Hello, everyone! I am so sorry about the wait! It was a number of things, new job, summer bullshit, my god damned partner in crime posting a chapter onto this without my knowing…
*Hey! In my defence, you were going down a shitty road.*
Whatever, but I do appreciate the aid. So, I will give a shout out to each individual at the end of this chapter just because they did that.
Also, the poll is still going, but by next chapter, that's it! Vote by then if you wish to have Natsu pair up with a certain girl!
*And no, we will not show the results until then. So keep voting.*
Erik's Pov.
You know what I said, about how we had a chance? Yeah… no. We are fucking screwed.
First off, the little Sky Dragon Slayer, Wendy, went against the bladed drake, and lost. How? Well, it wasn't a fight of might, like mine or Gajeel's, but rather one of the mind. After thousands of riddles they asked each other, she was stumped by one. Thus, we got our first lose. No biggy, right?
2
Then came Hoodie. Well, his real name is Vale, but we all call him Hoodie because of his hood and scarf. He went against Sir Rainbowton Gaylord Pixiefucker the Drake. I do remember it's name is Iris, but honestly, mine is much better. But, they only stared at each other for god knows how long before Hoodie bowed and said he conceded! The shit!
Hopefully, HOPEFULLY… Natsu can pull off a victory against the black and yellow scaly asshole who leads this shit show.
…
Wait…
…
This is Natsu we are talking about… fuck. Yeah, we are either gonna win epicly, or fail in the most horrendous way. NATSU, YOU BETTER NOT FUCK THIS UP!
Natsu's Pov.
I can almost hear Cob- Erik, he isn't the snake anymore, yelling at me from within his mind. So is Gajeel and Laxus, the later standing defensively in front of the group and warming me up with a cup of lightning. What? I am fighting an Alpha Drake after all.
However, they are not my main focus. No, that would be the scaly beast in front of me that would look like a Lion compared to the Giants I had trained with. Thalicon stood before me, waiting for me to make my challenge.
"The fights before, of Gajeel Redfox verses Scrawlin in a test of physical might, with Redfox as the victor, Erik Cobra verses Vaermina in physical combat, with Cobra as the victor, Wendy Marvell and Achilles in a test of mental combat, with Achilles, myself, as the victor, and Vale Griswold versus Iris in a test of mental strength, with Iris the victor. Now, Thalicon and Natsu Dragneel shall face off in a challenge of Thalicon's choosing to finish off the Gauntlet, deciding if the children of Dragons or the Drakes are superior." Booms out Achilles.
Thalicon drags himself forth, the sickly yellowish green and black scaled body not only acting as armor, but once he stretched himself out, it also seemed to serve the purpose of holding all his muscle in place. The scars across his body seem to ooze with infection and disease, flies swarming some of the cuts that are on his back and shoulders or limbs, his milky eyes that almost seem blind glare at me.
"I challenge Natsu Dragneel, son of Igneel and Dranosa, nephew of Atlas Flame, Cousin of Noxidanill, and leader of the Dragon Slayers, to the final contest of the Gauntlet, a test of power. We shall fire off our most powerful attack into the heavens, and each side shall give a number, ranging from one to ten on how powerful it is. One, being weak enough to not even harm another being, and ten being unimaginably strong. Achilles will judge for honesty." Declared the Alpha of this Drake Pack.
"As he is the Challenger in the Gauntlet, shouldn't Thalicon go first?" Rose up the voice of Laxus, taking a few paces forth to the drakes. The two female ones glared at him, Iris appeared to be infatuated with Vale by giving him an unknown stare, while Achilles' interest seemed to be peeked.
"In old tradition, yes… It was custom for the Challenger to go first. However, young Dragon Slayer, you failed to notice that we are not the Challenges here. You are." Stated Achilles. A look of realization dawned on everyone, save for the drakes. I am not really surprised by this, but it did shock me a bit when I remembered that I am the challenger.
"But no, Thalicon will go first, as he is the Challenged." Boomed out Achilles, the two female drakes giving us smug looks, Vaermina even giving a rather pompous hmf, as if she won an argument with us.
