Chapter 4: Dragon-eaters
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy(in fish forms) swim into the cage to get a closer look at the woman.
"This is definitely not a guild mark that I've to see before." Natsu looks at her shoulder.
The woman then suddenly speaks, "You three... you are humans, are you not?"
This surprises the three as she can talk, "She spoke!" Lucy exclaims.
"I'm a cat, okay?!" Happy also exclaims.
"The time fast approaches." She smirks, "I would stand back if I were you."
They all than hear a noise, "What is that noise?!" Natsu looks around.
"Where's it-" Lucy and happy were sticking close.
Natsu then catches onto something, "This presence!"
(The serpent dragon is suddenly swimming above them.)
"What the hell is that?!" Natsu exclaims.
"Don't tell me..." Lucy trails
"The water dragon god?!" Happy exclaims.
"Your sacrifice is right over here!" The woman smirks, "Kukuku." She laughs before easily breaking off the chains around her arms while attached to the cell.
"!" Lucy and Happy are shocked by her strength.
"Nnngghh!" She stretches herself, "I've been waiting for you, water dragon god." She licks her lips excitedly before swinging her hand like a wave, slicing through the cell like it was nothing.
"She... the cage just got sliced in half!" Natsu exclaims as they brace themselves.
"Eeeek!" Lucy cries dramatically.
The woman jumps towards the water dragon as it fires a roar from its mouth, but she swiftly dodges it by swimming. The dragon's roar causes a huge explosion, which alerts gray, kashima, erza, wendy, and carla.
On another side of town:
"Hmm?" Sueong stops walking and catches something.
"Something wrong?" Chelliel asked as they stopped too.
"I heard a noise from what sounds to be an explosion just now." Sueong replied, "And it's probably coming from that side of town."
"Leave it to your enhanced hearing to pick that up." Hiouis raises a paw.
"What kind of racket could have caused it?" Tyrone wonders, arms crossed.
"Simple, by checking it out is how we'll get our answer." Sueong proceeds, followed by them.
Back to the skirmish:
(The woman swiftly keeps dodging roar attacks from the water dragon.)
"She's said... she's been waiting for the water dragon god..." Happy trails.
"That means... she let herself get captured on purpose?!" Lucy questions loudly as shockwaves from the fight is all over the area.
"Hold up... she's..." Natsu notices the excited face she has, and sweat-drops, "Look at the face she's making!"
"Is this all one of the holy pentadrakes can ditch out?" The woman taunts as the dragon roars at her, "Enough." She has her arms in an X position before forming magic-like blades, "I shall slay you."
Natsu sweats in surprise at this before she goes on the offensive, "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Blade Dragon's Swords Dance!" She elegantly slices the water dragon into multiple pieces, defeating it, much to the shock of natsu, lucy, and happy.
As she lands on the ground, "She's... a dragon slayer?!" Natsu exclaims.
"You gotta be kidding me... the water god dragon got defeated so easily?!" Happy/Lucy exclaim as well.
The woman then grabs a part of the dragon's body and begins to eat it, which the group finds weird and surprising.
"She ate it..." Natsu trails, weird.
She stands up and reveals something, "This thing was not the water god dragon. I have been deceived."
"Huh?" Lucy was surprised that it wasn't the real water dragon god.
"I feel sick. This awful sensation says it all." The woman then turns to them, "I suppose you lot don't mind entertaining me?"
Ready to battle, "Lucy! change me back to normal form!" Natsu orders, which she does so, also changing herself and happy back to normal.
(The woman rushes at them with magic energy blades but natsu blocks it with his bare hands just in time.)
"I knew it. You felt my blade, yet remained unharmed?" She grins, "You smell the same as them."
"And just who the hell are you?!" Natsu questions, wanting answers.
"A dragon slayer." She replied.
"Even on this continent, they exist?!" Lucy exclaims.
"I heard that those who were bequeathed their power directly by the dragons are called the first generation. Those who had a lacrima implanted inside them are the second generation. Those who were bequeathed with both of them are called the third. And in some far off the land, those who were created by magic power alone, from nothing, to serve as magic weapons are the fourth. If that is so, we are the fifth generation." Those who ate dragons and took their power! are called the fifth generation of dragon slayers: The Dragon Eaters." She explains and reveals with her tongue excitedly out.
"Dragon eaters?!" Natsu exclaims, surprised.
