"And why should I agree?" Lyon sneered.
"Because even though death is a part of life, there is always someone worth saving," Natsu replied. Lyon's eyes widened. It's such an easy offer to accept, but his damn pride is in the way. "While I'd hoped for the blessing of both of Ur's students, whether you accept it or not, I'll still-"
"Do it…" he muttered.
Natsu smiled, thinking to himself, 'Such similarities between you two. You've done well, Ur. I pray that you can succeed where I have failed, and save Ultear from herself.'
"Thank you…" Gray whispered, and Erza smiled, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Well? Are you ready, Natsu?"
"Just about, Erza. Sherry, Toby, and Yuka, you three should leave. I can sense your power, it's not nearly enough to survive this."
"Hey! What do you-" Toby started.
"He's right, you three," Lyon interrupted. "We'll handle it."
The three grumbled something about 'unfair,' something about 'cocky mages,' and something about 'not very love,' whatever the heck that meant. Regardless, they left, leaving the small force of Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Lyon to face the demon.
"Erza and I will take the front while you two attack from range. I want to make one thing absolutely clear," Natsu said, glaring at the three. "I'm fully aware of the power level that Deliora faces, and, while I pray to Bahamut that we'll be enough, if I say retreat you are to retreat. Is that clear?"
Lyon and Gray scoffed, and Erza nodded numbly. She'd expected this, not that she was comfortable with it, just that she saw it coming.
"Very well. Let's just hope this goes as planned…" Natsu mumbled to himself approaching the ice. They rested in a rather simple formation, Natsu in the front about fifteen feet away from the demon, followed by Erza, with Gray and Lyon behind her on either side. "Brace yourselves, this is going to be a hell of a lot of magic."
"I still don't understand what you're talking about," Lyon grunted. "I can't feel any magic coming off you at all."
"Just wait for it...Guy's a freak of nature…" Gray mumbled.
"I heard that!" Natsu shouted back, before closing his eyes and getting into a stance. His knees were slightly bent and his left side was favored towards the demon, while his left palm was extended with his right palm at his side. "O' flames that burn white with holy light, I invoke my royal blood. Mrith wer ibafarshani ini wer shehad darastrixi ghoros ve, si valignat mojka wer seal batobot jilgic! [With the flames invested by the royal dragons before me, I burn away the seal that holds] Royal White Fire Dragon's SEAL-RELEASE!" With a final shout, he thrust his right palm forward unleashing an ungodly amount of magical power.
"ROOAAARRRRR"
A massive draconic roar was unleashed as the white flames Natsu shot from his palm rocketed towards the ice and transformed into the shape of a massive dragon. The dragon curled itself around the demon and reared its head back, unleashing another ear-splitting roar. Slowly, the ice started to drip down the sides of the prison. After about five minutes, the figure of a woman started slowly emerging from the front of the cube, naked as the day she was born. She had chin-length dark purple hair and pale white skin, however, her eyes were closed and she was missing her right leg. Eventually, she was fully released from her cage and fell into the waiting arms of Natsu, who had approached earlier to retrieve her.
Gray and Lyon stood there in utter shock, their long-long teacher finally returning.
"Ur…" Gray whispered.
"It's...really...her…"
"Erza, why don't you take her with you," Natsu suggested. "I think these two have more important things to worry about, and I don't particularly love the idea of being seen carrying around an unconscious naked woman."
"Uh..er...right…" Erza blushed, requipping a jacket to cover her with and taking the woman from Natsu. "I'll be-"
Crack
Crack
"RAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHH!"
With a demonic roar, the ice that once imprisoned Zeref's demon was destroyed allowing the newly freed demon of destruction to reap destruction upon the land before him.
"Deliora…" Gray growled.
"This power…" Lyon whispered. "I'd forgotten...how oppressive it is…" The once cocky and self-proclaimed 'Cold Emperor' started to realize just how in over his head he really was; this demon was on a level far beyond his capabilities and perhaps beyond those he could achieve in the next decade or longer.
"Hope you two ice freaks aren't getting cold feet on me!" Natsu called, preparing for the battle ahead. "'Cause I'm all FIRED UP!"
