Please read the Author's Note at the end of the Chapter. Thank you.
Natsu continued to stare at his downed opponent, the flames in his right fist still burning fiercely. Zancrow was not moving an inch, as if someone cut off the strings to his limbs and threw him aside.
"Is it...over?" questioned confused Wendy. She did not expect it to end this easily.
Suddenly, Zancrow gasped and started to laugh, before raising his legs behind his head and jumping straight back to his feet, his face completely rid of any damage. "This kind of flames doesn't even hurt." he chuckled.
Natsu's eyes widened a little at the sight.
"Did he get hit on purpose?" asked Carla.
"No, he was completely outclassed just now. This must be the work of his magic." deduced Pantherlily.
"Now then, Salamander. Why don't we start o-"
Before he could finish, Natsu dashed forward and punched him straight in the jaw, before following up with a left uppercut to the gut. He then grabbed the Kin by the hair and pulled his head down onto his incoming knee, hitting him straight in the nose. Zancrow's head flew upwards, making an opening for the Dragon Slayer, who threw a right hook to his open jaw.
His fist was, however, caught. Zancrow squeezed Natsu's hand, his black flames covering the red flames, as he grinned widely, his face still not damaged. "I've already told you. These don't hurt!" he laughed and struck Natsu with a right straight, before kicking him in the stomach.
Natsu slid on the balls of his feet, while Zancrow raised his right hand, before launching a ball of flames in his direction. Although he'd usually just swallow it, after the last punch he knew something was off about these flames. Natsu ducked right underneath the ball and dashed at Zancrow, who responded by doing the same. Both men clashed into each other with their left forearms, a short power struggle starting between the two of them. After couple seconds of fruitless pushing, they switched back to fists, a rapid exchange of punches and kicks erupting where they stood.
With each blocked punch, Natsu's hunch was getting deeper and deeper, and when they both hit each other at the same time with their rights, and he felt blood starting to flow down his chin from his cut and burned lip, he finally realised, that this was not an ordinary mage standing before him.
Both men slid backwards, with Natsu being burned, while Zancrow remained uninjured.
"Natsu got...burned? How is this possible?" gasped Wendy.
The older Dragon Slayer wiped the blood off with his thumb and smeared it in-between his fingers, staring at the crimson liquid in light shock.
"Are you finally realising the situation you are in, Salamander?" cackled Zancrow. "Did you really think a dragon could defeat a God?"
Natsu's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"
"Dragons may have been the strongest creatures in the world, I can't deny that. But there is someone above them, someone you can never hope to reach." explained the Kin. "You hunt dragons right? I, on the other hand, hunt Gods."
Zancrow spread his hands to the sides and straightened himself up. "I have yet to give you my full name. One of the Seven Kin Of Purgatory, God Slayer – Zancrow."
"God Slayer?!" repeated shocked Carla. "A different type of Slayer magic?"
"I've never heard about it." admitted Wendy.
"God Slayer, huh?" questioned Natsu, but he was also shocked. "Well, I'm a Dragon Slayer."
"I know that already!" laughed Zancrow. "Your actions are well known in the Baram Alliance!"
"Baram Alliance?" asked Lily.
"An alliance between dark guild, ran by Oracion Seiss, Seven Commandments, Grimoire Heart and Tartaros." explained quickly Carla.
"Cornering Seven Commandments, defeating Fairy Tail, destroying R-System." counted Zancrow on his fingers. He then smirked in a sinister fashion and looked the Dragon Slayer deep in the eyes. "Grigol? Silva?! You've defeated a couple of nobodies, and now you think you're all that great? Don't get too cocky, trash!"
"You just love talking, don't you?" growled Natsu, the temperature around him increasing with each second. Whatever it was Zancrow was doing, it was working.
"By the way..." continued the Kin, not phased by Natsu's dangerous aura. "I've heard a certain rumor about you that I've wanted to confirm."
It was an instant. In less than a second, Natsu knew exactly what he was about to ask, and his body reacted accordingly. As if trying to protect Wendy and the others from hearing it, as well as himself, Natsu kicked the ground as hard as he could in his current state and struck Zancrow in the face, shutting him up. The God Slayer shook it off and grinned, before replying with a punch of his own, which was dodged.
Natsu used this opening to throw a hook into Zancrow's liver, but the Kin stepped back just in time to avoid it. Natsu quickly closed the gap and was then forced to duck underneath a left straight thrown at his face. From underneath the extended arm, he twisted his torso to his right and delivered a devastating uppercut that blew Zancrow's head upwards. He then put his left hand on his chest and squeezed his wrist with his right one.
FIRE DRAGON'S GRIP ATTACK!
Zancrow was blown away by the flames, however he received little to no damage from the blast. Slightly irritated by the attempt, he raised his arms and raised his right hand above his left, a ball of black flames forming in-between them.
"If you burn down the West, and you burn down the East...God's wrath..." he chanted.
Recognizing the attack, Natsu stopped his charge and joined his hands before his torso. "When you combine the flames of the right hand and the left hand together…"
Almost as if by instinct, both Exceeds flew up as high as they could to avoid the incoming devastation that was about to happen. Both Slayers put their hands in front of their bodies, their attacks ready to be launched.
FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!
FIRE GOD'S KAGUTSUCHI!
Red flamed and black flames met together at one point, resulting in an enormous explosion of fire, that consumed the land and surroinding area in an instant. The heat radiating from the collision was so great, Wendy and the others almost passed out in an instant. The air became so hot it was almost impossible to breathe, with both men pushing with everything they had.
After finally flying away to a safe distance, Wendy slowly opened her eyes, only to feel them widen in shock a second later, with the sight of Natsu's red flames being overpowered by the black wave of death. With a mad laugh, Zancrow pushed even harder and bested the Dragon Slayer, swallowing him with his magic.
"Natsu!" Wendy called out to her partner, but the cats held her back.
"You can't go there! You'll die if they as much as touch you!" Carla tried to reason with her. "He'll be fine! Fire can't hurt him, right?"
