Fiore Academy
Chapter 26 – The First of Many Battles
Authors' Note – Hey you guys, back with yet another chapter and I'm happy to say it's back to the average… even though it did take a long time, but this was mostly all battle related and fight scenes aren't exactly my forte. Regardless, sorry for the wait and I hope you guys enjoy.
PS – Remember to tell me what story you would like to read when I take a break from Fiore Academy.
Natsu had given his orders, and a stillness had come over everyone; a stillness before battle.
"It begins" Hades announces after the long wait, and suddenly, the large skeleton leapt towards the group wielding it's massive axe.
"Celestial Spirit Guards I summon thee! Golems!" Hisui called out, her keys turning into pure yellow light and streaking to the sky, turning into magic circles. From the circles, beams of light streaked to the ground, which quickly dissipated to reveal three Golems, constructs of magic with uncertain features. They normally would have been considered large, but they were all small compared to the Skeleton that raced toward them.
All the same, the Fiore Clan Heiress sent her silent commands to her Golems, and together they ran to meet the Skeleton midway.
"Bone Spear Barrage" Hades calls out softly, drawing the attention away from Hisui and her Golems. Around him, where he stood on top of the wall, dozens of bone spears began to appear, their points facing toward their enemy.
At a wave of his hand, the Spears flew.
"Sword Barrage Counter!" Erza called out, sending her own sword projectiles against the spears. Spears and swords clashed in mid-air, stopping one another in their tracks.
"Make sure you only stop them, don't destroy them; Hades likely can't summon more Bone Spears" Natsu called out to Erza behind him.
"Understood" Erza replies with a determined frown.
Nodding, Natsu turns to the girls beside him; Mirajane, Ultear, Virgo and Kagura.
"Even without his bone spears and Skeleton construct, he'll be difficult to beat" Natsu warned them, to which they all just nodded.
"Onii-chan, we've got a problem over here!" Karen's voice calls from way behind him.
Turning around at her voice, Natsu immediately saw the problem; Hades summoned more Skeletal Warriors.
Thinking quickly, he knew Karen wouldn't be able to hold out against them all; there were at least fifty of them this time.
"Kagura and Ultear, fall back and lend assistance to Karen" Natsu ordered.
No reply was needed; the two girls immediately turned around and ran to where they were needed.
At this, Hades flicked his wrists; appearing in his hands were two swords, Arakhs from ancient Egypt by the look of them.
They both gleamed a glossy black, and to Natsu's eyes, they appeared to absorb whatever light that could be found around them.
"Blight Steel" Natsu whispered hoarsely.
"What's that?" Mirajane asked, confused; she noticed how different the metal seemed from first glance… but the way Natsu said it set her mind a worry.
"It's a metal that can only be found in the Blight, the Demons call it Heart Steel since it could only be found at Mount Elysium, the Heart of the Blight" Natsu frowned then, "That mountain was mined through and changed so that it would become what is now known as the Elysium Palace".
"Furthermore" Hades continued Natsu's explanation as he leapt to the ground, "Heart Steel absorbs light, and if it so much as scratches you, it sends you into a temporary coma; a few hours at least, before you wake up".
Hades landed a dozen yards in front of them, a confident grin upon his face.
Around them, the battle continued.
Hisui forced herself to summon two more Golems, since it was clear three wasn't enough; five didn't seem to be enough, but she was at her limit as she watched her Golems struggle to hold onto the large skeleton and bring it to the ground.
Karen, Kagura and Ultear worked together to fight the onslaught of Skeletal Warriors; Kagura had her Katana and Karen had her twin swords of yellow flame. Ultear however, ran amongst the Skeletons, laying her hands on them, casting a silent spell it would seem… with each touch, the Skeletons aged to dust on the spot.
Katherine continued to mend Zeref's wounds; combining her Healing magic to replace all the missing flesh and knitting the torn flesh together, with her flame magic, to stem the flow of bleeding and cauterise his wounds. Natsu was thankful to see that his brother's chest continued to rise up and down with every breath he took.
