The Dragon and His Girl
Chapter Nine
Dedicated to TigerArrowgirl
Laxus stood in front of the prisoner, watching as the man kept his eyes on the ground. He was about to ask if a decision has been made, but the hunter beat him to it.
"The Hunters Association is composed of talented humans trained in combat to be able to gain the skills necessary to kill off a shifter," he began tiredly, eyes still on the ground. "It was formed to protect humans from rogue shifters or those that have lost all humanity."
Laxus remained silent, digesting the information.
"Twelve years ago, someone approached the current leader and asked him to attack shifters for no reason. When our leader, Chief Byro, refused, the man said that he will be back and that when that time comes, we should have a better answer for him."
Laxus still didn't say anything, curious as to where the story would go.
"Chief Byro didn't take it seriously and the man never came back. At least not until a year ago. The man came to see him again last year, and asked him to do the same thing. He still refused and the man killed him in front of all of us; clawed his heart out from his chest." The prisoner shuddered at the memory.
"That man threatened to kill our families if we don't do what he says. Some hunters got angry and started attacking him but he killed them all like they were nothing."
"Anyone who would quit will be killed with his family. If you fail a mission, you and your family will die. Traitors like me will be executed." The hunter finally looked up. "The man- he was called Mard Geer."
"Mard Geer?" Just saying the name gave a chill on Laxus' spine. He had no idea who that was but he had a terrible feeling about the man.
The hunter tilted his head as if to say he had no idea. "Nobody knows where he came from and what he is. But he has a master. I don't know for sure what they are trying to achieve with these attacks, but I do know Mard Geer is one sick monster and whoever he works for is an even worse monster." The silence that followed was uncomfortable and Laxus broke it after several moments.
"Why did you stay behind?"
The hunter looked confused for a moment so Laxus elaborated. "After attacking the village, why did you stay behind?"
"Ah." He looked at the dragon master and Laxus was taken aback at how lifeless his eyes were. "I was hoping to be killed."
When Natsu entered Makarov's office later that evening after spending time with Lucy, tension was hovering in the air. Makarov was already seated behind his desk. Across him, there was Ivan and Laxus.
"You called for me?" Natsu asked uncertainly.
Makarov nodded, gesturing to the unoccupied chair beside Laxus. "Have a seat, Natsu."
His feet moved hastily, wanting to know the subject of the meeting that had caused such tension.
"Laxus had already talked to the prisoner," Makarov began as soon as Natsu had settled on his seat. "He will tell us the information he had acquired. Go ahead, Laxus."
With a nod, the lightning dragon master narrated everything that the hunter had confessed. Natsu was close-mouthed the whole time, so were the rest.
"He said the man's name was Mard Geer," Laxus ended his report.
Mard Geer. Why did the name sound so familiar? His brows furrowed trying to remember where he heard that name from.
Mard Geer Tartaros. Igneel spoke in his mind after so many days of being silent. This startled him.
Igneel! So now you decide to talk?
I will talk when it concerns the safety of our mate.
What do you mean the safety of Lucy? What does she have to do with this?
Focus human! The hunter was talking about Mard Geer Tartaros of the Tartaros clan. The same clan we finished off sixty years ago!
Natsu froze, his eyes growing wide at Igneel's words. "Tartaros…"
"Tartaros?" Makarov asked in bafflement. "The human clan who was said to have been consumed by a demon they tried to summon through black magic?"
Ivan looked horrified. "That clan? But they disappeared sixty years ago!"
"Hold up, what the hell is Tartaros?" Laxus interrupted, unable to follow the conversation.
"Tartaros was a prominent human clan a hundred years ago. But they got immersed in black magic and attempted to summon a demon. They managed to call forth a powerful one. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough power to control it and ended up being consumed by it. They just suddenly disappeared after."
Natsu shook his head. "They didn't- I killed them," he said, stringently, observing the shocked expression on their faces. "I had to kill them."
Tell them. Igneel said in his mind.
Natsu took a deep breath. "Remember the plague of Crocus sixty years ago?"
Makarov nodded. "It was when the people of Crocus experienced mysterious deaths, shifter or human alike. It was a dark time."
"The cause of death was labelled to be some mysterious sickness but that's not true. The Tartaros clan were behind those deaths. When they were consumed by the demon, their souls were corrupted. The demon used their bodies as vessels to consume more souls." He paused, trying to organize his next words. "When I heard about it, Igneel convinced me to check it out. I went to their home one night and there I caught the Tartaros clan doing a ritual to steal souls from people nearby. I killed the demon, but killing it meant killing the whole clan who were only alive because of the demon's power."
