"Natsu" Normal Speech.
'Natsu' Normal Thought.
"Karyuu no Hoko" Jutsu/Power/Technique.
"Dragon" Demonic being Speechs.
'Dragon' Demonic bieng Thoughts.
The Dragon Emperor
Chapter 3
"Oh my, Titania-sama" the shopkeeper standing in front of them greeted the scarlet head mage with a bright smile "How can I help you?" he said while rubbing his hands together
"I would like to rent a Mado Yourin, please" Erza said firmly before smiling "and please, Erza is fine"
"I will be back in a minute" The shopkeeper nodded his head before returning to his shop, disappeared behind the door.
Standing not too far away from Erza was Mira and the leaders of their respective Factions. Azazel and Sirzechs couldn't help but turn their head around to look at the small town they were at. Both had lived for more than a life time, especially Azazel and yet they couldn't help but think how amazing and different from the rest of the world this land was. From the cultures to the style of clothing, it was a total different level than the world during ancient time, their time.
"Mado Yourin?" Rias asked curiously when her sensitive hearing caught what Erza was ordering "A vehicle?"
"Yes, the capital of Alvarez is not too far away from this town but I think it would be faster to take you there with a vehicle, since the emperor is waiting" Mira said with a smile.
"Then how do you two get here?" Azazel asked, looking at the white haired beauty.
"We flew" was all Mira replied.
A minute later after paying the shopkeeper the money, Erza returned with a strange looking vehicle that greatly resembled a car, with the emblem of Alvarez Empire on the side. Mira opened the backdoor for them, letting them all climb into the cabin before poking her head out of the window and informed Erza.
"We can go now, Erza-chan!" The scarlet head knight nodded at her friend words and put the SE-plug on her wrist, channeling a considered amount of magic into the vehicle, making it roar to life before moving with a steady speed.
"Amazing" Azazel admitted while looking at the inside of the vehicle "I can feel magical energy from the vehicle, you guys use your own magical energy to power it?"
"Yes, Erza-chan is driving" Mira nodded her head while pointing at her wrist "All we have to do is channeling our magical energy into a device call SE-plug and the vehicle's engine will start, the more magic we bump into the device the faster we go. Right now, Erza-chan is using a very small amount of magic to keep us steady, if she channels too much this thing will explode."
"This kind of technology actually existed in the past." Azazel said in amazement "Amazing indeed."
"So...Mirajane-san" Sirzechs spoke up, looking at the white haired beauty "The emperor, what is he like?"
"He is kind, very kind." The Demon of Alvarez said truthfully with a soft smile "He is also very warm, too. He cares greatly for his family, for us, his kingdom and will do anything to protect them."
"I...see" Sirzechs nodded his head, already taken a liking to this Emperor.
"You know a lot about him, don't you?" Mira nodded her head at Rias' question.
"We're the members of Alvarez's most elite unit, live to protect the Emperor" Mira declared proudly "the Spriggan Twelve, twelve most powerful mages of Alvarez Emprire" she then paused for a second before continuing "I'm also his friend from the day he was still a young boy, before he is the Emperor of this country."
"Before? I don't mean to offence you but...you don't look that old, Mirajane-san" Rias said, eyeing Mirajane. The white haired woman sitting opposite from her was very beautiful, as well as attractive, even for supernatural beings' standard whose world got a lot of incredible beautiful females.
"Oh," Mira let out a soft giggle when she realized what Rias was trying to say "You think that our Emperor is an old man, don't you?" Rias looked a little comfortable but she did nod her head "Sorry to bust the bubble but...one way or another, he is younger than me." this information made the devils and Fallen Angel widened their eyes in shock "And I'm twenty four, by the way" Natsu, of course with immortality, his appearance would forever remain the same.
The rest of the journey went on uneventful, as both party remained silent on the way to Alvarez's capital.
Then, after thirty minutes of travelling, the decrease in speed let Mira know that they were almost there. Opened the window, she poked her head out to look at the surrounding and a beautiful smile spread out on her face.
"We're here" she then returned to the car and pushed the door open when Erza finally stopped the vehicle "Welcome to Vistarion, Capital of Alvarez"
The moment Rias stepped out of the cabin; she was left speechless by the sight in front of her. This could be one of the most, if not the most impressive place she had ever seen in her life. Vistarion was nothing like she had imagined, there was no word to describe the beauty of the capital of Alvarez Empire.