Breath meant life.
For the first time it would seem, Natsu was glad he had a Demon inside of him; without the Demon there would be no seal… without the seal, Zeref surely would've died long ago.
Natsu turned back to his own foe, side by side with Mirajane and Virgo.
"I'll concentrate on powerful long-distance attacks" Natsu whispered so the two of them could hear him, but Hades could not, "Virgo, I'll need you up close and hindering him with your knives… and Mirajane will assist".
The two girls nodded their understanding.
"Are we going to stand around all day? Or are we going to fight?" Hades asked impatiently.
"First a question; why did you come here?" Natsu demanded; he needed more time to bring his magic more into focus… as well as set up a few long distance traps…
"I'm here on a mission, given to me by my King himself" Hades replied.
"What is this mission? To destroy the Dragneel Clan?" Natsu continued to question, buying himself time.
"Not exactly; my mission is to acquire two individuals" Hades answered back with a smirk.
Natsu frowned at this; he was sent to kidnap two people… likely both are from this group… and not wanting to be arrogant, but he had a funny feeling he was one of them.
"As you can guess Dragneel Scion" Hades smirked as he began walking towards them, "You are one of those two individuals".
"Then who is the other?" Natsu asked; he could only think of Zeref, but Hades was surprised when he found out the reason Zeref was still alive, meaning Hades wanted to kill Zeref and you surely don't try to kill the target of your kidnapping… then who?
"Ultear Milkovic" Hades answered simply.
Behind him, Natsu heard the abrupt ceasing of a set of feet running. Turning around, he saw who he thought he would see; Ultear, staring wide-eyed at Hades.
Without turning back to Hades, Natsu further questioned, "Why do you want Ultear?"
Though Natsu couldn't see it, Hades smirked, "Afraid I can't say… I suppose the most I can say is that her father wants to see her".
Natsu knew Hades had hit a trigger before Ultear spoke.
"My father? What about my…" Ultear started saying, confused as she walked slowly toward Hades as though in a trance.
Hades smiled, "Don't tell me nobody ever told you; I'm sure the spy girl here knew the truth". Judging from Virgo's reaction to that, Natsu guessed Hades was right.
"My father… who…" Ultear began to mutter, she was still walking toward Hades.
"Ultear!" Natsu yelled sharply, running toward her… and to both his own and her surprise, he embraced her. The shock of it brought Ultear out of her self-induced trance.
"What are you…?" Ultear began to ask, shocked by Natsu's actions.
"I promise you, when this is all over, we'll find out who your father is… but right now we have a battle to fight".
Blinking at that, Ultear regained her old composure and pushed Natsu away, "Why did you have to hug me though? Jeez, I mean are you that desperate?"
Natsu smiled, "That's a lot better".
Blushing, Ultear turned back to the Skeletal Warriors, "You better keep your promise" and with that she ran back to battle the Skeletal Warriors.
Turning back, Natsu scowled at Hades.
"I really thought that was going to work" Hades muttered as though completely shocked it didn't work.
"That's enough with toying with people's emotions… that's enough with all the talking… that's enough of everything… here and now" Natsu glared at Hades with his hate filled eyes, "You'll either die, or I become your captive… and I refuse to be captured!"
"And I refuse to die" Hades replies simply, brandishing his Arakh blades, readying himself for combat.
"Then let's see who's stronger" Natsu replies back, "Virgo, go now!"
Without a word, Virgo leapt forward, drawing two… not knives, these were closer to swords… dirks… drawing two dirks, she immediately clashed with Hades, who despite having the body of a child, certainly had strength to belie that apparent age.
With each stroke of their weapons, sparks flew… but it seemed as though Hades would soon have the upper hand.
"Mirajane, you're-" Natsu began to order, but was stopped by a bright light coming from Mirajane… actually, it was also dark, if that were somehow possible.
"Take-over Magic, Soul of Succubus" Mirajane called out in a chanting voice, with each syllable, her voice growing deeper and more… Demonic?
When the Dark Light faded, a figure stood where Mirajane had once been… but Natsu barely recognised her.
