Before you start reading, I have to warn you, that I picked the rating M not without reason. This chapter is a prime example of why I did so, so please prepare yourselves.

Hope you will enjoy the chapter nevertheless, even if it has a rather dark touch to it.

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Dragon Slayer.

An unknown term that shouldn't exist to begin with because it was unfathomable, an incarnated paradox, yet its embodiment stood in front of them right now as if he wanted to make fun of this given fact and was utterly unimpressed from their attempt to murder him. His presence alone was already a mockery to them, but on top, the man didn't seem to even care about the attack directed at him in the first place. Judging from his leisurely motions, one could think he had just swatted away the meagre cough of a gnat and not the mighty roar of a dragon.

The caster of the breath attack couldn't believe what he had seen mere seconds ago. All of the guardian dragons in fact couldn't understand what had happened in this historical moment they had just witnessed with their own eyes. No human being should be able to negate a dragon's attack, especially not so effortlessly. In fact, it should be impossible for these worms who crawled across the earth. They were only suited to be preyed upon and nothing else. A mere human disobeying a dragon's demands by rebellious actions such as these was a sacrilege of history.

The culprit behind the unholy event stood perfectly still and unimpressed as he clenched and opened his hand several times. He tested whether the strike actually had any effect on him because he was well aware of the fact that humans shouldn't stand the slightest chance against dragons. If he was honest with himself, he didn't anticipate that confronting the dragons would turn out to be as easy as it was, to repel the dragon's breath attack. For the powerful magus, it was simply the confirmation he had secretly needed. So far, he'd had only one chance to test his powers against a dragon in secret and even then, it was more of an indirect clash than a confrontation face to face. The "greeting" just now could have gone wrong in so many different ways, but it followed down the path most favourable for him.

'It seems the time is ripe for my vengeance,' he thought silently to himself. A demonic smirk formed on his lips before he redirected his attention to the still speechless dragons surrounding him.

"Kahaha. The look on your faces is priceless right now. Can't comprehend how this is possible right? With your large brains?" the man mused while observing the shocked states of the overgrown lizards surrounding him. Dragons are well known for being arrogant which made this all the more of a blast for the dark sorcerer. The higher they are, the harder they fall. It's a common phrase used very often, and it was time to make it literally reality.

"Told you, didn't I? That I would give you the greatest show you've ever seen in your worthless lives? But don't go and applaud me just yet. The party is only getting started."

An evil gleam sparked in the man's reddish eyes. For the dragon opposite of him, it felt like rageful bolts of lightning were shooting in a relentless stream at them, the lone sign that their enemy was serious about the nonsense he was spouting. The dragon who had attacked was the first to snap out of his stupor. This man- no, this thing, had to die now before worse things would happen! The man might have been able to negate a breath attack, but dragons have far more weapons at their disposal. After all, they didn't claim the pinnacle of existence for nothing.

While raising his scale-covered fist, the dragon roared a battle cry. It was the dragon's accumulated desire to see the blood of the man mocking their kin. The earth shook beneath the might which rested inside the loud screech as he activated his magic. Long claws ignited in fire in a show of intimidation, and yet, the man still didn't flinch away from the inevitable strike. A strike that would normally be sure to kill anything in the world, except the dragons themselves, with a single hit. The dragon released the attack and the burning, gargantuan fist aiming for the mage's life shot forward.

In response, however, the magus did nothing in order to prevent the strike from hitting him. He merely watched as it came closer and closer. It was a strange sensation. In the face of the impending attack he now faced, nearly every other living being would die from the sheer fright alone, and yet, he didn't even flinch Yet he felt no such thing. On contrary, he was even embraced by a sensation of tranquillity. His body whispered in hushed manners to him that there was no reason to be worried, that the dragon's raging fist was no different than a soft breeze of summer would be for a large mountain range. Insignificant.