And in the middle of all, standing mightily before them was the biggest, mightiest Castle she had ever seen in her life. It was even bigger than the old castle of the Maou Lucifer located at the Underworld's capital Lilith. Even if she got a day here, Rias doubted that she could fully explore half of Vistarion Castle, as well as the capital itself.
"Impressive" Azazel was the first one who got out of his shock and managed to speak out his thought "Truly...impressive..." Sirzechs couldn't help but nod his head in agreement.
"Let's go" Erza said firmly but not before turning her head back to look at the devils and Fallen Angel "Now, remember to not try anything funny, or else I will..."
"Erza-chan, they're not our enemies" Mira stated, cutting her friend off.
"Not yet, Mira-chan...you're too kind to them" Erza shook her head before walking ahead, toward the castle. The other party quickly followed them into the castle.
Line Break
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Gray asked his best friend turned emperor as they watched the group of devils and Fallen Angel slowly approaching the castle from above "Inviting them into our country like this?"
"Of course, this is not the best of idea" Natsu said firmly "but we also don't want to show any hostile toward them and make any of them our enemy. Trust me Gray, our country will survive in a war with these Factions, but we will surfer lost and that is the last thing I will want to happen."
"I see" Gray nodded his head "Fallen Angel and Devils? What about Angel? I thought all three Factions are going to come. Should we feel wary about them too?"
"I don't think so Gray" the ice mage widened his eyes when he saw a smile broke out on Natsu's face, one of the first smile that he saw from Natsu when he wasn't talking with his friends, aka the Spriggan Twelve "Angels are being of pure and innocent, I met a few of them in the past and somewhat took a liking to them, Angels isn't the Faction we should feel worry about."
"Okay then" Gray didn't know what happened in the past during Natsu and the Angels, but he would leave that for later.
"I think it's time to go" Natsu turned around and walked toward back into the castle, with the ice devil slayer following closely behind.
"Please wait here and don't try anything funny." Even though the scarlet head knight said it politely, Erza was sending the devils and fallen angels a dangerous glare, as if she was daring them to make any hostile actions.
"Erza-chan!" Mira pouted, putting both of her hands on her hips while glaring at her best friend "They're our guests"
"Titania is right Jane" the group turned their head to the side and saw Dimaria, who was standing with her back leaned against one of the stone pillar, the usual amused smirk on her face "That Fallen Angel guy came here with a troop of war ship, after all."
"Well, congratulation Azazel" Sirzechs muttered to the leader of Fallen Angels, who only laughed it off.
"You know...I have to wonder if the females around here are all smoking hot babes" The leader of Fallen Angels said, smiling
"Dimaria" Erza nodded her head at the present of the Valkyrie.
"Everyone, this is Dimaria Yesta, she is like us, one of the Spriggan Twelve" Mira Introduced.
"Hello" Azazel smiled.
"Nice to meet you" Sirzechs and the devils greeted, with Grayfia bowing her head a little. The blonde mage nodded her head while looking at the devil group.
"Dimaria, where is everybody?" Erza asked.
"They're on missions for the Emperor. Gray is still here while Brandy is still in her room" The Valkyrie informed her fellow Spriggan "He told you two to bring them here?" She asked, eyeing the other group.
"Yes" Mira nodded her head while Erza only crossed her arms
"Bad move" Dimaria chuckled "Maybe time really did something to him..."
"I might be old Dimaria, but I still know what I'm doing" the front door was pushed open and Natsu stepped out with Gray followed behind him.
The devils and Fallen Angels widened their eyes in shock, even Grayfia could not keep a straight face like usual. This was Alvarez's Emperor, the one Erza and Mira showed so much respect to...he was a lot younger than they thought.
""Emperor!"" Immediately at his present, the female Spriggan Twelve dropped to their knee and greeted him respectfully, with Erza stabbing her sword down in front of her with both hands holding the hilt.
The supernatural group, even the two leaders bowed their head to Natsu.
"Please raise" Natsu said before turning his attention to the devils and fallen angel "Welcome to Alvarez, I hope Erza and Mira treated you well" his eyes turned slightly to Erza, who only turned her head away.
"Of course" Sirzechs nodded his head with a smile.
"My name is Natsu Dragneel, and I'm the Emperor of Alvarez Empire" Natsu introduced himself with a confident tone "and this is Gray Fullbuster, he is my right hand."
"Greeting" Gray greeted them.
"Please, follow me, we will talk inside" Natsu told them before returning back to the Hall.
"You wait here, Rias" Sirzechs told his sister, who pouted but nodded her head anyway. The Crimson Maou then turned on his heel and stepped into the room with his maid following behind him.
Line Break
"Please enjoy your tea" said a servant of Vistarion Castle before bowing her head respectfully to her Emperor and left the room without another words.
"So, Azazel-san and Lucifer-san?" Natsu spoke up while holding his cup of tea "What business do you have with my country?"
"Straight to the point, Dragneel-san?" Said Azazel "For someone who live in the past, you seem to know a lot about us." as far as he could remember, Sirzechs only introduced himself to one of his guard, not the emperor himself.
"I have my own way" Natsu replied curtly "You see, I'm fully aware of the world, not just how much it changed over the past millennium, but also supernatural worlds...at least, more supernatural than us" he added at the end.
"You are a mage right? Natsu-san?" Sirzechs asked and Natsu nodded his head "Then you should know that magic users still exist in this world, and their number isn't very small" the Crimson Maou informed "One of my servant, MacGregor Mathrew, he is..."
"The founder of Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, I know" Natsu nodded his head "A quite powerful magician I must say"
"You sure know a lot about us, don't you?" Azazel shook his head, glancing at the King of Avarez "then you should understand why I came here with...pre-cautions."
"Then you should also understand why I told Erza to be ready to bring those battleships down" Natsu replied calmly, but his eyes were sharp. Azazel couldn't help but feel that this conversation was turning bad for him "By the way, Sirzechs-san, give my attitude to you servants for putting up those barrier around the Land to keep the normal human's eyes away from us"
"You know it was us devils who did that?"
"Yes, demonic energy, I recognized it right away"
"Anyway, Sirzechs Lucifer-san" Gray spoke up for the first time during the conversation "Can we know your intention of coming here?"
"Oh yeah," Sirzechs nodded his head before saying with calm tone "Natsu-san, I want to form an alliance between Devil Factions and Alvarez Empire"
There was a long moment of silent between the two leaders.
"You came here for the same thing, didn't you Azazel?" Natsu asked, looking at the leader of Fallen Angels.
"It would be a lie if I said I didn't" The black haired man chuckled, making Natsu nod his head.
"With how the world is going, can't say I'm not interest in this. As you can see, Alvarez Empire is very far behind compare to the modern world" Natsu leaned his back against the couch while saying.
"Then your answer is..."
"I know about you two, but my people do not" Natsu shrugged his shoulders "I listen to my people's words before making the final decision, so I think a temporary alliance with you two is okay, for now"
"Far enough" Azazel let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding. His knowledge about Alvarez was little, but as far as he could see, devils got them at their ally would be a huge disadvantage for his faction. It was a good thing that Natsu decided to form an alliance with the both of them and he was okay with it, at least for now.
After all, there was plenty ways to pull Alvarez to his side but right now he needed to be patient.
"Thank you, Natsu-san" Sirzechs offered his hand to Natsu, who took it and shook gently "Devil Faction won't disappoint you"
"And neither is Alvarez. Gray will provide you the nesscary informations about us."
"If you have free time, Natsu-san, I would like to invite you to the Underworld and see our territory with your own eyes in the near future"
"Thank you for the intivation, Sirzechs-san. I will think about that" Natsu nodded his head with a smile.
"Grayfia," Sirzechs turned around and called for his maid, who nodded her head and summoned a roll of paper "Natsu-san, this is everything you should know about the alliance between us, I hope you cosider them carefully"
"I will, Sirzechs-san" Grayfia walked toward Natsu and handed him the paper with her head bowing a little.
Natsu turned his eyes to look at her for a moment before saying.
"Lucifuge right?" He asked, taking the roll of paper from her hand "You were from Lucifuge Clan, am I right?" The silver haired maid widened her eyes in surprise.
"Yes, Dragneel-sama" Grayfia nodded her head before saying "How did you know that?"
"I know your mother," this made Grayfia gasped in shock "You look a lot like her, I must say." he gave Gray the paper, who unrolled it and read.
"You know my mother?...wait...How old are you?"
"I didn't stay on this Island when it was underneath the sea, you know" Natsu chuckled softly before standing up "Sirzechs-san, Azazel-san...if you two don't mind, I got some works to do."
"Thank you for spending your time for us, Natsu-san" Sirzechs smiled shaking Natsu's hand again.
"I hope to see you two soon in the future" Natsu said after shaking hand with Azazel, he then turned to Gray "Gray, escort them back to their ship"
"I understand" the ice devil slayer nodded "Shall we?"
While leaving the room, Grayfia couldn't help but turn her head around to look at Natsu, who was also leaving while reading the paper she gave him.
End of chapter 3
