Chapter 21

Natsu and Erza fly atop Igneel as he flies in on the castle. Knights in the castle who are not affected by Zeref's spell mobilize to combat their perceived threat. No doubt, among them are Dragon Slayers. Flying Serpents and Griffons take to the sky with knights riding them to intercept the Dragons and their companions.

"We can get you to the ground, but it'll be up to you from there." Igneel informs them.

Metalicana flys up with Gajeel, "We'll hold off their aerial units as much as possible."

"Hopefully with as few casualties as possible." Grandine adds.

The dragons maneuver around the incoming soldiers in the sky. Natsu holds onto Erza tightly as the wind against them grows much rougher, threatening to blow her off. The three dragon slayers are used to flying and have an easier time keeping their balance. In Anna and Wendy's case though,the Sky Dragon, who they are flying with, is using her magic to help keep the wind around her as manageable as possible. She also uses a support spell on them to aid in their balance.

A soldier riding a griffon flies in closer at Gajeel and Metalicana. Metalicana is unable to evade the soldier, who aims to attack Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer jumps into the sky and swings at the soldier with an iron pole which extends from his arm. He whacks the soldier off of his griffon. The soldier falls onto Metalicana's sleek back and slides off the side. Fortunately for him, his Griffon flies around and picks him up, taking him to safety. Gajeel meanwhile lands further down his adoptive father's back and uses his magic to cut into his scales to stabilize himself.

"Gah, Gajeel!" Metalicana yells, "Watch it!"

"What, that hurt, pops?"

Metalicana growls. At this point, the dragons had made it close enough to the castle to drop the humans off. Rather than allowing Gajeel to dismount safely, Metalicana spun in the air and threw Gajeel off his back! Natsu snickered at Gajeel as Igneel landed for him and Erza to get off. Grandine also landed for a safe departure.

"Be careful." Grandine warns them as she and Igneel take flight to join Weisslogia, Skiadrum, and Atlas Flame in the sky.

Natsu and the others nod their heads and take off running towards the inner parts of the castle. The day-to-day workers seem mildly concerned by the commotion going around outside, but nobody seems to stop them, most likely on account of Erza being present. With Zeref having taken out most of the army already, there aren't many soldiers left to defend the castle. Thankfully, this wasn't meant to be a full-on invasion, and the dragons would dissuade most from pursuing any criminal activity.

It is clear that the castle isn't devoid of soldiers though. A few of them jump out from around a corner and attack the team. Natsu and Gajeel dart forward and meet the soldiers head on with a combination of fire and iron. Natsu swings at a soldier with fists of fire and lands two blows before knocking the soldier to the ground unconscious. Gajeel swipes at the rest of the soldiers with an iron pole and knocks them all to the ground, unconscious.

"Gihihi, take that, Salamander."

"This isn't a competition." Erza reminds him.

Gajeel turns around and gives Erza a haunting look, "Relax, just trying to-"

Before Gajeel can finish, the soldiers jump up and rush him! Erza dashes forward and intercepts the soldiers, cutting them down once more. They groan as they lift themselves off the ground, almost looking like puppets. Turning the corner, the team comes face-to-face with Seilah.

"You really have been an antagonist in my book, Princess." She says as she saunters up to the group, "Though, I should thank you. My story might have been over if not for your little attack."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say your father, the King, wasn't too pleased with my failures to bring you home."

Anna pulls out the Golden Key of Pisces, "Erza and Natsu, you two go on, we'll handle Seilah."

"And what makes you think I'm going to let them past me?"

"Jeremiah dies!" Gajeel suddenly shouts.

Everyone looks at Gajeel in confusion.

"What did you say?" Seilah asks, a hint of fear in her words.

"That book you're reading, Jeremiah dies." He says, pointing at the mystery novel in her hand.

Seilah's eye twitches. With a hint of fear still in her words, she says, "You're lucky I already finished this book…I don't take kindly to spoilers."

"You read?" Wendy asks.

"What, you think I'm some uncivilized ape like Salamander!?" Gajeel shoots back, clearly having took offense by Wendy's statement.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Wendy says while bowing, "I didn't mean it that way!"

"Regardless, you were saying about not letting us pass?" Anna asks with a sneaky smile.

"I won't…" It is now that Seilah realizes that Erza and Natsu are already gone, "How did they get past me!?"

"They probably took some secret passage, one that leads them to the duke's room for them to murder his wife?" Gajeel says.

"Are you referencing something?" Seilah asks.

Gajeel smiles, "I thought you finished that book?"

Seilah's eyes light up with an intense fury, "Alright, you die!"

With that, she throws her book at Gajeel, who effortlessly dodges out of the way, only for the book to come straight at Anna. The Celestial Spirit Mage rolls out of the way and summons Pisces to her side. The mother and son immediately take action to take out Seilah. The general however smiles devilishly and washes her magic over them. They stop in their tracks and pivot around to focus their attack on Anna. She isn't afraid though; Wendy is already in position to disrupt the battlefield.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" A vortex of wind fires out of Wendy's mouth. Mother Pisces and the remaining soldiers are sent flying away. Son Pisces is forced to thrust his spear into the ground to keep himself from being sent flying as well. All that is left is Gajeel and Seilah. Seilah quickly darts around the corner to take cover, while Gajeel allowed himself to be picked up by wind.

"Woah, this is awesome!" He shouts as he sails on the wind, "Iron Dragon's Club!"

He swings at the corner, which Seilah is taking cover behind, and effortlessly smashes through it. Along with the debris, Seilah is sent slamming against the wall, where she slumps down, defeated.

Gajeel lands in front of her a kneels down. Although she can't hear him, he tells her, "Sorry about that, needed to distract you for a bit."

He then stands up and faces his teammates. He gives them a thumbs up.

"Let's go, we need to find Queen Irene." Anna says, taking off running with Wendy and her spirits at her side.

Gajeel drops his thumb and watches Anna and Wendy run past him dejectedly before following after them.

"Nothing?"

Thank you for reading!

Please Review!