Yo people! Here is the new chapter, but before we proceed, I want to address all of NaZa fans, who got some thoughts about writing some fanfics, but have not yet done so… Hear me out, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen: it's time to stop just thinking about it! Sit down, open your favorite text processor and start writing already! Do not hesitate, our community desperately needs more NaZa stories!
Now, thanks everyone for your reviews, I'm really appreciating it.
Some answers for the reviewers:
Orchamus: Well, Makarov is not an old fool, you know. He already suspected that Natsu and Erza are dating, so his reaction was a bit slurred. Moreover, he has more urgent matter now =) Later? May be =)
animeman12: Thanks man, I'm trying to resolve the situation about grammar, but it mostly depends on my beta-reader.
Toaneo07 Ver2.0: Many thanks.
naza fans: Again – many thanks.
FanFictionHunter: Of course it's here, I like Dragon Slayer magic. By the way, I'm sure I've never been telling that because Natsu is not Igneel's son the Fire Dragon was unable to find another foster child ;-)
Guest: What deed they done? Ah, you mean that extremely pleasurable deed, which man and woman can do in bed together? Which is especially pleasurable when they love each other? Yes, they done it =) Many, many times… But this story is "T" rated, so do not expect any detailed description. May be I'll write some spin-off in that case.
HalfChaos: You got it! =)
Mira-san: Yep, probably it will be in chapter 8.
Also, thanks everyone for your support. Now, I think we shall proceed.
One more thing, since it's the second time when I see this question. Natsu in my story possess a spell named Tonryūsoku. Full name – Metsujin Ōgi: Ketsusei Tonryūsoku – God Slayer's Secret Art: Blood Star: Chaos Dragon Breath. Don't let it confuse you people, it's just a spell name – Natsu have nothing to do with chaos dragon. Just as Gajeel's spell from canon – Metsuryū Ōgi: Gōma Tetsujinken - Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Karma Demon: Iron God Sword. It's just a name for a spell – Gajeel has nothing to do with the Iron God. Same thing for the God slayer Natsu.
Chapter updated 28/11/2016
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Chapter VI – The Silver Wind!
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July 8th, Year X784, 16:30, Oshibana Station.
"Oh no…" Erza moaned in anguish as she and her team turned around the corner, and she saw Kageyama lying on the floor, he was alive, but out cold completely. His face was stained with blood – God slayer hit him pretty hard "…Natsu, what have you done to him?!"
"Nothing special, I've just asked a few things," Natsu shrugged, he honestly couldn't understand the reason for Erza's desperate expression, "What's the matter?"
"We needed him…" Gray sighed heavily. "That station is surrounded with Wind Wall, which doesn't allow us to leave the building…"
"I know," Natsu replied indifferently, "He told me everything he knew…"
"No doubts…" Erza replied with narrowed eyes – her sensitive noise picket up a strong smell of ammonia, thanks to Natsu's methods Kageyama wet himself.
"But if you knew about Mafū Heki [Wind Wall], and, most likely, you also knew about this guy's ability to dispel magic – why you knocked him out?" Sin wondered. He knew Natsu long enough to be sure that God slayer wouldn't do such a silly mistake.
"Because that wouldn't work anyway," The god slayer informed, making everyone to look at him questioningly. "He has almost no magical power left, it would take time for him to recover enough mana to perform a magic dispel of such a scale. But, most importantly, we actually do not need him to remove the wind barrier, someone else among us can do it," Natsu said, his expression softening as he finished.
"Really? And who is this?" Erza inquired, she did not understand what he was getting at.
"You," Natsu answered simply as he approached his fiancée.
"Me? And how am I supposed to do it?" Erza was completely befuddled.
"Mafū Heki is a magical wind barrier but, basically, it's still just a wind. And if it's a wind, then you can burn it out," Natsu explained as he gently put his arms on Erza's shoulders, "Fire is stronger than wind!"
Erza's eyes widened as she realized what Natsu wants her to do. "Wa… Wait Natsu… I'm not sure I…" She stuttered but Natsu did not listen. He grabbed her left hand and began to pull his scarlet-haired beauty along, to the storage room, where he 'fought' against Kageyama.
Lucy, Gray and Sin were completely confused, whilst Gray once again stripped to his underwear. They just followed the couple as Natsu led Erza to the storage room.
Natsu looked around at a large number of wooden crates in the room. "Yes, this should be just enough…" Natsu said with a nod. He raised his arms and launched several bolts of crimson energy at the crates, setting them aflame.
"Hey man, what are you doing?!" Gray exclaimed as he watched the unnecessary destruction of someone's property. It was too odd even for Natsu.
"You're about to see…" Natsu replied, making a gesture that Gray should wait, before turning to Erza, "Cenam vestram fruimini, amica mea," He spoke out and stepped aside.
"You're just insane, you know that, right?" Erza asked with a wry smile. Her tone was containing a mix of disapproval and admiration. She took a deep breath and inhaled the fire from across the room. Erza devoured all the flames, though she choked a little at the end. *Cough, cough* "Damn, seems that I am not completely used to it yet," She said, trying to catch her breath.
However, Natsu was more than satisfied, as now Erza was almost glowing with power. The god slayer approached her and wrapped his right arm around her neck, gently pressing her head to his own. "Rome wasn't built in a day," He said quietly.
"What wasn't built?" She looked at Natsu questioningly.
"Just rumors, don't mind me," He smiled in reply.
"Wha... wha… what the hell just happened?!" Gray asked in shock, Sin and Lucy, however, were not so surprised by the scene they just saw.
"I'll explain on the way," Sin promised as Natsu headed to the room's exit, holding his fiancée's hand.
"C'mon people, let's go!" Erza exclaimed as she followed her fiancé. Lucy silently went after the two of them.
Gray and Sin were behind as Lil Dragon started to explain the situation about Erza to the ice mage: "You see, Natsu decided that there is not enough fire in his life, so he decided to turn his future spouse into a flame dragon slayer..."
"He did what?!" Gray asked again…
July 8th, Year X784, 16:55, Clover canyon.
A great gorge, filled with deep clefts and dense mist, stretches all the way into the depths of the land. There is no way to cross it other than via railway. A long bridge, stretched to the very horizon, with a railroad built on it, is the only way to get to the Clovertown. Two people are standing right in the middle of it, watching ahead.
"The town of Clover where guild masters are assembled is near," Reina said as she looked to the east.
"Yes, and I've recovered most of the magic power that I used creating that magic wind wall," Erigor said. "We should speed up, those geezers, who took away our jobs and our rights… just wait and see… The god of death will purge you all!" Erigor said with an evil smile as he soared into the air.
"This is the beginning of the new Era!" Reina exclaimed as she once more made a silver surfboard and joined Erigor in the skies, "The old order will fall with the song of the Lullaby!"
Two magic seals flashed in the skies as two terrorists flew toward the city of Clover at high speed.
July 8th, Year X784, 17:05, Oshibana Station.
Team Natsu gathered at the balcony, where Erza came about hour and a half ago, to make an announcement to the public about the Eisenwald's terrorists.
"Okay guys, I do not completely understand what you two are intending to do, but please do it fast. Only thing I know for certain is that we won't be able to get out of here unless we do something about this magic wind wall," Gray stated. Natsu and Erza stood near the wall, talking to each other in low voices.
