Trigger warning for people who don't like the undead or horror or gore and stuff because this is a pretty brutal chapter. Yes there is a purpose for it though unlike the death of that hotel receptionist back in the Tower of Heaven arc but I like to think this kind of backs up why I did that back then.
So yeah just wanted you all to know this is going to be quite the ride feel free to let me know if you thought it was good or not in the reviews because I actually really enjoyed making this chapter.
Anyway with the trigger warning out of the way I hope you all enjoy!
I do not own Fairy Tail Hiro Mashima does.
The Army Of The Damned
/Natsu's POV/
Natsu sighed as a small arrow flew past his head, "I guess they are the shoot first kind then."
"That's far enough, who are you and why are you here," a voice called out as Natsu raised his hands.
"I'm the Wizard Saint Natsu Dragneel I've been sent by the Magic Council to deal with the undead problem you've got!"
"Thank the old gods it's a Wizard Saint, let everyone in town know a Wizard Saint is here to save us," the voice said as several people near the gate left. "Please come inside the gate Lord Dragneel sir."
Natsu walked inside the gate and into the town as the man who was up on the wall came down to greet him.
"It's good to meet you Lord Dragneel I'm Felix and I'm what's left of the law here in Easthearth, the rest have been …. well they are among the dead now."
"Yeah I've been told that the dead were rising and acting as if they were alive can you explain to me some of the behaviours these undead are showing?"
"Of course when it first started the Gravetender Filion said that they would simply come out of the graves, shuffle around the graveyard then go back in. But after a few days they started coming into town and simply standing around it was quite the sight."
"So I'm guessing that the next step was they started doing something other than shuffling?"
"You betcha they did, over there at the market was the first time it happened. Lork was unloading a cart full of wood we'd just brought in for construction purposes when one of the undead started helping him I've never seen anything like it in all me life."
"So how long were the undead passive for exactly, more specifically when did they turn hostile?"
"Hmm well I'd say it was about two weeks ago when one really old one came down from the graveyard with a sword in his hand, this one must've been long dead he was just bones. The bastard managed to walk right on in and kill three guards before we were even able to get the weapon from him."
"I've heard that they can't be beaten by normal means, apparently you hired some local mages and they reduced them to nothing only to have them re appear the next day. Also I've been told that the mages went to investigate and are also now a part of the undead group correct?"
"Group, Lord Dragneel the situation has gotten much worse since we sent that last report the amount of undead roaming around up there could very well be into the hundreds, thousands even if they are rising from the mausoleums as well."
"And I'm guessing you've been getting attacked daily which is why you have such high security at the main gate."
"Even though the graveyard is in the opposite direction we know these bastards are learning so we didn't want to take any chances in case they figured out we had other entrances."
"That's fair enough I'm just glad I was able to get here before you were overrun by these things, earlier you mentioned a Gravetender named Filion is he still alive?"
"Sadly he was the first to be taken by the undead when they emerged from the graveyard with the intention of killing and converting us, he kept mentioning that there was a hidden path inside the mausoleums that may hold some answers but they got him before he even made it halfway up the hill."
"I'm terribly sorry for his death but what you just said may give me some clues as to how I can stop this madness, keep up your defences and if I don't return inform the Council that this mission has elevated to Century status and the Ishgar Four should be dispatched."
"Of course Lord Dragneel I'll take you to the gate leading to the graveyard," Felix said as Natsu followed the man.
The two arrived at a gate that had clearly seen better days, it looked as if it was about to fall off its hinges and was strewn with arrows and various melee weapons.
"Bloody hell here they come again," a man on the wall said as he pressed a lacrima next to him which set off an alarm warning the citizens.
"Felix you and your men stay behind the barricade I'll deal with this," Natsu said as he jumped off the wall to the shock of everyone present.
Natsu landed on the ground and looked out in front of him to see what almost appeared to be three full squads of undead.
