Gray and Juvia climbed the stairway all the way to the top of the clock tower. During the climb Gray noticed that she was trailing behind a little and that she looked kind up nervous.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked her.
"Oh nothing it's just that um..." She said looking down. "I wish that Erza assigned us to work on the bottom level."
"Don't tell me that you're afraid of heights."
"No it's just that being twenty feet off the ground makes me a little uncomfortable."
"Are you always so easily frightened?"
"I wouldn't say frightened. More like cautious. So have you ever done this before?"
"Of course I have! What kind of a stupid question is that?"
"You sir have poor manners. Didn't your mother ever teach you how to properly speak to a lady?"
"No. My mother never taught me anything. She died the day I was born."
Juvia became silent for a moment and gave him her most sympathetic and compassionate look.
"No wonder you're so ill tempered. You never knew your mother." She said.
"I am not ill tempered! And if I was it wouldn't be because I didn't get to know my mother."
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I never knew my mother either or my father. i'm an orphan you know?"
"There are plenty of orphans in the world sister."
"You're not exactly the sensitive type are you?"
"Just be quiet and keep moving."
They finally reached the top and Gray began searching for any sign of evil that might have stayed behind. At the moment it didn't seem like there was nothing to fear from where they were standing but then Gray felt a shiver go up his spine. That only happened when something evil was close and it was close.
"There's something here." He pulled a blade from his belt that was made entirely out of silver. Juvia quickly loaded up her gun. A figure then stepped out from the darkness, giving a sinister chuckle that almost made Juvia tremble. Almost.
"Oh crap. A pure blood." Gray mumbled.
"A pure blood? What's that?" Juvia asked.
"It's a vampire that was never human to begin with. They consider themselves superior to every creature on earth and they find every vampire who once had human blood to be no better than common dirt."
"This guy was never human? So where did he come from?"
"That's not important right now. Damn a blade of silver won't be enough to take him down."
"Well isn't this a disappointing sight." The figure chuckled. "I was expecting to find Natsu up here not whoever you two are."
"You know Natsu?" Gray asked.
"I've never met him personally but I know of him and so does my mistress. In fact she has given me strict orders to draw him out."
"Is that why you killed all those people downstairs?"
"Yes."
"Well then you've lost all my sympathies. Normally I try to sympathize with vampires because you can't help but kill for blood but this is just sick."
"I do not need a human's sympathies! However I'm sure that once a slaughter you two if will definitely bring Natsu up here to face me! Prepare to die!"
His nails became fearfully large talons and lunged forward to tear Gray apart only to be stopped when Gray grabbed him by his wrist. The vampire was shocked by Gray's strength.
"How did you-"
"That's the thing about you pure blooded vampires." Gray said chuckling. "You think you're so powerful that you never consider that anyone could be a threat to you. In other words you were wrong to assume that I'm human."
He then twisted the vampire's arm and sent him flying backward.
"Juvia I'm gonna need you to undo the seal on my trigger." Gray told her.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yes it's an emergency but I have one request."
"What's that?"
"Once you undo the seal don't look at me."
"Why?"
"Just don't! Don't look at me until I've told you too. Understand?!"
"I understand."
She walked outside of the room and turned her back.
"I mean it Juvia. No matter what you hear don't look at me."
"Okay." She then pressed the button on top of the pocket watch. The watch started to shake and tick like crazy. She heard a terrifying roar that made her finally start to tremble but she didn't turn around to see who or what had made that roar.
"So you're a devil." She heard the vampire say in a amused voice. "I must say you hide your scent very well because I was sure you smelled like an ordinary human. But even in your true form, you don't stand a chance against me!"
The noises she heard were just dreadful. She heard the sound of flesh being torn and a blade being sliced through something. She also heard a splatter of something. She tried to force herself to picture it as anything other than blood. She wanted so desperately to see what was happening but if she looked she would see Gray and she had told him that she wouldn't look at him.
Suddenly she heard a noise that sounded like something hard being slammed against the floor. The top of the clock tower started to collapse. She didn't move quick enough and was sent falling off the tower. She screamed, closed her eyes, and waited for the impact of the ground below to take her life. But she felt no such impact. Instead she felt a pair of strong arm catch her with one hand under her knees and another supporting her back. The shock of it forced her to open her eyes and look up where she saw that her savior was unlike anything she had ever seen.