"I thought I could gain immense power by eating the holy pendrakes, but it seems that serpent wasn't one of them." She goes on.
"You eat dragons to become stronger?!" Lucy questions.
"Not just me. My guild is only made up of dragon eaters, too. The mage guild, diablos. I am Kyria, the Blade dragon." She finally introduces herself.
"Fifth-generation?!" Lucy exclaims.
"Dragon eaters?!" Happy exclaims in the same expression.
"A guild full of their kind?" Natsu adds.
"And who are you, people? Are you also after the water god dragon?" Kyria asks.
"Maybe." Natsu half answers, which Kyria responds by waving a slash at him with her hand, "Gah!" Natsu grunts in pain as he blocked it.
"Natsu!" Lucy exclaims.
"Half-hearted answers are what I don't appreciate." Kyria grins.
"Fire Dragon's-!" Natsu was about to retaliate but the water extinguishes his flames.
"Fire won't work underwater!" Happy exclaims.
"A fire dragon, Huh..." Kyria licks her lips, "Looks delicious."
"Underwater... if only I had Aquarius here..." Lucy thought before having her hand upward to form an attack, "At the very least... this form of hers still has a little bit of power!" She then fires the attack at kyria, "Aqua Metra!"
"She cut the water?!" Lucy is shocked.
"There's nothing I can't cut. That is the blade dragon's power." Kyria waves her hand and cuts lucy's star dress out, making her naked again.
"KYAAAAAAA!" Lucy covers herself in embarrassment.
"Ohoho...?" Natsu looks at her with a tiny blush but doesn't care.
"The star dress was defeated so easily!" Happy shouts in surprise.
"What the hell?! Ever since coming here, this is the second time in a row that this has happened to me!" Lucy complains embarrassingly.
"You look more delicious now in another way." Kyria licks her lips.
"Virgo: Swimsuit version!" Lucy quickly calls out and has a new swimsuit.
Kyria only grins and prepares to cut her again, "Not this one too! Stop!" Lucy covers herself dramatically.
Just then, Kyria is completely frozen by gray, who comes just in time.
"Well, what do we have here?" He questions at the frozen kyria.
"Gray!" Lucy exclaims in joy.
"Huh? No way!" Kashima shouts in total surprise.
"The manager?!" Happy sweat-drops at seeing him.
"The prisoner?!" Kashima shouts again in total surprise at kryia being out her cell before looking at the group, "The humans we chased! Where have you all been hiding this whole time!" He angrily asks gray.
"I was with you the whole time." Gray replies with arms crossed.
Kashima shockingly looks down at the serpent, "Emissary of the water god..."
"Emissary?" Lucy questions.
"He who sends sacrifices to the water god dragon has been killed. This is a huge deal, he is going to be angry." Kashima covers his head in shock.
"Oh? If that's the case then it was a good idea to cut it down. That way the angered water god dragon can show his face." Kyria suddenly speaks while being encased in ice.
"!" Gray is surprised that she could still speak.
She then uses sheer force to break out of the ice prison, with ease.
"The ice?!" Gray couldn't believe it.
"Watch out!" Natsu warns and alerts.
"She even cut my shorts!" Gray looks at himself, embarrassingly.
"No... I did not." Kyria rejects that before forming her hands in magic blades, "This is quite an interesting group of people, but it's time for us to get serious."
(Just then, Erza comes at kyria from above with her sword in hand, ready to slice her.)
"Erza!" Lucy shouts in delight.
"Why am I the only one who can't turn back to normal?!" Wendy is still crying dramatically at herself being a jellyfish.
"What are you doing to my friends?!" Erza shouts in questions.
"A sword? Perfect, let's cross swords with my "blade!"." Kyria exclaims in excitement.
(Just then, a man drops down in the sea and blocks erza's sword strike with his head, saving kyria, much to the shock of everyone.)
"... Ahead?! Wha-" Natsu and happy exclaims.
"Madmole!" Kyria reveals his name, surprised to see him.
"You were too late to return, so I got worried, kyria." Mad-mole replied.
"One of her mates?!" Natsu exclaims surprisingly.
"He blocks erza's sword with his head!" Gray exclaims surprisingly
"The dragon eater with the strongest armor, there is nothing he can't block." Kyria smirks confidently.
"I am the armored dragon, Madmole." He humbly introduces, "Nice to meet you."
