We haven't let Etherious Natsu Dragneel out to play yet in all these years, so I have next three thousand four hundred words of annihilation for you.
Also some mild gore and trauma.
Enjoy!
Saying that the power of Etherious Natsu Dragneel was all encompassing was an understatement.
Nashi was barely able to follow the fight, if you could even call it that. Her father was throwing Drakhosz around like a rag doll, the Demon Lord on the defensive. But it mattered little. Every punch from her father caused the Circle to tremor. Every impact nearly sent her flying. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. What was more, she felt hot. Her father's heat was burning at her skin, but it didn't hurt. It was almost calming, as if his presence had enveloped her, hugging her tightly. It made her relax more than she thought would've been possible. The two rocketed past her, nearly knocking her over as they did. Turning, she watched them both fly up into the air, exchanging blows as they did. However, for every one blow Drakhosz landed, her father landed fifteen or more. The pressure was insurmountable, the Demon Lord couldn't compete. Watching them made her realise just how unstoppable her father really was. She'd always known, but seeing him in action like this was incredible.
She watched as her father grabbed Drakhosz's arm, and whipped him around in a fiery tornado, before letting go and letting loose a breath attack to send him flying off into the distance. He exploded after him, the fire he used to propel himself breathtakingly huge. She watched them disappear into the distance, the fight punctuated by flashing lights in the distance before a sonic boom nearly sent her off her feet. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she watched as the fighting got closer to her again and flew right by her, Drakhosz struggling to get away from END. But he couldn't, the pressure was unrelenting.
With a massive overhand swing, she watched Drakhosz hit the ground and create a crater, her father quickly following him and slamming into him, hard. She covered her face as dirt and debris was flung into the air, coughing as it nearly choked her. Once the air cleared, she looked up and watched as Drakhosz crawled weakly out of the hole, her father trailing after him with a stoic expression.
"Such power," Drakhosz spat, still smirking. "You really outdid yourself, Zeref! What destructive power!"
"Don't speak of my brother," her father said, slamming his foot into his back. "Just don't speak in general, actually." Drakhosz just laughed.
"The sheer audacity of humanity," Drakhosz said. "To act like they understand better than us higher beings."
"You're nothing," her father replied. "My daughter and I will be sealing you now. Be still for us."
"Sure thing," Drakhosz replied. "Seal me! Allow the chains that seal Zomrus to weaken. Give Hades the chance he's been waiting for."
"Then I can kick his ass too," her father said. "Simple."
"If only it were so," Drakhosz replied. "Do you think you play no part in this, Natsu?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked.
"The power you and your daughter possess. The one that allows you to throw me around my own Circle, to nearly kill me. The power to kill immortals, it's all apart of this!"
"This power was made to kill my brother," her father said, "and nothing more."
"If you are really so foolish to think that, be my guest! Allow him to guide you further into Hell!" Nashi made a face as these words echoed in her mind.
"What are you talking about?" She demanded, "speak sense!"
"What, and break the law of forbidden knowledge?" Drakhosz laughed. "I'm not one of the Lords allied with you, I'll be doing no such thing!"
"Then shut up and let us finish this," her father replied. He raised his arm, and Anhkseram's blessing glowed on his arm.
Drakhosz jerked up suddenly, throwing him back. Scrambling to his feet, he lashed her father with his whips, one wrapping around his wrist. The demon's hand gripped the whip tighter, and her father winced. She could only assume his nerves were alight with pain. Suddenly, her Dad powered through the pain and grabbed onto the whip, using it to pull Drakhosz closer. Once they got close up, he grabbed the demon by the collar of his armour and punched him in the face three times in quick succession, before turned and using all his strength to barrel him into the earth. Pulling him back up, her Dad punched him square in the chest and sent him flying backwards. Drakhosz buried his feet into the ground in an attempt to stop himself, but he couldn't stop sliding. In an instant her Father was on him again, slamming his fist into his face and sending him into the ground. Drakhosz kicked up immediately and wrapped his legs around his midsection, but her Father quickly grabbed his legs and spun him around, crashing him back into the earth as quickly as he got up. Jumping up, her father gathered fire in his palms.
