Natsu gazed at his reflection in the mirror, he had just finished a workout and had a shower to wash all the sweat off. He was only half dressed as his shirt hung over the towel rails nearby, his dog-tags hung from his neck and Lucy's set had been taped together on the same chain as his so there wouldn't be any confusion. Their rings sat together on the chain, sitting between their tags.
"My hair is getting a little long…" He murmured while tugging on his damp fringe. His usual spikes were almost gone, only remaining in a loose mess of strands on his head. He ran his hand through them and slicked them back, he could almost hear the familiar giggle when he stared at his reflection. He smiled softly at the phantom sound and messed his hair up. "Maybe I should cut it? Maybe later…" For now, Natsu heated his hands and ran his fingers through his hair, styling it into windswept spikes to keep it out of his eyes. He grabbed his shirt and left the bathroom; a white figure caught his eye and drew his attention to the doorway. "You're back?"
"Just for a little bit." Ceres replied quickly. She hefted a leather travel bag onto the bed and dusted her hands. "I managed to get some new clothes for you, these ones fit better into the world you are heading to."
"How did you pay for it?"
"Easy; I wrote a cheque in your name." The goddess smiled and unzipped the bag. "Don't worry about not being able to pay it. I have already pulled some strings and funneled some funds into the bank account belonging to you under the pretext of services rendered, your occupation is a Jaeger; it's what they call Monster Hunters to differentiate them from normal hunters who hunt game. Essentially, I had you paid for killing monsters for the Church."
"Wouldn't people question that? I wasn't seen talking to anyone there, and if there were no monsters…"
"Oh, there were monsters. I just created an illusion and banished the monsters to some other part of the country. It looked like you were there and that you killed the monsters."
"Convenient." Natsu sighed and tossed his shirt onto the bed as he walked to the Goddess' side and pulled out the clothes. "They feel very durable." He laid each piece out on the bed; there was a shadow-blue formal shirt, a pair of black pants, a black waistcoat which had an ornate swirling patten in the fabric. The boots were made from black leather and fastened with gold buckles, Natsu put his foot next to one and found that they reached just above the halfway point of his shin. The trench coat was made from the same material as the waistcoat but was trimmed with thread made from gold, it was thick and heavy and seemed to be reinforced between the inner and outer layers of fabric by some kind of dense yet flexible material. "They feel like proper combat clothes while looking like something a noble would wear."
"That's the idea!" Ceres cheered brightly. "I also put a little something-something of my own on them. They'll self-repair and self-clean with a little bit of your mana."
"Mana?" Natsu glanced at the Goddess, a frown slowly knitting his brow together. "You mean Ethernano?"
"Yes and no. It's true that Ethernano powers magic, but when stored and converted into magical energy in the body it becomes mana, this is usable Ethernano which powers your various magical abilities. Which. in turn. is call Magic." The Goddess smiled, holding up her finger like she was teaching a child how to count. "To you, there may be no difference, but to us there is. We can see into you mortals and see how you work; it allows us to perform miracles down to the smallest degree." She directed her finger to the clothes on the bed her smile widened.
"Fine, fine." Natsu sighed and undid his belt, he kicked off his pants and grabbed his new set. "Did you get a new belt too? This one won't match the clothes."
"Yes." Ceres dug her hand through one of the inner pockets of the bag and pulled out a fancy black leather belt with a gold buckle, it matched the boots perfectly and was probably made from the same hide.
Once Natsu was dressed in his new clothes, he looked at himself in the mirror and sat his collar a little higher up. His ear twitched and he turned his gaze to where the shrine-like circle sat in the distance. "Expecting visitors?"
"Oh, yes!" The Goddess spun around and hurried to the bedroom door. "I have a group that I regularly have tea with. You can keep that bag; I figured it would be useful to store stuff inside that you don't want to lug around in your inner magic dimension. Oh, before I forget!" The woman hurried back to the man and reached down the front of her dress, pulling a thin bright-blue crystal from between her bust. "A Knowledge Crystal imbued with the combined knowledge of your previous world. Use it however you see fit, be it to create more ammunition and parts for your guns, or to learn medical practices or mercantile practices, maybe recreate the alloys from your world." She pressed the crystal shard against his chest and it sank through his clothes, entering his spiritual body. "To access the information, you'll need to be in a meditative state and guide your sub-conscious to the desired information with your will."
Natsu watched the pure-white woman hurry from the room and heard her dash to the front door in time for someone to knock on it. He tuned out their conversation as he turned to the bed and began laying out his various weapons upon it. Each one was suppressed, with the exception if his SPSR-14.5, it added to the length and did nothing to suppress the crack made when the bullets passed through the sound barrier but it was perfect for combat situations as it made it harder to detect the source of the fire. "Maybe I should put some effort into disguising these weapons once I'm settled in… At least then it may be difficult for people to realise they are unique in design and possibly their lethality…"
He sent the rifles and shotgun away, leaving only the suppressed M12 Pistol and three spare double-stack mags. It was a redesigned and modernised version of a USP Tactical, chambered in 10x28 Super as standard. It came with all the original's bells and whistles but was made from a stronger and lighter alloy with a seven-inch barrel and a tighter twist on the rifling to make better use of the powerful hybrid-cased ammo. He had felt naked not carrying around a weapon, at the very least his pistol, and going into a world that he had next to no knowledge of, he wanted to be armed with a trusty weapon that he could grab in and instant. So, he brought out a holster and attached it to the back of his belt – hiding it under his coat – and slotted the pistol and magazines into their slots.
Once Natsu had placed his toiletries into the bag, he sent it away. He had never really cared what he stored in his requip dimension but if he had to take a monster's head as proof then it would probably be a good idea to carry it in the bag, or at least in a sack, and not inside his magical dimension. With a final look around the room he had been staying in, checking if he had forgotten anything, he turned to the door and headed for the kitchen and dining room where he could hear chatter.