Winds of destruction bellowed from the mighty attack, stirring up dust and dirt, but they did not affect him in the slightest. Not even his vibrant, soft, pink hair, the weakest part of his body, swayed in wild motions. Instead, it mimicked the repose, hugging the rest of his body and soul. He came to understand that there was indeed no need to dodge, no need to guard, no need to counter. Simply nothing. The dragon could keep punching him for the rest of eternity, but it would be a futile endeavour on the dragon's side. Still, be that as it may, it didn't mean the arcane mage would continue to be passive and let the dragons do as they pleased. He came here for a reason, and he had no intention of stopping his journey of revenge.

Moments before the dragon's strike would connect with him, he raised his left hand in order to intercept the burning assault. Upon contact, a huge column of dust erupted from the ground and blocked the sight of the surrounding dragons. With their sharp hearing, they picked up the noises of bones breaking and shattering, and they took them in with morbid delight, laughing wholeheartedly. They all agreed that this was a fitting end for the puny insect which had dared to offer any form of resistance against their supreme reign.

However, one of them didn't tune in to the humorous sounds echoing across the volcanic landscape since he was the only one who was able to perceive what truly happened behind the veil of dusted air. It was the dragon who had performed the attack and what he witnessed petrified him. Just before he was to hit the offending mage, his victim raised his left hand and extended his pointer finger. When claw and finger touched, bones crunched, and pain erupted from his right paw as it shattered against the nimble finger that was a hidden wall of thick and massive steel. The dragon wanted to scream in agony, but he was too shocked by this development. He had put all of his body's strength into his punch, but it had been as ineffective as throwing a droplet of water against a giant rock. And just like a drop of water would splatter against an unyielding rock, his claw burst open in a spray of blood that dripped onto the mage's hand and the floor.

When the dust had settled, all laughter died down as the other dragons came to understand what had actually transpired. They shared in a moment of utter shock upon realizing it hadn't been the meagre insect that had sustained damage but the member of their own kin. They remained frozen in their stunned silence, along with the dragon nursing his newly deformed palm, but the sorcerer was far from finished with any of them.

He raised his right hand as well and it slid gently through the air in a motion leading towards his opponent. Before any of the dragons were able to comprehend what was happening, their brother had already crashed into the side of a nearby mountain, pushed away by unholy magic that neither of them had seen before. It was so fast that none of them could comprehend what exactly just had happened. The body of the dragon who suffered the unseen attack bled from every pore his body possessed as he withered in pain and agony. Only now did his throat finally release the screams it had held back.

What was that just now? In one moment, that thing was only directing his palm toward him and in the next one, he was on the brink of death?! What was this strength?! What was this magic?! What in the hell was that thing supp-

I'm a Dragon Slayer and I'm going to kill every last one of you.

The sentence that was uttered beforehand resurfaced inside the dragon's mind and caused a feeling inside his heart that he had never felt before. At first, he didn't even perceive it as an emotional sensation because it was so foreign to him. Only from his trembling body did the dragon understand the true meaning of the motions shaking his entire frame. It was not caused by the hellish torture he was put through from all the pain. No, his body shook violently out of fear. He, a mighty, majestic dragon, feared a little, weak human. This couldn't be... It mustn't be! No matter what, he would never acknowledge this! Even in this current shattered form, he refused to accept defeat delivered by the hands of a human-like being. He would-

Suddenly an intense light appeared out of nowhere and illuminated the whole area. It was bright enough to make the fuming dragon temporarily blind. Even closing his eyes proved to be useless in order to reduce the invading, bright essence but it dispersed as fast as it had appeared. The mangled fire dragon directed his fading consciousness in the general direction from where he thought the light had originated. What he found was like a nightmare come true. He saw how the man had conjured raging flames that embraced his entire frame. The magic essence dripping from them felt so nauseating to his senses that he would have vomited if he hadn't been so scared. And as if that was not already enough, the mage mumbled silent orders to the fire surrounding him and the flames obeyed without a second's hesitation. They blazed more violently before they started to condense and shift their form. Upon their master's command, they soon had morphed into a large sword of pure fire, as large as their creator. The new weapon hovered right above his palm beside the pink-haired man and the dragon's scales prickled from the heat that emitted from the blazing sword and its overwhelming might.

