chapter 32 enjoy
After 10 minutes of walking, they reached the outskirts of the demon inhabited village.
It didn't differ from a village you would see built by humans.
It's a very surreal experience for the trio. However, the surreal feeling didn't last long as memories of Galuna came back to them.
In fact, the resident's appearance wasn't far off from the galuna demons.
"Hey, everyone, Lucian's back!" A presumed female demon shouts, getting everyone's attention.
Lucian waved to everyone as he continued deeper into the village, stopping at the presumed market section.
They found their seats at a nearby table as more demons stopped by to say hello to Lucian. But also ask about the trio accompanying him.
"Why did we stop here?" Ultear asked.
"Figure you'd want a short break. Beyond this point, we'll be entering hostile territory!" This got nods from the trio.
"Good, I'm starting to get hungry," Natsu said with a nervous grin.
The remaining three-floored themselves from Natsu's words.
Ultear is the first to recover, letting out an annoyed sigh at her husband's antics.
Lucian called over a female demon with a wave of his hand. They followed her to an outside restaurant.
The women handed them menus. After five minutes, they gave the lady their order and waited to get them.
Once the food arrived, they ate in comfortable silence.
Natsu got himself a big juicy steak with his green, much to his annoyance and Ultear glee, and a shot of flaming whiskey with a glass of water.
Ultear has the same thing as Natsu but a smaller portion with more green than meat minus the whiskey.
Lucian surprisingly got him a salad which they can only assume is beans and water for a drink.
Happy like always is eating a fish sitting on Natsu's shoulder.
Lucian paid for their meals since it's clear the inhabitants of the devil land use a different currency.
Lucian took the lead, leading them into the dense forest. He lifts a big leaf allowing them to push in through.
Fortunately for Lucian Natsu, backwoods experience from Fiore is proving invaluable.
He'd regularly bring up his observations to Lucian and how to go forward through the brush.
Ultear felt a tinge of jealousy toward the shadow devil slayer at how quick the two hit it off.
She's beside herself how the guy standing before him after a couple of days is talking and interacting with Natsu like they have known each other for years.
If anyone is gonna hit it off the bat with Natsu, it would be his mate and now wife, Ultear.
She's internally cursing the one responsible for the two hit it off so quickly.
She took a deep inhale then exhaled, calming her nerves as she continued following Lucian's lead.
they continued onward then Lucian stopped dead in his tracks. "You hear that, Natsu?"
He immediately put his guard up. "Yeah, from the scent, it's the same thing from earlier." This put Ultear and Happy on edge.
After a few more minutes of walking, the two slayers suddenly heard movement.
"Everyone, get ready. We have company!" Lucian shots getting into a fighting stance.
Natsu and Ultear got into their respective stances, prepared for anything.
Not much of a fighter, Happy headed high into the sky.
Then a presumed demon jumps out of the brush. The demon's appearance can only be described as a beefed-up human body version.
And to make things worse, its body seems to be covered in scales giving it a reptilian look to him.
The demon ignores Lucian going straight for Natsu. He realized too late that Natsu sported a smug grin.
"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" He shouted before nailing the demon with Devastating results.
The force was so great the demon was sent flying backward, hitting the ground with a thud.
Then a second demon matching the first appearance came out of the brush, this time going after Ultear.
"PARALLEL WORDS!" Dozens of lacrima orbs surround her before colliding with the demon.
The demon let out a scream of pain as an endless assault of Lacrimas hit him.
Then three more demons come out of hiding. This time the body is covered head to toe in thick fur.
They go after Lucian himself. Lucian smirks as they get closer and closer.
"SHADOW DEVIL SLASH!" His hand and forearms are covered in tinted purple shadows.
The shadows form a bladed edge as he charges the demons.
A few swings of his arms, and he stands back to back with the demons.
Moments later, the demon collapses to the ground releasing startling blood.
He walks up to their body to see the bodies slashed across their chest, back and shoulders.
Lucian looks to the other to see both Natsu and Ultear have finished off their opponents with ease.
"Glad to see you can handle yourselves. I was honestly worried the demons might be too much for you." Just then, Happy found his spot on Natsu's shoulder.
They questioned the demons still breathing on what they had in store for the other habitats of the Devil lands.
The leader didn't hesitate to spit in Lucian's face, getting a sigh from the devil slayer.
"Fine, be that way!" Then, with a shadow power attack, he ended their lives quickly.
"Wish it didn't have to come to this," Happy said aloud.
"I know, buddy, but they'd be a massive liability if we left them be," Natsu said
"Come, we need to get moving," the trio trailed right behind their guide deeper inland.
As they headed deeper, they ran into more demons. But, they're getting stronger after each encounter.