"My, my, Ceres, who is this?" A black-haired goddess mused as her violet eyes flicked over to Natsu. Recognition flashed in her eyes as they widened momentarily. "Ah, you found one of them, huh?"
"Yes." Ceres stated, simply. Turning her head to look at the well-dress man. "I should have realised it when I could only sense one being alive in his world. His kind is very tenacious." The white woman smiled at the pinkette and gestured for him to take a seat at the table with her two guests. "Natsu, this is Eris…" She nodded to the black-haired goddess. "And Io." She nodded to the third goddess, a woman of equally unnatural beauty to the others but with auburn hair and golden eyes.
"Hmm… It's nice to meet you, Goddesses." Natsu bowed his head politely, his gaze flicked between the three women before he turned and walked to the other side of the bench. "It's nice to see that there are goddesses with a concept of the word 'colour'."
"Hey!" Ceres pouted at the man's back and sighed, turning back to her guests, only to find them both grinning. "What?"
"He has a point, you know!" Eris laughed, eyes brimming with barely restrained mirth. "You could stand to wear something other than a white dress."
"Maybe we could go shopping in Avalon and get you some new outfits?" Io suggested, her voice was small and soft, arguably a little cute. "It would be nice to get out for a little bit."
"Fine. I'll see if there is something I like…" Ceres conceded with a huff before drowning her sorrows in her cup of tea. "Anyway, this is Natsu Dragneel from… it doesn't matter anymore, I guess, the world has been archived. He was a Commander of the elite Shock Troopers of his nation and was in the middle of a World War. Unfortunately, they couldn't avoid a world-ending event and only he remained alive in the end thanks to his biology and pride."
"Oh? Another displaced soldier boy?" Eris purred softly, running a finger around the rim of her cup as her gaze drifted over to the pinkette. "I know some like you, one is particularly vicious. And it isn't just him, his whole group is like that."
"If he is a soldier, like me, he would have seen enough shit in his life… Death, despair, atrocities." Natsu replied quietly as he brewed himself some tea. He turned his head slightly and looked back with a single eye at the goddesses. It flashed red for a heartbeat but it didn't go unnoticed by the deities. "War changes people. As Ceres was saying, I lost everything. That man, the other version of me, I can only guess what he would have had to suffer through."
"Incidentally, it makes for a very interesting show. Watching all the crazy things they get up to. Every time they leave my jurisdiction, I follow them to the deity overseeing that place just to see what they're up to." Eris admitted freely, staring fondly into the distance; past the pinkette.
"Oh, Eris." Ceres perked up and tilted her head curiously. "That melon thing you were talking about?"
"The talking watermelon?" Eris turned her attention to the pure-white goddess.
"Yeah, I was telling Natsu about it. Do you know anything more about it?"
"Hmm…" The beautiful deity tapped her chin a few times before clicking her fingers. "Ah! So, it's apparently called Normalface, you know normal face but apparently it a singular word. It's very violent for a watermelon."
"I think that's a given…" Natsu deadpanned as he joined the women at the table. "A mouse is more violent than a normal watermelon."
"Well, yeah… But it's exceptionally violent."
"For a watermelon." Natsu tacked on and sipped his tea, his onyx eyes fixed on the violet-eyes woman sat across from him.
"For any kind of produce." Io added in her quiet voice, it was a miracle she could be heard by everyone at the table. "Though, I've heard eggplants can be particularly vengeful…"
"Huh, why?" Ceres asked curiously.
"Because nobody likes eggplants." The goddess quickly replied.
"Moving on…" Natsu murmured. "Who made it?"
"Oh, some short blue-haired nutter of a woman." Eris sat back and rubbed her cheek softly. "Lena McInna, no… Lisa… Linda… no that's not right…"
"Wait… you said they were part of 'my' group…" Natsu leaned forward with a confused look. "You don't mean it was Levy? Cute little bookworm, short blue hair, not much of a chest?"
"Yes, her." Eris pointed to the man with an excited grin. "Except I wouldn't describe her like that anymore. Like I said, she's a nutter. Does a bunch of weird experiments. She was the one who created that devil of a watermelon."
"Bullshit."
"Nope." The black-haired woman held up her hands and smiled honestly. "I'm being one-hundred percent truthful. She's absolutely batshit crazy. But she isn't the only one, the whole load of them have more than a few screws loose. You could fill a hardware store with them."
"Holy shit…" Natsu murmured and shook his head, blinking his eyes in shock. "So, what about Mira?"
"She's Nuts."
"Erza?"
"Basically, a second Natsu from what I see."
"Lucy?" He asked quietly. "What about her?"
"All of them are nuts, kiddo." Eris laughed and grinned wildly. "It makes for one hell of a piece of entertainment."
"I suppose everyone would have a completely different version of them in the various worlds." Natsu muttered, surprised that even Lucy, who was very loving and kind in his world even if she was a toughened soldier on the battlefield, was just as crazy as the rest.
"I think there is one variant of you in one of the worlds in my domain where you and your demonic side aren't the same person." Io informed the man. She was less mature-looking than the other two goddesses, and gave off an air of quiet innocence. "That brief flash I saw before told me all I needed to know in that regard. You're one of the hybrid variants, aren't you?"
"Yes. I am a hybrid; part demon, dragon, and human. I've been this way for as long as I can remember, I've always had these markings on my arms." The man replied, pulling his arm from his coat's sleeve and unclasping his cuff, pushing up his shirt's sleeve to reveal his black embers. "They grew as I grew, when I was a kid, those markings were just tiny embers but now they're around an inch long. I haven't measured each one, but there are slight variations in size and shape."