"Fire Dragon Secret Art! Sun Eruption!" The flames flew from his hands and connected against Drakhosz, sending Nashi flying backwards from the sheer force. Her eyes burned from the light the spell caused. It felt like forever that she waited for the light to die, but once it did she looked up.
She saw her Father standing over the massive crater he'd created, Drakhosz lying in the middle of it groaning. He exhaled, and fire escaped his lips.
"That was annoying," he said.
"That's your gripe?!" She demanded, "that was insane! He's a Demon Lord!"
"Yeah?" He asked as he grinned back at her, "some Lord he was. Couldn't even bear the flames of the Fire Dragon King." Nashi smiled and jogged to join her father, looking down at the demon.
"So how do we seal him?" She asked.
"Raise our arm and let Anhkseram do the rest?" He suggested. They both shrugged at one another, and raised their arms together.
Until Drakhosz jumped free of the hole, very much alive.
"Domain of Suffering!" He shouted. Nashi's eyes widened, knowing what this was.
"Dad, get back!" she shouted, throwing him away from the Demon as the spell exploded outwards. Nashi hoped she'd gotten her father far enough away, but she doubted it. In the Circle, this spell was probably all encompassing. She knew what was coming, her stomach churning angrily. The fog had consumed her, leaving her vulnerable to any attacks. Granted, she wasn't entirely focused on that right now.
It's not real. What they're saying isn't real. They don't feel that way.
"So we say to your face," another voice said. Nashi gulped, refusing to look. "What, won't look at me? Won't face the truth? Typical. Never facing the truth, always running away from what you know to be real." Still, she refused to look back. "The truth is awful, isn't it Luna? It feels like your insides are burning up, threatening to escape out of your mouth."
"My name is Nashi!" She shouted, closing her eyes even tighter. "I am not Luna, I'm Nashi!"
"Lies!" The voice replied, "that girl died, and you've taken her place. Her friends and family will lie and placate you, but you know in your heart it's not their real feelings! Why else would I be here? This is your greatest fear! What causes you the most pain!"Gritting her teeth, Nashi balled her fists and turned. around.
"My greatest fear?" She demanded, "my greatest fear is dying without putting my foot in your mouth!"
Drake stood before her, laughing.
"You'd hurt you're closest friend?" He asked, "your love? Don't deny it now, Nashi. You love me, don't you? More than a friend. You want me so badly it hurts, doesn't it? But you'll never have me, and you know that. Because you're not the girl he protected! You're not the one he spent his life side-by-side with! You're a cheap replacement!"
"He'd never think that way!"
"Oh, you can read minds now as well?! Tell me how he really feels, then! How do I feel about you, Luna?!"
"I'M NASHI!" rearing back, Nashi drove her fist through Drake's face, and he disappeared into the fog. Her heart threatening to leap from her chest, pounding painfully against her chest.
"I'm Nashi," she repeated slowly. "I'm Nashi, I'm Nashi. He's lying to provoke me."
"Would a lie hurt as much as this?" Drake's voice echoed around her. "If you did not believe it, you would not feel such turmoil inside you, Luna! You can deny it all you want, but deep down, somewhere, you know what I say is true! That is why you're stomach turns, your heart aches! You know I'm right!"
"You aren't!" A hollow laugh echoed around her.
"Then why do my words pain you so, little salamander? Do you wonder why your knight in shining armour won't save you?"
Nashi's eyes widened.
"Why do you think END won't answer you?! She swore to protect Nashi, but Nashi's dead! She won't protect you, because you're not the girl she swore too!"
Natsu knew what was around him wasn't real. He knew it wasn't. He'd experienced this back at the camp where they'd found Eastyn. He knew it was an illusion to cause him pain, to hurt him.
And yet, he could not tear his eyes away.
Laying before him was the familiar ground in front of the guild hall. He knew it well enough. However, the hall itself was in ruins, in pieces all around him. That in and of itself wasn't the worst of it.
Laying all around him were bodies. Bodies of his friends. He did his best not to look, but his eyes wavered anyway. He saw Gajeel and Levy, hacked to shreds. Gajeel had tried to protect her. He saw Laxus strung up by his neck off what remained of the balcony, a spike through his throat. He saw Gray and Juvia hacked apart to his right, a pool of water underneath them. This was repeated all around him. Everyone he'd ever known or cared about was dead in front of him.
