I've written more this year than I have in the past 3 years XD Accomplishment~ Anyway, here we go! Chapter 14!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.
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The sphere of magic energy that Gray had accumulated above his head was immense. Natsu had never felt so much magic power from the raven haired wizard before. He feared for what that meant for Gray. Matilda laughed, obviously knowing something that Natsu didn't. That didn't bode well with the rosette.
"What the hell is going on?!" he shouted over the ruckus the accumulated magic was making. Gray ignored him, as he expected and so did Matilda. Instead, she seemed to direct her comments towards Gray.
"I never even ordered you to do that! But by all means go ahead, Gray dear! Kill him along with yourself!" she laughed. Natsu jolted as he attempted to run forward, screaming.
"What do you mean by that?! Tell me!" he roared. Matilda smiled, not seeing any point in withholding the information seeing as how the Dragon Slayer could do nothing to stop it.
"He's concentrating all of his magic energy into one blow. Of course, normally there isn't anything wrong with using your magic up for one final attack. But with a spell of this magnitude, and to use this much magic in one blow, he's almost certain to suffer from rapid magic depletion, which is more than often a cause of death in mages. In other words, you pea brained Salamander, you will die once you take this attack and Gray will die soon after you!" Natsu's eyes widened. He couldn't let Gray cast the spell!
Natsu charged forward, fighting the magical energy that pushed him back two steps for every one that he took. It was scarily reminiscent of Galuna Island but Natsu couldn't be bothered to take a trip down memory lane. He didn't stand by the last time Gray tried to kill himself and he wouldn't now. He lit his heels on fire but even that wasn't enough to propel him forward. Natsu watched in fear as Gray began to glow a pale blue just like when the raven had casted Iced Shell. Natsu cursed.
Damnit! I'll be a disgrace to Igneel if I can't even save one of mynakama from dying!
Digging his heels into the ground, Natsu felt his magic power rise as the need to protect Gray and the desire to kill Matilda took over. He held his arms out and let his flames envelop his hands as well as his body.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!" he shouted, just as the sphere above Gray's head shrank then exploded suddenly, heading towards Natsu. The flames met the ice halfway in between the two and the two opposing elements pushed and pushed, one trying to kill and the other trying to protect. However, the malicious ice seemed to be more powerful as some of the fire began to freeze over. Natsu screamed out every profanity he knew and if Erza heard him, he was sure that she would wash his mouth with soap, age be damned.
The flames seemed to reignite in their fervour and pushed back hungrily, consuming the ice that had once threatened to overpower it. Natsu screamed until his throat became raw and fire exploded out of him, hotter and fiercer than anything he had ever produced before. Even Matilda was surprised at the sudden shift in tide.
Natsu's flames finally surpassed Gray's ice and surged forward, homing in on their target. Gray's blank eyes widened marginally as he was engulfed by fire. The area in which they fought exploded and a thick smoke was left. Natsu panted as he surveyed the wreckage for any sign of the Gray or Matilda. When the smoke cleared, he saw Gray standing, although just barely, and Matilda safely behind him. Natsu clenched his fists until he felt blood trickle through his fingers. Matilda was using Gray as a shield... and that pissed the hell out of Natsu. Gray staggered before falling to both knees. The purple veins on his body still glowed brightly as did the magic circle in his eye. Matilda watched with distaste.
"Stand up. You will either kill the Dragon Slayer or die trying, Gray Fullbuster." As if being pulled on by invisible strings, Gray shakily stood. Natsu frowned at the state his friend was in. The raven was covered in burns and the ice that had encased his broken leg had melted off. It was a wonder that Gray was standing.
No sooner than he had thought that, Gray lunged forward, ice cast reformed and hands already in his Ice Make stance.
"Ice Make-"he started. Natsu met the raven haired teen with his own attack. He forced his aching limbs to move faster than Gray so that he could land the hit first.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" The attack slammed into Gray's gut and the ice mage coughed out a little blood. Natsu cringed and apologised in his mind. He hadn't meant to hit Gray that hard. He had only been desperate to free his friend.
Gray's form crumpled and Natsu was quick to catch the unconscious raven. He frowned at the trail of blood from Gray's lips and set him down gently so that he was leaning against one of the few pillars that was still intact. The purple tendrils enslaving his friend were still glowing brightly and Natsu promptly decided that his new least favourite colour was purple. He turned to the spectator of their battle, who now had no option but to fight herself.
A purple aura immediately surrounded the Angel Slayer. Natsu felt his knees threaten to buckle as he was almost crushed by the sheer intensity. Matilda grinned as she cracked her knuckles.
"Well then, I didn't expect you to do that. But I'm thrilled. I get to enjoy killing you with my own hands, Dragon Slayer." A fiery aura encompassed Natsu as he glared hatefully up at his opponent.
