I hope this very late update finds you all well.
I own nothing here. Please support the official release.
Episode 6: Descent of Dragons
XXXXXXXXXXX
He heard something rustle past him, then Acnologia fired the black and blue sphere. The sphere shrieked and scarred the blackened earth as it flew. It was the slowest of the king's spells, but Natsu suspected it didn't need to be fast. His eyes widened when Gajeel crawled from a shadow fifty yards in front of him. Gajeel slammed his hands into the ground, and rows of iron clubs sprung from the ground.
The sphere sent the clubs of iron hurling in every direction while Gajeel tumbled as the blast soared by him. Natsu watched in disbelief as the Brilliant Impact flew off course, continuing for miles before detonating. Natsu gritted his teeth as a rush of warm air, and powerful tremors washed over him.
A second later, Gajeel crashed into the ground a few yards behind him. The Dragon King stood thirty yards from them with a large blue orb in his palm. A giant fist of lightning sent Acnologia stumbling. Natsu managed a weak smirk.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" A howling tornado and a giant bolt of lightning fused as they soared at Acnologia. The king extended a hand, blasting a blue stream at the tornado, forcing it to disperse. Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue charged as the sound of soft footfalls approached Natsu. Wendy slid to a stop next to him. From the edge of his vision, he could see lightning dancing across the battlefield.
"Wendy, where's Erik?"
"Don't talk." The familiar warmth of her healing magic coursed through him. Her hair flashed from the pink of her Dragon Force to her regular blue every few seconds. Sting cried out in pain, making Natsu twitch. Wendy's focus didn't waver. Natsu's fist clenched. "Just wait," Wendy whispered, "I promise, it'll just be another minute."
A pit formed in his stomach as the battle slowly drifted closer. Sting and Rogue darted around the king as shadows, only attacking when Gajeel needed a distraction. Only Gajeel could fight Acnologia directly. One of his arms had become a club, while his other was a sword. His chest and face were covered in iron scales. Lightning flew from the Dragon King's back as Laxus limped toward them.
It was a good strategy, yet Natsu's unease grew. Why isn't he using spells? Is he distracted by the others outside the dimension, or is he waiting for something? Ducking beneath the iron sword, Acnologia swept Gajeel off his feet with a kick. Sting and Rogue rushed Acnologia's back, only for him to leap into the air.
Acnologia waved his arm, launching a gust of wind that struck Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel with enough force to leave a crater. The king landed in a crouch as Laxus exhaled a powerful bolt of lightning. Acnologia darted before shooting a beam from his maw. Natsu's eyes widened when it flew over Gajeel and the others toward him and Wendy.
The lightning swerved to strike the Dragon King's beam, forcing it to explode ten yards away from its target. Wendy flinched, and Natsu grimaced. Acnologia spun to face Laxus. "Dragon King's-
"Iron Dragon's Demon Logs!"
"White-Shadow Dragon's Roar," Sting and Rogue called as one. Six iron spears and a thin black and white laser crashed into the king's back, forcing him to a knee.
"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd." A halberd of lightning formed in Laxus' less injured hand. Acnologia looked up a moment before the halberd struck him, sending the king skidding back on his knees. Lightning swerved around Acnologia before transforming into Laxus, who landed on a knee.
"Let's finish him!" Laxus clenched his fist. Then lightning fell upon the Dragon King. Gajeel charged with a roar while Sting and Rogue readied another spell, then Acnologia threw his head back with a roar that shook the dimension. Shining blue magic surged from his skin consuming everything within sixty feet.
Panting heavily, Acnologia turned to find Laxus, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue lying on the ground, unmoving save for the slow rise of their chests. He stilled when he saw Wendy. Bleeding over an eye, covered in bruises, yet sitting upright. There was a crunch at the Dragon King's right before a flaming fist struck his cheek. Acnologia was flung onto his back before skidding several yards.
"Now, I get it," Natsu panted heavily. "You were waiting for a chance to wipe us all out at once. Good plan. You were only about ten seconds too late." Acnologia's gaze was cold as he stood. Fire surrounded Natsu's fist and feet.
"Those insane bursts of speed of yours, they're from making your magic explode beneath your feet, right?" Natsu said as he steadied his breathing. "I'd bet it's another way of using your Steel Claw spell." Which means I can do it too, with my Fire Dragon's Claw.
Slowly, the pounding of Natsu's heart began to overwhelm the sound of his heavy breathing. The metallic scent of blood faded next, then all in his vision became blurred except Acnologia. Spiraling black magic wreathed Acnologia's hand. The ground beneath their feet exploded as they charged. As one, they threw a punch.
"Dragon King's Adamantine Fist!"
"Fire Dragon King's Demolition Fist!" A torrent of fire and a great black blast flew from their fists, colliding with such strength they shook heaven and earth. Neither the howling flames or roaring black could overwhelm the other. For a moment, it seemed the fire would consume Acnologia, then the black surged, driving the fire back to its master. Natsu nearly choked on the Dragon King's magic but gritted his teeth and forced his fire to push the blast back.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" A tornado crashed into Acnologia's side, making him grimace, but his magic did not falter. The tornado raged while Wendy's hair flickered between blue and pink as she fought to stay in Dragon Force. Natsu took a step forward, forcing Acnologia to inch back. He gritted his teeth. It's not enough!
"Poison Dragon's Roar!" A purple stream rammed Acnologia's other side. The Dragon King flinched, and Natsu roared as his flames surged, burying the black magic and engulfing all in its path for a mile. Acnologia fell twenty yards from Natsu on his back, lying still. Natsu swayed, stumbling back. Small arms caught him from behind. He grinned at Wendy, who smiled back. Erik limped to them.
