A/N: Sup guys. wiErD here and I have another chapter for you guys.
Hope ya like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the two stories. All goes to their respective owners.
- Dragonslayer –
As the replicated world continues to crumble, Issei and the rest of the Occult members club stare in confusion at the appearance of the woman in front of them. At the glimpse of her face, they felt a rather strong presence emanating from the very figure herself as if she was kind of a god or something.
Her aura seemed otherworldly and the others could only stay silent as they watched her carried the unconscious pinkette in her arms. His transformation is still active, seeing that the scales around his arms and legs haven't vanished yet.
Riser and Ravel were also confused at the interruption of their duel though the latter was relieved at the appearance of the mysterious woman before any kind of injury Natsu might've inflicted on her brother
The former however, was simply wincing from his pain as his regeneration started to kick in but the blows he took from the pinkette still hurts his body despite being immortal. The burns in his body weren't ordinary since he was supposed to be a Phenex which is the embodiment of fire itself. There was a hint of frustration present on his face after realizing just how bad he was beaten up by a lesser being, a mere human no less.
"Cancelled? What do you mean by that?" Rias tried to ask in confusion of the announcement.
"Both sides violated the rules and the prohibited rule of killing has reached into this stage. You can all settle your matters on your respective households and await their final decision on the match." Tiamat replied without much of a change in the tone of her voice as she slowly drew her attention back to the pinkette.
"Wait a moment. Who are you by the way?" Issei soon began to ask, prompting Tiamat to turn back her attention towards the Boosted Gear wielder.
"Does it matter? I suppose your dragon friend could tell you more about that."
"Ddraig?" His statement fell into confusion before a green glow appeared on the orb of his gauntlet, signifying Ddraig's presence.
[That woman is Tiamat. Known to as the Chaos Karma Dragon.]
A collective of gasps and surprise went over to the group upon the revelation of the woman's identity.
"Dragon? Then wouldn't she be a-"
[A dragon, yes. It seems like you've been residing along with Tannin in the Underworld.] Ddraig raised a question which only made Tiamat to sigh nonchalantly in her response to him.
"That old brute always worries about his brethren. I could care less about him being a devil or a dragon for that matter." She replied.
[I see…]
On the other hand, Rias is slowly beginning to recognize some parts of Tiamat's known identity.
"Chaos Karma Dragon… Isn't she part of the Great Five Dragon Kings?" Rias asked doubtfully.
[She is and by far the strongest of them all. While there are two Heavenly Dragon Emperors, there are also dragons who bear different titles that rival the same as me and the White One in terms of power.] Ddraig explained which only made the others to be further shocked at the revelation.
"T-Then what is the Chaos Karma Dragon doing along with the devils?" Akeno asked.
Hearing the question, Tiamat turned to speak once more.
"Questions aside, it's better for you all to return back as soon as possible. The replicated world cannot hold itself any longer and the Rating Game system has been already cancelled. If you don't hurry, you'll be swallowed in the void." She warned as the others began to use their devil wings to fly out of the area.
Ravel carried Riser away from the other side before they disappeared in sight, leaving the others alone.
It was then Tiamat began to mutter something towards Ddraig.
"Did you notice it, Ddraig?"
[Yeah… There's no mistaking it.] A nod came from the blue-haired woman as she looked towards Natsu with a softened gaze.
"Igneel's alive."
A few hours later… In the medical room within the Underworld.
Natsu felt like he had been placed by a couple of massive metal rods above him after feeling the sore aches all over his body and the weight it was giving to him. His eyes flickered open and managed to find himself in some sort of a medical room.
His memories are still groggy on some point and can't remember much of what happened in the last few hours.
Eventually, his memories returned and his eyes widened in shock of what happened between him and Riser. For some reason, he felt a large surge of power welling up inside him during that time and unconsciously tapped into it before feeling an excruciating pain of his skin turning into something horrid or terrifying.
His visions were clouded by rage and all he could think about that time is beating the crap out of that stupid Phenex.
However, in his final memory, he only saw a glimpse of a blue-haired woman whose face cannot be rivalled even to the most beautiful of maidens in the human race. Her warm hands touched through his face affectionately as he saw her wrapping her arms around him as some sort of comfort.
