A/N: Hello!
Greetings of the day to you and hope the chapter finds you in the best of health and everything else.
This is a new update from me! And it's the fifth and latst chapter of the TOH Arc!
Unfortunately, I have some bad news :( I won't be able to update a new chapter after this one for a long time. Probably for two month ...
I have my reasons, and even if some of you don't want to hear them, I will stll tell you.
First, I have a very important exam In June So I need to focus on it.
And second, I don't have any laptop at the moment, My old one finally kicked the bucket!
I'm terribly sorry and hope you can understand.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the slight changes in the Arc!
Beta Read By McNova.
Please fav/follow and leave a review! reviews always motivate me to write more chapters!
Now to the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail... it all belongs to Mashima
Fiore Kingdom Year X784
*Near The Fairy Tail Guildhall*
Makarov Dreyer was standing on top of the newest building of his and his children's beloved guild; Fairy Tail. Even though it was night time, he couldn't get any sleep. Not when his dear children were nowhere to be seen. It wasn't like he didn't know that they were at the Akane Resort, taking some days off, but he was more worried when he felt some tremors in the earth and skies. He immediately knew that it was his children. The old Master looked at the direction of Akane Resort and couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine.
The reason for it was the gigantic pure White Dragon that was engulfing the entire Island that had the Akane Resort on it. The apparition was roaring into the sky, shaking everything, from the sea to the sky. It was both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. As the Dragon had a Fairy Tail mark on its back. Its eyes were glowing brightly in the night. The Fairy Tail Master broke his gaze away from the sight and looked down at Magnolia Town. He could hear the population shout from his spot. Some were terrified, some were squealing from the beautiful light.
Makarov instantly recognized the one responsible for it. He knew it very well. After all, it belonged to one of his brats. The magical energy that was unique to only Natsu Dragneel. Makarov could feel the anger, hatred and aggression of the Magic even from his place. Yet, it was still guided by his deep love and loyalty for his friends and family. It filled him with pride and relief every time he remembered that Natsu was on their side.
He doubted that the world would survive if he was a Dark mage.
"Master!"
Makarov looked down to see Lisanna running toward the guild. She stopped and tried to catch her breath, "What is it, dear?" he gently asked, confused at what she wanted in this hour.
"Master, what is that?" Lisanna asked, her tone filled with worry, "It's coming from Akane Resort, isn't it?" it was more of a statement than a question as she placed her hands on her chest, clearly worried.
Makarov sighed. He should have figured that Lisanna would be worried about her older sister. As he looked into the direction of Akane Resort, he could see that the Dragon had disappeared, leaving a giant mushroom shaped cloud over the Island. He then turned his face toward the worried Strauss, "Do not worry, dear. I don't think we should worry about your sister much. She will be fine with all of the others with her." he reassured her, adding an afterthought, 'We should be more worried about those poor souls who dared to defy him. I don't know if I should be impressed that they forced him to show his Magic or pity them. Not to mention the state of that Island...!'
Lisanna was filled with relief after what the Master had said. She wiped some tears that had gathered in her eyes and looked up, intending to thank the Master, "…" her blue eyes grew wide as she saw him crying rivers of tears, "Are you crying, Master?"
Makarov almost felt like dying from a heart attack as he imagined paying the damage for an ENTIRE ISLAND, "WAAAAHHH!" he cried at top of his lungs, freaking out the poor girl.
"Master?!"
*At Akane Resort*
"Oh damn. I overdid it again…" Natsu sweat dropped as he looked at the damage he had done. He marched forward slightly, his body covered in a white aura. Every time he took a step, his feet would dig into the ground from the heat of his Magic. The entire island was covered in a sea of white fire, a few feet behind him, there was a massive hole -from where the blast began- where seawater was flowing into. The massive hole separated both halves of the island. Natsu looked around, searching for the three Assassins. He knew that they were still alive. Well, at least two of them. He saw Kei opening some kind of portal from thin air and drag his comrades inside it, 'Oh well...I better go before those idiots fire the Etherion blast.' he thought, twirling the Scepter he had just acquired. He really liked it, not to mention it wasn't even destroyed by his flames.
As he was about to fly off in the air, Natsu heard the sound of a door opening. As he looked, he saw the three Assassins emerge from it. Kei was in front, panting heavily, his body literally covered in burns. Valeria was behind him, her hair was a mess and she had trouble breathing from the temperature in the Island. Natsu smirked when he saw Katsu just lying on the ground motionless, he instantly knew what happened to him. "You're still alive? How impressive. You're proving more and more that the future bearer of Chronos Soul didn't master even one percent of its true abilities." he said, referring to that blonde woman who followed his accursed brother.
Kei struggled to breath, he could feel his skin almost melting from the heat. However, his state was much better than the two behind him, "You…! You caught me off guard once! It won't happen again!" he shouted, using the last bit of his magical energy. The world suddenly stopped as he jumped toward Natsu, summoning a blade in his hand. He swung it toward the seemingly motionless Natsu. He had a smile on his face before it was wiped and was replaced by a pained expression. His eyes bulged out and blood flew out of his mouth as Natsu's fist was buried deeply into his abdomen. His armored parts were shattered from the blow. The pieces flew everywhere as he was sent flying back, leaving a gust of the wind behind.
He was slammed into the ground just before his two comrades. Valeria looked wide-eyed at her friend as he struggled to breath. The blow had knocked the wind out of his lungs, 'How… is this possible?! He didn't seem to have this much power when we first met! What caused this change?!' he thought in shock and confusion.
Natsu recognized the confusion in Kei's eyes and decided to clear some things for him. He didn't want to send them to hell more confused than angry after all. He lifted his shirt up, showing his entire torso to them as they looked in confusion. Their eyes widened in shock as some kind of seal appeared on his skin, covering his torso. It was shaped like a black pentagon, inside it was a Dragon head, similar to his Magical circle. The two noticed that the pentagon was cracked and the Dragon head was glowing brightly, "You see this? It's a seal that Jiji taught me. I had developed it more. It seals one's Magical power." he explained to them two shocked Assassins, "I had to do this to not get any... Unnecessary attention from a certain bastard." he paused slightly, referring to his brother. Though he knew that even Acnologia would be interested in his strength, but probably would wait until the Dragon King Festival, "Now that you know, I think it's time for you to join your friend in hell."
"Huh?" Kei and Valeria were confused at his words before they looked at the third member of their small group. Katsu was lying face down in the destroyed ground, completely motionless. Kei reached with a shaky hand and turned him around. He saw that his friend was fine, except for his right arm. It was completely burned. That was a normal sight for the Assassins, but what stunned him was that he couldn't feel any life coming from him, "W-What?!" he asked as Valeria put her hands over her mouth.
Natsu looked at the two and felt anger rise in him. It reminded him of the time when he held Wendy's cold body in his arms. Even though he was a good man, he and his guild always defended the innocent people, no one had mercy on him! Not even on his little sister! Who was just an innocent thirteen-year-old girl! Why would he have mercy on those vermins, whom took lives left and right just for money!
