Back with the continuation
"speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
With Natsu's team
Within a few hours of leaving the Fairy Tail guild, Natsu and his team arrived at the house of Michello, the former third seat of the Magic Council. After "persuading" him to let them inside his home, they explained the situation to him in full. Suffice to say, the cat-man was less than amused.
"…And that's why we're here, to protect you." Lucy finished.
"We're your bodyguards." Natsu clarified. "So you better let us do our job, old man"
"That's nice of you to offer…" Michello sardonically began. "But you'll just be in the way."
"nya nya meow (He's a stubborn one, isn't he?)" Milo meowed as Charla nodded in agreement
"Wait!" Michello realized. "I know who you are. You're from that problematic Fairy Tail guild. You're just using me as bait in some destructive scheme, aren't you?" he accused.
"Well I'll have no part in it!"
Natsu sighs as he remembers that this one was a very stubborn old man
""he looks like a cat"" END said as he floats around Michello
"Whether we are here or not you will be attacked by Tartaros. That is not the same as being bait." Charla told the man
"Bah!" Michello snapped. "What fool waits around when he knows he's going to be attacked?! I'm leaving! Don't try to find me again!"
"Grandfather!" Michello's granddaughter, Michellia came in while holding a tray full of drinks
"These nice people have come to visit us and keep you safe, and here you are being rude."
"Michelia." Michello mumbled in guilt.
"Let them help you." Michelia suggested. "Someone murdered the entire magic council. How can you allow that to stand?"
Michello just grumbled in reply
"So…do you know why you would all be targeted like this?" Lucy asked the former councilman
"There's too many possibilities to list." Michello replied curtly. "Dark guilds aren't the only ones with grudges against the council."
"I don't think this is merely a grudge." Charla contended.
"With these kind of attacks, I'm certain they are after something that only council members know of."
"Nothing comes to mind…" Michello pondered. Slowly his eyes widened in realization.
"Wait…" He began to quake in fear at the possibility, a cold sweat dripping down his face. "Could they be after Face?"
""Face?"" Natsu thought for a moment
""incoming"" END said as Natsu's nose caught a whiff of something and he went on alert, tackling both Wendy and Lucy to the ground.
"Natsu?!" Wendy squeaked.
"What are you doing?!" Lucy questioned.
"Get down!" he ordered. He then turned to Michello and his granddaughter, tackling them as well. "You guys get down too!"
"Unhand me, you buffoon!" Michello shouted. Michelia shrieked in surprise.
Natsu looked up, his nostrils flaring again. "That smell!"
"What is it?!" Lucy called to him before
KA-BOOM!
Michello's house exploded as the exploded debris flied around
"M-my house!" he exclaimed while Michellia screamed
"What's going on?" Wendy asked.
Once the dust settled, everyone began to regain their bearings.
"Is everyone all right?!" Charla called out.
"nyaa!" Milo meowed before he shakes to get the dust off of his fur
"The house just exploded!" Michelia shouted. "How in the world did we survive?"
"That would be because of me."
Michelia looked up, seeing Natsu standing in front of her with his sword readied
"just in time." He said as the blade glowed
"That's a surprise." A voice said from above. "I thought that would have blown you all to hell. Just like the council."
"Who are you?!" Lucy demanded.
Natsu looked up at their assailant as he sees Jackal
""ho? If it ain't the dog?"" END said with a smirk
"so.." Natsu said as he swings his sword around. "you're Tartaros?"
"huh? Who're you?" Jackal said
"I'm Natsu from Fairy Tail" Natsu said with a glare
"Who is this scoundrel?!" Michello shouted, angrily waving his fist in the air. "Look what he did to our house! I knew Fairy Tail was nothing but trouble!"
"Grandfather!" Michelia scolded.
"He must be the one who destroyed the council in Era." Charla said with cautious
"You guys get the old man and his granddaughter out of here!" Natsu ordered his comrades. "I'll take care of this guy!"
"He's after you!" Lucy shouted to Michello. "We have to get you out of here!"
"You don't think I know that?!" the former councilman snapped back as he started to rung away
"We should do as Natsu says and leave this fight to him." Wendy reminded. She and the others moved to the exit.
Jackal grinned at their attempt to escape. Suddenly he swiped his arm, setting off a chain of explosions that circled around the city. The people began to run around in a panic.
"What was that?!"
"Something just exploded!"
"What's happening?!"
"The buildings are all falling apart!"
"Help~!"
"The town has nothing to do with this!" Lucy yelled to the smirking demon. "Stop!"
