Hello again, everyone! This update took long and the chapter is relatively short since I'm on assignment now and I have no full-size keyboard but instead I have a whole lot of work on my hands. Please be patient people, next update probably will take about two weeks too. I'm still far away from my home. Moreover, quite disappointing chapters 334 and 335 did not accelerate my job on this fiction (336 was not too brilliant, either, and 337 looks quite senseless).
Anyway, thanks everyone who left the review.
Answers for the reviewers:
FanFictionHunter: Many thanks. Congrats you with becoming a fic-writer too. =) Yeah, but Natsu's spells almost the same as Erza's (DS), so there is no point for him to copy her basic DS spells.
Toaneo07 Ver2.0: Thanks man.
Silent Reader 6100: Thanks, I really like chapter 10 myself. By the way – Gray's alive… Poor Ultear died instead. Nice job, Mashima-san. It seems Reina really was Ultear's prototype, but why should they share the same fate…?
Guest(s), : Here you go, thanks for the support.
Kyo no Kitsune: I think we've solved the question through PM. To be honest I thought about showing the original kanji in 'spell translation section', but I doubt that there are many people who're actually interested in it.
Kyubbiman: Actually the story was proofed several times and beta-proofed once more (first 6 chapters yet), this might be just a dialect.
eze5555: Excuse me? =) What did you mean?
About my plans for the next arcs:
Each next arc will be less and less canonical.
First, in order to make a story more original I decided to send Natsu and Erza after Astrum Eclipsis right after Galuna Island. I got a new idea to replace Loki's arc (obsolete idea).
Phantom Lord Arc will introduce another OC, but the arc itself will be around canon since it has a whole lot of acting characters, however, I'll try to make it original enough.
Tower of Heaven... ironically the most NaZa arc of original series will be a bit shorter (I'm going to forfeit the flashbacks from original series – we all seen them already) but it will contain some social scenes (more than one) with flashbacks about relationships between Natsu and Erza, but this time they will be from Erza's POV (Mostly).
Fighting festival: Oh, I have a great plan for this arc. For now I'll point only at obvious difference – Erza's dragon slayer so she won't be able to leave the guild building =) Besides, it will be something like turning point for Natsu's development.
Nirvana. This is what I aiming for! This arc will be completely rewritten and it'll reveal the meaning of hints what will start to pop up from Phantom Lord arc and onward.
About characters OOCness. Don't be sorry about it people, it's inevitable. For example, none of us saw Erza in romantic relationships, so we all have to guess how she would behave. Of course, we all see it differently. It's applying to every character in fan-fiction. Besides, for a romance story with characters who are not in a romantic relationship in the original story authors usually have to make characters OOC to keep the pair intact.
About pairings… Well, I'm a NaZa follower so I really want to see this pair in original series, but, to be honest, I doubt we'll see any couple at all. The FT is openly none-romantic (yeah, even between emo-kid and Erza, it's just not serious), Mashima just laughing at shippers, all of them. The chapter 331 for example was most anti-NaLu chapter since omake 'Beware of Guys Who Show a Keen Interest'
Now, let's proceed. This chapter is a bit short since I have a little time right now, I just wanted to remind about myself =). I decided to cut off Gray's memories – we all seen them already and there is no reason for them to be different, Natsu have nothing to do with them.
Omake – guild cards and magic:
Guild card № 4/781
Name: Natsu Bloodfallen
Aliases: The Crimson Cardinal, The Bounty Hunter
Birthdate: 7.10.X766 (17 years old)
Family: Supreme Goddess of War, Morrigan – mother; Erza Scarlet – fiancée.
Magic: Sen no Metsujin Mahō (War God Slayer Magic), Kuroi Geijutsu (Black Arts)
Likes: ancient magic and magical artifacts, legends, luxury stuff.
Dislikes: cheap stuff, weak and/or shallow-minded people.
Magic description: his primary magic is very complex – he channels powerful emotions to create an antimatter, which he can control through warp fields. Matter-antimatter reaction creates high-energy explosions, which is highly effective against any type of enemy. Also, the complex nature of Natsu's magic makes anti-magic measures much less effective against his advanced spells. Due to some incident four years ago, Natsu got an ability to use Black Arts, but he lost half of his left arm, the remaining fleshless bones can move thanks to living magic.
Elemental attribute: Pulsar – one of the rarest combinations – thunder and metal. What makes it even more rare – they are very good balanced (about 45% thunder and 55% metal). However, Natsu's primary magic (which he inherited from his mother) only benefits from metal part, which isn't perfect, but still much better than nothing. His secondary magic, sadly, doesn't benefit from anything.
General description: Also known as 'The Unforgiven', Natsu is Fairy Tail's most destructive member. Raised by Morrigan, the supreme war goddess, he is proud and quite overbearing, but, despite this, Natsu really cares about the other guild members to some extent, as he is honor-bound to protect his guild as an S-class mage. However, the fact that he cares about other guild members does not mean that he respects them, because Natsu only respects people whose skills and strength can rival his own.
Natsu's early years were hard, Morrigan was readying him for battles from the very beginning, and she was quite intolerant to failures. Because of it, Natsu still keeps himself slightly aloof from the other guild members, since they'll never be able to understand his motives; however, a certain scarlet-haired girl deserved the access to his heart. Moreover, after Natsu started dating with Erza, he became less obsessed with money as he at last was able to understand the meaning of a phrase 'money doesn't bring happiness'… Erza's unique smile does.
Random facts about Natsu: Many of the books in his library exist only in exemplar, which Natsu literally gathered page by page during his journeys. His favorite book series is a heroic poem 'The Tales of Thor'. And, by the way, despite huge amount of collateral damage that Natsu made during his career, he still managed to earn enough money to become one of twenty richest mages in Fiore, according to Sorcerer's Weekly.
Notable quote: 'Only the dead have nothing to lose, those who live have at least their lives.'
Guild card № 6/776
Name: Erza Scarlet
Aliases: The Titania, The Fairy Queen
Birthdate: 4.04.X765 (19 years old)
Family: Parents unknown, presumed to be deceased. Natsu Bloodfallen, fiancé.
Magic: Sei no Metsuryū Mahō (Star Dragon Slayer Magic), Za Naito (The Knight)
Likes: follow the rules, weapons and armors, erotic literature.
Dislikes: evilness, lie, Mirajane.
Magic description: Her magic 'The Knight' allows her to ex-quip weapons and even armors in an instant. Her new Star Dragon Slayer magic uses energy of light to create flows of ion plasma, which she can control via magnetic fields. Thermal plasma, heated approximately to 20,000 Kelvins, can incinerate almost everything. Just like in Natsu's case, the complex nature of this magic makes most anti-magic measures ineffective against her advanced spells. Due to an initial mislead, Erza started to learn Flame dragon slayer magic, however, she completely lost both access to flame spells and ability to consume flames after she learned the true nature of her lacrima and the Dragon queen's soul now sleeps within her.
Elemental attribute: Quicksilver – quite a rare combination – fire and metal. But what's make it almost unique is that they're balanced almost 50/50. Her magic 'The Knight' benefits from metal affinity greatly. Her new Star Dragon Slayer magic benefits from both affinities, it seems almost as if Erza has been born to use that magic.
General description: Fairy Tail's strongest woman, Erza has a very dark past, which still does not allow her to breathe freely. Honest and brave, she was betrayed by the person she admired the most. After this, she tried to hide her very fragile soul from everyone, inside of the armor suite. She has a honest nature, though, to the others, Erza seems as a fearsome person and very enigmatic as well. She's also called a discipline committee chief because she is very strict about the rules. Also, she's quite zealous about guild's preservation, ready to unleash a severe punishment upon anyone who dare to abuse Fairy Tail, no matter the reasons.
Since her battle against Natsu and the beginning of their relationship, Erza eventually learned to trust him. She told him her story and, surprisingly, it really made her feel much easier once she knew that she was not alone anymore. In addition, she's no longer wear armor in her daily life since she started to learn dragon slayer magic – for some reason, the armor started to make her feel uncomfortable. For her behavior in bed Natsu gave her another nickname – 'The Sinner'. Also, word 'love' is far not enough to describe her feelings toward Natsu, she's so much obsessed with him that she could be called a yandere…
Random facts about Erza: Despite Mira's character changed drastically, Erza thinks that the new 'caring Mira' personality is temporary and as soon as she-devil will get over the loss of her sister completely, she'll become as she was before. In secret, Erza subscribed for Sorcerer's weekly right after her first date with Natsu, reasons unknown. Despite the fact that her relationships with Natsu are almost perfect, the fact that she's a year and a half older than he is actually bothers her a bit.
