And now here is the seventh chapter! I hope you all enjoy and don't flame. Furthermore enough with the whole requesting NaLi! This is a NaLu pairing story. If you don't like it than I suggest you don't read it and/or write your own.
(Lucy's Apartment)
"AH! TRESPASSERS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Lucy screeched as she threw a chair at Gray, hitting the ice mage straight in the face, just as he was about to take off his pants.
It had only been a good twenty minutes ago when Makarov had arrived to Lucy's apartment. He had come along with Gray and Erza, to check up on Natsu's condition and how serious it might be.
Said Dragon Slayer was resting comfortably on Lucy's sofa, a blanket draped over his body. The scarf Natsu had received from Igneel was still around his neck, and Dyrnwyn was in its scabbard, draped over Natsu's shoulder, who showed no signs of discomfort of the package.
After a few minutes of examining the unconscious young man, Makarov could not see anything life-threatening. The Guild Master said that in the morning they would take Natsu to see Porlyusica, a skilled healer that lived in Magnolia Woods, and an old friend of Makarov's. She was not a fan of humans but Makarov was sure that she would help.
Makarov had left a short while ago, followed by the two other mages. After locking the door behind them, Lucy had decided to take a shower. She wanted to wash off the dirt and the stress from the past few days, and then changed into her pajamas. She was not prepared for seeing Erza and Gray still in her apartment, acting like they owned the place.
"What was that for? Is that how you treat all your guests?" Gray asked as he rubbed the large lump on his head.
"ONLY WHEN THEY COME IN UNINVITED! AND PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Lucy replied. Shortly after that Lucy threw a lamp at Gray. "NOT MINE!" She added since the ice mage was headed towards the blonde's closet. "And I thought you guys already left?" Lucy asked, turning towards Erza. Said redhead was calmly sitting at a small table, drinking some tea.
"We were planning on doing that, but the thought of Phantom Lord attacking some of our members came to mind. So deciding we should stick together, Gray volunteered to stay with you. I couldn't let him stay with a maiden by himself so I came too." Erza explained as she took another sip of tea. "By the way, I really do like your apartment. Do you think I could get a spare key?"
"No!" Lucy cried, still upset that her friends barged in without permission. Then something clicked. "Wait, Phantom knows where we live?!" She said in concern.
"Well the chances are slim, but it never hurts to be safe." Erza replied. "And with Natsu recuperating here for the time being, we really can't take any chances if Phantom decides to attack." She added as she looked at the sofa, where the unconscious Dragon Slayer laid. Sitting next to his head was Happy, the blue cat watching over his best friend.
"What's the deal with this Phantom Lord anyway? Why did they attack the guild in the first place?" Lucy asked. She had calmed down by now and was sitting on her bed.
"We have always had a rivalry with them, where even a few fights have happened when our missions crossed with theirs." Erza began as Gray returned, having found all of his clothes. "Though attacking the guild directly is way different, we can't act hastily. Phantom's Guild Master, Jose Porla, is a Wizard Saint like our Master after all. And then there are Phantom's elite time, the S-Class Mages called the Elemental 4, followed by their ace, Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer."
"Iron Dragon Slayer? You mean like Natsu?" Lucy asked, shocked by the revelation of someone using the same magic as the pink haired mage. "So does he eat like, iron or something?"
"Probably. But he is the one who trashed our guild hall." Gray said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Damn it, this stinks!"
"There's nothing we can do it. The Master said not to retaliate." Lucy replied, though she was also upset about the current state of their guild.
"That's right Lucy. But on the topic of stink." Erza looked at Gray. "Now that we're finally back home, Gray, go and take a shower and get rid of all the dirt and muck you got at Galuna Island. I refuse to sleep in the same place with someone that does not take care of their hygiene."
Gray groaned. "Oh come one Erza-"
"NOW!"
"Yes ma'am!" Gray shrieked, dashing for the showers to avoid Erza's wrath.
'Scary…' Lucy thought as she watched Erza terrifying Gray. The blonde flinched as the S-class mage turned her gaze towards Lucy. "S-something wrong Erza?" Lucy asked.
"I could be asking you the same question Lucy." Erza replied. When the blonde raised an eyebrow, she continued. "I've noticed that during the trip back to the guild, you had a look in your eyes. Like there was something you wanted to ask but could never say it. I do not want to make you feel ashamed of whatever is. So as a friend, you can talk to me." Erza explained kindly.
