Chapter IV
END? As in, THE END? Lucy's thoughts spun in her head. She had heard about it before, but she never thought she'd actually meet him in person, let alone be saved by him.
Natsu crouched, suddenly taking off into the air, his flaming phoenix wings outstretched. With a mighty bellow, a string of fire shot towards Zeref.
The dark mage stepped aside, deftly avoiding the attack. Lifting up both his hands, he cast a spell. The dark sphere that was produced between his palms looked sharp and vicious. One hit from that orb, and Natsu would surely die.
Lucy kept climbing, stopping when she couldn't go any higher. She looked around for a possible ledge that could help her advance, but found nothing.
She risked a glance back at the newly-established battlefield. Natsu had apparently dodged the hit from the orb, and now the two were exchanging intensifying attacks.
"I know you have more power than that," Zeref called angrily to Natsu. He seemed frustrated that the phoenix wasn't giving his all.
Lucy blinked. She thought Natsu was fighting as hard as he could. The blonde gazed over at him, studying his fighting style. She frowned, suddenly aware of the magic and energy resonating from the two. It was at a much higher level than Lucy had ever come across before.
Of course, Lucy hadn't been able to experience this feeling very often, as her father wouldn't allow her to go farther than the Heartfilia Estate, her home.
Not anymore. The thought slapped her as if it was a physical object. A pang of guilt and homesickness accompanied the thought. She would miss the place where she grew up, but there was hardly anything left of it after Zeref arrived.
That's why she had to run, why she had to escape from Zeref, who was bent on murdering her whole family because of her mother's mutiny.
As if on cue, Zeref's black magic formed at his fingertips, leaking out and to the ground like tar. It killed any living thing it touched, and to Lucy's horror, it only grew. The ground was enveloped in black magic soon, the levels increasing. Up, up, up it climbed, and Lucy gasped, realizing it was coming towards her. Oh, no!