"Not a chance, flame-brain! This creature killed my family...slaughtered my village...and stole my master away for years! Like hell I'll get cold feet now!"
Lyon just stood there numbly for a moment, processing the power of Deliora and the power of the one who released him. After a moment, he snapped back to reality, prepared to join the fight. Perhaps for his life, perhaps for revenge, or perhaps just to prove his worth to himself now that he's seen truly powerful monsters.
"Alright, let's do this! Fire Dragon's TALON!" Natsu shouted, launching himself in the air before delivering a fierce flaming kick to the demon's face. This seemed to have almost no effect on the beast, the small explosion nowhere near enough to leave even a scratch or a burn.
"RAAAAAAAGHHHH!" the demon screamed back, now figuring out what was happening. Just because he's a demon doesn't mean being revived after ten years is easy, you know.
"Ice-make LANCE!" Gray called, firing off a barrage of icy spearheads.
"Ice-make APE!" Lyon added to the mix, summoning a monkey of ice in front of him.
The demon, however, did not really appreciate these attacks. The lances didn't phase him at all, and the monkey was of no concern, but for Deliora, death is death. His existence is meant for destruction, and it is destruction he will give. Unleashing another mighty roar, he slammed his fist into the ground, narrowly avoiding smashing Natsu into a bloody pulp, and causing the entire temple to shake.
"This place isn't gonna survive very long!" Gray called.
"I know that!" Natsu shouted back. "Keep hitting him, try to lure him outside! Lyon, meet up with Erza and make sure everyone knows what's going on!"
"What makes you think-" Lyon started, before being cut off by a massive roar by Deliora, and another punch that Natsu managed to avoid. This time, the punch started to shatter the temple above them, with giant pieces of the ceiling raining down on them from above.
"THAT'S WHY, DAMMIT! JUST DO IT!" Natsu yelled back, before unleashing a fire dragon's roar at the beast, temporarily distracting it.
"Right!" Lyon, realizing what his situation actually was, quickly complied with the request, running towards the exit.
"Let's go, Gray! Follow Lyon!" Natsu called out, running towards the hall. "Just keep hitting him!"
"Right! Ice-make HAMMER!"
The two Fairy Tail mages continued their strategy, firing several, unfortunately ineffective, ranged attacks to distract the demon, forcing it into chasing them. Unfortunately, that didn't work very long, and the demon unleashed another loud roar and began to build up massive amounts of magic in its mouth.
"GRAY! GET OUT OF THE WAY! THIS IS A BIG ONE!" Natsu screamed out, knowing full well that it would take too long to generate enough power to cancel it out, and even if he could, most of the island would be destroyed in the explosion.
Deliora fired a thick beam of magic forward, barely avoiding taking off Gray's leg as he had done with his master before him, and destroying everything in a massive line in front of him, before everything erupted in flames.
"NATSU! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Gray yelled back.
"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT, ICE BOY? FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" This time, Natsu's trick didn't work, as Deliora simply slammed a massive fist forward through the flames, connecting with Natsu's chest. A crack was heard as Natsu coughed up blood and was shot out of the temple like a bullet.
"NATSU!" Gray screamed, sprinting full speed after his fellow mage.
Natsu slammed backward, crashing straight through two trees before stopping after hitting the third one. "Ugh…" he groaned in pain. "I haven't been hit that hard since training with Igneel…"
"NATSU!" The voice calling his name was none other than Erza, who, with Lyon, had gotten everyone else to continue escaping and were now approaching the fight. "Natsu! Are you ok?! Natsu!"
"Erza…" Natsu groaned out again, holding his ribcage while slowly standing. "I should be fine...Just a few broken ribs...Make sure Gray is ok…"
"A few broken ribs is not 'fine,' Natsu!" Erza complained. "Just be careful!"
"I know that, Erza…"
RRAAAAAAARRRRGHHHH
"GUYS! A LITTLE HELP OVER HERE!" Gray called out, sprinting over to them, as the demon lumbered itself out of the now collapsed temple.
"Everyone ready? Go all out!" Natsu declared, shaking off his pain and stepping to the front.