Io eyed the markings and reached over the corner of the table to lightly run her fingers over his skin, tracing the black marks. "You're… very warm. And you have a lot of power hidden under the surface, daring someone to make it come out…" The innocence in her eyes slowly receded, replaced by a faint longing and possessiveness. "You are a dangerous man, Mr. Dragneel."
"Keep your legs together, Io." Eris teased.
Ceres sighed and covered her face with her hand. She was embarrassed by her friends' antics; one was a closet perv hidden by a thick air of innocence and the other was so outgoing that it was tiring. "Natsu, are you ready to go?"
"Yes. I've checked over everything and made sure I haven't left anything behind." Natsu replied, formally, straightening his back and addressing the woman like a commanding officer. He downed the last of his tea and placed the cup on the saucer. "How will I get there."
"Like this." Ceres raised a hand with a bright smile. "I'll stop by soon to check up on you."
Before Natsu could respond, the goddess clicked her fingers and his vision filled with white and all of the sounds around him instantly vanished. The light slowly dimmed and the sound of a beautiful melody being played on an organ eased into his ears. The man fixed his sleeve and slid his arm back into the coat before taking a look around.
He had been transported to a large gothic cathedral. It seemed to be night-time as moonlight was filtering in through the stained-glass windows, most notably through the large dome centred in the middle of the cross-shaped building. At the end of the room, behind the pulpit was a large pipe organ sat upon an elevated platform. A figure, clad in white robes trimmed with gold, sat in front of it. Their fingers dancing across the ivory keys. His senses told him that besides himself, they were the only other person in the building.
Natsu slowly rose to his feet, being careful not to disturb the organist as he moved to the end of the pew and started heading for the exit. A faint gasp made his ears twitch and he instinctively slipped a hand under his coat, wrapping it around the grip of his pistol. A rustle of cloth drew his attention, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder.
The figure turned out to be a young woman in a priestess' garb. A white off-the-shoulder dress that went down just below her knees, tapering to the left while a split ran up the right side, stopping just below her hip. Over her shoulder was a short cloak that stopped at her waist and had a white mesh hanging across the top half of her face, obscuring her eyes. She wore pristine white knee-high boots, adorned with golden buckles that matched the ornament fastening her cloak around her pale neck.
"Are you… Natsu Dragneel?" The woman whispered softly as she cautiously approached the man. "You look like him…"
"How do you know me?" He asked quietly, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as he turned to face the priestess, his hand not leaving the concealed weapon.
"The Goddess informed me that you would be arriving soon. So, I was awaiting your appearance." The soft-spoken Priestess stopped in front of the pinkette and clasped her hands together in front of her chest, bowing respectfully to the man. "She had just told me you had arrived, so I turned and saw you leaving. You match the vision she sent me."
"I hope Ceres didn't keep you waiting on my account." Natsu sighed and relaxed, removing his hand from the gun and placing both into his pockets. "Yes, I am Natsu Dragneel, just as she had told you."
"She… told me of your circumstances. You have my sympathies, and my prayers go to those you have lost." The woman raised her head, gazing up through the veil into the man's onyx eyes. She only came up to his collarbone so her more of her features became revealed as she tilted her head higher. She had no make-up on, not even lipstick. Her skin was fairly light, like it didn't see much light and have a chance to tan. She had a small button nose and a cute mouth with thin but full lips. Her hair was a bluish-silver, cut into a wavey bob, and peeked out from the edge of her hood. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Archbishop Lelyanna, head of the Church serving Goddess Ceres."
"How much did she tell you?"
"She asked that I do not share this with anyone, but it shouldn't hurt to tell the subject of the matter…" Lelyanna stepped closer and brought her lips closer to the man's ear, lowering her voice down to a hush. "She informed me that you are from another world, like ours but in the distant future. I'm surprised we're able to talk so flawlessly… She also said that everyone in your world perished except for you in a nu-nu… how do you say it?"
"A nuclear blast? Think of it like new-clear."
"Ah, newclear? Nuclear? Oh, I see." The woman nodded quickly, a bright smile spreading her lips. She seemed excited to learn new things, especially about a world so foreign yet familiar. "She said many, many of those weapons were used and that nothing remained except for you."
"Yes… I fought in the war that caused the end of the world." Natsu nodded slowly. Due to the proximity of the woman's face, he could see her eyes through her veil, they were a very light blue and seemed to shimmer with mystical energy.
"So, you are like a holy knight?"
"I wouldn't call myself that." He chuckled softly. "I think a more apt term would be a Warrior, but we were soldiers, in my case I was what was called a Shock Trooper. We dropped in from the sky behind enemy lines."
"Wait… You dropped from the sky?" The archbishop gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "How did you survive?"
"We had Single-Occupant Aerial Insertion Pods; we lovingly called them Iron Maidens. They slowed our descent and allowed us to rapidly deploy in enemy territory with minimal casualties." He shook his head lightly and gazed down at the woman with a forlorn smile. "Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. My world died, now I live here thanks to the Goddess' kindness. She could have left me to die in that wasteland but she chose to help me."
Lelyanna gave the man a sad smile and stepped back slowly. "Then, allow me to show you to your new home. The goddess told me where it is, though I would prefer waiting to day before we head over there. It's dangerous to travel at night. The City Watch can only patrol so many streets."
"If it happens, then I'll make them regret it." Natsu reassured the woman, gravely. He turned to the side and held open his coat to reveal the weapon he was carrying. "Admittedly, I shouldn't use them until I can better disguise them, but I've got the weapons from my old world with me. So should someone try and attack you and I can't put them down by hand, they'll bite the bullet."
"A duelling pistol?" The archbishop asked as she curiously leaned in closer to the weapon. "A pistol is commonplace here. Though that does look a little strange, you made a good choice to hide it under your coat."