The Dragon Slayer sighed as he calmed down a little, realizing that he was just remembering the things he didn't want to, "It's natural that he would die after being burned by my Dragon Slayer Magic." he began, gaining the two shocked Assassins' attention, "My magic doesn't just burn everything in sight. It also does many other things." he said, pointing at Katsu's corpse, "For example, my magic can burn the souls of the ones that make contact with it. Even though that man only had one arm burned, my magic still burned his soul." he finished with a menacing grin, stunning the two as they never thought that he had such a terrifying ability, "Oh and yes. Almost all magic is useless against me the instant I activate my Dragon Slayer Magic, or should I say that it can burn any magic out there."
"You...You…" Kei was horrified and stupefied as he kept staring at Natsu like he was a monster.
"You should have never faced me, scum. You even reminded me of some things I absolutely didn't want to remember." Natsu spoke, his magical power surging again, causing everything to shake again.
'H-His power is growing at an extraordinary level…!' Kei and Valeria thought simultaneously.
"Burn," Natsu exclaimed, his eyes holding a menacing glint in them as he swiped his right arm. Kei and Valeria couldn't even scream as they were engulfed in a gigantic dome of concentrated White Flames. The dome kept on growing and growing, occupying a vast amount of space. A hurricane of hot air was released, blowing Natsu's hair everywhere, but it didn't bother him at all as he stood and waited to see the result of his attack.
As the smoke cleared, Natsu looked on with satisfaction as he didn't see even the slightest sign of the two Assassins, even the third one was gone. Instead, there was only a massive hole that began to fill with the sea water, "Well, guess that I completed the job." he muttered before shifting his gaze towards the sea, in the direction of the Tower of Heaven, "Now I have to save little Erza. Knowing her, she will surely try to distract Jellal until the geezers fire the Etherion."
*Somewhere Inside The Tower Of Heaven*
Mirajane Strauss slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, she could tell that she was still inside the Tower of Heaven. Suddenly, she winced as pain shot through her body from the injuries she suffered earlier against Ikagura. As she moaned in pain, she felt something wrapped around her waist, something soft. Looking up, she saw Happy flying slowly with his tail around her waist, "Happy?"
"You're awake?" Happy asked in barely contained joy at seeing his 'Aunt' alive. Through, his face was sweating slightly from Mirajane's... Weight. Just the thought of it made him shiver, terrified from what the She-demon would do to him if she found out about what he was thinking.
"Where are you going?" Mira asked him, unaware of his thoughts.
"We are leaving this Tower!" Happy exclaimed as he floated down since he had spotted Erza's old nakama preparing a boat to leave.
"What?! What about the others? And red?!" Mirajane demanded to know as she snapped her head up at the blue cat.
"Lucy and Juvia are with those weirdos! I don't know where Erza and Gray are!" Happy cried as he felt himself at his limit, especially since Mirajane began to wriggle from his grasp, "Don't move!"
"Let me go! I need to get those idiots out of this tower too!" Mirajane shouted as she tried to get off him, but couldn't. Since when the blue defenseless cat was this strong?!
"Ahh!" Happy cried rocketing down as he lost his grip on Mirajane. Luckily, they were just a few meters above the ground and Mirajane landed gracefully, while poor Happy was sent rolling until his face crashed against a nearby Boulder. His head was stuck while his backside was up in the air. Lucy, an unconscious Juvia, Milianna, Shô and Wally were a few feet away.
"Mira-san!" Lucy exclaimed as she stood up from the ground and rushed towards the woman. She was so happy to see her Nakama. So happy that she wanted to hug her.
Until Mirajane's palm on her face stopped her in her tracks.
"Calm down, blondie." Mirajane poker-faced as she held Lucy back from tackling her. She was wounded and didn't want to be crashed by Lucy's enormous breasts.
"The devil!" Milianna and Wally hugged each other tightly as Mirajane approached them, letting Lucy fall down on her face. The two simultaneously took a step back as she moved closer, she had a smirk on her face as she enjoyed toying with them. Shô just sweat dropped as he watched Mirajane take two steps forward, causing the two terrified to do the same but backward, which resulted in them falling in the water.
"HAHAHA!" Mira laughed at them.
"Oh shit!" A shout from above caused them to look up. They saw Gray falling from one of the Tower's windows, he was trying to reach for an equally falling Seilah, who seemed unconscious. Mirajane was quick to react as she grabbed Seilah in her arms before she could crash down. Gray, on the other hand, didn't have the same luxury as he smacked against the ground and started rolling. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" he kept on shouting until he was stuck in the same state as Happy. Lucy sweat-dropped at the weird coincidence.
"Seilah…" Mirajane placed the Etherious down and looked at her softly.
"Mira-san, we should prepare ourselves and wait for Erza," Lucy said, getting a nod from the She-demon. She moved to the boat and placed Seilah in it.
Gray and Happy were finally able to get their heads out of the Boulder. Happy panted heavily. Gray looked at him with a smile, "Are you okay, Happy?" he asked the blue cat.
"Yes..." Happy sighed tiredly, "Mirajane has gotten heavier recently, but I still somehow managed to carry her. I swear, she will be as heavy as Lucy in no time."
Gray's face paled as he heard what the crazy blue cat said, "Oi... Do you have a death wish?!" he stuttered.
The two then turned white as Mirajane and Lucy hovered over them. They seemed to become like two giantesses as they glared down at the two, "I thought I heard something or was it my imagination?"
"It... It was your imagination!" Gray and Happy replied weakly as their forms shrunk down.
The two just huffed before turning around. Gray sighed in relief, he didn't have anything to do with this, but those two still terrified him to no end, "Geez... How can Flame-brain deal with them..." he muttered in confusion, scratching his head. As he looked around, he spotted a certain Blue-haired young woman, unconscious, on the boat. His eyes widened in realization, "Juvia!" he exclaimed, dashing forward. Kneeling beside her, he held her tenderly.
Juvia stirred at the touch, which felt familiar to her. As her eyes slowly opened, she could see someone looking down at her, but couldn't identify him. She blinked a few times, clearing her vision. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she saw her beloved Gray-sama looking down at her with worry in his eyes, while her head was in his lap, 'Am I... dreaming?' Juvia thought with dreamy eyes as she shivered visibly in obvious bliss.
"Gray-sama~!" she practically purred with closed eyes and a very goofy grin as she leaned her head back against his abdomen. Gray stammered, uncomfortable by the strange behavior. His state only worsened when the others looked at them with wide eyes and Juvia began to sensually rub the back of her head against his abdomen and basked in the intoxicating warmth she felt, despite him being an Ice Mage.
"W-What are you doing?!" Gray exclaimed as he tried to escape her, but her grip was insanely strong.
"Nooo! Gray-sama!" Juvia whined adorably. A slight blush came to Gray's face at her adorable reaction. His heart began to beat faster than he remembered as the blue-haired beauty reached behind to grab two fistfuls of his pants to keep him stuck in place behind her.