Numbed from fear and his broken body, the dragon could do nothing but watch in horror as the man pointed with one of his fingers at him and the sword roared to life to satisfy its master's wishes. Instantaneously the weapon made out of fire and magic had closed the distance and drilled into the body of the dragon effortlessly. A cry full of pain bubbled from his throat as the scorching heat engulfed his body from within. His innards were on fire even though he was a fire dragon and had a natural resistance to fire. But those monster's flames were unlike anything the dragon had seen up to this moment and every protection his body could put forth was meaningless in the face of the destructive and deadly attack. A fire dragon burning to death. Such irony!

But to his horror, the attack wasn't finished yet as the evil magic piercing his body raged stronger than before and began to swell up. Along the bladed sides of the sword, two small sparks appeared and ran along towards the tip. The dragon sensed when they united and formed a bubble of magic right inside of his belly! A bright light began to shine and he looked in blank horror at the caster's face. So far, it had been a neutral expression, but now it was replaced by a demonic smirk that had formed on the arcane mage's lips as he watched the results of his unholy powers, with absolute delight.

This sight was the last aspect of his life that the dragon could perceive because a moment later, the growing bubble of invasive, magical power inside his stomach busted. His scream of death was accompanied by the sound of the roaring explosion that was birthed by the pink-haired man's cruel magic. The dragon's belly was ripped open by the force and the mountainside morphed into a morbid artwork of death, the paint a sickening mixture of the dragon's innards and blood. The artist responsible for the new piece of art looked satisfied with his actions as the lifeless body of the dragon tumbled to the ground and upon impact created a large cloud of dust. Soon the dust had settled and only the unmoving corpse of the once-proud dragon remained in a pool of its own blood.

The culprit behind the brutal murder tried to hold back but failed miserably. At first, only suppressed snorts of amusement escaped him, but that amusement escalated into bouts of unrestrained, and rather maniac cackling that filled the air. His laughter took hold of him so intensely, that he clutched his stomach just to ease the pain that resulted. The scene was grotesque but for the dark sorcerer, it was the best time of his life. He did what nobody else before him could achieve. He pulled one of the mighty dragons from the skies and throttled every last drop of life out of its rotten heart. For him, it was the satisfaction he desired most, after what he'd had to suffer through for two long centuries! This was vengeance, and he would not stop until his thirst for their blood had been quelled!

Every dragon who watched this horrific scene unfold and listened to the concert of madness reaching its climax, felt like this was a nightmare come true. A dragon had been slain by someone other than another dragon. An unfathomable event none of the countless guardians had ever imagined even in their wildest dreams and none of them ever believed could happen. But it had. In front of their very eyes, no less. And only mere seconds ago. In the beginning, there was only the shock but that soon turned into a full-blown rage. None of them would accept such a blasphemous action! Dragons and dragons alone, stood at the top of all living beings. There was nobody standing higher than them and everybody who claimed to be would be killed in the most brutal way possible. There was no room for forgiveness, nor mercy!

Their pupils became nothing but slits as they turned into mindless beasts by their seething wrath. Blinded by their bottomless arrogance and their false sense of superiority, they roared in utter anger and attacked the man who killed one of their kin without a second thought. The mage didn't care about that and instead, his laughter became even louder as he answered the onslaught of countless dragons with his finest smile while his eyes turned into slits as well and a second iris formed around the first one. His already sharp canines grew even more prominent, and his magic power flared up so he could welcome the filthy lizards with what they deserved.

"Kakahahaha. I'm all fired up now!" he roared, greatly pleased with this turn of events.

He pointed at the closest dragon to him and then shifted the direction towards the ground. Said dragon was crushed into the earth at the very same moment by an unknown force the man commanded and mere seconds later, a disgusting sound of breaking bones vibrated in the air together with the dragon's final breath. Not even its screams of death could escape from whatever magic the talented mage used and its life faded in silence until there was nothing left but another pool of blood. The remains of the dragon looked similar to a bug that had been squeezed to death and for that man, dragons may even be regarded as little more than insects.

