Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. I do own the idea of this story.
Chapter 6: The beast of the tower.
The black-haired Goddess Amaterasu was observing the recent actions that have been unfolding themselves through a levitating crystal Lacrima. The woman sat on a comfortable chair watching how Natsu was progressing with his journey in finding Kagura's brother to the point where he came across the Tower of Heaven. Up until that point, she noticed everything what the pink-haired God Slayer did. His cruel actions towards the town-raiders and how he mercilessly finished the slave-drivers on the ship. It didn't suit well with Amaterasu, seeing the dark side of the boy she called her son. Though, it wasn't the first time the raven-haired woman witnessed this side of the pinkette.
Since the Goddess took him in, as the pinkette grew older and stronger, his dark side became more prominent as well. Their training sessions was a good example. The kid loved fighting with a passion, a passion that was too strong the Goddess deduced. Every time Amaterasu noticed that glint in her foster-son's eyes. That hunger for destruction, for war, to fight to his heart's content. It reminded her of a certain creature who had the same lust for power 400 years ago...
"RELEASE ME, MOTHER!"
Amaterasu raised her head in surprise as she heard the demanding shriek. She turned to her side and saw the brunette, Kagura, trashing heavily around in her bindings, who sat in a chair right in front of her. It made the dark-haired Goddess sigh tiredly before she looked at the girl with an understanding expression.
She knew how much the pink-haired boy meant to the girl. After saving her from a wanderer's fate, the girl started to look up to Natsu. They trained, learned and sought each other's help whenever they needed it. It created a somewhat unique bond between them. The Goddess didn't know if it was friendship or something else, but one thing the Goddess could deduct; every time she watched Kagura look at the rose-haired God Slayer, a special glint could be discern in her eyes. The girl had a lot of respect for him. Probably because of her respect she felt angry at the way Natsu had treated her.
The Goddess stood up from her chair and approached the brown-haired girl she considered a daughter with an emotionless mask on her divine face. She wanted to know why the girl was so persistent in chasing Natsu.
Kagura raised her head and frowned with tear-stricken eyes at the dark-haired Goddess. She felt angry and hurt the way Natsu had treated her and the fact that Amaterasu didn't want to help her out was more reason for her to be angry. Was she not strong enough to help him out? Did Natsu consider her a hindrance in his search? This was her brother after all, not Natsu's...
"Why do want to chase after Natsu?"
Kagura frowned deeper, hearing Amaterasu ask her that question. Wasn't it obvious? She wanted to help Natsu and save her brother of course.
"I think you know the answer, mother..." Shaking her head, Amaterasu started to untie the brunette.
"I know why you want to help, Kagura. Perhaps I formulated it wrong." The Goddess was thinking for a moment while removing the magical bindings." Why do you think Natsu did not want you with him?" The question gave Kagura a downcast look as she glanced at her feet.
"Probably, because he thinks I am not of any help." Kagura whispered softly, her eyes shadowed by her brown locks. The black-haired Goddess stared at her for a moment before giving a small chuckle, making the brunette raise her head and look at her with startled eyes. Amaterasu glanced at her with a motherly smile and caressed her cheek as she soothed the girl.
"Dear, did really thought that? We both know how that brat is. Reckless, but a boy with a good heart. And besides..." The Goddess' gaze turned to her side as her face gained a grim look."There are things that he probably does not want to show you. Who knows what he will encounter in that tower."
The brunette's eyes were fixated on the black-haired Goddess. What did she mean by that? Was there something Natsu didn't tell her?
"What things are you-?"
The woman silenced Kagura with a finger, her features serious as she looked at the brunette.
"That is not of importance now. You want to go after him, right?"
Kagura answer with a quick nod, her hand tightly clenched as she waited for Amaterasu to continue. The Goddess straightened herself before turning around. She looked past her shoulder and told the brown-haired girl to follow her lead to which she complied.
