Hi there people! I'm back from my assignment, so there is a new chapter. I'm not going to complain about recent Fairy Tail chapters, I just want to say that I'm definitely didn't expect that GMG ark actually was just an 83 chapters long filler… Anyway, it shouldn't severely affect my story.
Thanks everyone who left the review.
Answers for the reviewers:
FanFictionHunter: Of course, my Natsu never done anything just for fun. As for flowers – In my mind I had a flower called 'Stapelia Mutabilis'
Dp11: Thanks man. Yep, it's Haru from rave master, adapted for FT universe.
Guest: Nope, Happy won't be a bad guy, there are other persons for this role.
Glass_harrison, Mira-san, eze5555: Thanks people!
Note: According to some reviews and PMs I've received, I did decide to make a Phantom Lord ark less canonical than it was in my previous plans. I hope you'll like it.
Note II: I really thought about letting Team Natsu to fight the demon, but was unable to make a good development, besides, Deliora simply doesn't worth it – he's really nothing special.
Now, let's proceed. This chapter is a conclusion for 'Galuna Island' arc. I skipped some details – we all saw them in the manga. I made several action scenes instead. Oh, one more thing – chapter contains some fluffy romance scenes, so you might wanna consult your stomatologist after reading this xD.
Chapter updated 4/12/2016
Chapter XII – Violence Solves Everything, Part II
…
July 15, Year X784, 21:20, Island of Galuna, Temple of the Moon
(With Gray)
"Guu… Ugh… Gah!..." Gray fell on the floor, breathing heavily as he writhed in pain.
"That's not Ur anymore… Just a scrap of ice…" Lyon said with a wicked smile as his ice epee disappeared.
"You… you knew it?..." Gray asked, holding his wounded side, a trickle of blood was flowing from the wound.
"Don't tell me you seriously believed that Ur was alive?" Lyon chuckled a little. "Grow up already, Gray."
(At the same time, With Erza)
"It's too late!" Haru announced, "The ice has begun to melt down, there is no longer need to gather moonlight. In about fifteen minutes Deliora will be completely free…" The silver-haired boy stood in the middle of the pyramid's top platform and he seemed quite satisfied with himself.
"Why did you do this?" Erza asked with narrowed eyes. "I know Lyon's motives, but why would you have helped him free Deliora? What are your reasons?"
"Utterly the same," Haru replied, "I want to fight the demon too. That fool Lyon has no chance against Deliora, and when he'll get his ass kicked – I'll be able to taste my strength in a real battle…" Haru paused before continuing "…well, that was my plan before your arrival."
"Was?" Erza snorted.
"Yeah," Haru smiled. "Since our clash yesterday, I'm much more interested in you and that guy in the black coat. You are Metsuryū Madōshi [Dragon Slayer] too, aren't you?" Haru guessed.
'So, you are actually the dragon slayer…' Erza noted to herself. She and Natsu discussed this guy's magic this morning, and they decided that he, most likely, is the Ushinatta Mahō [Lost Magic] user, most likely it is some kind of fire-based Metsu Mahō [Slayer Magic], according to spells that he used against them.
The silver haired boy continued, "The best challenge for a dragon slayer is a dragon or another dragon slayer – I no longer need some stupid demon…"
"Why, then, did you perform the ritual and freed Deliora?" Erza growled through clenched teeth as anger began to boil inside her. This guy's reasoning appeared to be as idiotic as Lyon's.
"To lure one of you here," Haru replied. "I knew that Zalty and Lyon would force your team to split up. Don't worry about the demon – we're in the middle of the sea – we'll have plenty of time to deal with him before it could cause any damage," Haru explained, retaining his smile.
"All right, I've heard enough – now I'm absolutely certain that all white-haired people are idiots," Erza spat, insulting both Lyon and Haru, and Mirajane along with them, as well as wiping Haru's smile from his face. "Your idiocy made the life of the island villagers unbearable, so now I'll punish you for all you have done…"
"Bring it on! Karyū no Hōkō!" [Fire Dragon's Roar] Haru quickly gathered flames in his mouth and released them, producing a large burst of fire.
"Entei no Yoroi: Za Naito!" [The Knight: Flame Empress Armor] Erza shouted, leaping aside. Within the fracture of a second, she ex-quipped her fire-resistant armor. It was dark-red/black/orange in colors, featuring gloves and legplates shaped as dragon's limbs and a quite revealing chestplate, shaped as… well, as an armored one-piece swimming suit. Also, it had a dragon-like pair of wings attached to it.
Erza managed to dodge the fireball, but still she felt the shockwave from Haru's attack. But, to her very surprise, she felt cold, not heat. For a few seconds she was stunned by this development, but then Natsu's words quickly popped up in her mind '…Now I understand why you chocked each time when you tried to consume flames – it was just too cold for you…'
"Okay, I got it…" Erza muttered to herself, having forgotten that Haru actually could hear her. It seems that all fire-based magic will have a reverse effect on her because her dragon slayer magic essentially is a controlled flow of overheated substance, and dragon slayer's element directly affects slayer's entire being.
"So, you have a secondary magic?" Haru asked as he saw that Erza now wore an armor. "You can change armor sets?"
Actually, it was Erza's primary magic, but she just ignored Haru's question as she tried to figure out what to do, according to her new predicament. 'Damn, I hate when things happen like this…' She thought in frustration. Her current armor was working like a heat sink, lowering the temperature of enemy flames. But since temperature of generic flames already was much lower than she could safely withstand, her anti-flame armor now will only increase the damage from enemy flames, which is rather ironic. Moreover, from now on, her Flame Empress Armor will be completely useless; it is very, very unlikely that someone in this world possesses magic that could be too hot for Erza.
'Many thanks to you, Natsu!' The star dragon slayer thought angrily, mostly because Natsu forced her for that 'adventure' before they were done with the enemies. Now she has to adapt not only to enemy's abilities, but to her own new 'feature' as well.
(With Natsu)
"Senjin no Bakusō!" [War God's Explosive Spear] Natsu hurled his crimson energy spear into Zalty, but the weird, green-haired shorty leaped toward another doorway to dodge Natsu's attack as energy spear made one more hole in the temple's wall. 'What a stinker… But that's not all… There's something strange about this fool…' Natsu thought as he continued to chase Zalty to the temple's lower levels.
(With Gray)
SMASH! Gray suddenly jumped on his feet and slammed his fist into Lyon's face. He was no longer feeling pain – it was completely suppressed by his fury. Lyon was thrown back for several meters.
"What?!" Lyon yelled in shock. "Im… Impossible! How can you move with that injury?!" The white-haired ice mage clenched his teeth, wiping blood from his mouth.
"I'm fed up…" Gray said.
"Huh?!" Lyon snorted, eyeing Gray's cold rage.
"I wanted to save you, but now I'm fed up with it," Gray growled. "Aisu Meiku: Bō!" [Ice Make: Bow] Gray conjured an ice bow and shot in Lyon with three arrows at once. He did it so fast that Lyon had no chance to react; he took a direct hit and flew a dozen meters away, rolling head over heels. Lyon tried to stand up but his face met with Gray's boot and he flew a few more meters away.
"Trying to talk with you I have disgraced Ur's name and made an idiot out of myself in front of my guildmates and our clients!" Gray growled as he slammed his knee into Lyon's abdomen. Lyon tried to stand up again but Fairy Tail's mage slammed his fist into Lyon's back and smashed him into the floor. "Now we'll talk in a language that you definitely will understand!" Gray struck his former co-pupil in his side with his feet and sent him crashing into the nearest wall.
"Gah… Hah…" Lyon slowly stood up, huffing and puffing, leaning to the wall. "I can't be… bleeding… because of Gray!" He shouted suddenly, as he clenched his teeth, overcoming the pain, and cast a spell: "Aisu Meiku: Sunō Doragon!" [Ice Make: Snow Dragon]
"Gwaah!" This time Gray was caught off-guard as the snow dragon bit him with massive jaw and threw him away.
Lyon stood up, panting, but his weird smile returned on his face. "I don't want to waste my magic power on you… After this I've gotta be ready for my battle with Deliora."
"I won't… let you…" Gray growled, trying to catch his breath.
"Stop struggling already; didn't you hear the roar? The ice has already started to melt, nothing can stop this process!" Lyon announced with some maniacal expression on his face.
"We will… stop you…" Gray replied, struggling to stand up.
"You say that, even though Zalty and Haru already finished the Moon Drip ritual? Deliora will be free in a matter of minutes while you grovel before me," Lyon taunted as he removed his cloak and threw it away.
"I'm not alone here, Lyon," Gray replied with an insolent smirk on his face. "You guys can't even hold candles to those two psychopaths…"
(With Erza)
Another demonic roar shook the entire pyramid. 'All right, there is no way I can deal with the demon with this insolent pup hanging around…' Erza thought as she shot a glance at Haru, who stood still, awaiting her move.
"Okay… You want a challenge? You'll get it! Myōjō no Yoroi: Za Naito!" [The Knight: Morning Star Armor] In the end, Erza decided that offence is the best defense as she equipped an armor, composed of orange and yellow leather-like material, and a pair of one-handed swords. "As he likes to say – let battle rejoice…" Erza's eyes blazed with white light and she rushed into battle.
"Kōryūshi no Ken!" [Photon Slicer] By concentrating her magical power through both weapons, Erza combined her energy-charged swords together and sent forth a blast of energy, targeting Haru. Right after it she gathered plasma in her mouth and released it in the form of a concentrated, destructive blast, "Seiryū no Hōkō!" [Star Dragon's Roar]
"Wow!" Haru yelped as he dodged Erza's photon blast, which demolished several of the pyramid's columns. A few seconds later he got a direct hit from her plasma roar and has been sent crashing into the large cobblestone, behind which Erza and her team were hiding yesterday. "Guah!" He croaked. 'Heat?!' Haru thought in shock as he, a fire dragon slayer, who is immune to fire magic, got several burns, 'What kind of magic does she use?!' He was stunned but his dragon slayer's ears heard that Erza was getting closer for another attack. 'Fuck! Haru! She is not joking, move!' His internal voice yelled at him. The Fire Dragon Slayer urgently jumped on his feet and shouted "Kaen Kudō!" [Flame Drive].
