Chapter Twenty-Nine
Eye of the Storm
"Get ready to die, Salamander!" Two voices called out, losing sync as the possession mage made his presence clear. Laxus' eyes had glazed over completely with a dull purple sheen.
"And this time, you can't use that curse magic, or you'll kill him," Ajax announced, stepping out of a shadow, regarding Natsu with extreme caution.
"Ajax," Natsu sneered in disgust, "I have been playing with magic and curses for hundreds of years, do you really think that I can't hold back when I need to? Besides, it looks like the only way that I'm breaking your hold over him is to kill you and then beat the rest of your possession out of his body,"
"You're very confident for a man outnumbered two to one," Ajax responded with a deep sneer of disdain.
'Two on two. Idiot.' E.N.D. chimed in, rather unhelpfully.
"And I've got to say, Salamander, this Dragon Slayer might be artificial, but he's really, really strong." Ajax jumped in first, covering the ground with shadows that crept up into solid mass, writing around towards Natsu like tendrils of dense vapour.
"Igni" Natsu snapped his fingers, and the curse magic erupted into existence with a carpet of fire that fell upon the darkness, disappearing as quickly as it came.
"Lightning Dragon: Halberd!" The shock of the attack hit Natsu before he'd even finished hearing the spell. It hit him with the force of a freight train, sending him skidding back several feet.
"Yes," Natsu agreed through gritted teeth, "he is in fact far stronger than I realized, and much like the thunder palace. That also really stung," he said, glaring at Laxus' triumphant grin.
"Fire Dragon: Brilliant Flame!" Natsu covered the lobby of the cathedral in a fire so bright that Ajax had no shadows to retreat to.
"Fire Dragon: Iron Fist!" His body burst through the fire, connecting squarely with Ajax's jaw.
"Fire Dragon: Talon!" He pirouetted on a single heel, bringing his hands swiping up like a set of claws, the fire dealing more damage than if his fingernails had been made of razors.
'Igni' he clicked his fingers, hearing Ajax's screams fill the air as the flames covered him.
'Igni' another snap of the fingers another barrage of curse magic hitting the target.
'Igni' by this time the scream that came out was nothing more than a gurgling sound, his throat and face having been melted by the heat of the attack.
"Tekken!" Natsu issued a brutal uppercut that connected with bone that had been rendered of its flesh. The strike sent hundreds of bone fragments into the air, Ajax's body flying up with them.
"Karyu no Hoko!" Natsu roared, blowing a hole clean through the roof of the cathedral, utterly eliminating all traces of the possession mage.
"Death's Head zero, Salamander four," Natsu muttered quietly, realizing his mistake when he smelled ozone hurtling towards him.
"Lightning Dragon: Roar!" The breath attack hit him head-on, sending him careening back toward the doors, one of which was nothing more than a pile of rubble.
"He's definitely at least as strong as Erza and Mira," the Fire Dragon grunted as he forced himself to his feet, "either that or the thunder palace took way more out of me than I thought." He added through heavy breathing.
"Why won't you just die!?" Laxus screamed, filling the air with spears of lightning, each zoning in with lethal accuracy.
"Salamander!" Gajeel's rough voice cut through the air accompanied by sounds of metal poles jutting out of the ground to form a barrier against Laxus' attacks.
"Took you long enough, did you get lost?" Natsu glared lazily at the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"Not all of us took the shortcut from the sky, genius, I had to hoof it across the city to get here. Just be grateful that I'm here now," Gajeel snapped.
The two of them shaped up as they regained their composure, looking at the menacing form before them.
"Oh, by the way, I should probably tell you-" Natsu said just as the lightning struck again.
"Lightning Dragon: Heavenly Lance!"
"He's a Dragon Slayer too!?" Gajeel yelled in surprise just as the lance hit them both, throwing them back down against the ground.
"Ahh," Gajeel slowly whispered, feeling the full brunt of everything that Laxus had to offer.
"Yes, Gajeel," Natsu said at last, rolling over and pushing off the ground. How many times had he been felled today? It was probably a new record.
"He too is a Dragon Slayer, but unlike you or I, his magic is from lacrima implants. Extremely potent ones, he's just about the most powerful I think anyone can be from implantation." Natsu wheezed, pushing himself beyond exhaustion.
'Mirajane Vs. Fried. Winner: Mirajane.'
'I like that one.' E.N.D. briefly murmured.
"I am growing increasingly fond of all three of them," Natsu mused, not caring for the questioning glance Gajeel sent his way.