The Goddess went to her arcane table which she used to enchant and create magical items for conveniences. Her golden orbs fell down on the black necklace with a rhombic ruby at its end. Amaterasu took it before bringing the necklace closer to her eyes.
"Hopefully, this will seal off the growing darkness inside his heart."
Amaterasu felt a tuck at her other hand and glanced downwards only to meet the curious eyes of the brunette. Kagura was staring intently at the black piece of jewelry the Goddess was clutching in her hand. It was a beautiful black necklace in Kagura's opinion and she felt an odd vibration coming from it.
"Kagura, I want you to do something for me." Amaterasu's tone was filled with a commanding tone, making the brown-haired swords-user look at the Goddess before giving a curt nod, her mind set on what her mother-figure was about to tell her.
"I will allow you to go after Natsu. To spare you time, I will bring you there myself. The moment you find him, give him this. I specially crafted this for Natsu because of... a certain condition. You will understand what I mean someday, but not today. Anyhow, it is very important that you give him this." She carefully handed the necklace to Kagura, who eyed the jewel for a moment before putting it around her neck. She flashed her a hesitant look, wanting to prove that she could be of help but she didn't know if she was capable of helping. The raven-haired Goddess looked at her with proud eyes, smiling at her as only a mother could.
"Be careful, and bring those slave-drivers to justice, Kagura. Now, go grab your sword..."
Nodding, the brunette went to grab her sword only to return as fast as she left, her sheathed sword tightly clenched in her right hand. She ran her other hand down the sheath, feeling the crude leather brush along her hand, making her feel anxious and nervous for reasons unknown to her.
The dark-haired Goddess noticed her distress and knelt in front of the girl. She placed her hand on Kagura's cheek and smiled warmly at her. The distress started to fade as Kagura looked into the bright eyes of the woman.
"Do not be afraid. Since we started training in swordsmanship, you excelled all of my expectations. Your heart is that of a fighter, of a strong individual. Have confidence in yourself and you will achieve great things. Know that both I and Natsu have confidence in you so it is only natural for you to have it in yourself too." The dark-haired woman kissed the girl's forehead and grinned encouragingly.
Kagura stood there, not knowing what to say or do. She never experienced parental love and motherly affection was alien to her. It was only she and brother and no one else. Since she could remember it was like that and now, after months living with Amaterasu and Natsu, she now knew how it felt to be loved by a mother. It brought some unwanted tears to her eyes as she smiled gratefully to the Goddess.
"Thank you for the support. I will not fail you, mother."
Smiling, the black-haired woman patted the girl's cheek and stood up.
"I know. Now, we have wasted enough time. That pink-haired brat needs us."
Grabbing Kagura's hand, Amaterasu raised her other hand. The appendage began to glow with a white aura before a portal the size of Amaterasu's length was created. The brown-haired swords-user could faintly discern a hazy image of a large tower.
"Is that... where Natsu and my brother are?"
The raven-haired Goddess didn't answer immediately as she stared at the place with an unreadable look.
"Yes... it is."
Without waiting for a reply from the brunette standing next to her, Amaterasu entered the portal, slightly dragging girl with her. As soon as the two entered the portal, it start glowing fiercely before slowly fading away.
"Gravity Magic: Gravity Change!" The pinkette roared as he had both his arms horizontally outstretched with his hands open before slightly lowering his outstretched appendage. The effects were immediate as the gravity around him increased drastically, creating a transparent purple sphere with minuscule particles floating inside it. Within a 20 meter radius the gravity instantly increased to the point where the guards couldn't lift their fingers. The guardsmen were struggling with moving their bodies as they rigidly stood there, rooted to their places.
Satisfied with the result, the pinkette jumped out of the place before looking back at the transparent sphere he created while still in mid-air. Natsu inhaled deeply, expanding his lungs and puffing his cheeks as fire started to gather inside his very core. The rosy-haired God Slayer then howled out a large amount of fire out of his mouth.
"Howl of the Fire God!"
