I'm going to apologise right now for the lack of linebreaks in this chapter. It just didn't feel like they belonged anywhere O.o So I'm sorry guys, but this one might be a little bit "wall of text" like.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.
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Erza huffed as she finally managed to land a blunt blow to the back of Gray's neck with the hilt of her sword. She caught the falling ice mage gently. She looked around her to find nothing that she could prop Gray up against. She frowned and surveyed the area for any place that she could set him down.
She was about to give up when she heard a voice shout,
"Erza!" The redhead turned and found Carla floating above her. "We can move him over to where Wendy and Juvia are. Of course, we have to be careful..." Erza nodded in agreement. Carla began to fly away and Erza followed carefully, stepping over rubble and debris from the battle. When she arrived at where the healer was situated, she set her unconscious friend down.
"How's Juvia?" she asked. Wendy smiled tiredly at her.
"It was a little touch and go for a while, but she'll be fine!" Erza breathed a sigh of relief.
"I see. Thank goodness. Thank you, Wendy." The petite bluenette turned her attention to Gray. She frowned when she got a good look at the state of the ice mage. She was about to move one of her hands from above Juvia's neck to Gray's broken leg when Erza's gauntlet clad hand stopped her.
"No... we can't risk it. If he wakes up, he'll be even harder to knock out again. I only brought him here because I thought that he would like it better than being alone in the wreckage..." she finished sadly. Wendy's eyes watered but she bit her lip and looked away from her surrogate big brother as she continued to heal Juvia's wound. Erza turned from the scene and regarded the giant purple orb in what used to be the guild hall with concern and caution.
Natsu...
Natsu found himself struggling to see inside the strange orb that held him prisoner. He had tried to light one of his fingertips on fire but each time he did, it was snuffed out instantly. He had tried screaming for someone to answer him only to be met with his echo. Natsu glowered into black space. Alone, without his vision, smell or, for all he could tell, hearing. The odds were not in his favour. A voice laughed darkly from somewhere in front of him.
"Natsu Dragneel... this is where you finally die." Natsu bristled at the declaration.
"Matilda! Show your fucking face, coward!" Matilda scoffed.
"I've been in front of you this entire time, Dragon Slayer. But I didn't want to start until our audience was with us."
"Audience? What audience?"
"Why, the souls of all the past Angel Slayers of course."
Natsu turned, petrified when he heard strange noises from all around him. It sounded like flesh being twisted out of nothing and Natsu shivered at the thought. The noise continued as more and more enemies seemed to materialize. Matilda stepped forward and Natsu could finally see her. The Angel Slayer was bathed in black and purple light, her eyes now a deep red, the colour of blood. She was deathly calm, in contrast to how she was acting before this spell. She continued to walk towards him as she started conversationally,
"Like you Dragon Slayers, Angel Slayers also have 'Secret Arts'. Except we call them 'Forbidden Arts'." She stopped a pace away from Natsu and tilted his chin up with her index finger. "Did you know that some people believe that the devil was once an angel? He was the first angel and had no flaws. But because of this, he grew proud and was cast out of heaven and fell to Earthland. In other words, he was a Fallen Angel." She withdrew her finger quickly and sharply, scratching Natsu's chin just enough to draw blood.
"Angel Slayers are holy beings. Forbidden Arts use our magic and call forth the souls of every Angel Slayer before us from Hell and allows those souls to exact their revenge. We utilise the power of the devil himself when we cast Forbidden Arts." Natsu's eyes were covered by his bangs. Matilda took that as a sign for her to continue.
"Since you're a Dragon Slayer, one of the Slayers that launched a genocide on us eons ago, I don't doubt that these souls will take their sweet time killing you. They have a millennia worth of anger to vent." Then her tone changed from arrogant to serious. "A life for a life. I'll kill you for Hestidiel, myself and for Steven." With that, Matilda took a step back and watched as the souls of the Angel Slayers began to take shape into humanoid, translucent beings and stalked towards Natsu.
Natsu lifted his head up slightly so that his bangs were still covering his eyes.
"Are you done now?" Matilda reeled back in shock.
"W-What?" Natsu continued, his tone solemn.
"I get that you went through a lot. It must have been horrible. But..." His memories flashed in his mind, bright and welcoming.
The guild, illuminated in sunlight, standing proud and tall in Magnolia.
All of his guildmates, smiling brightly at him as he returned from a mission with his team.
Igneel, flashing him a toothy grin that would have been terrifying to anyone but warm and fatherly to him.
"...That gave you no right to mess with my guild." Lightning arced around Natsu threateningly and the souls of the dead backed away in fear.
"L-Lightning?" Matilda stammered.
"I'm not interested in this millennia old grudge or this huge revenge scheme you have..." Natsu's magic power increased as his flames roared to life and mingled with the lightning already dancing at his feet. The purple space attempted to extinguish the flames once more but Natsu's flames would just not quit. They churned angrily, depicting how their master was truly feeling despite his calm exterior.