"I heard you brought down a tower without magic, where's that strength now?" The Iron Dragon groaned as the two of them got back onto their feet.
"Used most of it up not dying when I got hit by his toys outside,' Natsu explained, hooking a thumb towards the broken door of the cathedral, the thunder palace clear in the sky, starting its firing sequence to rain down on Magnolia.
"How do we fight a Dragon Slayer that's been pumped to the brim with power?" Gajeel asked, knowing that this was beyond what the two of them could handle when they were so thoroughly beaten down.
It was a bad matchup from the get-go. Lightning had been constantly drawn to him because of the iron content of his body, and Salamander had nearly died because of the thunder palace.
"I have an idea," Natsu managed a slight chuckle of immaturity. "We hit him really hard."
"Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Gajeel responded dryly.
"It takes a man of great genius to come up with strategies like this, don't worry youngling, one day you too may reach my level of unparalleled battle wisdom." Natsu donned a look of faux wisdom as the two of them squared up once more, ready as they were ever going to be.
"I hate you so much, it's unreal," Gajeel growled, both of them bolting to the sides to avoid a barrage of lightning.
"Hate leads to-" Natsu had been about to say something but was brutally cut off by a punch thrown by an enormous arm that caught the Fire Dragon square in the jaw.
"Well, at least you're close enough for this," Natsu said, ducking under another strike before planting his fist as hard as he could in Laxus' armpit. They heard a sickening crack before the limb went limp and Laxus roared in pain. Rogue bolts of lighting began spewing everywhere from the rage-induced Dragon Slayer.
Outside, the thunder palace had begun the final stage of firing, all of the lacrima having lit up and darkened the clouds above.
They felt a huge surge in magical power, bright lights illuminating the rooftops a dozen streets over as rows upon rows of swords clamoured in a circle around Erza who had risen into the sky herself.
"Her body won't take that much power, Salamander!" Gajeel yelled over the ear-splitting sounds of the lightning cracking and chatting the stone walls of the cathedral.
"Her body is damn magnificent, she'll be fine!" Natsu bellowed back, trying to weave around Laxus' clumsy strikes with his other hand.
"What!?" Gajeel asked, tilting his head as if he hadn't quite heard what Natsu had said. Dragon Slayers had incredibly acute senses, Natsu knew that Gajeel had heard him, he just hadn't quite understood what he'd meant by it. And that was fine by Natsu.
"Die!" Laxus' latest attempt had gotten lucky. Natsu had been caught off guard when he'd been trying to keep an eye on what Erza was doing, but watching a certain viewpoint from a certain angle out of a broken cathedral door meant that his options for evasion in close-quarters combat were extremely limited.
The meaty hand slammed Natsu's head straight down, bringing him to the floor. The purple sheen covering Laxus' eyes had dimmed, but not entirely. The traces of Ajax's magic still lingered even though the caster was long gone.
"Iron Dragon: Sword!" Gajeel's arm swept through the air, connecting straight across Laxus' torso, saving Natsu from receiving a foot to the back of the head.
The two first-generation Dragon Slayers moved in tandem, pirouetting and weaving through Laxus' increasingly random attacks. They'd both been dried out of magic now, it was sheerly a war of attrition on whose body would last the longest.
Natsu had a penchant for getting back off the ground and continuing a fight, no matter what. It was a quality that he'd started to see Gajeel also had.
"Salamander! You got enough magic for plan B?" The Iron Dragon asked with an inward cringe, remembering the brief seconds that he'd experienced it before.
"What's plan-" Laxus asked. Normally, that would have been Natsu's cue to enact 'Plan B', but this situation was different. He'd struck out with an uppercut as hard as he could, sending Laxus stumbling back a dozen feet.
"No. No, I do not, keep punching!" Natsu yelled back, stepping back in to strike out with a torrent of hits that all found their mark.
"Enough!" Laxus yelled, the purple sheen over his eyes had become a mild glaze, it was a sign that Ajax's magic was wearing off.
The Lightning Dragon Slayer stepped back from the onslaught of punches and kicks, "I'll just erase everything, everyone and everything! I know you'll like this one, Natsu, you enjoyed it so much when the old man used it!" Laxus slammed his open palms into a spherical shape, holding a light within out in front of his stomach.
'No! Not again!' E.N.D. screamed. Natsu agreed, he could already feel the immense amount of holy magic swelling within Laxus' palms.
"Is that the spell that took out Porla in one shot?" Gajeel asked, taking a hesitant step back.
