tried out some action.
Credits to Mashima Hiro for the characters
Chapter Five
The Iron Dragon Slayer stood in the VIP stand, palming his face and groaned in embarrassment and annoyance at the scene before him. While the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse reveled in the attention he was currently receiving; the manic look suited his usually haughty demeanor.
Soft rain swept across the overcrowded stadium for the final match between two promising opponents, and the fact that one of them was the once great and terrifying Dragon King hailed from Fiore tripled the ticket demands. The spectacle had the audience's undivided attention as they held their breath, causing the majority to stand up leaning forward slightly to not miss on any action; disregarding the weather that was slowly soaking them. The referee held his whistle close to his lips while his eyes remained glued in the centre of the fight searching for any indication to end the match immediately.
If Acnologia was honest with himself, he was having one of the best time of his life thus far; adrenalin pumped voraciously, his power surged through him flaring them proudly at the opponent. He could taste the anxiety his opponent was feeling. The final challenger was a prodigious young Mage blessed by two Elemental Spirits of Air and Earth, with either one of them hovering over his small shoulders whispering in a language the Black Dragon could not understand which was rare for him. Nevertheless, he was not stupid enough to underestimate the young Mage considering how far he had gotten in Dragnof's bi-yearly death match opened to the public.
"Boy, where do your Elemental Spirits originate from?" Acnologia asked out of curiosity.
"From the Book of Vermillion," Tobias Mara replied monotonously.
Brows creased slightly at the answer, and Acnologia cut him a sideways glance before cracking his neck from side to side. An unknown Magic source he had never heard before or not, the Black Dragon was here for some good ol' sparring match, and if death was part of the contract, he was glad to become an executioner. He sensed the Redfox's dark aura emitting from the right-hand side of the stadium, no doubt silently fuming at the outcome of their trip to Dragnof; the Iron Dragon Slayer was the one who convinced him to come for a mission tasked by the Magic Council to retrieve some historical artifacts in this ancient city.
"No," Gajeel had flat out refused when he saw his partner stopped at a poster advertising the city's infamous Death Battle as a ceremonial ritual for the Dragons that used to rule the area.
"Redfox, do not refuse the Dragon instincts, it's going against our very nature," Acnologia had replied and pointed at the paper, his index finger conveniently landing on the word 'battle.' The Iron Dragon Slayer narrowed his eyes and then held up the bag of items they came to get. He scoffed at the useless objects. "We will do this city some good by fertilising their soil with some blood."
"Are you fucking nuts?!" Gajeel rubbed a hand over his face and tried his best to calm his temper with no avail. "Don't give me that bullshit about Dragon instincts and going against our nature shit. You just want to kill, and you have a whole day dedicated to you each year at the Grand Magic Games!"
If only he did his research before agreeing to take the mission, he would have avoided this place entirely. Although he had to give it to the Council for the clever ploy; reducing Acnologia's bloodthirstiness as much as possible before the upcoming Grand Magic Games in the Summer.
"I am tired of sparring with you and the rest of the menial Dragon Slayers, their moves are barely original, and I can defeat them with one hand if I put in the effort," Acnologia went on and ripped the poster off the wall. "When was the last time you had a good fighting partner, Redfox?"
"Regardless, it's not training! It's killing!" Gajeel cried out in exasperation and was tempted to whack the Black Dragon over the head with the artifacts. "What about the Grand Magic Games?"
"What is a King when they are restricted for a day of bloodbath once a year?"
"We" — Gajeel gestured between the two of them and then pointed at his partner's chest with each emphasised word — "cannot under any circumstances kill outside of the Games, Acno. You know the Council is going to throw you in the underground for eternity if you do."
"I" — it was Acnologia's turn to point at himself and did so again to stress his tone with each word — "can under any circumstances kill because I am the Dragon King of all Dragon Slayers, no Magic Council is going to hinder my path to what is rightfully my birthright for wreaking destruction."
"Your birthright for wreaking destruction?!" Gajeel couldn't believe what he heard, completely floored by the absurdity Acnologia was going into to sink his claws in a puny mortal.
"I suggest you let off some steam in the arena."
The Iron Dragon Slayer's frustration was translated when he dropped the artifact gently onto the ground, then shifted one of his hand into an iron piston and punched at an abandoned building until it grounded to dust. Acnologia watched in fascination as his companion sighed in defeat and resignation, before slinging the bag over his shoulder and followed the growing crowd to the stadium. He opened his mouth to make a comment when the Redfox shot him a glare not to test him. Acnologia for once, obliged.
The registration was simple; a name and a stamp on their hand to indicate they were participants and were arranged to fight randomly until the last 2 remained. The Redfox dropped out after the quarter-finals, seeing how many of his matches admitted defeat even before the game started. Meanwhile, Acnologia had enforced the rule of a fight to the death, and no opponent was allowed to use the surrender card, threatening the officials and referee a torturous and agonising death themselves. The crowd was delirious as soon as the news of Dragon Slayers hailed from Magnolia Town came to Dragnof, many of which had started to recite prayers used to worship the Dragons and their human counterparts eons ago.
"Fucking madness," Gajeel had muttered under his breath when several mothers held their babies for him to bless. Dumbfounded and clueless, out of the corner of his eye he saw his partner uttered an incantation and then lightly tapping their foreheads.
The Iron Dragon Slayer responded the smug look when Acnologia looked up at him was an exasperated eye roll; the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse was enjoying the attention a tad too much.
