Back with the continuation
"speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
20 minutes before
With Natsu
"Let's go!" Natsu roared as Igneel roared in sync.
Natsu bolted for Mard Geer. The demon remained calm. His eyes closed.
"Such tenacity, but you think far too highly of yourself, human!" Mard Geer opened his eyes and quickly shifted his fingers up, creating a ball of energy with petals in the middle.
"If anything irritates Mard Geer the most, it is dragons. You however are far beneath my notice."
"Well we aren't too fond of you either!" Natsu ducked under the ball, turned his body, and used the force of the blast to propel forward.
"Karyu no Kagizume!"
Mard Geer caught Natsu's kick with his bare hand as the burning flames had no effect on him.
"You are no dragon." He threw Natsu to the ground and caved it in with his magic. Natsu yelled as he fell down into the dark hole.
"Natsu!" Igneel shouted before he flies down to dodge Acnologia's breath attack
"So, a dragon still lives. How disappointing." A deep voice spoke as Igneel smirks at Acnologia
"So, you finally, speak Acnologia" Igneel told the dragon of destruction
"I recognize you as my enemy. I will slay you!" Acnologia roared.
With Natsu
Natsu descended further and further down the hole, passing more ruins along the way. Mard Geer leapt after him.
"Begone, son of dragons!"
"Ibara Rambu!"
Natsu catch his drop before he ignites his hands in flames and used them to block all of the attacks.
He burns the thorn roots before some of them got slashed into pieces.
Natsu grins in his helmet as he looked to see Sting and Rogue jumping past him to meet Mard Geer in mid-air.
"Took you guys long enough!" Natsu told the two
"Long time no see, Natsu-san" Sting replied.
"you guys got the invitation?" Natsu said as the two nodded
"sure did" Sting said with a grin
"Where are Lector and Frosch?"
"They're with Erza." Rogue answered.
"Natsu-san, let's team up" Sting suggested
"It will be much quicker if we all take him on at once."Rogue said
Rogue nodded in agreement.
"Yeah that would probably be best…" Natsu admitted. "But I'm going to say no."
"what!? The Twin Dragons shouted.
"Taking down this jerk is an official request from Igneel. That means I gotta do it on my own." Natsu told the two
"Of all the times to-"Rogue argued but Sting stopped him from finishing.
"Ok how about this then? Let's have a bet to see who takes him down first, you or us." Sting proposed.
"a challenge, huh? Interesting" Natsu said before he spread his wings and grabs the two before he flies up to where Mard Geer is at
"then let's see who can beat him first!" Natsu exclaimed as Sting and Rogue nodded
"let's go!" Natsu shouted as he dashed towards Mard Geer with Sting and Rogue following behind
"See? You just gotta know how to talk to him." Sting told Rogue. "Now we can help him as much as we want."
Rogue rolled his eyes. "Oh, good lord."
Natsu ignites his right fist in flames as he punched towards Mard Geer who side stepped to dodge the attack
He then karate chops Natsu before he focused on Sting.
Sting lunged forward with a punch of his own but Mard Geer ducked under, lifted his leg, and kicked Sting away and into the ground.
Rogue appeared next. He sliced at the demon with shadows. Mard Geer evaded again, but failed to notice a revived Natsu attack from below.
His lower body covered in flames, Natsu pushed from the ground at an angle and thrust his feet into Mard Geer's chin, briefly knocking him loopy.
Rogue capitalized by striking him with a shadow punch. Finally Sting reappeared, ending the three dragon assault by launching Mard Geer into a nearby wall with a hard back kick coated in light.
When the dust settled the three dragon slayers stood tall.
"two dragons flying in the skies. Three dragon's sons before my eyes. There may be even more of you that I have yet to encounter. You swoop, scurry, and sneak about in master END's castle like pests. Showing Mard Geer nothing but disrespect." Mard Geer said as he stared at the dragon slayers wide-eyed.
His pupils shrunken as a sign of his emotional state.
"You have awakened an emotion long though lost to Mard Geer. Rage!"
Natsu looks at the demon before he equips on his Dragonic Vambrace
"good, you're finally caught up to us humans" Natsu told the Underworld King before springing back into action
With the others
"Man!" Elfman shouted as he knocked away more Lamy's along with the rest of his group.
Lisanna slashed and kicked the annoying bunny-girls out of her way in her Animal Soul Cat form.
Jet blew past large gatherings of the Lamy's with his speed magic.
Even Droy was helping as he sends a sumo hand punch straight at a Lamy.
Warren hid behind the corner as his friend's fought but he offered support via praise and encouragement.
"Keep it up, guys! They're on the ropes!"
"Why don't you come from behind there and help us out, Warren!" Jet shouted in aggravation.
""My magic is not meant for offense you see.""
"Ok I get! At least answer me like a normal person instead of using telepathy!"
Elfman held a Lamy in the air and slammed her as hard as he could into the ground.
"That should be the last one." He wiped his brow and looked around. The numerous unconscious clones confirmed his claim.
"We made it somehow." Jet breathed in exhaustion.
"Yeah." Droy nodded. "I thought we were goners there for a while."
"You guys did great!" Warren gave his friends a thumbs up. "I knew you could pull it off."
"No thanks to you!" Jet and Droy shouted.
"I hope Mira is ok." Lisanna worried.
"You shouldn't worry about her." Elfman said. "Mira's still got plenty of strength left."
"What happened here? There are bodies everywhere." A voice said in the distance.
"It seems a pretty big battle took place."
Elfman and his group watched as Lucy and Yukino walked towards them. The blonde looked to her friends with pleasant surprise.
"You guys are ok! I'm so glad."
"We are too." Lisanna smiled as she and Elfman walked to the pair of celestial wizards.
"You guys are by yourselves?"
""And looking really sexy I might add."" Warren leered as Lucy was still in her clothes from when used Aquarius magic while Yukino's top was nearly shredded and her skirt was missing some cloth.
"You're broadcasting that to everyone." Jet and Droy sighed.
"It's a bit of a long story." Lucy laughed nervously at Elfman's question.
"We all separated from the group we were with earlier." Yukino explained. Lucy added to the story.
"Levy, Gajeel, and Juvia are taking the blood we gathered to Porlyusica so she can heal the Thunder Legion." Lucy looked at the ground guiltily. "Juvia was hurt pretty bad in the fight."
With Gajeel
Gajeel, Levy, and an unconscious Juvia headed east from their previous location. Levy acted as navigator, directing the group along balls of light on the side of the path.
"Thank goodness that the markers I left are still here." She said. "It should be this way…I think."
"You better be right about this, shrimp. I hate getting lost in demon palaces." Gajeel sniped.
"gotcha" Levy said as the two keep following the path, Levy's markers are at
Back with Lucy
"That's terrible," Lisanna said about Juvia. "I hope she's ok."
"Gray-san has also gained some new kind of magic," Yukino reported.
"I have no idea where he got it from, but it's really strong. He took down one of the Tartaros members like he was nothing."
"That's Gray for ya." Elfman beamed. "A real man's man."
"As for Natsu…" Lucy trailed off. "I don't even know where to begin explaining that."
"Does it have something to do with that red dragon in the sky that's battling Acnologia" Lisanna asked.
"Natsu said that it's Igneel" Lucy replied to her
"Where did he come from?" Elfman inquired.
"Well about that…" Lucy began.