Lucy looked a little nervous. "Well…" She muttered. There had been something on her mind, originating from their first night at Galuna Island. Lucy had meant to ask the others, but could never find the time to do so. However now that they were home, with Gray taking a shower, and Happy falling asleep beside Natsu, this was the best time to ask it. "I've just been wondering… does the name Leandra ring any bells?" Lucy asked.
Erza raised an eyebrow, not expecting a question like that. "Leandra? No, can't say I ever heard of it before. Why?"
"It was back during the first night at Galuna Island. I had overhead Natsu muttering some things. I couldn't make out most of it, but then he said 'Leandra', he sounded very sad and angry, pain even. When I tried to ask him, he just waved it off." Lucy explained grimly.
Erza hummed in response, rubbing her chin as she thought. 'Could've he actually meant Lisanna instead? But 'Lisanna' and 'Leandra' aren't names you would easily mix up. Perhaps it's a person Natsu had met before coming to Fairy Tail.' The redhead thought before looking back at the blonde. "Sorry Lucy, unfortunately I do not know. Maybe Natsu would be willing to tell after he wakes up." Erza offered helpfully.
Lucy just nodded in response, not really satisfy with the answer. She didn't know why, but to know that something was causing Natsu pain upset the blonde. As she sat on her bed Lucy took a brief glance towards the unconscious Dragon Slayer, lying peacefully on her sofa bed. She wondered what Natsu could be dreaming of right now.
(Back in Natsu's Mind)
"W-what did he just say?" Natsu asked in a toneless voice. All energy and emotions the Dragon Slayer were flushed away after hearing those words leave Zeref's lips. Said person was helping the younger Natsu get use to his legs. The supposed Dark Mage had kind smile on his face as the child let out a giggle.
"It is exactly as he said. Zeref is in fact you're older brother." The flame being replied in a calm manner, not the least bit bothered by Natsu's shock, "That wrapped up bundle Zeref was carrying? That was your corpse, when you were a human. At a young age, your human self died with your parents when a dragon attacked your village. Despite that Zeref could not accept your death. And so he began researching the arts of life and death, and other means to bring you back. Eventually Zeref was cursed by the ancient God of Life and Death: Ankhseram, and gave him the curse of Contradictory. Not only did everyone and everything in Zeref's path die, but he acquired immortality much to his horror."
"So what happened after that?" Natsu asked, though he was dreading the answer. Though his eyes could not leave the sight of his younger-self playing with Zeref.
The flame being said nothing for a moment. Than he raised his hand and said, "To answer that, we must go ten years into the future. To another event of great importance: The birth of the Demons of Zeref." The flame being said as he snapped his fingers with sparks flying off of them.
Natsu watched as the scenery around them changed. They were no longer inside the small room, but now in a large underground cavern, filled with torches that lit the giant space. It was large enough for at least a hundred people to fit in, the same size as the first floor of the guild building to be exact. Around the edges of the wall, was a path of carved earth for a person to stand on, which where Natsu and the flame being were right now.
Natsu looked over the ledge towards the bottom. Thanks to the light and his enhanced vision, Natsu saw hundreds of circles, lined up evenly with one another, and were similar to the one that Zeref had made for his son's revival. They lacked any ingredients and other materials, but each one had a single piece of paper placed in the middle of them. As he looked closer, Natus also saw that small, but deep trenches had been dug, moving across the ground, through everywhere seal per row. All the trenches connected to a single, long trench in the middle, which ended at a small hole. The hole was filled with water, said liquid spreading out through the trenches connected to it.
Directly above the hole, on the same platform, were Zeref and E.N.D. Natsu noticed that his past self had aged from ten years ago when he was brought back to life. He looked a lot like Natsu now, except his hair was still a darker shade, and longer, reaching to his neck. His eyes were crimson red and his body was still covered in markings. Natsu's past self also wore only a toga over his legs, with tan shorts underneath and walked barefoot. Natsu couldn't help but noticed that his past self had an emotionless look in his eyes as he stared at the hundreds of magic circles before him.
Zeref meanwhile, had his eyes closed, and was murmuring something. The words coming from his mouth sounded similar to the incantations that he used for reviving his son. As he was doing that, E.N.D raised his right arm until his hand was directly above the small hole. Then with his left hand, E.N.D revealed a knife in said hand. Pressing the knife against his right palm, E.N.D squeezed against the blade until it drew black blood from his right hand. Drops of blood fell from his hand into the small pit of water. The water quickly turned black with each drop, the blackness spreading through the trench towards every seal. As the blood went past each one, the seals began to glow an eerie light, which seemed to increase with Zeref's chanting.
