Hiya Guys. Cheers for the reviews and favorites, it's a good feeling, Ya know? Sorry about the wait. Had exams to do and it was a hard chapter to write. Sorry if the quality falls short, but I just wanted to get this one out.
Any questions or queries, PM me! See ya! Enjoy!
Ow.
You know, for hell, it wasn't that bad. Mellow, peaceful. It was dark, but I could feel my body around me, floating in a seas of nothing. The chill wasn't there. I felt warm and soft as if I was swimming in an ocean of pillows.
Except my head really hurt.
Ow.
"Get up stripper,"
Sigh. Of course I wasn't dead. Life wasn't convenient enough for me to simply cease existing. It had to draw out the pain and torture and…
"You're not dying. Get the hell up Gray,"
Or not.
Sometimes, it doesn't pay to get up in the morning, no matter how much you're charging.
I opened my eyes. It was still dark and the concrete floor was cold under my cheek. I made a brief effort to mutter something about cocky, pyromaniac dragon slayers who would be waking up to a bed full of ice chips if they didn't shut up, before feeling around my head with my right hand. It came away wet. There was blood soaking through my shaggy black mop from a nasty gash on the crown of my skull. It stung, but it wasn't anything like deep or serious. I may have had a slight concussion. I'd had worse.
I began to struggle to my feet, grabbing Natsu's shoulder to steady myself. He let me, silently studying me. I stretched out and groaned loudly, before taking in my surroundings. The house was still a wreck, gutted like a pig from the inside. A blast of cold winter air blew in from a broken window, making me shiver with that same chill I'd felt back at Fairy Tail. Balls.
"You okay?" the dragon slayer asked me, not really sounding concerned. I didn't blame him. The two of us had each been in enough serious scrapes together that we knew on instinct when one of us was seriously wounded. It was almost instinctual, especially for Natsu. He was a stand up guy, but there was no denying what he was. A dragon. A predator. He saw prey. He knew that the weakest was often the easiest to grasp, to catch, to devour. He saw me and didn't see prey. He saw an equal. A rival.
And an ally.
"What happened?" I asked groggily, brushing muck from my torso and pants. The dragon slayer had just flopped onto the bed fully clothed and he was looking bright eyed and ready for battle. Happy sat on his shoulder, looking around suspiciously. I hadn't really noticed it, but over the last year, Happy too had become a better fighter. He wasn't much use as a powerhouse, but as someone who could judge a situation well and act accordingly, he was just fine. I'd seen him back Natsu up in ways he wouldn't have dared a couple of years ago. He was an impressive little cat.
"I heard you scream. Me and Happy rushed down and saw that Count dude crouched over you. There was all this purple light coming out of that gash on your head and it looked like he was absorbing it. I chucked a bolt of fire at him and he just vanished."
I growled. Of course this had been a trap. I had no idea why, but Count Tepei (if that was even his name) had lured us here to kill us. Or worse, whatever that was.
"Holy shit!" Natsu said suddenly, "What happened to the house?"
I raised an eyebrow at him. "You only just noticed?" I asked grinning slightly. Natsu scowled at me.
"Well I was a little bit preoccupied with saving your life, so I didn't have time to admire the view,"
I cackled.
"It's an illusion," I explained, "This place hasn't been inhabited for… for a long time," I cracked my neck, loosening up my muscles for what I believed to be a tough fight. The Count had a lot of magical power. To manage an illusion of the size we had seen and to keep it going, hiding it from the senses of someone like a dragon slayer and keeping up pretences of an innocent hermit at the same time.
Sheesh. This guy had power. He had power in spades. This was guaranteed to make my day complicated before it even begun.
"An illusion? You sensed it?" Natsu was surprised. I mean, I could do a lot of things. You want me to freeze an entire building? It's a done deal. You want me to chill the air so that it was hard for anyone but me to move? Again, I'm your man. But Natsu was better than me at some things. Sensing magical energy was one. Part of that was his dragon slaying blood, but he was generally just more sensitive to those kinds of things than other wizards. So why had I sensed the illusion and he hadn't.
I'M SURPRISED, YOU KNOW
We both jumped. The voice was… well, loud. It wasn't audible, but it was loud. It rang in our minds, humming with power and electricity and malice. Telepathy maybe, or some variation of it. Hell, thinking about it, the Count wasn't even necessarily human. I thought about my dream and the looming figure of Deliora that had crushed me like a bug. We knew that Zeref and his followers were growing in power, ever since the first appearance of Acnologia at Tenroujima. Was the mysterious Tepei a demon, straight out of Zeref's book?
No. That didn't add up. I'd felt his magic when I had shaken his hand. It had been dangerous and powerful, but it had been human.
I was the first to recover from the initial booming mental voice, and replied with a roar.
"Surprised with what?!"
THAT YOU SENSED MY ILLUSION. I COVERED ALL BASES. I EVEN MANAGED TO HIDE IT FROM YOUR DRAGON SLAYING FRIEND, A FEAT WORTHY OF PRAISE IF THERE EVER WAS ONE. HOW, MAY I ASK, DID YOU REALIZE THAT YOU HAD BEEN HAD?
