Chapter 382: Don't Worry Me Like That Again
"Farewell Master Markov, thank you for everything. I promise to keep Fairy Tail safe as the seventh guild master" stated Dante, unable to control the tears falling from his face. The light from Fairy Law enveloped the area, Dante knew that this was the last time he would see Markov alive. As the light from Fairy Law enveloped the area, the entire Fairy Tail guild wept at the loss of Markov. After a short while the light from Fairy Law disappeared, the result of the spell immediately obvious.
"The enemy has been heavily reduced in numbers" stated Erza, looking at the battlefield and seeing that a large portion of the enemy army was now defeated. Nodding his head in agreement, Dante started to speak.
"Yah but the cost was way too high" responded Dante, tears still in his eyes as he looked at the lifeless body of Markov. Nodding her head, Erza started to speak.
"Yes, let's make sure that the master's sacrifice wasn't for nothing" responded Erza in a determined tone as she readied herself to jump back into battle. Looking around the battlefield, Dante looked at the one person who was responsible for the death of Markov as he started to speak.
"Yah and I think I know who I want to take my anger out on" responded Dante in a cold tone as he glared at Irene who was standing on a cliff overlooking the battlefield. Seeing where Dante was looking, Erza smiled as she started to speak.
"Do you want some help with that master" asked Erza with a confident smile. Glancing at Erza, Dante smiled at her as he started to speak.
"Yes I do Erza, let's kick her ass together" responded Dante with a confident smile. After saying these words Dante and Erza were about to pursue Irene when they heard a voice in their head.
"Dante, Erza this is bad" yelled Warren, using his telepathy magic to speak directly to Dante and Erza. Focusing on the telepathy magic, Dante started to speak.
"What is it Warren" asked Dante in a worried tone.
"It's Natsu and Gray" responded Warren in a panicked tone. Cursing their luck, Dante started to speak.
"Are they okay? Are they fighting someone and need help or something" asked Dante in a worried tone.
"No that's not it. Natsu and Gray are fighting each other and it's bad! If they don't stop they are going to kill each other" responded Warren in a panicked tone. Cursing under his breath, Dante started to speak.
"Fuck are you serious?! What are those two idiots thinking" asked Dante in a frustrated tone. Turning her attention towards her master, Erza started to speak.
"Something must have happened to push them into fighting. Natsu and Gray might not get along the best but they would never actually try and kill each other" responded Erza in a serious tone. Nodding his head in agreement, Dante started to speak.
"Yah your right Erza. Those two are idiots but they wouldn't just kill each other, something must be seriously wrong" responded Dante before he continued to speak.
"Warren don't worry about Natsu and Gray. Erza and I are on our way" stated Dante through the telepathy magic. After Dante said these words he turned his attention towards Erza and continued to speak.
"It'll be quicker Erza if I carry you" stated Dante in a rushed tone, knowing that time wasn't on their side. Nodding her head, Erza started to speak.
"Right, let's go. We have to stop them" responded Erza as she let Dante pick her up bridal style. Erza blushed at the feeling of being carried in her master's strong arms as Dante spread his wings wide. Spreading his wings wide, Dante flew into the air with Erza in his arms. Taking a moment to focus on the telepathy magic, Dante started to speak.
"Warren where are they right now" asked Dante as he hovered in the air with Erza in his arms.
"They are just south of your location, hurry" responded Warren in a panicked tone. Nodding his head in understanding, Dante started to speak.
"Right! On our way now" responded Dante before he started to soar quickly through the air. Soaring quickly through the air, Dante hoped that he wasn't too late as he rushed over to Natsu and Gray. As Dante continued to rush towards Natsu and Gray, he started to speak.
"Those two better have a damn good excuse or else I will bury them myself" stated Dante in an annoyed tone as he continued to fly through the air. Nodding her head in agreement, Erza started to speak.