Notable quote: 'I'm no longer believe in repentance, there are crimes that simply cannot be atoned…'
Spell book:
For my own convenience, I grouped all spells into three categories. To help readers imagine the spell, which was not shown in original manga and anime I will list here Natsu's and Erza's new spells with my comments.
First – Natsu. Because Natsu is a 'true' God slayer (he learned his magic from an actual goddess) all his spells are 'classic' – they only consist of Kanji and his advanced spells have a prefix, 'Blood star' (Ketsusei).
Here we go:
– Natsu's basic spells:
Senjin no Saiken –War God's Crushing Fist – Most basic spell, it looks just like original Natsu's Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.The user engulfs his fist in crimson energy and then punches his opponent, causing a lot of damage with a high-energy explosion. This attack can also be performed with both hands at once.
Senjin no Dogō –War God's Howl – War god's slayer exclusive god's howl (bellow), the shape is similar to Wendy's Sky Dragon's Roar, it has a form of crimson tornado-like blast.
Senjin no Shōkya –War God's Shock Kick – The user generates large flows of energy from their feet while swinging their leg down on the target to create very concentrated blast. Closest analogy is Wendy's Sky Dragon's Claw.
Senjin no Sōken –War God's Twin Blades – This spell is similar to original Natsu's Fire Dragon's Wing Attack, however, in this case user creates long energy swords from each of his arms, subsequently swinging these blades at the opponents and blowing them away. This spell has an area of effect.
– Natsu's standard spells:
Senjin no Bakusō – War God's Explosive Spear – This spell is similar to Laxus' Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd. The power of the spell is the same but blast is less concentrated – it has a larger radius but produces lesser damage to a single target.
Senjin no Yōshihō – War God's Proton Cannon – With their arms extended forward and completely clad in crimson energy, the user fires a massive, concentrated beam of the aforementioned energy at their target. Closest analogy is Orga's Lightning God's Charged Particle Cannon (Manga only, Chapter 320, Pages 9-11)
Senjin no Sentsui – War God's Warhammer – This spell is similar to Zancrow's Flame God's Scythe – user creates a huge energy hammer, which can be used for large-scale destruction. Because it forms from unstable antimatter it produces an explosion on contact, like all of Natsu's spells.
Senjin no Ukyogun – War God's Raven Flock – This spell has no visual analog in manga/anime. User creates hundreds of energy beings, shaped as birds, and sends them at the target to produce multiple explosions.
Sentō Chūkaku – Combat Core – War god slayer's analog of dragon slayer's 'drive' spell, has the same effect – it increases user's speed and strength.
– Natsu's advanced spells – Metsujin Ōgi (God slayer's secret art):
All advanced spells are original and have no visual analogy.
Metsujin Ōgi: Ketsusei Manjinyō – God Slayer's Secret Art: Blood Star: Ten Thousand Blades Dance User creates a huge amount of energy blades, which first sliced the target's body and then explode with devastating effect.
Metsujin Ōgi: Ketsusei Tonryūsoku – God Slayer's Secret Art: Blood Star: Chaos Dragon Breath – Actually, this spell is just an adaptation of Lina Inverse's signature spell – 'Dragon Slave'. It use huge crimson missile instead of energy ray, but power and effect are the same – Total Annihilation.
Now to Erza. Despite Erza initially being an artificial dragon slayer, she now possesses the soul of a real dragon, so she can be counted as 'true' Dragon Slayer now, or even something more than that. All her spells are 'classic' too – they'll consists of Kanji only and her advanced spells will have a prefix, 'Heaven's Kingdom' (Tengoku).
– Erza's basic spells:
Seiryū no Shōgeki – Star Dragon's Shock Blow – Most basic spell, it looks just like Sting's White Dragon's Punch. The user engulfs her fist in plasma energy and then lands a powerful punch, causing great damage to the opponent with a high-temperature shockwave. This attack can also be performed with both hands at once.
Seiryū no Hōkō – Star Dragon's Roar – Star Dragon Slayer's exclusive roar, the visual shape is similar to Laxus' Thunder Dragon's Roar. The user gathers lightning in her mouth and releases it in the form of a concentrated, destructive blast, capable of vaporize everything in a wide area in front of her.
Seiryū no Yokusen – Star Dragon's Wing Flash – This spell is visually similar to Chelia's Sky God's Dance. The user creates two streams of plasma from their hands and then sends them spiraling towards the target, blowing the target away with a bright flash of plasma.
Seiryū no Kudatsume – Star Dragon's Crushing Claw – This spell is almost the same as original Natsu's Fire Dragon's Claw. The user engulfs her feet in plasma and proceeds to assault the opponent with a powerful energy-enhanced kick, with the plasma greatly augmenting the power of the blow. Because of very hot plasma it creates a shockwave on contact.
– Erza's standard spells:
My dear Erza spent almost a full day learning at least the initial rules of this spell, but still:
Seiryū no Shōryō – Star Dragon's Plasma Beam – This spell is visually similar to Chelia's Sky God's Boreas (Lit. from Kanji – Sky God's North Wind, Tenjin no Haifū). The user creates a spiral of plasma energy around her hands and then throws it at the target, generating a large whirlwind of pure plasma, capable of obliterating almost everything.
About elemental attributes:
The ten of them are grouped into five pairs of mutually-exclusive elements: [Darkness – Light] [Rock – Wind] [Water – Fire] [Void – Thunder] [Wood – Metal]. Among humans, the most common are darkness and light (about 35% of people has one of two elements mixed into their attribute). Rock and wind (20%) share the second place with water and fire (also 20%). Void and Thunder are a bit more rare (about 15% of people has a share of that two. And wood and metal are rarest (only 10% are born with one of two elements as a part of their attribute).
The resulting rarity of a combination can be calculated via simple multiplication of each element's rarity. For example, the shrapnel combination that consists of void (15%) and metal (10%) has a 1.5% resulting chance, making it one of the rarest. The question of balance between the elements is a different story though…
Also, there are people (about 1% of all), whose attribute consists purely of one element. Technically, it is still a combination of two, but they are the same – like fire and fire makes it just fire.
Usually (in 'civilized' areas) wizards are trying to learn magic that would benefit from both components of their attribute. Some combinations are highly desirable for certain magic types. It was especially important at ancient times. For example, only summoner with the abyss (darkness/void) attribute could reach the top of his craft. And catalyst attribute (fire/wood) was a requirement for an alchemist.
Chapter updated 4/12/2016
Chapter XI – Violence Solves Everything, Part I.
…
"You're the one who killed Ur…" Lyon repeated coldly, "…Gray." Gray's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Ur's former student. Whilst Lyon's eyes remained slanted, he raised his hand, charging magic as he added, "It is presumptuous enough of you to even mention her name!" Seconds later a bolt of ice hit Gray square in the chest, causing him to fly back and crash into a piece of the ruins.
Gray sat up after the impact of the attack, his head lowered as he said to the former pupil of Ur," L-Lyon…" and Gray struggled to get back on his feet, his head still lowered.
"What's the matter? Feeling too guilty to fight back?" Lyon taunted. "In that case, please stay out of my way. I'm going to revive Deliora."
Gray grunted in anger as he yelled back, "I won't let you!"
Lyon simply smiled as he saw Gray's expression – clearly the Fairy Tail mage was baffled, he was in worst possible moral condition. Lyon's eyes remained cold as he finally dropped the mask, "That's the spirit. Let's have a match then, it's been a while…"
July 16, Year X784, 00:05, Island of Galuna, Temple of the Moon.
Fairy Tail's ice mage was lying still, at the top platform of the temple, all alone, utterly defeated by Lyon. Despite being severely beaten up, Gray was still conscious, his eyes were opened and he was remembering how he's been in the same position ten years ago. Lying there helplessly, just like now, after being defeated.
"Nice view… I think we have a winner for the 'most pitiful sight of the week' contest," Natsu's voice sounded nearby as two figures approached Gray. "That's really lame… You are almost beaten to death…" The Crimson Cardinal's voice sounded indifferent but obviously he was quite disappointed.
"Natsu… Erza… What are you doing here?" Gray croaked weakly.
"We saw Sin and Lucy returning to the village; what's going on, Gray?" Erza asked as she leaned down to examine Gray's wounds.
"Lyon… gave an order… to his lackeys… he wants them… to destroy the entire village…" Ice mage replied with efforts, "Lucy and Sin… went to the village… to try to stop them…"
"What?! Destroy the entire village?! For what purpose?!" Erza exclaimed worriedly.
"What a pitiful whelp… He can't defeat us so he decided to punish the villagers instead?" Natsu asked emotionlessly, but his eyes blazed with crimson light, indicating that he's very displeased. "Where is he?" Natsu inquired, seeing that everyone was gone.
"All of them left… a few minutes ago…" Gray answered weakly.