"Gray, don't speak like a captain obvious, we're well aware of that, just wait a second," Natsu said before turning back to Erza, "Alright, cara mea, are you ready?"
"Yes, I think I am," Erza replied as she looked into the god slayer's eyes. She closed her eyes, extended her arms forward and prepared to summon the flames around herself when Natsu's voice suddenly interrupted her.
"Hey, hold on for a second! What is this? There is something inside the wind…" He pointed at the wind wall, something with metallic gloss caught his attention.
"Reina added these things into the wind wall, probably to increase the damage that the wall will cause to anyone who tries to break through," Knight-mage replied, however it was just her guess.
"No, it's not…" Natsu said calmly, but at the same time he slammed his fist into one of the balcony's columns, sending a web of cracks all over its surface.
"What's wrong, Natsu?" Lucy asked in surprise.
"These spheres… They're not just metallic balls… I found one of these things on the train when I searched through that guy's items…" Natsu remembered his encounter with Kageyama. "These spheres… Actually, they're bombs. Last time I saw this thing, it exploded when it fell from the carriage's chair on the floor, and its power was enough to destroy the whole carriage…" Natsu informed, watching the swirling metallic spheres and calculating something in his mind.
"But there are hundreds of these things!" Lucy exclaimed in shock as she examined the wind wall closely.
"Exactly… If they all explode, the resulting explosion will be powerful enough to destroy the entire station, along with us. Even if we manage to suppress the direct damage of the explosions, we all will be buried alive in this station, and I have no idea how much time it'll require to get ourselves out from beneath the mountain of debris… This is very unfortunate turn of events…" Natsu again slammed his fist into a column, destroying it.
"So… so, after all, we need that 'dispeller' guy to remove the wall?" Lucy asked uncertainly as she watched the column crumbled and turned into a pile of debris.
"Lucy, weren't you listening? No matter which way we choose to remove the wind barrier, as soon as it's dispersed – all these spheres will fall on the ground and explode," Natsu patiently explained again.
"Ok… Okay… I understand…" Lucy stuttered as she realized the direness of their current situation. "Gray, can't you do something about these bombs? Freeze them or something?"
"I'm afraid not, there's too many of them, I won't be able to freeze all of them at once…" The ice-mage admitted with regret.
"Damn, it's all my fault!" Erza suddenly exclaimed, "I was outside the barrier, but when Erigor showed up I tried to talk to him, instead of attacking him on sight…" Her eyes were filled with regret. "Because of my carelessness, he pushed me inside of the barrier and escaped. I know you would not make such a mistake…" She added, looking into Natsu's eyes. He embraced her in a comforting hug as Lucy remembered that Natsu hurled his magic spear at Everlue as soon as he appeared, not giving him a chance to do or even say anything.
"Easy, easy, my dear. Blaming yourself will not do us any good. I'm sure eventually you too will learn to cast spells first and ask questions later…" Natsu said with a calming smile. "By the way, why is it that your hand has not been bandaged yet?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he took a good look at her right arm.
"Lucy tried to offer a bandage but she refused," Sin noted.
"Of course you did…" Natsu sighed, looking at scarlet-haired sorceress.
"I told you it's nothing," Erza snorted.
"Oh, you're stubborn…" Natsu wanted to scold his girlfriend, too bad her stubbornness was one of the things that he loved about her. "We already have more than enough things in common, losing one of your arms is absolutely unnecessary," Natsu stated. "Lucy, give me the first aid kit, I'll handle it myself."
'What did he mean with that "lose one of your hands"? Both his hands seem quite normal to me… But why does he always wear that glove? Maybe it's not only to keep a good grip on the sword?' Lucy thought as she handed over the first aid kit, 'Can it be that this arm actually is a prothesis?...'
"Natsu, we have no time for this!" Erza protested, "We have to get out of here!"
"Have any ideas? If not, let me take care of you. Leaving your hand like this will not help us, anyway," Natsu replied, leaving no room for arguing.
Erza tried to come up with a reason to refuse but nothing came to her mind, so she unwillingly knelt and extended her right arm so Natsu could process it.
"Sometimes I envy his ability to remain cold-blooded even in such desperate situations…" Gray commented as he watched Natsu using a hydrogen peroxide to disinfect Erza's wounds.
"Ouch! Careful, it hurts!" Erza exclaimed.
"I know, I did it on purpose," Natsu gave her a wink.
"Nasty boy…" She snorted.
"Yeah, when we were in Harujeon he never showed any sign of worry, and when we were in Everlue mansion, too…" Lucy commented. And as soon as she said it Sin suddenly remembered something.
'Everlue mansion…! That's it!' A thought suddenly went through Lil creature's mind. "Lucy! I just remembered!" He exclaimed loudly.
Lucy jumped in surprise due to Sin's sudden scream, "W-What is it?"
"I remembered what I was supposed to tell you earlier!" The little boney creature said as he put his hand inside of his own glowing skeletal belly. Lucy looked at him, a bit shocked, as he was trying to find something inside of himself, literally.
"Is this really the time for…" She was cut off by Sin taking out a golden key. It was definitely one of the ecliptic zodiacs keys. This one was decorated with symbol of the Virgo constellation. "Virgo's key?!" Lucy screamed in shock. "Where did you get that?! You shouldn't be taking someone else's key without permission!" Lucy tried to catch the little boney creature but he easily avoided her attempt.
"Actually, I can, but in this case, it was not necessary," Sin explained. "In fact, Virgo herself asked me to give it to you. She came to the guild late last night to speak with Mira, but since she asked you to join us, I took the key," Lil Dragon recalled the events of last night quite clearly. "Virgo said that since Everlue was arrested, his contract was voided, so now she wants to make a new contract with the Seirei Madōshi [Stellar Spirit Mage] from Fairy Tail. As far as I know, you are the only Seirei Madōshi in our guild, so it's yours," Sin held the golden key out to Lucy.
"What are you two talking about?" Erza asked as Natsu was wrapping up the bandages around her arm.
"Sheesh. We don't have time to waste on this pointless crap," Gray commented agitatedly.
"So that spirit was Virgo? And she wants to make a new contract?" Natsu asked as he finished bandaging his fiancée's arm, "Well, it seems that 'unemployed' status isn't so desirable for spirits… Some of our guild members could learn a thing or two from them…"
"Oh, don't start it again," Sin cut off Natsu's well-known speech.
"Wait, you knew?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Of course I knew," Natsu replied as his heavenly eyes flashed with crimson light. "I'm, however, couldn't imagine that she was one of twelve senior spirits, I expected the avatar of maiden to be more… well, maiden-like, for instance?…"
"Is there any point in that story?" Erza asked impatiently.
"Take the key already," Sin said as he held the key in front of Lucy, who stared at Natsu with her mouth wide open.
"Well, I love the offer, but this isn't really the time, you know?" Lucy replied as she came to her senses. "We have to think of a way to get out of here," Lucy said as she again glanced at Virgo's key.
Sin made a face-palm, "Lucy, I already know the way out of here so take this damn key! Don't you remember? Virgo can dive underground, just like Everlue. That way we could go underground, beneath the magic wind wall and get out of here!" Lil Dragon practically yelled at blonde.
"Really?!" Erza exclaimed.
"Is that true?!" Gray asked.
"Then what are you waiting for? A special invitation?" Natsu inquired, he wasn't present when Lucy fought against Everlue so he wasn't aware of Virgo's capabilities.