His hair was wild and un-kept, his shirt had been torn off due to some force revealing him to have a very toned chest, his nails had been replaced by claws, his ears were now pointed, small horns were sticking out from his head, on his back were a pair of black wings that reminded her of a gargoyle's, and his face held a certain darkness about it. Yet despite all these changes that had been made to him Juvia could recognize him.
"Gray?" She said.
His eyes were filled with instant shame and he looked away from her.
"I told you not to look at me." He said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to but when you caught me I-"
"It's fine. You were going to see me sooner or later I guess. Well now that you have take a good long look. This is what I really look like."
Juvia was silent for the longest time. She just took a moment to really take in his appearance. Poor Gray couldn't bear to see the fear in her eyes. No doubt now that she had seen him for he really looked like she try to exorcise him or something like that. But then he felt her hand touch his cheek and turn his face toward her.
"Incredible." She said.
"Huh?" She started to give his cheeks a little pull. "Hey! What are you doing?!"
"I always suspected that natural born devils weren't as scary or hideous looking as the regular kind. But I never imagined that they would be so beautiful."
"Excuse me?"
"You're not nearly as awful looking as the other devils that I've seen. But that's probably because unlike them, you were born into being a devil which kind of makes you innocent so that's why you're not so monstrous. I wish I had brought my camera because there's no way everyone at Kardia Cathedral is going to believe this."
"Hold up, let me get this straight you're not afraid of me?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Well for one thing you did just save me from falling to my death and oh my goodness! We're so very high up!" When she looked down to see how high they were she became scared and clung to Gray's neck which shocked him. "Alright! I admit it! I'm afraid of heights! They scare me more than anything! So can we please get back on the ground?!"
"I don't believe this." Gray thought to himself. "She's more scared of falling than over me."
"Alright we're going back down just don't start squirming or I'll drop you."
"No! Don't drop me! Don't drop me!"
"I won't ! I won't! I swear! Calm down!"
"Okay." She breathed. "I'm calm. I'm calm."
"And loosen up on my neck will ya? You're choking me here!"
"Sorry."
He glided over to the lower half of the clock tower and put her down.
"So you really aren't scared?" He asked her again.
"Well I am a little intimidated by how much taller you are in this form. Good Lord you must be about 213 cm. I need to write this down in my notes and your ears."
"What's wrong with my ears?"
"Nothing I just didn't think devils had any. I thought they could hear through their horns. Well you learn something knew everyday. I can't wait to tell the church about this."
"You are one strange nun."
"You say that like it's a bad thing?" She giggled. "Hey what are your teeth like?"
She stood up on her tip toes and opened up his mouth. His teeth were indeed sharp enough to be considered fangs.
"So you do have fangs but they're so white. You know they always said that a devil's teeth were either yellow or black but these are like freshly fallen snow. You must have very good hygiene. Tell me do you ever see a dentist?"
"Get your hands out of my mouth!" He said.
She then walked behind him and looked at his rear end.
"Whoa! What the heck do you think you're doing?" Gray asked blushing.
"I'm checking to see if you have a tail. Apparently not unless you keep it inside your pants."
"I don't have a tail and stop looking at my butt!"
Now it was her turn to blush.
"Oh I'm sorry!" She said feeling embarrassed. "It's not what you think! I don't mean to be so unethical here but it's just so amazing to see a devil with features like yours."
"What are you talking about? All devils have horns, wings, upper body strength, claws, and fangs."
"True but your face is so...It's just so interesting. It looks human yet at that same time it doesn't and your eyes, they're still human like. I mean yes that have that glow but it's still like the eyes of a human man."
"Would you please stop doing...whatever it is you're doing? It's making me uncomfortable."
"Again I'm sorry. I'll stop."
"Good now change me back before someone sees."
She hit the button on the watch and he reverted back to the form he had taken on earlier.
"By the way, thank you for saving my life." Juvia said.
He became stiff for a moment but then answered.
"You're welcome."