That wasn't the worst of it.
His eyes were drawn forward, where he saw a horrific sight. Standing in the middle of the ruins were his wife and daughter. They had been crucified, laying limp against wooden crosses. Lucy and Nashi's bodies had horrific gashes all over their bodies, both with their throats slit. Their eyes were hauntingly empty, no life to be found.
He barely had the stomach to look at Luke. His young son lay at the base of the crosses, staring up at his mother and sister. As he watched, his son turned towards him. Natsu had never seen such a hateful glare in his entire life.
"Daddy wasn't here," Luke's voice said. "Daddy let us die."
Natsu knew it wasn't real. He knew it wasn't.
"Daddy left like he did before, and Daddy let this happen."
It wasn't real.
"Daddy always abandons his family. Daddy deserved to die, not everyone else."
It wasn't real!
"I hate you, Daddy. This is your fault. You didn't save us."
"Didn't save us," the bodies sang in a monotone chorus. "Left us to die." They repeated their chorus a few times, the words making his body vibrate with anger. Then, they stopped.
Something had changed.
Looking up, he saw that Lucy and Nashi had descended from their crosses and stood before him, zombies staring at him with malice.
"All the power in the world," Lucy said, "and you couldn't save us when it mattered."
Natsu clenched his fists.
"You did this to us," Nashi said. "You gave me this power, and now we've all died because of it. Look at what you've done."
There was a pause.
He was slapped.
"I hate you," his daughter seethed. "I hate you!"
It was then something inside of Natsu snapped in half. Seeing and hearing the words he'd dreaded more than any others caused him to lose control of himself.
He roared angrily, flames exploded off of him and wiping away any trace of the Domain Drakhosz had created. The fog lifted, and he was returned to where he was before, Drakhosz staring at him in surprise. Nashi was off to the side, but he ignored her. He was focused intently on the demon.
"How did you- You burnt up my magic?!" Drakhosz asked.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Natsu screamed.
He exploded from where he stood, driving his fist into the Demon of Pain's face. Planting a foot firmly into the ground, he aimed down and drove the demon into the dirt, causing the entire Circle to shudder. Planting his other foot on the demon's chest, Natsu reared back his other hand and delivered another meteoric punch, an explosion flying off his elbow that he used to increase it's force.
Drakhosz had enough sense to plant a hand on Natsu's chest, and his entire body erupted in agony. Every nerve was being electrified, but he didn't care. He was going to erase Drakhosz from existence, burn away every atom of magic that made his creation.
Fighting thorough the pain, he delivered another punch to the demon's face, bones crunching underneath his blows. He punched and punched, every blow magnified by explosive force. Growing dissatisfied with rearranging Drakhosz's face, he reached over and grabbed his arm.
He ripped it from it's socket, clean off, and tossed it over his shoulder.
Displeased with the amount of armour on the demon protecting him from attacks, Natsu cleaved his hands into the chest-plate and tore it off, tossing it to the side like a piece of sheet metal. He drove his fist directly into Drakhosz chest, and when he felt it firmly lodged inside, he sent flames coursing through his body, making the demon screech.
"Maybe Hades has the right idea," he seethed, "I'm going to kill you! Who gives a fuck if Zomrus wakes up?! I'll kill him too! Zeref gave me this power to kill that which can't be killed, so I'm going to use it! STARTING WITH YOU!"
He raised his hand again, ready to bring his fist down on the demon again.
"Dad stop!" Natsu's haze of anger was sawed through by his daughter's voice. He felt her grab onto his arm, holding back his fist. He tried to fight through her, but she was stronger than he imagined she was.
"Let go of me!" He roared, "I'm gonna kill him!"
"You can't, Dad! It'll wake Zomrus up!"
"I don't care! I'll kill them all! All of them!"
"Dad, look at me!" Natsu's eyes met Nashi's as she appeared in front of him, guarding Drakhosz with her body. "If you want to kill him, go through me! We can't!"
"Get out of the way!"