Another dragon prepared a breath attack, but before it was able to perform its magic, its brown coloured body was sliced apart by newly conjured swords, similar to the one which had claimed the first victim of the dragonkin. They were just as deadly and merciless, and they danced through the air and whenever they hit a target they exploded in their victims and diverted innards all around the area. They took their toll as well on many other dragons because the shock waves resulting from every explosion were just as destructive and life thirsty. Those who were caught up in the destructive waves of death didn't come out scratched either. Limbs were torn from their bodies, while flesh and bones were crushed as well. But they didn't care how many of them fell lifeless to the ground. Their lonesome desire was to kill this being in front of them, no matter the cost! They couldn't allow this monster to take even one more breath.

Those who clashed fists with the Dragon Slayer got their claws smashed to pieces and the force of repulsion was great enough to tear their arms into shreds. It was more than enough of an opening for the man to thrust his hands into their muscular bodies and rip them in half with his bare hands! Not only his magical power was fearsome but his physical prowess as well. Whether he crushed a mountain to dust or tore apart a dragon made no difference to him. With this man's strength, it was all the same.

The air thundered beneath the roars of rage and agony as more and more dragons joined the fight only to be slaughtered right away. Countless magical spells clashed, though all to the same predictable outcome. Though each dragon possessed its own unique array of magic, all of them proved to be utterly useless against this foe since none of them could get even close to their enemy. For every spell they chanted, he cast three of his own and annihilated every attempt to hit him. Red mist covered the battlefield of death and made it impossible to see what was going on exactly, but soon enough, every last noise had vanished from the face of the world.

Left behind was nothing more than an eerie silence as the mist swirled around the area. It was interrupted by firm steps walking across the planes of death as the lone figure marched out of the reddish fog. The mage's presence alone was enough to push aside and disperse the barricades which blocked the sight of the gruesome scene. The charred, volcanic earth was drenched in red and countless dead dragons could be found everywhere. Amidst the carnage, was the man responsible for the massacre. calmly walking towards the entrance they had failed to protect. Like the ground, he was painted red as well, but it was not his blood. In fact, he hadn't suffered a single scratch from the battle. Compared to his, the power of the dragons was simply too fragile to achieve anything when matched up against him. Unlike them, he wasn't arrogant though. He was aware that the Fire God Dragon Ignis, residing inside the volcano was on a completely different level than the maggots he had just killed en masse.

But being different didn't mean that the result would differ as well. With a smirk full of confidence, fuelled by his success mere seconds ago, he stepped into the fiery volcano, prepared to turn this world into a true hell! Once it had been him who burned in the mountain's depths but now it was time to turn the tables and let the Fire Dragon God burn instead. Only then could he find his personal peace.

"I wonder what kind of expression you are going to wear, Ignis," he whispered to himself. But before he could form another thought or take one more step into the dragons' turf, three pillars of blazing fire hit his front and engulfed his entire being. They were stronger and hotter than the flames from the dragons he had killed earlier but to him, this was still nothing more than the meagre cough of an ant. Albeit these ants were slightly taller than the others. That much he had to admit. The columns of heat pushed him back all the way outside or rather he let them push him back. Fighting inside a narrow passageway was never a good idea after all.

He summoned one of his beloved swords and it cut apart the offending fire around him. With a swift and gracious somersault, he landed safely on his feet again and waited for his new opponents to arrive. The earth rumbled as their colossal bodies stormed forward. One after another emerged from the depths of Mt Hakobe as the pink-haired magus was intercepted by three fire dragons. Their mouths opened but no words came out when they analysed their surroundings. The dead bodies of their kin explained how a mere human was able to enter the home of a Dragon God but none of them could actually believe it was the man before them, who had killed all of the guardians. That was simply impossible from their point of view.

The arcane mage, however, couldn't care less about what the dragons thought about him. Besides, his sensitive nose directed his attention elsewhere anyway. Albeit, slightly different, he could still pick up the stench of Ignis from each dragon. He took in their appearances, and it confirmed his suspicions. Suddenly his magic peaked and with every passing second, blazing swords were called forth from the depths of his soul. Their shadows covered his frame. Only the demonic smirk on his face was still visible.

"You are of Ignis' brood, right?"