"But I've got a horrible feeling about these flames!"
The flames have finally settled down, revealing a steaming and downed Natsu, who was now on his knees, his eyes wide and shocked.
"That reaction just now..." Zancrow started to taunt his opponent yet again. "I guess the rumors are true, Salamander. You really were a slave."
Natsu's breath got stuck in his throat, as his whole body tensed up.
"Did I hear him right?" questioned Carla, also stunned.
"I...I didn't know that." admitted grimly Wendy. So this is why…
"As cruel as that sounds, there's more to it." Lily's eyes narrowed dangerously, as he glared at the God Slayer.
"What do you mean?" asked him Carla.
"He's trying to provoke him into something. From the very beginning, he's been throwing nothing but taunts and insults. I don't think this man is simply stupid, there's more to it."
"You know, I used to respect you at some point, believe it or not." continued Zancrow. "But when I've learned about that, and that you joined Fairy Tail..." he spat onto the ground. "You've become worth less than that."
Natsu stood up, his bangs casting shadows onto his eyes, his fists clenched tightly. Sensing danger, Carla gripped Wendy's dress tighter and flew away even more. Although she has yet to truly see Salamander in action, the rumors were enough for her. "We have to get away from here, before he-"
"No." Wendy interrupted her, and looked at her partner with confidence. "Nothing bad will happen. He's not like that anymore."
As soon as she said that, Natsu raised his head. His eyes were burning with silent anger, but other than that, he was in control. "Is that all you've wanted to say?"
Zancrow was thrown off by these words. Feeling slightly irritated that he's yet to force out a proper reaction out of the Dragon Slayer, he started to walk in his direction, his fists ignited.
Natsu replied by doing the same, and both Slayers met yet again, before striking at each other with their right fists. Their attacks clashed, creating a shockwave and sparks of flames that spilled all over the area. They've engaged each other in an exchange once again, both of their auras merging into a ball of red and black flames.
Zancrow struck Natsu with a nasty left hook, who slid his face off the fist to reduce the damage and replied with a left upper to the gut. Zancrow blocked it with his right forearm and leaned his head back, with Natsu doing the same. Both Slayers slammed their head against each other, before taking a hold of their hands, their fingers intertwined. They once again struggled to overpower each other.
The ground beneath their feet started to sink in from both the heat and raw strength of both Slayers. Although Natsu had the edge in raw power, the pain that kept increasing in his palms was holding him back, causing him to slowly lose it.
"It just doesn't add up." muttered Lily to himself while he watched the battle.
Carla blinked and looked at him. "What doesn't?"
"I may not be experienced in terms of Earthland's magic and rules." began the Exceed. "But from what I can get from watching this, Natsu has the advantage in terms of magic power, as well as skill. And yet, he's being pushed back."
Feeling that his hands will not be able to take any more punishment, Natsu kicked Zancrow under the chin and used yet another Grip Attack to push him away. He then jumped back to make some distance and puffed his chest out.
Zancrow massaged his chin and watched the Dragon Slayer with a smirk. "Have you ever heard where fire came from?" he asked him.
FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!
A torrent of purging fire came out of Natsu's mouth, devouring everything on its path to Zancrow in a matter of seconds. The God Slayer simply watched it approach him, not scared one bit.
"It was the gods who gave people flames. Not dragons, nor humans. It was gods."
Zancrow was consumed by the flames, which expanded upon impact, trapping him in a large ball of red carnage. Natsu breathed out, slightly tired, and watched is opponent with great attention. To his shock, as well as confirming his fears, he watched his own flames being sucked in with a familiar sound and fashion. Zancrow was standing in the middle of the flames, unharmed, as he devoured the Roar like a snack.
"This can't be..." gasped Wendy in despair.
With one final slurp, Zancrow swallowed the last bit of Natsu's flames and gasped in joy. "Man, those are some good flames." he complimented. "Ready to devour and obliterate everything on their path...I guess dragon flames are worth something, after all."
"Well, they are designed to kill them, after all. A dragon taught me how to use them." explained Natsu. Although it sounded like he was having a nice chat with his enemy, in reality, he was trying to come up with a strategy. He couldn't use his other element. He also couldn't continue to drag this out forever – at this point he was simply feeding the Kin for free.
"Even if they do have the strength to kill a dragon." Zancrow licked his lips and clapped his hands in front of his chest. "They can never kill a god."
Zancrow's magic power increased, courtesy of his recent meal. A black aura of flames surrounded his body, which then started to form into many hands hidden behind his back.
Natsu bent his knees and awaited the attack, his eyes now focused on the creations.
Zancrow grinned and struck with one of his hands, which was dodged by Natsu. He then attacked with another one, followed by third. The Dragon Slayer dodged the second one, but was forced to block the third one. Zancrow then started to attack with more of them, increasing the speed with each punch.
After hitting Natsu with two punches at the same time, he stopped. He took a deep breath and grinned widely, a psychotic glimpse appearing in his eyes.
SECRET GOD SLAYER'S ARTS: 100 HANDS!
All of Zancrow's creations launched themselves at Natsu, bombarding him with a rain of flaming punches. The Dragon Slayer was forced to strain his body to its absolute limits, blocking and dodging his only options. With no opening for a counterattack, he simply put up his guard and waved his body to dodge as many strikes as possible, each of them burning him after landing.
Natsu felt stinging, itching pain near his liver after one hand bypassed his guard. Zancrow then used this chance to catch him with a barrage that found its way to his face, chest and stomach.
"This is Grimoire Heart's magic!" Zancrow laughed maniacally.
After being nailed by a nasty hook on his jaw, Natsu was pushed back, and Zancrow retracted his flames, before releasing them back into a black, flaming cloak, that wrapped itself around his figure.
Natsu raised his head, blood dripping onto the ground from his cut lip and forehead.
"He's losing..." announced grimly Carla.
"Normally, he would have eaten this attack. And yet..." whimpered Wendy.
