Chapter 38:
By some miracle Wendy was able to pull herself, Charla and Panther Lily away from the fight that was about to begin. She didn't want to get caught in something like that. She could tell just by looking at Natsu's face that this Zancrow-guy will be happy if he gets out of here alive but it will be another miracle today if he does.
Zancrow on the other hand didn't seem to worried about the whole thing. His crazy smile never leaving his face. "So lizard? What's it gonna be? You getting killed by my hands or you running away?"
Natsu's eyebrow twitched "Run...? You really think I gonna run from a weakling like you?"
Well that at least made Zancrow's smile disappear... if only for a second... "Who are you calling a weakling, you freak?"
Zancrow grinned as he watched Natsu let out a shaky breath. "What? Afraid already? Gonna cry?"
Zancrow blinked and Natsu was gone. His eyes widened and before he could even say something he heard whisper in his ear "You misunderstood, that wasn't me trying not to cry... that was me trying not to tear you apart"
Zanrow jumped and turned his head so fast you could hear his bones clicking. He saw Natsu standing there looking at him with dead eyes.
"How did ya do that?!" Zanrow asked with nervous smile.
"I ran" Natsu said as his famous twisted grin find its way on his face making his scaly face looking even more creepy.
Zancrow frowned and yelled "Don't lie to me! Now feel the wrath of a god..." Zancrow sucked air in his lungs "Flame god's BELLOW!"
A torrent of black flames erupted from his mouth. Natsu jumped away from the flames on the nearby tree. The flames went only few centimeters from the tree and Natsu could feel the heat. Zancrow grinned "Not bad! Now let's see how will you avoid this..." Zancrow jumped toward Natsu and Natsu jumped at him.
"Flame God's Scythe!" Zancrow shouted as he formed a scythe of black flames off of one arm and swung it down at Natsu who raised his right arm that was cowered in scales. Black scythe hit Natsu's right arm making Zancrow's grin widened. His happiness didn't last long when his scythe that should've cut right trough Natsu's hand just scratch his scales leaving tiny cut from where few drops of blood dripped. In his surprise Zancrow lowered his guard. Horrible mistake that Natsu waited. Natsu grinned and pushed magic in his feet pushing himself in midair above Zancrow's scythe catching him completely off guard as he found himself behind Zencrow yelling "Chaos dragon's iron fist!"
He hit Zancrow in head sending him crashing into the ground. Natsu landed gracefully few meters away from Zancrow who was lying in small crater.
"Oww~" he moaned as he rubbed the back of his head. God, that hurt! He wouldn't be too surprised if it actually cracked his skull.
"Had enough?" a cold voice behind him made him jump. He wasn't sure what was in that voice that made his hair stand on end.
Zancrow, despite the pain in his head stood up and grinned "Are you crazy?! I didn't have this much fun in years!"
Natsu's face twisted into a smile "Oh really? Shouldn't your attacks then be at least a little more powerful?"
Zancrow scowled and growled "Why you...Try this! Flame God's Explosive Flame!"
He released a massive stream of black flames at Chaos dragon from his arm by launching his arm forward in a punch-like motion.
This time Natsu sucked in the air yelling "Chaos dragon ROAR!"
Natsu opened his mouth and released massive tornado of black and red energy. When the two attacks collided there was big explosion fallowed by bright black-and-red light. Explosion lifted the dirt in the air around few miles making it impossible to see anything as Natsu flew trough the air landing on his feet few miles away from where he originally was. He made a step back sniffing trough the air trying to find Zancrow. It didn't took him to long to find him moving in his direction. Obviously the dirt in air already lifted in that clearing where Zancrow landed but here was different story. Tall trees shilded this part from wind as well as from sun so right now Natsu was relying on his nose and ears. Sniffing the air for few more seconds he smelled something that made his heart miss a beat... well it would if he actually had a heart in this form.
'Master...' he thought as his nose smelled unmissable metallic smell of blood mixed with purity and oak smell (Makarov's smell)... blood... unmistakable.. that was Makarov's blood. And there was a lot of it in the air. The dust lowered down on earth making it a little more visible. Enough visible for Natsu to see Makarov's small body lying motionlessly on the ground with big hole in his stomach.
'He needed help fast or he'll bleed to death!' Natsu thought and looked around like he was expecting to see something that could help... or maybe someone. But then again it was foolish for him to think that Wendy would already be here. Now that he thought about it Zancrow should come to this place soon...
"Flame God's Kagutsuchi!" sudden yell made Natsu jump to the side barely avoiding massive tornado of hot black flames that actually burned him this time. He looked at his left hand that was pretty badly burned and sighed.
'Another scar in the collection... yippie...' he thought sarcastically.
His eyes moved to laughing figure on the tree
"Aren't so tough anymore, huh?" Zancrow said holding his stomach and laughing his ass out.
"I must compliment you... Not many people actually were able to scar me" Natsu said in cold voice that didn't give any sign that he felt any kind of pain... well the truth is he really didn't feel anything.
Natsu's face became emotionless as he watched Zancrow jumping in the air yelling "Flame god's BELLOW!"
Natsu held out his right arm and said in calm voice "Dragon slayer lost art: black hole"
In his outstretched hand appeared black ball that looked like whole universe was in it yet it was palm-sized. Zancrow's attack was just sucked in like it was nothing and black ball disappeared.
Zancrow stared at Natsu with wide and fearful eyes "H-how do you know that technique? Black hole is spell of Shadow god!"