"This is insane what the hell am I looking at," Natsu said as he quickly dodged a volley of arrows. "Anti-Grav: Midair Suspension!" Using his Gravity magic Natsu picked up all of the undead in front of him who despite being in the air still were attempting to walk forward and attack mindlessly.
"This is interesting; I suppose I should finish them now, Crash Wave!"
Letting loose a burst of Crash Magic Natsu reduced the undead to nothing as the soldiers on the wall cheered.
Natsu sighed as he began walking up the hill towards the graveyard; it seemed that someone was behind this after all.
As Natsu made his way up the hill the occasional undead would try to ambush him with little success, this continued until he reached the gates to the graveyard which were wide open.
"Considering that my Midair Suspension technique doesn't work in beings that have control over their magic they must have been ordinary people, I assume that from here on out that's not going to work. Using my usual Gravity techniques won't really work well aside from suppressing them for further attacks either so I'd better experiment a little on the way."
As Natsu looked around the graveyard he noticed that most of the graves appeared sealed which puzzled him slightly.
"Why are they sealed Felix said that-." A loud hissing noise cut Natsu of from his thoughts as he looked over towards the central mausoleum. "Great what is it now?"
Making his way over to the central mausoleum Natsu was horrified to see a grotesque looking monster making its way outside.
"That things pretty big, if all those guild mages had to fight were those rubbish foot soldiers they must have been caught off guard by this thing!"
As Natsu looked at it he began to identify several species of animal he knew.
"A snake tail, a birds head and a human head and … why the hell does it have a bulls head sticking out of its chest! This thing looks like a nightmare it's made up of some animals I've never seen before!"
The beast quickly spotted Natsu and made a strange roaring, hissing, squawking and high pitched human scream noise all put into one which managed to send shivers up Natsu's spine.
"What the hell is this abomination," Natsu said as he dodged a punch from the beast before narrowly being bitten by the snake tail.
Using his Gravity Magic Natsu set the density to X40 but was shocked to see that it didn't affect it in the slightest and it moved just as quickly as it had previously.
"Yeah this confirms it those mages who came here stood no chance against this thing, I guess I should start by removing the tail but will the snake even die if I cut it off?"
Natsu continued to dodge the creature and study its attack patterns but failing as it seemed to just jerk violently with all its body parts.
"Let's see how it handles fire then, Fire Dragon King's Noble Claw!" Darting behind the beast Natsu sliced off the snake tail and quickly cleared some distance to see the results.
The undead snake seemed to just slither around on the ground as if it were an ordinary snake even though its insides were being left behind as it went.
"Eugh that's disgusting," Natsu said as the creature recovered and charged Natsu again. "Alright each part will still move even if I cut it off luckily the snake looks like it's the only part this thing has that never had legs of some kind."
Natsu couldn't help but cringe as the strange cry of the beast filled his ears once again, he also couldn't help but look at the human head which seemed to have an unblinking fixed gaze on him as its mouth just hung open.
"Who the hell could do that to a human, to any living thing? I guess I should take the legs out next then, Fire Dragon King's Noble Claw!" Picking up speed Natsu dashed past the beast as he cut one of its legs clean off causing it to let out the horrible cry it had made several times before.
Natsu wanted to throw up when he saw the leg he'd just severed trying to get to him in order to attack. The leg simply rolled around trying to stand up then falling down again as Natsu began to get angry.
"This has gone on long enough," he shouted as he kicked the leg into the bull's face which was then caught by one of its horns.
The beast then stood up on one leg and tried to run but fell over not even making it anywhere as Natsu took a deep breath.
"Fire Dragon King's Reverberating Roar!" Releasing an enormous torrent of fire the beast was quickly enveloped as it began to cry out again before slowly being torn apart by the Crash Magic and incinerated by the flames.
Natsu looked at the pile of ash that was the beast with a look of disgust before hearing that hissing noise again; realising that the snake tail was still slithering towards him Natsu blew a small torrent of flame from his mouth and incinerated it.
"Central mausoleum, whatever caused this must be in there," Natsu said as he made his way over to the entrance and went inside.