"Honestly, I alone would have been enough for these guys." Kyria tells him, too cocky.
"Skullion said to come back." Mad-mole reports her.
"But the water god dragon might appear at any moment and these people... I haven't found delicious prey like them in awhile." Kyria licks her lips.
"Who are these guys?" Erza asks natsu.
"No idea... but they're also after the water god dragon just like sueong and his teammates." Natsu confirms.
"Unfortunately for you guys, known of you will get to him."
Just then, the sky starts to light as the water around them starts moving aside, much to everyone's combustion.
"What now?!" Lucy questions while looking up.
"Ahh..." Kashima trails in surprise.
(As the water opens a hole, the man with horns flies down in a sea bubble, revealed to be the real water dragon god while in human form.)
"Lord Water god!" Kashima exclaims, shocked that he's here.
"What is all this fuss and racket in my sea?" Water god dragon questions all of them.
"... A H-human?!" Natsu couldn't believe it.
"Ye who seek the blood of a dragon, leave this land at once." Water god demands the diablos members.
"So you've finally shown yourself. I've been waiting for a moment like this." Kyria's ready to fight him.
"Hold on kyria, this isn't the sort of enemy we can take on without a plan" Mad-mole halts her.
"There is nothing I cannot cut so I beg to differ." Kyria declines and grins with her hands ready.
(Suddenly, the two diablos begin to turn into ashes.)
"This is..." Mad-mole knows who it is.
"What the-?!" Gray exclaimed.
"Their bodies are..." Lucy trailed.
"Ash?!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Is that you, skullion?! Why now?! The water god dragon is right in front of us!" Kyria shouts out but receives no answer, "I'm not letting you off easily when I get back, skullion!"
"Well, then... bye." Mad-mole waves before they disappear in ashes.
"What in the world was that just now..." Erza wonders.
"Ash magic?" Carla guesses.
"That turns your friends into ashes?" Wendy guesses as well while still in jellyfish form.
"It was probably a type of magic used to move from place to place." Lucy gets it, "But if it was a dragon eater's magic power... Do they have an ash dragon?!"
The water god then turns to natsu, "Are you a dragon slayer?"
"!" Natsu notices his glare.
"Have you come to slay me?" He questioned with a sinister glare.
"Nope. Not exactly." Natsu answered with a straight face, "We've taken a job that requires us to seal "the six dragon gods". And you look like one of them. But we don't know if you turn out to be a good guy."
"I mean, he left out a lot of details, but..." Lucy sweat-drops at natsu explaining everything.
"I see, that fool eleferia hasn't given up yet, huh." Water god smirks, not surprised.
"You know elefseria?" Happy asks.
"For the past 100 years, he's been sending assassins one after another to take my head." He replies.
"So, you are a good guy, right?" Natsu questions curiously.
"Show some restraint on being direct..." Lucy sweat-drops.
"Well, now... I can't say." Water god doesn't know, "At the very least, I don't bear any hostility against any of you. Not at the moment."
"Dang it. So the 100-year quest has already gone downhill." Natsu complains and scratches his head.
"Wait! If he doesn't bear any ill will towards humans, he can't be a disaster, right?" Lucy questions before being delighted, "We might just be able to win this without fighting at all!"
"You're right! We don't have to seal him if we have no reason to fight him." Gray likes that idea as well.
"No. You should seal me." Water god smiles and wants that, "I must be sealed."
(His answer surprises everyone as he comes down to land.)
"I see you all seem a bit different from the usual and normal assassins." Water god notices as he moves the waves aside.
"The water is... " Natsu trailes
"We're going underwater?!" Happy exclaims.
"No way." Kashima doesn't believe it.
"Kashima. These people are now my guest. I will not tolerate any more rude behavior towards them." Water god smiles and makes his decision.
"Y-yes sir!" Kashima salutes.
"Follow me. I'll show you to my palace." Water god offers.
(While in the palace, they look around with a little bit of surprise and amazement.)
"Who! this is crazy!" Natsu exclaims.
"Even there's air inside here..." Lucy adds.
"A place like this exists below the sea? unbelievable..." Erza trails.
"What kind of statue is that?" Happy looks up.
"I suppose it's a Fishman." Carla guesses.
"How... long am I gonna stay a jellyfish..." Wendy cries dramatically.