"Are you sure you're ok, Natsu?" Erza asked worriedly.
"Don't sweat it, Erza. You know it'll take a lot more than this to keep me down," Natsu replied. "Alright, Erza! With me! Gray and Lyon! Fire away!"
With a cheer, the mages sprung into action. Gray and Lyon started firing off ice-make lances and eagles respectively, while Erza and Natsu sprinted towards the demon, Natsu taking the right flank and Erza on the left.
"Requip! Purgatory Armor!" Erza shouted, going all out right off the bat. Purgatory armor is one feared by all as one of the legendary Titania's strongest armors. The piece is solid black in color, adorned with spikes from shoulder to the gauntlet, as well as on the leg pieces. As a weapon, it comes with a massive, black, spiked mace that she can swing with unimaginable power. Raising it above her head, the red-haired warrior jumped up and slammed it down on the demon's left shoulder, causing it to roar in pain. Not much damage was done, but at least they were able to hurt it.
"White Fire Dragon King's CLAW!" Natsu shouted, forming a dragon claw out of white fire and slashing down the demon's right arm, giving him a noticeable burn.
Deliora did not appreciate this, and unleashed another massive beam of energy, slicing a path straight from the jungle to the ocean, once again erupting in fire.
'He's gonna burn down the whole forest!' Natsu thought. "White Fire Dragon King's Secret Art: FLARE BLITZ!" With that called, Natsu was gone.
"Natsu!?" Erza yelled. "Where did you-"
RAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHHH
Erza was cut off by the demon who was now screeching and roaring in pain. All the other mages could see was rapid bursts of white flames appearing all over the demon's body, from its legs to its massive jaw.
The demon swung its arm towards Erza, who was forced to block the attack with her mace, shattering the weapon and launching her backward straight into Gray.
"Erza! Are you alright!" Gray asked desperately, after grunting from the immense pain of an armored warrior slamming into his ribcage. 'That's gonna leave a mark.'
"I'm fine! What happened to the fire?" she asked, now back into her normal Heart Kruz armor and skirt. Sure enough, the massive trail of flames was no longer there, just a line of visible destruction.
"Probably flame-brain," Gray replied, rolling his eyes.
"Are you two gonna sit there and chat or are you going to help me!" Lyon yelled in frustration. He was already extremely low on magic, having already cast over a dozen spells.
"Right!" Erza replied, standing and requipping into her Black Wing Armor. Natsu appeared quite suddenly in front of them, eyes his arms and legs covered in scrapes and cuts, while panting heavily.
"O' flames that burn white with holy light, may you join together with those of a raging dragon…" he chanted, forming an orb of white and orange flames, mixing together between his hands.
"Lyon! Back up!" Gray called.
"Royal Dragon Slayer Secret Art…" with that, a fiery katana made from white and orange flames appeared, as he dashed past the demon.
"What is he-"
"DUAL DRAGON FIRE HELLSTORM!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM
RAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHH!
The demon was howling in agony, as a massive pillar of multi-colored flames erupted from beneath him.
"Sweet mother of…" Lyon stared wide-eyed in shock.
"Natsu…" Erza whispered, also shocked.
"Ash-breath used that one last time…" Gray muttered to himself, trying not to be impressed by his arch-rivals spellcasting ability.
Just before the flames died down, Natsu jogged back up to them panting heavily.
"Natsu! Are you alright?" Erza asked, inspecting him for excess damage.
"I'm...fine…" he panted. "That's not...nearly...enough…"
"That didn't get him?" Lyon asked in shock, fully realizing now what they were up against.
"No...listen...I never wanted to do this again...but you guys need to get out of here…"
"Are you crazy?" Gray yelled. "You're exhausted, there's no way we can do that!"
"Gray's right! We can't leave you here to sacrifice yourself!" Erza declared.
"I'll be fine...just unconscious for a few days...is all…" Natsu said, catching his breath. The flames died down, revealing a very much alive demon, though he was covered in burns and was visibly furious.
"What does that mean, lizard face?" Gray pressed.
"I still have my second seal, and there are spells that I won't be able to kill him with if I have to keep you guys alive."