As he made his way inside Natsu could hear the footsteps of more undead however he couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from.
"Must be that secret passage Felix said the gravetender mentioned," he sighed as he began to scan the walls for anything useful. "Someone has to be behind this whatever that thing was outside was not natural."
As Natsu looked at a particular wall he noticed a familiar emblem, igniting one of his hands for extra light Natsu quickly realised the situation at hand.
"That's the Tartaros guild mark but it looks like it's at least a century old, surely they haven't been around that long they only rose to power in the last few decades? Still I haven't seen any guild members anywhere so maybe this is an old base of theirs or something I'd better be careful."
Just as Natsu was about to move on he noticed that there was a brick slightly out of place on the wall, deciding it was worth the test he pressed it into the wall as the guild mark began to glow green.
"Well let's see what this does," he sighed as green fire began to shoot out of the emblem and lighting two rows of lanterns along each side of the hall.
The fire from the lanterns all began to shoot out a solid beam into the centre of the hall and once all the lanterns had done so another beam shot out and hit the emblem causing the wall to burst into green flames before disappearing entirely.
"Well that was … interesting, I wonder if there is any more things like this further in?"
Natsu slowly went through the spot the wall had previously been and discovered a large spiral staircase that went both up and down.
"How the hell can it go up this is the top floor and the roof isn't that high up, guess I'll go up first and see what this is all about."
Making his way up the stairs Natsu noticed that the wall seemed to have pictures on them of various demons he didn't recognize until one in particular caught his attention.
"That's Mira's Satan Soul," he said shocked as he took a closer look at the writing underneath.
Verathi Sar-Tok
Book Of Darkness Crescendo Vol III
Created by our Lord Zeref as a means to counter his own darkness
Status – Deceased Through Take Over Magic
Natsu couldn't help but look at the picture confused; it was definitely Mira's Satan Soul however she had black hair instead of white. Also in the photo there was a man sitting in a chair with a book held firmly in his grasp.
"E.N.D, wonder what that means? More importantly though this must have been the demon Mira said she took over that caused those villagers to go after her and her family, and what's this Book Of Darkness Crescendo mentioned here?"
Natsu went and had a look at the picture next to that one and read its description.
Solunta-Ar
Book Of Symphonic Chaos Vol I
Created by our Lord Zeref as a potential vessel for his own power
Status – Killed By The Former Master Of Fairy Tail Precht Gaelbog At The Dawnspire Incident
"What the hell killed by the Second Master, these pictures must be a small biography of all the members of Tartaros! If they have a picture of Mira's demon here then they must have been using this place until recently, if that's the case though then where is everyone?"
Natsu began to make his way further upstairs until he reached a door that was simply titled Records. Making his way inside Natsu started looking around and realised that this area looked like a library.
"Well I might be able to find a few answers here about this place," Natsu said as he began to look at the shelves. "Hmm this one has various experiments and stuff, this one has information on high value targets …. Now here's one I wouldn't mind a look at history of the guild."
Natsu began to scan the aisle for the book he was looking for until he came across one that said Project CUBE. Taking the book off the shelf Natsu began to read.
Year X723 – Archbishop Keyes
Construction of the project has begun a place that will allow us to carry out our plans in relative peace. Naturally the current hall shall be sealed and await potential use again one day, a village known as Easthearth resides nearby and will make the perfect cover as they use the area nearby as a place for their dead.
Mard Geer has requested that all experiments be either moved to the new hall or be destroyed supposedly to cover up our presence, perhaps I will be given permission to use this place as my own laboratory in the future …
Year X725 – Archbishop Keyes
Mard Geer has allowed me to return here for vital research materials left behind as we relocated to the Cube. Research into Project Immortalis has been halted until further notice until I recover the parts necessary to continue its construction without risking the Cube's power from fluctuating.
Barring any intrusions I should be able to get what I need within the next few days at least unless those humans begin their pesky burial rituals that they seem to perform, such frail creatures.