"It may be possible, that God Slaying magic is superior to Dragon Slaying magic by nature. Gajeel told me, that magic has its own laws. You could lose to someone way weaker than you, as long as their magic successfully counters yours. I think this might be the case here." anaised Pantherlily.
In the meantime, the God Slayer canceled out his flames and started to walk in Natsu's direction with a grin on his face.
"You may have been taught this magic by a dragon, but I'm beyond that." he mocked. "You've got no hopes of beating me, slave."
Natsu tried his best to ignore the taunts and wiped his burned lips with his sleeve. "Are you saying you've learned this magic from a god?"
"Considering Master Hades was the one to teach me this magic, yes, you could say that I was taught by a God."
Natsu exhaled loudly through his nose. "I see." he muttered. He then moved his mouth around and spat some blood out. "In that case he must be quite a puny god, then."
Zancrow's smile faded, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Huh?!"
Mirajane and Lisanna fell onto the ground after being blown away yet again. Azuma swiped his right arm to the side and cleared the smoke, a disappointed frown on his face.
"Am I really going to spend my time here finishing weaklings?" he questioned.
Fed up with his attitude, Lisanna clenched her fists on the ground, her palms gathering some stones and leaves in the process. "Mock us while you still can!" she snapped. "Mira, you can do this! We can do this, let's defeat him together!"
Mirajane, still in her human form, stood up and shook her head gently, her eyes focused on her opponent. "My magic power is still lacking. Although I didn't use much during the exam itself, tapping into my magic drains me heavily. For the cost of barely any magic consumption while staying in it, this form takes a big chunk of my power during the summoning. I need a little bit more time."
"No way..." gasped distraught Lisanna.
Azauma's eyes widened a little. "Mira? As in Demon Mirajane?!"
"So what of it?" scoffed Mira.
"I find it hard to believe. So far, you've yet to show anything worthy of your-"
Azuma was cut off by a sharp kick to his right cheek, that staggered him. He looked at Mira with widened eyes, a small smirk forming on his face.
"Do you have anything else to say?" she snarled.
Azuma chuckled and wiped his bloodied lip. "No, I do not. You have my apologies. If your magic power is truly lacking, then I can grant you some time to replenish it."
Mira's eyes widened. "What?"
"I wish to fight you at your best. If giving you 20 minutes to regain your magic is the price for it, I shall do it."
Mira gritted her teeth in anger. Was this bastard was mocking her?
"I don't need your pity. Fight me as I am, I'm more than enough for you." she mocked him with a smirk.
"I see. So you are unwilling to accept my offer." sighed Azuma. "Very well. Perhaps watching me kill your sister will change your mind." he announced and raised his hand in Lisanna's direction, before blowing her away with an explosion.
"You bastard!" roared Mira.
"I already told you. I will do anything to fight the Demon. If you are not willing to use the chance I am giving you, then I will simply kill your sister before your eyes and force you to battle me."
That did the trick. Mirajane kneeled down and tapped into her Satan Soul form, before dashing at the Kin and kicking him straight in the gut. Azuma gritted his teeth in pain, but his lips were curved into a smirk.
"This is it! This is the sensation I've been looking for! It's the best!" he announced before being sent flying by Mira, who flew right after him. Unbeknownst to her, she was surrounded by multiple small particles, that then turned into explosions, taking her in.
Furious, Mira flew out of the smoke cloud and searched the area with her eyes. Suddenly, she felt something grabbing her ankles and wrists, with branches growing out of the cloud, rendering her immobile. Azuma stood at their very base and snapped his fingers, a chain of explosions making its way towards the Demon.
CHAIN BURST!
With the explosions meeting at one spot, the last one was huge, swallowing Mira whole. Mirajane managed to survive this onslaught and was sent flying upwards, her body spinning against her will. After couple seconds she finally regained control over her body and spread her wings, coming to a halt. She then dashed into the dust cloud and struck Azuma with her right fist, who blocked it with his own.
Both mages started to exchange punches and kicks, their movements gaining incredible speed.
Mira blocked Azuma's kick aimed at her face with her left forearm and responded with a kick of her own, her boot sinking deep into his stomach. Azuma coughed up blood, with Mira nailing him with an upper a second later. The man's head was blown upwards, only to then feel Mira's feet striking the left side of his head.
Mirajane followed after him and engaged him once again, pushing him against the ropes. Her raw power, speed and aggression were too great for him to simply overcome without using his magic, which he had no access to as of now. Mirajane was making sure to keep him busy and render him unable to focus. Or so she thought.
"Outstanding." gasped Azuma in excitement, after blocking a punch. "So this is the power you used to best Dryden. You're truly living up to your name."
Just as he said that, he caught her fist with his left hand and kicked her in the gut, before blasting her away with an explosion. Mirajane was blown away, but quickly regained her footing. She raised her head to the sight of multiple giant branches coming in her direction. In response to that, she flew up with her wings. The branches followed her, so she created a ball of darkness and threw it at them, blowing them into small bits. Using this cover, she spiked down straight at her opponent, who was caught off guard.
With a powerful right hook, Mira struck Azuma right in the top of his head, successfully smashing his entire figure into the ground, making him crash into it with his right side. She then lowered her knees and slid her left hand on the ground, the motion making it seem like she was bowling. Her left hand was surrounded by a large amount of dark energy, and as she slid it on the ground, she was leaving a small trail of destruction behind it.
EVIL EXPLOSION!
Mirajane blasted downed Azuma and made him fly after catching him with a nasty explosion. The man landed several meters away and began to roll on the ground, immobile. Not trusting him, Mirajane followed behind to make sure he was defeated. Just when she was few feet away from him, the man quickly got back up onto his knees and snapped his fingers.
REMOTE BURST!
The Demon was taken by an explosion that erupted beneath her feet. During his rolling, Azuma marked the spot with his magic and awaited the woman's charge.
The Kin stood up and ripped his destroyed armor off, revealing his battered in body. Although he used his branches to block most of the attack, he still received serious damage.
Without giving Mira a second to counterattack, he spread his arms to the sides, before bringing them together, his hands joining with a dull clap. Two giant hands made out of wood grew out from beneath the ground around Mira and forcefully grabbed her figure, locking her in without any way of escaping.