'He has more power?' Lyon wondered in shock. 'What on earthland IS he?'
"What are you talking about, Natsu?!" Erza practically yelled.
"Royal Dragon Force!" he snapped. "Just please, run away. A quarter-mile should be enough, but your clothes will still melt. Just trust me...I couldn't live with myself if you died…" With that, Natsu turned and sprinted towards the demon, jumping over his massive right hook and kicking him in the shoulder with a burst of white flames.
"NATSU!" Erza yelled, trying to go after him, only to be held back by Gray and Lyon.
"Just trust matchstick on this one, Erza. We need to run, now. If you value his safety…" Gray told her, sadly.
"I've never seen him fight before, but if he has another trick up his sleeve...well from what we've seen so far, I'd be willing to trust him," Lyon added.
"Fine…" Erza nodded in defeat and started sprinting away from the demon with the two ice mages in tow. 'You better be careful Natsu…'
Moments later, the group of Gray, Lyon, and Erza had finally gotten at a distance where they could no longer feel any magic from the fight between the demon and the dragon slayer. Or at least, they thought so. Immediately after stopping to catch their breath, they began to feel an intense heat like something they'd never felt before.
"What...on earth land...is this?" Gray panted, severely sweating as the only remnants of his clothes melted away.
"Such heat...I've never...felt anything...like this before…" Lyon gasped as well, trying to find any semblance of coverage.
"In fairness, he did warn us," Erza declared, seemingly unphased. Well, that's how it was on the outside, but even through her Flame Empress armor that she had donned for this very reason, she could feel the heat. 'What on earth land is he using?'
They continued to sweat amongst themselves for several minutes as they listened to the demon howl and screech in agony. Soon after, they heard it. The loudest roar any of them had ever seen.
RRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR
The ground beneath them quaked, and they held their ears in pain as the noise was nearly enough to make their ears break and bleed.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" Gray yelled, barely able to hear himself over the ringing in his ears.
"I HAVE NO IDEA! SHOULD WE GO CHECK ON NATSU?" Erza shouted back.
"THAT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE THE DEMON, IT SOUNDED LIKE A DRAGON," Lyon added.
"YOU DON'T THINK THAT WAS NATSU DO YOU?" Gray asked, dumbfounded.
Before Erza could reply they heard a flapping noise above and felt powerful winds that blew their hair wildly about. As they turned to investigate, a winged man descended upon them. He had massive wings, their reach spanning at least thirty-feet, scales that glittered in white and red, and horns on either side of his head. As soon as he landed, he dropped to all fours, allowing them to notice the clawed, draconic appendages that were now in place of his hands. The figure was wearing knee-length white pants that clearly had seen better days, a black, gold-trimmed waistcoat that was open and in tatters. He also had two black scale earrings, a talon necklace, and a scarf made of shimmering white scales.
"Natsu!" Erza shouted, running over to the panting fire mage.
"I may have...overdone it...a bi-..." Before he could finish, Natsu passed out on the spot, his wings, horns, and draconic appendages slowly receding and reforming into his original state, as his white and pink hair fluttered in the wind.
"So this is the power...of the legendary Dual Salamander…" Lyon whispered, his eyes widened in shock.
"Just so you know, Natsu hates it when people know pretty much anything about him, especially his name and face. Figured you might want to know that in case he finds out who started any rumors," Gray informed his fellow student. Lyon immediately paled and nodded, realizing quickly that any and all of what just happened was classified, lest he face the wrath of an angry dragon king. "Though I will say, that's never happened before, or at least, I've never seen it."
"I believe that was royal dragon force, Gray," Erza informed him, now cradling the fallen slayer in her lap, having requipped into her blouse and skirt. "And for the love of Mavis, cover yourselves!" she shouted at them, requipping various pairs of shorts and shirts for the two distracted ice mages.
"It wasn't even my fault this time!" Gray defended.
"This time…?" Lyon questioned, accepting the clothes from the knight.