"Wait, if Natsu knows that dragon, then that means that it's on our side right?!" Warren insisted.
"We may have a chance!" Droy jovially exclaimed.
"I'm not really sure, but it looks that way." Lucy smiled softly. "We just have to make sure we stay together this time around." She thought of Aquarius and began to frown, but Yukino's hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.
"We will be ok." Yukino smiled.
Lucy grabbed her hand and smiled back. "I know. Thanks, Yukino."
As the regrouped friends chatted amongst themselves about their next move, Wendy, Doranbolt, and Charla approached them.
"Face is still active." Wendy announced.
"Wendy?" Lucy questioned in disbelief.
"Charla is here too." Lisanna pointed.
"Isn't that Doranbolt from the Magic Council?" Yukino inquired, pointing at the man in question.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR!?" Warren, Jet and Droy exclaimed to Wendy's new look
"Now's not the time to be scatterbrained, people!" Charla commanded. "There are thousands of Face bombs for us to stop!"
"Thousands?!" Jet, Droy, and Warren exclaimed.
"There are that many?" Yukino gasped.
"We have a plan." Doranbolt said.
Wendy stepped forward and explained her plan to deal with the Face bombs, unfortunately the look on everyone's faces suggested that it wasn't plausible. Starting with Warren.
"I understand, but I don't think I'll be able to go through with it. My telepathy can only reach up to about five kilometers. There's no way I could reach all the wizard's on the continent."
Wendy was devastated by the revelation. "But…"
"There are so many bombs." Lisanna said.
"Thousands of them." Lucy nodded in agreement.
"They're already activated." Doranbolt said. "We don't have much time before they all detonate."
"What are we going to do?" Elfman asked desperately.
""It's much too early for us to be giving up."" A familiar voice said through telepathy.
"Master Makarov?" Lucy called.
""We still have our trump card, Lumen Historie. Fairy Tail's ultimate weapon!"" Makarov boomed out as the old man was standing in front of a giant Lacrima crystal that had a person sealed inside it
"Lumen Histoire?" Yukino repeated.
"What is that?" Wendy asked.
""There is no time to explain."" Makarov said. ""You must all return to the guild at once!""
"But it was destroyed." Droy sullenly reminded.
"Hey! Not so loud." Jet hissed. He elbowed Droy in the ribs, hoping that Elfman didn't hear his friend's comment.
"I'll stay here." Elfman volunteered.
"But why, Elf?" Lisanna questioned.
""No one blames you for the guild's destruction, Elfman."" Makarov reassured.
"But still I…"
""It is purely your decision."" Makarov then opened a private channel to Doranbolt. ""You come with them.""
""I'm not a member of your guild."" Doranbolt told him.
""That doesn't matter. After this is done I want you to erase the memory of Lumen Historie from the minds of everyone in Fairy Tail.""
Doranbolt gnashed his teeth. ""That go for me as well?""
""Yes. It does."" With that Makarov's telepathy ended.
"We should hurry back!" Jet said.
"Right. Be careful, Elf." Lisanna said. She wished her brother would come along, but she could understand his guilt.
"I will." Elfman nodded.
The rest of the group began their run back to Fairy Tail. "Hey, Warren!" Lucy called.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Can you get me in touch with Natsu?"
"I'll see what I can do."
With Natsu
Mard Geer stood opposite the three dragon slayers, his newly re-discovered rage painted on his face.
"Emotion impedes thought." The demon said. "As such I had suppressed mine for quite some time. Well, until now."
The Dragon Slayers looks at him as they were unfazed by his statement
Mard Geer puts the Book of END on a broken stone pillar as he bowed to it
"Master END, Mard Geer apologize. But Mard Geer must leave guard of your soul."
Mard Geer then refocused his attentions to his enemies.
"Rage is one of the more destructive emotions. At times it can make one lose themselves if they are not careful. And…" He began walking to the left, the dragon slayer's eyes never leaving him.
"When I think of how rage almost made me deviate from myself, I am appalled."
"Mard Geer is Mard Geer!" he announced.
"As the Underworld King, I shall vanquish you dragons!"
the ground suddenly started shaking and rumbles
"I will once more banish the poison known as rage from my mind, while I erase your existence!"
Natsu felt a weird energy in the air. "What's going on?"
"I'm feeling a weird vibe from him." Rogue said.
Mard Geer raised his arm.
"Get ready, guys!" Sting warned. "He's about to strike!"
Mard Geer swiped his arm to the side, summoning much bigger thorns than before from the ground. The dragon slayers stood on-guard as the thorns came upon them.
"Dammit!" Natsu blocked with his arm, but the thorns cut into him.
""Natsu?"" Lucy hailed from within his mind.
"Lucy?" Natsu replied before being buffeted back by the thorns once more.
"Natsu!" Sting called. He and Rogue were knocked away again.
""Where are you?"" Lucy asked.
""In the middle of a fight right now."" Natsu wiped the blood from his mouth. Seeing another thorn zoom to him, he dodged and grabbed onto it. It carried him high into the air.
""What's happening with you?""
""Yukino and I managed to regroup with some of the others. We were called back to the guild by Master.""
""gramps?"" Natsu continued to buck on the wild vine.
""Listen, Natsu."" Lucy said. ""There's more than one Face bomb. There's actually thousands of them!""
"Thousands?!" Natsu shouted.
"What is he talking about?" Rogue asked Sting. The pair continued dodging thorns in an effort to close the distance between them and Mard Geer.
Sting looked to Natsu. "I don't know but we have to find a way to get him down from there."
"That's easier said than done."
""Lumen Historie?"" Natsu questioned Lucy in confusion.
""Yeah."" Lucy answered. ""Master said it's 'Fairy Tail's ultimate weapon'.""
""Leave it to gramps to have something like that up to his sleeve."" Natsu grinned before he jumps and dashed towards Mard Geer
""Is Warren listening?""
""Yeah, I'm here."" He answered.
""Can you find a way for me to talk to Erza in private?""
""I'll try."" After a few seconds of silence, Warren returned.
""You're in.""
""Thanks"" Natsu thanked the telepath before he started sending his flaminf fists at Mard Geer who dodged them all
""Erza?"" Natsu called out to his wife in the mind link.
""Natsu? Where are you?""
""Warren got me through.""
""I see. He used his telepathy magic.""
""are Rose and Mary with you?"" Natsu asked her as he dodged a thorn root from Mard Geer before firing a roar at him
""they are. I'm with them right now"" Erza replied as Natsu started backflipping away from sprouting thorn roots that bursts out of the ground and tried to pierce his armor
""good, for a second there I thought that they got lost in the ruins"" Natsu thought with a chuckle as he jumps up in the air
"Sting! Rogue!" he shouted out
"He wants us to help him?" Sting grinned eagerly.
"It looks like he finally acknowledges how much help we can be against an enemy this strong." Rogue said.
Sting and Rouge gathered their energies together for their unison raid.
""is the red dragon in the sky Igneel?"" Erza asked her husband
""yeah!" Natsu replied before seeing Sting and Rogue unleashing their Unison Raid at Mard Geer
"Seieryu no Senga!"
Natsu watched as their attack rose into the sky.
""now I bring back the number on question, are you alright?"" Natsu asked her
Mard Geer took Sting and Rogue's unison raid head on. "Light and Shadow. How beautiful. However…" He opened his hands wide and compressed the attack into his palms. "It will all vanish within me."