The gigantic torrent of dark fire soared towards the petrified guards before hitting on impact, making them fly like rag dolls through the air as the area reverberated with a powerful shockwave. His Howl left a large crater on the ground with small flames lingering around the place.
Natsu wiped his mouth with his fist, grinning feral at his handy work. It has been awhile since he was this destructive.
The rose-haired boy suddenly smelled the charcoal scent of fire coming his way. Natsu glanced to his right and saw a stream of red fire towards his way. The pinkette jumped to the side and rolled over the ground for a moment before coming to halt in a crouching position, supporting his body with his right-hand placed on the ground. He glanced upwards and noticed a solid number of fifteen mages aiming at him with fire lacrima-implanted staffs.
"FIRE! TURN THIS BRAT TO ASHES!"
All fifteen mages simultaneously launched torrents of red-orange flames at the rosy-haired God Slayer. From all directions, Natsu could feel flames roaring towards him with temperatures as hot as the sun.
And it only made him smile...
The pinkette was engulfed in red hot flames, his entire being vanished in fire as they formed a giant ball. The blaze continued to roar even brighter as the mages poured more magical power into their attacks. After awhile, the leader of the mages shot out his hand and motioned to stop. He noticed that something was off as he squinted his eyes and stared into the giant red ball of flames in curiosity. He could barely discern a figure inside the fireball and gasped in shock at what he saw. The brat was motioning with his arms and the flames bent to the pinkette's will as the fire danced in a similar way to how his arms moved.
Natsu moved the flames around his body while taking in the dread-filled looks of his attackers, making him grin in the process. The pink-haired boy then inhaled the red hot flames and began to devour them with gusto as the fireball he controlled started to shrink. This simple act, in Natsu's opinion, made the slave trading mages feel even more fright as they stared in horror at the rosy-haired God Slayer.
A few seconds past and Natsu finally absorbed the flames, leaving no trace whatsoever. The pinkette's green eyes glanced above and he stretched out his right hand. A purple seal appeared beneath the pinkette and Natsu subsequently lowered his hand.
"Gravity Magic: Fall!"
The wall which the mages were standing suddenly started to rumble as they noticed debris falling off their position. All of a sudden, the mages felt no ground under their feet and they started to fall down and land on the hard ground, rubble scattered around them. The pink-haired boy wasn't done yet as his stuck out both his hands once again.
"Gravity Magic: Pressure!"
The pinkette dropped his hands until they were at waist level. His Gravity Magic enveloped the mages in a thick blanket of invisible pressure, making them yell in pain as they felt the pressure crush their bodies. Natsu continued adding more and more pressure, making the ground below the mages crack because of it. The mages ultimately couldn't handle the pain any longer and they lost their conscious, their bodies going limp as darkness took them over.
Seeing that they wouldn't fight back anymore, the rosy-haired mage lowered his arms and the pressure surrounding his attackers vanished with the movement. Suddenly, Natsu dropped to one knee and started panting heavily while his arm rested on his knelt leg, his chest falling and rising in a fast tempo. Sweat was formed on the boy's forehead, making him close his eyelids as the salty fluid started to enter his eyes.
"Damn, using this much magical power is starting to take its toll on me..." Natsu mumbled to himself as he stood up again, his breathing now normal recurrent. He glanced around, his green eyes scanning the area.
"NATSU!"
Turning his head around, he saw the blue-haired called Jellal run up to him, his hands holding a spear and shield. The bluenette looked at him with his brown-eyes, noticing his rigid state.
"What is it, Jellal?" Natsu said as the boy sat on the ground with his legs crossed, trying to regain more of his breath before he continued obliterating this place. The azure-head glanced at him and his face was contorted in a slightly panicked way, making the pinkette cock an eyebrow.
"We are fighting with everything we got, but the guards are starting to get an advantage over us. The slaves are getting tired and we desperately need your help."
The pinkette glanced to the ground and sighed tiredly, his hands resting on his knees to support his upper-body. Natsu was tired. Scratch that, he was exhausted. Fighting for almost two hours straight started to get the better of his body and magical reserves. Even though the mages here were a joke compared to him, he did had his limits and he was slowly reaching it.