"I always felt something was off about that so-called epidemia," Ivan mused.
"You killed the whole clan you say?" Makarov murmured looking pensive. "If Mard Geer is a part of Tartaros, could it be that he survived?"
"I'm pretty sure I killed him," Natsu glowered. "He was the demon's main vessel after all."
"But if he's dead, then someone else is posing as him?" Laxus was very much puzzled now.
"Since we haven't seen the man the hunter was talking about, it is possible that someone is merely using his name." Ivan concluded.
Natsu mulled over other possibilities. "That, or…. Someone resurrected him from the dead." His statement caused the three other men to suck in their breaths.
"That's absurd!" Ivan exclaimed incredulously. "For someone to use forbidden magic of such level…"
"It is highly unlikely, but remains a possibility," Natsu pointed out. "We'll just have to ask the hunter for a description of that man. Did you keep him alive?"
"I promised him a swift death but yeah, he's still alive," Laxus answered.
"Are you sure you're going to kill him without letting my mate know? I have a feeling she won't like it."
Judging by Laxus' nervous gulp, Natsu knew he hit the bulls eye on that one.
"Are you going to kill me now?" the hunter asked when Natsu faced the prison cell he was in.
"No, he has some questions for you," Laxus pointed his thumb to Natsu.
The hunter turned his head to the pink-haired guy 's direction but didn't say anything.
"The man you called Mard Geer, I want you to describe him," Natsu ordered, a nervous feeling burning at his stomach. He was scared of hearing the answer.
"Eh?" The hunter drawled out lazily. He looked up the ceiling as he tried to recall Mard Geer's appearance. "Long black hair, sharp black eyes, and he reeks of death." He wrinkled his nose. "When I see him, I feel like I'm surrounded by death. Like the feeling I get when I'm in a graveyard. It's hard to describe."
He doesn't have to. His description is enough to confirm. Igneel spoke in his mind.
Natsu clenched his fist tightly. He understood perfectly what the hunter was saying- that was how he felt when he faced Mard Geer. That was the answer he was dreading to hear.
Whether by survival, or resurrection, one thing was for sure, Mard Geer was a demon and he was out there somewhere, ready to cause trouble anytime.
He walked out of the cell with Laxus on his trail. "Well?"
Natsu pinched the bridge of his nose distraughtly. "Sounds like Mard Geer is alive."
"That can't be good," Laxus remarked just as troubled.
When Lucy was informed of the situation, she calmly took everything in, which impressed Natsu.
When Laxus informed her of the hunter's wish, she vehemently denied, like Natsu had predicted.
"I promised him a painless death in exchange for the information," Laxus tried to explain.
"I don't care," she huffed, arms crossed below her breasts. "We will not kill him, nor will we kill any other hunter unless necessary. If their families are indeed being threatened and they are only forced to kill, the best punishment will be to let them live while carrying the burden of guilt for all of the innocent lives that they took. The souls of the innocent will forever haunt them. Death is an easy escape. Why do you think that hunter wanted to die so much?"
"Wow, when you put it that way…" Laxus conceded, nodding to himself. "It sounds so cruel."
Natsu had to agree.
"As for the hunters, which nearby towns had not been attacked yet?"
Makarov glanced at the map he made of the recent attacks. "Caitshelter is the only one."
"That's probably their next target," Lucy said thoughtfully. "Gramps, I think you should give their alpha a call to warn them. Caitshelter is a small pack which mostly consist of elders, they'd be wiped out easily. We also need to send some help."
"I'll go," Laxus volunteered quickly. "I'll bring my team with me." He turned to Makarov for permission and the old man nodded his consent.
"We need to track down the hunters' hideout," she continued.
"We've been doing that already but to no avail," Ivan said with a shake of his head. "I've even sent my best trackers."
Lucy grinned confidently. "No worries, I got a plan and that involves using the prisoner for it to work."
Natsu could only watch as his mate took control of everything like it was the most natural thing to do. His heart welled with pride, and even Igneel was yapping In his mind about how perfect their mate was. She was born an alpha female, a queen, his other half, but that side of her remained dormant until they met. Seeing this side of her was surprising but damn was she sexy when she acted like this. He'll be enjoying seeing different sides of her, that's for sure.
xxx
Note: A lot happening here dontcha think? So, was Mard Geer resurrected or did he survive the battle between him and Natsu? What do you think is Mard Geer's goal? And who's his master? Any guesses? Ho ho ho. Leaving you with this chapter before I'm off to vacay. Show me some love by leaving a review or I'll be really sad and depressed.
Thanks for reading! Reviews are loved!