"The reason I'm going to defeat you..." Silence ensued as the souls disappeared and Matilda was left alone in the face of a furious Dragon Slayer. Her blood red eyes widened.
N-No way... he cancelled my spell? While it was already underway?!
"...is because you decided to hurt my nakama." Matilda took a step back. For the first time in ages, she was afraid of an enemy. The magic power surrounding Natsu Dragneel was immense. Insanely so.
"M-Monster..."
"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!" Natsu growled as his teeth elongated into fangs. The lightning that had been darting about at his feet collected into his left fist. The flames followed suit and converged into his right fist.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Lightning Blade!" Natsu pivoted on his heel and the two magics fused together to form a spiral of red and yellow, growing larger with every second that passed. The magic strained against its purple confines as its destructive power exploded. The attack surrounded Matilda in a flurry of fire and lightning. Matilda tried to consume the fire, in an attempt to replenish her magic, but found herself painfully shocked by the lightning. Finally, the purple prison cracked and shattered, freeing Natsu from its horrors. Natsu panted from exhaustion but was inwardly ecstatic when he saw Matilda lying bloody and burnt and defeated a mere few feet away. He strode up to her and looked down, eyes slitted reptilian.
"You lost. Release Gray," he ordered. Matilda chuckled as she flipped him the finger.
"Why would I do that? Just because you defeated me doesn't mean I will grant Gray Fullbuster his freedom." In a flash of red, a sword was pointed at Matilda's throat. The downed mage looked up into the merciless gaze of Titania.
"You will do as he says, Matilda Mueller." Natsu glanced over to where Wendy sat, watching their interrogation carefully.
"Hey Erza, is it ok to leave Gray with them?" he asked urgently. Without looking away from Matilda, she answered,
"Yes. Matilda's magic is at basically zero so she has no way to control Gray right now." Matilda scoffed.
"As expected of the great Erza Scarlet. Ruthless to the end." Erza's glare darkened.
"Release Gray," she repeated.
"Let me kill the Dragon Slayer and I will." Titania's grip on the sword tightened as she neared the limit of her patience.
"Not an option."
"Then I guess you can say goodbye to your precious ice mage." Natsu crossed his arms.
"You might as well do it now. The Magic Council is probably on their way here right now. They'll place you in anti-magic cuffs so any magic that you're casting is immediately nullified. Which includes your hold on Gray." Matilda defiantly turned her head to the side. Erza raised an eyebrow.
"You and Steven ar—were very alike." Matilda continued to stare to the side. There was a long silence before she finally spoke.
"How did Steven die? Did you run him through with your sword? Or did you blast him to pieces with your magic?" Erza pursed her lips.
"He casted a spell that allowed the Leviathan to possess him." Matilda's head whipped back up.
"What?! And he still lost?!"
"That spell kills the user, or so he told me." Matilda's eyes widened. She clenched a fist and smashed it into the ground.
"That fucking idiot!"
"We've done as you asked. Now do what we've asked." Matilda turned her head, incredulous.
"Really? You expect me to give you back Gray Fullbuster when you've killed the last of my family?! That's some nerve you all have." The sword at her neck pressed down further, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Like Natsu said, you will be forced to either way. But there is one option that he forgot to mention. We could kill you before they get here." Matilda's eyes widened.
"That would make you no better than an assassin's guild! You can't kill me!" Natsu scoffed.
"Mages die all the time in battle. Plus, you've hurt my best friend, destroyed my guild and pit my family against each other. Besides, I told you that I don't break promises. Remember what I said earlier?"
"I'll kill you. And when I do, you won't be getting any mercy from me."
"Now who's got nerve?" Matilda scoffed and merely turned her head to the side in acceptance.
"Do what you must then, Dragon Slayer. My only regret is that I didn't kill you first." Natsu snorted but lit his fist aflame.
"Before that, answer a question for me."
"And why would I do that?"
"You have no reason not to." Matilda's eyes widened as she barked out a laugh.
"Very well then Natsu Dragneel. Ask your question."
"You said that Gray killed your family and that you smelled him. When was that?"
"7 years ago."
"...You realise that Gray is 18 right?" Matilda rolled her eyes.
"Of course. I'm not an idiot, Dragon Slayer. It was his father who killed Hestidiel." Erza shook her head.
"That's even more impossible. Gray's entire family is dead. They were killed in an attack by Deliora. 10 years ago." Matilda's lavender eyes narrowed.
"I know what I smelled, Titania. It was unmistakably similar to Gray Fullbuster's scent."
The three were interrupted by the sound of many approaching footsteps. Everyone turned to where the guild's door used to be. The fighters outside paused their battles as well.