There is still much equipment relating to human experimentation left down here perhaps Mard Geer will permit me to resume my experiments …
Year X743 – Archbishop Keyes
Once again I return to this place, the potential for experimentation being wasted as Mard Geer simply sends me here to gather more materials. Between Project Immortalis and Project Neo there hardly seems to be any time left for me to fulfil my own experiments.
Admittedly Project Immortalis is a necessity to ensure our survival far into the future, allowing ourselves to simply be reborn after death will ensure Tartaros one day rules over these humans as we always should have. However I wonder if Mard Geer has forgotten our true purpose, immortality is good for us but our true purpose to kill Lord Zeref goes by the wayside …
Year X760 – Archbishop Keyes
It begins; Mard Geer has given me permission to use this place to conduct my experiments! My goal of harnessing the power of the dead can finally be realised however it will take time, that fool Deliora went and got himself frozen in an ice made like diamond so we've had to stow him on Galuna for the time being however his rampage has given me a whole assortment of subjects to use in my experiments …
Year X766 – Archbishop Keyes
Research into animating the dead is promising as I've managed to raise several human remains however the results vary. The ones that are all bones seem to be unable to do more than attack mindlessly but I won't deem them failures just yet, sealing them away for now until I need them will be best.
The ones recently departed appear the most promising, subjects that were put in suspended animation from the Deliora incident when revived showed cognitive function to a limited degree. My only issue is the subjects all have severe injuries in some way which impedes any further ability all save one. I shall attempt to integrate my new Curse within this one over a five year period, perhaps he shall be the climax to my perfect story …
Year X771 – Archbishop Keyes
My experiment was a success, I successfully revived the subject from and he has retained full cognitive functions as well as all his memories! The subject calls himself Silver and said that his sole desire is to kill Deliora, he could prove to be quite the asset to Tartaros indeed.
The subject while appearing as if he is fully living is by all accounts dead. No heartbeat, no pulse and he lacks the need for food, sleep or bodily functions necessary of a regular human. My experiment can now reach its next phase, I will release Silver onto the world and grant him the knowledge of the Devil Slayer that is retained within our archives, I expect he will return to us in time with the full intent to kill us which could prove to be an amusing game.
As for this laboratory I shall now begin experimenting on the lesser corpses to see if I can enhance them in any way, perhaps replacing parts on beings that are lacking them is a viable option …
Year X777 – Archbishop Keyes
I have received word that there is to be an alliance between us, Grimiore Heart and the Oracion Seis to unite all the sub guilds underneath a somewhat unified leadership, absolute nonsense it won't last. In any event I've been recalled to the Cube as all efforts are now being placed on producing more human/demon hybrids through Project Neo, I'll return quietly however I think I'll leave one of my staves here just in case the humans in Easthearth start getting too close, can't have them breaking into the hall after all.
I've also been informed that Silver ended up joining Tartaros, supposedly Tempester attacked him on sight however he appeared be in no physical discomfort which could only mean he feels nothing. Only I know of his true intentions and if he were to kill Mard Geer well I wouldn't be objective about it …
Natsu slowly took his eyes off the book as he sat down on the floor. "Whoever this Keyes guy is he's one sick bastard, experimenting on the dead and bringing some guy back who literally feels nothing other than the need to kill his creators. Clearly he's the one responsible for that abomination out the front but was he behind the mages who came here recently turning into them?"
Natsu stood and began to make his way to the exit when a shadow slipped past the doorway putting him on the defensive. Quickly making his way out to the staircase Natsu saw the shadow make its way down to the bottom of the staircase before sliding under a door.
"Guess that where I'm going," Natsu said before he dodged several bit's of acid that were sent in his direction. "What the hell!"
As he looked at the stairs Natsu noticed two undead making their way towards him quicker than any of the previous ones and above him on the roof was a third that fired several more shots of the acidic substance at him.
Dodging the attacks Natsu looked closer at the two on the stairs and noticed a guild mark on one of them. "These must be the dead mages gramps mentioned, still able to fight as well as they did when they were alive. I wonder what guild that is though I don't recognize it?"
