Chapter 3
The fiend jumped on the wall and crawled up to the ceiling of the hall far above. Gray, Laxus and Gajeel haphazardly started to corral the less combative of the mages to the inside of the hall, where they would be provisionally safe from Natsu.
Mirajane didn't go inside. She knew she wouldn't be much help in fighting the demon, given her very long absence from combat missions for the guild, but… she still wanted to stay. She wanted to see Natsu. She somehow wanted to prove to herself that he still was the same man that she knew him to be. Someone who would never give into the darkness that seemed to have consumed him now. But her hopes were crushed under the chest crushing heaviness that hung in the air due to the demon's magic. It was like the entire guildhall had slanted and convoluted. Time and space were working differently inside the hall now. It was as if the demon had claimed this hall for his own domain.
The mages didn't know what to do. On one hand, they had to somehow subdue this demon before it killed someone or fatally injured them. But in order to do that, they would have to injure it. But… they couldn't injure their own friend. They couldn't bring harm to Natsu.
Laxus was the first to take a shot. He charged his fists with lightning and shot bolts of bright electricity at the demon clinging off the ceiling, but Natsu shuffled on the ceiling from place to place to dodge them so fast that it appeared as if he was teleporting. None of the shots hit.
Laxus grunted in annoyance and slid into the medical bay of the guild building to pick up an unconscious Erza and carried her off towards the inside to keep her safe. He laid her down by Polyurischia and the other mages, and Polyurischia quickly got to work on her. She had only fallen unconscious due to suffocation and a sudden lack of oxygen to her brain. She should be fine, Polyurischia thought.
Laxus then dashed outside again to continue the fight, only to see that Natsu had dropped from the ceiling and had engaged Gray and Gajeel in close combat. Throughout that battle, Natsu never stopped cackling and screaming. He would sometimes say random words that made no contextual sense, but the hatred and anger and pure malice that his corrupted voice would say them in really sent shivers down the spines of everyone that was unfortunate enough to hear it. What broke their hearts and disturbed them even further was that no matter how hoarse and corrupted his voice sounded, they could still hear a semblance of Natsu's normal voice in it. That really set the precedent that their friend had truly been conquered by an otherworldly magic. Was there a way out for him? Or was death now the only way? Were they ready to part with Natsu just yet?
No.
Gajeel dashed towards Natsu with his fist cocked back, and brought it cometting down over Natsu's face. Gray, on the other hand, swung his leg at Natsu for a square hit to his face, but Natsu vanished from the spot. The two attacks merged and hit each other, and both the mages rocketed backwards, crashing through walls and then coming to a halt over beds of debris.
Laxus narrowed his eyes and distributed his gaze all across the hall, looking forever for Natsu. He felt a sudden chill in the air around him. Was it because the demon was close by? He charged his body up with lightning and awaited an attack. Natsu suddenly appeared right before Laxus from thin air. As if the air before him fused together to form the demon. Laxus could only glance at his horribly contorted face for a second before Natsu grabbed both his shoulders and pulled his stomach into an outstretched knee. Laxus's eyes widened as the shockwaves of the hit travelled outwards to the rest of his body. Before his eyes shut, he saw droplets of his blood sprinkled from his mouth suspended in the air, dancing vividly.
Blasts of air shot outwards from his position as the complete impulse of the attack was transferred to Laxus's body, and he rocketed backwards at high speeds, burrowing into a pile of debris.
Natsu stared at the pile. His body shivered and trembled, as if two different people were struggling to control his actions. He bent forward and vomited blood over the cobblestone floor. He placed his hands over his knees and breathed frantically for a moment, his entire body moving up and down, almost appearing to expand and contract with each breath.
"P-pain… water… subject… poison… placid… dead… wrong… sun… object… forever…"
Natsu muttered. Mirajane slid against the wall as she heard all of it. What… What was Natsu saying? It didn't make sense to her. Did it make sense to him? Was he alright? What was his mental condition at the moment? Was that Natsu speaking? Or the demon? The more she saw him doing senseless things–like pointing at the air around him, or talking to invisible figures around him that appeared as if only he could see, her heart broke more. She couldn't even fathom what Natsu must have been going through. What was already a horrendous and terrifying sight and experience was made much more so when she realised that it was happening to someone she dearly loved and cared for.
Natsu looked at her. He stood straight. He pointed his hand at her, but not a finger. His fingers were all bent at weird angles, as if his bones were completely shattered.
"Light… rat… rodent… SCUM!"
He screamed, and dashed towards her immediately. As if someone invisible had thrown him in that direction. Mirajane's eyes widened.
Mirajane shut her eyes and looked away. She had never expected to die by Natsu's hands. He had protected her a lot of times by putting himself in harm's way, but… she had never expected that he would be the one to take her life away from her. Maybe that was her punishment for not being able to save him from this horrible fate. If she was in his place, Natsu would have saved her.
Inches away from reaching her, Natsu's already contorted face contorted even more when a successful punch met with his cheek and lower jaw. His head tilted in the direction that the punch pushed him in, and then he was thrown towards Mirajane's left.
Mirajane slowly opened her eyes, and saw Gray standing beside her, panting, looking in the direction where he had punched Natsu. Mirajane widened her eyes in the realisation that she had been saved. She looked at where Gray was looking, and found a massive pile of rubble in the corner of the hall, inside which lay Natsu. A piece of the ceiling collapsed even as she watched and dust unsettled in the area.