Natsu smirked "I had privilege to see god Shadō using it so I adjusted it for my Chaos magic"
Zancrow gaped in shock... this man... no monster... turned god slayer spell into his own. He knew that master Hades once tried to do something similar but he never succeeded. To think this little pipsqueak did something like this was truly astonishing. He was fighting against someone able to do something not even master Hades was able to do. He was starting to doubt that he'll win this fight.
"But sure it's not near as powerful as god's" Natsu said with twisted grin.
"Monster" Zancrow said shocked.
Natsu frowned as he jumped and muttered something under his breath. His fury glowing in his eyes. Zancrow didn't have time to dodge because he was frozen in shock. Natsu's nails turned into the claws and something started dripping from the claws as he hit Zancrow directly in his head.
Zancrow hit the ground. He shook his head trying to get rid of sudden dizziness and headache as he slowly stood up looking at Natsu who was grinning like mad man. Zancrow looked at Natsu closer. Something was off about him. He froze when he saw dragons's eyes that glowed red. Bony wings were growing on his back. Bony tail, just like the wings without any flash or skin, trailed behind him. Zancrow's eyes widened in horror when skin on Natsu's face started to peal off off it leaving only bloody flesh behind it. In front of Zancrow's eyes the teenager's skin started to peal off off his entire body and soon after the skin flesh fallowed leaving only bloody skeleton that somehow still looked like it was grinning. Skeleton's teeth were all sharp and dragon-like and his eyes (that were still there) were glowing even more brightly. Blood flowed down Skeleton's face like tears.
Natsu's skeleton head tilted to the side making it look even more scarier then it was.. if that was even possible.
"Are you afraid?" Dragon-like Skeleton asked in mocking voice. When Skeleton opened its mouth thick trail of blood came out of its mouth
Zancrow was frozen in fear. Not able to speak, to move, to think...
Bony Creature made few slow steps toward Zancrow.
'RUN!' Zancrow screamed in his head trying to move his body but without success. His body just didn't want to listen.
With every second Creature moved closer Zancrow's eyes grew wider. When Skeleton was close enough to touch him it raised its clawed yet bony hand and touched Zancrow's forehead with thin finger.
Sudden pain rushed trough Zancrow's body. His hands started to hurt so much. Too much... Like someone was skinning him alive. His eyes looked at his shaky hands and to his horror the skin was already falling off off them.
He looked at Skeleton that was still right in front of him.
"Please... make... this... stop" Zancrow said trough clenched teeth trying not to cry out in pain.
Skeleton just titled its head again sounding a little disappointed at the man's request "But now we'll be the same"
Wendy was sitting behind the tree. She saw Natsu's last attack and she immediately recognized it, it was the same attack he used to defeat Gildarts 2.0; 'Dragon slayer secret art: demon lord: nightmare awakened'. She was actually surprised to see him using that spell since he can use it only when he's in his demon form but she guessed that ha was able to use it because of those scales on his right side.
She watched Natsu as he looked at Zancrow with cold eyes. His face matching them.
When Zancrow started screaming like he was in pain she had to cover her ears. The screams were so loud. She looked at Zancrow and her eyes widened in horror and shock as Zancrow tore his own skin from his flesh.
'What on Earthland did Natsu made him dream?!'
Natsu just stood there looking at the man with emotionless face.
After few more seconds Zancrow ripped his own hearth from his body leaving him an bloody unrecognizable pile of flesh and bones.
"Dragon slayer secret art: Element Take Over: Earth master!" His eyes shined brown and he made motion with his hands and earth opened swallowing Zancrow's body before it closed again.
Without another word Natsu walked toward still lying master. He truly hoped that old man wasn't dead. Even though he would newer admit it he truly cared for the old geezer. Wendy fallowed her brother direction with her eyes and almost fainted when she saw master lying on the ground in his own pool of blood.
Natsu knelt down by the old man and put two fingers on Makarov's neck trying to find a pulse. He almost jumped when he heard Makarov speaking "Don't bury me too..."
Natsu smiled at the old man before he registered what he just said
"You saw what I did?" Natsu asked quietly.
Makarov nodded before coughing "I don't know what spell did you use tough..."
"We need something to patch you up" looking around like he'll find some bandages in the woods. Well he didn't find bandages but that blue-haired girl that slowly walked toward them will be even better. Of course if she can even use her magic right now since she was barely walking with Lily and Charla helping her. Natsu stood up, ran toward her and picked her up before she could say anything. He put her down next to Makarov showing her his wound.
"Do you have enough magic to heal him?" Natsu asked almost hopefully.
Wendy gasped seeing the wound but then started crying "N-no.." she choked out between sobs.
Charla was now crying as well and Lily was just looking in the ground quietly.
"I'm... *sob* so *sob* useless!" Wendy cried out.
Makarov smiled weakly at a girl he considered his own daughter or granddaughter "You're... not useless Wendy... You are very... strong... and *cough* in the end... we all have... to die sometimes..."
End of chapter 38.
Another voting! Do you wish Makarov to die or is he going to live?
You have three chances to guess who will be the next guild master if he dies. This idea is in my head for some time now. I was originally planning on killing him here but then again I'm pretty sure some of you will hate me if I actually do that so I want to hear what you guy want on this one. Review! Review! Review! I'll be making new chapter soon so hurry up and write for what are you voting. It's good that today we didn't had school so I had time to write this chapter. I'll be waiting for new review and thanks for reading :)