Aura of orange light engulfed Haru's body as his speed, strength and endurance were increased. The Fire Dragon Slayer urgently dashed aside to avoid another destructive blast of plasma that made a hole in the floor. "Karyū no Nensō!" [Fire Dragon's Blazing Spear] Haru brought his arms together and created a burning magic spear composed of orange flames, and hurled it in Erza. She rolled aside as his spear hit the ground nearby her and she felt a cold blastwave. Haru dashed to her with his greatly increased speed and slammed his fist into her chest while she was getting up from the ground, "Karyū no Tekken!" [Fire Dragon's Iron Fist]
Haru's blow was so powerful that Erza crashed into the floor on her back, making a small crater. The Fire dragon slayer raised his fist for another blow but Erza suddenly clenched his arm between her feet as she made two spiraling streams of plasma from her arms and released a spell at him point blank, "Seiryū no Yokusen!" [Star Dragon's Wing Flash]
Haru was thrown into the air with few more burns, yet he rolled in mid-air as he made two streams of fire from his own arms and sent them towards Erza, "Karyū no Yokugeki!" [Fire Dragon's Wings Attack] She had no time to dodge the attack and got a direct hit. Two fire streams exploded, eliciting large cloud of dust and smoke as it made a hole in the platform's roof and Erza fell down onto the pyramid's lower level. Haru followed her into this hole, thinking that she was at least dazed, but he was mistaken.
"Kōryūshi no Ken!" Once again, she brought together her energy-charged swords and sent forth a blast of energy, while Haru was still in mid-air. He was caught in the energy beam and smashed into the ceiling.
As he fell down, Erza dashed toward him, preparing for a close-range attack but Haru quickly recovered and, using his 'Fire Drive' powered speed, ran behind her, turned around and slammed his flame-covered foot into her back, "Karyū no Kagitsume!" [Fire Dragon's Claw] Erza flew forward head over heels and crashed into the pyramid's wall.
"Huh… huh…" Haru was standing, breathing heavily, leaning forward with his hands on his knees, looking at Erza who also slowly rose on her feet. "This is… the best fight… in my life…" He admitted, trying to catch his breath and wiping blood from his forehead. This is what he sought, this is why he came to this stupid island and helped Lyon and his stupid followers! He sought for a worthy challenge and this girl was exactly what he wanted. Moreover – she's a dragon slayer, so when he defeats her – maybe he will be able to force her to talk about dragons.
Erza looked back at Haru as she spat a bloody saliva. It seems she has bitten through her lip when crashed into wall. To be honest, she was having a bit of fun too – the excitement of battle was familiar to her as well. And, just like Haru, she was deadly determined to win this battle. They still have a mission to complete and Fairy Tail's reputation is at stake.
(With Natsu)
Natsu chased Zalty down to Deliora's chamber. When he entered the cave, the demon's head and shoulders were already freed from ice.
"You see? It's already happened – the Moon Drip ritual is finished. The Ice will continue to melt even without the moon," Zalty said, he stood on the rock near the demon.
"Why should I care?" Natsu replied emotionlessly, looking back at Zalty. "You think I'm afraid of that pathetic thing?"
"Ho, ho, but you should be afraid, this is one of the strongest Zeref's demons," Zalty said, trying to hide his surprise about Natsu's reaction. He expected that the god slayer at least would be worried.
"Strongest? You're a complete moron if you believe so…" Natsu replied with the same emotionless voice. "Still, it may be some sort of challenge… but don't you think that I came here unprepared… and don't think that I don't know that you're just a Shinentai" [Thought Projection] Natsu added. It was a truth – at some point in his way down this creep made a projection and escaped. It was a good projection since it managed to temporary deceive even Natsu's heavenly eyes.
"So, you know that I'm not real?" Zalty asked. "This is why you did not attack me on sight?" Natsu remained silent and Zalty took it as 'yes'. 'This guy is not as simple as I had thought… his eyes… Damn, it could be dangerous to be around him…' Zalty thought as his thought projection disappeared without uttering another word.
"I think I'll just wait for Deliora's revival then…" Natsu announced as he hoped that Zalty still could hear him somehow.
On a tree, not too far from the temple, the real Zalty continued to watch over Deliora's chamber through his magic sphere. Pink smoke engulfed his body and he turned into a pale-skinned woman with dark purple hair, brown eyes and a rather voluptuous figure – Ultear Milkovich. 'Damn, I can't fight with this guy now… He can expose my true identity… Ah, no matter – when Deliora will be free, he'll deal with him and the others and then I'll capture the demon,' Ultear thought as she continued to watch over the chamber through her magic sphere. 'And if Deliora will be the one defeated… then he just doesn't worth my efforts," She decided.
Natsu remained in Deliora's chamber, simply watching the melting ice. "What were you trying to prove… Gray's teacher (he forgot her name)? You really managed to stop the demon, but…" Natsu asked as the ice, which actually was Ur herself, continued to turn into water. 'Still… such a desperate measure… was that really worth it…? You could save kids and leave, why doing this instead of looking for help?… You actually wanted to find peace in such an idiotic manner?... Was that your true goal?...' Natsu couldn't understand Ur's motives, and his opinion about her wasn't high.
(With Gray)
Another deafening roar from beneath shook the entire temple. "How long have I waited for this… for ten years, I've been gathering knowledge and recruiting comrades!" Lyon shouted as he raised his arm and summoned several birds made of ice. "Eventually I learned about this place: 'Galuna Island', where moonlight gathers." While he spoke, his birds made of ice attacked Gray. "We brought Deliora in from Brago, that was three years ago."
Gray summoned his magic and produced a frost shockwave that destroyed Lyon's birds. "So, you've wasted three years for such a ridiculous thing?" He asked scornfully.
"Ridiculous?!" Lyon clenched his teeth in anger, "How can you say that?! You, who was fooling around in some guild for the past ten years?!" Lyon yelled as he launched a large ice bird into Gray.
The raven-haired mage shielded his head from the ice bird with his hands and replied, "I just believed in Ur's words. She told me to go visit western countries… Fairy Tail is where I wound up," Gray spoke out as he shook off the remains of ice bird from himself. "She was right; there are some very strong mages out there. I couldn't believe my eyes. Take these two, for example – they may be the oddest nutcases in the entire country, but their strength always will be the incentive for me to grow stronger," Gray spoke as Lyon listened to him without much interest.
Suddenly, a powerful explosion from up there shook the whole pyramid, as a conformation of Gray's words. "What's going on up there?!" Lyon exclaimed but Gray continued to speak as if nothing happened:
"Once I asked our master about melting the ice… He told me that there is one method, but he refused to tell me about it, he said that melting the ice practically means killing Ur. Now that I think of it, Jii-san was probably talking about Moon Drip." Gray looked at his former co-pupil angrily, "I'm really disappointed to learn that my senior was about to do something that would kill Ur!"
"Whatever, I have lived for this day! Now that our teacher is dead, think carefully of how her left behind pupils can do something to surpass her?!" Lyon shouted as he charged towards Gray and sent a wolf made of ice at his rival. "With Deliora! I will surpass Ur by defeating Deliora, which is the only thing she couldn't do!"
"Your aspiration is admirable, but you failed to notice that you chose the wrong path!" Gray exclaimed as he dodged the ice wolf. "Someone so blind trying to surpass Ur?! You're a hundred years too early for that. Game over, try again!" With this angry shout Gray made a sword made of ice… and, surprisingly, sliced Lyon's body in half. 'What the?!' Gray thought as Lyon's body turned into ice and crumbled. But suddenly he heard Lyon's voice behind himself.
"Aisu Meiku: Sunō Taigā!" [Ice Make: Snow Tiger] A huge tiger made of ice charged at Gray, but Fairy Tail's mage quickly avoided it by jumping in the air as he cast his own spell: "Aisu Meiku: Purizun" [Ice Make: Prison]
Lyon's tiger was entrapped in the ice cage. "Is that all you've got, Lyon? Such a pitiful beast…"
"Ridiculous! I'll just smash your molding ma…" Lyon said but became silent as he noticed that his tiger couldn't brake Gray's cage.
"One-handed molding is unbalanced," Gray said as he jumped down from his cage. "That's why you're incapable of using your full power at important times," He added as he summoned his magic. "Aisu Meiku: Aisu Kyanon" [Ice Make: Ice Cannon] An ice cannonball landed a direct hit at Lyon and smashed him into the pyramid's wall, making another large hole in it. "That's what Ur taught us," Gray concluded.
"G…ray…" Lyon croaked before he fell on the floor, utterly defeated.
"Fuh…" Gray sighed as blood spurted from the wound at his side "OUGH! I should've stopped the bleeding first…" Gray croaked as he fell on his knees and closed the wound with an ice 'patch'. Suddenly another devil's roar shook the entire building. "That roar… I can never forget… Deliora! I have to go there!"
(With Erza)
BOOM! CRASH! SMASH! Several explosions shook the building as Erza and Haru continued their battle.
'Crap… She is strong…' Haru thought, eyeing Erza. 'But there is something strange about her… She's obviously powerful, yet she only uses simple spells… why?' Indeed, Erza only used her basic dragon slayer's spells in this battle, and Haru was unable to understand – what's she doing? Her combat tactics were remarkable, a dragon slayer with such experience definitely should be able to use some powerful magic, yet she uses only basic spells. 'Is she saving her magic power? Or… Or what?...' Haru just couldn't think of a good reason for Erza's choice of spells.