The Redfox bought a ticket for a VIP box for the final match and was escorted by several Mages providing an attempted security. The sudden influx of audience had irked the black-haired Dragon Slayer to no end causing him to build an iron wall around the box to keep out nosy Mages.
"Um, Mr. Redfox, can I get an —" A feeble voice behind the wall began.
"Go away, not now, not ever," Gajeel had drawled.
Basking in the glory from the audience's attention, Acnologia took his time soaking it in when his skin pricked, detecting the change in the air. He didn't open his eyes until he stopped an incoming punch from the Mage, his forest-greens bore holes into silver-greys that had widened an inch at the lightning reflex. The prodigy immediately pushed himself backward to create distance between them, only to find himself stuck; his fist was still clutched in Acnologia's grasp. The Black Dragon didn't miss the slight look of panic and the rise of Magic aura coming from the Mage's other hand.
The sound of torn muscles and cracked bones came later after he ripped the young Human's arm out of his socket in one swift tug, then batted the broken limb at him causing his body to hurtle across the stadium. The Mage managed to stop himself before he hit the wall, somersaulting forwards through the air and proceeded to cake his gaping, pouring wound with Earth Magic. His silver-grey eyes followed the bloody streak and found its stop at his feet, surrounding him a dark pool of ruby-red blood. The crowd was stunned into silence, and the prodigy's supporters whimpered in disbelief.
"Acnologia," Gajeel hissed quietly under his breath.
The Black Dragon tossed the limb to one side and gave the Human a feral grin. Then it faltered a fraction when the Mage's demeanor shifted, and suddenly he was enveloped in a whirlwind of Earth. It died after a second revealing an entirely different character from before. Acnologia assessed the tribal markings on his face; the earthy and greenish swirls framed his eyes and cheeks, tainting his grey eyes into a different shade — the palest of its colour. Even the Magic aura around him spiked considerably, and Acnologia felt a chill run down his spine, a familiar sensation that would determine his mood for the rest of the match.
The change enhanced the prodigy's physical abilities, on par with Acnologia as they exchanged spells and blows in rapid succession that were too quick for untrained eyes to follow. With only just one functioning hand, the Human gave the Black Dragon quite a workout even when he impaled him to the ground with a shot of Eternal Flare. The bloodied and bruised arm lifted, grasping at one of the star rods and heaved them out of his body one by one.
"Let me help you with that," Acnologia offered and shifted his foot into a Dragon's limb before stamping the Human's face into the ground, instantly stilling the movement from extracting the rods.
Everyone held their breath as silent prayers from one side of the stadium murmured through the crowd for the prodigy. Acnologia thought he had suffocated the Human, sensing no Magic left in him, Acnologia dared to lift his foot when out of the corner of his eye a trembling from the arm caught his attention. The limb raised itself, twisted around and then pointed behind him. The attack to his spine was ruthless, as it immediately sent him embedded into the stadium wall; the pain partially paralysed him as he uttered his first groan after participating the Death Battle.
The Iron Dragon Slayer instantly jumped out of his seat, wanting to shout out a warning when he saw a flicker of the Human materialising right behind the Black Dragon. The result was too swift as the next nano of a second, the great and supposedly unbeatable King of the Dragons dented the solidly packed wall of the stadium. A hushed silence fell across the stadium, and the only sound was the continuous pelting of the soft rain.
Acnologia felt the pang on his back beginning to subside, his advanced regeneration working out the kinks and stitching every single nerve back in its rightful places. Slowly, he removed himself from the wall as rocks crumbled next to him and took a step back. As he made his way back to the centre of the battleground, he felt the anticipation rose once more from the crowd and not once did the prominent Magic aura behind him stirred. Pivoting around, Acnologia glared at the Human, who had succeeded in extracting the rods from his body and stood to face him calmly. The double image of the Mage flickered slightly before disappearing in a swirl of breeze.
"Tricks," Acnologia spat as his heckles shot up to staggering heights.
Deep down, he knew that the fight was to the death and it would no doubt bring upon various types of dirty, unhanded tricks when their life was on the line. But Acnologia couldn't shake off the feeling of humiliation and disrespect from a young human Mage like his opponent, and the fact that he had remained calm throughout the ordeal irked him some more. The warning from the Iron Dragon Slayer popped into his mind, the irony earned him a chuckle startling the crowd and a subtle frown from the prodigy's neutral features. Once the Magic Council heard what he had done, he was certain that for the rest of his life his only field of vision limited to the interior of his special prison and the only comfort he would be receiving for eternity would be darkness.
The Mage surged forwards before splitting himself into five. Prepared for the attack, Acnologia sought out the body pulsing with Magic aura and spotted the one farthest on the left. The Dragon Slayer's Roar soared right through, and he barely blocked a kick from his right in time. The Human quickly retracted his leg but not before sustaining a deep gash on his thigh, which he quickly covered with more of his Earth magic. Acnologia frowned slightly, he too had sustained a wound to his upper arm which healed instantly. His mind began connecting the dots together as the Human began his next phase of attack uttering a Wind Magic spell.
It finally clicked when Acnologia dodged the slicing blades and dared to take a bite of the assault. The spell instantly stopped, and he mulled it over in his mouth, feeling his body absorbing it and analysed the ingredients behind it. His signature feral grin graced his face after a few seconds; the Mage was more troublesome than he had initially thought and had to give him credit for utilising his abilities this much. The response from his opponent was enough to confirm his breakdown of the Mage's Elemental Spirits source, as gears formulated a counterattack in his mind and felt his body shook with anticipation.
what you say?