"I see!" The blonde's eyes widened suddenly at the realization. "Way to go, Sin! Why didn't you mention that earlier?!"
"Because you were arguing too much," Sin replied as he held out the gold key to Lucy once again.
"Give it to me!" Lucy exclaimed impatiently as he snatched the key from Sin's boney claw. Lucy extended her arm forward and began to cast the spell: "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits! Now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate! Gate of the maiden, I open thee! Barugo!" As Lucy chanted, a golden magic seal appeared and a girl shot out of the seal. She was around Lucy's age and was wearing a maid's outfit. Her hair was pink, reaching just above her shoulders. Broken chains clanged around her wrists as she bowed to Lucy.
"How may I help you, Goshujin-sama? [Master]" The girl asked, not noticing that Lucy was staring at her like a calf looking at the new gate.
"Who… are you?" Lucy asked in shock.
"Now that's more like it," Natsu commented as he and Erza came closer to the Seirei, which looked completely different, comparing to the last time.
"I apologize for the trouble I caused you earlier," Virgo said to Natsu with a friendly smile.
"He smashed her into the wall and blasted her along with the mansion, yet she is the one apologizing?" Sin scratched his boney head.
"Hey, hey, wait! What's with your appearance?!" Lucy asked, quite confused by the whole thing.
The girl straightened herself before answering: "I am a Celestial Spirit that is faithful to Goshujin-sama. I perform my duties in the appearance Goshujin-sama wishes," Virgo explained. Lucy nodded.
"Appearance your master wishes?" Natsu inquired, shifting his gaze from Virgo to Lucy, "Chained maiden?"
"That's not like that!" Lucy retorted furiously.
"Heh, this girl is pretty cute," Gray said with a smirk.
"Lucy, huh… She is good after all," Erza smiled a little.
"As I told you, she could be quite useful," Natsu agreed. Then he turned to Virgo, "By the way, you can assume any appearance? Can you turn into Eushully-chan?" He slightly touched Seirei's forehead with fingertips of his left hand, seemingly translating the appearance of aforementioned angelic maid into Virgo's mind.
Virgo bowed slightly, "If Goshujin-sama would desire this…"
"Lucy, give me this key, I'll give you two million jewels in excha…" Natsu couldn't finish his phrase, because he felt that someone grabbed the sleeve of his coat.
"Natsu-san, you're playing with fire…" Erza said nicely, smiling charmingly, holding to Natsu's sleeve, but there was an intent, mixed into her words, which caused Natsu to stop fooling around, that same instant…
"Lucy, ignore those two!" Sin almost yelled at her to help blonde to come out of her stupor, "Get us out of here!"
Natsu's weird 'offer', but especially, Erza's radiant and charming smile, that caused shivers to run along Lucy's spine, have startled blonde quite a bit, but Sin's yell seemingly helped her to get back to her senses.
"Right! Virgo, I'm very sorry, but we have very little time! Can we postpone the contract until later? We have to get out of here right now," Lucy said to the pink-haired maiden.
"As you wish, Goshujin-sama. What is it that I can help you with?" Virgo inquired.
"Wait, don't call me 'Goshujin-sama'," Lucy said, crossing her arms.
"Then shall I call you Ojō-sama? [Young Lady]" Maid suggested.
"Rejected!" Lucy replied immediately.
"Then how about Hime-sama? [Princess]" Virgo asked.
"Hmm, that might be nice…" Lucy smiled a little as stars sparkled around her.
"So, that's her thing, huh?" Gray commented with a sweatdrop.
"Speed it up you two!" Erza ordered. Lucy nodded to Virgo and the maiden bowed a little.
"I will proceed at once, Hime-sama," She said as a golden seal appeared underneath her; seconds later she dived underground.
"Whoosh! Let's go through this hole!" Gray exclaimed and followed the maiden.
"Nice job, Lucy!" Erza praised the Seirei Madōshi as she pressed blonde's head to her own breastplate.
"Ouch!" Lucy cried as her head struck the armor.
"Quickly people, we lost a lot of time here already, get moving," Natsu urged everyone to go through the tunnel. Whole team left the station, leaving the defeated Eisenvald members to their fates…
July 8th, Year X784, 17:25, Town of Oshibana.
"We made it!" Gray shouted as he managed to climb out of the tunnel.
"Hurry onward!" Erza urged her team.
"Whoa, the wind!" Lucy exclaimed as she tried to hide her face from dust and flying small debris.
"Hime-sama! Your underwear is almost showing!" Virgo said as she held down Lucy's skirt, ignoring her own dress that was waving in the wind, exposing her panties and stunning the caught off-guard Gray.
"Why don't you hide yours?!" Lucy asked the maiden.
"Natsu! Our magic wheeler is gone!" Erza informed her fiancé as he appeared from the tunnel.
"Doesn't matter," Natsu replied. "We have no chance to catch up with them on the wheeler anyway. I'm afraid now I have only one option…" The god slayer turned to Lucy. "Lucy, I'm going to show you something. You will not tell anyone about that what you're about to see right now, without my personal permission. Neither to other guild members nor even to your closest relatives, understood?"
Lucy gulped a little but nodded, it seems that she's going to see some very important secret.
Natsu undid the glove on his left hand, and took it off, and, instead of normal hand, he revealed fleshless bones, coated with dark blue flame.
Lucy's eyes widened in horror. "Wha… what… What's with your hand?!"
"It's a long story Lucy, no time for it now. Sin, c'mon!" Natsu called for his familiar. As the little boney creature came closer, flame around Natsu's fleshless bones intensified, he gathered some of those blue flames on his palm, to make a dark blue fireball, and threw it right into Sin. As the blue sphere made contact, Lil creature was consumed in a bright sphere of light. Just a few seconds later the light disappeared, revealing a large skeletal dragon-like creature, about thirty feet in length and seven feet at the shoulder. His bones were covered with the same blue flame as Natsu's left arm. Natsu put his glove back on, hiding the exposed bones.
"C'mon Erza, no time to waste!" Natsu shouted as he mounted the skeletal dragon.
"Sorry guys, but I can only carry two people, for now," Sin said, meaning that Lucy and Gray will have to find another transport as Erza joined Natsu on creature's back. She sat behind the god slayer and wrapped her hands around his waist.
"Go!" Natsu ordered.
"Hold on!" Sin shouted as he flapped his skeletal wings and soared into the air, carrying Natsu and Erza toward the Clover town.
"This is why I did not want to go with them! They are so selfish!" Gray exclaimed angrily. "All right Lucy, come on, we have to find another wheeler."
Lucy stood still with her mouth agape and eyes wide open.
July 8th, Year X784, 17:45, In the middle of the way across Clover Canyon.
"Why did we take this vehicle? It is not the one that we rented," Lucy asked as she and Gray were heading toward Clovertown aboard 2-seat magical four-wheeler, which they took without permission (naturally, because there was no one left in Oshibana to ask for permission). It was Lucy's turn now to serve as a fuel tank for the magical vehicle, so the S.E. plug was connected to her wrist while Gray was in the driver's seat.
"I take my hat off to Eisenwald for their precautions. They made sure our vehicle was destroyed…" The ice-mage said, his gaze focused on the road ahead.
