Two demons faced off, one snarling in anger, the other gazing at his opponent with the same confidence he had the whole battle. Jackal smirked at Natsu, surely he didn't think that transforming would prevent him from exploding?

"You touched me again," Jackal announced with glee. Wendy looked on in horror as Natsu began to glow again. He had only grabbed Jackal to protect her! The explosion went off, Natsu's demonic form becoming hidden by smoke. Wendy's fears vanished when the smoke cleared to reveal Natsu, hand glowing blue, completely unharmed by the attack.

"Get out of here, dragoness. I will be done soon," Natsu spoke gently to the blue-haired girl. With an "Aye!" she ran off, back to her hiding spot in the woods. Natsu then turned to the confused, slightly worried, Etherious he was facing against. "I already learned how to avoid damage from that attack. Why do you think I allowed you to hit me so many times?"

"You... allowed me to hit you?" Jackal exclaimed incredulously. "This doesn't make a difference. You still have no chance against my Bomb Curse! You're still just a human!"

A tic mark appeared on Natsu's forehead. He said nothing, but lunged at Jackal, hitting him with an energy-imbued fist. Jackal went tumbling backwards, but he caught himself on all fours, his momentum causing him to slide farther backwards. He chuckled, as Natsu's hand started to glow, the familiar light filling his vision. An explosion went off, but Natsu emerged once again unharmed, glowing a slight blue. He walked towards Jackal, his eyes glowing, face lit by rage.

"W-what are you?" Jackal stammered out. "Even if you did transform... How can a human make me tremor?"

"Again... Again you called me human!" Natsu was enraged, and became more so with every word out of the other demon's mouth. The Dragon Slayer's horns began to glow with energy, brighter and brighter. The energy got stronger, and began to focus in a ball between his horns. Jackal's fear grew with the attack, and he began to back away. He was too late, however, as the ball became solid, and Natsu launched it at Jackal with a headbutt. "Chaos Dragon's Piercing Burst!" Natsu exclaimed as the ball of energy traveled at high speeds towards Jackal, who didn't have time to dodge. The ball pierced straight through his body, lodging itself inside Jackal's chest. It promptly exploded, causing an even bigger hole to appear in the Etherious.

Natsu was about to fetch Wendy, thinking it was his victory, when he heard chuckling. His opponent, rather than dying, was rising to his feet, albeit with difficulty. "I'll admit, you got me good there, human. However," Jackal's body began to grow, "humans will never beat us demons!" Jackal finished in a much deeper voice, as he showed off his new form. Jackal is now much larger, and more animalistic in appearance. His face elongated into a canine snout, with a large nose and pointed teeth. His tongue is longer, dangling out the side of his mouth. His left eye is now exposed, a small scar crossing over it. Both of his eyes are blank, lifeless white orbs. His entire body is covered in fur now, with larger black spots on his forearms to accommodate for their new size. His fingers are now tipped with long, deadly claws. His tank top was ripped by his larger size, and his boots disappeared, but the rest of his clothes remained intact.

With his larger form, Jackal's speed also increased, as he ran towards Natsu, surprising the smaller demon. His punched Natsu, who only had time to cross his arms to block before the impact hit him. Natsu's eyes widened as he exploded, the full force hitting him since he didn't have time to raise his defenses. Natsu clicked his tongue in annoyance, even though he was hit, his demon form protected him enough that the explosion was more of a nuisance than a real threat.

"Apocalypse Dragon's Impact Buster!" Natsu put his fists together and swung them sideways towards Jackal, connecting with the Etherious and sending him flying through many trees. Disappearing in a flash of blue, Natsu reappeared next to Jackal, who was still recovering from the last attack. "Chaos Dragon's Endless Burst!" He punched the Etherious once again, this time leaving a blue mark on his victim. As Jackal flew away, the mark exploded, exploding again every time he slowed down, until Natsu finally let up with the attack.

By this point, Jackal was becoming desperate, attempting to find some way to defeat Natsu. Natsu began walking towards Jackal, surrounded by a blue aura, looking more like a demon with each step. He grinned; Natsu was going to enjoy ending the cocky Etherious. Looking past Natsu, Jackal saw a flash of blue. The girl! He may not stand a chance against Natsu, but if he could just reach Wendy, he could get through to the powerful demon. Jumping to his feet, Jackal ran past the approaching demon, if he can just reach the girl... Natsu appeared before Jackal.