Natsu's rage only grew at the display. "You rotten…" he trailed off, using his flames to propel himself towards Jackal.
The demon thrust his arm towards Natsu. "Explode!" In an instant, Natsu's body was engulfed by intense flames.
"He got him!" Michello shouted in fear.
"It's all right." Lucy assured her "Natsu uses fire-magic, so something like that won't work on him!"
Natsu inhaled the flames around him, surprising Jackal.
"What's the deal with this guy? He ate my explosion?"
""try not to hit him directly, if you do hi- ?!"" END was trying warn Natsu but the man had knocked Jackal off of his wooden platform with a hard punch to the face.
""hey!"" END exclaimed as Natsu dashed towards Jackal who moved out of the way.
"That was close." He then grinned in intrigue. "That guy's like a fireball or something." He tried to gain distance, but was soon caught off guard when he noticed something moving under the floor.
"You gotta be kidding me!"
Natsu emerged from the ground, striking Jackal under the chin with a flaming knee that sent the demon reeling.
Michello looked on in disbelief.
""This is first time I've seen Dragov fight up close!"" He shakily tightened the grip on his cane.
""I had no idea he was this strong…""
Jackal cackled as he slid on all fours along the broken floor. "You're pretty fun." He complimented. "But there's one thing I need to tell ya." Before he could begin, Natsu's fist was in his face. "Wait…"
Natsu punched him away before he dashed and started punching more and more.
"ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!" Natsu shouted as he kept punching Jackal with no mercy while END sighed and face palms
"Incredible…" Michello gasped.
"N-Natsu-san…" Wendy nervously called. "He's already…"
"He always goes overboard." Lucy sighed in annoyance. "Wasn't he trying to say something earlier?"
"he could have held back just a little." Carla commented.
Natsu stands up after he finished beating the crap out of Jackal
"let's wait for him to wake up so that we can start interrogating him" Natsu said as the others nodded
Michello began to sweat even more as the second passed.
""If Tartaros is truly after Face…then this will only end terribly. Only a handful of council members know about the White Inheritance. How is it that they were able to find out…?"" Michello thought in fear as he was shaking
""I have to hide myself!"" He began to storm off, much to everyone's confusion and suspicion.
"I'll leave you wizards to clean this up! I will check on the former council members!"
"Grandpa?" Michelia called with concern. "What's wrong?"
"Come along, Michelia! Now!"
"If you know something about why they're after you, old guy, you better tell us now."
"I don't know anything!" Michello denied forcefully.
"Is that right?" Jackal sighed, to the surprise of everyone he was still conscious after the beating Natsu gave him. He sat up, rotating his shoulder to get the stiffness out.
"Are you sure? If you tell me what I wanna know, I may just let you live."
"You…" Natsu growled while END looks at Natsu with a disappointed look
"I don't know anything!" Michello lied again. "Honest! Ask someone else! Really, I know nothing!"
Jackal looked back at the old man, a sadistic grin on his lips. "I get it. I guess that means you gotta die then, right?"
"Hey!" Michello shouted at the Fairy Tail wizards. "What are you lot doing?! He's up again, you know! Take him down, you nitwits! Aren't you supposed to be my bodyguards?!"
"why you!" Natsu growled at the man
"You!" Jackal stood up, pointing at Natsu. "Next time listen when a guy's talking, would ya?!"
""hey"" END called out to Natsu as the man looks at him
""what is it?! Can't you see I'm in the middle of something here?!"" Natsu said to him as END just points to Natsu's hands
Natsu looks to his hands as they were glowing and so was his legs "What's going on?"
"My curse power." Jackal informed. "Whoever touches me becomes a bomb. The more they do it, the stronger the bomb becomes. Refresh my memory, how many times did you hit me again?"
The strange light began to cover Natsu's body.
"Natsu!" Lucy shouted out
"Everyone, get away from me!" Natsu commanded, he could feel the dark energies building within him.
"But…" Lucy began to protest.
"Just go!" the glow grew intense as everyone runs for cover
""looks like I have to take over"" END said as he and Natsu switched minds before
KA-BOOM!
Jackal laughed manically at the scene, watching with sadistic glee as Natsu fell to the ground in defeat from the explosion
"No way…" Lucy gasped, still holding onto Wendy.
"Natsu-san!" the young dragon slayer reached out.
"Wow, how about that?! His body didn't even blow up! You can't help but be impressed with that!" he cackled. "That's a fireball for ya!"
Lucy glared at the demon, clenching her teeth as she reached for her gate keys.