Unfortunately, night came sooner than any of them wanted. Nevertheless, the trio plus Lucian manage to find a spot tucked out of the way.
They hope it's hidden enough for the demons to walk right past them.
Lucian takes the first watch since the devil lands in his backyard, allowing Natsu and the others to get some rest.
Around midnight he switches with Natsu. He's on high alert, checking every corner and sound he hears.
Eventually, hours pass, a quick check of the time he learns it is just past three in the morning.
Unfortunately, his sense of smell is getting to him, the source of his mate Ultear.
He was so distracted by this he failed to notice a hidden presence not too far away.
The presence is a demon scoping them out with a sinister grin.
"The human female is perfect. Now to separate her from the others!" He silently calls for backup.
Within minutes another demon sat right beside him.
"What is the plan?" He said
"We need to separate the pink-haired bastard from his group."
"I can do that!" He quietly heads closer to the camp.
"Good thing Ezol has sleep magic."
Ezol carefully approaches the camp making sure to stick to the shadow. Then, he crouches down, only 20 feet away from Natsu.
With a wave of his hand, he unleashed countless flying dust-sized particles.
The particles take on silver color in the moonlight as they ride the tiniest breeze towards Natsu crossing his nose doing what they do best.
Natsu suddenly felt really sleepy, so sleepy he couldn't think straight as he struggled to stay awake.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. The dragon slayer fell to his knees before landing face-first on the ground, falling fast asleep.
Ezol waved his ally over, "Rokolag, my job is done now to grab the female!" So they carefully sneak in, putting a magic restraining cuff in her.
Their demon strength picked her up and headed deeper into the heart of the devil lands.
When morning finally came, Natsu was the first to wake up. Getting back on his feet, his mind slowly catches up with reality.
"What happened?" He said to himself. That is when he realized it was morning, "CRAP!"
He runs in to wake the others up only to notice one missing, Ultear.
He looks around frantically using his nose. But, he doesn't see her or smell her nearby at all.
"Ultear, Ultear ULTEAR!" He shouted, waking his companions up.
"Natsu, what's wrong?" Happy said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
He didn't get an answer. Instead, all he sees on Natsu's face is a mix of rage and sadness.
"Ultear got kidnapped, didn't she?" Lucian asked for a nod from Natsu.
"What makes you so sure, Lucian?"
"You smelt a scent there, or you wouldn't freak out!" He said with a level tone getting a nod from Natsu. He walks outside, pointing to a track on the ground.
"With tracks and your sense of smell, we won't have a problem finding where they took your wife, Natsu."
He didn't get words but action from Natsu Sniffing the air before pointing in the direction of the scent.
Lucian took the lead, not wanting Natsu to run headfirst into god knows what. Anything could seriously affect their progress: pitfalls, sinkholes, patches of thorn, etc.
With Ultear.
Ultear stirred awake, taking a few moments to get her wits together when she noticed she wasn't in their makeshift camp.
That's when she noticed she's chained to a bed by her leg, with magic retained cuffs on her wrist.
Looking around the bed in question is a full-sized one with what looks to be a toilet in the corner.
"Where am I?"
"No doubt we're in the demon base," Ur said from within her choker. Ultear let out a sigh of relief, knowing her mother was still with her.
"What happened? How did I get here?"
"You were kidnapped during the night, honey."
"And you didn't wake me before!"
"Hey, I was resting up, and I figured it would be a great way to zero in on their base. Now I have to hunt down Natsu and the others!"
"Be careful. We don't want the enemy to know about you!"
"No problem, Ultear" with those words, she silently left the base to hunt down Natsu.
With her mother gone, all Ultear can do is wait for the others to come and save her. She's cursing the magic straining cuff relegating her to a damsel in distress.
"Good thing I'm married to the man who will rescue me!" She looks at her wedding ring.
With Natsu
Thanks to the footprints and scent, they're covering ground in record time before Natsu notices a small flash only for Ur to appear before them.
"Ur, what happened is Ultear ok!" Natsu said a little too loudly, causing Ur to stifle giggle before explaining the situation.
"I know that place!" Lucian shouts when Ur tells them the location of the base.
"How are you going to get there quickly with all the untamed wilderness?" she asked.
"Happy would you please," Natsu said smugly?
"Aye, Sir," he picks up Lucian, going high into the sky, only Natsu to follow him with a fire dragon claw.
Ur sighed at her son-in-law's antics, "how do you do this? Ultear. I will never know" she disappeared in a flash of light.
With Ultear
It's been an hour since her mother returned to her after telling the other where the base is. So now all she has to do is wait.
"Damn, these cuffs are a pain!" Just then, the door to her room opens, revealing a sizeable humanoid demon staring her down.
