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- Awakening -
"What? So Ais and the others went to the dungeon anyway? What about the shopping you girls went to?" Gareth's disgruntled breath hung as soon as he turned his head over to his hand in slight disbelief after hearing the news from the elf mage.
"We finished that not long ago but since there was still time, they suggested going in the dungeon. Umm, they did want to invite you along if you have the time right now." Lefiya answered as she stood in front of their captain's room, completely eyed on with the other two well-known adventurers as well as Loki who was sitting near a window, oddly quiet as if her mind was somewhere else.
Normally, the goddess of mischief would be flailing hands all around, searching for whatever pair of breasts she can lay upon her children as a form of intimacy, tease or even both. However, she was oddly brooding on the window, staring at the city with a hardened gaze as the conversation continued.
"Well, at least she didn't head off alone like she used to. So how about it Finn? Care to have a little exploration? We're also short of budget after our exploration. It might be a good idea to head down and earn every once in a while." The dwarf turned a glance towards the Phallum in question.
"Hmm, it's true that we don't have that much things to discuss at the moment so I guess a little trip down with the others is a change of pace." Finn spoke.
"We just returned from the expedition. The others are just about finished in finishing things up except for a few matters." Riveria added.
"The plant monsters from the Monsterphilia and that mysterious magic hovering over the colosseum, is that it?" Gareth recalled.
"Umm, should I wait outside?" Lefiya asked, noticing the topic in question was out of her domain.
"Yes, sorry about that. Sort your things out. We'll be going out shortly." Finn answered.
They watched the elf girl close the door in front of them and immediately resumed their conversation.
"Going back, I don't think these two incidents happen to connect with each other." Finn deduced.
"What makes you think that?" Riveria asked.
"The motives around them could be unrelated. I get the feeling that something else was in play. We're missing a lot of things. Too many stones left unturned. Those plant monsters appearing from the district does raise more concern for me than the colosseum. How they managed to appear from the surface is what should be our first course of action in handling this incident."
"I think you shouldn't put aside the incident from the colosseum too easily, Finn." Out of nowhere, Loki blurted out as all three of them turned their heads towards their goddess in question.
"What are you implying, Goddess Loki?"
"The casualties in that incident. If I confirmed it right, one of them is a god."
"If my memory serves me right, it was Goddess Hestia of the Hestia Familia." Riveria pondered.
Loki clicked her tongue in irritation at the mention of the goddess' name but quickly returned back to her usual composure and continued speaking.
"The report said nothing in particular other than an unfortunate turn of events involving a deity. Don't you find it odd how that magic came to be? Or even what kind of magic it was? Only that it happened after the fact that she was caught in that spot?"
"Now that you think about it, it is kinda odd. There wasn't any kind of magic that would suddenly appear out of nowhere without any trace of incantations, except for a few ones." Finn deduced for a moment.
"We couldn't even find a trace of magic residue even after its disappearance. Magic doesn't work that way. Usually, it leaves the tiniest amount of magic even after invoking it. That isn't your average spell. That kind of level of magic that forced Ais to use her own to destroy it is not something that could be passed as a mere spell." Riveria expertly explained.
"Are you saying that someone out there is capable of doing that? So far there's no one in our familia capable of accomplishing such a feat. I don't even remember anyone in Orario capable of doing that." Gareth said.
A few seconds of unanswered silence hovered the three captains until Finn decided to break the tense atmosphere.
"Regardless, that incident is suspicious at least. It only appeared right after someone fell down to the arena. Furthermore, a goddess…" Finn paused for a moment before realizing something. "Don't tell me…"
"No. I don't think that's the case but it could be one of the angles to explain the motive. Even if it were that the case, the attempts to eliminate her didn't continue after that, otherwise, we could've already witnessed her return to Heaven and it's not the kind where you try for a discreet execution."
"True, it could bring up a massive uproar. But still, an attempt to kill a god was something I've never come to think about. Not even in this city." Gareth muttered in disbelief.