After a couple of seconds, the light dispersed, quickly replaced by pillars of black smoke that filled the cavern. Even then, different images of humanoid shapes could be seen through the pitch-black mess. Natsu could hear the voices moaning and groaning soon after. And as the smoke finally disappeared, the Dragon Slayer finally saw the mass of creatures of different shapes and sizes over the spots where pieces of paper once were. They all looked different: some had tentacles for legs, others had more than a single pair of arms, there were a couple with wings, scale-like skin, one eye, multiple eyes, horns, snouts, hooves, talons, claws and so on. It did not take Natsu that long for him to realize what these creatures were.
"Demons of Zeref…" He muttered, as said creatures took a look at their bodies and/or surroundings.
"That's right, this is the first batch of demons Zeref created. It was also around the same time you created Curses. However you and your brother named them Etherious, the fact that they were born from Ether, the source of all existence and magic. Also it was because you made the word a part of your name, Etherious Natsu Dragneel, E.N.D. And they wanted to honor their god by using that name to designate themselves as a species." The voice said.
"Me? Their god?" Natsu asked confused. "Wouldn't that be Zeref? Didn't he make them?"
The flame being stared at Natsu for a moment, then it looked back at the demons below. "Zeref is indeed responsible for their births, having used his own formula and arts, and the ether that makes up magic itself, but the catalyst for their creation was you. Or to be more precise, your blood." The flame being began. "You see, Zeref knew a problem would arise after bringing you back. You were no longer human, but instead something more. And he feared that you would suffer the same curse he does: Loneliness. So to help you, and him, Zeref recreated the same magical formula, this time to be made in the dozens, even hundreds, and just using paper as a medium. With Ether and your blood as the main ingredient, Zeref was able to create more demons. Though it was with your blood that you were able recreate this process, the creator was indeed Zeref. Plus these other demons would ensure your survival."
"How was all of that for my survival?" Natsu asked again.
"Since these other demons have your blood flowing through their veins, that also means they are linked to you, down to their very soul. In short, if they should die, then that link will bring their strength and life force back towards you. Meaning you would live longer, and become stronger. This was just one of the purposes for these Demons: to give you long life and to spare you from loneliness." The voice answered.
Natsu was speechless. He had no idea Zeref would go this far for him, to spare him from being alone and to live forever. However, seeing how the man dedicated himself to bring his own younger brother back to life, it shouldn't be much of a surprise. That was when something clicked in his head. "Wait" Natsu said to the flame being. "You mentioned that Zeref created these demons for himself too, and that they had other purposes. What did you mean by that?"
"The world foolishly believes Zeref to be the cruelest Dark Mage in history." The voice snorted at that. "However, that is wrong entirely. In the beginning, Zeref was originally feared and hated because he could use magic that could kill everything. But in truth he could not control the magic he had been cursed with. And so he cursed himself, his magic, his immortality and loneliness. Zeref desired to die. To do so, he had to create beings that could kill him, the desire embedded down to their genetic level. And those beings were his Demons."
Natsu's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as the voice said all this. He may not have paid the most attention to history, but clearly the world saw Zeref as an evil person. But to hear that he was nothing more than a man who cursed his own existence, to the point he would create beings that could end it, well, for some reason more unbelievable then him being Zeref's greatest creation. Natsu could not help but pity the man who was his older brother.
"But you were different." The voice said, catching Natsu's attention. "While he eventually realized that only his own flesh and blood could kill him, Zeref's reasons for bringing you back from the dead was out of true brotherly love. Thus you had something the others did not: A conscious, a will of your own, unbound by any other forces, not even Zeref's. He did not use Ether or paper to create you, he revived you, with your own body. And even though you were not created with them, Zeref gave you the ability to manipulate and absorb Ether, the purest of energy, to have power of a God. It was thanks to that you were so powerful, and able to create Curses a hundred years from now. Even your own brother could not control you, if he had it in him anyway. That, along with your very blood flowing through their bodies, the Etherious all hailed you as a God and King, which is true in a way."
As if to prove that, Natsu looked down at the large mass of demons. They had already adjusted to just being born, and now had their eyes on the past-Natsu. Said person had walked forward, a blank look on his face while Zeref watched from behind. Past-Natsu was now standing at the edge, so that his toes were now rubbing against the side.