The pinkette sighed again and raised his head so he could look at Jellal's hope filled face.
"As much as I want to help you now, I am starting to feel tired. The fight here is asking its toll on me too and I am pretty much low on strength." The pinkette said with a slightly regretful tone in his voice."I need to rest for a moment."
Jellal's face dropped as he heard Natsu's answer, his hand clenching his spear tightly. For a moment, the bluenette wanted to snap at the rosy-haired God Slayer for not wanting to help them out as he told he would, but immediately kept his mouth. He knew better than that and he mentally berated himself for it. How could he do that to Natsu? He saved Erza and healed her, freed him, his friends and the rest of the slaves from their shackles and offered him and the rest a chance for a better future. He would blow that all away if he did something foolish and reckless as insulting the boy who sat in front of him. No, he would not allow his desperation get the better of him.
"Jellal! We are you!" A voice echoed around them, making the two boys look around, trying to figure out who it belonged to. Their eyes soon fell on the form of a scarlet-haired girl, who ran up to them with two swords in her hands. The redhead glanced at them and her auburn eyes fell on the black-clad kid Natsu, making her smile in relief.
"There you are. Jellal and I were searching for you. We need your help, Natsu, the slaves are-"
"I know, Jellal already told me what the situation was. Unfortunately, at the moment, there is nothing I can do now." The rose-haired kid said as he interrupted the girl, standing up while dusting his clothes off.
Erza's eyes widened in disbelief as she heard the answer of the rose-head. She started glaring indignantly at him as she took on a hostile stance.
"What do you mean you cannot do anything right now!? Were you not supposed to help us?" She exclaimed heatedly, clutching her two swords in order to contain herself.
Natsu frowned slightly at the redhead's short-temper, grumbling about how impatient and rude people were towards their allies as he crossed his arms. His face soon returned to its stoic look when he started explaining, his voice having a slight edge as he talked.
"Look, I have not sat on a nearby rock and eaten a sandwich while watching how you people were fighting for your freedom." Both Jellal and Erza sweatdropped at the comment of the God Slayer but both soon felt a tingling sense of guilt."I have my limits too and I already told Jellal that I have started reaching it."
The redhead glanced at the pinkette with a face devoid of emotion but it was soon replaced with a saddened look as she stared to the ground with a glint of guilt in her eyes. She felt a bit ashamed at her outburst as she remembered what the boy did for them up until now.
"I see. You are right, everyone has his limits. I am sorry..." The scarlet-haired said, apologizing for her short-tempered outburst. The rose-haired God Slayer merely shook his head.
"It is alright, seeing as how the situation is, you must feel distressed." The pinkette said and smiled calmly at the duo. Natsu didn't know why, but these two were gaining his interest constantly. The bluenette, because he saw of him as the leader for the slaves he was friends with, guiding them through their harsh lives with his encouraging and bright attitude and the redhead for her strong willed spirit. She reminded him of Kagura now that he thought about it. The thought of the brunette brought him a small smile to his face before his eyes widened in shock.
He completely forgot about her brother.
"Guys, where is Simon?"
Both Erza and Jellal simultaneously looked at him.
"He is not far from here with the rest of the slaves. Why?"
The pinkette didn't answer them as he walked past the with quick steps, startling the two kids that were with him.
"Wait, Natsu! Where are you going!?" The bluenette shouted, but it fell on deaf ears as Natsu didn't look back the them, disappearing from sight in a hurry. The bluenette soon followed the God Slayer and in turn, the redhead also followed
"What has gotten into him? Since he is here, his main concern is Simon. I wonder why..." The red-haired girl said as she ran alongside her azure-haired friend, making the aforementioned kid turn to her with a clueless look.
"I don't know, I have asked him why he was here, but he only said that he was after Simon, nothing else."