She looked back at Gray, who was still panting. A black tattoo-like mark had started to creep over his face and chest, originating from his hand that had just punched Natsu.
She gasped slightly audibly. Gray was in his demon slayer form. Maybe that's why his punch was so effective against Natsu just then. But she also knew the fact that a demon slayer form was just like dragon force, and sapped it's user's energy and magic reserves very fast. Gray must have activated it very desperately to save her, but she knew he couldn't keep it up for long enough.
"Gray… are you alright?"
"I… I am fine… I think I fractured my fist from punching him."
Mirajane trailed her eyes down his hand. It was still clenched in a fist, but swelling had started to appear around it, and beneath the black marks originating from it, it also appeared to have become red.
"You… you can't fight anymore."
Gray looked at her. "Like hell I can't. That's my friend. I will never let a demon get away with using Natsu. I have to do something."
Mirajane grabbed his arm. "No! Listen to me. You can't fight him like this. I carry the remnants of a demon within myself as well. I can tell that the demon within Natsu is just playing with us. He isn't using even a small fraction of his full power. Should he do that, we wouldn't still be standing here. This is a very high ranking demon. Capable of levelling continents by itself. The only reason it hasn't done so is because Natsu is fighting him from within. It hasn't gotten full control over Natsu's body. But the more you try to fight it, the more enraged it will get. It will feed off of that anger and get stronger. The more you hurt him, the sooner we lose Natsu, and the more we are liable to release the demon completely. And I don't even want to imagine the strength that the demon will get once it completely feeds off of Natsu's enormous magic reserve once he gains full control over him."
Gray clenched his fists, debating himself. He soon gave up. "Okay. What do we do then?"
Mirajane continued. "I will speak to Natsu. He will listen to me. I am sure of it. I just need the demon to be pacified for a moment."
Gray turned to face her, shock written all over his expressions. "Talk to him? Are you crazy, Mirajane? You yourself just mentioned how strong that demon is. No. I won't let you go anywhere near it. That demon doesn't deserve your kind words. There must be something else we can do–"
Mirajane shook him. "No. Please listen to me. I know the demon doesn't deserve kindness. But… Natsu does. Natsu deserves all our love, unconditionally, and so much more. He has always fought for our sakes. Asking for nothing in return. Right now, he needs his friends that show him kindness in his moment of weakness. Not his enemies that would injure him. And I know that me getting close to the demon is risky, that's why I need your help."
Gray watched her, weighing her decision. He could study the resolve on her face. Her eyes were filled with tears because of Natsu's painful condition, but at the same time, there were tears of selflessness and determination in her eyes as well. She was sure of this, so there was no reason for Gray to disregard this plan.
Gray nodded. "Alright. I am with you. Let's show this bastard what he gets for trying to take our friend away from us. I can use my demon slaying magic to paralyse him for a moment, but I will soon run out."
Mirajane's eyes widened and she nodded appreciatively. "Yes. That would be enough. That's all the time I need."
Natsu threw the rubble that covered his body away, and then dashed towards Gajeel and Laxus for a fight.
Gray thought for a moment, looking at Laxus and Gajeel both in their dragon force forms fighting the demon. They were struggling horribly. They would get hurt, be flung across the hall, and then rejoin the battle to be thrown around once again. The demon, even though only using a measly fraction of his power, was a far superior combatant than anyone there.
"Okay. I have an idea. I can't use my demon petrification magic right now. I need some time to charge it up. But, Gajeel and Laxus can help."
Mirajane nodded, not yet knowing what that plan was, but she trusted Gray. "Okay. I am with you."
Natsu woke up. He groaned as he sat up, his head heavy and bulging with pain. He almost felt as if his head had split open. He passed his one hand over his face and hair to check if that was true, and found everything normal.
This pain was unbearable. It felt like metal spikes were corroding into his brain, along with hundreds of tonnes of pressure all falling over his head.
He stood up, and blinked a few times to get his blurry vision back to normal. When he could see again properly, he looked around himself. He was… nowhere. This place looked empty. Blank. Dark.
Darkness reached as far as his eyes could see. A dark sky, a dark ground, and the dark horizon where those two met. Winds blew across his body, but he couldn't tell where they were coming from. It was quiet and silent and still.
Natsu knew this place. He had been here before. Infact, right after he had returned after fighting those demons that had entered the citadel of guilds and had stolen those documents. He remembered meeting Erza and then… he had woken up here. Did this place hold a special significance for him? Why did he keep on coming here?
He also remembered the voice that he had heard the last time he was here. That calm and collected male voice that he felt like he recognised since a long time back. That voice had talked about his parents. His people. His island. What did any of that mean? Who were his parents? Why did he not know anything about them? Who were his people? Were there more Dragneels in the world? Where were they? And finally, what island?
"You will find out soon enough. Fear not."
He heard a voice. Natsu got quickly alerted and turned around on his feet, but there was nothing behind him. This voice wasn't as warm and friendly as the last one he had heard. This one sounded… malicious.
"Who… Who are you?! Show yourself!" Natsu cried, assuming a combative position.
He heard footsteps. Heavy and deep, placing slowly and calmly over the black floor somewhere around him. He couldn't pinpoint the exact location. Wherever he looked, the footsteps seemed to be originating from there.