He couldn't know if it was a dream or not but it feels like to be real enough for him. What's more strange it is that his mind calmed down after her comfort. His heart eased and the power receded from his body and left him powerless in an instant before falling into a deep sleep.
A wave of pain went through his head once more as his past memories have begun to kick up once more.
"Damn it… I just needed some sleep." He muttered silently on his breath, unaware of the people beside him who were waiting for him to wake up.
"NNNAAAATTTSSSSUUUU~" The pinkette was taken by surprise as his sensitive ears caught all three voices from all sides, screaming his name which only increased his growing troubles in recovering from his injuries.
It was not also long until he was buried in a pair of soft mounds by a certain black-haired girl who by the way displayed no shame in her part as she continued to suffocate the poor dragonslayer with her dirty mounds.
"A-A-Akeno! Your boobs are killing me!" As straightforward as he is, Akeno stupidly realized her actions and not long before she broke away the deadly hug and finally let the pinkette to breath normally again.
"Sorry, Natsu~ I was hoping that would help you in recovering your injuries~" There was a seductive tone on her voice as Asia and Happy stared at their senior with sweated looks though the former seemed to be blushing from embarrassment.
"That doesn't help me at all!" Natsu replied back with a comical expression before another pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck as he found himself face to face with Asia who cried continuously upon his recovery.
"Natsu-san! Thank heavens, you're okay! I did all that I can do to heal you but you've been passed out for three days so I was so worried!" She shouted her worries which made the dragonslayer to soften his gaze for a moment and focused on her stepsister with a light smile.
"Yeah… Sorry for making you worry, Asia. I guess I really blew it up this time." He apologized. The other looked at him in worry until Natsu began to shift his attention towards his surroundings.
Issei and Rias were also present along with the rest of the Occult Research members. Some of them had small bandages all over their bodies as if they went into some really intense fight.
"Natsu!" Issei called out in relief as he saw his brother waking up.
"Hey, Issei…"
"I'm glad that you're okay, Natsu. I had to ask Sona and the others to help you because of the wounds you've sustained during the fight." Rias explained though it was not long until Natsu remembered about the Rating Game.
"That reminds me, what happened to the battle? We didn't lose, aren't we?" He asked curiously which only made the crimson haired devil to look at each other for a moment then going back to him once again.
"The game was cancelled."
"WHAT?!"
"Both sides were reported to have violated rules of the game. The matter is being discussed between Phenex and Gremory at the moment. Neither I nor Akeno can dig up any information of what's happening so we only focused on your recovery." She explained.
"I see… Then, what happened to that Riser guy?"
"He was sent back to his home. The engagement was also postponed due to some mysterious developments concerning you."
"Me?"
The others soon began to feel uncertain about the topic but continued on their conversation as Rias spoke.
"The matter about you being put under observation."
"Observation? What the hell does that mean?" Natsu asked confusingly.
"Here take a look of this." Rias handed out a small tablet to him in which he took before looking at the picture of what was displayed in it.
His eyes widened in surprise as he saw himself in the picture though with such different changes. He had scales forming around his body and arms. The flames around him were completely different from the ones he used before and his appearance were bearing that of somewhat terrifying monster.
"In the last stages of the battle, you unconsciously tapped into your power once more and overpowered Riser in just a matter of seconds. It was pretty unbelievable for all of us to see that kind of power," She paused.
"Unfortunately, your fight with Riser also caught up to other devils as well in the other households and took a really great interest in you. Thanks to Tiamat, you were spared from the discussion about claiming you as a servant in their peerage though I don't think it would last that long." She frowned.
On the other hand, Natsu caught up with a name she mentioned from her explanation.
"Tiamat?"
At the same time, the said person made her appearance at the door without being noticed before speaking.
"That's right."
A couple of heads turned around and widened their eyes in surprise at her sudden appearance, especially Natsu who immediately recognized her as the same woman he dreamed earlier.
"Tiamat?!" The blue-haired woman shook her head before slowly making her way towards the group with a depressed sigh.
"Honestly, you devils sure like to cause troubles. I had to go all the trouble to conceal much of the information about the fight to the other factions as well but I guess that's too late now." She shrugged.
"What do you mean by that?" Akeno asked in confusion.