"That means we have to provide compensation…" Lucy moaned sadly. However, that was not the thing that bothered her the most. "Gray, did you know about what was hidden inside of Natsu's glove?" Lucy asked as she shivered a little when the image of Natsu's skeletal hand popped up in her mind.
"Yes…" The ice mage replied grimly. "I learned about it by accident, about five months ago. I took a walk in the forest nearby Magnolia and accidentally stumbled across sleeping Natsu… Lucy, focus on the vehicle please!" Gray said as the vehicle's speed dropped a little. Lucy was a bit distracted as she listened to Gray recalling the incident.
"Oh, sorry Gray, I just can't throw the image of his hand out of my head…" Lucy complained, forcing more magic into the Madō Sharyō.
"Yeah… I understand you… I found Natsu sleeping under the large tree. As I'm thinking of it now, he probably was on date with Erza, but because they were hiding their relationships, he had to wait some time before returning to the guild after she did and he fell asleep… or maybe he just took a walk like I did, it doesn't matter. Anyway, I saw him sleeping and his hand was not covered with the glove for some reason…" Gray shivered a bit as he remembered that moment. "My reaction back then was almost the same as yours, today. I remember that I just stood still for several minutes, staring at his skeletal flame-covered arm, until he woke up…"
"He was angry at you?" Lucy asked nervously.
"No, Natsu is not like that, you should know this by now – he has no habit of blaming other people over his own mistakes. He admitted that it was his fault that he fell asleep and exposed his secret to me, but he took my word that I will not tell anyone about his secret. Apart from me, only Erza, Mira and master knows his secret, as he told me…" Gray said, his eyes were focused on the road ahead.
"He did not tell you what happened?" Lucy asked, though she already knew the answer.
"No, and I'm not sure I really want to know. I bet that the only two living souls who knows the whole story are Natsu and Erza," Gray replied. He actually thought that Sin probably knows the story as well, but the ice mage just could not call him a "living soul". Gray thought a little and then added, "To be honest, both of them are quite mysterious. Natsu's past contains many secrets… and I don't know much about Erza's past either."
"Then it's just another reason for them to be together… It's easier to share your burden with someone who has his own burdens as well… We all have some burden of course, but some people have more than others…" Lucy smiled sadly and Gray felt some sympathy toward this cute blonde; in the end his own past was not full of joy, not at all.
"Gray, what will happen to the dark guild members? If Natsu was right and those silver balls really are bombs... will they explode and kill everyone inside the station?" Lucy really felt uneasy about that whole situation.
"I don't know, but as far as I remember, we did not tie all of them up, so they probably could leave the station the same way we did…" Gray thought for a second before continuing, "Life and death are not the only two possible outcomes of the conflict, right? I think even people like them should live their lives more positively…"
'Huh? It seems that this guy is not as simple as he seems either…' Lucy thought as she listened to Gray's words. 'Life and death are not the only two possible outcomes… I hope you're right Gray… Natsu, Erza… I believe you can stop Reina and Erigor from using the Rarabai… If not… all of the masters in this area will die… '
July 8th, Year X784, 18:10, Clover Canyon, not far from Clover town.
"There they are!" Erza exclaimed once she spotted Erigor and Reina with her dragon eyes. "Sin, you caught up with them!"
'It's good that she has no motion sickness while riding on Sin's back…' Natsu thought as they approached their enemies. He was not sure why, maybe it's because Sin is some kind of a magical beast, too…
"I'm going to shoot them down, brace yourself!" Sin warned his passengers as he started to gather magic for his cold breath attack.
"We're ready, just bring them down to the ground and we'll do the rest," Natsu confirmed.
"I see, that's the town," Erigor said as Clover's townhouses came into view on the other side of the canyon.
"We have to hurry, the regular meeting may end at any moment now," Reina noted as they both crossed the canyon and now were flying over the grass-covered plains. The distance between them and Clover town was about four miles. Suddenly, they both heard some sibilant noise, from behind them, and it was becoming louder with every passing moment.
Everything seemed to happen within less than a second; Erigor and Reina turned their heads back, only to see the large blue fireball approaching them. When the fireball came close enough, it exploded, releasing powerful shockwave of frost-type magic. The shockwave was strong enough to break Erigor's flight spell and knock Reina off from her silver surfboard.
Both dark mages fell on the ground, creating little craters at the impact points. Natsu and Erza jumped down from Sin's back as skeletal dragon's transformation wore off and he returned to his normal form.
"Sorry guys… I've done everything I could… the rest is up to you…" Little boney creature said with some efforts. He barely made it to closest stone to land on it.
"Thank you Sin! We owe you one…" Erza said, not taking her eyes off of her enemies.
"Rest up, my friend, leave these two to us… I've been waiting for this moment for two years," Natsu's eyes blazed with crimson light.
"You… you damn flies… Why you are here…?" Erigor growled as he got to his feet.
"You?! Again?!" Reina screamed, her eyes were burning with anger as her gaze met with Natsu's.
"We are here to stop you and make you pay for an attempt to kill our guild master," Erza replied, sending Shinigami her signature dark glare. "You said that you wanted to fight me? Here is your chance!"
"No one can escape me Reina, you should know that by now. I'm here to claim the bounty for your head," Natsu replied as if it was completely obvious, Gladius Terminus's blade glinted in the rays of evening sun.
"Come on, Shinigami! I'll slice you to pieces and incinerate this damn flute!" Erza proclaimed. She held a sword in her right hand as her left was engulfed in flames.
'What happened to my Mafū Heki… And with Kageyama and the rest? I was about to arrive where those geezers are, too… They're indeed… bothersome flies,' Erigor thought in anger as he stared at the scarlet-haired dragon-knight.
"What's wrong, Reina? Wondering why your toys did not work? Did you forget that a good bounty hunter always has an ace up his sleeve?" Natsu pointed at her with his sword. Actually, Lucy's magic and Everlue's key were just very fortunate circumstances, but it worked, so why not to mock her?
'I knew those Eisenwald clowns were no match for these guys… But what happened to my Shirubā Sufia [Silver Sphere] ... Why are these two still in one piece?! We were almost there! My plan almost worked!' Reina glared hatefully at the guy who openly called her a merchandise, which he's intending to sell to the authorities.
(With Erza and Erigor)
"Be gone, damn flies! Uindo Burēdo!" [Wind Blade] Erigor shouted as he rapidly moved his left hand in front of himself, with the index and middle fingers outstretched. Erigor generated several wide blades of wind, each possessing different width, and send them flying at his opponents.
"Childish prattle…" Natsu commented as Erza dashed toward the wind-mage, dissipating all but one of the wind blades with a single swing of her sword. She jumped, performing a summersault in mid-air and slashed through the last of the wind blades before attacking Erigor, "Enryū no Kōshū!" [Flame Dragon's Steel Kick]
Erigor managed to avoid Erza's burning leg at the last moment by leaping aside. Erza struck the ground, producing an explosion and eliciting a dust cloud. She did not stop even for a moment; the dragon-knight used her newly acquired keen senses to find Erigor through the dust and jumped leaped on him with two streams of fire protruding from her hands: "Enryū no Yokugeki!" [Flame Dragon's Wing Attack] She swung these streams at the wind-mage, blowing him away. Whilst Erigor was dazed she ex-quipped her Heaven's wheel armor, "For attempting to kill our master I'll never forgive you! Tenrin no Yoroi: Za Naito!" Erza shouted as she activated the ability of her armor. She summoned about a dozen of different swords and sent them flying toward Erigor with "little" addition of flames. "Enryū no Hōkō!" [Flame Dragon's Raor] Erigor managed to avoid the swords but powerful stream of flame landed a direct hit. He was sent flying head over heels for several tens of feet. Erza chased after him with the intention of land a finishing blow, but Erigor soared into the air right from under her nose.