"Here." He murmured as he pulled the M12 free of its holster. He dropped the mag into his left hand and pulled the slide to eject the chambered round, catching it in mid-air.
"Huh?" The woman pulled back in shock, it was far stranger than even the most exotic pistols she had laid her eyes on. "Can I hold it?"
"Sure." Natsu handed the unloaded firearm to the priestess, making sure the muzzle was pointed away from both of them. "It's called a semi-automatic pistol. For every pull of the trigger, the hammer will come forward and fire the round, which cycles the slide, ejecting the round then loading a new cartridge into the chamber while also resetting the hammer." He pointed to each individual part as he explained it, he then tapped a finger on the can attached to the gun's muzzle. "This is a sound suppressor; it muffles the blast. This particular type of ammo is supersonic, they'll crack through the air, but I have another type that doesn't breach the sound barrier. Making the entire weapon system extremely quiet compared to anything you'd probably be used to."
"The cartridge is so different than what we have…" Lelyanna murmured as her eyes darted between the pistol lying in her hands and the ammo sitting in the man's. "It's almost frightening… Here." She quickly handed the weapon back and watched as the man reloaded it. "And it can fire all those really quickly?"
"Yes. What are the pistols like here?"
"Umm…" She tapped her chin and gazed around in thought, raking her brain for the answer. "They can only fire once before you need to put a new cartridge into it. It opens with a lever on the top and the back of the barrel tilts up. But it has a hammer like yours, except you have to set it each time before firing."
"I might have to stop by a gunsmith to check them out. I should probably visit a normal smith too, to get a more common weapon…" Natsu mused as he slipped the handgun into the holster.
"As I mentioned, the Goddess asked me to show you to your home. But since you are unfamiliar with the city, I'll stay with you until you get settled into your new life."
"Thank you, Archbishop." Natsu bowed his head and turned to allow her to lead the way out. "Just to be sure she sent me to the right place, where are we?"
"The City of Magnolia." Lelyanna informed the man as she covered the lengthy building at a brisk pace. "But brace yourself, Mr. Dragneel, it'll be different to the one you are used to."
As they left the building, the first thing that Natsu noticed was the clean air. There were the usual scents of a city, but it was vastly unpolluted. The sky was reasonably clear of light pollution and he could see the stars twinkling against the black sky. An underlining ticking resonated throughout the city like a metronome, all in time to the same beat. He followed two steps behind the priestess and to the side, facing ahead as his eyes scanned their surroundings.
"Are you ok, Mr. Dragneel? You seem quiet."
"I'm just looking and listening, memorising the path." Natsu fell in a step closer as a pair of men armed with swords stepped around the corner ahead, his gaze swept over them but he made sure it didn't linger. They had metal pauldrons and an armoured leather hood with bands of metal attached to it. They seemed to be members of the City Watch that the archbishop was talking about, but he made sure to keep half and eye on them.
The two guards bowed their heads to the priestess who returned the gesture. "Good evening, Archbishop. Who is this with you?"
"Good evening to you too." The woman replied with a small smile. "He is a Jaeger who was giving a report to me. And since I had stayed late at the Cathedral, he is escorting me home before returning to his residence."
"Alright, be safe, Ma'am." The leader of the pair replied with a nod of his head.
"Are patrols frequent?" Natsu asked quietly after the guards had put a dozen strides between them.
"It depends on where you are. Some of the less fortunate areas are plagued with lowlifes."
"As it is with cities everywhere, it seems."
"It's the same with your homeland?"
"Yes. The city I used to live in had the same issue. The warrens were infested with rats, and the exterminators only cleared the opulent districts."
"The various churches try to help but the money we provide gets spent on narcotics and loose men and women. But I fear that they are beyond salvation."
"Some may just as well be beyond saving, but there would be some who are redeemable among them."
"I hope you are correct, but so far, we haven't seen very promising results…" The woman sighed softly and slowed her stride so that the man could walk beside her. She led him up a few streets and to what felt like a painfully familiar hill to Natsu. "It's not far from here." After a few bends, they came out on an overlook where a reasonably large three-story gothic manor house stood alone within a substantial block of land full of tall hedges that obscured the majority of the first floor and bordered by a tall brick and wrought-iron fence. "A home fit for a Nobleman."
"It's a bit flashy…" Natsu murmured as he approached the gate. "Do you have a key?"
"Err… no. Didn't the Goddess give it to you? I was only meant to show you to the house."
Natsu sighed and gazed up to the stary sky. "Ceres. I know you are looking down here, watching us. Get your ass down here and fix this mess…"
"Are you sure it's fine to speak to the Goddess that way…?" Lelyanna hesitated and followed his gaze to the stars. But a flash of light next to her instantly drew her attention back down. "H-huh?"
"I'm sorry, Natsu." Ceres smiled apologetically as she took a key from her cleavage. "I forgot I had planned for Eris and Io's visit; it threw me for a loop. I had intended on giving this to you before you came down here…"
Natsu took the key from the Goddess and chuckled at the Archbishop's shocked expression. "See, it was all fine." He unlocked the gate and turned back to the pure-white woman. "Well, since you're down here, you might as well come inside too, Ceres. Providing your tea party is over?"
"I suppose I should show you what I've sorted out for you." The Goddess hummed, thoughtfully. She turned to the still shocked priestess and smiled. "Good evening, Lelyanna. It's a pleasure meeting you in person."
"God-dess?"
"I think you broke your follower, Ceres."
"That's unusual, I've appeared before her in her dreams and projected myself into her mind." Ceres lifted the veil lightly and gazed into the shimmering pale-turquoise eyes of the priestess. "You can stop being so shocked about seeing me, it's not actually uncommon for a deity to walk among mortals. We do visit your worlds fairly often."
"I'm just shocked that you appeared so suddenly… and in response to such a call." Lelyanna mumbled and shook her head lightly, shaking the fuzz from her mind. "Shall we go inside?"