"Well some of the devils don't like the fact that I'm concealing about the fight. Surely, the information would spread to the outside and the angels and fallen angels will definitely know this in the near future."
"Wait! So there's going to be more that would go after Natsu?" It was then Issei turned to ask as Tiamat looked at him in anticipation.
"That's right. Because of his origin as the last of the original dragonslayers, anyone would be bound to recruit him in their ranks." She explained though her revelation of Natsu's true identity shocked the whole group, including the pinkette as well.
"Eh?"
"D-Dragonslayer? What the hell is that?"
Of course, most of them never really understood about the information until a green glow appeared on Issei left arm as Ddraig soon joined in the conversation.
[They're an ancient being originating from both human and dragon in a long forgotten history. They are also considered to be the strongest since they have the power to slay dragons who are superior beings in most of the races. However, the myth of the existence of the dragonslayers have receded and their nature was never studied except only for a few.] He explained.
"Natsu is that kind of person?!" Issei asked doubtfully.
"The power that he displayed against the Phenex was called the Dragon Force. It's the strongest and final form that a dragonslayer can attain. However, it would take long years for one to use it. Natsu used his Dragon Force in its incomplete state and it's a relief that it stayed that way otherwise, his opponent would've been obliterated." Tiamat explained.
"Is that the reason why you also stopped the match?" Rias asked.
"I had to. If word comes out about him being a dragonslayer, it would undoubtedly stir a lot of attention, not only from the three factions but also to other uninvolved factions." She revealed.
[Nowadays, humans have been trying to recreate the power of the dragonslayers but unfortunately, their existence were too morbid and vague. Not to mention the nature of their powers were mysterious so they made replicated copies of named swords imbued with their own magic only at the extent of their current understanding of it. The boy is a bonafide living dragonslayer. A true one that is.]
It was then Natsu decided to speak, completely confused about the flow of conversation.
"Hold on a minute! How did you know that I'm a dragonslayer? How'd I even became one?!"
"Originally, dragonslayers were all humans but they were gifted by the power to easily learn dragonslaying magic from their dragon parent." Tiamat explained.
"Dragon parent?"
"Yes. In the ancient times, humans become dragonslayers under the teachings of their dragon parent for long periods of time. Unfortunately, there's also a price when it comes to becoming a dragonslayer… And that is abandoning your humanity."
"My humanity?" A nod soon followed from the blue-haired dragon king as she continued.
"By doing so, you embraced your powers freely and attained the power that slays dragons. Much evidence can be shown on your rampage against Phenex. By using the full extent of your powers, you've temporarily lost all reason and partially became like an enraged dragon. Your transformation is also proof of that." She finished as the others looked at Natsu with shocked expression while he on the other hand, simply frowned upon hearing all of it.
"So I lost control, huh?"
"Maybe yes and no. The side effect of being a dragonslayer is getting drunk on your own power. Though in your case, there's an unlikely chance for you to become one since you've never bathe on the blood of the dragons." She explained.
"I see…"
"Wait a moment here! There's just one thing that bothered me." It was then Akeno decided to speak.
"What is it?" Tiamat looked at the black-haired devil with anticipation.
"How did you know so much about this? Not to mention, how you know so much about them. And why are you seemed so familiar with him since he came from the Hyoudou household?"
A couple of heads soon turned towards Tiamat with confusion who only answered them with a nonchalant expression.
"I know the existence of the dragonslayers long before I stayed here in the Underworld. The only reason I intervened is because I recognize the nature of his powers." Her answer seemed unconvincing for the black-haired devil as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"That doesn't answer my question about you being familiar with him. How did you even know his name?
"Does it matter?"
Before the argument could even escalate, a knock on the door soon came about as two figures made their appearance to the scene which surprised Rias upon recognizing them.
"Grayfia-san!? Onii-sama?!"
Tiamat also recognized the crimson-haired Satan before her as she quirk her brow in curiosity at his appearance in the medical rooms.
"Good day to everyone… It's a pleasure to meet you all. Good day to you too, Chaos Karma Dragon." Sirzechs lightly shook his head in his greeting.
"There's no need in formalities, Sirzechs. What have you come here for?"
"Oh, I was just looking for Rias and her household to discuss about the postponed engagement. The Phenex agreed on discussing the matter and had Riser to come along as well."