"Well, this is all just speculation. We don't have enough information to talk about it either. Safe to say, it's best we leave it on the shelf and focus on the problem in which we have ample amounts of information at the moment." Finn looked towards his goddess and the two adventurers in content.
"Agreed. We shall discuss this later. We should hurry and join up with Ais. We don't wanna wait around and delay her. That child is too troublesome to be left out alone." Riveria shook her head and simply turned back to her previous venture.
"Should we get Bete too? I know he's always blabbing too much but he might just join."
"Ah, I need to have him here in the meantime." Loki reminded, finally standing up from her position as the group turned towards the door. "The investigation regarding your expedition probably caught up a few eyes here and there. I think about meeting with a few of them to see what they know about the magic stone you found on the deep floors. It's also connected to those plant monsters, I bet."
"I see. Then, take care." The group waved a few good byes as they walked out of the Twilight Manor and into the city.
Loki stayed once again, gazing over to her children going off to the direction where the Tower Babel stood firm. A pair of narrowed eyes entered her facial expression as she grabbed a small pouch at the table and went out of the room to start her own matters as well.
She worries about letting them go out but she probably doesn't want to meddle in too much especially when they're having a big break after a long expedition. Plus, they're strong on their own which also cemented the fact that they're the leading force of the dungeon expedition as well. She has her own duty to keep out the trouble that threatens her children.
However, she had a feeling it might just be the trouble unlike any other than before.
"Now then, let's get to work."
Exiting from her room, she turned to a small corner and found the missing werewolf who was standing idly near the walls.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Bete. I guess I need you to stick around for a bit longer."
The werewolf stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and followed the goddess with an irritated expression.
"Whatever. So what're we doing?"
"Oh, about that. Well how would you like to go for a trip in the sewers?"
…
The roar of the dragon vibrated throughout the halls of the 11th floor. The sound boomed past the narrow pathways, conjuring small earth-like rumbles. Those who were within hearing range both human and monster alike trembled at the terrifying cry, causing them to run away in fear.
Natsu stood helplessly in front of the monster before him as it eyed him with such ferocity, looking to rip him apart at a moment's notice if not for the narrow confines of the dungeon that prevented it from moving forward. Wendy was also in the same state, unable to muster anything on her body and was simply frozen on the spot, completely overwhelmed with fear.
This is the first time they encountered such a monster inside the dungeon. An Infant Dragon no less.
Usually, they appear at the 12th floor but it seems like this one doesn't apply to that. A violent monster with no rules attached to its natural instinct. It lives to kill. To destroy.
"G-Get away!"
The scream of the man behind them quickly snapped the pinkette back to reality as soon as he noticed the dragon slowly forcing its massive body inside the tunnel, breaking pieces of the walls with ease. Without wasting another second, he quickly grabbed Wendy by the shoulder and forced her out of her fear with a straight face of his own.
"Snap out of it, Wendy! We're getting out of here!"
"Y-Yes!" It seems like his voice reached her without difficulty. Having to return back to her own person, she huddled right behind the pinkette.
Natsu grabbed the man and hoisted his wounded body over his shoulder.
They ran back on the opposite side of the tunnel and away from the monster. The dragon roared loudly as its massive body moved once again, causing miniature tremors as it moved. Eventually, the walls gave in and the dungeon gave space to the massive creature. With enough open space to move, the monster set its sight to its fleeing prey.
"He's coming!"
The duo glanced over their shoulders as they saw the Irregular give chase. They retreated to a more spacious part of the dungeon floor with multiple pathways that could confuse anyone in the face of panic.
Because they were being chased, their minds aren't in the right at the moment, most notably to Wendy. The supporter was running frantically with fear in her expression. This is not the first time she had been in this kind of situation although the gravity of the situation seemed to outweigh her own experience and was simply overwhelmed in the process.
Thankfully, she had the pinkette right beside her but it wasn't enough for self-assurance. Even he wouldn't be able to take on such a beast at their own current level. This is just their basic survival instinct going off against this one.
