Holy crap this chapter was hard to write. Anyway here's what you've all been waiting for- Angry Natsu!
Up in their hiding spot, team CRDL watched as the two teams huddled around the fallen reaper catching glimpses of her condition as her friends panicked. Seeing the younger girl's serious condition caused Dove to freak out, "Oh shit Cardin! This isn't good, what if she dies? What if they find out we let those wasps out? Oh man they are going to KILL us!" he blustered.
"Shut up!" Cardin snapped back, "They have no way of knowing that we had anything to do with this, and if the girl dies that's not our problem. If she reacts like this to just one little sting than she shouldn't have gotten stung." He told his teammates.
"Uh, Cardin?" Russel spoke up, "Xiao Long's looking at us."
"What?!" Cardin demanded pushing the other boy aside to look himself, and sure enough, there was Natsu Xiao Long staring back at them and he did not look happy. Shit.
"Get moving you idiots!" Cardin hissed as he began to scramble away from the ledge, the look he saw in the pink haired boy's crimson eyes… it was like looking into the face of a monster, a beast, a… dragon.
Meanwhile back in the grove Natsu saw the four teens begin to run away after spotting him looking at them. Cowards, He thought, "Yang," Natsu called to his twin, "keep watch on Ruby till she wakes up. The rest of you, see if you can get enough sap for us to pass the assignment." He instructed.
"What about you?" Ren asked wearily.
"I'm going to go show Cardin what happens when you mess around with fire." Natsu replied ominously, no one noticing the tattoo like lines that began to climb up his arms.
Nora grinned darkly, "Break his legs!"
Team CRDL was running as fast as their legs could carry them. The look they saw in Natsu Xiao Long's eyes terrified them beyond belief, how could a mere man give such a look? It was like looking into the eyes of a demon far greater than any Grimm. They feared for their lives.
The team's escape was suddenly cut off by a wall of crimson flames springing up in front of them before turning around to encircle the four terrified teens trapping them in a cage of pure fire.
"Now where do you four think you're going?" A voice full of barely suppressed rage called out to them, "After all after you gave me and my friends such a wonderful gift it would be rude if I didn't return the favor." The voice called out again, the shadow of the speaker taking form in the flames.
Sky, Russel, and Dove were frozen with fear. The very air around them was steaming with the intense heat of the fire entrapping them, they couldn't breathe, how had things gotten so out of hand? All they were doing was helping their leader get even with the one who humiliated him, but they ended up almost killing the youngest student in Beacon and were now facing some unknown demon. They saw their life flash before their eyes. This was it, they were going to die.
Cardin however did not feel the same sense of fear and dread. No, the only thing he felt was rage. He knew who was behind this, if the fire wasn't enough the bastard had pretty much spelled it out to them when he gave his little introduction. Natsu Xiao Long. The pink haired shit was the cause of his humiliation the past few weeks, people had begun to talk about how he was weak and that his position at the top of combat classes was due to him only fighting those even weaker than him. How was he supposed to rule the school and put those filthy Faunus in their place at the bottom if the other students didn't fear him? And it was all because of that one bastard who refused to just butt out and let him do what he will.
"Xiao Long!" Cardin yelled out, "Show your face you fucking bastard!" He bellowed brandishing his mace, face red with rage.
"As you wish." Natsu called back finally stepping out of the fire, shocking all four of team CRDL with his new appearance.
His hair had darkened becoming spiky and wild, his eyes now appeared to be the color of dried blood, his ears now pointed like an elf's, black lines snaked their way up his arms and across his chest and face, his nails took the form of claws and his teeth now as sharp and pointed as arrows. But the biggest change laid atop his head, where two thick horns a mix of midnight black and the same bloody color as his eyes had sprouted. If he had now been wearing his shirt they would have seen the lines twist along his chest to form three letters, spelling a name that had once struck fear into all who had heard it. E-N-D.
He truly looked like a demon.
"W-what the hell!?" Sky shrieked, "What are you?!"