The Drake of Disease slides his way into the center of the clearing, and puffs up his chest. He unfurled his massive and torn wings that look like they belong to a dead dragon. Thalicon releases a large breath, a green cloud emerging from his nostrils and from between his fangs, the flies and insects swarming to the cloud of pure disease.
He lifts his hulking body upward, his black scaled chest puffing out, causing scars and open burn like wounds to pus and fester, before slamming back down, head reared back and lets loose.
A wave, no, a jet of pure green liquid and gas stream from the giant lizards mouth, and it swells and takes form into a man on horseback, riding down with the wave of death.
"Disease Dragon Secret Art; Horseman of Pestilence's Warpath Roar!" Bellows out the drake as the rider, who I now identify as an apparition of the Horseman Pestilence, rides forth with the roar, a pair of saw blade like swords in each hand as it rides down the river of green death, with images of rats, flies, maggots, and mangy dogs running in a sickly yellow color within the waves of neon green. Suddenly, the attack dissolves within the sky, and dissipates into harmless white mist, courtesy of Wendy.
"I can see why you are the leader of these drakes, Thalicon. That was quite the impressive attack, summoning the power of a Horseman like that." I state, walking up next to the Alpha Drake.
"I thank you, Son of Igneel. Let us witness if you can match or exceed my power with your own attack." He booms, lumbering back to his group.
I turn to Laxus. "Get everyone out of the thousand foot blast zone. This is gonna get messy." I shout. He nods before ushering everyone down the path that lead to my home.
I stand still, looking to the heavens, building up the magic power within me.
Bu-bump. Bu-bump.
Breath in, breath out. Concentrate. I let the power I gained over the years flow through me. Flames spark to life around me, with lightning dancing over the flames. Hellfire swirls into existence around me, encompassing my body underneath the normal flames, and the shadows of Night spike and sparkle around the hellish element, causing the lightning and flames to darken and move in spastic and sporadic motions around me, as if nothing I was doing was controlled. I sensed the creatures of the wilds being drawn into me. The three exceeds with the younger Dragon Slayers. The birds in the trees. The squirrels and chipmunks crawling their branches. The insects and moles in the earth. The snake slithering on the ground, and the turtle in the pond hunting minnows and guppies as frogs croak from the banks of the muddy water hole. A small herd of deer gallop through the forest, and a lone bobcat follows a family of hares. Even the drakes that we challenge. Their life energy flows into me, giving the power I expel a spiritually, leafy green color.
Bu-bump. Bu-bump.
Seven magic circles form around my body. The first, a black one with speckles of white or gray in it, around my knees. A second, a purplish red one, encompaces my hips. A yellow one that is decorated with blue is hooping my stomach. The fourth is a forest green and brown that goes around my chest, around where my heart is. The fifth is black with details of red encompaces my head. Finally, a red and orange one sits on top of my head and one at the bottom of my feet. The difference between the two is that the one at my feet has a normal dragon head like the other five, while the one on top has a dragon with a crown on it.
"Dragon Force."
Bu-bump. Bu-bump.
Suddenly, above me, six circles similar to the previous form, but are twice if not three times the size. They spin rapidly, basking my body in purple, crimson, and dark green light.
My limbs lengthen, my torso expands, and my head grows to proportion with my body. From above my brow, curling back slightly with the waves of my long and light red hair, a pair of large dark brown twelve point elk antlers grow out. Behind my now pointed ears, a pair of large and curled red and black horns form, looking almost like Igneel's. My eyes gain cracks and leak molten hellfire from the crevices around my burning amber and black orbs. From my back, two sets of wings burst forth. The first ones are red with a black skeletal coat over them with flames emerging from the 'bones', and a pair of large, black with streaks of purple and crimson, leathery membrane between the draconic wings. The second pair are a soft golden white and to the roots of the feathers, they turn blue, and make it look like the wings are a reverse night sky, with streaks of light blue and yellow going over them, looking like lightning flashes. My fists are covered by black carapace like scales that have moonlight blue speckles on them, like a dark robin's egg, and blaze with blue and purple hellfire from beneath the purple edged plates, and four large black spines come out of forearm to the side like spikes on a gauntlet, and my fingers end in black and purple talons. My feet look like that of a bird of prey or an odd looking dragon. There are four toes on the front, and one toe in back, all tipped with black talons. The last three toes on each foot look the same, besides what should be the 'big toe', where a large hooked sickle of a claw sits. The leathery scales are all a light metallicless golden color, with large white and yellow plates starting at my shin and rising up to my knees. From where my second pair of wings are, feathers flow down towards my backside, where a long tail has emerged from my pants. It's black and carapaced, and looks much like my fists, with the added detail of sails like the ones on my first set of wings between the spikes on them.