"Yes." Ceres smiled and held her hand out to the gate, silently requesting for Natsu to unlock it. Once the lock clicked, gears began to turn and the gate slide aside to allow passage into the estate grounds. The pure-white woman led the way along the smooth flagstone path, it wasn't a direct path to the house as it wound its way around a perfectly manicured ornate garden complete with tall hedges, fountains, and flowerbeds.
"That ticking has gotten stronger…" Natsu noted, quietly, as he gazed around and used his powerful senses to locate the source. "It's nearby. Multiple."
"Could they be automatons?" The priestess asked her goddess. "I'm afraid I can't hear the ticking he is talking about."
Ceres came to a stop and closed her eyes, and in that instant, Natsu felt a presence enter his spiritual body but it receded after a few short seconds. "Yes. What you can hear, Natsu, are the clockwork automatons that manage your estate for you. I'm sorry, I didn't realise you would be able to hear them that clearly."
"I'll get used to it. It's probably best that they aren't human, I don't know who I can trust here yet. And it means that any secrets I may have, can't be bought from servants."
"I bought two types for you; Servants and Guards. Feel free to tinker with them as you see fit." Ceres glanced back that the man before leading the way once more through the garden. "Just try not to break them."
As they came into view of the large twin front doors, the two seven-foot-tall suits of shiny brass armour that flanked the doors – with ornate halberd and shield in hand – soundlessly pivoted their helmets to them. When they drew near, the right-hand one stepped forward and a cold, mechanical voice emanated from the polished full-helm. "State your name and business."
"Ceres, here to transfer ownership of the property and all within its boundaries to the rightful Master of the House, Natsu Dragneel. We're accompanied by my follower, the Archbishop Lelyanna." The Goddess replied. She glanced meekly over her shoulder with a small smile as the two large automatons took position again and allowed passage into the house. "It's a good thing I came down here… I forgot I had to do this part. You would've had to fight your way in…"
Natsu clicked his tongue and scowled as he passed by the pure-white woman. The clicking picked up slightly as he drew nearer to the doors and they parted way for him, smoothly opening inward on well-oiled hinges. "So, how do we transfer the ownership?"
"I'll have to make you a profile in the main hub for the automatons. We should do that right now so we don't get any nasty surprises." Ceres hurried to the back of the entrance hall, her pearly-white heels clicking on the marble floor. She went to the right side of the large staircase and opened a door, revealing a staircase to the basement level.
Natsu's eyes wandered up the stairs and along the balconies overhanging the entrance hall. The spacious room's high ceiling was thanks to taking up space on both the first and second floor. It was grand, and something told him that didn't end here. It was a far cry from what he was used to, a simple two-story, four-bedroom home in the suburbs that he and Lucy owned… had owned. His hardened gaze wavered slightly as his thoughts wandered, what did his old home look like now; was it a pile of rubble, would there be anything recoverable? Lucy loved taking photos, and loved making collages and photo albums from them even when she could have stored the digitally, could they still be there? He was brought back from his thoughts by a hand gently coming to rest on his arm.
"Are you ok?" Lelyanna quietly asked as she peered up at him through her veil.
"Yea… no, not really. Just thoughts and memories of someone who meant the world to me." Natsu sighed quietly and followed the Goddess down the stairs.
"Who were they?"
"My wife, Lucy. Loveliest, most beautiful woman I've ever known… Arguably more beautiful than Ceres in my opinion." He smiled sadly, whispering the last part to the priestess. "She was at my side when the world ended, died in my arms…" He sighed and reached a hand out to the wall, running his fingertips along the slightly coarse material. "She would have hated this place, I reckon."
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that." Lelyanna murmured softly and brought her hands together in front of her chest, offering a silent prayer to the woman she'd never met. "What makes you think she wouldn't like it here?"
"It'd be too fancy for her. Don't get me wrong, she enjoyed some fancy things." Natsu chuckled lightly but his melancholic smile had returned as quick as it left. "But this place would remind her of home too much. She came from a wealthy family, ran away from it after her mother died and her father buried himself in his work. She had grown up in a manor, larger and more extravagant than this. I visited it a few times, it didn't really feel like a home." He let out a sad sigh and closed his eyes, but not once did he miss a single step. "She was so happy when we bought our house. It was just a modest town house, but I'll never forget the way she smiled when we first set foot in it as home-owners and how that smile lit up the house while we were moving in."
"It's just through here, Natsu." Ceres called up the stairs, drawing their attention and making the duo hurry down and meet the deity by a remarkably less fancy door. The Goddess quickly entered the room, followed closely by Natsu and Lelyanna. Along the walls stood three brass knights on each side, guarding the room from ne'er-do-wells. By a reinforced case built into the wall at the end of the room stood a single lone guard which Ceres approached. "Please open the casket. I, Ceres, am transferring my privileges to the owner of this estate."
The automaton bowed its head smoothly and turned to the ornate casket. It pulled a hidden lever and gears ticked and clicked to life in the wall, lifting the lid slowly and splitting it open in the middle. It parted to reveal a blank crystal panel which came to life when Ceres placed her hand on it.
"I have a temporary profile set up, since I can't make a proper one due to being a deity. So, you'll be the first registered owner, Natsu." She informed the pinkette as she tapped away at the crystal display. After a few minutes she stood to the side and waved Natsu forward. "Just put your hand on the hand-print shown on the crystal display. It'll scan you and create a profile based on your magical and biological results."