He stared down at the demons below for what felt like an eternity. And then suddenly, power, both dark and great, flared off of him like waves. It caused his toga to fly up a bit and sent dust flying everywhere. Even if it was a memory, Natsu could feel the power his past self was releasing, and would not deny that it felt intimidating. And he wasn't the only one affected by this.
Looking down below, Natsu noticed that the Etherious were staring directly at his past self. There was a gleam in their eyes that wasn't there before. The Dragon Slayer realized that past-Natsu had sent a message to them with that pressure of power: A message signifying of who he was and what he was to them. One by one, the other demons kneeled before E.N.D, showing their acceptance and loyalty to their lord and master.
(Real World, Magnolia Morning)
"WAKE UP!"
Lucy shrieked as the loud voice literally knocked the girl off her bed, her blanket covering her form on the solid surface. Before her Erza was already in her white blouse, blue skirt and brown boots. Behind the redhead Gray was already awake, and was trying to get his pants on before Erza saw him in his boxers and get the wrong idea. Happy was slowly waking up, letting out a yawn from his spot on the couch besides Natsu's prone form.
"Jeez, who needs an alarm clock?" Lucy mumbled to herself as she stared up at Erza. She was clad in a white shirt and pink sweatpants.
"What the hell Erza? Why did you wake us up so early?" Gray asked annoyed, now clad in his pants.
"Yeah I was having a nice dream about fish…" Happy said as he let out another yawn.
"It's always good to get up as early as possible." Erza rebuffed. "But that is not the case right now, I just spotted a large crowd heading towards park. Something must have happened!"
"You think it was Phantom's doing?" Gray asked as he got his shirt on.
"Maybe, we should check it out just in case." Erza replied as she already headed out the door, Gray following after her. Lucy and Happy followed a few seconds after making sure everything was secure and that Natsu was okay. With that done, all four headed towards the park to see what attracted a large crowd.
The sight that greeted them was not a pretty one. "L-Levy-chan!" Lucy gasped, hands to her mouth. Tears were forming from the corner of her eyes.
"Jet! Droy!" Gray shouted in a mix of shock and anger.
Before the Fairy Tail mages and dozens of Magnolia townsfolk, were the members of Team Shadow Gear. The three mages were beaten, bruised, clothes torn, and held to a large tree by iron restraints in a crucifix position. Levy, who was in the middle, had the Phantom Lord guild symbol drawn on her revealed stomach.
"Phantom…" Erza growled.
People moving could be heard behind the mages. Soon Makarov appeared beside his children. He was wearing his Wizard Saint cloak and a wooden staff in his hands. He had a solemn look on his face as he stared at the unconscious forms of Levy and the others. Then Makarov put a hand over his face, cursing himself quietly.
Erza stared at the small Guild Master, a serious look on her face. "Master…"
After a few seconds, Makarov looked back up at Team Shadow Gear. "I could care less about a trashed guild building. And laugh it off easily…" He began his voice shaking with every word. "But what parent can look past the blood and tears of his own children?!" He finished. The wooden staff broke under his increasing grip. Soon his magic aura flared up, a strong golden light of an angry god. "THIS MEANS WAR!"
(Natsu's Mind)
Natsu had lost track of time: How much had passed since he began seeing these events? How much had gone by in the real world? Natsu had been going through different memories of his past life. The voice was mostly showing memories of significant events in his life, but it might have well been all of it. Never had the Dragon Slayer felt so overwhelmed before both physically, mentally and emotionally. Natsu could feel himself changing as he watched each scene play out. It was as if something alien, yet familiar, was seeping into him and making him different. He had no idea if it was a good thing or bad, but Natsu just endured and continued watching.
The image began to shift again. Natsu soon found himself no longer in an underground cavern, but now on a wide-open rocky field. It spanned over for miles, without a single sign of life or vegetation in sight. It was only the Dragon Slayer and his flame doppelganger, still floating in the air, legs crossed. Natsu could only wonder what happens here.
As if reading his mind, the voice said, "We're now at least 50 years after Zeref brought you back to life and have already mastered the Black Arts, especially Living Magic, creating more demons. By now, nearly all the sentient demons could use Curses, a new form of power separate from Magic that you created. It was all so that your kind could separate themselves from the other races, and so that you may focus the dark feelings you had towards humans, dragons and other races of Earthland, as well as feed off of theirs. Feelings of hatred and rage towards them because of their bias anger they have to your kind, viewing them, you and your brother evil." The voice then pointed a flame finger straight ahead. "If you go that way and follow the sound of horns, you'll see what you've been doing at this time, and meet your greatest enemy too."