"Anyway, Natsu's mentioned it a few times. Levy is probably the only one besides Natsu who could give you any details, considering the two have been writing a book about dragons and dragon slayers, but I know a bit about it from what he's told me. You are aware that Natsu has two magic containers, and one is kept sealed almost all the time. His first one alone is massive, almost on par with that of a wizard saint, and easily allows him to outdo everyone except probably Gildarts and Makarov in our guild. His second one, however, is supposedly even larger, though it drains extremely quickly making it seem smaller. I don't know exactly what the difference is, but apparently, he is able to utilize that second container to enter into royal dragon force."
"How come he didn't go into...that...state...when he did that power demonstration a few days ago?" Gray asked. "And how the hell did flame-brain get wings?"
"I'm sorry, second magic seal? And power demonstration?" Lyon asked, completely lost at this point.
Erza sighed and caught him up to speed. "To put it simply, Natsu has two magic containers. The one you felt earlier while fighting, and a second one which is even larger. He also has the remarkable ability to keep all of his magic power completely undetectable to anyone but the most skilled of sensory mages. A few days ago, Natsu finally returned from a year-long journey he took away from the guild following the death of one of our strongest members named Kael. He took it rather harshly and left without a word. After returning, we may have pressured him into showing us how much he's grown by actually letting us feel his magic aura. And...well...he knocked almost the entire guild unconscious without using an attack…" she finished as Lyon's eyes widened. "And to answer your question, Gray, I have no idea. The important thing is we get him back to the village."
They agreed, and the now fully clothed group set off for the village, set to reconvene with the rest of the members of both groups, as well as Ur, who they hoped would be conscious soon. As expected, upon returning, Lucy and Happy were extremely worried, especially Happy who paled upon learning that Natsu was forced into using his royal dragon force, and almost fainted when he learned that he got wings this time. 'This time…' Erza thought to herself, noting to herself to get some answers on who was able to force him into this state before.
They remained in the village for three days, during that time both Ur and Natsu were unconscious, worrying everyone. However, in addition to that, Gray and Lucy managed to solve the mystery behind the island's curse. Bobo and Natsu had been correct; everyone on the island was a demon, however, their memory had been altered due to moon drip residue that had collected and formed a thick membrane above the island. Erza had assisted the two in getting rid of the barrier, and the town celebrated their 'cure,' regardless of the fact that it truly wasn't what they were expecting. Even Bobo had returned, and his father wept tears of joy to see his son again.
It was on the third morning, that Natsu began to slowly awake from his slumber, his magical containers finally having absorbed enough ethernano to recover from his island devastation. 'Everything hurts so much...and what on earth is that weight on my chest…?' Natsu wondered, as he gradually returned to the land of the living. Slowly gathering his surroundings, he noticed that someone had replaced his clothes with identical, less-destroyed versions, though his shirt was missing and replaced by bandages. His scarf, necklace, and earrings were still there and unharmed. The strangest thing, however, was the scarlet haired warrior that was smiling softly curled up next to him with her head resting softly on his chest. Gazing down he smiled back at her, and patted her head softly, eliciting a slight mumble from the sleeping fairy, to which he chuckled in response.
"Erza," Natsu whispered, rubbing her shoulder with his arm. "Erza."
"Cheesecake...Natsu...feed...cheesecake…" she mumbled, getting a slight blush and an amused grin from the slayer.
"Erza," he said a bit louder, rubbing her shoulder with more force, and using his other hand to poke her cheek slightly.
Erza's eyes fluttered open slightly at the movement and glanced up to see a now roused Salamander gazing down fondly at her. "I can't feed you cheesecake if you're on my arm you know," he teased.
Her eyes widened and she blushed fiercely, remembering the dream she had been having. 'Natsu slowly fed me cheesecake while staring lovingly into my eyes, as-wait...Natu's up?!' "NATSU!" she shouted, quickly awakening and giving him a giant hug.
"Looks like someone improved their hugging skills, eh?" Natsu teased again.
"Shut up…" she mumbled from his bandaged chest. "You're an idiot…"
"Aw, poor little Erzy, I didn't know you were that worried about me," Natsu teased again, loving the fierce blush and stuttering of the knight. "Calm down, Erza, I'm just teasing you. I'd be just as worried if our positions were reversed. Now hows about we get some breakfast, eh?"