Confronting it alone is out of the question.
"Faster, Wendy!"
"I'm trying!"
They ran without looking back. The consecutive stomps behind them tells that the Irregular was still on their tail. Without the narrow halls to slow it down, it could slowly catch up to them in a matter of seconds.
Still, the two didn't stop.
Reaching to the middle of the area where multiple passages lay before them, they suddenly halted in their tracks.
"Where's the exit?"
"I—I don't know."
ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRR*
The shriek of the monster blew past their figures, prompting them to turn towards it in trepidation. The dragon stomped unstoppably, squashing even the stray little monsters that were on its way.
Natsu then turned his eyes from above. The ceiling that separates the dungeon floors according to their levels with only the stairs connecting them. He caught stalactites hanging everywhere around the area.
Quickly laying the man down from his shoulder, the pinkette drew in front of the group and clasped both his hands ablaze.
"Alright… Let's see if these can stop you."
Forming magic around his arms, the spell took form as he directed his eyes onto the rampaging dragon and the spikes above them.
As it closed the distance between them, Natsu then called forth his spell with his right fist imbued with raw fire.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
With a shout that resonated in the halls, the ground shook as the fist slammed into the ground with such force, causing the entire room to tremble in the process.
The dragon was forced to stop in its tracks as soon as the ground in front of it erupted in a cloud of dust and debris, rocking its full body in defense without awareness of the deathtrap lying above him. It took a few seconds as the spikes from the ceiling cracked from its confines and fell like a barrage of massive arrows.
Several spikes punctured through the dragon's body, most notably on its end section where its wings and also its tail are located. The dragon let out a cry of pain as it tried to wriggle away the spikes from its body.
"Let's go!"
The two didn't waste time and hastily carried the man alongside once again.
However, just as they make a run for it. The dragon let out a huge inhalation of air inside its lungs.
Natsu, with his senses alerted to the extreme, heard the sound and quickly nudged the bluenette to the side, throwing the man alongside with her. "Watch out!"
In that moment, a stream of fire engulfed his very being. Wendy laid there in shock after a brief moment of grunt after being forcefully pushed aside, only to see the pinkette in front of her vanished in the wave.
For a moment, despair took her but a sense of relief washed over her as soon as she saw the fire dissipated, revealing a somehow unhurt Natsu.
"Natsu-san!" She rushed to his side, grabbing a few potions from her backpack just to be sure.
"Save those for now. Fire does not work on me."
Wendy stuttered for a moment with a flushed cheek before the tremor pulled her back to reality.
As they were busy tending to each other, the dragon was already standing in front of them, eyes piercing as if they're enraged.
"He really doesn't want us to go, huh?" Natsu said with a conflicted look.
The monster roared violently, showing its dominant nature. All other monsters within the vicinity were forced to flee in terror, save for the remaining adventurers who stood before it.
Natsu gritted his teeth. He hated doing this but there's no room for consolation. He had to do something about that monster if he wanted Wendy to escape safely. He forced his two legs forward in a straight dash to meet the monster head on without so much of a word, leaving the supporter shocked as a result. He flared his fists in flames and jumped high, eyeing the dragon below him who followed in response.
Descending, he combined the flames from his hands, generating a large whirl of fire above him and slammed it towards its head, catching it off guard as the monster stopped once again from its track. However, it was also quick to recover from the blow and locked its eyes towards its attacker in rage.
The pinkette jumped away in time just before the claws were able to reach him and began running towards the other direction, leading the monster's attention away from Wendy.
"Now's the chance, Wendy! Run!" Natsu shouted from the other side, making small maneuvers to dodge away the monster's flailing rampage.
On the other hand, Wendy was still in the middle of processing what just happened. Seconds later, she realized what he'd done. She watched her fellow adventurer lead the monster away from her location.
Fear struck in her body as she was left on her collapsed feet.