(Water god then snaps his fingers and turns her back to normal)
"Ah! I changed back!" Wendy looks at herself in delight, "You have the power to release magics, don't you, mr. water god dragon?"
"Not everything, but I can indeed change magics like that." Water god replied.
"Lord water dragon!" A women assistant walks up, "Why have you brought these people to your sacred palace?"
"That's carmalle. She assists me in a variety of ways." He introduces her before he introduces team natsu, "Allow me to introduce you, these are mages from Ishgar."
"H-Hi." Lucy greets.
"We're from the guild of fairy tail." Natsu greets as well.
"Good for you." Carmalle doesn't care, "You've probably been sent by elefseria."
"Well... yeah..." Gray sweat-drops and confesses.
"Go ahead, if you plan to take on the water god dragon, then be my guess." She dares them, "He's not a foe the likes of you could hope to handle."
"Come now, carmalle. Wait a moment." Water god calms her down, "It seems that I can reason with these people. Allow me to speak with them."
"..." Carmalle has a confused look, "Start talking."
"That was your cue to leave." Water god sweat-drops.
"Hmph." Carmalle pouts and turns to leave, "Okay, but make sure to finish them off quickly."
"Finish... off?" Happy sweat-drops.
"My, my... she's a human child, you know." Water god starts explaining, "She began to live with me after I saved her when she was wrecked at sea. She's not a bad girl, But... Hahahah..." His laugh causes the group to not say anything and sweat-drop dramatically.
(Water god dragon then begins a tour around his palace. Showing them a variety of places: The underwater farm, Medical facility, Watchtower."
After being toured around, "Are you really mercuphobia, the water god dragon?!" Lucy wants to know dramatically after seeing how nice he is.
"You're way too good of a guy!" Gray exclaims.
"The thought of a dragon saving people from shipwrecks makes me cry!" Natsu cries dramatically.
"I'm so moved." Erza cries dramatically as well.
"R-really?" Wendy sweat-drops.
"But that means you're not a disaster!" Happy exclaims, delighted.
"Indeed. you don't seem harmful at all." Carla agrees.
"That's not true." Mercupobia rebukes, much to the groups surprise, "Despite what I seem like now, I have killed many people in the past." He puts on a sinister look, which gets lucy startled, he then continues explaining, "I understand why elefseria is after me. His friends and family are also the ones I killed. I don't want to explain how or why... but at the time, what I did was second nature to me. It was the age where the strong hunted the weak."
"Did you have a change of heart along the way?" Erza questions.
"Yes. Carmalle was the beginning." He thinks of her, "The truth is, I didn't want to save her. When I found her, I didn't think of her as a prey." He then grins, "But I became strangely attached to her and before I realized it, I'd begun walking down the path of coexistence."
(Natsu smiles at hearing his story.)
"I truly want to continue having a life like this forever, but..." Mercuphobia trailed, "Very soon, I must disappear from this world."
"What do you mean?" Lucy questioned.
"You saw the city of elmina, didn't you? The unnatural tide that sinks it to the bottom of the ocean... It is my power's side effect. I no longer have control over them." He looks at his hand, "The fist of that city were all originally humans. In order to allow them to have a life underwater, I used my magic power to turn them into fish."
"Oh! So that's how you turned me back to human!" Wendy gets it.
"Why don't the people of the city just leave?" Gray questions.
"The water god dragon faith and the atrocities I committed in the past were somehow passed down as miracles." Mercuphobia replies.
"If they want to believe in their religion so badly, why don't you just tell them to leave?" Happy questioned.
"That's like asking me to steal away their lives." He replied, "Besides, even if humans no longer live in the city, nothing changes. My powers will eventually stretch to the neighboring cities, and then the ones beyond those. As long as I remain here alive, they cannot be contained any longer."
"That's..." Lucy trails.
"Is there any other way to solve this?!" Natsu questions.
"No. That is why I have been waiting for people to come and kill me." Mercupobiha smiles and truthfully reveals.
(Team natsu don't know what to say to this, but feel really sorry and want to help.)
"But before that... there is one thing I must do." He holds his head up with a serious, "My greatest miscalculation... and my worst nightmare."
Diabolos Ship(Out on sea):
"What's the big idea, skullion?!" Kira demandingly questions him, "The water god dragon was right there in front of us."
"Now, now! Calm yourself!" Mad-mole advises her with a hand raised.