Erza nodded, deciding that her interrogation and punishment could come at a later time, and simply released the fire mage from her hug as he sat up. Natsu, however, had other plans to tease her even more and decided to go for it. "You're so CUTE in the morning, Erzy!" he cooed, grabbing her and nuzzling her neck against his own.
Erza squeaked and completely froze as Natsu pulled back laughing. "W-what w-w-was that f-f-for?" she stuttered out.
"My amusement, and your enjoyment," Natsu replied, winking and standing up, before taking her hand and pulling her up with him. "Now let's go before I get any more ideas, eh?"
The two exited the tent together and started walking towards a group of demons who had been preparing breakfast. "So, Ur's still unconscious?"
"Yes, I'm getting a bit worried," Erza replied.
"I wouldn't be. Remember, she was frozen for about a decade, so it shouldn't be-"
"NATSHHUUUUUU!" Happy wailed, crashing into the fire mage's chest and bawling. "You're ok! I was so worried about you!"
"Aw, thanks lil' buddy! I don't suppose you have another cloak I could wear, do ya?"
"Sorry, Natsu, I only brought the one," Happy answered, settling on snuggling himself into the pyro's scarf.
"Oh, well. Looks like I'll be getting a few looks then." Natsu sighed and rubbed his temple, as Erza smiled amusedly at him. "Now, let's see if we can't find you a fish."
"Aye, sir!"
The three sat down for breakfast, joined shortly after by Lucy, Gray, Lyon, Sherry, Toby, and Yuka. For the most part, it was silent, however, it was Gray who finally broke it.
"So, you gonna tell us what happened over there, fire boy?"
"What do you mean by that?" Natsu asked, cluelessly.
"How could you not know what he means?" Lucy asked, incredulously. "What was all that rumbling, and those explosions, and why did it get so hot, and then what the heck was that roar? I thought my ears were gonna start bleeding, and I wasn't anywhere near you guys!"
"Ohhh, that," Natsu replied, causing all the other mages to nearly fall over in exasperation. "Well, let's take it from the top…" he started, recounting all the details up until he sent Erza, Gray, and Lyon away from the fight.
Everyone who hadn't been in the fight had their jaws dropped to the ground, listening to the tale of some of the strongest mages they knew were barely able to scratch the demon.
"Yes, but what happened after we left, Natsu?" Erza pressed, desperate for details on how he managed to kill that beast.
"I'm confused too," Lucy added. "I mean, if all of you together couldn't beat it, how were you supposed to do it alone?"
"Right! I should probably explain. So, as you may know, dragon slayers have an ability called dragon force, which is activated upon releasing an enormous amount of magic throughout the body at once. Dragon slayers can't really do this on command, they'd have to eat comically high amounts of their element or be pressed into extreme situations to activate it. I have royal dragon force, which is almost the same but is a bit stronger. However, since I have a second magic container, I can activate it at will, though it is extremely dangerous, seeing as I have to essentially snap the container open all at once to activate it, which is why I didn't enter royal dragon force during my demonstration a few days ago. That was a gradual increase in magical power, as I slowly opened the container, the same way you guys would with your first, but to enter that state I need to release it all at once," he explained. "So, after you guys left…"
Flashback
Natsu toyed with the demon for several minutes, taking a few hits from flying rocks and branches, while delivering kicks and punches strengthened by royal white flames in return. Now, he decided, they were far enough away. He can go all out. Kicking the demon in the chest, he used the momentum to spring outwards, giving him distance from the beast.
Natsu closed his eyes for a moment, as time seemed to gradually slow around him. Inhaling deeply, he snapped open his eyes, popping his second seal wide open. The rapid influx of magic power shot his body into overdrive, the release of power even causing Deliora to stumble slightly. White scales began to show prominence on the right side of his face, with red ones appearing on the left. Two horns, one red and one white, joined them. His hands became the claws of a dragon with his feet becoming their talons, and on his back was a massive pain he'd never experienced before as his bones and muscle moved and shuffled around to form a massive pair of scaled white wings protruding from his back.