Bu-bump. Bu-bump.
"Take-Over: Sohn der Drachen, Erbe des Königs!" (1)
Bu-bump. Bu-bump.
Meanwhile, further down the road with a squad of Rune Knights.
No ones Pov.
"Alright men! There has been a large amount of magical energy coming from the mountains here. As far as reports say, no locals live up here, save for one Natsu Dragneel, a wizard of Fairy Tail!" Barks out a Lieutenant, scanning over the troop of twelve men he is in charge of. All of them bear the same uniform, a steel gousset with the custom blue canvas brigandine with yellow stripes on it. Mail coif and sallets covered their heads, and gauntlets and boots over their limbs. Each had a spear in hand and a kite shield with a checkered pattern of the same blue and yellow their brigandine were in the other. Behind him, a mage from the Magic Council, a man named Doranbolt, sits in wait for us.
"The higher ups say that we are to locate the source of the magical energy with the aid of the representative of the Magic Council, and to have him immediately report back to them. From there, we will receive reinforcements adequate to what they deem fit. Under no circumstance are we to engage in any combat related activity with any hostiles upon the mountains that are related to the magical energy without backup. Understood?!" Bellows the Lieutenant.
"Sir!"
"Good, lets move out, men! Doranbolt, lead the way." Shouts the Lieutenant. The teleport mage sighs. They begin their hike up the mountain, using utmost caution to approach undetected, by human means, at least.
"I would turn back, if I were you." Calls out a voice from ahead.
"Halt! In the name of the magic council, I demand you to state who you are and what authority do you have to stop a mission given to us by the Council itself!" Roars the head officer of the band of troops. From behind a boulder and tree, two familiar faces and a face Doranbolt learned in no time emerged, along with several other mages.
Wendy Marvell, Gajeel Redfox, and Fairy Tail's Fourth Master and the Honorary Sixth Wizard Saint, Laxus Dreyar, and several other mages from Fairy Tail, most being Dragon Slayers.
"I said, I would turn back, because ahead is a force that could decimate anyone who wasn't wizard saint above the 6th rank. Myself included." Thunders Laxus, looking over the trembling men, save for one familiar teleport mage in the Enforcement Unit.
"If we should turn back, may you tell us what is going on, Wizard Saint Dreyar?" Comes the clear but graveled voice of Doranbolt, taking three steps toward the Lightning Dragon Slayer. The man in purple with a long white coat with the wizard saint emblem on the back that is lined with black fur smirks.
"Behind us is a challenge made for Dragons, the subraces of Dragons known as Drakes and Wurms, and Dragon Slayers, simply known as the Gauntlet. Currently, a pack of the race known as Drakes are performing it with the Dragon Slayer members of Fairy Tail, Gajeel being the first one to complete it, with Erik Cobra, Wendy Marvell, and Valeimirion Griswold already completing their tasks. As of now, the pressure behind me is being made by the one and only Salamander of Fairy Tail, our Ace, Natsu Dragneel, as he is facing off against the leader of the back of drakes in a test of Magical Power. We are evacuating anyone who can't handle 7500 points of magical power within slight discomfort out of the 1000 foot minimal blast zone, for mages. Civilians and any non Mage must be at least 1500 feet back." Declares Laxus, surprisingly in one breath.
"If you don't believe us, I can take you to them, but we will have to run out of the 1000 foot minimal blast zone before Salamander releases one of his more devastating attacks into the heavens." Remarks Gajeel, pointing his draconic prothstetic in the general direction of Natsu and the immense magical pressure.