Natsu growled angrily. He knew whoever this was was playing tricks on him. To surprise him and take him by shock. But Natsu wouldn't fall into his trap so easily.
Turning on his feet one last time, he came across something a few feet away from him. A figure standing in the distance, his long clothes gently dancing in the winds. Natsu narrowed his eyes to get a good look at him, to study the details of his face that were hidden from him at the distance. Even though he couldn't see that person well, Natsu already knew something was wrong about that man. As if Natsu was never supposed to see him.
The man slowly walked closer, his heavy feet tapping on the floor. The sound echoed around, muzzling away into the depths of that dark world. As the man got closer, Natsu could study his long dark salmon hair, falling down to his waist behind his back. They were shabby and uneven, wild and unkempt. Natsu studied the man's face that was slowly revealed to him. A long pointed nose, sly slanting eyes, prominent cheekbones and a half devious smile on his dried lips. The man's skin was a shade lighter than Natsu's. As the man stood before Natsu, letting the latter have a complete look at him, Natsu gasped.
It felt like Natsu was looking at himself.
Although the man's skin was a shade lighter and his hair longer, his body more muscular and bulkier, his clothes different—he wore a long tattered robe that swept the ground as he walked, he was… almost identical to Natsu.
Natsu stared at him. He had looked in mirrors before, but seeing himself outside of a mirror was a weird experience. He immediately sensed trickery from the man, and stepped back, putting his fists up.
"Who are you? Why do you look just like me?"
The man laughed. "You still don't understand? I am Etherious. Your beginning and your end. You must have forgotten about me, but I never did. I have always lived within you."
Natsu's lips parted. "Etherious? That's what… that's what that woman called me. The one… who stole those documents from the guild."
Etherious nodded. "She was vague, albeit correct. You are a demon from Zeref's army. Well, you are a husk of that demon. A shell. Of me. I am the true you. I was born as Natsu Dragneel… to a very normal family. But after my untimely death, my brother… Zeref… turned me into Etherious. Somehow, Etherious was sealed within himself, and thus were born you. Natsu. The shell. The host. You don't exist. Only Etherious does. Your true form."
Natsu breathed heavily. He started to walk back, away from that man and every twisted thing he was saying, but behind him was a wall. He turned around to look, and only saw emptiness behind him. What was stopping him from walking back?
"This place is your subconscious mind. My home. I rule this dimension. I have been waiting to meet you. Finally, I have. We have a lot to discuss."
Natsu clenched his fists and brought them up. "WE HAVE NOTHING TO DISCUSS!"
Natsu dashed at Etherious and swung his fist at him, but Etherious dodged out of the way and kicked Natsu straight in the stomach.
Natsu recoiled from the hit, holding his abdomen, and then knelt down. He faced the floor, and saw a trickle of blood drop down from his mouth over the blackness. The red meeting the black painted a very ugly picture in his mind. That ugly picture consisted of what this man had just said to him. That Natsu was Etherious, and that Zeref was his brother.
Natsu wiped his mouth with the back of his palm, and looked at the smear of blood over his hand. He was… a demon? He was Zeref's brother? How could it be? He couldn't believe it. It sounded too absurd to be true. How can Natsu be Zeref's brother? Why was he not with Zeref then, if they were family? Why was Zeref an entire massive ocean apart from him if they were brothers? Why did Zeref want to destroy him and everything else he held dear if they were brothers?
Etherious knelt beside Natsu, and grabbed his hair on the back of his head and pulled up, to look at him. "Don't think too much. And don't be so naive. Everything isn't just white and black in the world. Everything isn't right and wrong. You need to learn that."
"Shut the fuck up…" Natsu growled.
Etherious kept smiling. He let go of Natsu's hair and stood up. He turned around and faced the blank blackness of the world.
"If you haven't gauged already, Natsu, I am terribly strong. I once led the armies of Tartaros, and I was the third and the strongest member of Zeref's personal guard, far above Irene and August. I could decimate continents with a click of my fingers. I could put fire to entire oceans and they would burn for eternities to come. My enemies fell before me even before I attacked them. I was an ungodly machine of warfare and combat. A weapon employed by Zeref only on certain occasions. One such occasion was… Igneel. But that's where Zeref made a mistake. He underestimated Igneel. Igneel couldn't defeat me, so he sealed me within myself. I was sent to live in the deepest darkest corner of my own body. And what remained of my body… was you. Ever wondered why you are so easily outraged and angered? Why you are sometimes so reckless and insubordinate? It's the streaks of my personality that taint your human behaviour. You are imperfect. A demon rolled in the blanket of a human. You are conflicted. But… I can help you become complete."
Natsu stared at the darkness, as if projecting his thoughts onto it. Igneel sealed Etherious away? Igneel knew Natsu's true identity? Igneel knew that Natsu was actually a demon called Etherious? Did Igneel know his parents too? Why did Igneel hide it away from Natsu?
"Igneel… never told me any of this. He always brushed the question off when I asked him where I had come from." Natsu mumbled.
Etherious laughed. "Now you know why. The great and legendary Igneel couldn't even fathom to tell you your convoluted past. Only I can help you there."
Natsu slowly got up on his feet. He breathed heavily as the pain after that knee to his stomach still hurt.
"What makes you think I am interested in knowing my past?"