"Riser?!" Rias widened her eyes in surprise.
"Him again!" Issei gritted his teeth in anger.
"Calm down, everyone. This is about the continuation of the engagement. I'd like to discuss this peacefully and how I also want to end it between households without bearing any ill wills." Sirzechs explained.
"So the engagement is cancelled?"
"Yes but I need your help on all of your presence in the meeting in order for the discussion to be carried out peacefully."
There was a moment of silence between the group until Rias sighed underneath her breath and finally agreed on the meeting.
"Okay… I guess, we should attend as well. But what about Natsu?"
"Don't worry, I'm sure the Chaos Karma Dragon will keep him company in his recovery. For now, we should discuss our own matters regarding with Phenex." Sirzechs reassured which only made the others to nod their heads in response before following him and Grayfia down to the hallway, leaving the medical room.
Akeno took one last glance to Natsu who smiled in reassurance but not long before she casts an annoyed glare on the blue-haired woman beside him before closing the door in front of her and went along with the others.
As soon as they two were alone, Natsu turned his attention towards the blue-haired woman in front of him.
"So, will you tell me exactly who you are?"
At first, Tiamat was surprised by his sudden question but immediately recomposed herself afterwards before seating on a chair beside his bed.
"I guess, we haven't properly introduced ourselves to each other yet." She smiled, her expression towards him completely changed apart from when she was talking with his friends earlier.
"I guess so… Have we met before?" As soon as he asked that, Tiamat simply lowered her head for a moment before whispering something that even his sensitive ears couldn't pick up.
"We once were…"
"Did you say something?"
"No, it's just your imagination." She brushed him off with a smile. There was a moment of silence between them until Natsu decided to change the topic between them.
"So, uh–are you a dragon?" He asked curiously.
"Yes."
"Hah–strange…"
"What's so strange about it?" She asked curiously.
"Well, that's–uh how do I say it? W–Well, I never thought of one being a woman before. A-A beautiful one that is." He struggled to find an answer before his eyes soon caught into attention after seeing her leaning her face close to him, reaching just a few mere inches towards his face.
A blush crept up onto his cheeks after seeing her face up close. Normally, girls wouldn't do this kind of thing since they were sensitive about their self-awareness towards boys but Tiamat seemed to be different since she used to be a dragon.
"W-What?" He tried to ask despite their face being close to each other.
"Your scent… It smells nice." She muttered but Natsu felt like he misunderstands something.
"W-What are you talking about?" He frantically panicked but Tiamat could only giggle lightly in response as she drew her face back.
"It's still the same as before." She whispered.
"Huh?"
"It's your imagination. Don't pay heed too much about it."
"You're weird." He snorted.
"Am I now?"
"Anyways, I want to ask some questions from you." He tried to return back to the topic as he focused his attention to her with a serious gaze. "Who are you and how did you know of me?"
"My name's Tiamat. As what you have heard from your friends, I'm actually a dragon– a dragon king to be exact."
"Huh? That's odd. If you're a female and also a dragon king, wouldn't that make you dragon queen?" He assumed which only made the blue-haired woman to sweat at his silly question.
"RRiiiggghhhttt. I guess you could call it like that. Leaving that aside, I suppose this is all a bit overwhelming to you now, doesn't it?" She asked.
"You mean the dragonslayer thing? Honestly, I just don't feel affected by any of it at all. Ever since I learned to use this power, I knew that I'm not just any ordinary person," He paused.
"But you know, originating from a dragon surely looks terrifying and cool." He drew a wry smile in which she noticed as Natsu slowly shook his head and stared oddly from below. His thoughts recalled back on his memories of the past that he cannot remember which only made him wonder about his origin.
Ever since stumbling unto this new world, he began to question his past. Of how he was related to someone back then and wanted to know why.
And now the revelation of him being some dragonslayer surely confused him.
Pulling another wave of silence between them, Natsu snapped out from his thoughts and decided to ask once again.
"So what's going to happen now?"
Tiamat simply crossed her arms with a shrug.
"Well, only a handful of high-ranking devils knew of your fight with Phenex but that doesn't mean the information is kept in secret. Sooner or later, someone might convince you to join their ranks. I won't let that happen."