The boy was a complete enigma, the two thought. But an enigma with good intentions was better than someone who wanted nothing but to cause harm, and so, with that thought going through their heads, Erza and Jellal followed Natsu's trail.
The pinkette walked fast through the empty halls of the once slave-filled place while looking around for any traces of the black-haired boy Simon. While he felt no aggressive activity nearby, the God Slayer was still on his guard; you'd never knew when a sudden ambush could happen. Wandering through the place, the pinkette growled in annoyance at the place's lack of life as his steps echoed throughout the corridor. He passed a turn and was greeted with the same lifeless aura lingering around the place. He gritted his teeth in exasperation as he glanced around.
"What is going on here? This place was crowded with slaves fighting guards. What happened-"
Natsu couldn't finish his mental sentence as he heard a malignant growling coming from behind him. The pinkette instantly turned around, widening his eyes in shock at what he saw. He quickly raised a hand and activated his Gravity Magic to stop the incoming projectiles that were coming his way.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
In front of the rose-head were more than hundreds, if not thousands, of teeth present which were white as snow and sharp as spikes the pinkette noticed. Natsu jumped high into the air and performed a couple of somersaults before he activated his black flames underneath his feet, keeping him up into the air. The pinkette glanced behind his back and the sight brought him an unwelcome chill.
The beast he met seconds ago was something that even terrified the God Slayer a little. The beast's body was covered in dark-brown fur while an even darker brown, almost black, mane surrounded its neck. Its head was that of a lion and its irises were slit like a serpent's. The eyes glowed with an ominous red and the beast's mouth was slightly opened, bearing its razor-sharp teeth to the rose-haired boy. That was not all as the giant beast didn't only resemble a lion. Oh far from it.
On the beast's back was a giant head of a goat with curved horns sticking out of his skull and similar glowing red eyes as that of the lion, bellowing in a sickening way at its surroundings. As the finisher, the beast's tail wriggled like that of a snake, and to Natsu's surprise, it was a snake indeed. With black-colored scales as its skin and the head of a king cobra, the black-scaled serpent hissed darkly as it looked at Natsu.
Only one creature could fit these descriptions as Natsu started to tremble slightly. A beast who came out of the deepest pits of the Abyss, who served as an envoy of destruction and death. A beast who struck fear into the hearts of humans.
"Chimera..." The pinkette muttered in awe and fear as he backed away further from the growling monster under him.
Great, what was he supposed to do against a monster like this? He already had drained himself when he sent those guards and mages to oblivion and now he had to go up against a Chimera? Perfect...
The beast's growl suddenly turned into a shattering roar as it jumped up, trying to hit the pinkette with its giant claw. The tower started to shake violently as the Chimera's roar caused a tremendously strong tremor to reverberate throughout the tower. Natsu's eyes widened in shock at the monster's speed before it was replaced by a steely look. The rose-head increased the strength of his flames, launching himself as he left a black trail of fire in his wake. Ducking under the Chimera's claw, Natsu cocked his fist back and summoned his black flames around it.
"Blazing Fist of the Fire God!" The rosy-haired boy roared as he slammed his fist into the beast's arm, effectively burning the area around the place he punched. The beast growled in annoyance as it felt a burning sensation under his arm. He raised its arm so it could look at the rose-haired pest and swatted the pinkette with the other, making the God Slayer crash into the nearest wall. The beast continued its attack as it charged towards Natsu before slamming its head right into the pinkette's body, breaking the wall as he did so.
Natsu was sent barreling across the ground before violently crashing into a large rock. Natsu coughed a bit in pain, staining his hands with blood while he tried to stand up again. His vision was blurry and he shook his head in order to clear his sight. Natsu's olive-green eyes were staring at a looming form who was slowly approaching him.
"Damn it, this abomination is a real pain." The pinkette muttered to himself as he stood on his shaking legs again. The Chimera let out another deafening howl before charging at the rosy-haired God Slayer like a battering ram. This time, the pinkette was prepared as he jumped and flipped above the Chimera's back. The moment he lost his momentum, the pinkette engulfed his right leg in black flames while he pulled his left leg in as he started falling towards the beast's goat's head.