Natsu launched himself into the air as the first mage fired a torrent of water at him, using the railing as footing Natsu jumped up and kicked the one that had been sitting on the roof into the wall before landing on the opposite railing and sliding down.
"Fire Dragon King's Talon," Natsu shouted as he slid past the one that fired the water at him earlier and kicked it off the edge sending it falling several stories.
The third one began to act as it began to release a purple mist which Natsu quickly made sure to distance himself from just as the first one appeared behind him with a fist covered in acid.
"Damn this close quarters stuff isn't the best for enemies like this, time to find a better location to deal with this," Natsu said as he countered the attack sending the mage directly where the other one fell.
Jumping down Natsu suddenly felt a weight on his back as the third one tried to bite him.
"Eugh go find someone else to munch on," he said as he flung them down onto the other two.
Landing next to them Natsu could only cringe as they tried to stand up but couldn't because they had destroyed their legs during the fall.
"I'm sorry," Natsu said as he sent out a wave of Crash Magic that quickly destroyed them. Making his way to the door the shadow went through earlier Natsu opened it and went through.
As soon as Natsu went through the door he picked up a scent that nearly made him vomit, bits and pieces of bodies both human and animal were strewn around the area and all of them were writhing in a disturbing way.
"Experiments like this are the worst kind; only a demon could perform such acts and not feel a shred of emotion."
Natsu began to walk through the area taking care to avoid touching anything as he found another door, carefully he opened it and looked inside.
"This shit can't get any worse surely," he said under his breath as he took in the sight of the room.
Natsu seemed to have stumbled upon one of the experimentation rooms, unfortunately it seems that there was either someone here recently or the person doing the experimenting simply left the person on the operating table.
Natsu hesitantly looked at the table and finally threw up. A human who appeared to be conscious had their chest opened and had several vital organs taken out and left on the table, the look in the subject's eyes shook Natsu to his core as it was a look of utter madness.
Quickly dispelling Crash Magic Natsu erased the person from the table, its ear piercing screams only making him want to throw up even more.
Leaving the room Natsu noticed another room across from the one he was just in, considering just leaving it closed he realised he had to make sure either the person who did this wasn't in there or the staff mentioned in Keyes journal wasn't inside.
Opening the door Natsu regretted his decision as there was one of the abominations he'd fought earlier however it was still being created. Destroying it on the spot Natsu slammed the door shut as he quickly darted to the end of the chamber.
Opening the door Natsu was relieved to see it was just an ordinary room, no body parts or half completed experiments lying in wait for him. Making his way inside Natsu began to look around while attempting to recover from the horrors he'd just seen.
"Well looks like you've finally arrived Saint," a voice said as Natsu grit his teeth.
"Where the fuck are you, no more of these sick shows just come out and face me!"
"Ah so it seems you don't like my pets then, such a shame since Fiore will be covered in them pretty soon."
"Not if I can help it you sick bastard," Natsu shouted as the voice began to laugh.
"Oh I know all about you Natsu Dragneel don't worry I was prepared to deal with you, as we speak my newest recruits are being massed in my newest camp just down the hill from here I highly doubt you can take all of them."
"Newest recruits what the hell are you on about the only ones down the hill are …."
Natsu's eyes showed a look of absolute horror as he quickly began searching the room for any sign of the staff.
"You won't find it here Dragneel I've moved it to a safe place now why don't you head to the exit I have a little surprise for you."
A bookshelf began to move revealing a staircase which Natsu quickly bolted towards as he ran up to the entrance of the mausoleum again. Kicking in the wall that blocked his path Natsu ran back to the entrance to the cemetery and could only stand there stunned.
The town of Easthearth was completely overrun as thousands of undead seemed to be massing in battle formations, the fog began to clear as Natsu saw several strange bits of Dark Magic fly around the area.
"Eliza was right this isn't a simple mob this is a literal army of the dead," Natsu said in disbelief as the voice began to laugh again.