She looked like one of the succubi in the Blight merged with her own characteristics; her white hair, instead of flowing downward, flowed upward as though it contained a static kinetic charge. Her eyes were still they're beautiful blue, but they were much more harsh than they once were. A black, jagged line ran along the right side of her face too, crossing over her right eye.
Her wardrobe even changed; a skin-tight, red unitard with the centre cut out, revealing much of her cleavage and beautiful bosom, as well as her stomach.
Red, skin-tight leggings covered her legs, and red plated boots covered her feet. Nothing covered her arms, but her fingers had turned into razor sharp claws.
Natsu gulped at the sight of her.
There's an interesting idea for some private time. Natsu blushed to himself.
Shaking his head of his perverted thoughts, he watched as Mirajane also launched herself at Hades, who immediately used one of his Arakh blades to block her talons from cutting him.
Natsu then took a moment to survey the battlefield.
At some point, Hisui must have had time to use Celestial Fusion Magic, because her five Golems were gone and replaced with an identical version of them… except ten times larger, making it roughly the same size as the Skeleton. On top of that, Hisui was running across the Skeleton, using her Celestial sword to strike her foe in its vulnerable spots; connections in the spine, the back of the neck and so on so forth.
Behind him, the girls were up against still more Skeleton Warriors; it seemed that when one of them died, another would spawn; a particularly troublesome spell Hades had cast for sure. Kagura was a whirlwind with her Katana, cutting the Skeletons into pieces with each strike of her sword.
Karen was a ballet dancer in comparison, dancing amongst the enemy with her two swords of yellow flame, burning them away with but a touch of her swords.
Meanwhile, Ultear appeared to have recovered from the shock that Hades put her through; she could find out who her father is… Natsu couldn't blame her, but he admired her even more now that she was still fighting. Moving amongst the enemy, using hand to hand fighting skills to counter the skeletons; every time she landed a solid hit against the skeletons, her time magic was used, and the Skeleton would age until it was dust.
Erza continued concentrating on her task; either hades had limitless amounts of concentration available to him, or he had set the bone spears to auto-pilot. The Spears continued to seek out flesh wherever they could bury themselves… and Erza continued using her telekinesis to order her swords to counter the spears wherever they fled. The concentration required to do such a task for even this long, was already making Erza's face bead up in sweat; if even one spear was let loose, it could kill someone.
Natsu then turned to Katherine, who was currently focusing on advanced healing for Zeref; the flesh had been replaced, and the blood had ceased to pour and he continued to breath; seal or no seal, Natsu was surprised his brother had survived what he had gone through.
As it was now, Katherine was using Advanced Healing Magic to clean up her step-son, so the wounds wouldn't even leave a single scar… though likely as not, it would take Zeref a few days rest to even wake up; on top of that, this kind of healing cut one's lifespan… Zeref would have roughly ten years less to his life thanks to it… but it seemed it was the only course of action to take.
Natsu turned away from surveying the battlefield, back to Hades, who continued to fight the two girls, Mirajane and Virgo, in deadly conflict.
"I guess it's time for me to finally step into the fray" Natsu mumbled to himself as he walked toward the battle.
…
A figure was perched on the same hill that Hades used to survey the Dragneel Estate… the same hill where Hades and Zeref did battle.
He looked down at the scene below him, with eyes that cut through the surrounding mist, and saw its distant prey, as though looking through a magnifying glass.
He smirked at the sight below him.
He could see that Natsu Dragneel was strong; impossibly strong. The only issue, was that all that power was sealed away, making Natsu unable to even grasp a percent of a percent of that great power.
He was glad for it, for if it hadn't been sealed away… Hades' mission would've been impossible for anyone short of the Demon King.
"As it is however" Acnologia proclaimed to himself as he watched the scene, "Hades will lose… the question is… how long will it take?"
With the apocalypse nearby, Natsu and the rest didn't know, that a foe far greater than death watched them, eager for the chance of blood.