"You gotta be kidding me!" Sting exclaimed.
"He sucked it in?!" Rogue implored.
"Try shrinking this!" Natsu shouted. He descended from the air towards Mard Geer and pulled back his fist.
""I'm fine, thanks to you"" Erza replied as Natsu can tell that she was smiling
""really? What did I do?""
""you shined the light in my darkest moments"" Erza said in a poem like sentence
""did you get that from the smutty novel I found under the bed?"" Natsu asked with a chuckle as he knows that his wife was blushing from his reply
""i-i-i-I don't know what you are talking about!"" Erza stuttered out
Natsu takes a deep breath before firing a crimson red flaming roar at the thorn wall, Mard Geer summoned from the ground
""don't worry, I just read the same book as you did"" Natsu told his wife
""-sigh- Why did I agree to marry you?"" Erza asked with a chuckle.
""I don't know."" Natsu answered. ""that is what love is all about, right?""
""I suppose so."" Erza replied
""get to safety with the twins. after I handle my things, let's meet up in the middle. After that I'll get the three of you introduced you three to Igneel.""
""I'd like that."" Erza replied
""Me too.""
"Natsu…I love you."
"I love you too."
Natsu's body surrounded itself in a crimson red fire as all of the fire flows into his fist
"Enryuo no Hokken!"
Natsu thrust his hand forward as the flames covered Mard Geer as the Underworld King's clothing was the only thing burned by the attack.
""and i hope you can move on without me""
Mard Geer blasted Natsu away as he fell back to the ground while looking down at his opponents
"If that is all you can muster then I must insist you concede defeat. Mard Geer has yet to even change into his Etherious form."
in the sky
Igneel and Acnologia butted heads, their clash echoing in the air. Atlas spun his body around and slammed headfirst into Acnologia's underbelly, burning the creature.
Igneel flaps his wings as the Fire Dragon flies up to the sky
"I will not let you escape!" Acnologia roared out as he flies up and broke through the sanctity of the clouds, seeing the fire dragons hovering just past the vision of the moon.
"I wasn't trying to escape." Igneel corrected. "Up here the two of us can really fight!"
"fight?" The black dragon snorted. "Hardly….. I will simply destroy you here and now!"
Back to Natsu
"What's your deal?" Sting asked. "Why do you demons want to get rid of all the magic on the continent anyway?"
"Did I never explain? Pardon Mard Geer's manners. With all magic gone from the continent, Master END will reign supreme!" Mard Geer announced out loud
"You mean that book?" Rogue inquired.
Mard Geer nodded. "END is the true Master of the Tartaros guild. As well as the most powerful demon from the Book of Zeref. That book is just his soul. Once the magic in this continent disappear, we demons will finally be able to return to our Lord Zeref."
"I don't follow." Rogue uttered. "Why not just return to him now? Why the need for all of this to happen in the first place?"
"Let me ask you this. Have you ever wondered why it is that Zeref created demons in the first place?"
The dragon slayers were stunned silent. Mard Geer used this as a means to continue his speech.
"I doubt none of my underlings have realized the truth. Maybe Kyôka or Sayla because of their incessant curiosity. We etherious demons from the Book of Zeref have a compulsive need to return our creator. It is a command given to us at the genetic level. 'Return to Zeref.' 'Wish to meet Zeref.' 'Do anything for Zeref.' These single emotions all lead to one outcome. One underlying truth." He explained to them
""is this 'truth'?"" Natsu demanded in a mind link with END
""all Etherious have that urge, even me"" END's voice spoke in Natsu's mind as this caused Natsu to squint his eyes
"Zeref saw his eternal youth as a curse to be lifted, as such he wished to die. In order to grant his wish, he created beings that he perceived were capable of killing him. The creation of the Book of Zeref and the demons therein are an attempt of suicide by Zeref himself!"
"Master END is his most worthwhile creation, the most powerful Etherious in existence"
Mard Geer stepped forth and walked towards the dragon slayers.
"When the bombs detonate and eliminate all the magic on the continent. Master END's power wil reign supreme and will then murder Zeref! Just as he wished!"
"So this entire thing was all about taking out Zeref?" Natsu summarized.
"What do humans have to do with your crazy ass plans?" Sting questioned.
"When you are on the path to your goal, don't you stomp out any weeds in your way?" Mard Geer rhetorically asked. He summoned weeds to illustrate his point.
"You bastard."
The weeds next to Mard Geer grew to enormous size, whipping Sting and Rogue to the wreckage.
"Sting! Rogue!" Natsu shouted before he too was struck in the side by the violent plants.
He fell to his hands and knees on the ground. When he looked up he saw that the weed has turned into a giant flower with closed petals.
"What's that?!"
"This is a caged-flower from the Underworld!" Mard Geer explained. "It will be your end!"
Natsu stands up and braced himself for impact from the giant bud but it never came
He looks up and sees that the flower was frozen in ice
"Ice?" Natsu said before the giant flower cracked apart and fell to the ground next to Natsu, shattering to pieces.
Natsu heard footsteps behind him as he sniffed the air and grins
"now who's the one that likes to do the dramatic entrance now?" Natsu said as Gray walks pass him
"I happen to like doing the dramatic entrance sometimes" Gray told him
"When did he…?" Rogue trailed off.
Mard Geer's eyes narrowed at his newest intruder before he sensed a cold sensation to his left arm
He sees that his entire left hand was completely frozen over.
"When did you do that?!" Sting shouted.
"What are you?" Mard Geer questioned.
Gray raised his right arm to the demon, his tattoo reappearing on his forearm.
"A devil slayer. I'm also the guy who's going to take you down."
"A devil slayer you say?"
"What does that even mean?" Sting asked.
"If dragon slayer magic is used to defeat dragons, and god slayer magic is used to defeat gods…" Rogue pieced together. "Then devil slayer magic-"
"Is used to defeat demons!" Gray charged forward and swung his tattooed arm downward. This action caused a pillar of purple ice to rise from the ground, encasing Mard Geer.
""I recognize this power."" Mard Geer broke free from his impromptu prison.
He glared at Gray. "This is Silver's magic, isn't it?"
"So what if it is?" Gray retorted.
"I knew someday he would betray us, but I was not expecting it to be in this capacity. Fate is truly a fascinating thing." Mard Geer summoned his Thorn.
Gray spread his arms, freezing the thorns around him.
"Whoa." Sting marveled.
"He froze them in an instant." Rogue said.
"How?" Mard Geer questioned.
"Spare me the philosophical crap." Gray said to the demon. "I'm not doing this for fun. This is what my dad wanted!"
"Your dad?" Natsu repeated.
"He wanted to take all of you guys down!" Gray threw a ball of ice at Mard Geer, the demon slaying properties of it burning Mard Geer at the touch.
He rolled away but Gray was quickly upon him. Gray gathered his magic in his hands.
"Hyoma! Zero no Tachi!"
He swung the blade but was knocked loopy by something striking the top of his head. He was then pushed back into Natsu and the others.
"Gray!" Sting called out. He ran to his side and helped him to his feet. "You alright?"
"Yeah. What was that?"
Mard Geer stood behind his savior. "I see you were finally able to make your way here."
Natsu sniffed the air as he stared at the new demon that appeared. "I know that smell."
Sting and Rogue instantly recognized the interloper.
"No…" Sting gasped.
"It can't be…' Rogue muttered.
Mard Geer talked to his reinforcement.