Mirajane chuckled in amusement before she walked to the boat, not without sending the two a small remark, "Hurry up. If the Etherion is fired, you two will miss the opportunity to do it ."
Gray looked at her with wide eyes, "D-Do what?!" he stuttered, blushing madly as his mind processed the white haired demon's words. He had an idea of what exactly 'it' meant, but pushed it out of his mind. 'There was no way they could mean 'That'!' He screamed vaguely in his mind.
"Oh, Gray-sama~!"
*Same Time: Magical Council Headquarters*
Siegrain was wide eyed. His expression showing absolute shock and dread. Sweat poured down his face and his body shook. Ultear, who was beside him looked both confused and amused. The blue-haired man didn't know what to do now. He prided himself for his intelligence that led him to even fooling the Council into firing the Etherion. However, his plan was completely ruined, and by his own hands at that!
'God Dammit! How could I have known that there were such a nasty side effects when using those Lacrimas!' Siegrain thought furiously as he gripped the railing. He only knew that the Lacrimas could give the user a massive power up, but in the exchange of his own Time, in other words, his own life. However, he didn't take Fukuro's inability to control the Magics he copied into account!
He sighed before turning toward Ultear. He was slightly annoyed by the amused look she had on her face, but he pushed it off, "Ultear! We need to stop the procedure now!" he hissed angrily.
Ultear raised a delicate brow, "Why?" she asked in a mix of amusement and mocking.
"Don't question my actions! Just do it!" Siegrain almost yelled at her as he gripped her arm.
Ultear finally snapped and clutched his wrist before pushing him back. Her eyes were filled with annoyance as she glared at him, "Who do you think you are?!" she exclaimed, fiercely glaring at him, Siegrain's eyes widened in shock, what was happening? "You little impudent brat!"
"Ultear?! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the blue-haired Councilman questioned, "You are to follow my orders! You have to do anything for my dream!"
Ultear just shook her head in denial, "The only dream I will do anything to achieve is…" The purple haired beauty began as her form began to fade away, she sent a smirk at him before mouthing a word that completely stunned him, "Natsu's."
Siegrain stood there in shock and silence as he registered her words. So she had been a spy for that accursed Dragon Slayer from the beginning! His knuckles turned white from how much he was clenching his fists. He had never felt so stupid before in his life. He snapped out of his shock and looked down. He had to stop them from firing the Etherion first, then, he will make that woman pay.
However, his heart stopped when he heard the man under the Council speak.
"The final phase of the Etherion firing sequence is complete." one of them announced.
"Expand the Satellite Square!" another ordered
"Thus we pray," Org said, closing his eyes and lowering his head.
"Thus we pray." The rest of the council members said as they followed Org's example.
Siegrain was about to shout at them but was interrupted when he heard Yajima's voice.
"What in the world in going on, Sieg? And where is Ultear?" Yajima asked him, glaring at him as if daring him to lie to him.
Siegrain just scowled before he disappeared, leaving Yajima stunned.
*At the Tower of Heaven*
Jellal knocked over his chessboard and stood up, panting heavily. He got the memories of his other half and was both shocked and angry. He sighed and decided to at least take his revenge before the Etherion Blast. Luckily for him, his first victim just appeared.
"Jellal!" he turned and saw Erza approaching him, glaring fiercely at him, she was wearing another outfit. It was not an armor, instead, it looked like normal clothing. It was primarily red with some yellow, black and white in color. The clothing consisted of a sarashi around Erza's upper chest and a red hakama with a yellow flame-like pattern at the bottom with black highlights, tied together by white strings. Erza's brilliant scarlet hair was tied up in a high tail at the back.
"My, my...it's good to see you too, Erza. Look at how you turned out after all these years." He smirked, taunting her.
"Shut up!" She yelled as she requiped a sword in her hand, "I won't forgive you for what you did to Shô and the others!"
"Me? Why didn't I do anything? It was their choice to follow me." Jellal replied in mock ignorance while taking his coat off.
"That's a lie!" She retorted, her sword glowing slight red, as she put it all the magic she had left, "You tricked them...deceived them...you told them nothing but lies!"
"Oh...have I now? Now that you mention it...I guess I have..." He continued with the taunts, smirking.
"You..." She gritted her teeth in anger and clenched her sword tightly. "What about those Assassins you hired?! What did you do to them?!"
"Oh? Why would you ask me about that?" he chuckled in amusement as he heard her growling, "Oh so scary. I didn't do anything to them. Just some drugs, but the idiots didn't know how to use them properly." he told her, smiling sadistically. Showing that he didn't care what happened to them.
Erza glared over at the man who she had admired during her days as a slave, not believing how much of a twisted man he had become, "You!" She screamed and charged at him, swinging her sword. Jellal raised a brow at her decrease in speed and evaded her sword with ease before grabbing it and then kicking her in the gut. Erza coughed up blood from the powerful kick as she lost her grip on her sword. She fell to her knees and held her stomach. Such an attack wouldn't have injured her as much if she were at full strength, but the strain of using the Poseidon Armor had made her weak.
"You really have become such a strong woman, Erza...but you see...I'm no longer the Jellal you knew..." He smirked as he examined her sword, "...I'm stronger than you could ever imagine...and..." He stopped and his smirk grew, "...it seems the old fools are going to fire the Etherion in three minutes..."
Erza's eyes widened, so soon? Her Nakama didn't even escape the Tower yet! "W-What!?"
"Hahahaha! Don't sound so surprised, Erza. Did you really forget what this tower was originally for?" Jellal laughed in amusement as he mocked her.
"Of course I didn't!" She yelled, remembering why she was a slave in this blasted Tower.
"Then it shouldn't be a surprise that the old fools will fire Etherion to stop it..." Jellal told her before he began to rant, "That is what is wrong with this world...old fools who do not know anything and yet they have the power to make the decisions...and because of that they are going to fire Etherion and possibly kill everyone near this tower..."
"You're wrong...the others...they're already on a ship away from this tower!" Erza shouted, but in her heart, she knew that they maybe hadn't even escaped. Knowing them, they were probably waiting for her.
"Hahahaha! Do you think that will save them? You underestimate the power of Etherion, Erza. It doesn't matter how far they get in three minutes...they will still die..." Jellal told her, without a care in the world, "All of us will be sacrifices for Zeref!"
Erza looked at him in horror, "Y-You monster..." Erza couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was definitely not the same Jellal she knew as a kid. This man, that she was seeing right before her, was a monster, "You monster!" She screamed and ran at him. Seeing how Jellal had her sword, the only thing she thought about doing was punching him, completely forgetting about the fact that she could have re-equipped into a different Sword, despite the lack of Magical energy. Jellal easily avoided a right hook and then kneed her in the gut before grabbing her neck, raising her up in the air, "You..."