Michello looked at the scene wide-eyed, his entire body shaking. "I'm done for…"
Jackal looked at the old man, his sadistic grin widening to a sick smile. "If you hand over the info, the only one I'll kill will be your granddaughter. See? I can be a nice guy after all."
Michello took a few steps back before turning and running away at top speed. Leaving the Fairy Tail wizards, as well as his own granddaughter, to fend for themselves.
"Elder Michello!" Lucy shouted.
"Grandpa!" Michelia called after.
Jackal took off after the fleeing old man. "You're not getting away."
Lucy and Wendy moved to intercept him, as they readied their attack
"Tenryu no Hoko!"
Jackal smirked. "Think that'll stop me?" he held out his hand towards the tornado, summoning an explosion that was able to dissipate it.
Wendy looked on in disbelief at the feat. "He used an explosion to counter my roar?"
Lucy held her gold key as it began to glow.
"open! The gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"
"we are!" Scorpio appeared as he was on all four.
"a celestial spirit?" Jackal said with a bit of surprise
"Sand Buster!"
Jackal swiped his hand in the air, once again countering an attack with his explosions. He looked at the wounded Wendy and Lucy and began to laugh again.
"I guess I forgot to tell ya! Me and the others in Tartaros don't even bother with all that magic crap! We use curses! They make magic look like kid's stuff!"
"Curses?!" Lucy repeated.
Jackal raised his arm into the air, his power swelling. "No wizard can compete with us!" He then swung his arm downward.
"Bakurasen!"
A torrent of explosions engulfed both Wendy and Lucy and sends them flying in different directions amongst the debris of the destroyed home.
"Lucy! "Wendy!" Carla yelled in worry.
Jackal then started chasing after Michello as he ran towards the city.
"See ya!"
"I'm so sorry." Michellia apologized, tears stinging her eyes. "This…this is all Grandpa's fault. If he just-"
"No! It's not his fault!" Lucy interrupted. "This is a fight about our honor!" She briefly looked back to Wendy, who had also made it to her feet. "Wendy, go check on Natsu! I'll follow Jackal!"
"Right!" The young dragon slayer acknowledged and was about to go and heal Natsu who was no longer where he was
"where did Natsu-san go?!" Wendy panicked as she looks around the place
With Natsu
""where?"" Natsu waked up and sees that he was in astral form while END was taking control of his body
"you're awake" END said while looking at Natsu
"you stupid or what? Next time listen to the guy who knows everything about the demons of Tartaros" END told to Natsu as they were in the city while hiding in the shadows
""where did that guy go to?"" Natsu asked as END pointed up and Natsu looks up and sees Jackal jumping over the roof
"you deal with him while I deal with his curse power" END said as he and Natsu switched minds again
In the town
Michello ran into the middle of town, his exhausted breaths echoing through the near empty streets.
""Have to getaway! Have to get away!""
"He's trying to kill me!" he shouted into the streets to anyone who would listen. "Somebody help me!" Luckily his words made some of the bystanders curious.
"What's that sound?" One of the townspeople asked.
"Who is that old guy? I've never seen him before."
"He looks really scared. Does this have to do with those explosions from earlier?"
Michello stopped at the first man who happened to cross his path. "Hey you!" he shouted. "Find me a place to hide!"
"What are you talking about?" the man asked in confusion.
"Someone is trying to kill me, you dolt!"
"How is that my problem?"
"Listen, you! I was in the magic council! That means I have been protecting your sorry hides this whole time! Now it's your turn to protect mine!"
"Game's up, old man!" Jackal shouted from a nearby rooftop as Michello screeched in fright and took off running once again but failed as he trips on a rock
He looked back at the demon, his eyes watering from fear. "I don't know anything! I swear! I got nothing to do with any of it!" He scurried away, jumping into a nearby river and attempting to swim away. "I just want to live a peaceful life with my granddaughter!"
"You mean the granddaughter you left high and dry?" Jackal reminded with mocking laughter.
"There he is!" Lucy exclaimed as she was about to a gate key.
"Open…!" Before she could finish, Lucy found herself standing in the middle of a strange magic circle.
"I wouldn't budge if I were you." Jackal sarcastically advised.
"What is this?" Lucy questioned.
Jackal looked to the blonde. "It's my landmine curse. The instant you move…boom!"
The townspeople were more confused than frightened at the scene playing out before them.
"What's going on?"
"It looks like some kind of wizard fight."
"You're all in danger!" Lucy warned the spectators. "You have to get out of here now! Get away from here!" Once again the townsfolk seemed unfazed by the danger around them.
"Haven't I seen her before?" one of the men asked about Lucy.