"It's taken me years to reach this point despite the interference of you mages and that damned Council, today all of Fiore will watch as an army of the damned destroys their precious lives for my experiments!"
"His story of the dead, Keyes lives to create the ultimate undead and with all of Fiore he could do it. No I won't let him do this I'll stop em all!"
"You'll stop them will you Dragneel, records show that you are indeed powerful but can you defeat my undead legions!"
"If I find you I end this madness Keyes so you'd better be ready, I'll avenge all those innocent people in that town that you killed and butchered for your own amusement!"
"Bold words but let us see action you Saint," Keyes said as the horde of undead began to make their way up towards the graveyard.
"Well now this is a disturbing sight," Eliza said as she made herself visible. "I trust whatever you saw down there was disturbing?"
"To say the least it'll haunt my memories for some time even more if I don't stop this madness."
"Well if you find the staff you break the spell so you just need to find Keyes, if only there were some way to find his whereabouts by following a sign of some sorts …"
Natsu looked at her confused for a moment before it clicked. 'She's not allowed to interfere directly but she's giving me hints! But follow what exactly, it's a good clue but I just need to figure out what!'
Natsu sprung into action as the undead began to attack him throwing everything he had at them trying to remove as many of them from the battle as quickly as he could.
Just as he was about to punch one of them his eyes widened in shock, the undead in front of him was Felix however he was missing an arm and his stomach had been sliced open.
Clearing some distance Natsu recovered from the shock as he began to assault the seemingly endless horde with all his might.
Eliza stood on top of the gate to the graveyard watching the battle with a sigh. Looking up at the sky she watched the streams of darkness converge on one spot before being expelled again. "Come on Natsu you should realise this by now."
As Natsu continued to fight he began to notice every undead he defeated released a small sliver of darkness which went into the air, deciding to test the theory Natsu cleared some distance and took a deep breath.
"Fire Dragon King's Destabilizing Roar!" Unleashing his breath attack Natsu easily destroyed hundreds of them in one go and watched on as the darkness quickly returned to a central point in the town.
Realizing that he may have just figured out Eliza's hint Natsu quickly began mowing down any undead in his way as he fought his way to the town.
Natsu quickly reached the barricade which had been completely destroyed and swiftly cut his way through. Keeping up a X50 Descent Gravity field Natsu charged past all the undead and made his way to the centre of town where he saw the staff in the hands of a monument.
"So it was under their noses the whole time," Natsu said as he went to reach for the staff only for the demon himself to appear.
"Well now that wasn't very fun Dragneel, still you have completed the experiment as I originally intended. These ones are hardly a match for the Council so I'd be better off trying again elsewhere."
"What are you talking about you just said before that you were gonna take over the world with these guys!"
"A simple statement to spurn you into action, the only true way to test my experiments was to have them go up against someone of a higher level, like a Wizard Saint."
"So all of this … was just another one of your sick experiments!"
"Indeed and your co operation is greatly appreciated now I'll be leaving, oh and don't worry this staff has served its purpose and all data has been extracted."
Keyes snapped the staff as all the undead simply dropped to the ground lifeless as Natsu began to shake with rage.
"You think … that after all that shit … I'm just gonna let you WALK AWAY!"
"Well I noticed that you read my journal so you must know that Project Immortalis prevents me from being truly killed, you can go ahead and kill me but I'll just come back anyway."
"Then I'll find this Cube of yours and I'll destroy whatever this Project Immortalis is!"
"A bold statement but ultimately futile, one cannot reach the Cube unless Mard Geer wishes it. Speaking of which I must go," Keyes said as he suddenly vanished.
Natsu looked up as a large Cube slowly flew past as he grit his teeth. Launching into the air Natsu entered the Dragon Force and grew Dragon like wings allowing himself to fly. Darting towards the cube he was surprised when a winged demon halted him in his tracks.
"You must be the mortal Keyes was toying with, for a human your tenacity is truly astounding rushing into certain doom like that."
"And just who the hell are you supposed to be!"