"You shouldn't let your emotions run wild...Erza...otherwise you'll get yourself killed..." he muttered before his face broke into anger, "Besides I won't let Etherion kill you all. I will murder you all myself!" he exclaimed tightening his hold on her neck, Erza felt the air leave her lungs, but she continued to look at him with blurry eyes filled with hatred, "If it wasn't for them, my tower wouldn't have been damaged and I would have succeeded in reviving Zeref!"
Erza's eyes widened, despite the pain, her brain still processed to the new information. If they didn't damage the Tower, he would have succeeded? What did he mean by that? She wondered before taking advantage of the situation. Jellal was still ranting and didn't see it coming. With one swift movement, her right knee was buried deep into his stomach, he coughed up some saliva, losing his grip on her throat. Being free, Erza took her sword from his hand and slashed at his torso. At the last second, Jellal was able to skid back a little but still took a nasty cut to his right side.
Erza jumped back and breathed heavily, trying to regain her breath, she looked at him as he clutched the cut she gave him and narrowed her eyes, "What are you really after?" Erza asked, her sword vanishing and replaced by a massive new one, she still didn't have enough Magic to Requip into one of her Armors, "You haven't truly completed the R-System, have you?" Erza's eyes hardened as she dug the sword into the floor, "Don't think I've been sitting idle for the past eight years. I've done my research on the R-System. It might be true that you built the building perfectly, following the blueprints from all those years ago. But you're still missing one basic thing to actually complete the R-System."
"I already told you..." Jellal said as he smirked up at Erza, "You could have been the sacrifice."
Erza narrowed her eyes further at his remark, "I'm talking about something even more basic than that." Erza said, her mind racing, trying to understand the man's objective, "The one thing you're lacking is...magic. To activate a spell on such a large scale...requires a total of two billion, seven hundred million Edeas of sheer magical power. We're talking about the kind of magic you possibly couldn't achieve even if you gathered all the mages on this continent. It is impossible for a single person to gather all that magic and store it in this tower."
Jellal smirked, but he didn't answer, instead, another voice answered for him.
"Oh, you're just so very cute Erza." A new, yet familiar, voice said from behind the scarlet-haired knight. Wiping around, Erza was stunned to see Siegrain walking towards her, "Neither Jellal nor I could provide the necessary magical power. It was a truly precarious situation; I had no choice but the deceive you."
"Siegrain!" Erza yelled, pointing her sword at the Jellal look-a-like, "W-What are you doing here!?"
"Think back to the first time we met, Erza. You and Makarov came to give me a written apology." Siegrain explained as a small smirk spread across his face, "You mistook me for Jellal and attacked me instantly. We do share the same face, so I can hardly blame you...After some time I finally managed to calm you down by telling you that I was Jellal's brother. But I don't think you ever truly stopped despising me."
"And why should I have?!" Erza exclaimed, glaring fiercely at Siegrain, "You're his older brother, and yet you did nothing to stop him! No, ever worse, if what you were saying to me is true!"
"Yes...it would seem that I made a mistake there." Siegrain said as he walked over to Jellal's side, "I probably should have said something like, 'I'll find Jellal and kill him for sure.' But perhaps my greatest miscalculation was meeting you in the first place Erza, especially after I had finally managed to become a member of the council."
"Yes, having to come up with an excuse on the spot isn't easy," Jellal said with a smirk of his own.
"I knew it...you two were working together the whole time," Erza said as she grit her teeth in anger.
"Working together? Looks like you still aren't understanding Erza." Siegrain said, his body beginning to fade away, causing Erza's eyes to widen in shock. Jellal and Siegrain now spoke in unison, "The two of us are one and the same. We always have been."
"N-No...this...can't be..." Erza muttered as she took a step back, "A thought projection!?"
"Yes." Jellal replied, Siegrain having full vanished now, "Siegrain is me, there's nothing more to it."
"Not possible!" Erza exclaimed, slightly tugging on her scarlet locks, "B-But then, it was you who wants to fire the Etherion...at your own body! You're telling me that's why you snaked your way onto the council!?"
"I hope you've enjoyed your illusion of freedom, Erza." Jellal said in a menacing tone, as he became shrouded in an ominous aura, "It was all a part of my plan...a plan to resurrect Zeref. However, it is now over. I was planning to fire the Etherion at the Tower, only for it to absorb it. This Tower's true form would be a gigantic pillar of Lacrima. And with the power of the council's Etherion...I would have succeeded in acquiring two billion, seven hundred million Edeas of magical power!" Jellal explained, stunning the Knight, "But since the Tower is so damaged, it won't absorb it, but instead we, along with everyone else will be vaporized."
"Exactly how many people do you plan to deceive you scum!?" Erza roared, causing Jellal to chuckle darkly, "What is so funny!?"
"Hahaha..." Jellal laughed, just as Erza felt his magical power spike considerably. The blue-haired man grinned evilly, clenching and unclenching his fist, "My power...my magic has finally been fully restored."
"Do you really intend to just die here, right now!? If that's so then you're going to die with me! I'll hold you down right here until that final moment arrives!" Erza exclaimed before launching herself at him.
*Outside The Tower*
Natsu was speeding towards the Tower. His form was a complete blur as he flew toward it. He could already feel the rumbling and shift in the atmosphere, a clear indication that the Etherion will be fired. From his point of view, he could see the state of the Tower and his eyes bulged out as he saw it almost completely destroyed. Granted, it was still standing, but there was holes, cracks and numerous things lacking from what he remembered. However, he was more worried when he saw that the massive Lacrima on the top was missing, 'This is bad. If I decided to not show up until Etherion was fired, everyone would have been….' he didn't dare to finish the thought. It was terrifying. He didn't want to experience it again.
As he stopped in front of the tower, he noticed the small boat that everyone was piled onto, he could see that they began to row as far away from the tower as possible, but still, he knew that it will be destroyed by the Etherion. When the small boat was almost a mile away from the Tower of Heaven. Natsu tore his attention from them and looked up, a shining light filled the night sky, revealing a massive magic circle over the tower. Natsu took a deep breath and put his new scepter on his back. With his hearing, he could hear the voices of his friends.
"W-Whoa, whoa, are they seriously going to fire Etherion!?" Wally exclaimed, pointing at the immense magical circle.
"Erza..." Happy whimpered, as tears formed in his eyes, "You've gotta get out of there...please."
"Goddammit!" Mirajane roared before turning to Shô and Wally, "Get the boat back! I need to get Erza!"
"W-What?! But..!"
"She's right! Hurry up! It's either we die together or live together!" Gray added, getting a nod from Lucy.
Natsu smiled at hearing this, proud of his family. Even the Ice punk. As he looked at them, he noticed their state and a soft smile graced his lips, 'You did well. Leave the rest to me.' he used telepathy magic and sent his words to them. Their eyes widened as they heard Natsu's voice and looked around.
"Natsu-kun?!" Mirajane shouted as she looked around frantically.