"This is the Magic Council. We were called by the citizens of Magnolia after hearing an explosion," Lahar announced. Then he turned back to his troops. "Capture every member of Fatal Falcon! Don't let anyone escape!" he ordered as his soldiers charged forward with a solid,
"Yes sir!" The dark mages were instantly struck with fear and began to run, only to be caught by the army. Lahar marched into the space where the guild would have been.
"Titania. Salamander," he acknowledged with a nod in both their directions. Erza let up on her sword as Matilda stood and laughed hollowly.
"It appears as though you've wasted your chance, Salamander." She was just about to take a step forward towards the councilman obviously waiting for her when she felt a pain in her chest, where her heart was. Her last thought was that after all her hard work, she could not avenge her family.
Natsu watched in horror as a beam of yellow shot through Matilda's chest, straight through her heart. He turned up to where the beam had come from. Standing up on a higher elevation than they were, stood a magic councilman with a gun. The magic councilman's expression remained carefully neutral as he sent the weapon back into space. Erza's eyes narrowed.
"Guns Magic like Bisca and Alzack..." she murmured. Lahar nodded at the guns mage and motioned for him to come down. Natsu turned from his spot on the floor angrily at Lahar.
"What was that for?!" he demanded. Lahar turned to him and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"You of all people should know, Natsu Dragneel. She is the master of a dark assassin's guild. Of course she had to be eliminated right away. She was a dangerous woman." Natsu clenched his fists.
"You still didn't have to kill her!"
"Didn't you promise the same thing?" the councilman accused. Natsu bit his lip before retorting,
"Even if I was going to kill her, I wouldn't have used a sniper!" Lahar didn't bother to deign Natsu's outburst with an answer as he walked away undoubtedly to help round up more of the dark mages. Natsu and Erza only continued to stare blankly at the corpse in front of them.
A pained cry from a certain raven pulled them out of their stupor.
Natsu bolted over to where Wendy and Carla sat, scared to touch the raven lest they hurt him. Natsu watched as Gray's deep blue eyes shot open and his hands flew up to the base of his neck where the magic circle was. Deep blue eyes stayed wide open and were bloodshot, as if having been opened for too long. The magic circle imprinted on Gray's pupil dimmed in and out as did the tendrils on his body. Natsu shook him gently, not knowing what else to do.
"Gray! Are you with me? Hey!" The ice mage curled in on himself, huffing and gasping for breath. Natsu could only sit and watch as Gray battled with the foreign magic leaving his body.
The purple magic circle in Gray's eye continued to fade in and out until it finally shone brightly and dissolved away in a shower of sparkles. The tendrils on Gray's body did the same and Natsu looked on with relief. The last to go was the magic circle on the ice mage's neck. When all traces of the Angel Slayer's control were gone, Gray exhaustedly closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.
Natsu breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'll leave him to you Wendy." The younger Dragon Slayer nodded.
"Yes! I'll take good care of him Natsu-san!" Natsu dragged himself up exhaustedly and walked over to where Erza still stood over Matilda's body. As he trudged on, he took a good look at the state of the guild.
The guild's walls no longer existed, nor did any pillars or tables. The battle between him and Matilda had destroyed everything, even the second floor and its stairs. Stone and wood littered the ground and had he been barefoot, he was sure that his feet would have been bleeding. He stopped in front of Erza. The redhead watched him with compassionate eyes.
"Natsu..." she began. Just then, Lucy burst into the used to be guildhall.
"Natsu! What happened— Oh." Lucy stared down at the dead Slayer, her chocolate brown eyes meeting a lavender lifeless gaze.
"The Magic Council did it," Erza assured. She knew that Lucy would never believe that Natsu had killed anybody but she needed to make sure that there was no confusion lest any rumours fly. Lucy moved her gaze from Matilda to Natsu. The Dragon Slayer had been kneeling silently, pink bangs covering his eyes.
Without warning, he lifted Matilda's body up and began to carry her bridal style. Wendy looked up in confusion.
"Natsu-san? What are you doing?"
"Giving her a proper burial," was the rosette's quiet answer.
Natsu stood in front of the grave marker he had made for Matilda. He had given her a spot in Cardia Cathedral, two rows down from Lisanna's grave. He looked down at the tombstone.
"If you wanted to take revenge for your family... you shouldn't have involved other people; killing to become stronger or attacking my guild. None of that helped you. Don't get me wrong. I don't forgive you for what you did. But no one deserves to die alone. I hope you've found Steven, wherever you two are." With that, the Dragon Slayer turned from the grave and walked back to where his guild used to be.
I actually debated for a really long time if I wanted Matilda to give Gray back willingly or to have her forced to. In the end, Matilda was too proud a character to give in so she gave him back as a result of her death.
And yes, that whole devil and angel bit was based off of the story of Lucifer. I apologise if this offends anyone's religion in any way but I didn't realise until just now that it might've been offensive.
Finally, the name "Hestidiel", is loosely based off of the Greek goddess of hearth, Hestia.
Well there's only 1 more chapter. I'll see you guys then!
Final Chapter: Recovery