"Hmm oh that's right not many mortals know my name these days, I'm Mard Geer the Master of Tartaros and I've come to prevent you from interfering with our work. I know that you are much stronger than the other Demon Gates however I've been informed that you are to be left alive for now as it will benefit us in the near future."
"I don't care who you are pal I'm gonna destroy this Project Immortalis and kill that sick bastard Keyes for what he's done!"
"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that Keyes is a vital part of our guild, if we were to lose the one who created most of the things we use now including the Cube itself then we'd lose years of progress."
"I couldn't care less about your progress all you demons seem to do is go around killing humans with little regard for them or their families, as far as I'm concerned you can burn with your stupid experiments!"
"Could you do it Dragneel, could you manage to defeat me? Because unless you do I refuse to allow you near the Cube but be warned this is a form that very few ever get to see. It's called my Etherious state and aside from Lord Zeref I don't think there is anyone who could defeat me."
"Oh yeah well I guess you're in for a rude awakening then huh, Fire Dragon King's Destabilizing Wing Attack!"
Natsu rushed Mard Geer and hit him head on sending him flying back into a nearby mountain. The demon had quickly recovered and was back at Natsu's position within moments.
"You are actually quite strong, for a mortal of course. Perhaps we could have some fun for a bit after all, Thorn Curse: Dea Yggdrasil!"
Mard Geer held out his hand and formed a large spinning sphere which fired out an immense wooden beam straight at Natsu.
"Fire Dragon King's Destabilizing Iron Fist!" Punching the wooden beam and shattering it Natsu rushed Mard Geer again as the two began to trade blows.
After landing several blows on the demon Mard Geer grabbed Natsu by the face and flew at the ground at high speed, within seconds Mard Geer had smashed Natsu into the ground and began dragging him along the ground tearing up everything in the area.
"Gravity X100 Ascent!" Natsu manipulated the Gravity around the two as he shot them both into the air before quickly breaking free of Mard Geer's grip. "Fire Gravity Dragon's Unstable Demolition Fist!"
Hitting Mard Geer in the side Natsu sent the demon flying through the forest until the attack detonated in a large red and purple light.
"Not bad at all human I haven't had this much fun in years!"
"I couldn't care less about your fun, get in my way and you'll get burnt!"
"Come and try then," Mard Geer jeered as a large rose emerged from the ground. "Thorn Curse: Rose Explosion!"
Natsu and Mard Geer were face to face as the rose detonated destroying everything in the surrounding area, the two quickly emerged from the explosion still trading blows as they took to the skies once more.
"How long can you keep up this fight I wonder you humans rely on your magic containers after all?"
"I'll keep going until I've beaten you," Natsu replied as he punched the demon in the face again.
"Fighting you here I can tell leaving you alive could be a problem in the future however against my own judgement I'll leave the decision up to the true master."
"And who is this true master of yours anyway!"
"Well surely you know him, the man from whom all demons originate? The Black Wizard Zeref!"
"So really you are just remnants clinging on to the belief that a dead man will come and give you purpose, that's truly pathetic."
"Say what you want Dragneel but he speaks to us, he is our creator and we are bound to do his bidding."
"Yeah well bid this, Fire Dragon King's Reverberating Sword Horn!" Head butting Mard Geer Natsu managed to crack what appeared to be his armor which angered the demon.
"Play time is over mortal, Thorn Curse: Thorns!" Massive vines began to emerge from the ground underneath the two as Mard Geer darted away leaving Natsu to begin getting enveloped by the thorns.
Natsu could only grit his teeth in pain as the many vines quickly enveloped him piercing him all over his body. The vines quickly let go as Mard Geer seemingly appeared from nowhere hitting Natsu square in the chest and sending him flying through the nearby mountain range.
"It is done, I am returning now," Mard Geer said as he disappeared.
Eliza who had been watching the battle from afar decided to go to Natsu after ensuring the other wasn't going to take things any further. Tracking Natsu's impact zone by following the holes through the mountains she quickly found him lying in a crater no longer in the Dragon Force.