"I will go with him, as I can teleport us back. The rest of you, return back to where the Lieutenant made his speech. I will arrive with a full report once I gathered if what they said is true." Declares Doranbolt.
"Lets go, Capone." Mutters Gajeel, trudging back up the path from whence he came. Doranbolt slinked on after the cybernetic Iron Dragon Slayer, leaving the other Slayers and Fairy Tail mages to their devices and the troops to march back to their camp.
As they neared Natsu and Happy's old home, Doranbolt saw the clearing of destruction where his old home stood. There, a penta of dragon like creatures sit, the Pack of Drakes. And in the center of the clearing, giving off enough magic power where he could rival some of the four Gods of Ishgar and looking more dragon than man, Natsu Dragneel.
Behind him nine magic circles. The first two are familiar. The first is the Re-Equip circle in a silvery white. The second however, is Natsu's signature red and orange Fire Dragon circle. From there, a yellow circle that looks not that unlike Laxus' Dragon Slayer circle, a green circle with similar markings to the other Dragon Slayer Circles, followed by a black and blue circle with flecks of white, a crimson and maroon circle, a black and purple circle, a royal red and dark yellow circle and lastly, a large circle that looks like nothing he has ever seen before. I
t is massive, spinning with runes and other magical symbols, but in the center, four marks are seen surrounding one. The first mark is that of Fairy Tail, and across from it is the mark of Tartaros. The next one, is a mark of Dragon Slayer, while the second was only seen by Doranbolt in a book about Forgotten Magic. The symbol for Devil Slayer. In the center of them all, a circular mark is seen. This mark is unrecognizable, but could be guessed by what the symbol looked like. It was a ring around a large wolf like skull that had a gouge over it's left eye that had four horns and was wearing a crown, with its claws under it's chin.
To Natsu, however, and the Dragon Kings and Queens, he knew what it was. The Mark of a Dragon King's Secret attack, coming directly from the Dragon King.
He rears back his head, and aims upward to the heavens.
"We got to go, Salamander is about to let loose his attack!" Shouts Gajeel as the winds begin to pick up. Doranbolt nods, grabbing his arm and teleports back to the group.
"Hellish Night Beast of the Fire Storm's Dragon Secret Art; Death Dragon's Catalyst of the Apocalypse… NOVA FLARE WOLF, FENRIR!" Bellows out Natsu.
He slams his arms outward, his elbows locked to his ribs so that he thrusts out his chest. A large black and dark green luminescent spectral wolf that dwarfs all the Drakes emerges from his chest, swelling and expanding as it erupts from the center of the young man's being, with fire leaping from it's brittle and thick fur and electricity crackling around it's sword sized claws, hellfire pooling around its plate sized eyes making them look like they were made from evil, with black chains of a midnight like substance wrapped around it's massive body.
The large beast growls, black smoke with speckles of blue and white visible in the smoke like mist, before racing upward, as if the heavens and clouds were like the ground. It continued to dash into the sky, leaving behind a trail of flame, hellfire, electricity, and shadowy night energy like a comet or a laser as it rose into the sky.
Meanwhile, in an undisclosed place that is owned by the Magic Council.
Rune Knights, Frog People, and several other peoples rush around like chickens without their heads, while three frogs sweat in front of a monitor, looking at the static the emanates from the lacrima screen. The words scroll across the screen say 'Etherion Destroyed.'
Panic ensued soon after, and only three people in the entire facility don't. The first is the head of the Enforcement Unit, a man named Lahar, staring up at the sky, specifically a long streak of black, red, crimson, orange, yellow, and green that ended in the explosion of the important equipment. A second man, only recognized by the robe over his armor he wore as a Wizard Saint robe and the suit of silver helm upon his head, stood next to the Enforcement Unit Head. This man, was Reinhard Olyar, the Eighth Wizard Saint, or as he was commonly known as, the Silver Frost Knight.