"Heheh, you have such a loud mouth, Kyria. You should know we have a reason for pulling back. This shouldn't be anything new or surprising." Degro chuckles, shaking his head unsurprised.
"You, shut up, Degro!" She exclaims dramatically, "Why do you think I let myself be captured!" She yells, as mad-mole tries calming her down.
"The situation has changed." Skullion states, which surprises kyria.
"You still don't get it, do you? Typical." Degro sighs, unsurprised.
"That's right, the water god dragon's powers... " Skullion turns to them, "He must not be eaten. Did you think the dragon eaters could be deceived, you false water god dragon?" He makes a sinister grin.
Elmina City:
(Sueong and team are at the place where team natsu and the diabolos almost engaged, looking at the surroundings.)
"Man, I highly doubt the water dragon would only cause a little bit of damage." Hiouis flies around, "He'd be more furious than that."
"I doubt it too, it's way too small of a crater. It'd be larger than this." Chelliel agrees while doing her hair.
Sueong walks to the edge, "That's because it probably wasn't the water god dragon." He looks around, "Looks like something less intimidating."
"It was probably just some sea creatures fighting amongst themselves." Tyrone guesses, 'It's what some of them do best."
"Most likely." Hiouis flies down.
"..." Sueong only stares down at the area and guesses, "Or perhaps, there were others in this area that had just left after having some sort of scuffle."
"How do you know that?" Chellial asks.
"Look at the surroundings. Who wouldn't have a battle in a large place like this." Sueong kneels up.
"Uh..." She doesn't what to say to that.
"That's just a theory of mine, so don't worry about it." He said.
"Yeah... I see." She guesses.
"Theories aside, we keep should keep searching for the water god dragon." Tyrone suggest, "Can't let that other group interrupt in our mission, right?"
"..." Sueong picks up something.
"?" Tyrone narrows a brow, hands in pockets.
"The water dragon god is closer than we anticipated." He reveals.
"Huh?" Chelliel asks.
"Let me guess, you-" Hiouis figures it out.
"I've caught his scent." Sueong nods and confirms, "We're almost about to engage him".
"Really?! But where?" Chelliel asks, looking back and forth.
"This way, follow me." Sueong starts leading the way, the group now out of the wreckage place.
"If the water dragon god is this way, then this is the moment of preparation" Tyrone said, a bit unsettled, stretching his right arm out anyway.
"The feeling of uneasiness all over your face is over your face and it's unsurprising." Sueong notices with a glance, and notices, "Same goes for you Chelliel."
"Well, what can ya say? We're up against a dragon that's on the same level of the one you use to fight." She replies, pouty face.
"I get how they feel, it is nerve recking to go against a powerful dragon this soon, even though I won't be fighting obviously." Hiouis said, flying next to sueong.
"Relax. Unlike Acnologia, the dragon gods don't have the same immunity to magic like he once had." Sueong explains, "Meaning your attacks will work to some extent."
"You're telling us this now?" Tyrone states, with a dramatic face, which sueong smirk teases.
"The difference is my attacks will be more effective due to being a dragon slayer." He adds as they keep moving toward town.
"If that's the case, then our attacks are more like distractions for your hits to land perfectly." Tyrone figures.
"Technically." Sueong admits but states this, "But whether it's a distraction or not, we're still fighting as a team."
"Heh, you got a point." Tyrone nods, so do chellial.
"Okay, then let's do this!" Hiouis raises a paw, enthusiastically, "Let's not forget about natsu and his group being there."
"Definitely." He agrees, "The water dragon god... time to slay this thing." Sueong grows a medium smirk as they head towards the palace ahead.
That's that, While team natsu is with Mercuphoiba, the Diabolos and Arkobolos have other plans for him.
Also, the Arkobolos guild mark is the shape of 3 Clouds mixed.
By the way, I'll also be adding more dragon eaters to the diabolos now that the Arkobolos has joined the party.
Degro is the first and his appearance:
Half black/white young man with light-black hair(which he wears in a pony tail), black eyes, and short lines out of his cheeks(like whiskers). Wears a black T-Shirt with fingerless gloves up past his elbows and shoulder armor pads, also wears a black waist-like cloak that covers over his lower half/black pants.
Alrighty, That's the first exclusive Diabolos member we got. His dragon-eating element will be revealed later on. All add about 3 more exclusives for the Dragon-eaters.
Till the next one.