Flapping his new appendages for a moment, testing the new ability, Natsu launched himself into the air, beginning his conquest of Deliora. "O' flames that burn white with holy light, accept my rage, and burn all those who oppose me. Take the form of deathly wings and BURN! WHITE FIRE DRAGON KING'S SECRET ART: RAGING WINGS!" he yelled, repeating one of his most powerful, and most hated, spells of destruction. His wings erupted in the most powerful white flames he could muster. His thirty-foot wingspan now extended by ten feet, the flaming wings sparkled like the sun in brilliant white, and each flap of his wings shot a blistering wave of heat, melting the ground beneath the beast.
Deliora tried to retaliate, but the once-mighty demon was only able to roar and scream in agony, as the near-indestructible demon hide he prided himself on began to slowly melt away.
"White Fire Dragon's SWORD HORN!" Unleashing as much of the remaining magical power he had left, he coated his body in royal white flames, barely managing to maintain his previous spell, and rocketed towards the beast. He shot straight through it, searing a massive charred hole through the once legendary demon. With a final roar, he collapsed on his knees, as his flesh continued to melt away.
Natsu landed on the ground facing away from the demon, one knee on the ground while panting heavily. He turned to face the melting demon, as his flames died away, and unleashed a mighty roar. It was far louder than anything the demon had released, as if an army of dragons together called out their battle cry. Rumors would spread throughout Fiore as nearly everyone in Hargeon had heard the mighty roar. With the declaration of his victory now released, he once again took flight, following the path the now-departed mages had taken.
Flashback End
"And then I flew over to you guys, and that's all I remember," Natsu said, scratching his head in thought. "What, did I spill something?"
The mages were all just staring at him, completely shocked to find that the massive blast of sound that shook the entire island came from him...just some guy in their guild, not an army of dragons and demons.
"THAT WAS YOU?" Gray yelled.
"Yes. The reason has to do with the eternal conflict between the demons, the angels, and the dragons, though that in itself is a discussion for another day," Natsu explained.
"Right…" Lucy deadpanned. 'This guy is insane...remind me never to piss him off…'
"So you weren't kidding when you said you were a dragon king?" Lyon asked, a bit nervously.
"I may have been exaggerating but I wasn't kidding," Natsu sighed, and scratched his head again. "I'll try to explain. In terms of human laws, customs, and traditions, yes. I am the White Fire Dragon King. However, dragons are a bit...different. While I wield that magic of a royal dragon, and am the son of a now-deceased king, I should be king, however, I have not been formally accepted by any other dragons. That can be done through a ceremony, a show of force, a passing of the torch, among other ways. I haven't felt the need to go out and do any of that, since I personally don't care all that much. Not until I get to kill him…"
Happy lightly patted Natsu's shoulder at this, comforting the now angry slayer.
"That sounds like a bit of confusing love!" Sherry exclaimed.
"Right…"
"How long until Ur wakes up?" Gray asked.
"I'd say sometime today, honestly," Natsu replied. "I'll go check on her, maybe a bit of magic will wake her up. You guys wait here."
The party nodded as Natsu stood to walk away, content to discuss what just happened to their guildmate.
Meanwhile, Natsu entered a tent that contained the now freed woman, who, fortunately, was fully clothed and resting. He knelt down and put a pointer finger on each temple, gauging her magic.
"Wait a minute…" he said aloud to himself, sitting back. "What are you doing, you're not even unconscious!"
"Man, even in heaven I can't sleep…" she grumbled, opening her eyes. "And who are you supposed to be, cutey? My, my, if I get to have you I must be in heaven. But...what's with the hair?"
Natsu sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You're not dead, you idiot. If you were in heaven don't you think they'd have given you your leg back? Speaking of which, when we get back I'll call in a favor to have someone make you a new one."
"Hmm? I'm not dead?" she asked, confused. "What do you mean I'm not dead? Everyone knows Iced Shell kills the caster eventually. As much as I want to believe that you are my hunky knight in shining...whatever it is that you're wearing...I can't be alive."