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In the deepest part of the volcano the master of this realm of fire laid on his throne crafted from molten rock. The black stone was streaked by veins of hot lava, but he wasn't affected by their heat. If he wished it so, he could even burn it away at any given time with the tiniest droplet of his magic. Such is the power that belonged to Fire God Dragon Ignis. Flames danced to his every whim while he lived in the raging inferno. That is the true nature of fire and thus his as well. Fire was him and he was fire. A natural-born destroyer so to speak.

He had awoken from his deep and dreamless slumber only a few minutes ago and was already in a bad mood. He couldn't sense the presence of his strongest son Igneel, so he assumed the young dragon had left to who knows where and probably left no message behind. Ignis had an important matter to discuss with him, but Igneel apparently didn't care much about it. Maybe his son even disregarded him on purpose, simply to interfere with his plans for the future. It wouldn't be the first time that something like that had occurred.

Lately, his son had become quite rebellious and was exhausting what little patience Ignis had. Apparently, Igneel had become too full of himself when he surpassed all of his siblings in terms of strength. Ignis growled in anger as he righted himself. It seemed there was a dire need for serious talk between the two of them. He could wait until Igneel returned, but that would take too long and would give his son only unnecessary satisfaction. So instead, he settled on a decision to search for Igneel himself. This would be the fastest way. Further, the change of scenery might even be helpful to calm him down ever so slightly.

He shook his body awake and stretched his large wings before he folded them at the sides of his gargantuan body. When he was about to take the first step from his large throne, he heard the echo of several roars far in the distance. By the sound, it had to be somewhere in the branched caves of his home. It was not out of the ordinary for arguments between dragons to get pretty loud. What concerned him, was the explosions that followed shortly after, strong enough to set the earth beneath his claws to a slight quiver. Something clearly wasn't as it should be. Was there someone actually dumb enough to invade the kingdom of the fire dragon god Ignis? Certainly not. Must be his imagination then. After all, there was no living being that didn't know that Mt Hakobe was his home. Considering that, he easily dismissed any thoughts about the uproar and continued on his search for Igneel.

Seconds later though, he regretted his decision because something crashed through the countless walls of the labyrinth of passages that carved through his mountain. It collided with his side before the offending object fell to the ground with a wet thud. What in the?! Naturally, he didn't suffer any damage or injury since his indestructible scales absorbed all force from the impact but Ignis' rage spiked instantaneously but it vanished when his nose picked up the metallic smell of blood. He focused his vision on the unidentified thing at his feet and if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes he wouldn't have believed it. The body was barely recognisable but Ignis still could make it out as the mutilated and bloody corpse of a dragon.

Immediately, he stretched his senses to the turmoil and almost choked on his own saliva. He could feel how the magic of many different dragons spiked before a larger type of magic, that without a doubt didn't belong to a dragon, followed suit. Then he heard the roars and explosions again before silence returned and he realised why. With each explosion, he lost countless magical signatures at once from his magical radar, each of them representing an individual dragon! Only one thing could cause magic to vanish - death. His colossal body moved on its own accord as the earth crumbled under his urgency.

He ran along the dark corridors and if a wall was not important for the stability of the volcano, he crushed through it to make his way shorter. The closer he got, the more noises he could pick up. There were not only roars but screams of agony as well. Also, the sound of countless different types of magic echoed through the many passageways.

Was there more than one assailant? He could hardly believe this. His senses told him, that there was only one singular individual that wasn't a dragon and from what he could perceive, its strength was enormous. This didn't explain all the different sounds of magic he picked up with his keen ears though. There were too many of them, even when counting each dragon's individual type of magic. Doubling his speed he arrived, at last, at the spot of the battle and came to a complete halt after he saw what had happened here. The stench of blood was so strong that for a moment, he thought he was not in his home but in a slaughterhouse instead.

It was a large clearing inside the burning confines of Mt Hakobe, offering enough space for several thousands of dragons at once. Large columns of stone grew from the ground and reached the ceiling in order to support the entire mountain. In the centre, laid one lone dragon but it was not just any dragon and Ignis could feel how his wrath rose to unheard heights.

