Ch. 16- The Awakening


Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me


"FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!"

Alistor cried out as he was struck in the stomach by Natsu's flaming headbutt, sending him skidding back across the town square. The Dark Wizard growled, blood dripping from his mouth before he held up his staff, shooting several dark lightning bolts at the Fire Dragon Slayer, but Happy swooped down and grabbed him, getting him out of the way of the destructive spell. As Natsu flew up high, Lucy rushed in with Loke at her side, the Spirit of the Lion holding up his glowing fists.

"REGULUS IMPACT!" Loke shouted as he punched Alistor in the jaw, sending him high up into the air before Lucy caught him in her whip and pulled him down, slamming him down to the ground. As Alistor attempted to get back to his feet, he gasped as he saw Natsu hurtling down toward him with his fist ablaze.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

Alistor cried out as Natsu's fist connected with him in a fiery collision. At first, it looked like he was going to lie still, but Alistor clenched his jaw as he smacked Natsu away with his staff before pulling himself out of the ground.

"I will NOT be denied!" he shouted.

"Jeez!" Natsu cursed. "This guy just doesn't know when to quit!"

"He can't keep this up forever!" Lucy said. "We just have to keep at it!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed as he flew beside Natsu.

"But the longer this drags out, the more magic we use!" Loke added. "We gotta finish this, quick!"

"Take THIS!" Alistor shouted as he sent several dark flames at the Fairy Tail Wizards, who dodged the attack before Natsu took in a deep breath.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

Alistor gasped as a flaming blast burst from the young Dragon Slayer's mouth, and he attempted to counter by producing his own dark flames, but Natsu's fire proved to be more powerful. As the flames dispersed, Loke burst forth with both hands glowing with his Regulus Light.

"LION BRILLIANCE!"

He slammed both palms into the ground, causing Alistor to scream as he was blinded.

"LUCY KICK!"

"UGH!" Alistor grunted as Lucy rushed up and kicked him right in the jaw, sending him tumbling to the ground. He panted heavily, his exhaustion beginning to show as his hair hung loose in front of his face. He looked up at Natsu, who glared at him as he took a fighting stance, showing that he was not ready to back down if Alistor chose to keep going. Lucy stood beside him, wearing the same determined expression on her face. Happy also floated above them while Loke glared at the man, adjusting his tie.

Alistor soon clenched his jaw as he glared at the four wizards, clutching his staff in his hands as he stood up.

"Why must you interfere?!" he questioned. "THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!"

"Didn't we just tell you?" asked Natsu as he glared at Alistor. "You're trying to take Alyssa's home from her and her brother! You and your buddies already made her cry, so we're not gonna stand for it!"

"You should've just left well enough alone!" Alistor shouted. "This kingdom was going to be mine!"

"Well, tough luck!" Lucy countered. "If you really think we're just gonna let you take over our friend's home, you've got another thing coming!"

"What could you possibly have to gain from any of this?!" Alistor questioned, growing more and more manic.

"It's not about what we've got to gain," Natsu said before he charged at him with flaming fists, "it's about what YOU have to lose! FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

Alistor gasped as he attempted to block Natsu's attack with his staff, but it turned out to be a futile effort. As Natsu swung his arms in a cross formation, the staff soon broke in two, to Alistor's horror.

"FIRE DRAGON TALON!"

Natsu swung his flaming leg in an arc, kicking Alistor in the side, sending him down to the ground, once more. He panted heavily, blood falling from his mouth and dripping from his temple as he found himself on his hands and knees.

'This… this is impossible…!' he thought. 'I'm supposed to be all-powerful! How could I be losing ground to these worms?!'

Brief images flashed in Alistor's head… showing a young black-haired boy wearing nothing but rags, his face smudged with dirt and soot as he stared up at a group of people, doing incredible things like creating flames out of thin air or causing flowers to grow with a simple touch of the earth. Soon, it showed images of the boy surrounded by books, learning everything that he could about magic and the like. As the boy grew older, he soon found himself standing among other teenagers, wearing white robes as he sat with them, showing his magical prowess with flames and lightning magic, as well as smoke… but then, as the images continued, they showed the boy growing into a man over the years, but his appearance began to change, drastically.

His eyes no longer held that bright innocence they had. Instead, they were glazed over with greed as his magic power grew more and more. Eventually, it showed the man becoming the person he had become: Alistor, who glared disdainfully at a group of people as they were pointing accusing fingers at him.