"I hate to break it to you, Ur, but that's not the case," Natsu informed her. 'I really hope she doesn't get worse if she does find out I saved her...yeesh…'
"Wait...really? I'm not dead and you actually did save me?"
"Short and simply? Yes. We have a lot to talk about, but first, there are some people who'd like to see you."
"We definitely have a lot to talk about mystery boy," she smirked. "But first, what's your name and how do you know mine?"
"You may call me Salamander. Now come on, up you go," he said, lifting her princess-style by her one knee and back.
"Wow~," she cooed, snuggling into his chest. "You're warm for a knight."
"And you're delirious," he mumbled, rolling his eyes.
He took her outside the tent and approached the group, as Lyon and Gray both looked at him in awe as their long-departed teacher was being carried over to them.
"Ur…" Gray whispered.
"It's really you…" Lyon added.
"Hmmm?" Ur replied, glancing over at the two. "Wow, you two have grown a lot! Mind telling me what the hell is going on here while my knight in shining armor here acts as my personal transport?"
Gray and Lyon sweatdropped slightly while Erza immediately started choking on her drink.
"I think she might be...a little...delirious…" Natsu replied sheepishly, trying to set her down on a chair, however, she very adamantly clung to her self-proclaimed 'hunky savior.'
"No...she's always been like that…" Gray deadpanned.
"Oh, good grief…" Natsu groaned, giving up trying to set the woman down and just sitting next to Erza.
"So where to begin…" Natsu told the story, including the origins of Iced Shell, Lyon's escapades, and the battle of the demon.
"So before I do anything else, would you mind bringing me closer to my silver-haired student?" Ur asked, earning a nod from Natsu who walked over to Lyon. "YOU MORON!" she shouted, decking him in the back of the head. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"
"OW! I'm sorry! OW! Stop that! Ow!" Lyon pleaded as he repeatedly got smacked in the back of the head.
"That's enough adventures for one day…" Natsu muttered, taking the aggressive woman back to his seat.
"I wasn't done punishing him yet!" Ur whined.
"I'm sure you can punish him later," Natsu sighed. "Now, we really should get going back to Hargeon. The ship I got here on should still be docked, so we can take that. And Ur, you should spend time with your students who've spent the last decade suffering from your loss."
"Fine…" Ur grumbled. "I suppose I'll see if they live up to my expectations, but I expect a visit from you, dragon boy."
"As I told you, we have much to discuss, however, this isn't the time or the place. Now here, Gray can carry you," as he plopped the woman into Gray's arms, much to both of their surprise and displeasure. No one noticed Erza's once seething facial features return to normal as he got rid of his excess weight. "Now let's go, we have a ship to catch!"
"Aye, sir!" they called in response, following Natsu.
The journey was fairly uneventful, though they were all rather surprised that Natsu wasn't getting motion sickness, which he had to re-explain the motion sickness lacrima that was on board. Ur decided that she wanted to stay with her 'hunky savior,' much to both Natsu and Erza's displeasure, and decided she would join Fairy Tail. Ur told Lyon that he should join a guild elsewhere and spend time improving on his own and reevaluating some of his goals. She was, however, very impressed with how both of her students had progressed, and told them both how proud she was of how far they'd come. Natsu explained to her that he would take her to Porlyusica who should be able to get her a new leg, and that she should probably avoid any strenuous physical or magical activity for another week while she readjusts to not being a giant block of ice. All-in-all, it was a fairly exciting journey.
Elsewhere
'I wonder if he was able to really free her…' a young woman thought to herself, gazing out at the sky from her window. 'Mother…'
A/N: Finally, I finished! I hope you guys enjoy their fight against Deliora; I kept putting off writing it but honestly, I'm proud of how it came out. Also, Ur doesn't really have much of a known personality, so I decided to just give her...this one...Anyway, enjoy flirty Ur, uncomfortable Natsu, and angry Erza. Upcoming chapters will be: A short original mission arc (1-3 chapters, though probably just two), Phantom Lord Arc, Short dragon stuff arc, Tower of Heaven arc (which if you can't tell will be VERY different), and a few more. I have a really good idea for the final conflict and I'm trying to introduce some of those concepts slowly but surely.