The third figure, was not affiliated with the Council like the Commander and the Saint. This, was no man, if his features were to say anything by. A large, bristled, wave of gray sat upon his head with two diamond shaped ears rising next to it. The being's face was covered in short brownish gray fur that rolled with the waves of the rippled flesh, showing off the fact the man's face was that of a bulls. On its head, twin yak like horns with grooved rings running from tip of the horn to the base of his skull. They looked like they were once black, but now have faded to white at the tips and a sudden gray at the end. His eyes were squinted naturally, barely showing off the pools of mud brown behind his wrinkled brow. A long beard and mustache, both braided into long weaves, reached his white button up polo. His one shoulder has a plated pad over it, holding up a heavy fur cape, the claws of the beast being used as the clasp on the other shoulder. His massive biceps are bare, showing off several scars, from slash or hack marks, to bite marks and claws, even burns from acid or fire. His forearms are covered in the lower cannon of a plate vambrace, showing off his races three thick and meaty fingers and thumb. His hips are also covered in a plate cuisse, leading down to a pair of khaki shorts that sit loosely over his hairy legs and are only supported by a simple belt around his waist. His legs end in hooves, both gray like the base of his horns, and are covered by a shin guard that reaches from the base of his knee down to the hooves.
This here, was Galox Threnchorn, Chieftain of one of the five Minotaur Clans.
Unknown to most Citizens of Fiore, there are several other races among the land. They include the Minotaur, who are famous for living in the mountains, where they sometimes let their calves room around their massive forges. Fun fact, the 'dwarves' are actually the calves, who grow their beards before growing in size and growing horns.
Then there are the Trolds, which are the cousins of the swamp dwelling Trolls, but are actually rather lanky and tall and are often mistaken for what people call 'elves'. Unlike their Troll cousins, who are barbaric in nature, the Trold are very sophisticated and magically intuned. Also unlike their troll cousins, who are green, blue, or a greenish brown and other colors you would associate with leaves of trees found in swamps, the Trold have very light skin tone, though light blue or very light purple or an almost inhuman light pink color is not uncommon, though a light red is rare. But, what separates Trold and Humans are very visible indeed. First off, their ears are enormous and long, and are usually the first thing people see on them. Second, their tusks. A feature they share with their Troll cousins, they have small tusks as if they were a bit like boars. Next, their tongues are almost a foot long and are usually a dark color. Lastly, their frame. They are large, usually 7 foot average, but after ages of hunting and fishing in hiding or in a crouched position, they naturally gained a more relaxed pose, almost as if they were hunched over.
Finally, there were the Vampyr (2) and the Wraiths. Both looked mostly like humans, talked like them, and acted mostly like them. But they weren't. Of course, both races were hidden by the Council as well.
First off, Vampyr were a race that was similar to the legendary creatures known as Vampire, but were not them. The differences were slim, as they were almost cousins, but Vampires were legendary monsters of the night, controlling bats, blood, and shadows to their will, being true nightmares to anyone who dared face them. But Vampyr were different. They had a similar weakness to the light and a natural allergy to garlic, but they resist silver unlike the monsters. They also had the ability to choose their magics, using any one they had chosen with ease. Though, a myth made from both was that they needed to survive off blood. This was false. While with Vampires, it would power them up greatly and give them more life and vigurnace, even healing wounds and giving them a few more years to live, Vampyr didn't need to do this to look alive. They did so naturally, though blood was used as a means of powering up to new heightened levels of power and strength, though there was whiplash on their bodies after consumption. Vampyrs look like humans, with noticeable red or orange eyes that naturally look 'evil', and two sets of canines, totaling to eight fangs. Vampires look like a human mixed with a bat and a monster, with a mouth full of fangs, a shriveled face and large ears made to hear every little sound, long talon like fingers, and wings and tail that emerge from their backs.
