a Leshen was not an opponent to be underestimated but he also knew how to recognize the ancient Leshens, the most dangerous and powerful ones and certainly the one before him was a young specimen.

He then tried to play in advance and, extracting his silver blade at once, tried to hit the monster with a blow from above but the Leshen exploded in a cloud of smoke from which several crows sprang and hit Natsu, pushing him back a few meters.

Immediately raising his guard, the witcher tried to locate his opponent and saw him several meters away with one arm raised towards the sky. Lightly widening his eyes, Natsu jumped to the side and, when the Leshen hit the ground, several roots emerged from the ground, destroying the spot where the young man stood before.

Those roots were one of the most lethal weapons of the Leshen and Natsu knew it well, therefore he ran to meet the monster and, when he was close enough, tried to give it fire generating an incendiary flush from his left hand but unfortunately for him, the insistent rain turned off the flames almost immediately, reducing the damage.

The Leshen still made a sound of pain and tried to hit Natsu with his claws but the witcher made a quick side step and avoided the blow, succeeding then to hit the monster on the right side, opening a deep cut from which dripped tree sap. The monster, this time, roared furiously and behind Natsu came a little group of wolves that growled at him in a threatening way.

Cursing against that ability of the Leshen, the witcher quickly moved away from the monster and wielded the steel sword, letting go of the silver, to be able to quickly eliminate the wolves that were moving into two little groups, trying to hit him from the sides.

Those who attacked him from the right were greeted by the cold steel of his sword that hit them with ferocity, killing them instantly but Natsu could not turn around to intercept the others in time, so he moved the fingers of his free hand and a strange orange aura covered for an instant his body like a second skin. When the wolves clashed against him, a screeching metallic noise was heard in the air and all the animals were thrown backwards, ending up victims of Natsu's sword, who quickly eliminated them in order to return to look at his true adversary.

The Leshen was gone.

Before he could react, Natsu was struck in the back by an incredibly powerful blow that threw him forward several meters, making him tumble on the wet ground. Shaking his head, the boy stood up and sheathed the steel sword, going to recover the silver one.

'This rain prevents me from using the Igni sign at best. I'll have to fall back on Quen until I can think of something.' thought the boy before covering himself again with that orange aura that vanished in a second, leaving strange orange reflections on his whole body.

Returning to the charge, he hit the Leshen on its right arm and avoided a clawed hand by throwing himself backwards where he was then forced to jump to the side to avoid new roots that would have caused him a lot of damage, Quen active or not. He then tried to hit the monster again but it vanished in a cloud of smoke and Natsu had the good sense to move away to avoid the crows, then he began to look around.

"If I do not use fire, it will take me too long..." the witcher said to himself and then placed his free hand on a small iron ball with a fuse hanging from his belt. After a few seconds of apparent calm, the Leshen reappeared not far away with a demonic roar and summoned again roots to try to hit Natsu but the boy did not get caught unprepared and jumped to the side, throwing the small bomb at the monster.

The bomb exploded in mid-air generating a powerful flash of light that completely blinded the monster for a few seconds, making it roar with anger.

Without wasting time, Natsu threw three small bombs that exploded near the Leshen, creating a thin silver mist around him that wasn't dissipated even by rain. Taking one last bomb, the witcher took aim and threw it at the monster's chest. On impact, the bomb generated a violent blaze that set fire to all the silvery fog, generating a real explosion of fire that was not weakened by the rain, enveloping in the flames the Leshen which struggled like a fury trying to extinguish the flames.

That was an opportunity to finish it off, so without much attention to the approaching wolves, Natsu ran forward at full speed with the silver sword in his right hand. The Leshen saw him coming and tried to hit him from above with his claws but the boy stopped just for a second to avoid the blow and then jump over the monster's arm to land on the shoulder where, turning on himself, he brought a violent two-handed slash which detached the monster's head from the rest of the body.

The wolves seemed to be frightened by the scene and ran away as the lifeless body of the Leshen collapsed to the ground. Natsu jumped down without any difficulty, and then approached the head of his prey. Slowly, he took the trophy in his hand and sheathed the weapon, moving towards the point where he had left his horse, but decided to go first to where he had found the body of Alzack.

Thanks to his senses it was not difficult to follow his own tracks not erased by the rain, so he found himself out of the woods in a few minutes and realized how the storm was really doing its best to make it rain as much as possible. After tying the Leshen's head to the travel bags that hung on Happy's hips, Natsu turned one last time to the woods.

His medallion did not vibrate, he noticed after a few seconds, so there were no more traces of magic or magical creatures in that forest.

Mounting on his steed, he rode towards Blackbough, reaching the village when the storm was now only a memory and the blue sky was back to be seen through those gray clouds.

The witcher was welcomed by some peasants who looked at the Leshen's head in fascination but, after a few seconds, the surprise left room for sadness, since there was no trace of Alzack with him.

Bisca was among the last to arrive but there was no trace of Asuka. The green-haired woman looked hopefully at Natsu but the witcher's gaze was enough to make her understand everything. Her legs could not hold her anymore and she fell to her knees silently sobbing as someone tried to console her.

Natsu approached the young woman and handed her the small crossbow that Alzack had used at the time of his death "A Leshen lived in the woods where Alzack went hunting. Those monsters possess a natural control over the other animals. There was nothing he could do."

Bisca remained silent, crying as she held the little crossbow against her chest, barely whispering the name of her late husband.

Without saying anything, Natsu approached his horse and climbed on its back, preparing to resume his journey, when Bisca stopped him at the last moment "Wait...your reward..." and gave him a small leather bag full of coins. Natsu stared at the reward for a few seconds but finally shook his head and with one hand pushed it towards Bisca "Now you have to look after your daughter, you need that money more than me."

"I thought you witcher were heartless..." Bisca admitted, wiping away some tears.

"It's because we are heartless." Natsu gave her a serious look "But sometimes we remember the fact that we too were human." and without saying anything else, he rode out of Blackbough. After a few meters, he saw Asuka walking on the edge of the road. He saw in her eyes the hope of getting her father back but Natsu did not have the courage to stop and tell her what had happened.

Witchers were humans modified to be able to kill monsters and abominations of all kinds.

The road was their home and the danger was their travel companion, but there were some tasks that not even they could complete.

THE END

And here we are at the end, I hope you enjoyed this little crossover. Maybe in the future I will add other small stories but for now it will remain a one-shot. For those who have not yet understood, this shot is set during The Witcher 3, but obviously with some changes to mix it to the world of Fairy Tail.

I really hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think!

See you around and have a good day!