Etherious raised a brow. "You aren't? It will only help you. Your past is a dark place. Unless you fight the demons of your own past, your own darkness, how do you think you will battle Zeref?"
"SHUT IT!" Natsu looked up at the man. His eyes were ringing with anger and outrage. "I don't care about a family that left me to a dragon to die. All I care about is Igneel and Fairy Tail. I don't need your offers. They mean nothing to me."
Etherious sent his long fingernails through his hair, combing it. "I thought you were an honest man, Natsu. How come you're lying to yourself?"
Gray knelt on the floor and shut his eyes. He focused his energy to charge up his demon petrification magic. Mirajane activated her demon form and stood before Gray to defend him against the demon. She watched Gajeel and Laxus in their respective dragon force forms fighting Natsu. They were faring better than before, but the difference between their power levels combined and that of the demon's alone was very obvious. They were barely able to dodge the demon's attacks, sometimes getting hit, other times being flung across the guild hall in full force. They couldn't still land a single hit on the demon. It was as if the demon knew their moves before they even committed to it.
Natsu ducked under a punch by Laxus, grabbed Gajeel's throat and lifted him in the air. Laxus dashed towards Natsu, but Natsu jumped over him in the air with Gajeel still in his hand, and on his way back down, smashed Gajeel's heavy dragon force body onto Laxus. When Gajeel was in his dragon force, his body turned metallic, inside and out. He weighed thousands of pounds when he was smashed against Laxus, sandwiching him between himself and the floor. The floor under Laxus collapsed and descended, a crater forming around his body. Jets of air were thrown out and Mirajane covered her face, almost getting pushed back by the winds. Laxus lay still and lifeless on the floor.
Natsu picked Gajeel up again, launched him up in the air, and himself jumped. Spinning and twisting rapidly in the air, he swung an extremely fast and heavy kick to Gajeel's body, and Gajeel shot out and smashed into a wall from the kick. He slowly slid down the wall and planted over the floor, dust rising up around him.
Natsu then looked around for more opponents, as if he wanted to fight more. He finally landed his gaze at Mirajane. His Hole eye was spewing more and more blood out that had completely tarnished the left side of his face. His clothes were half torn, half bloodied and half muddied. Natsu smiled wider than it was possible for a human, his irregular and sharp thin teeth brushing out of his mouth. It appeared that he had a wide gaping hole instead of a mouth. His human figure got more and more corrupted and distorted as the fight continued.
Natsu roared loud enough to shatter eardrums, and then dashed towards Mirajane. She readied herself, trying to form a plan in her mind on how to fight. It has been so long since she had been in a fight.
In the middle of his dash, the demon vanished. Mirajane widened her eyes. All she saw was Laxus's punch, and then his entire body entering her vision, swinging emptily at the air where the demon had just been. Natsu had again read Laxus's punch even before it hit him, and had vanished to avoid it. Laxus quickly dashed away from Mirajane and Gray to divert the demon to himself.
The demon appeared behind him, and Laxus turned on his feet to kick at him, but the demon grabbed his leg and punched Laxus in the gut. Gajeel dashed in front behind the demon but Natsu backflipped behind him and grabbed his shoulders and smashed him down over the floor.
Etherious walked forward and stood inches from Natsu. "Look. I can give you limitless power. You can destroy the world with it. Or rule it. It's really up to you. After all, all my powers are yours to begin with."
Natsu smiled through the beads of sweat that had appeared on his face. "Joke's on you. I don't want either."
Etherious stared at him for a moment. "I can give you Acnologia. I promise his demise to you. He will lay bloodied and battered before you, begging for your mercy."
Natsu found his half hearted smile fly away. He had been trying to appear impenetrable to this demon, knowing well that demons liked to play with weaknesses and desires. But… he had Natsu at Acnologia. Natsu wanted that. Vengeance. Bloodlust. Wrath against Acnologia. And the power to avenge Igneel. Natsu knew that he would be making a very wrong turn taking up this demon's offer. But before Acnologia's death… nothing mattered. Natsu wanted that dragon to pay for what he had taken from him.
"How… how will you help me take Acnologia."
Etherious smiled again, wider this time, knowing he had gotten to Natsu. He had always had pride over his ability to persuade others.
"I have fought Acnologia before. Which is to say, you have fought him before. He isn't as strong as people claim him to be. You and I together can easily tear him apart."
Natsu's clenched fist shivered. He held nothing but contempt for this demon and disregard and disbelief for everything he had claimed yet, but about Acnologia, each word this demon had spoken allured Natsu to no end.
Natsu lifted his head and looked the demon straight in the face. "What do I have to do?"
"Mirajane."
Mirajane heard Gray's deep voice behind her. She turned around, and internally gasped at what she saw.
Gray's entire body had been covered with black marks, as if the roots of a plant were creeping over him. They were symmetrical on both sides of his body, and on his face, over his forehead was a small dot where every other marking seemed to converge to. She had never seen Gray like this before. He was in complete demon slayer form. She hadn't ever seen Natsu in that demon form either, so maybe tough scenarios called for tough answers.
"Gray… are you alright?" She asked, worried that this form was too much for him to bear.
"My head hurts a little. But I feel amazing. I can't hold this form for very long, so let's get on with it."
Mirajane nodded.
Gray walked beside her and stood next to her, facing the scene of Gajeel and Laxus fighting Natsu.