"How are you going to do that?" He asked curiously.
"Simple. They mess with you, they mess with me." She reassured. It took a few more seconds for him to understand what she meant.
"Right." He drawled lazily.
Before they could continue their conversation with each other, another knock on the door resounded in front of them as Grayfia came inside with a calm expression.
"Excuses, I would like to call Natsu-sama to attend the meeting with the discussion between Phenex and Gremory. It is immediate for him to come along." She replied.
"Can't you see he's still recovering? I thought I made it clear to not meddle on matters concerning him." Tiamat spoke with finality.
"Apologies, Tiamat-sama but the Phenex household demands his attention, especially Riser himself. If we fail to comply with their demands, we might risk his nature to the ears of other devils." Grayfia explained.
"So, they started blackmailing, huh? Who they think they're messing with–" She was about to stand up in opposition until a hand stopped her from getting any further. Her eyes landed back towards the pinkette who smiled in reassurance towards her before turning his attention to the silver-haired queen.
"They just need me in the discussion, right?" A nod soon followed, prompting him to lower his head in response before looking back to Tiamat.
"I'm fine now. Don't worry."
It took only a moment for the female dragon king to realize the injuries on his body beginning to heal back up in a fast rate. Her eyes widen in surprise as he stood up from his bed and followed Grayfia towards the door.
The power flows strongly in him… Just what have you been doing with him all this time, Igneel?
The meeting was held on a large room as both members of Phenex and Gremory showed their presence in the meeting. On the left lies the entire members of the Occult Research Studies together with Rias who was also accompanied by Sirzechs to discuss the matter concerning their engagement.
Riser and his peerage stood on the other side with the former completely irritated and pissed at the turn of events. The result of the battle left him a bitter taste on his mouth despite it being cancelled.
After all, he was completely beaten by a human.
Silence seemed to cover the atmosphere of the room as they all waited for the pinkette to come along.
It didn't take long for them to wait as the doors opened from the entrance and revealed Grayfia alongside with Natsu and Tiamat.
"I brought him." Grayfia bowed.
"Sorry for the trouble, Grayfia." Sirzechs apologized.
The silver-haired maid nodded her head in response as the two guests arrived at the scene. Issei and the others were relieved to see him finally okay while Riser on the other hand, harboured a rather resentful expression towards him.
"You called me?" Natsu looked at Sirzechs in question.
"This better not involve all the information about him, Sirzechs. If I see one devil blabbing his mouth, I might not be so lenient." Tiamat warned with hostility but the Satan only mustered a polite nod towards the dragon king before speaking.
"Rest assured. I'm sure that only the Phenex and Gremory household knows much about him but we will have no desire to cause trouble for him." He replied.
"That better be true to say to the other household." She glanced towards the Phenex household with suspicion. Several of Riser's peerage took notice of her gaze and could only take a step back upon feeling her power.
"Please, please. We came here for the discussion about the engagement. I wished for both sides to cease hostility with each other. We, Phenex have no desire to cause trouble for the human boy as well." A man spoke in place for the household. He seemed to be older than Sirzechs but his atmosphere made Natsu to assume that he's the head of the Phenex household.
"Of course, Lord Phenex. Well, returning back to the subject, I would like to ask for the engagement–" Before Sirzechs could even continue, Riser raised his voice to speak.
"I want to know what's going on! Especially on that human boy. What the hell is he?" Judging from his question, it seems like he still doesn't know about him being a dragonslayer.
"We came here to talk about the discussion, not about him. We called him as one of the participants who took part on the Rating Game between you and Rias." The older Phenex replied.
"But why the secrecy? There's something going on about him and I want to know why!" He urged until he felt a tug on his clothes as Ravel tried to calm him down.
"Onii-sama, you're making a scene."
On the other hand, Issei and the others could only whisper at each other.
"What does he want with Natsu anyway? I thought he was going at Buchou before." Issei whispered.
"Probably because of his defeat from him. Riser is known to be extremely arrogant and wanted to exploit every weakness he can find from his opponent." Akeno gritted her teeth in frustration.
Sirzechs and the older Phenex could only look at each other at the sudden turn of events.
"About the engagement–"
"I could care less about the engagement. I want a rematch!" All eyes turned towards Riser in surprise.