"You once stood atop the mountain of the strongest human guilds. So it stands to reason that you would make a fine demon…Jiemma!"
The former master of the Sabertooth looked even more monstrous than when he was human. His ears were pointed and both his hand and beard jutted out in all directions. He sported a tattoo on the left side of his massive torso, and his aura was much more menacing than before.
"Master…" Rogue shuddered.
Sting relived the moment he blasted his former master.
"But how…?"
"he's no longer human," Natsu said
"So they made him a demon just like they did Minerva." Gray deduced.
"Made me?" Jiemma repeated in offense. "No. I came to them for power! Everything that I do is to attain power! To be the strongest!"
"Your power far surpasses those of the Nine Demon Gates, my new servant." Mard Geer said.
Jiemma's ears twitched. "Servant? You dare to assume that one whose power resounds far and wide is a servant to another?!" In his anger Jiemma bolted towards his former subordinates. "When I finish with these brats, Underworld King, you are next!"
Sting and Rogue were frozen with fear at the sight of their demon of a master. That was when Natsu cried out.
"Don't be scared!" he began running towards Jiemma. "There's no reason to afraid of this jerk! Face him head on!"
The demon and the dragon slayer clashed in a brilliance of light, both of them fighting for position.
"I have no use for you, boy!" Jiemma pushed Natsu back with his superior strength, sending the Fairy Tail bounding against the ground. This broke the Twin Dragons free from their fear and they charged Jiemma.
Jiemma grabbed both of their heads in his hands, stopping their advance.
"Sting, Rogue, you have no idea how long I have waited for the opportunity to end you both with my bare hands!" he said before he slammed their heads together.
Both dragon slayers were nearly blinded by the pain, but they steeled themselves.
""Natsu-san's right! We don't have a reason to be scared!"" Sting thought.
""No reason to run!"" Rogue agreed.
""We're moving forward!""
They broke free from Jiemma's grip. Sting aimed high with a kick while Rogue struck low with a shadowed punch. Jiemma blocked them both.
"Leave him to us!" Sting shouted to Natsu and Gray.
"We will defeat him!" Rogue proclaimed.
"Right!" Natsu accepted. "Good luck!" He and Gray followed Mard Geer, who had escaped deeper into the ruins.
"If you are feeling bold then come, twin dragons." Jiemma challenged.
Natsu and Gray faced Mard Geer in a further part of the ruins.
"For pity's sake." The demon sighed. "More emotional outbursts. It looks like greater control is required."
"Looks like you're all alone now." Gray said. "There's nowhere else for you to run. You're finished."
"Your celebration is a tad premature, human. Do you really think your powers will have any effect on Mard Geer in his true form?" The demon smirked and his body began to produce smoke from his wound, healing itself.
"Master END has returned back after years of sleep! Why should Mard Geer hold himself back?!"
Mard Geer's body started transforming as a giant mist covered his appearance.
A huge gust of wind blows out as the mist was blown away and revealed Mard Geer in his Etherious Form where his form is a spitting image of a black demon
When they died out, his body had completely changed.
"My name is Mard Geer Tartaros!" The demon announced. "I am the Underworld King, and the true, definitive demon!"
The Fairy Tail wizards stared at their reborn opponent.
"Natsu…"
"Yeah. I know." Natsu said as he purges of his armor and then ignites his fists in flames.
"In the name of the Fairy Tail guild we're taking you down!" Natsu roared out as he and Gray launched themselves forward
"Do your worst, humans!" Mard Geer taunted. "This shall be your final battle!"
The demon spread his wings, summoning much bigger Thorn Brambles than before. Gray and Natsu stopped prematurely and raised their arms in the air to form an X.
"Freeze!"
"Burn!"
Both Natsu's flames, as well as Gray's ice, covered the brambles, burning half while the other half froze over.
Mard Geer swooped down from above, grabbing the two by their heads and pulling them into the air.
"Dammit let me go, you jerk!" Natsu thrashed, swinging his fists and legs at air. Gray was also trying to free himself from the demon's grip.
"You currently stand at the gates of the Underworld." Mard Geer said.
"Beyond them is the world of the dead! This is what happens to those foolish enough to defy demons!" He forced Natsu and Gray's heads into the sides of the corridor he flew up. Dragging their faces along the stone walls as he soared higher and faster.
"I'll shave off those damnable emotions of yours!"
Jiemma slammed his fist into the ground, kicking up rock and dust in front of Sting.
"Did you get the princess mixed up in the crap with you?" Sting implored.
"That girl never was of much use, but I still saw the potential within her." Jiemma answered. "I surmised that adding a demon's power would bring that potential to the surface, but-"
"She's your daughter!" Rogue blurted out. He attempted a kick to Jiemma's head, but the demon blocked with his massive hand.
"That is why what I do to her is no concern of yours!" Jiemma grabbed Rogue's leg and threw him into Sting. "She is my daughter! A vessel for my legacy! That means that I am control of whatever becomes of her!"
Sting punched Jiemma in the face as hard as he could. "Shut your damn mouth!"
Jiemma slid back but managed to stay upright.
"That won't work on me, boy." He held out his hand as Sting ran to him. He then blasted the White Dragon in the face with his magic, staggering him.
Jiemma saw the shadows move behind him and swung his arm back, knocking Rogue to the ground. He stood over the twin dragons downed bodies.
"Do you whelps really think you can control Sabertooth?!"
"We don't want to control it…" Rogue argued. "We want to turn it to be the guild it ought to be."
Jiemma chopped him back down to the ground. "Don't make me laugh! What Sabertooth needs is to be the strongest! Your sickening weakness has brought nothing but shame and ruin to its name!"
Sting rose from the rubble behind Jiemma. "So, what if we were weak before?" He argued.
"We've gotten stronger since you've been gone. Way stronger!"
"What was that?!"
"We're stronger than before because now everyone looks out for each other and has one another's backs. That's the kind of guild Sabertooth is becoming!"
"A true…guild." Rogue gingerly stood up. "We had to start over from square one."
The twin dragons faced their former master with renewed determination. "That's why you have to go!" The dragon slayers attacked simultaneously. Jiemma blocked the punches with his forearm.
"A true guild?!" Jiemma cackled. "Sorry to disappoint you, but there's no such thing! Strength can only emanate from the individual! One like me that possesses a strong, iron will!"
"You're wrong!" Sting protested. "There is a guild that is stronger than your 'iron will'!" His thoughts swam to Fairy Tail.
"We found a guild close by that's kind, strong, honest, and we're way happier than before!"
"Insolent fools!" Jiemma slashed Sting and Rogue's shoulders with his claws and pushed them away.
"The truly strong stand alone! Those who have to rely on others for strength are nothing less than weaklings! In fact, they are even weaker than that!"
"I don't give a damn what you say! We're going to keep moving forward with the help of our friends! That's what it means to be strong! Fairy Tail showed us how much love brings meaning to life!"
"Enough!" Jiemma roared. He charged ahead, preparing to let loose his final blow to the Twin Dragons.
"Hey, Rogue." Sting grinned weakly. "I say we try that new move we learned."
"We still haven't perfected it." The shadow dragon reminded, but he too was grinning.
"But we have nothing else to lose. Let's do it." The Twin Dragons gathered their respective elements into their fingertips, stepped forward, and slashed.
"Hakueiryū no Ashiginu!"