Erza, on the other hand, had something to think about as well – during her fight she noticed that her sword spells, like 'Photon Slicer', were consuming more of her magical power than they should. 'Damn, what is going on?! What's wrong with my magic?!' Erza's ability of analyzing enemies' magic and adapt to it was one of her biggest advantages. However, when your own abilities become unreliable it's quite hard to adapt to anything. 'Okay, it seems I should try to avoid using sword spells… At least I can ex-quip armor…'
"Hishō no Yoroi: Za Naito!" [The Knight: Flight Armor] Erza shouted as a magic seal appeared, ex-quipping her flight armor to match Haru's increased speed. Extremely revealing, this armor could distract most opponents, especially now, when Erza's body was already wet from sweat. However, it did not seem to work on Haru for some reason. "Seiryū no Shōgeki!" [Star Dragon's Shock Blow] She charged toward Haru with her arm engulfed with plasma.
"Karyū no Tekken!" Haru rushed against her with his flame-covered fist ready to strike. Their fists met, producing powerful explosions and a shockwave, which threw them both away from each other.
"Sonikku Kurou!" [Sonic Claw] She dashed toward Haru and started to slash him from every direction at high speeds. Erza swirled around the fire dragon slayer, landing multiple blows on him. However, only a few actually reached the target – Haru dodged or blocked most of her attacks and those which reached him did little damage – just surface wounds.
"Karyū no Saiga!" [Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang] While she swirled around, Haru ignited his right hand and swung it in an arc, striking the knight-mage with his fingertips, leaving a flurry of flames in his wake. Erza managed to partially block this blow, yet she was thrown back.
"Okay, enough feeling each other out! It's time to get serious!" Haru exclaimed as fire engulfed his entire body.
'This is bad…' Erza thought. This is where advantages of slayer's magic will be seeable in full scale. The dragon slayer can use the full arsenal of his abilities at any given time. Erza, on the other hand, should choose the right armor for each situation. For example – in her current armor set she can move even faster than Haru, but her attacks are weak. And if she'd ex-quiped her 'Purgatory Armor', he'd easily outrun her with his 'Fire Drive' active. Of course, she has her Arumadura Fearī, but due to her own magic going wild, she just cannot muster the required amount of magical energy right now. 'Crap! What shall I do?!'
"Karyū no Nensō!" Haru hurled another blazing spear towards Erza, making her to leap aside. The spear hit the wall and exploded, producing a more powerful shockwave than before since now it was improved with the 'Drive' spell. Erza was dazed by the shockwave and Haru used it as an advantage as he slammed his burning fist right into her face, "Karyū no Tekken!" He sent her crashing into the nearest wall. She had no time to recover, as Haru, with his body still engulfed with fire, launched another attack, "Karyū no Kenkaku!" [Fire Dragon's Sword Horn]
Erza noticed the attack but even with her flight armor equipped she was not fast enough to avoid it. Haru hit her with a powerful headbutt and then sent her flying up in the air with a pillar of fire produced from his body. Erza's body crashed through the ceiling and flew outside as Haru followed her. As she began to fall down, he jumped up to her and used one of his most powerful spells: "Metsuryū Ōgi: Guren Bakuenjin!" [Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade] Haru ignited his arms and generated long torrents of flames, which he sent forth in a spiraling formation. Each connecting strike generated a powerful, burning explosion, crushing Erza's body. The scarlet haired girl crashed into the platform's floor with huge force. She was not knocked out yet, but the battle was over.
Erza tried to stand up but her limbs refused to move as she fell face down. 'He is… too strong…' She thought as her sight went dark. 'Natsu… I'm so sorry…' Was her last thought before she lost consciousness. This was the second time in her life she fought against slayer's magic… and for the second time in her life she lost.
(Few minutes earlier, With Natsu)
'Damn… the demon is almost free! Where is everybody?!' Natsu thought as he stood near Deliora on the large stone. Only the demon's knees and feet were still encased in the ice, one more minute and the ice will be completely gone.
"Ur…" Gray said sorrowfully as he touched the water that was an ice just a few minutes ago.
"Gray? At last, what took you so long? I assume Lyon has been defeated? Ah, no matter, come here," Natsu pointed at the stone where he stood. "Erza is not here yet so you'll be my witness to confirm that I've destroyed the demon with one attack so I could win our bet."
"Natsu, stop it," Gray replied wearily. "No one can destroy Deliora with one blow!"
"Shut up and drag your pathetic ass here, I'll take care of the rest," Natsu ordered emotionlessly.
"It's… Impossible for you… guys… let me… surpass Ur… I…" Lyon croaked as he was crawling toward the demon. "We finally meet… Deliora…" Some insane smile was on Lyon's face.
"Gray, why's he still able to move?" Natsu asked.
"He's stubborn…" Gray replied, scratching his head.
"Ur… the only monster… you couldn't defeat," Lyon stuttered as he remembered how he became Ur's pupil. "I will… defeat it… with my own hands… right now… I will surpass you… now…" Lyon almost stood up when Gray struck him in the back.
"That's enough, Lyon," Gray said before addressing the god slayer. "Alright Natsu – do whatever you want to do, if you really know how to defeat it – do it."
"Very well, look carefully please," Natsu replied as he turned to the demon, he at last was able to do something that he actually was intending to do from the very beginning. At this moment, the last pieces of ice turned into water and the demon became completely free. It let out a deafening roar and raised its arms.
Natsu gave one final look to Deliora as his katana, Gladius Terminus, appeared in his hand, and, just like it was with Lullaby, Natsu took the sword with both hands. "Prepare to meet your maker," Natsu said as he raised his blade and it once again began to shine like a crimson sun. "Senmei Saikō: Senpenbanka!" [Sure-kill Shot: Everchanging] One… two… twenty… hundred… three hundred slashes were unleashed against Deliora within less than a second. Natsu removed his right arm from blade and raised it up, creating something like an umbrella made of crimson energy. In the next moment, the demon literally was torn to 300 pieces, as huge fountain of blue-gray blood painted the entire cave, only Natsu, Gray and Lyon, who was lying beneath Gray's feet, remained clear.
"NO WAY!" Gray howled in shock, "How's that possible?! How did you do this?!"
"That's okā-sama's technique," Natsu explained, "Though my performance was far from perfect, that's more than enough for a trashy demon like Deliora. I used the same attack to finish off the Lullaby, don't you remember?"
"Yes, but back then Lullaby was already severely wounded!" Gray exclaimed.
"I know, but back then that attack was a huge overkill, however, that day I used it for the first time in real combat; right now, on the other hand, I knew exactly what will happen. Besides, I knew that demon will be confused right after awakening and won't attack immediately, it gave me some time to prepare the technique… but still," Natsu took out a scarlet handkerchief and wiped off the sweat from his forehead, "This technique is still very taxing…" Even though Natsu was less tired than he was back then, and he executed lesser number of attacks, he still was feeling himself exhausted now "…I still have so much to learn. Now, one last thing…" Natsu jumped down from the rock and descended to the deepest part of a cavern where Deliora was. Small, gray-green book, named 'Deliora', was lying on the ground. "Finem de historia," Natsu said as he plunged his sword through the book and it turned to black dust.
Gray stood with his mouth agape, as if he lapsed into idiocy. It seemed as if his entire word has crumbled to pieces. His teacher, Ur, all that she could do is to seal the demon away… and this guy, who now stands beside him, he eviscerated the very same demon within a second?!
While Gray was rethinking his entire worldview, Natsu approached Lyon, who was lying on the ground face down, crying senselessly. "Don't be so pathetic," Natsu said to him, "There are stronger demons than that one, you can surpass your teacher by defeating them. Or you can challenge me… but of course, in that case you'll just die."
"Gray," Natsu turned to his guildmate, "Maybe it's time to stop playing a statue? C'mon, we need to find my fiancée. By the way, I guess you should say thanks to this one…" God slayer pointed at Lyon "…thanks to that he wasted three years of his life – your teacher's now free…"
"Wha… What do you mean?" Gray asked, he was still shocked and confused.
"Well, though she's no longer an ice, she isn't gone, she was just transformed once more. I still can see her soul in this water, by the way, move your legs out of it," Natsu noted.
"Gah!" Gray jumped out of water, "I'm sorry, teacher, sorry!" Gray could swear he heard something like a female's laugh in a splash of water.
Natsu looked into the water, "Very well then, Gray's teacher-san, I think there is no reason for you to stay here any longer, Senjin no Bakusō!" Natsu hurled his crimson spear and made a hole in the cave's wall to let Ur's water merge with the sea.
'Farewell, teacher…' Gray thought as he watched the water streaming away into the sea.
"All right, Gray, let's hurry up, I bet Erza's already waiting for us," Natsu said and headed toward the chamber's exit.
(With Erza and Haru)
"Not bad…" Haru said as he came close to Erza's body. "She really was quite tough… Zalty was right when he spoke highly of her… Nevertheless, when I became serious, she lost pretty quickly…" Haru continued to speak to himself as he headed to take ropes that he prepared earlier. "Strange girl. She has plenty of magic power but her spells are simple… weird… maybe she's sick or something?" Haru still tried to think out an explanation for the strange 'skewness' in Erza's abilities. He actually didn't like the idea that he won just because the opponent couldn't use his or her full strength for some reason.
Erza's Za Naito magic wore off and she was lying on the stone floor, wearing her casual clothes. Haru took the ropes and now returned to the knight-mage's body to tie her up. "Ah, whatever, at least I'll have a chance to speak with another dragon slayer!" But when he leaned down to tie up Erza, he got her boot slammed to his face.