…
Natsu summoned two blades of pure white fire; though fire was normally not solid, the magic constructs of the flame swords of the Dragneel Clan acted as though they were solid.
Natsu took one step… and disappeared… appearing a millisecond later, in the face of Hades, and that face contorted itself in surprise.
"Step away!" Natsu ordered to Mirajane and Virgo; immediately, they fled behind Natsu.
Natsu raised his swords, and Hades matched the movement to counter the coming strike with his own swords… not knowing it was a dummy move, and Natsu switched to his feet, using all the strength in his legs to kick Hades in the chest, sending Hades flying backwards into a crumbling brick wall.
As Natsu landed, he threw his swords into the air and threw his hands face down on the earth, and at this moment, dozens of blazing red magic circles surrounded Hades position, and from each of the circles came a beam of pure flame, combining at their common point; Hades the Lord of Death.
A great sphere of flame came to life around Hades… and exploded, sending Hades further backwards with the velocity of a bullet. Natsu stepped forward again after catching his swords from the air.
Hades called out as he flew, "If you think this is enough to defeat me, you're-" then for the second time, Natsu appeared in front of him, for the second time, contorting Hades face into that of surprise.
"You're going to lose" Natsu said softly, before spin kicking Hades' chest, sending him to the ground like a short lived meteor, creating a shockwave powerful enough to reach the others, now a hundred meters back, and a crater in which Hades now laid within.
"Mirajane, you're turn!" Natsu called out, as he fled away.
Standing up, Hades coughed up some of his own blood; a sight that shocked him… he had never coughed blood before!
"What… the fuck?" the boy like figure cursed at the sight of his own blood, and looked up in time to see in the distance, a large black magic circle.
"Soul… Extinction" Mirajane muttered, and punched the magic circle in front of her… and a black ray of magic sped towards Hades.
When it hit him, he could feel it, as though his entire being was being torn away… his life force and his body, separating from him… weakening him as he struggled to hold onto himself.
When the ray passed, he felt himself exhausted, but forced himself to look up… look up in time to see Virgo fly past him, Dirks in hand. It took him a few seconds to register, that he had been cut.
The stomach and the throat… he began to bleed.
"This… can't be… happening" Hades gurgled, and all his concentration was lost.
The large skeleton… the small skeletons… and the bone spears… all of it dissipated.
"Natsu, what now?" Erza called out behind all of them, running towards Hades now that her task was over. She was followed by Kagura, Ultear and Karen as well, they're task having disappeared also.
"Stay back with Katherine, all of you!" Natsu ordered, halting the steps of the coming girls, and earning puzzled faces from all of them.
"If we press on now, we will…" Mirajane began to argue on behalf of all of them, but Natsu snapped back at her.
"He is not done yet, it's true… but my gut tells me… something isn't right…" Natsu growled, sweating. He was feeling some kind of pressure… some unknown force that was truly shaking him to his core.
The mist surrounding the Estate began to dissipate, as Hades laid on his back.
On his back, Hades could see it… the stars.
Such a beautiful sight… a sight he had fought to see forever… a sight he had fought to take from the humans who cared little for the sight they were so privileged to see. He could not help, but let a tear fall across his cheek.
So easily… he was defeated so easily… it was an embarrassment to the Demon Race…
"I refuse" Hades muttered, audible enough to catch the attention of his enemy. They all turned to him, with set frowns, filled with worry; what was going to happen that had Natsu so on edge.
"Like the stars I admire so much, the day will come when I will inevitably fall" Hades growled in his pre-pubescent voice, "But I refuse to fall until I see you humans beneath my feet and right now" Hades brought himself to his feet slowly as he spoke, each movement purposeful. Then he looked up at them all, and his eyes blared a red glare, forcing the others to step back, save Natsu who looked on, unaffected.
"Right now… my objective is to capture you, Natsu Dragneel" Hades growled again, "And you, Ultear Milkovic".
Silence quenched the air… dust swirled as the wind blew softly over the still scene; Hades, the Lord of Death… faced against Natsu Dragneel, child of the Scarlet Dragon of Dragneel and though it only be known to Hades… The Blighted Temptress.