"Thought you were dead," Natsu said.
"So did he," Erik smirked, jabbing a thumb at Acnologia, who still hadn't moved.
"Glad we were both wrong." Natsu grinned. There was a slight crunching came from behind them. Wendy helped him turn to face them.
"Stop acting all buddy-buddy," Gajeel grumbled. He supported Laxus' injured side as they approached. "I'm out of it for a couple of minutes, and you two are about to hug." Natsu stared at Gajeel.
"Erik was right. You look like shit, Black Steel," Natsu snorted. Laxus barked out a pained laugh. Gajeel drew breath to respond when someone cut in.
"Can we not do this right now," Rogue sighed. He sat beside Sting while cradling his left arm.
"Guys, we won," Sting said, still sprawled on his back. "But we're still in this stomach dimension thing. He ate us, so I think we'll have to go out his-" Rogue elbowed him in his side. "Why?" Sting whined.
The hair on the back of his neck rose. He spun, stepping in front of Wendy to find Acnologia standing, his expression stony. The others tensed, but Natsu held up a hand. Cracks crawled along the Dragon King's body. He stared at them silently for a long moment. "You seven are worthy of being called Dragon Slayers," Acnologia said quietly. "Tell me your names."
"Natsu."
"W-wendy."
"Gajeel."
"Laxus."
"Erik."
"Sting."
"Rogue."
"Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, Laxus, Erik, Sting, Rogue." Acnologia shut his eyes. His body scattered like pieces of dust. "I'll sing your praises in the next world."
The moment Acnologia faded, his dimension shattered, and they were falling. Natsu fell onto something soft and warm. Slender arms wrapped around him. He instantly relaxed into the embrace. This warmth, this scent, I'd recognize it anymore. He looked up.
Natsu smiled, his eyes slowly drifting shut. "I'm back."
"Welcome back," Lucy smiled, her eyes shining with tears.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
This is the final episode. Thanks for reading. It's been a true pleasure.
There were too many spells to name them all, so I'll be listing the more important ones.
Regular Dragon King spells:
Fanged Thrust: a giant serpent flies at the foe following a thrust of the caster's arm. It can be split into seven smaller snakes.
It can be used as a seal. This variant is much smaller and is black.
Claw: enhanced kicks and energy blasts from his legs. This spell can be used to create explosive bursts from his feet that grants incredible speed. The best part of using the Dragon King's Claw to enhance speed is that it doesn't require much magic to use and isn't dependent on his physical strength.
Ray: This black beam is incredibly fast and can pierce anything, if fully charged. In his weakened state, it would give Natsu a small bruise with an uncharged blast, it would not do much to Laxus or Gajeel either. Its charging time is too long for a fast-paced battle, which is why he only used it an uncharged shot once, on Rogue.
Soft Silk: a binding version of the Rough Silk that wraps around the target. He can seal the victim in place with this spell too, but he needs a moment to do it.
Dragon King's Adamantine Fist: his version of FDK Demolition Fist. None of this spell's energy is wasted. It's the power to obliterate islands condensed into an ultra-concentrated stream of black magic.
Secret Arts:
Steel Barrage: a flurry of Steel Fists.
Adamantine Claw: Acnologia molds black energy into the form of a dragon claw. He's capable of extending it a decent distance. This is the greatest defensive spell a Dragon Slayer can learn. The problem is that he can't attack with the arm he created the claw with and he can't create use this spell when he's badly injured. Also, it can only be kept active for 30 seconds at a time.
Brilliant Impact: an enormously powerful blast that can obliterate cities and mountains. It's only downside is that it takes too long to charge to be used in battle under ordinary conditions. It gathers magic from previous attacks, so the magic cost is relatively low for its power.
Dragon Slayer Forbidden Arts: These are the Ultimate Dragon Slayer spells that only Acnologia can use.
Dragon King's Avatar: a black dragon with 7 heads and 7 tails. There's a weak spot behind the heads of the dragons and if struck hard where the neck of the middle dragon meets the torso, the Avatar can be destroyed completely. The three middle tails are used mainly to guard the Avatar's greatest weakness.
Acnologia doesn't need to be inside the Avatar to control it, but it loses power when he's outside it. Only the middle head of the dragon can use the blue beam that almost killed Laxus. It's also the most durable head by far. The Avatar trades precision for greater area of effect and immense physical power.
The Avatar's weakness was inspired by the weak spot alligators have behind their head. Where their neck and heads meet.
Dragon King's Purge: The meteors that descend from the heavens are simple Dragon Slaying Magic condensed into a more lethal form. The magic leftover from previous spells is gathered to enhance the power of the meteors. This spell must be endured, it cannot be canceled out or blocked by any barrier.
It detonates on command. It can't be forced to explode early, but it is possible to push the meteors back and throw off Acnologia's timing. That's one of the things that saved Natsu and the others did here. Hiding underground helped too.
The Dragon King's Purge has three flaws. The first is that it's impossible to block completely, so Acnologia will always be wounded after using it. The second flaw is the sheer amount of control required to make certain it explodes when you want it to means Acnologia is under tremendous strain. The third flaw, Acnologia is helpless for several seconds after using it. If Igneel or one of the Dragon Gods got a hold of him while in this state, he might be killed.
The Dragon King's Purge is the most powerful spell in all of history. Its destructive power dwarfs even the full power of Etherion.