It was his own flesh and blood, one of his sons! His whole body was covered in mortal wounds, blood oozing out of them as the red substance collected in a large puddle beneath him. Both of his mighty wings had been brutally ripped off of his body, leaving two gaping holes in his back behind. He looked similar to the corpse that crashed against Ignis's body. He was still alive but only barely and no matter what, he was not going to pull through. He had simply received too many fatal wounds. Sensing his father's presence, he gazed at him and there was hope sparkling in his yellow eyes.

If anyone could defeat the Dragon Slayer, as the man responsible for all of this called himself, it would be his father. Ignis's son tried to reach out to his father and was about to say something, but he wasn't granted enough time. From above, a myriad of swords of pure fire rained down upon him, piercing through and cutting apart his body. One of them skewered his head and ended his life without mercy, right in front of Ignis's eyes.

The Fire God Dragon watched as the life faded from his son's eyes until nothing was left but a neutral expression. He didn't belong to the kind of dragons who wholeheartedly cared for their offspring. So seeing one of his sons die in front of him affected his emotional state less than one would expect. However, the fact remained unchanged, that this dragon was his own flesh and blood, so Ignis's fire blazed forward with a violent flash. Killing one of his sons was the same as spitting into his face and meant that there would be war.

"Whoever is responsible for this, you will pay for that, do you hear me?!" Ignis screamed. His roar carried enough strength to cause an earthquake and effectively scared every creature living near Mt Hakobe away, all but one.

A dark chuckle answered his enraged screech, drawing his attention towards one of the large walls supporting the large room. What he saw froze the burning blood in his veins because it just couldn't be an aspect of reality.

Atop a mountain of dragon corpses, drenched in their blood from head to toe, sat the culprit with a cruel smile gracing his features. In all these centuries, he had barely changed. His head still adored the hedgehog-like, pinkish hair and his bloody red eyes were as menacing as ever. The only difference was that he has matured into an impressive adult. The childish features had vanished without a trace and this pronounced his intimidating image even more.

And then there was his magic as well. Ignis had lived for aeons already but never before had his nerves registered a magical power as vile and nauseating as the one of this man. Just sensing it, was enough to corrupt his mind and make him fuzzy. It made him want to vomit everything in his stomach. Where did he obtain this kind of magic and how could the body of a mere human keep up with such powerful magic anyway? And why was he still alive?

Before he could continue his train of thoughts, his former hostage raised his voice and pulled Ignis back into the here and now.

"Ah, what a touching reunion this is. After all this time, we finally meet each other again and what do I get as a greeting? Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed. I was hoping for a better expression. Like the ones from your filthy brood when I slaughtered them," his former victim cooed in the softest tune of incarnated madness.

Hearing the mockery increased Ignis's rage even more. He was at his boiling point. One step further and there would be no return anymore. One step more and this world shall burn to ashes by his fire. And this filthy creature in front of him along with it. He would make sure that there's not going to be a next time for them meeting again.

"Little insect. I don't know by which means you were able to survive, but you should have deemed yourself lucky and should have crawled back into the darkness of the earth where you belong. Instead, you chose to oppose me once again. I will make sure your life will end in the cruellest way possible and that your name will be erased from history," Ignis threatened. In response, the man narrowed his eyes and stood up.

In an instant, he had crossed the distance between them and was standing right in front of the Fire Dragon God, unafraid of Ignis's suffocating magical power.

"Funny, I was just thinking the same."

Above them, Mt. Hakobe started to spit fire as both of them raised their magic. Both powers clashed in the atmosphere surrounding them and everything began to tremble beneath the overwhelming strength they possessed. Thick and heavy clouds darkened the skies as the tension skyrocketed.

It snapped as Ignis inhaled deeply and prepared himself to unleash his mighty roar on his opponent. He was startled when the man mimicked his movements and took a deep inhale himself.

Both of them released their strikes at the same time and Ignis couldn't believe what he saw. The attack from the man was not only equal to his own and therefore able to counter it. In fact, it was the very same magic he used.

It was the Fire Dragon's Roar!

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A lot of fighting will await you in the upcoming chapters. Laced between, is much information that will hopefully come as big surprises to you since they twist around the events of the canon story to some extent. Nothing too major but hopefully interesting, nonetheless. At least, that is my intention for putting them where I did :D

I hope you will like them. :D