"Your magic is far too dangerous, Alistor! You need to stop, now!"

Alistor growled as he clenched his fists, furiously.

"NO!" he shouted. "I refuse to be defeated! NOT LIKE THIS!"

"Well, deal with it!" Lucy shouted. "You're no match for us!"

"Just give up, already!" Happy added.

"NEVER!" Alistor yelled.

"Fine," Natsu said as he lit his hand on fire, once again. "But you asked for it! Come on, you guys!"

"Right!" Lucy and Loke agreed as they ran behind Natsu, preparing to finish the job once and for all… but then, suddenly, the Book of Belial suddenly flew open, revealing the smoke-like being hidden in its pages. The group gasped as the creature flew at them, knocking the heroes back!

"Oh, no! Guys!" Happy cried. "Are you okay?!"

"What the-?!" Natsu questioned.

Alistor gasped in surprise as he realized that Belial had emerged from the book of its own accord, glowering down at the group… but his surprise soon turned to glee as he began to laugh.

"See that?!" he questioned. "Belial protected me! It has recognized ME as its master!" He then cackled madly as he pointed at Natsu, Lucy, and Loke. "Now, Belial! Crush these insects! Make them pay for attempting to defy me!"

To his surprise, however… the demonic cloud of fog didn't obey.

"Wha…?" Alistor muttered before he glared at the being. "Didn't you hear me?! I said crush them!"

A pause… before Belial turned and glowered at the dark wizard, who gasped as it growled in an inhuman manner. That was when Alistor's eyes widened in horror at a horrifying realization.

"N… no…!" he whispered. "Stop! What are you doing?!"

The monster growled before it flew from its prison… and entered Alistor's mouth, causing him to let out a strangled cry as he was suddenly down on the ground. He coughed and sputtered, then moaned as he began to writhe in pain, to Natsu, Lucy, and Loke's mounting horror. Soon, he began to let a moan as he clawed at the ground… his body beginning to grow in size. He screamed as veins bulged from his muscles, painfully throbbing as his muscles grew. Soon, large tentacles grew from his backside, and his feet turned into giant cloven hooves. His skin turned a poisonous purple, horns sprouted from his head along with a mane of black hair that went down his back, humongous fangs sprouted from his lower jaw, and there was a large gemstone embedded in his head. His screams were replaced with a furious roar as the heroes stared up at the towering beast as they realized that the man they were fighting was now gone. From where they were standing, the different members of Fairy Tail, along with Lars and Alyssandra, also stared in horror at what they were seeing.

Belial had taken Alistor as its new vessel.

The demon soon fell forward, glowering down at the group as they stumbled. Lucy let out a shuddering gasp as she clutched the back of Natsu's shirt while the Fire Dragon Slayer glared at the demon.

"Just when you think they can't get any uglier," Loke said just as Belial raised its hand, causing the group to gasp as they ran to avoid getting crushed. As Loke turned around, he gasped as he saw Lucy lying prone on the ground, having tripped in her attempt to escape. The Lion Spirit then saw Belial reach toward his owner, who let out a terrified scream while Natsu attempted to run to her rescue.

"LOOK OUT, LUCY!" Loke cried as he pushed her into Natsu's arms, just as Belial slammed its huge hand down on him, causing him to scream in pain.

"LOKE, NO!" Lucy screamed.

"Urrgh…" Loke groaned as he glanced at Natsu with a forced grin. "Natsu… I'm leaving it up to you. Protect Lucy, okay?"

Natsu gasped before the Leader of the Celestial Spirits disappeared, back to the Celestial Realm to heal. That's when Belial turned its attention on Natsu and Lucy, who both gasped as the monster began to charge at them.

"WATCH IT!" Natsu cried as he and Lucy ran out of the way, causing the beast to smash right through a building. As Natsu turned around, he growled as he unleashed another Fire Dragon Roar at Belial, hitting it directly in the face… but to his shock, the attack had no effect on it!

"Watch out, Natsu!" Happy cried as the monster smacked Natsu away with its tentacles, causing him to scream as he was sent flying and ended up hitting a statue behind him, which crumbled as he collided with it. Nonetheless, Natsu wouldn't give up. He growled as he charged at Belial, again, setting his fists ablaze, once again, and using a chain of attacks, one after the other.