"Yes!" Natsu grimaced, already feeling the burning sensation of the holy magic that was spilling out from within Laxus' grasp.
"Laxus, you have to stop, it's over!" An unfamiliar voice called out into the cathedral. There was a severely broken and beaten man with green hair, limping through the doors.
'Yes! He's distracted, rip his head off while you can!' E.N.D. yelled in maniacal triumph from within his cage.
"No," Natsu whispered very slowly through gritted teeth. He disliked responding to E.N.D. no matter the situation, but sometimes it was unavoidable. If he didn't verbally shut the Demon down then the screams and demands would become louder.
"I'll wipe the slate clean by destroying this entire town, I'll start again and build the strongest guild there ever was!" Laxus bellowed, holding the shining light up.
"Fairy Law!"
"For fuck sake, not ag-ah!" Natsu's curse had turned into screams of agony. It stood to reason that when Makarov had activated Fairy Law, it was from a refined and experienced caster. Laxus was powerful, of that there was no doubt, but the added edge was that the spell was rough and not something that he'd mastered.
The pain felt like jagged edges being rushed across every part of his skin. If anyone was ever going to try to flence a person instantly, that was the sensation he got from being hit with Fairy Law.
Unfortunately, Natsu already knew what was happening, with the fact that he was the only being who was naturally at a negative disposition to holy magic, it was all drawing in on him. A spell that was being used to wipe a whole city clean off the map, had targeted a single man.
Natsu's screams filled the air all around the cathedral as he experienced more pain than he ever had in his entire life. Fairy Law targeted only those that the caster saw as enemies, and within that bracket, there was only one Demon.
The light faded along with the magic of the spell, rendering Natsu to his knees, his eyes had rolled back showing only the whites and his body looked… Vacant.
"Laxus," a new voice entered, sobbing as she pushed past the badly wounded man by the door, "please, you need to stop, it's your Grandfather, he's gravely ill. Porlyusica is at the guild now but she says he hasn't got much time, you have to go and see him before he's gone!" Levy told him, urging him on.
"Gramps…" Laxus faltered for a moment before half a grin wormed its way across his lips.
"This is good, first he'll kick the bucket from old age, then I'll take over as his only heir still here, then, just for good measure, I'll deal with all those who opposed me, the Dragon Slayers will be hunted for sport!" Laxus broke out into deranged laughter.
"I guess just for good measure I should get rid of those whores that have taken a shining to this idiot as well, there's no place for filth like that in Fairy Tail, not the kind that happily associates with dark mage scum." Laxus continued.
There was a moment of silence where Laxus simply watched them, enjoying his reverie of victory.
Natsu's body jolted forward, looking like it was going to faceplant the ground flat, but at the last moment, both of his fists slammed against the already damaged floor.
"No one can withstand that much magic power and still be all there in the head. Make no mistake, I'm forced to respect that your body is just about the toughest thing imaginable, but that mind of yours is long gone, you're running on fumes Natsu, and none of those girls can save you now. They'll be dealt with just as harshly as you will be, but… I doubt they'll survive." Laxus grunted.
Nobody had seen what happened next, they'd only noticed the aftermath. Natsu's almost downed body was gone. Now, once their eyes had adjusted, they realized that it had moved to where Laxus had been gloating, and firmly shoved his fist into the Lightning Dragon's stomach, hitting him so hard that Laxus stumbled back a few feet and vomited all over the floor.
Natsu's body was slowly covering itself in white flames, taking purposeful steps toward Laxus.
"I…" the voice said, startlingly deep and gravely for what they knew should be a usually light-hearted voice.
"Am not Natsu Dragneel." He said, raising a hand. Through the flames, they could see black-scaled fingers tipped with razorlike claws.
He struck so fast that the only thing that clued them into the fact was the trail of fire and sparks that were left behind.
His hand never touched Laxus but the magic that leapt forward was immense, sending the Lightning Dragon crashing through several brick walls and out into the streets behind the now vastly destroyed cathedral.
Most of the hall was still intact, but the far wall that Laxus had been viscously forced through was now nothing more than a gaping stone wound.
'Natsu and Gajeel Vs. Laxus. Winners: Natsu and Gajeel.'
The game was over, they'd won.
Natsu, being puppeteered from within by E.N.D. who was far too damaged to take full control of their body, had depleted the last reserves of their magic and he fell to the floor, rendered unconscious yet again by Fairy Law.
A/N: Chapters will probably be once a week from now on.