"Anvil of the Fire God!" Natsu shouted as he axe-kicked the head of the goat with his fire-enveloped leg. The head started to bellow in pain as the Chimera arched its back. The lion also roared in pain and snake-tail hissed, annoyed at the pain it felt.
Natsu landed on top of the Chimera's back right in front of the goat's head, balancing himself on the beast as he stared at the monster's second head. It glanced at him with its eerie looking eyes with hatred before opening its beak. The pinkette could smell the disgusting scent of death coming out of the beast as he pinched his nose. The very end of the goat's throat started to glow and Natsu could sense something dreadful inside his core.
"I think I am not going like this." Before the pinkette knew it, the goat spewed a green-liquid like substance out of his mouth, sending it in Natsu's direction. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the substance was something dangerous so Natsu did that what every sane person would do.
Jump out of the way...
The pink-head activated his dark-flames under his feet again and tried to keep himself steady as he did so. His eyes fell on the green fluid that came out of the goat's mouth and noticed it was burning the ground as a loud hiss could be heard from his position. Just what Natsu thought.
Acid.
"NATSU!"
Widening his eyes, the pinkette spun his head towards the sound of the shout. His eyes fell on the forms of both Erza and Jellal and he cursed inwardly for their untimely arrival. Just when he thought the situation couldn't get any worse, those two had to show up. Great...
Natsu glanced at the Chimera and he noticed that the beast heard them two as it slowly turned its body towards the two, stalking like a predator would around its prey when he realized it was cornered. The pinkette clenched his fist in anger. He would not allow any harm befall on those two, even if it would cost him his life...
(Earlier)
Jellal and Erza were running hastily through the corridors of the Tower of Heaven, trying to find their pink-haired rescuer. The moment they heard that earth-shattering roar, fear and dread filled their bodies, making them search the rose-head even faster. That roar had definitely something to do with Natsu, Jellal deduced.
"Where could he be?" Jellal exclaimed loudly as he exited another hall.
"I don't know. Darn it, where did he go..." The redhead remarked as she followed her blue-haired friend. The two suddenly stopped and were staggering a bit when they felt a strong trepidation going through the ground. As soon as it came, the vibrations stopped, causing them to regain their balance again.
Erza slowly turned to the bluenette with a frightful look on her face as she glanced at him.
"W-what was that just n-now?"
Jellal was at a loss of words as he couldn't describe what just happened.
"I-I... don't know. And I won't stay long enough to figure out what it was." Jellal said and continued to skim through the place with Erza right behind him. The two continued their run through the empty halls of the tower, something that they noticed just now. Since the fight between rebellious slaves and the guards, the tower was in complete uproar due to it. Now, though, it seemed like they entered a graveyard. An ominous feeling was starting to spread across their bodies. Shaking the feeling away, Jellal continued on and glanced around the area. He brought his hands to his mouth and shouted hard around the place.
"NATSU!"
The name of the God Slayer echoed throughout the hall they were currently at as they stared into the dark hall. They saw nothing but dark shadows looming over the place. That was, until Erza noticed something. That something were two red dots glancing at them with predatory hunger in them. The redhead grabbed Jellal's arm, gaining his attention as she did so before pointing with a shaky finger at the darkness in front of her.
"J-Jellal... What i-is that?" The scarlet-haired girl asked, her tone completely filled with fear. The bluenette followed the girl's line of sight before his eyes too noticed the two red dots, which were getting bigger and closer now that he thought about it. Jellal's eyes started to grow wide as he felt the ground shake weakly, the amount of trepidation growing stronger and stronger with each passing moment. The bluenette stood bravely in front of the redhead, his face completely devoid of any emotion as he awaited the... thing to come close.
Out of fear, Erza hid behind the bluenette, glad that he provided her some protection, be it physical or emotional. The girl could always count on the boy who was standing in front of her and it brought a warm feeling inside her being.