"Whatever their reason for fighting, I'll give them a bigger reason to stop" responded Erza in a serious tone. Hearing Erza's tone of voice Dante smirked as he thought that he almost felt bad for Natsu and Gray. After Erza said these words, Dante flew into the area Natsu and Gray were fighting at. Looking at the ongoing battle, Dante started to speak.
"What the hell is wrong with those two" asked Dante as he watched Natsu and Gray fighting. Just like Warren said, Natsu and Gray were fighting way past the point of a friendly spar. With the amount of magical power that Natsu and Gray were throwing around it was obvious they were both trying to kill each other. While Dante still hovered in the air, Erza started to speak.
"Those two need to have some sense beat into them" responded Erza in a stern tone. Nodding his head in agreement, Dante started to speak.
"I agree but it will be for the best if we try and solve this without hurting Natsu or Gray. It looks like they aren't even in their right mind" responded Dante as he continued to watch the fight between Natsu and Gray. Nodding her head in agreement, Erza started to speak.
"I agree, something is wrong with those two. It looks like Gray's devil slaying power is out of control, I don't know what Natsu's excuse is" responded Erza. While Dante continued to hover in the air, he started to speak.
"I'll take Natsu, you take Gray" responded Dante while Erza nodded her head in agreement.
"Sounds good" responded Erza, determined to make Natsu and Gray see reason. After Erza said these words, Dante let go of her and together they jumped into the ongoing battle. Just as Natsu and Gray were about to collide with each other, Dante and Erza jumped between their attacks.
"You need to stop" yelled Erza, holding onto Gray's fist while her arm was damaged by taking the brunt of Gray's attack.
"Have you two forgotten you are supposed to be friends" asked Dante as he held onto Natsu's fist, his flames burning Dante's flesh. Looking into Natsu's eyes, Dante didn't see any trace of the person he grew up with. Seeing the complete lack of Natsu's usual warmth in his eyes, Dante continued to speak.
"What the hell is wrong with you Natsu" asked Dante as he continued to hold onto Natsu's fist and hold him back despite the flames burning him. In response to his question, Natsu growled at Dante before he attacked him with his other fist. Seeing the incoming attack, Dante could have avoided it but decided to take the hit. Natsu's fist collided into Dante's face, he grunted in pain as the intense flames burned him. Despite the pain of being hit with Natsu's charged fist, Dante never broke eye contact as he continued to speak.
"Snap out of it Natsu" stated Dante in a fierce tone, hoping that his words would get through to Natsu. Still devoid of any emotion, Natsu growled at Dante as his body radiated intense flames. Grunting in pain as Natsu's flames burned his body, Dante continued to speak.
"I said snap out of it" responded Dante in a shout. After saying these words Dante slammed his head against Natsu's before he continued to speak.
"I'm not going to let you keep fighting Gray. You two were going to kill each other, your fight ends now" shouted Dante. Seeing that Natsu he knew that was beginning to shine through, Dante continued to speak.
"If you want to beat on someone then beat on me" shouted Dante, the look he was giving Natsu almost daring him to continue attacking him.
"I'm not going to fight back so if you think you can keep attacking a guild mate that refuses to fight back then continue" shouted Dante hoping that his words would make Natsu snap out of whatever was wrong with him. Seeing that Natsu was still struggling to break out of whatever was wrong with him, Dante raised the volume of his voice as he continued to speak.
"LISTEN TO ME NATSU! AS THE SEVENTH MASTER I AM TELLING YOU TO STOP IT! NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO FIGHT AMONG EACH OTHER" yelled Dante before he continued to speak with tears in his eyes.
"DON'T DISHONOR THE MEMORY OF MASTER MARKOV! DO YOU THINK MASTER MARKOV WOULD WANT YOU FIGHTING GRAY TO THE DEATH" yelled Dante, tears falling from his face as he remembered Markov's recent sacrifice. Dante's words broke through to Natsu, his usual warmth returning to his eyes as he stepped back from Dante. While Dante was relieved that Natsu was no longer burning him, he still needed to make sure that Natsu was in his right mind.