Beams of light and darkness sprung forth from the Twin Dragon's fingertips, piercing Jiemma's body multiple times from all directions. The demon howled in agony as the lights cut his body to ribbons. When it was finished his mouth was agape in shock.
"Im…possible…" He fell backwards, the slamming of his body on the ground signaling both his death and the end of the fight.
Sting and Rogue looked back at him as they huffed out a long sigh
"So long, Master." Rogue bowed his head to his former master
"It's all up to them now." Sting said.
"Yeah." Rogue nodded.
Too exhausted to move any longer, both Sting and Rogue fell to the ground.
Mard Geer continued dragging Natsu and Gray's faces through the stone floors of the ruins.
"Have you learned from your folly yet, humans?" The demon taunted.
Gray and Natsu exchanged looks and nodded.
They grabbed Mard Geer's wrists, placed their feet against the floor, pushed off, and landed on Mard Geer's back.
Still holding his wrists, Natsu and Gray drew back their hands gathering their respective magics and punched the flying demon in the back of his head as hard as they could. The mix of fire and ice broke through the floor, creating a massive crater.
Mard Geer, momentarily stunned by the attack, quickly spread his wings and flew up, throwing the Fairy Tail wizards to the ground. He brought back his leg and kicked up some of the rubble. Gray leapt out of the path of destruction, but Natsu was caught in it.
The dragon slayer flipped backward and landed on all fours. He puffed out his cheeks and let loose a roar of flames.
Mard Geer quickly strafed in the air to evade but was seen by Gray.
"Hyoma no! Gekiko!"
Mard Geer circled around Gray's breath attack. When he was far enough away, he held out his hand, concentrating dark energy into a sphere in his palm.
"Dea! Ygdrasill!"
A mass of intertwined wooden beams fell from the sphere and down towards Natsu and Gray.
Natsu and Gray clenched their fists as tightly as they could and unleashed a flurry of punches on the creation.
A fury of punches was sent flying at the wood that began to crack.
As pieces of the wood splintered in all directions, Gray froze it and then clenched his hands.
"Ice Make! Gungnir!"
A massive spear of ice erupted the ground to pierce the demon. Mard Geer narrowly avoided the point but quickly turned around when he heard that ice cracking.
He spun around, his eyes widening when he saw Natsu.
"He was inside the ice?!"
The dragon slayer gathered fire in his hands and slammed them together, generating a gigantic blaze.
"Karyu no Koen!"
The giant sphere of fire engulfs Mard Geer and sent him rocketing back to the ground with a horrendous crash, his body bouncing until it collided with a pile of rubble.
Natsu landed on the ground next to Gray. After a few seconds, Mard Geer rose from the dirt, opening his wings forcefully to dispel the debris and dust.
Natsu spit out some blood in his mouth to the ground as he glares at Mard Geer
"Doesn't this guy know how to stay down?"
"He will after I get ahold of him." Gray declared.
"I must admit I have enjoyed this battle, human wizards!" Mard Geer pulled one of his wings over his body, using it as a cloak.
"Did you know that all magic was once one? But it eventually was split into all different kinds and classes of magic that we know today. It was then that Master END discovered a new way to utilize magic,He created Curse Power! A type of magic that draws its strength from negative emotions. Pain. Resentment. Hatred. Jealousy. Vengeance. The very essence of curse power was built upon life itself!"
"Cut the crap!" Natsu interjected. "Even if that is true that's all in the past! The magic we use now is going keep us moving forward!"
"Foolish." Mard Geer thrust out his palm and a mass of dark fog crept towards the Fairy Tail wizards.
Natsu and Gray slowly backed towards one another. They were trapped.
"What is this stuff?" Natsu exclaimed.
"I don't know! It looks like fog."
The "fog" began to slither up their bodies, freezing them in place.
"I can't move!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"There is no 'moving forward'!" Mard Geer proclaimed.
"Now descended into purgatory! Courtesy of the Ultimate curse made to dispose of Zeref himself!" Natsu and Gray began to feel their bodies erupt with pain.
"The recollection of death awaits…"
"Memento Mori!"
A tower of wailing sprits rose from the ground into the sky above with a deafening boom.
Natsu and Gray were trapped in the vortex while Mard Geer basked in the glory of his ultimate spell.
"To murder, the immortal Zeref one must understand both concepts of life and death! Those who fall prey to Memento Mori are neither alive nor are they dead, they simply cease to be! Your fate leads to this moment! You will be obliterated into nothing…forever!"
The spirits dissipated and the rumbling stopped, leaving only a massive crater where Natsu and Gray once stood.
Mard Geer looked upon his handiwork with satisfaction, returning to this normal form.
"I have finally completed the ultimate curse." He mused.
"Now all that remains is for Master's END reign of terror to begin and then… to kill Lord Zeref." He turned on his heel and began walking when his ears caught sound of a small rumbling.
He looked down in the crater, his eyes widening upon seeing a small hill in the middle.
When it burst open and the dust settled, Gray and Natsu were shown to be still alive, the former's skin almost completely black.
"Impossible…" the demon muttered.
Natsu looks at Gray's appearance as his eyes widen in shock "Gray…"
"A partial demon transformation?!" Mard Geer shouted.
"Is this another one of Silver's abilities that he bequeathed to you? How were you able survive my ultimate attack!"
Gray could feel his consciousness slipping away. "For the future…" he struggled to stay up right.
"This…was the only…the thing I could do…It's up to you now…Natsu…" Gray fell to the ground, leaving a stunned Natsu to carry on.
"Gray?"
"Do you humans think you can make a fool of me?!" Mard Geer changed back to his Etherious form and sped towards Natsu.
"Gray?!" Natsu clenched his teeth in anger at his friends sacrifice.
Natsu roared out as Dragon scales formed on his face and arms.
"You bastard!" He punched Mard Geer with a flaming fist, sending the demon careening through a standing structure.
"What is this power?!" Mard Geer tried to recover but Natsu was too fast.
The dragon slayer kneed Mard Geer in the chin, sending higher into the air. Natsu's body was then slowly covered in crimson flames, creating the visage of wings and horns that protruded from his head. He had never felt so powerful before.
Mard Geer's eyes went wide. "Dragon Force?!"
Natsu landed on a floating piece of debris and charged his energies. "I learned this from Igneel!"
"Guren! Hooken!"
Natsu propelled his flaming body into Mard Geer like an arrow, his head crashing into the demon's abdomen.
As they flew higher into the air, Natsu's dragon force began to fade away and he slowly stopped rising.
""Damn it, I used up all of my magic""
"I'm not finished yet!" Mard Geer stopped his ascent and raced back to Natsu, grabbing the back of the dragon slayer's head.
He held him down as he descended to the ground, his intention being to crush Natsu's body to pieces when they landed.
"BE GONE! HUMAN!"
"But…I believe too…you know?" Natsu said with a grin as he took a deep breath
"Gray!" Natsu shouted out as the ice wizard in question heard his friend's shout and made it to his feet.
He created a bow and arrow with his devil slayer magic, his sights set squarely on Mard Geer.
"How is he still alive?!" The demon exclaimed.
"Hyoma! Zero no Hakyuu!"
He launched the arrow at Mard Geer, piercing the demon's gut. It then expanded, causing even more damage.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
""This can't be!"" ""Kyôka… Master?!"".