"Don't get carried away!" Erigor shouted as he cast another spell. "Sutōmu Buringā!" [Storm Bringer] He performed several gestures with his left hand's fingers, then moved his open hand towards the target. Right under Erza's feet appeared a magic seal eliciting a powerful tornado. Erza was taken into it and stunned by its encircling winds as she was slashed all over. Erigor saw an opening and dashed toward Erza as she fell toward the ground after being sent flying by the tornado's winds. He swung his scythe, trying to slice the dazed knight-mage in half, but instead poked Erza's elbow as she quickly recovered and blocked his attack.
'She stopped my scythe with her arm?!' Erigor mentally exclaimed. He quickly increased the distance between them and cast another spell: "Sutōmu Shureddo!" [Storm Shredder] A magic seal appeared before him, allowing him to shoot several barrages of wind blades at knight-mage.
Erza quickly ex-quipped her sword for a pair of lesser swords and dashed toward the wind mage, deflecting wind blades with both swords. She used her armor ability to levitate and covered her feet with flame to propel herself toward Erigor at high speed, "Enryū no Sōkon!" [Flame Dragon's Maim]
"Sutōmu Uōru!" [Storm Wall] Erigor moved his left hand before him, summoning forth his magic seal. Erza's burning foot landed right on the seal, but Erigore's spell was strong enough to nullify Erza's attack. However, she turned around in midair and cast another spell, slashing her opponent in a delta formation: "Toriniti Sōdo!" [Trinity Sword]
Erigor partially blocked the attack with his scythe, yet Erza managed to wound him once more. "It seems that your reputation is well-deserved, Titania... Looks like I have to fight against you with full force…" Erigor said as he wiped some blood from his chin.
"I'm dying with anticipation…" Erza snorted negligently, by now this fight doesn't seem really challenging.
(With Natsu and Reina)
"Shirubā Hoippu!" [Silver Whip] Reina chanted as a silver-colored magic seal appeared in her right hand. The seal started to glow, recomposing itself into a long whip made of liquid silver. The green haired woman swung her weapon towards Natsu, who simply stood still, observing the silver claimer's actions. As Reina's whip shot toward him the god slayer extended his left arm to protect his body and the whip wrapped itself around his extended arm.
"Gotcha!" Reina exclaimed. Natsu, however, looked at her emotionlessly as he cast his own spell: "Akukan Chimyōshō!" [Chill Bane]
Blue flames engulfed his left arm and quickly moved from it onto the silver whip, spreading along it and up to Reina's hand. As blue flames covered the whip, its color started to change from silver to black. "Aaauu!" Reina screamed as the blue flame almost reached her hand, forcing her to drop her weapon at the last moment. "What the hell did you do?!"
Natsu did not answer. He just looked at her blankly and stated, "You better take this seriously Reina, your freedom is at stake. Senjin no Dogō!" [War God's Howl] Natsu ceased his speech and unleashed a huge, powerful stream of crimson energy at his enemy, causing a massive explosion, which Reina barely managed to avoid using her surfboard. The god slayer chased her as crimson energy engulfed his legs as he jumped up and flipped over her, trying to hit Reina in the head: "Senjin no Shōkya!" [War God's Shock Kick]
"Shirubā Shīrudo!" [Silver Shield] The green haired woman shouted, creating a magic seal in front of herself, which quickly turned into a silver tower shield. The shield was destroyed by Natsu's blow, but it gave Reina enough time to cast another spell: "Shirubā Borēshūto!" [Silver Volley] Another magic seal appeared before her as she fired several volleys of silver blades at the god slayer.
Natsu was hit by several blades but this was not enough to stop his attack. "Senjin no Sōken!" [War God's Twin Blades] Crimson energy formed into two long blades on each of his fists as Natsu came closer to the silver claimer. Once he was close enough, Natsu swung both arms, hitting her with his crimson energy blades. A powerful blow destroyed her silver surfboard and sent her crashing to the ground. "Senjin no Bakusō!" [War God's Explosive Spear] Natsu hurled his crimson spear into the dazed rogue mage, landing a direct hit and producing an explosion as well as eliciting a dust cloud. Natsu landed on the ground nearby; he knew that this is far from over yet.
"So, beating a woman is normal for you?" Reina asked as she slowly stood up on her feet.
"Since the day human beings decide to start learning magic – they're men and women no longer, they are wizards, completely equal in both status and responsibility. In my eyes, you're not a woman, you are rogue mage who tried to kill our guild master, and, in addition, you are rogue mage, whose head worth a lot of money," Natsu answered calmly. "I will know what you're truly capable of…"
(Clovertown, guild master's league meeting hall)
Makarov, Bob and Goldmine stood outside the hall, enjoying the calm, silent evening.
"Huh? Did you hear that?" Goldmine asked suddenly, he thought that he has heard something like an explosion.
"Heard what? It's nothing, Goldy," Bob answered with his usual careless tone.
"He's right, don't get paranoid," Makarov waved off all the worries. "Just enjoy the peaceful evening."
(Clover canyon, with Lucy and Gray)
"Lucy, we are almost at Clovertown, just a few kilometers left, and I have recovered most of my magic power, so you can plug me to the vehicle," Gray suggested as he noticed Lucy's very tired looks.
"No, I can hold on a little longer. You might need your magic powers to help Natsu and Erza," She retorted
"I doubt that it will be necessary…" The ice-mage shook his head as he saw the end of the long railway bridge at the other side of the canyon. "Hey, Lucy, look, we are almost there!"
(Four miles away from Clovertown, with Erza and Erigor)
"Let's fight seriously now… Just me and you, Titania! Sutōmu Meiru!" [Storm Mail] Erigor shouted, crossing his hands before him. This prompted many air currents to gather around him and created a hurricane surrounding his entire body. Erigor was covered by a dense wind wall, similar to his Mafū Heki.
'Whoa, the wind!' Erza thought as powerful air currents started to push her away from Erigor.
"Here I come!" Erigor shouted as he rushed toward Erza, attacking her with a flurry of blows. Erza tried to use her swords to block Erigor's attacks but both of them were ripped to metallic sawdust by a powerful wind that engulfed Erigor's fists.
'Damn! Natsu was right, I have to get rid of these cheap swords!' Erza exclaimed mentally as she saw how both of her swords were turned to dust. 'Fortunately, I no longer need swords to blow him away!' The knight-mage smiled as she again engulfed her feet in flames and flew toward the wind-mage, preparing to execute a spin kick, "Enryū no Kōshū!"
However, Erigor extended his right arm, concentrating wind currents in front of him. His hand met with Erza's flaming leg, which elicited sizzling sound as her flames were extinguished and her attack has been interrupted. She was forced to cover her face from drastically increased wind pressure.
"Just as I thought! You can't generate that destructive power unless you're coated with flames or using swords to channel your magic through them. It's useless now," Erigor said with a sneer as Erza was forced to land because her levitation magic could not withstand such a powerful force of wind.