The Demon gasped from the squeeze, still not recovered from previous damage. She tried to escape, but the more she struggled, the harder was the hold. Glad that his trap succeeded, Azuma licked his lips and smirked, the high of this amazing battle providing him with utmost joy. He disconnected his hands and snapped his fingers, which made the giant hands holding Mira glow in bright yellow light.
Lisanna could simply watch as her sister desperately tried to free herself, before being taken by quite possibly the biggest explosion she's seen in her life. The younger Strauss was knocked over by the shockwave, her eardrums suffering dearly from the noise. Pieces of wood and ground flew in all directions, but something else caught her attention. Something warm splashed onto her face, and with a shaky, fearful hand she wiped it off, only to see blood smeared on her fingers.
With rage she never felt in her life before, Lisanna roared and transformed into her Cheetah Form, before dashing at Azuma. The man did not even look at her. Instead, he raised his hand in her direction and muttered one word.
BLEVE
Lisanna was blown away by the disinterested Azuma. The man's attention was fully on his real opponent, and as the smoke died down, her figure was revealed.
Blood was dripping from multiple spots on her body, such as her forehead, knees and especially her heavily injured left shoulder. She was covered in many burns, and lacerations, and her magic power took a tremendous damage in order to nullify the explosion the best to her ability, but other than that, she was still standing.
"You damn bastard." she snarled furiously.
Azuma licked his lips and grinned eagerly. "This is what I wanted to see. You're beautiful, Mirajane!"
"Puny god?"
Wendy covered her face with her arms, her skin unpleasantly itching and burning. The Exceeds fought as hard as they could to stay conscious, the heat radiating from below them too big for them to simply endure. Breathing came with problems as well, the insides of their mouths and noses burning.
Natsu and Zancrow were currently standing still, their foreheads meeting each other, both of them staring the other down with wide, focused eyes. Their respective cloaks of flames merged along with their magic power, producing a giant red and black pillar of fire that rose high into the sky. It produced enough heat to burn and dry out any life forms in the surrounding area.
Zancrow, who did not take to Natsu's taunt lightly, was the one who initiated this scene. His fists were clenched tight, ready to strike at any moment. "You know, it's shit like this that puts you in an early grave." he growled.
Both Slayers simultaneously hit each other with right hooks, their heads flying to the side. While Zancrow cut Natsu's lip with his strike, Natsu's was ineffective. That did not bother the Dragon Slayer, however, who quickly recovered and grabbed Zancrow by the hair, before headbutting him. He then followed up with a left hook, which was shaken off by the Kin.
"I've already told you, your flames don't hurt!" he yelled and tried to attack with his right hand. Natsu ducked right underneath it and delivered a powerful uppercut to the gut that managed to lift Zancrow off the ground good 5 centimeters into the air.
The God Slayer's face twisted in a grimace, which did not go unnoticed by Natsu. He tried to follow up with a left highkick, but was blocked and pushed away. Zancrow struck Natsu with a right elbow across the face and kicked him in the stomach, before launching a ball of fire after him. Natsu slid back on his feet and created a ball of flames of his own, which he used to strike the incoming attack. He placed it underneath the black flames and pushed upwards, sending both balls into the air.
Zancrow used this chance to throw a right highkick, which Natsu ducked under. Expecting another gut shot, the Kin jumped back, his intuition turning out to be true. Natsu ran after him and tried to kick with his right leg, with Zancrow having the same idea. Their legs clashed into each other, a small shockwave appearing in the struck place.
Both men stared each other into the eye, before unleashing the full power of their flames, and engaging in a wild exchange of kicks, punches and holds. Their movements have become so fast, Wendy could only watch two blurry figures sliding on the ground, as they duked it out with each other, their auras merging once again and surrounding them in a giant ball of flames.
"Let's get further away, but let's also get lower a little." proposed Lily. "The higher we'll go, the hotter it'll get. Let's just keep our distance, but stay closer to the ground."
"Good idea." nodded Carla, and took Wendy away from the scene.
After getting far enough, the trio took a deep breath, finally without feeling pain. "Why doesn't he use stronger attacks?" questioned Lily. "From what I can tell, his outclasses this Zancrow person in terms of combat. I was told he is almost as strong as Laxus, that should give him enough firepower to unleash a powerful spell."
"He can't use anything bigger than a punch." Carla shook her head. "This guy can eat his magic. No matter how strong a spell, if he can simply devour it, then it is meaningless."
"So one is a better fighter, while the other has superior magic." deduced Lily. "There is no telling which direction this battle could go in."
Zancrow raised his right arm just in time to block a punch aimed at his nose, but in exchange for that, he left his stomach open, which Natsu used by kicking it. The God Slayer slid back and clawed his right hand, before slicing at Natsu, who caught it by the wrist and avoided being burned, Zancrow used this opportunity to deliver a left hook followed by a blast of flames, that effectively pushed Natsu back. The Dragon Slayer answered by using his flames as a smokescreen and snuck in a nasty uppercut, aimed at the gut. Since the beginning of this fight, one of his main strategies was striking the same spot over and over again in order to soften up Zancrow's defense. This plan turned out to be the right choice, because with each strike, his reactions revealed more pain than previously.
Both Slayer engaged each other in yet another exchange of blocked strikes, before ending up in another dual exchange, this time of left straights. Both men recovered immediately and struck back, hitting each other at the same time once again. Feeling fed up with each other, Zancrow and Natsu focused their magic in their right fists and clashed them against each other.
Wendy watched as both men's flames started to blown behind their owners. The sight resembled two comets, black and red, pushing against each other, as their flames blew backwards and devoured everything behind their main bodies. Both men were roaring loudly, neither of them giving in. Despite being superior in terms of magic, Zancrow was unable to overpower Natsu in terms of raw strength, the one thing the Dragon Slayer was making up for to make them both equals.