"PAW OVER A GIRL WHILE SHE IS UNCONSCIOUS?" Erza asked as Haru was smashed into the nearest column by the force of her blow. She was speaking with a loud, low, but female's voice as her eyes were glowing with white light.
"What the?!" Haru exclaimed in shock. "You were unconscious just a few seconds ago!"
"THINK OF IT AS OF A ROUND TWO, BOY. YOU WANTED IT SERIOUS? YOU'LL GET IT! Seikō Kudō!" [Starlight Drive] An aura of white, glimmering light engulfed Erza's body and she dashed toward Haru.
"Kaen Kudō!" Haru once again used his 'Drive' spell to increase his speed and strength, however, for some reason, Erza easily outmatched him in terms of speed. "Seiryū no Kudatsume!" [Star Dragon's Crushing Claw] Erza slammed her plasma-enhanced feet into Haru's chin, launching him into the air. "SO, YOU CAN USE A 'DRIVE' SPELL… IMPRESSIVE, BUT IT SEEMS THAT YOU STILL HAVE TO LEARN ABOUT ITS FULL CAPABILITIES," Erza noted calmly.
Haru rolled over in the air and managed to land on his feet. Erza stood still, simply waiting for his next move. "Haru! What's going on?!" Happy's voice called out for his friend as a winged blue cat appeared on the horizon.
"Happy, stay clear! It's dangerous here!" Haru warned his partner before addressing Erza again. "I don't know what's going on, but I'll just knock you out again!" Haru shouted as fire engulfed his body, "Karyū no Kenkaku!"
The silver-haired boy launched another attack and again tried to hit Erza with a powerful headbutt, but this time, when he approached, Erza simply grabbed his head with her right hand and smashed him into the floor face down. "THIS WON'T WORK," She said simply.
'How's that possible?! She stopped my attack with a single hand?!' Haru thought as he just kissed the stone floor.
"YOU ARE PERSISTENT, BUT NOT ALL WOMEN LIKE PERSISTENT MEN," She pointed her middle and index fingers at Haru, who still was lying on floor, "Warifu: Ōotama!" [Rune: Tracking Bullets]. Three dozen of light-purple runes appeared all over Haru's body. Then, within a moment, three dozen of light-purple glowing bullets, which appeared all around Haru, shot at him, piercing his body.
"AAAGH!" Boy screamed, as he got a three dozen of severe burns. Baam! Then Erza smashed her boot to Haru's side, sending him away, rolling head over heels.
"STILL NOT ENOUGH?" Erza asked with calm voice, "ALRIGHT THEN, SHOW ME YOUR FINISHING MOVE."
"RRRRAAAAHHH! I won't lose!" Haru roared as he jumped on his feet and engulfed his arms in flame as he started to cast his spell. Erza extended her right arm forward, waiting for Haru's action:
"With a flame on the right hand...
And a flame on the left hand...
When you combine the flames together...
Karyū no Kōen!" [Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame] Haru created a huge fireball and aimed it at Erza.
"Io Warifu: Junsui no Keishō!" [Io Rune: Pure Crystal] Mid-sized (about four feet in diameter), white-purple rune appeared at Erza's palm, and she created shining, white-purple polyhedral crystal, made of pure star magic, and shot it at Haru.
Their spells clashed, creating a powerful blastwave that wiped out all objects, which were on the pyramid's top platform. Straining all his powers, Haru struggled against Erza, who used only her right hand to support her spell, yet he was slowly pushed back. "YOU HAVE SO MUCH TRAINING AHEAD OF YOU, BOY," Erza noted as Haru's flame died out and he was struck by Erza's magical crystal and a powerful explosion launched him into the air.
"ALL RIGHT, IT WAS NICE TO WARM UP A BIT, BUT NOW IT'S TIME TO FINISH THIS," Erza announced as she raised her hands to the skies, "Metsuryū Ōgi: Tengoku Shōgiken!" [Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Heaven's Kingdom: Sword of Justice] The rays of star light formed a huge sword, that seemed made of pure light, in the sky, right above Haru. The sword was at least 120 feet in length. A second later the sword crashed onto Haru, while he was still in mid-air, smashing him into the pyramid. A powerful blow shook the entire building as a light sword broke a huge hole through several floors, down to the pyramid's bottom levels. Haru was lying at the bottom of the hole, he was knocked out and utterly defeated.
"Haru!" Happy cried as he desperately rushed to the newly made hole to check his best friend, he was afraid of the worst.
"DON'T WORRY LITTLE ONE, HE'S ALIVE…" Erza said, relatively silently. Then she looked at her own arm, 'Still, that's really amazing… This girl's aptitude for my magic is even better than my own… maybe destiny didn't completely abandon me, after all? Maybe she really can kick that bastard's ass in my stead?...' She thought.
"I'll be damned…" Gray whispered in shock. He and Natsu arrived to the pyramid's roof just in time to witness how Erza's runic crystal blasted Haru into the air and then the huge light sword finished the job.
"Madō Warifu… [Magic Rune]? Metsuryū Ōgi… [Dragon Slayer Secret Art]?" Natsu whispered in disbelief. "It usually takes months to learn such a spell, and this sword spell was flawless… How? And Rune Magic? What's going on here?"
"WELL WELL… IF IT ISN'T NATSU BLOODFALLEN HIMSELF HAS COME TO HONOR US WITH HIS PRESENCE?" Erza still spoke with this loud, low voice, which Natsu recognized – it was the voice of the Dragon Queen.
"Andromeda-san? What's going on?" Natsu asked, uncertain of what is going on.
She ignored his question, "YOU THERE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, JUST YESTERDAY YOU WERE SINGING LIKE A NIGHTINGALE ABOUT THAT YOU'VE SWORN TO PROTECT THIS WOMAN, DIDN'T YOU?"
"Yes, I did…" Natsu replied uncertainly as the Andromeda-controlled Erza headed toward him, making the god slayer to move backwards, her eyes were still glowing with bright white light.
"YET TODAY YOU LET HER FIGHT ALL ALONE AGAINST A FULL-FLEDGED DRAGON SLAYER?" She asked, still moving toward Natsu, who tried to figure out what's going on. "C'MON, FIGURE IT OUT ALREADY, YOU'RE A SUPPOSED-TO-BE-GENIUS, AREN'T YOU?" Her speech was different from yesterday's – back then she was quite polite, but now she seemed very displeased.
"W-wait… you want to say… that she… she lost?!" Natsu asked in shock as he found himself pressed to the platform's edge. He was taller than Erza, but right now he shrunk a little.
"SURPRISED, ARE WE?" She asked with irony, "WHAT WAS THAT VERY IMPORTANT MATTER YOU WERE BUSY WITH, WHICH LEFT YOU WITH NO CHOICE BUT TO LET THE GIRL WITH YET UNSTABLE MAGIC TO TAKE CARE OF HERSELF?"
Natsu twitched as if he got a slap in his face when he suddenly realized what she means. Andromeda was right, he became careless – he not only forgot to take into calculation that Erza's body didn't yet adapt to her new being, he also underestimated Haru, but, worst of all, he was hanging around some stupid demon for twenty minutes, just to make a show, whilst Erza was fighting against Haru. It wasn't necessary at all though, he could defeat demon later, with some help of his team… but of course, he wanted to do it alone, to make another show-off.
"I… I didn't think…" He mumbled in confusion, Natsu couldn't keep his cool and indifferent attitude, not when he realized how much he failed his beloved one.
"THAT'S FOR SURE – YOU DIDN'T THINK!" Dragon Queen noted with sarcasm.
"Hey, give me a break here!" Natsu exclaimed with apologizing tone, he already felt himself greatly ashamed. He actually disgraced himself this time. Maybe not directly, but he broke his promise and almost lost his beloved (he did not know that Haru actually had no intentions to kill Erza). " I'm sorry… I just wanted…" He tried to say but the dragon-controlled Erza interrupted him as she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him closer to herself so now there were barely two inches between their faces.
"SILENCE! I DON'T NEED YOUR EXCUSES, I NEED YOU TO DO WHAT YOU HAVE PROMISED TO!" The dragon-Erza roared at him. "LISTEN TO ME! SHE'S STRONG, YOU DON'T NEED TO FOLLOW HER EVERYWHERE LIKE A FAITHFUL DOG. BUT SHE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT… AND THAT SUBSTANCE INSIDE YOUR SKULL, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE BRILLIANT, SO USE IT ON OCCASION!" She left his collar and turned away. "THIS GIRL, ERZA… SHE IS VERY SPECIAL… SHE DOES NOT SIMPLY LOVES YOU, SHE IDOLIZES YOU – YOU ARE EVERYTHING SHE HAS IN THIS WORLD, YOU ARE HER WHOLE WORLD! IT'S IN HER NATURE, SHE CAN'T DO IT OTHERWISE. SHE DEVOTED HER ENTIRE SELF TO YOU..." Suddenly Erza turned back to Natsu "...SO KEEP HER SAFE, YOU MORON!"
From unexpectedness, Natsu almost fell from the pyramid's edge but the Dragon-Erza again grabbed him by his collar. "IF I HAVE TO EMERGE EVER AGAIN TO SAVE HER INSTEAD OF YOU – YOU WILL REGRET THAT. ARE WE CLEAR!?" The reason for her anger was clear – there is no warranty that she'll be fast enough to emerge next time, so there should be no next time. She bet everything on Erza – of course she can't allow her to die.
"Crystal clear, ma'am!" Natsu saluted immediately. She defeated Haru almost effortlessly, and his power was comparable to Natsu's, so she actually was quite scary. But Natsu wasn't scared, he was ashamed… and he didn't like the feeling, not at all.