"Me?" Natsu asked, "I'm the one you were stupid enough to target, the one who's family you almost killed, the one who is about to bathe you in flames hot enough to have come from hell itself." Natsu told them, slowly walking closer to the four of them. He wasn't kidding about the fire; he had learned that there were two types of cursed flames he could call upon. He called them the Fires of Armageddon, and the Flames of Hell.
The first one, the Fires of Armageddon, burned just as hot as his Dragon Fire but bypassed all but the most powerful forms of Magical Defenses and even those did little to protect the target of the garnet flames.
The other, the Flames of Hell, also bypass most forms of defense but they were incapable of doing any physical harm. The Flames of Hell were purely spiritual in nature, those who were consumed by them would feel their skin melting and their blood boiling, suffering through constant agony, but they would never die from it. In Earthland the fire would consume the victim's magic while they were tortured, but on Remnant One's Aura was the target. The fire would slowly burn their energy out of their bodies so that fighting them would only be harder, and even when the last drop of the victim's power had been burned away, the fires will continue to cling to their flesh like a parasite until E.N.D. himself chose to show them mercy else they would be doomed to live out the rest of their lives in agony, their nerves never numbing their minds never resting there would be no escape from the wine colored flames, save death.
It was these flames that he would be using, after all killing the four of them would just cause more trouble than they were worth.
"You think I'm afraid of you, freak!?" Cardin demanded, "You're no better than those filthy Faunus! Come on you bastard, I'm going to enjoy breaking your skull!"
E.N.D. only smirked at the threat, "So eager to start the fun, aren't you Cardin? But do you really think your puny little club can hurt me?" He taunted.
"I'll show you puny!" Cardin raged charging forward with his mace held high. Bringing his weapon down with both hands Cardin aimed for the other boy's skull a demented smile painting his face.
Fool, E.N.D. thought easily catching the descending weapon, the ease with which he did so shocking the orange haired teen.
"Didn't I tell you that your puny club couldn't hurt me?" E.N.D mocked Cardin. "Now it's my turn." E.N.D. lit his hand up with the Flames of Hell, "Burn." He said slamming his fist into Cardin's chest plate shattering the tempered steel like glass and covering his torso in the unworldly flames.
As soon as the cursed fire touched his skin Cardin's world was overcome by pure agony, it felt as if his very soul was being submersed into liquid steel. The pain was all consuming, he couldn't move, he couldn't see, think, or breath. He could only scream.
"Miss Goodwitch!" Yang called out to the blond woman, "Miss Goodwitch, help!" she yelled running up to the teacher, carrying her unconscious sister in her arms and her friends trailing behind her.
"Miss Xiao Long, what is the meaning of this?!" The deputy headmistress demanded after seeing the state of the red themed girl.
"She got stung by a Rapier Wasp and had an allergic reaction." Blake told the strict woman.
"How is that possible? I brought another class here just last week and there were no Rapier Wasp nests anywhere in the area."
"It was Cardin." Yang growled, "He and his team let a bunch loose near where we were collecting out sap. Natsu saw them running away after he helped Ruby and is chasing after them now." Yang explained.
Hearing this did not sit well with the green eyed woman, Natsu Xiao Long and Cardin Winchester had a history of violence against each other that only seemed to have gotten worse after their shared detentions with her.
The two were complete opposites, Cardin believed in human superiority and Faunus suppression while Natsu was a supporter of equality. Cardin thought political power and fear would let him rule all of Remnant while Natsu couldn't seem to care less- though if Ozpin was right about him that was just a ruse. If Winchester really was almost responsible for Miss Rose's death, there is a good chance Salamander will cause the boy great harm, Glynda thought.
Her thoughts, along with anything else the two teams might have said, were cut off by a head splitting scream that resonated with great pain.
"Oh no." Goodwitch whispered, she remembered the sound of that scream from earlier in the year when Cardin Winchester had broken a rib in a sparring match.