Suddenly, the both of them heard a ear-splitting roar come out of the direction where those red dots were as they felt the ground vibrate violently while giant footsteps could be heard. The thing was getting closer with each passing second as it ran up towards the two. Both Jellal and Erza had their eyes shot as terror completely froze them in their places. They silently awaited what they thought would be their end, already trying to come to terms with it...
"Blazing Fist of the Fire God!"
Jellal and Erza opened their eyes and recognized the familiar voice roaring the chant. They saw the pinkette punch a gigantic black-furred beast in its left-cheek, making it stagger briefly as it was in a dazzled state. Natsu wasn't finished as he stuck out his hand and summoned a purple seal. He aimed his hand point-blank before the Chimera's lion head.
"Gravity Magic: Gravity Push!"
A large and extremely powerful force pushed the Chimera back to the end of the hall, leaving a large gash on the ground with debris and rock scattered all over the place. The beast ducked its large claws on the ground in order to stop himself, effectively stopping the powerful force that was pushing him.
Erza and Jellal were looking with pure amazement at the God Slayer's power as they watched how he descended from the air. He had enough power to leave gashes as large as those which were laying in front of them and those black flames, they could feel the heat coming of it from where they stood.
Was this the strength Natsu held?
When the pink-haired God Slayer turned his head to them, both Jellal and Erza noticed how beaten up he looked. The pinkette had large cuts plastered all over his face while blood trickled down them. His black robes were tattered, showing the dark-blue collared shirt with a black waistcoat over it and black jeans underneath it which were held up by a brown leather belt with a simple iron buckle. His leather boots were also a bit teared up, but nothing bad compared to his other clothe pieces.
Natsu quickly grabbed both Jellal's and Erza's arm before jumping away, carrying the two with him. Erza let out an involuntary shriek at the sudden action while Jellal sported an uncomfortable look. The three soon landed on an incremented wall that wasn't crumbling down yet. They hid behind a piece of rock, trying to regain their breaths. Natsu leaned on the rock while he clutched his arm before igniting his hand, closing the wounds with his fire magic.
Jellal was still perplexed at what just happened and the same could be said of Erza as they both stared at the rose-haired boy sitting in front of them. It was the bluenette who regained his senses first as he voiced out what he just felt.
"What the hell was tha-hmmmmm." The azure-head was soon silenced by Natsu's hand as he had it placed over the former's mouth, silencing him effectively.
"Keep your voice down, that thing is still around..." Natsu chastised as he frowned at the boy. The pinkette then sighed before lowering his hand, eyeing the two of them with a surprisingly concerned face.
"Are you two alright?"
Both the redhead as the azure-head nodded warily, making Natsu sigh again, this time in relief. Erza decided to talk for Jellal seeing as how he was more noisy than she was.
"Natsu... What was that... thing that attacked us?" Erza asked as she glanced at the God Slayer with her eyes betraying the terror she just felt.
Natsu looked at the redhead for a moment, his eyes meeting that of the scarlet-haired, before lowering his head.
"A Chimera... A demon as terrifying as it looks. How come such a thing is here..." The pinkette trailed off as he continued glancing at the ground. His chances of getting out of here alive had significantly dropped with this sudden development. Of all things he could come across, he met a Chimera. What would Amaterasu think...
On another note entirely, where were the rest of the slaves? The tower looked completely deserted. A mystery on top of another one. Just lovely...
Jellal glanced at the pinkette with a mixture of concern and expectation as he wanted to ask the God Slayer the question which Natsu was waiting for.
If he could defeat that monster.
"Natsu... could you-"
"No Jellal... I am simple too exhausted to even try. I think this little accident of having a Chimera wind up here has created more hassle than I could handle." The pinkette said as he eyed both Erza and the bluenette, seeing their down-cast look brought a feeling of self-disappointment inside the God Slayer. Damn it, if only he was stronger! Then this entire state could have been prevented. Now there was no one who could face this... this... monster. Nobody inside the tower was powerful enough to face a Chimera. Just another blessing from the devil, Natsu thought.