"She was in the Grand Magic Games!" Another one marveled.
"There are lots of humans around here." Jackal pondered. "I think I have an idea." He stood up and pointed towards Michello, lifting him up in a translucent purple ball.
"No! Let me go!" Michello flailed around uselessly.
Next Jackal pointed at a random woman in the crowd, lifting her in a ball just as he did Michello. His victims chosen, the demon began to explain his terms. "I have two bombs here."
"Did he say bombs?!" A bystander asked.
"I'm not sticking around for this!"
The crowds started running away as the only ones left were only Lucy, Jackal, and his two victims.
"Why did everyone run away?" Jackal said with a taunting smirk as he turned his attention to Lucy.
"They were just about to see just how heartless humans can be." He then pointed his index finger at the captured blonde.
"Here's the game, I'll only make one explode, but you have to choose which one."
Lucy's eyes went wide in shock. "What?" she managed.
"Help me, please!" the woman pleaded. "I'm pregnant!"
Michello frantically pounded on the inside of the bomb. "Your job is to protect me isn't it?!" He shouted to Lucy. "Hurry up and get me outta here!"
"Why are you doing this?!" Lucy demanded of Jackal. "What could you possibly have to gain from torturing people like this?!"
Jackal jumped down from the roof of the building before he looks at Lucy
"Gain? Nothing. This is all just for fun. It's a game. You humans are nothing but toys to me."
"Why can't you just release me and fight fair, and-" Lucy said but was cut off by Jackal
"Ten seconds." Jackal interrupted with a sadistic smirk. "Clock's ticking."
Lucy looks in fear as she had to choose who to save
The captured woman began to sob. "Why is this happening to me?"
"Why are you hesitating?!" Michello screamed at Lucy. "I'm a former member of the council! My life is much more important than some random woman!"
"Don't forget…" Jackal reminded. "You move from that circle you go kaboom! As will they."
The woman clutched her stomach, internally praying for some sort of miracle to save her and her baby from this terrible fate. "Don't worry..." she reassured her unborn child. "Mommy will not let anything happen to you."
"You have to save me!" Michello shouted. "That's your job! Protect me! Which of the two of us has done more good in this world?! There shouldn't even be a need to think about it!"
Lucy clenched her teeth in frustration and she looked away in shame.
"Well?!" Jackal prodded with a sadistic smile. "Who is going to be saved…Fairy Tail?!"
"hey" a voice spoke behind Jackal as a tap to the shoulders was felt by Jackal
"hu- Guaahh?" Jackal said before he was punched away by Natsu who was wearing Enryuo no Yoroi
"Natsu?!" Lucy called out in disbelief, but also relief.
"Are you ok, Lucy-san?!" Wendy asked, running towards her friend.
The two orbs disappeared, dropping both the woman and Michello to the ground. The circle beneath Lucy went away as well. "The bombs have all been disarmed!" she noted.
The pregnant woman fell to her knees and covered her face, tears of relief flowing from her eyes. "Oh god…" she cried.
"You're ok now." Charla told the woman Milo meowing to her
"Well done!" Michello praised.
"I'm alive! I'm really alive! I can't believe you-"Natsu punched Michello on the top of his head, knocking the old man out.
"take a nap, old man" Natsu said as he started walking towards Jackal
Jackal rose from the ground, wiping the dirt on his cheeks
"You're a real slow learner, aren't ya? You already forgot about my curse?!"
Natsu's right fist glowed as he raise it up
"won't work on me anymore" Natsu said to Jackal
"What are you talking about?" Jackal questioned.
The glow glowed brighter before Natsu explode but he was still standing
"See?" he asked the surprised Jackal.
Jackal was floored by the display. "No way! That's impossible!"
Natsu smirked eagerly at the stunned demon as he started to walk towards Jackal
""who knew that Explosion Curse is actually delicious?"" END said as he was the one who absorbed the curse and made the fake explosion on Natsu
"What in the world…are you…" Jackal stared at Natsu in utter awe, feeling something…familiar about the dragon slayer.
"I'm Natsu" he replied before Natsu dashed towards Jackal as he sends another punch straight at the face
Jackal fell to the ground, but once again rose with a smirk. "You hit me again! Ready to go boom?!"
Natsu looked at his glowing fist as it glowed brighter and brighter before exploded and no damage happened to him
"won't work anymore, remember?" Natsu said as END smirks beside him
Jackal stared at Natsu in disbelief and wide.
""What the hell is with this guy…?"" Jackal though as he was shaking in fear
""How can a human make me shiver?"" Jackal looks at Natsu as he felt extreme fear rising in him
""Is this guy even human? There's no way he's human! He can't be!""