As Natsu placed his hand down, a small shock raced up it followed by a faint magical pulse that sent a wave through his body. He guessed that it was the scan that Ceres was talking about. Text filled various boxes on the magical display, outlining the scan results. Surprisingly, it picked up his hybrid nature, that he was human, dragon, and demon all rolled into one being. As the screen flashed and another shock ran through his hand, the guards thumped the ground with their halberds then took a knee, silently pledging their allegiance to their new master. The only box that remained unfilled was the name of the estate, Natsu took his hand from the scanner and placed it on the rim of the container as he stared at the blank space, raking his brain for ideas. He couldn't – and didn't want to – use anything that would be too on-the-nose, so he turned to the two women for their opinions. "What should I call the estate? I don't want it to be my name, or be dragon related."
"Well, since your eyes go red when you're in a state of duress, be it aggression or emotion, why not something like Báleygr. It may be one of the names of a god, but the meaning still works; Flaming Eye. So, both your red eyes and fire element rolled into one name."
"Which god is that?"
"He is most commonly known as Odin. He is a very wise man."
Lelyanna glanced between the Goddess and man a few times before bringing an issue to bare. "But this is a place, not a person. Wouldn't it be more preferable to name it after a mythical place?"
Ceres tapped her cheek lightly as she gazed at the ceiling, running through the various names in mythology to find a few suitable choices. "Elysium; the final resting place of heroic and virtuous souls. Valhalla; ruled by Odin who takes half the souls who fall in battle. Fólkvangr; Freyja rules over it and takes the other half of those who fall in battle. I'd say Lethe but then you might get Eris coming down here…"
"You know what… the Báleygr Manor works just fine." Natsu cut off the goddess quickly, sensing that she'd probably go on forever with names based on various other deities. He turned back to the crystal display and filled in the box before making sure it is all filled out properly and saved before closing up the casket. "Let's get back to the Entrance Hall…" He paused and yawned widely, blinking slowly as he shook his head. "Actually, just show me where I am sleeping. I'll explore in the morning."
0=0=0=0=0=0
Day 41,
I've made it to the world that Ceres and I chose.
There is a lot of white noise in this city, the ticking
of machinery running like literal clockwork. My home
has these mechanical lifeforms, though I'm not certain
if lifeforms is the right word for it… Lucy would have known.
Anyway, these Automatons have two types: Guards; which
are large suits of full plate armour, like knights. And Servants;
which are much shorter in comparison, about a head shorter
than me, and take the appearance of a pretty young woman.
I've been told that they are lifelike dolls crafted by artisans
and given life by a clockwork heart. How they managed to
get through the uncanny valley with their level of tech is
beyond me. Whoever made them is very talented.
The Servants are the caretakers of the house, they cook
and clean, and tend to the gardens.
Usually, Lucy and I would be doing that, so it's going to
be strange having nothing to do around the house.
Maybe I should invest in something that would keep me
occupied when I'm not busy.
I have decided to ask Lelyanna, the Archbishop of the
nearby Cathedral, to take me to a renowned weaponsmith
today in hopes of finding a suitable weapon. Even if it isn't
strong enough to handle the amount of force I can put out
I can always just use Enhancement on it to increase various
aspects of it.
Natsu closed the book and sat back in his chair, he was sitting in his spacious bedroom on the third floor. He gazed out one of the large windows and was met with a heart-wrenchingly painful sight. Whether by coincidence or by Ceres' divine innocence, she had managed to place his new house in roughly the same area as his home was, and the view from the bedroom was the so close to what he was used to that when he brought forth the one from his memory, they almost lined up perfectly. The major difference was the style of the city and how old the buildings looked, well at least that's how they looked to him. There was gothic architecture for as far as his eyes could see.
Brass-skinned airships cruised through the sky, they looked extremely ornate compared to the warships he was used to, and much smaller than those as well. The sky was a rich blue, not a cloud in sight, and it was so clear of smog that it reminded him of the Heartfilia Estate, the air was so clean and clear that it was almost intoxicating.
He sighed quietly and ran his left hand down his face, he had put his wedding ring back on his finger. It was regulation to not have it on your hands, which is why he and Lucy had it around their necks, but as he was no longer Commander Dragneel, a Shock Trooper, he didn't have to abide by those regulations anymore. Still, he wore his dog-tags around his neck, along with Lucy's tags and her ring. He could have stored them within his magical storage, but it felt better keeping them close to the heart.
"Master, the Archbishop Lelyanna says she will be waiting for you in the drawing room." Said the Automaton assigned to stay by his side within the estate. He noticed last night that they all had the same songbird-like voice, it was pleasing to the ear which he supposed was the point. He turned to the servant, like all of the other ones in his house it looked like a pale-skinned young woman with black hair tied into a bun, lifeless grey eyes, and dressed as a maid. In truth, it kind of creeped him out but like with life in his new world, he'll have to learn to live with it.
"Thank you, I'll be right down." Natsu rose from his chair and grabbed his loaded holster, slipping it onto his belt and throwing on his coat to hide the handgun from view, on his way to the door he grabbed a pouch containing some coins and his chequebook and fastened it to his right hip. He left his room and briskly descended the stairways until he reached the entrance hall where he walked into one of the adjoining rooms. "Sorry for the wait, Archbishop."
Lelyanna glanced up from her cup of tea and gave the man a small smile. "Don't be, you're allowing me to stay here while I help you settle into your new life. Incidentally, I wanted to ask something."
"Go ahead."
"Lady Ceres told me after you retired that there are counterparts of your friends and family here in this world. The name you have is very near one of a certain woman, in fact you share an uncommon surname. If you wish to lie low then I suggest that you operate under a professional name, instead of your own."
"I'll take Báleygr again, then. Since the manor is Báleygr Manor, and the story is that I bought it after working my way up as a Jaeger."
"We'll travel to the bank first then, and have that name listed in your profile so you can receive payments to that name." Lelyanna finished off the last of her tea and placed the cup and saucer onto the table at her knees.