As soon as she heard the scream Blake palled, she had heard a scream like that before. Just before her last mission for the White Fang she had witnessed one of the most horrific things that she thought she would ever see. Adam Taurus, her friend and mentor had just handed over a Schnee company executive who had been known in the past to abuse many Faunus under his control. The man hadn't gone so far as to strike or to kill anyone but he had verbally and emotionally attacked many young Faunus when they tried to find some kind of middle ground for the dangerous jobs given to the Faunus workers and the wages they received.
The man was a bastard without a doubt, but he didn't deserve what had been done to him. Their superiors had bound the man in chains and coated the man in a layer of Fire Dust and slowly released the power contained in Nature's Wrath burning his skin and super heating the metal chains until the man's whole body shut down from the pain at which point he had beheaded him.
And Adam… Adam had just watched as the man burned, his expression blank.
No… Natsu had been the first person she had connected with after leaving the Fang, she couldn't lose him like she had Adam. She had to stop him.
No sooner had the thought entered her mind that Blake was running through the forest in the direction of the tortured screams of Cardin Winchester the others quickly falling behind due to her superior speed. She hated the man, she really did, but if Natsu ended up killing him in his rage he would be thrown in prison faster than Ruby could eat a plate of cookies. She couldn't lose another friend to hated, she just couldn't.
Blake ran for what felt like hours, Cardin's screams of agony unending and ringing in her ears. What could Natsu possibly be doing to him that could cause him so much pain?
Blake finally burst into the clearing where the noise was originating from only to have her way blocked by a solid wall of dark red fire that every one of her senses were screaming at her not to get near.
"Natsu!" She cried, "Natsu, please stop!" she begged, "Don't do this Natsu!" She continued to yell into the fire, unable to see anything through the thick flames despite the odd absence of any form of smoke.
"NATSU!"
Finally, as if in response to her calls the barrier of fire began to thin allowing her to see the scene that it had been hiding. A scene that was straight out of a nightmare.
Russel, Sky, and Dove were huddled together on one side of the enclosed circle shaking and whimpering in fear. A fear that was completely justified given what was happening in the center of the little circle of hell.
There with his armor shattered and his cloths torn to shreds lay the burning form of their leader Cardin Winchester, withering in pain as he continued to scream to the heavens in his unending agony.
And above him stood who Blake could barely recognize as Natsu Xiao Long. "Dear Monty." Blake whispered mortified. Eyes filled with rage, messy red hair, black horns protruding from his skull. It was like looking at a twisted demonized combination of her old friend and Natsu as more fire poured from his outstretched hand adding to the fire already consuming Cardin.
Her last whisper seemed to be heard as Natsu turned his head away from his sick form of amusement to look directly at Blake with his crazed eyes.
"Well, well, well, looks like the little kitty cat wants to play."
At first I wanted for Natsu to use Dragon Force because of his anger at CRDL, but after I thought about it I couldn't think of any better time for E.N.D. to make his first appearance.
This chapter was hard to write for several reasons. One was because I ended the last chapter on such an ambiguous note, I had no idea how to transition from that point to team CRDL's smack-down.
Another, and the biggest problem I faced, was the portrayal of E.N.D. who is described in cannon as being the most vile demon ever created by Zeref, while Natsu is well, the protagonist, and I don't know about you guys but I can't think of too many anime protagonists that are known to be out right sociopaths... Well Ken Kanaki from Tokyo Ghoul was one in season two I guess. The guy is crazy, awesome but crazy.
Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and don't forget to-
READ AND REVIEW!
Wingd Knight out.
PS: The poll for the plot of the fan choice story is now closed, the winner was 'Natsu in the DxD Universe' the new poll is now about one of the finer details that will be going into the first chapter of the story please remember to vote.
PPS: For those of you whose choice failed to win, do not despair, when the time comes that I want to make another side story I will be using the plots from this past poll for the bases of the story. The more votes it had, the more likely I am to choose it when the time comes.