Jackal let out a fierce roar and his body began to change. His height increased by several meters, his muscle mass increasing as well. The hair on his head began to cover his body, his face morphing to represent the animal he was named after.
"Natsu-san, watch out! There's something wrong with him!" Wendy exclaimed as Natsu looks at Jackal who looks to have transformed into a monster
The demon lunged towards Natsu, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he drew back his clawed hand.
""in the moment of panic, he subconsciously transforms into his Etherious Form, huh?"" END said with a smirk as Natsu blocked a punch from Jackal
""Damn. He hits hard. Wait, what's going on?"" Natsu thought as soon as Jackal punched him an explosion went off at the point of impact from his punch.
The explosion was much bigger than of the previous ones, destroying many of the buildings in town. Wendy and Lucy dived for cover, while Michello was blown into a building by the debris-laden winds.
Natsu got skidded back while his armor managed to take most of the explosion's force
"""Is he trying to destroy the entire town?!"" Natsu thought in his mind
""he's acting like a cornered animal now, so pathetic"" END said as Jackal hammered his fist at Natsu who guarded
"You humans should learn your place!" Jackal roared. "You should know better than to pick a fight with us demons!"
""and you should know better to not strike against your master"" END said as Natsu's fist was ignited in crimson flames
"Enryuo no! Hoken!" Natsu punches Jackal on his gut as the demon was sent blasting away to a house before destroying it upon his crash to it
"He got carried away again." Lucy shook her head with a smile.
"I'll say." Wendy sighed before seeing Milo and Charla walking to them
"We managed to evacuate all of the people in town," Charla informed. "What happened here?"
"That Jackal guy was a really tough opponent. It took everything Natsu had to fight him to a draw." Lucy answered.
"who said that it was a draw?" Natsu said to Lucy
"So you say." Wendy laughed.
"We still have to get information out of him. " Charla reminded.
Jackal laid on his stomach in the rubble of his defeat, but he still managed a laugh. Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"Yeah, he got me pretty good." Jackal said as he praised Natsu.
"No one's ever gotten this far with me before." The ground beneath him began to erupt. The early stages of an explosion. One that was proving to be his biggest one yet. Soon pillars of light sprang up all over town.
"Sorry, Kyôka." Jackal apologized. "I failed my mission, but at least I can take all of these humans with me when I go!"
"Wh-what's going on?" Lucy feared as she looked around the glowing city.
"What's he doing?" Wendy asked, equally frightened.
"Is he trying to blow up the entire town?!" Carla worried.
"Don't do this!" Wendy implored.
"No…can do." Jackal smirked, still prone.
"It's too late to stop it. My body itself is the bomb. You could kill me now, but that wouldn't stop it from going off." The rumbling increased its intensity, rocking the entire town. "I'll see you all in hell!"
"What are we going to do?" Lucy asked. "At this rate the entire town will…"
"he won't" Natsu said as he spread his wings and dash towards Jackal
He grabs a hold of Jackal and started flying up with him
"You!?" Jackal growled. "Let go of me!"
"let's have a chat, Jackal" END voice out in Natsu's body as a clone appeared beside Natsu in the sky
END made several gestures with his fingers as a purple magic circle appeared behind Jackal's back as Jackal's explosion stop he then made a fake explosion that acted as a diversion for END to take Jackal with him far away from the scene while the clone flies down towards the others
"see?" the clone said to the others as they sighed in relief
With Natsu and Jackal
END drops of Jackal in the forest, far away from the town as the man looks at Jackal who got up
"you! What is this!?" Jackal exclaimed as he looks at his back and sees the magic circle
"you should be grateful" END said as he crossed his arms
"that prevents you from blowing up and returning back to Hell's core"
Jackal's eyes widen in shock and surprise as he looks at Natsu
"h-how!? How you know about the Hell's core!?" Jackal exclaimed at him
END merely chuckled in reply as he grabs a hold of his helmet and took it off
"I can't blame you for not recognizing me" END said as black markings started to slither around Natsu's face and his eyes turned red and his pupils turned black
"Y-You are…!?" Jackal said in shock as he fell down
"you were always like a rabid dog back at the guild and always like to run around scaring humans near the guild" END said as black hons appeared on Natsu's head on each side, above his ears as the horns pointed back
Black wings appeared next as they spread out and unleashed a gust of wind
"Remember me now, Jackal?" END asked with a smirk towards Jackal who sweats in fear
"M-Master E-E. N .D!?"
That's a wrap!
Bye bye