The Dragon Slayer gave one last smile before turning toward the Tower, "The Flames of the Dragon devour everything even other Magic." Natsu spoke as his Magical power spiked. A white aura surrounded him, causing everything to quake at the sheer pressure. Even the sky began to quake. He separated both of his legs, for a good balance. He closed his eyes in concentration, he then raised both of hands in front of his chest with arms outstretched. Natsu then joined them both and raised them above his head, his arms outstretched. A sphere of concentrated Flames formed on his joined hands. Before it suddenly grew in size, surpassing even Natsu's size. It kept growing and growing until it became a moon like Energy sphere. Naturally, the sight attracted the others' attention.
"Whoa! So pretty..!" Lucy exclaimed as she gazed up in awe.
"He's so cool..." Mirajane commented in awe as she looked at Natsu, he did really look even more handsome with the beautiful white aura surrounding him.
"Natsu!" Happy cried as he resisted the urge to run up at his father's side.
"W-W-What... is this magic power?!" Wally shrieked like a girl as he felt the massive amounts of Magical energy coming out of Natsu. Never before had he and Milianna felt such a terrifying power.
Just as the sphere reached its full size, it shrunk down, returning to its original size. Natsu lowered his arms and pointed them to above the Tower. Just as he finished, a causing a series of glyph-like circles and squares suddenly appeared above the Tower of Heaven. The others looked on with wide eyes as, from it, a blinding beam of light was shot down at incredible speed. Natsu didn't even let it reach the Tower as he thrust both hands forward, opening his joined hands, the sphere was transformed into a powerful beam of Extremely Concentrated White Flames. The force knocked Natsu a few feet back as the beam traveled at breakneck speed toward the Etherion blast. Within seconds, it collided with it.
A gigantic gust of wind was released as the two attacks collided, Lightning sparking around it as they fought for Dominance. The shockwave that followed, caused the Tower to shake as the beams were close to it. The Fairy Tail mages cried out in shock as they held each other. Massive waves of water were sent towards them. However, the sudden jolt had awoken Juvia. The bluenette water mage reacted quickly and encased everyone in a dome of water, saving them all from being washed away by the towering waves of water, but she still struggled to hold on as the force if the wind and the waves were pushing them back.
As the beams continued the struggle, Natsu smirked as he saw the effects of his Magic. The Etherion blast was being pushed back, or rather, it was being devoured. The extremely hot and concentrated Flames were devouring the beam faster and faster with each passing second. It took several seconds before the Etherion Blast was completely burned out, and Natsu's attack traveled up in the sky, exploding into a massive explosion. The black sky was illuminated by the bright light.
Natsu smirked arrogantly, he was awesome. He really loved shocking people. And he did as he could hear them from above.
"I-I-I-Impossible!" Wally exclaimed, finally finding his voice. Milianna just looked up like a wide-eyed cat.
"Scary..!" Lucy whimpered slightly. To think such a monster was her teacher!
"Gray-sama!" Juvia hid behind Gray, scared, but decided to take the opportunity to get closer to her beloved. The Ice Mage just gaped, just when he thought he was catching up to that Flame-brain, he came and showed him the opposite!
"Damn you, match stick!"
Mirajane and Happy's reaction were completely different. Instead of freaking out, they were cheering him on! "That's my Natsu-kun!" Mirajane almost made the boat drown from how much she was moving. The excitement getting the better of her.
"Aye Sir!" Happy chirped happily.
Natsu just grinned before he descended down in front of them. He was immediately jumped on by both Happy and Mirajane, if he wasn't using wind magic to fly, they would have fallen into the water. Happy crying waterfall of tears and Mirajane filling Natsu's face with kisses. Lucy just wiped the droplets of tears that gathered in her eyes.
"Now now..." Natsu just patted them on the head before gently pushing them off of him, "Let's leave this until after I get Erza back, shall we?" he grinned as he saw Mirajane pout angrily. He was about to fly off, but his eyes caught the sight of Seilah lying unconscious. He slowly flew at her and kneeled down. Placing his hand on her cheek, caressing it tenderly, "You've done well, Seilah." he whispered, planting a kiss on her forehead. He then exploded up, heading straight towards the Tower.
He never noticed the soft smile that graced the Etherious' face.
*A few moments before at the Magical Council's Headquarters*
"Etherion was successfully fired! It was a direct hit! I repeat a direct hit!"
"Has the tower been successfully destroyed!? We need confirmation now!"
"Ethernano fusion density is increasing steadily."
"This will likely cause unusual weather conditions."
"Just how many people were in that tower?" Org asked in a grave tone, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. All those poor souls were lost because of some idiotic plan.
"At the very least, we have prevented the resurrection of Zeref," Michello replied, glancing down at the bustling mages, who were busy assessing Etherion's damage. The old man wasn't really concerned about anyone's lives, as long as they weren't blamed for Zeref's resurrection a few lives didn't matter, "If a few were sacrificed, then it was for a good cause."
"We can try to justify our actions all we like..." Org said, as his eyes were filled with regret, he never liked Fairy Tail, but those mages were talented and as much as he and his colleagues hated to admit it, they helped them many times, albeit unconsciously, "But it will never heal the hearts of the families of those who have perished."
"Wait! Something seems to be countering the Ethernano in the very epicenter of the blast!" This sudden exclamation got the attention of all the council members, "N-No...this is...!"
"Fusion density has suddenly gone into rapid decline!"
"We're getting readings of a separate energy, an incredible magical power!"
"Our equipment can't seem to keep up!"
"What is happening?!"
"I'm trying to restore visuals now!"
"What the hell is going on here?!" Org exclaimed in a panicked tone, as he tightly gripped the railing in front of him.
"I've reacquired visual on the target!" one of them fixed the visuals and what they saw completely stunned them, in front of them was the Etherion beam, being pushed back by another, albeit smaller, but incredibly powerful white beam. They watched as massive amounts of embers were flying from the beam as it quickly devoured the Etherion.
"What! I can't believe it! The target is still standing! N-No! What...What is that thing!?"
"It looks like a giant beam is overwhelming the Etherion blast!" another mage shouted, his face filled with shock.
However, they almost died of a heart attack when they saw the Etherion completely disintegrate into nothingness.
"What!?" All of the council members exclaimed simultaneously
*In the Present: Inside the Tower of Heaven*
Jellal was gritting his teeth in rage. Feeling anger beyond what he had felt in years. Just when thought that those damned Assassins had killed that Dragon Slayer, he appeared up and stopped the Etherion! Stopped it! He couldn't believe it! How can someone who looked years younger than him be that powerful?! "That Goddam little brat!" Jellal hissed in anger. A small chuckle made him turn towards the Knight.
"Heh...You shouldn't have... Underestimated Natsu..." Erza was panting hard, her outfit was ruined from the fight she had had with her childhood friend, "He's far stronger than... You could ever imagine."
Jellal just scoffed at her words, "Even if that's the case. No one should be able to move after stopping something like Etherion." The blue-haired ex-Councilman regained his composure, smirking at the red haired woman as he slowly approached her.
Erza held her sword tightly in her hand. She was about to attack him again but found that she could no longer move her body. Straining to turn her head, Erza spotted a striped red band winding around her entire body, "What...What is this!?"