However, at that moment, she heard Natsu's shout. Loud enough to snap her out of her own daze. Her fear quickly faded and her attention went looking for the source only then making her fear return almost immediately.
"Wendy! What are you waiting for?! Get out of here!"
"N-Natsu-san!"
"Take that guy and get outta here, Wendy!"
"B-But I can't…"
"Just do it!"
"I can't!"
"GO, WENDY!"
She halted as soon as she heard him shout. The level of tone in his voice has never been this high or sharp. She stared tearily as she watched his figure trying to circle around the monster in hopes in keeping it occupied solely to him alone. She wanted to go out and help him but the fear instilled within her and the desperate plea to get away from the scene placed her into a hopeless position.
She couldn't possibly leave him out here just when they were starting. Just when she had someone to rely on, she was about to lose someone right in front of her—worse, she would run away without even the slightest bit of strength to help.
It's like at that time with that minotaur again.
In the end, she could only cry at her own powerlessness.
With a hard choice, she turned away from the pinkette and picked up the wounded man.
"I'll come back with some help! Please be alright, Natsu-san!"
She left with those fleeting words as she trudged away from the scene with him standing to prevent the dragon from giving chase.
Natsu took a glimpse as he saw the petite supporter slowly withdrawing from the scene.
With her and the injured adventurer out of the picture, he doesn't have anything to worry about in the dungeon. His priority has always been making sure that Wendy is safe. Right now, he must buy some time to let her cover as much distance from here and call for help from the surface while staying alive as long as he can.
He briefly turned back towards the direction where she had gone off to alongside with the survivor with a quick thought.
`I'm counting on you, Wend-'
His thoughts went into an abrupt halt, forcing himself to turn towards the other direction when his surroundings suddenly dim as if a massive shadow was cast above him. A swing from a massive claw caused him to widen his eyes in disbelief as the dragon pounced forward in a fit of rage towards him without warning, resulting him to lean his whole body to the side, preventing a deadly hit. However, his last second maneuver wasn't enough to put him out of harm's way as the claw slammed violently to the floor, sending an array of dust and debris. Cracks formed immediately as the weight of the attack couldn't support the integrity of the floor, resulting in its immediate collapse.
Natsu crashed a few meters short, feeling the force of the hit and small rocks thrown at the moment of the impact. Unfortunately, his predicament didn't end yet as he felt a strong rumble coming from the ground surrounding him and the monster.
The crack was getting bigger.
Crackling sounds followed a few seconds before coming to a stop.
The Irregular roared wildly without any care of the commotion coming from below.
And in just a few seconds, the floor collapsed.
A thunderous rumble echoed throughout the dungeon floor. The section of the ground went down along with the dragon who roared as it plunged towards the deeper floor with debris coming down alongside it.
Natsu tried to get out in vain as the ground beneath him fell under the cracks that sent him and the monster down further.
Wendy, who was still in the midst of her escape, heard the collapse and turned just in time to witness the whole scene unfold from her very eyes. She caught sight of his figure plunging down into the dark abyss along with the monster.
Horror flowed into her as she tried to head back, only to realize too late of the impending situation. When she arrived at the edge of the hole, most of the debris and rock had fallen down to the next floor and signs of the pink-haired adventurer were nowhere to be found.
"NATSU!"
…
A swarm of adventurers was not what Finn and the group would see in front of the Babel Tower. They arrived just a couple of minutes after departing from the Twilight Manor and hoped to catch up with Ais and the others, only to be greeted by an unusual scene that seemed to suggest that something was amiss.
It's not every day the entrance to the dungeon would be clogged with this many people. The whole place is spacious enough to fit 15 Silver Back-sized cages altogether so how could it get this many people.
It was only then people from the back of the crowd noticed their presence and immediately voiced out their surprises.
"It's the Loki Familia!"
The crowd slowly parted into two, giving up as the group walked past the sea of people whilst wondering about what's keeping all these people in front of the Tower.
"What's with all the people around here?" Lefiya finally voiced out their inner concerns as the other three elder adventurers began speaking as well.
"I don't know. I didn't even know that the tower could be this busy at this time of the day." Gareth spoke.
"I'm afraid it's not something like that if I'm to say something of what's happening around here. It looks to be a different matter altogether. Isn't it, Finn?" Riveria added, causing the Phallum to nod silently and simply continued on their way to the entrance where the commotion is probably focused at.
They made their way past the crowd and it didn't take a moment for them as they finally moved past the last group of people blocking their view and saw what's keeping the whole crowd waiting at the entrance.
There they saw a couple of the Guild's members seemingly blocking the way down to the entrance of the dungeon as well as a few others tending to a group of four people laid down on improvised stretchers. A few other adventurers were also called out to the scene, seemingly preventing anyone from entering the dungeon for some reason.
The group walked further to the scene and a few pairs of eyes have finally caught their presence in the vicinity.
"Loki Familia!" A few of the Guild members called out in surprise but then another familiar voice called to them as well, turning their heads to a certain long-haired Amazoness.
"Captain! Everyone!"
"Tione. What's going on here?" Finn didn't waste time ascertaining the situation by just examining with his own eyes and directly asked the source.
"There's been a monster attack in the Upper Floors. Apparently, an Irregular somehow managed to appear here and the tower was deemed closed until it's taken care of." Tione explained as simple as she could, earning a mix of surprise and pondering expressions from the group.
"An Irregular at the Upper Floors?" Lefiya thought out aloud, hearing the absurd news though with the exception of the three leaders.
"Well, this is quite a surprise." Finn felt a slight shake on his right thumb as he collected all pieces of information together through his eyes before finally coming into a conclusion of what happened.
Looking at the injured party, he began to speak. "Those people over there are victims, I presume?"
A few heads nodded in his reply.
"Then I suppose Ais and Tiona went out there to kill the monster." He added, already noticing the lack of two people around Tione. It was not that long until the rest of the group managed to catch up and wondered about the two's whereabouts.
"Huh? They already went on their own?" Lefiya asked dubiously.
"They went down to the dungeon to take care of the Irregular."
A few moments of silence and recollection went over to the group until Finn returned from his pondering thought.
"We're going in. Although I've yet to determine some other cases following the appearance of an Irregular this close to the entrance, defeating it is of top priority. It's been awhile since something like this happened, don't you think?" Finn turned towards the dwarf and the high elf with a raised brow.
"Indeed." She nodded. "Leaving that aside, I'm pretty sure Ais and Tiona are probably taking care of it. We'll follow them and go as planned. We may be able to find some adventurers trapped there." He said.
He then moved towards one of the Guild members and discussed their plan of action.
"The Loki Familia will take care of this problem. Rest assured that no more adventurers will come to harm once it's been dealt with. There's no need for an emergency. We'll take care of it."
"T-Thank you! We're counting on you."
"Are there news of adventurers from the 18th floor? There's a likelihood that some are making their way to the upper floors without knowledge of this Irregular."
"None so far. But we are just about to send a scouting party to circle around the floors for any wandering rookies and then inform the people on the 18th floor when you showed up." She pointed out.
"We'll take care of that as well. We're just about on our way towards that floor. After the irregular is dealt with, you may inform the Guild that the situation is under control. I'll also assume that there is compensation for this." Finn added.
"Y-Yes! Of course. The Guild is already issuing this as an urgent quest!"
With nothing more to ask, the group began their way into the entrance and proceeded to the stairs in a hurry.
"Alright. If there's nothing, then let us go."
…
The sound of tiny rocks falling, shook Natsu awake as soon as he finally regained consciousness for the first time in a while. The fall from the previous floor was a bit high from where he plunged into. Luckily, he didn't get himself falling in spikes. That would've been really dangerous.
He spun his body around, pushing his hands to the ground to help himself up. Looking over his surroundings, he found himself on the 12th floor. Mist covered much of the place and the rock debris that fell from above surrounded him as well.
'That's right! That monster-'
His thoughts quickly returned to him, causing him to look around cautiously.
There was no sign of the monster around him fortunately… yet.
He breathed a sigh of relief. For now, he needed to reassess his situation and take a look around. His backpack was long gone, probably torn off from the cave-in and fell somewhere. There's no use in locating it though with all the thick mist enveloping the entire floor. Even with a sharp eye, the amount of obscurity was hard enough to get around.
Finding it would be out of the question. Not with that irregular roaming around somewhere. He had no idea where it was but it is best for him to not have another encounter with it. He also didn't want to get himself into trouble with the monsters residing on this floor as well.
Even for someone like him, a great number of them could easily spell death to him despite how confident he is. Avoiding combat is easily the safest and best option he has at the moment.
Finally standing up, he began looking for the exit leading back to the upper floors. And without a moment too soon, the ground spewed out newly formed monsters of the floor, varying from Silverbacks, Orcs, and Imps.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Natsu sweated as he found himself surrounded.
The monsters charged mercilessly without thinking, throwing all kinds of attacks to kill the unwary adventurer in front of their eyes.
Natsu jumped vertically high into the air as the monsters gazed upward in a daze as a stream of fire burst from his hands, sending him flying away from the scene.
While he had a knack for smacking all of them down, he'd rather save his strength and look for a way back to the upper floors safely. The threat of the Irregular still lingered around the area. He hated to be in a situation with that thing and those monsters altogether.
Landing back, he skidded a few meters before continuing his running pace. A few monsters spawned near his surroundings but they weren't quick enough to respond to the scene as he ran past them in a few seconds before they could even mount any danger towards him.
'Good. Let's keep this going.``
Still the irregular seemed nowhere to be found. It's suspicious enough that he couldn't hear its loud stomps on the floor. Even sniffing its scent is difficult enough to—
Natsu quickly leaped to the left, avoiding a huge swing from out of nowhere. Recovering a few meters away, he gritted his teeth in irritation.
"Forget I said anything. You really are becoming a pain in the ass!"
Looking ahead in his current direction, the missing Irregular finally made its appearance. It is as if it was waiting for him. So much for avoiding combat.
"If it's a fight you want, I'll give you one!"
Moving into a stance, Natsu gave a small yet deep inhalation from his lungs as he prepared his attack towards the dragon for the first time.
However, the dragon on the other hand, also made a similar action and inhaled, seemingly generating a roar, shocking the adventurer for a moment.
After a few seconds, the two sides charged up their spells as Natsu let one last glimpse to the irregular in front of him with fierce eyes.
With a short moment, he intoned his magic through a simple phrase.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
A huge burst of flames erupted from the adventurer's mouth, sending a wave of fire that ravaged in fast speeds. At the same time, the dragon let loose of its own roar, releasing a stream of flames from its mouth that collided with the opposing roar, generating a huge fiery struggle as a result.
Shockwaves appeared through all directions, pushing everything away, even monsters in the vicinity who watched intently before getting blown away from the blast. Ground and dust kicked up around them as both roars tried overpowering each other with intensity.
Natsu slowly widened his eyes as soon as he found him unable to sustain the exchange for long. The amount of magic released in the spell is draining his reserves real quick and pushing it further would cause him to experience a sudden mind down.
He would have no way of knowing of being able to stay conscious for too long once mind down started. Prior incidents gave him even a month's worth of time recovering from overexertion. Trying it again would probably result him in a much worse state.
He needed some way to survive throughout this.
The flaming roar slowly waned as the magic began to run out from the pinkette. On the other hand, the dragon relentlessly poured more magic in its roar without stopping, even going as far as intensifying it to establish complete dominance over the power struggle.
The difference of magical reserves is far too great between the two.
As a result, the pinkette's roar died down instantly, resulting in him flying as the force of the roar engulfed him entirely.
The stream of fire slammed to the edge of the walls of the dungeon floor where a huge smoke of dust kicked up in the air, obscuring the pinkette in the process.
For a moment, it would seem like the battle was over as the flames would incinerate an adventurer without fire resistance down to its bones.
The Irregular was about to turn its attention away from the burning scene but not before it began to hear slurping noises coming from the fire. The flames suddenly swirled into a single vortex as the scene began to clear, revealing the pinkette in the process.
The burning area was instantly cleared as the pinkette swallowed all of the flames surrounding him as if downing it like some sort of food.
After a few seconds, the flames are absorbed. Natsu wiped his mouth, earning a smirk as he looked at the Irregular with a face of a predator.
"Thanks for the meal." He said, feeling more invigorated more than ever after taking that amount of flames inside his body.
Ever since his powers evolved, he somehow found the ability to use flames as a form of replenishment aside from potions. In fact, he'd prefer them over the bitterness of potions, especially higher forms of it. Unfortunately, he can't seem to eat his own flames and it could replenish anything except his injuries. It looks like it still has some limitations just like any other magic.
Still, using flames and being immune it was already overpowered.
Despite reinforcing his confidence over that action, the reality still showed the difference between their magic reserves. That one single spell quickly drained most of his magic. Fortunately for him, he got to absorb them from the attack.
He quickly reached over to his side, grabbing a potion strapped from his leather belt. He emptied the small viable in just two gulps. Soon, he felt his body slightly ease away all the stinging pain. He brought only three of them as the rest of it were lost during their first encounter with Wendy.
As soon as he momentarily recovered himself, the silhouette of the dragon captured his eyes. In front of him, the monster assumed its stance. Its head lying tall and prideful with its glaring red eyes staring at him. It stood a few distances away from him, seemingly halted without any means to charge as it usually would do.
Instead, it simply stood facing him as if it was examining him. For a monster like that, it seems as though this one had a mind of its own. So much that it had to reassess itself after its failed attempts at taking down the lone adventurer. Most monsters usually attack according to their instinct but this one had a bit of an intelligence of its own.
Natsu knew that he didn't have that much to choose at this point. He had to decide whether to believe and wait for any help that might arrive soon or confront the monster. Naturally, he was still considering to forego with the former until his eyes saw the dragon shifting its movement and decided to make its move.
Its rage grew even fiercer as it released a roar, one that was purely made of air pressure which was different from the one Natsu had seen from their previous engagement.
The roar quickly blasted out from its mouth and Natsu hastily jumped to the side, watching it miss and dissipated the mist surrounding it in a cylindrical fashion at its wake. For a moment, a portion of the dungeon cleared and the pinkette heard a distant blast from where the roar went.
Then just a few seconds, a faint rumble followed.
Natsu looked to where the sounds originated and immediately found the entrance leading back to the upper floors along with a couple of large rocks and rubble in front of it.
That's when he realized it.
This monster didn't just shoot some random roar out of nowhere. It purposely blocked the only way out of this dungeon. He just lost his chance of getting out.
He watched the blocked path in dismay but was quickly cut short as soon as he noticed the monster running towards him at full speed. It led a mighty roar as it charged straight to him unrelentlessly. Despite its four meter size, it was quick enough to close the distance between them.
Natsu gritted his teeth, losing a few seconds worth of chance to get out of the way safely as he barely dodged the charging head by simply placing a lot of power unto his feet to push him away and proceeded to leap away.
Unfortunately for him, those lost few seconds cost him an incoming tail whip as the monster stopped and raised its hard and scaly tail to swat the little human away.
Helpless and with no chance to dodge it in mid-air, Natsu felt like his entire body folded in the opposite as the tail smacked right unto the left side of his waist, subjecting himself in a whole world of pain.
"GuuhhaaaaaUWAAAAAA-" With a scream, he finds himself flying in the air like a ragdoll.
He plunged down to the ground, tumbling away just a few meters away from the monster.
He coughed unpleasantly as if his body was still in the midst of registering the pain altogether and spat a handful of blood in the process, indicating the sheer blow to his body that would otherwise kill a normal adventurer with no trained physique. Lucky for him, he wasn't in that category but the pain was still big enough to knock his consciousness if he lost his concentration any further.
He suppressed his urge to move in his current position but knowing his current situation, he couldn't afford to avert his eyes from the fight and simply thought out his next move. He reached over to his pocket once more and took another vial without looking.
Trembling, Natsu tried to suppress his pain and slowly began to make himself up in the process. He quickly drank the potion and the effects were already immediate. However, this was not enough to heal him of his shock of pain. The blow definitely broke a few bones and it looks like he's going to be in a world of hurt if he tries to move carelessly. The potion definitely worked its wonder in saving him from a fatal injury.
At that moment, his situation forced him to ignore all these warnings as the Irregular caught his attention.
This is no longer a fight that he can avoid anymore. It's a fight that he would have to win in order to survive.
He would need to defeat this monster if he was to live in this predicament. Right now, he is facing a strong opponent before him with little to no chance of winning. He stood as firmly as he could as his eyes gazed towards the monster in anticipation. The pain is still there but he can endure it and focus only on his instincts.
In front of him was a monster that most adventurers strive to conquer. As if synchronizing to his thoughts, the monster answered with feral growl as it noticed his intense gaze.
He didn't want to die. He didn't want to lose either.
And most of all, he didn't want to end things like this.
After all, he made a promise. A promise to return to her no matter what.
And also, a vow to find him.
And to do that, he must become stronger. Strong enough to defeat his enemies, strong enough to protect those he cared for, and strong enough until the day that he would find him.
At that moment, he suddenly recalled a distant memory.
...
'Listen Natsu. There will be times that you will face stronger opponents than you could imagine. The first thing to understand your power is to have faith in it. Without conviction, there is no power. Believing that you can overcome them is the first step.'
'I don't get it. Why couldn't I just beat them up and win? Isn't it better that way?'
'FOOL! If you think you can win with that kind of mindset, you would be dead by now.' Igneel said as he smacked him hard in the head, much to his dismay as he looked at his father in confusion.
'T-Then it's impossible?'
'Hah! And you call yourself my child?'
He listened meekly as his father continued reprimanding him.
'Then how can I get stronger, dad? What should I do?' He asked eagerly.
'That is for you to find out, Natsu. Not from me or anybody else. Find what's best to your advantage, learn from others, and most importantly, you mustn't lose faith in your own power!.'
'Hmm, I still don't get it.'
'In time, you will understand. You will learn the weight of the power that I have entrusted to you. That I, Igneel, have given to you.'
...
That's right.
He remembered it.
He slowly assumed his stance. Flames began pouring out all over his body, enveloping him in crimson fire to which it ignited the ground surrounding it. His innate skill activated as it responded to his feelings.
The Flames of Emotion.
The monster noticed the bright flame kindling the grey atmosphere, feeling its effect and temperature. It released a deep growl as it set its gaze towards the pinkette.
Natsu faced it with a resolute gaze. His flames grew even brighter and burned with such intensity.
At that point of time, no one on the floor was able to see the flame that shone the entire floor in a shade of red and yellow.
The Irregular reacted to his presence. A sense of dread was felt within it. If it had any intelligence to convey its thoughts, it would've been something akin to being cautious. After all, this dreaded feeling was something all too familiar for its kind.
The bane of all dragonkind.
Dragonslayer.
…
A/N: Hello, been a long time since I stop updating stories. Though I'd like to answer for my disappearance over the past two (three?) years, I would have them answer once I update it on my wall. As you're all aware, we're in quarantine nowadays. If you want a simple answer to my return, it's that. I never had a lot of free time ever since this pandemic came. Nevertheless, I hope everyone is safe and hope to see you all on my next chapter.
Keep safe and wash your hands.
- The wiErDos Association send their regards...