Note: Just a couple days before we'll get the next chapter. I honestly haven't waited for a Fairy Tail chapter with this much anticipation since Acnologia attacked Tenrou Island, and the seven year time skip. All things considered, Chapter 73 really stressed me out, and left me feel rather depressed. I won't bore you with the details (unless you're interested), but I'm hoping Chapter 74 gives some more information, and at least we get some NaLu out of this whole experience.
Fueling the Fire
"What's that shaking?" Touka asked, as she and everyone else shifted at the brief tremor that went through the cave.
"I've got a pretty good guess," Gray answered. He was with Whiteout as they continued the search for Natsu; being dragged behind them were the struggling yokai. Unfortunately, there still wasn't much sign of Lucy or Erza. That was concerning to Gray; Lucy was the only who could probably talk Natsu down, and who knew what kind of monster Erza was upgraded to.
"We're running out of time," the Great Priestess said, stepping forward, "The creature is getting stronger by the moment."
"Natsu's not a creature!" Gray snapped. The Priestess was silent for a moment, as she glared at Gray.
"I'm going to be extremely blunt with you right here," she said.
"Wait, so you've been holding back lately?" Gray asked sarcastically.
"That boy, demon, whatever he is, is drawing power from the Suspiria in the air. There's no other way to describe it other than pouring fuel onto a fire. His power will continue to grow, and doubtlessly his anger with it. How long do you think it'll be before he loses what little control he has over it?" Gray opened then closed his mouth, as he glared at the ground.
"You can sense it too, can't you?" the Priestess continued, as she stepped forward. Gray frowned as he clenched his teeth; he didn't want to admit it, but he could. Aside from the cavern gradually getting warmer, there was a malicious presence in the air. END was getting stronger by the minute, and the stronger he got, the more of Natsu was being lost.
"But… if he takes down Selene, then he'll stop, right?" Touka asked, raising a paw, "His target will be gone, and he won't need to be angry anymore."
"Since when are fires that restrained?" the Priestess answered grimly.
"That's why we need to change the girls back to normal as soon as possible," Gray said.
"You keep repeating that, and I'll keep repeating that it won't be that simple."
"I don't know how many times I've gotta say it," the Ice Mage said, taking a step towards her, as a couple other priestesses positioned themselves in front of him, "If we're going to snap Natsu out of this, we'll need them, especially Lucy."
"Priestess," Faris said, stepping forward slowly, "Turning them back to normal may really be the only way." The Priestess took a breath, as she dragged her hand down her face.
"Listen carefully, even if I can transform them back, and there's no guarantee than I can," the Priestess said, "I don't have the means to do it here. If this approach is to work, we'd have to capture the demon as well."
"Trust me, it won't be that easy," Gray said.
"Faris informed you possess magic specifically purposed for slaying demons," the Priestess said.
"And Natsu has magic specifically purposed to slaying dragons," Gray answered, "Doesn't mean he can do it on his own. Even Acnologia was leery of END." The Priestess frowned, as she rubbed her chin briefly, before sighing.
"Just know," she eventually said, "That if it comes to saving your compatriots, or saving Elentir…"
"Yeah, yeah," Gray interrupted, waving his hand, "You'll hang us out to dry."
"Oh, I'll do much more than that to save my world," the Priestess said, in a tone even Gray found icy. With that, she and her procession continued on.
"Good to know," Gray muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
(|)
One could safely say that by this point, between the fearful chatter amongst the handmaidens, and Hakune's complete and utter defeat, Selene's celebration had been completely ruined. Now she was left to watch as the monster trudged its way in the caverns under her mountain, unable to relax anymore.
The Moon Dragon was actually also aware of the presence of the Whiteout forces (they were hard to miss), but being honesty, she didn't really care. At any rate, she'd dealt with their ilk before, so they'd be easy to clear out. The demon, however, advancing through the tunnels, she wasn't as sure about, hence, it took priority. It was not that she didn't have confidence in her servants, but this creature (END as Irene referred to him) was strong, very strong.
"Construct," Selene hissed, earning Irene's attention.
"Hmm?" the thought projection responded mockingly, something Selene was in no mood for.
"You're going to tell me everything I don't know about this thing," Selene hissed, pointing at the image.
"Are you sure?" Irene asked sardonically, "It may ruin the whole thing if you know how it's going to end."
"Spare me," Selene sneered.
"And I would do that… why?" Irene asked, gesturing with her fake sake cup.