That confused Natsu. But before he could ask, his enhanced hearing picked up something from the distance. It took him a second but the sound was definitely a horn being blown, several horns to be exact. Immediately Natsu ran towards the source, the flame being floating behind him. As Natsu kept running, the sound of horns was joined with the shouts of people and clashing of objects. Eventually, the two reached the edge of a hill, overlooking another field below. The sight that Natsu saw was overwhelming, even for him.
On either side of Natsu were two massive armies, which by the looks of it, were just commencing the battle. The army on the right consisted of soldiers wielding spears, shields and swords. At the front of the line was several rows of cavalry, already ahead of the rest of the army. There were some people within the army using magic, signifying that they were mages. The banners they held had the symbol of Fiore, Natsu realized. At the back of the army were several war machines, such as catapults and ballistae.
The army to the left though, was completely different. It comprised solely of demons of different shapes and sizes, some being around the same size as Deliora was. They all wore black and dark red demonic armor, each one different to suit their wearer's bodies. Some were even in the air with wings, while there were others riding on demonic mounts that look like demonic-raptors. All of them were letting out battle cries as war horns were blown, waving their weapons at the same time. Some even revealed to have wings, taking to the air as the army charged projectiles fired by catapults at the rear flying overhead. Demons with banners waved them wildly, fueled by the battle lust building up inside of them. The banners were a blood red color, with the same upside down black pentagram that was used to revive E.N.D.
And speak of the devil and he shall appear. At the front of the demon army was an older E.N.D. He wore a demonic jet black armor that covered him from head to toe, with a pitch black cape with blood red on the inside, was attached to the shoulders. The upside down black star was on the chest plate, while demonic faces could be seen on the knees, gauntlets and shoulders. The helmet also had the face of a devil, complete with horns at the top (or the horns could've been real, Natsu couldn't tell), and completely covered E.N.D's face, showing only a pair of glowing red eyes. In his hands was a familiar weapon, Dyrnwyn. The sword was radiating power and the eyes on the crossguard glowed, like they were hungry for blood. When E.N.D swung the sword, it released a large red arc of energy that not only incinerated the soldiers near the blast, but the shockwave violently blew away others too. The Demon King let out a vile roar of excitement as his army clashed with the enemy's.
Natsu had a stupefied expression on his face as he watched humans fight against demons. The glow of magic and curses could be seen as spells flew everywhere. The sight and smell of blood was becoming clear on the battlefield, if Natsu's enhanced vision and nose were any indication. And speaking of vision, it was then that Natsu finally got a better look of the banner that the humans were waving. Even though he had never paid attention to it before, Natsu definitely the emblem of the kingdom Fairy Tail was in.
"Fiore?" Natsu questioned.
"100 years after you were revived, Zeref left you and traveled the world, awaiting for when you were ready to kill him. During the past 50 years, the Etherious race had grown large, in both power and numbers thanks to you. As such you sought to claim land for your race to live in. The past years, you and your armies gained enough land to basically be recognized as a nation. You called it the Rengoku Empire, also known as the Kingdom of Demons. It resided in the northern parts of Ishgar and had one-third of the continent under your rule. And as time went on, you found yourself in constant war, in both expanding territory and to take your vengeance on the humans and even dragons, those who deny your existence and tried to wipe you off the face of Earthland. As such you were battled endlessly, not that you minded really." The voice explained.
True enough, past-Natsu seemed to be relishing in the battle. Dyrnwyn was literally covered in blood and all around the demon king were fallen soldiers. Some were slain by the blade or burned by E.N.D's Hellfire Curse. Behind him, his soldiers roared in response, applauding their leader's massacre. They soon joined E.N.D in pushing the humans back, letting out their blood thirst. Present-Natsu, while thoroughly appalled of his past-self savagery, couldn't help but noticed something. Something that looked like pitch-black smoke seemed to be radiating off of the humans, alive and dead, and being absorbed by E.N.D and some of the other demons too.
"Negative emotions." The voice explained, as if reading Natsu's thoughts. "Also called Curse Power, which is the source of strength for all Curses. While all Etherious can focus their own negative thoughts for their Curses, only a few are able to use the negative feelings from others, even the dead. And you were at the top, capable of feeding off even the dark emotions of the past, the residue left in the sands of time. It was why you were so powerful, along with other reasons."