"It's a Binding Serpent spell." Jellal explained with a taunting smirk, "I placed it on you when we were fighting. The more you resist, the tighter it will get." he spoke just as Erza hissed in pain as the binding spell constricted her body, "Hurts doesn't it?"
"I...I can't move!" Erza grunted out, feeling all her limbs going numb and all her movement being restricted. She tried to resist, but it only got tighter, "I can't feel my arms and legs anymore!"
"If your damned friends didn't interfere, I would already have the magic collected for the R-System." Jellal explained as he watched Erza collapse to her knees, "And I would have my sacrifice; You. I would have been able to revive Zeref." Jellal finally reached her and grabbed her throat, "But it won't happen! So now I will kill you and send your body to that pink haired trash!" he roared before tightening his grip on her throat, Erza struggled to breathe as the binding didn't allow her to move her hands.
"You monster..." Erza muttered, trying to breathe.
"JELLAL!" A voice shouted from the entrance, Jellal glanced to it and Saw Simon approaching them while holding his stomach. He was glaring hatefully at the blue-haired man.
"Oh...it seems we have a guest." Jellal suddenly said and let his grip on Erza loosen. He turned around to fully face Simon.
"S-Simon..." Erza whispered as she stared at her old friend. She struggled to get out of the spell, but her body was too weak at the moment.
"Jellal..." Simon growled, his eyes holding uncontrollable anger, "Let her go!"
"Should you really ask me such a request, even after all we've been through?" Jellal responded, mockingly.
"Don't give me that crap! I knew your plan all along!" Simon yelled back.
"Oh?"
"Let go of Erza!" He yelled again, causing Jellal to smirk in amusement.
"Alright then..." Erza gasped as he flung her at Simon. Simon caught her and slid back a few feet because of the strength of the throw.
"Erza! Are you okay?" He asked her, she nodded, feeling the air filling her lungs again.
"Yes ..." She looked at him and gave him a warm smile. She then frowned and looked at Jellal, 'Why did he do that?'
"From the look on your face...I'm guessing you're wondering why I handed you over...well the answer is simple really..." He smirked and then raised his arms and crossed them over his head. Suddenly, a small orb of black magic formed above his hands. Erza's eyes widened as she could sense the power of the technique he was about to use. She looked down and noticed that her shadow and Simon's shadow were drawn toward Jellal. She looked back up and the orb was quickly becoming bigger and bigger.
"Simon! You need to...get out of here..." She told him as he looked down at her, "You...have to get out of here...that spell...it's too dangerous..." Simon looked at her and then back at Jellal in confusion.
"...ha ha hahaha!" Jellal laughed, "It's too late to run anywhere! You were wondering why I returned you to him, well the answer is, like I said, simple...it's because I don't need you anymore..." Erza's eyes widened at his words, "It's true that you as a sacrifice will be enough to bring back Zeref...but...that won't do now! I've lost the chance and I'm going to make you pay with your lives!" he yelled, as Erza looked on in horror. He was completely lost, nothing like she remembered, "Don't worry Erza, I will rebuild this Tower and find a way to gather enough Magic. As for the sacrifice, there is someone else in your guild who is even more suited for being a sacrifice!" Erza's eyes widened even further, but she had an expression of horror on her face as she recognized who he was talking about.
"No... No!" She yelled, feeling tears gather in her eyes, the last thing she wanted was for her Natsu to be involved in this. She already got her precious Nakama involved, "Leave Natsu out of this! This is between you and me!" She desperately cried.
"Hahahaha! It's too late, Erza!" He laughed as a small white light appeared inside the dark ball of magic, "Goodbye! Altairis!" He launched the Altairis spell at the two, still laughing insanely.
"No!" Erza cried. She was then suddenly dropped to the ground and watched with wide eyes as Simon walked in front of her body and raised his arms as if he planned to shield her from the attack, "No Simon! Get out of the way!" she cried as she watched the ball head straight to him.
"Don't worry Erza. I will protect you." Simon turned his face toward her, Erza could almost see the warm and soft smile that he had on his face.
"No!" tears streamed down her face as the sphere showed no sign of stopping. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if he died. She had already lost a lot of her loved ones and couldn't afford to lose anyone else. Simon closed his eyes as he prepared himself to give his life for the woman he loved.
For few seconds, he didn't open them, all he could hear was Jellal's laughter. However, he suddenly snapped them open when he heard Erza gasp and felt the temperature in the room skyrocket. He saw the black sphere had stopped and was bathed in flames. A massive presence was in the room and it made him and Jellal shiver. Then, before his shocked eyes, it began to disintegrate. Leaving only embers.
"WHAT?!" Jellal was furious as he shouted at top of his lungs, one of his strongest attacks had completely disappeared! Who could have done such a thing?!
"How are you feeling there?" a new voice appeared in the throne room. Erza's heart began to beat faster as she recognized the familiar voice. She looked at her and saw nothing, just a small gust of warm air washed over her face. Looking forward again, she gasped as she saw Natsu standing in front of Simon, in his right hand, a long red scepter that she didn't recognize. Tears fell from her good eyes as Natsu continued to speak, "The feeling of your hope turning into despair?" The Dragon Slayer smirked at Jellal, who looked at him with a mixture of shock, fear, and anger.
"You..."
"Not so smug now, huh?" Natsu chuckled before swiftly grabbing Simon by the arm, the action surprised the man who looked at him in confusion, "That was brave of you, but your sister wouldn't like it." he whispered to Simon, whose eyes grew wide in shock.
"W-What?!" Simon stammered. He was about to ask him what he meant, but Natsu threw him in the air. He was then surrounded by a sphere of flames. Absently, he noticed that they didn't burn him, but filled him with incredible warmth.
"Your role here is over, I will take care of the rest," Natsu announced, snapping his fingers. Suddenly the sphere flew out of the window. The Dragon Slayer smiled before turning towards Erza, who was looking up at him with a stray tear running down her left cheek. He smiled sadly at her state, again he was seeing Erza cry. He kneeled beside her and gently wiped away her tear. He caressed her face softly.
"Natsu..." Erza choked back a sob as she launched herself at him, wrapping her shaking arms around him. His warmth instantly stopped the shaking and trembling she had felt from the moment she set a foot in the Tower of Heaven.
"I'm sorry, Erza. I'm late." Natsu softly spoke in her ear as he rubbed her back, "But now I'm here and I am going to free you from this nightmare." he declared, standing up, he turned to face the blue-haired man and grabbed his scepter, "You've already spilled too much blood. I hope you're proud of yourself! Because of your foolish dream, I had to slaughter those three Assassins." Natsu declared, tapping his scepter on the floor.
Jellal smirked, "It was all for the sake of my dreams. You couldn't understand it even if I explained it to you."
"And I'm not interested." Natsu retorted as he took several steps forward. He was disgusted that this imbecile wanted to revive someone who was already alive. Even if he was manipulated, there was no way he could be this obsessed with Zeref, unless there was already darkness within him from the beginning, "Now I'm interested into pulverizing you. I will show you how big the gap between our powers is."