Ouch. The first sentence had been bad enough. Having the Count roar a mental paragraph into my head was much, much worse.
"The Curtains. You forgot the curtains."
Silence.
"Seriously?" asked Natsu, momentarily forgetting the incipient danger, "The curtains? That's what tipped you off?"
HMM. I KNEW I HAD FORGOTTEN A KEY ELEMENT IN MY PLANNING.
"Curtains? Freaking curtains?"
"Shut up Natsu,"
He did. I think he was a bit scared. I was a bit scared too. This fella was strong.
But we'd fought stronger. I'd battled masters of the art, powerful sorcerers, demons, evil things. I'd come out grinning every time, blood in my nails and aching all over.
I was alive and I wasn't going to bow down simply because this nocturnal twat told me to.
"So," I said, willing confidence into my voice, "are you going to regale us with your evil villain speech? Maybe tell us all your plans and boast that we'll never be able to defeat you? Because if you are, get it over and done with. I have very little tolerance for cliches and we have places to be."
INSOLENCE. BUT I WILL SPEAK. IT IS NO MATTER TO ME IF YOU ARE AWARE OF MY PLANS. YOU'LL BE DEAD SOON ANYWAY.
"A reader of Bad Villain Monthly I see," I called.
"You joke, but it won't save you,"
I jumped. Natsu and I spun, eyes widening. Calmly striding down the stairs was The Count. He looked exactly the same as he had, although I could now feel the magic weaving around him, a cloud of sickening, cold power.
"What do you want?" demanded Natsu, his voice hardening as he glared up at Tepei. He, Tepei, laughed lightly, before jumping with supernatural agility over the bannister and down to the floor, facing us. We tensed, our bodies subconsciously moving into combat stances.
"A meal," Tepei said, grinning at us. His eyes were scary. Not that weird purple black, not that. It was the obvious wisdom and age, coupled with something I had seen countless times before.
Madness. This man, if he was even that, was coldly, ferociously, insane.
The one thing worse than nutters: Nutters with magic.
"I am a wizard, like you both. However, I don't dabble in those pathetic, elemental magic tricks you seem so fond of. No, I use a much more powerful magic. Forbidden actually. It has no name, as all traces of it were erased from record, but I managed to get my hands on a detailed account of it's use, from before Zeref's time. I simply engaged in a bit of reverse engineering and found out that it was very easy to learn, once I had put my mind to it."
"What does it do?" I snarled, my hands steaming as ice formed around my knuckles.
"Drains you. I simply take the power and life force of a wizard and gain their power. I'm afraid not literally, but the energy inside them does allow my to engage in activities otherwise impossible to humans."
"Like what?"
"Like this," He said. Then he punched me.
At least, that's what I think happened. One second I was there and the next, aerial cartwheels. I slid fast across the floor and crashed heavily into the opposite wall. A second later, Natsu crashed straight into my. I got a mouthful of greasy, rosy hair (dude, do you even condition?) and then we were both sprawled on the floor, groaning.
Fast. Strong as hell. This guy was gonna be tough to beat.
"I drain the life and power out of wizards. In return, I am bestowed with massive power. Not only that, their life force becomes my life force. I have been walking this earth since before your grandparents were even born."
"You must moisturize I lot," Natsu coughed, scrambling to his feet. I did so too, my entire body aching.
"You okay?"
"I hurt in places I didn't even know I had," replied the fire mage, "But I'm good. You?"
"Could be worse," I said. We grinned fleetingly at each other. Happy shook some rubble off his head and got to his feet as well. He looked a bit woozy but smiled defiantly.
"How we gonna do this?" I asked.
"Hit him until he dies?"
"Sounds good," I said, then raised my hands and roared, "Ice Make: Lance!" In a second, my hands burst into white light and arrows of sharp ice shot from my outstretched hands, speeding towards Tepei. The lances moved closer and closer, until they were less than an inch from his face.
Then he was gone. Before I knew what was happening, Tepei was coming from my right, his feet a blur. I had never seen someone move as fast as he was. My defenses were down. I didn't have the time to ready a shield or dodge. I raised my arms in an attempt to defend myself.
"Karyuu no Tekken!" came a roar as Natsu, wreathed in golden fire, dropped down on Tepei, his fist like lightning. He brought it crashing down on the Count, a punch with incalculable force. Again, Tepei was gone. Natsu foresaw this, the fire in his hands going out. Tepei appeared a second later, air shimmering around him maybe ten feet away from Natsu. The dragon slayer caught his descent, his feet suddenly bursting into flame.
"Ice Make: Sword!" I howled and a sharp, fierce looking longsword appeared in my right hand. I darted across the floor towards Tepei, sword arm raised.
"Karyuu no, Kagizume!" Natsu bellowed and used the power of his arms to push himself, feet first towards Tepei. In complete sync, we cannoned towards Tepei, Fire and Ice and pure destructive force ready to decimate our enemy. This time, Tepei didn't dodge. Instead, he reached out both hands and just screamed. Pure power roared out from his hands, but we couldn't stop now. His left hand struck my sword. It shattered and a hurricane of energy swirled out from it, sending me shooting backwards. His right hand closed over natsu's foot. The fire went out in an instant. Natsu's eyes widened as the Count smashed him down into the floor. The concrete cracked with the force of the impact. Natsu coughed violently, blood spurting from his mouth. I struggled up, groaning.