"You are strong Hades, Lord of Death" Natsu replied, "But you are not strong enough to fulfil your words" Natsu turned back to the girls, "Do as I say; return to Katherine".
The girls didn't fight back; they did as Natsu ordered… they could feel it now… the pressure… and it wasn't coming from Hades.
Something wasn't right.
As Natsu turned back to Hades, Hades had already launched himself at Natsu, Arakh's swirling to meet flesh.
Natsu's honed swordplay kicked in, his reflexes snapping at the right moment, to block the strikes with his own swords of flame; purple sparks erupted, and a wave of force erupted from the meeting of flame and Heart Steel.
"No matter the cost to myself… I will not fail my King" Hades gritted out through clenched teeth.
Natsu continued to sweat; the pressure was building.
"How many times must I say it; you don't have the strength… and I will not allow you to take away anyone I care about!" Natsu screamed back.
"Watch me in agony as I take not just your home but those you love; your brother surely won't survive decapitation… your women will be tortured mercilessly before your eyes… you will suffer in agony, serve our purpose… then your life shall end! Cursed half-breed!" Hades spat at Natsu, his rage building.
This whole time, the two remained sword-locked, but at those words, Natsu stepped away, his mood gone dark.
Hades looked on in surprise; did his mental tactics work? It surely wouldn't be worth the risk to…
"You vow that you'll do as much?" Natsu asked quietly.
His mind filled with anger, Hades lost his filter, "You want me to promise more? Of course I vow all those things will come to pass, by my hand all the other other Demon Lords!"
Natsu raised one hand to the air… catching the attention of Katherine.
"Natsu! Don't you dare!" Katherine screamed as she continued her healing magic on Zeref, surrounded by the other girls.
"What do you mean? What's he doing?" Ultear asked quickly, voicing the thoughts of the other girls, including Karen and Hisui.
"He can't do it…" Katherine muttered, "If he tries, he'll… he hasn't got enough access to his powers… he'll kill himself…"
The girls all took those words in… they felt very cold all of a sudden. But by the time they turned to stop Natsu… it was too late.
"Dragneel Secret Art; Dragon Drive" Natsu called out clearly.
From the tip of his finger, a magic circle appeared, blazing a glorious red. It slowly made its way down his body… but as it did, things happened.
Seemingly made of pure fire and as solid as steel… armor began to appear over Natsu's body.
At some moments the armor seemed smooth and clean… at other times it all seemed jagged and patchy… the flame that permeated off this armor changed the shape of the armor constantly.
But what shocked the girls the most, was the final piece; the helmet.
Shaped like the skulls in the Natural History Museum… the skull of a dragon.
Natsu Dragneel looked less like a man… and more of a Dragon, and the power that he excreted off of him, sent tremors down the legs of the girls and Hades.
"If you vow to do all those things, Hades, Lord of Death" Natsu growled, which seemed to echo, "Then you leave me with no choice… but to slay you".
"Impossible" Hades muttered, "I was told your powers… were from your Demonic Blood… how can you possibly… this isn't… possible" Hades continued to mutter in disbelief.
The girls had never seen anything like what Natsu was doing, not even Hisui and Karen… not even Virgo, the Master of Spies of the Knights of the Red Cross.
"He won't be able to hold it for long; he hasn't got access to all of his power" Katherine spoke in a shaky voice.
"What is this?" Mirajane demanded, never letting her gaze leave Natsu, but directing her voice to Katherine.
However, it was not Katherine who decided to answer.
"Dragneel Secret Arts; over the years, the Dragneel Clan has grown weaker… so it's a surprise Natsu can use even the basest of them all" a harsh voice answered from above them, grabbing the attention of everyone in the rubble, including Natsu and Hades.
Natsu turned to the voice, the owner perched upon one of the standing walls of the Estate's rubble, next to where the girls were all gathered.
Natsu scanned over the man at the same time as everyone else; long and jagged blue hair and cruel blue eyes to match.
His skin was darkly tanned, and blue marking appeared across his skin, like tattoos.
What's worse, Natsu realised… the pressure he'd been feeling came from this unknown entity in great waves that threatened to bring Natsu to his knees.
The pressure did bring the girls to their knees however; never before had they been in the presence of someone with so much magic power emanating from them… fear creeped on them.
"Acnologia!" Hades cried out, "Did our King send you to assist me?" Hades was glad to see Acnologia of course… but he felt immense failure knowing the King predicted he wouldn't be enough to stop Natsu Dragneel.
Acnologia smirked, "He sent me to make sure your mission was a success; you failed, so now I have to clean up the mess you little brat".
"You know full well I'm not really a kid, you jerk!" Hades retorted immaturely, acting the age he looked for once.
"You want my help or not?" Acnologia asked Hades, starting to sound bored.
Hades took a step back in shock… then looked at Natsu, blazing gloriously in his Dragon Drive.
Hades gulped and turned back to Acnologia, "Please… help me".
Acnologia nodded… and flicked his hand.
Without warning… not so much as a whisper of warning… every single one of the girls and Zeref's unconscious body was wrapped in a band of blue flame… and every single one of them could not feel the internal river of magic they normally had access to… they were bound instantly.
On top of all of this, the band of flame produced pain, succumbing them all to writhing agony, ceasing any thought of breaking free.
None of them could even make a remark on the sudden change of the situation.
"So easily accomplished; most of them were newborns, unable to defend themselves" Acnologia whispered, and turned toward Natsu with a smirk to match the scowl on Natsu's face.
"You and I both know how this is going to end Natsu Dragneel" Acnologia called out to Natsu, whose face was contorted in both shock and fury, "Even now, without having done a single move within it, your Dragon Drive is breaking".
He was right, Natsu realised as he looked down at his armor, which as he looked on, a web of cracks appeared across its surface.
Natsu looked back up at Acnologia, "No matter what… I won't give up".
Acnologia smirked, "Of course you won't… but you now know, that the moment I stepped onto the battlefield… you lost".
…
After Mirajane woke up with the sun rising over the horizon, Erza walked over to her, having woken up herself.
"They have Natsu" Mirajane sobbed.
Erza nodded, "I know".
"And Ultear" Mirajane continued.
"I know".
"Is that all you can say?" Mirajane retorted.
"It isn't" Erza replied coolly; she was feeling the shock of what happened.
It only took seconds for Acnologia to reduce Natsu down; it seemed that even an unsuccessful Dragon Drive drained everything he had.
Before leaving, Hades cut all of them with his Heart Steel Blades, sending them into the darkness of unconsciousness, filled with terrifying dreams.
Until finally they began to awake… and feel the burden of what had transpired the night before.
"We'll get him back… we'll get the both of them back…" Erza assured Mirajane, making it a vow.
Mirajane let her tears fall, but her eyes set themselves into a determined stare.
She and all the others… would bring Natsu and Ultear home… no matter the cost.
…
Natsu awoke to the cold feeling of chains on his wrists and ankles.
The smell was damp and dirty, like in a watery cave; he could taste the moisture.
It was freezing, he could feel his entire body shaking… the feeling of the air alone told him where he was… he knew this world well.
"You're finally waking" a smooth, feminine voice rolled over him as he fluttered his eyes open.
"Who…" Natsu's voice was weak, and came out in a croak.
"Fret not and rest; I will not allow any harm to befall you, you have my word" the voice soothed as delicate hands caressed his face to rest.
"But… who…?" Natsu asked wearily; he didn't know if it was by some magic, but he was beginning to feel extremely tired.
"I am someone who holds you very dear… you may call me Lilith" the voice answered, as Natsu sunk into the blissful abyss of sleep.
Authors' Note – Well there you have it guys, I hope I did a good job… or at least a passable one. Let me know in the form of a review, and whilst you're at it, let me know what kind of story you'd like to read when I take a break from Fiore Academy. Until Next Time… and I'll try to make next time not so far away… Auf Wiedesehen.