"FIRE DRAGON CRUSHING FANG! FIRE DRAGON TALON! FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!"

Soon, Belial was covered in a huge cloud of smoke while Lucy and Happy watched with concern as Natsu continued his onslaught. That's when he conjured a giant fireball using the flames in both his left and right hand.

"FIRE DRAGON… BRILLIANT FLAAAAAAAAME!"

He swung both hands down, striking the monster in the jaw, but once again, it didn't even faze the demon. Belial roared as it swatted Natsu out of the air, sending him to the ground, once again.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out as she ran to his side, helping him to sit up while Happy flew up to him, just as worried.

"Are you okay, Natsu?!" Happy questioned as Natsu groaned. The right lens of his goggles was broken, his shirt was torn in some part, and the bottoms of his pants legs were ripped… but more so, he looked exhausted. It had been quite a while since he had eaten any fire to fuel his magic reserves, and using most of his spells had begun to wipe him out. Most of the fires were made by his own magic, so eating those was out of the question.

That's when Belial's shadow cast over the three, causing Lucy to gasp in horror while Happy whimpered and hid behind Natsu, clinging to his leg. Natsu growled as he forced himself to stand, once again… his legs visibly wobbling. Even so, he glared at the gigantic demon in defiance.

"Natsu, wait! Don't!" Lucy cried. "You've used up most of your magic, already!"

"Lucy… get out of here," Natsu told her. "Just take Happy and run, okay?"

"Are you crazy?!" Lucy questioned. "I'm not leaving you!"

"I'm not asking, dammit!" Natsu cursed. "I said run!"

"LOOK OUT!" Happy cried as Belial's mouth began to open, revealing burning red flames within. Natsu gasped as he realized that the demon was about to unleash another attack… and it was too late to run away. With a roar, Belial unleashed its demonic flames from its mouth.

"HAPPY! GET LUCE OUTTA HERE!" Natsu shouted.

"Aye, sir!" Happy cried as he grabbed Lucy and flew up high into the air… while Natsu was caught up in the blast.

"NATSU!" Lucy cried, terrified as she saw her best friend disappear into the inferno. She knew that Natsu was fireproof, but that didn't mean she couldn't worry about him.

As for Natsu, he grunted as he shielded himself against the fire… before he began to take in a deep breath, sucking the demonic flames into his mouth. He was sure to get an extra boost of power with this… but then, he grunted as he began to tense up. His heart clenched tightly in his chest, causing him to cry out in pain as he clutched at his chest as he fell to the ground, writhing in pain as he convulsed, uncontrollably, then sat on his knees as he gripped his throat… his mouth beginning to drip with blood.

'What's… happening… to me?!'

Belial roared as it raised its fist, preparing to smash Natsu into the ground, once again.

"NATSU!" Lucy cried. "GET OUT OF THERE, QUICK!"

Just as Natsu was about to be crushed… Belial's fist had stopped right as it was about to hit him… or rather… it had been caught. Lucy and Happy both gasped as they saw that Natsu had raised his hand, catching the monster's fist just as it was about to strike. Then, Natsu reeled his fist back, his flames igniting with greater intensity than before as he struck the demon right in the face… causing it to roar in pain as it stumbled back. Then, Natsu leapt high into the air and came crashing down, striking the demon with a blazing kick, then struck with a powerful punch in the jaw. Lucy and Happy both watched as they watched Natsu continue his attacks, leaving Belial no chance to retaliate.

That's when Natsu grabbed the beast by one of its fangs and pulled with all his might, then effortlessly threw the demon down against the ground on its back, just as Lucy and Happy landed to get a closer look. That's when Natsu landed on the ground, as well… and as he slowly raised his head, was shown that his eyes were covered in shadow. However, Lucy and Happy could see that his arms and his face were covered in scales.

"He did it!" Happy exclaimed. "He took down the demon!" He laughed as he attempted to go over to his best buddy… but Lucy suddenly grabbed him by his tail, causing him to stop.

"Hold on," she said as she looked at Natsu with caution. "Something's wrong."

As Natsu turned to face her… Lucy gasped as she saw that the whites of his eyes had turned completely yellow… and his pupils were a bloody red.

"N… Natsu…?" she whispered… while Natsu growled deeply, his mouth full of sharp fangs.


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