This one looks over six feet tall with a reptilian look, and his skin has scales but more boney desert lizards.
He walks over, pulling the chain around her leg, unhooking it but has a rope tied around her waist, trapping her arms.
He forcefully drags her with him with a sinister grin.
"What reason do you have for kidnapping Me!"
"You'll get your answer soon enough," he said with a dark chuckle.
Before she knew it, she was in a large room with a handful of other demons, with a much larger one staring at her with a sinister grin.
They dragged toward a large table before a demon lifted her, placing her flat on the table.
"What are you gonna do to me?!" She spat.
"We need to prepare your body for him!"
They all pull out bushes and vials of black paint or ink. Ultear can't tell, but it doesn't matter to her from the looks on their faces.
They stripped her down to her bra and panties. Then, the demons paint weird black markings and lines on her hands and feet with the brushes.
Where the marks converged sent a shiver down her spine with a cold sweat to boot. Then, finally, they connected in a giant swirl pattern on her lower belly, where her womb is.
"Hehe, I see she figured it out already."
"That's right, we're going to use that to bring life and strength back to the first of our kind." he moves out of the way to see an ancient, decrepit demon.
She can see the same size as a regular human as she gazes at the demon. He's basically skin and bone with a robe slouched in his seat.
He uses all his strength lifting his head to look her in the eyes before slouching again.
They wrap her in a robe with a few finishing touches, forcibly taking her back to her room as she tries to break free from their hold.
They chain her up with magic suppressing cuffs, locking the door behind them.
Just then, her mother returns and brings a smile to Mrs. Dragneel's face.
"Shouldn't be long now, honey!" Ur said before disappearing back into the necklace.
Unfortunately, this brief reunion with her mother doesn't last long.
The door to the room opens up, revealing the same demon from before.
"WHAT DID YOU DO, WOMEN!"
"What is it you're accusing me of while I'm chained up, mind you?!"
"Don't play coy with me. I know you sent word to your friends at some point when you got here!" It's then he noticed the choker around Ultear's neck.
Without hesitation, he snatches from her, looking carefully at the snowflake crystal before seeing a light glimmer.
"Hmm, I thought so. Hehe, I know just what to do with this!" Ultear's mind immediately went to him, destroying it.
He pulls out a small black box from his pocket, placing the choker inside it.
"Why destroy it when the souls inside can watch you be drained of your life and creative energy!" He said with a chuckle.
Deep seeded rage came to life in Ultear. Using all strength, she jumped toward the man kicking it out of his hand with her free leg.
The two followed the black box flying through the air, hitting the window breaking the glass.
Ultear raced toward the windows to see the box Plummet down the newly revealed steep rock wall into a dark abyss below.
"Mother!" She said as tears streamed down her cheeks. "You monster!"
"I try my best, a shame you'll never see it again, a powerful river runs through the Canyon out to sea, and that box suppresses magic like the cuff you're wearing now!" He said with a sadistic chuckle.
All Ultear can do is roll up into a ball and cry as she is separated from Natsu and her mother.
"Don't be sad. It will all be over soon enough," he said with a chuckle closing the door behind him.
With Natsu
After flying over an endless sea of treetops, the trio lands on the shore of a river. The demon base looking over the valley.
Looking to his long-time friend, "Happy I want you to recon the area, alert me of anything you find."
"Aye, sir!" With his wings open wide, the exceed flew off.
"Best I can see, we might have to scale the cliffside from this angle." he gazes at the mountain face looking over the valley. "You know a preferably better way?"
"We could drop in from the sky considering how big this valley is."
"Is that the best you can come up with?!"
"No," he quipped, causing Natsu to facepalm.
"Front entrance is no go. They slipped in and kidnapped your wife, no problem. A frontal assault would get us nowhere." Natsu glared at him with a growl.
"Sorry, I know it is a sore subject. There are a few cracks in the side of the mountain. Thanks to erosion from rainfall, some might be big enough for us to slip in undetected."
"Stupid question, but wouldn't they realize that's a possible entrance?"
"That's an acceptable risk we'll have to take since they will see us coming from the outside!"
"How do you know it isn't a trap."
"I don't, but it's the best option we have."
"Let's just get this over with," he said, still retaining his irritated tone.
"Guess I now understand what you meant, after all, father" Lucian takes the lead, following the river.
After just over an hour, they cross the river and slowly make their way up the mountainside.
Lucian can use his magic to jump into the shadows. Natsu, on the other hand, not so much.
Concentrating his magic into his hand, they are adorned with scales; each finger grew a claw fingernail.
Thanks to them, he could dig into the rock, allowing him to climb the slick surface.
"Lucian, how did these cracks form? erosion can't be the sole cause of them?"