"Laxus!" He yelled. "Now!"
Laxus looked at him midway between the fight, blocked one of the demon's punches, and then hopped backwards. He charged up his dragon force and covered his fists with lightning. The sheer raw power of that caused the ground beneath him to descend and winds to pick up around him. An incremental growl left Laxus's mouth, and soon his entire body was covered in a cloak of bright white lightning. The sparks flew outwards and infected the air around him. The brightness inside the hall matched that of the sun when Laxus reached the peak of the charge. The mages covered their faces and looked away, and their tall shadows danced behind them as they were washed in the brilliant glow of the lightning.
In a sudden motion, Laxus shot all of that charged up lightning around Natsu. Natsu dodged it all again, as expected, but it was no use. The whole entire plan was to hit Natsu's surroundings with the electricity, and not Natsu himself. Barrages of electricity hit the ground and the ceiling around Natsu, creating an even brighter glow than before. Light flushed out of the holes in the walls of the guild hall and through the windows of the building, and seemed to drown out the afternoon sun itself.
The sound of strong electricity ran rampant through everyone's ears mixed in with Laxus's deep and persistent growl. Dust and debris from the ground hit the bodies of the mages whose faces were turned away. The sound of the sparks continued to persist for a while, after which it died down. There was silence in the guild hall, only interrupted by the still electrified winds howling and sparking around them.
The mages slowly opened their eyes and looked back at Natsu, who had his arms covering his face. He slowly lowered his hands, and stood staring blankly at nothing. His human eye was just as lifeless as before, but his Hole eye quivered and trembled. He stood still and silent, not even breathing. As if just a statue.
The plan had worked. Natsu was dazed enough from the brightness for the next part.
Gajeel jumped in. He used his own dragon force to create tall walls of iron all around Natsu, tens and twenties of beams thick, each beam large enough to hold a human. The beams seemed to dig up out of the ground and erect themselves all around Natsu. The shaking of the earth and the trembling of the ground beneath their feet halted as the beams were all erected. Natsu had been locked in place. Trapped. The second part of the plan was complete.
Before the mages could all gather together to discuss the next part, an earth shattering roar was heard from inside the enclosure of iron beams. Thousands of voices roared together, and it was again loud enough to shatter eardrums and cause insanity should the listener not cover their ears. The earth shook under them, and more rubble and pieces of the ceiling collapsed around them. When the roar was gone, the iron beams that had enclosed Natsu started to shake. Pieces of them were thrown out from inside the enclosure to the outside, landing with loud crashing sounds.
Natsu had already recovered from the daze, and now was striking the iron beams around him to get free. This was too part of the plan, but they hadn't expected it to be this soon.
All the mages quickly dashed and gathered right outside the portion of the enclosure that Natsu was striking against from the inside. The iron beams shook and vibrated, cracks developed on them, and small pieces flew into the air like shrapnels. Gray stood facing that patch from where Natsu would show up. The other mages stood back.
Gray quickly focused power into his right hand and morphed it into a spear made up of his demon paralysing ice magic. He pulled that hand back and kept it ready to be plunged into the first body part of Natsu that would show up from behind the shattering iron beams.
The shaking of the iron walls and the ground continued with each hit that Natsu landed on them. Now, Natsu looked like he was only 10 beams away from Gray.
9…
7…
6…
More pieces flew into the air and landed around Gray. The beam right in front of Gray developed deep cracks and looked like it would collapse already before even being hit.
5…
3…
2…
There was silence. Gray kept his eyes sharpened and precise at the last beam that held up between Natsu and him. A moment of quietness passed. Winds howled. Birds chirped frantically after all the disturbance in the hall. Gray could hear his own heartbeat, and feel the air filling up inside his chest.
Another mind shattering roar was heard from behind the last beam of the iron wall, and the source of it was very close to Gary this time. Almost right before him. He endured that roar, no matter how much damage it did to his ears. Even after the roar was gone, Gray had a ringing sound still left in his ears. His head hurt from the ringing.
Natsu struck again, and the beam right in front of Gray launched up in the air from midway through, and landed behind Gray.
Before Gray stood Natsu. Tall and slender. His body contorted weirdly. His being shivering and shaking. The Hole eye on his face was almost as wide and big enough to fit a hand in there. His hair was shabby and seemed to have grown longer after the possession. His long and sharp teeth bulged out from places that it shouldn't, and his entire wide and large mouth took up much more than half of his entire face. What stood before Gray was… not Natsu. Lesser and lesser things remained on his body that could still be identifiable with Natsu's features, and more and more corruption had started to take its effect. Natsu was going towards something extremely and undeniably dark. Even right now, when the possession had only progressed a little less than half its way, Natsu wasn't Natsu anymore.
Gray stood frozen and petrified with fear and disgust for a moment, before acting quickly and plunging his spear into Natsu's chest. Natsu leaned forward when the demon slaying magic hit him, and he knelt on the ground, a low grumble emanating from his always open mouth. A good amount of blood escaped the wound over his chest and collected over the ground, forming a puddle. The blood was a darker shade of red, and appeared to move and shiver and tremble on its own, as if having a mind of its own.
Natsu was silenced and petrified. Hit by the charged up demon slaying magic, he almost hid within the border of consciousness and not. He would occasionally shake and tremble, but apart from that, no other movement garnered his until now extremely mobile form.