'Damn, I can't use my swords and he's putting out my flames! This is an unexpected turn of events… Okay Erza, calm down, think!' She ordered herself.
"My storm mail is a reverse version of the magic wind wall. It can turn anything that touches it into dust, even the strongest steel. Also, it blows wind inside out and, as you know, flames can't go against headwind. None of your magic is able to defeat wind," Erigor snickered, staring down at dragon-knight with an arrogant smirk.
Erza patiently listened to Erigor's explanation… well, she pretended that she was listening to him – actually she used this time to think about a strategy which she could use to defeat Shinigami. Well, the scarlet haired mage was smart and educated, so she of course was aware of the fact that fire can't go against headwind and she already took that into account. However, she did not know that Erigor could focus all of the wind's pressure in one direction…
"Hauringu Harikēn!" [Howling Hurricane] Erigor shouted, drastically increasing the air speed around him so Erza could barely stand on her feet. She was forced to cover her eyes from small, flying debris and dust that the wind raised from the ground.
'Damn, it's not the wind anymore, it's like a typhoon!' Erza could barely see through the dust that filled the air around her. She looked around, Natsu was quite far from her, still fighting against Reina; it seemed that his opponent was quite strong too… Moreover, the last thing that she wanted to do was to appear incompetent in the eyes of her beloved.
"Sutōmu Shureddo!" Another magic seal appeared before Erigor as he again fired several barrages of wind blades at the knight-mage. This time there were more of them, a decent hint that his Sutōmu Meiru also amplified Shinigami's offensive magic.
"Hishō no Yoroi: Za Naito!" [Flight Armor: The Knight] Erza shouted as she ex-quipped into another armor. This armor was extremely revealing, featuring very little armor; it was more like fancy attire bearing reminiscence to a cheetah. Needless to say, that armor was one of Natsu's favorites… But there was no time for such thoughts… Erza dashed toward Erigor at immense speed, easily avoiding his wind blades. "Sonikku Kurou!" [Sonic Claw] She charged towards Erigor and began to slash him from every direction, seemingly at once. Erza swirled around the wind-mage, repeatedly landing blows on him without faltering. However, as Erza suspected, it had almost no effect on him. Her twin swords turned to dust as Erigor just chuckled.
"Sutōmu Burasuto!" [Storm Blast] Erigor shouted, starting up a wave of high-pressure wind around him. Erza was caught by surprise and sent crashing to the ground as Erigor sent another volley of his wind blades at Erza.
'It's not just flames or swords! I can't even get close to him!' Erza thought as she swirled around to avoid wind blades. She used her high-speed armor to quickly dodge the attacks.
Erigor used this distraction to cast another spell: "Majikku Uindo Pāmu!" [Magic Wind Palm] Shinigami clapped both his hands together and released a highly destructive tornado. The spell hit the ground and produced a powerful explosion, knocking Erza from her feet.
"Take this, damn fly! Soaring wind magic that cuts up everything – Emera Baramu!" [Emerald Flurry] He engulfed himself in wind then placed his index and middle fingers in an X-shape in front of himself and fired a concentrated blast of wind blades at the target.
"Erza, be careful! Emerald Flurry will cut you to shreds if you get hit by that!" Sin called out but it was too late. Erza was stuck in a daze from Erigor's previous spell.
"Die! Damn insolent fly!" Erigor shouted as he released his spell. A rush of wind blades rained down toward Erza, eliciting a huge dust cloud and ravaging the earth at the impact point.
Erigor's wind quickly blew off the dust, revealing Erza's motionless body. "Erza!" Sin called. He was still too weak to get any closer through Erigor's wind. Lil Dragon was worried as he looked at her motionless body.
Erigor looked victorious. "Not bad, I really broke a sweat. Moreover, your body is still in one piece… You were pretty good, but I actually expected more from the famous Titania…" Shinigami sneered. "Don't worry. Soon Reina will finish off your little friend and then we'll send the geezers over to your place soon enough, with the Lullaby's melody, of course," Erigor spoke out as he turned away from Erza's body and looked toward Clover town.
"Ah… what a mess… that really has become bothersome…" Erza mumbled as she slowly stood up. Her armor seemed pretty worn out, but Erza had no visible injuries at all, she seemed just fine… aside from her bad mood. "This is really humiliating…" She continued to mumble, dusting off her clothes, "Just when I tried to not do anything drastic… To think that I really have to go all out against someone like you…"
"What!? She's still alive!?" Erigor yelled. Until today, no one was able to survive his Emerald Flurry, yet this girl just stood up! Even more, she seems almost unharmed! However, he recomposed himself pretty quickly. "What a tenacious fly… You talk big, but it will change nothing! You can't get to me! Fire cannot win against wind!"
"Shut up, will you? I'm trying to think here," Erza shushed at her enemy as if he was some sort of a joke. "Fire cannot win over wind? If you think so, then you really are an imbecile…"
"Oh, come on, one Natsu is more than enough for this small country, don't turn into second one…" Sin facepalmed as he heard Erza's speech.
Erza once again glanced at her opponent. Usually, she could easily slice through any air wall with her swords. She even could slice space itself! But his Sutōmu Meiru was composed from very mobile air currents, so any opening was closed almost instantly. 'Looks like I have no other options, I need to strip him of that damn wind armor… but how?'
Erza remembered Natsu's words, '…a magical wind barrier but it's still a wind. And if it's wind you can burn it…' Knight mage sighed heavily, "Strong enough flame can easily burn any wind… but it seems I'm not yet strong enough to create a flame of appropriate strength… I'm sorry, Natsu, my love, I promise to train harder… but for now, I have to do use my old methods…" Erza mumbled as she raised her arms to the sky and very bright light engulfed her entire body.
"What the hell!?" Erigour shouted, he was forced to shield his eyes from too bright light.
In the meantime, Erza summoned her newest armor – the one she acquired during her four week-long, S-class mission she completed in attempt to win a bet against Natsu. "Za Naito: Arumadura Fearī!" When light dissipated, Erza appeared, wearing dual toned armor, composed of a simple pink breastplate joined to the collar, which sports a heart centered between two wing-shaped epaulettes. The waistguard was made up of plates attached to the breastplate, surrounded by a thin belt around Erza's waist, and had a short, pinkish white skirt underneath, covering her upper thighs… The armor was complemented by a large tiara adorning Erza's head, with feather-shaped protrusions jutting out horizontally, and a large purplish white cape. Erza's hair now were styled into a pair of braids that are flowing down from the back of her head. In her arms knight-mage now was holding two one-handed swords. Torrents of green, lighting-like energy were jumping all over her body.
"Huh? What's this?" Erigor asked nervously, he could physically feel the aura of power around his opponent.
"This is your last warning, Erigor," Erza pointed at him with both of her swords, "You really think I'll let you use Zeref's flute? I'm already fed up with his exploits! Dispel your magic, and drop your scythe and the flute on the ground, now! "
"Hah, and why I'd do that!?" Erigor laughed defiantly, "You still have no chance to break through my wind armor!"
"Give it up Erza," Sin commented, "They never listen…"
"I know…" Knight-mage sighed. Then she abruptly kicked the ground and flew towards Erigor, quickly accelerating, "Fearī Bāsuto!" [Fairy Burst] The torrents of green magic engulfed Erza's entire body, concentrating around her swords.