"Story goes, this mountain was once an active volcano. The last eruption was extremely violent. So much, so that part of it collapsed."
"So the main body of the mountain is holding the demon base. The weakest part is long gone, and this crack is one of many spots caught in the middle?"
"Yes, and unfortunately, we have no way of knowing when one half finally gives way."
"Hopefully, we'll be out of here before that happens!"
"Hope so" it took who knows how long to scale the inside of the mountain, making sure Natsu didn't lose his grip.
Finding a rare flat spot, Lucian came out of the shadows with Natsu crouched down beside him.
Above them is a yellow light shining down on them. It's partially blocked by a wooden bridge covering the small gap between the two half of the mountain.
"You got her scent locked on Natsu?"
"No, unfortunately, all the climbing with the trickling water washed it away."
"Damn it, at least we have enhanced hearing!"
"True, let's not wait around. I want to save my wife!" He said, taking the lead.
He slowly gets on top of the bridge holding his hand out. Lucian grabs it, getting pulled up.
"How do we proceed from here, Lucian?"
"I'll go on ahead and scout the interior from the shadows. Probably best for you to hang back for a little while." He said, jumping into the shadows.
He heads deeper into the base using his enhanced hearing, finding a spot tucked out of sight.
He sighs at being forced to wait. Finally, after a few minutes, Lucian returned.
Natsu took the time to examine the base. He could feel the damp air against his skin and hear the faint flow of water all around him.
Add onto the fact it's dimly lit from the lanterns the two have come across.
Some are burning oil, others magic. So naturally, this piqued his interest since most people he comes across use magic.
Using his brain, Ultear worked so hard to improve he concludes they're saving ethernano in the environment for something big.
Then he saw a moving shadow out of the corner of his eye, only for Lucian to emerge from it.
"So what have you found?" he notices his expression of unease.
"You're gonna want to take a look at this!" he carefully followed his league through the base.
Both had their guard up, not seeing any demons cross their paths. That was what they expected. However, they came across the opposite. It's quietly, deftly quiet.
The risk they accepted looks to be coming through. They know they're there and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Weaving through the individual passageways, they soon find themselves in a giant room.
So big, in fact, it rivals the main room of the fairy tail guildhall.
"What is this?" Natsu asks, seeing a giant circle in the room with a strange symbol along the edge.
Just then, they heard the unmistakable sound of cracking rock. They look each other in the eyes, only for the floor beneath Lucian's feet to give way.
"Lucian!" he ran to him, holding his hand out, but it was too late.
He watches in horror as Lucian falls into the bottomless dark pit beneath them, only for the rocky floor to rebuild itself cutting the two off.
Edolas
It's been a few months since fairy tail's earthland counterpart returned to their world.
During that time, Edolas Fairy Tail relocated their guildhall to the capital.
That's when Natsu Dragion first met Ultear Leviathan; many decided they might hit it off if their earthland counterparts were married.
Shortly after crossing paths with the leviathan, many noticed Dragion was more confident.
It was a shocker for all when he mustered the strength to ask her out on a date. She said yes, of course.
Fortunately for the two, some of the restaurants are in working order.
The restaurant in question was casual since the high-end ones are pricey.
They sit across from each other. Dragion is telling leviathan stories of his time delivering stuff across Edolas.
And the crazy situations he found himself in, leviathan giggled periodically from his antics.
Leviathans notice early on he is struggling to maintain his newfound confidence. But the more he spends with her, the easier it becomes.
Dragion is too focused on her to notice some hidden observers. Leviathans sure did. From what she can gather, Ashley is among them, along with Jellal and Knightwalker.
Even though there's no magic left, her female mind can tell Ashley is seething in jealousy.
But she didn't pay too much attention to it, giving Dragion all her attention.
Then their food arrived, they ate in comfortable silence before dragion paid for their meal.
Afterward, Dragion walked her home, now standing at the front door of her home.
It's at this point his nervous side is coming through. Leviathans stifled a giggle, knowing what he wanted to do.
"Dragion do me a favor and close your eyes," she said
"Ok," he said curiously, closing his eyes.
With small smiles, she puts her lips to his. Feeling something soft, he opens his eyes to see leviathan kissing him.
He instinctively put more force on his end, the last longer than it should before separating each having a warm smile.
"It was an amazing night, Dragion," is all she says before going inside, leaving Dragion all by himself. He stumbled on his feet as he slowly headed home.
hope enjoyed the second chapter of the devil lands arc
what do you guys think of it so far
also hope you liked the edolas section I won't be covering it every chapter
and I don't know if I'll cover edolas after the seven-year gap section has concluded
as always make sure to fav follow and leave a chapter review