Back at the battle, past-Natsu was about to claim the life of another soldier, a human who was cowering before the demon king, when another blade deflected Dyrnwyn. At that moment, all eyes were on the lone being who was brave enough to challenge Zeref's strongest demon.
The person was a tall, lean muscular man and had fair skin. He had brown, shoulder-length hair that was combed back, along with matching brown eyes. His attire consisted of silver armor, chainmail under it, covering his entire body, with a long forest green-colored cape over it. In his right gauntlet covered hand, was a polearm, the same one that was used to deflect Dyrnwyn. To be precise it was a glaive that had a single-edge silver blade, a golden guard, and a black and white stripped handle. At the end was a ring-shaped pommel. The sword appeared to radiate a certain kind of light, like the kind that rids one of their darkness and nightmares and inspires hope and courage to their allies. The wielder himself had a serious look in his eyes as he stared at E.N.D.
"Cornelius…" E.N.D hissed through his helmet towards the human who dare stand against him, the God and King of Demons. "Even after a hundred years, the sight of your face angers me to no end." He added.
"My apologies." The man dubbed Cornelius replied. Gripping his sword with both hands, Arthur got into a fighting stance. "Let me kill you, and you'll never see my face again." Cornelius said.
And with that, the two clashed. Their blades releasing demonic and holy light as they touched, while the ground shook and split violently, the force from these two combatants pushed even the winds back. Those around them had to retreat a great distance, so not to be caught in the crossfire between these two powerful beings. Natsu watched in awe as the clashing auras of E.N.D and Cornelius's Curse and Magical power respectively was so great, that he could even see it from where he stood.
"Whoa, who the hell is that?" Natsu asked the voice. He would've never thought he see someone capable of standing toe-to-toe with his past self.
"That man is Cornelius Vivamus, also called Rune Lord, and the Wandering Knight. Historically he is called Arthur Pendragon." The voice replied. "Little is known of his beginnings. However you came to learn that he originated from the ancient, mythical island Avalon. Somehow he gained immortality and basically lived for over hundreds of years, perhaps even being older than you and Zeref. Either way, you and him have clashed multiple times over the past. Resulting in catastrophic results on the landscape, and anyone foolish enough to be caught in it."
Natsu said nothing, he continued watching the intense battle, with the area changing constantly from the two combatant's powers. Shockwaves would be unleashed from the spells Cornelius and E.N.D cast or when their blades and even fists met. The landscape around them changed drastically with each blow. If he had to judge the level of power, than Natsu had to say that these two were way stronger than Makarov and Gildarts. Hell, Natsu doubted that the Guild Master and Guild Ace would even make either of these two combatants break a sweat.
But Natsu's mind was on other things at the moment. Even as the battle between Arthur and E.N.D was reaching its climax, the pink-haired man looked at the flame being beside him. "When are we going to the scene where Leandra appears?" Natsu asked.
"Why are you so curious? I thought you would enjoy watching such an epic battle?" The voice said quickly, not even looking at Natsu.
Natsu frowned, annoyed by the response. "The moment I first met you, one of the first things you said was to protect Lucy, who has a connection or something to Leandra. For past several days I've been having dreams of her, all jumbled and confused. And now that we're going down memory lane, all of a sudden you seem to be avoiding the subject of her." Natsu lifted Dyrnwyn from his back, holding it up to the flame being. "And I have a feeling that whatever happened to Leandra, involves this sword. Just what the hell happened to Leandra that makes you so hesitant of showing me?" Natsu demanded.
The voice was silent for a while, still not looking at Natsu. And when it finally spoke, it spoke with a hollow, dead, and emotionless tone that it made Natsu shiver as it answered. "Words would not help you to understand but I will say this. It was the most important moment of your life. You felt emotions you never felt before, and at the climax of it all…you were driven insane, darkness consumed your very person, down to your soul. The thing you became at that moment caused fear in all, even your own brother feared you at that time. You became a true devil, a monster of total destruction. And Leandra's fate was what caused it."
The voice paused, and then finally looked at Natsu. The Dragon Slayer noticed something it its flame-like eyes. It was a look of…regret? Pity maybe? "I will show you the moment you met Leandra. And be assured, that and what comes after that will change who you are now. But for good or bad, only you can decide that. Are you prepared?"
Despite the overwhelming of dread and fear building up in him, Natsu did not hesistate. "Show me"
(Real World, Oak Town, Phantom Lord Branch Building)
"Ha! Those fairies are all idiots!"