"Because I may not be able to hurt you," Selene responded, as she leaned forward, "But I can certainly hurt the tengu that you're currently inhabiting. I imagine that you don't want that." Irene looked at her for a time, narrowing her eyes briefly, realizing she couldn't argue with that, as she sighed.
"I only know what my master told me, or what the boy told my current host," she relented.
"That'll do for the moment."
"Very well then, Etherious are artificial demons created by the Black Mage, Zeref, or as I knew him, Emperor Spriggan," Irene explained, "For the longest time, all he wanted to do was die, and so he created numerous Etherious to try and facilitate that process. They varied greatly in power, but none were as powerful as END, or rather, 'Etherious Natsu Dragneel'."
"'Etherious Natsu Dragneel'?" Selene echoed, narrowing her eyes. So these Etherious were created with the express purpose of destroying immortals?
"If memory serves, the last time END slipped out, it was when the boy found the blonde girl brutalized," Irene continued, before leaning forward slightly, "Sound familiar, Moon Dragon?" An ominous chill ran its way down Selene's spine, and would've gone all the way to the tip of her tail if she was in dragon form.
"How do I stop it?" Selene demanded.
"Stop it?" Irene snorted, "You might as well ask a normal human to stop a wildfire. I don't know why you're so distressed, wasn't this all your intention? Isn't this all entertaining?"
"Everything has a weakness," Selene responded, not dignifying that with a response, "One can only hide them for so long, I should know." That was when a thought came to her, as she smiled slightly. She then gestured for some another sake cup to be brought over.
"And I have a good idea as to where start," she said. Irene just laughed some more.
"Well then, good luck, Moon Dragon," she sneered, "I'm sure whatever plan you'll concoct will work flawlessly." Selene just took another sip of her drink, confident in this plan of her's; and yet, she didn't feel that reassured.
(|)
Natsu found himself having to stop, as the pain got worse. The black markings now completely covered his arms, as well as his shoulders, and legs, causing them to now spread to his torso. One could even see tiny glowing cracks appearing on arms and legs. He groaned, dragging his hand down his face.
"Why do you keep fighting it?" Natsu looked up to see the other him again, sitting on a rock.
"I don't need you," Natsu answered through his panting.
"Last I checked, it was with my power that you defeated that snow bitch back there," the other Natsu said, jerking his thumb back down the way where Hakune was.
"I don't need you,"Natsu repeated, almost as much to himself as his other side, as he pushed himself back up to keep walking, "I'll save Lucy on my own."
"That girl meant the world to both you and me," the other said, as he walked beside the Dragon Slayer, "Frankly, I think I have right to protect her as well."
"I know what happened the last time I let you out," Natsu hissed, glaring at the image, "I'm not making that mistake again."
"Mistake?" the other asked, as he positioned himself in front of Natsu, "Tell me, who was it who saved Lucy from that maniac with the time powers? Was it you? Because if memory serves, you were restrained on a chair. No, it was me. It was because of me! It's always been because of me!"
"You're just a destroyer," Natsu answered, "That's all you can ever do."
"And maybe that's exactly what we need right now," the other Natsu answered, "Besides, wouldn't Lucy say that would be the 'pot calling the kettle black' or something like that?"
"Well, Lucy ain't here!" Natsu snapped.
"No," the other said in a tone way colder than it should've been, "Because she's been turned into a monster, and she's now slithering through these tunnels like a common animal. And I don't see you making much real progress in fixing this." Natsu growled, but before he answered, he sensed another familiar presence, two actually this time.
"Wonderful, so now it's talking to itself."
"Perhaps if it's mind is starting to slip, we'll have a better chance against it." Natsu looked up to see Youko and Mimi approaching him.
"You," Natsu growled, as his narrowed his eyes; his gaze was particularly focused on Youko. He remembered her being the one to mock her about Lucy, and it wasn't hard for him to discern one fact: she was the one who transformed her into a nure-onna.
"We're here to get revenge for Hakune!" Youko said as she took a casting stance, "We're going to rip you to pieces!"
"We'll make this quick," Mimi said, as she took a fighting stance, "Lady Selene wants this done with quickly." Natsu just growled as he stood up straight, as he cracked his neck, and held out his arms, w which got consumed with fire.
"Now," he muttered slowly, "You burn."
Note: Not much really in this chapter, but based on what's going to happen next chapter, I thought a little more of a buffer would be appropriate. We do get some more discussion between Natsu and END, and it seems Gray's having trouble with Whiteout.
So now Youko and Mimi are going against Natsu. This is probably going to be ugly.
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