"Rematch?" Sirzechs asked in curiosity.
"Riser. What you're asking is totally uncalled for. The battle is considered finished and was cancelled. There's no need to discuss about that fight." The Lord Phenex tried dissuading him but it seems like Riser isn't letting that topic up.
"I demand a rematch!"
"Onii-sama. Please stop it!"
The uproar seemed to be escalating as Riser continues on his rant about his demand that only made the other, specifically the Gremory household to shake their heads at his current state. Sirzechs was also losing his grip on the discussion until Natsu speak in behalf of the household.
"A rematch, you say?" He asked.
"Natsu?" The others looked at him in surprise. Even Sirzechs and Lord Phenex were also surprised at his question.
"So you've finally speak. I demand a rematch with you, human!" Riser smirked.
"Riser, the matter will not be settled in just one rematch." Lord Phenex tried to speak but Natsu interrupted him.
"It's fine. I suppose we could make some conditions to put those matters out of the way." Natsu smiled in determination. All present devils looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Say, if I win, will you leave Buchou and the others alone and accept defeat?" Natsu wagered.
"What?" Some of the members looked at him in disbelief but Riser smirked at his response.
"Fine by me. If I win, I'll take your precious president with me."
"Done."
"NATSU!" Rias and Akeno shouted in disbelief.
"I suppose that settles this matter, right? A rematch which will decide who gets his conditions fulfilled." Natsu looked at Sirzechs and Lord Phenex in anticipation.
"It seems like you're the one giving the negotiations now. Very well, I'll accept the terms. What about you, Lord Phenex?" Sirzechs nodded at the proposal.
"Onii-sama. You can't be serious!" Rias looked at his brother in disbelief.
"That human boy is something indeed. I guess I could accept his terms. I hope that also settles your matter, Riser." He looked at the blonde-haired devil beside him.
"I was waiting for this." He smirked.
"Then a rematch will be held in a couple of minutes. Only members of this meeting will be the only ones who can watch this match. I recommend concealing this information from the other pillars. Is that clear?" Sirzechs reminded, causing everyone to nod in response as they all began to go back to their respective groups.
Rias and the others met up with Natsu and Tiamat.
"Just what the hell are you thinking, Natsu? A rematch with him? I thought we're behind that!" Rias spoke.
"Riser needs to learn what it means to lose and I'm not planning on losing." He reassured.
"That may be true but Riser totally underestimated you back then. Now that he knows your true power, he will never hold back against you." Akeno said in worry.
While discussing about the matter, Sirzechs made his way towards them.
"I just talked Lord Phenex concerning about your identity, Natsu. So far, he's the one in the household who knows about you. He agrees on keeping your secret for your safety which only leaves the other suspecting households the only ones standing in the way."
"Don't worry. I'll take it from there. They can't make a move against him." Tiamat reassured.
"Sorry for the trouble, Tiamat." Sirzechs apologized.
"There's no need for that, Sirzechs. I'm just glad that the matter didn't go out of control."
"Well, we still have a battle ahead. The fight will be a 2v2 rematch between households. You should pick someone from your members to fight with you against Riser." Sirzechs turned towards Natsu in anticipation.
At first, Natsu thought about tagging Akeno or Rias along but his eyes eventually turned towards his brother as he smiled towards him.
"I'll have Issei to fight with me."
"Huh? Me?"
[Good choice.]
"Ddraig? You were listening?" Issei turned towards his left arm in disbelief.
[I just can't let myself left out. Anyways, I'll think of something for you to battle Riser on equal footing.]
Tiamat could only glance away in annoyance.
"Well that's settles it. The battle will decide the fates of both sides. A battle between dragon and phenex."
Natsu and Issei could only nod in response as they looked towards Riser with determined looks. The final battle between dragon and the immortal bird is about to begin.
A/N: Sup guys. Chapter stops here and the next chapter will be bound on the final battle between Natsu and Issei against Riser. Sorry for the long update and also the slow pace of this story but I need to portray Tiamat's introduction just so she can finally become part of the involvement of the story which also includes her affiliation to the harem.
Don't worry, I'll finish up all loose ends on the next chapter then we'll go to the Holy Sword Arc thingy.
See you guys on the next chapter. Thank you for reading.
- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …
