Natsu grunted in frustration as he moved to dodge another wide-scale attack of delicious flames. He had learned to adapt pretty quickly in this fight; it was not like taking down a mindless, yet powerful S-Class beast. Did you really think that's what the big, tough SS- and SSS-Class missions entailed? There's a reason they could take so long to complete. Erza hadn't been wrong in labelling this an SS-Class mission.
Nor had she been wrong in sending backup along with him, as much as he hated to admit it…
"What now?" Jellal Fernandes asked from behind a rock outcropping across from where Natsu himself was seeking cover. Meredy was evacuating the people of the nearby village, so they didn't have to worry about that.
… Her choice in backup could stand to use a bit of improvement, though. That's just Natsu's personal preference talking.
"I'll let you know when I think of somethin'!" Natsu grunted in annoyance before rushing back into the open to unleash a quick Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame attack. He was equally quick to rush over to Jellal's outcrop.
Three things he learned pretty quickly in this battle. Simply eating the huge fire attacks the creature sent their way like a glutton wound up making himself a stationary target as he stood still to consume the attacks – and that thing did not hit like a pansy; hell, it was more akin to a train going at full speed. While Natsu hadn't had the 'privilege' of literally experiencing that, he could imagine that's what it felt like. The creature's scales were tough.
Second, staying in one place too long made you subject to that high-speed, monstrous brute strength as it easily smashed through the bedrock outcroppings. You thought it was bad taking that out in the open, where you knew it was coming? Try imagining Jellal's surprise when the creature pinpointed his position despite remaining out of sight.
And thirdly… As stated previously, this monster was far from mindless. It wasn't fighting and rampaging on pure instinct. This creature was sentient and even capable of articulating its thoughts; it was just pure malevolent. No other reason for attacking villages beyond bringing about suffering to anyone and everyone. Not unlike the Demons from the Book of Zeref, especially the ones from Tartaros; the only thing that set them apart was that this creature was unidentified as a species. It could be part-Demon for all they knew.
"I tire of this game of cat and mouse, humans… Come fight me! Your cowardice is beyond reproach."
Jellal's hand was quick to snap onto Natsu's shoulder as the Dragon Slayer growled and moved to make a futile attack on the creature.
"Natsu, stop wasting your Magic! If we can't come up with a better plan than 'keep it moving', we'll be the ones who tire out first."
Natsu breathed irritably through his nose before glancing back at the azure-haired mage in annoyance.
"This thing doesn't let us get in close, Jellal; not unless it's the one that is on the offensive. And it dodges our best attacks! Maybe it's not as durable as it makes itself out to be, but until we can get it to stay put for more than ten seconds, we're not gonna make any progress!"
"Exactly. If we can corral it into a general area, I think I can hit it with Grand Chariot. You just need to make sure to keep a safe distance."
Natsu suddenly tensed as his ears picked up the creature charging their position. Instinctually, he shoved Jellal out of harm's way while quickly stumbling back himself. No sooner had he done that than the rock wall they were hiding behind shattered into a million pieces; the creature now stood there with an amused smirk as it looked between the two mages.
"Make all the plans you like. Hide as if your life depended on it. In the end, I will always find you, because I can sense your fear and anxieties. Such weak human emotions are why you will fail!"
… So that's how it pinpointed their positions every time. Damn. Not only did it look like a humanoid brute coated in scales, have a calculative mind bent on ending life and causing suffering, it also had the perfect tracking method for accomplishing just that. Refusing to be overwhelmed by the creature's unique tracking ability, Natsu rushed forward with a fire-coated fist and fire at his feet to propel him forward, but the monster made one smooth, fluid motion and snatched Jellal up off the ground before swinging him at Natsu and sending the both of them flying backward. Natsu skidded along the ground even as Jellal came to a rest, flat on the ground again. The Dragon Slayer leaped back out of instinct and cringed as the monster lunged high into the air before coming to crash down on Jellal like a boulder.
Natsu sought to strike the creature before it landed on Jellal, but he'd been a bit late in unleashing a controlled form of his Lightning-Flame Dragon's Roar. It still struck true, but now Jellal was severely injured, and there was no telling if the monster would be down from such a 'simple' attack. So Natsu immediately rushed forward to get at the creature while it was lying on its back now several feet from Jellal.
The monster did indeed get back up, but the Lightning must have paralyzed it somewhat, because its moves were now sluggish. It failed in defending itself from the harsh, unrelenting melee attacks that Natsu unleashed on it in quick succession. After getting it airborne from one last uppercut, Natsu decided to try and finish it with one of the most intense attacks he could muster – Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade. The powerful vortex overtook the creature, and it did not get up again as it came to be sprawled out a good distance from where Natsu now stood, raggedly breathing.
"Try getting up from that…" Natsu challenged, and allowed a small smirk when the creature failed to do so. "Hah…"
When Natsu had sufficiently recovered enough, he made his way back over to Jellal, who was struggling and failing to get back up. Natsu's eyebrows raised curiously before he reached down and tried to assist the man in getting up.
"C'mon, Jellal; don't tell me you got hurt that badly!"
"That thing… could demolish bedrock formations…" Jellal deadpanned. It seriously felt like a boulder fell on top of him when that creature came crashing down.
Natsu sighed as Jellal accepted his hand and shakily stood back up. While she wouldn't blame him, Erza would be worrying over Jellal like crazy. Didn't matter if she wouldn't blame him, though – Natsu blamed himself for not being fast enough to save the azure-haired mage from harm.
"What happened?!" Meredy exclaimed as she came running up to the two. Looked like the evacuation was complete.
"Nothing I can't come back from. Don't worry, Meldy." Jellal promised the pinkette with the most reassuring smile he could muster. Unfortunately, however…
"Oh, I doubt you'll 'come back' from this, human. We'll all die here together."
Everyone's blood ran cold as all eyes turned to the creature, which was still lying on the ground in painful agony. The only difference was that now its chest seemed to be glowing a brilliant yellowish red. Undeterred, the creature went on to explain itself. "My kind does not accept defeat gracefully, you see… We are quite… explosive about it. Don't bother to try and escape. The average explosion my kind can muster in death roughly takes up ten kilometers… But as you can imagine, I am not quite… 'average'. Who knows how large of a scar I will leave on this landscape? None of us will know."
"There are… more of you?" Jellal whispered in horror as he leaned on Meredy. They had believed this creature to be unique.
The monster made a rasping laughing noise.
"Ohhh, yes… But you needn't worry. We are a dying breed; for all I know, I am the last of my kind. It will take your deaths, but just imagine how relieved your precious Guild will be with me gone!" As it could hear Natsu running over to attempt to stop it, the creature flatly remarked, "I wouldn't do anything if I were you. Wounding me further might just set me off early. You don't have a death wish that badly… right?"
Natsu gnashed his teeth in frustration but stopped in his tracks. Ten kilometers… Not only would they not be able to outrun that blast, but there were evacuated villagers who were doubtless within that blast radius. What options did they have? Natsu refused to just roll over and die, or more importantly, let anyone die. But no matter how much he wracked his brain, no clean solution was coming to mind. They didn't have any Magic to just teleport the bastard far away, and Natsu imagined there wasn't some 'failsafe' to stop the explosion from going off. This was a suicidal move, after all.
Even so… The only thing he could think of…
"Meldy. Get Jellal outta here, and try to get the villagers as far away as you can." Natsu suddenly spoke up in a grave voice. The pinkette looked over at the Dragon Slayer with wide eyes.
"What about you?! I can't just leave you here!"
"I hafta try to contain the blast, Meredy… That's all we got left. Can't stop it. Can't outrun it." Natsu looked back at her sharply when the pinkette still didn't move. "Meredy, please! We don't have much time!"
"Natsu…" The Maguilty user murmured, hating how this was turning out. Natsu was a Fire Dragon Slayer who had proven himself time and again, but this… Could he contain something of this magnitude?
"And what will happen to you?" Jellal asked calmly, not bothering to question if Natsu 'could'… He knew better than to question the man Erza trusted so implicitly.
Natsu grimaced, but turned away to hide it as much as possible.
"That doesn't matter. Please, just save the villagers." His words sounded a bit forced, strained, but Natsu didn't care. He'd be damned if he didn't at least try. 'Erza was right about me being perfect for the job…'
Jellal stared at the back of Natsu's head with the most complex emotions showing in his eyes. When he spoke up again, it was to address Meredy.
"… Let's go, Meldy. We need to alert the people."
"Jellal, we can't just…!" Meredy cried out, yet stopped when Jellal looked at her with a grave expression. He knew they would be of no help to Natsu here, as much as he wished they could… Meredy did eventually acquiesce to Jellal's silent plea, and reluctantly turned to leave, stopping as the azure-haired mage spoke up one more time.
"Erza and Mira won't take this well… You'd better not die."
"… I'm sorry." Was all Natsu could say at this point. He couldn't promise anything; all he could do was what he always did. Do the right thing. Erza taught him that, raised him to be that way. He'd been overtaken by Fire-based attacks before – fire was the bread and butter of his repertoire. If anyone could contain this thing, it would be him.
Would it be too much for him? Quite possibly. But Natsu Dragneel didn't dwell on what 'could' go wrong. He stopped having doubts long ago. He would keep everyone safe. He would make it back to Fairy Tail. Natsu had not only promised Mira that he would, but Erza as well. He didn't go back on promises.
"Waddya mean you're sending Jellal and Meredy along with me?! I can take care of the job myself, Erza!" Natsu complained as he slammed his hands down on Erza's desk. But the scarlet knight shook her head, undeterred by his outburst.
"Natsu, I… You're absolutely right, but I… you've been through so much…" Erza tried explaining her reasoning, but quickly found herself tongue-tied. She inwardly added three words that might've dampened the Dragon Slayer's annoyance and anger. 'Because of me...'
Natsu sighed as Erza eventually fell silent and looked down at her desk, unable to meet his gaze. He stood up straight and half-turned away to leave.
"I understand, Erza… You're the Master, so I gotta go with what you say…" He grunted annoyingly.
Erza felt her eyes widen at his words. It really wasn't like that at all this time! Erza had every intention of closing the gap that had come between them. She knew that her attempt at trying to make amends was awkward, but this was hardly 'all' of it. They needed to have a talk when they both got back. Sending Jellal and Meredy along was just a precaution; she'd taken far too many liberties with Natsu over the past year, ignoring his feelings and, as Mirajane put it, used him as a glorified doormat.
"N-Natsu!" Erza called out to him as he made his way to the door. He stopped as his hand was on the handle, but he didn't turn to look back at her. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. P-Please just make it back in one piece… We need to talk!"
Well, that was a little bit better. She was able to voice a little more of her guilt-ridden thoughts. But now she waited with bated breath to see how Natsu would respond.
"Don't worry about me!" Natsu said, turning his head back to her slightly to shoot her a grin. "I'll be back before ya know it, and I guess we can talk. Hope it's not to punish me for somethin' stupid I did, though. If it is, I might just stay away for a while."
"Idiot…" Erza weakly smiled at his attempt at humor. Damn it, why couldn't they just talk now?!
… That's right. Because Erza had put off this little 'briefing' until the last minute, so there was just no time. For either of them. Even if they did, however… Erza wondered if she would have the courage to breach this topic with the Dragon Slayer. She'd wounded him deeply, and she just wasn't sure she had the right…
In the end, Natsu left her office on that slightly happier note. Nevertheless, he, too, was dreading the discussion to come, somewhat… He could tell how uncomfortable Erza was. It wasn't going to be easy on either of them, but they needed to have it. So for that reason… and for Mira's sake… Natsu would make it back.
Far away on Tenrou Island, Erza felt an ominous chill in the air as she looked out in a seemingly random direction. Mira noted the frown marring her face, as the two briefly met up just after Erza began the second stage of the Trials for the participants.
"Something wrong, Erza?" Mira asked with a touch of concern, having felt a similar ominous chill in that moment.
"N-No. It's nothing." Erza answered calmly, closing her eyes and taking a steady breath. 'At least… It better be 'nothing'.'
Mira's brow furrowed as she clearly didn't buy Erza's assurance to the contrary. Was it about Natsu? Something better not have happened to him…
On this note, the pair settled into an uncomfortable silence, the only sound being the breeze floating through the trees around them.
Author's Note: Moving right along… Inspiration came all over the place for this chapter. Maybe the 'ten kilometers' bit will sound familiar, but I don't care. I's a drama llama. XD
That said, if any of you are interested in the music I was listening to while writing the chap, Youtube 'Batman Arkham Knight Inner Demon OST'. That scene in the game was another source of inspiration here. Just what will happen next…? Well, I suppose you can roughly speculate. Angst-y goodness to come! But also a little Hurt/Comfort with maybe a dash of Romance. We'll just hafta see.
As always, thanks so much for the support! Hope you enjoyed this a little.