Gray breathed heavily and pulsed a steady amount of petrification magic into his spear ice magic.
Silence pervaded.
"M-Mirajane… he's under my control, but I can't hold him for much longer. This demon is much stronger than I am ready for. Do what you have to do fast—"
Gray's voice was cut when Natsu suddenly moved. Natsu looked up at Gray and smiled ear to ear with his massive mouth. Gray then knew that Natsu actually, definitely wasn't under his control. He might have weakened him a little, but Natsu wasn't petrified.
Natsu raised his left hand, which now had a surplus of the black ooze originating from his wound over his left shoulder and creeping over it. With that left hand, Natsu grabbed the spear that his chest was impaled with—which was essentially Gray's right hand.
As Natsu gripped it tight, Gray could feel an enormous and excruciating pain course through his arm up to his body. His eyelids felt heavy and drooped down, causing him to inch within unconsciousness. But he held his position and kept the spear impaled into Natsu's chest.
Black ugly flames erupted around Natsu's hand that held the spear, and appeared to burn through the ice. Gray could feel his ice magic melting. It was something he had never seen before. And never expected either. A demon so strong that he could burn through demon slaying magic?
Gray suddenly felt a sharp stinging pain across his hand. He knew it was the pain before his entire right arm would be amputated from his shoulder.
Mirajane realised that, and quickly dashed forward and knelt down before Natsu. She hesitated before touching his cursed demon skin. She knew that merely touching a demon barehanded could have bad consequences for a human. She then activated her own demon form, and then somehow loosely was able to touch Natsu's face. She grabbed his cheeks and lifted his head to face her. Being that close to the demon and staring directly into his Hole eye caused her to flinch with nausea and disgust and fear the likes of which she had never known before. Her hands and eyes burnt with the intensity she had never experienced before. But she held on. Whatever this dark energy was, it was trying to take one of her friends with it. A special friend. Her younger brother. One of the most important people to her in her life. She would never lose Natsu to whatever this magic was. She didn't care what the consequences were of her being this close to this accursed being that was never meant to exist. All she wanted was to protect Natsu, and with her life if need be.
"Natsu. Listen to me. It's… It's me. Mirajane. You remember me, don't you? You recognise my voice, right? I am your friend. Your family. Your older sister. I know you can hear me. I know you are in there somewhere."
She spoke with utmost sincerity, completely expecting Natsu who was within the demon to be listening to her. Right now, that's all that she could do.
"I know you're suffering, Natsu. I know it hurts. I know that the pain is worse than anything else in the world. I know how you must have felt after losing Igneel. I know because… because I have lost someone too. Someone just as special. Someone I loved just as much as you loved Igneel. Someone very dear to me. You… you wouldn't want Lisanna to see you like this, would you? She would be heartbroken to see you suffering like this. Wherever she is right now, she is watching you. She's watching you battle this demon. She is watching you fight. And… she wants you to win. She wants you to always be safe and happy and healthy. She wants you to walk towards the light. Not the dark…"
Mirajane realised that talking about Lisanna, her beloved and dear younger sister that was snatched away from her was bringing tears in her eyes. But she then saw something. Something unexpected. Natsu's right eye, which had been completely lifeless and dull until now, was blinking, and looking at her.
"Natsu… you can hear me, right? You're looking at me, right?"
She smiled through her tears, and held Natsu's head firmly. She didn't care how many old wounds talking about Lisanna opened in her heart. If that was something that caused Natsu to listen to her, she would do it till her heart rang with grief at the memory of Lisanna. The joy of having Natsu safe and sound by her side would battle that grief. She knew that.
"Lisanna never wanted me to tell you this, but until the day she was with us, she… she loved you intensely. She would always talk about you. She admired and adored you. To her, you were the kindest and the bravest man in the world. Meeting you each day would be the highlight of her days. She would always remember each and everything you'd say to her, and she would tell me all about the adventures that the two of you would go on. She felt safe and secure with you. She felt happy with you. When… When she left us, I was shattered. I felt like I had failed her. I should have been the one to protect her, but I couldn't. When she was gone, me and Elfman took a while to get back into our daily routines. It was difficult for us to act as if she had never existed at all. But… I saw someone else in the guild that was just as affected after her passing. It was you, Natsu. No matter how loud and silly you would act, I could read the pain in your face. The sorrow in your eyes. When I realised that, I… I made a decision to look after you as my younger brother instead. To care for you and love you like I loved Lisanna. And when I did that, I felt happy. I felt joyous. I felt like acting as your sister helped me get through the pain of losing her a lot faster. That's why… I want you back with me. I want to continue to be your older sister. I want to continue to care for you. To love and adore you. I want you to be safe. I can't lose you. I can't go through the pain of losing a sibling again. That's why, Natsu… please come back to me. To everyone in the guild. Come back to us. To Erza. We are all waiting for you. Please, I beg you. Don't… don't go away. You are an inseparable part of all of us."
Natsu's right eye overflowed with tears that dripped down his cheek and landed on the floor. The tight and heavy grasp that Natsu had over Gray's arm loosened, and Gray felt an unimaginable relief from that pain wash over him. Natsu still didn't completely let go.
"It's… it's working." Gray said, sighing. "But, something has to be done. I am running out of my magic."