Suddenly, their flames caused an explosion that took them both in, a cloud of smoke and flames appearing where they previously stood. Wendy was forced to cover her eyes to avoid incoming pieces of the ground.
When she opened them, she spotted Natsu flying out of the cloud, his legs turned into thrusters similar to the ones he used to get her onto the island with. Behind him was Zancrow, who did exactly the same. Both men flew high into the air, neither giving in. After couple more meters Natsu turned around in the air and puffed his chest out, which made Zancrow smirk at the sight.
FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!
Natsu launched his Roar at Zancrow, who simply opened his mouth and started to devour it. In the meantime, the Dragon Slayer turned his legs towards the sky and started to quickly come down. He flew right through his own attack, much to Zancrow's shock, and struck him with a powerful punch. He dragged him in the air for a moment, before flexing his shoulder and pushing as hard as he could, making his opponent fly towards the ground, as he smashed into it with enough force to crack it.
Zancrow gasped, air leaving his lungs, and looked up to see a meteor descend onto him. He quickly threw his legs over his head and got on all fours, before jumping back just in time to avoid impact. Natsu crashed into the ground with his legs and quickly turned on his feet, before dashing at Zancrow, who in return jumped even further back.
The God Slayer stopped and spread his arms, before litting them on fire. His hands turned into mouth-shaped flames, that when combined created a mouth.
FIRE GOD'S SUPPER!
Natsu was caught in-between the flames, his entire body starting to burn immediately. He cried out in pain, much to Zancrow's delight.
"Once you're trapped in these flames, it's game over. Soon your body will be reduced to ash. Give up, Salamander." he taunted.
The Dragon Slayer tried to break the flames with his own, but his aura was smothered back into nothingness shortly afterwards. With time running out, he reached out to the only option he had left.
Zancrow watched Natsu's figure slowly disappear in the flames, and after couple more seconds, he was completely gone. He started to laugh maniacally and canceled his flames, with burned pieces of Natsu's clothing falling onto the ground.
"And the Dragon Hunter bites the dust!" roared happily Zancrow. "That's what you get, you cocky tra-"
His celebration was interrupted by the sound of ground breaking beneath his feet. A second later, before he could react, he was struck under his chin by a powerful uppercut delivered by Natsu, who launched himself from beneath the ground. In the last moments before being burned alive, he managed to dig up a tunnel that allowed him to bypass the spell and safely make it to Zancrow's position.
The Fairy Tail mage followed up with a nasty right straight that made Zancrow slide backwards and ran after him, willing to continue his barrage. Fed up with his opponent, Zancrow quickly puffed his cheeks out, before unleashing his spell.
FIRE GOD'S BELLOW!
Natsu was swallowed by the point-blank variation of Roar. Although he managed to stay on the ground, he felt his whole body burning, unbearable pain spreading across his entire figure. When the flames finally died down, they revealed smoking and sliding back Natsu with his hands crossed over his head and torso, multiple burns scattered all over his body. The sleeves of his jacket have been completely burned off, revealing his arms entirely. He slowly put them down and glared at the God Slayer, panic slowly starting to creep up onto his neck. Although he kept repeating Gildarts' lesson over and over to keep himself in check, he was running out of options.
"The end is near." hummed Zancrow and smirked.
Mirajane struck Azuma with a powerful kick to the lower back, after successfully maneuvering behind him with her wings. She then pushed him with her leg and sent him flying. The man turned in the air and pointed at her with his right hand, branches growing out from the ground beneath him. Mirajane forced her body to obey her, and dodged them all, only to be then blasted away with an explosion.
"Mira..." Lisanna tried to call out to her sister, but was too weak to scream.
The Demon grit her teeth and spread her wings to come to a halt, before coming down onto the Kin. They started to exchange hits once again, only this time, it was Mirajane's turn to be at the disadvantage.
"What's wrong?" questioned Azuma after striking her in the face. "Did you lose all of your strength after that blast?"
Mira gritted her teeth in fury and replied with a kick of her own, catching him in the ribs. Azuma grunted from pain and froze in his spot. Mira used this chance to gather her magic into her hands and put them on his chest, a black sphere formed in her palms.
EVIL EXPLOSION!
Azuma was blown away by the attack, as he cried out in pain and crashed into the nearby tree, breaking it in half in the process. Seeing this as one golden, and quite possibly final chance, she focused all of her remaining magic in her right hand and formed a black ball.
SOUL EXTINCTOR!
Azuma was swallowed by a black beam of death, everything behind him turning into ashes and pieces. Mira roared out of exhaustion and pain, but kept pumping her magic into the attack and kept it going for as long as she could. Feeling that her vision was getting blurry, she canceled it and panted heavily, tired beyond belief.
When the dust settled, she felt her eyes widening in horror at the sight of many thick, demolished branches before her. Right behind them was Azuma, his damage nowhere near as serious as it should have been. His face, however, was a mix of both pure fear the thrill he felt from the battle.
"Terrifying...absolutely terrifying." he gasped and smirked nervously, before jumping down from behind his shield. "You are exactly what I was looking for. Now, let's both enjoy ourselves even more, Mirajane!" he exclaimed and dashed at the Demon. Before she could even raise her hands up, he hit her in the face and kicked her away.
The Demon crashed into the fallen trees and let herself slide on the wood, no strength left in her body at all. However, despite that, she stood up and put up her guard, her eyes still alive. Azuma caught up to her and started to beat her up, not giving her even a second of rest.
"Hurry up and defend yourself, Mirajane!" he ordered her.
Mira growled and managed to punch him with her right hand, but it didn't do any damage at all. Finally realising that she had almost no strength to stand, Azuma's smile faded away.
"So you've emptied yourself out, didn't you?" he asked her. He then closed his eyes and pushed her, making her fly backwards. She landed on her back couple meters away, her breathing irregular.
"To show you my gratitude, allow me to defeat you with force equal to the one you've showed me just now." he announced and used his branches to create a big ball, that then started to glow dangerously. Mira could only stare at it in silence, as she made peace with her defeat.
"Stop!"
Lisanna got in-between the mages and spread her arms out, willing to protect her big sister.