"GOOD. AND DON'T BE TOO HARSH WITH THIS BOY, HE DIDN'T TRY TO KILL HER, HE JUST WANTED TO TALK…" She pointed at Haru who appeared from the hole. He was carried by Happy. The fire dragon slayer himself was still out cold completely. Then she turned back to the god slayer, examining him carefully. "ALL RIGHT, I HAVE TO GO… BUT BEFORE I RETURN TO MY SLEEP…" Suddenly she pulled Natsu to herself and kissed him on the lips. The kiss was about fifteen seconds long, then she broke their kiss and looked back at the stunned Natsu, "NO, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND THIS. I FELT NOTHING SPECIAL, WHAT DID SHE FIND IN YOU?" As she said that, the white glow inside her eyes faded and she started to fall. Natsu was so shocked that he barely managed to catch Erza's body before it fell on the stone floor.
July 15, Year X784, 22:00, Island of Galuna, Temple of the Moon
The dumb show lasted for about five minutes. Natsu stood still with Erza in his arms. He was stunned by recent events. Gray, who was there all this time, still stood with his jaw dropped on the floor, he couldn't dare to move. At last Natsu gathered enough of his thoughts to say something: "Damn, I haven't been scolded like that since I was eleven… She has so much in common with my mother… Gray, I hope I don't need to remind you that you promised to keep the details about Erza being the dragon slayer in secret for now? Which means you shouldn't talk about the scene you've just witnessed with anyone, as well."
"Yeah, yeah…" Gray replied aversely as he immediately regretted this promise. Natsu was scolded like a naughty schoolboy and Gray can't tell anybody?! It's just a torment, he never saw Natsu so confused… such a rare sight when Natsu has nothing to say… "Natsu, can you at least explain to me – what the hell was that?! What happened with her?"
Natsu looked at Gray. The Ice mage revealed many secrets about himself today… In the end, Natsu decided that he could spare one in return, after all, Gray was quite a trustworthy person. He gave him the short version of yesterday's events, and at the end of the story Gray's jaw again dropped to the floor. "With you guys things never get boring..." The Ice mage concluded as he and Natsu, with Erza in his arms, were walking down to the temple's exit.
"Life is more interesting that way, don't you think?" The god slayer asked in reply. Gray didn't answer since it was quite a controversial statement. "However, Gray, keep this quiet, even from Lucy and, especially, from Sin," The god slayer asked. Last thing he needed is Sin knowing about what happened on the roof. Gray had no objections, his world already has been shaken too many times for one day.
July 15, Year X784, 22:15, Island of Galuna
Natsu decided to stop at the little cove and wait for Erza to regain consciousness before returning to the village. He placed his beloved on the sand, which was still warm, leaning her back to the large stone, which was still warm as well.
A few minutes later Erza opened her eyes. 'Huh? Where am I?' She looked around. There was no Haru, no flames and no temple. She was sitting on warm sand, on the shore. Just a few clouds were in the sky and the stars were very bright tonight. The surf's rustle was so peaceful... 'Oh… no… no… please no… don't tell me… there is so many things yet I have to do! Please, I wasn't even married!' She jumped to her feet, looked around, and noticed Natsu and Gray standing near the sea, about fifty feet away from her, as they were discussing something. It seems they stepped away to not bother Erza with their talking. "Natsu!" She called out for her fiancé.
"Erza?" Natsu turned around and came closer. "What's wrong?" He asked as he saw her scared face.
"Never do anything like that again!" She demanded, "I thought I died!"
"What?! Why? What happened?" Natsu asked in surprise.
"You tell me. I was on the top platform of the temple when that guy knocked me out with his spell and now I'm suddenly here… and everything's so peaceful around here… and I thought… I…" She stuttered but Natsu sealed her lips with his, preventing her from further speaking.
"I love you…" He whispered into her ear. "Sorry for scaring you… but if this is the last thing that you remember, it means… you didn't remember anything from what happened atop of the temple…"
"What happened atop of the temple?" She wondered.
"Guys! Is everything alright?" Lucy's voice called out from above as she was carried by Sin.
"Don't tell me that we missed everything?!" Sin asked as he dropped Lucy from six feet height and she fell on the sand.
"Sorry people, circus has left," Natsu replied indifferently, ignoring Lucy's curses toward Sin. "Bad guys were defeated and Deliora has been dealt with. Ah, by the way..." Natsu suddenly remembered something, "Gray is my witness – I destroyed the demon with one technique, so it means that as soon as we're be back home, we're going for shopping," He gently kissed his fiancée.
"Is it true, Gray?" She asked the Ice Wizard.
"Yeah, yeah – he used the same technique, which he used to finish off the Lullaby, and Deliora was annihilated… honestly, I could barely believe my own eyes…" Gray grumbled.
"WHAT?!" Lucy exclaimed as she also could barely believe it. Sin, on the other hand, didn't seem so surprised.
"Natsu," Erza called, turning to god slayer, "I also want to learn that technique!"
"Actually, with your new magic, I think it is possible," Natsu gently bit the tip of her nose.
"Really!?" Erza sounded excited and surprised at the same time, she actually expected that Natsu's going to say that it is not possible…
"Really," He confirmed, "But we'll speak about that in more details when we'll be back home, alright?"
"Okay…" she nodded. "…Ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch… easy with that body! It's aching all over!" The scarlet-haired mage exclaimed when Natsu tried to tighten his embrace.
"Sorry…" He smiled as their friends were watching this cute scene with mixed emotions, Lucy with envy and Gray and Sin with annoyance.
"Okay guys, I think we should head back to the village – let's pack our stuff so tomorrow we can head home," Gray decided to break this little romantic scene.
"Pack our stuff?" Erza asked as some familiar metallic notes suddenly appeared in her voice, "You want to leave with an unfinished mission?"
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.
"Lucy, does this moon look normal to you?" Natsu pointed upward as a cloud moved aside, revealing the creepy purple moon.
"But… but… If Deliora's body has been destroyed… And so, the curse on the village should be…" The blonde stuttered.
"Yeah, even I thought that Zaref's demon was the source of the curse, but I was wrong. Deliora had nothing to do with the curse, just as Erza suggested from the very beginning. She was right and all of us were wrong, people," Natsu admitted honestly, gently caressing her hair, as Erza smiled and quickly perked up.
"That phenomenon that you call the curse wasn't because of Deliora. It isn't a curse at all," Erza started to explain her opinion. "Moon Drip's enormous magic power harmed the people. There's no way this situation will change because the demon has been killed… Ouch!" She stumbled a little.
"Shall I carry you in my arms?" Natsu suggested as he took her hand.
"No, thanks, I love the idea, but it aches more when my limbs aren't moving…" Erza sighed in reply.
"Maybe he will spill some light on the situation?" Sin suggested as he pointed at the lonely figure that was slowly walking along the shore. That was Lyon.
"Lyon!" Gray called for his former senpai. "What was your relationships with the locals?"
"Neither," Lyon replied with a grim face.
"Excuse me?" Natsu replied.
"But if you guys don't know about it, how will we break the curse?" Lucy asked.
"We've known about the existence of the village ever since we came to this island three years ago," Lyon explained, "Though, we didn't interfere with the villagers at all. They've never visited us, either."
"Not even once? For three years?" Erza clarified.
"Come to think of it, the light of moon drip should've shone down on the ruins every night. It's weird that they've never investigated the place," Lucy thought aloud as she rubbed her chin with her thumb and index fingers.
"I have some doubts about the Moon Drip's influences on a human's body," Lyon said, looking into the sea.
"Agree," Natsu said as he turned to his fiancée, "They've been basked in the same light for three years, yet they are seeming normal… well, their bodies, I mean."
"That's true!" Lucy gasped.
"Be careful, they're hiding something," Lyon said as he sat on a large stone and turned to the sea. "Well… I guess from here on it's the guild's job, right?"
"You guess?" Natsu's eyes flashed with crimson light as his katana once again appeared in his hand, Lyon's phrase managed to… displease him. "You made all this mess and now you're guessing? I'll give you another good guess… Senmei Saikō… Hey!" Erza gave him a good slap on the back of his head, "I was just joking!"
"I don't believe you. C'mon Natsu, let's go to the village," She-dragon said as she grabbed his hand and started to pull him toward the village, along the shore.
"You say 'let's go', but how do we break the curse?" Sin asked.
"No idea," Erza replied.
"Oh my…" Lucy sighed as they walked away, while Gray remained at the cove, staring at Lyon.
"What are you looking at?" Lyon asked as he noticed Gray's gaze.
"You should join a guild. You'll have new comrades and rivals," Gray replied, "I'm sure you'll find a new goal, just as I did, long ago…"
"R… ridiculous… Just go already…" Lyon said, turning away.
July 15, Year X784, 22:45, Island of Galuna, somewhere at the shore
Team Natsu was walking toward the village; Natsu and Erza were ahead and the others were two dozen yards behind.
"Amazing… She was really that good?" Erza wondered as Natsu explained to her the events that happened atop of the temple (he, however, omitted the details about him being scolded …and about the kiss, just in case, to avoid any yanderish outbursts).
"Yeah… She used your body and your magic, but she possesses the experience and knowledge of the millennia… Poor bastard never stood a chance." Natsu has seen only the last few seconds of the battle but that was enough to make an estimate. Actually, Natsu got quite a good guess about this "Dragon Queen's" true origins, but to confirm it he has to do some researches, and now's not the time for it. "Her timings were excellent, spells were almost flawless, and not a single ethernano was wasted for nothing. Actually, I know several persons, which can do such a high-quality spellcasting, but all of them are associated with Pandemonium, in general, and Okā-sama, in particular. Whoever Andromeda-san actually is, I have no reasons to doubt the purity of her bloodline."
"Nice…" Erza mumbled, trying to imagine how the battle atop the pyramid looked like.