"Interesting." Jellal said with an amused look, beckoning Natsu with his hand, "Why don't you show me the power of a dragon slayer."
Natsu huffed, "You honestly think I will use my Dragon Slayer Magic on you? Well, you thought wrong. I'm not like other people, I don't use my full power on an insect."
Jellal glared at him for the remark, "You had the audacity to ruin all of my plans." Jellal said, as his body began to slightly glow, one of his eyes glowing an ominous red, "For that, I'll crush you into dust with my Heavenly Body magic." With a powerful burst of magic, Jellal's body became cloaked in gold light, "Meteor!" In the blink of an eye Jellal had disappeared, using incredible speed to fly behind Natsu. He sent his right leg in for an Axe kick, aiming for Natsu's head.
The Dragon Slayer lazily lifted his right hand and caught his ankle before the attack could touch him, "You're so slow that I want to sleep." he mocked before smashing the blue-haired man into the ground. The ground exploded from the crash as Jellal coughed up blood. Natsu, still holding his ankle lifted him up. Just as Jellal was about to use Meteor to escape, his eyes bulged out as the hard shaft of Natsu's scepter was brutally slammed into his abdomen. A shockwave was released from the impact as he was sent flying into a wall, creating cracks and a hole.
He slowly pulled himself out and slid down to the ground, clutching his abdomen in pain. The metal that the scepter was made of was so hard that Jellal felt like it would have split him if Natsu added to the strength of the blow. He growled as he saw Natsu blankly looking at him as if being bored of him. With a growl, he shot forward, "Meteor!" he exclaimed, using his maximum speed to travel around Natsu.
Erza watched in awe as Jellal attacked from every direction, his speed was overwhelming even for an S-Class Mage, but Natsu was no ordinary S-Class Mage. She watched as Natsu blocked each and every blow Jellal sent at him with his scepter. Erza was surprised by the scepter, she didn't know he was interested in weapons. A knee strike aimed at his face. Blocked. A right hook. Blocked. A spinning kick. Blocked. And the Dragon Slayer didn't even move. His expression was one of mocking, which only served to enrage Jellal even more.
Natsu finally decided to make a move as he blocked the flurry of lethal strikes Jellal sent at him before twirling his scepter. He slammed the sharp tip on Jellal's shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain and skid back several meters. "Let me show you what real speed is," Natsu announced. Erza's eyes widened as she saw his body flickering before she knew what was happening, Jellal screamed in agony as he was hit five times simultaneously.
"GAH!" the blue-haired man fell to his knees, coughing blood as Natsu appeared behind him. Erza gasped as she saw smoking fists marks appear on Jellal's torso.
'Such speed...!' the red haired mage thought in awe and admiration, 'I couldn't track his movements at all!'
"That's what we call speed, Jelly," Natsu smirked as he twirled his scepter between his fingers.
'Jelly?!' Erza placed her hands over her mouth. Despite the situation, she fought the urge to laugh out loud at the absurd name Natsu gave Jellal.
"It's Jellal! You little shit!" Jellal exclaimed in rage, as veins bulged on his forehead, "I'm going to finish you in an instant. You're going to regret standing in my way! I'll send you straight to hell." Jellal snarled before unleashing a barrage of attacks using his Heavenly Body magic.
"You shouldn't let your emotions run wild, Jelly." Natsu drawled as he lazily swiped the attacks with his scepter.
"It's Jellal!" the blue-haired ex-Councilman screamed as he flew into the air above Natsu, "Time for you to witness a real destructive power." While in the air, Jellal placed both arms on top of each other, with the top hand having only the index and middle fingers spread out. Seven magic seals were summoned in front of him and started connecting to each other, creating a constellation of sorts, "Grand Chariot!" Each magic seal then released a powerful light blast down onto Natsu. The Dragon Slayer surprised Erza by spreading his arms wide as if welcoming the attack. Jellal, however, laughed, "Haha! No matter how powerful you are, there is no way you can come out unscathed after taking this spell head on!" The seven beams crashed against his torso. Smoke filled the room as Erza watched wide-eyed.
"Natsu!" Erza cried in horror.
The smoke began to clear, showing Natsu with his pink hair shadowing his eyes from view. Jellal smirked in triumph, "You are not as even strong as you say you are."
Natsu grunted before throwing his head back, "I've felt it!" he exclaimed, much to Jellal's shock and Erza's amusement.
"What?!"
"Yes, I felt it! And it felt terrifyingly good!" Natsu shouted as he turned around, showing his back to Jellal. He never felt such a good massage, "Say, this time, could you work on me here?" The Dragon Slayer pointed at the back of his shoulders, "My shoulders are so stiff!" he finished, grinning from ear to ear.
Jellal just stood there, his eyes flashing with killing intent, veins throbbing in his temple from anger. That spell he used was comparable to an actual meteor. His body should have been pulverized, "Don't toy with me!" he shouted, using Meteor to travel toward Natsu.
Natsu just grinned. Before Jellal could even touch him, his face crashed into the gem of his scepter. He grinned before swinging his leg, kicking Jellal in the neck, sending him flying into the Lacrimas at the center of the room. Jellal growled as the sharp tips of the Lacrimas grazed at his skin. Looking up with blurry eyes. He was stunned at what he saw.
It was truly a nightmare.
There were five Natsu's standing in front of him, with their hands on their hips. Jellal felt absolute dread wash through himself as the five monsters before him wore identical evil grins.
Erza, on the other hand, was looking at them like a wide-eyed cat. Unlike Jellal, it made her happy. Her face rivaled her hair and steam could be seen coming out of her ears as she imagined many copies of the pink haired Dragon Slayer running around.
Jellal's went pale when the five Natsu joined their hands, white flames forming from them, "I doubt that you would leave as much as a single cell behind after taking fives simultaneous Dragon Slayer Magic Blasts!" the five men exclaimed as they prepared to attack. Jellal gasped in shock before closing his eyes as the Natsu's threw their hands at Jellal as he shut his eyes tightly. He heard a small Boom and realized that he was serious in killing him.
Only for the evil pink-haired men to fire confetti and streamers all over him.
Jellal snapped his eyes open and saw the five men had stuck their tongues out at him. Then they simply disappeared in smoke. He grit his teeth as he heard laughter, looking at it, he saw the real Natsu rolling down on the floor.
"HAHAHAHA!" Natsu laughed uproariously as he rolled over the floor. Tears gathered in his eyes from how much he was laughing, "My stomach hurts!" he exclaimed, laughing even harder, frustrating Jellal even more.
'He's... Playing with him…' Erza thought with a huge sweat drop on the back of her head.
"Damn it…" Jellal muttered, never before in his life had he felt so humiliated, "DAMMIT!" he shouted, sending out a burst of Magic, sending the confetti and streamers everywhere.