"What?! This is…" Erigor never had a chance to finish his phrase.
BOOM! Extremely bright green flash lit up the sky to the very horizon. Despite that the impact happened pretty high above the ground, the shockwave still reached the surface and made a crater, uprooting several dozens of trees. Sin was forced to hide behind the rock, on which he was sitting until now.
Severely burned and barely alive Erigor fell on the ground, right into the middle of the crater. His scythe fell nearby and crumbled. Erza gracefully landed next to her opponent's body, just in time to catch the flute. The trick was that Erza didn't hit Erigor with swords, she hit him with powerful piercing magic, which no barrier could withstand.
"Oh my… What's going on with me…" Erza asked herself, she was breathing a bit heavily but looked quite satisfied.
"What do you mean?" Sin asked as he landed on Erigor's burned body.
"Well, he was so annoying… and I just lost my temper, being overflowed with desire to hit him as hard as I could, just to show him the real difference between us… And why the hell do I feel so good now?!" It was a very weird but nice feeling. She felt strangely lighthearted and carefree.
"I can't say it for sure, but Natsu always says that holding your negative emotions inside is bad, you should just release them through battle and you will feel better," Sin commented. There was another reason, about which Sin thought, but he decided to keep that guess to himself, 'But main reason is that she just wanted to show off in face of her boyfriend, no doubts…' Lil dragon thought.
"Alright, c'mon, it seems that that battle is over as well," Erza said as she turned toward Natsu right in time to see Reina being smashed into a rock with a powerful energy beam, which knocked her out. Knight-mage, with Sin on her shoulder, headed towards her fiancé, trying to not look around – at smoldering earth, burning trees, etc… because she had no idea how she's going to explain all of that.
(Few minutes earlier, with Natsu)
"I have no intention of killing guild masters…" Reina smiled as she started to explain, "I just want to let Erigor make an attempt to do it."
Natsu showed no emotion as he heard her. "That makes no difference to me…" He said with indifferent voice. However… her soul was not as black as Erigor's, so he decided to listen to her story; in the end it might make some sense.
"Really? And I thought you are the smart one…" She sounded a bit disappointed. "I'm sure that Erigor will fail. The guild masters are powerful wizards, there is no chance that Erigor will be able to kill them… Well, at least not all of them. But when people learn about that incident… When they learn that Zeref's legacy is threatening them once more and the Magic Council is helpless… There will be a complete chaos! And when half of the magical world will be in panic… I'll make sure to feather my nest feather…" She finished with an evil smile.
"Now this is definitely your style…" Natsu replied. "You know, we have a lot in common – I love money and wealth too. However, I was clever enough to find legal methods to make myself rich before I could be branded as a criminal. This is why today I'll earn the bounty for you and you will lose everything," Natsu said indifferently as crimson mist started to swirl around him, "Let battle rejoice!"
"Shirubā Supia Rein!" [Silver Spear Rain] Reina shouted, raising her arms in the air. Vortices of silver appear from multiple directions, which then began to unleash salvos of silver spears at the god slayer.
"And you really think that it is possible to defeat me with this? You're disappointing me…" Natsu shook his head as he saw the numerous silver spears headed toward him. "Senjin no Dogō!" A flow of crimson energy flew towards the spears and exploded, destroying a huge portion of spears and vortices. However, within a few second vortices restored themselves once more and started to shoot spears toward Natsu.
'Oh, so it's not just for show?' Natsu thought, he was even surprised a little, 'It seems that these things have self-restoration capability… what a nuisance…' Natsu thought as it wasn't that easy to dodge all the spears. 'Okay, if I can't destroy these silver vortices, then I just have to knock her out fast…' The god slayer decided and rushed toward Reina. However, she had no intentions of let him close.
"I'm tired of your threats to sell me to the government! You want to fight seriously? You will get it! Shirubā Enperā!" [Silver Emperor] A huge and powerful figure in the guise of an emperor, made out of silver, appeared in front of the silver claimer.
"This again? No use…" Natsu still seemed unimpressed. "Senjin no Saiken!" [War God's Crashing Fist] He slammed his energy covered fist into the statue, mutilating it. But within a second it was restored to its original form and winded Natsu with full force, sending him flying head over hills, away from Reina.
"Ouch…" Natsu mumbled. He managed to land on feet but that blow was still painful.
"So, what do you think about its use now?" Reina asked with quite satisfied smile as her silver vertices launched another volley of spears toward Natsu. The god slayer leaped aside to avoid those spears, but Reina's silver warrior rushed toward him and tried to kick him in his side with a metallic leg. Natsu blocked the attack with his sword but force of the blow threw him away.
'Alright, this is something… Very well then, no more playing around…' He thought, jumping away once again to dodge another volley of spears. "Senjin no Bakusō!" Natsu hurled his crimson spear toward Reina, but the silver warrior dashed forward and stood between the magic spear and his mistress. The spear landed a direct hit into Shirubā Enperā, mutilating it once more, but one second later the statue regained its original form as Natsu was forced to dodge another volley of spears, 'This metallic guy is much faster than he looks…'
"What's wrong, bounty hunter? Having troubles?" Reina teased. Natsu was unable to even get close to her.
"Not at all…" Natsu replied emotionlessly. "You know it as good as I do – those things…" He meant silver vertices "…as well as this walking pile of junk are able to restore themselves as long as you have mana to support them. As soon as you're dry – they're gone. And I'm sure that my manapool is much bigger than yours… But unfortunately – I have no time to prove it…" As he said that, Natsu charged toward Reina, yet he was not fast enough to hit her as the silver warrior blocked his way and tried to hit Natsu with his silver sword. Natsu parried the attack with Gladius Terminus, but while he was focused on the silver warrior Reina dashed toward him and slammed her silver clad fist into Natsu's face. He blocked the attack with his elbow, but was thrown backward nonetheless.
'Alright, it seems that I have to move faster or I'll never get to her,' Natsu thought as he avoided another volley of spears. "Well, so be it, Sentō Chūkaku!" [Combat Core] Natsu shouted as his body was cloaked in an aura of crimson light. Seconds later, he dashed toward Reina, moving at least two times faster than before. This time the silver warrior's speed was no match for Natsu's, the god slayer practically flew to the target and slammed his fist into Reina's face, "Senjin no Saiken!"
"Shirubā Shīrudo!" Reina tried to protect herself with a silver shield once more but this time it was unable to completely block Natsu's attack. Natsu shattered her shield as crimson blast threw the silver claimer away.
"Curse you!" She hissed as her silver vortices started to fall from the sky and move toward Reina. They soon formed a round silver wall around the silver claimer whilst her silver emperor continued to attack Natsu.
With his speed and strength enhanced Natsu could easily dodge any of the statue's attacks, but he still had no chance to destroy Reina's liquid silver wall with it constantly attacking him.
"My silver emperor won't stop until it smashes you!" Reina proclaimed as the silver warrior attacked again, but Natsu easily dodged his assault. God slayer glanced at Erza; she continued her battle with Erigor and it seemed he appeared to be much tougher than Natsu thought.
'Maybe I should use my Tonryūsoku spell to blast this stupid thing along with Reina?' Natsu thought about using his currently most powerful spell. 'No, it's not an option, it will obviously cause panic – the city is too close…' Also, Natsu was not sure about its effectiveness in this case. The spell tended to obliterate multiple weak targets, one well-protected enemy could withstand it… 'But what other options do I have?' Natsu sighed heavily.
'Well, it seems I have no choice… This is not good, it seems I'm relying on that power way too often recently…' God slayer looked at Silver Claimer, "Alright, Reina, that was a good warm-up. But it seems to me that you have no more tricks in your sleeve, besides, I'm running out of time, so it's time to end this. I'm going to destroy your silver clown first and you just wait for your turn," Natsu said as Gladius Terminus's blade glinted in his arm once again.
"I'd like to see you try, my silver emperor is invincible!" Reina almost laughed at Natsu's statement.
"We'll see soon enough, Shinunoru Tōryūgi: Mujihisō!" [Death Knight Combat Style: Merciless Frost] A blue magical glow covered Gladius Terminus's blade as Natsu dashed toward the silver warrior and plunged his sword right into its chest.
"Hah, my silver emperor will restore himself even if he's blasted to pieces. Do you think your sword will be of any use?" Reina mocked Natsu. "You simply can't defea… Huh?" The silver claimer suddenly became silent as she noticed that her silver warrior was no longer moving.
Liquid silver streamed from around the 'wound' made by Natsu's sword and the statue began to turn black. The loss of color started to spread quickly, covering the whole statue. CLANK… clanc, clanc… CRACK! With a loud metallic clang, the whole silver emperor turned to black dust.
"H… How?!" Reina asked. "No one has been able to destroy my Shirubā Enperā before!"
"I am not some 'no one', Reina," Natsu noted. He seemed a bit worn out but his arrogant, indifferent attitude didn't go anywhere. He rushed toward the silver claimer and slashed the silver wall that was around her several times. As before, blackness started to spread across the wall, and a few seconds later it turned to black dust, leaving Reina completely unprotected. She took several steps back, "What are you?! God damn you!"
BOOM! Suddenly, bright flash lit up the sky, and a few moments later a loud explosion sounded nearby.
"What the!?" Reina's eyes widened in shock.
"What do you think?" Natsu asked as if he was talking to an idiot. "It means that your friend-imbecile is done for. Also, that means that now is your turn…" God slayer extended his arms forward, "I have to admit, you probably could be listed as an "A" rank threat, and if that fight would have happened two years ago, I'd have difficulties defeating you. But, as you said yourself – 'times change, and people does, too'…" Natsu noted with same emotionless voice before casting his spell. "Senjin no Yōshihō!" [War God's Proton Cannon] A broad, powerful beam of energy flew forward silver claimer and produced a powerful blast, smashing her against a rock and knocking her unconscious.
July 8th, Year X784, 18:20, Clover Canyon's vicinity, not far from Clover town.
"So, this is your new armor in action?" Natsu asked as Erza approached him, she was still wearing her Arumadura Fearī, "Beautiful, but I couldn't expect anything less…" Of course, Erza already showed this armor to Natsu as soon as they met after she returned from her four-week long mission, but this was the first time Natsu saw that armor in action (actually, it was also first time when Erza used this armor in a real battle).
"You think so?" She smiled playfully. Sin quickly flew off Erza's shoulder as he felt himself out of place.
"How could I think otherwise?" Natsu asked as he knelt in front of his fiancée and embraced her. "Though, this short skirt looks especially nice, it accentuates your thighs line…"
"Ecchi!" Erza snorted as she gave him light smack on back of his head, but that pink shade that appeared on her cheeks was a clear sign of that she was flattered.
"That's one of the reasons why you fell for me, isn't it?" Natsu asked cunningly, seemingly all his emotionlessness disappeared without a trace as he was embracing his beloved…
Erza ex-quipped her armor for her casual clothes – a white, sleeveless shirt and blue skirt – as she wrapped her arms around Natsu's head and pressed him to herself, looking at him with her unique smile, sincere and kind yet slightly sad, "I love you…" She whispered silently.
"I know," Natsu kissed her bellybutton through her shirt.
"Alright, what's next?" She asked as she released Natsu's head but instead of getting an answer she found herself roughly pressed to the rock as Natsu sealed her lips with his, gaining a moan from her.
"Try to guess…" He said when he broke their kiss. Erza was a bit worn out after a fight, she got a few bruises, but Natsu found her extremely coveting in this state, for some reason.
"Umm…" She groaned and licked her lips. "I'm guessing… in about forty seconds we'll have to explain the situation to Lucy and Gray," She said with her eyes closed.
"What?" Natsu was slightly confused with her reply.
"I can hear the noise from the vehicle and their voices. They are almost here…" She giggled a little at Natsu's face as he made a face-palm. None of them noticed that all three eye-sockets of the flute (which Erza threw on the ground before embracing her beloved) started to glow.
Spell list:
Rarabai - Lullaby
Madō Sharyō – Magical Vehicle
Seirei Madōshi – Stellar Spirit Mage
Seirei – Stellar Spirit
Barugo – Virgo
Erigor's spells:
Mafū Heki – Magic Wind Wall
Uindo Burēdo – Wind Blade
Sutōmu Buringā – Storm Bringer
Sutōmu Shureddā – Storm Shredder
Sutōmu Uōru – Storm Wall
Sutōmu Meiru – Storm Mail
Sutōmu Burasuto – Storm Blast
Hauringu Harikēn – Howling Hurricane
Majikku Uindo Pāmu – Magic Wind Palm
Emera Baramu – Emerald Flurry
Reina's spells:
Shirubā Sufia – Silver Sphere
Shirubā Hoippu – Silver Whip
Shirubā Shīrudo – Silver Shield
Shirubā Borēshūto – Silver Volley
Shirubā Supia Rein – Silver Spear Rain
Shirubā Enperā – Silver Emperor
Erza's Spells:
Enryū no Kōken – Flame Dragon's Steel Fist
Enryū no Yokugeki – Flame Dragon's Wing Attack
Enryū no Hōkō – Flame Dragon's Roar
Enryū no Sōkon – Flame Dragon's Maim
Tenrin no Yoroi: Za Naito – The Knight: Heaven's Wheel Armor
Hishō no Yoroi: Za Naito – The Knight: Flight Armor
Yōsei no Yoroi: Za Naito (Arumadura Fearī) - The Knight: Armor of Fairy
Toriniti Sōdo – Trinity Sword
Sonikku Kurou – Sonic Claw (Lit. – Sonic Crow)
Fearī Bāsuto – Fairy Burst
Natsu's spells:
Senjin no Dogō – War God's Howl
Senjin no Shōkya – War God's Shock Kick
Senjin no Saiken – War God's Crushing Fist
Senjin no Sōken – War God's Twin Swords
Senjin no Bakusō – War God's Explosive Spear
Senjin no Yōshihō – War God's Proton Cannon
Sentō Chūkaku – Combat Core (It's an analogue of dragon slayer's "Drive" self-amplification spell)
Akukan Chimyōshō – Chill Bane
Shinunoru Tōryūgi: Mujihisō – Death Knight Combat Style: Merciless Frost
Tonryūsoku – Chaos Dragon's Breath
Well, that's it!
I hope it was enjoyable for you. And I would like to know your opinion about this chapter, so be sure to REVIEW it!
I think you may have some questions – feel free to ask in review section, I'll try to answer them all =)
See you in the next chapter – Chapter VII – Zeref's Legacy!