"No kidding. To be honest I think that even Gildarts could get his ass kicked…" Natsu admitted.
"Wow!" Erza even whistled a little, to think that she could defeat Gildarts…
"Yeah, but we have so much training ahead of us to reach that level of efficiency of our spells… and I'm so glad that we'll be learning this together," Natsu smiled to his soon-to-be wife.
"Me too…" Erza replied as she clenched Natsu's arm tighter.
At the same time, Gray gave to Lucy and Sin a short version of recent events. And while the Stellar Mage and boney creature were sorting things out, Gray wondered what happened to them. "By the way guys, where have you two been all this time?" The Ice mage asked, interrupting the arguing.
"Our 'Hime-sama' got her skirt ripped apart during the battle, and because she's wearing a kinky lingerie…" Lucy was freaked out but Sin ignored her "…she asked me to bring her back to the village so she could 'quickly change clothes'. And for half an hour she rummaged through her luggage, choosing clothes."
"It would've been much faster if you were not hanging over my head!" Lucy shouted at the boney dragon. "And stop staring at me already!" She turned to Gray who was looking at her ass as if he tried to look through her skirt to evaluate the kinkiness of her underwear.
"Uh, sorry…" Gray came back to his senses and urgently turned away.
July 15, Year X784, 23:15, Island of Galuna, Local village
As soon as Team Natsu entered the village, the mayor rushed to them. "Mages! Please do tell me… when will you destroy the moon for us?! Hogaaah!"
"Heeeek!" Lucy yelped from unexpectedness as she jerked back from Moka.
"Oh, man… not this again…" Even Natsu's patience started to run out.
"It's easy to destroy the moon…" Erza said calmly as she worked herself free from Natsu's embrace and stepped toward the Mayor.
"Heh… She's saying something that outrageous like it's nothing…" Gray said with a sweatdrop as Lucy trembled a little.
"That's Erza for you…" Sin agreed.
"But before that, I want to confirm something," The scarlet-haired girl continued to speak to the mayor, "Would you mind getting everyone together?"
"What's she doing?" Gray asked Natsu.
"No idea," The god slayer replied, "But she has something on her mind…"
July 15, Year X784, 23:25, Island of Galuna, Local village
As all villagers gathered near the village's gate, Erza came forward and started to speak. "Let me get this straight. You all gained this appearance after that purple moon appeared. Is that right?" She asked.
"Hogah… To be exact, we turn into this appearance only when the moon is out…" The Mayor clarified.
"From your story, that started three years ago," Erza continued as she turned aside and started to walk with her eyes closed, calculating something in her mind.
"Yes… that sounds right…" One of the villagers confirmed as Natsu looked at the creepy violet moon.
"But… the Moon Drip ritual has been held daily for three years on this island…" At the last moment Natsu noticed that she was going straight to the pit that Lucy dug up to entrap Lyon's crew. He dashed toward her, lifted her up by armpits and turned around, making her walk in the opposite direction. She continued to walk and speak as if nothing happened. "…You should've been seeing a ray of light at the ruins every day…"
"Lucy, you'll get rid of this pit now or I'll bury you there alive," Natsu's left eye flashed with dark blue light.
"Heeek!" Lucy yelped as Erza continued her speech:
"…meaning, that's the most suspicious place on the island…"
"Uwah… She continues talking as if nothing happened…" One of the villagers noted.
"Such verve…" Another agreed as Lucy summoned Virgo and ordered her to take care of the pitfall.
"…so, why didn't you investigate it?" The scarlet-haired sorceress stopped and asked.
The villagers started to look at each other and murmuring between themselves. "T-that's because… It's a tradition not to go anywhere close to those ruins… It's a forbidden place for us…" The Mayor answered at last.
"But… the situation was very serious, wasn't it? You had some casualties, and seeing how expensive the reward is…" Lucy noted as Virgo continued to bury the pitfall.
The villagers continued to murmur between each other as Erza asked, "Can you tell us the truth?" Her large, clear eyes were looking straight at the Mayor.
Moka hesitated for a few seconds before he spoke out, "To tell you the truth… we don't really know what's going on, either… Honestly, we tried to investigate the ruins many times. We are peaceful people, yet everyone took a bunch of unfamiliar weapons, I arranged my sideburns… and we headed to the ruins many times." The mayor made a short pause before continuing his tale. "But we couldn't get close to it. We noticed that… even if we walked straight toward the ruins, we wound up in front of the village gates. We just cannot get close to the ruins!" Moka exclaimed at the end.
Lucy and Gray's eyes widened in amazement as they listened to mayor's story. Sin scratched his skull as Natsu's face lit up with soft smile as he looked at his fiancée. "You're amazing…" He whispered silently so only Erza's dragon ears could hear it as she winked to him in return. Natsu, however, didn't say anything else – it was her show, her victory. Besides, he understood what happened to the villagers but not why it happened. 'So, this is why their souls seems strange to me – they never were humans in the first place. But they think the opposite… This light is harmless for us… and for humans… but for them… Interesting… what's with this light… I still can't feel any magic in the air…'
"What do you mean? You can't approach it?" Lucy wondered.
"We would even get inside of it, no sweat…" Gray noted.
"We kept it silent because you wouldn't believe such a story!" One of the villagers exclaimed.
"But it's true! We tried to go to the ruins many times!" Another villager added.
"None of the villagers were able to get there!" The third one said.
"As I thought…" Erza nodded.
"Eh?" Lucy wondered.
"Amazing, that Titania…" Ultear said. She was inside of Deliora's chamber – she came to investigate the demon's remains, only to find out that there are no remains at all, but at the same time she was watching over the village through surveillance lacrima.
"Natsu, c'mon, it's time for you to work," Erza said as she headed to the watchtower, "Let's destroy the moon."
"EEEEHHH?!" Lucy, Gray and Sin screamed in shock.
Natsu looked at his fiancée in surprise, "What are you talking about?" He whispered, this request was unexpected.
"Just play along," She whispered back. "We'll destroy the moon now," She-dragon said to the villagers, "And get everyone back to normal."
The villagers looked at the moon in excitement
"We're gonna see the moon get destroyed… right in front of our eyes."
"Yeah!"
"We'll finally be back to normal"
"No, it's not possible…" Gray and Lucy said simultaneously.
"Madness…" Sin murmured.
"Okay Natsu, I need you to launch your missile into the moon, and I'll add a bit of star magic to empower it," Erza said as they climbed on the watchtower.
Natsu was stunned a little, initially he thought that she was joking, but she seemed serious. "Erza, listen. We can't destroy the moon… Not even Okā-sama can do something like that… or maybe she actually can…" Natsu shook his head, "Anyway, to begin with, the moons are relatively massive celestial bodies, and they are far away. Not to mention that this moon cannot be destroyed because it doesn't what it seems! You may be a village girl but you're going overboard…" Natsu said and got a well-deserved slap on the back of his head.
"Natsu, shut up and do as I said!" Erza demanded angrily. That definition of his, 'village girl,' actually hurt her pride a bit – she was quite educated, especially for a regular human.
"All right, all right…" Natsu replied, rolling his eyes.
"What's going on up there…" Gray mumbled…
"Don't tell me they're really gonna break the moon…" Both he and Lucy were watching Natsu and Erza in awe.
"Metsujin Ōgi: Ketsusei Tonryūsoku!" [God Slayer's Secret Art: Blood Star: Chaos Dragon Breath] Natsu shouted, creating a huge crimson missile. Erza made two streams of her star magic and made them wrap around Natsu's creation as Natsu launched his missile toward the moon. When it was launched, the missile elicited a shockwave that ravaged the watchtower and roofs of several village's shacks.
"You two just wanted to destroy something!" Lucy yelled as everyone was looking on in awe as the crimson shell was making its way to the sky, twisting the space around itself.
BOOOOM! A Powerful, bright explosion lit up the skies to the very horizon.
"NO WAAAAY!" Lucy and Gray both were freaked out.
"For real? …" Natsu, too, was surprised as he finally realized what was wrong with the moon, or rather, with the sky…
"So, what are you gonna say now, city boy? Not bad for a village girl, isn't it?" Erza asked with narrowed eyes.
"Alright, alright… I'm very sorry…" Natsu replied with a plaintive voice as he fell on his knees and buried his face into her abdomen, kissing her belly-button through her shirt. Erza stood looking at him sternly before he looked back at her. "Please forgive me…" Natsu added as he managed to make so innocent face with a puppy eyes that her anger disappeared in an instant.
Erza made a deep breath as she placed her palms on his head and pressed it to herself. "Natsu no Baka…" She said with a soft smile, granting him forgiveness that he was asking for, as usual, "Never call me that again," She added.
"Okay, won't happen again, I promise. I didn't think that it would be so offensive to you," Natsu said as he rose to his feet and looked into her eyes. "However, Erza, I want to remind you – I don't care from where you actually came from – was it a city or village, for me – you came from the sky…"
As smoke from the explosion in the sky dissipated, everyone was able to see something like huge violet dome in the sky with a huge hole in it. The dome continued to crumble, as all were able to see the moon, which was now of normal color.
"Eh?!"
"The moon!"
"This is…"
"The moon didn't break, but the sky did…" Lucy asked as she tried to touch the violet dust that was falling from the sky. She, as everyone else, was looking at the welkin in amazement, except for Natsu, who was bound with very passionate kiss.
"…mmm, say it again…" Erza requested as she released Natsu's lips.
"You are my sky queen," Natsu did as she asked, "Or rather, star queen." A woman falls in love through her ears, Erza wasn't exception from that rule.
"Hey guys, what is this?" Sin asked the slayers, who just jumped down from what remained of the watchtower.
"This island was covered by an evil lens," Erza started to explain.
"A lens?" Gray asked.