Walking over to him she sighed as she looked at his wounds, "I suppose you weren't expecting those thorns to pierce you hmm?"
Natsu who was struggling to stay conscious simply nodded in agreement.
"You made the same mistake many others have before you, the demons don't use regular magic they use what are known as Curses which as you can see work even against Dragon Scales."
"He … got away didn't he," Natsu said between pained breaths as she nodded.
"To be honest you did quite well considering he is the King of the Underworld even the Celestial Spirit King would have a hard time beating that one."
"Well it still doesn't make this loss sting my pride any more than it already does, next time though I'll be ready for that bastard."
"Oh so you were holding back during that fight then?"
"Yeah I wasn't sure how strong he was so I was gradually moving up in power but then I did some actual damage and he suddenly jumped up in power and here we are. My consequence for underestimating an opponent."
"Well at least you acknowledge that fact that's the important thing. Anyway I'm going to heal you up from all those holes in you otherwise you'll die of blood loss so hold still."
Natsu grunted in response as Eliza slowly sealed all the wounds Natsu had received, once she was done she sat down next to him and sighed.
"It's strange you seem so strong yet things like this happen to you all the time it's really quite fascinating. The saddest part is if Mard Geer had've wanted you dead I wouldn't have been able to interfere due to the non interference policy."
"Hey that's fine I understand why the rule is there, it's to stop crap like the Nirvana incident from happening again. As for me always ending up like this it's probably because I'm as strong as I am I underestimate opponents I don't know or hold back so I don't kill them outright."
"Perhaps you should consider going all out off the gate unless you are looking for enjoyment Natsu, killing those that deserve to be killed isn't a crime by any means."
"You know gramps always taught us that killing was bad but when I went off with Gildarts he said the same thing you said. For all these years I've struggled to figure out how I should use my power, go all out against an enemy and go for the kill or hold back and end up like this potentially."
"I suppose what you are referring to is the morality of the issue then, honestly if you really wanted to kill Keyes you should have thrown your full power at Mard Geer then this might not have happened at all."
"That guy was really strong though it seems all these Dark Guilds have at least one insanely strong person in them, perhaps your right about this holding back thing I'll have to consider it."
"I'm only mentioning it because you are putting your life on the line when you sometimes don't need to, remember when we performed that Unison Pact and destroyed thousands of Dark Guild members? That Natsu was justice; they most likely have killed innocents just like Keyes has, like I always tell Elise killing a monster doesn't make you a murderer just like killing to protect your friends doesn't either."
"I guess you're right," Natsu said as he sat up. "You know you really are like a caring mother just like Elise keeps saying."
"Perhaps I have grown quite fond of you and Erza after all, Elise going with you was one of the best decisions she's ever made and I'm glad that she did."
"Yeah well we couldn't just leave her out of work after the Council fired her and all after she helped us."
"Yes I'm still not happy about that but it's in the past now, what's important is to focus on the here and now. Speaking of now are you able to walk yet you'll need to deliver your report to the Magic Council about this?"
"Yeah I've been able to move my legs for awhile now so let's go," Natsu sighed as the two stood up and left the crater. "Do you think I should mention that secret guild hall I found earlier I mean there was quite a lot of information in there?"
"Well I'd say you may as well, most likely that Keyes fellow has notified his kin about your knowledge of the place and it'll be destroyed before the Council can get there."
"Yeah I guess you're right, speaking of right though which way is the right way to go?"
"Ah that's right you were hurled pretty far away, we'll go North East for now until we hit something."
"You're a God how can you not know where we're going?"
"Well I'm not observing you like I used to I'm in the adventure just as much as you are," Eliza replied with a smile.
"Just in it for the adventure," Natsu mimicked as the two walked off into the wilderness.
Chapter 32 done. I know this chapter was a bit darker for the most part than my usual ones but to be honest I feel that's how a Dark Guild especially one like Tartaros which is full of demons should be. Trust me this was actually quite a fun chapter for me to make so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did making it!