"Oh?" Natsu muttered as he stopped laughing and looked at the angered ex-wizard saint.
"Unforgivable!" Jellal roared, as he raised his hands into the air, releasing a massive shockwave of magic. The blue-haired mage's body was engulfed by a blinding light. Erza had to shield her eyes from the intense waves of pure magic and intense light. All nearby shadows were being drawn towards him, forming a small black orb which began to rapidly grow in size, inside it was small white lights, giving it an appearance similar to that of the night sky. After completing his spell, "Heavenly Body: Altairis!" With a twisted grin, Jellal changed his aim and hurled the condensed ball of dark magic at Erza, who looked wide-eyed.
Natsu's eyes grow wide in shock at the audacity of the guy. He disappeared in blur and appeared in front of Erza. Just as the orb was about to smash against him, it disappeared as if it didn't exist. Jellal growled again as none of his magic spells could affect this monstrous man. Natsu on the other hand, looked at Jellal with surprise, "You...how dare you?" he whispered softly, causing Erza to look at his back, "You would kill her, even though she was your friend?"
Jellal just scoffed, "The moment I lost my chance to revive Zeref, I also lost my need of her." he declared, causing Erza to look down in sadness.
"Zeref..." The Dragon Slayer muttered, feeling the hatred he buried deep down resurface, "Zeref... ZEREF!" he roared, shocking Erza as he exploded forward, destroying the ground below him. In less than a second, his fist was buried deeply into Jellal's abdomen. A massive amount of blood was sent out of the blue-haired mage's mouth. However, Natsu wasn't finished, he clenched his other fist and crashed against Jellal's face. Erza gasped as a loud crack was heard from Jellal's face contorting grotesquely around Natsu's fist.
"YOU BASTARDS HAVE ONLY THAT NAME IN YOUR MOUTH?!" Natsu roared, his face filled with veins. Erza could only look in shock. She never saw him that angry. Natsu roared again and slammed his scepter on Jellal, causing the ground below him to explode. Jellal's mouth opened in a silent scream of agony. The Dragon Slayer didn't stop there as he crashed his fist on Jellal's face, again and again, causing it to swell from the continuously hard hits, "I HATE THAT NAME! YOU... ALONG WITH HIM! I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!"
Erza felt her heart sink as she watched him go through a crisis of some sort. He continued to beat Jellal to death, blood was pouring out from Jellal's face and Natsu fists were almost red from the blood he had on them.
"Natsu…stop!" Erza screamed getting the attention of him, "Don't kill him…"
Natsu felt betrayed by her words yet he couldn't disobey her, giving Jellal enough time to breathe through his nose.
"Why?" Natsu asked simply his voice surprisingly calm making Titania uncomfortable. He straightening himself up and turned to face the red haired woman.
"I-I want to save him Natsu…" Erza began as he remained quiet, "I spent the last eight years trying to become strong so I could save him…I'm not asking you to save him... Just don't kill him..." Erza pleaded with some tears in her left eye.
Natsu looked at her, not understanding how she can forgive him after all those attempts to kill her. He blew a sigh, "Alright." he conceded and turned to see that Jellal had taken the small pause to fly up in the air.
Upon reaching his desired height Jellal -with his one remaining good eye- looked at the tower he spent the last eight years to build to attain paradise only for him to destroy it. "I-I-It doesn't matter… I'll rebuild this tower even if takes me another eight years!" He extended both of his hands as four magic seals appeared in front of him representing each element and began to cast a spell that both mages knew.
"He's going to completely destroy the tower with that spell!" Erza exclaimed realizing that it would only destroy the tower that her friends were building at the cost of their freedom.
"Abyss Break" Jellal roared as he fired a beam of light from his hand which grew bigger every time it passed on one of the seals.
Natsu lifted his scepter and sent his magical energy through it. The Dragon head and the gemstone glowed red before firing a massive red beam toward the attack. Jellal's attack didn't even stand a slight chance as Natsu's beam split it in half and headed straight for him. The beam slammed into him and sent him flying away.
Erza watched as Jellal flew away like a shooting star. She took one last look at the man that betrayed her twice, but instead of regret, her eyes held pity for him. He was a man so blinded by his dreams of paradise that he was willing to sacrifice the ones he loved to reach it. She then looked at Natsu, who just stood there with his back facing her. She stood up and ran up at him, "You truly are amazing Natsu…" she whispered wrapping her arms tightly around him.
Moments later, the two were sitting down. Natsu was sitting with his legs crossed. Erza kneeling in front of him, washing his hands from the blood in them. All the while, she had a soft and happy smile on her face that made Natsu's heart pound while his cheeks turned slightly pink. Not even Mirajane and her flirty attitude made him blush this much, damn it!
A few minutes later, Natsu picked Erza up bridal style, causing her to let out a surprised yelp. He strapped his scepter to the backside of his belt. She gasped and squeaked very uncharacteristically while blushing brightly as he flew up in the air. She looked down and saw that they were high up in the air, seemingly more than 35 meters above the Tower. She screamed and threw her arms around Natsu's neck. She gripped him in what she thought was a death grip, but he didn't seem fazed at all by it as he just smiled at down at her.
"This Tower took your childhood from you. So I'm going to destroy it." Natsu softly spoke to the blushing Knight. He then flung her on his back, where she instantly wrapped her arms and legs around him. She gasped as she felt his magical power skyrocket. His body began to glow white with flames. Erza thought they would burn her, but she only felt warmth.
"Fire Dragon's..." Natsu spoke, throwing his head back. Magical power gathered around his mouth as he prepared to unleash his breath attack. The skies and seas were trembling from the intense magic. In the Island, debris was raised up into the air as it shook. Natsu took a deep breath as he gathered power in his stomach, "Breath!" he finished, throwing his face down, opening his mouth as a massive beam of concentrated White Flames was fired at the Tower. The instant it touched the top of it, it collapsed under the powerful attack. The beam continued to destroy it, traveling down until crashing down on the Island.
From miles away, anyone could see the Entire Island that had the Tower of Heaven being consumed in a gargantuan amount of Flames that were shaped like a dome. The explosion that followed sent out shockwaves that made the sea ripple and rage.
Erza could only look in shock as the Tower that took her and her friends' childhood away was being completely eradicated from the face of the earth. As the attack stopped, water began to fill the massive hole that was left of the Island. Though, the Flames still were raging even under the sea. Tears gathered in both of Erza's before she broke down crying from both eyes for the first time.
Natsu sensing his shoulder blades getting wet, turned to look at her with a strained face, "H-hey... Don't cry!" he exclaimed in panic. He had always been weak against women's tears.
"Don't worry, I'm just happy..." Erza muttered as she tightened her arms around him, taking in his scent. Natsu tried his best to ignore the feeling of the two massive breasts squished against his back.
"T-Then why are you crying?" he asked uncertainly and was surprised when she giggled before laughing out loud. It was such a sweet laugh that Natsu felt like his heart might pop out of his chest. And there also the look on her face.
He had never seen Erza this happy before.