"Dad you're scaring me!" She cried out, "please, calm down!"
"you're scaring me!"
Natsu's eyes widened at these words, making him pause.
What the hell was he doing?
Drakhosz forced out a laugh.
"Look at you," he said, "being consumed by the power he gave you. What's wrong, Natsu? Are you losing yourself?"
Natsu grit his teeth, trying to rein in the anger he felt attempting to consume him. Balling up his fists, he did some deep breathing and tried to relax. This had happened before, only once.
Before his power had been sealed, and he'd thought Lucy had been killed by Dimaria, this had happened. He'd rampaged like an animal, fighting Gray until Erza stepped between them. It had been so long he'd almost forgotten. This power was not totally his to command. It's power was to destroy, annihilate. And it had tried to do just that. Had Nashi not jumped between them, he'd have really done it. He'd have killed a Demon Lord.
"Dad?" Nashi asked weakly, "are you okay?"
"...I'm fine," he replied, surprised at the deepness of his voice. Looking down, his eyes widened when he saw the talons that were his hands. The power had begun to transform him even. God, he'd been close to losing it completely.
"I thought I lost you," Nashi said with a relieved expression. "You looked like an animal."
"...I felt like one," he said as he felt the power receding. "This...This is why I left to seal this power away. It's not something I can control. It's an explosive, primal force that strives to wipe out anything in it's path."
"I can tell," she replied. "Not even mine is like that...Well, not anymore at least."
"We'll talk about it later," he said, "for now, let's go ahead and seal this guy." Drakhosz laughed as the two of them stood and raised their hands.
"I cannot wait for this to blow up in your faces," he said with a smirk. At least, what looked like one. Natsu had really mangled him. "You fools are going to destroy everything we've spent ten thousand years building. I can't wait."
"Look at the bright side," Natsu said as the white runes on his arm glowed. "If it does happen, you won't be around to see it." Drakhosz just smirked back up at him.
"I'll still be around," he warned, "telling everyone just how right I was to want your daughters head."
The runes around their arms floated through the air towards Drakhosz, snapping together and forming a circle than bound him. The runes glowed brighter, and the demon's smirk began to fade away as the demon was sealed into the Circle. Soon enough his manifestation disappeared, and the Circle began to thrum with energy around them.
"What did that even do?" He asked curiously, looking down at his arm.
"Damien said it was a seal," Nashi replied, "one to prevent the Demon Lords from manifesting without their host's permission. I imagine he's been absorbed into the Circle for now."
"How phooey! I'm late!" Natsu whirled, and along with Nashi watched as someone walked through a portal. This girl had bright red hair and an innocent smile, but her armoured robes made it obvious she was ready for a fight if need be. Nashi snarled.
"Philotis," she said, "so the Children are coming."
"Was it obvious?" The woman asked. "Of course we're coming silly! We have our own job to do after all. You'll help me with that, won't you?" Natsu made a face as his head went fuzzy. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"...Yeah, of course," Nashi mumbled. Natsu made a face. Why were they helping? "You're our friend, we'll help you."
"She's...?" Natsu didn't understand. They weren't friends with this woman, were they? He didn't remember. He felt happy to see her, but...Something was wrong. He couldn't place it, but something was.
"What do you need?" Nashi asked. Philotis made a face and reached to her belt, pulling out a knife. It vibrated with power, a gemstone in the hilt glowing black.
"Well you see," she said, "I kinda have too stab the Demon Lord of this circle with this. See, it's imbued with the power to kill it! But, you see, I missed it. You guys sealed him already."
"Yeah, sorry..." Natsu mumbled. This wasn't right. He could tell it wasn't.
"Well, no matter! I think finding his core somewhere in the Circle will do. Hades told me so."
"His core?" Nashi asked.
"The Demon Lords got a core to their existence!" Philotis replied. "Kinda like a heart, but obviously not in them. It's somewhere in their Circle. Can you help me find it?"
Natsu's body screamed for him to refuse. Something was very, very wrong, he could tell. But he couldn't bring himself to refuse her. She...She was their friend, after all.
"Let's get going," he said, "it's got to be around here somewhere."
One down already, but that's just how it goes with the OG END involved. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!