"How will you help me take Acnologia?" Natsu asked, growling angrily.
Etherious smiled. He extended his hand out, and handed Natsu a metallic object. Natsu observed it carefully.
"Puncture your right shoulder and the middle of your chest with this."
Natsu realised that it was a blade. Similar to one that had been thrown at him by one of those demons that had stolen those documents from the guild.
"What…?"
Etherious explained. "That demon you killed managed to puncture one of the shells within you that keeps me locked away. The one within your left shoulder. The one within your chest and right shoulder are still intact. Unlock them, and then… we become one. You will have limitless power afterwards."
Natsu rolled the blade in his hand. So Etherious… whoever he was, was truly locked within Natsu. How come a demon of Zeref's ended up being within Natsu? Was what this demon said true? Was Natsu really Etherious? Was Zeref… really Natsu's brother? That dark wizard that everyone had been afraid of since centuries… Was he really Natsu's brother? How come Zeref ended up as The Spriggan Prince, and Natsu ended up with Igneel? Did something happen that separated Natsu from Zeref? Was that how Natsu lost his parents? If Zeref was 700 years old, was Natsu also 700 years old?
Nothing made sense to Natsu at the moment. But it didn't have to. When it came to Acnologia, Natsu didn't care. All Natsu wanted was to defeat and kill that dragon. For everything that it had taken from him. He knew he was getting tunnel vision right now, but it didn't matter.
Natsu held the blade with its hilt and pushed it into his right shoulder.
The pain was immense. As if he had pushed it right into his heart. It seared and burnt like no tomorrow. For a moment, Natsu almost lost consciousness, and his eyes fluttered shut due to the excruciating sensation. His entire body froze up, and even though he wanted to pull the blade out of his shoulder… he couldn't.
Slowly, he regained his strength and pulled it out. He gasped for breaths that felt unimaginably scanty, and he felt completely breathless and tired. Just one more…
He positioned the blade against the middle of his chest, and knew that the pain of piercing himself would be even worse this time. But, that pain would be nothing compared to what Natsu would bring down on Acnologia.
Before Natsu could plunge the blade into his chest, he heard a voice. A soft feminine voice that he recognised.
"Mirajane…?" He muttered.
"...I know the demon doesn't deserve kindness. But… Natsu does. Natsu deserves all our love, unconditionally, and so much more. He has always fought for our sakes. Asking for nothing in return. Right now, he needs his friends that show him kindness in his moment of weakness. Not his enemies that would injure him…"
Natsu stared blankly at whatever was before him. She was… talking about him. Who was she talking to? Where were they? Why were they talking about him? What was happening in the real world? Whatever was going on outside, Mirajane and probably others too were thinking of Natsu. They had his best interests in their minds. All they wanted was his best, and nothing more.
"…Alright. I am with you. Let's show this bastard what he gets for trying to take our friend away from us…"
"Gray…?" Natsu muttered.
Gray was there too? He was talking about Natsu as well? For some weird reason, after spending so much time in this dark place ruled only by this demon, Natsu had somehow forgotten that he had friends back home. He didn't know how that happened. How could he assume for even a moment that he was all alone? Maybe it was this demon tricking him. But now, Natsu saw through the fog clearly. He could finally see what was what. He could see the truth. He knew he was wrong. He didn't need the demon's power. His friends' voices reminded him of that.
He dropped the blade on the ground.
Etherious's dark eyes widened. "No… no! They are ruining everything!"
He grabbed Natsu's shoulders and shook him. "Listen to me, Natsu. You and I are one. I only want what's best for you. Not them. They are weak. They will pull you down to drown along with them. All you need is my power. Your true power!"
Natsu didn't listen to one word that he had to say. He had had enough of that demon's trickery. Enough of his lies. Enough of his empty promises. Natsu still wanted to teach Acnologia a lesson, but he would rather do it with his own strength. Not borrowed from some ugly demon.
"You bastard… you played on my weakness and tricked me…" Natsu growled.
Etherious grinded his teeth. He stood back straight, and walked backwards into the darkness of the void. Natsu was alone now.
Natsu had forgotten for a moment what true power was. The strength that he needed to protect his friends. To protect Mirajane, who had always loved him like her younger brother. Her soft and warm touch, her fragrance, her embraces. Her delicious food that she would prepare especially for him. Her care and love. The strength needed to protect Gray, who had always been like a brother to Natsu. Snarky, but always supportive. Who Natsu had grown up with.
And the strength to protect Erza. Who Natsu loved deeply and unconditionally. Her smile… her soft skin… her beautiful red hair… her unmatched gorgeousness. Her care and comfort that she would afford him. Her undying loyalty to Natsu. Who Natsu could topple the entire world to protect. The strength to protect the innocent. That was the strength that he needed. Not the demon's. The demon's strength was only to maim, kill and hurt. But the strength that his friends brought him… was so much more than that. Hurting someone was easy. But protecting them against danger and darkness… that was the strength Natsu needed.
He stepped on the blade that lay on the ground and crushed it under his foot. He clenched his fists and grinded his teeth. The only way to break out of this prison… was to find his magic and burn this world to the ground. A bright flash covered Natsu, searing and burning around his skin, sending warm and hot waves of air around. In that black and dark world, Natsu glowed bright like the sun. Flames erupted out of his body and burnt brilliantly in the darkness, sending all the blackness flushing out.