"Move." ordered Azuma. "I have no business with you."
"I won't."
Lisanna's glare was hard, hateful and determined. Although he felt no interest in the younger sister, something piqued his interest in those eyes.
"Idiot...get out of the way." wheezed out Mira.
"I won't. You've been protecting me all my life, now it's my turn." Lisanna shook her head.
"I said move!"
"No!"
Azuma stomped the ground to break the argument, and regained Lisanna's attention. "I respect your resolve, but it is not you I am battling with. If you do not move, I will be forced to use this on you."
Lisanna gulped. "Go ahead. That's what I want anyway."
Azuma's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You'll die." he warned her.
"I know."
Azuma wondered for a second. "Very well. If you are truly willing to take this in your sister's stead, so be it."
"Promise me you will not touch her afterwards." she ordered him. Although she was scared beyond belief, in this situation, she truly resembled her sister's usual confident, and brave demeanour.
"You have my word." promised the Kin.
Lisanna nodded and closed her eyes, awaiting the impact.
Mirajane could simply watch as her opponent was now getting ready to throw his spell at her sister. Her little sister, one of the only people in this world she truly loved. And she was about to die.
With new found strength, Mirajane stood up and threw herself at Azuma, a desperate roar of despair escaping her mouth. Too fast to let him make a move, Mira kicked him in the gut so hard his eyes became rid of pupils, blood escaping his mouth. The ball was canceled, with no explosions going off.
Azuma slid on the balls of his feet, with Mirajane following him, bombarding him with a barrage of punches and kicks. She no longer gave a damn where, or how she struck - she simply kept pushing forward.
Her opponent, shocked and glad at the same time, grinned wickedly and started to fight back, both mages exchanging hits once again. Mira struck him with a right kick to the ribs, to which he replied with a right hook. Although her body was crying out in pain, she kept going, not giving up.
"Where did this strength come from?" asked Azuma after blocking a punch.
Mira did not reply, but instead kept pushing. Seeing that it was futile to reason with her, Azuma pushed her away with an explosion and jumped back, reading up his previous attack once again.
"This time, this will go off!" he announced. "Overcome this and try to defeat me, Mirajane!" he roared and threw it at the Demon.
Mira focused the absolute last reserves of her magic power into her right fist and flew straight into the ball. However, instead of blocking, or countering it, she simply flew underneath it, catching Azuma by surprise.
With the Kin completely defenseless, Mira allowed her attack to fully expand, her right hand retracted and ready to strike. But before she could attack, she spotted something odd. Azuma's eyes were not focused on her, but something behind her. She slowly turned her head around and felt her heart sink at the sight of the now ready to explode wood making its way towards Lisanna, who - unable to move due to her injuries - simply closed her eyes, awaiting the impact.
Mira desperately canceled her spell and threw herself in her sister's direction. A second later a giant explosion erupted in Fairy Tail's camp, blowing everything up, along with the surrounding area. Azuma was forced to secure himself with his vines in order not to be blown away.
When the dust settled, it revealed a giant crater. Right in the middle of it laid Lisanna, her wide eyes staring at her older sister, now back in her human form, who was currently laying on top of her.
"M...Mira?" stuttered Lisanna and gently shook her now unconscious sister. "Hey, Mira...wake up. Please..."
Azuma watched the scene in shock, sweat running down his face. He knew very well that if she had came through with her spell, he would be the one lying on the ground in defeat. Mirajane Strauss sacrificed herself for her younger sister after choosing her safety and life over defeating an enemy.
Lisanna gently crawled out from beneath her sister and gently took a hold of her body, covered in burns and almost rid of clothing. Her usual ponytail was now undone, her hair scattered all over her sleeping face.
"Hey...please, wake up. Mira..." Lisanna started to tear up and shook her sister.
Azuma undid the magic around his legs and straightened himself up, before bowing to his defeated opponent in respect. He then turned around and started to walk away, leaving the devastated sisters to themselves. Although Mirajane has earned his complete and total respect, he would lie if he said he was not disappointed.
Even though it was almost insignificant in size when compared to the admiration he developed for the Demon.
Natsu and Zancrow continued to slug it out, their strikes now lacking the technique and focused on simply delivering pain to their opponent.
"Will you cut it out already?!" roared the God Slayer and kicked Natsu straight in the teeth. The Dragon Slayer stumbled back and was caught by a right overhand, which pushed him back even further.
Natsu planted his foot deep into the ground in order not to fall down, and glared hatefully at Zancrow.
"This is pointless." declared grimly Carla. "He can't win."
Natsu picked the tabby's words with his ears, and could not find it in himself to argue with her. However, he still had one more thing to try, and he was willing to do everything to check it out.
Natsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before exhaling slowly. He straightened himself up and relaxed his tense, aching body. His flaming aura started to get smaller and smaller, until it vanished completely, however, it was not dispelled. It looked like it was sucked back into its owner's body.
Zancrow watched his opponent in confusion. Was he finally going insane? Did he really expect to achieve anything without his magic?
With one final breath, Natsu opened his eyes and focused them on Zancrow. Without a warning he dashed forward, to which Zancrow replied by lazily putting up his guard. The God Slayer threw a swift punch with his right hand, which Natsu avoided by sidestepping to his right. He then clenched his right fist and threw a right hook at Zancrow's face. The God Slayer was caught right on his lips, and he immediately felt something was off. Natsu pushed with his fist and blew the Kin's head away, before noticing a very important phenomenon - for the first time since this battle started, he drew blood.
Shocked and confused, Zancrow tried to jump away, but was caught mid-way by Natsu who nailed him with a left hook followed by two powerful uppercuts to the stomach. Zancrow gasped from pain, before being nailed by an overhand right straight into his nose. His nose joined his lip in bleeding.
"How?!" he snarled and sent a wave of flames in Natsu's direction, who swiftly avoided it and got behind Zancrow. Before the blonde could fully turn, he was caught across his face with a right highkick, that sent him straight into the ground. He bounced off of it like a ball, which gave Natsu just enough space to kick him in the now exposed stomach, lifting him up in the air. The God Slayer coughed up blood, before being punched into his left ribs and sent flying, only to then roll on the ground.