"I'd like to go to a weaponsmith afterwards, preferably the best one you know of. I need to buy a more inconspicuous weapon than my firearms."
"Alright, let's get going then." The Priestess rose from the couch and brushed her hands down her dress. She led the way out of the house and to the path. "Hopefully we won't run into any issues at the bank…"
"That all depends on Ceres and whether she didn't miss something over the past week."
In the end, their trip to the nearest branch of the Bank of Fiore was rather uneventful, and the service was surprisingly quick. Natsu thought they would have been hung up over his identity but apparently it seemed that he matched the profile they had saved. No doubt it would have been tinkered with by Ceres to have all the correct details and matching scan results. His professional name as a Jaeger was now officially Báleygr and the bank would allow cheques addressed to that title. He knew that his counterpart would sniff him out if someone appeared out of seemingly nowhere with an almost identical name to her, and he wasn't ready to see the faces of his dead friends and family just yet.
He was starting to get used to the incessant ticking coming from all around him and was finally able to start filtering it out, allowing him to focus his perception onto the people around him. Most of it was conversations about the weather, or fashion, or some new-fangled invention, some talked about the issues with the mines, others talked about the Royal Family. The drone of an airship faded in then out as it passed overhead. After a month of nothing but dust and echoes on the wind, being back in civilisation was both reassuring and frightening. Even when he stayed in the Goddess' realm, he was alone since she was working hard to ensure he had a place to go, but at least he wasn't surrounded by radioactive ruins.
"Who is this weaponsmith you are taking me to?"
"A master-smith called Saiko. She's arguably the best one in the city. Pricey, but you're getting your money's worth."
"Do you know what the materials she uses to make her weapons are?"
"Umm, for her masterworks I believe she uses an alloy of chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, steel, adamantium, and a few others I can't think of. I couldn't tell you the ratios of the mix either, but maybe if you get on good enough terms with her then she may tell you." Lelyanna glanced to the sky in thought for a moment before turning her attention to the man once more. "Unlike her normal stock, the masterworks are made-to-order, so have a look around her shop once we get there and find a style that you're comfortable with."
"Hmm…" Natsu's eyes drifted around the crowd as he processed the information. Those materials were normally used in high performance alloys found in heavy-duty tools and various older vehicles from his world. Maybe he could procure some materials at a later date and have this woman make some weapons based on the stronger alloys he knew of. If this smith was able to recreate the alloys used in his various weapons, then she would be a valuable asset.
It seemed that this world's materials research and technology were a bit further than what he was expecting, but since they had to deal with more monsters than in his world and with limited access to firearms, let alone the high-powered ones he carried with him, it made sense. To combat monsters that evolved through survival of the fittest, that could break your blade in a strike, you would have to forge stronger blades to cut through them.
He hadn't seen this world's firearms yet, but he doubted that they would be very accurate beyond a few hundred metres, maybe if your foe was massive but you likely wouldn't be able to slot the bullet through an eye socket at half a kilometre. Maybe they couldn't even hit that…
"We're here." Lelyanna announced, drawing the man out from his thoughts. A dark wooden sign shaped like a sword and with brass lettering set into the blade hung from the front of the store, Pierce the Veil. The hooded woman turned to the man and smiled. "This is Saiko's workshop, the front is where she sells her weapons, and the smithing section is in the back."
As they entered the shop, a bell hanging just above the door chimed loudly, alerting the shopkeeper to the new customers. "My, my. Here's a new face." The mature woman called out as she closed the magazine on the counter. Her yellow eyes scanned the pinkette's face and narrowed slightly. "Hmm, you look like you've seen your fair share of hell. I'm Saiko." She said, walking out from behind the counter and approaching the man. "Welcome to my store."
Natsu looked the woman up and down as she came up to him; she was only a few inches shorter than him. Her black hair was tied into a loose bun behind her head with chin-length bangs framing her face which had soot from her forge dotted around it. She was a powerful looking woman with defined muscles from working metal day-in-day-out, probably for most of her life. Thanks to just wearing a pair of overalls and heavy-duty boots, her strong arms were bare, both as a warning and to show them off. More soot dotted her exposed skin but from her elbows down were completely clean, no doubt thanks to the gloves she'd have been wearing. "I've been told that the best place for weapons is here?"
"It is." Saiko replied, her tone leaving no room to say otherwise. "I've been working the forge since I was a little girl; making swords, spears, shields, you name it." The woman glanced at the figure who stepped out from behind the man, and she immediately bowed her head. "Archbishop, good morning."
"Good morning, Saiko." The veiled priestess replied softly, a warm smile flittering across her lips briefly before she turned to Natsu. "This is Natsu, he is a Jaeger who goes by the name of Báleygr. His weapons were damaged beyond repair on a job for me, so I took it upon myself to help him find a suitable replacement."
"How damaged are we talking?"
"Shattered. Only had the hilt plus a little bit of the blade left." Natsu replied. "I've had issues finding blades strong enough to handle combat. Save for my knife which I use in worst-case scenarios, it's a prized possession, hasn't failed me yet."
"I was telling him about your masterwork wares, Saiko." Lelyanna informed the smith. "Maybe you could do an order for him?"
"Weapons fit for a Jaeger, huh?" Saiko looked the man up and down before nodding to the priestess. "Yeah, I'll do it. Have a look around and let me know what tickles your fancy. I'll be at the counter when you are done."
"Thank you." Natsu gave the smith a nod before wandering off, he could hear the soft patter of Lelyanna's boots trailing after him. "Hmm… what should I pick?"
"What kind of fighter are you?" The veiled woman asked, honestly curious about it as he came from somewhere that had a vastly different breed of combat than hers.
"I'm very capable with many weapons, but for close-combat I had that knife I was talking about." Natsu replied quietly, withdrawing his combat knife with a small flash of light. It was his customised version of a standard issue combat survival knife called a Km-MM, modified to fit in his hand perfectly.