"Think of it as exhaust fumes produced by the Moon Drip. It crystalized and created a lens in the sky. That's why the moon looked purple," The dragon-knight clarified.
"It seems that my way of thinking is becoming narrower… I've become too obsessed with the criminals and demons, I forgot that some phenomena may be unrelated to humans, or at least not directly related…" Natsu admitted.
While they were talking, all the villagers, who now were bathing in pure, uncorrupted light of the moon, began to shine.
"Whoa, pretty!" Lucy exclaimed.
"The evil lens is broken and now this island will gain its original shine once again," Erza noted.
However, when the shining faded away, the villagers remained in their demonic forms.
"Huh?"
"Um?"
"Ah?"
"But… they won't turn back to normal…?" Gray asked with a sweatdrop.
"Now what's wrong…" Sin scratched his skull.
"They are already in their normal forms," Natsu said before he turned to Erza and kissed the top of her head, "A perfect woman, are you? Smart, gentle and pretty…"
"The evil lens affected their memory, not their appearance," The blood-haired sorceress nodded as the villagers were looking at each other in confusion.
"Their memory?" Sin asked again.
"Yep, 'we become demons at night…' wrong thoughts like that," She confirmed.
"N-N-No way!" Lucy exclaimed, trembling in shock.
"That's how it is," Erza confirmed. "They were demons to begin with."
"F-For real?!" Shocked Gray cried looking closely at one of the islanders.
"We are still a little confused…" A villager replied.
"Hey, what's this…?" Natsu suddenly noticed that Sherry, Yuka and Toby were sitting on the bench near one of the villages shacks, untied and unguarded. Natsu touched Erza's shoulder, gaining her attention and nodded toward Lyon's crew.
When the trio noticed the slayer's approaching, they became nervous, but Natsu had no intentions to harm them anymore. "Keep calm you three, I just want to talk," Natsu said as he and Erza moved in close.
"The villagers… they untied us… and even bandaged our wounds…" Toby said shamefaced. The three were bandaged all over, besides, they were wearing the same clothes as the villagers (because their own clothes turned to shreds).
"We are sorry…" Yuka mumbled. "We are Deliora's victims… It killed our families. That's why we were cooperating with Lyon, we were hoping that he would defeat Deliora and surely avenge us…"
"I know. You probably don't remember but she told us all of it yesterday," Natsu pointed at Sherry, confusing her, "It doesn't make you non-idiots of course, but at least you had some reason to do what you were trying to do…" The god slayer added.
"But we failed to notice that in our pursuit of revenge we ourselves became no better than Deliora, we forgot about… love" Sherry admitted, looking to the floor.
"Well, the demon is dead. Your families were avenged," Erza informed them.
"Yeah, we know, thank you very much," Yuka replied as all three bowed to Natsu, "Happy told us."
"Who?" Natsu asked.
"Haru's winged cat," Sherry explained, "He came here about half an hour before your arrival and offered to rescue us. Not sure why, he never cared about any of us before… or about love."
"I guess he also got a good lesson today," Natsu replied.
"AAAAAAAAAA! A GHOST!" Suddenly they all heard Lucy's terrified scream. It seems that Bobo, the sailor who brought them to this island, has returned to the village.
"She's hopeless…" Erza shook her head.
"Yeah, this girl is quite stupid," Yuka agreed.
Before anyone, even Erza, could react, Gladius Terminus glinted in the air and Yuka's brows were sliced off. "I'd like to ask you to keep your opinion to yourself. She's still the nakama from our guild – we can call her stupid, but you can't," Natsu said as if nothing happened and his sword was sucked into his left hand.
Erza face-palmed, Toby was speechless, Yuka was stunned as he carefully touched the places where his brows once were, and Sherry mumbled something. Natsu didn't hear it, but Erza did.
"Oh, really?" The dragon slayer asked, as torrents of star magic covered her fingertips. "You know – I'm going to marry him, so if you don't want your pigtails to share the fate of his brows – keep your mouth shut." Sherry gulped nervously but Erza didn't say anything more.
"What did she say?" Natsu asked as his eyes blazed with crimson light.
"Nothing important," Erza replied as she began to pull him toward the villagers, who were now soaring into the air one by one, enjoying Bobo's return.
"Did you see it?" Ultear asked Seigrain as she showed him the events in the village through her lacrima.
"Yeah… They did better than I expected," Replied one of the Ten Wizard Saints. "Fairy Tail… I hope they won't get in our way…"
"I agree," Ultear replied.
July 16, Year X784, 00:00, Island of Galuna, Local village
To mark the end of the island's 'curse' and Bobo's return, the villagers arranged a huge 'demonic' feast. All of them were sitting along large tables (even Sherry, Yuka and Toby), enjoying the meal. However, when the feast was in full swing, Natsu and Erza simultaneously turned their heads toward village's gate. Natsu felt a magic aura and Erza heard the steps. The gates were open, so they saw a lonely figure that was slowly walking toward the village. It was Haru.
The slayers stood up and went to meet him. As they approached, they managed to take a good look at him. He was in bad shape – his head, chest, both arms and right leg were bandaged. He was hobbling, leaning on a self-made crutch.
"Wow…" Erza exclaimed as she examined Haru, "I did this?" She asked Natsu.
"Technically, yes," Natsu replied before turning to the silver-haired boy, "So?"
"May I take a seat?" He asked with a raucous voice, looking at the bench near the one of the villages shacks.
"Go ahead," Natsu said. It seemed that speaking and walking was equally painful for the fire dragon slayer. "You are persistent, I give you that…" The god slayer added as Haru limped to the bench.
"Ouch… Oh… Ouu…" Haru moaned as he sat down.
"You know, someone dropped a hint to me that you wanted to talk with my fiancée so desperately that you even started a fight with her," Natsu spoke out, "Explain yourself."
"Not necessarily with her," Haru replied. "With either of you two. This is the first time I've met another dragon slayer, not to mention two of them at once. I wanted to ask – who taught you dragon slayer's magic."
"Well, let's start from the basics," Erza said, "First – could you introduce yourself?"
"Oh, sorry," Silver-haired boy apologized, "My name's Haru, Haru Dragneel."
"Erza Scarlet," Scarlet-haired sorceress bowed slightly.
"Natsu Bloodfallen," God slayer introduced himself.
"Now, about magic," Erza continued, "You should know that Natsu is not a dragon slayer. I am, but he is not."
"I am Senso no Metsujin Madōshi [War God Slayer]," Natsu informed.
"God slayer?" Haru asked in amazement.
"Yes. Actually, it's just like with the dragon slayers. As well as Dragon, who can get an apprentice and teach him to use dragon's magic, a God can teach his apprentice to use god's magic. The person who learned the god's magic becomes a god slayer," Natsu explained. "I learned my magic from Okā-sama herself – the Supreme war goddess," He added somewhat arrogantly.
"And I wasn't taught by anyone," Erza continued Natsu's story. "There is a way to literally implant some dragon powers into a person, and this is how I got my dragon slayer magic. I'm kinda like an artificial dragon slayer," She decided to skip the details about the dragon queen's soul – she hadn't gotten used to it herself yet.
Haru had taken some time to stomach the information he just received, "Okay, I think I got it…" He concluded. "But god slayer? Doesn't gods…"
"Doesn't dragons either?" Natsu interrupted him and Haru quickly realized the stupidity of the question he tried to ask.
"Who taught you to use dragon slayer magic?" Erza asked.
"Igneel. Fire dragon Igneel," Haru replied.
"A real dragon?" Natsu inquired and Haru nodded in answer.
'WELL, THIS EXPLAINS A LOT. IT SEEMS THAT THE OLD FOOL RAISED UP THE SAME BUBBLEHEAD AS HE HIMSELF…' Suddenly, very sarcastic Andromeda's voice sounded in Erza's head.
"Um?! What?!" Erza perplexedly looked around.
"What's wrong?" Natsu asked.
"No, nothing…" Erza shook her head.
Natsu's left eye flashed with dark blue light as he again looked at Haru. 'Hmm, the Efreet, is it?' Natsu thought. Efreet is the name for the attribute that consist of only one element – fire. Haru was one of those rare individuals with the single-element attribute. Well, that seems completely logical that the Fire Dragon have chosen an individual with pure fire attribute to teach him his magic. 'That Igneel knew what he is doing,' Natsu nodded, not noticing that he instantly remembered the dragon's name.
"What happened to your mother?" Haru asked Natsu, he seemingly has lost his interest in Erza as soon as she admitted that she wasn't raised by a dragon.
"What do you mean?" Natsu wondered.
"Do you still live with her? Or has she left you?" Haru clarified.
"Ah, this… We parted at my 13th birthday. She said that she taught me everything she could, gave me the sword, sent me here, to Ishgar continent, and I'm traveling by myself since then," Natsu voiced a short version. There was no need to get into deeper details.
"Well, at least she said 'goodbye'," The silver-haired boy sighed, "Igneel simply disappeared at July 7, X777. This scarf is all that is left," He pointed at the scaled scarf on his neck, "I've been trying to find him since then…" Haru sounded disappointed; Erza appeared to be artificial and it seemed that Natsu had no connections to dragons as well.
"Hmm… July 7, X777… The day when times intersect…" Natsu said quietly.
"You know something about it?" Haru asked.
"Only that the sun eclipse happened that day. In Ishgar, every 7 years a sun eclipse can be observed. It happened nine days ago, but it was at night so no one saw it. July 7, X777 was one of these days too. Few hundred years ago these days were called 'The day when times intersect'," Natsu explained. "As of Igneel… Now when you reminded me, I think I've met this name in some books, but they are relatively old stories – I have no recent information about him… or any other dragon at all," The god slayer concluded.
"Damn…" Haru said with chagrin, "…I guess I got my ass kicked for nothing then."