"What is going on in here?" asked shocked Carla. "How can he suddenly hurt him, and why is he not using his flames?"
Wendy watched the battle in awe and beamed, hope returning to her bit by bit. "He's hurting him because he's not using them!" she announced happily.
"What do you mean?" asked her curious Lily.
"Natsu is using his flames, but not outside. Instead of turning his magic into fire, he's keeping it inside of his body. He is not reaching the levels of power he'd reach with his flames, but his strikes are still quite powerful. If there is nothing to nullify, then the damage will be whole!" she explained. "I think..."
"You think?!"
"I've talked to Erza couple days ago, and she told me, that he used this trick against her during their battle. That way, he could counter her Flame Empress Armor, and force her to change into something else."
"Even if that's true" argued Carla "I still find it hard to believe it."
"No, it makes sense." threw in Lily. "I thought it was only my imagination, but Natsu did in fact hurt this man before, even with his flames. The damage came from the impact of the strikes. If Natsu took out the flames, and increased the impact, then it is possible he's found a way to bypass his God Slaying magic."
While the trio discussed the ongoing events, Natsu and Zancrow continued to duke their fight out. Natsu dodged a flaming fist aimed at his right temple and kicked Zancrow right in the gut. The God Slayer quickly took a hold of his leg and burned it, before smashing his jaw with a hook. Natsu staggered backwards, but regained his composure quickly and dashed back in.
"Wait a second." began Carla. "If his offense has been increased, what about his defense?"
Just when she asked that, Natsu cried out in pain after being burned by Zancrow's flaming cloak. Figuring out the trick, the God slayer decided to keep this aura up at all times, effectively smashing Natsu's chances.
"Quite a clever little trick you've got there, Salamander." he growled and wiped the blood off his lips. "But I've figured it out." he announced before punching Natsu in the gut, leaving him gasping for air.
"I knew it! It's impossible to fight him without magic!" exclaimed Carla. Wendy's worries have started to come back with double the strength.
Natsu growled and jumped up, smashing his head into Zancrow's jaw. He then started to pummel the God Slayer with everything he had, disregarding the pain he felt in his burned hands. He focused his strikes on his ribs, effectively cutting Zancrow off air, as well as cracking them further and further with each punch.
Feeling more and more dull pain spreading across his body, Zancrow snapped.
"Enough!" he roared and smashed his fist into Natsu's guts once again. This punch left the Dragon Slayer devastated. Zancrow followed through by smashing his right fist into the back of his opponent's head, before kicking him right in the face, which made his body fly upwards. Natsu started to take unsteady steps backwards on wobbly legs, before feeling the edge of the cliff they were battling on.
"This is the end for you, wannabe-Dragon Slayer." snarled Zancrow and raised his arms, his hands turned into claws. He focused his whole magic in his palms, the heat from his flames making them almost white in color.
FIRE GOD'S PURGATORY!
Natsu was swept off the cliff by a purging blast of black flames. They knocked him off and made him fall into the forest beneath, his body leaving a fat trail of smoke behind.
"Natsu!" Wendy cried out after him and reached out to his falling figure with her hand, both Exceeds struggling to keep her away from jumping behind him.
"You can't, Wendy!" Carla tried to reason with her friend.
Zancrow quickly snapped his eyes at the trio and turned around to face them. "You're next." he announced.
Carla and Lily were paralysed by fear. Only now that he was facing them did they truly feel the pressure that was coming from his body. Without even talking to each other, they both dragged Wendy along, as they spiked into the same forest Natsu fell into.
Zancrow watched them in amusement, and with all of his enemies finally gone from his sight, he grimaced in pain and fell to his knees. He lifted his shirt up, only to see many bruises forming on his torso, his ribs hurting beyond anything he's ever felt in his life.
"That son of a bitch, slave scum." he growled and punched the ground to cope with the pain. "How could this happen?"
"It is only natural."
Azuma started to grow out from the ground behind the God Slayer, which startled him.
"It's just you." he sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that, man." he said and then got back to examining his wounds. "How long have you been here?"
"I've arrived just in time to see the end." replied Azuma. "Looks like he got you good, Zancrow."
"Speak for yourself." scoffed Zancrow. "You're pretty banged up yourself. Who did this to you?"
"A strong opponent whom I have defeated."
The blonde snorted in amusement. "This guild? Strong? Don't make me laugh." He then looked at the forest. "You think he survived it?"
"Even if he wasn't killed by your flames, it'll be the fall that takes his life. Also, you should know by now, that this guild can be quite tenacious. Your current state being the proof of that."
"He got lucky, okay?" snapped Zancrow. "Besides, you guys lied to me. You said if I talked shit to him, he'd snap and lose his mind, making him an easy target, and yet no matter which buttons I pressed, he kept trying to figure me out and stayed calm. It was annoying."
"Deal with it." retorted shortly Azuma. "In a one-on-one combat, Salamander could very likely best any Kin. Except you. Your magic was the only way we could take him down and push him out of the way of our plans. And although you've done it with difficulty, you've fulfilled your mission."
The blonde said nothing in return.
"Take some rest, Zancrow. I know I will." said Azuma, before walking away and merging with the ground once again.
The God Slayer stood up and stared the forest down one final time, before starting to make his way back to the ship. Despite his injuries, a small smirk formed on his face.
Natsu crashed into the ground, breaking it in the process. He landed on his legs, his flames protecting him from fall damage best to their ability. He then canceled them out and fell to his knees. He stared at his hands, the reality slowly getting to him. He'd lost. He allowed the person who continued to mock both him and his father to best him, and leave him on the edge of the island like a chewed up toy. The anger that he's been keeping sealed away leaked out, breaking the dam.
"DAMN IT!" he roared and struck the ground as hard as he could, breaking it and making it shake in the process. "I'll kill him. I'll kill him." he snarled repeatedly, blind rage consuming his mind. "I will..."