"I heard Gajeel beat the crap out of three of their members!"
"Man those guys suck! What's Master Jose going to do next?"
"Don't know. All he said was not to harm "that person""
"Who?"
"The fuck I know. That and apparently the Master is after some object. A sword I think."
"Ah who cares? Those fairies don't stand a chance against Phantom!"
"Yeah! I bet they're all crying under their beds like babies!"
"Cheers to those pitiful fairies!"
"Ah shoot! I lost track of time!"
"Meeting a girl?"
"Yeah and she an't too shabby looking either, though she is a client. When I threatened her, she doubled the reward for me."
"I bet I could've tripled it!"
"Yeah, whatever…"
A huge explosion suddenly occurred just as the Phantom member was going to leave. The force of the explosion completely demolished the front door, charred the mage and sent him flying. His unconscious form knocked down several chairs, tables, and fellow guild members before finally hitting the bar.
"W-what the hell?!" A Phantom Lord member cried as everyone turned their heads towards the smoke covered entrance.
When the smoke cleared, it revealed angry-looking Gray and Erza at the front. Behind them were Makarov and the rest of the Fairy Tail members, also glaring. Makarov spoke first.
"WE ARE FAIRY TAIL!"
"Fairy Tail!"
"You bastards!"
Soon the entire hall was filled with mages from both sides fighting. Despite their advantage in numbers, mages from Phantom Lord were sent flying from one side to the other as the Fairy Tail mages charged forward. Numbers were not even a factor in this as mages of Fairy Tail let loose their magic and anger. Erza cut down groups of opponents with her swords, while Gray used his ice magic to freeze or attack Phantom Mages. Cana used her Card Magic, firing spells left and right. Bisca and Azlack were using their Guns Magic to gun down enemies as Wakaba and Macao used combo attacks with Smoke Magic and Purple Flare respectively. Laki used her Wood-Make to summon wooden poles from the ground, sending Phantom mages flying. Loke used his Ring Magic to deal with his opponents with ease.
"Too bad Natsu isn't here. He would have burned down the place by now!" Macao exclaimed as he threw a purple fireball, exploding and taking out several enemies.
"Yeah, but now we can have more for ourselves!" Bisca retorted as she fired another magical bullet. Several Phantom Mages were blown away by the blast.
"Let's show these bastards what a real Man is all about!" Elfman roared as he used his Take Over magic to transform his arm.
Meanwhile, some decided to attack the head. "Let's get Master Makarov!" A Phantom member yelled. Others cried in agreement and descended upon the small master of Fairy Tail. But Makarov was unfazed by their attacks as he opened his eyes, revealing a bright glow. Soon his body began to enlarge, growing ten times his size. The attackers stopped and looked up in fear as Makarov slammed his enlarge hand down on them. The sounds of bones and the floor cracking could be heard underneath the Titan Mage's gigantic palm. The Phantom members underneath it were blocked out by the surrounding fights.
"Y-you monster…" Croaked a still conscious mage as he felt his bones snapped.
"You bastards brought the fight to the children of that monster! Don't even for a second think you'll be protected by human laws?!" Makarov roared in furious anger. The Phantom mages all screamed in fear at his demonic face.
"S-such strength!" A Phantom mage said as his allies were sent flying.
"Their soldiers aren't small fry either!" Another member exclaimed before he and several others were smacked aside by a colorful boat made by Reedus.
"They're insane!"
"Jose!" Makarov roared as he shrunk to his original height. "Show yourself!"
"Where is he?" Erza interrogated a Phantom Member. She knocked him aside when he didn't answer in time. "Where is Gajeel?!"
"I don't see any of the Elemental Four either." Cana commented before electrifying several enemies.
In the rafters above, Gajeel watched the battle below take place. "So that's Erza the Titania huh? I don't see Salamander, guess what the Master said of him being in a coma was true." Gajeel muttered as he scanned the hall. "But I don't see Gildarts, Laxus, or Mystogan anywhere. Hmph, they're underestimating us."
Gajeel crossed his arms across his chest. He kept watching as the other Phantom Lord members were being beaten back by the Fairy Tail mages. Yet he did not seem concern by this if the smirk on his face was anything to go by. "Got to admit, I'm surprise to see Master Jose's plan working out so well. Hell we might not even have to use 'that' at this rate. So continue rampaging as much as you like, worthless scum."
(Magnolia Hospital)
Mirajane and Happy both sat in silence, neither able to think of anything to say. Lying beside them on beds, were the unconscious and unmoving forms of Natsu and Team Shadow Gear.