"It's for your own good," Erza snorted, "However… Haru, right? Can you explain something? I know you were near the village yesterday, when Lyon's crew attempted to use jelly, I saw you sitting on the tree. I thought you're going to attack us as well, but you just left after we dealt with that trio. Why were you there?" The dragon-mage asked.
"Ah, this…" Haru scratched his head. "Actually, my shack is nearby. When I saw that rat approaching the village, I realized that they were going to do something nasty, so I came here to make sure that they wouldn't harm the villagers," The fire dragon slayer explained. "Actually, when I saw the jelly, I intended to do almost the same thing that you did," He looked at Natsu. "But when you dealt with the jelly, I understood that you could handle those louts by yourself. You gave them a good trashing…"
"Violence solves everything…" Natsu noted.
At the beginning of their conversation, Erza was looking at Haru quite coldly, but when he answered her questions, her attitude toward him became noticeably warmer. Well, she's not the one to hold grudges… except for some special cases, of course. "Okay, I think we're done with the talking, c'mon," Erza said as she helped Haru to stand up.
"Hey! What… Ouch! What are you doing?!" Haru asked in shock as Erza made him to lean on her shoulder, and headed toward the festive table.
"I think you should join the feast," Erza replied, actually she didn't give him any choice.
"But we were enemies!" Haru exclaimed.
"Man, learn to read the atmosphere," Natsu advised to Haru, "And you too, little one, come over here." Natsu looked toward the tree near the village entrance. "You too can join the feast," The eyes of God noticed Happy (rather, his soul) on that tree. No doubt – he was worried about his friend so he was watching over him.
Whoopee lasted through entire night, during it Haru managed to establish friendly relationship with team Natsu… and Lucy became especially friendly toward him. She was hanging around him constantly, and expressed very much sympathy about his wounds.
"Looks like someone just grew up a little…" Natsu noted as Erza chuckled a little when they both noticed Lucy's behavior "…and these two definitely not," The god slayer added as he pointed at Sin and Happy, the two were arguing about something for two hours straight.
"Poor Haru," Erza said, "He looks really disappointed because I wasn't raised by the dragon…" Erza noted.
"Yeah… I bet he was as disappointed as I was when you refused to make love on the roof of the Kardia Cathedral…" Natsu replied.
"Hey! I can hear you!" Haru exclaimed in shock.
"We all can hear you!" Gray added with the same shocked expression.
"Quiet, Natsu!" Erza hissed, "I didn't refuse, I said 'after the wedding'!" She added with loud whisper.
"We can hear you!" All the villagers yelled in unison as they were freaked out.
"Hey! Man, where are your clothes!?" Haru asked as he jerked back from Gray when the Ice Mage suddenly appeared only in his boxers.
"Gah!" Gray screamed, "How'd that happened?!"
"Why, God, WHY?!" Lucy cried tearfully.
July 16, Year X784, 10:15, Island of Galuna, Local village
The next morning, everyone woke up quite late. Lyon's crew left the village about half an hour ago, and Haru was about to leave as well.
"See you Haru!" Lucy waved to the silver-haired boy with an especially cheerful smile as Happy picked up his friend.
"See you guys!" Haru waved his goodbye. "And, Erza-san, sorry about your shirt!" During the feast Erza stumbled and tore her shirt on Haru's crutch.
"Don't worry," Erza replied, "I'm going to get new clothes soon anyway." Yep, she lost the bet…
"Yeah…" Natsu sighed "…as soon as I get back from Oshibana." Erza looked at him questioningly, so he explained, "I'm going to buy you those flowers that you liked. Yes, yes – I know, I won the bet and all, but… I love you. If those flowers will make you happier – I'll get them for you."
"I love you too…" She whispered as her huge, bottomless eyes were looking at him thankfully. "However… you know… I think I don't need those flowers." She added as Natsu looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know, maybe Haru struck my head too hard yesterday, but as I think of it now… well, you were right – they are weird… let's just plant the simple scarlet carnation," She smiled and pressed herself to Natsu. Then she rose on tiptoe and whispered into his ear, "But, if you want to make me a bit happier, you can buy me a new lingerie along with clothes…" And by blush on her cheeks Natsu could imagine what kind of lingerie she has on her mind.
"A funny fact," Natsu noted, gently stroking Erza's head, "Scarlet carnation sometimes called rain carnation… funny words play, don't you think?"
"All right Lucy, this is your share of the reward," Natsu handed over the Sagittarius's golden key.
"Whoa!" Lucy exclaimed with a cheerful smile.
"This is your share, Gray," Erza gave 2,000,000 jewels to the ice mage.
"Now I can slack for several weeks straight… but I won't," Gray quickly corrected himself as Erza sent him her signature glare.
"Are you ready to travel back to Hargeon?" Bobo asked cheerfully.
"Me and Erza are going to fly to the mainland on the back of my familiar," Natsu said. "But I'm sure Lucy and Gray will be happy to keep you company."
"They're so selfish!" Lucy exclaimed as Gray sighed.
"Is someone going to ask the familiar's opinion?" Sin mumbled but he was ignored as Natsu threw a blue magic sphere into him, turning the little boney creature into a rideable mount.
Sin, with the slayers on his back, made a lap of honor, accompanied by cheerful shouts of the islanders as Lucy, Gray and Bobo headed to the coast. On the cliff nearby, Lyon, Sherry, Yuka, Toby, Angelica, Haru and Happy were watching the Fairy Tail mages' departure.
"Haru, why didn't you ask her about how she suddenly managed to defeat you?" Happy asked his friend.
"Another time," Haru replied with smile.
"They're gone…" Yuka said.
"Hey, why are you…" Sherry asked the suddenly crying Toby.
"I'm not crying at all!" He replied.
"Is this okay? He's your fellow kohai; and you finally got along…" Sherry asked Lyon. "I'm talking about Love."
"It's okay… He'll be fine," Lyon replied, "Hey… Is a guild fun?"
"C'mon Happy, let's gather our stuff," Haru said to his feline friend, "We're going to join a guild too."
"You wanna join Fairy Tail?!" Happy asked excitedly.
"No way!" Haru replied. "I'm sure we'll find another guild with strong mages, who are neither perverts nor exhibitionists…"
Year X784, July 17, 18:00, Magic council ERA
"I'm disappointed in the Delioara's case," Ultear said as she entered Siegrain's office.
"Well, can't be helped. I thought that demon, which brought so many misfortunes ten years ago, would be stronger," The azure-haired man replied.
"I'm sorry, Siegrain-sama. I decided that direct confrontation with that mage would be unwise, so I couldn't prevent him from killing Deliora," The dark-haired woman apologized. "Their arrival almost at the last moment was just an unfortunate turn of events, I didn't think that that woman's magic will take so much time to dispel…"
"Don't talk about her like that. Ultear… Tear of Ur, I respect your mother…" Sieg replied.
"Besides, it seems that Natsu Bloodfallen is way stronger that we thought," Ultear said, "He has much more tricks than we've expected…"
"As I suspected…" An evil smile appeared on Siegrain's face. "Natsu Bloodfallen, the Crimson Cardinal, keep on fighting… for the sake of my dream."
Spell List:
Names:
Ushinatta Mahō – Lost Magic
Metsu Mahō – Slayer Magic
Metsuryū Madōshi – Dragon Slayer
Shinentai – Thought Projection
Senso no Metsujin Madōshi – War God Slayer
Ice Make Spells:
Aisu Meiku: Bō – Ice Make: Bow
Aisu Meiku: Sunō Doragon – Ice Make: Snow Dragon
Aisu Meiku: Sunō Taigā – Ice Make: Snow Tiger
Aisu Meiku: Purizun – Ice Make: Prison
Aisu Meiku: Aisu Kyanon – Ice Make: Ice Cannon
Haru's Spells:
Kaen Kudō – Flame Drive
Karyū no Hōkō – Fire Dragon's Roar
Karyū no Tekken – Fire Dragon's Iron Fist
Karyū no Yokugeki – Fire Dragon's Wings Attack
Karyū no Kagitsume – Fire Dragon's Claw
Karyū no Saiga – Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang
Karyū no Nensō – Fire Dragon's Blazing Spear
Karyū no Kenkaku – Fire Dragon's Sword Horn
Karyū no Kōen – Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame
Metsuryū Ōgi: Guren Bakuenjin – Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade
Erza's spells:
Entei no Yoroi: Za Naito – The Knight: Flame Empress Armor
Myōjō no Yoroi: Za Naito – The Knight: Morning Star Armor
Hishō no Yoroi: Za Naito – The Knight: Flight Armor
Kōryūshi no Ken – Photon Slicer (KanJi reads – 'Sword of Light Particles')
Sonikku Kurou – Sonic Claw
Seikō Kudō – Starlight Drive
Seiryū no Hōkō – Star Dragon's Roar
Seiryū no Shōgeki – Star Dragon's Shock Blow
Seiryū no Yokusen – Star Dragon's Wing Flash
Seiryū no Kudatsume – Star Dragon's Crushing Claw
Warifu: Ōotama – Rune: Tracking Bullets
Io Warifu: Junsui no Keishō – Io Rune: Pure Crystal
Metsuryū Ōgi: Tengoku Shōgiken – Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Heaven's Kingdom: Sword of Justice
Natsu's Spells:
Senjin no Bakusō – War God's Explosive Spear
Senmei Saikō: Senpenbanka – Sure-kill Shot: Everchanging
Metsujin Ōgi: Ketsusei Tonryūsoku – God Slayer's Secret Art: Blood Star: Chaos Dragon Breath
Well, this is it people. Chapter twelve has been completed. I hope it was enjoyable. Do not forget to leave a REVIEW! A lots of reviews will encourage me to work faster! See you in the next chapter – The Mist of Nightmare.