"That something looks like a Messer or a Tanto… Hmm, what could match this…?" Lelyanna leaned in closely, inspecting the sharp knife. Her eyes lit up behind her white veil and she immediately hurried across to the other side of the shop.
Natsu looked down at his black knife, zoning out momentarily as memories flashed across the forefront of his mind, but he shook free of their grasp and requipped his sheath for the knife. He strapped it to his left thigh, exactly like he had it a little over a month ago when he was fighting in what turned out to be the final battle of his world. Again, he brushed aside the memories and followed after the priestess. "What did you find?"
"A Messer." Lelyanna replied as she lifted a short sword up to the man. Its total length was 60 centimetres, a good size for a fighting knife. "I figured it would be suitable since you are used to fighting with something like this. There are also a Grosse-Messer and a Kriegs-Messer." She pointed to two swords behind her, a 100-centimetre-long single-handed sword, and a 150-centimetre-long sword that could be wielded with one or both hands. All three were single-edged blades with a knife-like hilt.
"Sounds good to me, I'll go tell Saiko."
As Natsu walked up to the smith, he was met with a bold grin. "I see those Messer caught your eye?"
"Yes. But I'd like to make a request, if possible?"
"Go ahead."
"May I see one of your masterworks? I'd like to get an idea of their feel and build quality, so I know I'm putting my life in capable hands."
"Sure, I've got one under the counter here. A client is on her way to pick it up, so be quick." Saiko knelt down and took out a bundle of cloth. She placed it on the countertop and unwrapped it to reveal an immaculate sheathed longsword. "She's a hard woman to please, but thankfully, she's a repeat customer."
Natsu wrapped his right hand around the handle and it immediately felt wrong in his hand. But that wasn't a bad thing, it probably meant that the grip was tailored for a specific person. He carefully withdrew it from the sheath and inspected the blade, it shined like silver and had only a small amount of flex in the blade. The edges were as sharp as a surgical scalpel, honed to perfection. Everything seemed to be in perfect proportion and from what the knowledge crystal within his soul was telling him, it was worthy of being called a masterwork. He stepped back and gave it a few one-handed swings before returning it to the sheath and placing it upon the cloth wrapping. "I believe that you have yourself another customer."
"Heh, I could tell just by looking at how you looked at that sword that you were sold." Saiko rewrapped the longsword and placed it back under the counter before lightly slamming her hands down onto the countertop with an excited grin. "So, what can I do for you?"
"I'd like a matched pair of fighting knives with an overall length of sixty-centimetres, and a Grosses Messer." Natsu replied, but as he placed his hand on his combat knife, Saiko spoke up.
"How about I throw in a Kriegs Messer as well? You know, for those big bastards."
"Sounds good to me, however, there is one more thing." He drew his knife and placed it down between them. "I want them to match this knife."
"Gods…" Saiko murmured softly as she gazed at the unfamiliar weapon. She carefully picked it up and flipped it over in her hands, running her fingers along the side of the blade. "She's seen many battles. I've never felt anything like this, and the composition is something out of this world…"
'Oh, how coincidental.' Natsu chuckled internally. "That knife is very dear to me. If you're able to create the weapons to be like that, combining what you can glean from that knife and your best alloy, then I'll pay extra. I'm sure it'll be worth it for both of us."
"Y-yeah, I'll do it." Saiko grabbed a piece of paper and a fountain pen, holding the combat knife in her left hand – which had started to glow with a white aura – and writing down notes with her right. "My gods… this thing is insane… I never thought of using these materials."
"Do you have them in stock?"
"Most of them, but I'll need to specially order the rest." She looked up from her paper and stared at the man in shock. "It'll take me a bit to fine-tune the method and test different variations with my own special alloy. But I won't push the extra charge onto you, if anything I'd be willing to give you a discount if you allow me to use this formula for my future weapons."
"I'll pay the full amount, no doubt it'll cost you. I'll be looking forward to what you come up with once you perfect it.
Saiko nodded quickly and finished writing down the composition of the knife, then began creating an altered recipe on another sheet of paper. She paused and glanced at the weapon, grabbing yet another sheet so she could draw the design for the knife to adapt to the larger weapons. Once the blueprint was done, she handed the knife back to the man. "This is going to be tough, but it'll be a blast figuring it out. Here, I'll do up a quote for your weapons based on the standard prices."
Just as the woman finished writing up the order, and Natsu signed off on it with his professional name, the doorbell rang. Natsu glanced over his shoulder and saw a ghost that made his hot blood run cold.
"Good morning, Saiko." Said an armoured redhead as she approached the counter. "I'm here to pick up my order."
Well, sorry to end on a cliffhanger but I'm sure we all know exactly who just walked into the shop, haha.
So, Natsu's new weapons are going to be Messers, lit 'knife'. German swords with a knife-like hilt that are of varying sizes. They are all going to be straight one-sided blades. His existing combat knife is essentially a Km2000 (Kampfmesser 2000 or combat knife 2000).
His two fighting knives are 60cm (2 feet) overall length with a blade of 50cm, they are on the longer end of the scale for daggers/knives.
The Grosses Messer is 100cm long (3 feet 3.37 inches), and is a single-handed longsword, it's generally written as Großes Messer with the sharp S (that B thing) becoming a double 'S', it means Great Knife.
And his last weapon is a Kriegs Messer, meaning War Knife, and is a two-handed sword measuring 150cm (4 feet 11 inches).
Sidenote: Freedom units are annoying, metric is by far superior.
I hope you have all enjoyed this chapter, it would have been out sooner but I was having work done on the house and couldn't sit down and work on my stories. Don't forget to follow the story, or favourite it. And if you feel so inclined, please leave a review. I'll see you all next time.