"Are you with me Natsu" asked Dante in a steady tone, ready to take another hit if Natsu was still not in his right mind. Natsu stared dumbfounded at Dante, his words ringing in his ears as he started to speak.
"What do you mean honor gramps memory" asked Natsu in a stunned tone, hoping that he heard Dante wrong. Dante had to chock back his tears as he remembered that Markov was gone. While Dante tried to find the right words to break the news to Natsu, Natsu started to speak.
"Gramps is okay, right" asked Natsu, needing to hear Dante say yes. While Dante shook his head, he could tell that Erza was able to get through to Gray and was likely breaking the same awful news to him.
"No Natsu, he's not. Master Markov gave his life defending the guild, he's gone" responded Dante, barely holding back his tears. Shocked at Dante's words, Natsu started to speak.
"That can't be true" yelled Natsu as he rushed over to Dante. Gripping onto the collar of Dante's shirt, Natsu continued to speak.
"That' a filthy lie! Gramp can't be gone" yelled Natsu in an angry tone. Understanding Natsu's anger, Dante started to speak.
"It's true Natsu. Master Markov used Fairy Law to save everyone, he's gone" responded Dante as he took a step back from Natsu. Natsu dropped to his knees in disbelief as he started to speak.
"No, gramps can't be gone. He just can't be" responded Natsu in disbelief. Just as Dante was about to respond to Natsu and comfort his friend, Dante heard something that made his heart drop.
"She's gone. Juvia killed herself to save me, she said she would do anything to save a guildmate" stated Gray in a guilty and shaken tone as Erza tried to comfort him. Hearing these words Dante rushed over to Gray and Erza as he started to speak.
"What did you just say" asked Dante in a panicked tone, praying that he heard Gray wrong. Dante's world crawled to a halt as Gray explained what happened with Juvia. After Gray finished his explanation, Dante started to speak.
"No, I refuse to lose anyone else today. Where did you leave Juvia, Gray" asked Dante, determined to ensure that Juvia was okay. After hearing where Gray left Juvia, Dante channeled his magical power and transformed into his arc angel soul form in order to get more speed. Spreading his wings wide, Dante spoke to Erza.
"Erza I'm going to leave Natsu and Gray to you, I have to make sure Juvia is okay" stated Dante in a rushed tone before he took off into the air. Soaring through the skies, Dante channeled his magical power to gain more speed while he prayed that Juvia was okay. With his increased speed, Dante was soon in the area Juvia was in. Landing near Juvia, Dante was relieved to see that Wendy was already here and healing Juvia. Rushing over to Juvia, Dante started to speak.
"Wendy! Please tell me Juvia is okay" shouted Dante as he rushed over to Juvia's side. Nodding her head as she continued to heal Juvia, Wendy started to speak.
"Juvia is going to be fine master. It was lucky I got to her when I did, she lost a lot of blood" responded Wendy as she continued to use her magic to close the nasty wound on Juvia. Letting out a sigh of relief, Dante started to speak.
"Thank you Wendy" responded Dante in a relieved tone. In response to Dante's voice, Juvia started to stir as she started to speak in a weak tone.
"Beloved is that you" asked Juvia in a weak tone as she opened her eyes. Smiling at Juvia, Dante started to speak.
"Yes it's me, I'm here Juvia" responded Dante in a tender tone as he reached down and held Juvia in his arms. Looking into Juvia's eyes as he leaned forward, Dante continued to speak.
"Never worry me like that again Juvia. I love you so much, I can't lose you" stated Dante with a loving smile before he closed the short distance between Juvia and himself, kissing Juvia sweetly on the lips. While Juvia was still weak and in pain, she felt that pain melt away as she kissed her beloved. After a short while Dante leaned back from Juvia's sweet lips while Juvia started to speak.
"Juvia promises to never leave her beloved" responded Juvia with a sweet smile as she looked lovingly into Dante's eyes. Smiling back at Juvia, Dante was grateful for Wendy's timely intervention. Dante had already lost Markov, he was going to make sure that Markov was the only person he lost as a result of the war.
End of Chapter 382