""Be at ease…"" Kyôka's voice replied weakly to him
Natsu and Mard Geer fell to the ground, the demon taking much more damage than the dragon slayer. Gray relaxed his body some, his tattoo disappearing again.
"We did it…" Natsu said.
"Not yet. I still have to get rid of END."
"Oh yeah the book!" Natsu remembered. "I gotta get it back to Igneel."
"Sorry, Natsu. But that's not happening." Gray walked to the table the book sat on.
The dragon slayer slowly rose to one knee. His body was still weakened from dragon force. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm destroying it." Gray said.
"Don't give me that crap, you idiot! Just give me the book!"
"You're the idiot!" Gray argued. He held the book up so Natsu could see it.
"END was the one who made Tartaros, and it's also the ultimate volume in the Book of Zeref. We have to destroy it while we still have the chance!"
""he says that but he doesn't know what happens if he did"" END said in the mind link with Natsu
"I made a promise to Igneel." Natsu stood up. "Hand it over!" he demanded.
"No." Gray replied firmly.
They stared at each other before they felt the entire land rumbling
"What's going on?!" Gray shouted.
"Is it Face?!" Natsu questioned.
"This is merely the beginning." Mard Geer said as he laid in the crater, defeated, but he still managed to boast about victory.
"The elimination of magic will create a new era for Master END." He turned his head to look at Gray and Natsu.
"Then when the humans are stripped of their magic, they will be forced to witness the terror unleashed by the greatest demon within the book of Zeref!"
With END
"so, the demons won in the end?" END spoke as he stands and watches Face go off while behind him were Kyoka and Sayla, the two demons rested while being watched over by Franmalth in his mushroom size
"what a pity"
Erza gritted her teeth, the metallic taste of her dripping blood only adding onto the shame she felt for her failure. Barely able to move her body she could only glare at the alert above. "We didn't…make it in time…"
"Look there!" Lily pointed to the screen with bombs' locations. The exceeds watched as icons representing the Face Bombs began lighting up one by one.
"No…" Happy quaked.
Lector's little body also shook in fright at the sight of the alarms. "The bombs are detonating all over the continent…"
"Wh-what now?" Frosch fearfully questioned.
"Now?" Mirajane spoke up as she looks at the Face timer
"All magic in Ishgal will vanish."
"It's the end of the magical world…" Minerva said
Makarov could hear the rumblings of the bomb's detonations all the way from the catacombs beneath Fairy Tail. He bowed his head in shame before the Lumen Histoire.
"I was just a few moments too late. I'm sorry, children."
Lucy lost her footing and fell to the ground with a hard thud.
"Lucy!" Lisanna called.
"Are you alright?" Yukino walked to her fellow Celestial Wizard and helped her to her feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Lucy reassured with a small smile. "I just felt weak all of a sudden."
"What's wrong?" Lisanna asked.
Lucy shook her head. "I don't know, but I can barely stand."
"I'll help you." Yukino said and was about to help her before she fell down, weakened
"my…magic" Yukino muttered out weakly
"My speed is gone too!" Jet blurted out.
Warren pressed his fingers to his temple and tried to read someone's - anyone's - thoughts. All he heard was silence. "I can't get in touch with anybody!"
"Do you think that means that Face…?" Droy frightfully implied.
Lisanna's clothes began disappearing but Doranbolt quickly covered her with his coat.
"T-thank you." She said with reddened cheeks.
"I was using my animal soul for clothes, but now I can't bring it back."
"The ethernanos have all thinned out." Doranbolt noticed.
"Then we must have not made it in time." Charla said.
"Oh no…" Wendy muttered.
"what's happening?" Rose asked as she sees everyone from the guild fell to the ground weakened
"Ika- oneechan!" Mary exclaimed as Ikaruga lies on the ground with a weak look on her expression
"has the gods…..abandoned us?" she whispered out
"Papa! Mama!" Rose screamed out to their parents as everyone was in need of help
The dragon slayers and Gray tried to move but their bodies were being drained of magic too quickly. Natsu managed to rise to his knees, his angered eyes aimed at the smirking Mard Geer.
"There is nothing you can do." The demon said.
"Master END's reign has begun! Humanity is forever doomed!"
Natsu gnashed his teeth in rage.
"Dammit!" Natsu shouted before a giant crash was heard near them
Natsu and the others looked at the crash site and sees that It was Acnologia.
"What the hell?" Gray muttered.
Igneel then descended from the skies as he landed down while placing his claw on the head of the downed black dragon.
"do not give up hope, humans!" Igneel roar out.
Elsewhere the airship Christina fired its cannons at one of the Face bombs but was having no luck.
"That was the last of the cannons," Hibiki reported.
"We didn't even put a dent in that thing," Eve said.
"What the hell is it supposed to be?" Ren questioned.
"What are we going to do, Mr. Ichiya?" Jenny asked worriedly.
"Hmmm." The leader of the Tri-Mens pondered.
"We have bigger things to worry about." Hibiki interrupted. "Our magical fuel is depleting fast, we won't be able to stay in the air much longer!"
"So it has come to this…" Ichiya uttered. He had given in to defeat.
"Get away!" A voice shouted to Jenny. The blonde turned her head quickly at the voice.
"Who was that?"
Eve saw something approaching from behind the ship at a frightening speed.
"What's that?!" he pointed.
Ichiya took notice of the object. "Evasive action!" he ordered.
The UFO pierced through the Face bomb, crumbling it to pieces as it zoomed past the Christina.
"What was that just now?!" Ichiya exclaimed.
"A bird?" Jenny offered. She wondered if the creature that destroyed the bomb was the one that had spoken to her.
Wendy and her group watched the destruction of the bomb from below. The unidentified beast had moved too fast for the others to see, but Wendy managed to catch a brief glimpse of shimmering white scales. "Grandeeney?"
"The icons are changing." Happy said in disbelief. One after another Xs began appearing over the Face icons, signifying their destruction at the claws of these mysterious sky creatures.
"What's happening?" Erza wondered.
Gajeel was on his knees. The pain in his gut had returned while Levy tend to him.
"Gajeel, what's wrong?" Levy asked.
"Metalicana."
Just as Gajeel uttered his name the Iron Dragon destroyed another Face bomb.
The other dragon slayers felt the same sensations as Gajeel did.
"Weisslogia?" Sting muttered when he saw his foster father flying up above. "It can't be…I killed him."
"Does that mean Skiadrum is out there as well?" Rogue questioned. He too had seen the dragon that had raised him.
"The dragons have been released!" Igneel announced. "They're soaring through the skies of Ishgal!"
Fairy Tail and their allies all looked up at the once thought dead beasts.
Some breathed sighs of relief, others cried tears of joy, and some had no idea what to think. Mard Geer stewed in his anger and shock.
"It's a miracle." Wendy wept.
"This is awesome!" Natsu exclaimed in awe.
FACE
SIGNAL
LOST
"All the lights are gone!" Lector shouted happily.
"But why?" Frosch asked.
"Is there a need to ask why?" Lily grinned.
"You're right." Mirajane smiled in relief. "Face is no longer active. We should be thankful."
Even Erza found herself smiling in solace. "It's over."
Wendy wiped her tears away as her friends all cheered. "The dragons…" she smiled.
"They wiped out all of the bombs from the continent." Gajeel smirked.
"We are victorious!" Igneel roared out
Everyone exclaimed in happiness and relief, the long battle was finally over. Mard Geer was still shocked.