DON'T MOVE.
I didn't. The force of the telepathic shout froze me to the spot. As the dust cleared, I noticed a few things. Thought about a few things. There wasn't any way that we would be able to out move this guy. He was very fast. While he had an obvious skill in telepathy and illusion magic, it was probably not very powerful, meaning that the power he had absorbed over the decades had manifested itself in some other form. His youth, yes, but there was something I was missing. There was obviously a reason for his augmented speed and power.
Then it hit me. So freaking simple. Not necessarily easy to beat, but simple.
"I get it now," I said.
"Pardon?" Tepei inquired. He was now gripping Natsu by the throat, squeezing. Natsu seemed to be able to breathe though, choking slightly.
"I said I get it! You transfer your magic to your muscles when you fight. That's what makes you so strong, so fast. You're turning magical power into physical strength."
He didn't look impressed. "Well done, but I hardly see how your knowledge of that helps you." Ha! Of course he didn't. I worked a few things out in my head, before settling on the fact. I knew how to beat this guy.
I just had to trick him.
"Make no move!" He shouted at me, "Or I break the dragon slayer's neck!" I held up my hands placatingly.
"I'm not moving! I'm not moving!"
"Good. Now keep your hands where I can see them! And keep them away from each other. I don't want you casting!" I obeyed, lowering myself to my knees as I did so. The Count laughed, tightening his hold on Natsu.
"I'm prepared to let you live, provided you allow me to feed upon your friend."
Purple light began to glow around the two of them, smoke rising from Natsu's skin. He, Natsu, squirmed, eyes wide with fear and anger.
"I'm prepared to take your offer, Count," I said. Natsu choked out a curse, glaring at me. The Count laughed.
"I thought you Fairies were supposed to be loyal! Pathetic really. I could use a survivor like yourself, Mr Fullbuster."
"Maybe. Depends on the pay."
"Oh, it will be good. I happen to be in possession of treasure. It's worth is insurmountable. Your pay, dear Gray, would be generous."
"A poet!" I said, laughing, "This offer is very tempting! Get rid of the dragon slayer first though. He bores me."
"Gray!" cried Happy, his face contorted in anger. I raised my eyebrows and said nothing to the little cat. The Count chucked again, before the purple light suddenly burst up around him. The purple light he had used on me. This was his absorption ability.
This was my chance. Right in front of the Count's eyes, my body melted away, ice and snow shattering in an instant.
Tepei couldn't move. He could only widen his eyes as he realised he had been deceived.
Magic has rules. Now, I'm not talking about the things that the Council say are bad or whatever. I'm talking about physics. Magic has it's own kind of physics and it must follow those laws. Fire is still fire, ice is still ice. Power is still power.
When you transfer your magic into purely physical energy, then, technically, you have no magical power anymore. No magical senses, no telepathy, no illusions. It's just you and your really, really OP body. But when you're in the middle of a spell, it works the same way. No super powerful punches or flash step or whatever.
It's just you. Defenceless.
"COLD EXCALIBUR!" Tepei turned, maybe hoping to prepare a shield or dodge or use Natsu as a shield or…
Well.
He didn't.
The wall opposite us just broke. It exploded into icy shards, bringing the entire ceiling crashing down. The floor around us froze and cracked under the stress of the attack. Natsu fell, weakened but alive.
And Tepei's head rolled to a rest next to my foot.
"How did you know?" Natsu asked after he had rested for a few minutes. Happy fussed over him, worry obvious in the little cat's features. Natsu scratched him idly under the chin.
"I didn't." I said, grinning. Natsu glared at me, rising to his feet and brushing ice flakes off his bare chest.
"Asshole."
"It was an educated guess. I worked out that he couldn't dodge if he was in the middle of a spell, so I set up a plan. After he hit you, I conjured an ice clone and got behind him, ready to attack as soon as he was defenseless."
"Your clones have gotten better," Natsu said, nodding. "They can talk now?"
"Yup!" I said cheerfully, "Now, you deal with his body. I'm gonna look for his treasure."
"What do you mean, deal with his body!?" asked Natsu irritably.
"You're a fire mage. Work it out for yourself."
"NATSU! GET UP HERE!"
After a few minutes of waiting, Natsu and Happy mounted the stairs and came trotting into the Count's bedroom. They were both covered in ash and I noticed an orange glow coming from outside the house. Body disposal, check.
"Wha... Oh..." Natsu went silent as he took in the sight. There was a chest. A big chest. In the chest was...
Well, let's just say we weren't going to go hungry anytime soon.
"Grab a side," I said, "We're leaving."
Natsu shook his head eyes glittering. He grinned before asking, "Where?"
I paused, stretching and picking up a side of the chest.
"Home."
Home.
I'm not usually superstitious, but as I said that, I felt something. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I shivered. The cold was back. Something was going to happen at Fairy Tail. I didn't know what.
But it was going to be bad.