"Where do you think you're going," Natsu growled out. He had easily seen through Jackal's movements, and he wasn't going to allow anyone to get near his dragoness. Natsu's growling increased further. Everything the Etherious did infuriated the Dragon Prince. He thought his anger had peaked the first time Jackal had tried to attack Wendy, but the demon had dared to attack her again! Without realizing it, Natsu's form changed yet again. His horns extended, and the tips began glowing with a red energy. His face elongated slightly, resembling a dragon's snout. He puffed out of his newly changed nostrils, releasing a small burst of smoke. The markings on his arms came alive, moving about as though they had a will of their own. Scales developed on his torso, forming natural armor. They're midnight black, just as dark as the markings on his arms. His tail split at the end, forming multiple tips, each one razor sharp. Blue energy pulsed down the bones of his left wing, red his right. His left eye turned blue, instead of the red that it was.

Seeing his opponent's new form, Jackal's eyes widened even more. "Master!" Jackal exclaimed. It was also at this moment that the three onlookers decided to make themselves known, joining Jackal in the proclamation. The shock they felt was mirrored by Natsu.

"Master? Hmm..." Natsu trailed off, lost in thought.

"Jackal, the first thing you do on this mission is pick a fight with Master END?" One of the hooded figures asked, disappointment and anger evident by her tone. "I thought I had told you not to annoy him!" While she berated Jackal, who had exited his Etherious form by this point, the other two had different reactions.

"Master, you're back! I missed you," another one of the figures, clearly female, exclaimed as she ran at him, hugging the surprised boy.

"Hmph," the final figure grunted. "It's about time, Master. This should mean Sayla will stop with her complaining."

"You all said Master, right?" Natsu asked, while still being hugged by the horned demoness. Upon receiving confirmation, he continued, "This could be fun. I'm in." This was the beginning of the next chapter of Natsu's life. Master of a guild, his dragoness by his side, and no humans to deal with. What could be better?


It had been three days since Natsu's fight with Jackal. Since then, the group had been walking towards their base, led by the four who they had just met. Natsu wasn't happy about it, but he couldn't deny the fact that he had absolutely no idea where they were headed. Currently the young teen was in the back of the small group. Wendy was on his back; this way, he could carry her and he was between her and the other demons should they try anything. The girl was currently asleep, lightly snoring with her head on Natsu's shoulder. Jackal was at the head of the group, kept as far away from the two children as possible. The male demon walked behind Jackal, looking as serious as ever. The two female demons lingered closer to Natsu than the males, inching closer as they walked.

Natsu had claimed he wanted to get to know his new guild members, and had forced them to remove their cloaks in his first day with them. This had revealed their appearances fully, showing their demonic forms to the world. The male's name was revealed to be Tempester, out of the four demons, he was the least human in appearance. Tempester has a dog-like nose, and frown plastered on his face. His eyes are oval, white with only black pupils within them. His skin is dark, his muscles large. He has black lines marking his shoulders, which are covered by large pads. His hair is long, reaching his lower back, and is dark blonde in color. Tempester has a short beard covering his chin, connecting to sideburns which travel all the way down his face. Tempester's clothes are revealing, with his entire muscular torso uncovered. Large, protective pads adorned his shoulders, strapped in place under his arms. He also wears thick pants, with a set of poleyn, each one yellow with a spiral design, protecting both of his knees. A plain leather belt is strapped around his waist, and he wears brown boots, each one sporting several strings down the side.

The first female's name is Kyouka, the more demonic of the two. Kyouka is very curvaceous, with a large chest and an hourglass figure. She has blue eyes, with her eyes and mouth being the only two features of her face visible through her helmet. Two wing-like tufts of green hair stick out the sides of her helmet, with the rest of her hair falling out the back. Her hands are scaly, with sharp talons rather than fingers. Kyouka wears a skintight suit, which serves to accentuate her already large chest. Her thighs are revealed by the suit, as well as part of her butt. A long, striped jacket covers her shoulders and arms, the collar of which rises up to cover her entire neck, as well. A pair of bands are wrapped around her thighs, and bird-like feet are bare below them. The most intricate part of her outfit is her helmet, which covers almost all of her head. The face mask is black, while the rest of the helmet is white. The helmet is completed by a large purple gemstone on her forehead.

The second female, who was clearly struggling to stop herself from pouncing on Natsu, is named Sayla. Sayla appears the most human out of the Etherious, the only thing separating her from a normal human female being the large, golden horns sticking up from both sides of her head. She has large breasts, rivaling Kyouka's in size. Her body is decorated by a multitude of black tattoo's, the most noticeable of which being the "U" shaped mark on he forehead, with a dot within it and dots surrounding it on either side. She wears a beige, leopard-print kimono, which is wrapped around her torso with a yellow ribbon, tied behind her back. The final part of her outfit is a pair of thigh-high socks, which leave her heels and toes bare.