After Makarov's declaration, several Fairy Tail members hurried to get Team Shadow Gear down from the tree and then took them to the hospital. Lucy and Erza agreed to take Natsu there too, that way all four could be in one place and watched over easily. The only people who did that were the ones that didn't go to fight Phantom Lord. Said people were Lucy, Mirajane and Happy. The two girls knew that they wouldn't be able to contribute much in the fight and Happy refused to leave his best friend.
Currently it was just Mirajane and Happy watching over their friends. Lucy had left not that long ago to get them some food.
"I hope the others are okay." Happy murmured sadly.
"I'm sure they're fine Happy. They'll have Phantom Lord running between their legs in no time." Mira said kindly, trying to reassure the blue cat. Her eyes than drifted towards Dyrnwyn, said sword in its scabbard, resting on Natsu's prone form, one hand gripping it. She didn't know why, but for some reason the sword gave off an aura that deeply unnerved Mira. It felt like the weapon was trying to pull something dark and locked away within the former she-devil, but Mira did her best to ignore it.
Her thoughts were broken when she felt a pulse of magic in the room. Mirajane shot up, startling Happy. The blue cat managed to recover by spreading his wings and flying in the air.
"Mira! What's wrong?" Happy asked the barmaid.
"I feel magic…there's someone here!" Mira replied.
"Ah! As expected of Miss Mirajane, former S-class mage!" A male voice said. Following that, the ground began to ripple and a tall, skinny man with green hair and wearing a brown suit and a monocle appeared. "Though that will not stop me from completing my part of the mission."
"Ah! A weirdo came out of the ground!" Happy cried.
"Earth Magic!" Mira commented.
"Non, non, non! Weirdo is incorrect with three nons!" The man said as he adjusted his monocle. "My name is Sol of the Elemental 4. You may call me Monsieur Sol."
"Elemental 4…Phantom!" Mira exclaimed in more shock. Suddenly Mira found that she could not move. Looking down she saw that her feet were now being held by pieces of earth.
"Mira-ACK!" Happy cried. He was about to go and help the barmaid when a large fist made out of earth smacked him aside. The blue cat was then trapped by another hand of earth, pinning him down.
"Please mademoiselle, I did not come here for a fight." Sol said as he walked towards the beds. "I am merely here to retrieve the secondary objective of our guild." He added as he reached towards Natsu, or to be more precise, Dyrnwyn.
"What are you doing?! Leave Natsu alone!" Mira demanded as she tried to free herself, but to no avail.
Sol ignored her, to engross of pulling the sheathed sword from Natsu's grip. After a few more seconds, Sol did one last heave and pulled Dyrnwyn from Natsu's grasp. The Earth Mage took a moment to examine the weapon, to confirm it was the real deal.
"Oui! Mission Accomplie!" Sol said happily as he held Dyrnwyn by the scabbard.
But before he could leave, a hand suddenly appeared and grabbed the sword's handle. The three occupants were shocked to see Natsu on his feet. His back was facing Sol, head down, and right hand gripping Dyrnwyn's handle.
"N-Natsu?" Mirajane said, confused and surprise by the Dragon Slayer's suddenly regaining conscious.
"Natsu!" Happy cried in joy to see his best friend awake. Especially with the current situation being not so good up till now.
Sol however, was not pleased. Trying to pull the sword from Natsu's grip, he began to rant. "Non, non, non! This is not right with three nons! Let go of this sword at once!" He declared.
At that moment, a strong, and hot pressure, originating from Natsu, filled the room. Everyone conscious were immediately overwhelmed from the power the Dragon Slayer was releasing. The same black flame markings began to appear on Natsu's body, coiling around him from the head down. Finally Natsu raised his head and looked at Sol. His eyes had turned into a dark red crimson, like that of a devil. And at the center of his forehead was black vertical eye that seemed alive almost. Then Natsu spoke.
"I will not let go of this sword even if I die." Natsu began as the pressure increased, making Sol sweat. "This is the one and only thing I can do to atone for my sins!"
Chapter done!
Well I hope you all liked that. I got some of the scenes from several manga chapters. And concerning the fate of Leandra, I decided to make an arc in between the Phantom Lord Arc and Tower of Heaven Arc, that will revealed what happened to her and to Jenseits. Anyway, be sure to review!
Wacko12
Note: Rengoku translates as "Purgatory" in Japanese.