"Defeat…?" he muttered.
Gray looked around the battlefield, his eyes falling on END's book just a small distance away from him.
"So…" Sting teared up, he quickly wiped them away. "Weisslogia was alive all along?"
"Yes." Igneel nodded. "As were Skiadrum, Metalicana, and Grandeeney. We were living inside of you Dragon Slayers ever since we disappeared on July 7th, X777. To be more accurate we used a secret technique that allowed us to lie dormant within your bodies."
"That must have been that feeling in our chests from earlier!" Rogue reasoned. "That was you dragons awakening from within us!"
"It was." Igneel nodded.
"Well I still don't get it!" Natsu interjected.
"How did you get inside of our bodies anyway?! I'm pretty sure I saw you croak right in front of my own eyes!"
Igneel briefly grinned at Natsu's ignorance before answering him.
"We did so for two reasons: the first was so you all would not turn into dragons as Acnologia did."
The human's eyes widened.
"Acnologia was a human once?!" Natsu blurted out.
""so the old man did know too"" END said as he walks towards the ruins
Igneel nodded to his son
"Hundreds of years ago during the Dragon Civil War, Acnologia was one of the first Dragon Slayers to ever exist. He initially fought for the side of coexistence between humans and dragons along with myself and the others, but soon he and his comrades became power-hungry. They then began ruthlessly killing dragons one after another. Soon Acnologia was corrupted by his own power, and turned into the beast that threatens you today."
"A dragon civil war?" Rogue repeated.
"I had no idea." Sting said.
"The other reason we chose to lie dormant within you is-"Igneel was interrupted by Acnologia rising again. The black dragon pushed Igneel off and flew back into the skies. Igneel followed after him.
"Igneel!" Natsu yelled.
"I'll finish him off! You just get that book!"
Natsu turned and saw that the book was once again in Gray's hands. Natsu was no longer in the mood for games. "Give it up, Gray."
Unfortunately, the ice wizard was through playing as well. "I told you before, I made a promise to take down END."
Igneel and Acnologia resumed their battle high above. Their ferocious roars echoing throughout the land.
"You hid inside the humans to prevent them from becoming dragons?" Acnologia questioned in his rage.
"What are you trying to accomplish, Acnologia?!" Igneel interrogated.
"are you that afraid of END returning?! Leave the humans be!"
"You think me afraid of a mere demon?! What rubbish! I am the king of the dragons! Acnologia! There is nothing in this world I fear!"
"You yourself were born a human!" Igneel countered.
"I will not allow Natsu and the other dragon slayers to become like you!"
"Whether they become like me or not is of no consequence! The only thing in this world I desire is destruction!"
The dragons clashed again, their claws drawing blood with each cut.
Natsu and Gray continued to stare each other down. As Gray holds the book and Natsu desires the book
"You guys shouldn't be fighting," Sting said weakly.
"This not the time or place for this." Rogue chided.
Suddenly the book vanished from Gray's hand. "What the hell?"
"Gray!" Natsu fumed.
"Stop glaring at me. I didn't do it." Gray retorted
"He's right. It was my doing. The book does belong to me after all, it's only right I should have it returned to me. It's very precious to me after all."
Everyone's eyes went wide with fear when they looked on the book thief - the book's true owner - Zeref. Gray and Natsu narrowed their eyes at the immortal.
""he couldn't wait, could he now?"" END said in the mind link with a sigh
"You did well, Mard Geer." Zeref praised the demon. "You were very close to reviving END." He turned his head to Mard Geer and smiled sadly. "You may rest now."
Mard Geer's pupil's shrank in fear of the look on his master's face. He knew of the underlying intent behind Zeref's seemingly kind words. His body beginning to shake and he raised his arm to the sky.
"Mard Geer…will fulfill…your wish…"
Zeref snapped his fingers and in a puff of smoke Mard Geer turned into a book. With another snap of the black wizard's fingers the book caught flames, burning away to ashes.
"I'm afraid that will not be attainable for you." He said.
Gray was shocked. "Why did you do that?! Didn't you create him?!"
"I did." Zeref confirmed. "But I no longer have need of him." He looked to Natsu.
"the time is ripe."
Natsu squinted his eyes as an afterimage of END appears beside Zeref and the demon started whispering to him
"I see" Zeref whispered
"Acnologia just had to interfere. Will he end history once more, or will a miracle take place? Even I don't know the answer."
"What are you talking about?' Gray demanded the immortal who suddenly disappeared a second later
"Damn! He took the book!" Gray cursed.
Natsu felt dark and negative energy swelling up in him as he clenched his fists
""the time has come""
Acnologia whipped his tail against the right side of Igneel's face, sending the Fire Dragon spiraling down to the ground below. He chased down Igneel and landed on him, digging his sharpened claws into fire dragon's belly.
"Destruction!" The black dragon repeated over and over as he slash and scraped away at Igneel's body. "Destruction!"
Igneel roared in agony.
"Is this all the power you can muster, King of the Fire Dragons?!"
Igneel smirked at Acnologia, blood trailing from his mouth to the ground.
"Well I did just wake up from a very long nap."
Acnologia was not amused by Igneel's defiance. He resumed tearing into him.
""Natsu!"" Igneel called.
Natsu perked up at his name. "Igneel?!"
""There are still things that I must tell you.""
Natsu caught wind of Igneel's scent as he equips on Enryuo no Yoroi and flies off to the distance, leaving behind his friends.
"hold on! I'm coming!"
"Natsu, where are you going?!" Gray hollered, but the dragon slayer was already gone.
""I already explained why we dragon slayers were lying dormant in the bodies of you dragon slayers, but not fully. It was to prevent you from becoming dragons, but when we left, we created defenses to prevent that from ever happening. Because that process is such a long one, we were unable to leave sooner. No matter how much we wanted to. The other reason was so we could defeat Acnologia once and for all.""
""I altered your memory so that you can attain Dragon Force that day, I'm sorry that I had to do that""
Natsu could see the two dragons in the distance and sped up.
""Don't worry, Igneel! I'm almost there!""
""No! Stay back! Do not come here, Natsu! Acnologia is much stronger than I anticipated! I do not want you to face him!""
"I don't care! I'm not just gonna stand by and watch you die again! If we team up there's nothing that can beat us! Not even Acnologia!"
Igneel grinned and clutched Acnologia's talons in his own. He pushed him off and the two dragons took to sky again.
""I've waited for this moment for ages. The chance to finish Acnologia with my own talons!""
"Igneel!" Natsu tried to follow up to the sky but a huge gust of wind prevents him from doing so
"damnit!" Natsu flies off course as he looks up and sees something that horrified him
Igneel had a gaping hole on his side as the Fire Dragon had ripped off the black dragon's left arm with his teeth.
"What's going on?" Erza questioned in shock.
"Natsu…" Igneel uttered with a small smile.
"I'm sorry that I lied to you of my death, I'm sorry that I left you like this, but I watched you become so strong. You even managed to gain a family of your own. I'm so proud."
"so, please, choose who you are"
Acnologia turned and unleashed a final breath attack against the fallen Igneel.
"The days I spent with you was among the happiest of my life. You gave me the strength that comes from loving someone."
The ball of energy encompassed Igneel, erupting in a massive explosion. Natsu could not believe his eyes. Tears began to stream down his face as he cried out.
"IGNEEL!"