The group would appear strange to any onlooker: a boy, a girl, a horned woman, a bird lady, a dog-like man, and a dark-skinned man. Of course, this didn't much matter to them, as few humans were out this far from a town, and fewer walked away, with Jackal leading the group. It wasn't much, but their path could be traced by the signs of explosions. The group had only one goal in mind; they would continue to walk until they reached Tartaros' base. Natsu made the most of the time they had, learning as much as he could about his new allies.

"So, Macro can control the actions of humans it's directed at," Natsu recapped. He was currently learning about Sayla's curse, which was the most useful of all the demon's, in Natsu's opinion. He had already learned about Jackal's Bomb Curse from their fight. Tempester had informed him of his Calamity Curse, powerful, but not useful in many situations that didn't involve pure strength. Kyouka had also been more than happy to share the details of her Sensation Curse with her Master. By changing the senses of her opponent, Kyouka could increase their vulnerability to pain, or strip them of senses like sight. Versatile and effective, but best when used in conjunction with an offensive magic or curse. Sayla's Macro, on the other hand, could take full control of humans, taking all of their abilities and using them for Sayla's own purposes.

"Aye, Master!" Sayla was always enthusiastic when the conversation was with or about Natsu, a fact that stood in stark contrast to her usual calculating, cold personality. "They can't resist the call of my Macro. All humans are my tools, mine to use as I wish."

Natsu grunted in confirmation, "Humans are weak-willed creatures. Even without a Curse to do so, they are easy to control, to manipulate. Still, I'm impressed by your Curse. Its powers could be... fun."

Sayla swooned at the praise from the Chaos Dragon Slayer, becoming unresponsive as she was lost into her own little world. Seeing this, Tempester only sighed, Jackal ignored her, and Kyouka smirked; Sayla would be out of their hair, they could all agree on that, at least. The conversation ended, the group sinking into silence, continuing on their path to Tartaros' base.


After another week of walking, with only mindless chatter for conversation, they finally reached the peak of a hill. Honestly, it didn't seem like much of an achievement when Jackal suddenly stopped walking at the top of the hill, revealing what lied on the other side. Which turned out to be... absolutely nothing. They were still in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but grassy plains and trees for miles.

"We're here. Can I leave now?" Jackal announced, desperately wanting to escape his Master's presence, to all him time to calm down, and hopefully forget about their little scuffle.

"Yes, leave," Kyouka responded, wanting Jackal to leave as much as he did. As powerful as he is Jackal is also, in a word: annoying. He jumped at the opportunity to escape the young boy. Why was he even more terrifying as a child? Jackal disappeared in a flash of light, which traveled upwards. Natsu's eyes followed the light, revealing a giant floating Cube. "I see you have seen our base. The true guild hall lies on the top of the Cube. Now then, Master. If you would come with us..." Kyouka trailed off as she and Tempester left in the same light as Jackal, clearly expecting Natsu to follow them. Sayla stayed behind, torn between staying for longer with her Master or going to the Cube. Ultimately, returning to base won, and she disappeared in a flash, albeit reluctantly.

Natsu grinned, "Well, this is going to be fun. Master of the demons, far away from humans. Nothing I can think of could be better!" With glee, Natsu sprouted his wings, reassured that he had a good grip on the still sleeping Wendy, and took flight, soaring toward his new base, his new guild. He was right; this is going to be fun.

Reviews first!

The Apex Predator 01: Short chapters are something I'm working on. I'm hoping to get to 10k words per chapter soon, each one should be longer than the last until I get there!

rrm232: Glad to know my fight wasn't trash, I was worried about it. Natsu is gonna seem cold towards most people, but he will care about at least a few people. I'm happy to know you like it!

wrrrr (Guest): Pairing is not 100% decided. I have decided on two girls he will be with, I want to pick two more.

God Natsu: Glad to know you liked it!

DraigTrueEmperor9: Natsu wasn't so much raised to hate humans in this story, as he had enough bad experiences with them that he picked it up on his own. The fact that he was raised by Acnologia didn't help, though. He's going to be easily provoked by humans, but his hatred won't translate to blood lust, so you don;t have to worry about him killing for no reason or anything like that. He already has his demon form as END, but he may become a dragon as well if that's how the story progresses.

Now then, this chapter would have been out sooner, but... I accidentally deleted it. Three times. Not fun, very dumb, big mistake. Oh well. It's out, we have reached Tartaros. Didn't want to end it so abruptly at first, but I figured meeting Tartaros could be a new chapter. Who knows, maybe not everyone will be as accepting of the idea of Natsu as Master as the four he has met. Now then, here's a question. Should Wendy join Tartaros? Obviously Natsu will want her to, but is it going to be best for her? What would you readers rather see?

Only a few more chapters until we reach Episode One of the series, and then we get to see even more humans. More fun! Anyways, no one wants to read my rambling any more than they have to, so I'll wrap this up. See you all next time on Child of Chaos. Ciao!

~Solaris