Next, Wraiths. Contrary to their names, they aren't ghosts. They are mutants. Their kind has a more… tragic, backstory. Unlike the other races which are born, Wraiths are made, and usually by themselves. They are taken in as young children, usually orphans or children living on the streets, the broken and unwanted. They are given a chance to survive, by becoming a Wraith. The process is painful, and usually it ends in death or worse. But should the children survive, they become Wraiths, the perfect killing machines. Animal like eyes to see in the dark and to observe even better than a human, pointed ears to catch even more sounds than the normal person, and enhanced taste buds which not only identify poisons and other ailments but improve smell as well. There are six main side effects to the Wraith process though. First and foremost, Wraiths appear to have autism, and are usually socially outcasted because of this. Next, they have rather limited emotions, usually being only simple ones, such as happiness, sadness, or anger, but never surprise, or confusion, depression, rage, or even an expression for pain, which they just chalk up to more anger. Next, their hair becomes ashen, though not in the sense of the Strauss Siblings where they are borderline albino, Wraiths have natural gray or dirty white colored hair after their mutations, making them seem odd or older than they normally are, leading to a legend that they have aged during their transformation, along with the fact they have yellow eyes that look like a cat, wolf, snake or bird of preys. Their next ability, is actually an extended lifespan. Where a natural human Fiorian Citizen would live to the ripe age of 80 on average, a Wraith would live to 100 or if they are lucky, 120. However, that is rarely the case, due to their final trait, a mix of a sense of adventure, thirst for blood, and ADHD, making them near perfect bounty hunters and monster hunters. Finally, and most tragically, unless a Wraith knew magic before transforming into a Wraith, magic would be lost to them forever, save for minor Re-Equip magic. (3)
With full knowledge of these races, a fourth figure is barely seen, sitting in the back. It is unclear if the figure is male, or female. The shave sides of their head, and the long black hair on top, the bloody onyx colored eyes staring at the three figures with interest, the figure's long black coat and dark gray turtleneck sweater that is five sizes to large for the person are all that cover them, besides the skin tight black pants and black socks on their thin lower half.
The fourth figure itches their cheek, watching as the Lacrama technology fails left and right as the frog people and humans scrambled left and right, so no proof of a super powered explosion happened at the residents of the one Natsu Dragneel. Now all the figure needed to do was to wipe a few key memories.
A smirk showing off two fangs that poke out of one half of their lip is given, their eyes flashing as they fade into the shadows.
AND DONE! THANK FUCKIN' HELL!
*Yeah… this has been a long work in progress for this asshat.*
Anyways, some explanations;
It's German for 'Son of the Dragons, Heir to the King'.
(2) I know, it's the title of a recent video game. But I did like the spelling. Anyways, the race was my own tweek on vampires, as I didn't like the swave two fanged vampires, and I thought that four fangs for the canines would be more practical, and I just thought 'fuck it, let's double the canines in their mouth, for more likeliness to puncture a vein.'
(3) Yes, it sounds a lot like Witchers, but while it does take ideas from it, I also added in my own mental illnesses into the mix, and made them more inhuman in nature because of this. Also, the added loss of magic was a twist added in by Crow.
*Also, time for the shout outs, all given by DSoNaH, by heart. I made sure there was no script involved.*
To Rufus264: Thanks for the little motivational boost, it means a lot. And yes, the voting is still going on for a limited amount of time, so your vote is still in.
To Guest: Sorry I didn't add in the rest of the Gauntlet like you wanted, I hope the OP Natsu part could appease you in some way, shape or form, and the story after this is actually… a secret. I'm not gonna spill my plans on this, but you will see in the future. My only hint is, next chapter is gonna be a time skip.
To Shortstack: GOD DAMN IT, YOU SQUISHY NUGGET LIKE RAY OF FLUFFY SUNSHINE! I ALREADY TOLD YOU IM OVER IT! Though, thank you for the motivation. BUT STILL! YOU DON'T NEED TO BEAT YOURSELF UP ABOUT THAT BULLSHIT! DAMN IT, YOU DAMN SLOTH, KOALA, CORGI HYBRID, DON'T GET SAD! And, here ya go. Another chapter, with a hell of a plan behind it to continue forth. And yes, I know Shortstack IRL. Same with Crow.
*He's a tall motherfucker. That's all I can really describe him with.*
Anyways, keep voting, as my next chapter will be the absolute last chapter to vote on before I cement the votes in stone. Or metal. Possibly Tungsten…
*Shut you Nerd, and end the damn chapter.*
Right…
*Crow out!*
-DSoNaH
-DotC