Far away END watches the scene from afar as Zeref was beside him
A tear slides down his right eye as the Etherious touched the tear drop
"So the dragons saved us…" Makarov said. "It seems I just couldn't do it after all. I didn't have the courage to use Lumen Histoire."
"Perhaps that is for the best."
Makarov looked forward, watching as Master Mavis walked towards him. She stopped and stood next to him. "It simply means that the time for its use has not come yet."
"I suppose so." Makarov turned around and faced Lumen Historie.
Fairy Tail and their gathered allies stood in front of the dragons in wonder. It was quite the sight to see, for all them, but none more so than the dragon slayers themselves.
"Grandeeney!" Wendy chirped through misted eyes.
"Thanks to Igneel's efforts, along with the determination of all of you gathered here, Acnologia has been turned away." The sky dragon smiled to them
"This is pretty awesome!" Jet exclaimed. "With these dragons here I feel like we could do anything!"
"You got that right!" Droy added.
"You guys destroyed all the Face bombs?" Max questioned as he was still having trouble believing what he saw in front of him was real.
"You did very well too, Wendy." Grandeeney praised. "You destroyed one of the bombs all on your own."
Wendy picked up Charla and held her. "Charla and I did it together."
Metalicana looked at Gajeel for a few moments before leaning his head towards him.
"You still have that nasty glare." The dragon remarked with a smirk.
"You shut up!" Gajeel snapped.
Sting and Rogue looked to their dragons with much more surprise and suspicion than the others.
"I killed you." Sting said to Weisslogia.
Rogue looked to Skiadrum. "So did I. I watched you die with my own eyes."
Weisslogia smirked knowingly and tapped his claw against the side of his head
"We dragons have the ability to change human's memories however we see fit."
"we wanted to give you the memory as well the experience of killing a dragon since you are dragon slayers."
"Though that is not to say that we are actually alive…"
Sting raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
"We're already dead." Grandeeney revealed.
Wendy's spirits fell. "What?"
"Long ago Acnologia used a dragon slayer spell that expelled our souls from our bodies. That is the other reason we laid dormant inside you, not just to prevent you from becoming dragons like Acnologia, but to extend our own lives as well.
"But now that we have left your bodies we cannot return, and we will soon fade away from this world. I hope you understand why we could not reveal ourselves sooner. We had to wait for the right moment to strike."
"But, Grandeeney…"
"Not even Igneel could defeat Acnologia, but he used the last of his strength to deal a harrowing blow to the black dragon. Humans, please do not let this tarnish the legacy of the Fire Dragon King. He was the bravest of all of us. There were none that loved humans more than he."
Everyone began talking amongst themselves about their thoughts on the dragon's revelations.
"We haven't told you as much as we would like, but that will have to suffice for now." Grandeeney said.
"it is time for us to depart," Skiadrum said as the dragons' body glowed
"No!" Wendy refused. "Please don't leave me again, Grandeeney!"
The sky dragon bent down to Wendy as she smiled to her
"Though there will be many more dangers that lie ahead of you, I know you'll make it through all of them just fine. There is no need for you to worry."
"But I-"Wendy's protests were cut short when Gajeel placed his hand on her head.
"We have to be strong. We can't send them off with sad looks on our faces." He grinned. He felt the same way she did.
"You're right." Wendy accepted. She sniffed and looked back to Grandeeney with a smile.
Levy stood next to her with a smile of her own. The other wizards looked at the dragons with hints of sadness as the beasts spread their wings and began ascending into the sky.
"There was once a time when humans and dragons were enemies." Grandeeney said.
"We fought and we hated one another viscously, but that is in the distant past. Now, both your kind and mine have come together in friendship. The world is reaching the end of the age of dragons, soon the world will be left in the hands of you humans."
The dragons soared higher into the sky, their bodies beginning to glow.
"Four hundred years ago our two races formed a compact: The Magna Carta! Because of it, we will watch over you all forever-more!"
A tower of light rose from the ground and the dragons began fading away.
"Grandeeney!" Wendy cried out.
"I love you, Wendy." The sky dragon smiled before disappearing.
"you still have that Nasty Glare." Metalicana said.
"Are those really your last words?!" Gajeel yelled as he watched Metalicana disappear
"Dammit…" Gajeel said with a grin and a teary falling down his eye
"Thank you, Weisslogia." Sting said.
"Skiadrum." Rogue added.
The pillar of light could be seen all the way in Magnolia, captivating all that looked upon it. Master Makarov looked upon the light, a pang of regret in his heart.
"I'm glad they came to help when they did."
"yeah"
Everyone watches as the sky was filled with the shining particles of light
"we should get going, Master might be worried for us" Mira suggested as everyone nodded
"wait" Rose said as this caught everyone's attention
"Papa isn't here." Mary said as everyone looks around for the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"He went to find Igneel." Gray chimed in. "I'm sure he was there with him when he was struck down."
"Do you think he's ok?" Lisanna worried.
"That was a pretty big explosion," Warren said. "He might have gotten caught up in it." He was quickly hit on the head by Elfman. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"Watch your mouth, idiot." Elfman directed Warren's eyes to Erza. She was looking at the ground with a perplexed stare. The telepath quickly recognized his folly.
"I-I mean. I'm sure Natsu's fine!" Warren desperately attempted to reassure the redhead.
"It'll take way more than that to keep him down." He laughed weakly, but soon realized that Erza was paying him no attention.
"Hey? Erza?"
Mirajane placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Hm?" Erza looked to Mirajane with surprise.
"Yes I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Erza said as she snapped out of her trance
"We were all wondering if you were concerned about Natsu."
"Oh. I'm sure he's fine." Her smile seemed to appease Mirajane, but deep down Erza was worried.
""east"" a voice spoke to Erza as Enryuo no Kiba appeared in front of her as the sword floats in front of Erza
"what the!?" Jet and Droy exclaimed as the sword glows to Erza
It then started to float away as Erza followed the sword
Everyone looks to Erza as if she was being pulled by the sword
"let's follow her" Lucy said as everyone nodded
With Natsu
Natsu was on his hands and knees next to Igneel's body, tears pouring from his eyes.
"Dad…" he finally said. "You promised…right? You said…you said you wouldn't go anywhere. You…you can't break that promise." He hoped that Igneel would answer him.
"I…i made friends…a whole lot of them! I went on all sorts different jobs and saw all sorts of different places. I got married…and…I even have two girls. They're names are Rose and Mary…they're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Natsu wept. "I…I…I have a whole lot more stuff I want to tell you, Igneel!" Natsu cried out.
Igneel's body started to glow as he started to disappear
Footsteps were heard as END approached Natsu
The Etherious was in tears as well
"damn old man, you just love playing tricks on us, don't you?" END said as he cried
""I couldn't ever hurt my own son, even if it met the sake of the world, I would never do it"
""I will always love you no matter what, Natsu""
""choose, the right path""
Igneel's voice spoke to the two as he disappeared into the sky
Natsu and END cried out in tears as even if END was a demon, Igneel was the only one in the world that loved him no matter what
"even If I destroy the world, I will never find anything like his love for us anywhere" END said as Natsu nodded before standing back up
"do it" Natsu said as END looks at him before snapping his fingers
"I will keep my end of the bargain; your loved ones will never be harmed" END said as the time stopped again
"thank you" Natsu thanked him before Zeref approaches the two from behind
That's a wrap!
Next chapter is the last one for the volume
Bye bye