Blessing...
The rosy-haired boy's eyes suddenly widened like saucers when he thought of the word Blessing. That was it!
"Blessing of Amaterasu..." Natsu mumbled to one particular, his face contorted in a hopeful look. Both Jellal and Erza glanced at him, curious about what he was mumbling about.
"What are you talking about, what blessing?" The redhead asked, but she was ignored by Natsu as he stuck out his hands.
"Give me your hands, you two..."
"...What?" The two said simultaneously, looking at each other before back at Natsu.
"No time to explain! Give me your hands, now!" The God Slayer whispered demanding as he waited for them to interlock their hands with him. The two carefully glanced at the pinkette before giving their hand to him. The pinkette instantly interlaced his fingers with both Jellal's and Erza's hand and closed his eyes. For a moment, nothing happened. Natsu slowly opened his eyelids and his green orbs were replaced by gold-glowing orbs glistening with a mesmerizing shine. Erza and Jellal were at the a loss of words as they stared into the two golden orbs, completely forgetting what was around them for a moment. A feeling soon invaded their beings, causing them to look up at the God Slayer with mild curiosity. The God Slayer's eyes were still holding that distant look until he closed his eyelids. Seconds past and Natsu opened his eyes again while breathing out a sigh of relief. His eyes were back to their normal olive-green color.
The pinkette's gaze fell on the two in front of him and he couldn't help but smile a bit, making both Jellal and Erza wonder what he was smiling over.
"It looks like you two have magical powers stored inside you. How lucky we are..."
Jellal's mouth slightly fell open in shock while Erza looked with eyes as big as dinner plates at the God Slayer. They tried to progress the information as calm as they could, but they failed miserably.
"...What!?"
"Keep your voices down, fools!" Natsu almost yelled out as he glared at their stupidity. The God Slayer calmed himself before continuing.
"As I said, you two have magical powers, and very powerful ones I might add. Now we have a chance in defeating this creature."
The bluenette glanced at Natsu, skeptical as he crossed his arms.
"If we have magic powers, how come we cannot use it?" Jellal pointed out sharply, looking at Natsu for answers. The rose-head simply smiled reassuringly.
"It's locked away inside your heart. Magic is not just magic, it's an extension of someone's soul. Your magic represents your very heart... In order to unlock it, you have to go through a powerful and sudden surge of emotion. That, or you have to train yourself until you have unleashed it."
The two absorbed the information with great interest. But something didn't feel good...
"Natsu, how are we supposed to unlock it? You cannot train us here and a sudden surge of emotion is also hard to get. We cannot just control our emotions." Erza remarked carefully, pointing out the flaws of Natsu's theory.
Natsu smiled again as he stood up, leaning on his knees for a moment before standing up tall. He glanced behind the rock in order to take a look at the Chimera if you was still on their tails. Luckily, the beast didn't see them and moved on to find his hiding prey. The Fire God Slayer glanced back to Jellal and Erza and folded his arms behind his back.
"I never said those were the two only ways ... There is always more than one way to Crocus, people always say." Natsu said before he outstretched his arms and hands."I am going to force it out of you two... by using the Blessing of Amaterasu: First Origin."
Seeing as how I wasn't satisfied with the amounts of viewers(and certainly reviewers) I decided to write this one, today... Yes, that's right, I wrote this chapter, more than 6000 words just because I felt like it... And because the sudden inspiration to write about it was overflowing me. Also, I have cleaned up the stupid mistakes from my earlier chapters...
You better read my other work, Guns'N'Roses too or else... *glares murderous* Oh! don't forget to review this too! Yeah, I know, I'm asking a lot... So what?
Another note. People tend to say I'm planning on making this a harem... Did I say that? If I remember correctly, I didn't say anything about a harem. Is that what you people want?
Till next time folks,
Fafnir hissing out.