Just before he could strike the ground again, he remembered Gildarts' words, as they echoed in his mind like a chant. Confused, he grabbed his head with his hands and leaned towards the ground, tapping it with his forehead.
"Shut up...shut up...shut up!" he repeated, trying to contain his bloodthirst and regain his senses. This was no longer him, he was better than this.
"...Natsu?"
Natsu's eyes snapped wide open. He looked at the owner of the voice, revealing distraught Wendy, with Carla and Lily still supporting her with their magic, also shocked. Feeling shame, Natsu wanted to speak out, but before he did, he smelled a familiar scent. However, something was different about it - it reeked of iron.
Without thinking he dashed out in its direction, leaving the confused trio behind. They followed him shortly afterwards.
After running for a couple minutes, Natsu stopped and took the sight in, his stomach turning out. The smell belonged to Makarov, who laid unconscious in his crater. He was covered in wounds, a small pool of blood forming beneath his body.
Wendy arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and took her Master's state in silence, before dashing to his side, immediately starting to heal him.
"Master is down?" muttered stunned Carla. "This can't be happening..."
Natsu continued to stare at the man with wide eyes. Although they have not talked to each other very often, he felt some sort of a connection to the elder. Perhaps it was a feeling of guilt, about hurting his guild members? Or maybe it was the cheerful attitude he showed when they spoke? No.
It was gratitude.
Deep inside his heart, and even though he'd never admit it himself, Natsu was grateful he met Makarov. Grateful he was given a second chance at life, life without fear, cruelty, or pain. He was grateful he was brought to the guild, and was given a chance to meet the people he knew today. Gray, Lucy, Wendy. Erza.
He couldn't put this together himself, but his teammates, as well as Wendy, resembled him of the people he knew in the past. People who brought peace to his heart, who soothed him and made him take it easy for once. He met these people because of one man. But most importantly, it was thanks to him he met Erza.
And now, this very man was on the brink of death.
Natsu's body was clad in a cloak of flames, which startled Wendy and the cats. He stared at Makarov's unconscious body in silence, his face seemingly calm, but oozing with silent rage.
"I'm going back there." he announced. "I will take care of them all."
With that said, he turned around and started to make his way back. Before Carla could call after him, someone was faster than her.
"Wait."
Wendy's stern voice managed to halt Natsu in his tracks. He turned his head around and looked at the girl, her determined, hurt eyes drilling a hole in his soul. "You can't go. I can't heal Master without you."
Natsu's eyes narrowed. "I can't use healing magic. I will defeat Grimoire Heart while you're healing him."
"You're right, you can't heal. But neither can I, not in these conditions. I need someone to carefully carry Master to safety, while I give him first aid on the way. I need supplies that I cannot replace with my magic." explained Wendy, trying to remain calm.
Natsu appeared to consider her words. However, he quickly dismissed them and resumed to walk away.
"I don't know which one of you is here right now..."
The Dragon Slayer stopped and stared ahead with his eyes wide. What did she say?
"But I need your help. If you walk away now, Master will die. Does this truly mean nothing to you?!" she yelled out, her pent up frustration finding a way out.
Natsu looked at his hand. It was shaking. It wasn't fear, or anger that did this to him - it was her words. He closed it and took a deep breath, his mind becoming at ease at a slow pace. He dispelled his flames and walked up to Makarov's side, before kneeling by the elder. "What do I need to do?" he asked Wendy.
The girl smiled a little, glad that he returned to his senses. "I need you to gently pick him up and place him on your back. We will then try to walk back to the camp, where I can give him proper treatment. However, we must walk at a steady pace, otherwise his wounds might reopen."
Natsu nodded and gently picked the elder up, before placing him on his back. Wendy walked behind them and kept her magic focused on Makarov, her face focused. The Exceeds walked behind them on their paws, at the same time looking around for any possible enemies.
As they walked, Natsu had time to think, Wendy's words still ringing in his head. Did people really think of him as "them"? Was it really that obvious?
While he thought about that, they continued to slowly walk deeper into the forest. Wendy was focused on healing, Exceeds were focused on the enemies, but Natsu's mind was torn in half. Because although he was thinking about his partner's words, there was something else dwelling on him, both on his mind and his tongue.
Natsu Dragneel continued to walk, terrorized by both his past, and the bitter taste of defeat.
End of Chapter 23. To be continued in Chapter 24: Requiem For The Fallen
Some of you...Hah, a lot of you are probably pissed right now, and I can't really blame you. However, let me explain myself.
The reason Natsu lost to Zancrow is divided into many reasons:
- GS DS
- I made GH slightly stronger than they were in the canon. Not by much, but they are a bit stronger.
- Tenrou Tree is down. FT lost a bit of their magic
- I made him lose in order to develop his character. Right now we are in the ugly parts, but trust me, it will only get better from now on
- GS can eat their DS counterpart's magic. This is canon. Since they both use fire, Natsu could not use stronger attacks, and his punches were basically him punching without magic, at least until the last part of the fight. Zancrow also has immunity to Natsu's fire, because of his magic's nature.
- Natsu was superior in speed, hand to hand, and raw power, as well as magic power alone. The only thing he was inferior in was magic, since, as I've said, GS is superior to DS.
- Despite Natsu's skill, Zancrow is not that weaker than him. I'd put him at Erza's level. Even in canon it was implied he was one of the strongest Kin, and Natsu's attacks had absolutely no effect on him as well.
- This fight marks the end of Natsu's losing streak.
If you're still angry, please answer this question: How is Natsu supposed to beat someone, who is basically immune to his magic?
I hope I at least made Mira fans happy, despite her loss. I gave her some spotlight, and made it obvious, that she was in fact capable of besting Azuma. It could go either way, and it did. I also disliked the idea of a timebomb, so I changed it. I hope you like it.
Next chapters will feature Rustyrose, and I've got a small hint for you. If you've read Bleach and its latest arc, you might notice some interesting things about him.
I hope you liked this chapter. See you next time~!