"Bring it on. I'll kill you for hurting Fairy Tail and messing with my nakama!" he yelled as Matilda charged forward, purple fire engulfing her body. Natsu coated himself in his flames and the temperature inside the guild rose to scorching levels as the two Slayers clashed.
Erza found herself in a pinch. While she was holding her own and had landed more than a couple of hits on Leviathan, it seemed as though the durability of Steven's body had risen during the possession and what would have been enough to defeat or at least subdue him, were the equivalent of scratches to the beast. She gripped her Crystal Sword tightly. She had requipped back into her Sea Empress Armour a while ago which increased her resistance to Leviathan's attacks, but it was much harder for her to keep up in terms of speed in comparison to when she had donned her Flight Armour. Erza bit her lip as she slashed at Leviathan again, only for him to dodge. She couldn't keep this battle going on longer than necessary. She needed to check on Natsu and Gray!
Faster than she could blink, Leviathan appeared beside her.
"Can you really afford to let your thoughts wander when I am your opponent, human?" Erza grunted as she took a blast of scalding pressurized water. It would have been worse had she not been wearing her Sea Empress Armour. She was pushed back several feet when she noticed the sky above her darken once more. The sound of electricity was heard and Erza's eyes widened in realization as she rushed to requip her armour.
A blast of lightning struck her a second after she requipped into her Lightning Empress Armour. She glared up at Leviathan. So the beast had two types of magic... If she stayed in her Lightning Empress Armour, she would be susceptible to water attacks. But if she requipped into her Sea Empress Armour, she would be vulnerable against lightning attacks. Erza grimaced. She would have to figure something out.
Natsu jumped back to avoid a flaming kick coming his way and brought his hands in front of his mouth.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" In response, Matilda grinned and took a deep breath.
"Fire Angel's Howl!" The two flames met and grew as they tried to overpower the other. Purple washed over red as Matilda's attack swallowed Natsu's and rushed towards him. Natsu's eyes widened just as he was consumed by Matilda's flames. He had initially thought that he would be fine, since fire normally did not affect him. He was bewildered to find that the fire did indeed hurt and he hunched over when the wave of fire ended. Matilda sneered at him from afar.
"Surprised, Dragon Slayer? Angel Slaying Magic ignores properties of any other Slayer. In other words, even if you are a Fire Dragon Slayer, my flames will still burn you. Yours, on the other hand, will do nothing to harm me. In other words, I am the worst possible opponent you could ever face!" Natsu's eyebrow twitched.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" he shouted as he let loose another Roar. This time, Matilda did nothing to stop the attack. She let the red flames wash over her as she revelled in them. Natsu took half a step back as he watched Matilda suck up his fire and flash him a smile.
"Thanks for the meal," she taunted. Natsu clicked his tongue and dodged just in time for Matilda to come flying at him with a flaming fist. Without his magic, Natsu was at a huge disadvantage. To make things worse, he could still be hurt from Matilda's magic. Natsu blinked as Matilda seemed to disappear in front of him. Using his nose, he tried to sniff out her location but was suddenly punched in the gut. Natsu staggered back and wiped a trickle of blood from his lips. He let out a battle cry as he charged forward again. Matilda smiled from where she stood as she waited for her foe to come to her.
"Gray dear, you're awake now aren't you?"
"..."
"There's something I need you to do for me..."
Natsu lay with his back on the floor, covered in burns as Matilda stood tall over him. She flicked her wrist and a ball of flame appeared and danced in her palm.
"This is the difference between Angel and Dragon Slayers. Do you give up yet, Natsu Dragneel?" The rosette scoffed as he forced himself onto his feet, stumbling and struggling to stay upright.
"What are you talking about? Fairy Tail mages never give up. And besides, I already told you..." Natsu's flames roared up once more as he glowered at her. "I'll kill you for messing with my family." Matilda gave him a self satisfied smirk. Before he could ask what the hell was so amusing, he heard a voice that he should not have heard.
"Natsu-san? Eh? And who's this?" Natsu turned around, feeling a sinking sense of dread. Behind him, Juvia stood next to Gray, looking absolutely confused. She turned to the raven who had brought her here.
"Gray-sama what's—"
A knife made of ice appeared in Gray's hand and the next thing Juvia knew, she was lying on the ground, in an unbearable amount of pain which originated from her throat.
Natsu watched the whole scene unfold from the flash of blue to the red spillage. He couldn't believe his eyes. He wouldn't believe his eyes.
Gray...
Gray had...
...killed Juvia.
"JUVIA!"
"Gray dear, you're awake now aren't you?"
"..."
"There's something I need you to do for me..."
"What is it?"
"Kill a pixie."
Don't kill me! This is probably the worst cliffy there was in this story and I promise you that if there is another one (since I can't seem to remember right now), it's not nearly as bad as this! Also, if you didn't kill me earlier, please don't kill me after reading the title of the next chapter *hides*
Next Chapter: Death of a Family Member