"C'mon, we have to return to the village and help Lucy!" Erza declared as she started to run. Natsu roughly put Gray's body on his shoulder and followed the star dragon slayer.
"Insolent little whelp… He pushed us down and escaped. This is bad, if village will be destroyed it will be a complete failure of our mission…" Natsu said, hastening his steps…
As Natsu, with Gray on his shoulder, and Erza were making their way back to the village to help Lucy and Sin, Gray kept his eyes open as another memory flashed before his eyes.
Inside the cabin, Ur took care of him and Lyon, the purple haired teacher yelled while a younger Lyon looked shocked, "Stop! You know you don't stand a chance against Deliora! It's too much for you, Gray!"
As his memory faded away Gray clenched his teeth, calling for the slayers, as tears fell from his eyes, "Natsu… Erza… I'm sorry… I failed you…"
"Silence…" Natsu shut Gray up, without even looking at the Ice mage. "I'll deal with you later," He added, continuing to run.
July 16, Year X784, 1:10, Island of Galuna, local village.
The blonde haired Celestial Spirits wizard did return to the village in time, thanks to Sin, to tell the villagers about their findings. She gathered all the villagers and told them that a demon called Deliora is hidden inside a secret cave underneath the Moon Temple and that Lyon and his crew are using the magic called 'Getsuda' [Moon Drip] to melt the ice and release the demon. In addition, she informed that Deliora might be the cause of the curse that has been put upon the island. "So the guys that are responsible for your transformation now are about to attack the village!" She finished her explanation, which, unsurprisingly made every villager extremely worried.
"They're coming here?!" A villager asked in fear of what the group might do.
"Yes," Lucy replied, "But this is also our chance to catch them and find out how to turn you back to normal."
The villagers look amongst themselves wondering if Lucy's plan might actually work.
"Will it really be that easy?" One of the villagers asked.
"I'm not so sure about this..." Another replied, unsure about this plan.
"Are they serious?" The third one asked, scratching his chin.
"Lucy, those three are probably mages. I know – Natsu took them out with one blow but that was Natsu and he took them by surprise. For you, it will be a challenge to defeat them…" Sin said, expressing his concern.
"That's true…" Lucy replied rubbing her chin. "Even though we outnumber them, we don't have any wizards here…"
"So you have no intention to fight?!" Sin face-palmed, "And that is after all those pleas to help you become stronger?"
Lucy ignored Sin's words as she clapped her hands in delight as a smile beamed on her face, which caught everyone off guard. "I just thought of a great plan!"
"I don't like her excitement…" Sin murmured to himself.
"What's all this commotion about?" The village elder asked, walking up to the crowd of villagers and Lucy.
"Mayor," Several villagers greeted him as the elder approached.
"Elder, please listen!" Lucy exclaimed, "The hostiles are going to attack this village very soon!"
"Hostiles?" Moka asked.
"They live in the ruins at the other side of the island. They're the culprits that transformed everyone's body like that," The stellar mage explained.
"I did not ask for that!" Moka yelled wildly, "Why can't you just destroy the moon?!"
"B-but we don't have to destroy the moon anymore," Lucy replied nervously, trying to keep a smile on her face. "As long as we can defeat the culprits…"
But Moka ignored the words of the blonde-haired mage as he cried, "The moon… Please destroy the moon!"
Two villagers grabbed his frantic arms as one of them said, "Mayor! Please calm down!"
"Come this way, please," The second demon-villager requested as they dragged the screaming Moka away. Lucy watched the ordeal with a confused expression. Talk about obsession with the moon destruction…
"Please, don't mind him. He went through a lot with his son, Bobo…" Another villager said, getting Lucy's attention as she turned to him.
They could still hear the Mayor's yells in the background: "If only the moon was not there, Bobo would've…!"
"I understand…" Lucy replied, looking at the bird-lizard-like villager, "Anyway, we're going to capture them!"
"But how?" The villager asked.
"Just leave this to the great Lucy! Fairy Tail's number one Seirei Madōshi! [Celestial Spirit Wizard] This is going to work like a charm, just watch!" She replied with an assuring smile. 'Oh, I'm so awesome!' Lucy thought squealing.
"She's really gotten into this…" Sin noted in a hushed whisper. 'Interesting, can the curse boost someone's ego?' The little boney creature pondered.
Lucy took one of her Golden Zodiac keys from her belt and called, "Gate of the maiden, I open thee! Barugo!" The familiar pink haired spirit of the maiden bursted out from the magic circle and greeted Lucy with a bow.
"Did you call for me, Hime-sama?" Virgo asked.
At once all of the villagers were instantly in love with Virgo, pink hearts appeared in their eyes as calls of 'So cute!', 'So this is a maid', and 'I can't get enough!' were heard from the islanders. Lucy face-palmed at the islanders' reaction, "Guess they don't get many maids around here…"
(About fifteen minutes later)
After a few minutes, Lucy's plan was now operational as Virgo finished her job and now stood with her usual maiden's stature while the villagers were watching Lucy as well.
"Hime-sama, preparations are complete," Virgo reported calmly.
"Thanks, Virgo. You are always so fast," Lucy replied happily.
"You wish to punish me?" Virgo asked politely, freaking Lucy out a little.
"That was a compliment!" The stellar mage snapped back.
"Lucy, you know what…" Sin said as he landed on Virgo's shoulder.
"What's up, Sin?" Lucy responded.
He raised his boney claw up and announced, "I really think that you might actually be an idiot, Lucy."
"Whatever happened to 'If you can't say nice things'?" Lucy replied calmly. "You think that all blondes are stupid?"
"No Lucy, I think that you are stupid," Sin clarified his previous statement. "I can't imagine that they'd fall for such a childish trick…"
Lucy smiled cunningly with a pink blush on her cheeks as she rubbed her chin with her thumb and index fingers, "What're you talking about? This pitfall is perfect!" Now near the village's entrance was a covered pitfall trap, which cover wasn't the best as it had a large mound of quite a seeable dirt.
"Yeah, I see. That's exactly why you are an idiot," Sin commented as he looked into the sky and prayed to Natsu's mother, "O Great Morrigan-sama, please, lend us your aid…"
"There's only one entrance into this village, right?" Lucy asked, "Which means that the enemy is sure to come in that way!"
"Yeah, but we are not hunting deers, Lucy," Sin commented from Virgo's shoulder. "I don't think there's a single person who would fall for that."
"I… I agree…" Said a green-skinned female-demon.
"Actually, neither would I…" A muscular red-skinned male-demon with horns agreed too.
"Hime-sama, I concur as well…" Virgo chimed in, freaking Lucy out again.
"Even you?!" Lucy exclaimed seeing that her own stellar spirit did not approve her plan. She clutched her left fist, as she gave a resentful look to the villagers and Virgo with Sin on her shoulder. "Just watch it, all of you!"
"Lucy-san! Someone is coming!" The gate guardian called out from above.
"They're here already? Open the gate!" Lucy ordered as she shifted her gaze from the guard to the gate.
"Yes ma'am!" the guard replied as the gate slowly began to open.
Lucy placed her hands to her hips, saying slyly, "Now, come to mama…"
"Is everyone all right in there?!" Erza's voice called out as Lucy and the villagers saw two figures approaching the village through the night, one of them was carrying something on his shoulder.
"Wha…?!" Lucy screamed. Those weren't Lyon's lackeys, but her own teammates.
"Natsu! Erza!" Sin exclaimed in relief – now there was no reason to be afraid of Lyon's crew.
"No! Don't come!" Lucy screamed shaking her hands and head, her eyes wide with shock. They are about to ruin her plan to trap Lyon's group.
"Huh?!" Erza wondered upon seeing Lucy, who looked like she strongly didn't want her and Natsu to come into the village.
As they got closer and closer to the entrance, Lucy's pleading turned into screams, "Hold it! Stoooooop!"
"What is it, Lucy?" Erza asked as she and Natsu finally stopped right before the 'hidden' pitfall. Lucy sighed with relief. 'Whew… That was close…' Lucy thought.
"What's wrong Lucy?" Erza asked, taking a step forward, her dragon eyes looking around, examining village's vicinity, so she did not notice the pitfall. Lucy looked at her with her mouth wide-open as the dragon slayer started to fall into the trench. The villagers, Lucy, Sin and Virgo were stunned as they became the witnesses of Erza's fall but Natsu managed to catch her by the collar at the last moment and pull her out of the pit.
"Someone did fall for it, after all…" One of the islanders commented.
"I did not expect that, but…" The second one agreed.
"Someday you'll learn to watch where're you step?" Natsu asked with ironic smile, her clumsiness always seemed cute to him.
"Why should I expect something like this on a friendly territory?!" Erza exclaimed resentfully, trying to justify herself.
'I'm a dead meat…' Lucy thought as Erza's cheeks became a bit pink from rage.
"Who's the genius whose head was visited by this 'brilliant' idea?!" The she-dragon growled, slightly freaking everyone out. She felt as if she made a laughingstock out of herself in front of her boyfriend, thanks to that pitfall…
The villagers, Sin and even Virgo unanimously pointed at Lucy. "Erza… I… I can explain… I tried…" Lucy stuttered as she moved backward from the approaching dragon-mage whose eyes were glowing with white-blue light. As Erza warmed up her palms, it was possible to guess that she is intending to spank Lucy, right in front of the whole village.
"By the way, Sin, Lyon's lackeys, they have not shown up yet?" Natsu asked as he placed (dropped) Gray's body on the ground, as if the latter was just a sack of potato (also he had no intentions of saving Lucy from Erza).
"Now that you mention it, they are late…" Sin scratched his skull "…they headed this way earlier than you, yet the two of you have arrived here first."
"…Ouch! Erza, I'm sorry! Please, stop!..." Lucy screamed at the background while all of the villagers were drooling as they watched one girl spanking another. Natsu and Sin continued to talk as if nothing was happening.
"Strange, we even returned to the top of the pyramid first, so it took quite a while," Natsu thought aloud. "It's taking too long, could they actually be up to something?..."
"Aaaau! Erza, I'm begging you, stop!" Lucy screamed, unlike Erza herself, Lucy did not enjoy being treated like this.
"They are pitiful losers but I don't think that they've gone astray," Sin agreed as he and Natsu continued to discourse, ignoring the weird scene nearby. "I don't like it…"
Suddenly, Erza stopped 'the procedure' and looked up, at something in the night sky, leaving a tearful Lucy and her sore butt alone. "Natsu, look! There!" She pointed somewhere at the welkin.
The god slayer, Sin and the villagers looked towards the direction she pointed at.
"Wh-What's that?!" One of the villagers pointed out as he and the others were able to see something approaching.
"Madness…" Natsu whispered in disbelief, for the second time this day he was quite surprised.
"Is that the rat which you knocked out this morning?!" Lucy asked as she moved closer to Natsu, despite her butt still burning. "It's a flying rat!"
True to her words, it was a flying rat. It wasn't flying by using wings, but instead its tail was spinning around like a helicopter rotor as Toby, Yuka, and Sherry were riding on the rat's back. There was something in its paws as Sin pointed out, "Is that a bucket?" It seems that rat carried a large silver bucket with some purple drawing on the side.
"Flying in the sky? You're wasting my efforts to make this pitfall!" Lucy yelled at Lyon's crew as she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth – she just got her ass spanked for nothing.
In the air, Sherry, Toby, and Yuka stood on the back of Angelica, their hair whipping wildly in the wind. "Preparing the 'nuke'em all' jelly took quite a while," Sherry noted, folding her arms.
"But our timing is good though, those damn mages are all gathered in the village," Yuka stated, holding his hands behind his back.
Toby barked in agreement as Sherry added emotionlessly, "Unless we destroy Deliora, our wish will never come true. Only 'death' awaits whomever gets in our way…"
'Death?' Erza thought as she overheard Sherry's words, 'What are they up to?'
As Angelica carried the 'Nuke'em all' jelly, a single drip of a green substance dribbled from the bucket and plummeted down to the ground. Lucy's eyes widened as she looked at the drip of green substance falling right on her.
"Jelly?" Lucy said uncertainly as she raised her arm as if to touch the green goo.
"Lucy, look out!" Erza screamed, just as she grabbed the blonde haired girl in the nick of time to get her away from the jelly's drop as it fell to the ground. When the drop hit the ground, it began to dissolve the vegetation and even the earth itself, shocking everyone.
"Hiee!" The blonde exclaimed in shock as she realized that Erza, most likely, just saved her life.
"Lucy! Never try to touch anything that belongs to the enemy!" Erza scolded the celestial mage.
The villagers began to scream in panic as one of them yelled, "Do they have a bucket full of this?!" While one beside him asked in horror, "D-Don't tell me they're going to splash it on us?!"
"Ugly..." Yuka remarked seeing the Villagers, "To think that humans become so ugly under the influence of the Moon Drip…"
"As if they are demons… How displeasing, they are like Deliora's children…" Sherry said looking down at the whole lot of the villagers as Toby barked in agreement.
"You… you stupid brutes…" Erza growled in anger as she heard Lyon's lackeys' words.
"Angelica, go ahead," Sherry ordered the large flying rat. Angelica obeyed and splashed the green acid-like jelly out of the bucket right above the village.
"How do you expect us to protect ourselves from the stuff like this?!" Freaked out Lucy screamed in panic as she watched the green goo coming down on the village.
"Easily," Natsu replied indifferently, as if it was some joke, his eyes blazed with crimson light. He looked upward and raised his arms: "Metsujin Ōgi: Ketsusei Tonryūsoku!" [God Slayer's Secret Art: Blood Star: Chaos Dragon Breath] Natsu created a huge missile composed of twisting crimson energy, and launched it into the sky. The missile traveled up to the jelly's mass and clashed with it, causing an extremely powerful explosion in the air. The powerful blast of antimatter obliterated the entire jelly's mass to the last drop as spectators were forced to shield their eyes from the bright flash that lit up the sky to the very horizon.
"Who is this guy?!" Yuka yelled in shock. Natsu's destructive power could be compared to Deliora himself.
"Angelica, hold on!" Sherry exclaimed as a shockwave from the explosion dazed the rat.
"Seiryū no Hōkō!" [Star Dragon's Roar] Erza released a roar in the form of a concentrated, destructive blast of plasma, targeting the rat. She landed a direct hit right into the rat's snout, stunning it. The rat's tail stopped and it began to fall, along with Lyon's screaming subordinates.
"Mayor, look out! It's falling toward you!" One of the villagers shouted, trying to warn the elder.
"I..! I won't leave Bobo's tomb!" The Mayor retorted to leave.
"Mayor, I can understand your feelings but…" Another villager exclaimed as the huge rat was almost on the ground.
BOOM! The impact of the rat falling on the ground elicited a dust cloud and crushed Bobo's tomb with its weight.
"Mayor!" One of the villagers exclaimed as all of them and Lucy were shocked – no way could the mere human (even a cursed one) survive such an impact. However, a few seconds later Virgo bursted out from the ground, carrying a dazed but alive Moka.
"We have to punish the Mayor," The Maiden spirit noted.
"Virgo!" Lucy exclaimed thankfully once she saw the mayor alive.
As the dust cloud dispersed, it revealed all three enemy mages, they were covered with dust but alive and conscious, while the rat was out cold.
"This is the last stop, you three weak-minded degenerates…" Natsu said as his eyes flashed with crimson light. "I played a 'good wizard' long enough, now I'll show you that there are much more horrible being in this world than the demon inside of the block of ice."
"Last time you took us by surprise, but now we are prepared," Yuka replied, dusting off his coat.
"We have to eradicate all of Reitei-sama' enemies. For…" Sherry was cut off mid-sentence as Erza released another plasma blast from her mouth, being tired of their talking.
"Seiryū no Hōkō!"
"Hadō!" [Surge] Yuka shouted, creating a dome of blue magic around himself and his comrades. Erza's roar collided with it. In theory, it should've been dispersed, but, just as Natsu mentioned, due to complex nature of Erza's magic, that didn't happen. Yuka's anti-magic spell neutralized the magnetic field which Erza uses to contain plasma, but plasma itself didn't go anywhere.
Boom! Plasma blast smashed Yuka and his friends into big rock near the village's fence.
"What?! How?!" Yuka screamed, struggling to get back on his feet. "Why my nullifying surge didn't work?!" He really seemed shocked – he had no idea what actually happened.
"Because you're talentless, pathetic and weak," Natsu replied indifferently, watching the Lyon subordinates, "And you made a big mistake, when you were choosing profession, all three of you…"
"Maybe we should leave the area?" Lucy asked Sin but got an answer from Erza.
"Don't worry Lucy, they won't harm anyone. Just watch," The dragon mage announced.
"We won't let you to interfere with Reitei-sama's plan!" Yuka shouted in reply.
"Ningyōgeki: Ganingyō!" [Doll Play: Rock Doll] Sherry chanted, holding her hands like a puppeteer as the rocks behind Sherry started to rise up from the ground, forming themselves into a large rock creature. Sherry was on its head, controlling the stone creature. "Let's see how you'll handle this!" The pink haired girl exclaimed.
"Prepare to be struck down by my Mega Kurage!" [Mega Jellyfish] Toby shouted as he raised his arms with his Asashi Birerutsume [Paralysis Nails] extended.
Yuka also stood up, gathering his blue magic, seemingly he was intending to attack with it this time.
"You aren't learning, are you?" Natsu asked indifferently, raising his sword, as its blade began to shine once again. "Senmei Saikō: Metsukōsan!" [Sure-kill Shot: Ruin Chainslash] God slayer swung his sword, sending forth a multiple of magical torrents, which looked like afterimages of blade swings, about a hundred of those. Everything happened in a blink of an eye – Sherry's Rock Doll was sliced to pieces and crumbled, Yuka's Hadō once again appeared to be ineffective, because, despite being charged with magic, Senmei Saikō actually is physical attack, and Toby… well, there's no way he could parry something like this.
"YAUGH!"
"GUAHH!"
"OUGHH!"
All three enemy mages screamed, because, of course, all three also were hit by Natsu's attack. Blood spouted in all directions, painting the rock behind them and sand beneath their feet in red as Lyon subordinated got multiple wounds. Their clothes were ripped to shreds.
Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she just witnessed the clearly unnecessary level of violence, that attack definitely seemed like an overkill. "Natsu, what have you done?! You could kill them like this!" Lucy exclaimed as she now was looking at three severely wounded bodies.
"Lucy, they tried to destroy this entire village and kill all of us, including you," Sin noted, watching Natsu approaching three defeated enemy mages, "Why should we be lenient toward them?"
"Yes, but…" Lucy mumbled as she again looked at poor three – this time their wounds definitely weren't light – not just their skin, but also muscles and bones definitely were damaged.
In the meantime, Erza stood near, looking into the sky. It seemed like her thoughts were somewhere far away, as if all that was happening here right now had nothing to do with her.
Natsu approached three enemy mages, who now were helplessly moaning, lying on the ground and bleeding. "Yaugh!" Sherry screamed as Natsu grabbed her hair and forced her to stand up. There was a deep cut across right side of her face, but Natsu seemingly didn't care. Besides, Natsu's Senmei Saikō ripped her clothes, so now she was literally naked, but Natsu didn't care either.
"Natsu, stop it!" Lucy cried as she tried to run towards god slayer, but suddenly, someone's hand grabbed her by collar, not letting her go.
"Do not interfere, Lucy, let Natsu do his job," Erza said, it was she who prevented Lucy from approaching the god slayer. Sin was sitting on dragon slayer's shoulder.
"Look into my eyes," Natsu ordered as he forced Sherry to look into his glowing crimson eyes. Within two seconds, Sherry's eyes changed their color from deep blue to dark crimson, her pupils disappeared and sight became senseless. "Who are you? Why you need that demon? Why are you helping that whelp Lyon? Speak," God slayer demanded.
"We are… all of us… we are Deliora's victims…" Sherry spoke out, unable to resist Natsu's demand. "It killed our families… That's why we are cooperating with Lyon… We hope… that he will defeat Deliora… and surely avenge us…"
"Cretins…" Natsu commented as Sherry's eyes returned to normal and Natsu released her hair. She immediately fell back on the ground.
"They are all yours now," Natsu addressed the closest villager. "They tried to destroy your village and kill your people, so it's up to you to judge them – execute them or treat them – I won't mind either. No matter what you will decide though – I'd suggest to tie them up, we're going to sleep now. Good night everyone," He added, picking up Gray and heading toward the house that the villagers gave to them.
"Do not forget to tie up this nonsense," Erza added pointing at the huge rat before following her beloved.
"What was that?" Lucy asked, still shocked, when the slayers vanished from sight. "Why were they so harsh with these three?" She was helping the villagers to treat and apprehend the enemies, though her butt was still burning a bit from the spanking.
"You reap what you sow, Lucy. When you attempt to kill someone, you also have to be prepared for the similar treatment. These three didn't understand that simple fact, but that is completely meaningless," Sin replied. "After they tried to commit a mass murder, I'm actually surprised that Natsu haven't executed them on the spot…"
"Executed?!" Lucy asked as her eyes widened in fear, "Have… have he done it before?!"
But Sin didn't reply, as he was unwilling to answer stupid questions, leaving the answer for Lucy's imagination. "I'm more interested in what's Erza doing," Lil boney creature said instead. "Seems to me, she's too focused on that 'curse' thing right now. Erza is very protective about guild's honor and I guess she's determined to solve this task at all costs…"
"Well, that I can understand," Lucy replied, "It's an S-rank mission, of course no one would want to fail it…"
"I wonder what she's thinking," Sin thought aloud, "Seems to me – she has her own opinion about all of that. If only fools like these three stopped disturbing us…"
"Yes, I also think they are in the wrong… but, you've heard that yourself, didn't you?" Blonde asked. "They are all Deliora's victims – that means they all have survived a horrible tragedy…"
"Gray survived the same tragedy," Sin replied imperturbably, "But he didn't try to commit a mass-murder."
Lucy didn't find what to reply, so she asked instead, "By the way, what Natsu did to that girl? Did he use some sort of Miriō no Mahō [Charm Magic]? It's forbidden…"
"No, it was not neither Miriō no Mahō nor Kuroi Geijutsu [Black Arts], in fact, it wasn't magic at all – as far as I know – that's Natsu's inborn ability, even Morrigan-sama never taught him that…"
Lucy seemed shocked once again, 'War God Slayer… Black Arts… Telekinesis… and now Hypnosis?! What are you, Natsu?!'
Meanwhile, in the shack at the other side of the village, Gray regained consciousness. "Oh… Where am I?" He muttered to himself, getting up from the mattress he was lying on.
"Still on Galuna Island, in the village," Erza's voice replied. Gray turned around to see her and Natsu – both of them were staring into the book again.
"I assume the village is safe?" Gray asked, looking around and remembering Lyon's order to his lackeys who agreed right away. 'Destroy the village'. Gray frowned, disappointed in Lyon's choice of actions. He went all this way to make sure no one gets in his way. 'How far have you fallen, Lyon?' He thought, 'I can't believe it. They actually went and tried to do it…'
"Yes, more or less," Natsu answered his question emotionlessly. "Rest up Gray, you'll need your strength tomorrow."
"What for?" Gray wondered.
"What for?" Natsu repeated. "Gray, today you lost to that so-called 'Reitei', and by doing so you disgraced yourself, me, since it's my mission, our guild, and your teacher, and you're well aware of that." Gray gulped at Natsu's harsh words but the god slayer ignored it and continued, "So tomorrow you'll fight against him again, and you'll return with victory Gray, or you better to not return at all…"
"Quoting your mother?" Erza asked with a soft smile. She closed the book and took Natsu's hand, which he leaned on to help her stand up. 'We all had a hard childhood…' She thought, it seems that her future mother-in-law was very intolerant toward failures. But, in the end, Morrigan's harshness made Natsu the man she loves… As well as her own past made Erza the woman that managed to conquer Natsu's heart.
Natsu did not answer her question, just pressed her to himself before saying. "We're going to sleep, I'd suggest you to do the same, Gray."
"I'll take a little walk before sleep," The Ice mage replied and approached shack's door.
"By the way, Gray, just so you'd know," Natsu looked at the ice mage, "Despite both you and that whelp have an aptitude for ice magic, yours is better for about 20%. Still, he's managed to overcome you, which can mean only one thing – he worked and trained more than you. Just think of it while you're out…"
As he heard that, gray twitched as if he got slapped, yet he didn't say anything and exited the shack.
"You were not that harsh toward Macao after his failure at Mt. Hacobe, were you?" Erza noted, removing her shirt as she laid down on her stomach – it is her turn now to receive a massage, the seal of god on her right shoulder blade glowed in the darkness. "As I've heard – he got only a regular amount of abusive scolding…"
"Macao… well, he's a not a bad guy, but… he's just a Macao, after all, a mediocre wizard at best. He's over 36 years already, which means that he's nearing his limit. Obviously, he's talentless, so excessive harshness won't bring any results. Gray, on the other hand, has a lot of potential. We cannot let him waste it… Even if he himself doesn't think it's important – he's a part of Fairy Tail, and that is a matter of guild's honor…" The god slayer gave a detailed answer as he kissed Erza's neck before proceeding to the massage.
Gray was still nearby and he overheard Natsu's words. He stopped in his tracks and looked into the skies. Actually, right now he wanted to punch himself into the face. 'Really, how could I forget?...' He thought as memories flowed into his consciousness.
A younger Gray Fullbuster lay in the cold snow, his shirt gone as he lay there face down. His teacher Ur spoke behind him with her hands at her hips, "What's the matter? Giving up that easily?" She asked, "Get up, Gray…"
'Damn… Natsu was right… I have disgraced everyone… I tried to protect my teacher's honor and failed… these people asked our guild for help and protection… and I failed…' Gray stood near the little rock and slammed his fist into it, "No more! No one will suffer from your madness again Lyon. I'll settle this as a mage of Fairy Tail!"
July 16, Year X784, 3:30, Galuna Island, Temple of the Moon.
Lyon stood in the cave where Deliora was kept as three other persons entered the chamber. Two of them were Haru and Happy and the third one was a man of small stature, with a red mask with white horns and an odd symbol in the forehead and brushy green hair.
"Sub-Zero emperor, your subordinates have been defeated in the village," The short man reported to Lyon.
"Defeated? Zalty, call a spade a spade – they were squashed like bugs and then pummeled into the ground," Haru 'corrected' the short man, whose name apparently was 'Zalty'.
"You… How dare you stand before me after you betrayed me and fled just a few hours ago?!" Lyon growled at Haru.
"Betrayed? Don't make me laugh, Lyon, I never was at your side and I never tried to hide it. I wanted to help you revive the demon so you could fight him, and when you would've got your ass kicked it would've been my chance to fight the demon," Haru said as Lyon's eyes narrowed in anger. "However, I'm no longer interested in the demon. I'm still going to help you but only because I want to fight with one of those two Fairy Tail mages," The fire dragon slayer informed.
Lyon stood quietly for a few seconds before turning to Zalty, "Do you know who those mages are? You usually have pretty good intel."
"Yes, Reitei-sama," Zalty replied, "The red-haired girl's name is Erza the Titania – she's considered the Fairy Tail's strongest woman and she's capable of very quick and precise combat analysis. The boy's name is Natsu, nickname 'The Crimson Cardinal'. He's a renown bounty hunter, a Wizard Saint candidate, and he has a propensity to use violence at any convenient occasion," Zalty explained but Lyon remained calm.
"As always, you're remarkable well informed," Haru noted.
"I think they're going to make their move closer to tomorrow's evening," Zalty added.
"Let them come then," Lyon stated. "We'll see what've they got."
July 16, Year X784, 18:55, Galuna Island, local village.
Team Natsu spent the day preparing for the assault on the pyramid. Natsu wanted to dispose of all of Lyon's followers at the same time; it means that they had to wait until the evening when the enemies will gather for the ritual. Natsu was helping Erza to learn the star dragon slayer magic, Lucy was training with Sin, and Gray spent the day… somewhere, hopefully recovering his strength for his rematch against Lyon. He left 'for a walk' right after he explained Lyon's reasons for melting the ice, in addition to the information that Natsu got from Shelly.
Lyon's subordinates were moved to one of the village's shacks, and villagers treated them as good as they could – with some help from Lucy and even Virgo, blonde really was a kind person. Surprisingly, Gray also held little grudge toward those three – he decided that Lyon was the one, responsible for everything.
Besides, what Natsu said was truth. Both Lyon and Gray have a good aptitude for a magic that they're using. Lyon's attribute – Kraken – a mix of water and darkness, with about 70% water bias, was very good for Ice-make, or any other water-based magic. Besides, that's due to darkness influence all his spells are looking like summons, in a way. Still, Gray's attribute – Glacier – a mix of water and wind, was even better for the Ice-make, as it benefits from both elements – water helps with making a large amount of ice, whilst wind accelerates its molding.
Of course, Gray didn't know all those details, but he had no reason to doubt Natsu's words. If he said that Gray's aptitude's better, then it is probably so, which makes his defeat at Lyon's hands even more shameful. Who cares that Lyon started to study under Ur a bit earlier? That's been ten years already. Past should remain in the past – but today Lyon must be stopped.
July 16, Year X784, 19:20, Galuna Island, local village.
"Is everybody ready?" Erza asked as the team gathered near the village's gate. "We have to hurry, the moon will come out soon and we can't let them revive Deliora."
"Relax, cara mea, even if they manage to revive the devil, he won't be a problem, I can crush him with one attack," Natsu declared as if it's nothing special, surprising all of his team, even his bride.
"Are you mad?!" Gray exclaimed, "No one can destroy Deliora with one blow, neither you nor even master Makarov!"
"Gray, first of all – you have no idea about Makarovs true capabilities. Second – focus on your strategy against Lyon and let me take care of the rest," Natsu replied a bit coldly. He was still displeased with Gray because of his defeat.
"But he is right Natsu, from Gray's story I can guess that Deliora is dangerous. He may be not among Zeref's strongest demons, but he's stronger than Zanaphar and maybe even a bit stronger than Lullaby," Erza spoke in Gray's defense. "You can't defeat it that easily, at least not with one blow."
"'A bit stronger' doesn't counts," Natsu noted, "But if you're so sure, then maybe let's make a bet?" Natsu asked as he looked at his fiancée with one eye closed, the team left the village and now was heading toward the pyramid.
He seemed suspiciously confident to take the bet lightly. Erza remembered their fight against Lullaby – if he's going to unleash that Senmei Saikō, which he used to destroy Lullaby, once more, then, maybe… "Stakes?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
"Nothing special. Let's say – if I lose, I'll let you have in our garden those weird flowers, that we discussed a week ago; and if I win, you'll change your wardrobe, because these cheap clothes of your just drives me nuts, so you'll let me buy you some new ones," Natsu suggested.
"Hey, they are not cheap, you boor!" Erza exclaimed indignantly and tried to knee Natsu's ass (he dodged). "And those flowers are not weird, Natsu," She added with narrowed eyes and a hidden threat in her voice.
'Erza… really is interested in… flowers?!' Lucy thought with widened eyes.
'I think I'm underestimating her girlishness…' Sin scratched his skull.
"Whatever you say, do you agree or not?" Natsu asked, still looking at her with his left eye closed.
Erza hesitated for several moments but then replied, "Okay, I agree."
"Guys you can't be serious!" Gray exclaimed "Deliora is horrific, he can't be defeated with one blow!"
"Gray, is the word 'cannot' the only one you know?" Natsu asked coldly as his nice attitude disappeared. Gray twitched as if he got a slap on his cheek as Natsu added, "Besides, fighting against Deliora is our backup plan. I have an idea on how to interrupt the ritual and prevent anyone from doing anything like that ever again."
"This cunning boy knows something…" Erza murmured to herself as the team continued on its way toward the temple.
"Why, then, have you agreed to make a bet?" Lucy asked as she walked behind the dragon-knight with Sin on her shoulder.
Erza shrugged, "Well, if I win, I'll be able to seed those cute little flowers that I saw in Oshibana into our garden without arguing, and if I lose, I'll get new, designer clothes, so why not?"
'Yeah, strange bet…' Lucy thought. It seemed that no matter who's gonna win – Erza will benefit. 'Maybe there is something tricky about it? Ah, that's none of my business…'
"By the way, Erza, I think it's time to give our team an official name," Natsu informed her with somewhat careless voice, which only could be heard when Natsu was talking to his beloved. Indeed, he and Erza formed a permanent team just a week ago, but it was still nameless.
"What? Our team needs a name? And why did you not even ask me?!" She exclaimed indignantly.
"Because I wanted to give a name for at least something," Natsu replied.
"What do you mean?" Erza wondered.
"What do I mean? I'm sure that you chose the names for at least two of our kids right after our first date, did you not?" Natsu kissed her forehead. "You didn't sleep for entire night, thinking of that, am I wrong?"
"What?! No! What makes you think so?!" She exclaimed, trying to hide her eyes as her cheeks flushed heavily. She was obviously lying.
"Because you're absolutely incapable of lying and because I know how impressionable you are… Wait a minute," Natsu took a good look into her eyes. "Don't tell me that there actually are three names?" Erza's face became as red as her hair but she did not answer. "You are an oddity in feathers…" Natsu said as he embraced her tenderly when she buried her red face into his chest so he was unable to see her happy smile. "Anyways, our team's name will be 'Shinryō no Setsuma'," Natsu announced.
"And who among us is an oddity in feathers, after this?" Erza asked as she looked into Natsu's eyes, her face still flushed though.
"Both of you," Sin whispered into Lucy's ear very quietly so even Erza could not hear him. "Pair of every creature…" He added, making Lucy giggle. Though… it doesn't seem like Natsu invented that name out of blue, maybe there is a meaning behind those words…
July 16, Year X784, 19:55, Galuna Island, Beneath the Temple of the Moon, Deliora's chamber.
Lyon was standing near the entombed Deliora, facing the cave entrance.
"Sub-Zero Emperor, the enemy team is approaching," Zalty informed the ice mage as he entered the underground chamber with Haru following him. "If all goes as planned, the demon will be awoken at some point tonight," Zalty added, "But we have to keep an eye on those mages. If they manage to interrupt the Moon Drip ceremony, then Deliora forever will be entombed inside of the Ice Shell." He paused before adding, "They can easily foil our plans," He warned him while Haru remained quiet.
"As always, you seem to know everything," Lyon commented holding his left hand up and frowning coldly as his hand emitting a white mist. "But no matter, I can't say I'm worried. Those fools maybe strong, but they're no match for me."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Zalty replied. "It's very reassuring to hear." He bowed to the Sub-Zero Emperor with his right arm in front of his chest. "But still, allow me the honor of joining you in battle, for old times' sake."
"You are a mage too?" Haru asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm slightly familiar with the lost magic…" Zalty explained looking up at Lyon with a smile.
"What an ominous fellow…" Lyon replied.
"Anyway, I've already dispatched our people to hold them off, the moonlight is almost gathered, we need just one man to finish the ritual," Haru informed, "I'll handle it myself."
July 16, Year X784, 20:15, Galuna Island, on approach to the Temple of the Moon.
As the Fairy Tail team approached the temple they suddenly were attacked by a bunch of odd, moon-shaped throwing weapons. After successfully avoiding the attack, team Natsu appeared to be surrounded by weird, masked people, dressed into loose violet overalls.
"We've found you, Fairy Tail!" Shouted one of the cultists.
"We won't allow you to interfere with Reitei-sama!" Another one added.
"Found? Were we ever hiding?" Sin asked flatly.
"We're surrounded!" Lucy exclaimed, but it seems she was the only worried person among her team.
"Well, I intended to get a bit closer, but I think I can get a clear shot even from here," Natsu looked at the pyramid and his eyes flashed with crimson light.
"Natsu, what are you planning to do?" Erza asked.
"I'm going to interrupt the ritual," Natsu replied with his eyes still glowing, "Plan T.A."
"What?! Don't tell me you…" She was cut off mid-sentence as Natsu raised his arms…
"Metsujin Ōgi: Ketsusei Tonryūsoku!" Once again, Natsu created a huge missile, composed of twisting crimson energy, and launched it toward the Temple of the Moon.
July 16, Year X784, 20:17, Galuna Island, Deliora's chamber beneath the temple.
"What the hell is going on?!" Lyon screamed as the underground cavern was shaken by a powerful explosion overhead. Suddenly, rays of the setting sun illuminated the chamber through a hole that just appeared in the ceiling.
"I think it's Crimson Cardinal's way to say 'hello'," Zalty guessed with some strange facial expression. "He just destroyed the entire pyramid to make sure that the ritual will not be completed."
"Impossible!" Lyon yelled. "To destroy something as big as our temple you need destructive power that could be compared to Deliora's!"
"Now you understand why I'm no longer interested in Deliora?" Haru smirked.
"Don't worry, Reitei-sama, I'll make sure that ritual may be completed, just be ready to face the enemies," Zalty said. 'I like your style, my dear Natsu, but Deliora really has to be revived…'
Year X784, July 15, 20:20, Galuna Island, on approach to the Temple of the Moon.
"Lovely, isn't it?" Natsu asked Lyon's followers as he pointed at the mushroom cloud that appeared in place of the Moon Temple. "No more temple, no more moonlight and no more chances to free the demon."
"No…"
"The temple…"
"Completely destroyed…"
"Tell me people, how much time did you waste for nothing? A year? Or more?" The god slayer asked with his signature indifferent voice – he enjoyed the desperation that he put upon his enemies. "Embrace despair…"
"Natsu, I hate to admit it but that girl [Miarjane] was right – you are a damn insane maniac…" Erza said with a face-palm as Lucy just looked at him with her mouth wide-open.
"Is it not the reason why you love me?" Natsu asked.
"It is and that is the worst part…" Erza muttered in answer.
"Yeah… But the task is done. Despite it was an absolutely barbaric and irresponsible act – now we no longer need to worry about Moon drip," Gray noted. "Now we just have to deal with Lyon and his gang…"
"Presuming that they've survived that blast," Sin added.
"You… Do you understand what you have done?!" One of Lyon's followers yelled furiously.
"I've crushed all your hopes, in short," God slayer replied. "You and that idiot Lyon defiled this island and made the life of its inhabitants unbearable. I just punished you for your crimes by depriving you of your dream, whatever it was," Natsu spoke out emotionlessly. "Now we'll just kick your asses and…" Natsu was suddenly interrupted with a loud noise from behind as the temple's remains were the source of it. "What the…" His team and all of Lyon's followers as one turned toward the temple's side.
Under everyone's shocked gaze the temple started to restore itself – block by block, wall by wall. During one minute, the whole pyramid was completely restored – it looked just as it was before Natsu's spell destroyed it, may be even better (building looked fresher).
"I can't believe it…" Sin mumbled… "Does this temple have some kind of self-restoration capability?"
"This temple was sanctified by the moonlight for several hundreds of years…" Erza replied as she stared at the temple, too, "Who knows what powers it holds inside."
"Hey look! The temple – it has been restored!"
"We still have a chance to melt the ice!"
"C'mon, let's deal with Fairy Tail!"
Lyon's followers got their morale raised as they prepared for combat.
"Lucy, we're going to check the temple, you have to cover our backs – deal with these imbeciles!" Natsu ordered.
"What?! Me alone against this crowd!?" Lucy was scared and shocked by Natsu's order.
"These ragamuffins are not even mages, Lucy, get rid of them. Sin, stay with her," Natsu said before turning to the temple, "It's already getting dark and if the temple can restore itself then we have no choice but to defeat that slink and his lackeys."
"We won't let yo…"
"Senjin no Dogō!" [War God's Howl]
"Seiryū no Hōkō!"
A crimson vortex and a concentrated plasma blast scattered all of Lyon's men that blocked the path to the temple as Erza addressed Lucy, sending her signature glare to the celestial wizard, "Rest is up to you Lucy, we're counting on you."
"Ok… okay…" Lucy stuttered as her friends started to run toward the Temple of the Moon. 'Okay, I'm a mage of Fairy Tail too, I will not fail anyone!' The Stellar mage thought as she found some determination. "Open, the gate to the Golden Bull's palace, Taurus!"
As Natsu, Erza and Gray continued on their way to the pyramid, Gray decided to reveal something. "Guys, before we'll enter to the pyramid – I want to tell you something…" The Ice mage began to talk as the last moments of Ur's life popped up in his mind "…about Lyon and Ur."
"What do you mean – you already told us that he wants to fight Deliora to prove that he surpassed his master who was unable to defeat the demon," Erza replied as the team slowed down a little.
"In order to surpass someone in battle, the one who cannot be challenged directly, you may challenge someone who was even stronger…" Natsu said, still looking at the pyramid.
"Yes, but there is something he doesn't know… Ur did disappear, but… she's still alive!" Gray stated clenching his fists.
"What do you mean, Gray?" Erza wondered.
"Ten years ago, Deliora attacked the town where I lived, it took less than a day to be destroyed…" Gray started his tale.
Gray told the complete tale about his life with Ur and training under her guidance. About training, about his failed attempt to defeat Deliora, and that Ur used the Iced Shell to seal the demon and asked Gray to tell Lyon that she died in battle.
"Yes, that matches some rumors I've heard about such kind of spells. Spellcaster transforms his or her own body into something that will serve as an eternal prison to the enemy, but soul will never leave the body, despite its being transformed. Even more, since the soul, and thus, the willpower of a spellcaster still resides within transformed body – that's why it is so difficult to destroy the prison. Besides, as far as I undarstand, even transformed, spellcaster is still aware of his surroundings to some extent," Natsu was thinking aloud. Then he looked at Gray, "But why Ur did not retreat with the two of you? She could return later or find another mage to deal with the demon? Situation was not really desperate – why did she decide to transform herself?" The god slayer asked.
"I don't know, Natsu…" Gray lowered his head. "Ten years have passed, yet I still have no answers for these questions despite asking them myself every day…"
"Anyway, Gray – no matter why it happened – the only thing which matters now is that you have only one way to honor your master's sacrifice – deal with Lyon and prove that she was right," Erza said looking at Gray.
"What you mean 'she was right'?" The Ice mage asked.
"I mean that Ur advised you to go to Fiore, did she not? You said so," The dragon slayer replied.
Gray smiled, he got the meaning of Erza's words. Indeed, he did exactly as Ur said; he came to the west and found a lot of powerful mages, and Fairy Tail.
While they talked, the creepy violet moon appeared above the island.
"Okay people, it seems the time for talk is over. Gray – go and find Lyon – deal with him. We'll take care of the others," Erza ordered as they rushed toward the temple.
"You got it!" Gray replied. 'This time we'll settle this Lyon, by all means!'
All three mages entered the pyramid. "Lyon is there," Erza pointed to the doorway at the side of the hall as she sniffed the air.
Gray did not ask how she has learned about this, Erza seemed quite confident, so he just nodded and headed that way. As soon as Gray disappeared into the doorway, some voice called from the other side of the hall. "My, my, how did you know where Reitei-sama was?" A short, green-haired guy appeared from the opposite doorway.
"Who the hell are you?" Erza asked indignantly as she and Natsu stared at the weird-looking person.
"I'm the one who restored the temple after he destroyed it… or shall I say 'cleansed it'?" The masked man said carefreely.
"What? It was you?" Natsu asked with indifference in his voice, though it was obvious that he did not believe this man.
Suddenly, a green glass ball shot toward Natsu. "Hey!" Erza shouted as the god slayer destroyed the ball with his bare fist.
"And what were you trying to prove with this?" Natsu asked emotionlessly, as he already was thinking that this guy's just wasting their time.
However, the masked man just waved his arm and the shattered ball has restored its original form, surprising both slayers. "Oh my, my… It seems now you might actually believe me…" The green-haired guy smiled.
"Ushinatta Mahō [Lost Magic]?" Natsu wondered. Seems now Zalty caught his interest, "Toki no Enko [Arc of Time]?"
Just as he said it, a large magic circle appeared under the hall's ceiling and a beam of violet light shot from it toward the floor. "What? The ritual?!" Erza exclaimed.
"Oh, oh… The moonlight is gathered, soon Delira will be free…" The green-haired creep said.
"Not a chance!" Erza declared. "I'll stop it!" She dashed toward the exit so she could climb to the top of the building but the glass ball shot toward her to block her way. She noticed it and smashed the ball with her leg as Natsu attacked the green-haired guy to let Erza go freely.
"Erza, go! I'll handle him!" Natsu called to his fiancée, "Senjin no Dogō!" The she-dragon nodded and continued on her way. A flow of crimson energy hit the wall, making a large hole in it but the masked man dodged the attack and ran away. "Running? From me?" Natsu shook his head and dashed after him, he was still able to feel his presence thanks to his god sense, "Hey, get back here, little rat, we need to talk a little, you and I…"
(With Gray and Lyon)
"So, you've come…" Lyon said as he saw Gray enter the room. 'Reitei' was sitting on the old throne with a cold smile on his face.
"This is it, Lyon… We'll settle this, here and now," Gray announced as he came close. His voice sounded completely determined.
"Such confidence…" Lyon replied, he stood up and took several steps toward Gray.
"Yes, it's my fault that Ur died ten years ago…" Gray said. "But I cannot forgive you for your attempt to destroy the village and hurt my comrades… and for trying to melt the ice…" The Ice mage announced and took the posture with his extended arms crossed. "We both shall undergo this 'punishment', Lyon…"
"What?! Th-that posture?!" Lyon stuttered in shock as his face was covered in a cold sweat. "Iced shell!? Have you gone mad?!"
"Return the people of this island back to normal immediately… Then take your men and leave. This is your last chance," Gray warned his former 'senpai', still holding his arms crossed.
But Lyon's shocked expression disappeared as he heard Gray's words. "I see… So that spell was just a threat? Ridiculous…" Lyon said with a scornful smirk but suddenly a strong shockwave of ice magic hit his face, making him cover his head from the harsh cold wind.
"I'm serious," Gray replied.
"You!" Lyon yelled and tried to use his magic against Gray but the wind pressure increased, pushing him away and he fell on his back.
"The fact that Ur died because of me will never change… Regardless of how many years have gone by. The time has come! We have to make a choice Lyon!" Gray announced.
"Come on then, do it!" Lyon said boldly.
"And this is your choice?" Gray said in disappointment as he lowered his hands as the magic wind around him faded away. "But I made my own choice… I have chosen 'responsibility'."
"Ha! I knew you didn't have the guts to die!" Lyon exclaimed with scorn in his voice.
"You disappoint me," Gray said calmly. "You really do not value your own life?"
"I knew you were just a coward, you are not brave enough to die. Besides, even if you would've been brave enough… I'd be rescued anyway. That's why I said 'do it'. Even if I'd be enclosed in the ice, I still have my crew and we're on the island where Iced Shell could be melted with the moon drip," Lyon replied with a scornful smirk. "But tell me, did you really want to use Iced Shell or it was an empty threat?"
"Initially, yes. Yesterday, right after our brawl at the pyramid's roof. I forgot that Iced Shell is useless here and I was intended to punish both of us with this spell. But later that night I've heard one phrase… It reminded me about one very important thing – my life doesn't belong to me alone. Since the moment I've joined Fairy Tail, I've taken responsibility. My guild and my friends need my life and my power, I cannot just throw it all away out of grudge. Besides, using the Iced Shell is the real betrayal towards Ur," Gray said looking to the floor, he was feeling himself guilty just because he dared to think about using Iced Shell. "She sacrificed her life to let us live ours. Using Iced Shell is just like spitting into her face. You are simply doesn't worth such an action…"
"Whatever…" Lyon listened to Gray's speech without interest with his arms folded. "So, do you still intend to hinder me from reaching my goal? You know you can never defeat m-…" Gray cut him off mid-sentence.
"Let's stop," Gray appealed to his former senpai.
"What?!" Lyon asked in surprise.
"Give up on Deliora," Gray said still looking to the floor.
"What is this nonsense you're spewing?" Lyon's smirk returned to his face. "First a threat, now persuasion? Does your guild have an excellent dentist who pulled out your fangs or something?"
"Lyon… Listen to me…" Gray said through clenched teeth, "Ur is alive." Lyon looked at Gray with a stone-like face as Gray continued to talk. "Iced Shell is a spell that transforms the caster's body into ice. The ice that sealed Deliora back then… What I mean is, the ice that you've been trying to melt… is Ur. Ur is still alive… as the ice…"
Lyon stood still as if he was deeply shocked by this revelation, his eyes were empty and emotionless. "Sorry for not telling you this earlier… But I promised Ur…" Gray said through clenched teeth, his voice full of regrets as he remembered the last favor Ur asked from him.
"Gray…" Lyon murmured as he came close to raven-haired ice mage.
"Lyon… Let's just sto-" Gray was cut off mid-sentence as several drops of blood flew out from his mouth when Lyon plunged an epee made of ice into Gray's abdomen.
"I already know all that. You're wasting your breath," Lyon said with a wicked smile. "That's not Ur anymore… Just scraps of ice, which soon will be gone," He added as Deliora's deafening roar shook the entire pyramid. "It's happening! At last, after three long years the moon drip ritual has been completed!"
(With Lucy and Sin)
Lucy stood in the middle of the pathway to the pyramid, with several dozens of beaten and unconscious bodies around her. She held Taurus' key in her arm and breathed heavily after the intense battle, but she looked satisfied. "You're moo-re than great, Lucy-san," the bull spirit said. "Especially your butt," He added before disappearing.
"Eh?!" Lucy yelped as she at last noticed that her skirt was ripped apart and she was left in her panties only. "When did that happen?!" She did not even notice it in the heat of battle.
"Actually, at the very beginning," Sin answered. "And it worked – many male enemies were quite distracted by your kinky underwear. Good tactics Lucy," Lil skeletal creature approved.
"Not funny! Oh, what shall I do?!" Lucy was embarrassed. "I have to return to the village, I have spare clothes there… what?!" She too heard Deliora's roar. "It's… it's… no!" Lucy realized what that noise was. "What should I do?!" Lucy screamed in panic. Curiosity, worry and embarrassment were tearing her apart.
(With Erza)
The scarlet-haired witch finally made it to the top of the pyramid when she heard the demon's roar. Up there she saw a lonely figure performing a ritual – a silver-haired boy with a scaled scarf. "Seiryū no Hōkō!" Without saying anything, she attacked Haru with her plasma breath. The boy barely dodged her attack and shouted, "Too late! The ritual has been completed – soon the demon will be free!"
Spell list:
Seirei Madōshi – Celestial Spirit Wizard
Senjin no Dogō – War God's Howl
Metsujin Ōgi: Ketsusei Tonryūsoku – God Slayer's Secret Art: Blood Star: Chaos Dragon Breath
Senmei Saikō: Metsukōsan – Sure-kill Shot: Ruin Chainslash
Seiryū no Hōkō – Star Dragon's Roar
Miriō no Mahō – Charm Magic
Kuroi Geijutsu – Black Arts
Hadō – Surge
Ningyōgeki: Ganingyō – Doll Play: Rock Doll
Asashi Birerutsume – Paralysis Nails
Mega Kurage – Mega Jellyfish
Well, this is it people. Chapter eleven has been completed. I hope it was enjoyable. Do not forget to leave a REVIEW! See you in the next chapter – Violence solves everything, Part II.