…..
Natsu's right eye shut, and then opened. In his eye was a glow. He stopped screeching and sneering for a moment, and fell quiet. His skin started to heat up, and Mirajane who held his cheeks could feel it. Something was happening. His cold as ice skin was suddenly warm to touch, even reaching the point of being hot.
"N-Natsu?" She mumbled.
Air heated around him, and soon a ripple of energy started at his fingertips. His body started to glow, and when the glow subsided, his human skin was gone and was replaced with dragon scales. Red. Fierce. Powerful. Bright and thick. Wings erupted out of his back and swung powerfully. A tail whipped behind him, and soon he was in his dragon force. A fire burnt around him, encasing Mirajane within it without hurting her at all. She looked down at her hand, and saw that the flames were licking harmlessly at her skin.
She immediately smiled gleefully. She knew these were Natsu's own flames. That's why they weren't hurting her. Natsu was gaining control over the demon again. This was the first time since the possession had started that Natsu's own fire had erupted out of his body. Natsu's feet turned into massive talons, sharp and long, and his hands turned into claws. His dragonification was complete.
Except his left hand.
Mirajane looked at it, and found it to be the only part of his body that wasn't engulfed in his flames. The black material still oozed out of the small knife wound on his shoulder and creeped around his left arm, and his left Hole eye, although shrunken, was still remaining over his face.
Natsu suddenly blinked, and used his claws on his right hand to slash at his left shoulder.
An explosion occurred, and the sheer force of it sent Gray rolling on the ground to a distance. Pieces of cobblestone and debris landed over him and around him, and soon there was silence.
Gray slowly got up off his back, and shook his head. He took a while to get his bearings back to him. He looked around, and found the rest of the mages starting to walk out of the small room that they had been in during the fight. He saw Levy, Juvia, Cana, Wendy… and many more. Was it over? What exactly happened?
He sensed movement by his side. He looked there and found something that resembled an arm lying on the ground. All the way from its shoulder to its twitching fingers. Someone's arm….
Someone had been dismembered? Gray's eyes widened.
"What is…?" He slowly got up and picked the arm off the ground. As absurd as it was for him to be holding someone's arm, more absurd things had already happened on that day. Like Natsu's possession.
He suddenly realised something.
He looked back up where Natsu was as his mind caught up with him, and saw something extremely worrying. Natsu sat kneeling in a pool of blood.
—With his entire left arm missing.
Gray slowly looked back at the arm in his hand. It started to twitch and shake violently, and soon, it disappeared into a burst of black flames. All that remained in Gray's fist was a bunch of ash.
He realised what had happened. Natsu's left arm had become the focus of the demon's power. That's why only Natsu's left eye had turned into the Hole. And to halt the possession… Natsu amputated himself.
He looked back up at Natsu. Mirajane clung desperately to his shoulder, her entire body drenched in his blood and visibly shaking as she sobbed into Natsu's chest.
"Natsu… what… what have you done…?"
Polyurischia ran upto Natsu and held her hands open over the amputation site. She started to mutter some spells, and her hands started to glow.
"He… he's still alive. It's amazing. He should have died immediately from the blood loss and hypovolemia…"
She finished her spells, and placed her hand over Mirajane's shaking shoulder.
"I have resuscitated him. Restored enough fluid to keep him alive. He is fine."
Hearing that, Mirajane broke down into more sobs and tears. She didn't know why the fact that Natsu was okay hit her more than it should have. Maybe after seeing the horrible state that he had been in during the possession, and now finally knowing that he was alright, it really imprinted in her mind what a deadly consequence Natsu had safely come out of. That only hastened the filling up of relief in her heart. Maybe that's what it was. Tears of joy. Abundant.
"N-Natsu…?"
Mirajane heard a weak voice. She knew it was Erza. She wiped her eyes and turned around, holding Natsu up with one of her hands over his back.
She saw Erza being supported by Laxus who led her into the hall. Her pained and grieved eyes were stuck on Natsu, and nowhere else. What… What was she looking at? The state that he was in… it was something she had never even expected to see in her nightmares.
She slowly walked towards him and knelt before him. She wanted to hold his face up and look at it, but she excused herself from that turmoil. Looking at his face right now would only break her heart even more. That state of Natsu… beaten, broken, battered, bloodied… it stung her heart. It crushed her heart under a million and billion tonnes of weight, and evaporated the fragments with the fires of grief and pain. She had never seen Natsu like this before. And she never wanted to see him like this again. What exactly happened while she was passed out? She made a promise to herself that this was the last time she would see Natsu like this.
She sent her weak arms around his neck and pulled his head into her chest. She finally let out a cry that she had been holding in for a long while, and then it never stopped. She cried and bawled and sobbed, repeating Natsu's name desperately, pulling him tighter and tighter into herself. Her unstoppable tears wet his scarf, but she didn't care. She wanted to remain like this forever. Just him and her. No one to disturb them. She wanted to spend an eternity like this, with his head burrowed into her chest and her arms around him. She loved this man.
The doors to the guild hall flew open. Gildarts walked in, looking around for enemies. Then walked in Master Makarov, followed by some priests of Ankhseram. One woman, dressed in all white, her long black hair flowing in the dusty winds, and her long black eyes fixed on Natsu, sighed uneasily and sadly at his condition. She knew this would happen.